Sapa report Feb 26, 2006 via Andnetwork.com says Sudanese President al-Bashir warned Darfur would become a "graveyard" for any foreign military contingent entering the region against Khartoum's will, newspapers reported today.
In my view, for what it's worth, he is right. All the more reason to get waterpumps working in Sudan to help quell anarchy. Sudan could be the tinder box that sets Africa alight. As pointed out here several times over the past year, the stability of Sudan is fundamental to the whole of the African continent. Sapa report excerpt:
"We are strongly opposed to any foreign intervention in Sudan and Darfur will be a graveyard for any foreign troops venturing to enter," he [Bashir] was quoted as saying Saturday.
His comments came amid stepped-up efforts by the international community to send UN peacekeeping forces to war-torn Darfur in place of African Union troops, which have failed to quell the three-year-old bloodshed.
Beshir, who regularly accuses the United States and its allies of fomenting a conspiracy to plunder his country's resources, again accused the West of seeking to use the western region of Darfur as a launchpad to spread its interests in Sudan.
The United States, which currently chairs the UN Security Council, saw its hopes of clinching a resolution for a UN mandate in Darfur by the end of the month dashed but vowed to continue its efforts.
The transition is expected to be discussed during an AU Peace and Security Council meeting in Addis Ababa on March 3.
Beshir was also dismissive of the AU, which has hinted it would not oppose its own replacement by a UN contingent in Darfur.
"The African Union forces can leave the country if they believe that they have failed to carry out their duties," Beshir said.
The war in Darfur broke out in February 2003, when black ethnic groups launched a rebellion against Khartoum that was brutally repressed by the Arab Islamist regime of Beshir.
The combined effect of the war and one of the world's worst humanitarian crises has left up to 300,000 people dead and an estimated 2.4 million displaced.
There has been increased speculation that NATO would step in to operate the transition between AU and UN peacekeepers, an option supported by Darfur rebels but implacably opposed by Khartoum.
Beshir even found support for his resistance to a Western deployment among members of the opposition.
"We firmly reject any foreign intervention, particularly by the Americans, in Sudan," Fatima Ahmed Ibrahim, a communist MP, said Sunday at a parliament meeting.
Further reading:
April 27 2005 PAP urges Sudanese to disarm Janjaweed - Gertrude Mongella, President of PAP
Oct 24 2005 Calling Mama Mongella: The stability of Sudan is fundamental to the whole of the African continent
Oct 25 2005 Why wait on Darfur? UN could authorise cutting off Sudan's oil exports at Port Sudan
Jan 9 2006 As Darfur peace talks break for Muslim celebration, little progess reported - Who disarms first: Janjaweed or rebels?
Jan 26 2006 The children of Sudan are its future - Save the Children
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Sudan's President Al-Bashir tells "Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People's Committee" 25 million dollars for water in Darfur unspent due to war
Report from Khartoum 25 February 2006 via Sudan Tribune says Sudanese President Al-Bashir reaffirms his government will not accept transfer of the mission of the African Union forces in Darfur to international troops.
Yesterday, in Khartoum, addressing at the Friendship Hall the committee of the "Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People" [see footnote], President Bashir accused foreign circles of targeting Darfur and Sudan. It would appear the president feels AU troops had entered Darfur according an agreement with Sudan's government but funding has now become an issue after two years and implies a change to the agreement.
Khartoum is selective when it comes to abiding by agreements. Two years ago, a ceasefire was agreed between Sudan's government and the Darfur rebels. Khartoum allowed AU troops to enter Sudan only on condition they were deployed as observers to monitor the ceasefire agreement, not as peacekeepers with a protection force mandate. Khartoum argued that a peacekeeping force would be perceived by locals as an occupying force and cause more fighting. Both sides broke the ceasefire agreement shortly after it was signed. For two years now, AU troops in Darfur have been monitoring a non existent truce and are (unfairly in my view) getting bad press and a poor reputation when in fact they have proved most tactful, diplomatic, professional and acted as good ambassadors of their home countries. AU soldiers in Darfur deserve medals for a tough job well done. Many news reports say the soldiers' presence does help displaced people, especially women and children.
Note, the report does not say if Mr Bashir explained that AU troops are funded voluntarily by donors whereas UN peacekeeping forces exist through a UN budget paid for by 181-member states.
Peace in Darfur could have been settled two years ago, when the death toll was reported as 10,000. To this day, the fighting in Darfur continues. Darfur death toll has risen to 400,000 or more. Janjaweed militia continue their attacks. Fighting is spreading over the border into Chad. UN admits its peace strategy has failed and 20,000 peacekeepers are now needed.
International donors cannot be relied upon on a month to month basis long-term. The UN has an ongoing budget for its peacekeepers. In a democracy, money in the public purse held by government comprises of taxes worked for and paid by citizens. Citizens have a say in how their taxes are spent. Their voices can be heard at the ballot box on election days.
How much longer does Mr Bashir think that donors, accountable to citizens, can carry on paying 17.5 million dollars each month for 7,000 AU troops in Darfur? Forever? 20,000 troops are needed because the Sudanese government continues to employ miltia as a security force to carry out raids on behalf of the government.
Sometime around the middle of 2004, Khartoum asked the UN for 90 days to rein in the Janjaweed militia. To date, there is still no news of one single Janjaweed camp being dismantled. The fact that none of the Arab tribal leaders lording over the militia are at the Darfur peace talks tells us they are represented at the talks by the Sudanese government.
Also, the report says President Bashir renewed keenness of his government to reach a settlement at the Darfur peace talks in Abuja and confirmed the government delegation at the peace talks is fully mandated. Also, re development and financing of projects in Darfur, he confirmed funds are ready but security problems had stopped implementation of the projects. He pointed out 25 million dollars was allocated for water in Darfur but not spent due to the security situation.
25 million dollars for water in Darfur? In December 2005, the AU said that it needed an extra 130 miillion US dollars to meet the demand of peacekeeping in Darfur. AU troops cost 17.5 million US dollars each month! Imagine how many water pumps could have been installed with that amount of cash to help reduce fighting over watering holes, land and livestock.
Governor of North Darfur chairs people's committee
Dec 19 2005 Sudanese News Agency Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People begins in Al-Fasher - The Wali (governor) of North Darfur State and chairman of the Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People, Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir, said that the conference is taking place regardless of the participant's political or partisan affiliations, stressing that the freedom of expressing views is fully guaranteed to all the participants. Addressing the opening sitting of the conference Monday in Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, Kibir said that the goal of the Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People is the protection of Sudan's unity, peace and stability. He said that the conference was held for deliberations and discussion between the people of Darfur toward reaching agreement on the major issues and to give advice to both the government and the armed movements in Darfur for the sake of averting major sedition. [Article reprinted at ReliefWeb]
Yesterday, in Khartoum, addressing at the Friendship Hall the committee of the "Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People" [see footnote], President Bashir accused foreign circles of targeting Darfur and Sudan. It would appear the president feels AU troops had entered Darfur according an agreement with Sudan's government but funding has now become an issue after two years and implies a change to the agreement.
Khartoum is selective when it comes to abiding by agreements. Two years ago, a ceasefire was agreed between Sudan's government and the Darfur rebels. Khartoum allowed AU troops to enter Sudan only on condition they were deployed as observers to monitor the ceasefire agreement, not as peacekeepers with a protection force mandate. Khartoum argued that a peacekeeping force would be perceived by locals as an occupying force and cause more fighting. Both sides broke the ceasefire agreement shortly after it was signed. For two years now, AU troops in Darfur have been monitoring a non existent truce and are (unfairly in my view) getting bad press and a poor reputation when in fact they have proved most tactful, diplomatic, professional and acted as good ambassadors of their home countries. AU soldiers in Darfur deserve medals for a tough job well done. Many news reports say the soldiers' presence does help displaced people, especially women and children.
Note, the report does not say if Mr Bashir explained that AU troops are funded voluntarily by donors whereas UN peacekeeping forces exist through a UN budget paid for by 181-member states.
Peace in Darfur could have been settled two years ago, when the death toll was reported as 10,000. To this day, the fighting in Darfur continues. Darfur death toll has risen to 400,000 or more. Janjaweed militia continue their attacks. Fighting is spreading over the border into Chad. UN admits its peace strategy has failed and 20,000 peacekeepers are now needed.
International donors cannot be relied upon on a month to month basis long-term. The UN has an ongoing budget for its peacekeepers. In a democracy, money in the public purse held by government comprises of taxes worked for and paid by citizens. Citizens have a say in how their taxes are spent. Their voices can be heard at the ballot box on election days.
How much longer does Mr Bashir think that donors, accountable to citizens, can carry on paying 17.5 million dollars each month for 7,000 AU troops in Darfur? Forever? 20,000 troops are needed because the Sudanese government continues to employ miltia as a security force to carry out raids on behalf of the government.
Sometime around the middle of 2004, Khartoum asked the UN for 90 days to rein in the Janjaweed militia. To date, there is still no news of one single Janjaweed camp being dismantled. The fact that none of the Arab tribal leaders lording over the militia are at the Darfur peace talks tells us they are represented at the talks by the Sudanese government.
Also, the report says President Bashir renewed keenness of his government to reach a settlement at the Darfur peace talks in Abuja and confirmed the government delegation at the peace talks is fully mandated. Also, re development and financing of projects in Darfur, he confirmed funds are ready but security problems had stopped implementation of the projects. He pointed out 25 million dollars was allocated for water in Darfur but not spent due to the security situation.
25 million dollars for water in Darfur? In December 2005, the AU said that it needed an extra 130 miillion US dollars to meet the demand of peacekeeping in Darfur. AU troops cost 17.5 million US dollars each month! Imagine how many water pumps could have been installed with that amount of cash to help reduce fighting over watering holes, land and livestock.
Governor of North Darfur chairs people's committee
Dec 19 2005 Sudanese News Agency Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People begins in Al-Fasher - The Wali (governor) of North Darfur State and chairman of the Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People, Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir, said that the conference is taking place regardless of the participant's political or partisan affiliations, stressing that the freedom of expressing views is fully guaranteed to all the participants. Addressing the opening sitting of the conference Monday in Al-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, Kibir said that the goal of the Comprehensive Conference of Darfur People is the protection of Sudan's unity, peace and stability. He said that the conference was held for deliberations and discussion between the people of Darfur toward reaching agreement on the major issues and to give advice to both the government and the armed movements in Darfur for the sake of averting major sedition. [Article reprinted at ReliefWeb]
Chad-Sudan border peacekeeping force - AU chair and Libyan leader Col Gaddafi follow up on Tripoli mini-summit
On 24 February 2006 Angola Press says Libya's leader Col Gaddafi and Sudan's President al-Bashir discuss Darfur crisis.
Next day, Angola Press says Col Gaddafi and the African Union Chairman Congolese President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, held a telephone conversation late Thursday to follow up on outcome of African mini-summit held 8 February 2006 in Tripoli, Libya. Excerpt:
Next day, Angola Press says Col Gaddafi and the African Union Chairman Congolese President, Denis Sassou Nguesso, held a telephone conversation late Thursday to follow up on outcome of African mini-summit held 8 February 2006 in Tripoli, Libya. Excerpt:
That summit ended with the signing of a peace agreement between Khartoum and N'djamena.
The telephone discussion between the two leaders is part of the permanent consultation process begun by both of them, a Libyan official source indicated here.
The African mini-summit for the appeasement of tension between Khartoum and N'djamena, sponsored by the Libyan leader, called on Chad and Sudan to ban immediately the presence on their territories of armed groups hostile to governments in either country.
In the "Tripoli Declaration" published at the end of the summit, delegates to the mini summit also called on both parties to abstain from interfering in their respective internal affairs and supporting armed groups active in either country.
The mini-summit further urged N'djamena and Khartoum to stop immediately their media campaign, as they constitute an obstacle to the restoration of peace and confidence between the two countries.
It also decided to deploy on the ground as a fact-finding mission as well as a peace and security keeping force to be pre- positioned at the border between Chad and Sudan.
Aside from Sassou Nguesso and Kadhafi, Presidents Hassan Al-Bachir of Sudan, Idriss Deby of Chad, Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, François Bozize of the Central African Republic and AU Commission chairperson, Alpha Oumar Konare, also attended the summit.
The leaders agreed to set up of a ministerial follow-up committee to hold regular meetings in order to assess the situation and support efforts by both countries in the quest of peaceful and negotiated solutions to the root causes of their conflict.
Sudan, Chad, Congo, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic and the CEN-SAD general secretariat headed by Burkina Faso are members of the committee which will work in coordination with the AU Peace and Security Council, chaired by the office of the Libyan leader.
Head of Church of England arrives in Sudan on peace visit
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams has arrived in Sudan at the start of a week-long visit. As head of the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop is religious leader of more than three million southern Sudanese and most of his trip will be spent in the south.
Dr Williams said, "The Episcopal Church in the Sudan remains one of the key civil society organisations capable of delivering reconciliation and sustained development in the region. I am proud to be visiting them at this crucial time in their country's history and I look forward to supporting the work of the World Food Programme in Sudan. I am anxious to see governments, UN agencies and faith based organisations working together to strengthen all that makes for peace in a land that has known far too much of war."
Dr Williams said, "The Episcopal Church in the Sudan remains one of the key civil society organisations capable of delivering reconciliation and sustained development in the region. I am proud to be visiting them at this crucial time in their country's history and I look forward to supporting the work of the World Food Programme in Sudan. I am anxious to see governments, UN agencies and faith based organisations working together to strengthen all that makes for peace in a land that has known far too much of war."
Friday, February 24, 2006
Re Guantanamo Bay: Back the UN Human Rights Commission report, recommending that the US try all the detainees, or free them without further delay
Sudan Watch Intermission for this important notice.
Today, the UK's Independent tells us the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has launched a passionate attack on President George Bush, saying his administration's refusal to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay camp reflected "a society that is heading towards George Orwell's Animal Farm".
Photo: The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu [photo: John Giles/PA]
Note Feb 17 2006 BBC report: Tutu calls for Guantanamo closure
Photo: Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. Only a handful of the approximately 500 detainees have been tried. (BBC)
Today, the UK's Independent tells us the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, has launched a passionate attack on President George Bush, saying his administration's refusal to close the notorious Guantanamo Bay camp reflected "a society that is heading towards George Orwell's Animal Farm".
Dr Sentamu, the Church of England's second in command, urged the UN Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) to take legal action against the US - through the US courts or the International Court of Justice at The Hague - should it fail to respond to a report, by five UN inspectors, advising that Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay should be shut immediately because prisoners there are being tortured.Click here to see statement by Dr Sentamu on Guantanamo Bay.
Photo: The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu [photo: John Giles/PA]
Note Feb 17 2006 BBC report: Tutu calls for Guantanamo closure
Photo: Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. Only a handful of the approximately 500 detainees have been tried. (BBC)
US diplomacy and drive stalls for quick UN vote on Darfur force - US and China's differing ideologies seem to be the root of Africa's troubles?
Sudan's President and the Chairman of the African Union Commission agreed at a meeting held in Khartoum Feb 15, 2006 that resolving Darfur should remain an African initiative.
Today, Reuters confirms the US, under growing pressure from religious groups to do more for Darfur, has found no support in the UN Security Council for a resolution before the end of this month on a future UN force in Darfur, US Ambassador John Bolton said Thursday. Excerpt:
American diplomacy
Some statements by Westerners, who appear to want peace for Sudan, beggar belief. Here's one relating to Darfur, from an opinion piece authored by two Americans, John Prendergast and film actor Don Cheadle:
- - -
Comment received today at Sudan Watch from a UK reader
"China and the United States have switched positions. And the different ideologies seem to be the root of Africa's troubles.
China holds similar beliefs to those the US once held. "Business is business. We try to separate politics from business", said a Chinese Minister this year. "The business of America is business", said by US President Calvin Coolidge in the 1920's just prior to the Great Depression."
Today, Reuters confirms the US, under growing pressure from religious groups to do more for Darfur, has found no support in the UN Security Council for a resolution before the end of this month on a future UN force in Darfur, US Ambassador John Bolton said Thursday. Excerpt:
At a UNSC meeting Thursday, all other council members argued a resolution should come only after African Union foreign ministers make a final decision on a handover, expected in early March, said diplomats present at that meeting. Prior to an AU move, everyone but Washington "agreed the council shouldn't be seen to be prejudging that decision," said one council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting took place behind closed doors.- - -
American diplomacy
Some statements by Westerners, who appear to want peace for Sudan, beggar belief. Here's one relating to Darfur, from an opinion piece authored by two Americans, John Prendergast and film actor Don Cheadle:
"The United States has to lead the diplomacy in the United Nations - especially with China and Russia. And the Europeans must pony up more money."American diplomacy eh? I've seen Chinese pottery older than America. There would be no African Union if it weren't for the European Union's initiative and funding to enable Africans to apply solutions to African problems.
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Comment received today at Sudan Watch from a UK reader
"China and the United States have switched positions. And the different ideologies seem to be the root of Africa's troubles.
China holds similar beliefs to those the US once held. "Business is business. We try to separate politics from business", said a Chinese Minister this year. "The business of America is business", said by US President Calvin Coolidge in the 1920's just prior to the Great Depression."
Libya's Gaddhafi and Sudan's al-Bashir discuss Darfur crisis
Here in England, it is difficult to gauge accuracy of AngolaPress when no other source reports same story. Once again, I am pointing out news from Tripoli because I like to hope that Libyan leader Col Gaddhafi is a good guy and well intentioned in his efforts to broker peace for Sudan. I believe they can pull it off and negotiate a peace deal that unites Sudan:
AngolaPress report Tripoli, Libya, 02/24/2006:
Sudan Watch entry May 13 2005:
Photo: Libya's leader Col Gaddafi leads noon prayers with a Sudanese delegation from Darfur before their meeting in his traditional tent in Tripoli, Libya, May 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Yousef Al-Ageli)
Note, in May 2005 the first flight taking food from Libya directly into Darfur took place as the UN's food agency launched a campaign to reach nearly 2 million people during the rainy season.
Photo: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is greeted by rebel, tribal and opposition Sudanese leaders from Darfur at his tent in Tripoli, Libya, Wednesday, May 11, 2005. Two main rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur declared Monday their commitment to a cease-fire and to unconditionally resuming talks with the Sudanese government. (AP/Yousef Al-Ageli)
Photo: Libyan leader Col Gaddafi (C) attends an African mini-summit on Darfur in Tripoli, Libya 16-17 May 2005. (AFP/Osama Ibrahim)
See Sudan Watch entry May 18 2005.
Further reading:
Aug 27 2004 Jesse Jackson visits Darfur and appealed to Gaddhafi to help solve the problem in Darfur.
Feb 18 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur.
Feb 21 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?
Feb 22 2006 Libya arranges for AU-EU conference - Libya's Foreign Secretary met Tuesday in Tripoli with the Ambassadors of Spain, France and Italy who hailed Gaddhafi's humanitarian role in promoting peace, securing, and stability in Darfur.
Feb 23 2006 Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border.
Photo: Arab tribal leaders (from left) Ramadhan Daju Hassan, Mohammed Idris Maghrib and former member of parliament Obeid Habullah Dico calling for peace in West Darfur, Sudan. See Sudan Watch entry Sep 26, 2004.
AngolaPress report Tripoli, Libya, 02/24/2006:
"In a telephone conversation on Thursday, Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bechir and Libyan leader, Col. Moammar Kadhafi examined the situation in Darfur, plagued by a bloody rebellion from two rebel movements since February 2003, official sources affirmed here.From Sudan Watch archives
President Al-Bechir earlier briefed the Libyan leader on the latest developments of the situation in Darfur, a region in western Sudan. Without giving details, the sources said the discussion was part of the co-ordination and permanent consultations between President Al-Bechir and Col. Kadhafi."
Sudan Watch entry May 13 2005:
Photo: Libya's leader Col Gaddafi leads noon prayers with a Sudanese delegation from Darfur before their meeting in his traditional tent in Tripoli, Libya, May 9, 2005. (AP Photo/Yousef Al-Ageli)
Note, in May 2005 the first flight taking food from Libya directly into Darfur took place as the UN's food agency launched a campaign to reach nearly 2 million people during the rainy season.
Photo: Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is greeted by rebel, tribal and opposition Sudanese leaders from Darfur at his tent in Tripoli, Libya, Wednesday, May 11, 2005. Two main rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur declared Monday their commitment to a cease-fire and to unconditionally resuming talks with the Sudanese government. (AP/Yousef Al-Ageli)
Photo: Libyan leader Col Gaddafi (C) attends an African mini-summit on Darfur in Tripoli, Libya 16-17 May 2005. (AFP/Osama Ibrahim)
See Sudan Watch entry May 18 2005.
Further reading:
Aug 27 2004 Jesse Jackson visits Darfur and appealed to Gaddhafi to help solve the problem in Darfur.
Feb 18 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur.
Feb 21 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?
Feb 22 2006 Libya arranges for AU-EU conference - Libya's Foreign Secretary met Tuesday in Tripoli with the Ambassadors of Spain, France and Italy who hailed Gaddhafi's humanitarian role in promoting peace, securing, and stability in Darfur.
Feb 23 2006 Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border.
Photo: Arab tribal leaders (from left) Ramadhan Daju Hassan, Mohammed Idris Maghrib and former member of parliament Obeid Habullah Dico calling for peace in West Darfur, Sudan. See Sudan Watch entry Sep 26, 2004.
Effective peacekeepers not wanted by Sudan - "Stewardship" suggests NATO provides expertise for expanded peace force
Strategy Page's snappy and insightful news round-up "Effective Peacekeepers Not Wanted" informs us:
February, 2006 The [Sudanese] government has made it clear that it would not approve the use of UN or Western peacekeepers in Darfur. This means the UN would have to "invade" Sudan to get effective peacekeepers into Darfur. This would cause an uproar among Moslem members of the UN, and is unlikely to be approved. Government backed bandits and militias continue to attack black tribes and refugee camps.
February 18, 2006 US President George Bush said that an effective peacekeeping force in Darfur might require twice as many troops as the African Union currently has in Darfur. The AU currently has 7000 troops in Darfur.) NATO "stewardship" of the peacekeeping mission may also be required. Bush put it bluntly: "The strategy was to encourage African Union troops to try to bring some sense of security to these poor people that are being herded out of their villages and terribly mistreated. The effort was noble, but it didn't achieve the objective." "Stewardship" suggests that NATO may help coordinate training, communications, maintenance, and logistics for the expanded peace force.
African Union seeks entry into UN Security Council
Information on Africa, especially Sudan, is coming from so many excellent sources, especially Sudan Watch readers. Comments and emails are warmly welcomed and appreciated, thank you.
Thanks to a non-blogging Sudan Watch reader here in the UK for posting commentary pointing us to an article in Namibian Environment News 24 February 2006 by Fluksman Samuehl, a former Member of UK Parliament and Karas Regional Councillor who is currently studying towards a Master's Degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Lancaster in the UK. I have cross posted the article in full at PoTP 24 Feb 2006.
The British reader, who shares the same initials as this blog author, IJ, says:
Thanks to a non-blogging Sudan Watch reader here in the UK for posting commentary pointing us to an article in Namibian Environment News 24 February 2006 by Fluksman Samuehl, a former Member of UK Parliament and Karas Regional Councillor who is currently studying towards a Master's Degree in International Relations and Strategic Studies at the University of Lancaster in the UK. I have cross posted the article in full at PoTP 24 Feb 2006.
The British reader, who shares the same initials as this blog author, IJ, says:
"This article tells us that Africa is claiming a bigger role in the United Nations. The UN Millennium Declaration in 2000 was really a springboard for the African Union's petition for "two permanent seats with full privileges including veto power, and add five more non-permanent seats on the world's elite political platform, the UNSC."Note to Sudan Watch readers (who are from all over the world and many parts of Africa): please feel free anytime to comment or email news or links to reports for sharing here, even if it is just a few lines or photo. Email address is in sidebar. Thanks. Due to time involved in tracking news and posting at several blogs on humanitarian crises in Africa, it is not always possible to respond personally right away.
However, even if the fundamental problem of economics is set aside, there remains an assumption that the 53 countries in the AU can agree common policies: it is pointed out that they still have no common foreign and security policy - but this is not unusual for an international grouping. See, for example, the confusion in the European Union or NATO.
Does Africa have the economic power for its ambitions? Chequebook diplomacy suggests that China is developing much influence not only in Sudan, but in many countries."
Ugandan rebels LRA looting S Sudan villages around Rojo, Kansuk and Rodo - SPLA pursuing LRA south of Juba
Report highlights of UN Sudan Situation Report 23 Feb 2006 - excerpt:
Recent reports indicate that the LRA has moved southwards near Kajo-Kaje province which is located south of Juba, The LRA looted the villages around Rojo, Kansuk and Rodo on 20 Feb., killing five people and wounding many others. The entire population has vacated the area. The SPLA is said to be pursuing the enemy. The incident has stopped the movement of civilians to Kajo-kaje.
Recent reports indicate that the LRA has moved southwards near Kajo-Kaje province which is located south of Juba, The LRA looted the villages around Rojo, Kansuk and Rodo on 20 Feb., killing five people and wounding many others. The entire population has vacated the area. The SPLA is said to be pursuing the enemy. The incident has stopped the movement of civilians to Kajo-kaje.
South Sudanese in "LRA Triangle" flee Ugandan LRA rebels
Coalition for Darfur points us to a Sapa-AFP report 24 Feb 2006 that claims deadly raids by the LRA have forced scores of villagers in southern Sudan to flee their homes to spend nights in the bush fearing abductions and killings, a German humanitarian group has said.
Ex-Sudan opposition MPs reject UN Darfur force, blame government
24 Feb 2006 Sudan Tribune report says the former Sudanese opposition MPs rejected international efforts to have UN peacekeeping troops take over from African Union troops in Darfur. They also blamed the government for the current situation there. Excerpt:
MPs on the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) said they will not endorse government policies on Darfur but also reject the presence of UN troops in Darfur.
Communist party MPs, who are member of the NDA, blamed the government for allowing the situation to come to such levels by not implementing the Resolutions of the Security Council. They called upon the government to implement those resolutions and start disarming the Janjaweed, convene the National Comprehensive Conference and implement fully the CPA with the SPLM and Cairo agreement with the NDA.
Portrait of Sudan's Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi
For a portrait of Sudan's "indestructible" Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi, Bin Laden's protector in Khartoum, and the source of inspiration for the international Islamist movement, visit PoTP and read opinion piece by Christophe Ayad at Liberation (translated by BBC Monitoring Service and reprinted at SudanTribune 17 Feb 2006. Original text in French is available at http://www.liberation.fr/page.php)
Photo: Hassan al-Turabi
Photo: Hassan al-Turabi
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Drilling for Sudan's drinking water is more important than drilling for oil
You can support the work of UNICEF by buying their Cards & Gifts online. Last year, instead of buying greetings cards and gifts from other stores online or local shops, I ordered one year's supply online at UNICEF. Three days later, the goods were delivered to my door by courier in a nicely packed box. T-shirts, toys and games for children were high quality. Excellent cards too. Sign up for their mail order catalogue and get stocked up on blank greetings cards, gifts etc. Spending in this way makes hard earned cash stretch into helping others.
Note, Peacekeeping waterpumps - East Africa a front in war on terrorism.
See how in Darfur, handpumps are on the frontline of peacebuilding.
Photo: Southern Sudanese drinks. (Courtesy UNICEF/ST)
Cholera kills 68 people, infects more than 2,933 in S Sudan's Juba and Yei
AFP news 21 Feb 2006 reports 68 dead in suspected Sudan cholera outbreak.
Cholera is transmitted by consumption of contaminated water and food and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. It leads to severe diarrhea and dehydration. Medecins Sans Frontieres said "a large outbreak can be expected" in Juba, a town with more than 250,000 people that "relies heavily on polluted water from the River Nile." Full report (AP/ST) 22 Feb 2006.
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Using entrepreneurs to bring water and electricity to the world's poor
Sokari Ekine of Global Voices notes an amazing invention that may provide the water and power to many people in poor rural areas of the developing world and points us to Timbuktu Chronicles' 22 Feb 2006 blog entry on Using Entrepreneurs to bring Water and Electricity to the worlds poor.
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UNICEF and ECHO bring clean drinking water to villagers in Sudan's Nuba Mountains
UNICEF report by Thomas Nybo 21 Feb 2006:
For people living in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, central Sudan, getting enough clean water has long been a difficult task.
Working with ECHO, the European Community's Humanitarian Aid Department, UNICEF has turned the situation around, building and rehabilitating the region's water system to ensure more than 110,000 people have access to safe drinking water. Excerpt:
Many areas of the region have been affected by conflict which makes fetching water not only difficult but dangerous too. On top of that the existing water sources are inadequate -- many are equipped with hand pumps that are barely functional.
Photo: Children try a new hand pump installed by UNICEF and ECHO. (Courtesy UNICEF Sudan/2006)
The joint effort started with rehabilitation of some 200 hand pumps. Fifty new boreholes have been drilled and equipped with brand new hand pumps. Most of boreholes are built with concrete basins to collect spilled water, which can then be used for cleaning, gardening and the watering of livestock.
More time for education
"Now my children have plenty of time for other activities," says Ajuba El Zubier Mala, a mother of six. "In the morning, they collect water to bathe. Then they go to school. After school, they get more water and sometimes bring our small animals to the pump to give them water."
Having plenty of water hasn't made residents of Nuba Mountains forget about the hardships they once endured. When water was scarce, many women and girls had to carry the burden of collecting water for the families. Many girls missed out their education because they had to spend many hours each day fetching water.
Photo: With adequate water sources, children can spend more time on education. (Courtesy UNICEF Sudan/2006)
Clean water is also crucial to keep children and adults healthy. Mothers like Ajuba know all too well about ailments like diarrhoea and Guinea Worm disease, which are caused by unsafe water. Since the completion of the water project, few waterborne diseases have been reported across the region.
Water project continues
UNICEF and ECHO also conducted training sessions for local residents. About 300 people, half of them women, have gone through the training sessions and learnt how to maintain and operate the water pumps. Courses are also given to help children and families develop good hygiene practices. Nearly 500 people have been informed so far on how to prevent Guinea Worm disease.
One hand pump serves about 500 people
"One hand pump serves about 500 people, which is a very great number," explains Sulieman Hamad, Deputy Director of Water, Environment and Sanitation Project for the Government of South Kordofan. "We want to reduce this number to 250 because beside the communities we have animals. We must water them from these facilities."
UNICEF and ECHO continue to bring clean water to more children and families. In Blue Nile State, eastern Sudan, 50 new wells were drilled and equipped with hand pumps, while another 50 hand pumps were rehabilitated. Since the project began, more than 200,000 people have benefitted from the efforts of UNICEF and ECHO so far.
Note, Peacekeeping waterpumps - East Africa a front in war on terrorism.
See how in Darfur, handpumps are on the frontline of peacebuilding.
Photo: Southern Sudanese drinks. (Courtesy UNICEF/ST)
Cholera kills 68 people, infects more than 2,933 in S Sudan's Juba and Yei
AFP news 21 Feb 2006 reports 68 dead in suspected Sudan cholera outbreak.
Cholera is transmitted by consumption of contaminated water and food and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. It leads to severe diarrhea and dehydration. Medecins Sans Frontieres said "a large outbreak can be expected" in Juba, a town with more than 250,000 people that "relies heavily on polluted water from the River Nile." Full report (AP/ST) 22 Feb 2006.
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Using entrepreneurs to bring water and electricity to the world's poor
Sokari Ekine of Global Voices notes an amazing invention that may provide the water and power to many people in poor rural areas of the developing world and points us to Timbuktu Chronicles' 22 Feb 2006 blog entry on Using Entrepreneurs to bring Water and Electricity to the worlds poor.
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UNICEF and ECHO bring clean drinking water to villagers in Sudan's Nuba Mountains
UNICEF report by Thomas Nybo 21 Feb 2006:
For people living in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan, central Sudan, getting enough clean water has long been a difficult task.
Working with ECHO, the European Community's Humanitarian Aid Department, UNICEF has turned the situation around, building and rehabilitating the region's water system to ensure more than 110,000 people have access to safe drinking water. Excerpt:
Many areas of the region have been affected by conflict which makes fetching water not only difficult but dangerous too. On top of that the existing water sources are inadequate -- many are equipped with hand pumps that are barely functional.
Photo: Children try a new hand pump installed by UNICEF and ECHO. (Courtesy UNICEF Sudan/2006)
The joint effort started with rehabilitation of some 200 hand pumps. Fifty new boreholes have been drilled and equipped with brand new hand pumps. Most of boreholes are built with concrete basins to collect spilled water, which can then be used for cleaning, gardening and the watering of livestock.
More time for education
"Now my children have plenty of time for other activities," says Ajuba El Zubier Mala, a mother of six. "In the morning, they collect water to bathe. Then they go to school. After school, they get more water and sometimes bring our small animals to the pump to give them water."
Having plenty of water hasn't made residents of Nuba Mountains forget about the hardships they once endured. When water was scarce, many women and girls had to carry the burden of collecting water for the families. Many girls missed out their education because they had to spend many hours each day fetching water.
Photo: With adequate water sources, children can spend more time on education. (Courtesy UNICEF Sudan/2006)
Clean water is also crucial to keep children and adults healthy. Mothers like Ajuba know all too well about ailments like diarrhoea and Guinea Worm disease, which are caused by unsafe water. Since the completion of the water project, few waterborne diseases have been reported across the region.
Water project continues
UNICEF and ECHO also conducted training sessions for local residents. About 300 people, half of them women, have gone through the training sessions and learnt how to maintain and operate the water pumps. Courses are also given to help children and families develop good hygiene practices. Nearly 500 people have been informed so far on how to prevent Guinea Worm disease.
One hand pump serves about 500 people
"One hand pump serves about 500 people, which is a very great number," explains Sulieman Hamad, Deputy Director of Water, Environment and Sanitation Project for the Government of South Kordofan. "We want to reduce this number to 250 because beside the communities we have animals. We must water them from these facilities."
UNICEF and ECHO continue to bring clean water to more children and families. In Blue Nile State, eastern Sudan, 50 new wells were drilled and equipped with hand pumps, while another 50 hand pumps were rehabilitated. Since the project began, more than 200,000 people have benefitted from the efforts of UNICEF and ECHO so far.
Baroness Cox of Queensbury on Southern Sudan, Darfur, Uganda and Nigeria - Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART)
Excerpt from Hugh Hewitt 12 Feb 2005:
Baroness Cox has been leading the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust for decades, and travels continually to bring aid and hope to the worst hell holes on the globe. "You meet the most amazing people in the darkest places," she told me today.
She joined me to day to discuss the grim realities of Darfur's ongoing genocide -- it hasn't stopped, it has just dropped from Western agendas-- the push by Islamists into southern Sudan, and the jihad underway in northern Nigeria. The transcript will be posted at Radioblogger.com.
UN envoy Jan Pronk admits peace strategy to halt "cleansing in Darfur" had failed - Let's hope Libyan leader Col Gaddafi succeeds in brokering peace
On 14 Jan 2006 UN envoy in Sudan Jan Pronk called for up to 20,000 UN peacekeepers to disarm militias in Darfur and admitted the peace strategy to halt "cleansing in Darfur" had failed.
British blogger Lord Soley of Hammersmith says:
Feb 14 2006 Reuters report says NATO ready to help in Darfur, but not with troops
Feb 10 2006 Reuters report says NATO commander fears rapid-reaction force delay
Feb 18 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur
Feb 21 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?
Feb 22 2006 UN can provide access to technology that could spot raiding parties approaching human settlements
Feb 23 2006 Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border
British blogger Lord Soley of Hammersmith says:
I'm not optimistic about Darfur but the latest attempt by the US and UK to get a more effective peacekeeping force offers a glimmer of hope.But UN troops, if they ever materialise, will probably not be in Darfur until late this year or next year. Meanwhile, how will Khartoum protect and take care of millions of defenceless Sudanese women and children ... There must be a solution. The onus is on the Sudanese rebels and Khartoum to come up with it. It is their country. They must take responsibility. My thoughts always seem to wander to Libya, how the Sudanese, Egyptians and surrounding neighbours listen to Libyan leader Col Gaddhafi. Surely he can do something to get the Janjaweed leaders and everyone else together to hammer out a deal. He speaks their language.
Feb 14 2006 Reuters report says NATO ready to help in Darfur, but not with troops
Feb 10 2006 Reuters report says NATO commander fears rapid-reaction force delay
Feb 18 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur
Feb 21 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?
Feb 22 2006 UN can provide access to technology that could spot raiding parties approaching human settlements
Feb 23 2006 Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border
Signs of a clash of civilisations - FT on China: a new force in Africa's development
China is back in Africa in a big way, as the FT reports today, but this time Beijing's foreign policy is shaped by China's voracious development needs. We are only just beginning to grapple with the implications. The report concludes by saying:
For Africa, therefore, China's hunger for resources is a blessing that pulls in not just investment in Angolan oil or Zambian copper but in roads and schools too. But it could turn into a curse if it turns African leaders away from the hard choices of political and economic reform.Thanks to a British Sudan Watch reader in the UK for pointing us to the report - and for posting the following comment at "Sudan rejects help to quell death and anarchy in Darfur":
Signs of a clash of civilisations. "Anarchy in Sudan threatens the stability of Africa. . . Drinking water is more important than oil."
But economics may be more important than politics, in 'one-size-fits-all'. An editorial today comments that China's commercial dealings with Africa could undercut "efforts by the African Union and western partners to make government and business more transparent and accountable. In summary, China's partnership "could turn into a curse if it turns African leaders away from the hard choices of political and economic reform."
The list of Sudan's trade partners suggests that China's economic involvement in Africa is becoming very influential. Is this a good or a bad thing?
Incidentally, China is still not a member of the G8 world economic grouping.
Forbes' list of the world's most corrupt countries includes Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Kenya, DRC
ComingAnarchy.com publishes Forbes' list of the world's most corrupt countries and notes 9 of the 16 countries are in Africa. Sudan is one of them. See the list at Congo Watch.
Darfur peace talks nearing end - EU says Sudanese gov't and Darfur rebel leaders losing control as new elements wage wars - Onus on Khartoum re CAP
Yesterday, the European Union's special representative to Sudan Pekka Haavisto told a news conference that all the necessary elements for making decisions on power-sharing, wealth-sharing and security arrangements were on the table at the Darfur peace talks, but reaching a deal was not a guarantee for sustained peace. Excerpts from Reuters report:
"We are now in a situation where it could optimistically be said that the peace negotiations in Abuja are nearing their end," Haavisto said.
"In the European Union, there is a feeling that even if a peace deal is reached in Abuja, the means to realise the peace deal on the ground are lacking if the situation in Darfur worsens," he added.
Haavisto said a major problem was that the Sudanese government and the leaders of armed groups seemed to have lost control, and guerrilla groups had become bandit-like gangs that waged their own wars.
He said the worsening of relations between Sudan and neighbouring Chad was a threat to the entire peace process.
"This is a kind of nightmare that everyone has feared, that the situation in Darfur spreads across borders even more ... It is possible that this will add to the conflict completely new elements," Haavisto said.
When asked about the sustainability of any peace deal reached for Darfur, Haavisto said the onus was on Khartoum.
"We turn to Khartoum. If you want peace with Darfur, you need to work quicker to fulfil the peace deal between the north and the south. This is a question of Khartoum's own credibility," he said.
"We are now in a situation where it could optimistically be said that the peace negotiations in Abuja are nearing their end," Haavisto said.
"In the European Union, there is a feeling that even if a peace deal is reached in Abuja, the means to realise the peace deal on the ground are lacking if the situation in Darfur worsens," he added.
Haavisto said a major problem was that the Sudanese government and the leaders of armed groups seemed to have lost control, and guerrilla groups had become bandit-like gangs that waged their own wars.
He said the worsening of relations between Sudan and neighbouring Chad was a threat to the entire peace process.
"This is a kind of nightmare that everyone has feared, that the situation in Darfur spreads across borders even more ... It is possible that this will add to the conflict completely new elements," Haavisto said.
When asked about the sustainability of any peace deal reached for Darfur, Haavisto said the onus was on Khartoum.
"We turn to Khartoum. If you want peace with Darfur, you need to work quicker to fulfil the peace deal between the north and the south. This is a question of Khartoum's own credibility," he said.
Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border
Feb 22, 2006 Al-Jazeerah news report re Libya's hosting of mini Africa summit does not say who would pay for 100,000 Libyan troops to patrol the Chad-Sudan border to stop armaments and insurgents from criss crossing the two countries. Excerpt:
Mass migration, nomads, IDPs and illegal immigration
Libya's Foreign Secretary met Tuesday in Tripoli with the Ambassadors of Spain, France and Italy. During the meeting, they discussed illegal immigration and the special arrangements to hold a conference under the umbrella of the African and European Unions to deal with this phenomenon and take the practical measures that enable the Africans to stay in their countries by establishing agricultural and industrial projects and provide them with essential services.
Note Feb 22, 2006 UNHCR calls for European leadership to bridge gap between humanitarian assistance and development aid.
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Africa's tragic borders and the illusory African brotherhood
Chenjerai Hove's opinion piece in The Zimbabwean on Africa's tragic borders notes African countries can loot across each other's borders, they can plunder wealth and lives across borders, but when it comes to proper official trade, they prefer the spoils of worthless wars. Zimbabwe and Uganda looted the DRC, and the African Union never protested, all in the name of the illusory 'African brotherhood.'
Col Gadhafi said Chad and Sudan had "crossed a red line" with their war of words and called for their desert border to be sealed to prevent rebel infiltration in either direction.- - -
"We can settle our problems ourselves," Col Gadhafi insisted, stressing that UN peacekeepers were not needed.
"Libya is ready to put 100,000 troops with 1,000 tanks and 100 aircraft at the disposal of the African Union to close the border," he informed at the summit. "All our forces are at the disposal of the African Union."
The Libyan leader said it was vital that the region's leaders agree on an "African solution" to the problem in order to "avoid foreign interference and keep the door firmly shut to outside machinations."
Mass migration, nomads, IDPs and illegal immigration
Libya's Foreign Secretary met Tuesday in Tripoli with the Ambassadors of Spain, France and Italy. During the meeting, they discussed illegal immigration and the special arrangements to hold a conference under the umbrella of the African and European Unions to deal with this phenomenon and take the practical measures that enable the Africans to stay in their countries by establishing agricultural and industrial projects and provide them with essential services.
Note Feb 22, 2006 UNHCR calls for European leadership to bridge gap between humanitarian assistance and development aid.
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Africa's tragic borders and the illusory African brotherhood
Chenjerai Hove's opinion piece in The Zimbabwean on Africa's tragic borders notes African countries can loot across each other's borders, they can plunder wealth and lives across borders, but when it comes to proper official trade, they prefer the spoils of worthless wars. Zimbabwe and Uganda looted the DRC, and the African Union never protested, all in the name of the illusory 'African brotherhood.'
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Sudan's army and Janjaweed attack and destroy water pump, livestock and huts in villages Likalik and Al Amin, North Darfur
Armed forces supported by militia attacked two villages in North Darfur this week and an AU vehicle was assaulted and stolen, reports UN News Centre today. Excerpt:
Attackers stormed the village of Likalik and its market area and destroyed its source of water as they attacked the water pump area and killed many animals at the site, the UN Mission in Sudan reported today.Meanwhile, Jan Pronk said the AU Peace and Security Council will meet March 3 to explore how its security forces might make a shift to a proposed peacekeeping force supervised by the UN.
On Monday, the village of Al Amin came under assault and its market was raided and huts were burned. The same day, an armed group attacked a vehicle of the AU peacekeeping force, injuring AU soldiers and stealing the car.
Arab Women Can Power Peace, Progress
Politicians have failed to bring about peace in many parts of the world. The Arab world in particular has suffered the most. There are many reasons behind the failed diplomacy. One of them is the absence of women in negotiations for peace.
Women so empowered can take an active role in ending hostilities, first and foremost by raising the next generation. If educated and enlightened they will be able to teach their children the importance of dialogue, opening channels to present their positions - but not in a combative manner.
Peaceful ways and means can be the weapons to end wars. Educated mothers can do that. Instead of having men negotiate settlements, why not allow those who suffer the most to resolve these conflicts?
Full story at Arab News 22 Feb 2006 Arab Women Can Power Peace, Progress.
Women so empowered can take an active role in ending hostilities, first and foremost by raising the next generation. If educated and enlightened they will be able to teach their children the importance of dialogue, opening channels to present their positions - but not in a combative manner.
Peaceful ways and means can be the weapons to end wars. Educated mothers can do that. Instead of having men negotiate settlements, why not allow those who suffer the most to resolve these conflicts?
Full story at Arab News 22 Feb 2006 Arab Women Can Power Peace, Progress.
Sudan ministers named in leaked UN Darfur list
Financial Times report Sudan ministers named in leaked UN Darfur list by Mark Turner at the United Nations 22 Feb 2006 - excerpt:
"Sudan's interior minister, defence minister and the director of its national intelligence service, are named in a confidential list of individuals who could be considered for sanctions by the UN Security Council over their alleged role in the conflict in Darfur."[Note List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential) via Sudan Online Discussion Board 4/3/2005]
Cartoons led to attacks on aid workers in Sudan - EU Official
The European Union's representative to Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, said Wednesday that the prophet drawings controversy had led to attacks on foreign aid workers in Sudan.
"The Danish cartoon scandal did not help the situation (in Darfur) at all," Haavisto told reporters in the Finnish capital. "There were some attacks, that were driven by the cartoon scandal, against foreign aid organisations," Haavisto said, but didn't give details.
Full story AP/ST 22 Feb 2006.
Note, mainstream media can't report everything but uncensored bloggers are free to discuss anything.
This photo and excerpt from The Religous Policeman's blog entry entitled Emergency Meeting! - OIC Calls for Emergency Meeting - via Will the EU listen?
"The Danish cartoon scandal did not help the situation (in Darfur) at all," Haavisto told reporters in the Finnish capital. "There were some attacks, that were driven by the cartoon scandal, against foreign aid organisations," Haavisto said, but didn't give details.
Full story AP/ST 22 Feb 2006.
Note, mainstream media can't report everything but uncensored bloggers are free to discuss anything.
This photo and excerpt from The Religous Policeman's blog entry entitled Emergency Meeting! - OIC Calls for Emergency Meeting - via Will the EU listen?
Sudan rejects help to quell death and anarchy in Darfur
Khartoum regime sound like they live on another planet. Today, Reuters says Sudan rejects UN troops for Darfur. The report quotes Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol as saying the UN had not approached Sudan about the deployment of troops.
Listen up Mr Akol, news reports have said over and over again: the AU mission is dependent on the whim of donor nations, whereas UN peacekeepers are paid from the UN budget. So, please stop evading the issue of who is willing to protect the millions of defenceless Sudanese women and children. In Darfur, handpumps are on the frontline of peacebuilding. Stop talking hot air and wasting time at the expense of suffering civilians. Drinking water is more important than oil. Do and say something useful - like getting the good for nothing bandits and Janjaweed to build peacekeeping waterpumps.
Feb 17 2006 3.4 million people in Darfur depend on aid for survival
Feb 17 2006 6.7 million people in Sudan need aid despite good harvest
Feb 1 2006 6,100,000 Internally Displaced People in the Sudan - 770,000 fled elsewhere
"Our position is if you have a problem you solve it. If the African forces are short of money, you provide them with money," he said.Well Mr Akol, bandits and Arab militia are looting, attacking, maiming, raping and killing. You have a problem with your Arab militia, you solve it: disarm them or ask for the world's help. Anarchy in Sudan threatens the stability of Africa.
Listen up Mr Akol, news reports have said over and over again: the AU mission is dependent on the whim of donor nations, whereas UN peacekeepers are paid from the UN budget. So, please stop evading the issue of who is willing to protect the millions of defenceless Sudanese women and children. In Darfur, handpumps are on the frontline of peacebuilding. Stop talking hot air and wasting time at the expense of suffering civilians. Drinking water is more important than oil. Do and say something useful - like getting the good for nothing bandits and Janjaweed to build peacekeeping waterpumps.
Feb 17 2006 3.4 million people in Darfur depend on aid for survival
Feb 17 2006 6.7 million people in Sudan need aid despite good harvest
Feb 1 2006 6,100,000 Internally Displaced People in the Sudan - 770,000 fled elsewhere
Benn calls for UN force in Darfur
BBC report 22 Feb 2006 quotes Hilary Benn, who arrived in Darfur yesterday, as saying "We have to step up the international effort here in Darfur." He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme (see link in earlier entry here below):
Khartoum ought to ask its Arab and African neighbours for double the amount of 10 million pounds it costs donors each month for African Union troops in Darfur. Sudan and chums insist on 'African solutions to African problems' but their solution appears to consist of eliminating people who get in the way. What exactly are Khartoum's other solutions, can anyone explain? Why aren't Arab tribal leaders attending Darfur peace talks?
Recently, Sudan spent 15m pounds on villas for a two-day African Union summit in Khartoum and who knows how much on two new presidential boats.
On 14 Jan 2006 UN envoy Jan Pronk called for up to 20,000 UN peacekeepers to disarm militias in Darfur and admitted peace strategy to halt "cleansing in Darfur" had failed.
Also, on Jan 14 news reports said British troops may join UN Darfur force as the UN is to ask Britain to provide troops for a beefed-up peacekeeping force. 13 Jan 2006 British military sources said that Britain would actively consider such a request.
"The security situation has deteriorated compared with last June when I was last here in El-Fasher.Note, the UN plan for an expanded peacekeeping force has been opposed by Sudan who said funding should go to the AU troops already there. Khartoum does not appear to want to understand that UN peacekeepers are paid from UN funds and AU troops are paid for by donors.
"The rebels have been responsible for an increasing proportion of the attacks. The Arab militia are still at work.
"It really reinforces the point that we have to step up the international effort here in Darfur."
Khartoum ought to ask its Arab and African neighbours for double the amount of 10 million pounds it costs donors each month for African Union troops in Darfur. Sudan and chums insist on 'African solutions to African problems' but their solution appears to consist of eliminating people who get in the way. What exactly are Khartoum's other solutions, can anyone explain? Why aren't Arab tribal leaders attending Darfur peace talks?
Recently, Sudan spent 15m pounds on villas for a two-day African Union summit in Khartoum and who knows how much on two new presidential boats.
On 14 Jan 2006 UN envoy Jan Pronk called for up to 20,000 UN peacekeepers to disarm militias in Darfur and admitted peace strategy to halt "cleansing in Darfur" had failed.
Also, on Jan 14 news reports said British troops may join UN Darfur force as the UN is to ask Britain to provide troops for a beefed-up peacekeeping force. 13 Jan 2006 British military sources said that Britain would actively consider such a request.
Benn: Time is running out for people of Darfur - UK donates 40m pounds to humanitarian fund for Sudan plus 23m pounds to NGOs
UK government Press Release 22 Feb 2006 says the international community is running out of patience with the crisis in Darfur, Hilary Benn, International Development Secretary, said today as he pledged 40 million British pounds for a new Common Humanitarian Fund for Sudan, including Darfur, and called on other donors to commit to the fund.
He also announced the UK's contribution of a further 23 million British pounds for NGOs - 5 million pounds of which will go to the IC Red Cross for tools, seeds etc., to help some Sudanese people grow their own food.
He also announced the UK's contribution of a further 23 million British pounds for NGOs - 5 million pounds of which will go to the IC Red Cross for tools, seeds etc., to help some Sudanese people grow their own food.
Important BBC Four Radio Interview with Hilary Benn: Sudan's curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers and aid workers
Thanks to a British Sudan Watch reader in the UK for posting the following comment and link to interview with Hilary Benn:
Photo: Hilary Benn
BBC interviewer: A ceasefire was signed in Darfur in April 2004. It's been widely ignored. Raids by the Janjaweed militia are continuing despite the presence of African Union peacekeepers. A curfew imposed by the Sudanese government is intefering with the AU's ability to stop the atrocities that's something the Intenrational Development Secretary Hilary Benn says he'll puruse when he meets members of the Khartoum government today. His visit to the area comes as the US is increasing the pressure on the UN to pass a resolution before the end of this month authjorising UN peacekeepers to replace the AU forces. Well I spoke to Hilary Benn a little earlier and asked him first to describe the conditions for people in Darfur
Mr Benn: The conditions in the camps are OK, the huge humanatarian effort in darfur over last 2 years or so means the people are getting food and water I have to say the seucurity sistuion has deteriored compared with last june when I was in El-Fasher and I have been talking to the AU force commander about that. The rebels have been responsible for an increasing proportion of the attacks. The Arab milia are still at work. There are people in the second camp I visited this afternoon who'd fled recently from a town called Shearia where there's disturbances and violence going on as we speak and it really reinforces the point that we have to step up the international effort here in Darfur to protect people while at the same time putting pressure as Jack Straw did last week in Nigeria on those who are talking part in the talks in Abuja because only a political settlement is going to allow the people I spoke to in the camps to ...
BBC interviewer: Going back to the distressing news you bring are you saying the Sudanese government are colluding in that violence?
Further reading:
Feb 2 2006 US, UK move to get UN troops into Darfur
Feb 3 2006 UK sets list of priority actions on Darfur for new Sudanese Government of National Unity
Feb 4 2006 UK offers Sudan gov't 7-Point "Plan for Peace" in Sudan
Feb 13 2006 British PM Blair vows to keep up pressure on aid for Africa
Feb 13 2006 British PM Blair writes "Towards real action in Africa" - AU Standby Force of 20,000 personnel
Feb 13 2006 Britain's top diplomat Straw to attend Darfur peace talks
Feb 14 2006 Britain's top diplomat Jack Straw at Darfur peace talks - Warns of sanctions
Feb 14 2006 AU top mediator hails UK efforts to bring peace in Darfur
Feb 15 2006 TEXT: UK Foreign Secretary's speech to Darfur peace talks
Feb 16 2006 Darfur: Stop the killing, or pay the price warns Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Feb 18 2006 Africa A New Agenda - How Africa Can Succeed, by UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw
Feb 20 2006 UK's Cardinal O'Brien with SCIAF in the Sudan sees hope amid horror of African nightmare
Feb 21 2006 UK urges lifting of Sudan curfew - AU says curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers
Feb 21 2006 Benn: UK to provide 20 million pounds for African Union mission in Sudan
Feb 28 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur
Photo: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, pictured here in January 2006, called on his Sudanese counterpart Lam Akol to accept the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. (AFP/POOL/File/Carl De Souza)
Photo: A general view of a Sudanese internally displaced people camp housing over 730 families, December 3,2005. NATO allies would look kindly on new appeals for back-up help to African troops in Darfur, but rule out for now a major deployment of their own, NATO diplomats said on Tuesday. (Reuters/Antony Njuguna/Yahoo News)
See NATO ready to help in Darfur, but not with troops Feb 14 2006 (Reuters).
Photo: Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir shakes hands with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the presidential palace in Khartoum in Sudan, Oct 6, 2004. (AFP/Sudan Watch archive)
"The short-term incentive for other states to send peacekeepers to Sudan's Darfur is of course missing. But a more serious problem is how to moderate the rights of a sovereign government.This morning, I started transcribing the interview but it is taking me too long to type. Here's what I have so far - will add more later if able to transcribe more:
A recent post here reports: Sudan is hindering the African Union's ability to monitor a ceasefire in Darfur by imposing a curfew and restricting airport access, the head of the mission said on Tuesday. . . [UK Cabinet Minister Hilary Benn] urged the local state governor to lift the curfew. "I can see no justification for imposing a curfew on peacekeepers".
The UK Minister talked this morning (22/2/06) about the possibility of a UN mission for Darfur. He said the Sudanese government may be failing to meet the obligations it has entered into for protecting its people. If this is the case, the international community should act. If it does, Sudan shouldn't be able to impose preconditions on such UN official missions as it is doing on the AU at present."
Photo: Hilary Benn
BBC interviewer: A ceasefire was signed in Darfur in April 2004. It's been widely ignored. Raids by the Janjaweed militia are continuing despite the presence of African Union peacekeepers. A curfew imposed by the Sudanese government is intefering with the AU's ability to stop the atrocities that's something the Intenrational Development Secretary Hilary Benn says he'll puruse when he meets members of the Khartoum government today. His visit to the area comes as the US is increasing the pressure on the UN to pass a resolution before the end of this month authjorising UN peacekeepers to replace the AU forces. Well I spoke to Hilary Benn a little earlier and asked him first to describe the conditions for people in Darfur
Mr Benn: The conditions in the camps are OK, the huge humanatarian effort in darfur over last 2 years or so means the people are getting food and water I have to say the seucurity sistuion has deteriored compared with last june when I was in El-Fasher and I have been talking to the AU force commander about that. The rebels have been responsible for an increasing proportion of the attacks. The Arab milia are still at work. There are people in the second camp I visited this afternoon who'd fled recently from a town called Shearia where there's disturbances and violence going on as we speak and it really reinforces the point that we have to step up the international effort here in Darfur to protect people while at the same time putting pressure as Jack Straw did last week in Nigeria on those who are talking part in the talks in Abuja because only a political settlement is going to allow the people I spoke to in the camps to ...
BBC interviewer: Going back to the distressing news you bring are you saying the Sudanese government are colluding in that violence?
Further reading:
Feb 2 2006 US, UK move to get UN troops into Darfur
Feb 3 2006 UK sets list of priority actions on Darfur for new Sudanese Government of National Unity
Feb 4 2006 UK offers Sudan gov't 7-Point "Plan for Peace" in Sudan
Feb 13 2006 British PM Blair vows to keep up pressure on aid for Africa
Feb 13 2006 British PM Blair writes "Towards real action in Africa" - AU Standby Force of 20,000 personnel
Feb 13 2006 Britain's top diplomat Straw to attend Darfur peace talks
Feb 14 2006 Britain's top diplomat Jack Straw at Darfur peace talks - Warns of sanctions
Feb 14 2006 AU top mediator hails UK efforts to bring peace in Darfur
Feb 15 2006 TEXT: UK Foreign Secretary's speech to Darfur peace talks
Feb 16 2006 Darfur: Stop the killing, or pay the price warns Britain's Foreign Secretary Jack Straw
Feb 18 2006 Africa A New Agenda - How Africa Can Succeed, by UK Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw
Feb 20 2006 UK's Cardinal O'Brien with SCIAF in the Sudan sees hope amid horror of African nightmare
Feb 21 2006 UK urges lifting of Sudan curfew - AU says curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers
Feb 21 2006 Benn: UK to provide 20 million pounds for African Union mission in Sudan
Feb 28 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur
Photo: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, pictured here in January 2006, called on his Sudanese counterpart Lam Akol to accept the deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. (AFP/POOL/File/Carl De Souza)
Photo: A general view of a Sudanese internally displaced people camp housing over 730 families, December 3,2005. NATO allies would look kindly on new appeals for back-up help to African troops in Darfur, but rule out for now a major deployment of their own, NATO diplomats said on Tuesday. (Reuters/Antony Njuguna/Yahoo News)
See NATO ready to help in Darfur, but not with troops Feb 14 2006 (Reuters).
Photo: Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir shakes hands with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at the presidential palace in Khartoum in Sudan, Oct 6, 2004. (AFP/Sudan Watch archive)
Bump up Darfur on NewsBump.net - where YOU decide what's important
Interesting new site NewsBump.net - where YOU decide what's important.
[Via a comment at The Little Green Blog's post on the resignation of Harvard's president, divestment and Darfur - excerpt:
[Via a comment at The Little Green Blog's post on the resignation of Harvard's president, divestment and Darfur - excerpt:
"In my opinion, activist movements from across the spectrum of strategies and political beliefs have played the largest role in bringing Darfur to the forefront. But I don't really care if people agree with me or not, because the world is taking action, and this genocide will end."]More on Lawrence Summers' resignation at Jim Moore's Journal.
UN can provide access to technology that could spot raiding parties approaching human settlements
Excerpt from Associated Press report 21 Feb 2006 UN envoy denies Sudan's accusation :
"I am not going to have a discussion with the government through the media," Pronk told reporters at the weekly U.N. press briefing Tuesday. "I can only say the following: the UN is acting within its own mandate.No doubt NATO have the technology. Why this monitoring technology is not part and parcel of a ceasefire agreement is beyond me. Whoever breaks the ceasefire agreement goes to jail. Darfur war criminals are continuing to get away with murder. Maybe the hold up on employing this technology in Darfur is due to the African Union not requesting the help offered by NATO? Or Khartoum stopping the African Union from requesting UN/NATO's help?
"We are not overstretching our mandate, and I have always been completely impartial," Pronk said.
Pronk said the AU forces hadn't managed to stop militia and rebels from killing civilians in Darfur, and that what we needed was advanced technology that could spot raiding parties approaching human settlements.
"I don't think African countries have that technology," he said.
Sudan's "Hakamaat" find their voice again - Modiba's Afropop Darfur benefit CD
Canadian Leslie Morris, a public health promoter for Oxfam in North Darfur explains that Oxfam has "enlisted the hakamaat -- traditional women storytellers -- to help to promote potentially life-saving public health messages, such as washing your hands and storing drinking water safely. These messages may seem simple, but in overcrowded camp conditions they can literally make the difference between life and death.
Hakamaat women, old and young, are prevalent in almost every village in Darfur and traditionally serve a very important role: to spread important news and to help mark and celebrate notable events. But they are also highly effective social mobilizers."
Read all about it - and the Afropop CD to benefit Kebkabiya, a small town in North Darfur where the hakamaat are back in business - at Patrick's blog The Horn of Africa: Darfur.
Hakamaat women, old and young, are prevalent in almost every village in Darfur and traditionally serve a very important role: to spread important news and to help mark and celebrate notable events. But they are also highly effective social mobilizers."
Read all about it - and the Afropop CD to benefit Kebkabiya, a small town in North Darfur where the hakamaat are back in business - at Patrick's blog The Horn of Africa: Darfur.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
UK urges lifting of Sudan curfew - AU says curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers
Reuters report 21 Feb 2006 by Opheera McDoom says Sudan is hindering the African Union's ability to monitor a ceasefire in Darfur by imposing a curfew and restricting airport access, the head of the mission said on Tuesday. Excerpt:
"Of course with the curfew, the airport shut, there are some constraints because if we cannot move about in that hour we cannot know what the government is doing in that hour," said Collins Ihekire, head of the AU military mission in Darfur.
Ihekire said the government had been flying helicopters offensively, a breach of the ceasefire signed in April 2004, which has since been widely ignored. Last week rebels shot down a government helicopter in South Darfur and captured a pilot alive and are still holding him.
"Those were helicopter gunships supporting their troops fighting with the SLA (Sudan Liberation Army) ... offensive flying," he added of the two helicopters the government used in the attack.
The government has imposed a curfew in el-Fasher from 2100 until 0630, U.N. officials said. The AU also says the airport in el-Fasher, the force headquarters, is closed from 1800.
Benn urged the local state governor to lift the curfew. "I can see no justification for imposing a curfew on peacekeepers," he said.
A state minister, Adam Haribush, told Benn that rebels were seeping into the town at night and it was impossible to differentiate the AU forces from rebel troops.
"The rebels are even within the AU base and are taking their cars to go around the town at night," he declared in Arabic, but which the government translator did not repeat in English.
The AU's Ihekire told Benn the Sudanese army was also using white helicopters and vehicles, the same colour used by the AU peace monitoring force and aid agencies working in the vast region, which compromised their neutrality.
Benn: UK to provide 20 million pounds for African Union mission in Sudan
Press Release UK government 21 Feb 2006 via ReliefWeb:
Hilary Benn, International Development Secretary, today announced an additional 20 million pounds of UK support for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) during a visit to El Fasher, Darfur.
Mr Benn discussed the current security situation and plans to hand over peacekeeping in Darfur to a UN 'blue-hatted' force with Major-General Ihekire (the AMIS force commander) and said:
"I have seen firsthand today how AMIS soldiers and police on the ground are making every effort in difficult circumstances to protect the lives of the people living in the Darfur camps. But talking to women who were forced to flee their homes, it is clear that they don't feel it is safe to go back.
"Funding for AMIS is running low, and the international community must do more to ensure the African Union can operate effectively, as preparations are made for a handover to the UN. Improving security must be the priority. This means predictable, sustainable support for AMIS and I am confirming that the UK will provide a further 20m pounds for this. The UK stands ready to provide equipment, fund essential expenses, for example fuel costs, and provide experts to strengthen AMIS headquarters and operations.
"I urge other donors, who along with the UK will be attending a pledging conference in early March, to join us in committing significant additional resources to ensure that AMIS gets the support it needs."
Notes to editors
1. The UK has already committed 19m pounds funding this financial year to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). This money is providing equipment, including over 900 vehicles, military and civilian policing advice, expertise and training, airlift of troops into Darfur, and further troop rotation. Today's announcement brings our total contribution to AMIS since its inception to almost 52m pounds.
2. The UK will work with AMIS to ensure the additional funding announced today is put to best use. While exact requirements are still unclear, we expect funding to provide support for core running costs and any additional experts required. As part of this support we will pay for AMIS' fuel requirements for their ground vehicles.
3. The AU has decided in principle that it will ask to hand over responsibility for peacekeeping to the UN. The AU's Peace and Security Council will meet on 3 March and is expected to agree formally the handover to the UN.
4. A pledging conference will take place in Brussels on 8 March. If a formal decision about handover has been made, the pledging conference will aim to remove uncertainty about AMIS funding until the transition to UN. Cash reserves are currently running critically low.
Hilary Benn, International Development Secretary, today announced an additional 20 million pounds of UK support for the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) during a visit to El Fasher, Darfur.
Mr Benn discussed the current security situation and plans to hand over peacekeeping in Darfur to a UN 'blue-hatted' force with Major-General Ihekire (the AMIS force commander) and said:
"I have seen firsthand today how AMIS soldiers and police on the ground are making every effort in difficult circumstances to protect the lives of the people living in the Darfur camps. But talking to women who were forced to flee their homes, it is clear that they don't feel it is safe to go back.
"Funding for AMIS is running low, and the international community must do more to ensure the African Union can operate effectively, as preparations are made for a handover to the UN. Improving security must be the priority. This means predictable, sustainable support for AMIS and I am confirming that the UK will provide a further 20m pounds for this. The UK stands ready to provide equipment, fund essential expenses, for example fuel costs, and provide experts to strengthen AMIS headquarters and operations.
"I urge other donors, who along with the UK will be attending a pledging conference in early March, to join us in committing significant additional resources to ensure that AMIS gets the support it needs."
Notes to editors
1. The UK has already committed 19m pounds funding this financial year to the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). This money is providing equipment, including over 900 vehicles, military and civilian policing advice, expertise and training, airlift of troops into Darfur, and further troop rotation. Today's announcement brings our total contribution to AMIS since its inception to almost 52m pounds.
2. The UK will work with AMIS to ensure the additional funding announced today is put to best use. While exact requirements are still unclear, we expect funding to provide support for core running costs and any additional experts required. As part of this support we will pay for AMIS' fuel requirements for their ground vehicles.
3. The AU has decided in principle that it will ask to hand over responsibility for peacekeeping to the UN. The AU's Peace and Security Council will meet on 3 March and is expected to agree formally the handover to the UN.
4. A pledging conference will take place in Brussels on 8 March. If a formal decision about handover has been made, the pledging conference will aim to remove uncertainty about AMIS funding until the transition to UN. Cash reserves are currently running critically low.
Sudan raps UN envoy Jan Pronk
Comments from UN secretary general Kofi Annan's representative Jan Pronk and his aides had "impaired the country's sovereignty and marred its image abroad" says Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Keerti. Naughty UN ;)
See BBC report Sudan attacks UN envoy on Darfur.
See BBC report Sudan attacks UN envoy on Darfur.
HRW has evidence of Sudanese Janjaweed attacks in Chad and calls for sanctions against Janjaweed leaders Hamid Dawai and Abdullah Abu Shineibat
Reuters report by Opheera McDoom 21 Feb 2006 says Chadian farmers are being beaten, harassed and killed in raids by Sudanese militia, at times with support from Sudanese army helicopters, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report 21 Feb 2006. Excerpt:
The [HRW] report quoted dozens of interviews with some of the tens of thousands of Chadians who have fled their homes, flooding already overcrowded refugee camps along the long and porous Chad-Sudan border.
A 51-year-old Chadian farmer interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the Janjaweed were targeting non-Arab tribes.
"This is not your land. ... If you stay you will be killed, but if you run we won't kill you," he quoted the Janjaweed as saying when he fled his land.
HRW said it had evidence of Sudanese army involvement in the militia attacks and had documented at least four attacks by Sudanese armed forces on eastern Chadian villages.
"Witness accounts and physical evidence indicated that government of Sudan troops and helicopter gunships participated directly in attacks, while many people reported seeing Antonov aircraft approach from Sudan, circle overhead, then return to Sudan in advance of Janjaweed raids," the report said.
The New York-based rights group said Hamid Dawai and Abdullah Abu Shineibat, who they described as Janjaweed leaders with known links to the Sudanese government, were involved in the attacks and should be subject to a UN imposed travel ban and asset freeze.
One 50-year-old man interviewed by the rights group said he fled an attack on his village to a refugee camp in Darfur. Now he's fleeing insecurity from inside the camp.
"If they like your wife, they take her," he said of the Janjaweed in the camp. "Even the soldiers enter the camp and behave like the Janjaweed."
Image: Janjaweed - See HRW 21 Feb 2006 - Darfur Bleeds: Recent Cross-Border Violence in Chad
- - -
Confronting War Crimes in Africa
Note this excerpt from the U.S. Hearing Before the Sub Committee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations House of Representatives June 24, 2004:
"Credible organizations have reported the following individuals of the Jingaweit bear responsibility for the atrocities that have occurred there. While we know there are others, the United States is working to determine their culpability and the culpability of others who support them. Some of the individuals are Musa Hilal, a Jingaweit coordinator; Hamid Dawai; Abdullah abu Shineibat; Omar Babbush; Omada Saef; Ahmad Dekheir; Ahmed Abu Kamasha. These people need to be investigated and brought to justice."
The [HRW] report quoted dozens of interviews with some of the tens of thousands of Chadians who have fled their homes, flooding already overcrowded refugee camps along the long and porous Chad-Sudan border.
A 51-year-old Chadian farmer interviewed by Human Rights Watch said the Janjaweed were targeting non-Arab tribes.
"This is not your land. ... If you stay you will be killed, but if you run we won't kill you," he quoted the Janjaweed as saying when he fled his land.
HRW said it had evidence of Sudanese army involvement in the militia attacks and had documented at least four attacks by Sudanese armed forces on eastern Chadian villages.
"Witness accounts and physical evidence indicated that government of Sudan troops and helicopter gunships participated directly in attacks, while many people reported seeing Antonov aircraft approach from Sudan, circle overhead, then return to Sudan in advance of Janjaweed raids," the report said.
The New York-based rights group said Hamid Dawai and Abdullah Abu Shineibat, who they described as Janjaweed leaders with known links to the Sudanese government, were involved in the attacks and should be subject to a UN imposed travel ban and asset freeze.
One 50-year-old man interviewed by the rights group said he fled an attack on his village to a refugee camp in Darfur. Now he's fleeing insecurity from inside the camp.
"If they like your wife, they take her," he said of the Janjaweed in the camp. "Even the soldiers enter the camp and behave like the Janjaweed."
Image: Janjaweed - See HRW 21 Feb 2006 - Darfur Bleeds: Recent Cross-Border Violence in Chad
- - -
Confronting War Crimes in Africa
Note this excerpt from the U.S. Hearing Before the Sub Committee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations House of Representatives June 24, 2004:
"Credible organizations have reported the following individuals of the Jingaweit bear responsibility for the atrocities that have occurred there. While we know there are others, the United States is working to determine their culpability and the culpability of others who support them. Some of the individuals are Musa Hilal, a Jingaweit coordinator; Hamid Dawai; Abdullah abu Shineibat; Omar Babbush; Omada Saef; Ahmad Dekheir; Ahmed Abu Kamasha. These people need to be investigated and brought to justice."
List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)
Via Sudan Online Discussion Board 4/3/2005 - copy in full for future reference.
Quote: Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)
The United Nations International Commission of Inquiry's report into the atrocities in Darfur names 51 individuals it recommends for prosecution at the International Criminal Court. The file has been sealed, to be opened only by a 'competent prosecutor'.
The names of many people involved in Darfur policy have been published by governments, the United States Congress, human rights organisations and the media since the genocide/ethnic cleansing got under way in earnest in early 2003.
A 2004 Congressional report lists Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha as at first in 'charge of the offensive in Darfur' and later 'the key player behind the scenes', according to 'US and regional officials'. Other policy-making officials listed here and elsewhere include:
Lieutenant General Nafi'e Ali Nafi'e, seen as second-in-command on Darfur: Federal Government Minister, ex-External Intelligence boss;
Major Gen. Salah Abdullah 'Gosh', as third-in-command on Darfur: intelligence chief;
Maj. Gen. (Air Force) Abdullah Ali Safi el Din el Nur: State (junior) Minister for Cabinet Affairs and ex-North Darfur Governor; described in Congress members' June 2004 letter to President George W. Bush as 'General Coordinator of Janjaweed';
Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Haroun: Minister, Internal Affairs, former People's Police Force chief;
Ali Ahmed Kurti, Minister, ex-head People's Defence Force militias;
El Tayeb Ibrahim Mohamed Kheir (El Tayeb 'Sikha': Iron Bar): Presidential Security Advisor, ex-Darfur Governor;
Gen. Mutref Sideeg: Foreign Affairs Under Secretary; The published part of the US State Department's List of Janjaweed commanders comprises:
Musa Hilal Musa: Janjaweed coordinator and Buffalo Brigade (Liwa el Jamous) commander;
Brigadier Hamid Dawai: Terbeba-Arara-Beida area leader;
Abdullah Mustafa Abu Shineibat: Habila and Foro Burunga area;
Omada Saef: Misterei area;
Omar Babbush: Habila and Foro Burunga area;
Ahmed Dekheir: Mornei area;
Ahmed Abu Kamasha: Kailek area;The US Congress members' letter names as 'supervising and controlling Janjaweed activities and operations' several of the above, plus:
Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha: Commerce Minister;
Gen. Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein: Internal Affairs and Police Minister;
Maj. Gen. Adam Hamid Musa: South Darfur Governor;
Brig. Mohamed Ahmed Ali: Director, Riot Police, which attacked Darfur displaced people in Khartoum in March 2004;
Mohamed Yussef Abdullah, State Minister, Humanitarian Affairs; The Congress letter names a 'Coordination and Command Council of Janjaweed':
Lt. Col. (Abdel Rahim Ahmed Mohamed) 'Shukratallah': El Geneina;
Ahmed Mohamed Haroun: see above;
Osman Yussef Kebir: Governor, N. Darfur;
El Tahir Hassan Abboud: National Congress Party (ruling NIF faction);
Mohamed Salih el Sanusi Baraka: National Assembly member;
Mohamed Yusef el Tileit: State Minister, Western Darfur;
Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdullah Jibril: National Assembly;As field commanders, along with Musa Hilal and Hamid Dawai, theCongress members list:
Brig. Abdel Wahid (Said Ali Said): Kebkabiya area;
Brig. Mohamed Ibrahim Ginesto;
Maj. Hussein Tangos;
Maj. Omer Baabas;Also potentially of interest in their military/political roles are:
Gen. Abdel Karim Abdullah: intelligence chief;
Gen. Awad Ibn Auf: Military Intelligence chief;
Gen. Bakri Hassan Salih: Defence Minister;
Lt. Gen. Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir: President
http://www.sudaneseonline.com/cgi-bin/sdb/2bb.cgi
Quote: Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)
The United Nations International Commission of Inquiry's report into the atrocities in Darfur names 51 individuals it recommends for prosecution at the International Criminal Court. The file has been sealed, to be opened only by a 'competent prosecutor'.
The names of many people involved in Darfur policy have been published by governments, the United States Congress, human rights organisations and the media since the genocide/ethnic cleansing got under way in earnest in early 2003.
A 2004 Congressional report lists Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha as at first in 'charge of the offensive in Darfur' and later 'the key player behind the scenes', according to 'US and regional officials'. Other policy-making officials listed here and elsewhere include:
Lieutenant General Nafi'e Ali Nafi'e, seen as second-in-command on Darfur: Federal Government Minister, ex-External Intelligence boss;
Major Gen. Salah Abdullah 'Gosh', as third-in-command on Darfur: intelligence chief;
Maj. Gen. (Air Force) Abdullah Ali Safi el Din el Nur: State (junior) Minister for Cabinet Affairs and ex-North Darfur Governor; described in Congress members' June 2004 letter to President George W. Bush as 'General Coordinator of Janjaweed';
Colonel Ahmed Mohamed Haroun: Minister, Internal Affairs, former People's Police Force chief;
Ali Ahmed Kurti, Minister, ex-head People's Defence Force militias;
El Tayeb Ibrahim Mohamed Kheir (El Tayeb 'Sikha': Iron Bar): Presidential Security Advisor, ex-Darfur Governor;
Gen. Mutref Sideeg: Foreign Affairs Under Secretary; The published part of the US State Department's List of Janjaweed commanders comprises:
Musa Hilal Musa: Janjaweed coordinator and Buffalo Brigade (Liwa el Jamous) commander;
Brigadier Hamid Dawai: Terbeba-Arara-Beida area leader;
Abdullah Mustafa Abu Shineibat: Habila and Foro Burunga area;
Omada Saef: Misterei area;
Omar Babbush: Habila and Foro Burunga area;
Ahmed Dekheir: Mornei area;
Ahmed Abu Kamasha: Kailek area;The US Congress members' letter names as 'supervising and controlling Janjaweed activities and operations' several of the above, plus:
Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha: Commerce Minister;
Gen. Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein: Internal Affairs and Police Minister;
Maj. Gen. Adam Hamid Musa: South Darfur Governor;
Brig. Mohamed Ahmed Ali: Director, Riot Police, which attacked Darfur displaced people in Khartoum in March 2004;
Mohamed Yussef Abdullah, State Minister, Humanitarian Affairs; The Congress letter names a 'Coordination and Command Council of Janjaweed':
Lt. Col. (Abdel Rahim Ahmed Mohamed) 'Shukratallah': El Geneina;
Ahmed Mohamed Haroun: see above;
Osman Yussef Kebir: Governor, N. Darfur;
El Tahir Hassan Abboud: National Congress Party (ruling NIF faction);
Mohamed Salih el Sanusi Baraka: National Assembly member;
Mohamed Yusef el Tileit: State Minister, Western Darfur;
Maj. Gen. Hussein Abdullah Jibril: National Assembly;As field commanders, along with Musa Hilal and Hamid Dawai, theCongress members list:
Brig. Abdel Wahid (Said Ali Said): Kebkabiya area;
Brig. Mohamed Ibrahim Ginesto;
Maj. Hussein Tangos;
Maj. Omer Baabas;Also potentially of interest in their military/political roles are:
Gen. Abdel Karim Abdullah: intelligence chief;
Gen. Awad Ibn Auf: Military Intelligence chief;
Gen. Bakri Hassan Salih: Defence Minister;
Lt. Gen. Omer Hassan Ahmed el Beshir: President
http://www.sudaneseonline.com/cgi-bin/sdb/2bb.cgi
Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?
Angola Press report via Andnetwork .com 21 February 2006:
Libyan leader, Col. Moammar Kadhafi and Senegalese president, Abdoulaye Wade on Monday held a telephone conversation appreciating the efforts made at the African level to end the conflict in Sudan's western province of Darfur.See Feb 18 2006 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur.
They also discussed the African Union's development process and consolidation towards the creation of the United States of Africa, official Libyan sources said here.
The sources said the conversation comprises part of the coordination and permanent consultations between the two African leaders. Source : Angola press"
Bolton chides Annan on UN planning for Darfur force
On 20 Feb 2006 US Ambassador John Bolton said that Secretary-General Kofi Annan should be pushing UN officials harder in planning a force in Darfur rather than just lobbying the US for contributions.
"It would be helpful, I think, if the secretary-general, in addition to prodding the US, could also be out there talking to the African Union and the Arab League, and in fact, even talking to his own peacekeepers about the importance of moving ahead here," Bolton told reporters.
When told of Bolton's remarks, Annan said, "I'm not going to answer that." But his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN "planning process was moving full speed ahead."
Full report (Reuters) by Evelyn Leopold 21 Feb 2006.
Also, see Feb 21 2006 Washington Post report by Sue Pleming: US tells UN to hurry up with Darfur planning
"It would be helpful, I think, if the secretary-general, in addition to prodding the US, could also be out there talking to the African Union and the Arab League, and in fact, even talking to his own peacekeepers about the importance of moving ahead here," Bolton told reporters.
When told of Bolton's remarks, Annan said, "I'm not going to answer that." But his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the UN "planning process was moving full speed ahead."
Full report (Reuters) by Evelyn Leopold 21 Feb 2006.
Also, see Feb 21 2006 Washington Post report by Sue Pleming: US tells UN to hurry up with Darfur planning
S Sudan's Salva Kiir says Sudanese army supports Ugandan LRA terrorists
African News Dimension Feb 21, 2006 reprint by Andnetwork .com:
Sudanese first-vice-president and president of southern Sudan government Lt. Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit said, for the first time, he believes that Sudanese army support Ugandan rebel Lord's resistance Army.
In an interview with the BBC Arabic service, Kiir reiterated an accusation already advanced by many southern responsible. He further said that Ugandan rebels receive support in the suburb of the Southern Sudan capital Juba.
Last December, the responsible of the SPLM intelligence service, Edward Lino, had accused in an interview with the Sudanese al-Sahafa the Sudanese army of supporting the Ugandan rebel LRA.
But, Kiir added he has no prove on the implication of the Sudanese army.
Sudanese Defence Minister Lt-Gen Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein denied last year receiving any official complaint from the SPLM regarding the involvement of elements of the Sudanese army in supporting the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army militias.
Sudan's Salva Kiir, had said Saturday on 4 October 2005 that he would hand Kony over to the International Criminal Court. But Kiir said he did not know Kony's whereabouts. The Sudanese government had provided bases for the LRA south of Juba, but after it began to withdraw its support the LRA began raiding and looting Sudanese villages for food, and killing Sudanese civilians.
On 13 October 2005, the ICC unsealed arrest warrants it issued three months earlier for five LRA commanders, including the leader, Joseph Kony.
While Sudan and the International Criminal Court (ICC) differ over Darfur, Khartoum is cooperating in the case of Joseph Kony, one of five top Lord's Resistance Army members named in a sealed indictment compiled by prosecutors of the permanent war crimes court. Warrants for their arrests have been distributed to Uganda, Congo and Sudan.
Sudan once backed the LRA, even as Uganda supported the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army in its civil war with the Sudanese government. But Sudan and Uganda normalized relations in 2001, Sudan's southern civil war ended in January and the SPLM joined a national unity government. Ugandan troops have since been allowed to operate in some parts of southern Sudan against the LRA.
Human rights groups say the Lord's Resistance Army has over the years abducted more than 30,000 children, forcing them to become fighters, porters or concubines. The rebels have killed thousands of civilians and forced more than a million to flee their homes, but appears to have no clear political agenda and little contact with the outside world.
Source : Sudan Tribune
Sudanese first-vice-president and president of southern Sudan government Lt. Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit said, for the first time, he believes that Sudanese army support Ugandan rebel Lord's resistance Army.
In an interview with the BBC Arabic service, Kiir reiterated an accusation already advanced by many southern responsible. He further said that Ugandan rebels receive support in the suburb of the Southern Sudan capital Juba.
Last December, the responsible of the SPLM intelligence service, Edward Lino, had accused in an interview with the Sudanese al-Sahafa the Sudanese army of supporting the Ugandan rebel LRA.
But, Kiir added he has no prove on the implication of the Sudanese army.
Sudanese Defence Minister Lt-Gen Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein denied last year receiving any official complaint from the SPLM regarding the involvement of elements of the Sudanese army in supporting the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army militias.
Sudan's Salva Kiir, had said Saturday on 4 October 2005 that he would hand Kony over to the International Criminal Court. But Kiir said he did not know Kony's whereabouts. The Sudanese government had provided bases for the LRA south of Juba, but after it began to withdraw its support the LRA began raiding and looting Sudanese villages for food, and killing Sudanese civilians.
On 13 October 2005, the ICC unsealed arrest warrants it issued three months earlier for five LRA commanders, including the leader, Joseph Kony.
While Sudan and the International Criminal Court (ICC) differ over Darfur, Khartoum is cooperating in the case of Joseph Kony, one of five top Lord's Resistance Army members named in a sealed indictment compiled by prosecutors of the permanent war crimes court. Warrants for their arrests have been distributed to Uganda, Congo and Sudan.
Sudan once backed the LRA, even as Uganda supported the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army in its civil war with the Sudanese government. But Sudan and Uganda normalized relations in 2001, Sudan's southern civil war ended in January and the SPLM joined a national unity government. Ugandan troops have since been allowed to operate in some parts of southern Sudan against the LRA.
Human rights groups say the Lord's Resistance Army has over the years abducted more than 30,000 children, forcing them to become fighters, porters or concubines. The rebels have killed thousands of civilians and forced more than a million to flee their homes, but appears to have no clear political agenda and little contact with the outside world.
Source : Sudan Tribune
Monday, February 20, 2006
Two Chadian army generals desert, join rebels
Two top Chadian army generals have deserted and joined insurgents sworn to ousting President Idriss Deby, rebels along the Sudan-Chad border said on Monday.
"General Sedi Aguid and General Ishaq al-Diar are in one of our camps on the border," said Mahamat Nour, the leader of an alliance of nine Chadian guerrilla groups, the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC).
"It's important to have them with us and important that the international community ... sees that this now confirms that Deby is finished, he has no men with him and they should warn him he should talk with us," Nour told Reuters by telephone from the border. Full report (Reuters) 20 Feb 2006.
Note, Feb 12 2006 Exclusive interview: Mahamat Nour the Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed.
"General Sedi Aguid and General Ishaq al-Diar are in one of our camps on the border," said Mahamat Nour, the leader of an alliance of nine Chadian guerrilla groups, the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC).
"It's important to have them with us and important that the international community ... sees that this now confirms that Deby is finished, he has no men with him and they should warn him he should talk with us," Nour told Reuters by telephone from the border. Full report (Reuters) 20 Feb 2006.
Note, Feb 12 2006 Exclusive interview: Mahamat Nour the Chad rebel leader demands change, by force if needed.
Chad: Are Deby's days numbered?
IRIN report 10 Feb 2006 - excerpts:
The UN and other aid agencies in Guereda and Iriba pulled about a fifth of their humanitarian staff out of the two towns following the January abduction of government officials. They have yet to return.
Farther south around Adre, humanitarian agents' movement is restricted.
Convoys are required to travel certain routes and border areas are out of bounds for UNHCR officials, making it difficult for the agency to see if there are people needing assistance along the frontier.
Photo: Chadian soldiers patrol dirt roads near the Sudan border (Claire Soares/IRIN)
Medical groups like MSF-France are hunkered down in Adre hospital, having had to suspend their mobile clinic that travelled south along the border, treating people in hard-to-reach villages.
Another logistical headache brought on by a deterioration in security is in the far north, where two camps - Am Nabak and Oure Cassoni - are less than 50 kilometres from the frontier with Sudan, the minimum distance recommended for security reasons.
"We anticipate having to move those that are close to the border and which therefore may become more of a target," said Kingsley Amaning, the UN Resident Representative in Chad. "Rains come in July and we believe we have to do it before then."
This means finding a new shelter for some 46,000 refugees and the UN is talking to the Chadian government about building a new camp north of the town of Biltine.
Photo: A Chadian soldier on the streets of the border town of Adre (Courtesy IRIN) Adre is one of the few places where there is a tangible sense of how Deby perceives the threat to his reign. Eighteen months ago it was a sleepy, dusty outpost; now it is definitely a military town.
Armed soldiers idle by water points, pick-up trucks with roof-mounted machine guns pick their way among the donkeys and horse-drawn carts, and military patrols can be seen meandering down every other street.
Photo: A Sudanese boy in Chad refugee camp shows off his homemade kite. (IRIN)
Some diplomats saw Chad's hosting of a press conference late last year where the two main Darfur rebel groups pledged a united front as a warning shot fired by Deby with two audiences in mind.
Firstly to his own clan, as proof that he is sticking up for his Zaghawa kinsmen on the other side of the border who are allegedly being massacred by Arab militias. And secondly to Sudan and the wider international community that he can pollute the Darfur peace talks if he wants to.
"With mutual accusations and the increased concentration of troops on both sides of the border, the potential for an open confrontation between the two countries cannot be minimised," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in his latest report on Darfur.
The UN and other aid agencies in Guereda and Iriba pulled about a fifth of their humanitarian staff out of the two towns following the January abduction of government officials. They have yet to return.
Farther south around Adre, humanitarian agents' movement is restricted.
Convoys are required to travel certain routes and border areas are out of bounds for UNHCR officials, making it difficult for the agency to see if there are people needing assistance along the frontier.
Photo: Chadian soldiers patrol dirt roads near the Sudan border (Claire Soares/IRIN)
Medical groups like MSF-France are hunkered down in Adre hospital, having had to suspend their mobile clinic that travelled south along the border, treating people in hard-to-reach villages.
Another logistical headache brought on by a deterioration in security is in the far north, where two camps - Am Nabak and Oure Cassoni - are less than 50 kilometres from the frontier with Sudan, the minimum distance recommended for security reasons.
"We anticipate having to move those that are close to the border and which therefore may become more of a target," said Kingsley Amaning, the UN Resident Representative in Chad. "Rains come in July and we believe we have to do it before then."
This means finding a new shelter for some 46,000 refugees and the UN is talking to the Chadian government about building a new camp north of the town of Biltine.
Photo: A Chadian soldier on the streets of the border town of Adre (Courtesy IRIN) Adre is one of the few places where there is a tangible sense of how Deby perceives the threat to his reign. Eighteen months ago it was a sleepy, dusty outpost; now it is definitely a military town.
Armed soldiers idle by water points, pick-up trucks with roof-mounted machine guns pick their way among the donkeys and horse-drawn carts, and military patrols can be seen meandering down every other street.
Photo: A Sudanese boy in Chad refugee camp shows off his homemade kite. (IRIN)
Some diplomats saw Chad's hosting of a press conference late last year where the two main Darfur rebel groups pledged a united front as a warning shot fired by Deby with two audiences in mind.
Firstly to his own clan, as proof that he is sticking up for his Zaghawa kinsmen on the other side of the border who are allegedly being massacred by Arab militias. And secondly to Sudan and the wider international community that he can pollute the Darfur peace talks if he wants to.
"With mutual accusations and the increased concentration of troops on both sides of the border, the potential for an open confrontation between the two countries cannot be minimised," UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said in his latest report on Darfur.
Holocaust denier Irving is jailed
Quite rightly, British historian David Irving has been found guilty in Vienna of denying the Holocaust of European Jewry and sentenced to three years in prison. He had pleaded guilty to the charge, based on a speech and interview he gave in Austria in 1989. Full story (BBC) 20 Feb 2006.
Note, the fear that deniers could gain the upper hand led an SS camp guard, Oskar Groening, to break a lifetime of silence earlier this year in a BBC documentary, Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution.
Note, the fear that deniers could gain the upper hand led an SS camp guard, Oskar Groening, to break a lifetime of silence earlier this year in a BBC documentary, Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution.
"I saw the gas chambers. I saw the crematoria. I saw the open fires. I was on the ramp when the selections [for the gas chambers] took place," said Mr Groening, now in his 80s. "I would like you to believe these atrocities happened - because I was there."
UK's Cardinal O'Brien with SCIAF in the Sudan sees hope amid horror of African nightmare
'THE men had their ears cut off - cut right into the skull. One said he had been stripped and beaten. Another had also had his lips cut off, you could see the scars. He told me stories of other people who had had their lips padlocked. Man's inhumanity to man is quite startling."
Cardinal Keith O'Brien's frank and graphic response when asked what hit him hardest during a recent visit to Sudan brings home the horrific abuses suffered by thousands of people in the war-ravaged African country.
Cardinal Keith O'Brien's frank and graphic response when asked what hit him hardest during a recent visit to Sudan brings home the horrific abuses suffered by thousands of people in the war-ravaged African country.
But the Cardinal believes there is hope, with projects run by Sciaf and other charities providing crucial help to people whose lives remain devastated by the war.Full report by Julia Horton (Scotsman) 20 Feb 2006.
He says: "I saw women getting their hair done and their feet painted by hairdressers who are also trained psychologists.
"It is only when they get a woman's confidence when they are washing her hair that they can get her to communicate and reveal something of what has happened to her. These women have suffered multiple rapes, but under Sudanese law marital infidelity is a crime. Women also need four witnesses in any allegation of rape, and eight if the witnesses are women too."
Gloria White-Hammond calls for aid to Darfur women
"The black community needs to assert itself politically and demand increased humanitarian aid for genocide victims in Darfur," the Rev Dr Gloria White-Hammond, a Boston pediatrician active in Sudan and chair of the Million Voices for Darfur campaign, said yesterday. Wholeheartedly, I agree with her, and when she says:
Note, Sudan means "land of the blacks" in Arabic, and for centuries black Africans were abducted in Sudan as part of the Arabian slave trade. Read more about slavery in Sudan and find out how you can help...
Photo: Rev Dr Gloria White-Hammond (Courtesy massbible.org)
My Sister's Keeper is a human rights initiative in Sudan founded by Gloria White- Hammond and Liz Walker.
Further reading:
Jul 4 2004 Jim Moore's Journal The Failure to Respond (Harvard panel and discussion)
Dec 26 2004 Jim Moore's Intention, Darfur, Sudan - If we look long-term at what we would hope for Sudan, it is that information, dialogue, constructive relationships would thrive among its citizens and those of the rest of the world.
Jun 30 2005 PoTP Speaker paints vivid picture of Sudan horror
PeaceWomen contacts Sudan.
"I believe the tipping point will come from people of African descent. I want it to be said that we did for the African people today what was not done for us 400 years ago.Wish I could find a woman of Arabian descent saying the same thing on behalf of Arabian folk, especially women and children.
Note, Sudan means "land of the blacks" in Arabic, and for centuries black Africans were abducted in Sudan as part of the Arabian slave trade. Read more about slavery in Sudan and find out how you can help...
Photo: Rev Dr Gloria White-Hammond (Courtesy massbible.org)
My Sister's Keeper is a human rights initiative in Sudan founded by Gloria White- Hammond and Liz Walker.
Further reading:
Jul 4 2004 Jim Moore's Journal The Failure to Respond (Harvard panel and discussion)
Dec 26 2004 Jim Moore's Intention, Darfur, Sudan - If we look long-term at what we would hope for Sudan, it is that information, dialogue, constructive relationships would thrive among its citizens and those of the rest of the world.
Jun 30 2005 PoTP Speaker paints vivid picture of Sudan horror
PeaceWomen contacts Sudan.
Kiva: Loans that change lives - Sudan becomes attractive for Arab investments
Kiva website states it provides a new, sponsor a business option for individuals to connect with small enterprises in developing countries through flexible loans and invites readers to become a lender to a small business in Africa and be reimbursed for the loan.
Sounds like a good initiative. Not sure how it all works. According to the website, Kiva is experiencing a huge outpouring of support and cannot list businesses fast enough. Excerpt:
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Sudan becomes attractive for Arab investments
A Sudanese official has said holding meetings of the Arab Union for Engineering Industries for the first time in Sudan is an indication that Sudan has become an attractive area for Arab investments.
The official affirmed desire of the union for increasing of trade exchange between Sudan and the Arab states - and urged activation of Arab free trade agreement and COMESA agreement.
Full article (SUNA/ST) Feb 19, 2006.
Sounds like a good initiative. Not sure how it all works. According to the website, Kiva is experiencing a huge outpouring of support and cannot list businesses fast enough. Excerpt:
"Latest journal from Peace Poultry Tororo, Uganda , January 3, 2006: This business has received loan money worth $300. The money has already been put in business to increase the stock."Source: Trey's blog.
- - -
Sudan becomes attractive for Arab investments
A Sudanese official has said holding meetings of the Arab Union for Engineering Industries for the first time in Sudan is an indication that Sudan has become an attractive area for Arab investments.
The official affirmed desire of the union for increasing of trade exchange between Sudan and the Arab states - and urged activation of Arab free trade agreement and COMESA agreement.
Full article (SUNA/ST) Feb 19, 2006.
Sunday, February 19, 2006
US troops accounted for in crash off Djibouti - US long-term Africa intelligence base
AP report 19 Feb says 10 US troops who were reported missing after two Marine Corps transport helicopters crashed into the sea have been accounted for but it did not specify whether they had survived.
Update Feb 19 BBC: Ten killed in US Djibouti crash
US long-term Africa intelligence base
Djibouti hosts the only United States military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism. See report at afrol.com January 2004.
Update Feb 19 BBC: Ten killed in US Djibouti crash
US long-term Africa intelligence base
Djibouti hosts the only United States military base in sub-Saharan Africa and is a front-line state in the global war on terrorism. See report at afrol.com January 2004.
Tactical use of genocide in Sudan and the Five Lakes region
Opinion piece by John Bart Gerald Feb 17, 2006 GlobalResearch, excerpt:
"When food production is disrupted by war there are few defences to natural disaster. Interrelated wars of varying intensity continue in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Chad, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo. Much of East Africa is starving.
Amidst the terrible suffering we find the United States and its principle humanitarian organizations insisting that the Government of Sudan is committing genocide. This was officially decided in 2002 with the Sudan Peace Act 1, and the position is dutifully echoed by U.S. officials, many government funded NGO's, and the US news media."
"When food production is disrupted by war there are few defences to natural disaster. Interrelated wars of varying intensity continue in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Chad, Uganda, Rwanda, Congo. Much of East Africa is starving.
Amidst the terrible suffering we find the United States and its principle humanitarian organizations insisting that the Government of Sudan is committing genocide. This was officially decided in 2002 with the Sudan Peace Act 1, and the position is dutifully echoed by U.S. officials, many government funded NGO's, and the US news media."
Bush signals expanded NATO role in Sudan - NYT
After President Bush spoke on Friday, a senior State Department official said the US proposal continued to be "to strengthen the AU" until UN forces arrive late this year.
While Mr. Bush spoke of "a NATO stewardship," the American officials cautioned that NATO would command only logistical operations, not the AU troops.
They reiterated that Washington would send no American troops. In Congressional testimony this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "We are prepared to talk with our NATO counterparts about what more we can do to support" the AU forces "until we can get the UN forces" into Darfur.
A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Joe Carpenter, said in Washington that no decisions had been made on NATO's role, but "NATO could potentially be a significant leader" in UN peacekeeping. Full report (NYT) via Sudan Tribune 19 February 2006.
While Mr. Bush spoke of "a NATO stewardship," the American officials cautioned that NATO would command only logistical operations, not the AU troops.
They reiterated that Washington would send no American troops. In Congressional testimony this week, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, "We are prepared to talk with our NATO counterparts about what more we can do to support" the AU forces "until we can get the UN forces" into Darfur.
A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Joe Carpenter, said in Washington that no decisions had been made on NATO's role, but "NATO could potentially be a significant leader" in UN peacekeeping. Full report (NYT) via Sudan Tribune 19 February 2006.
Sudan sets up body for disarmament, demobilization
President Omer al-Bashir Saturday issued a republican decree forming the National Council for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration Coordination (NCDDRC) to be chaired by Minister of Presidency Maj. Gen. Bakri Hassan Salih. Full report (SUNA) via Sudan Tribune 19 Feb 2006.
- - -
Salva Kiir says partnership with NCP growing every day
According to the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) news service Lt Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit confirmed SPLM will not delay in appointing its reps to joint committees and commissions so that the peace agreement is fully implemented.
Salva Kiir hailed President Omar al-Bashir's visit to Juba and Rumbek last Tuesday 14 February. He added that the detailed explanation offered by the president on the issue of oil revenues had satisfied the regional government.
Photo: First Vice President Salav Kiir (left), Lake State governor John Lat (right) and President Omar al-Beshir in the center in Rumbek on 14 Feb 2006 (Manyang Mayom) Full report via ST.
Note, Kiir observed that southerners had waited for the visit for long as it kept on being postponed due to sudden changes to the president's programme. He added that southerners expressed their happiness with the visit by turning in large numbers to attend the rallies in Juba and Rumbek.
- - -
Salva Kiir says partnership with NCP growing every day
According to the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) news service Lt Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit confirmed SPLM will not delay in appointing its reps to joint committees and commissions so that the peace agreement is fully implemented.
Salva Kiir hailed President Omar al-Bashir's visit to Juba and Rumbek last Tuesday 14 February. He added that the detailed explanation offered by the president on the issue of oil revenues had satisfied the regional government.
Photo: First Vice President Salav Kiir (left), Lake State governor John Lat (right) and President Omar al-Beshir in the center in Rumbek on 14 Feb 2006 (Manyang Mayom) Full report via ST.
Note, Kiir observed that southerners had waited for the visit for long as it kept on being postponed due to sudden changes to the president's programme. He added that southerners expressed their happiness with the visit by turning in large numbers to attend the rallies in Juba and Rumbek.
Sudan opposes International Criminal Court
The Sudanese government opposes the International Criminal Court, insisting it can prosecute any war criminals in its own courts. The ICC investigation is the first to be carried out against the will of the country where the alleged crimes occurred.
The ICC, which is based in the Netherlands, has a list of 51 suspects - including Sudanese government officials, pro-government militiamen and rebels - that was compiled by a UN panel which reported on the Darfur conflict last year.
Among the 51 names listed are "military and civilians about whom there is much convincing evidence", said Antonio Cassese, an Italian law professor, who led the United Nations commission of inquiry on Darfur crimes.
That evidence includes accounts from senior military officers that the Sudanese government "openly uses militia gangs, gives them weapons and salaries and tells them to kill and burn and it backs them up with planes and helicopters," Mr. Cassese said. "There is no restraint. More than 2,000 villages have been burnt. The scale of looting, raping and torture is horrible." Full report (Sudan Tribune) 19 February 2006.
The ICC, which is based in the Netherlands, has a list of 51 suspects - including Sudanese government officials, pro-government militiamen and rebels - that was compiled by a UN panel which reported on the Darfur conflict last year.
Among the 51 names listed are "military and civilians about whom there is much convincing evidence", said Antonio Cassese, an Italian law professor, who led the United Nations commission of inquiry on Darfur crimes.
That evidence includes accounts from senior military officers that the Sudanese government "openly uses militia gangs, gives them weapons and salaries and tells them to kill and burn and it backs them up with planes and helicopters," Mr. Cassese said. "There is no restraint. More than 2,000 villages have been burnt. The scale of looting, raping and torture is horrible." Full report (Sudan Tribune) 19 February 2006.
Sudan rejects US claim of ongoing Darfur genocide
"She (Rice) is biased because any authentic parties who are concerned with what's going on in Darfur have confirmed that this is not genocide," said Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Jamal Ibrahim.
"This is a systematic policy of the U.S. administration ... of pressuring the Khartoum government," Ibrahim said, saying the US was responding to internal pressures from Congress and the African American lobby. Reuters via Sudan Tribune 18 Feb 2006.
"This is a systematic policy of the U.S. administration ... of pressuring the Khartoum government," Ibrahim said, saying the US was responding to internal pressures from Congress and the African American lobby. Reuters via Sudan Tribune 18 Feb 2006.
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