Historic photo of Sudanese opposition leaders, including Al-Turabi and Al-Mahdi, brought together by the UN

Here is 'Picture Of The Week' from Jan Pronk's Weblog June 10, 2006 showing Sudanese opposition leaders, including Al-Turabi and Al-Mahdi, brought together by the UN. Following caption authored by Mr Pronk of The Netherlands who is Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in Sudan, leading the UN peace keeping operation (UNMIS - www.unmis.org).



Photo: Sudanese opposition leaders, including Al-Turabi and Al-Mahdi, brought together by the UN.

The United Nations Security Council, visiting Sudan early June, invited Sudanese opposition leaders to discuss the prospects of peace.

See from left to right Ali Mahmoud Hassanien, Deputy Chairman of the Democratic Unionis Party (DUP), Mohammed Ibrahim Nugud, Chairman of the Sudan Communist Party, Hassan Abdallah Al-Turabi, Chairman of the Popular National Congress Party (PNCP) and AL-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, Chairman of the Umma Party. The Chairman of the DUP, Al- Mergani, still keeps his residence in Egypt.

Al-Turabi sitting next to Al-Mahdi is rather unique. The Islamist Al-Turabi was the auctor intellectualis behind the military coup at the end of the ninety eighties which brought an end to the regime of Al-Mahdi. The latter had been Prime Minister after the democratic elections of 1986.

The Islamist Al-Turabi supported the regime of President Bashir many years. He was arrested and jailed when the Bashir regime changed its ideological orientation. Mid last year, after the formation of the Government of National Unity, which brought together Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement of John Garang and Salve Kiir, Al-Turabi was set free. He directly started to severely provoke the government and surprised many people by taking rather liberal positions in matters concerning Islam. Elections are foreseen for 2008. It is uncertain how much support the various opposition parties will get, in particular because of the emergence of the SPLM, the Darfurian SLM and of course the NCP itself. [For greatly magnified view, click on original image at Jan Pronk's Weblog]

Jun 1 2005 Sudanese opposition leader [Sadiq al-Mahdi] to boycott interim government

May 14 2006 Sudan's Turabi condemns Darfur Peace Agreement - Al Turabi Is a Chameleon

Jun 3 2006 Al-Mahdi calls on Darfur rebels to adopt "civil jihad" to press Khartoum into convening all-inclusive conference - Unused water and Roseires Dam

Historic photo: Joseph Kony (LRA), exposed - First picture, after more than a decade - Pronk

Jan Pronk, the Special Representative of the Secretary General of the United Nations in Sudan, who is leading the UN peace keeping operation in southern Sudan, discusses "how to approach the Lord's Resistance Army? Is it possible to defeat them militarily or should we try to find a political solution? What comes first: justice or peace? Who should decide?"

Read more at Jan Pronk Weblog June 19, 2006.



First picture, after more than a decade, of Joseph Kony, leader of the nefarious Lord Resistance Army. The picture shows Kony (l), and his second in command Vince Otty (r). In the middle: Riek Machar, Vice President Government of South Sudan".

Kony has asked the Government of Southern Sudan to facilitate talks between him and President Museveni of Uganda, claiming that he would wish to put an end to his twenty year war with Uganda. Kony and Otty have been indicted by the International Criminal Court.

Photo and text courtesy May 30, 2006 Jan Pronk Weblog - for much larger view, click on original image.

June 21 2006 Sudan wants ICC Kony trial delayed. [Note, the U.S. views Kony's LRA as a terrorist organisation]

Israeli Foreign Ministry mentions al-Qaeda presence in Sudan

Israeli authorities have given assurances that none [Sudanese refugees] will be sent back to Sudan, where they could face execution for having set foot in Israel, and say they hope to expand the house-arrest program now running on collective farms.

But "when al-Qaeda has a presence in Sudan, all of the refugees have to be very carefully screened," said Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev. "No one can expect that Israel is the right solution to the Sudanese refugees." - Full report by Carolynne Wheeler globeandmail.com June 22, 2006.

Jun 10 2006 Al-Qaeda criticised Khartoum as "spineless" for allowing UN-AU assessment mission into Sudan

SPLA deploys troops in Khartoum

At least 320 SPLA soldiers arrived in Khartoum from Kassala on Saturday and were deployed at the republican guard garrison at Soba Aradi area, the Sudan Radio Service (SRS) reported.

There are now a total of 1,500 SPLA soldiers deployed in different areas of Khartoum as stipulated in the CPA.

Some of the troops will be deployed in Soba Aradhi, fifteen kilometres south of Khartoum. The rest will be deployed in the Jebel Aulia IDP camp, forty kilometres south of Khartoum.



Photo: The first batch of the troops of the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) arrive in Khartoum, Sudan, Monday, July 18, 2005, ready to form the joint peacekeeping force. (AP)

Full report ST/SRS 21 June 2006. [via OromiaTimes blog - with thanks]

Mbeki: S Africa wants to see UN assist in a way agreed by Khartoum and AU

Sudanese President al-Bashir told a news conference with Mbeki that UN forces were unacceptable because they would come to Sudan with colonial and imperial ambitions.

"We do not reject the United Nations, but in no way will we accept UN troops because ... these troops have an imperial and colonial agenda. Changing this mission to the United Nations will never happen, never ever happen," he said.

Bashir said "if the UN is realy serious to deal with us they had to come before taking their decision under chapter seven and talk with us".

Mbeki said South Africa wanted to see the United Nations assist in a way agreed by the government and the African Union.



Photo: S. Africa's President Thabo Mbeki (L) and his Sudanese counterpart Omar Hassan al-Bashir address the media in Sudan's capital Khartoum June 20, 2006. (Reuters) Full report Sudan Tribune June 22, 2006.

UPDATE: June 22 2006 Reuters report via Sudan Tribune - Sudan has not shut door on UN troops - South Africa : Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, South Africa's FM, told Reuters that Sudan's main complaint was that the UN had consulted virtually everyone on the Darfur situation but ignored Khartoum. "Khartoum's concern was that the UN had never discussed the deployment with Sudan as a country. The UN talked to the AU, to us, and to everyone else but not to the Sudanese and they felt that was not right," Dlamini Zuma said.
"That was the cause of the suspicion by the Sudanese of what the UN's motives might be. They are not against the UN but they need to be convinced that the deployment is necessary."

Darfur rebels block peacekeepers in N Darfur - UNMIS gains access to Suleiman Jamous - UN Sudan Situation Report 13 - 20 Jun 2006

North Darfur: Despite the overall decline of violence in Darfur since the signing of the DPA, due to the reduction in clashes between the Government and SLA forces, banditry, rape, cattle rustling and targeted attacks on INGO compounds and UN convoys, as well as the African Union, continue to pose a threat to peace. During the reporting period, North Darfur was particularly restive, witnessing the spectacular abduction of six IOM staff by the SLM/A-Wahid in Irgue, 50km West of Kutum. The concerned staff were released after a day, following the joint intervention of the UN and AU. In addition, on 14 June, an AMIS patrol was detained for several hours by the SLM/A-Wahid in Kaguro, 43km Southeast of Kebkabiya. The group cited non-acceptance of the DPA as their general grievance. Furthermore, they requested the AU to obtain express permission from the SLM/A leadership in El-Fasher, before undertaking any further patrols.

This week also saw renewed inter-SLM/A fighting in Kulkul and Korma on 12 and 13 June, respectively. Although the fighting in Kulkul, currently under the control of SLM/A-Wahid, was instigated by the SLM/A-Minawi, the incidents in Korma appear to have been sparked by a SLM/A-Wahid offensive, probably in a bid to regain lost territory. No details of the latter attack, or the number of casualties, are currently known. UNMIS will continue to encourage and support AMIS in the implementation of its mandate, including resuming its vital operations around the Kalma, Abou Shouk and Zalingei camps.

For the first time since his most recent detention, UNMIS gained access to SLM/A stalwart, Suleiman Jamous, on 15 June. During his meeting with Mr. Minawi on 16 June, SRSG Pronk discussed Mr. Jamous' Release for the purposes of obtaining medical treatment. Mr. Minawi promised to free Jamous, through the UN. - United Nations Sudan Situation Report 13 - 20 Jun 2006 via ReliefWeb 20 June 2006.

Infighting among rebel factions cuts off over 100,000 people from aid - Rebels warn DPA will collapse without UN force

Excerpt from AP report by Alfred de Montesquiou via CBS June 22, 2006 UN head of peacekeeping downplays Sudan rejection of troops to calm Darfur:

"Obviously, we would like to hear a different opinion," UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Gehenno told The Associated Press shortly after meeting al-Bashir. "We want to believe that this is not the end of the road."

Gehenno was ending a two-week visit to Darfur and Khartoum with some 40 UN and African Union experts to plan for a large UN force to take over peacekeeping in Darfur. Gehenno said he had assured the Sudanese president that the UN had no "hidden agenda." "There are many misunderstandings about the UN's goals in Darfur that we are trying to solve with the Sudanese government," said Gehenno.

Gehenno said the priority would be to strengthen the 7,000-strong AU force. He confirmed that the UN still hoped to send its own peacekeeping mission by early 2007. The chief peacekeeper also insisted that UN peacekeepers would "only go to Darfur in full cooperation from the Sudanese government." There has been "a slight improvement" in the situation since the signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement last month between the region's main rebel group and the government, Gehenno said. But he said the situation was precarious and infighting among rebel factions had cut off over 100,000 people from humanitarian assistance.

Presidential adviser Majzoub Khalifa said the government believes letting in the UN could destablize Sudan. "We do not want Darfur to become a new Iraq," he said, claiming tribal leaders in Darfur had warned authorities they would form insurgency groups against UN peacekeepers.

President Bush, who has called for the United Nations to take over peacekeeping in Darfur, reiterated Wednesday that he viewed the government-backed attacks on civilians there as genocide. "I care deeply about those who have been afflicted by these renegade bands of people who are raping and murdering," he said at a summit with European leaders in Vienna. In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli pressed for Sudan to accept the U.N. force. "As long as violence continues in Darfur, the Sudanese Government is going to be held responsible, regardless of the circumstances," the spokesman said.

Deploying UN troops is crucial to salvaging the brittle peace deal signed by the Sudanese government and the main Darfur rebel movement, which has warned the agreement will collapse without the peacekeeping force.

No peacekeeping mission will succeed in Darfur unless warring parties are genuinely ready for peace

Excerpt from FT report by Andrew England June 22 2006:

"Yes they [the UN] have better logistics and resources, but can they bring the magic?" asks one AU officer. "People's expectations have to be managed."

He pointed out the UN's failure to take action during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, and fiascos in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where UN troops failed to prevent the massacre of civilians and the capture of towns by rebels, shattering any credibility it had there.

In spite of the challenges, AU officers argue their presence has made a difference. "I believe if you check from the time we arrived in 2004 to date, in the face of glaring constraints, we have achieved a lot," says Colonel Ladan Yusuf, an AU sector commander.

Ultimately, all agree that no operation will succeed in Darfur unless the warring parties are genuinely ready for peace. The region is awash with weapons and its residents bear arms as others "carry mobile phones", an officer says. And UN officials are expressing concern about the level of expectations that could come with a UN operation.

SPLM nominated Dr Akec Khoc, a Dinka tribesman living in Minnesota USA, for position with new government

Last month, two spokesmen for Darfur rebel groups SLM/A and JEM refusing to join Darfur peace deal were interviewed in Washington by Democracy Now. The interviewer asked what they were doing in Washington. One of the rebels replied saying they were visiting the "Darfur community". He made their appearance in Washington sound so easy, matter of fact and normal.

America is like Fort Knox when it comes to immigration procedures, security and entry visas. What do the rebels declare as their occupation, how they make a living, money they are carrying, where they are staying, what they will be doing during their visit. Holiday? Visiting friends?

After seeing and hearing what the two rebels said in the podcast interview I wondered about the number of Sudanese people living outside of the Sudan, what they were doing to help their people, and how Sudan's rebels in their nice new western style suiits afford to feed their families and pay for travels to far flung places like Slovenia, Germany, France, England, Libya, Washington, Nigeria, Eritrea. Maybe they don't think the public would be interested in such minor details. When a politician is elected we get a good idea of the source of their pay packet and expenses. Why do rebels get away with murder and appear to have diplomatic immunity? I don't get it. I'm irked that journalists don't bother reporting these aspects of the Darfur war especially when there are billions of tax dollars involved.

The following news report 'Sign of hope' for Sudan by Frederick Melo (St Paul Pioneer Press, June 4, 2006) tells of some Sudanese people living in Minnesota, USA who believe their homeland still has a chance at peace. Edited excerpt:

Dr Akec Khoc, a 55-year-old medical practitioner living in Rochester, Minn. is one of hundreds of Sudanese who fled Africa's longest-running civil war and relocated to Minnesota, leaving behind professional careers, land and family.

For some, the January 2005 peace accords have rekindled hopes of returning to their homeland and helping to rebuild. For most, however, conflict in Darfur and the halting progress in reconstructing the shattered villages of the south are overshadowing those dreams.

After leaving Sudan as a refugee in 1983, Khoc, a 6-foot-3-inch Dinka tribesman plans to return this month to take a position with the new unified government, helping in the political reunification of the north and south.

If it wasn't for his ministry work, the Rev. Mawien Ariik has little doubt he would return to those familiar lands tomorrow.

Ariik, 43, was a young man when he fled the country in 1990, leaving behind a brother and nine sisters who were settled near the family homestead in southern Sudan.

"They were in the countryside, and I was in the big city," said Ariik, who leads a small Sudanese congregation at the Zion Lutheran Church in Anoka. "So when war broke out, I was far away from them, and I couldn't get back. They remained hiding. I ran to Khartoum."

Ariik said many Sudanese now dream of returning to Sudan. But many are also fearful.

"We could go back, but everyone is waiting," said Ariik, who returned to his country in February for his mother's funeral. "None of the things that were agreed upon (in the peace accords) have been started yet. … No schools were left, no hospitals were left in the south because of the war. Towns were destroyed completely. How can I go back to a destroyed city, without a school, without water, without a hospital?"

"I've been in other war zones in Ethiopia and Eritrea and in Bosnia, but this is sort of in a class by itself in terms of the viciousness of the attacks and the vulnerability of the people," said Eric R. Markusen, a sociology professor from Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, who visited the refugee camps outside Darfur in the summer of 2004.

Khoc is among those who want to return to help his people. After working for two years as a mental health counselor at a South Minneapolis group home, he and his wife moved to a modest apartment in Rochester, where they await news of his likely political appointment.

Khoc had fled Sudan for Ethiopia in 1983, and then to France in 1991 after the political situation in Ethiopia deteriorated for the south Sudanese. While in Paris, he had been a spokesman for the Sudan's People Liberation Movement (SPLM), the leading opposition group to the northern government.

In April, the SPLM nominated Khoc and 15 other south Sudanese for ambassadorial positions. As of June 1, however, the men had not been sworn in by the northern government based in Khartoum, or assigned to specific embassies.

During Ariik's church services, it's 34-year-old Akhlas Akto who sings the loudest. Like a gospel enthusiast belting out classics, the mother of four leads each hymn, sung in Arabic, and her voice carries over the beating of a tall African drum, the roll of a tambourine and the rattle of a beaded gourd shaker.

In Sudan, Akto had been a day care worker in a Lutheran church, and her two older sisters spent the better part of 20 years as secretaries in government and professional offices.

Now, one sister cleans school halls as a janitor at the University of Minnesota and the other assembles boxes at a packaging plant. Neither enjoys her work.

For many south Sudanese, adjusting to life in America has been far from easy. In Sudan, many of their countrymen had been teachers, doctors, farmers and politicians. Here, the people Ariik ministers to now work factory jobs and night shifts, wrestling with language barriers, unfamiliar industries and new cultural norms.

Limited in number relative to Somalis, Latinos and Asian immigrants, the Sudanese have scattered across small ethnic enclaves in Anoka County, Rochester, Fargo, N.D., and Sioux Falls, S.D., he said.

Like many south Sudanese living in Minnesota, Ariik's parents had been landed farmers, and his family lived relatively comfortable lives surrounded by dozens of cows, goats and sheep. After fleeing the war, he lived for eight years in Egypt attending a seminary, and in 1998 obtained refugee status and moved to Wisconsin.

Before long, he relocated to Anoka, where he became an inspector in an eyeglass factory.

Akto, who is homesick for Sudan, said she will remain in Minnesota, largely to see her four children educated in the U.S. But the cost and pace of American life are wearing on her, and she misses the social gatherings of her homeland.

"My (eldest) daughter wants to go back," said Akto, who worked as a classroom aide at a Head Start school for four years before being laid off on disability. "She's 18. She came here when she was 11. She says she doesn't like it over here."

Gatluak Juach is among those south Sudanese who have no plans to return to their homeland. Juach left Sudan while still a boy to live in Ethiopia for 14 years, where he became a math teacher. The 34-year-old Coon Rapids man now solders parts at an electronics factory in Brooklyn Park, and little of what he hears from his mother and brother, who still reside in south Sudan, gives him reason to think he'll go back.

His five children, ranging in age from 3 to 13, are "American," he says, and they seem even more uninterested.

"When I talk to them about Sudan, they don't understand it," he said. "When they watch the news on Darfur, they say, 'Your country's not good.' "

But others still hold out hope for their homeland.

Frederick Melo can be reached at fmelo@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2172.

Jun 3 2006 Sudan's Dinka back home after 20-year journey - 90,000 displaced southerners in Darfur, 25,000 have returned

Feb 28 2006 UN says Eritrea, Libya, Chad supply arms to Sudan's Darfur rebels and SPLM/A provided training and arms to SLM/A

May 23 2006 Sudan Tribune - Opinion piece by Mayar Mayar Kout, an IT Student, Computer Analyst at Southern New Hampshire University. Manchester, USA SPLMs Ambassadors are not advocates of al-Bashir policy: Though there are a very qualified nominees on list I think that are appropriate to the party. to honor them serve the diplomat relations here they are: ambassadors Dr. Francis Madding Deng, Dr. Akec Khoc Acieu, Dr. El-Wathing Mohammed Kameir, Professor, Steven, Wondu, Andrew, Makor thow He was nominated by Bashir's Party (NCP) Otherwise, I'd like to get people attention that we missed a great nominee, with tremendous Civil service records. He has diplomacy reputation, very skillful Spokesperson Mr. Ezekiel LD, Gatkouth from SPLM Office Washington DC. [Note, SPLM Office Washington DC, USA]

Apr 27 2006 Sudan Tribune (Khartoum) Sudanese president appoints 16 SPLM's ambassadors: The countries they will serve in as heads of Diplomatic Mission representing the Government of Southern Sudan are yet to be announced soon. Lam [Akol] did not mention to which countries the news ambassadors are appointed. SPLM ambassadors, will soon go to Khartoum to sworn in. Most of them are based in the USA. [Note, most of them are based in the USA]

Apr 29 2006 Sudan Refugees Gather for Solidarity Dinner Apr 29 in Washington, DC: The solidarity dinner, which will bring together Muslims from Northern Sudan including Darfur and Christians from Southern Sudan - formerly enemies - along with others, will host personal stories told from the perspective of a variety of Sudanese that are part of the larger Washington DC march: April 30 Rally to Stop Genocide, which they plan to attend the following day on the DC mall. The group is sponsored by non-profit groups Stop Genocide Now, Sudan Sunrise, Institute on Religion and Democracy/Church Alliance for a New Sudan, Sudan Council of Churches USA and San Francisco's Golden Gate Community Church (GGCC). - Keynote Speech John Prendergast. Closing comments - Dr. Akec Khoc (Southern)

Darfuris living in US hope to move US to take new action

Excerpt from press release by Africa Action Washington, DC http://www.africaaction.org/ at AllAfrica.com entitled 'The Abuja Deal is Not Enough - Darfur Needs a UN Peacekeeping Mission':

Elnour Adam of the Darfur Rehabilitation Project, said today, "As Darfuris living in the U.S., we appreciate the solidarity being expressed in rallies such as those held across the country today, and we hope to move the U.S. to take new action to protect the people of Darfur."

"The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) was the first to declare genocide in Darfur," noted U.S. Representative Melvin L. Watt (D-NC), CBC Chair. "Since that time, the Caucus has repeatedly called on the Bush Administration and the international community to end the violence and the humanitarian nightmare in that region. The time is now for the world community to raise the ante on the government of Sudan."

Here's the rest of the press release:

On World Refugee Day, Africa Action drew powerful speakers and scores of activists for a rally and die-in outside the White House to recognize the continuing humanitarian crisis and worsening security conditions in Darfur, Sudan. Africa Action and its allies called on the U.S. to take new and urgent action to achieve a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission to protect the people of Darfur. In addition to the action in Washington, DC, rallies on Darfur were held in several other U.S. cities today, including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Guest speakers at the Washington, DC rally this afternoon included members of the Congressional Black Caucus, including Congressman Major Owens (D-NY), Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Congressman Donald M. Payne (D-NJ), ranking member of the Subcommittee on Africa of the Committee on International Relations.

Marie Clarke Brill Acting Co-Executive Director of Africa Action, said today, "These rallies illustrate that a diverse cross-section of Americans believe the U.S. and international community have failed to take sufficient action to stop the genocide in Darfur. The people of Darfur continue to live in fear and insecurity. The movement to end genocide in Darfur is diverse, but it is unified in its demand to keep the pressure on the Bush Administration until a UN protection force is on the ground."

Also today, Africa Action released a new "Chronology of International Failures on Darfur," documenting the international community's inadequate response to the genocide in Darfur over the past fourteen months. This new report highlights the deteriorating security situation in Darfur and the urgent need for a UN peacekeeping mission to protect civilians and humanitarian operations. The new chronology can be found here, http://africaaction.org/resources/page.php?op=read&documentid=1932&type=6&issues=1024.

Other speakers at today's rally in Washington, DC included Anyango Reggy, Howard University graduate student in the African Studies Department.

For Africa Action's latest policy statement, "Next Steps on Darfur", see http://www.africaaction.org/newsroom/index.php?op=read&documentid=1905&type=15&issues=1024

Sudan wants ICC Kony trial delayed

The Southern Sudanese government has said it wants the International Criminal Court to delay the trial of rebel leader Joseph Kony to give way for peace negotiations. The Vice President, Mr Riek Machar, said on Tuesday that the Hague-based ICC should publicly endorse his government's peace initiative with the LRA. - Monitor Online June 21, 2006.

Note, UK agrees to jail Charles Taylor. The British government has agreed that former Liberian leader Charles Taylor could serve a prison sentence in the UK, if he is convicted of war crimes. This paves the way for his trial to start in The Hague, after other European countries refused to host him. - BBC June 15, 2006. - via Uganda Watch.

June 21 2006 Sudan opposes UN in Darfur because it fears too many of its allies will end up in an international criminal court - Turabi

Somalis head for Sudan talks to avert war

Reuters report says US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer was bombarded with questions at the news conference today about Washington's widely-assumed support -- including large sums of cash -- for the defeated warlords in Somalia.

Are Americans doing the same for SLM-Nur? How can the rebels afford so many guns, ammunition, trucks, fuel, air tickets, uniforms, satellite phones, swanky hotels and shiney new suits? How do the rebel leaders make a living? How much does a three year war cost?

China gives $3.5m for AU mission in Darfur

IRIN report today says the Chinese government has granted the African Union peackeepking mission in Darfur a total of US $3.5 million in budgetary support and humanitarian emergency aid, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has said on his visit to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo.

Note, the current AU Mission in Darfur costs US $1 billion each year.

Men rape 10-month-old baby, women's cries for support are cries in the wilderness: Global effort needed against rape

A global effort is needed to tackle rape and other sexual violence in war zones, the UN said on Wednesday, calling responses to a worsening problem with tens of thousands of victims "grossly inadequate," Reuters David Brunnstrom reported from Brussels June 21, 2006 - excerpt:

A UN report for the meeting said Bosnia and Herzegovina documented 40,000 cases of war-related rape until 1993 and up to 45,600 Kosovar Albanian women suffered similarly from 1998-99.

In Sierra Leone's protracted conflict up to 64,000 women may have been sexually victimized and one in five of 1,500 Burundian women surveyed by the UN in 2004 reported being raped and many knew of or had witnessed rape of minors.

"The stories are heartbreaking," said Obaid. "We must scale up the responses so women do not feel their cries for support are cries in the wilderness."

Among incidents highlighted were a woman in Congo who found paramilitary soldiers raping her 10-month-old baby, a young woman raped by six Arab men in front of her family in Darfur, and a young ethnic minority girl repeatedly raped then burned alive by an army major in Myanmar's Shan State.

The three-day Brussels conference, sponsored by the European Commission and Belgium, is the first international meeting to address the issue of sexual violence in war zones and plans to conclude with a global call to action.

Obaid said the tragedy of rape was compounded when women were infected in the process with HIV.

"Our current inability to protect the health of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations represents a human rights failure of global proportions," she said.

US presses Sudan to accept UN force

Coalition for Darfur points to a Reuters report today saying US Presses Sudan to Accept UN Force - the US pressed Sudan's government on Wednesday to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur where "experts" say momentum for peace is fast slipping away while Khartoum balks at a UN force - excerpt:

US State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said it was in Sudan's own interests to accept a UN force to back up about 7,000 underequipped African Union troops struggling to keep the peace in Darfur, an area the size of France.

"As long as violence continues in Darfur, the Sudanese government is going to be held responsible, regardless of the circumstances," [US State Department spokesman] Ereli told reporters.

"So the Sudanese government has a strong interest in a more effective security force in Darfur not only to be on the right side of the issue and to be seen as doing the right thing, but also to provide for better security for its own citizens."

Ereli said the United States was working closely with the European Union and others to press Sudan to "recognise the reality" it needed a UN force in Darfur, where tens of thousands have been killed and 2 million have fled their homes in three years of conflict.

[edit]

Sudan experts are critical of the United States, the EU and the African Union for not doing enough to put pressure on Khartoum.

They argue that momentum built up after the signing of a peace agreement last month between Darfur's main rebel group and Sudan's government is fast dissipating because of Khartoum's reluctance to accept a UN force.

Princeton Lyman, of the Council on Foreign Relations, said the Darfur agreement was fragile and the prospect of a UN force not being allowed in would encourage more violence.

"This is a very serious situation and it requires actions sooner rather than later. The first step ought to be to call a meeting of the UN Security Council," he said.

Lyman urged the United States and others, including Arab nations, to be tougher on Sudan and impose sanctions on Khartoum outside of the UN Security Council if they refused to cooperate.

"For example, companies could be forbidden from doing any business in Sudan," he said.

A report this week by the International Crisis Group, a think tank, said the Darfur deal had serious flaws and only an urgent, robust UN peacekeeping mission could save it.

The United States has labelled the violence in Darfur genocide and religious and human rights groups have piled pressure on the Bush administration to act.

The New York-based Elie Wiesel Foundation and more than 60 Nobel Prize winners announced on Wednesday the formation of a Commission of Nobel Laureates to monitor Darfur and recommend urgent actions to governments and international agencies.

"We express compassion with the victims and our anger at world leaders who are timorous, complacent and unwilling to take risks," said Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and recipient of the 1986 Nobel Peace Prize.

Sudan opposes UN in Darfur because it fears too many of its allies will end up in an international criminal court - Turabi

UN troops are equipped to restore peace in Darfur, a rebel representative said Wednesday. "As far as security is concerned, I think they are the most capable forces," Mohamed al-Tigani Eltayeb, of the SLM, told The Associated Press. "UN forces are already in Sudan everywhere," he added, during a break in talks on reconstruction efforts in Darfur being hosted by the Dutch government in The Hague. "What is the reason for not having them in Darfur?" he asked [as if he doesn't know the answer - read on].

Associated Press reported today that Sudan accuses Jewish groups of pushing for UN troops in Darfur and a leading government opponent [Hassan Turabi] has said the government opposes the UN in Darfur because the UN has vowed to prosecute all those involved in war crimes. "They are afraid of the UN's efficiency. The government fears that too many of its allies will end up in an international criminal court," said Turabi, who is believed to be influential with one of the Darfur rebel groups. Excerpt from above AP/ST report:

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has escalated his rejection of the UN deploying peacekeepers in Darfur, saying they would be neo-colonialists and accusing Jewish organizations of pushing for their deployment.

His comments, made while a joint UN and African Union team is in Sudan to plan for such a deployment, is likely to increase tension with the UN Security Council and provoke an angry response from US legislators.

"This shall never take place," al-Bashir told reporters at a press conference with South African President Thabo Mbeki Tuesday. "These are colonial forces and we will not accept colonial forces coming into the country." "They want to colonize Africa, starting with the first sub-Saharan country to gain its independence. If they want to start colonization in Africa, let them chose a different place," he said.

When journalists pressed al-Bashir on his objection to UN troops in Darfur, he replied: "It is clear that there is a purpose behind the heavy propaganda and media campaigns" for international intervention in Darfur. [Sudan Watch ed: I agree with Mr Bashir here - see previous entry June 21, 2006 "Activists in US rally for war in Darfur" - not to mention propagandists Kristof, Powers, USAID-Garang-SLM-Nur-loving Reeves et al]

"If we return to the last demonstrations in the US, and the groups that organized the demonstrations, we find that they are all Jewish organizations," al-Bashir said.

The president was referring to the rallies held in New York and Philadelphia earlier this year which were addressed by figures such as actor George Clooney and former basketball star Manute Bol, a Sudanese.

The comments were al-Bashir's strongest rejection of a UN peacekeeping role in Darfur. At one point he said he himself would lead the "resistance" to such a force.

Activists in US rally for war in Darfur

While Save Darfur.org and other American activisits innanly push for a UN force in Darfur, why do they refuse to address the glaringly obvious issue raised by people such as Nurradin Mannan, a retired Sudanese diplomat, who sensibly points out Khartoum is afraid of a Chapter Seven mandate that would accompany a UN operation, a mandate that has the power to use armed force to protect civilians and to confront combatants accused of committing atrocities?

"These people [Khartoum] are worried about chapter seven because this is going to drag them to the International Criminal Court. There are 51 [people] accused of war crimes in Sudan and this will give the UN the power, the right, to investigate those who are accused," he said.

Note the heading of this entry. I have changed it from "Activists in US rally for peace in Darfur" to "Activists in US rally for war in Darfur" because I believe they are playing with fire and are not stupid or uninformed, which makes me question their motives. I am at a loss to understand why, after Khartoum has signed a peace agreement, they don't apply pressure on Darfur rebels and tribal leaders to provide unstinting efforts to widen popular acceptance of DPA and improve prospects for IDPs to return home.

As if there weren't enough factions stoking the flames of war in favour of the Darfur insurgents, Save Darfur.org continues to join the fray by circulating an email, copied here below in full, to its supporters [I am not one of them] imploring them to press for a solution and ask for a special US envoy to Darfur, plus a UN force in Darfur no later than October:

Dear Supporter,

By taking action right now, you can help turn a potential setback to the effort to stop the genocide in Darfur into an opportunity!

Yesterday, Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick - who personally helped negotiate a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups - resigned.

Zoellick served as an advocate for Darfur within the Bush Administration. With him now gone, we must keep the pressure on President Bush to act. And since today is World Refugee Day - created by the UN in 2001 to recognize the millions of refugees and displaced people around the globe - there is no better opportunity.

Click here to send a message to President Bush. Remind him on World Refugee Day to appoint a coordinator of US policy in Darfur and to push for creation of a UN peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Last month, Deputy Secretary Zoellick aided in brokering a peace agreement - an important first step. Yet with hundreds of thousands in Darfur already dead, millions more displaced and many at risk every day, we must continue to press for a solution.

That is why we are asking President Bush to appoint a special US envoy to the region and to press for a UN peacekeeping force to be on the ground in Darfur no later than October. We cannot wait any longer!

Join us in asking President Bush:

To push for a UN force for Darfur;
To strengthen African Union troops already in Darfur until the UN arrives;
To continue supporting humanitarian assistance programs in Darfur; and
To appoint a special envoy to coordinate US policy in the region.
Click here to email President Bush today. Today is World Refugee Day today - a day set aside to remember the millions of refugees around the globe - and now is the time to remind President Bush of the plight of Darfur's 2.5 million refugees.

Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
David Rubenstein
Save Darfur Coalition

P.S. Would you consider making a tax deductible contribution to support our work? Click here to make a secure, online donation.

If the Rubensteins of America believe peace can be restored in an African country through uninvited military action and occupation, why don't they first sort out their own back yard and make a start with the Klu Klux Klan? Jerry Fowler has a good blog but I don't agree with his warmongering stance either. In his blog entry June 20, 2006 he provides an excerpt from a briefing yesterday by the International Crisis Group that says:

Fighting between rebel and government forces is down somewhat but violence is worse in some areas due to clashes between SLA factions, banditry, and inter-tribal feuds, while the Chad border remains volatile. If the DPA [Darfur Peace Agreement] is not to leave Darfur more fragmented and conflict-prone than before, the international community must rapidly take practical measures to shore up its security provisions, improve prospects for the displaced to return home, bring in the holdouts and rapidly deploy a robust UN peacekeeping force with Chapter VII authority.

And he goes on to say:

ICG calls for five steps to be taken urgently: 1) targeted sanctions on anyone who violates the ceasefire; 2) unstinting efforts to widen popular acceptance of the DPA; 3) strengthening of the AU force; 4) UN Security Council authorization under Chapter VII of the UN Charter of a force to take over from the AU by October 1; and 5) efforts by the EU and NATO to insure that the UN force has the capability to respond effectively to ceasefire violations.

I say, why not put the onus on the three main rebel groups? They are the ones creating most of the trouble and violence right now. 4) and 5) should not be necessary if rebels and tribal leaders abide by ceasefire agreements. Pressure should be put on them to stop their violence, robbing and killing sprees, not for the international community to supply weapons and troops requested by the thugs and gangsters! Surely the only solution is for the warring parties to adhere to ceasefire agreements, denounce violence and fight for what they want using non-violent means.

One of my favourite bloggers, a Sudanese student in Malaysia, who goes by the name of Drima at The Sudanese Thinker, blogs his take on Darfur: the Situation So Far and concludes by saying

"I'm really getting p*ssed off and mad at the amount of garbage so called self-proclaimed professionals are churning out about the Darfur conflict. I have no idea where on earth they get their so called facts. They're on a mission to marginalize the former terrorism harboring Sudanese government as much as possible. They're using this conflict and blowing it out of proportions to pin every single tiny problem on the Sudanese government [edit] why not marginalize it the proper way? Why spread and market such garbage?"

- - -

Jun 22 2006 Darfuris living in the US hope to move the US to take new action

Jun 22 2006 SPLM nominated Dr Akec Khoc, a Dinka tribesman living in Minnesota USA, for position with new government

Sudan's Misariyah tribe sees Abyei Report as a call for war and seeks 'traditional' settlement to border row

An Arab tribe in Sudan wants to resolve a territorial dispute over the southern Abyei region through tribal elders rather than a border commission, a tribal leader said Sunday. Sudan Tribune report June 19, 2006:

The Misariyah and Dinka Ngok tribes have been locked in a heated dispute with each claiming ownership of the territory, and the Misariyah have angrily rejected boundaries proposed in a report by an international commission for the district.

"This report is a call for war. It is rejected in total and in detail," Sadek Abu Nimir, a senior leader of the Misariyah tribe, said.

Nimir's comments came in response to statements by Carlo Kojgor, head of the Dinka Ngok community in north Sudan, that an administration should be formed to oversee the boundary issues -- but excluding the Masiriyah tribe.

An administration "as provided for in the Abyei Protocol should be set up immediately", but "Misariyah participation in this administration is absolutely rejected", Kojgor was quoted as saying in the Sudanese newspaper Al-Sudani.

The Misariyah are Arab nomads who formed pro-government militias during the two-decade war between Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), while the Dinka Ngok are mainly farmers who sided with the SPLA in the conflict.

Under a January 2005 peace deal between the government and the SPLA, the district is one of three granted special status during six years of interim autonomy in the south, leading to a referendum on independence.

Nimir argued that a traditional method of tribal mediation was more suitable to solving the border dispute, which he believes threatens the peace agreement.

"Abyei can be a poisoned knife in the side of the (peace agreement) ... if it is not tackled with wisdom, leaving it to the leaders and elders from the Misariyah and Dinka Ngok who are capable of agreeing on a solution," Nimir said.

He said the reconciliatory meeting should include elders of the two tribes "who actually live in Abyei, and without sponsorship by the government or the SPLA (who) should leave the decision making to the two parties".

Abyei's fate was one of the main stumbling blocks in years of tortuous negotiations between the government and the SPLA that culminated in the peace deal.

Under an agreement reached in May 2004, a formula was established for sharing out oil revenues from the district and providing for a referendum in 2011 on whether the district should join the north or the south.

Abyei was heavily depopulated during Sudan's civil war, Africa's longest-running conflict.

May 30 2006 Interview with Dr Douglas H Johnson, expert on the Abyei Boundary Commission - Hofre Nahas area; part of Bahr El Ghazal transferred to Darfur in 1960s

For further reports, click on Abyei label here below.

Could Sudan create peace and mass employment with a $20 billion "Great Man Made River Project" like Libya's?

If the African Union Mission in Darfur costs the international community $1 billion per year, imagine the cost of even more troops (in addition to the 10,000 UN peacekeepers in southern Sudan) year after year, all because a small minority of gangsters and thugs in Sudan feel unable to lay down their guns and fight for what they want using non-violent means.

What if such vast sums of money spent on war were used instead to create jobs to engineer the flow of drinking water to the people, animals and farmland in Sudan? With enough water for all of the people in Sudan, there is no limit to what they could achieve. They would not have to fight over watering holes and arable land.

When does a gainfully employed person have time to roam around robbing, murdering and creating mayhem? People are usually too tired for such things after a good days work.

Here's an idea. Could Sudan bring peace and gainful employment for all of its citizens with a $20 billion "Great Man Made River Project" like Libya's? Surely a charismatic leader could persuade the Sudanese people to lay down their arms in exchange for the billions of dollars donors are being asked to expend on peacekeeping operations and humanitarian aid?

Oh, and while I am dreaming: I wish for Khartoum to separate religion from government and set up its countrywide administration to mirror the systems of other large countries like Canada and the USA.

Today's Sudan reminds me of the American wild west, 250 years ago. Cowboys fighting indians. Sudan sure has a lot of catching up to do. Water and education for all of the children in Sudan are key to the country's unity and survival.

LIBYA'S $20 BILLION "GREAT MAN MADE RIVER PROJECT"

The following is a copy of a fascinating BBC World Service report by John Watkins, March 18 2006.

Libyans like to call it "the eighth wonder of the world". The description might be flattering, but the Great Man-Made River Project has the potential to transform Libyan life in all sorts of ways.



Photo: Phase III is now nearing completion (BBC)

Libya is a desert country, and finding fresh water has always been a problem. Following the Great Al-Fatah Revolution in 1969, when an army coup led by Muammar Al Qadhafi deposed King Idris, industrialisation put even more strain on water supplies. Coastal aquifers became contaminated with sea water, to such an extent that the water in Benghazi (Libya's second city) was undrinkable.

Finding a supply of fresh, clean water became a government priority. Oil exploration in the 1950s had revealed vast aquifers beneath Libya's southern desert. According to radiocarbon analysis, some of the water in the aquifers was 40,000 years old. Libyans call it "fossil water".

After weighing up the relative costs of desalination or transporting water from Europe, Libyan economists decided that the cheapest option was to construct a network of pipelines to transport water from the desert to the coastal cities, where most Libyans live.

Proud nation

In August 1984, Muammar Al Qadhafi laid the foundation stone for the pipe production plant at Brega. The Great Man-Made River Project had begun.

Click here to see a map of the pipeline network.

Libya had oil money to pay for the project, but it did not have the technical or engineering expertise for such a massive undertaking.

Foreign companies from South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Japan, the Philippines and the UK were invited to help.



Photo: It is impossible not to be impressed with the scale of the project (BBC)

In September 1993, Phase I water from eastern well-fields at Sarir and Tazerbo reached Benghazi. Three years later, Phase II, bringing water to Tripoli from western well-fields at Jebel Hassouna, was completed.

Phase III which links the first two Phases is still under construction.

Adam Kuwairi, a senior figure in the Great Man-Made River Authority (GMRA), vividly remembers the impact the fresh water had on him and his family.

"The water changed lives. For the first time in our history, there was water in the tap for washing, shaving and showering," he told the BBC World Service's Discovery programme.

"The quality of life is better now, and it's impacting on the whole country."

To get an idea of the scale of the Great Man-Made River Project, you have to visit some of the sites.



Photo: The Grand Omar Mukhtar will be Libya's largest man-made reservoir (BBC)

Libya is opening up, but it's still hard for foreign journalists to get visas. We had to wait almost six months for ours; but once we arrived in Libya, Libyans were eager to tell us about the project.

They took us to see a reservoir under construction at Suluq. When it's finished, the Grand Omar Mukhtar will be Libya's largest man-made reservoir.

Standing on the floor of such a huge, empty space is an awesome experience. Concrete walls rise steeply to the sky; tarring machines descend on wires to lay a waterproof coating over the concrete.

Further west along the coast is the Pre-Stressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe factory at Brega. This is where they make the 4m-diameter pipes that transport water from the desert to the coast.



Photo: Libyans are gaining experience and know-how, and now more than 70% of the manufacturing is done by Libyans - Ali Ibrahim, Brega pipe factory (BBC)

It's a modern, well-equipped factory, built specially for the Great Man-Made River Project. So far, the factory has made more than half a million pipes.

The pipes are designed to last 50 years, and each pipe has a unique identification mark, so if anything goes wrong, engineers can quickly establish when the pipe was made.

The engineer in charge of the Brega pipe factory is Ali Ibrahim. He is proud that Libyans are now running the factory: "At first, we had to rely on foreign-owned companies to do the work.

"But now it's government policy to involve Libyans in the project. Libyans are gaining experience and know-how, and now more than 70% of the manufacturing is done by Libyans. With time, we hope we can decrease the foreign percentage from 30% to 10%."

Opening markets

With fossil water available in most of Libya's coastal cities, the government is now beginning to use its water for agriculture.

Over the country as a whole, 130,000 hectares of land will be irrigated for new farms. Some land will be given to small farmers who will grow produce for the domestic market. Large farms, run at first with foreign help, will concentrate on the crops that Libya currently has to import: wheat, oats, corn and barley.

Libya also hopes to make inroads into European and Middle-Eastern markets. An organic grape farm has been set up near Benghazi. Because the soil is so fertile, agronomists hope to grow two cereal crops a year.



Photo: Water is seen as key to the country's future prosperity. The quality of life is better now, and it's impacting on the whole country, Adam Kuwairi, GMRA (BBC)

It is hard to fault the Libyans on their commitment. The country has spent almost $30bn (GBP 17bn) on the Great Man-made River Project. That money has bought 5,000km of pipeline that can transport 6.5 million cubic metres of water a day from over a thousand desert wells.

As a result, Libya is now a world leader in hydrological engineering, and it wants to export its expertise to other African and Middle-Eastern countries facing the same problems with their water.

Through its agriculture, Libya hopes to gain a foothold in Europe's consumer market.

But the Great Man-Made River Project is much more than an extraordinary piece of engineering.

Adam Kuwairi argues that the success of the Great Man-Made River Project has increased Libya's standing in the world: "It's another addition to our independence; it gives us the confidence to survive."

Of course, there are questions. No-one is sure how long the water will last. And until the farms are working, it's impossible to say whether they will be able to deliver the quantity and quality of produce for which the planners are hoping.

But the combination of water and oil has given Libya a sound economic platform. Ideally placed as the "Gateway to Africa", Libya is in a good position to play an increasingly influential role in the global economy.

All Darfur's tribes must be brought into the peace process - Janjaweed are one of the keys to a lasting settlement

"It's time to say it, loud and clear: The newborn Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) is on its death bed. Without determined action to save it, the war in Darfur will continue," writes Julie Flint in her latest commentary at The Daily Star June 20, 2006. Excerpt:

Darfurians have to be shown that this peace, although flawed, can work for them. This means meeting deadlines, forming committees, stopping Khartoum's security officials from taking them over and, above all, shouting from the rooftops every time a signatory steps out of line. It is not enough to slap wrists behind closed doors. The people of Darfur need to hear the "peacemakers" being called to account or they will never have any faith in the peace.

If the DPA is to survive, those who forced it across the finish line must turn their attention to the commanders who, unlike Minawi, have popular support. Rather than antagonize them, they must help them unite, organize and join an inter-communal dialogue that can put right some of what is wrong with the DPA. Without this, the DPA will be what Zaghawa are already calling it: "the Ila Digen peace" - the peace of Minawi's clan.

My view is the onus to protect millions of defenceless women and children in Sudan and Chad ought to be put on ALL of the warring parties to agree a ceasefire, disarm and fight for what they want using non-violent means.

Surely there is a limit to what can be done to force help on people who don't want help. It is up to the Sudanese people to make peace, or get out. Leave the country. That's all I can think of to say right now. My feelings are that momentum has been lost, Sudan has missed a golden opportunity for peace and cannot be helped much more. The rebels have missed their big chance. You can draw a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. There are worse things happening in DR Congo and northern Uganda.

Jerry Fowler in his blog entry at Voices on Genocide Prevention, comments on Julie Flint's piece saying she'd denounced Darfur rebel leader Minni Minnawi as a war criminal and criticised the U.S. for thinking that an agreement between the Khartoum government and Minni could bring peace to Darfur.

Jerry quoted the following extract from Julie's piece:

The United States must increase confidence in the peace agreement by fiercely rebuking the Khartoum government - and Mr Minnawi - for every violation of the agreement and every deadline they fail to meet. All Darfur's tribes must be brought into the peace process - most important, the Arab tribes that had no place at the Abuja table, even though the vast majority of them did not join the janjaweed. And no regional dialogue would be complete without the involvement of the janjaweed themselves, who despite their atrocities are one of the keys to a lasting settlement.

And he went on to say:

Julie has previously argued for the importance of getting Abdul Wahid, Minni's rival, to accept the DPA. She may be giving up on Abdul Wahid, because now she's talking about "assist[ing] rebel commanders critical of Mr. Minnawi to convene a conference and elect a leadership that would cross tribal lines and have popular support." I've heard from other sources that there is an effort underway in both the Abdul Wahid faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to elect new leaders who would sign the DPA. As things stand now, it certainly appears that support for the DPA inside Darfur is very narrow.