Super genius Ban Ki Moon is one slick explicator!

Some light humour (this one's for Drima - hi Drima!) by Mac Johnson June 21, 2007 - Ban Ki Moon: Super Genius - excerpt:

In Darfur, radical Muslim militias have taken to slaughtering Christian and Pagan farmers for fun and profit. Since radical Muslims elsewhere in the world are generally a peaceful lot, Ban Ki Moon has wisely seen that it must be the weather setting them off. Allah Akbar, it’s hot! Let's kill the infidels.

No really, the man basically said this. He also said that before Global Warming caused a long-term drought in Sudan, the black Christian farmers and the Arab Muslim herders lived in a sort of multicultural slumber party of mutual understanding and admiration. Then Global Warming happened and the farmers put up fences and triggered their own genocide at the hands of the once neighborly camel herders (and you thought good fences made good neighbors). So now I understand that the trouble in Darfur is really something of a cross between “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Open Range,” and “The Weather Channel.” Ban Ki Moon is one slick explicator!

Related reports: UN head links climate change darfur.
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Ex´pli`ca`tor
n. One who unfolds or explains; an expounder; an explainer.

Glad to see the word explicator, used in report above, does not mean fibber. Here at Sudan Watch, I've banged on for years about the water shortages in Darfur and how water will become Sudan's most valuable resource. Just a fraction of the world's climate change budget could help the Sudanese make the most of advanced solar and communications technologies.



Photo: Former US President Bill Clinton with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the UN HQ in New York (Photo: Jay Mandal/On Assignment)

Clinton Global Initiative

Former US president Bill Clinton called on UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, April 2007:

During the 45-minute discussion, Clinton, whose term as the UN special envoy for tsunami relief ended on December 31, and Ban discussed issues ranging from the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region, Somalia, Uganda, Congo, Iran, Iraq, to the Middle East peace process, UN deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe told media persons.

The efforts being undertaken by the UN and the Clinton Global Initiative on global problems were also discussed in the meet, she added.

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Apologies

Feel bad and under pressure for not replying to emails since March. Blogging Darfur is not always as easy as it seems. Problems with hyperlinks, reinstalled OSX, added Firefox, lost incoming email dates (unheard of at Apple) still ongoing, month and year ok, no day. If I owe you an email, please don't think I've forgotten. Tough time here lately on all fronts. Huge thanks to Scaryduck for helping guard against predators targeting this site. Bye for now. Hope to catch up soon.

Sudan: We wish the Reuters thing was webcast!!

More on Reuters' Darfur debate May 24 2007 - from Global Voices Online:

"Sudanese Thinker wishes the debate on Darfur was televised: “Told ya! I just wish this damn thing was freaking televized. I’m expecting a heated debate to go down especially since the Sudanese Ambassador to the U.N. is going to be present. I predict that he’ll get banged with many questions. It will be interesting to observe how he responds.
I’m tied up with many things at the moment but I’ll make time for this since I don’t want to miss it. Sudanese boys and girls in da house, blog your thoughts or drop a comment.”

Heh. Rock on Drima! Why no webcast? If there were a transcript, I'd mull over John Prendergast's commentary in the hope of getting some understanding of the rationale behind his warmongering stance on Sudan.
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UPDATE: Note Sudan Tribune article - "US presidential contender calls for military intervention in Darfur" - by Wasil Ali 22 May 2007.

UPDATE May 23 2007: The debate's started & being blogged at Jikomboe (hat tip May 24 2007 Global Voices Online must-read: Darfur: The Reality, the Agenda & the Proposed Solution)

And more re video available via Reuters at Global Voices Online � Join the Debate on Darfur 10am (EST) TODAY!

Sudan: Reuters' Darfur debate online May 24 2007

Back on track, thanks to The Blogger Team. Lots to catch up on. More later. Meanwhile, in New York starting 9.30am EST Thursday May 24 2007, Reuters' Darfur Newsmaker will be holding an online debate/Q&A session entitled "Dealing with Darfur - what’s at stake?"

List of Panelists:
- Paul Holmes, Reuters (moderator)
- Ann Curry, NBC News
- Hedi Annabi, Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping U.N*
-Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, Sudanese Ambassador to the U.N
- John Prendergast, International Crisis Group
- Mia Farrow, Actor and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador
- Lauren Landis, Senior Representative, Sudan, U.S. Department of State

Note, the above mentioned Sudanese Ambassador to the UN is featured in today's Sudan Tribune article by Wasil Ali entitled Sudan's envoy: Darfur "an issue for those who have no issue".

[* Reuters/Ed’s note May 24 2007: This post was updated to reflect Hedi Annabi has replaced Jean-Marie Guehenno, U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping, on the panel]

Further details at Global Voices Online.

UPDATE: Also today, The Sudanese Thinker blog (hi Drima!) urges fellow bloggers to "Join the Debate on Darfur on May 24".
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FAMOUS QUOTES

Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
Malcolm Forbes

History is a gallery of pictures in which there are few originals and many copies.
Alexis de Tocqueville

Love Quote of the Day
The more you judge, the less you love.
Honore de Balzac

Famous Peace Quotes

Here below, I've starred two favourites and question marked four I don't understand:

Peace cannot be achieved through violence, it can only be attained through understanding.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

One cannot subdue a man by holding back his hands. Lasting peace comes not from force.
David Borenstein

The pacifist's task today is to find a method of helping and healing which provides a revolutionary constructive substitute for war.
Vera Brittain

?I don't know whether war is an interlude during peace, or peace an interlude during war.
Georges Clemenceau

*I think that people want peace so much that one of these days government had better get out of their way and let them have it.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

Peace and justice are two sides of the same coin.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

You don't have to have fought in a war to love peace.
Geraldine Ferraro

?Even peace may be purchased at too high a price.
Benjamin Franklin

He that would live in peace and at ease must not speak all he knows or all he sees.
Benjamin Franklin

An eye for eye only ends up making the whole world blind.
Mohandas Gandhi

It is easier to lead men to combat, stirring up their passion, than to restrain them and direct them toward the patient labors of peace.
Andre Gide

The pursuit of peace and progress cannot end in a few years in either victory or defeat. The pursuit of peace and progress, with its trials and its errors, its successes and its setbacks, can never be relaxed and never abandoned.
Dag Hammarskjold

Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war.
John Andrew Holmes

Peace and friendship with all mankind is our wisest policy, and I wish we may be permitted to pursue it.
Thomas Jefferson

Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.
John F. Kennedy

?War will never cease until babies begin to come into the world with larger cerebrums and smaller adrenal glands.
H. L. Mencken

Fair peace becomes men; ferocious anger belongs to beasts.
Ovid

It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it.
Eleanor Roosevelt

A peace is of the nature of a conquest; for then both parties nobly are subdued, and neither party loser.
William Shakespeare

Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice.
Baruch Spinoza

If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.
Mother Teresa

?Peace begins with a smile.
Mother Teresa

Peace hath higher tests of manhood, than battle ever knew.
John Greenleaf Whittier

Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_peace.html via without reason

THINKPIECE: Questions of Darfur justice

Following the Prosecutor's speech at the security council on the 14th of December 2006, the Darfur situation is most likely to be on top of the agenda for the coming year.

What are your thoughts on that and what do you hope 2007 will achieve for the people of Darfur?

What more can the Office of the Prosecutor do to bring expeditious justice for the people of Darfur?

Comments invited (and appreciated) via here below, email or blog entry (I'll link back to your response and list it here) - thanks.

PS Drima, if you are reading this, I hope you can chivvy up some feedback re above two questions, it'd be interesting to know what those at Mideast Youth blog are thinking. I wonder what American readers' responses would be. If an American blogger picks up on this post and attracts some responses, I'd be grateful. Thanks. More later.



Photo: Luis Moreno Ocampo. Source SudanTribune article : ICC: "No Sudanese official immune from Prosecution"

Further reading:
The Hague Justice Portal

Sudan Watch: ICC Prosecutor says 1st case against Sudan crimes is ready

Dec 18 2006 FT op-ed by Christopher Caldwell: Darfur: It Is Best to Stay Out - International Criminal Court prosecutors announced on Thursday that they were preparing the first Darfur-related arrest warrants, another mistake. Threatening leaders with life sentences in the Hague turns a situation that might conceivably be resolved by diplomacy into a fight to the death.

The 2006 Weblog Awards: Best Middle East or Africa Blog: The Sudanese Thinker

Congrats to Drima (a very bright young Sudanese chap in Malaysia who is going places) of The Sudanese Thinker on being nominated for 2006 Weblog Awards: Best Middle East or Africa Blog.

Doubt if total number of votes registered reflect number of voters. Individuals may be able to vote more than once by logging off and returning under a different ISP code. Whatever, it's great to see The Sudanese Thinker listed, it's a real winner with Drima's loyal readers.



Photo of Drima at UN HQ NY Aug 2006. See Drima, The Sudanese Thinker at the UN: Where are the educated political parties that should be governing Sudan?

Sudan & UN Troops: Contradiction?

Here is a copy of some comments at Drima's blog entry on Sudan & UN Troops: Contradiction?

The Raccoon Says:
November 28th, 2006
Seems to me like Sudan is playing the waiting game, much like Iran. Just stall everything long enough and there won't be a need for any troops... unless they come with shovels.

Roman Kalik Says:
November 28th, 2006
Yep. The logic seems to be to keep the clock ticking until the problem becomes an even bigger problem, as long as it isn't the regime's problem.

Rebels 'enter key Chadian city' How can anyone tell who is Arab and non-Arab?

Here's another post for Drima and the Mideast youth bloggers.

Nov 25 2006 BBC news report entitled Rebels 'enter key Chadian city' says "the UN estimates that more than 200,000 refugees from Sudan are in Chad and that more than 50,000 Chadians have been displaced by fighting between Arab and non-Arab groups".

How can anyone tell who is Arab and non-Arab?
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Heh. Drima has a new ticker tape on his blog saying:

"Shame on the MSM [mainstream media] for not reporting enough on Darfur"

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Note, the importance of water is not lost on the author of Noli Irritare Leones blog who's inviting comments and looking for blogs from Chad and CAR. See Noli Irritare Leones - Africa blogwatch and a little background on Darfur/Chad/CAR. Excerpt:

Some interesting stuff from Drima, The Sudanese Thinker: About Darfur (note: one of the root causes of the conflict is water shortage - I'm thinking sometime I should work on a post, or a series of posts, on water problems in Africa) and there's a Sudanese blogosphere in the making. Both via SudanWatch. I think I will now fill up my Bloglines with Sudanese blogs, still looking for blogs in Chad and the CAR.

Sudanese people blogging for Darfur

Don't miss Drima's must-read About Darfur. Excerpt:

If you ask any person who's heard about the Darfur conflict what they know about it, they'll most probably tell you, "it's a genocide being waged by Arabs against Africans" and that "UN troops must go in to protect the innocent people". That's about all they know. Darfur is so much more complex than that and hardly anybody who's heard about it truly understands what's going on there.

And (smile) Sudanese Blogosphere in the Making!! Wohoooo!! [I've always wondered what took them so long. Better late than never. Wohoooo]

Hi and welcome to "We blog for Darfur"

This project is still in its start.

"We haven't officially launched it yet. Once we do, we hope that as many bloggers as possible will join us in spreading awareness. Let's not rely on the main stream media. Let us get the word out and spread awareness on the blogosphere instead. Let us inform. Let us give a voice to our voiceless fellow human beings. Let us blog, blog and blog some more."

Blogging for Darfur

See Grandiose Parlor Blogging For Darfur:

"... a new blogging initiative: “We blog for Darfur” - launched by Drima, an African blogger at Sudanese Thinker, and some Middle Eastern bloggers - aims to shed more light on the events in Darfur. Drima, is a Sudanese student in South East Asia whose eight month blogging stint has been impressive.

See Global Voices Online - Sudan: we blog for Darfur: Grandiose Parlor writes about a new blogging initiative, We Blog for Darfur.

More later. So much to track and absorb right now. Still reading and digesting important news reports, posted here below past few days. Scroll down this page and glance through headlines to see what I mean.

We blog for Darfur

See We blog for Darfur.

Thanks to Drima of The Sudanese Thinker -

A Campaign is in the Works.

More later.

CBS News Video: Searching For Jacob in Darfur

See CBS News video report online Searching For Jacob.

Drima of The Sudanese Thinker reviews CBS "60 Minutes" Piece on Darfur & Bush's Relationship With Bashir; and explains the terrible Darfur war is more complex than the simple 'Darfur is a genocide that needs to be stopped': people must know the root causes ie. water shortage, tribalism and huge corruption by the dictatorial NCP.

Blogosphere picks up on UN envoy Jan Pronk being kicked out of Sudan for blogging

Instapundit picks up on Jan Pronk's blogging and is happy to hear that the Sudanese "government's doing badly, given that it's trying to accomplish a genocide" - and quotes this from Austin Bay's blog entry entitled Sudan/Pronk kicked out for blogging:

"He [Pronk] blogged the truth and the Sudan government now says 'goodbye'."

Note this comment by Dusty:

"Jan Pronk. He blogs Sudan so the MSM [mainstream media] doesn't have to."

Heh. How insightful. It's all so true!

See July 1, 2006 Sudan Watch Jan Pronk's blog entry picked up by the press: UN envoy calls for changes to Darfur peace plan (Reuters); UN envoy attacks Darfur agreement (BBC)

Note also, Outrage over Sudan's dictator poised to lead Africa.

Bloggers comments (more later - if and when I find them)

Oct 22 2006 Drima The Sudanese Thinker - Jan Pronk Told to Leave in 3 Days!: "...UPDATE: I was thinking. If the NCP is willing to kick out Jan Pronk over one tiny post in his blog, what the hell will they do to me if they find out about this blog?! Lord have mercy on me. Sigh! :-( ..." [Heh Drima. I was thinking the same about this blog! Now and then, in lapses of patience, I've called them baboons, cretins, buffoons and flea brained camel faced morons!]

Oct 23 2006 Black Kush - Sudan expels UN envoy Jan Pronk: "...Take it from me. The government will relent in the end and allow him to stay. This is high class politick...." [I agree, but have read reports that say Mr Pronk's position at the UN changes at the end of this year when SG Annan's tenure expires]

Oct 23 2006 Darfur: An Unforgivable Hell on Earth - Jan Pronk booted out of Sudan???????? - Hitler didn’t want anyone reporting on his genocidal tendancies either. [True!]

Oct 23 2006 Opinio Juris - When Diplomats Blog: "...Perhaps the UN wanted to give Pronk freedom to speak more candidly by describing the blog as personal reflections. That insulates the organization from criticism, and yet frees the diplomat to pursue a more effective strategy of public condemnation. I would suspect that this is the true agenda..." [I agree]

Oct 23 2006 Black Kush - NCP and SPLM: strange bed fellows: "...Now they are trading blows again. The SPLM claimed they were not consulted when Khartoum expelled the UN special envoy Jan Pronk. Being part of the government, where were the decisions made? Are there many governments in Khartoum? Now it is Khartoum's turn to slam the SPLM. The NCP said the visit of the Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to Juba was wrong. Since Sudan is still one country, any president visiting should come through Khartoum and meet president Bashir first. Who is wrong and who is right?" [Good questions]

Oct 23 2006 Boing Boing - UN Envoy in Sudan booted after blogging about Darfur: links to Jerotus' Diplomat blogs reality and Sudan is not amused [Ed: Scroll down the last day of entries here and you will see Mr Pronk has not actually lost his position, the UN still considers him as SRSG in Sudan]

Oct 24 2006 A real life blogging Google Answers Researcher (GAR) notes a question about Legality of Coup Plot - see Google Question of the Day (or Week): UN envoy to Sudan expelled after blogging

Oct 24 2006 A Cloud In Trousers - Le Blog Diplomatique: Further reports reveal that Jan Pronk still has Kofi Annan's every confidence and is still the special envoy to Sudan. Happy birthday to the UN.

Oct 25 2006 Jen alic for ISN Security Watch - Darfur diplomacy 'blogged': " ...And so the pressure remains capped. ... Perhaps this will be Pronk's next personal blog rant."

The Right Time To Declare Victory (Drima)

Another gem by Drima The Sudanese Thinker (from The Right Time To Declare Victory):

The day every Sudanese regardless of color or religion has an opportunity to live in peace, get a decent education, a decent healthcare, is well-fed, has access to clean drinking water, has a decent shelter and last but most certainly not least has self-worth is the day I shall proudly stand up and declare victory. For a country with huge amounts of natural resources and with a population of only about 30 million, it's easily achievable. All we desperately need is responsible leadership and a change of the "blame it all on the Joooz" attitude. I hope the progressive recovery takes place in my lifetime because I sincerely wish to be a part of it.

Good luck with your exams Drima! Surely the UN could find a seat for you!

Why Egypt Won't Press Sudan: the Nile

News reports re water in Sudan ought to be regarded as important. See blog entry 8 Oct 2006 by Drima The Sudanese Thinker titled Why Egypt Won't Press Sudan: the Nile.

PostGlobal, The Washington Post's forum, debates Darfur

Email received from Amar.Bakshi@washingtonpost.com Sep 20:

The Washington Post PostGlobal site (blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal) wants to devote its upcoming coverage to the situation in Darfur.

We'd like to get you all on board in helping us craft a question (as soon as possible) and then in letting your readers know that we are convening a place for people around the world to discuss the issues.

We send our question to the editors of 50 worldwide publications - Economist, Caijing, Asian Age, Daily Star, South African Star etc. and about 100 global blogs to convene debate.

Let me know if you're interested in being a part in formulating the question, and if you'd be willing to spread the word.

Amar

Another email received today:

PostGlobal (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal) is an international blog and forum for the Washington Post. During the next few days, the site will be hosting online discussions on solutions to the crisis in Darfur. We urge you to join the debate alongside Bill Emmott - former editor of The Economist, Alex de Waal - author of Darfur: A Short History of a Long War, Christine Ockrent - French journalist, and many more. This is the time for the world to come together over the crisis in Darfur. Get engaged and join the debate.

Thanks Amar. Sorry I've not had time to get involved in formulating a question. But I did spend an hour this evening reading the replies to your latest question:

"Should regional solidarity be allowed to trump human rights needs? What could be done to pull away support from the Sudanese regime and enable UN troops to enter?"

I agree with Alex de Waal's answer titled "Sudan Solution: Politics is Paramount", especially this excerpt:

"The most important action in support of human rights in Darfur is progress towards a political settlement. Such progress will, in itself, provide protection for the people of Darfur; it will bring forward the day when stability can return; it will make it possible for a peacekeeping force to operate effectively..."

Also, this comment by AK, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA:

"There is no doubt that people in Darfur are dying. But the term genocide has been used too freely. First off, the killing in Darfur is not completely one sided as some might lead you to believe. Secondly, the fighting is based on resources more than it is on anything else. Resources such as water and grazing/farming land are essential for both groups involved. Thirdly, there is no "racial" issue here. EVERYONE in Darfur is African, and EVERYONE in Darfur is Muslim. There are tribes who have been Arabized through trade and intermarriage, but have no clear Arab lineage. There is no clear cut line between Arab vs. African.

On the Issue of the UN intervention, there is no doubt in my mind that the US and France along with the sponsors of the resolution have illegitimate interests. I say, if they truly want there to be peace, fund the African Union force and supply them with the needed equipment to complete their mandate.

The other major problem with the UN resolution is that it only addresses the military and humanitarian aspect of the conflict, not the political aspect. Just giving food and sending soldiers is not going to bring peace, lasting peace to the people of Darfur and all of Sudan.

Plus this comment, by AM, Vienna, VA, caught my eye:

"Why are outsiders needed?
If you recall, it is the insurgency that is causing the problems."

Note, PostGlobal, an experiment in global discussion of important issues, operates as part of washingtonpost.com. Overseeing the site in Washington is Hal Straus, washingtonpost.com's Opinions Editor, and Amar Bakshi, the Editor/Producer of PostGlobal. Good luck chaps!

If I had to pose a question, I guess it would be the one I've asked myself many times over the past two years but never found an answer:

Why has the African Union Mission in Darfur (AMIS) never received the support and funding it so badly needed?

I wonder what question The Sudanese Thinker would ask ... [Hi Drima!]

Blogging Drima The Sudanese Thinker at Mideast Youth.com

One of Drima's new projects: The Makeover of Mideast Youth.

See Mission Statement. Good luck to everyone involved.

INTERVIEWS: Suleiman Jamous and Alex de Waal - Tearfund Australia: Christian action with the World's poor

TEAR Australia supports the development and relief work of 94 partner organisations in 25 countries. For the latest information on Darfur, its website links to this blog Sudan Watch.

Finding the link at Tearfund made my day, for more reasons than I can recount here right now. TEAR is one of my favourite charities, along with UNICEF and Save The Children. My thoughts on Darfur are always concentrated on ways to advocate human rights and non-violent conflict resolution while trying to get the balance of information as best as I can manage in this blog - without sounding like too much of a lone voice. Rarely do I find bloggers that think anywhere near the way I do when it comes to Darfur and Sudan. Most seem combatative and gung ho on war, taking what they're told at face value, without doing much thinking about it or any homework.

My heroes are the late great Mahatma Gandhi and Albert Schweitzer (see Philosophy of Civilisation and Ethics of Reverence for Life). As stated here many times before, I do not believe fighting violence with violence is a solution to Darfur. For me, the following excerpt from Democracy Now's interview with Alex de Waal puts my stance in a nutshell. In Darfur Violence Intensifies as Deadline for Withdrawal of AU Peacekeepers Looms [hat tip POTP], Mr de Waal said:

"I think the key thing to bear in mind is that the solution to Darfur is a political solution. No solution can be imposed by any amount of arm twisting, any amount of bluster, any amount of military force. Even if we sent 100,000 NATO troops, we would not be able to impose a solution. The solution has to come through political negotiation. And that, unfortunately, is a very slow process."

Patience is a virtue. I look forward to blogging news of the Darfur Darfur Dialogue. When is the conference to begin? I'd rather push for the conference and a few billion dollars for the fledging AMIS to continue the great job they are doing rather than waste precious time pushing for a peacekeeping force that won't happen until next year. The children of Sudan will be another year older soon and another year without schooling ...

I'd like to see politicians - including those in Sudan - put more emphasis on laws to protect Sudan's children and educate the greedy twisted bullies, thugs and murderers on a fact of life that they will have no power base if there is not enough of a drinking water supply throughout Sudan.

Adults in Sudan ought to be shamed into caring for Sudan's children and their country's drinking water supply and land issues. Surely the women and mothers in Africa and big countries like China and Russia can help alongside dozens of other countries already helping, for the sake of the children, not the greedy money and power hungry rebels and ex rebels running the horror show in Darfur.

CALLING MAMA MONGELLA (AGAIN): WHERE ARE YOU ON DARFUR?



Photo: Gertrude Mongella The first president of the Pan-African Parliament.

See Aug 17 2006 Where's Mama Mongella and the voices of the AU born Pan-African Parliament (PAP) to mobilise the Arab world, Egypt and Saudi Arabia?
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DR ALBERT SCHWEIZER - THE ETHIC OF REVERENCE FOR LIFE



Photo: Dr Albert Schweitzer - b 14 January 1875 - d 04 September 1965 - The Ethic of Reverence for Life:

"The course of history demands that not only individuals become ethical personalities, but that nations do as well."

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WHEN WAS THE LAST SILENT, NO-PLACARDS, NO WORDS, PEACE MARCH?



Photo: See Gandhi's 1930 march re-enacted.

DROPPING YOUR GUNS WHILE THE WORLD IS WATCHING AND GATHERING 3 MILLION DARFURIS FOR A TOTALLY SILENT UPRISING - ENMASSE, PEACEFRULLY, WITHOUT A WORD BEING SPOKEN - WOULD SPEED WORLD SYMPATHY AND GET ALL SIDES A FAIR DEAL.

God bless all the children of Sudan.

Ref Gandhi's grandson urges peaceful uprising - non-violence would speed world sympathy.

The last word goes to Amnesty: Women take brunt of human rights abuse.

This post is for Drima of The Sudanese Thinker blog in response to his commentary on Darfur & the Continuing Dilemma - and to say thanks for the links to Sudan Watch and sorry I've been too busy to contribute any comments.

See Blogging Drima, The Sudanese Thinker at the UN.

PLAY GANDHI FILM TO SUDANESE

Apr 7 2005 Gandhi film plays to Palestinians - The award-winning 1982 film Gandhi is being released across the West Bank and Gaza to try to persuade Palestinians to embrace non-violent resistance.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and actor Ben Kingsley, who starred as the pacifist Indian leader in the film, attended the premiere in Ramallah.

The project is being co-sponsored by Jeff Skoll, the founder of the internet auction site EBay.

Why not play the Gandhi film to Sudanese? ANYTHING to speed up Darfur Darfur Dialogue and stop the violence so IDPs can return home and grow their own food.

M.K. Gandhi photo and quotations



"My life is my message"

"An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind"

"If my faith burns bright, as I hope it will even if I stand alone, I shall be alive in the grave, and what is more, speaking from it"

See M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence.

Beheaded Sudan editor is buried

The state-owned Sudan Vision newspaper was printed in black and white out of respect for Mr Taha's funeral, reports Reuters. Full story BBC 7 Sep 2006.

Drima of The Sudanese Thinker, writes:

"This is probably the first time in the history of Sudan something like this happens. The man was kidnapped from his house and found later with his head next to his body. That's murder Iraqi al-Qaeda style."

Read more at Iraq Has Arrived.

Sudanese Thinker: Debating UN Troops & the Conspiracies

Excerpt from Drima's blog entry at The Sudanese Thinker - Debating UN Troops & the Conspiracies:

If people want to talk about Darfur from a humanitarian perspective, then UN troops will make things worse and Darfur will become a warzone. However if people want to talk about Darfur from a political perspective, then a bloody revolution is the only way to settle the problem. Both are bad scenarios and that's why I support strengthening the AU troops. Nobody is opposed to them and if strengthened they can provide the protection needed in Darfur. I don't understand why it's so hard for others to understand that.

Me neither, Drima. Thanks. I'd like to see a joint force of everyone pulling together for the sake of Sudan's children.

U.S. dismisses Sudan president's threat

The Bush administration on Friday dismissed a threat by Sudan's president to fire on any UN force sent to Darfur, AP's Barry Schweid reported Aug 18, 2006. Excerpt:

The African Union, which has peacekeeping troops in the western Sudanese region, would make up the majority of an expanded UN force that would benefit the Sudanese government as well as the people of Darfur, State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

"Ultimately, we believe that this is in the interest of all the participants in Sudan, including the government, and we expect that they will ultimately agree to let this go forward," he said.

A draft resolution by the United States and Britain was introduced at the United Nations on Thursday.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has warned that Sudan's army would fight any UN forces sent to Darfur, while Britain's UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry stressed that no UN force would be deployed in Darfur without the consent of the government.

Casey said the Sudanese government has said in the past it would welcome the UN forces to help monitor and enforce a peace agreement. "That's what we are trying to do here," the spokesman said.

"And, ultimately, we believe that is not only what should happen but that is what will happen," Casey said.

With violence escalating in Darfur, Jones Parry said he hopes the resolution can be adopted by the end of August.

In New York, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations, Mark Malloch Brown, said, "We are extremely worried about the deterioration of the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur, and the absence of a clear political path to the deployment of the U.N. force."

"It is very important that we all pay lots of attention to Darfur," he said. "Something very ugly is brewing there."

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US THREATENS SUDAN AFTER UN RESISTANCE

Aug 19 2006 Sapa-AFP report by P Parameswaran (via IOL) US threatens Sudan after UN resistance:

A senior US State Department official warned Friday about "the reality" facing Sudan if it "confronted with a unified international community" and a UN resolution that was "the will of the international community."

Referring to Beshir's threat, the official, speaking on condition of anonymity, asked: "Do they want to defy that, and if they do, then what are the potential consequences for them?"

"Don't forget there is a process in The Hague going on in terms of investigations of potential war crimes," the official said, referring to demands by the international community that Darfur war crimes suspects be tried by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

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THEY'RE WASTING PRECIOUS TIME ARGUING

Commentary by Drima: The Sudanese Thinker re U.S. Dismisses Sudan President's Threat:

"The debate on UN troops hasn't ended yet and it doesn't seem like it will end any time soon. I'm tired. They're wasting precious time arguing.

As I've stated previously, AU being in command is the best option we have. Bashir's regime doesn't trust the UN troops coming into Darfur under chapter 7. The UN should just accept it. They should also take Al-Qaeda's threats seriously.

Darfur will turn into a war zone if the UN troops come into it without the Sudanese dictatorship's consent. That ought to make things real "humanitarian" for the people there."

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DISPLACED WOMEN WAITING ... FOR WHAT? MORE WAR?



Feb 19 2005 photo: Displaced Sudanese women from Darfur. Violence in refugee camps sheltering 2.5 million people in Darfur has rocketed since a peace deal was signed in May and threatens to jeopardise the world's largest aid operation, a joint statement by four major aid agencies said on Tuesday. (Stringer/Reuters Aug 8, 2006)



May 2006 photo: Displaced Darfuris are seen in the town of Gereida, southern Darfur, May 2006. The US and Britain presented a draft resolution to the UN outlining the deployment of 17,000 peacekeepers to Darfur, despite opposition by the Sudanese government. (AFP Aug 17, 2006/Jonah Fisher)



Photo: A woman stands in front of her shelter at a camp for Internally Displaced Persons in North Darfur, June 13 2006. (Reuters Aug 17, 2006/Zohra Bensemra)

UPDATE: US EXPECTS SUDANESE ACCEPTANCE OF UN FORCE

Coaliton for Darfur points to VOA report US Expects Sudanese Acceptance of UN Force. Report excerpt:

Sudan has strongly opposed the proposed upgrade of the international peacekeeping presence in Darfur, with President Omar al-Bashir even threatening to forcibly resist the introduction of U.N. troops.

However, officials here say they think the Khartoum government will eventually relent, and they make clear that the introduction of Thursday's U.N. resolution is aimed at building international pressure on the Sudanese leadership to reconsider.

At a news briefing, State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey noted that Sudanese officials initially signaled acceptance of the force upgrade when a Darfur peace agreement was forged between the government and rebel groups last May in Nigeria.

He suggested that once the global community, through the Security Council, has spoken forcefully about the need for the Darfur force, the Sudanese government will reconsider.

"Once the international community has spoken to this issue, then let's see what the reaction of the Sudanese government is," said Mr. Casey. "Again, I think if you look historically at what's occurred here, the government of Sudan has, when appropriately presented with facts on the ground, responded to them. I think at this point what we need to do is not worry about where they are today, but worry about where they are once we get a resolution passed that authorizes this force."

Casey noted that there already is a United Nations force in Sudan working to implement the country's north-south peace accord, and that the envisaged 17,000-member Darfur peacekeeping mission would be built on the existing African Union presence.

Veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China have expressed reservations about the U.S.-British draft but spokesman Casey said the Bush administration is optimistic about chances for its early adoption.

He said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, though nominally on vacation, has been conducting telephone diplomacy on behalf of the resolution and spoke about it this week with, among others, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing.