Causecast

by CLAIRE GRINTON, Contributing Writer

Propaganda has a long history in times of both war and peace; this time it’s gone high-tech. A new website posted by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has many outraged at the audacity of the President to so glibly ignore the violence in Darfur and feign innocence.

President al-Bashir was arrested in July of 2008 for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity for his role in the extreme violence that has racked Darfur, but was not prosecuted due to "insufficient evidence." Despite the well-documented, violent conflicts between the Janjaweed militia and a number of groups including the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), al-Bashir remains a candidate for the 2010 Presidential election, running against the current leader of the SPLA, Vice President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Many feel al-Bashir’s new website isn’t speaking to his constituents so much, perhaps because they know that an olive branch logo and fancy sound clips won’t distract them from the violence in their own backyard. No, the site seems to be working to garner sympathy and support from the wider world, as evidenced by its English text. According to the site, al-Bashir’s priorities are “freedom, development, peace.” The headlines speak of his positive actions, though admittedly any candidate would do the same, but the difference is that the stories al-Bashir leaves out are ones of death, destruction, and displacement. Americans took offense at the words of Obama’s pastor; just imagine if Obama had 20 years of genocide under his belt before he ran for President.

Al-Bashir is not alone in using the internet and some heavy-handed PR in attempt to sway the public opinion, his running mate is using the same tactic.

If you’re not buying al-Bashir’s PR stunt, here’s what you can do:

• Stay informed about the violence in Darfur with the help of sites like change.org’s Daily Darfur and Save Darfur.

• Sign the petition to urge Obama to make Darfur a priority in his upcoming trip to the East.

• The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir in March of 2009 with seven counts against him. Talk to your community about the violence in Darfur and help raise awareness for al-Bashir’s crimes, so that we may eventually hold him responsible and keep him from continuing on as a leader in Sudan.