Dickens & Madson lobbyists don't know their Darfur Sudan client Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo aka Hemeti

Note from Sudan Watch Editor: With respect to the following nonsensical quote taken from the below copied article, it seems apparent that Canadian firm Dickens & Madson's lobbyist Mr Ari Ben-Menashe does not really know who he is dealing with, his client Hemeti is the "commander" responsible for unspeakable atrocities and destruction, including the maiming, raping and slaying of a countless number of unarmed civilians in Darfur and elsewhere, affecting the lives of millions of civilians.

"The lobbyist also compared Dagalo to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “In spite of his past — if it’s a morality contest, [Dagalo] would beat Netanyahu hands down. How many people died in the Middle East trying to make quote, unquote ‘Israel safe’? Sorry, but I have to make this comment.”

Article from Middle East Monitor

Dated 23 July 2019 at 1:46 pm

Ex-Israel spy admits lobbying US on behalf of Sudan military council

Photo: Israeli businessman Ari Ben-Menache [Twitter] 

A former Israeli spy has admitted to signing a multi-million-dollar contract with Sudan’s Transitional Military Council to lobby the US to support its rule.

The deal was signed by Ari Ben-Menashe, a 67-year-old Israeli businessman based in Montreal, Canada, who heads the “Dickens & Madson” lobbying firm. Menashe is a former Israeli spy and boasts a long, controversial career which has reportedly seen him lobby for African opposition figures, witness US-Iranian hostage deals and execute arms deals.

Dickens & Madson recently signed a $6 million deal with Sudan’s Transitional Military Council, which has ruled the country since former President Omar Al-Bashir was ousted in April.

The documents – submitted to the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act – stipulated that Ben-Menashe would lobby “the executive and/or legislative branches of the government of the United States and its agencies to support the Transitional [Military] Council of Sudan’s efforts to establish a democratic government”.

The firm would also work on improving the military council’s media coverage, Haaretz reported yesterday. In a separate deal also disclosed in the documents, Dickens & Madson would work with Venezuelan opposition to replace embattled President Nicolas Maduro and lobby Russia to support his proposed successor, Henri Falcon.

Though the documents were first made public last month, Ben-Menashe confirmed the deals in an interview with the Israeli daily this weekend.

Ben-Menashe discussed his Sudanese client Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo – often known as Hemeti – who heads the country’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary unit formed from the remnants of Darfur’s Janjaweed militia. Since 2005, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has been investigating allegations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity against Janjaweed leaders for their actions in Darfur.

Though the official documents show that Dickens & Madson is also representing Transitional Military Council head Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, Ben-Menashe said that Dagalo “is the one with true power”.

Ben-Menashe told Haaretz that despite the RSF’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protesters last month – which saw as many as 100 demonstrators killed, tents burned and women raped in Sudanese capital Khartoum – Dagalo has “promised him that all he wants is for Sudan to have fair elections”.

“I’m not his fan really,” he said of the military leader, “[but] he’s the only guy that can keep order until this civilian government takes hold. What we’re also banking on is that there’s an army and there’s the Rapid Support Forces: one would put [a] check on the other.”

The lobbyist also compared Dagalo to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “In spite of his past — if it’s a morality contest, [Dagalo] would beat Netanyahu hands down. How many people died in the Middle East trying to make quote, unquote ‘Israel safe’? Sorry, but I have to make this comment.”

Ben-Menashe also touched on Dagalo’s relationships with regional powers, which are known to include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt.

Ben-Menashe told Haaretz that the Sudanese leadership is struggling to balance its support of US President Donald Trump’s administration with the president’s “Saudi friends”, who he claims are pressuring Dagalo to continue sending Sudanese troops to Yemen. Ben-Menashe claims that Dagalo “knows the arrangement is not a good thing for Sudan”.

The Transitional Military Council leadership has met with its regional allies on a number of occasions, with council head Al-Burhan in May visiting the Saudi city of Mecca for emergency summits of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to discuss the “threat” of Iran in the region.

This came just days after Al-Burhan met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, who “stressed the importance of dialogue between the Sudanese people in this sensitive phase”, as well as Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, who stressed “Egypt’s readiness to fully support the brothers in Sudan”.

Almost immediately after Al-Bashir’s ousting, Sudan and the UAE agreed to send Sudan $3 billion worth of aid in a bid to support the military council. The deal was understood to include $500 million to be deposited in the Sudanese central bank, while the rest would come in the form of food, medicine and petroleum products.

SOURCE: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20190723-ex-israel-spy-admits-lobbying-us-on-behalf-of-sudan-military-council/

Sudan Hemeti hires lobbying firm to increase his sway in US, Saudi Arabia, Russia, hosts ex US congressman

Article from Foreign Policy

BY JUSTIN LYNCH, ROBBIE GRAMER 

Dated 28 June 2019, 7:17 PM

Seeking to Secure Power, Sudan’s Military Ruler Hires Lobbying Help

Top general brokers a multimillion-dollar deal with a Canadian firm and hosts a former U.S. congressman.

Sudan’s military leaders are increasingly reaching beyond their own borders for help from lobbyists, wealthy Persian Gulf states, and even a former U.S. congressman to shore up their legitimacy and control in the aftermath of a coup.

The de facto military ruler of Sudan, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, brokered a multimillion-dollar lobbying deal to increase his sway in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, and multilateral institutions and welcomed a former member of the U.S. Congress to Khartoum for meetings amid a growing power struggle in the east African country. 

The posturing comes ahead of a massive pro-democracy rally in Khartoum on Sunday, which some experts and U.S. officials fear could turn violent, after forces under Hemeti killed at least 100 protesters and wounded hundreds more in a bloody crackdown at the beginning of June. 

Sudan’s Transitional Military Council, which has led the country since the ouster of longtime leader Omar al-Bashir in the wake of widespread protests, signed a $6 million deal with a Canadian lobbying firm in May to curry favor in the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia.

The lobbying contract, which was signed by Hemeti, according to public disclosures filed last week with the U.S. Justice Department, sheds new light on the general’s shadowy behind-the-scenes push with foreign interlocutors to consolidate control and illustrates how many foreign governments have worked to stake claims in Sudan. The Canadian lobbying firm working with the military council, Dickens & Madson, seeks to secure a meeting between Hemeti and U.S. President Donald Trump and the heads of Middle Eastern governments and will work to ensure that it “attain[s] recognition as the legitimate transitionary leadership of the Republic of Sudan,” according to the contract. 

The contract also outlines other priorities, including the lobbying firm working to “provide military training and security equipment”; obtain “infrastructural and food security support” from the Russian government; and even obtain funds from a Libyan general vying for power in that country in exchange for military help. 

The lobbying firm is led by a former Israeli intelligence operative, Ari Ben-Menashe, and has worked in the past for the Zimbabwean and Libyan governments.

Hemeti took de facto control after Bashir was toppled in April following months of anti-government demonstrations. Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity, remains under arrest in Sudan, but the powerful security forces and military junta that propped up his rule for three decades are still in place. Hemeti, the head of the notorious paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), implicated in war crimes in Darfur, has tried to portray himself as the one man who can bring stability to Sudan.

Main opposition groups and pro-democracy protesters have challenged the military council, insisting that it should cede power to a civilian-led democratic government, calls that are backed by the United States. Hemeti has sought support from wealthy Gulf states and other countries to shore up his legitimacy in the ensuing power struggle. 

In addition to backing from a Western lobbying firm, Hemeti also received a public relations boost from a former U.S. congressman, James Moran, who visited Sudan last week and met with the Sudanese leader. Moran, now a senior legislative advisor and lobbyist at the law firm McDermott Will & Emery, spoke at what appeared to be a rally in Khartoum after meeting with Hemeti, praising his time with the general and saying he was “impressed” with everyone he met, including the Sudanese leader. 

Moran’s visit gave Hemeti a potential public relations win, reinforcing the perception—at least in state media—that he is backed by the international community. During the rally, Moran was incorrectly introduced as a U.S. senator. Hemeti and the junta have shut down regular internet access in Sudan, and Moran’s visit was displayed on state television, making his speech the only information that many Sudanese have regarding the international community’s stance toward the general. 

Moran and his office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Foreign Policy, including questions on the purpose of his visit with Hemeti and who funded his trip. 

Moran, according to Sudanese opposition figures and former U.S. officials familiar with internal deliberations, also met with the opposition Sudanese Professionals Association and the top U.S. diplomat in Sudan, Steven Koutsis, the chargé d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy. The State Department did not answer questions regarding Moran’s apparent meeting with Koutsis, other than to say he is a private citizen and doesn’t represent the U.S. government.

An official trip by current members of Congress, including Democratic Rep. Karen Bass on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was canceled due to the unstable political situation in Sudan. 

Powerful lawmakers in Washington are already raising alarm bells about Hemeti’s rise to power, however. On Friday, Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, called on the Trump administration to slap sanctions on Hemeti and the RSF for their role in violence against protesters

As recently as September 2018, Moran was a lobbyist for Qatar, according to public disclosure filings. The Gulf state paid at least $40,000 per month for Moran and his law firm to speak with journalists, engage with Congress members and their staff, and send letters regarding Saudi Arabia’s blockade on Qatar.

Qatar is a rival to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, which have given substantial support to Hemeti.

Moran’s visit, and Hemeti’s new lobbying contract, comes during a potential flash point in Sudan’s revolution.

Hemeti and the military council face a June 30 deadline set by the African Union to hand over power to civilians. The Sudanese Professionals Association and other civilian groups, called the Forces for Freedom and Change, eventually accepted the proposal from the Ethiopian government to share power with the military, a copy of which was obtained by Foreign Policy.

The agreement calls for the junta to chair a body of seven civilians, seven military officials, and one civilian agreed to by both sides for the first 18 months of the country’s transitional period. In the following 18 months, a civilian would lead the council, followed by national elections. The military has not yet responded to the proposal. 

Two civilian negotiators told Foreign Policy that they did not expect the military to agree to the power-sharing agreement and said even if the junta signed it, it would not follow it. A million-strong march organized by civilian groups is planned for the June 30 deadline, which has experts concerned. 

“There are a number of warning signs that show violence is imminent for the protest on Sunday,” said Cameron Hudson, a former White House official under George W. Bush and nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. “The wheels are coming off. The military council is both losing patience and feeling emboldened by the lack of strong international response. They want to prevent a second wave of protests that could reinvigorate the whole movement.”

Central to the negotiations between the civilians and the junta is the role of Hemeti.

Some in the Sudanese Professionals Association say they will not accept a government that includes Hemeti. They demand an investigation into crimes in Darfur and responsibility for the June 3 massacre of protesters. (The general has denied responsibility for the massacre and said he launched an investigation to find the perpetrators.)

But other civilian groups, and even some inside the Sudanese Professionals Association, say they must be practical and include Hemeti in the transitional government. Still, Hudson warned that the military’s involvement in Sudan’s political future may be a formula for disaster.

“The idea that the Transitional Military Council or the Rapid Support Forces can bring stability is insane.”

Justin Lynch is a journalist covering Eastern Europe, Africa, and cybersecurity. Twitter: @just1nlynch

Robbie Gramer is a diplomacy and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @RobbieGramer

SOURCE: https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/06/28/seeking-to-secure-power-sudans-military-rulers-hire-lobbying-help-hemeti-lobbying-influence-dagolo-hemeti-rsf/

Further Reading

The Man Who Terrorized Darfur Is Leading Sudan’s Supposed Transition

The interim vice president, Mohamed Hamdan “Hemeti” Dagalo, was in charge of the brutal janjaweed militias. Now he is calling the shots in Khartoum.

‘The Possibility of Violence Is Very Real’

Sudan’s transition hangs in the balance, says Zachariah Mampilly, an expert on protest movements and African politics.

Document of The Week: Sudan’s Paramilitaries Are Seizing Abandoned U.N. Outposts in Darfur

The United Nations halts withdrawal of peacekeepers amid fear that Sudan’s notorious Rapid Support Forces are filling the security vacuum.

Sudan militia chief Hemeti hires Canadian lobbying group for $6m to influence US, Russia, Saudia Arabia, UN, AU, Libya in favour of TMC

Article from The Financial Times.com

By TOM WILSON in London 

Published at FT.com on Sunday 20 June 2019

Sudan militia chief hires Canadian lobbying group for $6m

US filings show boom in such contracts between N American outfits and African governments

Photo: Soldiers wait for the arrival of Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo before a meeting in Aprag village, 60 km from Khartoum, Sudan © Reuters

A feared militia commander in Sudan has hired a Canadian lobbying group he hopes will secure a public meeting with US president Donald Trump, support from Libya’s military leader and free wheat from Russia in return for an upfront fee of $6m

The consultancy agreement, signed in May by Montreal-based Dickens & Madson and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo of Sudan’s ruling military council, was published on June 17 by the US Department of Justice under the Foreign Agents Registration Act. It is the latest in a series of eye-catching lobbying contracts between North American companies and authoritarian African governments.s military leader and free wheat from Russia in return for an upfront fee of $6m.

For decades, lobbying outfits have served the interests of US businesses and foreign governments willing to pay for introductions and influence. Those companies are expanding their services, promising not only access in Washington but also mediation and dealmaking with third-party governments all over the world.

Matthew Page, a former Department of State official, said lobbying contracts between Washington groups and African states were proliferating because there was a belief that the Trump White House was more susceptible to external influence than previous administrations.

“This is a reflection of the changed political realities in Washington where the dynamics within the Trump administration are fundamentally different in terms of influence peddling,” Mr Page, who is now an associate fellow at Chatham House, a UK think-tank, said. “African governments have always had these types of lobbying firms helping them out but in the Trump era these firms can be more effective.”

Foreign governments, individuals and companies spent almost $1bn on US lobbyists in 2017, according to figures compiled by the Washington-based website OpenSecrets.org, a non-profit organisation which tracks money in US politics.

Services rendered have included securing press coverage for Cameroon’s 82-year-old autocrat Paul Biya, defending officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo from targeted sanctions or blocking the investigation of war crimes in South Sudan.

In Sudan, Dickens & Madson said they would attempt to influence US policy in favour of the transitional military council and help secure funding and equipment for the Sudanese army.

Lt Gen Hamdan and his fellow military officers seized power in April, toppling Omar al-Bashir, a long-term US enemy, following months of government protests. After promising to hand power to civilian rulers, the generals have demurred and in June turned their guns on the people, killing more than 100 civilians in a night-time raid on a pro-democracy sit-in.

The lobbying contract was signed on May 7, before the raid. But even then, Dickens & Madson faced an uphill battle to build US confidence in Lt-Gen Hamdan. Better known as Hemeti, the soldier who is second-in-command in the transitional military council and Sudan’s de facto leader, rose to national prominence as the head of a feared paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces.

Members of the RSF have been accused of widespread human rights abuses in Darfur, western Sudan.

The lobbying group’s contract extends further than Washington. It will also push the interests of the Sudanese transitional military council in Russia, Saudi Arabia, the UN, the African Union and “any other mutually agreed upon country or countries,” according to the filings.

In Russia, the company aims to arrange “private meetings . . . with senior Russian and other political figures” and to secure aid shipments of wheat, diesel and animal feed.

In Libya, the goal is to win funding for the transitional council from military leader General Khalifa Haftar - another Dickens & Madson client - in return for Sudanese military support for the Libyan National Army.

Other objectives include meetings with Middle Eastern heads of state, US investment in Sudan’s oil industry and even the negotiation of an economic union between Sudan and neighbouring South Sudan, which seceded in 2011.

When contacted by the Financial Times, a spokesperson for Dickens & Madson said the company’s president who signed the agreement, former Israeli intelligence officer Ari Ben-Menashe, was travelling and could not be immediately reached for comment.

SOURCE: https://www.ft.com/content/816fb488-99a7-11e9-9573-ee5cbb98ed36