Sudanese president urges Darfur rebels to change position

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir on Friday called on Darfur rebel groups which refuse to accept a peace deal to change positions and participate in the peace process, People's Daily Online reported May 13, 2006 - excerpt:

Addressing the closing session of a ruling National Congress Party conference, Bashir said that those movements should choose peace.

"If they don't do that, Darfur citizens and the international society will overpass them," he warned.

He said that the government "does not want to leave anyone outside the peace agreement and it wants to take in everyone."

The president also reiterated the government's commitment to the complete implementation of the peace agreement, saying "it is important to stabilize the situations in Darfur."

He said that the government would do its best to keep good relations with Sudan's neighboring countries, especially Chad and Eritrea, adding that the peace agreement would be in danger if there is no stability in border areas.

Source: Xinhua

Sudan to set up 42 FM radio stations

The managing director of the Sudan Broadcasting Corporation, Amin Hassan Omar, has announced a plan to set up 42 FM radio stations, which will cover 42 towns in all the country's states. Full report ST May 13 2006.

US runs into strong resistance at UN over Sudan resolution

The US has run into strong resistance in its bid for a Security Council resolution that would give the UN immediate control over peacekeepers in Darfur, diplomats said Friday, AP/ST reported:

Objections from China, Russia and several African nations have forced several key concessions. For example, it asks only that a UN assessment team inspect the AU force "with a view to a follow-on UN operation in Darfur."

Several diplomats said objections remained. They portrayed the latest draft more as a US effort to show progress on Darfur than as a text that will move any closer to a UN-led mission there. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the draft publicly.

China and Russia, two veto-wielding members of the council, oppose that even the new draft is written under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which could make it legally binding and enforceable by sanctions.

The AU has asked that the council delay voting on the draft until after Monday, when its Peace and Security Council meets to endorse the Darfur peace deal and discuss the possibility of giving the UN authority over the AU force.

US confident Sudan will agree to UN force

US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer, who helped AU mediators seal the deal in Abuja last week, said in a Reuters interview today she was confident Sudan will allow a UN force in Darfur, even though it has sent mixed signals on peacekeepers since signing an accord with rebels - Reuters (Sue Pleming):

Frazer predicted Sudan would give a clear message after a meeting of African Union ministers in Ethiopia on Monday, adding that Khartoum was coming under strong pressure from both its neighbours and members of the Arab League to agree.

Frazer said she was hopeful that Abdel Wahed Mohammed al-Nur of the SLA would soon sign on and did not think an international force was needed in Chad. Once Darfur is secured, the instability in the border area with Chad will be resolved, she added.

Some analysts sceptical about Darfur Peace Agreement

May 12 2006 VOA says diplomats are calling the Darfur Peace Agreement an important step on the path to peace. Some analysts are sceptical, ie:

Roland Marchal, researcher and former editor of the French Revue Politique Africaine, calls the agreement "good news" because it means a significant number of Arab tribes would like to reach a settlement but "bad news" because Khartoum may use some tribes as scapegoats and blame them for the Janjaweed's murder of civilians and burning of villages. In addition, Mr Marchal notes that the rebels are "far from being organised." Furthermore, the international community is naive if it believes Khartoum will accept UN troops on the ground as a "direct consequence of this agreement."

Richard Crockett, Africa editor of the Economist magazine in London, wonders whether the accord can be implemented on the ground. Mr Crockett notes the government in Khartoum is not to be trusted. He points to their arming of the Janjaweed and says he thinks the only thing that will work is to get a UN force into Darfur to start monitoring a phased disarmament of the Janjaweed "at the point of a gun, frankly," because the Khartoum government is unlikely to follow through on its own.

Sudan's top diplomat in Washington calls for international community to call for measures against those who attempt to undercut Darfur peace accord

Sudan's top diplomat in Washington, Khidir H Ahmed, denounced the leaders of the JEM and a dissident faction of the SLA for rejecting the Darfur Peace Agreement agreement on Friday, Washington Times/CFD reported today:

"If they continue to balk at supporting the peace accord, we hope that the international community, particularly those in the US who called for peace and justice, will condemn them and call for measures against those groups and individuals that will attempt to undercutting the peace accord," Mr Khidir said. "Their refusal to participate is clearly an attempt to punish the victims in Darfur."

Mr Khidir noted that the government and the SLA made concessions to reach the deal after days of nonstop diplomacy by Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.

Khidir, in a statement this week, thanked Mr Zoellick, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Mr Bush for their efforts to promote peace in his country. He said their "constructive engagement" contributed "a great deal to this significant achievement, and our people will remain grateful for that."

Mr Khidir added that the next test is the implementation of the agreement.

"We hope that responsible individuals in the US will demonstrate the same zeal in supporting the implementation of the peace agreement, bolstering the African Union mission in Darfur, funding food aid and other assistance projects and condemning those who refuse to support the peace process, as they did when they criticised my government and promoted actions that regularly undercut peace and reconciliation in Sudan," he said.

[Well said. Let's hope Khartoum and its Janjaweed will not undercut the peace accord either]

May 12 2006 VOA Analysts Are Skeptical About Darfur Peace Accord

Security Council pushes Sudan over UN Darfur force

The Security Council was expected to adopt a resolution next week increasing pressure on Sudan's government to allow a UN peacekeeping force into Darfur later this year, council diplomats said today - Reuters (Irwin Arieff):

UN diplomats said the 15-nnation Security Council, which authorises peacekeeping operations, was near consensus on a US draft resolution calling for UN military planners to be in Darfur within a week of the measure's approval.

The resolution would also urge the government and Darfur rebels to work with AU and UN officials "to accelerate transition to a United Nations operation."

The council planned to wait to vote until after a Monday meeting in Addis Ababa of the AU Peace and Security Council, where a decision was due on whether -- and, if so, when -- to shift to a UN mission in Darfur, diplomats said.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has already written Sudanese President Lt Gen Omar Hassan al-Bashir about the planning team and expects the planners to be granted visas soon, UN chief spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

"The expectation continues that we will have a joint planning team with the African Union on the ground in Darfur as soon as possible," Dujarric told reporters. "We would expect the government of Sudan to cooperate fully and let this team do its work."

Norway offers UN peacekeepers for Darfur plus $10m to AU - Darfur peace crucial for Africa says AU Chairman

Peace in Sudan and Darfur is crucial to the future of the entire African continent, the chairman of the African Union commission said Friday during a visit to Norway - Associated Press reported:

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere announced Friday that Norway was donating US$10 million (A7.8 million) to the Africa Union, in support of its continued peace efforts for Sudan.

He also said Norway was prepared to send peacekeepers - possibly a contingent of 150 to 200 - if the United Nations Security Council called from them. The troops would be under a U.N. mandate, providing they were invited by the Sudanese government.

Konare was to meet other Norwegian officials and a lecture on Africa at the Nobel Institute. (ST/AP)

EU to up pressure on Sudan for UN Darfur mission

The European Union will press Sudan on Monday to drop what diplomats see as growing resistance from Khartoum to a UN peace mission in Darfur, EU officials said on Friday, Reuters (Ingrid Melander) reported today:

The Sudanese government has said it would consider a role for the United Nations after a peace agreement. But EU officials say Khartoum is still reluctant to accept the UN mission despite the Abuja accord.

An EU official speaking on condition of anonymity said Sudanese resistance to a UN mission was, if anything, growing.

"More and more openly, since the peace agreement was signed in Abuja, they say (the U.N. mission) is not necessary," the official said.

"This is certainly not the position of the EU and the United States. ... It is not acceptable to us, we will continue to exert pressure."

According to a text drafted for a meeting of EU foreign ministers on Monday, the 25-member bloc will stress that the transition to the UN force is "the only viable option for providing sustained stability and security in the long-term" in Darfur.

The EU's foreign ministers meeting in Brussels occurs on the same day African Union ministers meet in Addis Ababa to decide the next step toward bringing peace to Darfur, including transferring the mission to the United Nations.

The AU also hopes to gain support of two rebel factions who have yet to accept the Darfur peace deal.

Chadian refugees and donkeys in Darfur moved from insecure border to new camp

Despite delays caused by recalcitrant donkeys, the UN refugee agency managed Thursday to move nearly 500 Chadian refugees from unsafe areas along the Chad-Sudan border to a new refugee camp further inland in West Darfur, Reuters reported today:

A convoy of eight passenger trucks and one bus carried 494 Chadian refugees of Daju ethnicity from Habila, on the border, to Um Shalaya, southeast of El Geneina, capital of West Darfur.

Three additional trucks carried the refugees' possessions and four trucks carried their donkeys [! Wish I could find a photo :-)]

The convoy left some three hours late because the donkeys could not be persuaded to board the trucks in an orderly manner, and the convoy took six and a half hours to cover the 60 km to the camp. The African Union provided a military escort for the journey.

"We are working together with the International Organization of Migration to transport refugees from their border locations to the new camp," UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis told journalists in Geneva. "We plan to move about 1,500 refugees per week to the camp in three separate convoys of about 500 people each."

The convoy was greeted at the camp by the camp manager, the umda (chief of a number of villages), local sheikhs and women who had prepared food as a welcome gesture.

Nur's Darfur rebel SLA faction sees progress in peace talks

Minni Minnawi, leader of the main Darfur rebel faction SLA, is confident the other factions will join peace deal, Associated Press reported:

"I think both movements will sign the agreement," Minnawi told the Associated Press today on the telephone from Chad.

"I'm expecting Abdelwahed al-Nur to sign the agreement in the days to come," said Minnawi. "As for the Justice and Equality Movement, it is quite likely to happen soon also," he added.

"When it happens, it will be a very big victory for Darfur," said Minnawi, who had just met with the Chadian president to discuss border security and a timetable for the repatriation of some 400,000 Darfur refugees living in Chad.

Reuters report by Estelle Shirbon - just in:

Nur wrote to African Union (AU) mediators late on Wednesday asking to reopen discussions with Khartoum and pledging to sign the accord if key demands were addressed in a separate document.

"There is a very positive reply from the AU and a positive reply from the government. This might lead to a breakthrough in the negotiations," said Ibrahim Madibo, a close adviser to Nur. They are still in the Nigerian capital Abuja, where the talks that led to the May 5 peace deal took place.

Nur's main demands are for more compensation funds for Darfur from Khartoum, greater political representation for his group, and greater involvement in mechanisms to enforce a ceasefire and disarmament plan foreseen in the accord.

"If there's a new development (on these demands) I'm ready to sign anywhere, anytime, ... But only if there is a clear supplementary document," Nur told Reuters at his hotel.

Note, the report also explains a reluctant Khartoum had said it would consider letting in UN troops if a peace agreement were signed in Abuja, but European Union officials in Brussels said Sudan's opposition to a UN mission had in fact increased since the deal was reached::

"Sudan has expressed reservations about a U.N. peacekeeping force, but negotiations are ongoing," said EU special representative to Sudan Pekka Haavisto in Helsinki on Friday.

"If we fail to have a credible peacekeeping operation in Sudan, the peace treaty will fail," Haavisto added.

Diplomats in Abuja say discussions involving Nur, Minnawi, the government and international mediators are under way to coax Nur into signing the deal but the situation was delicate.

"We're in the thick of it. It could go either way," said one diplomat who requested anonymity.

ETHNIC TENSIONS

Nur and Minnawi loathe each other but Minnawi wants Nur to sign because he does not want spoilers undermining the accord. However, it would be hard for him to swallow any concessions made to his rival after he has already signed the agreement.

Nur is weak militarily but his endorsement of the agreement is important because he is a member of the Fur tribe, Darfur's largest. Minnawi has more fighters but he is from the smaller Zaghawa ethnic group.

Hostility between ethnic groups in Darfur has fuelled the conflict.

Haavisto said those seen as impeding the peace process will likely face U.N. sanctions.

"If they (SLA/JEM rebel factions) don't sign, I have the feeling that the U.N. will not have pity towards them, as the political will for a peace deal is broad," Haavisto said.

(additional reporting by Ingrid Melander in Brussels and Arild Moen in Helsinki)

Photo: Minni Minnawi, leader of Darfur rebel group SLA signs Darfur Peace Agreement May 5, 2006 (wcco.com)

Humanitarian Hijinks aka Sleepless in Sudan aka Catherine Jameson: Careless talk costs lives

Today, Coalition for Darfur points out a piece entitled President Deserves our Thanks by American journalist Nick Clooney, father of Hollywood movie star George Clooney.

Nick and George Clooney have a strong reputation for being Bush haters and anti-war in Iraq. Recently, both of them courted a lot of media attention calling for the Bush administration to stop "genocide" in Darfur even though the findings of the UN's International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur concluded the Sudanese government was NOT pursuing a policy of genocide in Darfur.

Why do so many people who follow news on the Sudan, claim to care about the wellbeing of people and push so hard for military intervention in Darfur? Invading the Sudan without a UN resolution would mean international personnel being dismissed from the country. How would aid be delivered to the 3.5 million people in need? War on the Sudan would be a bloodbath and defeat the object. I cannot understand why activists and writers like Nicholas Kristof, Eric Reeves and Samantha Power et al can't see this (and if they do, why they don't enlighten their readers).

The amount of propaganda in the media is far greater than I ever imagined before starting this blog. I nearly blew a gasket when I saw that Nick Clooney's piece had been published by The Cincinnati Post, readers of which, no doubt, take the piece as fact and not the opinion of one person. He singled out the US for praise on helping Darfur - that the US has given more than any other nation (why shouldn't it? it's the biggest - you can fit the United Kingdom into the State of Texas) - and had the audacity to write, quote:

"European response has been shockingly weak, especially given the longtime connections of France and Great Britain in the region."

[Please get your facts straight Mr Clooney and do your homework before making such ignorant statements]

Talking about propaganda, here is a copy of my response today to a piece at the Guardian's 'Comment is free' entitled Peace at last? authored by someone going by the name of Catherine Jameson aka Humanitarian Hijinks blog aka Sleepless in Sudan blog who also claims to care about the plight of the people of Darfur. I found it at Coalition for Darfur.

Note, Coventrian is the name of a person who posted a comment at the piece.

[Coventrian: I see. You want peace but oppose the peace treaty and want to send in the same troops that brought 'peace' to Iraq? I think you have a completely different agenda.]

Most insightful, Coventrian. Well said. Thank you.

Having followed the blog "Humanitarian Hijinks" (renamed "Sleepless in Sudan") from the start, my view is the author of the above piece seems to be either an irresponsible naive egotist looking to make a name as a writer or a propagandist onside with the Darfur rebels aiming to overthrow regime in Khartoum.

The Sudan is the size of Europe. Military intervention (an act of war) would bring out all the jihadists and set alight the tinder box of Africa, making Iraq look like a picinic.

African Union troops in Darfur do not have the mandate of a protection force. They are in Darfur - with Khartoum's permission - without firepower to monitor a ceasefire agreement while warring parties negotiate a peace agreement, afterwhich troops with a peacekeeping mandate can be deployed with firepower and equipment. Khartoum imposes a lot of restrictions on the AU troops, including night time curfews.

An agreed peace deal is the only way to work towards a political settlement and receive persmission from Khartoum to allow troops with peacekeeping mandate into Darfur.

The Darfur Peace Agreement signed on May 5, 2006 certainly does offer hope as it represents the start of the road to peace albeit, in all probability, a long one.

The men and women of the African Union Mission in Darfur have conducted themselves with great professionalism and diplomacy, representing the fledgling African Union well on its first mission and serving as good ambassadors of their home countries. See one small example how AU police officers build trust (for more reports on AMIS type in keywords "African Union" or "AU" into search box at top of Sudan Watch front page
female-au-police-officers-build-trust

Note, the Darfur rebels (who have bases outside of the Sudan and in Europe) are anti the African Union mediators and troops and use the media to denigrate and belittle the AU. The rebels want the international community (read money) and UN troops onside. The situation in Sudan is hugely complex. A lot is at stake. Propaganda is rife.

Before anyone here writes another word about Darfur or the Sudan, please read a most insightful piece entitled "Careless talk costs lives" by Daniel Davies (and the comments, in which Daniel so rightly says: 'People who now want to "speak out in defence of their fellow human beings" in Darfur are today just stroking their moral consciences in public, with probably quite serious consequences.')
"Careless talk costs lives"
commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/daniel_davies

Also by Daniel Davies:
"Sudan Watch: a plug"
This website ought to be compulsory reading for anyone planning to comment on the unfolding tragedy in Darfur. I don't think it's exaggerating to say that if there had been a website as good as Sudan Watch in the runup to the Iraq War, a lot of things might have become common knowledge a lot earlier which have in fact only really come out since the war.
commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/daniel_davies




Photo: Daniel Davies is an analyst and stockbroker working in London. He started his career working in the Bank of England and has been a stockbroker for ten years. He is a member of the Crooked Timber group blog and sporadically maintains d-squareddigest.blogspot.com and a small number of other projects.

Chad and the Darfur domino effect: Darfur conflict will suck in all its neighbours

Mail & Guardian by Katharine Houreld 8 May 2006 - excerpt: [sub-headings are mine]

Spillover from the Darfur conflict is in danger of destabilising the entire central African region say observers. Since the war in Sudan erupted, rebel groups have formed in neighbouring Chad and are beginning to emerge in the Central African Republic (CAR), which shares a border with both states.

Although many of the Sudanese rebels come from the same tribe as Chad's President Idriss Deby, for the first few years of the rebellion he tried to avoid antagonising his powerful neighbour by not openly supporting the rebels, while turning a blind eye if members of his government chose to do so. But relations between Chad and Sudan soured last year, with each country accusing the other of supporting rebel groups on each other's territories.

The situation is complicated by numerous defectors from Deby's inner circle, who have formed their own rebel group in Chad. They accuse Deby of not doing enough to support their kinsmen in Sudan.

Observers also say that they were angered by his decision to seek a third term in Wednesday's elections. Since Chad began exporting oil a few years ago, many of Deby's family has been eyeing the position.

United States of Africa?

"Chad's crisis is homegrown, but converging dangerously with the conflict in Darfur. These crises feed off of one another and, inevitably, civilians are caught in the middle. CAR is involved because northern CAR is essentially ungoverned and, therefore, a useful rear base for attacks on Chad," said Colin Thomas-Jenson of the International Crisis Group. "You cannot solve one conflict in the region without addressing the others."

Adam Rakiss, a 41-year-old who claims to be a colonel in the CAR, is one of about 235 rebels who were seized after they launched a major assault on Chad's capital a fortnight ago. He says Sudan promised the CAR fighters bases from which to launch their own rebellion if they helped topple Deby. "If we help [leader of the United Front for Change rebels] Mohamet Nour take power in Chad, Sudan will help us," he said, adding that he had arrived with about 20 fighters from the CAR.

Sudanese-backed rebels using CAR as base for incursions into Chad

A Chad-backed coup helped CAR President Francois Bozize into power three years ago. Last week, his foreign minister lodged an official complaint with Sudan regarding two planes that had allegedly landed in the north of the country carrying 100 mercenaries. Military observers believe that Sudanese-backed rebels are already using the CAR as a base for incursions into Chad.

One country sets an entire region afire

Olivier Bercault of Human Rights Watch says the availability of automatic weapons, porous borders and weak government means the Darfur conflict will suck in all its neighbours. "The dynamic is unfortunately something we know very well. One country sets an entire region afire. In western Sudan, eastern Chad and CAR, it's exactly the same pattern."



Photo: Sudanese children sit in their makeshift classroom in the refugee camp Kou Kou Angarana in Chad. (Photograph: AP)

Oil from Sudan makes up one-tenth of China's imported oil - China's invested $2bn in Sudan over last 10 years

Snippets from an opinion piece entitled "Digging for misery" by Tom Harper at Guardian's Comment is free May 12, 2006:

Sudan's oil has fuelled much of the country's desctruction. Its profits block the chance of many of its refugees returning home.

The Chinese economy is now growing at around 10% a year and needs feeding. Zhu Weilie, the director of Middle East and African studies at Shanghai International says: "Oil from Sudan makes up one-tenth of all of China's imported oil ... if we lose this source, how can we find another market to replace it? China has to balance its interests."

Corporation (CNPC), which produces 300,000 barrels a day; is involved in construction projects all over the country; and sells arms to the Khartoum government (one recent reported purchase of Shenyang fighter planes came to $100 million). All in all, China has invested roughly $2bn in Sudan over the last ten years.

China's economic ties to Khartoum have hindered international action on the matter. Since 2004 China, a permanent member of the UN security council, has abstained on six resolutions including one last month that, for the first time, imposed sanctions on four Sudanese accused of atrocities in Darfur, and another last March that proposed an oil embargo, cutting off at source the strongest card the Sudanese government can play.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports from Sudan-Chad border

In his report from Sudan-Chad border, CNN's Nic Robertson says a journalist can easily be shot for his or her automobile in Sudan or Chad, and explains:

As we've seen here in crowds, tensions can run high. A crowd can go from being sort of loud and peaceful to being angry and vengeful within a matter of seconds.

In Sudan, we saw two types of crowds. We saw a crowd that appeared to be organized by the government that was out to tell Jan Egeland that they didn't want the peace deal implemented by U.N. peacekeepers coming into the country.

And we've seen refugees in the Sudan camps who have been there two to three years, saying they do want international peacekeepers because they don't have faith in the African Union peacekeepers who are supposed to keep them safe right now.

They don't trust the Sudanese government. They say they get arrested when they go into town.

When you're in a crowd here, I think you really have to watch people's facial expressions, you have to watch their moods, you have to see if anything is changing their mood.

If one person turns in a crowd -- and this is the same in Afghanistan, Iraq and many other countries -- the whole mood of the crowd can shift in seconds. You have to be aware of that.

In Chad, the refugees, even those who have been here three years or more, are remarkably peaceful. They recognize and respect everything the international community is doing for them.

One of the refugee leaders in one of the camps told me today, "We know there's no one else out here who is going to provide security, who's going to help us and take care of us other than the international community."

[Note, many of the refugees are onside with the rebels. Darfur rebels are anti AU mediators and AU troops. Throughout the past few years they've wanted UN troops onside and UN to replace AU mediators at Darfur peace talks. Propaganda is rife]

US suggests May 30 deadline to start preparation for UN force takeover in Darfur

The US circulated a draft UN resolution that sets a May 30 deadline for deploying an assessment team to Darfur to prepare a UN takeover of the AU peacekeeping mission.

The new text, expected to be taken up by the 15-member Security Council during closed-door consultations Friday, calls on the parties to the Abuja accords to cooperate with the AU, the UN and member states "to accelerate transition to a United Nations operation, and ...calls for the immediate deployment of a joint African Union and United Nations technical assessment mission no later than May 30."

US has spent $1 billion feeding the hungry in Darfur

US Department of State report by Charles W. Corey, Washington File Staff Writer, 11 May 2006. Excerpt:

Between 2004 and 2006, the United States has spent more than $1 billion feeding the hungry in the crisis-gripped Darfur region of western Sudan, and remains committed to caring for distressed people in the area, a top U.S. government official told the U.S. Congress May 11.

"While we give a lot to WFP," the United States also has given $22 million to the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC's) food distribution program and $8 million to five NGOs distributing food in Darfur, Hess said.

Additionally, even though WFP has been forced to cut daily food rations by 50 percent because of a severe shortfall in funding, Hess reassured Congress that the United States will continue contributing to supplemental feeding programs to ensure that those people who are most in danger of acute malnutrition will receive the support they need.

Dworken said Food for Peace has taken three key steps to help deal with the current WFP ration shortfall:

- Moving 2,850 tons of noncereal commodities to Port Sudan from pre-positioned stockpiles in Dubai and Lake Charles, Louisiana, for distribution in Darfur;

- Diverting 4,750 tons of food to Port Sudan that was being shipped to stockpiles in Dubai; and

- Procuring 40,000 tons of cereals valued at $36 million for rapid direct shipment to Sudan (an emergency action taken by the U.S. Department of Agriculture).

Dworken said those three steps add up to about 47,600 tons of food, valued at $48 million, which should be delivered from late May through late June.

Dana Ott, acting director of the Office of Sudan Programs at USAID, told the lawmakers that Sudan is the largest program in USAID's Africa Bureau -- which she attributed to the ongoing emergency food program. "Of the $850 million we spent in Sudan last year, easily $500 million was food assistance," she said, "and then a significant other portion was humanitarian nonfood assistance."

Ott predicted that USAID's new office will be opened in Khartoum in July and said USAID also is looking forward to the construction of a new consulate compound in Juba.

Minnawi's SLA delegation arrives in N Darfur to popularise peace accord

A delegation from Minni Minawi's faction of the Sudanese Liberation Army Movement arrived Thursday evening in Al-Fashir, capital of Northern Darfur State to start political activities in Darfur five days after signing a peace agreement with the government in Abuja, says SudanTribune report from Khartoum May 11, 2006:

The agreement raises hope that a UN force will be allowed into Darfur to help out the AU troops, as Khartoum has said it would consider such a force after a peace deal was signed.

On May 11, the leader of the SLM faction, Abdelwahed al-Nur, said he is willing to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement if Khartoum satisfy certains demands.

He said his key demands were for more compensation funds for Darfur from Khartoum, greater political representation for his group, and greater involvement in mechanisms to enforce a ceasefire and disarmament plan foreseen in the accord.

Displaced women in Sudan's Darfur are still being raped on a large scale says UN rights chief

Despite assertions by Sudan's Government, displaced women in that country's Darfur region are still being raped on a large scale, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said today.

Full report UN News Centre 11 May 2006. Excerpt:

Ms. Arbour said that there was no sign that sexual violence against the women of Darfur had receded or been brought under control in any way. During her first visit to Darfur in 2004, she met with groups of women in the camps who had been raped by the Arab militia called janjaweed.

She said she had been shocked to meet women this time who had subsequently given birth to the children of rape and who might later be ostracized by the community. After meeting groups of Darfur's women who had recently been raped, she said she told the Government the rapes were taking place "on a large and unattended scale."

"The Government asserted that it had taken many initiatives to address the question of sexual violence. The initiatives that I have been made aware of, as far as I am concerned, so far, continue to be paper initiatives. I saw no evidence on the ground that any of these committees that have been set up to look after these issues have made a dent in the problems," the High Commissioner said.

INTERVIEW: Hassan Al-Turabi says Islam and democracy are not incompatible - absence of democracy is the main reason behind Sudan's Darfur conflict

May 11, 2006 Al-Ahram Weekly Hassan Al-Turabi interview by Gamal Nkrumah. Excerpts:

"People are not stupid, nor lacking in civic responsibility," Sheikh Hassan Al-Turabi points out. His voice rises with excitement as he talks about the prospects for peace in Darfur. Choking on his words, he explains that the absence of democracy is the main reason behind conflict. "There is no notion of consensus (shura ), as Islam enjoins, nor an imperative to democratise."

"I am against the enforcement of Sharia law on non-Muslims. The Christian southerners must not forcibly succumb to Islamic Sharia law. "The Jews of Medina were not subjected to Sharia law during the days of Prophet Mohamed. Why should we Muslims, today, force Sharia law on Christian subjects?"

He reserves his harshest criticism for the military clique ruling Sudan. The curious thing is that they have not learnt from their mistakes, he says. "They insist on doing things their way -- which has more to do with totalitarianism and authoritarianism than Islam -- and so have got almost everything wrong."

"Women's rights are paramount. Where women's rights are thwarted there can be no democracy.

"Military rule ruined the country. Democracy is the only viable answer to Sudan's numerous challenges."

Turabi asks how difficult it really is to maintain universal notions of human rights. He argues that the inferior status of women in contemporary Muslim societies has nothing to do with Islam as revealed in the Qur'an and Sunna (the traditions of Prophet Mohamed).

Turabi said that as long as there are foreign troops on Sudanese soil, the country for all intents and purposes remains a colony. He also said that the Islamist experiment in Sudan was a failure.

Turabi stresses that Islam and democracy are not incompatible.

It is an open secret that many of the leaders of the Justice and Equality Movement, one of two armed Darfur opposition groups that declined to sign a peace agreement with the Sudanese government, were former members of the PCP or close associates of Turabi.

Islamist activists from Darfur were staunch supporters of the NIF regime in the past. Some observers would go so far as to claim that JEM is, in effect, the armed wing of the PCP.

"Democracy is the only way forward."

First of all, he elaborates, it is almost inevitable -- it is going to happen. The future of Africa and the Arab world is democratic.



Photo: Sheikh Hassan Al-Turabi, in above interview, said "I was imprisoned because I spoke with the southerners -- the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) -- I spent 30 months in jail for doing so -- and I was also imprisoned, 15 months, for speaking with Darfur's armed opposition groups. Now, I have entered into discussions with the Easterners," he says nonchalantly.

SLA's Minnawi disproves claims by rivals he signed Darfur Peace Agreement under pressures

During a press conference by telephone in Khartoum today SLA leader Minnawi said his movement would engage in political activities soon by setting up offices in different parts of the country so as to participate with the political forces in the country for the sake of development in the country.

In holding this press conference Minnawi meant to disapprove his political advisor Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim who said in a letter addressed to the UN Secretary General that Minnawi signed Darfur agreement under pressures. Full report Sudan Tribune May 11, 2006.