US invites SAF & RSF to ceasefire talks co-hosted by Saudi Arabia and Switzerland - US Blinken Statement

INBOX: The United States Invites the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to Ceasefire Talks Co-hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Switzerland
statement from Antony Blinken pic.twitter.com/ga9G4ZUgTM

— Rob Crilly (@robcrilly) July 23, 2024

View original: https://x.com/robcrilly/status/1815797713847325167 

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Related

I think this high-level engagement of the United States to end the war in Sudan could work.
The direct involvement of US Secretary of State Antonio Blinken in the talks between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will be a decisive tool in the…

— 𝑻𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒈 𝑨𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒉 (@TarigAbusalih) July 23, 2024

View original: https://x.com/TarigAbusalih/status/1815766253123805483 

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Sudan's Islamists use online networks and AI to make their move. Waiting to return is ex NISS chief Gosh

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: It's good to see veteran Africa correspondent Rob Crilly reporting on Sudan again. Sometime before during and after the Darfur war, Rob wrote a book cleverly titled 'Saving Darfur: Everyone's Favourite African War'. The book became well known, sold well and is still available from leading book sellers including on Kindle at Amazon.  

Here below is a summary of Rob's latest report on Sudan for the Daily Mail, followed by a copy in full. Thanks Rob, good to see you back safe and sound!

Sudan's Islamists use online networks and AI to make their move

Waiting in the wings to return are notorious figures such as Salah Gosh, former head of NISS

Social media research shows Sudan's Islamists making a push for power

It includes using AI to fake an address by the U.S. ambassador, researchers say

They are seeking a return to relevance amid fighting between rival generals 

On Sunday, US special forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the US Embassy in Sudan

Images of foreigners fleeing are being used by Islamists to say they are winning the war against the West, just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan when Americans fled in 2021

The fighting pitches army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who has allied himself with the country's Islamists, against Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (better known as Hemedti) who heads the Rapid Support Forces

While Hemedti, who rose to prominence amid the war crimes of Darfur, claims to promote democracy, Burhan has linked up with Islamists as part of his strategy to emerge as victor

‘He basically made a deal with the devil,' said Cameron Hudson, senior associate in the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies'

'And that deal was: I will allow you to reemerge and to regain a foothold in this country, and you have to support me politically and use your networks and your, your deep state influence to support me against the RFS 

Waiting in the wings to return in the event of an army victory, he said, were notorious figures such as Salah Gosh, the former leader of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service.

Read the full report from DailyMail.com

By ROB CRILLY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

Published: 21:09, 27 April 2023 | Updated: 21:49, 27 April 2023 - excerpts:

EXCLUSIVE Sudan's Islamists use online networks and AI to make their move: Social media accounts spread claims hardliners will seize power as democracy leaders flee during Western evacuation just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan

Sudan's Islamists are out of favor and out of power after once being the force behind the country's military rulers. 

But they are now using sophisticated social media networks and AI to try to worm their way back to a position of influence amid the country's turmoil. 

Sudan's top two military leaders have spent most of the past two weeks fighting for control of Africa's third largest nation, prompting the U.S. and other foreign nations to evacuate diplomats and nationals.

Islamist groups are using those images to claim that the West is in retreat and they are poised for victory, just like the Taliban in Afghanistan, according to research by a social media monitoring group.

Their online networks have even used AI technology to spread fake audio recordings suggesting the U.S. was trying to reduce the influence of Islam on the country.

Islamists are using a sophisticated social media operation to gain influence in Sudan. That includes using AI to fake a plot by US Ambassador John Godfrey to intervene in the country

Amil Khan, founder of Valent Projects which researches the impact of social media, said Islamists had a powerful network of accounts spreading images of Western-led evacuations, and of civilian leaders taking flights out of Khartoum.

'They're opportunistically then using that to say this is Western collapse, and linking it to Kabul allows them to try to paint themselves as victors in the same way that they see the Taliban,' he said.

'It reflects messaging around the word that the Taliban have won the US. The US left in disarray. 

'The Islamists are trying to say that we are the people that conquered them.' 

In their heyday, Sudan's Islamists turned the nation into a haven for terrorists. Osama bin Laden made his home in the capital Khartoum from 1991 to 1996. 

Khan said that although they had lost influence following the toppling of longtime dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019, they had built a powerful online presence.   

'What they did have was this really extensive manipulation-digital infrastructure with hundreds and hundreds of mass accounts that could just get a coordinated message out and dominate the digital space,' he said.

At the same time, they were claiming that fleeing Sudanese leaders were leaving with their foreign paymasters — all part of an effort to undermine the popularity of civilian rule. 

But he added there was little evidence that Sudan's weary population was being swayed by such blatant propaganda. 

Even so, Republican Rep. Mike Waltz, a former Green Beret who sits on the House intelligence committee, said the development was deeply worrying.

'It’s absolutely a concern and we're going to lose even more visibility and intelligence gathering now that the State Department has had to pull its embassy staff,' he said.

Social media messages have celebrated the exit of former foreign minister Omar Qamar al-Din, for example.

'This is how the clients are falling one after the other,' said a post reviewed by DailyMail.com, comparing his early morning exit with the flight of officials from the Western-backed government in Kabul in 2021 as Taliban forces closed in on the Afghan capital.

Valent also concluded that Islamist accounts were behind a faked audio message supposedly from US Ambassador John Godfrey, apparently outlining strategies to impose secularism on Sudan.

'The first is international intervention with military force and imposing a new reality on this people by force of arms. This is now excluded in light of the weak world order,' the faked voice says.

'As for the other option, support us in the process of subjugating the rapid support militias and exploiting the two brothers greed for power and using them as a deterrent force and guardian of the secular democratic state, no matter how brutal it may be.'

Western governments used a ceasefire this week to bring home their diplomats and rescue as many nationals as possible.

It came after the troubled African nation was plunged into violence, two years after a coup sidelined its civilian prime minister.

Talks to lead the country back to civilian rule appeared to reach an agreement in December, but hopes of a peaceful transition were dashed by fighting that erupted two weeks ago between the head of the army and the head of the Rapid Support Force (RSF). 

RSF chief Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (better known as Hemedti) had been deputy to General Abdel Fattah Burhan, until the two fell out over plans to integrate his militia into the army.

Witnesses have described seeing bodies on the streets of the capital and more than 500 people have been killed around the country. 

While Hemedti, who rose to prominence amid the war crimes of Darfur, claims to promote democracy, Burhan has linked up with Islamists as part of his strategy to emerge as victor.

'He basically made a deal with the devil,' said Cameron Hudson, senior associate in the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies'. 

'And that deal was: I will allow you to reemerge and to regain a foothold in this country, and you have to support me politically and use your networks and your, your deep state influence to support me against the RFS 

Waiting in the wings to return in the event of an army victory, he said, were notorious figures such as Salah Gosh, the former leader of the feared National Intelligence and Security Service.

'We know what their rule of the country looked like,' he said. 'And these are bad dudes. 

'These are these are all the guys that were responsible for all of the worst abuses of the Bashir regime.'

See gallery of 11 photos (including 5 above) with credits and these captions:

1. Shells are seen on the ground near damaged buildings at the central market during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum North 
2. Islamists helped propel an army colonel to power in 1989. They were the power behind the throne under Omar al-Bashir's reign, until he was dumped out of power in 2019
3. Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, pose for a picture at the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) base in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan
4. VIDEO Sudan doctor fears hospital will run out of medical supplies
5. Islamists are using a sophisticated social media operation to gain influence in Sudan. That includes using AI to fake a plot by US Ambassador John Godfrey to intervene in the country
6. Sudan's capital Khartoum has been rocked by two weeks of fighting between rival generals. Smoke can be seen her rising from the city's international airport last week
7. On Sunday, U.S. special forces carried out a precarious evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Sudan. Images of foreigners fleeing are being used by Islamists to say they are winning the war against the West, just like the Taliban did in Afghanistan when Americans fled in 2021
8. Pictured: British Nationals about to board an RAF aircraft in Sudan, for evacuation to Larnaca International Airport in Cyprus
9. Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan
10. Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo

View the original report plus video and photo gallery here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12021059/Sudans-Islamists-use-online-networks-say-seize-power-like-Taliban-did-Kabul.html

[Ends]

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From Amazon.co.uk

Saving Darfur - Everyone's Favourite African War

Africa is a continent riddled with conflict. Most are forgotten wars that rumble away unnoticed for decades. Darfur is different. For six years an unlikely coalition of the religious right, the liberal left and a smattering of celebrities has kept Darfur's bloody conflict in the headlines. Rob Crilly arrived in Sudan in 2005 to find out what made Darfur special. 

Far from being a simple clash of good and evil, he discovers the complicated truth about Arabs and Africans, and the world's failed attempts to halt the killing. Along the way he rides with rebels on donkeys, gets caught in a Janjaweed attack and learns lessons from Osama bin Laden's horse. What he found will turn your understanding of the war upside down.

Product description 

Review

'A haunting and brutally honest account of international failure and African suffering. Lucid, engaging and written with love for the entire continent of Africa.' --Fergal Keane, BBC News

Rob Crilly tells the story of Darfur up close, focusing on the people who have fought and suffered. Neither cynical nor moralizing, he brings to life its protagonists-rebel fighters, Arab militiamen, displaced villagers, foreign aid workers, diplomats and campaigners. Saving Darfur delves beneath the stereotypes to tackle the complexities of Darfur and Sudan, illuminating both the ordinariness and the bizarreness of this extraordinary African war.' --Alex De Waal, author of 'Darfur: A New History of a Long War'

'While I disagree with much of Mr Crilly's analysis, he provides us with a solid journalistic account of his first-hand experiences in Darfur.' --Mia Farrow, actress and activist

From the Inside Flap

`A haunting and brutally honest account of international failure and African suffering' - Fergal Keane, BBC News

From the Back Cover

'A haunting and brutally honest account of international failure and African suffering' - Fergal Keane, BBC News

'Rob Crilly tells the story of Darfur up close, focusing on the people who have fought and suffered' - Alex de Waal, author of Darfur: A New History of a Long War

'This books peels off the labels that have been stuck on Darfur by outsiders and exposes the stubborn realities beneath the surface' - Richard Dowden, Director of the Royal African Society

About the Author

Rob Crilly is a freelance foreign correspondent. For five years he lived and worked in East Africa, travelling through war zones in Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and northern Uganda, reporting for The Times, The Irish Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Daily Mail and The Scotsman. Born in 1973, he was educated at the Judd School, Tonbridge, and Cambridge University. Before moving to Africa he spent five years working for British newspapers, most recently as Edinburgh Bureau Chief of The Herald.

View original https://www.amazon.co.uk/Saving-Darfur-Everyones-Favourite-African/dp/1906702195

[Ends]

Sudan: RARE VIDEO of Darfur & Kalma refugee camp

THE BBC's Mohanad Hashim has gained rare access to Kalma refugee camp in western Sudan, home to nearly 200,000 Darfuris.

He is one of the first journalists to travel freely in the region in a decade.

To view the amazing BBC video report, published on 12 February 2020, click here.

The forgotten Arab victims of the Darfur Sudan Chad conflict

Among Arab leaders there is growing frustration that they are the forgotten people, accused of being Janjaweed when many families played no part in the conflict, or lost everything when they could ignore it no longer.

They accuse aid workers, celebrities and campaigners with the Save Darfur Campaign of concentrating efforts on the African tribes, neglecting the suffering of Arab communities.

Adam Mohammed Hamid, of the Nomad Development Council of Sudan in Khartoum, said: “People think they know who the Arabs are, but they don’t. They come to Sudan and speak to the African tribes, but no one speaks to the Arabs. Many are not fighting. Some are in the rebels. It is not what people think.”

Without the Janjaweed on board there will be no lasting solution, writes ROB CRILLY, in Otash Camp, South Darfur



Vilified Arabs of Darfur must be included in peace process
From The Irish Times
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
By Rob Crilly

THERE IS a well-trodden VIP path around Darfur’s aid camps. Celebrities, politicians and United Nations officials fly in from Khartoum, take the tour and are back on their jets before teatime.

The whistlestop visits don’t go anywhere near the ramshackle corner of Otash Camp that Sheikh Hassan Mohammed Mahmoud calls home.

If they did, then Sudan’s rumbling, complex conflict might be a little nearer resolution.

Sheikh Hassan’s story would turn their conception of Darfur’s miserable conflict upside down.

He is from one of the Arab tribes that make up the backbone of the dreaded Janjaweed: a people routinely vilified as genocidal monsters.

But ask him who was responsible for destroying his village, shooting his sons and forcing his people in to the camp, and he gives a one-word answer: “Harakat”, Arabic for “movement” or “rebels”.

They came as his village, Marla, was waking up. Children were fetching water and the women were tending their cooking fires as the sound of shouting and shooting came closer.

Sheikh Hassan gathered up as many of his 20 children as he could find, and ran for the woods. He didn’t get far before a searing pain ripped through his leg. He had been shot.

The rest of the journey to safety was made on a cart as he slipped in and out of consciousness. The group stayed in the woods for days as the 60-year-old man gradually regained his strength.

When they returned to the village, Sheikh Hassan found the corpses of two of his sons. A third would die in hospital. Some 25 cows, 35 goats and a horse – Sheikh Hassan’s entire wealth – had been stolen.

“We found the village was burned,” he said in Arabic. “There was nothing left. War had come, so we came here.” He and his people are the forgotten victims of the Darfur conflict.

When rebels took up arms against the government in 2003, Khartoum responded by mobilising the Janjaweed – fearsome Arab militias with a traditional role as defenders of their tribes.

They were sent on a scorched earth campaign, tasked with attacking civilians in an attempt to starve the rebels of support.

Today, the conflict is often understood as one of Arabs against so-called African tribes.

Sheikh Hassan’s Beni Halba people were among the Janjaweed. But he, his family and his village did their best to ignore the war until it eventually swept through their little village that morning. Today, they are eking out a miserable life in one of the sprawling aid camps, just like the tribes from the other side – the Fur, Zaghawa and Masalit – who support the rebels.

Among Arab leaders there is growing frustration that they are the forgotten people, accused of being Janjaweed when many families played no part in the conflict, or lost everything when they could ignore it no longer.

They accuse aid workers, celebrities and campaigners with the Save Darfur Campaign of concentrating efforts on the African tribes, neglecting the suffering of Arab communities.

Adam Mohammed Hamid, of the Nomad Development Council of Sudan in Khartoum, said: “People think they know who the Arabs are, but they don’t. They come to Sudan and speak to the African tribes, but no one speaks to the Arabs. Many are not fighting. Some are in the rebels. It is not what people think.”

Researchers from Tufts University support his view. In a paper published last year, they warned that a highly politicised public campaign for Darfur had made it difficult to see the nomadic, Arab tribes as anything other than the perpetrators of the violence.

Instead, the team argued that the nomads had lost their livelihoods as a result of the war and in some cases had turned to violence as a “maladaptation” to seeing their traditional role disappear.

Those factors are often overlooked by media portrayals that depict Arabs as driven by race hate. “The nomads are voiceless. Their illiteracy and lack of contact with the international community has completely disempowered them in terms of raising awareness about their situation,” said the team led by Helen Young.

The issue is relevant once again as peace talks continue in the Qatari capital of Doha.

Leaders from the Justice and Equality Movement and government officials gave themselves until yesterday, March 15th, to sign a deal that would bring rebel leaders to Khartoum.

But once again – like the failed 2006 talks in Abuja – the Darfuri Arab tribes would not be represented.

Julie Flint, co-author of Darfur: A New History of a Long War, said they have to be part of the peace process. “Darfur’s Arabs are part of the problem, as the whole history of the war has shown, but they are also part of the solution, as is apparent in the many areas where they have made local reconciliation agreements and are living in peace with their neighbours again,” she said.

“What is succeeding at the local level must be replicated at the regional level. Darfur’s Arabs can be a force for peace, just as they have been a force for war. Without them there will be no lasting solution.”

Any peace deal signed in Doha will be good news for Darfur. But it is only the first step to solving the region’s problems for good.

Real solutions will have to involve forgotten people like Sheikh Hassan.

Rob Crilly’s book, Saving Darfur: Everyone’s Favourite African War, is published by Reportage Press

Follow Rob Crilly on twitter: http://twitter.com/robcrilly/statuses/10563757831

Western governments are on the brink of becoming parties to the Sudanese conflict

The latest from Alex de Waal at Making Sense of Darfur is:

Don’t Do Anything: Stop and Think for a Moment

The logical next international counter-move is military.

The response of the blog ‘Wronging Rights’ to the arrest warrant had it about right, “@)*&U#*()$&!!!!! Are you KIDDING ME?????) @*($)%&)%>>>>>>&*#^%*#&%^>.”

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Click here to view short video or read transcript of a debate hosted by Democracy Now on March 6, 2009 between HRW’s Richard Dicker and Alex de Waal re ICC indictment of Sudan president.
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Peace must prevail



Here's thinking about all the defenceless women and children in Sudan and Chad and, to quote Julie Flint and Alex de Waal:

"There will be no justice in Sudan without peace. When peace and justice clash, as they do in Sudan today, peace must prevail."

And this great line from a Willie Nelson song:

"There is a peaceful solution. It’s called a peace revolution."

Photos from The Times, 5 March 2009: Darfur war crimes court orders arrest of President Omar al-Bashir


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Note this copy of an interesting blog post March 7, 2009 by Sudanese blogger Drima at The Sudanese Thinker:

Sudanese Bloggers React to ICC -
Here are the thoughts of Sudanese bloggers so far in reaction to the ICC’s arrest warrant for our lovely dictator.

First, let’s check what Nesrine at Cif thinks of this:

Toothless and badly-timed as the indictment of Sudan’s president may be, morally we cannot afford not to support it.

… The timing was unfortunate. Many in the Arab world are still reeling from the recent incursion into Gaza and governments are continuing to capitalise on anti-western sentiment. The ostensible hypocrisy of targeting Bashir when apparently Israel and the west are impune renders his martyrdom on the altar of international double standards convenient for Arab or African heads of state living in their own glass houses.

Secondly, we have Sudanese Optimist:

Every media outlet is giving a voice to a plethora of self appointed political pundits, common-sense-loathing activists, and confused citizens of the earth, all trying to make sense of the International Criminal Court’s issuance of a warrant for the arrest of Omar Al-Bashir. However, the one voice that seems to have been muffled by the pandemonium surrounding the issue is that of the Sudanese citizen. I ask: what about me Luis Ocampo

… the pragmatist in me is questioning the effectiveness of the ICC’s decision, and the extent of ‘justice’ it will provide for the victims of the Darfur conflict. It could be too early for the man on the street to speculate, but I sincerely hope that Luis Ocampo and the ICC have a follow-up plan to assuage the commotion caused by the indictment of a sitting head of state. Does the ICC consider this the end result, or a starting point in the quest of peace and justice in Sudan? This question remains unanswered.

Now, let’s move over to see what AK has to say.

The first thing that I noticed was the fact that the Court only charged him on two of three accusations, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The prosecutor did not get his third request for the crime of genocide. This is very telling. Both the first two crimes can be very easily proven and linked back to Al-Bashir, however, the third accusation (of genocide) cannot be as easily proven or linked back to the President.

… Also, the ‘Save Darfur‘ crowd in the United States cannot be happier. In fact, they are using this opportunity to raise funds, as if this arrest warrant is all due to their so-called “advocacy.” This is a snapshot of their website’s home page taken after the arrest warrant was issued.



Along with most Sudanese I know, I am very critical of Save Darfur (et al.). They have been the strongest proponents of intervention in Sudan, something which will undoubtably exacerbate the situation for the worse. But I’ll leave that for a later time.

… Here is a clip of the scenes from Khartoum today:

AK also posted this video of Sudanese ICC supporters and Bashir supporters clashing in NYC. At about 1:30 in the clip, you can see the clashes between the Bashir and ICC supporters:



And now we have Mimz with her thoughts.

I am not a big fan of El-Bashir, in fact I despise the man (would be an understatement) for what he has been putting our country and our people through for the past god knows how long. But the ICC just could not delay this decision, which we all knew was coming, and felt the need to make it today and ignore the fact that the first democratic elections in more than twenty years are expected this year.

Finally we have Path2Hope.

Now the warrant has been issued and exactly what this means for Sudan I do not know. But what I do know is that expelling the activities of 10 of the aid agencies does not help either. Hasn’t the average Sudanese suffered enough? Now that these agencies can no longer do their work - who will step in and fill the gap? I am so angry at not only this reaction in Sudan but by the idiotic ruling of the ICC in the first place.

On a related note, here are Rob Crilly’s latest Twitter updates directly from Darfur where he is right now. They ain’t that pretty.

# NGO staff held at gunpoint in Nyala on way to airport to leave. They were stopped by national security, very people kicking em out 7:07 AM Mar 5th from web

# Tired, smelly. Out of anti-perspirant. Word is Bashir coming here on Sunday but I need a drink 8:18 AM Mar 5th from web

# aid workers now stuck in Khartoum. Must wait for exit visas - the final irony 9:07 AM Mar 5th from web

# three aid vehicles burned in Khartoum last nightabout 18 hours ago from web

# Unamid staff now being allowed out of base to go home after 48hr lockdown. All calm in El Fasher about 19 hours ago from web

# three aid vehicles burned in Khartoum last nightabout 18 hours ago from web

# Aid workers staying in khartoum for now as negotiations continue. No-one holding much hope. about 15 hours ago from txt

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but chuckle and wonder to myself “WTF?” after receiving the following email from Save Darfur.

Urgent: Bashir retaliates and expels aid groups

Oh, really? He expelled them? Nooo, you’ve got to be kidding me. OMG, that’s like sooo impossible. Really? Oh, that’s terrible.

Gosh, no but seriously, like, what the hell did you expect beloved Save Darfur? That Bashir was just going to sit back and relax? Do nothing?

An arrest warrant has been issued. Great, now what? Can you enforce it?

On Wednesday, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President al-Bashir. In response, Bashir has launched a crackdown on humanitarian aid organizations, reportedly ordering a dozen major aid operations to leave Sudan. The United States must lead an urgent, intense and sustained diplomatic push to ensure the continued flow of humanitarian aid and end the genocide in Darfur.

Yeah, I’d love to see that, I really do, but something tells me the United States is too busy fixing its economy. I do hope I’m wrong though.

Like I said, pursuing justice is wonderful, but pursuing peace and stability first and foremost is more important. Savo Heleta, author of “Not My Turn to Die: Memoirs of a Broken Childhood in Bosnia” states it nicely.

Justice is very important for the victims, post-conflict reconciliation, and the future of Darfur and Sudan. However, the aim of the international community should be to first bring peace to Darfur and then punish the perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Precisely.
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Here's another interesting blog post on the ICC issue at H. TAI's Happenings and Reflections March 7, 2009:

one step forward....ten steps back?

The ICC officially issued its arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir last Wednesday around 4pm Khartoum local time. The wearily anticipated news has had everyone on edge for some time now. Some fearing violence would erupt immediately after the press conference. Thankfully, no violence, just thousands of people out in a government organized protest in central Khartoum. Thursday was followed by more protests that drew even larger crowds. All government offices were given the day off and were highly encouraged to attend these protests.

It took me a couple of days to sit down and write this because I wanted to get a feel for various murmurs and whispers that underlined the roars of Al-Bashir supporters. It's all over the headlines; every major news agency has covered the immediate reaction of the government and Bashir's defiant dance to the West.

The general consensus here in the capital is that the issuance of this warrant is regrettable. Not necessarily because they are sympathetic with the president but more so worried about the outcome of this event. Many fear that this will lead Sudan into a downward spiral with its citizens bearing the brunt, particularly those in Darfur.

As someone who grew up in the West, I could understand how someone outside this country can see it in black and white....yes Al-Bashir should be tried at the ICC. But having spent time here working, I have begun appreciate the point of views of citizens of this country. I cannot say that there is a homogenous Sudanese point of view, but getting the chance to hear varied voices has led me to reevaluate this situation. The situation is far more complex and a message such as the ICC's indictment has some serious consequences. From a western point, the approach to this entire situation is 1 dimensional. I would say many of the repercussions of this indictment were not fully accounted for.

Politics and self-appointed political figures and pundits aside, the voices of regular citizens speak volumes and shove all the propaganda aside. From what I have gathered even those who strongly opposed Al-Bashir and his regime, are not in favor of the ICC's decision, for the following reasons:

1. Dislike for the government aside, many see it as a ploy by Western nations to meddle in Sudanese affairs and extort its natural resources. Bottom line they do not feel that anyone actually cares about the citizens of Sudan but are actually pushing for this indictment for ulterior motives. There is a very strong vibe of mistrust of the West here.

2. Some see it as another Iraq waiting to happen. Even though many Iraqis hated Saddam, he was the glue that held the country together. With so many ethnic groups in Sudan and the fragile North-South peace deal, Al-Bashir in a way is the glue that is holding this country together.

3. Others believe that it should not be a Western power (or Western backed power in the case of the ICC) to bring Al-Bashir to justice. "Sudanese people should find a solution to a Sudanese problem" one guy told me.

4. this warrant will ruin the country economically and millions will suffer as a result

5. The constant bombardment of propaganda from government and opposing groups will dominate the local media. All attention will be directed to this issue and everything else will be put in the backburner.

6. forget the word DEVELOPMENT... as now all focus will be directed to battling the "evil Western powers who are trying to bring down this nation"

Although the ICC's chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, now a household name in Sudan stated the greatest of this warrant will fall on Al-Bashir himself as it will restrict his international travel, many see that will not be the case. The ICC has no enforcement powers and many countries are not signatories of the Rome Stature, which created the ICC in the first place. Many believe the ICC and "Ocambo" are "not firmly planted on the ground" implying that they are not being realistic to believe that Sudan will comply and hand over Al-Bashir, especially since they have already vehemently refused to turn over 2 other government supporters/officials heavily implicated in the Darfur crisis.

What is more unfortunate and appalling is the government's decision to expel 10 of major NGOs, some of which were some of the most active in delivering basic needs and services to hundreds of thousands of people. For someone how is currently working in the development sector this decision is making my head spin. Really I cannot fathom how the government or the remaining agencies will be able to fill the gap of those who were expelled.

In talking to friends and acquaintances in some of the expelled NGOs, the mood is frantic and melancholy. Many of these organizations have no affiliations with the governments of their nations of origin. They are charitable organizations with the sole concern to aid those in displacement camps, rural populations and those seriously affected by the events taking/took place in this country. The means by which the government went about expelling these organizations is uncalled for. Many have had many of their possessions seized, not even being able to take paper from their offices..... they were told to evacuate immediately. But even that could not happen as many who made it to Khartoum are currently waiting to get exit visas, which are complicated further by the cumbersome government bureaucracy.

I really do hope the government rethinks this decision as it is detrimental to the well being of hundreds of thousands if not millions of Sudanese citizens. When Sudan's issues were brought to the international stage, I was excited as it finally highlighted the plight of millions who could not properly voice their situation. The past 2 years in particular were good in the sense that the government began to take notice and allocate funds to alleviate the suffering of those disenfranchised citizens. These past few years saw some progress in roads to inaccessible regions, funds to establish and strengthen government sectors working in developing the underdeveloped regions of the nation. The means by which the international community has applied pressure in recent years has helped the situation somewhat.

Sadly the ICC's indictment has set the nation on the path to taking ten steps backwards....after its first step forward.

1 COMMENTS:

Kizzie said...
"Sudanese people should find a solution to a Sudanese problem" It's like the say he is an SOB , but he is our SOB :)

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Here's another great blog post by American artist Rob Rooker who lives and works in Juba, Southern Sudan.

March 5, 2009 - silence:

fortunately juba seems calm and relaxed today. at least for the time being.

I’ve been following news reports by a guy named Rob Crilly who is currently reporting out of Darfur. It doesn’t sound so quiet there and looks like it could get a lot worse before it gets any better. He is also twittering here if anyone is interested to follow.

The reason for all this turmoil, at least for today, is that the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Omar Al Bashir yesterday. This particular man is the President of the whole of Sudan. Needless to say, he is not very happy with the whole thing. Go read here what the warrant of arrest is all about. Click on this link for a google news round up on all the current news and information coming out or also check out the Sudan Watch for more information.

Mr. Crilly has written a very nice article commenting on the advocacy outside of Sudan that pushed for this indictment to happen. I have to say that I rather agree with the points that he has made.

If anyone is interested in what other Sudanese are saying a great place to start is here - www.thesudanesethinker.com.

What it has meant for us in Juba these last few days is just a whole lot of anxiety. There was fear that soldiers aligned with the government in Khartoum and soldiers aligned to the government of Southern Sudan might end up going at each others throats. They are supposed to be friends and working together at the moment, but little things come up every now and then and they start a fight. This arrest warrant is a rather big issue for the Sudanese and could have very well managed to spark things. Fortunately, up till now nothing has happened. Hopefully isn’t a smoldering match.

Because of our concern for a fight, we decided to temporarily relocate to one of the hotels for the past two nights. Currently we live right next door to the barracks for the Joint Integrated Units (JIU). These guys are made up of Northern and Southern soldiers and are the ones I mentioned in the above paragraph. If a fight had started, we were fearing it would start there. Not necessarily the best place to be if things had gotten a little hectic.

We are going back home tonight. We got tired of an uncomfortable bed, overpriced food (but good) and shortage of a change of clothes. I am hoping that sooner or later we will be able to find a better place to stay that won’t be so close to an ignition point and hopefully won’t have to worry so much about these sort of incidents.

Click here to see an example of Rob's talent and this HIV awareness poster that he was recently commissioned to create:


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Sudan's child soldiers: forced into fighting

From yesterday's Guardian:

On the day the international criminal court issues an arrest warrant against the Sudanese president, Omar al-Bashir, for war crimes in Darfur, we hear from four of the child soldiers. About 10,000 children are involved in combat in Sudan after being abducted from refugee camps in Chad to join the rebel forces.

See video clip: Sudan child soldiers

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Peace and Love

God bless the children in Sudan, not forgetting all the children in Chad.



Photo: Children at a refugee camp near the town of Goz Beida, Chad. (Nicholas D. Kristof/The New York Times Trailing George Clooney)