Jose Manual Barroso, President of the European Commission, and grand panjamdrum of Brussels has kindly deigned to share a few words with those of us who do not understand the contribution of the European Union to world peace. Who would have thought that the peacekeeping exercise in Darfur, Sudan, was a success. Barroso has opened my eyes.
I was in Darfur last week, on my way to co-chair the first ever meeting of the European Commission outside Europe, in Addis Ababa – the home of the Commission of the Africa Union. I am amazed at what I have seen in these young people that travel so far to help the people of Africa. I am proud of this Europe, I feel proud to feel European.
Let us look at security. There is a rising demand for a European role in external crises. And the EU is responding. It has doubled the number of peace and security missions in recent years. It is playing a central role in conflict prevention and resolution from Darfur to Palestine, from the Congo to Lebanon.
It is an effective actor because of the range of instruments at its disposal. In Darfur, for example, it is the biggest contributor to humanitarian aid, the main supporter of the African peacekeepers there, and playing a political role in pushing the Sudanese government to avoid another humanitarian catastrophe.
The BBC notes that the number of deaths is “not less than 200,000”, in the latest study from Science although this does not differentiate between deaths by violence and deaths by starvation. This is what happens when the European Union acts to prevent a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’. What man can stand up and parrot success for political gain from the genocide in Darfur?
The man who knows what institutional reform is needed to ensure further European ‘success’.
The Constitution would have helped. But perhaps the grand finality of the word ‘constitution’ set it up as a hostage to fortune, both to intergovernmentalists who felt it went too far, and to federalists, who felt it did not go far enough. Let us be clear about the label which should be attached to further institutional reform. What Europe needs is a Capacity to Act.
Oh masters, if I were disposed to stir your hearts and minds to mutiny and rage, I should do Brutus wrong, and Cassius wrong — who, you all know, are honourable men. I will not do them wrong. I rather choose to wrong the dead, to wrong myself and you, than I will wrong such honourable men.
Thank God for your outrage.
Your mentioning Darfur in your blogging is imperative. And as doubtless you have noticed, blogging volume regarding Darfur has plummeted. Thank you for your efforts.
We are hopelessly stalled in Saving Darfur. But it is only hopeless if we-the-citizens continue to be bystanders risking little or no cost to ourselves.
Please help promote what must fast become our role models:
DARFUR HEROES: Santa Clara Univ Vigil & Fast
http://darfurdyingforheroes.blogspot.com/2006/10/darfur-heroes-santa-clara-univ-vigil.html
More Darfur Heroes at DARFUR Dying for Heroes
http://darfurdyingforheroes.blogspot.com/
Thank you, Rosemary, Dave, Mary Rachel, Jay coming up on week three of
Rescue Darfur Fast-Till-Genocide-Stops
http://darfurdyingforheroes.blogspot.com/2007/09/join-rescue-darfur-fast-till-it-stops.html
I may be a bit adrift with this hard-line comment, but would be interested in reactions.
Today I read an article in The Times about a Darfur “incident” involving an illegal immigrant, identified only as Dily, a Sudanese Arab. This gentleman has reportedly testified that for 3 years he was employed (involuntarily, so he claims) by the Janjawid on wages equivalent to about £500 per month. During this period, he admitted that he and his fellows attacked about 30 villages “raking their huts with gunfire”, setting them alight and killing too many people to count.
He now says he has remorse and, believe it or not, wants political asylum.
Clearly, he was in a difficult position but one from which he showed he could escape, and within living memory we have had trials at Nuremberg that established there is no defence in just following orders.
After being initially arrested, he is apparently now living here in a hostel, and an organisation known as the Aegis Trust appears to taking an interest in his welfare. My own unsympathetic reaction is that he should be either returned home to his miserable fate or prosecuted for his admitted crimes against humanity, failing which we must surely encourage others to do likewise.
The Congo is a little hard to characterise as a success, too, given the dead are uncountable somewhere in the millions, and the displaced and maimed uncountable more. Africa not being much in the news, it is understandable Baroso might get away with those claims before a European audience…
But how does “conflict prevention and resolution” in the Lebanon fit in? Israel and Hamas had a very noticeable small war a couple of months back, then stopped when they were good and ready. The world’s media forgot almost everything else. Well prevented, EU; well resolved!
Of course, it’s a success. There are no Euro deaths. Local deaths don’t can’t because they are going to die anyway. Since there are no “unusual” deaths when the Euros are there, the mission must be a success.
It’s an interesting insight into President Barroso’s ideas of the future.
Notice his reference to “The Commission of the Africa Union”, which nobody had heard of until he mentioned it.
Clearly he thinks that it will be one of the powers of the future, along with his own “Europe” Union – currently called the European Union, perhaps to be renamed again before long?
Delusions of grandeur is perhaps the most polite way to describe his vapourings.