By IRNA
London : A coalition of over 20 Muslim groups Friday urged the Arab League, meeting in Damascus, to do more to address the killings in Darfur.
“Arab nations must take a stand to prove their claim that they are not taking ‘ethnic sides’ in the violence in Darfur,” said head of research at the London based Islamic Human Rights Commission Arzu Merali.
“The voice of Arab populations that have deplored the 200,000 deaths of Darfurians needs to be heard by their governments and acted upon,” Merali said.
“Today we urge the Arab League to act urgently to address the crisis by contributing more aid, demanding an end to the obstruction of peacekeepers, supporting a real ceasefire and promoting the peace process,” he said.
In an open letter that was delivered to the Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa earlier this week, the international and national Muslim groups criticized the lack of attention paid to the ongoing crisis in Darfur.
“The crisis has cost the lives of at least 200,000 Muslims yet has not yet captured the attention of the Muslim world in the way that it should,” they said.
Their letter acknowledged that intervening in a member state’s internal affairs was difficult but said that “recognizing the gravity of the situation, it becomes incumbent on organisations like the Arab League to find a viable solution.”
The coalition included such British groups as Friends of Al-Aqsa, Muslim Aid and Islamic Aid as well as Islamic organizations from other countries, including Pakistan, Germany, Malaysia, Iran, Turkey, the US, Australia and Bahrain.