International Sudanese Peace MeetUp Day: September 6 - Sudan's FM to visit Japan Sep 5-9 for talks on Darfur crisis

Over the past few days I have set up two more blogs: Congo Watch and Uganda Watch -- and copied over several of my posts from the Passion into Sudan Watch blog. They are my new electronic filing cabinets so this main blog does not get swamped with posts about Africa. Also, my blog A Breath of Hope, I am keeping for my posts on M.E. I've installed sitemeters but not inserted any links in the sidebars. In time to come, I hope to have all of the blogs in the same style as this one -- after it has had a few new tweaks. I'd like the font slightly larger, the text column slightly broader and the whole page wider and more in the centre of the screen - and the blue highlights to links toned down. On my screen, this blog sits to the far left of the page - the other half of my screen is blank. Other blogs fill the whole screen.

Setting up these blogs has taken time. And been a little hard going, because a friend -- who thinks what I am doing re Sudan is a complete waste of time -- told me again yesterday to forget about the Sudan and concentrate on something that is achievable. I don't have proof -- but believe what we are doing has had an effect. Exactly what, is too long to go into here right now. Have to leave it for another day. Note this article that wonders how Darfur and not Congo got all the attention - it is entitled "Scramble for Resources in DRC Leads to Massive Deaths, But Scant Attention".

Well here's some proof that blogging about the Sudan is not a complete waste of time: a few days ago I received an email from a chap in America who teaches world history -- asking for permission to use some of the Sudan material in my main blog. He wanted to use it for teaching his students. I wrote back encouraging him and his students to start a blog where they could post their project material -- it would be a fun way for them to learn and hone computing skills. He replied saying he would look into starting a blog.
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Warm thanks to Nick for leaving a comment at my main blog 'me and ophelia' advising that September 6 is International Sudanese Peace MeetUp day. Nick's written a neat post on Google talking. I played around with Google talk: keyed in 'Passion of the Present' which came up with: sudan The song Sudan; my name brought up Political Science; Nick's name produced Student's Guide. Heh. Ophelia got "New York County, Government agencies and other Voices".

Here below is a copy of a comment I left at Finalvent - together with news that Sudan's FM Ismail is to visit Japan Sept 5-9 for talks on the Darfur crisis (which means he'll be in Japan on the International Sudanese Peace day: September 6) - and Finalvent's response.
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Hello finalvent, I found your blog in the sidebar at Passion of the Present. Thought you might like to see a copy, here below, of a report in the Sudan Tribune today. Also, someone just emailed me to say Meetup.com is reporting September 6 is International Sudanese Peace Meetup day... I don't know if it's coordinated by another group or this is just a monthly, smaller event. I'll treat Sept 6 as a global "virtual" meetup day and aim to do a post that links to you in Japan from England and to Passion of the Present in the USA and other blogs I know of in Canada, Australia, Malaysia. What about China and Russia -- do you know of any bloggers writing about the Sudan there? If I link to you, will you know via Technorati? Seems the bloggers in Malaysia don't get the pings when I link to them. Best wishes from England, UK.
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Hello, Ingrid-san. Thank you for your comment. I think that your suggestion is worth to be read by many Japanese people. I translated it roughly on the new entry.

As you know Japan now seems to hold more than three millions of bloggers (incredible!). Blog communication infrastructure in Japan is ready to easily catch RSS/ATOM, though some ping servers would not work well.

I referred your blog RSS/ATOM:
http://meandophelia.blogspot.com/rss/meandophelia.xml

Since May or June, Japanese journalism began informing Darfur genocide. But Japanese political situation inside is complicated. Human right aware people in Japan seem to be divided into several groups: the major poles are U.S. accepting group and China supporting group. The china group is, I guess, an obstacle for Japanese contribution for Darfur people. They pay too much attention in favor of china national interests. China is suspected to support the Sudan government, hoping to make strong tie to be suppleid with PETROLUEM bypassed from the world oil market.

投稿者: finalvent (8月 28, 2004 10:13 午前)
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SUDAN'S FM TO VISIT JAPAN
Sept 5-9 for talks on Darfur crisis

TOKYO, Aug 27, 2004 (Kyodo) -- Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail will visit Japan Sept 5-9 for talks on the conflict in the African nation's Darfur region, ministry sources said Friday.

Ismail is expected to meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi on what the United Nations says is the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Japanese government has suspended economic assistance to Sudan since 1992 on the grounds of human rights violations by the military junta and still does not believe that circumstances warrant a resumption of such assistance, the sources said.

But Japanese officials are willing to consider emergency or other humanitarian assistance if the Sudanese government makes some progress in resolving the conflict such as disarming militias, the sources said.

There has long been tension in Darfur between Arabs and black Africans.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 1 million have been displaced since February 2003, when African rebels rose against the government, which they say is persecuting them. Arab militias also started assaulting Africans indiscriminately. [end]
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Hijackers force plane to land in Sudan

Here's an odd piece of news today: Hijackers forced a plane carrying about 70 Eritreans from Libya to land in the Sudanese capital on Friday before surrendering to security forces, according to a U.N. refugee agency official.

The plane left southern Libya bound for Eritrea when unidentified hijackers forced the passenger plane to land in Sudan, said Michael Lindenbauer, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees deputy representative in Khartoum.

Note: Like Patrick over at the The Horn of Africa says, things must be pretty bad in Eritrean for its people to want to become refugees in the Sudan.