Darfur is Dying has a rather unique way to immerse people into the problems in the Sudan. It’s an interactive flash game, where you (the player) control a family and have to forage for water, grow food, and keep from getting killed by roving bands of militia and janjaweed.
Rwanda genocide suspects in UK
According to the Independent, at least three suspects in the Rwandan genocide are living in the UK. Among them is Celestin Ugirashebuja, a former mayor, who reportedly incited his community to kill hundreds of Tutsis.
To date, he has not been arrested or interviewed about the allegations against him. The 55-year-old former mayor of the rural commune of Kigoma, close to Kigali, the Rwandan capital, is one of at least three suspects known to be living in the UK whose names appear on a list of the 100 most-wanted genocide suspects issued by Rwanda.
The document claims Ugirashebuja had a “direct hand” in five separate massacres and individual killings. When asked at his home about the allegations, Ugirashebuja denied his involvement and said they were part of plot against him. He said: “It is all lies. We are people of God. They [the Rwandan government] want to kill all Hutus in England. It is all lies against me.”
Oddly enough, it seems that the reason that Britain is dragging its feet in extraditing Ugirashebuja has to do with their war crimes law. Apparently, the current law applies prosecuting Nazis, but not Rwandans.
Turkish novelist awaits trial
Elif Shafak, a Turkish author and professor at the University of Arizona, is currently awaiting trial in Istanbul after her recent novel – The Bastard of Istanbul – was questioned for its Turkishness. The main sticking point in Shafak’s book is how she describes the persecution and slaughter of the Armenian people in 1915.
At present, the Turkish law (Article 301) states that “a person who publicly denigrates Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, shall be punishable by imprisonment of between six months and three years.” Even though the International Association of Genocide Scholars has defined the nearly 1.5 million Armenian deaths as genocide, the Turkish government has long held that it wasn’t.
Darfur Petition
OSMOSIS has just put out the call for a petition drive for anyone who’s interested in encouraging Congress to enact H Res 723. As I wrote last week, Genocide Intervention Network has an alert posted outlining the current situation and providing links to the bill.
Amy provides contact information on her site if you’re in the area. If you’re not local, and you want to start this petition in your city, all you have to do is:
grab a copy of the petition
collect signatures
send the petition to your Representative
How easy is that? If you’re not sure who your Representative is, you can find out by visiting the House of Representative’s website.
Unlike other petitions that focus on self-crafted “calls to action,” this petition is merely showing your support for an existing bill. This will be followed shortly with a letter writing campaign.
Shooting Dogs (July 31)
According to their website, Shooting Dogs is scheduled to be released on DVD on July 31. The film is based on the true story of a priest and teacher who find themselves in the middle of the Rwandan genocide.
From allAfrica.com:
Captured mainly from the viewpoints of two British settlers — an idealistic young teacher and a world-weary priest — the film’s central tension is not borne from how, but rather how long, the main characters will stand by as thousands of Rwandans take refuge in their secondary school amid the maelstrom of civil war.
As an aside, the logline is excellent — 1994, 800,000 killed in 100 days. Would you risk your life to make a difference?