Actress Mia Farrow calls on Canada and others to take action in Darfur

from AM 940 News

Dene Moore, THE CANADIAN PRESS

MONTREAL - Canada and the rest of the western world have failed the people of Darfur in "deplorable" fashion, actress Mia Farrow said Friday.

Farrow noted Canada's commitment to peacekeeping and said the international community has come to expect Canada to answer a call for help.

"There has been a silence from Canada," Farrow, a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, told reporters following a speech at the Millennium Summit, a gathering aimed at promoting peace and poverty reduction.

"Where are you Canada?"

The actress urged political leaders in Ottawa and around the world to take action.

"Perhaps Stephen Harper has not stood up in the way that he could," she said of the prime minister.

"He is not alone. All of the nations of the world have failed the people of Darfur."

Harper called Farrow's comments completely false.

"Obviously this government has expressed its concerns with respect to Darfur," Harper said.

"Previous governments and our government have done so."

Harper said during a news conference in Ottawa that Canada is one of the largest providers of financial assistance to Darfur and also provides technical assistance to the relief mission.

"In all honesty, is the world doing everything it can? I'm not sure about that. But we are working with our allies in order to help the people and improve the situation," Harper said.

The United Nations estimates at least 200,000 people have been killed in ethnic fighting in Darfur, a region of Sudan. Another estimated 2.5 million have fled to refugee camps, where the attacks continue.

Farrow called the lack of action from the international community "deplorable."

There has been one resolution after another passed by the United Nations yet nothing has changed, she said.

She said China is one of the main international culprits because of the business its state oil companies do in Sudan.

China is "underwriting" the genocide in Darfur, Farrow said, and she encouraged the public to use the upcoming Olympic Games as leverage to force the Asian economic powerhouse to cut ties.

The lineup for the summit also included Nobel laureate Desmond Tutu, actor Michael Douglas and former prime minister Paul Martin.

Tutu recounted some of the world's horrors for the crowd, from the genocide in Rwanda to the current epidemic of HIV-AIDS that is devastating sub-Saharan Africa.

"You wonder what has happened to us human beings that we can do such dastardly acts," said Tutu.

But overall his message was one of hope that appealed to each person to make a difference.

Martin reminded summit delegates that while Canada and Canadians do much to help the poorest of the poor in other countries, little is done to improve the Third World conditions for the aboriginal community here at home.

Native Canadians are two times more likely to live in poverty, have the highest incidence of AIDS and a lower life expectancy, he said.

"The condition of the aboriginal community in Canada is a national disgrace," Martin said.

Douglas, a UN messenger of peace, said prior to his speech that it's easy to become overwhelmed with all the issues facing the world.

But the actor, who champions nuclear disarmament, said people are responding.

"I don't think they don't care," he told reporters.