EU faulted in Darfur violence

BERLIN, March 24 (UPI) -- Europe's literati denounced the nations of the European Union for failing to bring about peace in the Sudan's war-torn Darfur region.

In a letter to 27 EU leaders gathered in Berlin for a weekend of events celebrating the single market that began 50 years ago, a group of 10 intellectuals demanded that the union impose the "most stringent sanctions" on the leaders of Sudan, The (London) Independent said Saturday.

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003 and another 2.5 million people have been displaced by the fighting that has been described as genocide. There is little to celebrate, the writers said, as long was the violence continues.

"Has the European Union -- born of atrocity to unite against further atrocity -- no word to utter, no principle to act on, no action to take, in order to prevent these massacres in Darfur?" the writers asked.

Signing were Sir Tom Stoppard, Seamus Heaney, Sir Harold Pinter, Dario Fo, Gunter Grass, Umberto Eco, Bernard-Henri Levy, Franca Rame and Vaslav Havel.

The EU gathering marks the formation of the first European consortium with the 1957 Treaty of Rome. The festivities include a banquet, street party, fireworks and music.