Spectacular extravaganza highlighted the emerging sun rays on Saturday as the world wages global campaign for action against social and political injustices in Africa. The music was resonated harmoniously across the globe. Entertainment did not disappoint the satisfaction of everybody. The message of recycling the event occurred 20 years a go was much stronger than the will of eradicating the social and political evils in Africa. It would not have been more inappropriate if the aim behind this global event was to raise awareness of the people about their leaders who turn blind eyes to the crimes against humanity and willingly permit those social and mainly political injustices to perpetuate.

Many hollow words have been uttered and several promises have been made, through out the history, by the leaders, including G8 leaders, who say but do not show commitment to bringing about what they promise. Serious violation of human rights, poverty, inequality and injustice in Africa have not been new items in the lexical inventory of the powerful leaders. Yet, no serious efforts have been exerted to reduce the scale of the eminent threats to the humanity. G8 leaders undoubtedly have the power to change the history of misery but the will to do so comes at the bottom of their top1000 list.

30,000 children are dying daily due to the harshness of man made evils, poverty, wars and corruption. In reality, the number is much higher than what has been estimated. If the mortality rate of Darfur children was added, the figure would have definitely gone spirally upward. The mortality rate in Darfur, after sharp decline, represents at the minimum 10,000 death per day, excluding the death rate of people in inaccessible areas. In addition to poverty, the high death rate in Darfur was mainly caused by the Sudanese regime and it’s allied Janjaweed militias by burning and killing the innocent children, women and men. Nonetheless, still some institutions of G8 nations do business as usual and willingly shake hands with the promoters of the culture of impunity and genocide in Darfur who persist committing crimes against humanity and war crimes.

“… as long as poverty, injustice and gross inequality persist in our world, none of us can truly rest.” so echoed the advice of the former president of South Africa Nelson Mandela during his speech of Live 8 in Johannesburg. Indeed, these illness affect all Africans except the members of the corrupt and totalitarian regimes. The message of AU summit should not only be concentrated on debt cancellation and more aid from G8, but be focused on convincing the world how African leaders should curb corruption, denounce conflicts and cooperate to bring leaders who commit war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice. Without the initiative from a few decent AU leaders, the fear lies in the fact that the more aid, if the G8 promises to delivery, will not reach those 30,000 children but end up in the pockets of the majority corrupt leaders and human rights abusers .
"The violence in Darfur region is clearly genocide," Bush said, addressing a group of Africa policy experts at a government art gallery. "The human cost is beyond calculation." Could Mr. Bush and his other G7 friends be courageous enough to save some lives of Darfur children being killed, women being raped and mass atrocities being carried out by the Khartoum regime and it’s Janjaweed militias? As UN chief Kofi Annan said Friday that history will probably judge that the international community had been slow to respond to the crisis in Darfur and had learned nothing from the genocide in Rwanda, it will defintely judge the leaders of G8 even more harshly in refusing to stop and prevent the bloodshed.

The sooner G8 leaders stop helping the corrupt AU leaders, reject providing them with military equipments, refrain harmonizing with human rights abusers and actively act in holding accountable those who commit crimes against humanity and war crimes, the best service they would ever offer to eradicate poverty and injustices in Africa and worldwide. Combating evil imbued in some African corrupt leaders and combating the inclination of powerful leaders in pleasing the few corrupt African leaders will generate sustainable development and a sound method of eradicating poverty, senseless wars and preventable social injustices

Ahmed M. Mohamedain
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