Refugees from Sudan urge action on crisis

'What will you do to stop genocide in Darfur?' one forum participant asks.



Speaking out: Omer Ismail, co-founder of Darfur Peace and Development, discusses the current situation in Sudan during an International Issues Forum.

Full Story.

[Note, it is the Africans and Arabs who are telling the international community it is an African problem]

UN keeping the memory of the Holocaust alive for the future

Going by the Kofi Annan quotes in the press this week to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camps, one can only conclude that Mr Annan and the U.N. Security Council have not believed that crimes against humanity and genocide were committed in Darfur.

Here is an excerpt from a report at Deutsche Welle today that quotes Mr Annan as saying new generations born after the war must not grow up unaware of the lessons of the Holocaust:

"The founding of this organisation was a direct response to the Holocaust. Our Charter, and the words 'untold sorrow,' were written as the world was learning the full horror of the death camps," Annan said.

The memory of the Holocaust's horrors must be kept alive so future generations can learn from its lessons, the Secretary General said.

"The evil that destroyed six million Jews and others in those camps is one that still threatens all of us today," he added. "It is not something we can consign to the distant past and forget about it. Every generation must be on its guard, to make sure that such a thing never happens again," he admonished.

Note, the report points out the UN was criticised for its insufficient response to the Rwandan genocide in 1994 in which at least 800,000 people were killed -- and that some 10 years later, the organisation hopes it has learned from its mistakes as it prepares to hear from a special commission on whether acts of genocide have been committed in Darfur.

UPDATE: Further reading Reuters Jan 24: "UN on Holocaust: Evil Wins When the Good Are Quiet" --

"How could such evil happen in a cultured and highly sophisticated nation-state in the heart of Europe whose artists and thinkers had given the world so much," Annan asked. "Truly is has been said: "All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good men do nothing."

"The purveyors of hatred, were not always and may not be in the future, only marginalized extremists," he said.

Although the world rightly says "never again," action is harder. Since the Holocaust genocide has occurred in Cambodia, in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, he said.

And at this moment, "terrible things are happening today in Darfur, Sudan," Annan said. He asked the Security Council to take action once it received a report on Tuesday determining whether genocide has occurred and identifying gross violations of human rights.

UN must end Sudan violence, say Americans - support war crimes trials for Darfur

Many adults in the US want to stop the civil war in Sudan, according to a poll by Knowledge Networks for the Program on International Policy Attitudes, Jan 24.

74 per cent of respondents believe the UN should step in with military force to end the conflict in Darfur.

60 per cent of respondents say the US should be willing to contribute troops to a military operation to stop the genocide in Darfur, but only 42 per cent believe the international community will actually step in to end the violence.

Polling Data

Do you think the members of the United Nations (UN) should or should not step in with military force and stop the genocide in Darfur, Sudan?

Should step in
74%

Should not step in
17%

No answer
10%

If other members of the UN are willing to contribute troops to a military operation to stop the genocide in Darfur, do you think the U.S. should or should not be willing to contribute some troops as well?

Should be willing
60%

Should not be willing
33%

No answer
7%

Do you think the international community, including the US, will or will not step in with military force and stop the genocide in Darfur?

Will step in
42%

Will not step in
47%

No answer
11%

Methodology: Interviews to 801 American adults, conducted from Dec. 21 to Dec. 26, 2004. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.

UPDATE:

Further reading: Jan 24 The Conservative Voice News: "3 Out of 4 Americans Favor UN Military Intervention in Darfur"
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South African police contingent for Darfur

A news report out of Pretoria today confirms South Africa is readying 100 peacekeepers for Darfur. The report says SA's Cabinet approved a request by the AU for South Africa to contribute a contingent of 100 police officers to Darfur, as part of the civilian police component of the AU Peace Mission.

"The advance guard of this police contingent is meant to establish the police headquarters in Darfur during January. The AU police mission will be under the command of SAPS," the Cabinet statement said.
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Support War Crimes Trials for Darfur

On Jan 21, the US State Department rejected a proposal to have the International Criminal Court prosecute war crimes committed in Darfur. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the department has "a number of objections" to the tribunal.

In a Washington Post opinion piece today titled "Support War Crimes Trials for Darfur", Jack Goldsmith, a professor at Harvard Law School, suggests the Darfur case would allow the US to argue that UN Security Council referrals are the only valid route to ICC prosecutions and that countries that are not parties to the ICC (such as the US) remain immune from ICC control in the absence of such a referral.

Prof Goldsmith concludes by saying, "it is possible that the concrete threat of an ICC prosecution could temper the killings in Darfur without adversely affecting the recent peace deal between Sudan's Islamic government and its southern rebels. If so, the Bush administration should play the difficult hand likely to be dealt it by the Cassese commission to its own political advantage. A more moderate stance toward the ICC could be a more effective one." [See below copy of report in full]



A displaced Sudanese woman carries a bucket of water in northern Darfur in 2004. The United States backed prosecution of Sudanese suspected of committing atrocities in the Darfur region but opposed bringing them before the International Criminal Court (AFP/File)

Note, international prosecutions are needed to deter ongoing atrocities in Darfur, Human Rights Watch said today in a report documenting crimes the Sudanese government and its allied militias have committed with complete impunity.
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The Washington Post has put up a registration page blocking Prof Goldsmith's article, so here is a copy in full:

Support War Crimes Trials for Darfur
By Jack Goldsmith
Monday, January 24, 2005

A U.N. commission chaired by the former president of the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal, Antonio Cassese, is expected to issue its recommendation this week on whether the International Criminal Court should investigate human rights abuses in the Darfur region of Sudan. If the Cassese commission does propose an ICC investigation, a Security Council referral will be necessary for the ICC to proceed, because Sudan has not ratified the ICC treaty.

This would place the Bush administration in a bind. The administration has condemned the Darfur abuses as genocide. But at the same time, it strongly opposes the ICC, which it believes is staffed by unaccountable judges and prosecutors who threaten politically motivated actions against U.S. personnel around the globe. These concerns explain why the United States has opposed ratification of the ICC treaty and has sought bilateral assurances that other nations will not send U.S. nationals to the ICC. News reports suggest that the Bush administration would oppose a Security Council referral on Darfur out of fear that it would confer legitimacy on the international court.

In fact such a referral would be consistent with U.S. policy on the ICC. The United States has never opposed ICC prosecutions across the board. Rather, it has maintained that ICC prosecutions of non-treaty parties would be politically accountable and thus legitimate if they received the imprimatur of the Security Council. The Darfur case allows the United States to argue that Security Council referrals are the only valid route to ICC prosecutions and that countries that are not parties to the ICC (such as the United States) remain immune from ICC control in the absence of such a referral.

This course of action would signal U.S. support not only for the United Nations but for international human rights as well, at a time when Washington is perceived by some as opposing both. And it would give the United States leverage in seeking genuine sanctions against Sudan, especially with France, which for oil-related reasons has quietly resisted U.S. efforts on Darfur. France would have a hard time opposing a package of sanctions that included U.S. support for an ICC referral. Opposition by China and Russia would be harder to overcome but would at least make clear to the world that those two powerful nations are even more opposed to the ICC than the United States.

U.S. support for a Security Council referral might also point the way to a compromise with European nations that are anxious to secure U.S. backing for the international court but oppose state-to-state deals that overtly immunize U.S. citizens from ICC jurisdiction. Agreement on the need for Security Council approval for ICC prosecutions would provide a more principled way for Europe to alleviate U.S. concerns about rogue ICC prosecutions. Critics would decry this approach as a double standard for Security Council members, who can protect themselves by vetoing a referral. But this double standard is woven into the fabric of international politics and is the relatively small price the international system pays for the political accountability and support that only the big powers, acting through the Security Council, can provide.

The fears of "legitimizing" the ICC are overstated. It's too late to kill the International Criminal Court. The Security Council (including the United States) presupposed the ICC's authority when it voted in 2002 and 2003 to immunize U.N. peacekeepers from ICC prosecutions. And the institution is now up and running, preparing for cases already referred to it. For better or worse, the ICC is not going away anytime soon.

Another potential obstacle is a 2001 congressional bar on U.S. cooperation with the ICC. But this statute exempts acts taken pursuant to the president's constitutional authority, and it specifically permits the president to communicate to the ICC U.S. "policy with respect to a matter." The congressional ban would preclude U.S. financial support for the ICC, but all that means is that the United States can, for a change, enjoy the fruits of international justice without having to pay for it.

Not that there will necessarily be much fruit. Prosecutions by other international criminal courts have done little to bring reconciliation to Rwanda or the former Yugoslavia, or (as the Darfur tragedy shows) to deter future crimes in other nations. Nonetheless, it is possible that the concrete threat of an ICC prosecution could temper the killings in Darfur without adversely affecting the recent peace deal between Sudan's Islamic government and its southern rebels. If so, the Bush administration should play the difficult hand likely to be dealt it by the Cassese commission to its own political advantage. A more moderate stance toward the ICC could be a more effective one.

The writer, a professor at Harvard Law School and a former Bush administration official in the Justice and Defense departments, is the author of "The Limits of International Law."

Racism at the root of Darfur atrocities

Within the next 24 hours, we will probably know the findings of the UN's inquiry into genocide in Darfur.

After nine months of blogging almost daily about Darfur, my view is that racism is at the root of all the troubles within Darfur. If the UN report does not conclude that crimes against humanity have been committed in Darfur, I will be shocked. To me, the following extract, from an opinion piece titled "Inside Darfur: Ethnic Genocide by a Governance Crisis" just about sums it up:

"Darfur is not an accidental apocalypse of mass slaughter, enslavement, pillage and ethnic cleansing. The Darfur pogrom is part of a historic continuum in which successive Arab governments have sought to entirely destroy black Africans in this bi-racial nation."

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62-year old Arab Muslim Mohammad Ali Salih, Washington correspondent for Saudi-owned London-based newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, writes an interesting story of a security alert he recently experienced in Washington. Sadly, such experiences must be commonplace in many other countries. People never cease to be defined by their origins. Although my mother is Austrian born, she has been a British citizen for the past 52 years. My late father was English born. My brother and I received a British education and consider ourselves wholly British, as does our mother. A few years ago, an English person upon hearing me say my mother was born in Austria, turned to me and said vehemently (60 years after WWII) as if speaking of an enemy: "yes, but WHOSE side was SHE on in the war?"

Apathy toward African tragedy - Everyone should leave Darfur and walk out of Sudan

On Jan 21 the LA Times/Washington Post published an opinion piece by Briton Terry George, the director, producer and co-writer of the movie Hotel Rwanda. He and his partners have worked with the UN to establish an International Fund for Rwanda.

Mr George says more than three weeks have passed since a powerful tsunami destroyed much of the coastline of southern Asia and washed over more than 150,000 souls. He writes about the tsunami-waves of aid and describes his feelings turning from empathy to anger.

My reaction was the same when within the space of four days the whole world proved it was capable of reacting to disasters. On day four, I thought to myself, hold on -- 400,000 people from Darfur alone have perished at the hands of humans. Crimes against humanity can be halted whereas a natural disaster lasting a matter of minutes cannot.

My theory is the disaster in Asia is something the public can identify with and easily understand. Many people around the world have at one time or another travelled to Asia and its paradise like resorts. Almost every person in the West knows someone who knows someone affected by the disaster. It touched almost everyone. TV pictures showed areas in Asia where there were not enough people left alive to bury the dead. Donations for the victims was clear cut: if aid and water was not delivered within a matter of hours to the eleven countries affected, disease would spread across the vast region incurring a loss of many more lives. Donations were earmarked for the victims and so the aid was bound to help the victims directly not like in Africa where it is intercepted and stolen or funds misused in different directions by corrupt people.

All civilians in Darfur should make a stand and leave now

The African continent over the past 50 years has built itself a reputation for corruption and railing against help from the West. Seldom do we hear words of appreciation out of Africa. On the contrary, all we hear this end is African politicians being downright antagonistic and disrespectful claiming that the West has ulterior motives and foists help on it.

Generally speaking, Africans give the impression they resent help from the West and class it as interference. Africans insist they want to solve their own problems and even rally up other countries to support this view. This has gone on for decades and although the West has not given up on helping Africa, the public generosity towards tsunami v Sudan, Congo and Uganda is understandable and is only to be expected. Africans need to be aware of the reputation they have built for themselves in the West. The African people themselves (not the politicians) need to wake up and stand up and do something and tell us what we can do to help.

If I were there in Darfur, I would exhort everyone to leave the Sudan -- to walk over the border into Chad, Libya or wherever and refuse to return until an adequate number of UN peacekeepers could ensure security. Three million people from Darfur turning up unexpectedly would soon capture the world's attention. TV crews would have something new to film. There are no news blackouts over the border. Aid agencies would have to go into overdrive, international security would be needed to handle such an exodus. The host countries would be under pressure - along with the UN. Without any civilians in Darfur, the rebels (if they care to stay) and their government can get on with it. Leave them to their own bloodbath and endless talk. It is their choice. Civilians - especially all the women and children - need to make a stand. Leave the Sudan. Now.

As for the 500,000 Sudanese expected to return to southern Sudan: I say, stay where you are. The UN are working now on setting up camps and infrastructure to accommodate the expected return of at least 500,000. Don't you find it odd that all of a sudden the UN can think in terms of catering for such a massive influx without any sense of urgency in getting UN peacekeepers in place? I do.

Here is an excerpt from Terry George's op-ed "Apathy toward African tragedy":

Of course our politicians will come up with any number of excuses as to why Sudan and Central Africa are different-political complexity, geographical remoteness, cultural complexities. Enough! The tsunami aid effort has clearly proved that when the great powers have the will they can respond rapidly and decisively. Have you ever heard those two words-''rapidly" and ''decisively"-used to describe intervention in, or aid for, Africa? Why not?

You can find my answer to all these questions in Hotel Rwanda, when Nick Nolte's character, Col. Oliver, explains why Rwanda is being abandoned by the West. ''You're dirt," he says. ''We think you're dirt, less than dirt, you're worthless. You're not even a nigger- you're an African."

Further reading:

Jan 23 BBC SA police to charge 40 'scam MPs' -- Several high-profile MPs could face criminal charges. Forty members of South Africa's parliament will be charged with fraud on Monday, police say. The charges arise from a $2m scam in which MPs allegedly colluded with travel agents to inflate their travelling expenses."

Jan 23 Times Online Q&A: Wendy Chamberlin Deputy High Commissioner at the United Nations' refugee agency.

Jan 23 op-ed Why blase response to horror in Darfur? by Jeremy Levitt, assistant professor of law at DePaul University College of Law, writes: Several justifications might explain why the tsunami tragedy has received greater attention than Darfur, including donor disinterest and fatigue with Africa's crises; donor apprehension about peacekeeping in Africa in the wake of the Somalia debacle; extensive media coverage of the tsunami (access to Darfur is difficult and raw footage of acts of genocide are rare); responses to natural vs. manmade disasters, and the climbing death toll in Asia.
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Taiwan looks forward to closer oil cooperation with Chad president

Last year, it was reported there is oil to be found on the Chad-Sudan border. Today, a report from Taipei says President Chen Shui-bian said Sunday the Republic of China looks forward to expanding petroleum exploration cooperation with Chad. Chen made the remarks while holding talks with visiting Chadian President Idriss Deby at the Presidential Office. The report explains:

Chad formally became an oil exporting country in October 2003 and has signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan on cooperation in oil exploration and petrochemical development. The Chadian leader was accorded full military honors in the ceremony, including a 21-gun salute. Chen also lauded Deby for his contributions to helping resolve armed conflicts in the Darfur region in Sudan to promote stability in Africa. Deby has on many occasions spoken out in support of Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations, the World Health Organization and other major international organizations.
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Sudanese VP asks Libyan leader to help resolve Darfur issue

The following Jan 22 report from Libyan/Sudanese TV is copied here in full for future reference [note it reveals that Bashir has entrusted Taha with the "Darfur problem file"]

Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha has handed over a copy of the comprehensive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement to the Libyan leader Muammar Al-Qadhafi and urged him to continue his efforts to resolve the Darfur problem.

In this context, Al-Qadhafi received today Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, the first vice-president of the Republic of Sudan.

Taha, left Khartoum this morning for Libya to follow-up efforts being exerted in the framework of the Tripoli conference for the people of Darfur which is being sponsored by the Libyan leader, Col Muammar al-Qadhafi, on solving the Darfur problem.

During this meeting, Sudanese First Vice-President handed over to the Libyan leader a copy of the comprehensive peace agreement between the government of the Republic of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, signed in Kenya this 9 January.

Taha pointed out that Libya was the first African and Arab country he was visiting after the signing of this agreement in appreciation for the brother leader of the revolution's personal role and for the Great Jamahiriyah's efforts to reach this agreement.

He also hoped that Col al-Qadhafi, would honour the implementation of this agreement with his personal presence [in Sudan], out of the pride in his continuous role and interest in the stability, security and unity of Sudan.

During this meeting, which Maj-Gen Mustafa Mohamed al-Kharrubi attended, the Sudanese first vice-president conveyed once more the appreciation of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and the Sudanese government and people for the brother leader's efforts to find a solution to the Darfur problem.

The Sudanese first vice-president, currently entrusted by President Al-Bashir with the Darfur problem file, appealed to the brother leader's help and continuous efforts to find a just solution to this problem acceptable to all the parties.

Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and the delegation accompanying him left Libya this evening.

Sudan's southern leader returns

Today, a BBC report confirms John Garang, leader of the SPLM has returned to his base, the remote town of Rumbek, for the first time since signing a historic peace deal.

Mr Garang was received at the airport by a delegation including the UN chief envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, and greeted by a marching band, traditional dancers and a large crowd of onlookers. As he got off the plane, Mr Garang stepped over a white cow that had been slaughtered on the tarmac. A white cow is considered a peace offering among Mr Garang's Dinka tribe.

"It feels great after a peace agreement - honourable and dignified - you can see the people are very happy," Mr Garang told the BBC. "Our first task is to ratify the agreement. That's why we have come to Rumbek. The same thing will be done in Khartoum."

Mr Garang has said the first priority for the planned SPLM administration in the south will be the voluntary repatriation of refugees and the provision of basic humanitarian needs. Here's hoping he will get down to working out the details of UN peacekeepers without further delay.



Mr Garang received a rapturous welcome after flying into the town of Rumbek in southern Sudan. He steps over a white cow which was slaughtered on the tarmac as he got off the plane, Saturday, Jan. 22, 2005. Garang recently signed a peace deal in neighboring Kenya to end 21-years of conflict in southern Sudan. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)



Cattle follow a woman through central Rumbek, Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 in southern Sudan. 21 years of civil war in southern Sudan has destroyed the infrastructure in the region and reconstruction is slowly starting with three international investors operating in rebel held areas of southern Sudan. (AP Photo/Karel Prinsloo)

US opposes global court use for Darfur war crimes suspects

According to a Washington Times report here below, findings of the UN's investigation into genocide in Darfur may come as early as Monday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague was set up specifically to handle cases concerning suspected war criminals. Setting up an ad hoc court is extremely costly, which is one of the reasons for the creation of the ICC. If an ad hoc court was set up for Sudan simply to accommodate the Americans, one would guess the US would have to foot the bill. Imagine how many peacekeepers for Darfur could be hired instead.

The US is aligning itself with several rogue states that are refusing to recognise the ICC. Britain and other countries have no problems signing up to the global court, so it is not easy to understand why the US refuses to be subjected to the same standards.

No doubt Kofi Annan is not too sad watching the US squirm on this issue, after all it was the US who made a big deal out of declaring Darfur as genocide. It is still unclear what they intended doing about it. They have ruled out US troops for Darfur and refuse to join forces in bringing the perpetrators of atrocities committed in Darfur, to a global court. The US appears to have no firm alternative even though the UN inquiry, carried out over the past three months, will report its findings in a few days time.
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An AFP report today confirms the US has backed prosecution of Sudanese suspected of committing atrocities in Darfur, but opposed bringing them before the International Criminal Court.

"We have had a number of objections to the International Criminal Court, and therefore don't believe it's the best option for this," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

The US has refused to recognise the ICC, based in The Hague, fearing the court could be used to prosecute politically motivated charges against US diplomats or troops around the world.

Boucher said various options were under consideration to bring suspected Darfur war criminals to justice, including use of the ICC set up in Tanzania to try Rwanda genocide suspects. He said Washington was awaiting the results of a UN inquiry in Darfur and would then discuss the issue of prosecutions.

"We want to find effective and appropriate means of accountability and will consider various options for doing that," he said.
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A report in the Washington Times today says the US has urged European officials to consider setting up a new court or empowering UN lawyers who are now prosecuting accused perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda to take on Darfur cases, two senior Bush administration officials said. Extracts from a report by the Washington Post:

European envoys have cited US misgivings about these ad hoc courts in pushing for the ICC. UN ambassadors from Britain, France and Denmark told John Danforth, the former US representative to the UN, in a private meeting earlier this month that the ICC was the best option for obtaining justice in Darfur.

"From our point of view, it doesn't make sense to create another special court but rather to use the international court we have just created for these instances," said Germany's UN ambassador, Gunter Pleuger, who was not at the meeting but is a leading European advocate of the ICC.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan backed the Europeans on Wednesday, saying the ICC, which is based in The Hague, is the "most logical place" to try Sudan's accused war criminals. "They need to be held accountable so that we don't give the impression that impunity is allowed to stand," Annan said.

Court advocates have urged the Bush administration to waive the legal provision that bars US cooperation with the ICC. "There is not a possibility of any unfair prosecution of Americans resulting from an ICC investigation" in Darfur, said Richard Dicker, an expert on the court at the New York-based advocacy organisation Human Rights Watch.

The US, he noted, has previously "favored a Security Council trigger" for ICC investigations, "and that's exactly what this is."

Even some critics of the ICC have encouraged the administration not to rule it out for Darfur.

"I'm of two minds," said Lee A. Casey, a Justice Department official under President Ronald Reagan who has written extensively about the ICC.

"On the one hand, I think it's important for the United States not to indulge the court until some fundamental areas are settled, most importantly that it does not have jurisdiction over US citizens," Casey said. But "no one has actually come up with a much better idea, so perhaps that is something to be considered," he added.
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UPDATE: SA police prepare for duty in Darfur

South African news online Jan 22 reports the South African Police Service (SAPS) is readying a contingent of peacekeepers for service in Darfur. "Discussions are under way and arrangements are being made," national police spokesperson told reporters today.

Cabinet on Friday announced that it had approved a request by the AU for South Africa to contribute a contingent of 100 police officers to Darfur, as part of the civilian police component of the AU Peace Mission.

"The advance guard of this police contingent is meant to establish the police headquarters in Darfur during January. The AU police mission will be under the command of SAPS," the Cabinet statement said. - Sapa

Further reading: New York Times Jan 22 Analysis: Bush's Smiles Meet Some Frowns in Europe.

British and Dutch embassies open joint office in south Sudan

Over the past month, UK/European news reports on Sudan seem to be few and far between. Many things are going on behind the scenes but, for some reason, they are not being reported.

However, a report today says British and Dutch embassies this week opened a joint liaison office in Rumbek, a sprawling town of scattered thatch huts 900 kilometers (560 miles) south of the capital, Khartoum, which the rebel SPLA has made its headquarters. "This is really donors' effort to establish an operational presence in the south to facilitate the implementation of the peace agreement," Dutch Ambassador said.
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Business appears to be booming in Rumbek. "We have certainly never seen anything like this size of influx before," said Terry Light, from Ithaca, New York, one of the first foreign businessmen to set up here 14 years ago. He runs a tent camp next to the airstrip -- Rumbek's version of a luxury hotel.

Further reading: British and Dutch flags are flying in Rumbek as Dutch Minister opens Liaison Office.



Rumbek has no paved roads or multi-storey buildings and hardly any running water or electricity.
A man pedals past the satellite dish of Network of the World, Rumbek's first cell phone provider.
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Training of UN peacekeepers for southern Sudan to begin in Kenya

China View report Jan 21 says the training of the UN peacekeepers for southern Sudan will begin in Kenyan capital Nairobi starting Feb 15, officials disclosed Friday.

The UN has requested the Kenyan government to offer the training and limited logistical support for the deployment of the peacekeepers. The officials didn't confirm when the peacekeepers will be deployed to Sudan, but sources say that might be happening in two or three months.

[Strange how the AU has reportedly opposed the move, saying the parties in Sudan are implementing a mutually agreed ceasefire accord, which does not require foreign intervention. However, the SPLM, despite moves to delay the deployment of UN troops, appears in news reports to welcome the upcoming deployment, saying it was the main pillar of achieving security]
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South Sudan disagrees over UN mission nations

Considering the large number of international personnel in Sudan and problems with getting aid to those most in need, it's disconcerting to read reports of how the SPLM and AU appear to be thwarting the deployment of UN peacekeepers into southern Sudan.

A Reuters report out of Rumbek today says southern Sudan's SPLM spokesman said the former guerrilla group had expressed reservations about the countries that have volunteered staff for the UN peacekeeping mission to southern Sudan. Excerpt:

"We told the UN that these countries must be agreed on by the two parties. They've chosen countries without consulting us," the spokesman said by telephone from Nairobi.

Differences over the peacekeepers threaten to stall the deployment of the force which was due to be completed within six months of the UN mandate being approved, UN sources said. Several countries including Egypt, Kenya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and India have offered troops for the mission, one UN source said.

The source added that the SPLM were concerned about the predominance of Muslim nations on the list. "We have reservations about the whole list," a SPLM spokesman said without elaborating. He did not name the countries involved.

The Under-Secretary of Foreign Affairs Mutrif Siddiq told Reuters in Khartoum that the only requirements both sides had placed on the forces were that they speak both Arabic and English, the official languages of the post-peace country, and that they respect the cultures of the areas they were working in.

"These are the only conditions set from the two parties and we left the rest of the selection to the UN," he said. "There is nothing to do with religion here - it is a matter of respect of culture and medium of language."

He added that the government had not complained that the ceasefire monitoring commission in the Nuba Mountains area was a non-Muslim force, and that he had not heard about the SPLM complaints about the UN force.
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AU force in Darfur soon to reach 1,365

Reuters Jan 21 report confirms the AU said today its protection force in Darfur would soon grow to 1,365 soldiers, with the impending deployment of 313 troops from Nigeria and Senegal.

AU spokesman Assane Ba said no fixed date had been agreed, but the troops would be airlifted in the "immediate future".

The AU force there is ultimately supposed have 3,320 troops, but it has grown slowly because the pan-African body is relying on foreign aid to pay for it.

Note this from the report: "So far, the AU has received $186.7 million of the $221 million it budgeted for the Darfur operations. Contractors building the camps to house the troops have also been behind schedule, Ba said."

Who are these contractors, and why are they behind schedule? Clearly, the African Union are not short of funds. It seems to me that AU troops are being held up and now UN peacekeepers are being held up -- there is a delay all round in more troops going into Sudan: why? It will be interesting to read the findings of the UN's investigation into genocide in Darfur.
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JIHAD

Note this report, uploaded 21 Jan 2005:
http://www.khilafah.com/home/category.php?DocumentID=10669&TagID=1

Also, Moderate Islam vs. Santa Claus by Peter Fisher.

African Union criticises UN peace proposal for Sudan

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.

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:

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.

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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.
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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?
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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.

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?"
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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.
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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:

"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."

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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."

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.

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?
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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.

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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.

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:

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.

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.

Full story at: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/
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.

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.
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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.

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.

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)
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.

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)

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:

"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.