Evidence of Sudanese government malfeasance piles on, while A.U. delays decision on troops

In an ominous development, Amnesty International reports that:

"Scores of people have been arrested since the end of June 2004 in various parts of Darfur for talking to foreign government leaders, including US Secretary of State Colin Powell and French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier, members of the African Union (AU) Ceasefire Commission and independent journalists or for speaking out on the crisis in Darfur."

This ads to the piling on of evidence that Sudan cannot be trusted to resolve the crisis internally. As U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) noted yesterday, even the threat of sanctions probably won't do much, since, "The government of Sudan simply can operate without the impact of those sanctions being felt." Frist visited the region over the weekend and remains convinced that the European Union is wrong in declining to call the situation genocide. Interestingly, that puts the senior Republican in the Senate at odds with the White House, which continues to demur on the g-word. Frist also said, "The Janjaweed, based on my observations, are not just supported by the government, but appear to be a direct arm of the government."

Unfortunately, the African Union yesterday decided to delay a decision about whether to send in a force of 2,000 troops. As reported here, according to an A.U. spokesman, A.U. Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare "is still working on the modalities and the mandate of the (planned) peacekeeping force in Darfur and once he finalises them he will formally present them to both parties for their comments and opinions."