Gillian Gibbons is free but two-and-a-half million Darfuris remain refugees from the Khartoum regime

Gillian Gibbons - the 'Teddy Teacher' - has been released and thank God for that.  Credit to Sayeeda Warsi for her part in helping to negotiate her release.

I only wish that as much attention had been paid to the injustice of Ms Gibbons' situiation as should be paid to the much greater outrages taking place in Sudan.

After Rwanda the world said "never again" but at least 200,000 people - possibly as many as 400,000 - have died in the Darfur region of this country.  But the peacekeeping force promised by the world to protect the refugees from the conflict has only reached a quarter to a third of the promised strength.  None of the 24 helicopters needed as "force-multipliers" have been provided.

Baroness Cox told Radio 4 last week that people are being forced to convert to Islam in return for desperately needed aid.

The Khartoum regime - propped up by China - is odious.  Sudan's President (pictured) deserves no thanks for his pardon.

If you want to make a small contribution to Darfur please visit Aegis' Fund for Darfur.

Comments

[Votedave]

It is obviously great news that Gillian Gibbons is free, but she should never have been arrested in the first place.

That ugly mob of protestors deserve to be charged with incitement to murder and possessing offensive weapons.

Never go to Sudan.

[Umbrella man]

Not one helicopter.

The "civilised world" (stress on the inverted commas) should be ashamed of itself.

[Andrew Lilico]

If we had dealt with Sudan years ago - as we should have done - we wouldn't be facing ridiculous things like our citizens being arrested for the way that teddy bears are named. Dafur is a disgrace upon the West - in Kosovo, in a virtually identical situation, we acted swiftly and decisively. In Sudan, we have left the refugees in their misery, despair and death for years. The difference? Oh, yes - the Kosovans happen to have pink skins, so we care what happens to them. If your skin is dark brown then of course we *expect* you to spend your time massacring or being massacred. That's what dark-skinned people do, isn't it? It's none of our business. If something is to be done it must be an *African* solution. For, of course, it's much more to do with people living thousands of miles away in Johannesburg or Lagos - they're all "Africans", aren't they? All the same.

Well, no, frankly. It's no more to do with people in Johannesburg or Lagos than it is to do with us. And it is entirely unreasonable for us, as wealthy people with power and military strength, to expect poor and poorly organized states to send their armed forces to sort out matters in Dafur when we refuse to do so ourselves. African solutions are a racist delusion that we should have got past a long time ago. "Africa" is not one thing such that we should expect "them" all to work together.

If we want a job done properly, we must do it ourselves.

[Iain]

I hope that we...

Firstly, won't feel grateful to this regime just because they let Mrs Gibbons go, especially as they took her hostage in the first place!

Secondly, in light of the release, we will not forget to scrutinise the Milliband and the Foreign Office, who have been shown up as right chumps by this regime.

Thirdly, will make the regime pay for their abuse of our citizen, whether its stopping the 2,000 visas we issue to Sudanese people, cutting our diplomatic staff and telling them to cut their embassy staff here, slashing the Aid we given them and redirect to the Christian south which the Khartoum regime is abusing, or proactively support the African forces in Darfur, or all of the above, but above all make dammed sure despots sees there is a price to pay when messing with us. For right now, the pussy footing incompetence of the Foreign Office, is endangering all British people abroad, as the British state fails to support its people and leaves them as easy targets for any jumped up despot wanting to make a name for themselves.

PS Has the Foreign Office got our boats back from Iran yet?

[Comstock]

"If we want a job done properly, we must do it ourselves."

Like we did a 'proper' job in Iraq you mean? Or like the USA did a 'proper' job in Vietnam?

Odious or not, this regime has freed and pardoned this woman in double quick time and revenge now would be massively counter-productive. We've enough enemies in the world for a nation double our size- we don't need any more ta very much!!

[Shunem]

British citizens should not waste their skills on these lunatics

Let us go where were wanted its not that the rest of Africa doesn't need the help

[Sam R]

Why should Mrs. Gibbons have to accept a pardon when,in the eyes of all sane people, she did nothing wrong?
And why should our two Peers have to sit around for two days for that odious man to deign to meet them?

[Get real]

I am surprised that nobody has commented that Mrs Gibbons was very stupid to call the bear Mohammed. She should not have been arrested but I have little sympathy for her whilst so many Darfuris suffer.

As for the Peers, they have allowed themselves to be cynically used by another Totalitarian regime. They fell into a well laid trap and deserve contempt rather than thanks.

[Iain]

"I am surprised that nobody has commented that Mrs Gibbons was very stupid to call the bear Mohammed. "

Then her Muslim class assistant must certifiably stupid!

[Daily Referendum]

Cabinet minister Peter Hain has said more donations to his Labour deputy leadership campaign "were not registered as they should have been".

[Malcolm Dunn]

Comstock what is wrong with halting aid to these people,banning them from travelling to Britain under any circumstances, throwing their useless embassy out and helping support the rebels in Darfur not with useless words but with training and weapons which will prevent them being slaughtered like rabbits as happens at the moment.
I doubt if our clueless Foreign Sec will do any of these things but he would earn my respect if he did.

[Rod Sellers]

More humiliation for 'Her Brittanic Majesty' The Sudanese have always been as mad as hatters and do-gooding primary teachers would be well advised to stay well away.

Unless we can send a Gun Boat when the need arises we should stop trying to spread democracy around the world and concentrate on propping up our own shambolic country.

[Comstock]

"Comstock what is wrong with halting aid to these people,banning them from travelling to Britain under any circumstances, throwing their useless embassy out"

You think this would have been solved quicker if we didn't have diplomatic ties with the country?

She was freed and pardoned within four days, far far quicker than any other case I can remember. You think we should reward this by halting aid and cutting ties?

[Malcolm Dunn]

We shouldn't be 'rewarding' anybody.Gillian Gibbons should never have been arrested! She would not have been in any civilised place. The people and government of Sudan should be punished for their bestial behaviour to Mrs Gibbons and in Darfur.

[Comstock]

It's time to agree to disagree on the Gibbons case, Malcolm.

As for Darfur I don't really know much about it. Oddly enough I think we have a speaker on the subject at my monthly knees up for Derby lefties on Wednesday night so I should know more about it soon.

[Get real]

"Derby lefties".

Labour and County will both be "relegated" as Gordon Brown and Paul Jewell are losers. Poor Comstock! He also is stuck with Margaret "caravan" Beckett. It almost makes you feel sorry him. Hmmm... not really - LOL!!

[Richard Carey]

Secondly, in light of the release, we will not forget to scrutinise the Milliband and the Foreign Office, who have been shown up as right chumps by this regime.

I quite agree - firstly, we all owe thanks to the independent cross-party Parliamentary delegation to Sudan who played a key role in helping secure this release. It was interesting that the media made much of the fact that "the Embassy there is doing everything it can to assist them" - we had heard very little about what they were doing before. I hope very much that one of our colleagues in Parliament will table a question asking for a "tick-tock" of the FCO actions in this case.

Secondly, yesterday was quite possibly the first time that I have agreed with a Sun journalist about anything. Kelvin MacKenzie, reviewing the Sunday papers for Sky, referred to the response from our weak Prime Minister and our ludicrous, juvenile Foreign Secretary (I may be paraphrasing, I don't have the exact quote to hand...)

Gordon Brown came to power promising a government that was on peoples' side, not on their backs (at which point a colleague texted me to ask if I was working for the Brown leadership campaign!...)

Instead I have a government that is intent on my carrying an ID card in my own country, but will not act decisively if I as a British citizen am unfairly imprisoned abroad. Weak, weak, weak...

[Get real]

I agree with Richard Carey. Milliband was willing to travel to the US to adopt (US adoption law is more liberal) but will not travel to Sudan on government business.

[Andrew Lilico]

BTW, (a) Kosovo was not a UN operation. Neither was the British operation in Sierra Leone. If the UN objected to a UK/France operation in Dafur, we should not care one bit. (b) I don't accept that we lack the resources to be involved. It is a matter of will - it could be as messy as Iraq, or as clean as Sierra Leone. Before one acts one cannot say.

[Andrew Lilico]

BTW, (a) Kosovo was not a UN operation. Neither was the British operation in Sierra Leone. If the UN objected to a UK/France operation in Dafur, we should not care one bit. (b) I don't accept that we lack the resources to be involved. It is a matter of will - it could be as messy as Iraq, or as clean as Sierra Leone. Before one acts one cannot say.

[Steevo]

"More humiliation for 'Her Brittanic Majesty' The Sudanese have always been as mad as hatters and do-gooding primary teachers would be well advised to stay well away."

You shouldn't assume this comes down to humiliation. Most in the West can see through this same ole fanaticism. Its understood we cannot always retaliate in foreign nations. I'm in America and I don't see people looking down as a result of this. Its happened to us in one form or another many times. Realistically there's just so much that can be done and most countries would've attempted to solve this the same way... through ridiculous diplomacy, if it sooths Muslim pride and saves your citizen.

[Iain]

"through ridiculous diplomacy, if it sooths Muslim pride and saves your citizen."

It should never have got to that point, for the FO should have been reading the riot act to them and what it was going to cost them right from the outset. Instead what we got was a weak and feeble response from the FO, Miliband's press release was truly pathetic....

'I reaffirmed that the British Government fully respects the faith of Islam and Britain has a longstanding tradition of religious tolerance. There is a large Muslim population in the United Kingdom who make a major contribution to our national life. Britain has also enjoyed close relations with Sudan for many years based on our mutual respect for each other’s religious and cultural values."

Wow that was telling them!

But as we saw within hours of the FO calling the Sudanese Ambassador to the FO , the teacher had been convicted and Miliband had to call the Sudanese ambassador back to the FO.

I am afraid to say when ever the FO is 'negotiating' on our behalf the only debate is whether the FO rolls over or bends over. If the FO had had its way we would have withdrawn from the Falklands with our tails between our legs. Whenever the FO negotiates in the EU, it just becomes a matter of what Sovereignty they conspire to concede and how much its going to cost us, and now we can add to the FO’s hall of shame, Iran taking our sailors hostage, and the Teddy affair.

The problem is though the FO might be a place to send a bunch of wahs from Oxbridge and Cambridge who don’t have much of a sense of career so that they can while away their days on this job creation scheme. But their failure to defend British people and our interests becomes a dangerous liability to all of us, for any budding despot would have clearly seen our toothless response to Iran taking our sailors hostage and now this, and see that messing with British citizens comes without any cost to them.

Essentially I can’t help but feel that the FO’s ‘diplomatic pragmatism’ has morphed into just another form of cowardice, and that is dangerous for all of us!