URGENT MESSAGE to Sir Tim Berners-Lee: The internet belongs to everyone including the Sudanese

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: This is a hastily written post, published without any edit and polish. People in Sudan are suffering after decades of war. Now their internet has been shut for several days. It was hard enough for them to keep going during bombings while managing patchy electricity.

In most parts of Sudan, banks, shops, businesses, churches and infrastructure have been destroyed. The Sudanese depend on the internet to receive money for food, medicine, electricity, calls for news and help. 

Brits gave the English language to the world. A Brit, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, invented the World Wide Web and gave it to the world, free of charge. He gifted it for the benefit of everyone instead of becoming a multi-billionaire.

This post is a direct message to Sir Tim to tell him that the internet has, once again, been shut down in Sudan. Right now, after five days "communication networks are still completely out of service throughout Sudan, except for limited terrestrial internet service in very few areas in some states".

In essence, this is an appeal to Sir Tim, the UK, EU and Mr Elon Musk to restore the internet in Sudan. Millions of lives and livelihoods depend on it. The Sudanese people are terrified of what is going on, why and for how long.

Being cut off from the internet is catastrophic for most of them. They fear heavily armed evildoers carrying out abductions and atrocities in secrecy. 

The world could easily bring satellite communications technology to Africa. Mr Musk could not have created Starlink without the work of Sir Tim.

If anyone reading this knows Sir Tim or Mr Musk please pass it on. Thanks. 

I have taken it upon myself to write this urgent appeal because I am blessed to live safely in England, UK where I enjoy freedom of speech, constant electricity and free blogging technology courtesy of, and hosted by, Google.  

Peace and love, Ingrid x 

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Related

This photo shows the resilience of Sudanese people. All the walls they built, stone by stone, brick by brick. At night the walls were removed by the Sudanese gov't. Next morning the walls would reappear as a silent protest.

Photo: A brick barricade on a street in east Khartoum on Sun Oct 3, 2021. Credit AFP/Getty Images. Source: Sudan Watch, Nov 01, 2021: 

'Sudan’s PM Hamdok well but under house arrest'

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudans-pm-hamdok-well-but-under-house.html

Photo: Another civilian road block in Khartoum, Sudan. Tyres billow black smoke when set on fire. After walls were removed, residents would dig ditches to block roads in their neighbourhoods to RSF militia vehicles. RSF terrorists often stay in/around homes in residential areas to protect themselves from Sudanese army bombardments, thereby endangering local residents. pic.twitter.com/szkxpJfvEL

Source: Sudan Watch, May 29, 2023: 

'Sudan: Dig ditch instead of making wall to block road!'

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2023/05/sudan-dig-ditch-instead-of-making-wall.html

Photo: “This barricade cannot be removed, this barricade is being guarded by men behind it” chant these little boys standing behind their barricade today in one the outskirts of the capital city khart #الردة_مستحيلة 

Source: Sudan Watch, Nov 30, 2021: 

'Sudan protest: “This barricade cannot be removed, This barricade is being guarded by men behind it"' https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudan-protest-this-barricade-cannot-be.html

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HERE is a recent photo from a village in Sudan showing a Starlink satellite receiver atop cardboard boxes with a cable running into war-torn premises.

Source: Cameron Hudson @_hudsonc reposted NabeilShakoor @NabeilShakoor post “Star Link in one of the villages in #النيل_الابيض  #السودان_خارج_التغطية state” 12:24 PM · Feb 10, 2024 https://twitter.com/_hudsonc/status/1756303186661454089

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Image: Hassan Ahmed Berkia @HassanAhmedBerk, a journalist from Khartoum, Sudan writes today (Feb 10, 2024) on X: “All communication networks are still completely out of service throughout Sudan, except for limited terrestrial internet service in very few areas in some states. #Sudan #Sudan_Blackout #Sudan_Out_Of_Coverage  #Sudan_War_Updates #InternetShutdown 7:03 AM · Feb 10, 2024.”

Source: https://twitter.com/HassanAhmedBerk/status/1756212348346335238

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Sir 

Tim Berners-Lee OM KBE FRS FREng FRSA DFBCS RDI in 2014

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee

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Elon Musk FRS in 2022

• Founder, CEO, and chief engineer of SpaceX
• CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.
• Owner and CTO of X, formerly Twitter
• President of the Musk Foundation
• Founder of The Boring Company, X Corp., and xAI
• Co-founder of Neuralink, OpenAI, Zip2, and X.com (part of PayPal)
• Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

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Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by private aerospace company SpaceX,^[3] providing coverage to over 70 countries. It also aims for global mobile phone service after 2023.^[4]

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

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Space Exploration Technologies Corp. commonly referred to as SpaceX, is an American spacecraft manufacturer, launch service provider, defense contractor and satellite communications company headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs and ultimately developing a sustainable colony on Mars. The company currently operates the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets along with the Dragon and Starship spacecraft.

The company offers internet service via its Starlink satellites, which became the largest-ever satellite constellation in January 2020 and as of November 2023 comprised more than 5,000 small satellites in orbit.^[7]

^{Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceX}

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Elon Musk is the second wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$232 billion as of December 2023, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and $182.6  billion according to Forbes, primarily from his ownership stakes in Tesla and SpaceX.^[5][6][7]

He is a citizen of South Africa, Canada and the United States. A member of the wealthy South African Musk family, Elon was born in Pretoria and briefly attended the University of Pretoria before immigrating to Canada at age 18, acquiring citizenship through his Canadian-born mother. 

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elon_Musk

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Photo: Early Starlink user terminal with dish, as shipped in early 2021.  

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

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Photo: Starlink dish on sidewalk of a residential home. 

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

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Photo: Starlink WiFi Router

A wireless router or Wi-Fi router is a device that performs the functions of a router and also includes the functions of a wireless access point. It is used to provide access to the Internet or a private computer network. Depending on the manufacturer and model, it can function in a wired local area network, in a wireless-only LAN, or in a mixed wired and wireless network. 

Source:  Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starlink

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Photo: This NeXT workstation (a NeXTcube, monitor Cern 57503) was used by Tim Berners-Lee as the first Web server on the World Wide Web. It is shown here as displayed in 2005 at Microcosm, the public science museum at CERN where Berners-Lee was working in 1991 when he invented the Web. The document resting on the keyboard is a copy of "CERN DD/OC March 1989 Information Management: A Proposal. Abstract" which was Berners-Lee's original proposal for the World Wide Web. 

(Further text visible: "...distributed hypertext systems, Hypertext, computer conferencing, document retrieval, information management. Project, IBM Group talk, VAX/Notes, CERNDOC, UUCP News, Hierarchical systems".) 

The partly peeled off label on the cube itself has the following text: "This machine is a server. DO NOT POWER IT DOWN!!" The labels on top of the server and on the keyboard read "PROPRIETE CERN" (French for "Cern property"). 

Just below the keyboard (not shown) is a label which reads: "At the end of the 80s, Tim Berners-Lee (TBL) invented the World Wide Web using this Next computer as the first Web server." The book is the enyclopedia in many parts of Robert Kemp Philp, ed.: "Enquire Within upon Everything", London 1856 and later editions, which TBL describes on page one of his book "Weaving the Web. The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web as "a musty old book of Victorian advice I noticed as a child in my parents' house outside London". 

(Text that is almost legible in the high resolution picture: 750. Diuretics, 756. Diaphoretics, 761. Expectorants, 765. Ginger). 

Text at the beginning of Tim Berners-Lee: Weaving the Web, Chapter 1 Enquire Within upon Everything: "When I first began tinkering with a software program that eventually gave rise to the idea of the World Wide Web, I named it Enquire, short for Enquire Within upon Everything, a musty old book of Victorian advice I noticed as a child in my parents' house outside London. With its title suggestive of magic, the book served as a portal to a world of information, everything from how to remove clothing stains to tips on investing money. Not a perfect analogy for the Web, but a primitive starting point. What that first bit of Enquire code led me to was something much larger, a vision encompassing the decentralized, organic growth of ideas, technology and society. The vision I have for the Web is about anything being potentially connected with anything..." 

This is a new upload by Coolcaesar of the original JPEG file on en:September 22, en:2008 directly to Commons in response to continued vandalism of the original.

Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web

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Sudan Watch - Nov 10, 2021

Sudan cuts off internet despite court order to restore

Technology & internet accessibility are a human right. Shutting down an entire country for 16 days is a violation of #humanrights and should be recognised as such. I didn’t speak to my mother & family in 16 days. This in 2021. #InternetShutDown #SudanCoup #Amnestyinternational 

[…] Internet remains largely disrupted in #Sudan for a 16th day after a military coup targeted the transitional civilian government. The shutdown is ongoing despite successful legal intervention and court ruling to restore internet service. 

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudan-cuts-off-internet-despite-court.html

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Sudan Watch - Nov 10, 2021

Sudanese court orders telcos to restore internet

The US Agency for International Development Mission in Sudan said cuts to internet services were a breach of international law and a “suppression of freedom of speech".

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2021/11/sudanese-court-orders-telcos-to-restore.html

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UPDATE on Mon 12 Feb 2024: 

changed italic to non-italic post titles; added spaces in last 3 reports.

END

Sudan: A European-led tripartite meeting in Addis discusses arms embargo on Sudan & Article Seven, ignoring the position of both sides of the conflict

THIS report published in Arabic was kindly sent in to Sudan Watch by a Sudanese reader living and working in the UK over the past twenty years. Here is a copy in full, translated from Arabic by Google translate.

From sudanakhbar.com
By Radio Dabanga Arabic
Dated Friday, 9 February 2024

A European-led tripartite meeting in Addis Ababa discusses the arms embargo on Sudan, the imposition of Article Seven, and ignoring the position of both sides of the conflict - Sudan News

The Darfur Bar Association and the African Centre for Peace and Justice meet with a joint delegation with representatives of the European Union Mission Badis Ayaya

At the request of the Darfur Bar Association and the African Centre for Peace and Justice, a joint delegation met with representatives of the European Union Delegation in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, this morning, February 8, 2024, and the meeting was devoted to consultation on the situation in Sudan and with a focus on stopping the war and the humanitarian situation.

The Army and RSF are not qualified to discuss post-war issues

Mr. Saleh Mahmoud, Chairman of the Darfur Bar Association, described the humanitarian situation as aggravated and worrying, not only in Darfur, but in the whole of Sudan, given the number of people affected, which the most modest statistics indicate exceeds 10 million people.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Mr. Saleh Mahmoud pointed out that the meeting also touched on gross violations of human rights and international law and the continued commission of heinous crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The meeting also touched on the future of the political process after the cessation of the war, as the Darfur Bar Association and the African Center for Peace and Justice confirmed that there is currently no government in Sudan representing all Sudanese to discuss the post-war situation, stressing that the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (Janjaweed Foundation) are not qualified to discuss the situation of Sudan and negotiate that indicates the return of the situation to what it was before the war.

Sudan arms embargo

On ways to stop the war, Mr. Saleh Mahmoud stressed that the discussion touched on the activation of all measures under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights and various international treaties. He pointed to the importance of taking measures related to banning the import of weapons flowing into Sudan as a priority, not dealing with the parties to the war and not for the purpose of negotiations to return them to the position of power again, given that the task of determining how and who will govern Sudan is a task for the Sudanese people.

Mr. Saleh Mahmoud stated that they explained to the representatives of the European Union Mission the possibility of delivering humanitarian aid in a shorter way through Chadian territory for the people of the Darfur region in order to avoid the difficulties facing its flow through the port of Port Sudan as well as to the rest of the affected areas in Sudan. We asked them to think together about ways to deliver aid in the presence of the old state institution that is tainted by corruption that could hinder the delivery of this aid or sell it in the markets to those affected.

Exceeding the consent of the parties to the war

Mr. Saleh Mahmoud warned that the passage of aid in areas controlled by the army or the Rapid Support Forces threatens the possibility of reaching those who deserve it. Mr. Saleh Mahmoud stressed that they called for activating international humanitarian law, especially the articles that allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to those affected without obtaining the consent of the force controlling the ground, whether it is rapid support or armed forces, and the international community and regional institutions in delivering aid should not be subject to the will of the warring parties that do not represent the Sudanese people.

Calling for a greater role for the African Peace and Security Council

Regarding the speech addressed by the African Center for Justice and Peace to the African Peace and Security Council, Musaed Mohamed Ali, director of the center, confirmed in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the message is mainly aimed at stopping the war as a top priority. The letter called on the Peace and Security Council and the African Union to play its role and exert greater efforts to stop the war and stop hostilities in Sudan as soon as possible. In the short term, the letter called on the council to work towards a swift cessation of hostilities to allow the passage of humanitarian aid to those affected who have been displaced inside Souda.

View original: https://www.sudanakhbar.com/1483595

END

UNSC: Briefing on Cooperation between UN and LAS

"The meeting, which is one of the signature events of the June Council Presidency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be chaired by Khalifa Shaheen Almarar, Minister of State at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

It appears that Egypt (on behalf of the Arab Group at the UN) will participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure." Read more.

Report at What's In Blue - securitycouncilreport.org
Dated Wednesday 7 June 2023 - full copy:

Briefing on Cooperation between the UN and the League of Arab States

Tomorrow morning (8 June) the Security Council will convene for a briefing on cooperation between the UN and the League of Arab States (LAS). 

The meeting, which is one of the signature events of the June Council Presidency of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will be chaired by Khalifa Shaheen Almarar, Minister of State at the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. 

The expected briefers are Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo; LAS Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit; and Dr. Omnia El Omrani, who was the Youth Envoy for the President of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 27), held in Sharm El-Sheikh in 2022. 

It appears that Egypt (on behalf of the Arab Group at the UN) will participate under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.

Strengthening partnerships and cooperation with regional and sub-regional organisations—as envisioned in Chapter VIII of the UN Charter—has become an increasingly prominent theme for the Security Council. 

The Council has held annual consultative meetings with the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) since 2007 and has received regular briefings from the EU since 2010. 

It has also held debates and briefings on cooperation with several other bodies, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

In the past decade, LAS representatives have addressed the Council on several occasions, not least due to the proliferation of conflicts in the Arab world. 

In recent years, Arab Council members have featured meetings on the UN-LAS relationship as signature events of their presidencies, including Kuwait in June 2019, Tunisia in January 2021, and the UAE in March 2022. Presidential statements focusing on the relationship between the two organisations were the outcome of these three meetings.

The UAE has circulated a concept note in preparation for tomorrow’s meeting, indicating that the briefing is an opportunity to explore expanding joint efforts to address the interrelated peace, security, and humanitarian challenges facing the Arab region. It poses several questions to help guide the discussion, including:

• How can the Security Council and the LAS enhance their collaboration to promote tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and human fraternity, while aligning their approaches across the peace continuum, from conflict prevention to post-conflict peacebuilding?
• What challenges do donor coordination efforts face in the context of emergency humanitarian crises, and how can the UN and the LAS work together to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of aid delivery in such situations?
• How can the contributions of women and young people in peacebuilding be better acknowledged and supported by the Security Council and the LAS? What actions can be taken to improve the meaningful involvement of women and youth in peace and security initiatives in the Arab region?

At tomorrow’s meeting, Council members are expected to underscore the contributions of regional organisations to international peace and security. They may reflect on how the UN and the LAS can work together more effectively across the “peace continuum”, ranging from conflict prevention to post-conflict peacebuilding. Building on themes discussed in the concept note, members may also speak about cooperation between the UN and the LAS in promoting the rights of women and youth in the region. 

In this regard, some may emphasise the importance of implementing the 2022 “Arab Declaration to Combat All Forms of Violence Against Women and Girls”, including through partnership with UN Women. They might also offer their views on the “Arab Strategy on Youth, Peace and Security”, which is expected to be launched later this year and has been developed with assistance from the UN Liaison Office to the LAS, which was established in 2019 in Cairo. Some members may talk about efforts to combat terrorism in the Arab world, including the Arab regional counter-terrorism strategy adopted in March 2022.

There could also be discussion of the adverse effects of climate change in the region and how to address them. It appears that this issue may be a focus of El Omrani’s briefing. The Council has also recognised the negative impact of climate change and other environmental factors in resolutions on one peace operation in the Middle East, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). In resolution 2682 of 30 May, which most recently renewed UNAMI’s mandate for one year, the Council called on the mission to advise, support, and assist the Iraqi government in facilitating regional dialogue and cooperation on several issues, including the “adverse impacts of climate change in particular those contributing to desertification and drought, resilience building, infrastructure, public health, and refugees”.

There is also likely to be discussion at tomorrow’s meeting of how the UN and the LAS can more effectively address security and humanitarian challenges in several country situations on the Security Council’s agenda. During the 32nd summit of the LAS in Jeddah on 19 May, the participants referred to several of these situations when they issued the “Jeddah Declaration”, which:

• stressed the importance of intensifying efforts to achieve a comprehensive and just settlement to the Palestinian issue;
• expressed deep concern at the ramifications of the crisis in Sudan for the security, safety, and stability of LAS countries and people;
• welcomed the decision of the Arab League Council to resume the participation of Syria in LAS meetings; and
• advocated for the ongoing UN and regional efforts to come up with a comprehensive political solution to the crisis in Yemen.

Council members have traditionally held contrasting views about how to approach many of the peace and security challenges in the Arab world. This is illustrated by the frequent vetoes cast over the years by the US and Russia on resolutions regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and Syria, respectively. In recent months, while some Council members—such as Russia and the UAE—have supported efforts to normalise relations with Syria, others, including the UK and the US, have remained sceptical.

Original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2023/06/briefing-on-cooperation-between-the-un-and-the-league-of-arab-states.php

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