Dallaire calls for a force in the Sudan

(Hat tip to Philosoraptor.)

Sudan Tribune:

May 5, 2006 (OTTAWA) — Senator Romeo Dallaire, ex-commander of the UN mission during genocide in Rwanda in 1994, beseeched Ottawa to commit Canadian troops to a UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s troubled Darfur region.

"Is the Canadian government trying to step quietly away from the tragedy unfolding in Darfur? It seems so," Dallaire wrote in an open letter published in Canadian newspapers Friday.

He blasted Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government for taking "an abrupt backward step" in its response to the crisis in Sudan since taking office in January.

Canada must "make a comprehensive and long-term commitment to protecting these besieged and destitute individuals," he said.