Holocaust scholars praise Uganda for stance on Darfur

Uganda's decision to block Sudan's president from attending a conference in Uganda this weekend drew praise from leading Holocaust scholars from around the world, who support Omar al-Bashir's isolation for his role in the Darfur genocide.

The scholars - including Yad Vashem Professor Yehuda Bauer and the president of Genocide Watch, Gregory H. Stanton - signed a petition praising the move.

"During the Holocaust, the international community failed to act," said cosignatory Dr. Rafael Medoff.

"By contrast, Uganda's action helps isolate Sudan's president and shames the Arab and African countries that have given him red-carpet treatment," concluded Medoff, director of the Washington-based David S. Wyman Institute for Holocaust Studies, which organized the petition.

Bashir, who has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for his role in Darfur, had planned to attend the Smart Partnership conference in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, today until the recent announcement by Uganda Foreign Minister Henry Okello that Bashir could be arrested if he showed up.

In recent months, Bashir has visited Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, and Eritrea, all of which ignored the ICC warrant for Bashir's arrest.

According to a British parliamentary report, some 300,000 people have died in Darfur in western Sudan, where army troops and government-backed militias are said to be targeting and killing civilians.