Global Day for Darfur - A Prayer

In a statement today, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said "as we pray for Darfur today, we are all under judgment in how we exercise the power we have, whether it is great or small." In his prayer, he said:

"Heavenly Father, we pray for those whose lives are lived on the margins of nations and suffer from the wars that others fight around them. We pray for the warring factions, that they may see themselves under the gaze of God and those who suffer for their cause.

"We pray for the peoples of Darfur who are haunted by fear of violence, hunger and hopelessness, that they may continue to be fed, visited and defended. We pray for the work of peacekeepers, negotiators and the humanitarian organizations that security may prevail.

"We pray for the government of Sudan and for her unity. We pray for peace in the name of him who is the prince of peace, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Source: AP via Mainichi 16 Sep 2006.
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Photo: African sunset. Taken by Sudanese photographer Vit Hassan from ship, during his journey to southern Sudan.
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Sudan leader says doesn't want UN force in Darfur

Today, Sudanese President al-Bashir said at a news conference during the Non-Aligned Summit in Cuba:

"We don't want the United Nations back to Sudan no matter the conditions. We have met with Kofi Annan and we have clarified in detail that we reject the decision of the Security Council."

Bashir said Sudan had forged close trading links with Pakistan, India, China and Malaysia and was in a position to survive any sanctions against it. He also praised Cuba for having lived through more than 40 years of US sanctions.

Source: Reuters Matthew Bigg via WP 16 Sep 2006.
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There can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur

Aljazeera 17 Sep 2006 :

The Sudanese president said ... "Justice is and remains our objective but through diplomatic, political and other means ... that's why we reject this position."

Annan urged the government of Sudan to accept the UN Security Council's decision to replace the largely ineffective African Union force in Darfur with better-equipped UN peacekeepers.

He said: "There can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur.

"All parties should have understood by now, after so much death and destruction that only a political agreement, in which all stakeholders are fully engaged, can bring real peace to the region."

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Sudan militia rallies against UN troops for Darfur

Reuters Cynthia Johnston via WP 16 Sep 2006:

More than 1,000 volunteer fighters from Sudan's Popular Defense Forces rallied in Khartoum on Saturday vowing to treat any UN force in Darfur as an invading army that would be in a state of war with Sudan.

The volunteers, from Sudan's official PDF militia, danced to nationalistic folk music and chanted "God is Greatest." Some wore masks over their faces, while others wore military-style fatigues.

"We consider any army that enters Sudan as an invading army, even if the order was from the United Nations," Ahmed Bilal Osman, a presidential adviser, told the crowd of PDF volunteers.

"Any country that takes part in this invasion force will enter into a state of war with Sudan."

"We say to any Western country that comes to Sudan that this will be its graveyard," said Abdullah Mohammed Ali, a 30-year-old PDF volunteer dressed in a green uniform.

"We can solve our problems by ourselves, and we think any intervention is to control Sudan. We will defend against it."

Rebels have accused the PDF, a paramilitary force used to reinforce the armed forces during times of war, of being behind some atrocities in Darfur. The Sudanese army denies they are involved in any wrong-doing.

The PDF volunteers, who came to the rally at the Popular Defense Forces Khartoum headquarters unarmed, included veiled women and older men, and organisers said some had travelled from across the country to attend the rally in the Sudanese capital.

Some at the rally waved Islamic prayer beads in their hands as they danced in the courtyard of the Popular Defense Forces Khartoum headquarters. Others waved 'V' for victory signs and chanted: "March, march, Bashir."

"This battle that they will open upon us, they shouldn't think that we will greet it in a regular war, or that we will wait for them to take up positions or entrench themselves," said Kamal al-Din Ibrahim, general coordinator of the PDF.

"We will determine the place of the war. We will determine the timing of the war," he said.

"We are prepared for any foreign force that enters Sudan," said Ahmed Aboul Qassem, a PDF volunteer at the rally. "We have more than one million ready and trained in all weaponry, even swords and knives."

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Sudan FM demands support for Abuja deal instead of UN force

KUNA 16 Sep 2006:

The best thing the international community can do for Sudan is to support the Abuja peace deal on Darfur instead of planning for deploying international forces, Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Samani Al-Wasila stressed Saturday.

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Yet another Gandhi quote



When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they can seem invincible but in the end they always fall. Think on it. ..always.

- Mahatma Gandhi

Source: Both Sides Now 30 July 2006