Darfur

Over the past week, the NYU campus has been covered by fliers urging students to go to the Save Darfur Rally at Central Park tomorrow afternoon. For those who might know, the region of Darfur in Sudan has been the site of immense violence over the past few years. Some estimate that close to 1/2 million people have been killed and more than 2 million civillians have fled their homes. The rally is being held in order encourage world leaders, specifically US President George Bush and UN Secretary General Koffi Anan to intervene.

This story also has an international aspect relating to China. The Washington Times ran an editorial a couple weeks ago claiming that Darfur is exposing Chinese hypocrisy. China holds enormous leverage over Sudan due to its investment in Sudanese oil fields. And, despite Wang Guangya, China's UN representative to the UN, claim that China supports sending peacekeepers to Sudan, they have been lobbying against the resolution to send in peacekeepers.