Meeting a war criminal

Today was the meeting at work with Minni Minawi, commander of the Sudan Liberation Army, one of the main Darfur rebel groups (except suddenly everyone got very politically correct and started referring to him as "chairman of the SLM" - the political wing of the SLA - instead).

He and his entourage were late arriving, so all the humanitarian and policy thinktank people there to meet with him got to have a mini-meeting on the current situation in Darfur. Lots of discussion of the fact that since the Darfur Peace Agreement was signed, there's been lots of fighting between Minawi's faction, which signed the agreement, and non-signers. Civilians are reporting being attacked by Minawi's forces and women are alleged to have been raped by them.

Our brave humanitarians say they will confront Minawi about these accusations and see what he has to say for himself. They say they will withhold their support for him until he honors the ceasefire.

Minawi and his group finally arrive, and everyone is immediately kissing a**. "Oh, Mr. Minawi, we're so glad to have you with us today". Everyone wants to shake his hand.

Down to business. Everyone asks political questions, about the situation in Sudan, how to implement the Darfur Peace Agreement, blah blah blah. But nobody is asking about the civilians who are being attacked, and raped, and murdered. Minawi says he is very glad to have the humanitarian agencies working in Darfur, that they are needed to help and protect the people. But nobody says, "What about you, Mr. Minawi, what are you doing to protect the people? How about not raping and murdering them?" Nobody urges him to comply with international humanitarian law. Nobody says that our community won't support him until he honors the ceasefire.

Finally a woman from a human rights organization asks him about a report that several of his soldiers raped some women near Tawila. Minawi says that he investigated, and that the reports were untrue and were made up by his enemies to make the SLA look bad. Of course. My colleagues scribble in their notebooks; no one challenges him.

Minawi says the Sudanese government should compensate the people of Darfur for violations of human rights which they have suffered at the government's hands. Nobody brings up the violations he has committed.

Finally the meeting is over. Everyone wants to shake his hand again, give him their business cards.

Call me naive, but sucking up to war criminals was not what I had in mind when I decided to work in this field.