Darfur activists on Sudan Elections 2010

Copy of Press Release:

ADVISORY: Week-long Series of Press Briefings by Human Rights Organizations to Provide Up-to-the-minute Commentary as Controversial Sudan Elections Unfold

In an effort to provide journalists with timely commentary on the latest developments in the crucial Sudan elections, leading human rights organizations will be participating in a series of press briefings hosted by Sudan Now, a campaign led by several of the participating organizations.

Washington, D.C. (Vocus/PRWEB ) April 10, 2010 -- In an effort to provide journalists with timely commentary on the latest developments in the crucial Sudan elections, leading human rights organizations will be participating in a series of press briefings hosted by Sudan Now, a campaign led by several of the participating organizations. The press calls will be held each day from Monday, April 12 through Friday, April 16 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. The calls will be largely devoted to questions from journalists after very brief opening statements from the guest speakers. Organizations participating in the press calls include the Save Darfur Coalition, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Genocide Intervention Network, Humanity United, and other organizations to be determined.

According to the Sudan Now campaign, the current implementation of the U.S. policy on Sudan has not addressed a number of extremely concerning developments including clear indications that the national election will be neither free nor fair, ongoing government attacks that have killed hundreds and displaced thousands in recent months, and ongoing obstruction by the Government of Sudan in access for aid workers and UN investigators to Darfur.

WHEN:
Monday, April 12 through Friday, April 16 at 10 a.m. Eastern Time (daily)

WHO:
John Norris, Executive Director, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress
Mark Lotwis, Acting President, Save Darfur Coalition
Sam Bell, Executive Director, Genocide Intervention Network
David Abramowitz, Director of Policy and Government Relations, Humanity United

DIAL IN NUMBER:

US/Canada Dial-in #: (877) 210-8943 – Conference ID # 68487901
Int'l/Local Dial-In #: (706) 902-0621 – Conference ID # 68487901

Sudan Now is a campaign led by a group of prominent anti-genocide and human rights advocacy organizations committed to bringing meaningful and lasting peace to Sudan and encouraging strong American leadership and action to achieve this goal. The campaign challenges President Barack Obama and top U.S. administration officials to live up to their promises to take strong and immediate action to help end the international crisis in Sudan and bring a lasting peace to the people of that country. Organizations participating in the campaign include Humanity United, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Genocide Intervention Network, Stop Genocide Now, and Investors Against Genocide.

Please note: Photography and broadcast quality recent b-roll from IDP camps are now available for general use. You can download video at http://media.savedarfur.org/save-darfur-media-epk-download; images are available athttp://www.flickr.com/photos/savedarfur/sets/72157623816650366/. Photography and b-roll of a student protest on Capitol Hill will also be available on Monday.

Contact:
Jonathan Hutson, the Enough Project, 857-919-5130, jhutson@enoughproject.org
Mame Annan-Brown, Genocide Intervention Network, 347-564-2936, annan-brown@genocideintervention.net
Andrea Clarke, Save Darfur Coalition, 202-460-6756, andrea@savedarfur.org
Julia Thornton, Humanity United, 650-587-2030, jthornton@humanityunited.org
Susan Morgan, Investors Against Genocide, 617-797-0451, susan@paxcommunications.org

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Enough's report re LRA in S. Darfur, Sudan may not be true

THE widely publicised report from Enough that Joseph Kony had found safe haven in south Darfur as guests of the Sudan government, may not be true.

Click here to read more of "The ring of truth" by Peter Eichstaedt, Sunday, 21 March 2010 at this blog's sister site Uganda Watch.
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Flag of Lord's Resistance Army



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First picture, after more than a decade, of Joseph Kony



First picture, after more than a decade, of Joseph Kony, leader of the nefarious Lord Resistance Army. The picture shows Kony (l), and his second in command Vince Otty (r). In the middle: Riek Machar, Vice President Government of South Sudan". Kony and Otty have been indicted by the International Criminal Court.

Source: May 30, 2006, Jan Pronk - Joseph Kony (LRA), exposed
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From The Daily Telegraph
Profile: Joseph Kony, leader of the Lord's Resistance Army
By David Blair, 29 November 2008:

"Africa's children will only be safe when this mystical psychopath meets his well-deserved end"



Also, see BBC News online report Uganda rebel fails to sign deal - from the archives of Sudan Watch's sister site Uganda Watch 29 November 2008.

Jump upon the peace train - Sudan's UN envoy says Darfur activists are warmongers in a race to stop peace train

According to reports copied here below, Sudan's UN Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem says Enough Project's activists are warmongers and war traders in a race with time to stop the peace train which is already moving to its destination.  Heh. Peace train.  I like.

Everyone jump upon the peace train


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Copy of blog post from John Prendergast's Enough Project:
Sudanese Ambassador Reacts to Enough’s Latest Paper
Posted by Laura Heaton on Dec 01, 2009

Even before our most recent Sudan strategy paper went public yesterday, the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations had a strong reaction to our recommendations:

"Those war mongers and war traders are in a race with time to stop the peace train which is already moving to its destination. Their report exposes their bankruptcy and the fact that realities on the ground .... defeated their sick mentality."

These remarks are inadvertently revealing - they just go to show that the ruling National Congress Party is living in a dangerously self-constructed reality. This morning we put out a statement enumerating a handful of facts from the ground that contradict the ambassador's optimistic assessment. Peace train indeed.

Hat tip: GV - Ndesanjo Macha
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Peace Train by Cat Stevens - YouTube



Hat tip: spreadingourwings.blogspot.com

Peace Train by Cat Stevens - Lyrics

Now I've been happy lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun
Oh I've been smiling lately,
dreaming about the world as one
And I believe it could be,
some day it's going to come
Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train

Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again
Now I've been smiling lately,
thinking about the good things to come
And I believe it could be,
something good has begun

Oh peace train sounding louder
Glide on the peace train
Come on now peace train
Yes, peace train holy roller
Everyone jump upon the peace train
Come on now peace train

Get your bags together,
go bring your good friends too
Cause it's getting nearer,
it soon will be with you

Now come and join the living,
it's not so far from you
And it's getting nearer,
soon it will all be true
Now I've been crying lately,
thinking about the world as it is
Why must we go on hating,
why can't we live in bliss

Cause out on the edge of darkness,
there rides a peace train
Oh peace train take this country,
come take me home again

~Cat Stevens (Source: Flickr)
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Sudan's UN envoy says Darfur activists are "warmongers"

Copy of a report from Reuters Mon Nov 30, 2009 12:04am EST
Report urges sanctions against Sudan ruling party
By Louis Charbonneau

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The United States and other world powers should impose sanctions on key members of the Sudanese government for refusing to end violence in Darfur and south Sudan, a report by an anti-genocide group said on Monday.

Sudan's U.N. Ambassador Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem reacted angrily to the report, calling the Enough Project, a Washington-based anti-genocide group, "war mongers."

The Enough Project's report said there was a risk of a new civil war and warned that nationwide elections next year and a 2011 referendum on whether the oil-rich and semi-autonomous south should secede from the Khartoum-led north would not be free and fair.

The report placed the bulk of the blame on the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who was indicted in March by the International Criminal Court for suspected war crimes in Sudan's remote western region of Darfur. The report called for sanctions.

"Without a firm response from the international community, led by the United States, full-scale nationwide war is inevitable," said the report, written by Enough Project co-founder and former U.S. State Department and National Security Council official John Prendergast.

"This should involve a special outreach effort to China because of the vulnerability of its oil investments should war resume in the South," the report said. "The United States must, then, organize and lead a multilateral diplomatic surge in Sudan aimed at negotiating and consolidating national peace."

It recommended "multilateral asset freezes aimed at key members of the NCP who have enriched themselves as a result of the oil boom of the last decade in Sudan." The report also supported travel bans and denying Khartoum access to the debt relief it has been lobbying for.

Sudan's U.N. envoy Abdalhaleem rejected the report.

"Those war mongers and war traders are in a race with time to stop the peace train which is already moving to its destination," he told Reuters. "Their report exposes their bankruptcy and the fact that realities on the ground .... defeated their sick mentality."

DISAPPOINTMENT

The head of Save Darfur, a separate coalition of more than 180 religious, political, and human rights organizations, backed the main conclusions of the Enough Project report.

"Coordinated multilateral action is crucial to promoting peace in Sudan, and that action has to deal with the reality that the core of the problem is the ruling National Congress Party's seeking to maintain its domination of power and wealth," Save Darfur president Jerry Fowler told Reuters.

"It is difficult for me to see how a strategy that doesn't include pressure could succeed," he said.

Behind the complaints of Darfur activists is disappointment with U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which took nearly 10 months to formulate and announce a new Sudan policy that they worry is not being implemented aggressively enough.

That strategy calls for renewed U.S. economic sanctions on Sudan, but also offers Khartoum new incentives to end violence in Darfur and the South ahead of polls next year.

The former head of the U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said earlier this year that the six-year conflict in Darfur was essentially over.

But that assessment was contradicted by a recent report of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said that fighting between the Sudanese army and rebels continued, civilians remained at risk, and peacekeepers were routinely harassed by government forces. [...] 

(louis.charbonneau@thomsonreuters.com; +1 212 355 6053; Reuters Messaging: louis.charbonneau.reuters.com@reuters.net)

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Thought for the Day

People all over the world Join hands, Start a love train, Love train ...

Prendergast's ENOUGH Project: Poker players Ante Up for Africa charity - Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia

Posted to YouTube by ENOUGH - Ante Up for Africa, June 25, 2008:

ENOUGH is the project to end genocide and crimes against humanity. Focusing on the crises in Sudan, Uganda, Congo, Chad, and Somalia, ENOUGH uses a 3Ps crisis response strategy: promoting peace, protecting civilians, and punishing the perpetrators.

This year ENOUGH again joined the benefit poker tournament Ante Up for Africa, hosted by Don Cheadle and Annie Duke.

To learn what you can do to join the fight against genocide, go to ENOUGH.

© Center for American Progress
Category: Nonprofits & Activism
Tags: Cheadle Prendergast genocide Sudan Khartoum Uganda Somalia ICC advocacy Gayle Smith Africa war ENOUGH Ante Up Poker charity benefit Hollywood

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From usaplayers.com Thursday, 13 August 2009 by Bruce:
Full Tilt Poker's "Ante up for Africa" Charity Tournament

As part of Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS XIII online poker series, they are holding a special charity poker tournament known as "Ante up for Africa". The tournament will be held at 3 p.m. on August 15th [2009], and it will raise money for the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. The tournament will be hosted by actor and avid poker player Don Cheadle. The buy in for the tournament will be $100+20. The twenty dollar tournament fee will be donated to the charity. This charity tournament will be part of the FTOPS VIII online poker championships, which will feature more than $16 million in prize money over various tournaments. The last of the tournaments is known as the main event, and it will be held on August 16th with a massive guaranteed prize pool of $2.5 million.

Back in 2007, Cheadle co founded an Ante up for Africa Poker Tournament with Norman Epstein and Annie Duke. At the recent 2009 World Series of Poker, the third annual Ante up for Africa charity tournament was held. The tournament attracted some of the top celebrities from both poker and entertainment. Some of the stars in attendance were actors Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, and they were joined by poker pros Erick Seidel and Jennifer Harmon. The tournament had a $5,000 entry fee, and the players were asked to donate 50% of their winnings to the charity. When the tournament was complete, over $600,000 was raised. Since the Ante up for Africa charity was formed a few years back, over $2 million dollars has been raised. The funds have been distributed to organizations such as "Not on Our Watch", "Enough Project", and "International Rescue Committee". The upcoming online charity tournament will help raise even more money for such a good cause.

The FTOPS XIII charity tournament will take place on a Saturday afternoon giving most players the opportunity to play and help raise money for a good cause. Even though the tournament is designed to raise money for the Ante up for Africa charity, there is plenty of money to be won as well. The tournament will have a $100,000 guaranteed prize pool, with the winner guaranteed to walk away with at least $22,500. Players can take that their shot at winning some serious cash, while raising money for a great organization. Along with the chance to play with many well known poker professionals, players who play in the tournament will also get to play alongside celebrities such as Matt Damon. This will be another opportunity for poker players to help raise money for the ongoing crisis in Darfur.

To discuss this and other Poker articles like it drop by our brand new forum at: www.usaplayers.com

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From PokerNews.com Wednesday, 12 August 2009 by Elaine Chaivarlis:
2009 WSOP Ante Up for Africa Recap

ESPN’s third week of 2009 WSOP coverage aired last night with the Ante Up for Africa event. Dozens of celebrities and poker pros showed up for this event. This was the first time that Ante Up for Africa was aired on television.

The event had a $5,000 buy-in and attracted 137 players. The total prize pool generated for the event was $665,820. It was suggested that players donate 50% of their winnings to the charity.

Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Sarah Silverman, Montel Williams, Nelly, Cedric the Entertainer, Herschel Walker, and Charles Barkley were among the notable celebrities at the event. Several poker pros played the event as well, including Annie Duke, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Mike Matusow, Peter Eastgate, and Dennis Phillips.

Let’s face it, there weren’t a lot of stellar players, or plays in this event, as the event was created more as a fun way to raise money and awareness for the Darfur region.

Charles Barkley and Herschel Walker were two celebrities that might be able to benefit a little from the PokerNews strategy section. They both made this event entertaining to watch with their interesting plays. In one hand, where he rivered trip queens, Walker doesn't even know what the minimum bet is, but was happy with the face time he got from his hollywooding. Charles Barkley got it all in post flop when he flopped a flush draw with his . He never got there and was eliminated.

Mike McDermott (or Matt Damon, whatever you like to call him) ended up at the feature table sitting next to Erik Seidel. This is significant, only in that because of the movie Rounders, Erik Seidel's second place finish to Johnny Chan in the 1988 WSOP has been seen millions of times. So maybe Seidel had it out for Damon a little. Damon, like every other celebrity in this event, didn't make it to the final table. Wonder what happened to all those tells he used to pick up on.

The final table was, not surprisingly, packed with poker pros. Jennifer Harman, Matt Kay, John Hennigan, Phil Gordon, Chris Ferguson, Erik Seidel, Rafe Furst, Adam Richardson, and Alex Bolotin all made the final table of the Ante Up for Africa event. Five of the players at the table, Harman, Hennigan, Ferguson, Seidel, and Furst hold a combined 18 WSOP bracelets.

With the super fast structure, the final table saw its players drop rather quickly with Adam Richardson all but out the door at one point when he was all in and went runner runner clubs to stay alive. Richardson ended up going heads up against the eventual winner, Alex Bolotin, who won $176,449 for his first place finish.

There have been numerous opinions about whether or not there should have been more events from the 2009 WSOP aired on television. We're sure the minds over at ESPN had a reason for the lack of other coverage. We're not sure, however, if this will be the trend next year. What we can say is, in regards to this event, people watch what their favorite celebrities are doing, and if their favorite celebrity is playing poker, then they’re watching them play poker, bringing a more mainstream audience to the game, and that much we like. No matter what the broadcast schedule is next year, we definitely hope this event will be in the mix.

Be sure to tune into ESPN every Tuesday night for continuing coverage of the WSOP, and don't forget to follow us on Twitter.

Good luck to all.  



ENOUGH was conceived in 2006 by a small group of concerned policymakers and activists who wanted to transform their frustration about inaction into pragmatic solutions and hope. Co-founded by Africa experts Gayle Smith and John Prendergast, ENOUGH launched in early 2007 as a project of the Center for American Progress. John Norris is Enough’s Executive Director. Read more about ENOUGH at http://www.enoughproject.org/about.