Climate change and war - UN peacekeeping in S Sudan and Darfur would cost $2.7 billion annually - for how many years?

"On the list of the presently largest relief operations in the world Darfur is number one and Southern Sudan number two," writes UN SRSG Jan Pronk in his weblog September 22, 2006. Excerpt:

"Close to 90.000 metric tons of food aid were provided to 1.3 million people throughout South Sudan. Nearly 400 anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines and more than 16.000 unexploded objects were collected and destroyed, amongst others along 265 km roads. The reopening of these roads made humanitarian and commercial traffic possible. This was further facilitated by the construction of nearly 900 km roads and the rehabilitation of seven airfields. About 800 new water points were established. More than 750 schools were rehabilitated and about 4500 teachers were trained. Several millions of children were reached through the vaccination and immunization rounds, amongst others against measles and polio.

To cover the humanitarian needs for this year, 2006, in both Darfur and Southern Sudan we have presented an aid program to the international community amounting to 1.6 billion dollar. So far we have received 1.1 billion. It means that we had to cut assistance again.

Presently UNMIS, with 10.000 military, costs another one billion dollar per annum. If we are going to deploy in Darfur as well, as has been stipulated in resolutions of the Security Council, this will increase to 2.7 billion dollar annually.

WHEN WILL A POLITICAL SETTLEMENT BE REACHED?

I say Mr Pronk, $2.7 billion annually for something the majority of Sudanese don't seem to want? How long will it go on for? ... 2 years? 20 years? 200 years? When will the insurgents reach a political settlement? How many water pumps cost $2.7 billion? When is walk away time? Who decides when enough is enough? The insurgents claim to be fighting in the best interests of "their" people but how old will they be when they reach a political settlement? When they get old and grey and peg out, will their children carry on the fight? The point I am making here is, the warring parties in Sudan may as well reach a political settlement NOW and get started on pulling together to PUMP WATER before it's too late, otherwise Darfur will be uninhabitable. Maybe that's what they want, to be left alone with the oil. Read on:

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WAR

Visiting Africa's Sahel region, Jeffrey Sachs says it's clear that climate change is already driving warfare in Ethiopia and Sudan. This time, peacekeepers, sanctions and humanitarian aid are not going to cut it. Instead, the developed world needs to cut its emissions drastically while helping developing countries adapt - and fast. See commentary by Jeffrey Sachs at Global Policy Forum on "Climate Change and War" 1 March 2005. Excerpt:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has declared that the two issues at the center of the G-8 Summit this July will be African poverty and global climate change. These may seem to be distinct issues. In fact, they are linked. A trip I took to a village in the Tigre region in northern Ethiopia shows why.

One morning, I was taken to a dry riverbed at the village's edge. Farmers were digging a pit in the riverbed, down to the water table approximately two meters below ground level. They explained that, until recently, this was a perennial river - one that flows throughout the year. But now, the river stops flowing during the dry season. Only when the annual rains begin in the summer does water reappear in the river bed. Until then, water-starved communities dig for water - if they can find it and if they can afford to pump it out.

In northern Ethiopia, as in much of Africa, the rain cycle has changed markedly in recent years. Ethiopian village life has long depended on two crops, one during a short rain in March and April, and the main crop during the long rain in the summer months. In recent years, the short rains have failed entirely, and long rains have been erratic. Hunger is omnipresent. Perhaps half of the children are severely underweight.

Much of arid sub-Saharan Africa, notably in the Sahel (the region just south of the Sahara desert), has experienced a pronounced drop in rainfall over the past quarter-century. This decline coincided with a rise in the surface temperature of the neighboring Indian Ocean, a hint that the decline in rainfall is in fact part of the longer-term process of man-made global warming.

Failures of rainfall contribute not only to famines and chronic hunger, but also to the onset of violence when hungry people clash over scarce food and water. When violence erupts in water-starved regions such as Darfur, Sudan, political leaders tend to view the problems in narrow political terms. If they act at all, they mobilize peacekeepers, international sanctions and humanitarian aid. But Darfur, like Tigre, needs a development strategy to fight hunger and drought even more than it needs peacekeepers. Soldiers cannot keep peace among desperately hungry people.

One course of action must be to help impoverished African regions to "adapt" to climate change and to escape the poverty trap. Water-stressed regions like Ethiopia and Sudan can adapt, at least in part, through improved technologies such as "drip irrigation," rainwater harvesting, improved water storage facilities, deep wells, and agro-forestry techniques that make best use of scarce rainfall. Better land-management practices (the re-planting of degraded forests, for example) can recharge underground water aquifers.

Poor countries cannot afford these technologies on their own - nor should they have to. Help for poor countries in Africa and elsewhere to adapt to climate change should not be described as charity or aid, but rather as compensation for damages being imposed on the poorest people on the planet. Greater help for these countries to escape from extreme poverty has been promised for decades but has not been delivered.

In addition to adapting to climate change, the world must also reduce future risks to the planet by cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions, which are the source of man-made climate change. While adaptation to climate change is necessary - because it is already occurring - it is not enough. If the world fails to mitigate future climate change, the effects of rising temperatures, increasing droughts, more numerous and severe tropical storms, rising sea levels and a spread of tropical diseases will pose huge threats to the entire planet. The famines in Ethiopia and the violence in Darfur suggest what can lie ahead.

Photo: Click on image for details of Sudan's Chinese backed Merowe Dam.

Bashir meets Mubarak - AU can solve conflict in Africa

AP/ST 21 Sep 2006:

"Our aim is not to finalize the role of the AU at the end of this year, but to encourage them to continue forward and to set a positive example," Magzoub Al-Khalifa Ahmed, an adviser to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, told a Khartoum press conference.

"They are able to solve the conflict in Africa," he said.

Al-Bashir, returning from the annual UN General Assembly session [in New York] stopped briefly in Cairo on Thursday and held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There was no comment on what they discussed.

SA: Reinforce African Union army in Darfur

South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said the AU troops would remain until December 31 but UN should take control of the peacekeeping mission. He said with the extension of the AU troops' stay, there was time for the UN security council to review its resolution to "blue hat" the AU troops. - Sapa 21 Sep 2006.

Darfur: UN estimates over 400,000 deaths, 2m displaced

Over the past two years, I've covered miles of news reports on Darfur and am still unable to understand why the African Union Mission in Darfur was never given the support it needed to function effectively. Report by the UN News Centre 21 Sep 2006 - Annan welcomes extension of African Union mission in Darfur:

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr Annan stressed that additional funding for the mission, known as AMIS, is urgently required for it to function effectively during its new mandate in a region where UN officials estimate over 400,000 people have lost their lives and some 2 million more have been driven from their homes in three years of fighting between the Sudanese Government, allied militias and rebel forces.

Note, the report states UN officials estimate over 400,000 deaths.

UN envoy Jan Pronk calls for Ramadan calm in Darfur

Following yesterday's excellent news that AU peacekeepers are to remain in Darfur, The Times reported today:

Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN Undersecretary-General in charge of peacekeeping, welcomed the AU's decision. The logistics and support supplied to the African peacekeepers is expected to amount to 200 unarmed trainers and advisers at a cost of $22 million over the next four months, as well as help airlifting supplies and troops, and arranging contracts for food, fuel and water.

UN SRSG Jan Pronk has a great idea that, hopefully, could give fighters time to pause for thought and reflect on what is really important for the millions of defenceless women and children imprisoned in camps in Darfur and Chad, and start the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue. Reuters/ST Sept 21, 2006:

The UN envoy to Sudan on Thursday urged warring groups in Darfur to stop fighting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to let relief workers operate in the region where conflict has displaced more than 2 million.

"I am sending letters to the president and to all the seven movements ... asking them to respect a month of tranquillity during Ramadan," Jan Pronk said in reference to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Darfur rebel groups.

"Get off the collision course ... Don't fight, don't bomb, don't change your positions," Pronk told reporters in Khartoum. The Islamic month of Ramadan begins with the new moon in the coming days.

Pronk said a halt to fighting would lead to "creating an atmosphere whereby you can start talking again rather than fighting again with each other." It would also allow U.N. agencies to reach those in need, he said.

Good luck to Mr Pronk. Let's hope everyone will take a month off to rest and reflect on what is really important: PUMPING WATER NOT WAR!! Note this gem, by an insightful blogger at dishyduds blogspot re "Climate Change and Darfur":

"I now believe that the United States has a moral obligation to alleviate the struggles in Africa. It is our responsibility because we are the largest contributors to the root of the problem. I no longer support a UN military presence. Peace cannot be forced, and military action would only act as a band-aid on a seeping infected wound. The root cause needs to be addressed and the United States needs to lead as we had a hand in creating the problem. The peace needs to be rewritten to include provisions for all tribes to address what they were fighting over to begin with. Famine relief needs to be supported by all western world countries, especially those who are the largest contributors to global warming."

Read the full story. And, some more good news:

Water firm awarded $203 mln contract for Port Sudan (Sudan Tribune, Sep 17 2006)

Water treatment and hygiene education protect millions in Sudan

UNICEF has been working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health of the Government of National Unity, as well as state authorities, to treat water sources and storage systems. And while acute watery diarrhoea continues to be reported in a number of states, fatalities have fallen from 6 per cent to 3 per cent in the last month. Full story 20 Sep 2006.



Photo: Children gather at a community water point in Sag el Naam, in Sudan's North Darfur State. Following recent outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea, UNICEF and its partners have embarked upon a massive programme of water chlorination and hygiene education. (Copyright UNICEF Sudan/2006/Carwardine)

African Union extends Darfur mandate

The African Union said Wednesday it will extend the mandate of peacekeeping forces in Darfur through the end of the year. - AP 20 Sep 2006.

The AU is extending AMIS after receiving promises of financial support from the United Nations and Arab states. - SBS 21 Sep 2006.

Extra troops are expected to come from African countries, with further logistical support from the UN and financial help from the Arab League. - Aljazeera 20 Sep 2006:

Photo: In a speech to the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, George Bush, the US president, called the Darfur killings a genocide and said the AU force is "not strong enough" to protect the victims. He called for the force to be strengthened and demanded the UN take control.

Photo: The Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir at the UN General Assembly in New York. He walked out halfway through a meeting of the African Union Wednesday and when a reporter asked if the UN could send troops to Darfur, he shouted "No!" - AP 20 Sep 2006.

British UN Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry, who spoke to participants in the ongoing meeting, told reporters that Bashir was strongly criticized by other African leaders. "Apparently they gave him quite a pasting," he said.

Andrew Natsios, the new US special envoy for Sudan, said Wednesday the administration has begun a quiet effort to enlist Arab countries in its campaign to overcome Sudanese resistance to the deployment of 20,000 UN peacekeepers and police to Darfur. - AP 20 Sep 2006.

The BBC's world affairs correspondent Mark Doyle says that the key issue is not so much whether the force is a UN one or an AU one, but whether the AU can operate with a tougher mandate allowing them to shoot if things get tough - which is how UN peacekeepers operate. He says if that happened, then the money and management support needed to run a successful operation could be forthcoming and the diplomatic impasse could be resolved. - BBC 20 Sep 2006.

UN SRSG Jan Pronk says Darfur peace deal needs fresh discussions to be effective. Mr Pronk called for new consultations on the DPA to include those groups that did not sign the deal, although he warned against this being labelled as the "reopening of the peace negotiations." "The UN does not deserve the insinuations from Sudanese political leadership in power. We do not intend to recolonize, nor are we laying a carpet for others to do so," Mr Pronk said. - UN.org/noticias.info 19 Sep 2006.

Water firm awarded $203 mln contract for Port Sudan

From the Sudan Tribune Sept 17, 2006 (DUBAI, UAE)

Metito, the international water desalination and wastewater treatment specialist, today announced that it has been awarded a contract exceeding 2.3 million USD to execute a sea water desalination project for the state of Red Sea in Sudan.

The project which uses reverse osmosis technology is yet another milestone for the UAE based company which plans to complete and commission the entire plant in a record time of just seven months. The desalinated water will be used for sanitation and potable purposes to address the continuous growing demand for clean water and counter the inadequacy of existing supplies within Port Sudan city.

Speaking on the project Salah Deghedy, Managing Director of Metito Egypt said, "This is a challenging project for Metito as we will complete the project in a short span of seven months in conjunction with Al Shaty Co. and Al DAL Group in Sudan. Moreover this project is very important as an increasing number of people in Port Sudan city lack access to safe water for their multiple daily needs."

Metito's scope of work will include the supply, delivery, installation, commissioning as well as a six month supervisory period of the entire plant. With a daily capacity of nearly 5000 cubic meters (m3/D), Metito plans to supply Port Sudan city with much needed high purity water for drinking and sanitation requirements.

Commenting on the award of the contract Mohamed Hassan Ammaar, Director General of the Sudanese National Water Authority said, "We are facing increasing concerns regarding the sufficiency and quality of water for drinking and sanitation purposes and are delighted that the contract was awarded to Metito as they have a long history of constructing world class water treatment facilities all over the GCC and the Middle East."

Founded in 1958, Metito operates locally in 14 countries of the Arab and Islamic World, and supplies its plants internationally to locations as far apart as Argentina and Australia from its base in the United Arab Emirates.

Some of the company's notable achievements in 2006 include high purity demineralised water supply for Jebel Ali and Umm Al Nar power projects in UAE, drinking water supply to Kandahar in Afghanistan and high quality water supply for North Rumaylah project in Iraq.

"African Union Plus"

Guardian, Jonathan Steele, 18 Sep 2006:

President may withdraw deadline for African Union peacekeepers to leave

Sudan is expected to withdraw its deadline for African Union peacekeepers to leave the war-torn western region of Darfur at the end of this month, when AU foreign ministers discuss the mounting crisis in New York today, according to senior officials in Khartoum.

Sources in Khartoum now say the government is willing to let the African Union remain in Darfur, and accept some changes in its powers. "It is likely we will arrive at an extension of the African Union mandate when the ministers meet in New York. There seems to be a common interest. It will give time for all sides to find a way out of this," Ghazi Salahuddin Atabani, a senior presidential adviser, told the Guardian yesterday. The government wants to explore what it calls "African Union Plus", a plan to keep the AU troops but give them extra back-up in the form of helicopters and surveillance technology from western states.

UPDATE: Re AU Security Council meeting 18 Sep to consider AMIS mandate. Meeting will now "possibly" take place later in the week, South Africa's Foreign Ministry said 18 Sep 2006.

Sudan's Bashir to attend UN Darfur meeting in New York

A breakthrough. Sudan's President Bashir to attend UN Darfur meeting - Reuters 17 Sep 2006:

Sudanese President al-Bashir will attend a UN meeting on Darfur, opening the way for further talks despite his rejection of UN peacekeeping troops, South Africa said on Sunday.

Bashir would "interact" with the UN Security Council over the issue and attend a summit of the African Union's peace and security council, said South African President Thabo Mbeki after talks with Bashir and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

"President Bashir wasn't going to go to New York but we discussed matters with him and he agreed that he would go to New York so that he can participate in that meeting," Mbeki told reporters.

[Maybe Mr Bashir will meet with US President GW Bush, and sanctions on Sudan will be lifted, and UN troops will be allowed to help AMIS in Darfur...]
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Sudanese Minister underestimates rallies - Bahrain News Agency Sep 17 2006:

Marking the International Day for the support of Darfur, mass rallies in fifty cities worldwide were staged today calling for the deployment of multi national peacekeeping forces in west Sudan.

Sudanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Karti, underestimated the importance of these rallies which coincided with the first anniversary of the international commitment to ensure security to civilians all over the world. In a statement transmitted by Radio London, the Sudanese State Minister accused foreign media of deluding international public opinion, affirming that the situation in Darfur is improving.

Op-eds by Blair, Tutu, Annan - UK Blair urges EU unity on Darfur: "If Darfur is not to be another Rwanda, we must act, and now, to avert catastrophe"

Today, on the first anniversary of the adoption by the UN of a policy called the Responsibility to Protect, a global day of action is taking place, calling for peace in Darfur, but Sudan's government says protesters are being "misled" by the international media.

On Saturday 1,000 volunteers from a pro-government militia marched through the streets of Khartoum threatening to kill any uninvited UN visitors, the BBC's Jonah Fisher reports from the city. [more by Reuters: Sudan militia rallies against UN troops for Darfur]

Also, the BBC reports British Prime Minister Tony Blair has written to all the other 24 members of the European Union calling for unity on Darfur:

Mr Blair said the EU should play a "central role" in peace efforts and that the Sudanese government should prepare to face isolation if it failed to respond to diplomatic pressure to end the "slaughter".

"The EU should play a central role in mobilising world opinion on this issue," he wrote in the letter, which has also been sent to European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

"We should strongly call upon the government of Sudan and non-signatories alike to stop immediately the violence in northern Darfur.

"Both sides must abide by the commitments they made under previous ceasefire agreements."

Here follows a copy of commentary on Darfur by (1) Tony Blair (2) Desmond Tutu (3) Kofi Annan.

From The Independent by Tony Blair Sep 17, 2006
If Darfur is not to be another Rwanda, we must act, and now, to avert catastrophe

The human catastrophe which engulfed Rwanda 12 years ago was a shameful episode in world history. If good can emerge from such evil, it was the determination of the international community to ensure there must be no repeat of its failure to prevent such slaughter of our fellow human beings. At Britain's prompting, this responsibility to protect was formally adopted last year at the United Nations Millennium Summit.

But words, however well intended, are not enough. The crisis in Darfur is deteriorating rapidly. The violence is escalating, with devastating results. Nearly two million people have fled their homes, three million are dependent upon aid. The refugee camps provide no safe haven from attacks, with rape and kidnappings commonplace.

All this is despite the efforts of African Union peacekeepers who have struggled bravely against overwhelming odds to provide security. Humanitarian agencies, working in appalling and dangerous conditions, have found themselves unable to cope. There seems little sign that the violence has reached its peak, as we had hoped with the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in May, with many warning signs that it will get much worse.

This bleak picture of human misery on a vast scale explains why UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan last week warned that the world was on the brink of another calamity. He asked pointedly: "Can the international community, having not done enough for the people of Rwanda in their time of need, just watch as this tragedy unfolds?"

Britain is determined that this time the world will face up to its responsibility. We have been heavily involved from the start in trying to find a way towards a solution of this crisis. We have strongly supported peace negotiations. We took the lead in delivering UN Resolutions to impose sanctions and authorise a UN force for Darfur. We were the first country to announce its financial support for the African Union mission. We have contributed nearly £200m [US $376m] in humanitarian assistance to the region in the past two years.

But I accept, given the human crisis in Darfur, that we have to do more, and urgently. Over the past few days, my discussions with President Bush and Premier Wen of China show these views are shared.

The framework for improved security, which will allow a huge uplift in the provision of humanitarian aid, is already in place. UN Security Council Resolution 1706 sets out international backing for the creation and deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission to replace the African Union mission. In May, the Sudanese government and one of the main rebel movements signed a peace agreement, brokered by the African Union but with the heavy involvement of Hilary Benn and David Triesman. It did not, of course, meet all the demands of both parties but it did show the way forward.

The international community must now urgently use all the levers it has to force other warring groups to sign up, but also to ensure that all parties keep to its terms so that the violence stops. We must also insist the UN peacekeeping mission gets into the region as quickly as possible.

This won't be easy. The government of Sudan has said it will not accept UN troops. Even worse, it is insisting the existing AU mission leaves, claiming that its own military forces will end the conflict. This is unacceptable. It is in defiance of the peace agreement it signed and can only increase the bloodshed, fear and tension in the region. The conduct of the government of Sudan threatens to make an appalling situation even worse.

Now is the time for concerted international action to bring a change of mind and actions from the government of Sudan. We will make clear, at the highest level, the help Sudan can expect if they live up to their obligations and what will happen if they don't. It must agree to the UN mission and allow the African Union forces to remain. We must press, too, all the warring factions to accept and implement the peace agreement as well as ensure that the humanitarian needs of the people of Darfur are met.

We must show, above all, that we mean what we say when we promise to put the values of justice, tolerance and freedom into action across the world. We owe that to the people of Darfur and to the memory of those who died in Rwanda.

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From The Sunday Times by Desmond Tutu Sep 17, 2006
A blind eye to genocide

Here is an inconvenient fact about Africa: our genocides tend to happen away from television cameras. Almost 1m people were killed in Rwanda in 1994; 2m died in southern Sudan in the past two decades; and 4m people in the Democratic Republic of Congo have died since 1997. The totals are staggering, and hardly a column inch or minute of airtime have marked them.

On the 10th anniversary of Rwanda there was talk of never again allowing innocent civilians to be butchered with impunity. But even as the politicians were deploring the inaction of the international community, another African genocide was under way.

In our world of 24-hour news cycles, people could be forgiven for thinking Darfur did not exist. The Sudanese government's policy of making it hard for the media and humanitarian groups to get access to its remote western region has paid off.

In Darfur 2m people have been ethnically cleansed since 2003, women and girls are systematically raped and tortured daily, there is cholera in the refugee camps and the violence is spilling into next door Chad, and all without the attention, or response, it deserves.

The World Food Programme warns it cannot reach half the people in Darfur who need help, and those it can feed are on rations below the daily minimum requirement. The Sudanese armed forces and their proxies, the Janjaweed militias, have stepped up their attacks on civilians, and aid workers are being killed despite a recently signed peace deal.

This summer, after 30 days of war between Israel and Hezbollah, and a thousand dead, the international community rightly intervened and dispatched UN peacekeepers. After 3.5 years, and an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 dead in Darfur, it is still unclear if a United Nations force will be sent. We Africans conclude that double standards apply to our continent.

Today is the international day of action for Darfur. Around the world from Cape Town to London, Moscow to New York, concerned citizens are asking why the UN security council's resolutions on Darfur have yet to be enforced. We are still waiting for a no-fly zone, targeted sanctions against the architects of the genocide, and referrals to the International War Crimes Tribunal. No wonder the Khartoum regime denies UN peacekeepers access to Darfur.

Today is also the first anniversary of the adoption by the UN of a policy called the Responsibility to Protect. According to that document the international community should put aside its narrow self-interest and act to prevent genocide or ethnic cleansing.

In practice, people are still being terrorised and murdered in Darfur with impunity. The UN has recognised Darfur as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, but it has not applied sustained pressure on the government of Sudan to accept a strong international peacekeeping force.

Meanwhile, amid the scramble to find excuses to abandon Darfur, experts scour the history books for evidence of "ancient tribal or ethnic hatreds" on which to blame the "savagery" of African genocides (as if it had not in fact occurred in the centre of Europe a mere 60 years ago).

We should be suspicious when people say the ethnic cleansing of defenceless civilians is in fact a civil war. They really mean: "These exotic people are all as bad as each other." How can we be expected to put our soldiers in harm's way when there is no good side to defend?

Another justification for our inaction is: "The situation is more complicated than you idealists appreciate." In Darfur, they say, you cannot conveniently divide the population into Arab aggressors and black African victims.

True, there is intermarriage, and there are underlying issues about land ownership and the shortage of water due to climate change. But people who identify themselves as black Africans are being killed by others who describe them as racially inferior and not entitled to live in the land of their birth. Ninety per cent of black African villages in Darfur have been destroyed.

Here is another inconvenient fact about Africa: many of our nations have been cursed by their natural mineral wealth. Darfur has the misfortune to be in a country with vast oil reserves. China, France and Russia, all members of the UN security council, do business with the government of Sudan and they are reluctant to jeopardise their commercial relationships.

In 2001 Tony Blair declared that if Rwanda were to happen again Britain would have a duty to act. Britain deserves enormous credit for leading the world in the generosity of its humanitarian emergency response in Darfur. The government must also lead the international community in stiffening their resolve to act in the face of genocide.

A few years ago an American politician commented that if his phone had rung off the hook with his concerned voters asking him to do something about Rwanda he would have been forced to act.

Please pray for Darfur today. Then let your prayer inform your actions: ask your elected representatives to call for a significant UN force with an effective mandate to protect the civilians in Darfur. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:26).

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From The Los Angeles Times by Kofi Annan Sep 16, 2006 [via Sudan.Net - hat tip POTP and CFD]
Join Me to Help Save Darfur

TOMORROW, SEPT. 17, people around the world will be taking part in a "Global Day for Darfur" to show support for the people of Darfur and to put pressure on governments to protect innocent civilians. They are right, and I hope their call will be heard.

The glimmer of hope that many of us felt when the Darfur peace agreement was signed four months ago albeit by only two of the warring parties is being extinguished by renewed fighting among the factions. In violation of the agreement, the Sudanese government has sent thousands of troops to Darfur and renewed its bombing.

I strongly condemn this escalation. The government of Sudan should stop its offensive immediately. All parties should perform what they have promised and abide by the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

These latest clashes have brought yet more misery to the people of Darfur, who have already endured far too much. The total number of displaced people stands at 1.9 million. Nearly 3 million people depend on international aid for food, shelter and medical treatment, while aid workers have increasingly become the targets of violence 12 have been killed just in the last two months.

A year ago, world leaders meeting at the U.N. agreed that all states have the responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The government of Sudan, if it fails in this sacred responsibility, will face opprobrium and disgrace throughout the world. Neither those who decide such policies nor those who carry them out should imagine that they will not be held accountable.

Once again, I urge Sudan to avoid this by accepting the Security Council's decision to deploy a U.N. peacekeeping operation, which would be better equipped and funded than the current African Union mission and have a clearer mandate to protect those in danger.

About 10,000 U.N. troops are already in Sudan. For more than a year, they have been helping to implement the peace agreement between northern and southern Sudan. On Aug. 31, the Security Council, while reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, unity, independence and territorial integrity of Sudan, authorized the deployment of up to 17,300 additional troops to Darfur to implement the peace agreement. There is no hidden agenda, no other ambition than to help the people of Darfur to live in peace and in dignity. But the government of Sudan has refused.

Putting the extra U.N. troops in place will in any case take time. Therefore, the Security Council also called for strengthening the African Union mission, or AMIS, so that it can carry on until the U.N. arrives. The Africans have repeatedly asked for this transition but say that in the meantime their troops, who have performed valiantly in very difficult conditions, need help.

The U.N. has agreed to support AMIS during the crucial transition period. But AMIS will also need increased support from donors including the League of Arab States, which has offered vital backing and wants AMIS to stay until the end of the year.

I have tried repeatedly to explain the transition to the government of Sudan and to clear up any misconceptions or myths. In public and in private I have stressed the humanitarian situation and appealed to the government's own pragmatic good sense.

But my voice is not enough. Whoever, in Africa or beyond, is in a position to influence the government of Sudan must do so without delay.

The Security Council, and especially its five permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States have a particular responsibility to ensure that the message to the government of Sudan is strong, clear and uniform. But every voice raised makes a difference, and therefore the responsibility is shared among us all. I urge everyone to join their voices with mine in asking the government of Sudan to embrace the spirit of the Security Council's resolution, to consent to the transition and to pursue the political process with new energy.

There can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur. All parties should have understood by now, after so much death and destruction, that only a political agreement in which all stakeholders are fully engaged can bring real peace to the region.

Twelve years ago, the United Nations, and the world, failed the people of Rwanda in their time of need. Can we now, in all conscience, stand by and watch as the tragedy deepens in Darfur?

FURTHER READING AND UPDATES

Text: UN Security Council Resolution 1706

EU's Barroso & Michel To Visit Sudan Amid Growing Darfur Concerns - AP via EB 17 Sep 2006:

European Commission's President Jose Manuel Barroso said Sunday he was planning a visit to Sudan soon to press for a solution to the crisis in Darfur.

"We must step up our political engagement, to do what we can to avoid a humanitarian crisis," Barroso said.

His statement followed an appeal from British Prime Minister Tony Blair for the EU to take a lead role in pressing for an end to the violence in Darfur.

Barroso said he would travel to Sudan shortly with the EU's top aid official Louis Michel. They gave no date for the visit, but are due to be in the region Oct 2 for talks at the headquarters of the African Union in Ethiopia.

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Photo: A guardsman marches past supporters of the International Darfur Day as they wait after a march in London September 17, 2006. Peace activists around the world staged a day of action on Sunday to highlight the 'forgotten war' in Darfur. (Reuters/Luke MacGregor)



Photo: Sudanese women joined a counter-protest in Khartoum. In Khartoum, a small group of people staged a counter-demonstration branding the Darfur Day events a Jewish conspiracy. The demonstrators also opposed the deployment of a proposed UN peacekeeping force in Darfur. (Aljazeera 17 Sep 2006)

Other commentary and blogs

Ian Davies on Taking responsibility seriously:

After the Holocaust and the genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, member states acknowledged their "responsibility to protect" (R2P) and vowed to banish the sorry lament of "never again" for good.

The 2005 World Summit outcome document endorsed the R2P concept, and in April 2006, the UN security council unanimously adopted resolution 1674 on the protection of civilians in armed conflict. Resolution 1674 contains the historic first official security council reference to the responsibility to protect: it "reaffirms the provisions of paragraphs 138 and 139 of the World Summit Outcome Document regarding the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity".

Note, amusing comment by Waltz in the UK:

"Maybe some of those British-born jihadis who like to go off to places like Afghanistan and Iraq to fight the Evil Infidel Occupiers could be persuaded to instead go to Darfur and fight to protect the black Muslims there from being massacred by the Khartoum-backed Arab Muslims.

But then again jihadis don't seem to care much about Muslims killed by other Muslims; it's only when Muslims are killed by Infidels that they get their knickers in a twist."

FlackBrancis in the UK replied:

"Waltz - Do Muslims wear knickers? From the infantile behaviour they frequently show, I'd have had them down as Pampers-wearers."

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Sep 17 2006 Black Looks blog:

African Action, one of the oldest online African activist sites present a report which looks at the similarities between the US response to Rwanda and its present response to Darfur. Whilst this report specifically highlights the actions or non-action of the US in Rwanda and in Darfur it has to be emphasied that the broader international community, the Arab League and the African Union have all, implicitly or explicitly, acquiesced to Khartoum and as such abandoned the people of Darfur.

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Sep 17 2006 Scotsman - Activists around the world focus on Darfur: In a protest march in Khartoum on Sunday to coincide with the global "Day for Darfur" dozens of Sudanese pro-government activists marched to U.N. offices to oppose new peacekeepers. A statement by the Sudan Council of Voluntary Agencies said a UN force would "only add to the complexity of an already volatile situation", and said funds would be better spent on development, confidence-building measures, and peace-building. British cabinet minister Baroness Valerie Amos said the British government had been at the forefront of the "carrot and stick" approach to the crisis. "But the international community needs to work together on this. It can't just be the European Union or the United States," she told Sky News. Around east Africa, a string of protests and events were organised to draw attention to western Sudan.

Sep 17 2006 The Sudanese Thinker - UN Resolution for Darfur is Flawed: I'm no legal expert, but according to this, the UN resolution 1706 is flawed.

Sep 17 2006 Jeannie's Blog - Today's WWII - The Stakes are High: The Jihadis, the militant Muslims, are basically Nazis in Kaffiyahs -- they believe that Islam, a radically conservative form of Wahhabi Islam, should own and control the Middle East first, then Europe, then the world. And that all who do not bow to their will of thinking should be killed, enslaved, or subjugated. They want to finish the Holocaust, destroy Israel, and purge the world of Jews. This is their mantra. "Peace Activists" always seem to demonstrate here in America, where it's safe. Why don't we see Peace Activist demonstrating in Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, North Korea, in the places that really need peace activism the most? The liberal mentality is supposed to favor human rights, civil rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc., but if the Jihad wins, wherever the Jihad wins, it is the end of civil rights, human rights, democracy, multiculturalism, diversity, etc.

Global Day for Darfur - A Prayer

In a statement today, Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said "as we pray for Darfur today, we are all under judgment in how we exercise the power we have, whether it is great or small." In his prayer, he said:

"Heavenly Father, we pray for those whose lives are lived on the margins of nations and suffer from the wars that others fight around them. We pray for the warring factions, that they may see themselves under the gaze of God and those who suffer for their cause.

"We pray for the peoples of Darfur who are haunted by fear of violence, hunger and hopelessness, that they may continue to be fed, visited and defended. We pray for the work of peacekeepers, negotiators and the humanitarian organizations that security may prevail.

"We pray for the government of Sudan and for her unity. We pray for peace in the name of him who is the prince of peace, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Source: AP via Mainichi 16 Sep 2006.
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Photo: African sunset. Taken by Sudanese photographer Vit Hassan from ship, during his journey to southern Sudan.
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Sudan leader says doesn't want UN force in Darfur

Today, Sudanese President al-Bashir said at a news conference during the Non-Aligned Summit in Cuba:

"We don't want the United Nations back to Sudan no matter the conditions. We have met with Kofi Annan and we have clarified in detail that we reject the decision of the Security Council."

Bashir said Sudan had forged close trading links with Pakistan, India, China and Malaysia and was in a position to survive any sanctions against it. He also praised Cuba for having lived through more than 40 years of US sanctions.

Source: Reuters Matthew Bigg via WP 16 Sep 2006.
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There can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur

Aljazeera 17 Sep 2006 :

The Sudanese president said ... "Justice is and remains our objective but through diplomatic, political and other means ... that's why we reject this position."

Annan urged the government of Sudan to accept the UN Security Council's decision to replace the largely ineffective African Union force in Darfur with better-equipped UN peacekeepers.

He said: "There can be no military solution to the crisis in Darfur.

"All parties should have understood by now, after so much death and destruction that only a political agreement, in which all stakeholders are fully engaged, can bring real peace to the region."

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Sudan militia rallies against UN troops for Darfur

Reuters Cynthia Johnston via WP 16 Sep 2006:

More than 1,000 volunteer fighters from Sudan's Popular Defense Forces rallied in Khartoum on Saturday vowing to treat any UN force in Darfur as an invading army that would be in a state of war with Sudan.

The volunteers, from Sudan's official PDF militia, danced to nationalistic folk music and chanted "God is Greatest." Some wore masks over their faces, while others wore military-style fatigues.

"We consider any army that enters Sudan as an invading army, even if the order was from the United Nations," Ahmed Bilal Osman, a presidential adviser, told the crowd of PDF volunteers.

"Any country that takes part in this invasion force will enter into a state of war with Sudan."

"We say to any Western country that comes to Sudan that this will be its graveyard," said Abdullah Mohammed Ali, a 30-year-old PDF volunteer dressed in a green uniform.

"We can solve our problems by ourselves, and we think any intervention is to control Sudan. We will defend against it."

Rebels have accused the PDF, a paramilitary force used to reinforce the armed forces during times of war, of being behind some atrocities in Darfur. The Sudanese army denies they are involved in any wrong-doing.

The PDF volunteers, who came to the rally at the Popular Defense Forces Khartoum headquarters unarmed, included veiled women and older men, and organisers said some had travelled from across the country to attend the rally in the Sudanese capital.

Some at the rally waved Islamic prayer beads in their hands as they danced in the courtyard of the Popular Defense Forces Khartoum headquarters. Others waved 'V' for victory signs and chanted: "March, march, Bashir."

"This battle that they will open upon us, they shouldn't think that we will greet it in a regular war, or that we will wait for them to take up positions or entrench themselves," said Kamal al-Din Ibrahim, general coordinator of the PDF.

"We will determine the place of the war. We will determine the timing of the war," he said.

"We are prepared for any foreign force that enters Sudan," said Ahmed Aboul Qassem, a PDF volunteer at the rally. "We have more than one million ready and trained in all weaponry, even swords and knives."

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Sudan FM demands support for Abuja deal instead of UN force

KUNA 16 Sep 2006:

The best thing the international community can do for Sudan is to support the Abuja peace deal on Darfur instead of planning for deploying international forces, Sudanese Foreign Minister Al-Samani Al-Wasila stressed Saturday.

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Yet another Gandhi quote



When I despair, I remember that all through history, the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they can seem invincible but in the end they always fall. Think on it. ..always.

- Mahatma Gandhi

Source: Both Sides Now 30 July 2006

UK Blair to propose new initiative on Darfur crisis

Reuters via Gulf Times 16 Sep 2006:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday he will propose an incentive package for Sudan as part of a new initiative to end the crisis in Darfur and get UN peacekeeping troops on the ground.

"In the coming weeks I will talk to other leaders to agree an initiative that sets out the help Sudan can expect if the government lives up to its obligations and what will happen if they don't," Blair said in a statement.

Reuters David Clarke 16 Sep 2006:

A British official said Blair's aim was to get the AU, EU, the UN and the US to back the incentive initiative at the highest level. Incentives could include ending suspension of development and recovery aid, resolving Sudan's debt situation, establishing higher level political contacts and moving towards the lifting of sanctions, he said.

Text of Blair statement:

"The tragic situation in Darfur represents one of the greatest challenges that the international community faces.

The situation is completely unacceptable. Renewed violence in North Darfur between the rebel groups and the Sudanese Armed Forces has driven another 50,000 people to leave their homes, bringing the total number of displaced persons to 1.9 million. Violence against women continues unabated, as NGOs report 200 cases of rape in one camp alone. Nearly three million people in Darfur depend on international aid for food and basic needs. Because of the fighting nearly half a million people are cut off from this aid.

On 11 September Kofi Annan asked in the Security Council whether the international community, having not done enough for the people of Rwanda in their time of need, could just watch as this tragedy deepens. The answer is "No", particularly after agreeing last year on the responsibility to protect.

Last May, we hoped the signature of the Darfur Peace Agreement by the Government of Sudan and one rebel group would set Darfur on the road to peace. The Peace Agreement sets out the path. The non-signatory rebel groups must now accept it. And the Government of Sudan must stop its military campaign - which contravenes the DPA - and implement the Agreement.

But the immediate and desperate need is for better security. The African Union force in Sudan deserves our thanks for the way they have carried out a dangerous task. But the challenge they face is immense and the AU itself has called for reinforcements. UN Security Council Resolution 1706 provides for a UN peacekeeping force to take over and to protect the people of Darfur.

I do not understand the Government of Sudan's rejection of the UN force, or its threat to withdraw its welcome from the AU. This does not match the commitment to peace the Government showed in May by signing the DPA.

The Government of Sudan must agree to the continuation of the AU force and transition to the UN.

The coming weeks will be crucial. I am committed to stepping up international efforts to bring a change of mind and action from the Government of Sudan. I have already talked to Premier Wen and President Bush about Darfur in the last few days. In the coming weeks I will talk to other leaders to agree an initiative that sets out the help Sudan can expect if the Government lives up to its obligations and what will happen if they don't.

As the Global Day for Darfur demonstrates, urgent action is needed by all parties to the conflict and by the international community if we are to find a lasting solution. Sudan will stay at the top of my agenda." [AP-Sudan Tribune 16 Sep 2006]

Religious leaders in Darfur plea:

Senior members of the Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths in the UK will gather outside Downing Street on Sunday to call for an end to the suffering in Darfur. Prayers written by Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Sheikh Ibrahim Mogra will be read out at 12.30pm. A message has also been sent from the Catholic Bishop of El Obeid, whose diocese includes Darfur. [PA-Guardian 16 Sep 2006]

Tutu calls for sanctions against Sudan:

Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called for sanctions to be imposed on Sudan unless it agrees to UN peacekeepers in Darfur, reports the BBC. The call from the Nobel Peace Prize winner comes ahead of Sunday's 'Global Day for Darfur' which will see demonstrations around the world to put pressure on their governments to do more to end the suffering in Darfur. "The world can't keep saying 'Never again'," he told the BBC. "We have a horrendous tragedy unfolding in Darfur," the South African archbishop told BBC Five Live radio. He said the UN should give Sudan a deadline and say to the government: "If you do not agree to a peacekeeping force, you will have to face sanctions."

He also suggested that a UN force could be sent to into Sudan, even without the government's permission, under the guise of seeking to arrest the officials accused of war crimes. Archbishop Tutu also accused the international community of taking crises in Africa less seriously than in other parts of the world.

"The harsh truth is that some lives are slightly more important than others... If you are swarthy, of a darker hue, almost always you are going to end up at the bottom of the pile." [ekklesia.co.uk]

Muslim Aid leads call for peace in Darfur:

"We urge all parties to engage in dialogue to give peace a chance," said Saif Ahmad, CEO of Muslim Aid. "We in Muslim Aid would like to offer our services to invite dialogue between the government and the rebels to defuse the tension." Muslim Aid works in Darfur providing mobile clinics to those in urgent need. [ReliefWeb Sep 16 2006]

Sudan VP Kiir backs UN troops in Darfur:

The head of the SPLM, First VP Salva Kiir Mayardit, told the independent Al-Sudani daily that the Sudanese government was incapable of protecting civilians in Darfur, and called on the UN to intervene. "The aggravation of the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur necessitates intervention of international forces to protect civilians from the atrocities of the Janjaweed militias so long as the government is not capable of protecting them," Kiir was quoted as saying at the close of an SPLM politburo meeting held in the southern city of Juba late Friday. [AP-CNN 16 Sep 2006]

Minnawi would accept UN in Darfur:

Minnawi said if there was no alternative he did not object to a U.N. force, putting him at odds with his partners in peace, the dominant National Congress Party (NCP), who compare a UN transition to a Western invasion intent on regime change. "This was our idea before it was the idea of the UN," he said. [Reuters Opheera McDoom 14 Sep 2006]

EU threat of Sudan sanctions over Darfur:

European Union has threatened to impose sanctions against the Sudanese Government if it does not stop attacks in Darfur and allow UN peacekeepers in. The Irish, Danes and Swedes, in particular, pledged to use next week's UN General Assembly in New York to ensure there is major international pressure on Sudan. The EU reiterated the warning given by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that those involved in the killings will be held accountable. [Irish Examiner, Ann Cahill, 16 Sep 2006]

Darfur 'regional security threat':

Head of UN refugee agency, Antonio Guterres, in a BBC interview described Darfur as the "epicentre of a major earthquake". [BBC 16 Sep 2006]

Bush calls for robust UN action in Darfur:

Speaking to reporters at a press conference in the White House Rose Garden, Bush said the UN should send a message to the Sudanese government that "we're coming in with a UN force in order to save lives." [PDO/Xinhua 16 Sep 2006]

Bush hints at use of force in Darfur:

Writing in today's Independent on Sunday, the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, calls for "concerted international action to bring a change of mind and actions from the government of Sudan" - although he stopped short of suggesting a UN force should go in without Sudan's approval. [UK Independent 17 Sep 2006]

Clooney warns of 'Darfur genocide':

On Thursday, Oscar-winning actor George Clooney and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Elie Wiesel urged members of the UN's Security Council to help end atrocities in Darfur. [IC Scotland 16 Sep 2006]

The Daily Telegraph's David Blair has a nice photo for the girls and commentary on Clooney's plea to stop the killing 15 Sep 2006.

Briton stars urge govt to press for end to fighting in Darfur:

Leading British film and music stars urged the government on Saturday to help end fighting in Darfur. Musicians Elton John and Annie Lennox, musician-campaigner Bob Geldof, actress Emma Thompson and bodyshop founder Anita Roddick were among those who signed an open letter accusing the international community of failing to act. "We call on our government to move Darfur to the top of its priority list until a UN force is deployed and the people of Darfur are protected." [Zee News 16 Sep 2006]

Blair must honour Darfur pledge:

But we also need a Plan B. If the UN isn't admitted, the existing AU force should be strengthened and its mandate extended. Nato should offer logistical support and air cover to enforce the UN no-fly-zone. [UK Shadow FM, Sunday Times Sep 17 2006]

Blair backs mass protest urging UN force for Darfur:

Tony Blair takes the unusual step today of endorsing a mass protest on foreign policy, which will include an interfaith service at the gates of Downing Street.

The Global Day for Darfur, which is expected to include demonstrations and vigils in 32 countries tomorrow, is designed to press the government of Sudan to accept a UN peacekeeping force in its troubled western region. [Guardian Jonathan Steele 16 Sep 2006]

See Global Day for Darfur and savedarfur.org for details of rallies.

Further news reports at Passion of the Present and Coalition for Darfur. Commentary at The Sudanese Thinker.

PS I've interrupted blogging break to mark Global Day for Darfur and record who said what when. Light blogging continues. Thanks for kind messages. A special hi to Daniel D, Soenke F, Andreas K and Jay M. God bless all the peace seekers.

Water shortages hit Darfur - Water will become Sudan's most precious resource

Life is short. Taking a break. Can't stomach reading any more news of calls for war and death that gives thieves, terrorists, killers and rapists a field day. Can't bear to see any more photos of uneducated African children living in war zones where billions of dollars are wasted on greedy, power crazy, good for nothings.

Water shortages hit Darfur. Despite the arrival of the rainy season in south Darfur the country is still faced with critical water shortages, International Committee of the Red Cross reported 7 Sep 2006.



War is senseless. As noted here many times before, countries with water shortages need to be helped by armies of world class land rights lawyers and water engineers to enable clean drinking water to be accessible where needed.



Sudan is a country the size of Europe. For sure, scientists say, it will face increasing water shortages (hence more fighting and killing over water holes, livestock, arable land) due to climate change. A dear old English friend, who'd lived and worked in the Sudan 50 years ago, once described to me Sudan's ongoing crises as "too many people living in the wrong place". I fear he is correct.

CONCERNS OF ARAB NOMADS REMAIN LARGELY UNADDRESSED

Note, many nomadic groups occupy pastures belonging to displaced communities while concerns of Arab nomads remain largely unaddressed.



See sister blog Niger Watch, Mar 5 2006 and read how The 21st century's most explosive commodity will be . . . WATER

PS Thanks for all the emails and comments. Sorry unable to keep up with replies. Must rest now. God bless the children of Africa.
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SOLVE CLIMATE 'WHATEVER IT COSTS'

World's most wanted: climate change

A major contributing factor to the conflict in Darfur has been a shift in rainfall that has put nomadic herders and settled pastoralists into conflict with each other.

It is now becoming increasingly clear that it is what we do in the next 15 years that matters most.

Source: BBC John Ashton viewpoint, 8 Sep 2006.
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TIME WINDOW IS 10 to 15 YEARS

Solve climate 'whatever it costs'

"The lawlessness of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the horrors of Darfur, exacerbated by changes to rainfall patterns, '... illustrate how an unstable climate will make it harder to deliver security unless we act more effectively now to neutralise the threat.'

According to Felix Dodds, co-editor of the recent book Human Environmental Security - an Agenda for Change, diplomatic failure on climate change may well lead to conflict.

'John Ashton is right in his analysis, and international discussions are critical to solving this issue,' he said, 'because the alternative is you do end up with military solutions.

'There is a time window, and that window is 10 to 15 years - if we don't deal with it now, the reality is we will have to use military means to secure water, food, and energy security.'"

Source: Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News Sep 8 2006.
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MOHAMMED ON PROPERTY RIGHTS

PSD Blog - World Bank Group July 18, 2006:

The prophet Mohammed was an early proponent of property rights. When a famine in Medina brought sharp price increases, people implored him to less the hardship by fixing prices. He refused because, having once been a merchant himself, he believed the buyers' and sellers' free choices should not be overridden. "Allah is the only one who sets the prices and gives prosperity and poverty," he said. "I would not want to be complained about before Allah by someone whose property or livelihood has been violated."

From John McMillan's 'Reinventing the Bazaar.' See a previous post from the same book.

UN's Annan spearheading conspiracy against Sudan

A senior Sudanese lawmaker Tuesday accused UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan of spearheading a conspiracy against the country over a plan to deploy UN peacekeepers in Darfur AP reported 12 Sep 2006 (via ST):

The US is leading the conspiracy, which "began as a political campaign in the UN and is now taking the form of a military intervention," Ismail Haj Mussa, a senior member of the Sudanese Parliament, told the official Radio Omdurman.

Mussa Tuesday also accused Annan of placing the U.N. at the disposal of the U.S. "Thanks to Kofi Annan, there is no longer an independent U.N. but only a section within the American State Department," Mussa said.

I don't find it difficult to see why the law maker would have such a view. Why is there no news of AU funding and Darfur-Darfur Dialogue? Yesterday, I'd read somewhere that US's John Bolton said we'd know in the next month or so whether Khartoum would accept the UN as peacekeepers in Darfur.

Note what UN SRSG Jan Pronk blogged 18 Aug 2006 - excerpt:

"

The solution of this crisis should be found, first, by enforcing the implementation of what has been agreed, rather than allowing the Government and the Minawi faction to disregard their commitments.

Second, by getting all parties on board (instead of alienating dissenters and attacking non-signatories) and inviting them to participate in all inclusive Darfurian institutions, whether they have signed the agreement or not (yet).

Third, by starting an all inclusive Darfur-Darfur dialogue as soon as possible and by linking this dialogue with reconstruction, return and reconciliation programmes, irrespective of the political stance of the groups concerned.

Last but not least, by establishing a robust international peace force, capable to deter and contain old and new assailants, Janjaweed as well as NRF, bandits as well as warlords.

The DPA is more than a security arrangement. However, without an improving security situation all other elements of the DPA are bound to fail."

Good luck Mr Pronk. You work very hard for the people of Sudan and are doing a great job.

Chinese official calls for joint US-China oil fields

Sept 11, 2006 (HANGZHOU, China) - Dow Jones report via ST. Excerpt:

A senior Chinese official for energy policy said China and the U.S. should jointly develop oil fields to protect against the risks of supply disruptions and the rising costs of production both countries face.

U.S. and other foreign oil companies are already working alongside Chinese counterparts in developing some Chinese oil fields.

Sudan's land issues: Many nomadic groups occupy pastures belonging to displaced communities - Concerns of Arab nomads remain largely unaddressed

IRIN report 11 Sep 2006 - Rebel divisions hamper Darfur peace - via ST. Excerpt:

"...Even if the remaining rebel groups signed the DPA, the concerns of Arab nomads remain largely unaddressed. Mohammed El Sayed Hassan, director of El Massar, an NGO that supports nomadic groups, said their main concern was land - acquiring a homeland where they could settle and opening up migration routes for their animals.

"If the issue of the return [of IDPs] comes up, there are bound to be many problems - many nomadic groups are occupying pastures that belong to displaced communities. Unless these issues are tackled comprehensively there won't be stability in Darfur," he said.

"Ultimately, the DPA itself is not at the heart of the matter," an analyst observed. "It's about the way it was negotiated and the lack of consultation of rebel leaders - who were rarely in Darfur to meet their supporters on the ground - with their field commanders."

Through a process that involves all genuine stakeholders and has solid international support, peace is attainable in Darfur, a local observer stressed. "Organising that is difficult enough in itself, however, and unfortunately there are always spoilers," she added.

Military analyst in Pretoria: "When a situation reaches an end-state, as it has in Darfur, the UN can take over"

Sep 11 2006 Africa's Mail & Guardian (hat tip POTP). Excerpt:

"The major contributors - South Africa, Nigeria and Rwanda - have had enough," said Henri Boshoff, military analyst at the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.

"They've been saying for some time that they do not have the funds to sustain their operation, and that their troops are stretched too thinly to do the job.

"In the past two months we have seen two cases of South African troops being disarmed by rebels. It just cannot go on like this. So, failing some last minute injection of funds, it looks like the African Mission in Sudan is over." [edit]

Sudanese Deputy Foreign Minister Mutris SaddigAli, who was in South Africa last week, told the Mail & Guardian that his government has alternative plans for keeping order in Darfur.

"There are practical and legal reasons for not accepting UN peacekeepers," he said.

"The peace treaty between the north and the south of Sudan called for the UN to police the process. However, the Darfur peace treaty specifically calls for the AU to do the job. The AU does not have the right to hand its mandate in Darfur to the UN."

Boshoff says this assertion is inaccurate: "The AU can do this. We have seen this before in Burundi. The AU has been acting as an interim measure in the case of no ceasefire. When a situation reaches an end-state, as it has in Darfur, the UN can take over."

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Sudanese leader visits Gambia and Senegal

On Wednesday, Sudanese President Bashir is due in Gambia for two days, possibly stopping over in Dakar, Senegal. Full report Sapa-AFP 12 Sep 2006 - IOL: Sudanese leader talks business with Jammeh.

Fighting and banditry cuts off 355,000 people in North Darfur from food aid

Quoting figures released 11 Sept 2006, WFP's Oshidari said that insecurity has cut off 355,000 people from food aid in August - all of them in North Darfur. - Reuters.

Annan demands Sudanese govt to halt offensive, warning it would suffer "opprobrium and disgrace" if it does not

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said plenty of blame for Darfur's current plight rested with the Sudanese government, demanding that it halt an offensive launched Aug 28 to flush out rebel strongholds in Darfur and warning it would suffer "opprobrium and disgrace" if it does not. - AFP report by Nick Wadhams (via Guardian) 12 Sep 2006.

Note this excerpt from the report:

Rice said Akol carried a letter to President Bush and "brought hope for better relations between the United States and Sudan, and I told him in no uncertain terms that wasn't on the agenda unless Sudan acted responsibly."

One can only guess they might be talking about the lifting of sanctions on Sudan, something Sudan desperately needs. It is up to its eyeballs in debt and needs to get trade flowing. I don't understand why sanctions are imposed on poverty stricken nations.

Sudan's Darfur military action illegal -Annan

Sep 11 2006 Reuters report by Evelyn Leopold tells us Russia and China, which abstained on the UN resolution, said they favoured a UN force but stressed the need for Khartoum's consent.

Plan B would be to do everything possible to get the AU to stay and strengthen it

From today's Sunday Times - Plea for help as Darfur peers into abyss:

"Everyone is doing what they can to put in place Plan A -- a strengthening of the African Union force as a way to transition to a UN force," a Western diplomat said yesterday. "If we are not able to do that, Plan B would be to do everything possible to get the African Union force to stay and strengthen it."

For now, the cash-strapped AU force is all that stands in the way of outright war. But it has struggled to stamp any authority on a region the size of France. A senior commander said by telephone from El Fasher that last week's diplomatic uncertainty was playing havoc with peacekeeping operations.

One wonders why Plan B wasn't Plan A 2-3 years ago.

Chad govt forces, FUC rebels clash in the east

"There were clashes today," FUC rebel spokesman, Abdoulaye Abdelkarim, told Reuters by telephone:

He said a force of more than 2,000 fighters led by his brother, Mahamat Nour, who heads a military faction of the rebel United Front for Democratic Change (FUC), was on the move in the Guereda region in eastern Chad, which borders with Sudan.

"The objective is to head towards N'Djamena," he added, referring to the Chadian capital which lies some 700 km (440 miles) to the west of the latest reported fighting.

Government military officers in N'Djamena, who asked not to be named, said clashes between government forces and rebels had taken place at Aram Kolle, 65 km (40 miles) east of the town of Biltine.

"Government forces are in control of the situation," one officer said. Neither side gave details of casualties.

Sudan's VP Taha says an interference of international forces is not justified - Consultations underway on possible extension of AU mission in Darfur

Sep 10 2006 (China) Xinhua news report excerpt:

The Sudanese government and the African Union (AU) were holding intensive consultations on a possible extension of the pan-African body's peacekeeping mission in Darfur, local media reported on Saturday.

A delegation from the AU Peace and Security Council would arrive in Khartoum in the next few days to continue the consultations, the reports said.

Sudan said on Monday it would allow African troops to remain in Darfur only under AU control and gave the AU a week to decide whether to extend its mandate beyond Sept. 30, or leave Darfur.

In an interview with Qatar's al-Jazeera television on Friday, Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha reiterated Sudan's refusal of transferring the AU mission in Darfur to the United Nations.

He said that the Darfur Peace Agreement, brokered by the AU between Khartoum and Darfur rebel groups in May, did not permit any party to hand over its mission or tasks to world organizations.

"An interference of international forces is not justified," the Sudanese vice president stressed.

Denying Khartoum's intention to expel the African troops, Taha said the Sudanese government was making efforts to consolidate the AU existence in Darfur and help the AU mission fulfill its security and political role completely.

Libya's Gaddafi says Sudan's Darfur is a "conflict for oil control" among major Western oil companies

Libyan leader Col Gaddafi said Africa stood ready to increase the number of AU peacekeepers in Darfur, adding that countries such as Egypt, Algeria, Libya, South Africa and Nigeria could contribute troops along with Sudan, to support the AU mission and shut the door to any foreign interference, AngolaPress reported today. Excerpt:

Libyan leader Colonel Moammar Kadhafi Saturday described the raging crisis in Sudan's western region of Darfur as a "conflict for oil control" among major Western oil companies.

Speaking in the central city of Sirte at celebrations marking the 7th anniversary of the African Union (AU) proclamation, the Libyan leader questioned the UN plan to send international troops to Darfur.

"Why not send international troops to European or Asian regions in conflict, such as the Basque in Spain or Kashmir (in dispute between Indian and Pakistan)?" he asked.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan El-Bashir, who is also at Sirte for the AU anniversary celebrations, had in his own speech reaffirmed his opposition to the deployment of UN troops to replace an AU mission, expected to wind down operations at the end of this month over poor funding and logistics.

Kadhafi criticised Africans, who resort to arms or violence, thereby opening their countries and the continent to foreign intervention, noting that foreign missions were known for their "very bad reputation."

He also accused major companies involved in post-conflict reconstruction programmes of often fuelling the conflicts for their own interest.

"Lebanon, Iraq, Darfur and C'te d`Ivoire are living examples," said the Libyan leader, who called on Africans to get rid of such "a destructive culture."

He described the adoption of resolutions under Article Seven of the UN Charter, applicable to Darfur as "a prelude to a re-colonisation process."

Libya's Gaddafi calls for dialogue and negotiation for power-sharing in Africa, instead of the use of arms

Some new gems from Libyan leader Col Gaddafi. I look forward to reading what he says on Africa and Sudan, along with any news from Jan Pronk (where's he gone? when is the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue to begin?)

Today, AngolaPress reported Gaddafi slams warmongers in Africa as "neo-colonialist agents" -

Africans who wage wars and exploit their people are "neo-colonialist agents," that will one day be "confronted by the commitment" of a United States of African people, Libyan leader Moammar Kadhafi warned here Saturday.

Speaking at celebrations marking the 7th anniversary of the African Union (AU) proclamation, he described leaders of armed groups on the continent as "botchers," who "spread terror and disorder" in African regions such as in Darfur, western Sudan, Chad, Cte d'Ivoire, DR Congo and the Horn of Africa.

He said the sole objective of the "neo-colonialist agents" was to see Africa mired in conflicts, so they could continue to buy weapons, instead of working for the reconstruction and development of the continent.

"We cannot solve the problem of Africa's backwardness by using rifles," Kadhafi warned, noting however, that a lot had been done in Africa in spite of the existence of marginal groups and persistent underdevelopment.

He called for dialogue and negotiation for power-sharing in Africa, instead of the use of arms.

Blogging Drima The Sudanese Thinker at Mideast Youth.com

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

See Mission Statement. Good luck to everyone involved.

Sudan Watch blog and The Oslo Blog are at odds re military intervention in Darfur

Here's saying a warm hello to Andreas of The Oslo Blog, thanks for your reply to Reader's comment: "How can a nation-state be at war with a peacekeeping force? It's impossible".

Andreas is 24, studying Human Rights at Oslo University and Norwegian Center for Human Rights. His reply is highlighted here incase other readers feel up to sharing some thoughts and contributing to the discussion. It's emotionally draining and lonesome blogging Darfur. So many depressing news reports and sites to read up on when posting here. I sure could do with hearing from others who are concerned about Sudan, even if they don't agree with me. I rarely find any bloggers who share the same views on Sudan as I do. Drima of The Sudanese Thinker blog seems to be the only one. See Drima's thoughts on Darfur & the Continuing Dilemma. (Hi Drima, hope you are reading this). Comments would be welcomed at The Oslo Blog or in the Reader's comment post here below, or by email. Thanks.

PS I agree with Alex de Waal when he says, quote:

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

African leaders reiterate rejection of internationalising Darfur issue

Sep 10 2006 (China) PDO/Xinhua report excerpt:

African leaders on Saturday reiterated their rejection of internationalizing Darfur issue, and voiced support for Sudan's refusal to unauthorized deployment of UN peacekeepers in the war-devastated region.

In a statement issued at the end of an African Union (AU) gathering in the Libyan port city of Sirte, the leaders stressed that Africans were capable of solving their own problems, according to reports reaching here from Libya's capital Tripoli.

The participants to the meeting, aimed at marking the seventh anniversary of the organization's creation, urged the Sudanese government and the People's Liberation Army of Sudan, a main rebel group in Darfur, to implement the peace deal signed in Nairobi, Kenya, in January 2005, saying the AU would make continuous efforts to achieve a peaceful, lasting solution to the issue.

The statement also said African leaders had decided to solve the ongoing conflicts and to jointly cope with challenges facing the socio-economic development of Africa, so as to realize a comprehensive, lasting peace on the continent.

Reader's comment: "How can a nation-state be at war with a peacekeeping force? It's impossible"

This morning, I awoke to a nice and gentle sounding comment from a Sudan Watch reader called Rebecca, in response to my vent yesterday entitled Eric "non-consensual intervention" Reeves is off his rocker. Here's a copy of the comment, followed by my reply.

How can a nation-state be at war with a peacekeeping force? It's impossible.

We have a nation trying to eliminate three ethnic populations- Fur, Zaghawa, and Massaleit, and refusing to allow the UN Peacekeeping troops in. I was in the Security Council as an NGO observer when the African Union was virtually pleading with the United Nations to come to Western Sudan- the incredible challenges from the Khartoum government and many others is too great for any one continental force. If a country violently disobeys international law at the death of hundreds of thousands of people, it itself paves the way for the presence of a UN peacekeeping force.

I want nothing but peace, reconcilation, and justice for the largest country on the second largest continent,and the United Nations needs to be there, regardless of whether the radical Northern Sudanese regime wants to cooperate or not. The vast majority of Darfuris- "the people" themselves- want the U.N. on the ground. It's the regime that wages war, not the U.N, not Eric Reeves and other analysts.

Peace and solidarity,
Rebecca

Hello Rebecca, thanks. Here's my reply. Off the top of my head, my understanding is - and please correct me if I have the wording wrong - that until the reforms taking place at the UN are finalised, any UN/foreign force intervening militarily in a country against its will is an act of war that can be rightfully defended.

The self-proclaimed analysts and experts on Sudan (who mostly aren't remotely Sudanese - from what I've seen, they're mainly Blair and Bush haters living in the US and UK on a Darfur bandwagon driven by self interest, with pockets to fill, careers to boost, books to sell, movies to make, clubs to join - not to mention little empires to run that feed off donations from ordinary hard working folk) make me mad with their anti-peace actions.

They're bamboozling people through slick marketing and Machiavellian tricks and words that are way above the heads of most of us, including the poorly educated locals in Sudan and warm hearted folk in the West who don't like to think hard or see a need to do their homework before having a view on making war on Sudan.

Surely "non-consensual intervention" risks defeating the objective, creating a greater bloodbath and setting the tinder box of Africa alight? Read the placards in this photo and think about Sudan as a whole. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you want foreign troops that you did not trust invading your neighbourhood against your will?



Photo: Pro-Sudanese government demonstrators chant anti-U.N. slogans in the capital Khartoum August 30, 2006, during a protest march organised against the deployment of U.N. forces in war-torn Darfur. (Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalah/ Sudan Watch archive 7 Sep 2006)
- - -

UPDATE: See Sep 10 2006 Sudan Watch blog and The Oslo Blog are at odds re military intervention in Darfur - please help.

Nigeria's peacekeepers return from Darfur to a warm welcome: another battalion from Shaki will soon be deployed to Sudan to replace them

Sep 10, 2006 news report from Lagos by Mutsa Machakaire via AND - excerpt:

The last group of the 680 troops who were sent to Sudan on a peacekeeping mission, arrived in Jos Airport, Nigeria on Saturday, regrettably one soldier passed away because of natural causes.

The Guardian said the officer who led the mission to Sudan, Lt. Col. Yusuf Abubakar Armak, told the general officer commanding the division, major general Julius Oshanupin that the contingent suffered nothing else apart from natural causes.

The seven officers and 54 soldiers arrived at 12:55 on a space world plane after spending their mandatory seven months in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The soldiers were told by Oshanupin that the nation was proud of them. He said their movement to the country for the mission was a great challenge, said the Guardian.

"But I am happy today that you have all gone there, you have seen it and are back home very safely to the warm arms of your colleagues and your dear families."

"I want to congratulate you for doing well and also that you as individuals have benefited from this operation," The Guardian quoted Oshanupin as having said.

He disclosed that another battalion from Shaki will soon be deployed to Sudan to replace the returning troops.

Going by what I've read, they've done their country proud, proving great peacekeeping skills, patience, professionalism, fortitude and diplomacy throughout tough rules of engagement and working conditions. They all deserve medals.



Photo and caption from Soldier of Africa in Darfur. "Aug 15, 2006: Yesterday afternoon we had the inaugural meeting of the new Sector 3 Cease Fire Commission (CFC). Hopefully we will have success as they monitor the implementation of the DPA (Darfur Peace Agreement)."

Darfur Chairman Minnawi forms peace committees

This sounds promising. Today, the Sudan Tribune publishes the following news article that hints at the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue and what might become of the Darfur rebels who broke away from JEM-Ibrahim and SLM-Nur to sign a Declaration of Commitment to the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Senior Assistant of the President of the Republic and Chairman of the Regional Interim Authority for Darfur Minni Menawi announced on Saturday formation of the committees concerned with implementing the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) as follows:

1- The Higher Committee for the Implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), chaired by Engineer Abdul-Jabar Daousa.
2- The Wealth Committee, chaired by Dr. Al-Tigani Abdalla Badr.
3- The Power Committee, chaired by Abdalla Al-Tahir Abdalla.
4- The Legal Committee, chaired by Lawyer Abdul-Aziz Osman Sam.
5- The Information Committee, chaired by Mahjoub Hussein Mohamed.
6- The Security Arrangements Committee, chaired by Fadl-Essied Abdalla Fadl.
7- The Darfur-Darfur Dialogue Committee, chaired by Ali Hussein Daousa.

In the meantime, the Senior Assistant of the President of the Republic and Chairman of the Regional Interim Authority for Darfur said that formation of these committees constitutes the first step toward the implementation of the DPA prior to formation of the Interim Authority for Darfur.

He further said that the structures of the interim authority and nomination and appointment of the persons would be announced during the coming two days.

He added that the structures of the authority would include the two parties to the agreement and those who signed the Declaration of the Commitment to the agreement.

Wouldn't it be great if Ibrahim and Nur would get on board the Regional Interim Authority for Darfur and fight for what they want using non-violent means so that everyone can go home and grow their own food? Dream on.

Sudan ready for talks on Darfur - VP Taha says extended AU mandate would be welcomed

Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha said on Friday that if the AU decided to extend its forces' peacekeeping mandate in Darfur, then they would be welcomed by the Sudanese government. - Xinhua 9 Sep 2006.

Stop bombing North Darfur villages- SLA-Minnawi

Former rebels who signed a peace agreement with the government in May have denounced the new Sudanese military offensive to flush out rebel groups in North Darfur State, IRIN reported 7 Sep 2006 [via ST Sep 10]. Excerpt:

"The government's own security plan for the north is motivated by hidden agendas," Col. Ali Muktar, representative of Minni Minnawi's faction of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) on the African Union (AU) ceasefire commission, told IRIN on Thursday. "We do not support this plan and we do not participate in this plan."

"We urge the AU and the United Nations to urge the government to stop these military operations," he added.

Large swathes of territory in North Darfur are under the control of the National Redemption Front (NRF), a new alliance of rebels who did not sign the 5 May Darfur Peace Agreement between the government and Minnawi faction.

Local observers confirmed that the offensive started on 28 August when the villages of Abu Sakin, Kulkul, Sayah and Turra, approximately 35 km northwest of the capital El Fasher were attacked from the air by Antonov planes. Subsequently, Sudanese armed forces took over the area and pushed further northwards, recapturing Um Sidir on 31 August.

Although NRF rebels initially avoided a direct confrontation with the advancing government forces, they started to counter-attack after the loss of Um Sidir. Insecurity has been rampant since.

On Friday, Sam Ibok, the director of the AU Peace and Security Council, said 20 civilians had been killed and more than 1,000 displaced as a result of the offensive. International observers in North Darfur reported that civilians attempting to flee the Kulkul area in the direction of El Fasher were turned back by government troops.

Eric "non-consensual intervention" Reeves is off his rocker

GIF's News from Darfur [hat tip CFD] points to opinion pieces by American academic and activist Eric Reeves, a rebel loving American propagandist, and Daniel Davies, a British economist who is much more intelligent than Reeves. Excerpt from the piece authored by Reeves:

"It is deeply disingenuous to suggest that even an aggressively augmented AU could protect civilians in camps and rural areas, protect humanitarian workers and transport corridors, establish the security that will allow people to return to their lands - or to have any impact whatsoever on the accelerating military violence."

Vent. In another opinion piece Reeves doesn't seem able to bring himself to use the word "war" while pushing for it. He bamboozles his readers with words such as "non-consensual intervention" to con them into believing that war can sound humanitarian, less bloody, more palatable and the right thing to do. Eric Reeves is off his rocker. Makes one wonder what's in the water over there in leafy Boston. Hey Reeves, bug off out of the UK's Guardian and keep your warmongering nonsense your side of the pond. You are giving Americans a bad name. I hope your computer dies.

Sudan FM heads to Washington to meet US Bush

FM Lam Akol left Saturday evening for Washington on an official visit during which he will convey a message from President Omer al-Bashir to US President George Bush, ST reported 9 Sep 2006 - excerpt:

Bashir's message comes in reply to Bush's message conveyed by US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer during her recent visit to Sudan at the end of August.

Frazer, had flown to Khartoum to convince Sudan to agree to the deployment of more than 20,000 U.N. troops and police in Darfur to take over from a struggling African Union mission there.

It is expected that Sudan would reiterated his proposal of the deployment of Sudanese army with former rebels who signed the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Wish we could see a copy of the message. I wonder what it says.