EU to give 50 million euros to African Union for Darfur

The European Union has set aside 50 million euros for the AU to help it finance a six-month extension of its mission in Darfur, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.

Reuters also confirms this sum would be the EU executive's contribution at an international pledging conference set for the end of April or May.

Note, this sum would be enough to fund the AU for only two and a half to three months. The AU says it costs around $24 million a month to run its mission, for which it relies on donor nations.

The EU executive has given 162 million euros to the AU for its Darfur mission.

Arab funds for Darfur force too late-AU official

An Arab offer to fund African Union forces in Darfur from October 1st is too late as troops need immediate cash, an AU official said today, reported Reuters:

"This is medicine after death," said Baba Gana Kingibe, the head of the AU mission in Sudan. "We need the assistance now in order to be able to resolve the crisis."

Kingibe said the AU mission, with its increased needs, now cost $24 million a month to run.

"We have assured funding to the end of March," he told Reuters, adding the European Union had also pledged 50 million euros ($60.02 million).

Note, a few days ago, Sudan said it felt a comprehensive peace agreement for Darfur might be reached before the end of April. UN peacekeepers may be negotiated as part of that peace deal, to monitor the truce.

The UN Security Council has asked Secretary-General Kofi Annan to report by April 24 with a plan for the possible take over. The AU has agreed in principle to support the transition. Khartoum said it might be possible to consider UN troops for Darfur when a peace deal has been agreed.

As noted here at Sudan Watch yesterday, some of the opposition to UN troops in Darfur seems to be to do with fears that the 51 people listed at the UN/ICC as suspected Darfur war criminals could be arrested by any UN forces in Darfur. One year or so ago, I'd read a news report about tribal leaders not turning up at Darfur peace and reconciliation talks out of fear of being ambushed, attacked or arrested. Perhaps some sort of amnesty deal could be brokered, in return for disarmament. Who disarms first, the rebels or the Janjaweed? Members of both are among the list of 51 names being investigated by the ICC.

Arabs agree funding for AU troops in Darfur from Oct 1, 2006 plus extra troops from Arab states

News just in from AFP says Arab leaders reached a deal to provide funding for African Union troops in Darfur, officials at their summit in Khartoum said.

Announcing a deal after a closed-door session at the summit, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh told reporters that China's Xinhua reported eight African Arab nations had also agreed to strengthen the AU force by providing troops from Arab states.

However, an Arab diplomat told AFP that discussions were still underway and that a final accord had yet to be reached.

A further AFP report today says the summit's agenda was squeezed into one day from the originally planned two days, and some leaders have already left Khartoum. But a final declaration is not expected before Wednesday.
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The Arabs are unlikely to have to live up to their pledge

Reuters correspondent Opheera McDoom reported today Arab leaders have promised to fund AMIS from October this year. Excerpt:

"There was a complete commitment from Arab leaders to fund the African Union mission in Darfur from Oct. 1, 2006," said Sudan's minister of state for foreign affairs, al-Samani al-Wasiyla.

Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Abdel-Rahman Shalgam said: "The AU is able to finance with the donors still 6 months. After that (during) the second mandate the Arabs are going to support those troops."

Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa told Reuters the decision could mean the Arab League would entirely fund the cash-strapped mission if necessary.

Note, the report says that given the AU earlier this month renewed its mission only until end-September, a period the UN considers transitional and are making plans to take over, the Arabs are unlikely to have to live up to their pledge. Further excerpts:

Opposition politicians say the government is scared UN forces in Darfur may be used to arrest anyone indicted by the International Criminal Court, which is investigating alleged war crimes in the region.

The AU says it costs around $17 million a month to run the 7,000-strong mission. The AU relies on the whim of donor nations, mainly, the US, Canada, Britain and the European Union. UN peacekeeping mission are paid for by the UN budget. Arab League officials say the pan-Arab body has already given $200,000 to the AU mission in Darfur and $50,000 to the Abuja peace process.

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In message to Arab League Summit, Secretery-General reviews situations in key areas of conflict

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the summit the envisioned UN force would likely include AU troops already on the ground rather than large numbers of Western soldiers in a speech read on his behalf.

Click here to read the text of the message, as delivered today, 28 March, 2006 by Ibrahim Gambari, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs.
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12 heads of state from 22-member Arab League attended summit

Reuters/Scotsman confirms only 12 heads of state from the 22-member Arab League attended the summit, a disappointing turnout for the Sudanese hosts, who had hoped for a show of solidarity against Western criticism of their handling of the Darfur crisis.

President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, the most populous Arab state, sent his prime minister while King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the richest country, delegated his foreign minister.

Interview: Sudan VP Salva Kiir not opposed to UN in Darfur

On March 25, 2006 Sudan said it wanted the international community to use southern Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) as a model for Darfur, western Sudan.

Senior members of southern Sudan's former rebel group the SPLM/A (Salva Kiir is its chief, following the death of its founder John Garang) are assisting with the Darfur peace talks. Currently, a UN peacekeeping force is in southern Sudan as part of the south's CPA signed 9 January 2005.

News reports say most people involved with Darfur accept that eventually a similar force and mandate will be needed in Darfur to monitor any peace deal agreed for that region. The difference being is that southerners, six years from the date of their CPA, will be allowed to vote to break away from Sudan. Khartoum says such a deal for Darfur is out of the question. it seems Darfur will remain under Sharia law like the rest of Sudan.

Note, Sudanese rebels in eastern Sudan feel their region is just as neglected and marginalised as Darfur. Eastern Sudan is not yet part of any wealth, power and security sharing deal, causing tension and conflict in the region and along the Sudan-Chad border.

The horrific civil war in southern Sudan lasted for 21 years at a cost of two million lives. Surely the Sudanese people won't allow things to go so wrong again. 4.5 billion US dollars has been pledged by the international community for the development of southern Sudan. As soon as a peace agreement for Darfur is reached, monies pledged by donors will be released. Southerners need the cash asap. Everyone is under real pressure.

The Sudanese government says it is against international troops intervening in Darfur before a peace deal is struck because it would signal the African Union Mission in Darfur has failed (it hasn't, they've done a great job) and give the Darfur rebels what they've wanted all along, namely the UN to take over from AU. Last year, the Darfur rebels even pushed (unsuccessfully) for the UN to take over the AU mediated Darfur peace talks. Darfur's rebels use every opportunity to (unfairly in my view) denigrate AU troops whose hands are tied without a protection force mandate, advanced equipment and helicopters.

Today, VP Kiir told Reuters that UN forces could enter Darfur even before such an agreement was signed, provided they had a clear mandate so that they did not become entangled in the conflict:

"There is really nothing so serious about the coming of the UN to Darfur except the misunderstanding of their coming in by the public that (it) ... may be pre-empting the negotiations," Kiir said in an interview.

"The mission is the first thing to be defined because if you bring in UN forces you must give them a detailed mission."

Read the interview by Opheera McDoom and Jonathan Wright 27 Mar 2006.

AU chairman meets warring sides in Darfur talks - Sudan says peace in Darfur before end of April 2006

Over the past 24 hours the Arab League has called for calm study of UN decision and, before leaving for a meeting with US President George W Bush, the African Union chairman held meetings separately with warring parties in Darfur peace talks - and Sudan told the press peace in Darfur is possible before end of April.

Meanwhile, it is interesting note there are no new reports of violence in Darfur. Once again, this seems to prove all sides use and expend the lives of defenceless women and children simply to score political points. They and the Janjaweed are capable of restraint when it suits. Let's hope they keep on using their brains, not violence, to get what they want.
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China backs Sudan's efforts to resolve Darfur crisis - envoy

The representative of People's Republic of China to the Arab League underlined his country's support to settlement of Darfur issue in the framework of African Union's endeavors. Full story (Sudan Tribune) Mar 27, 2006.

Many absent at Khartoum Arab League meeting

Today, Italian newswire Ham/Aki says according to Arab diplomatic sources cited by Saudi daily al-Watan, at least seven heads of states have announced to the Arab League they will not attend the meeting.

The first to communicate his absence was Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, who reportedly said he could not be present because of security concerns tied to current tensions between Egypt and Sudan. Excerpt:

The sultan of Oman Qabus bin Said, Tunisian president Ben Ali, Morocco's king Muhammad VI, the king of Bahrain Hamed bin Isa and Iraqi president Jalal Talabani will also not attend, the report said.

The king of Saudi Arabia Abdullah might also reportedly be absent so as to avoid Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who was among the first to reach Khartoum on Sunday.

The meeting is slated to re-elect Amr Moussa at the helm of the organisation and discuss the Sudanese region of Darfur, the Iraqi crisis and the peace process in the Middle East.

Libya, Sudan leaders meet to discuss Darfur and Chad

Libyan leader Col Gaddafi has held a meeting in Khartoum with Sudanese President Bashir. They discussed Darfur and results of recent African mini summit held in Tripoli to help end tension between Chad and Sudan, LJBC reported March 27, 2006.



Photo: Sudanese President Bashir (L) welcomes Libyan leader Col Gaddafi, Khartoum Mar 27, 2006.

PAP urges Sudanese to disarm Janjaweed - Gertrude Mongella, President of PAP

Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - PAP urges Sudanese to disarm Janjaweed - Gertrude Mongella, President of PAP

Note this copy of a report dated April 6, 2005 by Matome Sebelebele, Pretoria via AllAfrica "PAP Urges Sudanese to Disarm Janjaweed":

The Sudanese government has come under fresh criticism from the Pan African Parliament (PAP), which has called on Khartoum to "immediately" disarm the Janjaweed rebels blamed for undermining peace agreements there.

The Midrand-based legislative body sounded the call to Khartoum yesterday after its fact-finding mission handed over its long-awaited 37-page report for debate, prompting angry response from several MPs.

A demand was made to immediately disarm the Arab militia, which MPs argued was not party to the ceasefire agreement.

In its report, the seven-member mission, headed by Ugandan Adbul Katuntu, expressed concerns at the repeated violations of ceasefire agreements, stalled Abuja peace talks and the growing humanitarian crisis in the region. It called on PAP to engage all parties to halt the two-year violent outbreak in Darfur.

The report, which traced the conflict's root causes to British colonial rule that created inequalities and pockets of homelands, could not pronounce on the definition of the conflict as either genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes.

It nonetheless recommended the expansion of military deployment to "include the protection of the population in Darfur", the creation of a joint commission mentioned in the ceasefire agreement as well as an independent PAP oversight commission that would receive and act on complaints of ceasefire violation.

The report painted a picture of a distressed population besieged by fear and distrust of authority, of displaced people living under "inhumane conditions".

The report called on PAP to establish a trust fund for humanitarian assistance to those affected by the conflict.

On governance issues, the dossier called on the African Union to facilitate the convening of a national conference on peace, democratic governance and development in Sudan with a view to producing a strategic document on wealth and power sharing amongst regions.

The team's findings were welcomed by members of the Pan African Parliament, who argued for the setting up of an ad hoc committee on Darfur as well as availing the report to an AU summit to be possibly held in Libya later.

The debate aroused much emotion, with the house divided on who to blame but agreeing to working with other AU organs to find lasting peace in Africa's largest country.

Some MPs decried what they say is a deliberate plot to marginalise Darfur residents, both economically and politically - an assertion rejected by Khartoum.

Introducing the dossier in Parliament, Mr Katuntu, whose team met and interviewed senior government officials, rebel leaders and international agencies there, told MPs that "the people of Sudan need help and they needed it yesterday".

He added that "the Janjaweed, whom all parties in Sudan describe as bandits, should be disarmed with urgency by the government".

Meanwhile, the United Nations (UN) is said to have handed over to the International Criminal Court's prosecutors thousands of documents and a list of 51 people to be investigated for alleged war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region.

The list reportedly includes Sudanese government officials and government-backed Arab militiamen.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200504060597.html


Photo: Janjaweed [Courtesy Middle East Online]
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Gertrude Mongella
The first president of the Pan-African Parliament

At last, signs of great leadership in Africa: the remarkable Gertrude Mongella, is the highest ranking elected woman in Africa. Many refer to her as Mama Mongella or Mama Beijing.

Back in 1995 Gertrude Mongella was Secretary General of the high-profile UN conference on women in Beijing, China. Since then she's worked on women's issues at home in Tanzania and around the globe. Her goal is to lift women out of poverty and into political office so they too can shape history.

In her role today as the first president of the Pan-African Parliament, Mongella is fixing her sights on the challenges facing Africa. Addressing issues like civil war and violence, to poverty and AIDS, she's a strong believer that Africa needs to find ways to help itself. During the first African Women's Forum in Accra in January 1997, she shared her vision of leadership:

"If you want to be a leader," she said, "you have to be clear what you want and what you stand for. You must stand for principle. Principle will never let you down ... You have to be able to choose what are the principles worth dying for ... And you have to add on a little sacrifice. Leadership needs a lot of sacrifice - personal and public sacrifice."

Photo [to be inserted here] of Gertrude Mongella, courtesy theconnection.org interview. In 1996, Mama Beijing founded an NGO called Advocacy for Women in Africa (AWA), which is based in Tanzania. See Gertrude Mongella Profile.
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A dialogue with Ambassador Gertrude Mongella, President of the Pan African Parliament

Note this interesting discussion with Gertrude Mongelia hosted by SARPN and the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference, chaired by Trevor Ncube, Pretoria, 14 September 2004.

See 'We must avoid being monkeys' Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - September 16, 2004 - AEGiS-DMG.
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No education, no life

This is one of the most heartwarming reports relating to Chad and Sudan that has appeared in the press for a long time. It makes one want to concentrate on the future of Sudan: the children. They need an education and supplies of school materials. They need to learn how to forgive but not forget. Today, I am once again weary of reading about the mess the men in Sudan are making -- and of how Sudanese women are abused and left to pick up the pieces and keep life going.

The report dated April 27, 2005 is titled "Chadian camp lacks resources but does not skimp on school" ... the source is the UN High Commissioner for Refugees - by Bernard Ntwari In Iridimi camp - God bless them:

IRIDIMI, Chad, April 27 (UNHCR) - The ritual unfolds every time someone comes to visit. Schoolgirls and boys run up to surround the visitor and recite expressions learnt in English and French: "Hello, how are you, ok," they repeat. Some are proud to show they know how to count in English while others bombard the visitor with questions.

"Our children are going to build the future. We want to secure a good education for them so that they can help change the situation in our country later," says Hassan Mahamat Juma, one of the teachers in Iridimi camp, located nearly 65 km from Chad's border with Sudan. It is one of the 11 UNHCR camps hosting 200,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad.

Since Iridimi camp opened in March last year, classes have started spontaneously on the initiative of refugee teachers. Despite the lack of resources, the education system is very well organised in the camp, where school-aged children make up about 30 percent of the 17,000-strong population. There is a school in every one of the camp's 10 zones, with young refugees attending either the central school or any of the nine branch schools.

Today, buildings are being constructed to improve schooling conditions. This has made the children very happy because their lessons, which focus on the Sudanese curriculum, help them remember their former life in Sudan. UNHCR, in collaboration with its partners and particularly the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), has decided to finance this initiative to reinforce education. As part of this plan, UNICEF has just organised a training session for teachers.

"No education, no life," says Hassan, speaking not just as a teacher but also a father.

"We are satisfied with the attitude of the parents, who have proven to be reliable partners on education in the camp," says Christine Lamarque, who oversees community services for UNHCR in Iridimi. She adds that the refugees' top concern is their children's education in the camp.

The teachers are just as committed. "Most of their requests involve the supply of school materials, rather than salary increase," notes Lamarque. The devoted teachers are willing to double their workload to ensure that all registered students receive the education they deserve.

Adam Dewad Djibrin, 13, is in the third year of junior high school. He is happy not only to have passed in the upper class, and also that his brother and little sister are registered in school. "When I grow up, I will be a teacher to educate my sisters and brothers who have stayed in Sudan," he says.

"I will be a doctor when I grow up," adds another student, Oumar Fakara.

A vocational training centre will be opened in Iridimi camp to teach young refugees practical skills like sewing, shoe-repairing or woodworking. A nursery school will also be set up to promote education for little girls. Boys, too, will get the attention they need, with a new system to be established to educate those who tend to livestock for a living and thus are unable to attend school.
posted by IJ at Sudan Watch Wednesday, April 27, 2005
2 Comments:

Anonymous said...
Keep up the good work.

April 28, 2005 4:07 PM
Ingrid said...
Anonymous, thank you.

Please note 24 Oct 2005 post:

Calling Mama Mongella: The stability of Sudan is fundamental to the whole of the African continent

http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2005/10/calling-mama-mongella-stability-of.html

October 29, 2005 12:45 PM

Gaddafi arrives in Khartoum for Arab summit Mar 28-29

Contrary to earlier conflicting news reports saying Saudi, Libya among four to shun Arab summit, AFP now confirms Libyan leader Col Gaddafi has arrived in Khartoum to participate in the two-day annual summit 28-29 March of Arab leaders. As Sudan is hosting the summit, it is expecting to preside over the meeting that will include discussions on Darfur.

According to AFP, he had been expected to skip the summit but was the first leader to land in Khartoum for Tuesday's annual gathering of Arab kings and Presidents:

Dressed in a white suit and flaunting a long bright-yellow scarf, Kadhafi walked the red carpet flanked by his Sudanese host Omar al-Bashir and followed by two of his female bodyguards who sported green scarfs under their military hats.

An Arab League official had told AFP Friday that Kadhafi was not participating in 18th Arab summit.

Photo: Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi (L) is welcomed by Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir upon his arrival in Khartoum. Kadhafi arrived in the Sudanese capital to participate in the two-day annual summit of Arab leaders. (AFP/Suna/Yahoo)

What Sudan expects Arab Summit to do for Sudan and the Arabs

Excerpt from Sudan Watch Mar 24, 2006 Sudan will be president of Arab League summit in Khartoum - Interview: Sudan FM Lam Akol:

(Asharq Al-Awsat) Khartoum will host an important Arab summit within days. What have you prepared for this summit? What do you expect this summit to do for Sudan and the Arabs?

(Akol) The Arab summit will be held in Sudan, which will celebrate its 50th independence anniversary this year and the 1st anniversary of the peace agreement. The first topic on the summit agenda is Arab-African cooperation. There are many other topics on the agenda. These include issues related to Sudan like establishing a fund to help the areas affected by war in southern Sudan. There is also a clause on the Arab African countries' participation in the African peace-keeping forces in Darfur. There are also issues related to the Arab Justice Court, the Arab Peace and Security Council, and other such issues. There are many topics on the summit agenda. We expect large participation. We also expect the summit to issue clear resolutions that serve the Arab homeland as a whole, particularly Sudan at this stage.

Sudan expresses appreciation of Gaddafi's peace brokering efforts

Libyan news report Mar 26, 2006 says Sudanese presidential adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail hailed the Libyan leader's efforts to end tension and expressed high appreciation for the Col Gaddafi's pioneer role to end tension between Sudan and Chad

Note, over the past two years, Col Gaddafi has worked hard behind the scenes to help broker peace for Darfur. Recently, it was reported he will urge Sudanese President al-Bashir to hold direct talks with Darfur rebel leaders.



Photo: Libya's leader Col Gaddafi leads noon prayers with a Sudanese delegation from Darfur before their meeting in his traditional tent in Tripoli, Libya, Monday May 9, 2005. The first flight taking food from Libya directly into Darfur in western Sudan took place as the U.N.'s food agency launched a campaign to reach nearly 2 million people during the rainy season. (AP Photo/Yousef Al-Ageli)

On March 15, 2006 it was reported Libya to host summit on Darfur - Sudan, Egypt leaders to attend but according to Sudanese FM Akol's recent interview this did not take place - excerpt:

(Asharq Al-Awsat) Dr Mustafa Uthman. He talked about a tripartite summit by Al-Bashir, Mubarak, and Al-Qadhafi although you denied that there were any plans to hold such a summit. Did the summit take place?

(Akol) The summit did not take place. This means foreign policy is still in the hands of the Foreign Ministry. However, every person has the right to make statements. Not only Mustafa Uthman is entitled to this right but others who make statements about foreign policy issues. This is their right, but the state policy is well known and the responsible state departments are known. The Council of Ministers is the side which approves polices and the Foreign Ministry implements these policies in cooperation with the presidency.

Mar 24 2006 Interview: Sudan FM Lam Akol says Sudanese government calls for strengthening of AU mission in Darfur



Photo: Libyan leader Moamer Gaddafi (C) receives Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak (L) and Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir (R) as Libya hosts a two-day summit of African leaders on finding peace in Darfur on May 16, 2005.

Nov 20 2005 CIA met Gaddafi - Sudan rounded up extremist suspects for questioning by CIA

Feb 18 2005 Tony Blair hails Gaddafi's efforts for Darfur

Feb 21 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Senegal's Wade discuss African solution to Darfur crisis - United States of Africa?

Feb 23 2006 Libya offers African Union 100,000 troops, 1,000 tanks, 100 aircraft to close Chad-Sudan border

Feb 24 2006 Libya's Gaddhafi and Sudan's al-Bashir discuss Darfur crisis - see list of further reports

Feb 26 2006 Chad-Sudan border peacekeeping force - AU chair and Libyan leader Col Gaddafi follow up on Tripoli mini-summit

Feb 28 2006 Libya's Kadhafi urges Africans to fund AU troops in Darfur

Feb 28 2006 Egypt, Libya leaders reject UN Darfur force



Map of Libya courtesy Wikepedia - click on image for link to notes on Libya's history and politics.

Mar 6 2006 Libya sets up surveillance groups on Chad-Sudan borders

Mar 8 2006 Libya receives Sudanese Vice-President Ali Taha

Mar 9 2006 US hopes Libya could expand its mediation efforts for peaceful solution to Darfur conflict

Mar 24 2006 Sudan will be president of Arab League summit in Khartoum

Mar 24 2006 Gaddafi lashes out at 'backward society' in Middle East

Mar 25 2006 Sudan says UN takeover of AMIS would encourage intransigence from the armed groups - Sudan wants South Sudan CPA as a model for Darfur

Mar 25 2006 Sudan believes Arab summit supports Khartoum stance on Darfur

Spelling of Libyan leader Gaddafi's name

"Muammar Gaddafi" is the spelling used here at Sudan Watch for the sake of archive searches. This spelling (Muammar Gaddafi) used in Wikipedia articles is also TIME magazine's preferred spelling. According to Wikipedia Gaddafi's name has, however, been transliterated in a wide variety of ways:

For example, an article published in the London Evening Standard on March 29, 2004 lists a total of 37 spellings; a 1986 column by The Straight Dope counted 32. The Associated Press and affiliates (such as CNN and FOX News) use the spelling Moammar Gadhafi. Al Jazeera uses Muammar al-Qadhafi. The US State Department uses Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi.

In 1986, responding to a Minnesota school's letter in English, he used the spelling Moammar El-Gadhafi. According to his personal website, he prefers the spelling Muammar Gadafi, although the domain name gives yet another version, al-Gathafi.

Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal says Sudanese government call to arms is carried out through tribal leaders

Photo: Archival Footage of Osama bin Laden in Sudan (via Watching America Mar 23, 2006: Al-Jazeera TV Qatar posted in Jan 00:02:31 MEMRI)



Photo: A soldier of the Janjaweed Militia [in Green] chats with Sudanese policemen in North Darfur, Sudan. (via Watching America Mar 23, 2006)



Photo: Soldiers believed to be Janjaweed. (Sudan Tribune)



Photo: Musa Hilal, leader of the Janjaweed (BBC). Click on photo for further details.

Sudan's government call to arms is carried out through tribal leaders

Excerpt from The New Yorker by Samantha Power 23 Aug 2004:

During the conflict with the rebels based in the South, the Sudanese military had honed strategy for combatting insurgents: the Air Force bombed from the sky, while Arab tribesmen, armed by the government, launched raids on the ground. In Darfur, the Sudanese Army needed to rely even more heavily upon local Arab militias. A majority of the Army's rank-and-file soldiers were from Darfur, and they could not be trusted to take up arm against their neighbors and kin. (Many Darfurians had served with the Army in the war against Garang's rebels.) By July, 2003, the government was appealing to Darfur's Arab tribal leaders to defend their homeland against rebels whom they branded as "tora bora" (an allusion to the terrorist fighters based in the caves of Afghanistan)

Musa Hilal, a forty-three-year-old Arab sheikh, was one of the first to answer the government's call, and he soon became the coordinator of the janjaweed in Darfur. I met Hilal recently, at the Khartoum airport, outside a hangar for charter flights. [Edit]

As I talked with Musal Hilal in the El Fasher airport waiting room, he discussed the possibility that he and other janjaweed leaders could have their assets frozen and their ability to travel curtailed. "I have no assets in international banks, so that is not a problem," he said as he watched Sudanese soldiers ready our plane for its flight back to Khartoum. "But the travel ban - that would be a humiliation. I am a tribal leader. My reputation comes above anything and everything."

Hilal is aware that if the international pressure on Khartoum intensifies the government might sell him out. This explains why he courts Western journalists, staging elaborate shows of African-Arab unity. But he also knows how risky it would be for the government to challenge him - even if it wanted to appease its international critics. Khartoum's leaders rely on tribal militias as their main weapon of war. And, in Hilal's case, the Sudanese government helped create him, and he knows too much.

"The government call to arms is carried out through the tribal leaders," Hilal said. "Every government comes and finds us here. When they leave, we will still be here. When they come back, we will still be here. We will always be here."
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Photo (by Paula Souverijn-Eisenberg) UN top envoy Jan Pronk in Darfur, western Sudan talking politics with the Commissioner of Mershing. Courtesy Jan Pronk's blog entry - Mar 5, 2006, quote: "In February I had had difficult encounters with tribal and traditional leaders in Nyala and El Fashr. Most of them were strongly against a UN force in Darfur. They accuse the United Nations of being manipulated by the United States. They fear that Western countries and NATO want to re-colonize and occupy Sudan. They speak about a conspiracy against Islam and against Arab nations."
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Photo and caption via Watching America Mar 23, 2006: "African Union troops on patrol on Darfur. Is Washington hoping for them to fail?"
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US President to welcome chairman of African Union to the White House



Photo: Chairman of African Union, President Olusegun Obasanjo of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Mar 25 2006 The White House - excerpt: President Bush will welcome President Olusegun Obasanjo of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the White House on March 29, 2006. Nigeria is a strategic partner of the United States in Africa and the visit provides an opportunity for the President to thank President Obasanjo for his leadership as Chairman of the African Union in the deployment of African troops in response to the genocide in Darfur, Sudan. The two leaders also will discuss a broad range of regional and international issues including continuing cooperation in the areas of Darfur, regional security, energy security, fighting corruption, strengthening democratic institutions, and the need to bring Charles Taylor to justice.

UN reform - US will only remain part of UN as long as it does not try to have a "standing army"

The UN Security Council has too often failed to act swiftly and effectively to contain international crises and needs reforming, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog said today. Reuters/Scotsman report excerpt:

"Too often, the Security Council's engagement is inadequate, selective or after the fact," said Mohamed ElBaradei, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner.

"The tragedies of recent years in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Darfur are cases in point," he told

The Egyptian diplomat said the 15-nation Security Council had shown its ineffectiveness by failing to tackle violence in Sudan's Darfur region. "Darfur continues to suffer from the inability of the Security Council to muster sufficient peacekeeping troops and sufficient resources to prevent the continuing atrocities."

Photo: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Secretary General Mohamed ElBaradei. (IslamOnline) Click here to read speech in full.
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US Congress passed a law that states that the US will only remain part of the UN as long as it does not try to have a "standing army"

Here are some snippets I've extracted from Ali's blog entry last year at The Salon, entitled The UN Awakens .... Ali is a bright young Congolese man living in America whose mother works at the UN:

If the UN had a well trained - militarily and psychologically, well conditioned, well equipped, and motivated standing peace keeping/enforcing force, much of these problems would not be. The problem is that some countries - the US is the first among them - believe that their constitution is such a work of divine perfection, that it can NEVER be subordinated to anything... even an organization that they RUN, like the UN. Thus the US Congress passed a law that states that the US will only remain part of the UN as long as it does not try to have a "standing army". As a result of that, the Blue Helmets have to be recruited when there is the need, from a number of countries, with varying degrees of military training, human rights training, income, and corruption. [Edit]

A body of 191 states, and thousands of nations, cannot be turned into a puppet of ONE country's policies. It's simply impossible. The US might think they know best, and that their foreign policy is the way, the truth and the light to salvation and prosperity for all people... but it still has to convince people! It cannot simply seek to impose its will, using the UN as a rubber-stamp. That power-dynamic of misperceptions and disdain - as well as the Cold War, and the dictatorships it created - are the cause of the mess today, IMHO.

So what to do? Let the US put its money where its mouth is. Let the UN reforms that Annan is proposing go through, and create a more balanced United Nations, with Africans holding veto-wielding pernanent seats in the Security Council. Let the UN enforce culturally sensitive peace and democracy, in a multilateral way. And give the UN secretariat the resources and the power - as well as the broad-based (meaning not only the almighty US congress, but all nations) oversight - it needs to do its job on the field. Then, if that doesn't work, you can come and tell me that the UN is hopeless. [Edit]

Arab FMs meet in Khartoum - Sudan believes Arab summit supports Khartoum stance on Darfur

The Arab Foreign Ministers' meetings began today at the Friends Hall in Khartoum in preparation for the upcoming 18th Arab Summit. The meeting was chaired by Sudanese Foreign Minister, Lam Akol Ajawin, Bahrain News reported March, 25 2005 - excerpt:

"Sudanese Foreign Minister Dr Lam Akol expressed his hope in a speedy response by the Arab countries to give contributions to the Arab Fund to support Sudan to develop the South and war-torn areas, in addition to placing a program for these activities on the basis of priorities.

The minister hailed the support provided by the Arab countries for Darfur civilians through the Arab League's participation in all the phases of Sudan's negotiations with armed movements. Dr Ajawin expressed his hope in the Arab countries' abilities to provide the necessary support for the African Union forces and to support the peace agreement with armed groups to maintain stability in the country.

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Sudan believes Arab summit to support Khartoum stance on Darfur

China's PDO Mar 25, 2006 reported: "The Arab League will also play a basic role in the post-war reconstruction process in Darfur after a peace agreement is signed between the government and the rebel movements," Sudan's Information Minister Al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik underlined.

Sudan says UN takeover of AMIS would encourage intransigence from the armed groups - Sudan wants S Sudan CPA as a model for Darfur

Today, Sudan urged the UN to stop sending negative signals to Darfur rebels after the UN Security Council voted to speed planning for a new peacekeeping force there, Reuters reported. Excerpt:

Darfur rebels have from the beginning of the conflict demanded UN troops be deployed in Darfur and the government feels the UN takeover would encourage intransigence from the armed groups.

"They should refrain from mentioning these negative messages and taking the wrong decisions at the wrong time," state minister of foreign affairs al-Samani al-Wasiyla told reporters in Khartoum.

Wasiyla added Sudan did not reject a U.N. force outright, but had to decide when or if it was necessary for U.N. troops to take over from the Africans already deployed. He said that time could be after a peace deal was agreed in the Nigerian capital Abuja, where faltering talks continue.

Note, the report explains Sudan signed a separate peace deal last year to end Africa's longest civil war in its south. Under that deal 10,715 UN troops and police are being deployed to monitor the ceasefire, and goes on to say:

"Wasiyla said that should be used as a model for the international community for Darfur.

Wasiyla said Sudan was opposed to UN forces because that would imply a failure of the AU mission, which is unable to complete its work because of a lack of funds and equipment. He said the international community should fulfil those needs.

"We do not want to be the reason for the failure of the African Union," he said, adding the United Nations should be trying to strengthen the AU as a regional peacekeeping body."

Presidential Advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail on Friday told reporters Sudan would be asking Arab leaders meeting in Khartoum for an annual summit next week to provide more money to the AU mission to continue its work.
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South Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA)

CPA one year later: suspicions, feeling of unfairness IPS/ST reported March 25, 2006.

UN Security Council authorises planning for UN troops in Darfur and asks Annan to liaise with AU, Khartoum and rebels

UN special envoy Jan Pronk, in his blog entry March 13, 2006, writes about the Sudanese government's nasty vicious political campaign against UN personnel (including threats to his own life) and explains, quote:

"The attacks on the United Nations cannot be attributed to the Government only. The Government is under pressure by powerful groups. Sudan is not a democratic society, far from it. The regime is a conglomerate of power groups, dependent on each other, checking each other and wheeling and dealing behind the scenes. Political pressure is not exerted in a democratic fashion, in a free and independent parliament, a free press and public meetings."

Mr Pronk goes on to say:

"Initially the position of the Government towards a UN force in Darfur was not so negative. Ministers had told me that they understood that such a transition would be inevitable if the African Union itself would decide in favor. For them the mandate of a UN force and its composition were crucial. A UN peace keeping force with a Chapter 6 mandate and without NATO troops would be acceptable. However, when some powerful groups in Sudan demanded the Government never to accept any new foreign peace keeping force, the President changed his position. It is like always in Sudan: policies are determined by one overriding motivation only: how to stay in power."

Note, last May I blogged a news report that gives a rare insight into Sudan's inner circle. It makes fascinating reading. See excerpt at Sudan Watch March 25, 2006: Sudan's ruling elite and "security cabal" - the National Islamic Front: the men who control Africa's largest country.
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UN Security Council authorises planning for UN troops in Darfur and asks Annan to liaise with AU, Khartoum and rebels

The UN Security Council has voted unanimously to speed up preparations for UN peacekeepers to be deployed to Darfur, the BBC reported March 25, 2006.

The council is calling on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to come up with a range of options within one month and to liaise with the African Union, Khartoum and the rebels to come up with a plan.

"It's a real step forward in building peace across the entire country," Britain's UN Ambassador Sir Emyr Jones Parry said in a statement.

The resolution also extended the mandate of a separate UN peacekeeping mission in southern Sudan, which was due to expire on Friday.

The head of UN peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno said: "There is a sense of urgency, I think from everybody, that there are people who are dying, that there is still violence in Darfur. That needs to be stopped."

Edith Lederer's report for Associated Press May 25, 2006 says the resolution approved by the council also urged the UN force "to make full use of its current mandate and capabilities" against rebels from Uganda's Lord's Resistance Army and other armed groups who have been attacking civilians and committing human rights abuses in Sudan - excerpt:

"Jones Parry told reporters the request to the UN force for help in apprehending the Ugandan rebel group is "very important" and "acknowledges the regional dimension of the conflict," which includes eastern Congo as well as Uganda and Sudan."

A year ago, the council voted to send 10,700 U.N. peacekeepers to monitor a January 2005 peace agreement between Sudan's mostly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south. Some 2 million people died in the conflict. Over 7,000 peacekeepers are now deployed.

Friday's resolution extends the U.N. force's mandate until Sept. 24, "with the intention to renew it for further periods."

It called on Annan to present to the council by April 24 "a range of options" on a U.N. operation in Darfur. It also asked Annan to make recommendations by that date on how U.N. peacekeepers and U.N. agencies "could more effectively address the problem of the LRA."

In this photo released by the United Nations, The UN Security Council votes unanimously Friday, March 24, 2006 at UN HQ, to keep UN peacekeepers in southern Sudan to monitor a peace deal ending a 21-year civil war and authorised planning for the expected extension of the UN force's operations to Darfur in western Sudan. (AP Photo/The United Nations, Evan Schneider)

Note, after reading varying and conflicting news reports, it seems clear (to me anyway) UN officials have said they will not send in troops to Darfur without the approval of the Sudanese government - and the Sudanese goverment says it may be possible to consider the possibility of UN peacekeepers in Darfur when a peace agreement is reached at the AU mediated Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria.

Further reading:

Mar 25 2006 (AP/ST) Sudan FM reiterates rejection of UN force to Darfur - Sudan Saturday repeated its rejection of UN peace keeping forces to Darfur, reacting to the Security Council's decision to expand the monitoring operations. "We reject sending any further troops to Darfur," Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol Ajawin told at a preparatory meeting of his Arab counterparts in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, ahead of the Arab summit next week. Sudan had said before the Security Council's Friday vote that it opposed a UN takeover of the African peacekeeping mission.

Mar 25 2006 (Prensa Latina) Arab League Rejects UN Troops to Sudan - In a press conference in Jartum Friday, Arab League chief Amro Musa pointed out that most of the Sudanese people, local institutions, and the Executive oppose arrival of UN Blue Helmets to Darfur. He said there is a fear that the south of Sudan would become like occupied Iraq (by US troops).

Mar 24 2006 (UN News Centre) Extending Sudan mission, Security Council lays groundwork for UN Darfur force - - via CfD

Mar 24 2006 (Reuters Irwin Arieff) UN speeds planning for sending UN troops to Darfur

Mar 25 2006 Op-Ed News opinon piece - If the Bush administration is serious about its concern for the people in Darfur he should provide weaponry and logistical support for the AU. That would be the least controversial remedy to the violence and it would allay the government's fears of re-colonization by Europe and America. Instead, Bush has called for doubling the size of a UN "peacekeeping" force and expanding the role of NATO in the region. This has only intensified suspicions that the intervention is not driven by selfless concern for the welfare of others.

Sudan's ruling elite and "security cabal" the National Islamic Front: the men who control Africa's largest country

Note May 3, 2005 report Sudan's Unbowed, Unbroken Inner Circle by Emily Wax, Washington Post, reprinted at MSNBC and PoTP - excerpt:

Tight web of savvy leaders withstands international criticism

The men who control Africa's largest country -- the key architects of the conflict in Darfur -- hail from two tiny, interwoven Arab tribes. Many of them grew up together and graduated from Khartoum University. They often sit together in cafes beside the Nile, bickering about politics and religion over endless cups of sweet tea.

They attend the weddings of one another's sons and daughters, who frequently marry within the two tribes. They are neighbors and rivals, nephews and cousins. Politics in Sudan is often a family affair, and as in any family, there are occasional feuds.

For instance, Hassan Turabi, a college professor and radical Islamic cleric, led a military coup in 1989 against his brother-in-law Sadiq Madhi, the country's popularly elected leader. The main backers of the coup were Turabi's proteges, Omar Hassan Bashir and Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, now Sudan's president and vice president. Yet not long before that, Madhi had presided over the wedding ceremony of Taha and his bride, Turabi's cousin.

"In Sudan we say, 'You meet your enemies at weddings,'" said Turabi's son Issam, 39, whose father has been jailed or under house arrest for nearly five years after a bitter falling-out with Bashir and Taha. "All of politics in Khartoum is a bunch of warring families trying to stay in power over one another."

This is Sudan's ruling elite: shadowy and insular, cliquish and fractious. It's an unusual arrangement for a continent more accustomed to the rule of patriarchal Big Men, such as Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe and Zaire's Mobutu Sese Seko, with a single personality dominating the national psyche.

Despite their tendency to feud, the ministers and security officials in Sudan's inner circle form a tight web of power that combines tribal, religious and military elements. Its formal name is the National Islamic Front, but it is known in Khartoum as the "security cabal."

The cohesion of this club has enabled the government to weather the chill of world condemnation for years -- first in the 1990s for harboring terrorists such as Osama bin Laden and waging a protracted war against African rebels in the south, and now for carrying out a second armed campaign in the western region of Darfur.

Jan Pronk's weblog accuses Sudanese government of a political campaign against the United Nations

Jan Pronk, the UN's special envoy in Sudan, in his weblog that dates back to November 2005, publishes the following intro on his homepage that links to his blog entry dated March 13, 2006:

"A political campaign against the United Nations has been orchestrated by the Government of Sudan. The press is full of nasty attacks. Sudanese movements warn the UN mission. Staff members receive threats. The Government has declared to resist a UN peace force in Darfur. Read more."

Photo: Demonstration in Nyala against a potential AMIS-UN transition. (Paula Souverijn-Eisenberg) Source: March 13, 2006 entry at Jan Pronk's weblog.

[link via Daimnation! with thanks]

Mar 24 2006 Coalition for Darfur publishes an excerpt from Jan Pronk's weblog.

Sudan will be president of Arab League summit in Khartoum

The Arab League summit in Khartoum is expected to support Sudan reported Reuters March 24, 2006 - excerpt:

Sudan, which has spared no expense to prepare its capital to host Arab leaders at a summit next week, is expected to be rewarded with the presidency of the Arab League and support on issues such as Darfur.

"Of course the host of the summit will be the president and in our opinion (the host) should have been the president of the African Union too," Amr Moussa, head of the Arab League, told reporters in Khartoum this week as he prepared for the summit.

Photo: Arab League chief Amr Musa

Moussa said the Arab League did not share its African brothers's reservations about having Sudan, accused of widespread atrocities in its western Darfur region, at the head of the pan-Arab body.

Sudanese opposition politician Mubarak al-Fadil said Arab leaders were not likely to push on the Darfur affair as they traditionally have sat on the fence on divisive issues.

"They wouldn't like to entangle themselves in it," he said. "You are in someone's home - you say these things behind his back but you don't say it to his face."

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What Sudan expects Arab Summit to do for Sudan and the Arabs

Excerpt from Interview: Sudan FM Lam Akol:

(Asharq Al-Awsat) Khartoum will host an important Arab summit within days. What have you prepared for this summit? What do you expect this summit to do for Sudan and the Arabs?

(Akol) The Arab summit will be held in Sudan, which will celebrate its 50th independence anniversary this year and the 1st anniversary of the peace agreement. The first topic on the summit agenda is Arab-African cooperation. There are many other topics on the agenda. These include issues related to Sudan like establishing a fund to help the areas affected by war in southern Sudan. There is also a clause on the Arab African countries' participation in the African peace-keeping forces in Darfur. There are also issues related to the Arab Justice Court, the Arab Peace and Security Council, and other such issues. There are many topics on the summit agenda. We expect large participation. We also expect the summit to issue clear resolutions that serve the Arab homeland as a whole, particularly Sudan at this stage.

Interview: Sudan FM Lam Akol says Sudanese government calls for strengthening of AU mission in Darfur

Note this excerpt from Sudan FM Lam Akol interview by Muhammad al-Hasan Ahmad in Khartoum, printed at Asharq Alawsat 22 March 2006:

(Asharq Al-Awsat) There are contradictions even within the Foreign Ministry. I have noticed that acting Foreign Minister Ali Karti made statements criticizing the African Union. At the same time, Al-Samani al-Wasilah, minister of state in the Foreign Ministry, praised the African Union. He said what is required is the Union's continuation of its role. What is your comment in this regard?

(Akol) The official government position is that it commends the African Union's role in Darfur and calls for the continuation of its mission there. The government also calls for strengthening this mission so that it can be accomplished in the required manner. We have also contacted other countries to urge them continue to extend financial and logistic support to these African forces.



Photo: Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol, seen here in October 2005, gave the cold shoulder to a UN proposal to take over from African Union peacekeepers in Darfur and urged the world to prop up the African body with more funds. (AFP/File/Salah Omar)

Sharia row hits South Sudan peace deal - Sudan's SPLM pull out of team drafting Khartoum constitution

A row over whether Sudan's capital Khartoum should be subject to Islamic law has hit relations between South Sudan's former rebels SPLM and its partner in government, BBC reported today:

Pol Ring, head of the former rebel SPLM in Khartoum's parliament, said the draft constitution proposed for the city was the same as the existing Sharia law. This was unacceptable because Khartoum is the capital for the whole country, he said. The SPLM has now pulled out of the committee drafting Khartoum's new constitution.

The BBC correspondent says under South Sudan's peace deal, Sharia law will continue, with special protection for non-Muslims.

Note, there are thousands of different religions. Surely religion ought to be separate from government.

See Mar 24 2006 Sudan's SPLM pull out of team drafting Khartoum constitution

Gaddafi lashes out at 'backward society' in Middle East

Libyan leader Col Gaddafi, in a speech to attendees at a Columbia University panel discussion on democracy Thursday (speaking in Arabic during a live video appearance) lashed out at what he described as "backward" societies in the Middle East, arguing that government heavy-handedness in dealing with political opposition stemmed from the violent nature of that dissent, reported Asharq Alawsat March 24, 2006. Quotes from the article:

"You ask us, 'Why do you oppress opposition in the Middle East? Opposition in the Middle East is quite different from opposition in advanced countries. In our countries, the opposition takes the form of explosions, assassinations, killing. Because opposition in our country is different from opposition in your country. Our opposition resorts to bombs, assassinations, explosions, subversive acts, trains in military camps -- in some cases before the Sept. 11th events. How many countries have seen this form of opposition. This is a manifestation of social backwardness," said Gadhafi.

Gadhafi said the protests stemming from the publication of cartoons ridiculing Islam's Prophet Muhammad elicited a coarse reaction from all sides. "Our methods are very backward indeed. The methods of opposition in our country are also quite different." "Even when it comes to demonstrations, they are against Muhammad cartoons, they use bullets. You use tear gas or hoses; the police in our countries react in a backward way because they are part of a backward society."

Gadhafi also criticized Islamic fundamentalism and what he said was its blight on education, research and health care. "In a good number of Islamic countries the school curriculum would prohibit many scientific researches," he said. "In some Islamic countries, to see the fetus inside the pregnant woman is prohibited because only God, to some people, knows the gender of that fetus. How could that be prohibited? That is because of backwardness."
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Mar 24 2006 Reuters report says US not ready to remove Libya, Sudan, Cuba, Syria, N Korea, Iran from terrorist list.

Mar 24 2006 Khaleej Times - Libya feels "cheated" that it will remain on the US State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism this year even though it has made security concessions, the North African country's top envoy to Washington said on Friday.