Sudan Armed by China and Russia

Posted by Sean Sinclair-Day May 9, 2007

On May 8, 2007, Amnesty International (AI) published a detailed report accusing China and Russia of continuing to violate a United Nations (UN) arms embargo by supplying Sudan with weapons. The arms, AI claims, are used in military operations carried out in Darfur by Janjaweed forces and militant opposition groups. China and Russia, both permanent members of the UN Security Council, deny the allegations.

Amongst the most alarming charges in the report is the claim that the Sudanese government is using three Russian-made Antonov-26 aircrafts painted white to resemble UN planes. With the aircrafts, the government has been moving military equipment into Darfur in addition to bombing targets and conducting surveillance on villages in the region. If this is true, it is a most ignominious act by the Sudanese to cloak themselves as the agents of an international human rights organization in order to further the goals of their genocidal campaign.

Although China and Russia refute Amnesty's assertions, their domestic human rights records are hardly stellar. The high profile deaths of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and former FSB spy, Alexander Litvinenko, have brought even greater suspicion onto the Kremlin while any glossing of the AI or Human Rights Watch sites reveal the oppressive nature of the Chinese communist leaders. China and Sudan have become close allies during recent years as Khartoum continues to satisfy Beijing's energy lust with African oil. In turn, China has promised to lend Sudan its veto power whenever the Security Council drafts a resolution that is contrary to the wishes of dictator, Omar al-Bashir.

The cost of human life in Darfur is usually estimated at 200,000 people with another 2.5 million displaced due to violence. Rape has also been called a weapon of the conflict, but it would be hard to accuse China and Russia of that. The effects of the crisis have spread beyond Sudan's borders into neighbouring Chad and Central African Republic. Amnesty created their report through data from "independent specialists" and eyewitness accounts of those who have been in the region.

See the full AI report here.