John Garang In Memoriam - Experts say Salva Kiir can unify South Sudan

- AU chief expresses shock over death of Garang
- Ethiopia laments death of Sudan's First Vice President Garang
- Eritrean president mourns death of Garang
- East Africa mourns Garang, fears unravelling peace

Please read "In memoriam John Garang" by Jim Moore at Passion of the Present.



Photo: Refugees from southern Sudan read the Daily Nation newspapers in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi to catch up with the lastest news following the 01 August death of ex-Sudanese rebel leader John Garang.

Garang is to be buried Saturday 6 August in Juba, the town he selected as the capital of an autonomous southern Sudan, his Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army said. (AFP/Simon Maina)
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UN offers help over Garang death

Here is an except from News.com.au by correspondents in Cairo Aug 3 - via Reuters:

The United Nations has offered to help investigate the cause of the helicopter crash which killed former southern Sudanese rebel leader and First Vice President John Garang, Sudan's top UN envoy, Jan Pronk, said today.

Jan Pronk said Mr Garang's death, announced yesterday, was a setback to a peace deal that ended Africa's longest civil war, but the speedy transition of power was a positive sign that the former rebel group could stay united without Mr Garang.

"There will be an investigation ... we have offered our assistance so that may result in a joint investigation," Mr Pronk said by telephone from Khartoum.

"Uganda, the SPLM, the government, the UN, we need to group all our expertise ... it is necessary in order to take away all suspicion if there are suspicions," he said.

There has been no suggestion of foul play.

News of John Garang's death prompted thousands of southern Sudanese resident in Khartoum to riot, loot and burn in violence not seen in the capital for years. Dozens of people were killed and more than 100 hospitalised yesterday's [Tuesday's] clashes.

Mr Pronk said the violence was an expression of rage and frustration by people whose hopes were raised by Mr Garang's return to Khartoum to join the new power-sharing government after more than two decades in exile.

"They are angry and frustrated and that leads to violence ... it is not political or sectarian, it's a riot," Mr Pronk said.

"It will perhaps take a few days but then it will be over."

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Riots in Sudan after Garang's death



Photo: Police stand next to a burning car in Khartoum, Sudan Monday Aug. 1, 2005. (AP).

Trey Jackson blogs a video and news of the riots - via Instapundit with thanks.



Photo: Sudanese soldiers stand guard in Khartoum, a day after deadly riots broke out in the city, following the announce of the death of John Garang. (AFP/Salah Omar)
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Experts say new SPLM leader can unify south

If I could spend more time on posts today, I would like to have put together some original commentary on the conflicting reports I have been reading re the new SPLM leader, Salva Kiir. Here is an excerpt from a report by William Maclean for Reuters Aug 2 via Sudan Tribune:

Along with many in the SPLM, Kiir privately takes a tougher line than Garang took on southern self-determination, experts say, although publicly he has supported Garang's opinion that it would be preferable for Sudan to remain one country.

Under the peace accords, southerners have the right to vote for secession at the end of a six-year interim period, a concession granted by the Islamist government in response to the rebels' core demand for the right of self-determination.

Experts say anecdotal evidence shows that southerners would vote en masse for secession if the vote were taken today.

"Garang was the best hope for the unity option, so with his death a unity vote is now perhaps less likely," said Horn of Africa expert Alex de Waal.

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Garang to Sack Salva Kiir as Commander-in-Chief

Browsing the Internet today, I came across the following piece published at sudanvisiondaily.com by "admin". Although I cannot be sure of the source, I thought it was worth logging various points of view. Note the piece was published online July 8, 2005:

In a move seen as ending cooperation between SPLM/A leader Dr. John Garang and his deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit, a source close to the SPLM/A leader disclosed that the latter will issue a decision appointing Mujakim Akot as Commander-in-Chief of SPLM/A forces to replace Salva Kiir.

The source said the relationship between Garang his deputy has been strained to the point of the two no longer having confidence in one another. According to the source, the expected decision is believed to arouse a row, referring to SPLM/A's promise to assign the position of Commander-in-Chief to Wyai Deng Ajuk, adding that SPLM/A rejected his appointment because he belongs to Shilluk.

In another development, Darfur rebels have admitted receipt of a craft-load of arms sent by SPLM/A in support of their movement in Jebel Marrah. A member of the Darfur rebels delegation that arrived in Cairo, Tuesday, confirmed to SMC their receipt of that support but added that a number of their political leaders rejected dealing with SPLM/A.

"SPLM is running after passing its own agenda through the Darfur Movement, and that is rejected by some within the ranks of the movement," said that member, describing SPLM/A objectives and political line as flabby, dismissing as irrelevant any future alliance with it.

Meanwhile, SPLM/A has agreed in principle on the Mandela Charity Centre initiative aimed at pushing the momentum of South-South dialogue.

A source on the Coordinating Council for Southern Sudan (CCSS) said the Council proposed an initiative calling for convening the South-South Dialogue Conference, to be attended by southern sectors and parties, at both home and abroad to bring the various viewpoints closer, and to come up with a vision to maintain the forthcoming peace.

The source added that the initiative will be patronized by CCSS Chairman, Riak Gai, and the Minister of Electricity, Ali Tamim Fartak. The source told SMC that the Committee would hold meetings in Nairobi on July 15, that will last for 5 days to discuss the unified agenda that will be submitted to SPLM/A. It is to be noted that a number of southerners will arrive from the USA, Britain, and Cairo, to participate in the meetings organized by the Mandela Charity Centre.

Source: http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1995

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa

Djibouti: U.S. long-term Africa intelligence base

Today I found the following draft post in my folder. I guess it must be from last year, probably around July. As I am not sure if I ever published it here at Sudan Watch, I am posting a copy for future reference:

Thanks to a post at Karmalised, I found the following report from afrol.com. Here is a copy of the report, in full:

Djibouti since June 2002 is hosting 1800 US soldiers that are busy building a permanent military base to coordinate intelligence operations on the Horn and East Africa. Numerous US operations are already interfering with the aims of Muslim societies in the region.

The American military base at Djibouti's ex-French post Camp Lemonier is increasingly present in US media. Here, "the quiet battle" in the war against terrorism is waged by a new US military anti-terrorism taskforce, visiting American journalists conclude. The Djibouti base is turning into the most strategic cell in the US-led war against Muslim terrorists and alleged terrorists.

The US news agency 'Associated Press' (AP) recently sent its journalist Chris Tomlinson to Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, or what he calls "the heart of the Bush administration's quiet battle against Islamist militants operating in six nations in East Africa and in Yemen," from Kenya to Sudan.

The journalist observed great activity at the US base, where soldiers still sleep in tents. Great resources are however spent to upgrade the former French Foreign Legion post and the US troops leave no doubt that they intent to stay for a long time in Djibouti.

We are the gathering point and dissemination point for all information, Commander Cooper told the AP journalist. "We are empowering host nations to retake neighbourhoods that people are trying to take from them," added Brigadier-General Martin Robeson, referring to Muslim groups. Mr Robeson is the commander of the US task force in Djibouti.

The soldiers interviewed confirm that the US troops stationed in Djibouti are active in all the countries of the region, primarily coordinating intelligence work between Washington, military and civilian US representations in the region and the cooperating governments of the Horn. They claim to have disrupted several terrorist plots during their stay in Djibouti.

The US troops in Djibouti however also are directly involved in what normally is considered within the sovereignty of independent states. This includes border security and coastal security for the countries of the Horn.

Fishermen from the Somali southern city of Raas Kambooni this week learned what the US troops in Djibouti mean with coastal security assistance. According to the newspaper 'Houg Ogal', the fishermen had stumbled onto US intelligence cameras and other electronic devices, installed on the depopulated rocky island of Burr Gaabo near the Kenyan borders, but within Somali territorial waters.

In Kenya, the coastal town of Lamu currently again is experiencing a large joint Kenyan-US military exercise. According to the Kenyan Department of Defence, the US troops involved are part of the anti-terrorism task force for the Horn of Africa, based in Djibouti. The Kenyan-US anti-terrorism exercise is the fourth within short time.

Especially in Somalia and Kenya, the US troops believe to find essential links to their main enemy, the al-Qaeda terrorist network. Somalia has been without a central government for 12 years and a group connected with al-Qaeda in the 1990s temporarily established here. Its stronghold was in Raas Kambooni - where local fishermen now find electronic surveillance devices.

Kenya is the African country where most terrorist attacks have taken place. The US troops therefore keep an extra eye on this country, counting on total collaboration from Nairobi authorities. General Robeson in Djibouti claims that "hundreds of new al-Qaeda members have been recruited" in Kenya, "despite stepped-up anti-terrorism efforts."

But this alleged new recruitment of al-Qaeda members in the region has also been termed a failure of the US military taskforce in Djibouti. Analysts interviewed by the Nairobi-based 'East African' say that the US administration has "failed to respond appropriately to the election of a reform-minded president in Kenya."

Washington's rhetoric proved largely hollow, the Kenyan analysts added. While the military cooperation between the US and Kenya is booming, the chance to improve Kenyans' lives under the new government of President Mwai Kibaki, supporting his economic and social reforms, has been largely missed by Washington.

With misery still prevailing in Africa's Horn and Kenya, recruitment for Islamist extremists will not diminish, regional critics hold.

Tags: Djibouti Sudan Darfur Africa

Sudan's SPLM names Salva Kiir as Garang's successor

Salva Kiir got the support of the entire SPLM as Garang's successor.

Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, the man Mr Garang had tried for years to topple, appealed for calm as he declared three days of national mourning. The President described Mr Garang as a "brother" and a great loss to the country. "He is a true peace partner and he has played a big role," he said.

U.S. President George W Bush is saddened by Garang's death and calls for calm in Sudan.

The U.S. dispatched two senior envoys to Sudan today in hopes of keeping the peace process in south Sudan on track.



New leader of SPLM Salva Kiir (L) walks by the coffin of John Garang in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 1, 2005. (Reuters)

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa President Bush SPLM

Millions 'still at risk in Darfur' - UN attacks Sudan for breaking rape pledge

Scotsman report July 31 says Sudanese police and soldiers continue to rape helpless civilians in Darfur despite government promises to stop them and punish those responsible, according to a UN report.

Victims and witnesses are routinely threatened and sometimes even charged with crimes if they come forward with allegations of rape, the report said. Authorities also intimidate humanitarian groups investigating the claims.
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Millions 'still at risk in Darfur'

Scotsman report July 30 says the lives of millions of people displaced by the conflict in Darfur are "hanging in the balance", aid workers warned, with the situation little improved from a year ago.
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South Sudan's new leader



Photo: Deputy leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Salva Kiir presides over a leadership meeting in New Site village in Southern Sudan August 1, 2005. Officials of the former rebel SPLM began meeting on Monday to decide the future of the group after its leader John Garang died in a helicopter crash. The meeting of 21 leaders from the political wing and military command of the SPLM/A was chaired by the deputy leader and Garang's probable replacement Kiir. (Reuters/Radu Sigheti)

UPDATE: Former rebel group SPLM named Salva Kiir to succeed its leader John Garang.
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Darfur rebel says Garang's death was not an accident



Photo: A picture taken in April 1986 in southern Sudan shows Colonel John Garang, then leader of the Sudanese People's Liberation Front. The helicopter crash that killed Sudanese First Vice President and southern leader John Garang was not an accident, Darfur rebel leader Abdel Wahed Mohammed Ahmed Nur said. 'John Garang's death is a big loss for the new Sudan forces and for all the Sudanese people,' said the leader of the main rebel group in Sudan's western Darfur, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army. (AFP/File)

Tags: aid+workers Sudan Darfur Africa rape Garang

Probe into Garang's death requested

UPI report says a senior aide to John Garang, has called for an investigation into the crash. Excerpt:

Deng Alor, a senior member of Garang's rebel movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement, refused to say if the plane crash was accidental or the result of a sabotage.

"We do not rule out any possibility, and that is why we are asking for an investigation," Alor told UPI in a telephone interview from southern Sudan.

President Omar al-Bashir announced earlier Monday Garang died with six aides and seven crew members while on his way back from Uganda in a Ugandan presidential helicopter. It crashed against high mountains due to poor visibility.

Bashir in a statement characterized Garang's death as "a big and terrible loss for the nation" but said it would not disrupt the peace process.

UPDATE - From Coalition for Darfur:

Uganda Launches Probe into Crash of Garang Helicopter:

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said Monday he would appoint a special panel to investigate the weekend crash of his helicopter that killed Sudanese Vice President John Garang and 13 others.

In addition, Museveni said Uganda had asked a foreign government to look into Saturday's crash to definitively establish that it was an accident as officials in Kampala have insisted and not the result of sabotage or terrorism.

"I have decided to create a panel of three experts to look into this crash," Museveni said, adding that the team would be appointed shortly by Uganda's transport minister.

"We have also approached a certain foreign government to rule out any form of sabotage or terrorism," he said in a statement read to parliament by Vice President Gilbert Bukenya that did not identify the government involved.

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Uganda declares 3-day mourning over Garang's death

China News agency Xinhua confirms Ugandan government has declared a three-day mourning period with effect from Tuesday with flags flying at half-mast in the whole country to condole the death of John Garang.
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Mbeki appeals for calm in Sudan

President Thabo Mbeki offered condolences on Garang's death and appealed on Monday for restraint in Sudan. Full Story.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa Mbeki Uganda

Sudan declares 12-hour curfew after Garang's death

AFP report today says riots, looting and armed clashes broke out in Khartoum and further south in the main city of Juba though calm had returned to Sudan later on Monday afternoon.

Sudanese authorities have declared a 12-hour curfew starting 6:00 pm (1500 GMT) in Khartoum Monday following riots after the death of southern leader John Garang, the SUNA official news agency reported.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa Khartoum

Anti-Arab riots break out in south Sudan capital after Garang death

Listed in an earlier post here are links to posts by bloggers in other countries. Some are suspicious about the circumstances of John Garang's 'accident'. My first reaction was the same but initial reports said the helicopter was unable to land because of poor weather and may have encountered fuel problems causing it to smash into the side of a mountain.

Some bloggers liken the current situation to the start of the Rwandan genocide which began after Rwanda's president perished in an air crash. Going by the following report by AFP, it appears many people on the ground in Sudan are also suspicious of what has happened. One would hope the UN peacekeepers currently in Sudan, as part of the South Sudan peace agreement, will start showing their faces soon:

KHARTOUM, Aug 1 (AFP) - Anti-Arab riots erupted Monday in Juba, the main city in southern Sudan, after the official announcement of southern leader John Garang's death in an air crash, witnesses told AFP.

Thousands of southerners, alleging the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum may have had a hand in Garang's death, attacked shops and other businesses in Juba owned by northern Arab Sudanese.

"They burned down all their shops," Juba resident Mary Keji told AFP on the phone. "We can still see smoke rising from the city's main market."

The protesters ignored appeals by leaders of the former southern rebel group that Garang headed, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), and ransacked the town, vandalising property owned by Arab traders.

"They only targeted Arab businesses," Keji said, adding that government forces intervened in a bid to restore order.

No casualties were immediately reported as the rioters appeared to spare residents and were only targeting Arab property.

Garang's SPLM fought against successive governments in the north for more than two decades, demanding greater autonomy for the animist and Christian south from the Arab-dominated Muslim north.

He returned to Khartoum last July after a landmark north-south peace deal that saw him take up the post of first vice president in a national unity government with former archfoe President Omar al-Beshir.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Kony Uganda Africa Arab Muslim Arab Christian Juba

Garang's body arrives at SPLM HQ in southern Sudan

AFP report confirms the body of John Garang was brought to his former headquarters in the town of New Site, an official said. Excerpt:

"The remains of Doctor Garang have arrived at the leadership compound in New Site" in southern Sudan, a few miles from the crash site, near the borders with Kenya and Uganda, the official told AFP by telephone.

He said the remains were recovered from the wreckage and brought to the local headquarters of Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) in the town.

New Site is where Garang lived for several years before recently moving to Khartoum, following the January signing of a peace agreement that ended 21 years of a bloody civil war against government forces.

Garang's widow Rebecca told Sudan Radio Service that arrangements for her husband's funeral will be made after consultations with the SPLM.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Kony Uganda Africa

Garang helicopter wreckage, bodies found in remote southern Sudan

AFP report says the wreckage of a crashed Ugandan helicopter and the bodies of Sudanese Vice President John Garang and the 13 other people on board have been located in a remote area of southern Sudan, a Ugandan official said Monday.

The official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a UN search team found the debris along with the bodies in an isolated region near Sudan's border with Kenya and Uganda.

"A UN team that went on the ground witnessed the wreckage," the official said. "It said that all people on board died."

In Nairobi, the deputy chief of Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) said the helicopter belonging to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had crashed south of the town of New Kush.
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Garang's death

In quotes
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What bloggers are saying

+++ RIP Dr. John Garang DeMabior, a 60 year-old US educated economist who spent 40 years fighting in the bush and waged a 20-year long war on the regime in Khartoum at a cost of two million Sudanese lives. +++

Westminster Confessions in London [a small group of bloggers with first hand experience of life on the ground in Sudan] says it all so beautifully in a post entitled John Garang Dies [keep on scrolling there to see other posts on Sudan]:

"The fragile peace in Sudan is being reaffirmed by the Sudanese government, but the South will need a strong leader to step up and fill Garang's shoes. We grieve with our friends in New Sudan over their loss of this great man, peacemaker, and friend, and our prayers are with them as they look to the future."

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This list will be added to throughout the day:

Owukori Black Looks:
"John Garang is not the first African leader to die in a plane/helicopter accident - there will be many questions asked as to how this happened and more importantly if there was any foul play."

Mistletoe in Kuwait:
"Cause of crash here was bad weather too, but the part my brain can't handle is when you hear Al-Bashir stating after years of a bloody war that 'we never disagreed on any point'..... Am very confused. Must get that book."

Yasser Rihan in Cairo, Egypt:
"John Garang he's a warrior that fought all his life for the independence of souths sudan and when he got near to his dream and he got peace to south sudan he died,maybe millions will remember him and millions hated him but what everybody agrees about is that he'll always be remembered as a key figure and a key player in Sudan and in the world itself as he was behind the international pressure exposed on Sudan.Anyway when I look to those people I always remember whether you are a king or a misreable begger after death we're all equal only our work is what differs between people. May god help us all."

Mustapha at The Beirut Spring:
"The international community has to move fast to avoid another embarrassing repeat of Rwanda. What adds more to the urgency is the symbolic nature of the Sudan conflict: a fight between Moslems and Christians. This should end very quickly. God knows how little we need other Jihadists and Crusaders."

Chinese man in Beijing says today is a really horrible day for all the muslims of Sudan.

US blogger Rocket Jones:
"The article tries hard to be upbeat about the continuing prospects for peace, indicating that no Rwandan-style buildup to violence has been noted. Of course, no buildup was noticed in Rwanda either before almost one million people were massacred in three months. Everyone is saying the right words, but some things aren't adding up quite yet. It could be the confusion of the moment, and the situation may clear up as details emerge."

Raising Kaine in the USA:
"His flight's disappearance evoked memories of the 1994 downing of the airplane of Rwandan President Juvenal Habyarimana, who had been trying to implement a power-sharing deal between his fellow Hutus and the rival Tutsis. His death opened the doors to the Rwandan genocide in which more than 500,000 people were killed, following months of preparation by Hutu extremists."

US blogger Tim at bLogicus: "Considering that Northern Sudan has a terrible track record full of human rights violations (e.g., Darfur) and would certainly welcome the demise of the SPLM, it is incumbent upon those overseeing the peace process to conduct a full investigation into Garang's death. Garang survived a 21-year civil war but when peace came died in an aircraft accident, reportedly because of poor whether conditions. I'm suspicious."

Alluta, in the comments at Africa Resistance writes:
"Another source indicated that in an attempt to turn back to Uganda, the helicopter might have veered into what he called 'enemy territory' towards eastern Sudan, but no details were given. This part of Sudan is known to harbour Ugandan rebels known as the Lord's Resistance Army led by Joseph Kony. Yet, another version had it that the helicopter landed safely in another town not too far from Rumbek, from where Garang travelled by road to Juba. This account could not be confirmed."

From MarteyDodoo.com:
"I cannot help but think of the plane crash that killed Rwandan president Juvnal Habyarimana, which sparked the genocide there. I worry that if Garang's helicopter has crashed, suspicions that Khartoum was behind it, might derail the peace. The Washington Post had a good article today about the hopes of the people in southern Sudan for stability and development as a result of the new peace."

UK blogger Mick Hartley says of John Garang:
"He joins the list of African politicians killed in mysterious plane crashes, like Rwandan President Juvnal Habyarimana, whose death was the trigger for the Tutsi massacre, and Mozambique's Samora Machel."

American blogger Bill at Jewels in the Jungle in Germany writes:
"I am personally very saddened about the news of John Garang's death and concerned about the absence of any independent investigation into the crash by accredited international aviation accident experts. To make matters worse it wasn't 2 weeks ago that I was discussing the taking of office by John Garang in Khartoum with a friend of mine here. My friend, a devout Muslim from Senegal, and I rarely agree on global politics and issues and we have especially heated debates (near fistfights) about issues in Africa and the Middle East but on one opinion we were in complete harmony: If John Garang remains in Khartoum the Bashir regime there would kill him. Now he is dead, by an accident, they say."

Eugene at Coalition for Darfur asks:
"Why The Silence? I am just wondering why, as of 11:30 am, there have been no statements released by the State Department (here or here) or White House (here) on Garang's death." -- And Was It An Accident?

British blogger Keith has updates on Africa with news of Garth's idea called Bloggers Unite For Africa. Garth is trying to encourage bloggers to raise awareness and funds for the different crises in Africa such as Sudan and the Sahel food crisis that is hitting West African countries including Niger, and Burkina Faso. He is suggesting people do a yard sale or garage sale, and you can add your name to say you'd like to join in.

Bulletin at Genocide Intervention Fund.
Guardian Unlimited: Newsblog

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa Genocide Intervention Fund Black Looks Kuwait Guardian Cairo Guardian Cairo Beirut Beijing Rwanda Niger Burkina Faso

Riots after Sudan VP Garang dies

Large-scale riots have broken out in Sudan's capital Khartoum following the death of the country's vice-president, former rebel leader John Garang.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Khartoum says gangs of youths from southern Sudan, like Mr Garang, are battling the security forces and looting cars. Excerpts:

The protesters are throwing stones and smashing office windows. Gunfire can be heard and the security forces are trying to seal off the city centre, our correspondent says.

There are also reports of unrest elsewhere in Sudan. Three days of national mourning have been declared.

Mr Garang's deputy in the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Salva Kiir Mayardit, will take control of the former rebel group, the SPLM said. Mr Mayardit said the SPLM remained committed to the peace agreement Mr Garang signed in January and urged all Sudanese to remain calm.

SPLM officials stressed that Mr Garang's death had been an accident. Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir said he was confident the peace agreement would remain on course.

The mediator in the long-running Sudanese peace talks, Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, said it was clear from the peace agreement that whoever became SPLM leader would also take over as Sudan's vice-president.

Mr Garang's widow, Rebecca, told the BBC that the people of Sudan should carry on with his vision.
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More of the latest news can be found at SudanTribune.

Full Story and obituary.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa

John Garang Sudan's first VP and former rebel leader killed

Various news reports are saying the Sudanese presidency confirmed today (Monday) that southern leader and vice president John Garang, aged 60, died in a helicopter accident.

See Reuters report at FT.com and 800+ other reports on the story at Google news. Some are saying the tragedy of Dr Garang's death threatens stability in Sudan.

China News Agency Xinhua says SPLM terms Garang's accident as "natural".

For further news see Google search news on Garang, Sudan and Passion of the Present.

Statement by Garang's deputy Salva Kiir Mayardit



Photo: Southern Sudan's vice-president and deputy chairman of Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Salva Kiir Mayardit briefs the media after the death of Sudan's First Vice-President and former rebel leader of SPLM John Garang in Nairobi, Kenya, August 1, 2005. (Reuters/Antony Njuguna)

Click here for official statement by first vice-chairman of the SPLM/SPLA, Commander Salva Kiir Mayardit broadcast by Kenyan KTN TV on 1 August. (BBC/ST)

Mourning the death of Garang



Photo: Southern Sudanese women mourn the death of Sudan's First Vice-President and former rebel leader of Sudan People's Liberation Movement John Garang in Nairobi, Kenya, August 1, 2005. (Reuters/Antony Njuguna)



Photo: Sudan's First Vice-President John Garang boards a helicopter at Entebbe International Airport on his way to meet Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni at his country home in Mbarara, western Uganda in this July 29, 2005 file photo. Photo and caption by Reuters.



Photo: Sudan's former rebel leader and First Vice-President John Garang shakes hands with crew members as he boards an Ugandan helicopter at Entebbe International Airport on his way to meet Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni at his country home in Mbarara, western Uganda in this July 29, 2005 file photo via Reuters/Str.
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Sudanese VP, 13 others die in air crash

AP report via Guardian August 1, 2005:

The Sudanese government confirmed Monday that Vice President John Garang was killed when a Ugandan presidential plane he was traveling in crashed into a southern Sudan mountain range.

"It has now been confirmed that the plane crashed after it hit a mountain range in southern Sudan because of poor visibility and this resulted in the death of Dr. John Garang DeMabior, six of his colleagues and seven other crew members of the Ugandan presidential plane,'' according to a statement released by the office of Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir."
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Reuters says a UN official confirms Sudan's former rebel leader John Garang is dead.

China News agency Xinhua says Uganda is sending a team to locate Garang's aircraft crash. Garang left Uganda on Saturday afternoon by a Presidential Helicopter-MI-72, heading for his base at New Site in southern Sudan.

Reuters reports fears for SPLM/A chairman as helicopter goes missing.
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Excerpt from Reuters report Aug 1:

According to the statement by Museveni: "He [Garang] left Rwakitura in the President’s Mi-72 helicopter at around 1545 hours (local time) for his base at New Site (in Sudan), just north of Kidepo Valley National Park.

"Due to the need to refuel the helicopter, they stopped in Entebbe (in Uganda) and left at 1655 hours.

"By 1830 hours the chopper was overflying the Karenga and Kapedo areas near Kidepo. The helicopter attempted to land in southern Sudan at a place known as New Kush, but aborted the landing because of bad weather and headed southwest.

"It was heard over Pirre, towards the Kenyan border. Since morning, we have been searching the Kidepo area to locate the chopper without success," it said. (Reporting by Dan Wallis in Kampala)
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Sudan TV says Garang's aircraft landed safely

Here is a good example of why you can't believe a word of news out of Khartoum - even if it comes via an international news agency. See this copy of yesterday's report by Reuters entitled Sudan TV says Garang's aircraft landed safely:

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudanese state television said on Sunday the aircraft carrying ex-rebel John Garang, now first vice-president, had landed safely in a camp in south Sudan after it was reported missing earlier in the day.

"Reports indicate that the aircraft of the first vice president John Garang landed safely in a camp in the south," state television said in a brief statement without giving details. EAB
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Sudanese vice president's aircraft missing

KHARTOUM, Sudan, July 31 (UPI) -- The aircraft of Sudanese Vice President John Garang has been reported missing, according to Sudan's information minister.

Information Minister Abdel-Basit Sabdera said on state television the helicopter took off Saturday from Uganda bound for southern Sudan, but Ugandan air traffic controllers lost contact and the Ugandan military began a search, reported the Voice of America Sunday. The information minister said earlier reports that Garang's helicopter had landed safely were inaccurate.

Garang had been in Kampala visiting Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni.

He became Sudan's first vice president three weeks ago as part of a peace agreement signed earlier this year that ended a 21-year civil war between the government and rebels in the south.

Copyright 2005 by United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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Garang 'safe' in plane drama

Note this copy of a report from The Peninsula On-line: Qatar's leading English Daily 8/1/2005 [Source: Agencies]:

KHARTOUM: A plane carrying the former rebel who ascended to Sudan's No. 2 leadership post after a recent peace agreement landed safely yesterday after losing contact in bad weather on its way back from Uganda, Sudanese state TV said. State television interrupted its regular programing to say that Vice-President John Garang "has landed safely at a camp in southern Sudan". The report did not specify where. Earlier, Ugandan army spokesman 2nd Capt Dennis Musitwa said a helicopter carrying Garang apparently went down on Saturday. The discrepancy between the time and the type of craft could not be immediately explained. Garang had been on a private visit in Uganda, which has pledged to repair relations with Sudan now that peace has been declared in the southern war, Musitwa said.
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Sudan's VP Garang 'landed safely'

A BBC News report that I'd seen last night entitled "Sudan's VP Garang 'landed safely'" is still listed at Google news but when you click into the report, it has been replaced with an updated BBC report entitled Sudan VP Garang killed in crash.
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Sudan's John Garang 'is missing'

Here is a copy of yesterday's (31 July) report by BBC NEWS Africa Sudan's John Garang 'is missing' :

The whereabouts of Sudan's First Vice-President John Garang are unclear after a military helicopter taking him back from Uganda failed to arrive.

Mr Garang flew out on Saturday night but did not reach the destination in a village on Sudan's border with Kenya, the United Nations in Sudan said.

There were reports of bad weather in northern Uganda at the time.

The former southern Sudanese leader was sworn in three weeks ago as part of a peace deal ending a long civil war.

His Sudan People's Liberation Movemement (SPLM) has called a crisis meeting in Kenya, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from Khartoum.

'No communication'

Mr Garang had been due to arrive in the small village of New Site in southern Sudan.

Ugandan military spokesman Lt Col Shaban Bantariza told Reuters news agency the authorities had lost contact with the helicopter.

"What we know is they left here, they went and we don't know where they are - there has been no communication back," he said.

It is unclear where he is now, our correspondent says.

The missing leader steered his rebel movement through a bloody 21-year civil war against the government in the north which ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January.

Three weeks ago, more than a million people filled the streets of Khartoum as he returned to the capital for the first time and was sworn in as Sudan's first vice-president and president of the south.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa BBC

Sudan VP Garang killed in crash

Yesterday, a BBC news report said John Garang was on his way back to Sudan from Uganda when his plane or helicopter went missing for several hours. Later on in the evening, the report was updated saying he was safe and well.

This morning it was a shock to see a new BBC report saying he was killed in crash.

Here is a copy of today's report:

Sudan's Vice-President John Garang, a former rebel leader, has been killed in a crash, the government has said.
Mr Garang had been missing since Saturday, when contact was lost with his helicopter flying back from Uganda.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher says Mr Garang's importance in holding together southern Sudan cannot be overstated.

He was greeted as a peacemaker by more than a million people when he was sworn in three weeks ago as part of a deal ending a decades-long civil war.

His death will be a huge blow to the Sudanese people, our correspondent adds.

Mr Garang's former rebel movement, the Sudan People's Liberation Army, is said to have held a crisis meeting in Nairobi when news of a possible crash began to spread.

Mr Garang steered the group through a bloody 21-year civil war against the government in the north.

He ruled it with an iron hand, imprisoning or killing anyone who threatened to stand in his way.

But he managed to keep the disparate movement together, despite many disagreements.

The conflict in Sudan ended with the signing of a peace agreement in January, and Mr Garang became vice-president in a new government of national unity.

He declared the peace agreement a "great battle and a major victory".

The dignity of the southern people, he said, had been restored: "Nobody will take us for granted - we have come to stay".

With his death the future of peace in Sudan is once more in the balance, correspondents say.

Tags: Garang Sudan Darfur Africa

Garang warns Kony

From Uganda's "New Vision"... [via Passion of the Present - with thanks]:

Sudanese First Vice- President 1st Lt. Gen. John Garang has given Joseph Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels an ultimatum to to leave southern Sudan.

Until Wednesday evening, Garang was a colonel, a rank he has held since 1983 when he deserted the Sudan army.

In an exclusive interview with the New Vision, Garang said he was going to deal firmly with the militias operating in southern Sudan, in order to rebuild the war-ravaged region.

"Kony won't be hiding there for long. It is not only Kony, but also all the militias who have been operating in the area. We need to provide peace, security and stability, so the militias including those that were formerly supported by the government, must be disbanded."

Garang flew into the country aboard a chartered plane yesterday for a meeting with president Yoweri Museveni. The meeting took place at Rwakitura in Mbarara.

Garang was met at Entebbe Airport by Vice-President Prof. Gilbert Bukenya and the Minister for Regional Cooperation, Nshimye Sebuturo. He flew to Rwakitura aboard President Museveni's helicopter.

The former Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) leader, who controlled southern Sudan before the peace deal with the Khartoum Government, said the priority of his government was to resettle displaced people and remove camps of the internally displaced people and return the Sudanese refugees.

He said there were between three to four million Sudanese refugees outside the country who need to be returned and resettled.

He said his government had started rebuilding the infrastructure in the devastated region, which is home to over 12 million people.

Garang said in the next week, the 10 Supervisors for the 10 southern Sudanese states would have taken office to oversee the building of the infrastructure.

The infrastructure to be rebuilt includes roads and railways in southern Sudan and those linking it with Uganda and Kenya, water facilities and financial institutions.

Tags: Garang Kony Sudan Darfur Africa

Spiegel interview with African economics expert James Shikwati: "For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"

Not sure what to think of Der Spiegel Interview July 4, 2005 with African Economics Expert: 'For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!'

The Kenyan economics expert James Shikwati, 35, says that aid to Africa does more harm than good. The avid proponent of globalization spoke with SPIEGEL about the disastrous effects of Western development policy in Africa, corrupt rulers, and the tendency to overstate the AIDS problem.

[via INCITE: Aid to Africa: Please Stop - with thanks]

Africa's digital future - Kenya pilots Pocket PC education: The Eduvision pilot project

Note this copy of a BBC report today about an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.

Kenya pilots Pocket PC education
By Richard Taylor
Editor, BBC Click Online

In the final report of Click Online's Africa season, we visit Kenya where a trial project using handheld Pocket PCs could help reduce the costs of education in poor communities.

Mbita Point, on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, hosts a small rural community.

A few minutes walk from the main town lies the local primary school, housed on the campus of a renowned research institute.

As the only school in the area with access to electricity, Mbita Primary enjoys a relatively privileged location.

This aside, it suffers from the same problems encountered by other public schools.

Since the Kenyan government introduced free primary school education two years ago, the resulting influx of kids has meant that resources are spread as thinly as ever.

In the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher.

Classrooms are crowded, and the all-too-familiar scenario of children sharing outdated textbooks is still very much in evidence.

However, in Class Five, things are just a little bit different. Fifty-four 11-year-old students are willing guinea pigs in an extraordinary experiment aimed at using technology to deliver education across the continent.

In the Eduvision pilot project, textbooks are out, customised Pocket PCs, referred to as e-slates, are very much in.

They are wi-fi enabled and run on licence-free open source software to keep costs down.

"The e-slates contain all the sorts of information you'd find in a textbook and a lot more," said Eduvision co-founder Maciej Sudra.

"They contain textual information, visual information and questions. Within visual information we can have audio files, we can have video clips, we can have animations.

"At the moment the e-slates only contain digitised textbooks, but we're hoping that in the future the students will be able to complete their assignments on these books and send them to the teacher, and the teacher will be able to grade them and send them back to the student."

Pocket PCs were chosen in place of desktops because they are more portable, so the children can take them home at night, and also because they're also cheaper, making them cost-effective alternatives to traditional methods of learning.

Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren says families pay upwards of $100 a year for textbooks.

"Our system is something that we hope will be sustainable, and the money that they use towards textbooks could be used to buy e-slates instead, which can last more than a year, thereby reducing the cost of education."

Moreover, the potential offered by e-slates is enormous. The content stored on them can be dynamically updated wirelessly, hence the need for wi-fi.

This means that they could include anything from new textbooks which have just come on stream, to other content like local information or even pages from the web.

The team have also devised a rather neat system for getting the information onto the devices.

First off, content is created and formatted for use on the e-slate.

A central operations centre distributes the material over a cheap satellite radio downlink to a satellite radio receiver in the school.

The information passes through a base station which beams it out wirelessly to the students. And so a new and enjoyable way of learning is born.

"I like using [the] e-slate because I can take it home to use it at night and I can use it because it has [a] battery," said Viola, a pupil at Mbita Primary.

Fellow pupil Felix had a few problems: "At first I found it difficult, but when our teacher, Maureen, told me to go in early to teach me, I went. The next day I found it easy."

Potential pitfalls

Although the kids are certainly enthralled by the novelty of the hi-tech gadgetry, their teachers are a little more realistic.

"There are too many drawbacks," said Robert Odero, a teacher at the school.

"One is the lack of electric power in most of our schools, and since the machine needs constant recharging for it to be effectively used this would affect the users as well as the teachers.

"Another thing is the delicate nature of the machine. Given the rugged terrain of our country and the paths our kids use on their way to school, these things could easily fall on the way."

According to Eduvision co-founder Matthew Herren, the e-slates are fragile because the project is in a pilot stage.

"In any implementation in the future that's on a larger scale we will have them custom made to our specifications and coated in rubber and made much hardier," he said.

"At the same time, with textbooks there's no reason why a student couldn't drop all of their books into a pail of water and damage them as well."

There are plenty of concerns which have given pause for thought during the 18 months the pilot's been running.

The Eduvision team says all the issues can be solved and that the technology could be rolled out across countries and even extended beyond education.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of sceptics who believe it will never make it off this campus.

Kenya's Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology believes the project's flawed not just in design, but in its very conception.

"We need to be careful that we don't bring about too many experiments, and this is another such experiment being done without ensuring that we have the right environment for it to be assured of success," said Kilemi Mwiria.

"I think it's a big leap, a big giant leap for schools, students and communities that don't even know what a desktop computer is, as well as what you can use computers for.

"I think to suddenly bring even more advanced technology is being a bit unrealistic."

Few people could deny that this project is both novel and enterprising, and even while it's still in testing, Eduvision concede that they themselves have still got a lot to learn.

But they are convinced it will play a part in Africa's digital future.

Channel4.com - News - special report: Niger 'worse than Darfur'

The charity Save the Children has told Channel 4 News that the situation in Niger is worse than crisis in Darfur.

Drought and locusts have created a desperate famine in Niger. The warning comes as The Disasters Emergency Committee is calling on the public to help tackle the dire food shortages.

Telephone and on-line donations can be made from today - while a television and radio campaign will follow next week. They say the world has been too slow to recognise this crisis.

Channel 4 News spoke to Save the children's spokesperson Amanda Weisbaum. She was asked if charities like hers share some of the responsibility for not warning the world early enough?

Click here to watch the interview.

For more news see Niger Watch.
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We must all sneer and scoff at the corrupt, cruel jackasses of Africa

An email for Sudan Watch yesterday contained an opinion piece on Africa by Matthew Parris at Times Online 2 July 2005.

It is interesting to note what Thabo Mbeki’s brother, Moeletsi Mbeki, said about windmills - and this excerpt from the piece:

Peasants must become freehold owners of their land, he said, and I agree. This nascent class of producers must be empowered to make their work worthwhile and their voices heard. But all across the continent, traditional tribal values, Western-style collectivist ideologies and the greed of political elites have joined in a murderous embrace to stop this.

Friedhelm Eronat's oil deals in Darfur, Sudan

Following on from previous posts about Friedhelm Eronat (a Bavarian born US citizen, recently turned British citizen, doing deals with the Chinese and Sudanese governments on oil exploration in Darfur) here is a copy of a report by Adrian Gatton, one of Britain's top investigative journalists, published in London's Evening Standard:

Secret World of the Chelsea Oil Tycoon
By Adrian Gatton
26 May 2005
Evening Standard

FRIEDHELM ERONAT is one of the world's most successful oil dealmakers.
He is also one of the most secretive men in Britain. He has an estimated fortune of at least $100 million (Pounds 55 million) built on controversial deals worth billions - often in connection with Mobil - in far-flung, difficult places such as Nigeria, Russia and Kazakhstan. But details about him are scant.
He eschews all publicity.

He lives in a Pounds 20 million Victorian house in a Chelsea square. The sumptuous house has a Degas painting on the wall and a magnificent wine cellar. He is married to society beauty Melisa Lawton. But typically, when she was snapped by paparazzi at Royal Ascot last year, her elusive husband was nowhere to be seen.

He became a British citizen (after renouncing his US passport) in 2003, and is now based in London, from where he operates his Cliveden Petroleum empire. Financier Robert Hanson is a friend, as is the embattled Lebanese businessman Eli Calil (accused of helping to finance the foiled Equatorial Guinea coup attempt in which Mark Thatcher was implicated).

With this sort of profile, you would expect to find Eronat in the Sunday Times Rich List or see him posing on the sofa with his wife in the pages of Hello!

Yet few people have heard of him. But an employment tribunal in West Croydon has blown the tightly sealed lid off this Great Gatsby - like figure's very private world.

Cliveden Petroleum is being sued for Pounds 8 million by highflying lawyer Dr Peter Felter, its former executive chairman, for alleged unfair dismissal.
Felter claims he was sacked for disclosing a sensitive, strategic oil deal in Africa between Eronat's company and the Chinese. The dispute has brought Eronat, 51, out of the shadows. After attending tribunal hearings, the Evening Standard can for the first time piece together his extraordinary life.

The case reveals Eronat to be at the hub of what has been dubbed "the new scramble for Africa", as the US, China and mercenaries led by the likes of Equatorial Guinea coup leader Simon Mann vie to carve up the continent's prized oil wealth. Eronat is not fond of journalists. When, on the off-chance of contacting him, the Evening Standard went to his house, the Filipina maid let us in, but we were ushered off the premises by the startled oil trader.

Cliveden's lawyers attempted against the Evening Standard's objections to exclude the Press from the West Croydon hearing, but the tribunal ruled we could stay.

That left the door wide open to a unique and fascinating look into his life. Within the oil industry, he has always had an aura of mystery. Even the name Eronat sounds unplaceable. Indeed, opinions vary as to whether he was born in a refugee camp in Eastern Europe, or more prosaically in Louisiana.
In fact he was born in Prem, Bavaria, in 1954.

Little is known of his early career but now he mixes at the highest levels. The tribunal was told "Eronat's world" was a "singular" and "unusual" place: hobnobbing with Prime Ministers, glitzy conferences staged by oil producers' cartel Opec (Rilwanu Lukman, its Nigerian former head, is a friend), multimillion-dollar deals done in Park Lane hotels, skiing in St Moritz and a holiday apartment in Marbella. But he prefers not to carry a laptop and avoids email. Nothing - not even Felter's contract - is committed to paper. Wherever he is, he is always talking the bottom line or, as he puts it, "the money in your pocket".

The sums involved are eye-popping. "Eronat told me he earned a $40 million commission from Phillips Petroleum on one oilfield deal alone," Felter explained. It is no surprise then that Felter, until 2001 the Pounds 375,000a-year head of energy at Clyde Co and for many years Eronat's lawyer, joined Cliveden. "There would be huge rewards for everybody," Eronat is supposed to have promised Felter.

But, while he likes making money he does not appear to welcome sharing it.
Jean-Gabriel Antoni, Eronat's saturnine Geneva-based financial manager, told the tribunal British Virgin Islands-registered Cliveden, which in November 2003 posted net profits of $63 million, is "not making tax returns anywhere".

Felter was escorted by a bodyguard at the hearing, though it is not clear where he thought the threat may come from. To understand the dispute, it is necessary to go back to a remarkable "completion" dinner held at Eronat's home in 2003. That night, 18 December, marked a victory for China in the scramble for Africa. The celebratory banquet, served by uniformed waiters, with guests including Felter and powerful Chinese State officials, was held in the basement, three storeys below a Chelsea street. In the impoverished nation of Chad, Eronat had landed a huge exploration concession - the "Chad Convention" - potentially holding 10 billion barrels of oil. The party was to toast a deal in which China, oil- hungry and "locking up" barrels all over Africa, bought a stake in this.

It was a big move for the Chinese. Chad recognises China's enemy Taiwan, and the Chad initiative was part of a careful political strategy (Eronat facilitated introductions between the Chad and Chinese governments), thought to have been approved by the Chinese Prime Minister and cabinet. The deal was important enough for one of the most powerful men in China, Wang Jun, chairman of Citic, the $60 billion State-owned corporation and very much an arm of government policy, to fly to London to sign up to. Together with Chinese oil firm CNPC, they purchased a $45 million, 50% share in Cliveden.

The deal was initialled there and then in Eronat's house.

Amid the popping corks and bonhomie, Felter privately reminded his boss there could be a problem. Cliveden's other 50% holding had been sold the year before to Canadian oil and gas company EnCana for $46.5 million, in a deal clinched by Felter. He believed EnCana was legally entitled to be informed about its new partner but would not be happy with its new bedfellow, given the Taiwan issue.

According to Felter, Eronat wanted to keep it quiet. Discussions became heated and when, a few days later, Felter again reminded Eronat of what he argued was his urgent legal obligation, he said Eronat shouted "No!" and slammed down the phone. Thereafter, he claimed, he was "sent to Coventry" for seven weeks.

Enter Eli Calil. As a friend and business associate of Eronat, Felter hoped the Lebanese businessman - who lives round the corner - would "talk him out of his crazy plan". Though the two men have a close working relationship and Calil is kept closely informed of much of Cliveden's activity, he did not prevail.
In January 2004, Felter notified EnCana about China's involvement. Eronat was apparently "furious". By mid-February, following a shareholders' meeting in Beijing, Felter was relieved of his duties.

Felter, who argues he put Cliveden on track to become a $1.2 billion entity, says he was sacked because he told EnCana about the Chinese. This was, he insisted, a "protected disclosure" (covered by the whistleblowers' employment laws). In keeping with his style, Eronat did not attend the hearings. But he claimed, via a brief witness statement, Felter was "not right for the job", was perceived to have an "arrogant" and "abrasive" style not suited to the Chinese way of doing business and that his disclosure to EnCana had "no bearing" on his removal.

Cliveden maintains there was no legal requirement to inform EnCana, and that the company acted correctly. EnCana would not make any comment to the Evening Standard about the dispute but is now said to be pulling out of Chad.

Felter had been dealt a bitter blow.

As Eronat's friend and legal counsel since the mid-1990s, he says that, in trying to do "the right thing", he had acted "out of misplaced loyalty". It must have been all the more galling since he had loyally shielded his client, he stated, startlingly, "against being indicted in the US for fraud and moneylaundering".

This related to Eronat's time in the 1990s in central Asia, then billed as "the new Middle East". Eronat was close to Mobil Oil. What emerges from Felter's timesheets, part of the tribunal evidence, are his meetings (Pounds 350 per hour) to fight a number of legal cases on behalf of his client: a $42 million civil suit (won hands down), two US Grand Jury investigations and a Swiss inquiry.

These apparently relate to a potentially sanctions-busting oil deal between Iran and Kazakhstan and to the "Kazakhgate" affair, the US's biggest foreign bribery case in which $78 million of inducements were allegedly paid by merchant banker James Giffen to the president of Kazakhstan for lucrative oil concessions. Eronat has not been charged in that case which goes to trial next year but is referred to in the indictment as CC1 (co-conspirator No 1) because his company was allegedly used by his friend Giffen as a conduit for some of the cash.

Dogged by these troubles, Eronat has moved on. He is out of Kazakhstan, out of the US, away from Mobil. Now he is in London, into Africa in a big way alongside Calil, and in deep with the Chinese. The hearing has closed. The tribunal panel is digesting the material with the outcome not likely for several weeks though both sides have threatened to appeal already.

It is not every day an employment tribunal enters the murky world of government deals and multimillion commissions - indeed, Congressional inquiries have revealed less.

(c)2005. Associated Newspapers Ltd.. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.
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For more on Eli Calil see April 15, 2005 CorpWatch - EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Death of a Mercenary (part two) and Suspicions of Hidden Forces. Plus Kathryn Cramer's blog.

Tags: Darfur Khartoum Sudan Africa Oil Sudan Cliveden Sudan Adrian Gatton Evening Standard Friedhelm Eronat Peter Felter Chad Taiwan Mobil EnCana Simon Mann Jean-Gabriel Antoni James Giffen Eli Calil Mark Thatcher Robert Hanson Nigeria Russia Kazakhstan OPEC British Virgin Islands CNPC

Major upsurge in Darfur fighting - 19 killed in military helicopter crash in Sudan's Darfur

Here we go again, as per usual in the run up to the next round of peace talks: Sudan's army and rebels have accused each other of staging attacks in Darfur, days after peacekeepers said security had improved.

BBC and others appear to confirm new clashes have broken out in Darfur.

According to Reuters, Darfur rebel commander says Sudan forces killed 7 in Darfur attacks.

And China news Xinhua says 19 killed in military helicopter crash in Darfur.

Associated Press report says: "In a statement Monday, Sudan's army said fighting Saturday and Sunday began with a rebel attack on a civilian convoy the army was escorting in the western region. But the Justice and Equality Movement, one of two main Darfur rebel groups, had said the army attacked its positions first."

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa

Darfur: What were the Americans visiting Sudan with Condoleezza Rice playing at?

NBC's diplomatic (!) correspondent Andrea Mitchell says she is angry and embarrassed after the Khartoum incident where she ended up overshadowing Condoleezza Rice's short visit to Sudan by grabbing news headlines that put the spotlight on American cockiness and arrogance, instead of helping the people of Darfur.



Photo: In this frame from video, an unidentified Department of State official helps shield NBC correspondent Andrea Mitchell after Sudanese security guards had grabbed her, pushing her towards the rear of the room where Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was meeting with Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir Thursday, July 21, 2005, in Khartoum, Sudan. All reporters and a camera crew were physically forced from the room as Rice and el-Bashir watched. (AP Photo/Network Pool via APTN)



Photo: In this frame from video, Andrea Mitchell, center, is escorted by Sudanese security guards after she and other reporters were forcibly ejected from the room where Condoleezza Rice was meeting with the Sudanese President Thursday, July 21, 2005, in Khartoum. (AP Photo/Network Pool via APTN)

No freedom of press

Since Thursday, instead of putting the spotlight on the humanitarian crisis in Niger the world's media had a field day with articles covering Condoleezza Rice's visit to Sudan and the scuffle and a row happening in Khartoum between Sudanese security staff and the American media and officials accompanying Dr Rice. Apologies were trotted out as usual by Sudanese Foreign Minister Ismail who is soon due to step down now that John Garang has taken over from Taha as Sudan's First Vice-President. By the way in Sudan, he is nicknamed "Smiley" - he trained to be a dentist.

China's News Agency Xinhua says FM Ismail stated he urged the US to review economic sanctions imposed on Sudan. He says the US no longer has reasons for the sanctions after the signing of the southern Sudan peace agreement and ongoing improvement in the situations of Darfur. He says he made the call in a press statement issued after his meeting with Condoleezza Rice.

Following the scuffle and row just prior to the meeting between Condoleezza Rice and President Bashir, reporters were only allowed to be present at the State Department's insistence, and were told not to ask any questions. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News' diplomatic correspondent - after being warned by a man in a military uniform not to ask any questions - asked President Bashir a question along the lines of" "How can we trust a rogue like you?"

Excerpt on the story from today's Sudan Tribune, entitled "NBC'S Mitchell says she's angry and embarrassed after Sudan incident":

Sudanese officials already didn't want her there. Mitchell said she was shoved as she entered a room where Rice and el-Bashir were posing for pictures. Reporters were only allowed in at the State Department's insistence, and were told not to ask questions.

Mitchell, in a telephone interview after leaving a Sudanese refugee camp and arriving in Israel, said that attitude emboldened her.

"It makes me even more determined when dictators and alleged war criminals are not held to account," she said. "If our government is going to establish a relationship and push for a new beginning as Sudan reforms itself, they have to live up to international standards. A free press is part of that process."

Although el-Bashir has denied government involvement, the U.S. and international organizations say his government has equipped militiamen to massacre villagers in the rural Darfur province.

"Can you tell us why the violence is continuing?" Mitchell asked, as a Sudanese official said "no, no, no, please."

"Can you tell us why the government is supporting the militias?" she asked.

After getting no reply from el-Bashir, she asked, "Why should Americans believe your promises?"

It was then that she was forcibly removed.

"It is our job to ask," she said later. "They can always say `no comment' ... but to drag a reporter out just for asking is inexcusable behavior."

Afterward, Mitchell said she was "angry, embarrassed, humiliated" and upset that she had become part of an attention-getting incident. "Reporters don't want to become part of the story," she said.

[I say, what a load of twaddle. Most Sudan watchers know there is no free speech or freedom of the press in the Sudan. It was made clear to Mitchell et al not to ask questions. I guess, being American Mitchell perceived herself as invincible, especially in the presence of Dr Rice and other US State Department officials. Mitchell's husband is U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. She came across (to me anyway) as looking to score points for personal gain but her big mouth ruined her plan that backfired and put the world's spotlight on her naivety and gullibility instead. Serves her right. She defiantly asked questions making it appear she cared more for her own career than she did about the Khartoum regime "living up to its promises" [as if they are going to listen to her anyway]. The questions she directed at the Sudanese president were a nonsense. If she had expected his response to be 'no comment' then why ask questions at all, especially considering one is a guest visitor and told by the host country not to ask any.]

No freedom of speech

Rice and her entourage and press pack allowed themselves to be shown up and made fools of by a regime whose style and modus operandi is to retain power at any cost through intimidation and violence, even at a cost of two million lives. They played right into Khartoum's hands.

Americans do not seem able to see themselves and their culture the way the rest of the world does. Humility and stiff upper lip is not in their nature. When it comes to visiting outside of America, they think being an American gives them American rights to speak and behave the way they do in their own country.

The rest of the world is nothing like America and the six billion souls on this planet, with cultures and mentalities that go back to the year dot, are nothing like Americans.



Photo: Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (in white) looks on as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice (not in photo) leaves the state House in the capital Khartoum July 21, 2005. Rice on Thursday told Sudan's president his government had a 'credibility problem' on the issue of Darfur and she wanted to see 'actions not words'. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin)



Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (L) meets Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (R) in Khartoum July 21, 2005. Rice on Thursday told Sudan's president his government had a 'credibility problem' on the issue of Darfur and she wanted to see 'actions not words'. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin)



Photo (July 21 BBC/AFP): Condoleezza Rice spent about an hour talking to people in Abu Shouk camp, Darfur. and spoke privately to women affected by ongoing sexual violence. According to an article in Womens.news, featuring blogers and entitled "Black Women Say Rice's Africa Trip Overdue", Rice reaffirmed the U.S. position on Darfur saying, 'The United States believes that by our accounts it was and is genocide.'"Rice reaffirmed the U.S. position on Darfur saying, "The United States believes that by our accounts it was and is genocide." Her visit follows First Lady Laura Bush's week long trip to Africa last week.
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Darfur's population to receive seeds, tools and livestock

AKI Rome July 20 reports the rainy season has just begun in North Darfur, and around 70 000 vulnerable rural families will be able to plant with seeds. Various news reports are circulating on this news but, unless I've missed something, none explain about the land these people are expected to farm. Who owns the land? What's the deal for the grazing and watering of livestock? What if bandits come along and steal the produce and livestock, like they did last time?

UN News Centre report July 20 says the UN's FAO will help Darfur's displaced families restart their farming activities but is unclear what it means by "households outside displacement camps and host communites encouraging people to stay on the land". Excerpt:

"FAO has already provided seeds and agricultural tools to some 70,000 vulnerable rural families in North Darfur, but has so far received only $7 million of the $15 million it has sought for 2005.

Some 550 tons of field crop seeds, including millet, sorghum and groundnut, and around 79,000 tools, including hand tools and donkey ploughs, were distributed outside displacement camps to households affected by the conflict as well as to host communities to encourage people to stay on the land. The assistance will help these families produce enough food to feed themselves for almost three months."

Note, the UN says it is more cost effective to buy seeds for planting instead of aid - but if law and ordered is not installed, and the crops are stolen or destroyed, the UN will still have to raise funds for food aid to replace lost crops.

A handful of men in Khartoum and a hoard of uneducated lawless Sudanese bandits, thugs, rebels and murderers are lording it over the people of Sudan. Too many of them are without gainful employment and are putting food on their table by living off the proceeds of exploitation, intimidation, banditry, theft, looting, rape and murder. They are causing grief for millions of people - not to mention the cost in terms of lost lives and billions of dollars in aid from Western countries.

Up until recently, the same happened in southern Sudan for 20 years. They seem so far behind the Western world, it will take decades for peace to be restored.



With the start of the rainy season, around 70,000 families making a living from agricultural activities in the northern part of Sudan's conflict-struck Darfur region are set to receive seeds, tools and livestock from the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). The programme, which will assist households living in displacement camps and host communities, will allow the local population to restart farming and pastoral activities and guarantee its survival for the next three months. Full Story.

Sounds like a great idea but a recipe for disaster again if land/property ownership rights aren't settled beforehand. The above report says there has been tension in Darfur for many years over land and grazing rights. Conflict, drought and failed harvest has brought to a severe food shortage as well as a shortage in seeds' supplies.
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Peace is Possible...



Photo courtesy Darfur Relief blog post July 22, 2005 entitled "Peace is Possible ..." [a blog by Sarah who may still be in Darfur]
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Cooking Time in Darfur

Sarah at Darfur Relief blog says cooking in these stoves saves women hours of time and plenty of wood.



Photo courtesy Darfur Relief blog

Making Stoves in Darfur



Photo courtesy Darfur Relief blog

Read the story on above two photos here -- here and here at Darfur Relief blog, authored by Sarah who has been working in Darfur.
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NCC, NGOs call for Security Council action on Darfur

The National Council of Churches (NCC) is composed of 36 Protestant, Anglican, Orthodox, historic African American and peace communions representing 45 million Christians in 100,000 local congregations in the United States.

NCC's call for UN Security Council action on Darfur is a complete waste of time but maybe it makes them feel better. They'd do better to pool their collective resources and focus on ensuring that all Sudanese children get a decent education, especially those living in refugee camps in Sudan and neigbouring countries.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa Condoleezza Rice

Sudan: Darfur peace accord by the end of the year?

Published in a post here below, is a statement by the Head of the African Union Mission in Darfur saying fighting has almost vanished. You have to wonder about the African Union, if what they say is influenced by leaders of the African Union's 53-member states which include the Sudan and its surrounding neighbours. The most telling thing in the post was the fact that he felt his troops in Darfur had a sufficient mandate.

A Canadian press report July 22 says that in a report to the UN Security Council (Thursday), Secretary General Kofi Annan said Darfur is a less active war zone than it was a year ago, but rebels and government-backed militias are still carrying out attacks, raping women and creating a climate of fear and intimidation.

Also, the UN's top envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk of The Netherlands, cautioned that "banditry has increased and has become ferocious. Attacks can flare up, Militia have not been disarmed. Arbitrary arrests and inhuman treatment of prisoners still take place."

The report says,

Nonethless, both Annan and Pronk expressed optimism that a declaration in principle signed by the government and Darfur rebels in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, on July 5 could lead to a peace accord by the end of the year. "Further confidence-building is necessary, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel," Pronk said.

Once an Darfur peace agreement is signed, more than 2 million people who fled their homes will have to return but he stressed that they will only do so when they feel secure.

That will require a further expansion of the African Union force and planning needs to start soon, Pronk said. The force is currently being built up to 7,500 troops.

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Pronk calls for more than 1 billion US dollars for Sudan

The following excerpt - from above mentioned Associated Press report July 22, 2005 via Canadian news - summarises the latest from Kofi Annan and Jan Pronk re Darfur and southern Sudan:

"The United Nations envoy for Sudan called Friday for more than $1 billion US to promote peace throughout the country after decades of war and to launch a new battle against poverty.

Jan Pronk told the UN Security Council that the peace agreement signed in January by the government and southern rebels is having "a snowball effect" and agreements to end the two remaining conflicts in western Darfur and the east are possible before the end of the year.

"All in all, there is room for optimism, but we must be realistic," he said. "The situation is fragile, utterly fragile."

Pronk warned that the neglect, exclusion, injustice and bad governance suffered by millions of Sudanese cannot be healed overnight, and he cautioned that it takes more than agreements to achieve democratic reforms and guarantee human rights.

"Poverty is deep, very deep, more than in nearly all other countries of Africa," he said. "The battle against poverty, following the fight for peace, will require decades of sustained efforts by the Sudanese and by the international community."

"Ongoing reconciliation, as well as management of conflicts between nomads and farmers, will require much political attention and resources for compensation and development," Pronk added.

The revised UN plan for Sudan for 2005 calls for nearly $2 billion, but so far only 40 per cent - about $800 million - has been committed, he said.

"I call on all donors to adhere to their pledges, and to increase them," Pronk said.

"The humanitarian situation in south Sudan is very fragile," he warned. "Not addressing this wholeheartedly would betray the expectations of millions and would jeopardize the chance to make peace sustainable, until at least six years from now, when people have to choose, by referendum, either for unity or separation."

Pronk said the total lack of infrastructure in southern Sudan, coupled with heavy rains, have created difficult problems, including delaying the deployment of some military troops to monitor the north-south peace agreement. The UN now expects full deployment by the end of October, he said.

The UN mission in Sudan has also decided to give the highest priority to facilitating the voluntary return of internally displaced people and refugees from the south during the upcoming dry season, he said.

Pronk urged the parties and the international community not to allow "powers in the dark or grumbling spoilers to harm the letter and the spirit" of the north-south peace agreement.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa

American Eric Reeves, professor of English and Sudan expert, says "we" have failed Darfur

Eric Reeves, an American professor of English at Smiths College in Cambridge, MA lays out a fantastical plan for NATO intervention in Darfur - quote:

Disarming the Janjaweed must be done in a head-on manner by NATO troops, for the militias are not a true military force and would be overwhelmed quickly if they resisted in the face of well-trained, well-armed NATO forces operating with robust rules of engagement.

In your dreams Eric. Military intervention is an act of war. As stated here in previous posts, waging war on the Sudan would make Iraq look like a picnic and defeat the whole object of getting humanitarian relief to the millions of Sudanese people in need.

It never ceases to amaze me how Eric keeps on pushing for Western troops to wage war on the Sudan. White man waging war on Africa to overthrow the Islamic regime in Khartoum (which is what military intervention would entail) could bring out every jihadist and set the tinder box of Africa alight. Aid workers would be expelled from the country and aid supplies disrupted. Eric appears to have no military experience or travelled much beyond his desk in leafy Boston. I often wonder about his motives but cannot fathom what they might be.

As pointed out here before, only 10% of Americans are passport holders. Most Americans do not appear to have a clue how the rest of the world really ticks. One can only conclude that Eric Reeves, along with the silly NBC reporter who overshadowed Condoleezza Rice's visit to Khartoum, is a good example of one.

The President of Sudan was recently quoted as saying to Condoleezza Rice if the Janjaweed were disarmed it would create genocide. He has a point.

In his plan for military intervention by NATO, Reeves says "we" have failed Darfur and to mitigate this failure we should wage war on the Sudan. What a cheek. Speak for yourself Eric.

Tags: Sudan Darfur Africa

Sudan: The Passion of the Present: Jay McGinley hunger strike for Darfur message

Important post by Jim Moore at Sudan: The Passion of the Present: Jay McGinley hunger strike for Darfur message.