An Associated Press report today says Jan Pronk postponed talks Wednesday with rebel officials in southern Sudan until he can meet with their leader to negotiate the deployment of up to 10,000 peacekeepers to monitor the peace accord.
John Garang, chairman of the rebel SPLM was expected to arrive in Rumbak by Wednesday. But by mid-afternoon there was still no sign of him, and Jan Pronk flew to Ethiopia to meet with AU officials about the proposed peacekeeping mission.
Here's another puzzling development. VOA today says the AU has criticised the UN proposal to send a peace support mission to southern Sudan. Here is an excerpt from the report:
AU Peace and Security Director Geofrey Mugumya told VOA there is no reason why the UN should send a 9,000-strong mission to southern Sudan to monitor the north-south peace agreement signed January 9 in the Kenyan capital Nairobi. "Maybe they can have a contingency plan in case of any flaring-up of problems," said Mr. Mugumya. "But, to me at this point in time, I do not see any need for peacekeeping where people have agreed mutually to cease hostilities."
An SPLM spokesman told VOA the presence of a UN peace mission has already been provided for in the comprehensive peace deal. "In principle, it is agreed that there will be some international U.N. force in the Sudan," he said. "It is mostly for disengagement of forces."
Mr. Kwaje said the mission would act as a barrier between armies from the north and the south, and would also protect other monitors such as human rights groups. Mr. Mugumya says, if the UN is going to proceed with its peace mission, it should do so with the collaboration of the AU.
"If we could work with Jan Pronk, we could have a common approach on what we want to achieve in Sudan in general, rather than UN having its own objectives and Darfur having its own objectives," added Mr. Mugumya. "So this is what I want: harmonising and common approach."
SPLM spokesman Mr. Kwaje said the AU has failed to keep peace in Darfur. He said the advantage of having the UN is that it can draw upon forces from all over the world, which can rapidly be deployed.
Note, I wonder what has happened to the EU's 1,500-strong rapid reaction force - comprising British and French troops that is in training this month in readiness to be deployed anywhere in the world within 10 - 14 days.
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Darfur Mortality Update: January 18, 2005
Note this excerpt from Dr Eric Reeves' latest report on current data for total mortality from violence, malnutrition, and disease:
AU military chief cautions against flop in Sudan
A report by PANA today says a senior military official of the AU mission in Sudan (AMIS) has warned that it would be a tragedy for the mission to flop due to lack of facilities. He made the remark during a familiarisation tour of Zalingel, a new military sector that is under construction in Darfur. He observed that for the mission's peace efforts to succeed, it was imperative that requirements of Zalingel and other sectors were met. A contingent of 162 Gambian troops was recently deployed to Zalingel.
Note, I have yet to see a report that actually states what the AU are in need of and the reasons for the delay in them getting what they need. Could it be the AU troops that were being prepared for Darfur, have been deployed to hotspots in other countries. Other countries have been given priority. It's the only rational explanation. Nothing else makes sense. Unless there is a political reason that we know nothing about.
- - -
Uganda gives Sudan one-acre of land for new consulate
A report today from Kampala says Uganda's local government in Gulu has given the Sudan government a one-acre piece of land to build consulate offices in Laroo division of Gulu town to promote trade -- Sudan's Ambassador to Uganda thanked the Gulu local government for the land, saying Sudan would construct a storeyed block on it to house offices, a guest wing and staff houses.
I've read that Sudan is 20 billion dollars in debt. And is classed as one of the world's poorest countries. It can't even afford to feed its own people. Where are they getting the money from to pay for things like this -- the EU?
- - -
World Bank returns to Sudan as donors plan comeback
The World Bank is reopening an office in Sudan after a 10-year absence, a sign of the international community's desire to help a new power-sharing government with its reconstruction effort after decades of civil war, reports Reuters (01/17).
http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=45371&src=0
They say crime pays. Seems genocide does too.
In Darfur the current mortality rate from genocide by attrition is approximately 35,000 per month (see below) and poised to grow rapidly. Jan Egeland, UN Undersecretary for Humanitarian Affairs, predicted a month ago that the world might see a figure of 100,000 civilian deaths per month if growing insecurity forces a withdrawal of humanitarian relief organizations (The Financial Times [UK], December 15, 2004). This assessment is strongly supported by prospective assessments of food deficits from the International Committee of the Red Cross and the US Agency for International Development.- - -
AU military chief cautions against flop in Sudan
A report by PANA today says a senior military official of the AU mission in Sudan (AMIS) has warned that it would be a tragedy for the mission to flop due to lack of facilities. He made the remark during a familiarisation tour of Zalingel, a new military sector that is under construction in Darfur. He observed that for the mission's peace efforts to succeed, it was imperative that requirements of Zalingel and other sectors were met. A contingent of 162 Gambian troops was recently deployed to Zalingel.
Note, I have yet to see a report that actually states what the AU are in need of and the reasons for the delay in them getting what they need. Could it be the AU troops that were being prepared for Darfur, have been deployed to hotspots in other countries. Other countries have been given priority. It's the only rational explanation. Nothing else makes sense. Unless there is a political reason that we know nothing about.
- - -
Uganda gives Sudan one-acre of land for new consulate
A report today from Kampala says Uganda's local government in Gulu has given the Sudan government a one-acre piece of land to build consulate offices in Laroo division of Gulu town to promote trade -- Sudan's Ambassador to Uganda thanked the Gulu local government for the land, saying Sudan would construct a storeyed block on it to house offices, a guest wing and staff houses.
I've read that Sudan is 20 billion dollars in debt. And is classed as one of the world's poorest countries. It can't even afford to feed its own people. Where are they getting the money from to pay for things like this -- the EU?
- - -
World Bank returns to Sudan as donors plan comeback
The World Bank is reopening an office in Sudan after a 10-year absence, a sign of the international community's desire to help a new power-sharing government with its reconstruction effort after decades of civil war, reports Reuters (01/17).
http://www.noticias.info/asp/aspComunicados.asp?nid=45371&src=0
They say crime pays. Seems genocide does too.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Darfur genocide investigation may land in the International Criminal Court that US opposes
A report in the Wall Street Journal Jan 17 says that the Bush administration in its effort to help Darfur, may soon may be forced to choose between prosecuting the perpetrators and continuing to shun the International Criminal Court.
Congressman Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican who is co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, says it may present the best way to seek justice for Darfur. "If the commission recommends sanctions, a weapons embargo and a travel ban on suspected perpetrators, and with it was a referral to the International Criminal Court, frankly I would take the deal and go," Mr. Wolf says. "It would be better than doing nothing." Full Story.
Further reading: "Human Rights: New Flood Tide" - an interesting opinion piece by Jonathan Power at Arab News Jan 17 says "this could become an explosive issue within the Bush administration."
Also, see Amnesty International report Jan 18, 2005: "Sudan: Who will answer for the crimes?"
- - -
U.N. envoy flies to southern Sudan to discuss UN troops
According to an AP report Jan 18, UN envoy Jan Pronk is travelling to southern Sudan today with a UN force commander, a legal adviser and a political affairs officer. They will meet with SPLM rebel leaders to hammer out details of a UN troops for the monitoring of the peace agreement. The report says Pronk is pressing rebels to authorise UN troops to carry weapons, and to enter and leave the region without applying for permit. Kofi Annan is to submit a report on the matter to the Security Council later this week.
UPDATE: Can you believe this? A large UN peacekeeping force to monitor the southern Sudan peace agreement was agreed last May. Today, the BBC says an international force of almost 10,000 could be deployed in southern Sudan by August after last week's peace deal. Repeat: August. In six months time. Some will start arriving in March - in two months time.
If there is no sense of urgency to give the historic peace accord every chance of succeeding, what hope is there for Darfur? Full Story.
- - -
Darfur and the Completion of the Naivasha Negotiating Process:
Khartoum's genocidal ambitions continue unchecked despite Nairobi signing
Please read two great new essays by Sudan expert, Prof Eric Reeves, Jan 14 titled "Darfur and the Naivasha Peace Process - Part 1 and Part 2".
It was a relief for me to see somebody thinking along the same lines as myself and daring to use emotive words that I have shied away from using, for fear of coming across as too emotive and alarmist. Dr Reeves' reports pull together most of the news reports I have pointed to here in this blog.
Dissapointingly though, he does not say what he thinks we should do about what has NOT been done by the international community. What I mean to say is, he points out what is needed, and explains how much of it has not been done, but does not give any clues as to the reasons why they have not been done.
Simply advising us to contact politicians is no good. We the people, after months of lobbying, have already proved that contacting politicians does not help. Of course, it does apply pressure, creates noise and a flurry of lightweight media reports, but at the end of the day it does not convert into REAL action from politicians. We, the people, have tried every trick in the book to get politicians to act on Darfur but it has not worked. Wouldn't you like to know why? I believe we deserve an explanation. There has to be more to what is going than meets the eye.
Here's a wild thought: what if politicians assigned with special responsibility for Sudan do not get their countries to take the action that is needed for Darfur as outlined in Dr Reeves' report Part 1 -- could we the people take up a case against those responsible for their government's inaction. They said "never again". They can't deny they know what is going on in Daruf. Could we bring them to Court to explain their negligence?
I vaguely recall there being some sort of law against people standing by and watching someone suffer and die. For instance, at the scene of an road accident, mugging or whatever: if you happen upon someone suffering and just stand and watch them dying without helping, then you can be prosecuted.
We need to do something that is quick and effective to get the attention of politicians. If there was a way of getting a case against them, like when people sued oil companies for ignoring human rights abuses, can we the people not bring the same sort of case against our governments?
If a law exists here in Britain (like failing to stop at the scene of an accident, or a social worker failing to provide adequate security for someone at risk) does a similar but international law exist that would enable the public to prosecute politicians for failing to provide security for aid workers and publicly funded aid?
And why won't the UN release updated figures on the death toll. The figure of 70,000 has remained static for the past three months. If they don't have the figures, how do they know how many to cater for when they ask for huge tranches of funding?
Not a week goes by when I don't wonder about the actual number of people in Darfur. Last Summer I wrote a post saying the population of Darfur appears to be somewhere between 6 - 6.5 million. Recently, a Sudanese official was quoted as saying the population of Darfur is 5 million. Where are all the people? 200,000 are in refugee camps in Chad. UN figures vary - they say 1.83 - 2.3 million are affected by the conflict in Darfur. Where are the other 3 million in Darfur? What are they doing? How are they managing?
Please read both of Prof Reeves' essays. Not to be missed if you want an accurate overview of the situation in Darfur. Here is an extract is from the final paragraph of Part 2:
Congressman Frank Wolf, a Virginia Republican who is co-chairman of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, says it may present the best way to seek justice for Darfur. "If the commission recommends sanctions, a weapons embargo and a travel ban on suspected perpetrators, and with it was a referral to the International Criminal Court, frankly I would take the deal and go," Mr. Wolf says. "It would be better than doing nothing." Full Story.
Further reading: "Human Rights: New Flood Tide" - an interesting opinion piece by Jonathan Power at Arab News Jan 17 says "this could become an explosive issue within the Bush administration."
Also, see Amnesty International report Jan 18, 2005: "Sudan: Who will answer for the crimes?"
- - -
U.N. envoy flies to southern Sudan to discuss UN troops
According to an AP report Jan 18, UN envoy Jan Pronk is travelling to southern Sudan today with a UN force commander, a legal adviser and a political affairs officer. They will meet with SPLM rebel leaders to hammer out details of a UN troops for the monitoring of the peace agreement. The report says Pronk is pressing rebels to authorise UN troops to carry weapons, and to enter and leave the region without applying for permit. Kofi Annan is to submit a report on the matter to the Security Council later this week.
UPDATE: Can you believe this? A large UN peacekeeping force to monitor the southern Sudan peace agreement was agreed last May. Today, the BBC says an international force of almost 10,000 could be deployed in southern Sudan by August after last week's peace deal. Repeat: August. In six months time. Some will start arriving in March - in two months time.
If there is no sense of urgency to give the historic peace accord every chance of succeeding, what hope is there for Darfur? Full Story.
- - -
Darfur and the Completion of the Naivasha Negotiating Process:
Khartoum's genocidal ambitions continue unchecked despite Nairobi signing
Please read two great new essays by Sudan expert, Prof Eric Reeves, Jan 14 titled "Darfur and the Naivasha Peace Process - Part 1 and Part 2".
It was a relief for me to see somebody thinking along the same lines as myself and daring to use emotive words that I have shied away from using, for fear of coming across as too emotive and alarmist. Dr Reeves' reports pull together most of the news reports I have pointed to here in this blog.
Dissapointingly though, he does not say what he thinks we should do about what has NOT been done by the international community. What I mean to say is, he points out what is needed, and explains how much of it has not been done, but does not give any clues as to the reasons why they have not been done.
Simply advising us to contact politicians is no good. We the people, after months of lobbying, have already proved that contacting politicians does not help. Of course, it does apply pressure, creates noise and a flurry of lightweight media reports, but at the end of the day it does not convert into REAL action from politicians. We, the people, have tried every trick in the book to get politicians to act on Darfur but it has not worked. Wouldn't you like to know why? I believe we deserve an explanation. There has to be more to what is going than meets the eye.
Here's a wild thought: what if politicians assigned with special responsibility for Sudan do not get their countries to take the action that is needed for Darfur as outlined in Dr Reeves' report Part 1 -- could we the people take up a case against those responsible for their government's inaction. They said "never again". They can't deny they know what is going on in Daruf. Could we bring them to Court to explain their negligence?
I vaguely recall there being some sort of law against people standing by and watching someone suffer and die. For instance, at the scene of an road accident, mugging or whatever: if you happen upon someone suffering and just stand and watch them dying without helping, then you can be prosecuted.
We need to do something that is quick and effective to get the attention of politicians. If there was a way of getting a case against them, like when people sued oil companies for ignoring human rights abuses, can we the people not bring the same sort of case against our governments?
If a law exists here in Britain (like failing to stop at the scene of an accident, or a social worker failing to provide adequate security for someone at risk) does a similar but international law exist that would enable the public to prosecute politicians for failing to provide security for aid workers and publicly funded aid?
And why won't the UN release updated figures on the death toll. The figure of 70,000 has remained static for the past three months. If they don't have the figures, how do they know how many to cater for when they ask for huge tranches of funding?
Not a week goes by when I don't wonder about the actual number of people in Darfur. Last Summer I wrote a post saying the population of Darfur appears to be somewhere between 6 - 6.5 million. Recently, a Sudanese official was quoted as saying the population of Darfur is 5 million. Where are all the people? 200,000 are in refugee camps in Chad. UN figures vary - they say 1.83 - 2.3 million are affected by the conflict in Darfur. Where are the other 3 million in Darfur? What are they doing? How are they managing?
Please read both of Prof Reeves' essays. Not to be missed if you want an accurate overview of the situation in Darfur. Here is an extract is from the final paragraph of Part 2:
GENOCIDE - Contrary to the claims made by Human Rights Watch---that "debating the definition of atrocities in Darfur has detracted from a key issue: action by the international community" in halting the violence and bringing the culpable to justice --- what is fundamental is international failure to marshal the moral and intellectual resources, the necessary courage, and the military means to halt what is clearly genocide by attrition. This leaves us with the disgraceful spectacle of a world wringing its hands, mooting politically impossible UN responses, and failing to protect civilians and humanitarian operations in Darfur. As the catastrophe continues to deepen, responsibility widens commensurately.
Islam is a religion of peace and mercy?
Not in Sudan it isn't. Nowadays, my feelings are it's about time muslims did something about portraying Islam as a religion of peace and mercy. Wherever we turn or look, there are muslims wreaking havoc, death and destruction around the world in the name of their religion. I know nothing of Islam except wherever one sees horrendous atrocities committed around the world - in most cases it seems like the muslims are in amongst it all, saying they are doing it in the name of their religion. Well, that's my impression anyway. Millions of others may be getting the same impression.
Muslims, are getting a reputation for being scary, fanatical and violent. Peaceful Muslims need to start speaking up about their comrades who are not peaceful. When you see muslims interviewed, no matter whether they are peaceful or note, they all come across as being emphatic that they do no wrong and make excuses for themselves in the name of their religion.
Yesterday, one of the politicians in charge of education in England called on faith schools to become more generalised so that pupils grow up and fit in well with British society. The TV news showed muslim schools and their teachers and pupils in Britain. There was not one white face. They live in England but it appears they are going out of their way to segregate themselves and not integrate with the multi cultural British life. Recently, the French government tried to ban muslims from wearing their headresses at schools in France. I do not like segregation. Apartheid. It is not healthy. And leads to narrow views and blinkered thinking. This is Europe, not Iraq or Sudan. There's an old saying, do in Rome as the Romans do ...
Note, in Makkha's tent city (see below) one 26-year old pilgrim outside his tent was quoted as saying:
Pilgrims stream into Tent City Makkha, the soul of Islam
The tent city of Mina where pilgrims assemble at the start of Haj. (EPA)
An Arab news report 18 January 2005 says that the white tents in Makkha, stretching in all directions, symbolise the peace and purity of essential Islam. Here are some snippets from the report:
- - -
Tell Me, Islam: What Is Peace?
Here is an excerpt from an opinion piece "Tell Me, Islam: What Is Peace?" by Pete Fisher, a political columnist in Chicago, Jan 17, 2005:
India proposes to form a sophisticated Asian oil market
UPI report Jan 17: India steps up efforts to secure oil and has embarked on a mad rush to secure its sources of oil as fast as it can. On Jan 6, India's Petroleum Minister invited oil pashas from nine countries to New Delhi in order to discuss an idea that could create history in the global energy arena. In a round table with oil ministers of Oman, Iran, Qatar, the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, he proposed an initiative to form a sophisticated Asian market for oil and petroleum products. Full Story.
Muslims, are getting a reputation for being scary, fanatical and violent. Peaceful Muslims need to start speaking up about their comrades who are not peaceful. When you see muslims interviewed, no matter whether they are peaceful or note, they all come across as being emphatic that they do no wrong and make excuses for themselves in the name of their religion.
Yesterday, one of the politicians in charge of education in England called on faith schools to become more generalised so that pupils grow up and fit in well with British society. The TV news showed muslim schools and their teachers and pupils in Britain. There was not one white face. They live in England but it appears they are going out of their way to segregate themselves and not integrate with the multi cultural British life. Recently, the French government tried to ban muslims from wearing their headresses at schools in France. I do not like segregation. Apartheid. It is not healthy. And leads to narrow views and blinkered thinking. This is Europe, not Iraq or Sudan. There's an old saying, do in Rome as the Romans do ...
Note, in Makkha's tent city (see below) one 26-year old pilgrim outside his tent was quoted as saying:
"It's awe-inspiring. It is an experience that every Muslim has to live through," he said, adding that he was fed up with Al-Qaeda and the advocates of militancy. "Osama Bin Laden and the terrorists say they act in the name of Islam, but our religion preaches the opposite of what they practice," he said, adding that Islam was "a religion of peace and mercy."- - -
Pilgrims stream into Tent City Makkha, the soul of Islam
The tent city of Mina where pilgrims assemble at the start of Haj. (EPA)
An Arab news report 18 January 2005 says that the white tents in Makkha, stretching in all directions, symbolise the peace and purity of essential Islam. Here are some snippets from the report:
There is no violence or terrorism; the emphasis is on peace, love and tranquility. After dawn tomorrow, the pilgrims will return to Mina on Thursday after spending the night in Muzdalifa, to stone the Jamrat - pillars representing the devil. Once back in Mina, they will sacrifice animals. Over a million sheeps have been imported, most of them from Sudan and Uruguay, to meet the pilgrims' demands. The Ministry of Health is also on full alert, eager to serve the guests of God. All health centers and hospitals in Makkah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa were well-equipped and ready to provide health care to pilgrims. The director said, "We have huge stockpiles of medicines to combat any outbreak of disease. There are so far no reports of contagious diseases among the pilgrims."Note, you have to wonder how all those sheep arrived from Sudan, and why have the Saudis not organised large scale relief for Africans suffering in Sudan. Is it because the Africans are suffering under an Islamic Arab government and the Arabs stick together, no matter what?
The Saudi authorities have mobilised more than 50,000 security personnel to ensure a peaceful Haj, free of any incident. More than 12,000 food outlets have been set up to feed the faithful. Bakeries are equipped to make 10 million loaves of bread each day.
The five-day Haj rituals begin today. Police reinforcements have been posted at the entrances to Makkah and on roads leading to the Holy Sites. Over 14,200 buses will be used to transport pilgrims within the area. More than 10,000 officers have been assigned to deal with security matters. All the arrangements and preparations by Saudi authorities are to make Haj comfortable and safe for pilgrims.
- - -
Tell Me, Islam: What Is Peace?
Here is an excerpt from an opinion piece "Tell Me, Islam: What Is Peace?" by Pete Fisher, a political columnist in Chicago, Jan 17, 2005:
I have heard on and on about how Islam is peaceful. Some of our politicians as well as pretty much all Muslims make this claim. I have looked, I have read the Quran, Hadiths, I have tried to find the peace that I am told is within the Islamic writings. And yes, there are some. But I see the more violent aspect of the religion within those writings and in the actions of those who are using them to commit atrocity.- - -
India proposes to form a sophisticated Asian oil market
UPI report Jan 17: India steps up efforts to secure oil and has embarked on a mad rush to secure its sources of oil as fast as it can. On Jan 6, India's Petroleum Minister invited oil pashas from nine countries to New Delhi in order to discuss an idea that could create history in the global energy arena. In a round table with oil ministers of Oman, Iran, Qatar, the UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia, he proposed an initiative to form a sophisticated Asian market for oil and petroleum products. Full Story.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Miranda Darling: Action needed on al-Qa'ida's hiding place
One has to wonder why the international community and African Union are so slow in deploying security forces for Darfur. The Janjaweed were not disarmed. 3,000 AU troops were agreed months ago. Security has been desperately needed to help provide unimpeded access for aid and protection for UN observers, aid workers and civilians. Press reports quote the AU as saying that the delay in troops arriving in Darfur is not due to shortage of funds but lack of accommodation for the troops arriving in Darfur.
My father served 25 years in the British Army, and so as a child I lived in Nairobi for three years (Mau Mau), Cyprus for three years (Eoka) and various military stations during the Cold War in Germany, Belgium, Scotland and England. At British Forces schools we were taught there were usually 30 or so wars going on in the world at the same time. I believe I had grasped the reasons behind most of the wars, but what has been happening in the Sudan over the past two years, particulary politically, has stumped me.
Surely one has to conclude there is more going on behind the scenes than politicians are letting on. Africa seems like a murky world of corruption, arms dealings, oil exploitation, terrorist training camps, poachers, bandits, murderers, genocidal dictators and spies. Not to mention supporters of the global Islamic jihad. The despotic dictators in Khartoum are Islamic, along with their Arab speaking supporters in northern Sudan. Southern Sudan rebels are now forming their own government. My understanding of their supporters is they are mainly English speaking and non-Islamic.
After all the time and effort that has been put in lobbying politicians, it's about time the public were given a proper account by politicians in the international community to explain why they have not organised adequate security forces for Darfur to protect aid workers and civilians and ensure that publicy funded aid reaches those most in need.
What is going in the Sudan these past few years is different from what went on before it became independent from the British over 50 years ago. Nowadays there appears to be four new issues: (1) a global Islamic jihad (2) terrorist groupings and training camps to carry out the global jihad (3) oil/mineral discoveries in Africa (4) unethical companies putting business before human rights in countries run by despotic dictators.
Russian and Asian companies appear to have no qualms taking the place of Western countries pressured into pulling out because of human rights issues. To be fair, when it comes to countries like the Sudan, Russian and Asian companies should be put under the same pressure. China has a lot going for it these days and may want to build a good reputation in the world's eyes. Russia, China, Malaysia, India and Pakistan ought to be targeted, named and shamed on the world stage.
In an opinion piece at the Australian News Jan 17, Miranda Darling, a research associate at the Centre for Independent Studies, writes:
common/story_page/0,5744,11958444%255E7583,00.html
My father served 25 years in the British Army, and so as a child I lived in Nairobi for three years (Mau Mau), Cyprus for three years (Eoka) and various military stations during the Cold War in Germany, Belgium, Scotland and England. At British Forces schools we were taught there were usually 30 or so wars going on in the world at the same time. I believe I had grasped the reasons behind most of the wars, but what has been happening in the Sudan over the past two years, particulary politically, has stumped me.
Surely one has to conclude there is more going on behind the scenes than politicians are letting on. Africa seems like a murky world of corruption, arms dealings, oil exploitation, terrorist training camps, poachers, bandits, murderers, genocidal dictators and spies. Not to mention supporters of the global Islamic jihad. The despotic dictators in Khartoum are Islamic, along with their Arab speaking supporters in northern Sudan. Southern Sudan rebels are now forming their own government. My understanding of their supporters is they are mainly English speaking and non-Islamic.
After all the time and effort that has been put in lobbying politicians, it's about time the public were given a proper account by politicians in the international community to explain why they have not organised adequate security forces for Darfur to protect aid workers and civilians and ensure that publicy funded aid reaches those most in need.
What is going in the Sudan these past few years is different from what went on before it became independent from the British over 50 years ago. Nowadays there appears to be four new issues: (1) a global Islamic jihad (2) terrorist groupings and training camps to carry out the global jihad (3) oil/mineral discoveries in Africa (4) unethical companies putting business before human rights in countries run by despotic dictators.
Russian and Asian companies appear to have no qualms taking the place of Western countries pressured into pulling out because of human rights issues. To be fair, when it comes to countries like the Sudan, Russian and Asian companies should be put under the same pressure. China has a lot going for it these days and may want to build a good reputation in the world's eyes. Russia, China, Malaysia, India and Pakistan ought to be targeted, named and shamed on the world stage.
In an opinion piece at the Australian News Jan 17, Miranda Darling, a research associate at the Centre for Independent Studies, writes:
Sudan is on the way to becoming a haven for al-Qa'ida militants and their violent worldwide struggle. It has a history of housing al-Qa'ida (Osama bin Laden was based there in the first half of the 1990s) and a government that tolerates militant Arab groups on its soil. Sudan sits just across a narrow, pirate-infested stretch of the Red Sea from Saudi Arabia and is a prime springboard for launching attacks in Jeddah (such as the one on December 6 on the US consulate) and elsewhere in the country.Here is another excerpt from Miranda Darling's report that gives us something else to chew on [here's a thought: maybe the West and AU are going out of their way not to antagonise Sudan in order to deter them hosting al-Qa'ida around the area?]
The Sudanese navy is under-equipped to patrol its Red Sea coast. It has about a dozen decrepit former Iranian and Yugoslav patrol boats and very few are believed to be seaworthy. It is impossible for Sudan to maintain adequate maritime security and control its sea border. This only makes it more attractive to terrorists. If, as some experts predict, there is a strong likelihood of a new wave of attacks in Saudi Arabia, this is where the counter-terrorist activities must focus.Full story at: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
The terrain of the Jebel Kurush will be every inch as inhospitable to Western fighting forces as the mountains of Afghanistan. The US and France are best placed for armed intervention in Sudan and their best options are likely to be maritime ones. Both countries maintain naval forces that patrol Sudan's Red Sea coast and are based in Djibouti. By stopping the illicit sea traffic between Saudi Arabia and Sudan, it would be possible to strangle the al-Qa'ida militants' lifeline. The Sudanese Government, however, has announced it will resist with force any attempts by the US or Britain to intervene by sea.
It has also threatened to withdraw its armed forces from Darfur. This announcement presumably includes interventions for humanitarian reasons and for any further al-Qa'ida hunts. The UN is unlikely to be of much help.
The UN Security Council agreed in July to take action against the Sudanese Government if it remained unable or unwilling to halt the brutalities of the Janjaweed militia in Darfur. However, Arab members opposed the inclusion of the threat of force (against Arab rebels) in that resolution and the UN omitted it. Yet the Sudanese Government has little problem accommodating Chinese troops stationed in the country to protect the Chinese National Petroleum Company's stake in the oilfields and the 10,000 Chinese prisoners who are reportedly forced to work there. Sudan's proximity to al-Qa'ida's piggy bank and spiritual home has certainly not gone unnoticed by the group. Nor has the fact that the Sudanese Government would have little problem hosting terror cells - provided they paid rent.
It is now believed that al-Qa'ida has chosen the Jebel Kurush mountain range for its new training camps. The range runs alongside the Red Sea and is backed by the Nubian Desert. The mountains are a good size at 1000m-2000m and it is an area where the Sudanese Government has little control. The location is perfect for smuggling drops - drugs, weapons and fighters - and for insurgent excursions into Jeddah and other parts of Saudi Arabia.
common/story_page/0,5744,11958444%255E7583,00.html
UN braces for uncontrolled return of displaced into S. Sudan
An Agence France-Presse report out of Rumbek, Sudan on Jan 16 explains how the UN is working with the SPLM rebels in the bombed-out southern town of Rumbek, where the rebel group has set up its headquarters.
With the rebels set to run an autonomous administration for the south under the terms of last week's peace deal, the UN fears that the trickle of returns will become a flood, overwhelming its ability to provide for them.
"We are working with them (the rebels) to establish appropriate institutions to manage this," the UN humanitarian coordinator for southern Sudan, W. David Gressly, told AFP.
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UNCHR expect return of 500,000 - 1.2 million people to southern Sudan
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that at least 3.5 million of southern Sudan's 10 million people were displaced by the 21-year civil war. Of those, some 500,000 found refuge beyond Sudan's borders.
"We don't expect all of them to come back at once, but we do expect them to come back," said Gressly.
The UNHCR expects anywhere between 500,000 and 1.2 million people to return to the south this year, the majority of them from northern Sudan and neighbouring countries such as Uganda and Kenya.
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UNCHR estimates this year alone will cost 60 million dollars to reintegrate returnees
One of Africa's least developed regions even before the war, south Sudan now lacks the most basic infrastructure and the UNHCR estimates that this year alone it will cost at least 60 million dollars to reintegrate returnees.
"The first challenge I think is water, particularly for those returns coming to Bahr El-Ghazal," said Gressly. "They are coming from an educational background which has been based on Arabic instruction and here it is English-language instruction," he said.
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UN WFP says 3.2 million people at risk from famine in southern Sudan
Food is another immense problem in a region where UN agencies say there is already a risk of famine.
The World Food Programme says 3.2 million people are threatened with starvation this year and has appealed for 302 million dollars in contributions from UN member states.
Erratic rainfall last year caused the harvest to fail in many parts of southern Sudan. The UN estimates that 48 percent of children under five in rebel-held areas suffer from chronic malnutrition while 21 percent suffer from acute malnutrition.
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UN agencies moving offices from Kenyan border to southern Sudan
In a bid to address the challenges, UN agencies have begun moving their offices to southern Sudan from the Kenyan border where they were based during the war. But officials concede that logistical problems are still hobbling their response. "There is very little infrastructure," said Gressly.
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An estimated 3 - 5 million landmines planted in Sudan
The deadly legacy of an estimated three to five million landmines planted by government forces and the rebels is the biggest obstacle, making road travel dangerous if not impossible.
"It's as serious as anywhere else in the world where there is a mine problem in population areas," said Dave McIvor, an operations officer for the United Nations Mines Action Service.
The Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD) has been conducting a survey of demining needs under contract to the United Nations. "The priority at the moment throughout Sudan is to clear the roads," said Michael Story, a supervisor for the FSD.
But in a region where even the most basic needs frequently go unmet, UN officials say it is difficult to get residents to take the problem seriously.
"People just say: 'We have been living with these mines for years and nothing happened. Talk to us about food and water,'" said Diana Surur, an assistant project officer for UNICEFs Mine Risk Education programme.
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Mobiles ring in south Sudan's new era
RUMBEK, Sudan (Reuters) Jan 17: The town of Rumbek in southern Sudan is getting used to a sound never heard before -- the ringing of a mobile phone.
Fighting had left southern Sudan a black spot for telecommunications until last August when the region's first mobile phone operator -- Network of the World (NOW) -- was set up with a multimillion dollar investment. Satellite dishes, generators, computers, a telecoms mast and a wooden shed for an Internet cafe were transported piecemeal to the bush, by convoy and chartered plane. Despite a chronic lack of trained technicians and engineers in southern Sudan, a network was up and running within four months.
There are now about 1,000 subscribers to NOW in two towns -- Rumbek and Yei, and Richard Herbert, NOW's operations director, is confident that number will increase five-fold by the end of the year.
"Our long-term goal is to get as many mobile phones into people's hands as possible so that relatives abroad can get in touch," he told Reuters in an interview. "For most people, receiving phone calls is more important than making them because they don't have the buying power yet." Full Story.
With the rebels set to run an autonomous administration for the south under the terms of last week's peace deal, the UN fears that the trickle of returns will become a flood, overwhelming its ability to provide for them.
"We are working with them (the rebels) to establish appropriate institutions to manage this," the UN humanitarian coordinator for southern Sudan, W. David Gressly, told AFP.
- - -
UNCHR expect return of 500,000 - 1.2 million people to southern Sudan
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that at least 3.5 million of southern Sudan's 10 million people were displaced by the 21-year civil war. Of those, some 500,000 found refuge beyond Sudan's borders.
"We don't expect all of them to come back at once, but we do expect them to come back," said Gressly.
The UNHCR expects anywhere between 500,000 and 1.2 million people to return to the south this year, the majority of them from northern Sudan and neighbouring countries such as Uganda and Kenya.
- - -
UNCHR estimates this year alone will cost 60 million dollars to reintegrate returnees
One of Africa's least developed regions even before the war, south Sudan now lacks the most basic infrastructure and the UNHCR estimates that this year alone it will cost at least 60 million dollars to reintegrate returnees.
"The first challenge I think is water, particularly for those returns coming to Bahr El-Ghazal," said Gressly. "They are coming from an educational background which has been based on Arabic instruction and here it is English-language instruction," he said.
- - -
UN WFP says 3.2 million people at risk from famine in southern Sudan
Food is another immense problem in a region where UN agencies say there is already a risk of famine.
The World Food Programme says 3.2 million people are threatened with starvation this year and has appealed for 302 million dollars in contributions from UN member states.
Erratic rainfall last year caused the harvest to fail in many parts of southern Sudan. The UN estimates that 48 percent of children under five in rebel-held areas suffer from chronic malnutrition while 21 percent suffer from acute malnutrition.
- - -
UN agencies moving offices from Kenyan border to southern Sudan
In a bid to address the challenges, UN agencies have begun moving their offices to southern Sudan from the Kenyan border where they were based during the war. But officials concede that logistical problems are still hobbling their response. "There is very little infrastructure," said Gressly.
- - -
An estimated 3 - 5 million landmines planted in Sudan
The deadly legacy of an estimated three to five million landmines planted by government forces and the rebels is the biggest obstacle, making road travel dangerous if not impossible.
"It's as serious as anywhere else in the world where there is a mine problem in population areas," said Dave McIvor, an operations officer for the United Nations Mines Action Service.
The Swiss Foundation for Demining (FSD) has been conducting a survey of demining needs under contract to the United Nations. "The priority at the moment throughout Sudan is to clear the roads," said Michael Story, a supervisor for the FSD.
But in a region where even the most basic needs frequently go unmet, UN officials say it is difficult to get residents to take the problem seriously.
"People just say: 'We have been living with these mines for years and nothing happened. Talk to us about food and water,'" said Diana Surur, an assistant project officer for UNICEFs Mine Risk Education programme.
- - -
Mobiles ring in south Sudan's new era
RUMBEK, Sudan (Reuters) Jan 17: The town of Rumbek in southern Sudan is getting used to a sound never heard before -- the ringing of a mobile phone.
Fighting had left southern Sudan a black spot for telecommunications until last August when the region's first mobile phone operator -- Network of the World (NOW) -- was set up with a multimillion dollar investment. Satellite dishes, generators, computers, a telecoms mast and a wooden shed for an Internet cafe were transported piecemeal to the bush, by convoy and chartered plane. Despite a chronic lack of trained technicians and engineers in southern Sudan, a network was up and running within four months.
There are now about 1,000 subscribers to NOW in two towns -- Rumbek and Yei, and Richard Herbert, NOW's operations director, is confident that number will increase five-fold by the end of the year.
"Our long-term goal is to get as many mobile phones into people's hands as possible so that relatives abroad can get in touch," he told Reuters in an interview. "For most people, receiving phone calls is more important than making them because they don't have the buying power yet." Full Story.
UN site agreed for Sudan peacekeepers - Denmark to send 45 soldiers by March
Agence France-Presse report Jan 12: UN peacekeepers to be sent to Sudan after a peace agreement between Khartoum and the SPLM will be based at Kassala in the east of the country, a news report said Wednesday.
By mutual agreement between Sudanese and UN authorities, offices and barracks will be built close to the airport at Kassala, Sudan's Akhbar Al-Yum newspaper reported. According to the paper, the UN force is to number 7,000 troops, although no official UN decision has been announced on the size of a possible contingent.
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Denmark to send 45 soldiers to Sudan by March
China View report Jan 10: Denmark will send 45 soldiers to Sudan to take part in the UNs peacekeeping force there after the peace agreement Khartoum signed with the rebels in south Sudan, Ritzau news bureau reported on Monday.
Danish Captain Karsten Engdahl said the Danish soldiers will be part of the headquarters company. "We expect that our soldiers will work in the headquarters company which is being established. They may work as, for example, drivers, bookkeeping personnel or in intelligence," he said to Danish newspaper Information. He said Sudan is not a safe place, so the UN wants soldiers rather than civilian personnel for the work there.
The soldiers will be part of the UN's standing reactionary force, SHIRBRIG, which is based at Hovelte Kaserne north of Copenhagen. Commander of the force, Brigadier General Greg Mitchell, expected it will be two weeks before the UN Security Council issues a mandate for the peacekeeping force. "Then we expect our people will be in place in Sudan within 45 days. That will put them in Sudan at the beginning of March," said General Mitchell.
Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller welcomed the peace agreement and promised that Denmark will cooperate with a UN request to provide troops. "The agreement in Sudan is a groundbreaking contribution for peace in the country," he said. "This historic agreement can increase political stability and economic prosperity in Sudan and the region as a whole."
Further reading:
Inter Press Service report June 14, 2004: Peacekeepers a drop in the ocean; rebels in south Sudan have welcomed the UNs decision to send a peacekeeping mission to the country to monitor agreements that would end Africa's longest running civil war.
Interesting site: Citizens for Global Solutions.
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Khartoum, opposition NDA agree on wide-ranging issues
China View report Jan 16: The Sudanese government and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) agreed Sunday on wide-ranging issues after three rounds of talks held here since August, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.
MENA said the two sides, which kicked off a third round of talks last Friday, are expected to sign a final agreement in February. Khartoum and the NDA agreed to form a joint committee tostreamline the opposition group and its proxy troops to assimilatethem into the country's legislative, executive and federal institutions, according to the agency.
The NDA, an umbrella group which includes southern Sudanese rebels and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of the two main rebel groups in Darfur.
- - -
EU to release Sudan's frozen funds?
So far, I have seen no other news confirming a Jan 16 report out of Khartoum that says the EU are releasing 786 million US dollars to Sudan. The source of the report is Sudanese Foreign Minister Ismail who also said a high-level delegation from Sudan, headed by VP Taha, will visit Brussels to sign the EU agreement, and plan to visit other European countries next month to boost bilateral relations. I hope this report is not true. The ink is barely dry on the new peace deal. US Ambassador Danforth says from experience that agreements in Sudan tend to be written in disappearing ink. Hopefully, travel restrictions will be imposed when the findings of the UNs investigation into genocide in Darfur are made public around Jan 25.
By mutual agreement between Sudanese and UN authorities, offices and barracks will be built close to the airport at Kassala, Sudan's Akhbar Al-Yum newspaper reported. According to the paper, the UN force is to number 7,000 troops, although no official UN decision has been announced on the size of a possible contingent.
- - -
Denmark to send 45 soldiers to Sudan by March
China View report Jan 10: Denmark will send 45 soldiers to Sudan to take part in the UNs peacekeeping force there after the peace agreement Khartoum signed with the rebels in south Sudan, Ritzau news bureau reported on Monday.
Danish Captain Karsten Engdahl said the Danish soldiers will be part of the headquarters company. "We expect that our soldiers will work in the headquarters company which is being established. They may work as, for example, drivers, bookkeeping personnel or in intelligence," he said to Danish newspaper Information. He said Sudan is not a safe place, so the UN wants soldiers rather than civilian personnel for the work there.
The soldiers will be part of the UN's standing reactionary force, SHIRBRIG, which is based at Hovelte Kaserne north of Copenhagen. Commander of the force, Brigadier General Greg Mitchell, expected it will be two weeks before the UN Security Council issues a mandate for the peacekeeping force. "Then we expect our people will be in place in Sudan within 45 days. That will put them in Sudan at the beginning of March," said General Mitchell.
Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller welcomed the peace agreement and promised that Denmark will cooperate with a UN request to provide troops. "The agreement in Sudan is a groundbreaking contribution for peace in the country," he said. "This historic agreement can increase political stability and economic prosperity in Sudan and the region as a whole."
Further reading:
Inter Press Service report June 14, 2004: Peacekeepers a drop in the ocean; rebels in south Sudan have welcomed the UNs decision to send a peacekeeping mission to the country to monitor agreements that would end Africa's longest running civil war.
Interesting site: Citizens for Global Solutions.
- - -
Khartoum, opposition NDA agree on wide-ranging issues
China View report Jan 16: The Sudanese government and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) agreed Sunday on wide-ranging issues after three rounds of talks held here since August, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.
MENA said the two sides, which kicked off a third round of talks last Friday, are expected to sign a final agreement in February. Khartoum and the NDA agreed to form a joint committee tostreamline the opposition group and its proxy troops to assimilatethem into the country's legislative, executive and federal institutions, according to the agency.
The NDA, an umbrella group which includes southern Sudanese rebels and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), one of the two main rebel groups in Darfur.
- - -
EU to release Sudan's frozen funds?
So far, I have seen no other news confirming a Jan 16 report out of Khartoum that says the EU are releasing 786 million US dollars to Sudan. The source of the report is Sudanese Foreign Minister Ismail who also said a high-level delegation from Sudan, headed by VP Taha, will visit Brussels to sign the EU agreement, and plan to visit other European countries next month to boost bilateral relations. I hope this report is not true. The ink is barely dry on the new peace deal. US Ambassador Danforth says from experience that agreements in Sudan tend to be written in disappearing ink. Hopefully, travel restrictions will be imposed when the findings of the UNs investigation into genocide in Darfur are made public around Jan 25.
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Brown: Let women lead Africa out of poverty
Last summer, Desmond Tutu said women should rule the world because men have made a mess of it. And media mogul Ted Turner said women should rule the world for 100 years.
Today, a report in the Sunday Times on Gordon Brown's week-long tour of Africa quotes him yesterday as saying that enhancing the role of women was the key to lifting the continent out of poverty. Excerpt from the report:
The chancellor, on a visit to the Maragra sugar mill and plantation in Mozambique, was accompanied by Luisa Diogo, one of Africa's few prominent female politicians. Diogo is both prime minister and finance minister of Mozambique. Yesterday, alongside Diogo, he said that the main lesson he had learnt on his trip was that action to reduce poverty in Africa had to focus on women.
"Women are the biggest victims of the African poverty I have seen: most likely to suffer from HIV/Aids, most likely to be denied schooling and constituting 70% of the poor," Brown said. "But I have also met younger women pushing for reform, leading not just in calling for changes in health provision, secondary schooling and tackling Aids, but leading in microcredit, small business and rural development."
"I believe it is essential that women are the future of Africa," he said.
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Note: Treasury officials pointed out the huge problems of gender inequality in Africa. Women carry out 80% of the agricultural work but own just 1% of farmland. Only 4% of women have title to land or property. Women also suffer educational disadvantages, with girls usually leaving school earlier than boys, often to work the land. Yet figures show that every extra year spent at school reduces the mortality of their subsequent children by 8%.
Brown has been accompanied by four senior women advisers on his African trip: Shriti Vadera, one of his special advisers, and three officials from the Treasury and the Department for International Development.
Today, a report in the Sunday Times on Gordon Brown's week-long tour of Africa quotes him yesterday as saying that enhancing the role of women was the key to lifting the continent out of poverty. Excerpt from the report:
The chancellor, on a visit to the Maragra sugar mill and plantation in Mozambique, was accompanied by Luisa Diogo, one of Africa's few prominent female politicians. Diogo is both prime minister and finance minister of Mozambique. Yesterday, alongside Diogo, he said that the main lesson he had learnt on his trip was that action to reduce poverty in Africa had to focus on women.
"Women are the biggest victims of the African poverty I have seen: most likely to suffer from HIV/Aids, most likely to be denied schooling and constituting 70% of the poor," Brown said. "But I have also met younger women pushing for reform, leading not just in calling for changes in health provision, secondary schooling and tackling Aids, but leading in microcredit, small business and rural development."
"I believe it is essential that women are the future of Africa," he said.
- - -
Note: Treasury officials pointed out the huge problems of gender inequality in Africa. Women carry out 80% of the agricultural work but own just 1% of farmland. Only 4% of women have title to land or property. Women also suffer educational disadvantages, with girls usually leaving school earlier than boys, often to work the land. Yet figures show that every extra year spent at school reduces the mortality of their subsequent children by 8%.
Brown has been accompanied by four senior women advisers on his African trip: Shriti Vadera, one of his special advisers, and three officials from the Treasury and the Department for International Development.
Sudan's changing map - peace deal could spark more conflict
There is no room for complacency as humanitarian situation in Darfur remains grim, warns Oxfam.
Press reports today are pointing to trouble near the Chad-Sudan border, near the area a third rebel movement NDMR are operating. AFP reports yesterday that attacks in Chad by unidentified men near the border with Sudan's western Darfur killed 15 Chadian villagers.
Chadian soldiers guard the border with Sudan. (AFP/file)
- - -
Sudan's changing map
A report at PINR Jan 14 titled "Sudan's Changing Map" predicts that Sudan's territorial integrity may soon collapse as the regional rebels see their best opportunities in the fractional chaos that will follow. Note the Conclusion, as follows:
"While the December 31, 2004 permanent cease-fire agreement between the S.P.L.M./A. and Khartoum will bring stability to southern Sudan, the rest of the country is likely to descend into fractional collapse as Darfur's genocide continues and the northeast violently dislodges from Khartoum's influence. If the Darfur and N.D.A. negotiations are not quickly brought to a resolution, Khartoum will likely lose control of Sudan's geographical peripheries. The Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement (J.E.M.) in Darfur and the Beja Congress and the Free Lions in the northeast are attempting to force this conclusion by stalling the negotiations and escalating the violence in their respective territories (there is some evidence that the J.E.M. is coordinating its actions with the northeastern rebels to this end).
John Garang will be in a unique position as the top vice president in Khartoum to help force the regional peace negotiations to a resolution. While he will pursue a strategy of protecting al-Bashir's government, in order to secure the terms of the north/south peace deal, this will likely take the form of leaning on the regional rebel groups to accept the terms on the table. The West and the U.N. will help give his lobbying weight, but that does not mean the rebels will cave. Sudan's territorial integrity may soon collapse as the regional rebels see their best opportunities in the fractional chaos that will follow."
Full Story.
- - -
Interview: Sudan peace deal could spark more conflict - Mahdi
Excerpt from Reuters report Jan 16:
Sudan's last elected leader said on Sunday that a deal to end more than two decades of civil war in the south would encourage more people to take up arms because the deal did not have popular support.
Sadiq al-Mahdi, twice prime minister and leader of the Umma party, historically Sudan's biggest, told Reuters the deal signed a week ago was incomplete and, if not rectified, would lead to the fragmentation of Africa's largest country.
"The agreement as it stands does encourage people to seek benefits by military pressure," Mahdi said in an interview in his home in Khartoum.
"If you say the goodies, the benefits, are going to be simply handed out according to military pressure then you are going to get mounting military pressures which ultimately will divide the country up," said Mahdi, great-grandson of the charismatic Mahdi who ruled Sudan in the 1880s. Full Story.
- - -
Sudan's First VP Garang makes Darfur plea
A BBC report today says Garang makes Darfur plea.
Garang says the planned national unity government had to move fast to resolve the Darfur conflict peacefully -- he does not think the Darfur conflict would jeopardise the peace deal between the SPLM and the Khartoum government -- he says there is a need for a similar comprehensive peace accord for the Darfur region, based on justice and fairness.
"There has to be a change of policy, a policy that is based on peaceful settlement, a fair and just political settlement achieved through peaceful means, not through war - addressing the concerns of all the groups in Darfur, both the African nationalities and the Arab nationalities," he told the BBC.
Garang says fairness and justice are important
Note: The UN says there are about four million people who fled the south because of the conflict and who are expected to return. Many of the relief agencies operating in the south say they have begun preparing for a massive influx of returnees back to their homes.
- - -
Sudan's First VP pledges to hold soon talks with Darfur rebels
While 10,000 people in the refugee camps die each month from malnutrition and disease, Sudan's First Vice President, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, pointed out that the coming weeks will witness sessions of negotiations, decisions and arrangements to put off the war in Darfur and to realise the unity of rank through the ongoing negotiations with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Cairo. Full Story.
Where has he been on the Darfur peace talks all these months?
Ali Osman Taha
- - -
Sudanese minister calls for Arab media support on Darfur
The source of this news via Sudan Tribune Jan 16, is Sudanese radio -- it says a Sudanese minister has called on Arab media to play its role in combating inimical media campaign which is being carried out by prejudiced Western media against Sudan. It calls for Arab media support on Darfur.
Note also, the report says a delegation of the Arab Journalist Union expressed its solidarity with the Sudanese government in realising peace and accord, as well as resolving the Darfur problem.
So, as always, here's continuing to be wary of interviews and reports pumped out from Khartoum and Arab nations.
- - -
Janjaweed poaching in Congo - endangered white rhinos to be moved to Kenya
A report from IOL says despite decades of war-related poaching by gunmen from Sudan and Congo, local and international conservationists in the Congo have long managed to protect rhinos and elephants in the park.
The report explains: rangers have fought off southern Sudanese rebels who had poached bushmeat from the former Zaire to fund their 21-year insurgency in the mainly Christian and animist south -- the crisis has been exacerbated by northern Sudanese poachers who hail from the same ethnic group as the Janjaweed Arab militia accused of raping and killing in Darfur -- and last year, they began crossing into Congo on horseback, slaughtering rhinos and taking their horns back to Sudan.
There could be more northern whites in zoos than in the wild
Five of the few northern white rhinos left in the wild will be flown from Democratic Republic of Congo to prevent poachers wiping them out, conservationists said on Saturday. Fewer than 10 of the rhinos are believed to remain and with heavily armed poachers carrying out frequent raids in the wilds of northeastern Congo, moving the beasts to sanctuary in Kenya is deemed the only option to guarantee their survival.
Press reports today are pointing to trouble near the Chad-Sudan border, near the area a third rebel movement NDMR are operating. AFP reports yesterday that attacks in Chad by unidentified men near the border with Sudan's western Darfur killed 15 Chadian villagers.
Chadian soldiers guard the border with Sudan. (AFP/file)
- - -
Sudan's changing map
A report at PINR Jan 14 titled "Sudan's Changing Map" predicts that Sudan's territorial integrity may soon collapse as the regional rebels see their best opportunities in the fractional chaos that will follow. Note the Conclusion, as follows:
"While the December 31, 2004 permanent cease-fire agreement between the S.P.L.M./A. and Khartoum will bring stability to southern Sudan, the rest of the country is likely to descend into fractional collapse as Darfur's genocide continues and the northeast violently dislodges from Khartoum's influence. If the Darfur and N.D.A. negotiations are not quickly brought to a resolution, Khartoum will likely lose control of Sudan's geographical peripheries. The Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement (J.E.M.) in Darfur and the Beja Congress and the Free Lions in the northeast are attempting to force this conclusion by stalling the negotiations and escalating the violence in their respective territories (there is some evidence that the J.E.M. is coordinating its actions with the northeastern rebels to this end).
John Garang will be in a unique position as the top vice president in Khartoum to help force the regional peace negotiations to a resolution. While he will pursue a strategy of protecting al-Bashir's government, in order to secure the terms of the north/south peace deal, this will likely take the form of leaning on the regional rebel groups to accept the terms on the table. The West and the U.N. will help give his lobbying weight, but that does not mean the rebels will cave. Sudan's territorial integrity may soon collapse as the regional rebels see their best opportunities in the fractional chaos that will follow."
Full Story.
- - -
Interview: Sudan peace deal could spark more conflict - Mahdi
Excerpt from Reuters report Jan 16:
Sudan's last elected leader said on Sunday that a deal to end more than two decades of civil war in the south would encourage more people to take up arms because the deal did not have popular support.
Sadiq al-Mahdi, twice prime minister and leader of the Umma party, historically Sudan's biggest, told Reuters the deal signed a week ago was incomplete and, if not rectified, would lead to the fragmentation of Africa's largest country.
"The agreement as it stands does encourage people to seek benefits by military pressure," Mahdi said in an interview in his home in Khartoum.
"If you say the goodies, the benefits, are going to be simply handed out according to military pressure then you are going to get mounting military pressures which ultimately will divide the country up," said Mahdi, great-grandson of the charismatic Mahdi who ruled Sudan in the 1880s. Full Story.
- - -
Sudan's First VP Garang makes Darfur plea
A BBC report today says Garang makes Darfur plea.
Garang says the planned national unity government had to move fast to resolve the Darfur conflict peacefully -- he does not think the Darfur conflict would jeopardise the peace deal between the SPLM and the Khartoum government -- he says there is a need for a similar comprehensive peace accord for the Darfur region, based on justice and fairness.
"There has to be a change of policy, a policy that is based on peaceful settlement, a fair and just political settlement achieved through peaceful means, not through war - addressing the concerns of all the groups in Darfur, both the African nationalities and the Arab nationalities," he told the BBC.
Garang says fairness and justice are important
Note: The UN says there are about four million people who fled the south because of the conflict and who are expected to return. Many of the relief agencies operating in the south say they have begun preparing for a massive influx of returnees back to their homes.
- - -
Sudan's First VP pledges to hold soon talks with Darfur rebels
While 10,000 people in the refugee camps die each month from malnutrition and disease, Sudan's First Vice President, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, pointed out that the coming weeks will witness sessions of negotiations, decisions and arrangements to put off the war in Darfur and to realise the unity of rank through the ongoing negotiations with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Cairo. Full Story.
Where has he been on the Darfur peace talks all these months?
Ali Osman Taha
- - -
Sudanese minister calls for Arab media support on Darfur
The source of this news via Sudan Tribune Jan 16, is Sudanese radio -- it says a Sudanese minister has called on Arab media to play its role in combating inimical media campaign which is being carried out by prejudiced Western media against Sudan. It calls for Arab media support on Darfur.
Note also, the report says a delegation of the Arab Journalist Union expressed its solidarity with the Sudanese government in realising peace and accord, as well as resolving the Darfur problem.
So, as always, here's continuing to be wary of interviews and reports pumped out from Khartoum and Arab nations.
- - -
Janjaweed poaching in Congo - endangered white rhinos to be moved to Kenya
A report from IOL says despite decades of war-related poaching by gunmen from Sudan and Congo, local and international conservationists in the Congo have long managed to protect rhinos and elephants in the park.
The report explains: rangers have fought off southern Sudanese rebels who had poached bushmeat from the former Zaire to fund their 21-year insurgency in the mainly Christian and animist south -- the crisis has been exacerbated by northern Sudanese poachers who hail from the same ethnic group as the Janjaweed Arab militia accused of raping and killing in Darfur -- and last year, they began crossing into Congo on horseback, slaughtering rhinos and taking their horns back to Sudan.
There could be more northern whites in zoos than in the wild
Five of the few northern white rhinos left in the wild will be flown from Democratic Republic of Congo to prevent poachers wiping them out, conservationists said on Saturday. Fewer than 10 of the rhinos are believed to remain and with heavily armed poachers carrying out frequent raids in the wilds of northeastern Congo, moving the beasts to sanctuary in Kenya is deemed the only option to guarantee their survival.
Speech of President Omar Al-Bashir to OIC Foreign Ministers
PRESS RELEASE: Thursday, June 27, 2002
TWENTY-NINTH SESSION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS KHARTOUM, 25-27 JUNE, 2002
Speech of His Excellency Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Beshir President Of The Republic Of Sudan:
http://www.sudanembassy.org/default.asp?page=viewstory&id=75
Congratulations to anyone who understands what he is talking about :-)
And thank you to Black River Eagle of Jewels of the Jungle blog for finding the report.
TWENTY-NINTH SESSION OF THE ISLAMIC CONFERENCE OF FOREIGN MINISTERS KHARTOUM, 25-27 JUNE, 2002
Speech of His Excellency Omar Hassan Ahmed Al-Beshir President Of The Republic Of Sudan:
http://www.sudanembassy.org/default.asp?page=viewstory&id=75
Congratulations to anyone who understands what he is talking about :-)
And thank you to Black River Eagle of Jewels of the Jungle blog for finding the report.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Distrust clouds peace euphoria in Sudan rebel town
A report out of Rumbek, Sudan via Reuters Jan 11 explains how, just days after euphoria greeted the signing of a peace deal to end 21 years of civil war in Sudan, murmurings of mistrust are surfacing in the rebel-held south. Excerpt:
Many locals are cautious about the deal ending the conflict between the north's Arabic-speaking Islamist government and the mainly Christian and animist insurgents from the south.
"These Arabs, you can't do anything with them, you can't trust them," said Patrick Deng, a former guerrilla who joined Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1987. "It would have been better if the deal split the country," said the 36-year-old - who now makes a living as a builder in Rumbek - reflecting a desire among many in the town to break with the north as soon as possible.
Many hardline SPLA supporters say the northerners are not to be trusted and quote a local saying that reveals the extent of their suspicion and bitterness: "If you are faced with a Muslim and a lion, best to kill the Muslim first because he is more dangerous."
Youth leader Maluak Muorwel, 24, said Garang's appeal to make a united Sudan attractive to its citizens was wrong. "If I was the leader I would make separation attractive - convince the Western world that we are capable of ruling ourselves and having our own country," said Muorwel, who remembers the town being bombarded by Khartoum's Antonov planes. "That is in the mind of everyone - that we need our own country," he said.
His friend Adam Dut said he was worried the SPLA struggle would be forgotten in the six years before the vote on independence for the south. "We fear Arabs will use money to buy our vote and create divisions," said the 21-year-old. "Their interest is not in developing the south but to rule and assimilate us." Read full story.
A southern Sudanese crew repairs roads in the provisional capital of Rumbek. Reparing infrastructure is a priority of Sudan People's Liberation Movement.(AFP/HO-UNICEF /Ben Parker)
SPLM/A troops line up during a public rally in the southern Sudan town of Rumbek to celebrate a final peace agreement with the Khartoum government that was signed in Kenya 09 January. Many have promoted Rumbek, as the provisional capital of SPLM/A, but officials warn that the town may not even be able to host the region's new government. (AFP/Unicef/Ben Parker)
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Sudanese President gives speech in Khartoum
Black River Eagle, of Jewels in the Jungle blog, asks here in a comment if I know of any transcripts documenting President Bashir's speeches. I have not seen any. Today, I saw this photo at Yahoo pix where the caption says President Bashir gave a speech on Wednesday, promising to bring peace to Darfur and south Sudan.
Also, on Saturday, Jan 1, 2005, he addressed the national assembly in Khartoum . In his annual speech to the Sudanese parliament marking his country's independence from British rule, President Omar el-Bashir urged all Sudanese, particularly opposition groups, to both engage in a comprehensive reconciliation and work to end the Darfur crisis. (AP).
Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir gestures during his speech in Khartoum, Sudan, Jan 12, 2005, where he pledged to bring peace to Darfur. Speaking during a reception hosted in his honour by the ruling National Congress Party in Khartoum to mark the end of his tour of southern Sudan, Omar el-Bashir promised that peace will be realised in Darfur as it was realised in the south. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)
Many locals are cautious about the deal ending the conflict between the north's Arabic-speaking Islamist government and the mainly Christian and animist insurgents from the south.
"These Arabs, you can't do anything with them, you can't trust them," said Patrick Deng, a former guerrilla who joined Garang's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1987. "It would have been better if the deal split the country," said the 36-year-old - who now makes a living as a builder in Rumbek - reflecting a desire among many in the town to break with the north as soon as possible.
Many hardline SPLA supporters say the northerners are not to be trusted and quote a local saying that reveals the extent of their suspicion and bitterness: "If you are faced with a Muslim and a lion, best to kill the Muslim first because he is more dangerous."
Youth leader Maluak Muorwel, 24, said Garang's appeal to make a united Sudan attractive to its citizens was wrong. "If I was the leader I would make separation attractive - convince the Western world that we are capable of ruling ourselves and having our own country," said Muorwel, who remembers the town being bombarded by Khartoum's Antonov planes. "That is in the mind of everyone - that we need our own country," he said.
His friend Adam Dut said he was worried the SPLA struggle would be forgotten in the six years before the vote on independence for the south. "We fear Arabs will use money to buy our vote and create divisions," said the 21-year-old. "Their interest is not in developing the south but to rule and assimilate us." Read full story.
A southern Sudanese crew repairs roads in the provisional capital of Rumbek. Reparing infrastructure is a priority of Sudan People's Liberation Movement.(AFP/HO-UNICEF /Ben Parker)
SPLM/A troops line up during a public rally in the southern Sudan town of Rumbek to celebrate a final peace agreement with the Khartoum government that was signed in Kenya 09 January. Many have promoted Rumbek, as the provisional capital of SPLM/A, but officials warn that the town may not even be able to host the region's new government. (AFP/Unicef/Ben Parker)
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Sudanese President gives speech in Khartoum
Black River Eagle, of Jewels in the Jungle blog, asks here in a comment if I know of any transcripts documenting President Bashir's speeches. I have not seen any. Today, I saw this photo at Yahoo pix where the caption says President Bashir gave a speech on Wednesday, promising to bring peace to Darfur and south Sudan.
Also, on Saturday, Jan 1, 2005, he addressed the national assembly in Khartoum . In his annual speech to the Sudanese parliament marking his country's independence from British rule, President Omar el-Bashir urged all Sudanese, particularly opposition groups, to both engage in a comprehensive reconciliation and work to end the Darfur crisis. (AP).
Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir gestures during his speech in Khartoum, Sudan, Jan 12, 2005, where he pledged to bring peace to Darfur. Speaking during a reception hosted in his honour by the ruling National Congress Party in Khartoum to mark the end of his tour of southern Sudan, Omar el-Bashir promised that peace will be realised in Darfur as it was realised in the south. (AP Photo/Abd Raouf)
Friday, January 14, 2005
Who is next in line to chair the African Union: is it likely to be the President of Sudan el Bashir?
A report at Mmegi Online today Jan 14 says - quote:
Forgive me for being suspicious here, but could the delay in AU troops getting to Darfur have anything to do with leaders within the African Union being chummy with Sudan and stringing along the international community? I am finding it difficult to trust anything that is going on with Africa and its politics right now.
News reports give no rational explanation for the delay in the appearance of 2,000 AU troops promised for Darfur. The only explanation I have found so far is a news report saying the delay is due to lack of "accommodation" for AU troops in Darfur - which sounds odd because they could use military tents. I've yet to find a report detailing how and when American contractors set up accommodation for the AU troops currently serving in Darfur.
"The Chairman of the African Union is likely to be the President of Sudan, el Bashir who has yet to stop killing in Darfur. The AU has not yet committed peace keepers to the Sudan. The Sudanese Government has recently signed an Agreement with John Garang's Southerners, but this will be the second time, because an earlier Agreement failed, resulting in continuation of civil war there."Can anyone confirm this? Surely it's not possible for Sudan to chair meetings concerning AU troops for Darfur. Sudan has refused all offers of help with security. Only after its arm was twisted by the AU, did it agree to AU troops on condition there were no more than 3,000 and would be hamstrung without a mandate to act as a protection force for anyone other than UN observers.
Forgive me for being suspicious here, but could the delay in AU troops getting to Darfur have anything to do with leaders within the African Union being chummy with Sudan and stringing along the international community? I am finding it difficult to trust anything that is going on with Africa and its politics right now.
News reports give no rational explanation for the delay in the appearance of 2,000 AU troops promised for Darfur. The only explanation I have found so far is a news report saying the delay is due to lack of "accommodation" for AU troops in Darfur - which sounds odd because they could use military tents. I've yet to find a report detailing how and when American contractors set up accommodation for the AU troops currently serving in Darfur.
UN reports fresh attacks by armed militias in Darfur, Sudan
A UN mission report yesterday says new attacks on NGOs occurred Jan 11.
Kofi Annan warns in his latest report Jan 7 to the Security Council on Darfur that the overall security situation in the region remains poor and political negotiations between the Sudanese Government and rebel groups have reached a stalemate.
The report says aid workers are increasingly at risk of violent attacks, armed groups are re-arming in defiance of previous Council resolution, and the conflict appears to be spreading into the neighbouring state of Western Kordofan.
Kofi Annan warns in his latest report Jan 7 to the Security Council on Darfur that the overall security situation in the region remains poor and political negotiations between the Sudanese Government and rebel groups have reached a stalemate.
The report says aid workers are increasingly at risk of violent attacks, armed groups are re-arming in defiance of previous Council resolution, and the conflict appears to be spreading into the neighbouring state of Western Kordofan.
Time for a no-fly zone over Darfur in Sudan?
A report via Reuters Jan 13 says Sudan defends its use of military aircraft in Darfur.
Bearing in mind that a UN resolution in November said Khartoum had the primary responsibility to protect its population -- and Sudan did everything it could to ensure any AU troops entering Sudan were low in number and hamstrung -- and Jan Pronk, UN envoy to Sudan, called on Khartoum a few days ago to stop military flights -- here is the excuse Sudan's foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail gave for carrying out a recent air attack:
Sudan's foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail (AP).
"The government used aircraft. According to the Security Council resolution, the government is responsible for protecting routes and protecting civilians," Ismail told reporters in Cairo. "If the African forces there cannot protect routes and protect civilians, then the Sudanese government must undertake that," Ismail said, adding that the government had a right to use planes in an area larger than France.
Ismail said the government did not carry out aerial bombardments but would investigate such accusations. "When we use aircraft, we do not use aerial bombardment. We do not use planes that drop bombs. This is different from helicopter gunship aircraft," he said. Ismail said that if key routes were cut because of rebel ceasefire violations then the government would not be able to deliver food and other supplies to the population.
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Hopefully, a no-fly zone will be one of the options under consideration by the UN Security Council when the findings of the UN investigation into genocide in Darfur are made public around January 25. As reported here earlier, Darfur peace talks were tentatively set for January 28 but another press report mentioned February 1. See how the days turn into weeks, and the weeks into months, and the months into years, while 10,000 die in the camps each month?
Bearing in mind that a UN resolution in November said Khartoum had the primary responsibility to protect its population -- and Sudan did everything it could to ensure any AU troops entering Sudan were low in number and hamstrung -- and Jan Pronk, UN envoy to Sudan, called on Khartoum a few days ago to stop military flights -- here is the excuse Sudan's foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail gave for carrying out a recent air attack:
Sudan's foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail (AP).
"The government used aircraft. According to the Security Council resolution, the government is responsible for protecting routes and protecting civilians," Ismail told reporters in Cairo. "If the African forces there cannot protect routes and protect civilians, then the Sudanese government must undertake that," Ismail said, adding that the government had a right to use planes in an area larger than France.
Ismail said the government did not carry out aerial bombardments but would investigate such accusations. "When we use aircraft, we do not use aerial bombardment. We do not use planes that drop bombs. This is different from helicopter gunship aircraft," he said. Ismail said that if key routes were cut because of rebel ceasefire violations then the government would not be able to deliver food and other supplies to the population.
- - -
Hopefully, a no-fly zone will be one of the options under consideration by the UN Security Council when the findings of the UN investigation into genocide in Darfur are made public around January 25. As reported here earlier, Darfur peace talks were tentatively set for January 28 but another press report mentioned February 1. See how the days turn into weeks, and the weeks into months, and the months into years, while 10,000 die in the camps each month?
US Ambassador Danforth says sanctions are still on the table
Going by what US Ambassador John Danforth and others say in a Washington File report Jan 12 there is no mention of a no-fly zone for Darfur.
The following is an excerpt from the report that gives an insight into what is being put forward to the UN Security Council. Who knows how much will change around Jan 25 when the UN makes public the findings of its investigation into genocide in Darfur:
Mr Danforth says that "sanctions are still on the table." Sanctions were discussed during the session, Danforth noted. Even though some council members are opposed to sanctions as a general principle, "it may be possible to fashion" sanctions in a way that would be agreeable to a majority of council members, he said.
The peace agreement, he pointed out, "has ended a war that has lasted more than two decades and that has claimed more than 2 million lives, and people are pushing that off the front page as though nothing had happened last Sunday [January 9]. Something big happened last Sunday and it was due in large part to the engagement of the United States in this process."
Pronk said that the North-South peace process can be applied to Darfur and "it must."
"We can make it work," he said. "It is hard to imagine that the peace dividend promised by the Nairobi agreement will be reaped without an end to the suffering in Darfur," Pronk said. "International aid will not flow and, more important, in Sudan itself, the achievement will turn out to be vulnerable." As long as there is war in some part of Sudan, resources will be spent on weapons, not welfare, he said, and "investors will be reluctant, entrepreneurs will hesitate, young people with brains and initiative will want to leave the country, displaced people will wander around."
Offering several suggestions that could encourage a peace agreement, Pronk said that the government and rebels in Darfur must be pressured, reasoned with, and offered alternatives to the status quo.
Suggestions included: As a show of good will, the government and rebel movements should all withdraw behind reasonable and well-defined lines with African Union troops moving in to protect the areas; the government should make a new start in disarming the Jingaweit; the rebel movement should agree not to block or disrupt peaceful seasonal movements of nomadic tribes and their cattle; and the parties must identify practical means to provide basic needs such as food to their forces in order to lessen the urge to steal, loot and kill.
He urged the international community to "do whatever is required to accelerate the rate of deployment of AU troops."
Danforth also mentioned the possibility of adding international police protection in the camps, and Pronk suggested that the number of human rights monitors in the region be increased from 20 to 150.
The security situation in Darfur is bad and the humanitarian situation poor, Pronk told the council. Violence has spread into the camps for displaced persons and is directly affecting humanitarian workers as well; refugees are not returning in sufficient numbers to plant sustainable crops; and livestock is being lost on a huge scale, he said.
The following is an excerpt from the report that gives an insight into what is being put forward to the UN Security Council. Who knows how much will change around Jan 25 when the UN makes public the findings of its investigation into genocide in Darfur:
Mr Danforth says that "sanctions are still on the table." Sanctions were discussed during the session, Danforth noted. Even though some council members are opposed to sanctions as a general principle, "it may be possible to fashion" sanctions in a way that would be agreeable to a majority of council members, he said.
The peace agreement, he pointed out, "has ended a war that has lasted more than two decades and that has claimed more than 2 million lives, and people are pushing that off the front page as though nothing had happened last Sunday [January 9]. Something big happened last Sunday and it was due in large part to the engagement of the United States in this process."
Pronk said that the North-South peace process can be applied to Darfur and "it must."
"We can make it work," he said. "It is hard to imagine that the peace dividend promised by the Nairobi agreement will be reaped without an end to the suffering in Darfur," Pronk said. "International aid will not flow and, more important, in Sudan itself, the achievement will turn out to be vulnerable." As long as there is war in some part of Sudan, resources will be spent on weapons, not welfare, he said, and "investors will be reluctant, entrepreneurs will hesitate, young people with brains and initiative will want to leave the country, displaced people will wander around."
Offering several suggestions that could encourage a peace agreement, Pronk said that the government and rebels in Darfur must be pressured, reasoned with, and offered alternatives to the status quo.
Suggestions included: As a show of good will, the government and rebel movements should all withdraw behind reasonable and well-defined lines with African Union troops moving in to protect the areas; the government should make a new start in disarming the Jingaweit; the rebel movement should agree not to block or disrupt peaceful seasonal movements of nomadic tribes and their cattle; and the parties must identify practical means to provide basic needs such as food to their forces in order to lessen the urge to steal, loot and kill.
He urged the international community to "do whatever is required to accelerate the rate of deployment of AU troops."
Danforth also mentioned the possibility of adding international police protection in the camps, and Pronk suggested that the number of human rights monitors in the region be increased from 20 to 150.
The security situation in Darfur is bad and the humanitarian situation poor, Pronk told the council. Violence has spread into the camps for displaced persons and is directly affecting humanitarian workers as well; refugees are not returning in sufficient numbers to plant sustainable crops; and livestock is being lost on a huge scale, he said.
Sudan urges complete deployment of AU troops to Darfur
An Associated Press report Jan 13 quotes Sudan's foreign minister Moustafa Osman Ismail Thursday as saying his government is awaiting the arrival of more AU troops to monitor a truce in Darfur. Ismail, responding to questions about government military action in Darfur despite a Nov 9 ceasefire, said Khartoum had to do something to protect the civilians.
"If the African troops can't defend the roads and civilians, the government must do that," he said. "We can't leave the rebels to cut the roads that reach (the 5 million civilians in Darfur)."
Ismail said Khartoum is investigating allegations that government planes bombed rebel positions in Sayeh, outside the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher, on Jan 3.
"This is not Sudanese government policy. If we are absolutely sure, the punished will be the officer who carried this out, or his leader who ordered this," Ismail told The Associated Press. "If it has happened, it is a mistake."
Also, he said: "... All this reaffirms the unwavering position of the Sudanese government, because we know that without dealing with the Darfur issue, we will not be able to benefit from the momentum of the peace signing in the south. Therefore, we are concerned to reach peace in Darfur."
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Note, Khartoum argued against ANY troops entering Sudan to help provide security. It set the maximum limit of 3,000 AU soldiers on condition the troops were hamstrung without a full mandate to protect. It is interesting to see a Sudanese offficial quote the number of 5 million civilians in Darfur. Where are all these people and how are they managing? 5 million is roughly the number of people living in London. With regards to the last sentence above, replace the word "momentum" with "development aid" to get at the truth of what Ismail is really saying. As reported here earlier, the massive amount of development aid promised to Sudan by the international community will only be paid out when progress has been made on Darfur, not directly after the signing of the recent peace treaty.
"If the African troops can't defend the roads and civilians, the government must do that," he said. "We can't leave the rebels to cut the roads that reach (the 5 million civilians in Darfur)."
Ismail said Khartoum is investigating allegations that government planes bombed rebel positions in Sayeh, outside the North Darfur state capital of El Fasher, on Jan 3.
"This is not Sudanese government policy. If we are absolutely sure, the punished will be the officer who carried this out, or his leader who ordered this," Ismail told The Associated Press. "If it has happened, it is a mistake."
Also, he said: "... All this reaffirms the unwavering position of the Sudanese government, because we know that without dealing with the Darfur issue, we will not be able to benefit from the momentum of the peace signing in the south. Therefore, we are concerned to reach peace in Darfur."
- - -
Note, Khartoum argued against ANY troops entering Sudan to help provide security. It set the maximum limit of 3,000 AU soldiers on condition the troops were hamstrung without a full mandate to protect. It is interesting to see a Sudanese offficial quote the number of 5 million civilians in Darfur. Where are all these people and how are they managing? 5 million is roughly the number of people living in London. With regards to the last sentence above, replace the word "momentum" with "development aid" to get at the truth of what Ismail is really saying. As reported here earlier, the massive amount of development aid promised to Sudan by the international community will only be paid out when progress has been made on Darfur, not directly after the signing of the recent peace treaty.
Chad-Sudan: A third rebel movement the NMRD has appeared in Darfur
A report by IRIN Jan 13 says the main rebel groups in Darfur view the newly formed rebel group National Movement for Reform and Development (NMRD) as a stooge of the authorities in Khartoum.
The report explains the NMRD claims to be a breakaway movement from JEM, one of the main rebel groups in Darfur. NMRD leader said his group broke away from JEM in April last year because it disagreed with Tourabi, an Islamic fundamentalist politician, over the rebel movement. Tourabi helped Sudan's current president, seize power in a 1989 coup and subsequently became an influential figure in his administration. However, the two men fell out 10 years later and Tourabi went into opposition.
Note, the report also says that Khartoum's talks with the NMRD in Chad appear to have made rapid progress: the two sides agreed a ceasefire on 17 December and on 3 January they struck a deal to promote the return of refugees from Chad to areas which the NMRD claims to control.
Ahmad Allami, an adviser of Chadian President Idriss Deby who has acted as a mediator in several rounds of peace talks with all three rebel movements in Darfur, said the NMRD were a force to be taken seriously. He estimated that the movement had about 1,000 fighters on the ground. "Contrary to what has been said, the NMRD do represent something in Darfur as they managed to prompt a number of Sudanese refugees to return to Sudan," Allami told IRIN.
A western diplomat based in N'Djamena also cautioned that the breakaway rebel movement should not be dismissed too lightly. "Our indications are that the NMRD should not be under-estimated since a sizeable part of JEM's military capacity appears to be under their control," he told IRIN.
The main rebel groups in Darfur view the NMRD as a stooge of the authorities in Khartoum. "This group belongs to the Sudanese government ... it is very strange that the government negotiates with itself," said a JEM negotiator at the currently suspended Darfur peace talks in Abuja. (Photo IRIN)
The report explains the NMRD claims to be a breakaway movement from JEM, one of the main rebel groups in Darfur. NMRD leader said his group broke away from JEM in April last year because it disagreed with Tourabi, an Islamic fundamentalist politician, over the rebel movement. Tourabi helped Sudan's current president, seize power in a 1989 coup and subsequently became an influential figure in his administration. However, the two men fell out 10 years later and Tourabi went into opposition.
Note, the report also says that Khartoum's talks with the NMRD in Chad appear to have made rapid progress: the two sides agreed a ceasefire on 17 December and on 3 January they struck a deal to promote the return of refugees from Chad to areas which the NMRD claims to control.
Ahmad Allami, an adviser of Chadian President Idriss Deby who has acted as a mediator in several rounds of peace talks with all three rebel movements in Darfur, said the NMRD were a force to be taken seriously. He estimated that the movement had about 1,000 fighters on the ground. "Contrary to what has been said, the NMRD do represent something in Darfur as they managed to prompt a number of Sudanese refugees to return to Sudan," Allami told IRIN.
A western diplomat based in N'Djamena also cautioned that the breakaway rebel movement should not be dismissed too lightly. "Our indications are that the NMRD should not be under-estimated since a sizeable part of JEM's military capacity appears to be under their control," he told IRIN.
The main rebel groups in Darfur view the NMRD as a stooge of the authorities in Khartoum. "This group belongs to the Sudanese government ... it is very strange that the government negotiates with itself," said a JEM negotiator at the currently suspended Darfur peace talks in Abuja. (Photo IRIN)
UNHCR stress that they have no plans to repatriate any refugees in the short term
The above post that features a report from IRIN JUan 13 points out that Tine in Chad is the border settlement where the NMRD signed a deal that was supposed to lead to refugees returning voluntarily to Darfur.
Also, the report explains that Ahmad Allami, an adviser of Chadian President Idriss Deby who has acted as a mediator in several rounds of peace talks with all three rebel movements in Darfur, said the NMRD were a force to be taken seriously. He estimated that the movement had about 1,000 fighters on the ground. "Contrary to what has been said, the NMRD do represent something in Darfur as they managed to prompt a number of Sudanese refugees to return to Sudan," Allami told IRIN.
A UNHCR official in eastern Chad said some refugees had been making brief trips across the border to benefit from money and assistance packages offered by the Sudanese authorities to returning refugees. But once they had grabbed their cash and food parcels they hurried back into Chad, he added.
"All refugees questioned by the UN say they do not want to go back," he told IRIN. He stressed that UNHCR had no plans to repatriate any of them in the short term.
Note: The report states nearly a third of Darfur's six million inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes, mainly as a result of raids on black African villages by Arab nomads grouped in the pro-government Janjawid militia movement; and the UN estimates that 1.65 million are internally displaced and a further 200,000 have fled to Chad.
The Sudanese refugees in Kourbileke, eastern Chad 4 Feb 2004 - Chad-Sudan: Darfur's invisible refugees living rough in eastern Chad - IRIN.
Also, the report explains that Ahmad Allami, an adviser of Chadian President Idriss Deby who has acted as a mediator in several rounds of peace talks with all three rebel movements in Darfur, said the NMRD were a force to be taken seriously. He estimated that the movement had about 1,000 fighters on the ground. "Contrary to what has been said, the NMRD do represent something in Darfur as they managed to prompt a number of Sudanese refugees to return to Sudan," Allami told IRIN.
A UNHCR official in eastern Chad said some refugees had been making brief trips across the border to benefit from money and assistance packages offered by the Sudanese authorities to returning refugees. But once they had grabbed their cash and food parcels they hurried back into Chad, he added.
"All refugees questioned by the UN say they do not want to go back," he told IRIN. He stressed that UNHCR had no plans to repatriate any of them in the short term.
Note: The report states nearly a third of Darfur's six million inhabitants have been forced to leave their homes, mainly as a result of raids on black African villages by Arab nomads grouped in the pro-government Janjawid militia movement; and the UN estimates that 1.65 million are internally displaced and a further 200,000 have fled to Chad.
The Sudanese refugees in Kourbileke, eastern Chad 4 Feb 2004 - Chad-Sudan: Darfur's invisible refugees living rough in eastern Chad - IRIN.
Sudan's tribal leaders and other groups to be included in political dialogue on Darfur
Continuing on from the above post that features a report by IRIN Jan 13, here is an excerpt that hints at including other groups besides the SLA and JEM in the political dialogue to bring peace to Darfur:
Briefing the UN Security Council on Tuesday this week, Jan Pronk, the UN envoy to Sudan, made no reference to the NMRD as a player in the Darfur conflict. But he warned that security situation was still bad, the humanitarian situation was poor and the region was still in a political stalemate.
Pronk accused the rival factions in Darfur of re-arming and pointed to a recent increase in banditry and looting. He also drew attention to the recent spread of armed conflict to the neighbouring province of Khordofan. And the UN envoy was dismissive of all agreements signed so far to bring an end to the fighting.
"Talks between the parties on Darfur have not yielded concrete results or much narrowing of the gap on the issues concerned," Pronk said. "Despite regular statements to the contrary, the parties have yet to commit in practice to the implementation of the humanitarian ceasefire (agreed in April 2004)."
However, hinting at the need to include other groups besides the SLA and JEM in the political dialogue, Pronk said: "It would be useful to start thinking of including tribal leaders in finding political solutions even before reconciliation has taken place. That may include tribes that so far were beyond control by the government or by the rebel movements and were fighting to protect their own interests."
Could that perhaps point to a role for the NMRD in the overall negotiating process?
Allami, the Chadian mediator, also advised that the peacebrokers in Darfur should cast their net wider. "We should involve all the political and military forces in a definitive and global settlement of the crisis in Darfur," he told IRIN.
Soldiers in a miltary unit calling themselves variously the Border Intelligence Division, Second Reconnaisance Brigade, or the Quick and the Horrible, also believed to form part of the Janjaweed militia, walk around the weekly animal market in Mistiria in North Darfur, Sudan, Oct. 5, 2004 (AP) - courtesy Sudan Tribune.
Briefing the UN Security Council on Tuesday this week, Jan Pronk, the UN envoy to Sudan, made no reference to the NMRD as a player in the Darfur conflict. But he warned that security situation was still bad, the humanitarian situation was poor and the region was still in a political stalemate.
Pronk accused the rival factions in Darfur of re-arming and pointed to a recent increase in banditry and looting. He also drew attention to the recent spread of armed conflict to the neighbouring province of Khordofan. And the UN envoy was dismissive of all agreements signed so far to bring an end to the fighting.
"Talks between the parties on Darfur have not yielded concrete results or much narrowing of the gap on the issues concerned," Pronk said. "Despite regular statements to the contrary, the parties have yet to commit in practice to the implementation of the humanitarian ceasefire (agreed in April 2004)."
However, hinting at the need to include other groups besides the SLA and JEM in the political dialogue, Pronk said: "It would be useful to start thinking of including tribal leaders in finding political solutions even before reconciliation has taken place. That may include tribes that so far were beyond control by the government or by the rebel movements and were fighting to protect their own interests."
Could that perhaps point to a role for the NMRD in the overall negotiating process?
Allami, the Chadian mediator, also advised that the peacebrokers in Darfur should cast their net wider. "We should involve all the political and military forces in a definitive and global settlement of the crisis in Darfur," he told IRIN.
Soldiers in a miltary unit calling themselves variously the Border Intelligence Division, Second Reconnaisance Brigade, or the Quick and the Horrible, also believed to form part of the Janjaweed militia, walk around the weekly animal market in Mistiria in North Darfur, Sudan, Oct. 5, 2004 (AP) - courtesy Sudan Tribune.
For too long the Arab World has ignored areas adjacent to sub-Saharan Africa
Mustafa El-Feki, in a piece at Al-Ahram Weekly Jan 13, 2005, titled New leaders, old ideas writes "there is no point in becoming excited over a change in leadership if it is not accompanied by a change in direction." He is chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the People's Assembly and on the Sudan writes the following:
The situation in southern Sudan is a result of the Arab World's habitual shortsightedness. For too long we have ignored the areas adjacent to sub-Saharan Africa. The poverty and depravation I saw during a recent visit to southern Sudan was appalling. The only visible contribution the Arabs have made to the inhabitants of southern Sudan appeared to be a mosque constructed by King Farouk, and the Kuwaiti Hospital in Juba. This remiss is particularly deplorable when we consider that the southern portion of Sudan is the Arab world's African gateway.
Just when a peaceful settlement to the Sudanese civil war appeared possible another nightmare scenario erupted. The crisis of Darfur in western Sudan has attracted the concern of the international community and stirred vehement condemnation in the international media. Sadly, on this issue new Arab leaders continue to tread all too familiar paths.
The question of the Western Sahara remains one of the most intractable Arab-African problems, as well as a long-lasting sore point between Algeria and Morocco. Rabat's reaction to South Africa's demand that it recognise the Saharan republic, combined with its withdrawal from inter-African cooperation within the framework of the OAU, underscores the potentially explosive situation in this corner of the Arab world.
The situation in southern Sudan is a result of the Arab World's habitual shortsightedness. For too long we have ignored the areas adjacent to sub-Saharan Africa. The poverty and depravation I saw during a recent visit to southern Sudan was appalling. The only visible contribution the Arabs have made to the inhabitants of southern Sudan appeared to be a mosque constructed by King Farouk, and the Kuwaiti Hospital in Juba. This remiss is particularly deplorable when we consider that the southern portion of Sudan is the Arab world's African gateway.
Just when a peaceful settlement to the Sudanese civil war appeared possible another nightmare scenario erupted. The crisis of Darfur in western Sudan has attracted the concern of the international community and stirred vehement condemnation in the international media. Sadly, on this issue new Arab leaders continue to tread all too familiar paths.
The question of the Western Sahara remains one of the most intractable Arab-African problems, as well as a long-lasting sore point between Algeria and Morocco. Rabat's reaction to South Africa's demand that it recognise the Saharan republic, combined with its withdrawal from inter-African cooperation within the framework of the OAU, underscores the potentially explosive situation in this corner of the Arab world.
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