July 15,
2008: Sudan is winning its war against
rebels in the western part of the country (commonly called Darfur.) Most of the
rebels belong to black African tribes,
while the loyal tribes tend to be Arab (at least culturally, they are often
identical in appearance to the rebel tribesmen.) For thousands of years, Sudan
has been split between those who follow the ancient ways and languages, and
those who adopt the culture of more advanced neighbors (first the ancient
Egyptians, than the Arabs.) In the last five years, government troops, and Arab
tribal militias have chased over two million blacks from their villages, and
into refugee camps supported by the UN and foreign relief groups. This violence
continues, with over 200,000 more black villagers chased from their homes so
far this year.
Protests
from around the world have been ignored. The Arab League, and the Moslem world
in general, has supported the Sudanese government, even though all the Sudanese
refugees are Moslem. Most of the peacekeepers pledged for service in Darfur are
from black African countries. Russia and China regularly veto UN attempts to
impose sanctions on Sudan. China runs most of the new Sudanese oil fields, and
sells Sudan large quantities of goods (all paid for with the new oil wealth). Russia
also sells many expensive items to Sudan. China denies that it is selling
military equipment to Sudan, but when pictures or videos of Chinese gear shows
up, the Chinese simply decline to comment. Even the risk of disruptions at the
upcoming Beijing Olympics has not changed Chinese, or Sudanese attitudes. No
one is willing to use force on Sudan, and as long as Sudan can get its oil
fields developed by China, and import Chinese goods, it can just ignore the
international clamor.
