OPINION> Commentary
Time they changed these biased views
By Dai Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-07-16 07:38

Darfur has once again been pushed under the spotlight of Western media.

On Monday, BBC falsely alleged in one of its recent documentaries that "China has violated the UN arms embargo in Darfur" .

However, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report, issued in March, said China accounted for only 8 percent of Sudan's arms imports from 2003 to 2007.

Meanwhile, some Western countries have traditionally been supplying arms to African countries, and they far outweigh China's in terms of both quantity and quality.

Why does the Western media continuously try to taint China's image with the Darfur issue? What on earth is the Darfur issue?

First, it is an internal affair of the sovereign government of Sudan. The issue has complicated origins, which will take time and effort to be resolved.

Second, the so-called ethnic genocide does not exist. In the end of 2004, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan sent a delegation of genocide investigators to Darfur and the conclusion was that what happened there was a humanitarian crisis.

Third, the root cause of the Darfur issue is poverty and lack of development.

Global warming has deteriorated the environment in the region, making it drier and enlarging desert. Competitions for water finally led to conflicts between local tribes.

Therefore, the fundamental approach to resolving the issue lies in the international community's cooperation in promoting regional development and stability, rather than in blaming others.

However, the Western media seems endlessly unsatisfied with what China does to help end the conflicts in the region.

China has been highly concerned about the Darfur issue and has been actively promoting dialogue through leadership visit, envoy exchange and UN coordination.

So far, China has provided material aid worth 80 million yuan to Sudan.

Just tonight, a second batch of Chinese peacekeepers will head for Darfur, and the first group of 143 engineers has already been dispatched to Darfur since November last year.

Choosing to be blind to China's efforts to ease conflicts in Darfur, some Western human rights groups and media outlets have been condemning China on the issue.

Earlier this year, under pressure of some human rights groups, Hollywood director Steven Spielberg announced his decision to quit as the artistic advisor to the Beijing 2008 Olympics due to "China's attitude toward Sudan". Now they seem to make fresh efforts to play up the Darfur issue by stirring new troubles.

But if some people always cry wolf, how much can they be trusted?

The author is a former Chinese diplomat and Beijing-based researcher

(China Daily 07/16/2008 page9)