Raymond Jordan, emergency co-ordinator for Goal, said the deal had splintered rebel groups, making it difficult to know which commander controlled which region, and whether they could guarantee the safety of aid workers.
Vehicles used by NGOs are also being deliberately targeted for hijack. The result, he said, was that Goal had suspended three-quarters of its operations, leaving tens of thousands of people without aid.
"It has always been difficult to work in Darfur but now it is simply not possible to work in the vast majority of our areas. The peace agreement is not working on the ground for women, children and the most vulnerable people, and that's the reality."
Ahern also met Pronk to hear his concerns that the peace agreement needed more provisions for security, disarmament and compensation for victims.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Ireland urges Sudan to stay firm on Darfur deal
The Irish minister for Foreign Affairs, Dermot Ahern, arrived in Khartoum yesterday to urge the Sudanese government not to falter in efforts to end the three-year conflict in Darfur at a time when a shaky peace deal shows signs of fracturing. Ahern spent the day meeting government officials, UN reps and aid agencies in Khartoum and was due to fly to Darfur today, Irish Times reported 4 July [via Sudan Tribune] 5 July. Excerpt:
Dafur rebels are a squabbling rabble costing lives
The key political battle in Darfur is now being waged inside the SLA, writes Telegraph Correspondent David Blair in his blog entry July 3. Excerpt:
Minni Minawi, the leader of the rebel faction who signed the deal, is embroiled in a power struggle with Abdul Wahid al-Nur, the standard bearer of the SLA's rejectionist wing. Tribalism lies at the heart of this bitter rivalry. Minawi is from the Zaghawa tribe while Nur is from the much larger Fur tribe.Full story. [hat tip POTP]
This struggle between these two men is costing lives. Most of the fighting in Darfur is now taking place within the ranks of the SLA, where tribal antagonism between Fur and Zaghawa is acute. The clash between Minawi and Nur is also polarising the refugee camps, where many of their followers live.
Increased radicalisation of youth inside Kalma camp, South Darfur - Nighttime AU soldiers needed inside camp
Violent attacks have increased in the largest camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Darfur according to observers, IRIN reported 4 July 2006. Excerpt:
Feb 21 2006 UK urges lifting of Sudan curfew - AU says curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers
Feb 22 2006 Important BBC Four Radio Interview with Hilary Benn: Sudan's curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers and aid workers
In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, an analyst said the security situation in nearby Kalma camp had worsened since the signing of the Darfur peace deal on 5 May, adding that the worst attacks were taking place at night.[More on the security situation in UN Situation Report recently posted here at Sudan Watch. Note, the AU undertake daytime patrols because Khartoum imposed a curfew, not allowing AU patrols after 6pm - see reports here below]
"There has been an increased radicalisation of youth inside the camp," he said. "Many people don't accept the Darfur Peace Agreement [DPA] or the security mechanisms of the DPA."
"The violence seems politically motivated, but it is not clear whether the perpetrators are coming from inside the camp or enter from the outside," he added.
On Friday, unknown gunmen killed the watchman of an international nongovernmental organisation inside Kalma camp. The following two nights, the compounds of other NGOs were robbed as well.
In separate incidents on Friday, two IDPs were shot by armed men; both were wounded in the attacks. In previous attacks last week, an IDP shelter was looted and six armed men unsuccessfully attempted to steal a pumping machine at a water point.
A nighttime presence of African Union (AU) soldiers inside the camp was urgently needed, a regional observer said, but so far the cash-strapped peacekeepers were only undertaking daytime patrols.
Feb 21 2006 UK urges lifting of Sudan curfew - AU says curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers
Feb 22 2006 Important BBC Four Radio Interview with Hilary Benn: Sudan's curfew hinders Darfur peacekeepers and aid workers
Khartoum says it will present, within a month from July 2, a clear working plan on UN, AU roles
Sudanese FM Lam Akol said Monday that the Sudanese government will present a clear working plan to what the UN and the AU roles would be in helping bring peace and stability in Darfur, Kuna reported July 3, 2006:
Akol added the plan will be ready within a month from yesterday's meeting between Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in the African summit.July 3 2006 UN envoy Jan Pronk welcomes announcement by GoS to present plan for disarmament of Janjaweed in Darfur
Akol said in a press release the meeting resulted in an agreement to support AU's troops in Darfur and helping them do what they are supposed to do based on Darfur peace accord, adding to put pressure on groups refusing to abide by agreements and who try to stall the peace process.
The Sudanese Minister added Annan and Al-Bashir stressed importance on the immediate execution of Abuja peace accord which was under the African Union sponsorship.
Monday, July 03, 2006
Dinkas poignant return home for first time since 1991 when Khartoum sent the Nuer to massacre 2,000 Dinkas in Bor
Copy of report by BBC correspondent Jane Standley 1 July 2006:
Fifteen years ago in Bor in southern Sudan, militia allied to the government in far-off Khartoum carried out a massacre killing an estimated 2,000 people, mostly ethnic Dinkas. Now the people who fled the massacre are returning, hoping to reclaim the land of their ancestors.
Bor is a place consumed in wrenching sadness.
It is remote and, in the rainy season - cut off.
The red dirt of what passes for roads becomes a soup of mud and landmines, the craterous airstrips, unusable.
In the early 1990s, after the massacre, it was occupied by the forces of Sudan's Islamist government and run as a garrison outpost for its Arab troops.
They were fighting the long-running civil war against the Christians and animists of the southern rebel movements.
But now there is peace at last, the rebels are in control of the south and the town is open to visitors.
The first sight for me and for many of the people now going home to Bor after 15 years or more, is the port.
There is no dock here, no jetty, just the banks of the River Nile, littered with rubbish and sewage. Home to large crocodiles and a place where cholera is rampant.
Coming home
James Anyang came back last year.
He had heard, while in a refugee camp in neighbouring Uganda, that his mother had been killed in the massacre.
Then he found out that his eldest brother was also dead. His father, strong and well when he left, is now an old man - weakened by the struggle to survive while Bor was under brutal occupation.
James showed me the lush spots along the river banks where people from the garrison used to dump the bodies of those they had killed. Everyone in Bor knows what lies under the reeds.
James is an elder at the ramshackle Anglican church which is actually Bor Cathedral. There is a Bishop here. The cathedral reopened in the last few months.
Today, the sun streams through the bullet holes in the roof, dancing circles of light illuminate the faces of the worshippers.
Like James they are Dinka - the largest ethnic group in southern Sudan - and the founders and the backbone of the rebel movement which now governs the region.
Bor is the Dinka heartland - the tall, willowy, ebony black people live lives centred around cattle, as they have done for thousands of years.
Dirty work
In 1991, the Khartoum government peeled off the disgruntled leaders of a smaller tribe - the Nuer - from the rebel movement and sent them in to do its dirty work in Bor.
The killers went from hut to hut, slaughtering all who tried to run away - cutting them down with spears, machetes and the classic weapon of African warfare - the AK-47.
Those who could not run fast enough - the old, the disabled, the sick, the young - were crammed into huts - which were set on fire.
Their beloved cattle were not spared either. They were either stolen or shot. Their corpses left for the vultures to pick over when they had tired of human flesh.
The dirt tracks leading out of Bor were crammed with Dinka trying to flee. Some carrying the scant possessions they could snatch up, others with nothing - naked and hungry.
In the years which followed, tens of thousands died from famine. They had no cows any more and the fighting had displaced them from the land they had once cultivated.
There is little record of the massacre. As far as I know, just one shaky and rushed videotape.
It was filmed by an Irish priest turned aid worker who stumbled on the immediate aftermath of the slaughter and then took his film to journalists, begging them to bring attention to the killings.
I remembered the tape from my first stint working in Africa and have just watched it again.
Lost people
Time has not made it easier viewing.
There is a shot of the twisted body of a middle-aged man which makes me think of a woman I have just met in Bor named Rebecca Agok.
She managed to flee at the height of the killings, but her father-in-law had his throat cut in front of her.
How can people like her rebuild their lives here? There is literally nothing - no clean water, little food, no work and a very poor hospital.
There will surely be conflict over these scarce resources.
But James Anyang - determinedly - says no. "Neighbours will rub along," he maintains. "They have to. We have come back to reclaim our home, to venerate and live in the land of our ancestors, our lost people."
Then, he points to a second crowd of worshippers waiting to go inside Bor Cathedral, after the Anglican service has ended.
"They're the Nuer people," he says with a smile, "the Presbyterian missionaries got to them first!"
"But they're the ones who committed the massacre," I said.
"It was politics," James tells me, "not people. You know, we have to forgive. We can't be held captive by the massacre forever. We cannot ever forget, but we can forgive."
- - -
THE DINKA'S EPIC TREK ACROSS SOUTH SUDAN
This story and photos always bring a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.
Photo: Apr 13 2006 Difficult journey for displaced Dinkas in Darfur returning home to Sudan's Northern Bahr El Ghazal province
Photo: Feb 9 2006 The Dinka's epic trek across South Sudan continues - 250,000 cattle have arrived so far in 34 cattle camps around Bor.
Please switch on your computer's sound and take a few minutes to watch a powerful National Geographic video report: Shattered Sudan - Drilling for Oil, Hoping for Peace.
And note, A prayer for the janjaweed rape babies.
Fifteen years ago in Bor in southern Sudan, militia allied to the government in far-off Khartoum carried out a massacre killing an estimated 2,000 people, mostly ethnic Dinkas. Now the people who fled the massacre are returning, hoping to reclaim the land of their ancestors.
Bor is a place consumed in wrenching sadness.
It is remote and, in the rainy season - cut off.
The red dirt of what passes for roads becomes a soup of mud and landmines, the craterous airstrips, unusable.
In the early 1990s, after the massacre, it was occupied by the forces of Sudan's Islamist government and run as a garrison outpost for its Arab troops.
They were fighting the long-running civil war against the Christians and animists of the southern rebel movements.
But now there is peace at last, the rebels are in control of the south and the town is open to visitors.
The first sight for me and for many of the people now going home to Bor after 15 years or more, is the port.
There is no dock here, no jetty, just the banks of the River Nile, littered with rubbish and sewage. Home to large crocodiles and a place where cholera is rampant.
Coming home
James Anyang came back last year.
He had heard, while in a refugee camp in neighbouring Uganda, that his mother had been killed in the massacre.
Then he found out that his eldest brother was also dead. His father, strong and well when he left, is now an old man - weakened by the struggle to survive while Bor was under brutal occupation.
James showed me the lush spots along the river banks where people from the garrison used to dump the bodies of those they had killed. Everyone in Bor knows what lies under the reeds.
James is an elder at the ramshackle Anglican church which is actually Bor Cathedral. There is a Bishop here. The cathedral reopened in the last few months.
Today, the sun streams through the bullet holes in the roof, dancing circles of light illuminate the faces of the worshippers.
Like James they are Dinka - the largest ethnic group in southern Sudan - and the founders and the backbone of the rebel movement which now governs the region.
Bor is the Dinka heartland - the tall, willowy, ebony black people live lives centred around cattle, as they have done for thousands of years.
Dirty work
In 1991, the Khartoum government peeled off the disgruntled leaders of a smaller tribe - the Nuer - from the rebel movement and sent them in to do its dirty work in Bor.
The killers went from hut to hut, slaughtering all who tried to run away - cutting them down with spears, machetes and the classic weapon of African warfare - the AK-47.
Those who could not run fast enough - the old, the disabled, the sick, the young - were crammed into huts - which were set on fire.
Their beloved cattle were not spared either. They were either stolen or shot. Their corpses left for the vultures to pick over when they had tired of human flesh.
The dirt tracks leading out of Bor were crammed with Dinka trying to flee. Some carrying the scant possessions they could snatch up, others with nothing - naked and hungry.
In the years which followed, tens of thousands died from famine. They had no cows any more and the fighting had displaced them from the land they had once cultivated.
There is little record of the massacre. As far as I know, just one shaky and rushed videotape.
It was filmed by an Irish priest turned aid worker who stumbled on the immediate aftermath of the slaughter and then took his film to journalists, begging them to bring attention to the killings.
I remembered the tape from my first stint working in Africa and have just watched it again.
Lost people
Time has not made it easier viewing.
There is a shot of the twisted body of a middle-aged man which makes me think of a woman I have just met in Bor named Rebecca Agok.
She managed to flee at the height of the killings, but her father-in-law had his throat cut in front of her.
How can people like her rebuild their lives here? There is literally nothing - no clean water, little food, no work and a very poor hospital.
There will surely be conflict over these scarce resources.
But James Anyang - determinedly - says no. "Neighbours will rub along," he maintains. "They have to. We have come back to reclaim our home, to venerate and live in the land of our ancestors, our lost people."
Then, he points to a second crowd of worshippers waiting to go inside Bor Cathedral, after the Anglican service has ended.
"They're the Nuer people," he says with a smile, "the Presbyterian missionaries got to them first!"
"But they're the ones who committed the massacre," I said.
"It was politics," James tells me, "not people. You know, we have to forgive. We can't be held captive by the massacre forever. We cannot ever forget, but we can forgive."
- - -
THE DINKA'S EPIC TREK ACROSS SOUTH SUDAN
This story and photos always bring a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes.
Photo: Apr 13 2006 Difficult journey for displaced Dinkas in Darfur returning home to Sudan's Northern Bahr El Ghazal province
Photo: Feb 9 2006 The Dinka's epic trek across South Sudan continues - 250,000 cattle have arrived so far in 34 cattle camps around Bor.
Please switch on your computer's sound and take a few minutes to watch a powerful National Geographic video report: Shattered Sudan - Drilling for Oil, Hoping for Peace.
And note, A prayer for the janjaweed rape babies.
UN envoy Jan Pronk welcomes announcement by GoS to present plan for disarmament of Janjaweed in Darfur
July 3, 2006 UN News Centre report excerpt:
"While welcoming the recent announcement by the Sudanese Government to present a plan for the disarmament of the Janjaweed militiamen in Darfur, Mr Pronk warned that continued militia attacks on internally displaced persons in Darfur were hampering implementation of the Darfur Peace Agreement," a UN spokesperson told reporters in New York.
In his latest report to the Security Council on the region, which covers the month of May and which was issued today, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan states that "disarming the Janjaweed, improving civilian protection and strengthening ceasefire monitoring and verification mechanisms are absolute priorities."
Another "serious concern" he highlights is that the "work of United Nations agencies and NGOs continues to be hindered by banditry targeting humanitarian personnel and assets."
"Young people have really been at the centre of this conflict. Children have really been hit harder than anyone else. The camps are 90 per cent women and children. That's a population of 2 million people now," said UNICEF spokesperson Ronan Farrow.
Chad army fights FUC rebel attack in Ade near Sudan border
Chadian rebels attacked an eastern town near the border with Sudan on Monday but the government said its soldiers had put down the assault, killing several insurgents and taking a number of prisoners. In turn, the rebels said they had entered the town of Ade and claimed victory for their fighters, saying they were chasing off fleeing remnants of the government force. It was not immediately possible to verify either version of events.
"After violent clashes, forces under the command of Colonel Mahamat Hassane Al-inghaz have just entered the town of Ade," Albissaty Saleh Allazam, spokesman for the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC), told Reuters. "These forces ... are chasing government troops who are fleeing," he said.
Ade lies some 750 km (470 miles) east of the capital N'Djamena. - Reuters July 3, 2006. [Note how the rebels use Reuters]
Photo: Members of the JEM (Justice Equality Movement) speak on radios near the village of Tere in the Mestre area of western Sudan near to the border with Chad, August 19, 2004. A new alliance of Darfur rebel commanders and political parties have attacked a town on the road to the capital Khartoum, declaring a 27-month-old truce dead, rebels and officials said on Monday. (Reuters/Luc Gnago/Yahoo News)
"After violent clashes, forces under the command of Colonel Mahamat Hassane Al-inghaz have just entered the town of Ade," Albissaty Saleh Allazam, spokesman for the United Front for Democratic Change (FUC), told Reuters. "These forces ... are chasing government troops who are fleeing," he said.
Ade lies some 750 km (470 miles) east of the capital N'Djamena. - Reuters July 3, 2006. [Note how the rebels use Reuters]
Photo: Members of the JEM (Justice Equality Movement) speak on radios near the village of Tere in the Mestre area of western Sudan near to the border with Chad, August 19, 2004. A new alliance of Darfur rebel commanders and political parties have attacked a town on the road to the capital Khartoum, declaring a 27-month-old truce dead, rebels and officials said on Monday. (Reuters/Luc Gnago/Yahoo News)
U.N.'s 3 steps to activate Darfur accord - Jan Pronk sought to activate the DPA not reformulate it to include parties who opposed it
Just in from UPI - U.N.'s 3 steps to activate Darfur accord:
May 21 2006 Jan Pronk's Weblog: "What about the Janjaweed? Will the peace agreement stop them?" - UN SGSR Jan Pronk in his blog entry May 19, 2006 points out that despite the fact that Abdul Wahid did not yet sign the Abuja peace agreement, he had signed earlier cease fire agreements, he is still bound by his signature and can be taken to task ... Note also this excerpt [edit] The people behind Minie Minawi and Abdul Wahid will only believe in the peace agreement if they see that the government and the international community together are serious and successful in stopping the Janjaweed. Then they might press their leaders to reconcile. This also may be the most effective way to bring Abdul Wahid aboard.
Mainstream media misinterpreted says Pronk
Note, when I first read Jan Pronk's blog entry, I interpreted it as great suggestions on How to put new life into Darfur's Peace Agreement which is why I chose to use those words in the title as I felt it conveyed the report as positive and constructive.
It took mainstream media journalists three days to pick up on Mr Pronks blog entry. Here is a snapshot from a few headlines at Google news. Most of the other reporters used the same or similar headlines as those listed below. Flaming sheep. Hardly any of them got it right. Best ones are UPI (see above) "U.N.'s 3 steps to activate Darfur accord"; International Herald Tribune, France: "Darfur pact needs help, UN aide says"; Independent Online South Africa: "Darfur peace deal can be saved, says Pronk"
UN chief in Sudan says Darfur peace deal on brink of collapse
Lake Sun Leader (subscription) MO - 1 hour ago ...Pronk cited the arrival of UN peacekeepers as one of three steps to save Darfur, along with implementing the peace agreement and broadening support for it. ...
Darfur peace deal can be saved, says Pronk
Independent Online South Africa - 1 hour ago
... said. Pronk said that without the peace agreement's implementation, the humanitarian situation in Darfur was worsening. "The demilitarised ...
Darfur peace deal on brink of collapse
Mail & Guardian Online South Africa - 1 hour ago
... said. Pronk said that without the peace agreement's implementation, the humanitarian situation in Darfur was worsening. "The demilitarised ...
Darfur deal near collapse
Chicago Daily Herald (subscription), IL - 2 hours ago
... Pronk cited the arrival of UN peacekeepers as one of three steps to save Darfur, along with implementing the peace agreement and broadening support for it. ...
Sudan peace deal at risk of collapse, UN envoy warns
Unison.ie Ireland - 5 hours ago
... "There is a significant risk that the Darfur peace agreement will collapse," Mr Pronk wrote in a web blog. "The agreement does not ...
UN chief: Darfur peace deal on brink of collapse
Jerusalem Post Israel - 10 hours ago
The "severely paralyzed" Darfur peace agreement "does not resonate with the people" and ... But Jan Pronk said the pact was still salvageable if revisions were made ...
Darfur pact needs help, UN aide says
International Herald Tribune, France - 20 hours ago
... Pronk cited the arrival of UN peacekeepers as one of three steps necessary to save Darfur, along with implementing the peace agreement and broadening support ...
UN: Darfur Peace Deal on Brink of Collapse
ABC News - 20 hours ago
... time.". Pronk said that without the peace agreement's implementation, the humanitarian situation in Darfur was worsening. "The demilitarized ...
UN envoy calls for changes to Darfur peace plan
Reuters South Africa - Jul 2, 2006
... Pronk also called for a UN takeover of the 7,000-strong AU force currently monitoring the shaky truce in Darfur, saying it was necessary to avoid a return to ...
PRONK ON DARFUR
Special Broadcasting Service Australia - Jul 1, 2006
The head of the United Nations mission in Sudan, Jan Pronk, says the Darfur peace agreement is in danger of collapse and need to be rewritten. ...

UN's Pronk calls for changes to Darfur peace plan
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - Jul 1, 2006
... Pronk also called for a UN takeover of the 7,000-strong AU force currently monitoring the shaky truce in Darfur, saying it was necessary to avoid a return to ...
UN envoy attacks Darfur agreement
BBC News, UK - Jul 1, 2006
... Minnie Minawi, the rebel leader who signed the deal, is not strong in Darfur, Mr Pronk said, calling for an effort to bring rival leader Abdul Wahid on board ...
Darfur agreement is severely paralysed
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - Jul 1, 2006
By Jan Pronk*. June 28, 2006 - There is a significant risk that the Darfur Peace Agreement will collapse. The agreement does not ...
UN envoy calls for changes to Darfur peace plan
Reuters AlertNet UK - Jul 1, 2006
... Pronk also called for a UN takeover of the 7,000-strong AU force currently monitoring the shaky truce in Darfur, saying it was necessary to avoid a return to ...
Results 71 - 80 of about 204 for DARFUR pronk. (0.22 seconds)
The U.N. representative in Sudan refuted claims that he sought to reformulate a Darfur peace agreement, stressing the urgent need for immediate implementation.- - -
Jan Pronk said in a statement Monday "the peace agreement over Darfur reached in Abuja (Nigeria) is still facing resistance on the ground, especially by refugees, mainly due to wrong interpretations which limit the accord's effectiveness in restoring security and stability to the province."
He argued that three steps should be taken urgently in order to deal with the situation, which is becoming more complex with delays in implementation of the accord.
"The first step is to implement what was agreed upon at the right time because delays in implementation will strengthen the stance of those opposing the agreement," Pronk said.
The second step stipulates gaining larger support for the accord, securing genuine international guarantees and disarming clearly and seriously the Arab Janjaweed militias accused of committing racial cleansing in the war-torn province in west Sudan.
The third step, Pronk said, will be to secure more funds for compensation and reconstruction of areas inhabited by the displaced and the refugees before they are driven further away.
"These steps should be implemented immediately in order to transform Abuja's accord into a sustained treaty," he added.
Pronk denied reports that he had called for rectifying the accord over Darfur in order to include the parties who opposed it, stressing that what he proposed last week was misinterpreted and that he sought to activate the agreement and not reformulate it.
Pronk had said the agreement needed international guarantees and a clearer plan for disarming Arab militias and paying compensation to the victims of war.
May 21 2006 Jan Pronk's Weblog: "What about the Janjaweed? Will the peace agreement stop them?" - UN SGSR Jan Pronk in his blog entry May 19, 2006 points out that despite the fact that Abdul Wahid did not yet sign the Abuja peace agreement, he had signed earlier cease fire agreements, he is still bound by his signature and can be taken to task ... Note also this excerpt [edit] The people behind Minie Minawi and Abdul Wahid will only believe in the peace agreement if they see that the government and the international community together are serious and successful in stopping the Janjaweed. Then they might press their leaders to reconcile. This also may be the most effective way to bring Abdul Wahid aboard.
Mainstream media misinterpreted says Pronk
Note, when I first read Jan Pronk's blog entry, I interpreted it as great suggestions on How to put new life into Darfur's Peace Agreement which is why I chose to use those words in the title as I felt it conveyed the report as positive and constructive.
It took mainstream media journalists three days to pick up on Mr Pronks blog entry. Here is a snapshot from a few headlines at Google news. Most of the other reporters used the same or similar headlines as those listed below. Flaming sheep. Hardly any of them got it right. Best ones are UPI (see above) "U.N.'s 3 steps to activate Darfur accord"; International Herald Tribune, France: "Darfur pact needs help, UN aide says"; Independent Online South Africa: "Darfur peace deal can be saved, says Pronk"
UN chief in Sudan says Darfur peace deal on brink of collapse
Lake Sun Leader (subscription) MO - 1 hour ago ...Pronk cited the arrival of UN peacekeepers as one of three steps to save Darfur, along with implementing the peace agreement and broadening support for it. ...
Darfur peace deal can be saved, says Pronk
Independent Online South Africa - 1 hour ago
... said. Pronk said that without the peace agreement's implementation, the humanitarian situation in Darfur was worsening. "The demilitarised ...
Darfur peace deal on brink of collapse
Mail & Guardian Online South Africa - 1 hour ago
... said. Pronk said that without the peace agreement's implementation, the humanitarian situation in Darfur was worsening. "The demilitarised ...
Darfur deal near collapse
Chicago Daily Herald (subscription), IL - 2 hours ago
... Pronk cited the arrival of UN peacekeepers as one of three steps to save Darfur, along with implementing the peace agreement and broadening support for it. ...
Sudan peace deal at risk of collapse, UN envoy warns
Unison.ie Ireland - 5 hours ago
... "There is a significant risk that the Darfur peace agreement will collapse," Mr Pronk wrote in a web blog. "The agreement does not ...
UN chief: Darfur peace deal on brink of collapse
Jerusalem Post Israel - 10 hours ago
The "severely paralyzed" Darfur peace agreement "does not resonate with the people" and ... But Jan Pronk said the pact was still salvageable if revisions were made ...
Darfur pact needs help, UN aide says
International Herald Tribune, France - 20 hours ago
... Pronk cited the arrival of UN peacekeepers as one of three steps necessary to save Darfur, along with implementing the peace agreement and broadening support ...
UN: Darfur Peace Deal on Brink of Collapse
ABC News - 20 hours ago
... time.". Pronk said that without the peace agreement's implementation, the humanitarian situation in Darfur was worsening. "The demilitarized ...
UN envoy calls for changes to Darfur peace plan
Reuters South Africa - Jul 2, 2006
... Pronk also called for a UN takeover of the 7,000-strong AU force currently monitoring the shaky truce in Darfur, saying it was necessary to avoid a return to ...
PRONK ON DARFUR
Special Broadcasting Service Australia - Jul 1, 2006
The head of the United Nations mission in Sudan, Jan Pronk, says the Darfur peace agreement is in danger of collapse and need to be rewritten. ...

UN's Pronk calls for changes to Darfur peace plan
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - Jul 1, 2006
... Pronk also called for a UN takeover of the 7,000-strong AU force currently monitoring the shaky truce in Darfur, saying it was necessary to avoid a return to ...
UN envoy attacks Darfur agreement
BBC News, UK - Jul 1, 2006
... Minnie Minawi, the rebel leader who signed the deal, is not strong in Darfur, Mr Pronk said, calling for an effort to bring rival leader Abdul Wahid on board ...
Darfur agreement is severely paralysed
Sudan Tribune, Sudan - Jul 1, 2006
By Jan Pronk*. June 28, 2006 - There is a significant risk that the Darfur Peace Agreement will collapse. The agreement does not ...
UN envoy calls for changes to Darfur peace plan
Reuters AlertNet UK - Jul 1, 2006
... Pronk also called for a UN takeover of the 7,000-strong AU force currently monitoring the shaky truce in Darfur, saying it was necessary to avoid a return to ...
Results 71 - 80 of about 204 for DARFUR pronk. (0.22 seconds)
Sudan ready to fund AU peacekeepers in Darfur for 6 months
Sudan's president declared his country is prepared to bear the cost of AU peacekeepers in Darfur as an alternative to a UN force, Sudan's official news agency SUNA reported Sunday - AP/ST reported July 3, 2006 - excerpt:
Al-Bashir made the pledge to Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade during a meeting between the two leaders in Banjul, Gambia, the agency said.Note, the current AU Mission in Darfur costs something in the region of $1 billion per annum.
Sudan was prepared to foot the bill for the forces for the next six months during which al-Bashir predicted the security situation would improve and there would be no need to deploy troops under the U.N, SUNA reported.
The Sudanese leader also complained Sunday that the international community was not doing enough to persuade those rebel factions that did not sign the Darfur Peace Agreement to join the process.
"Sudan was expecting to see intensive efforts to boost the peace deal and to exercise pressure on the groups that have refused to sign the deal," SUNA reported al-Bashir as saying.
JEM-NRF rebels attack Hamra al-Sheikh town in North Kordofan, Sudanese planes deployed - GoS
Just in from Reuters/Scotsman - Darfur rebels end truce with attack:
June 30 2006 JEM-Ibrahim expands by forming alliance with SFDA & Darfur rebel holdouts to deal with all the issues of Sudan: National Redemption Front (NRF)
A new alliance of Darfur rebel commanders and political parties have attacked a town on the road to the capital Khartoum, declaring a 27-month-old truce dead, rebels and officials said on Monday.From Reuters.co.za:
One of three rebel factions signed an African Union-mediated peace deal in May but since then new alliances have been formed among those who reject the deal, saying it des not meet their basic demands.
"The forces of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) attacked a town in North Kordofan called Hamrat al-Sheikh," said a spokesman for the Sudan armed forces. "Sudanese planes have been deployed and the aggression is continuing," he added.
Hamrat al-Sheikh is on the road between Khartoum and North Kordofan's main town el-Obeid. It is around 200 kilometres (124 miles) from Sudan's capital.- - -
JEM has little military power on the ground in Darfur, where the other main rebel group, the fractious Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), controls most of the rebel territories.
JEM formed a new alliance last week called the National Redemption Front (NRF) with a few breakaway SLA commanders and a small political party, the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance.
Adam Ali Shogar, one of the SLA commanders in the NRF, told Reuters his forces were still in control of Hamrat al-Sheikh.
"God willing, we will be on our way to Khartoum," he said. "The government has shown it is not committed to the 2004 humanitarian ceasefire so this deal now has no meaning."
It was the first time a rebel group in Darfur openly stated it was disregarding the April 2004 truce, which had in any case been widely ignored by all sides to the conflict.
During the more than three years of revolt in Darfur, rebels often attacked in Kordofan, which neighbours Darfur, saying they were close to the capital. They never reached Khartoum.
June 30 2006 JEM-Ibrahim expands by forming alliance with SFDA & Darfur rebel holdouts to deal with all the issues of Sudan: National Redemption Front (NRF)
Sudanese FM Lam Akol says only parties to the DPA could agree any changes and amend the deal when reality on ground dictates
Sudan's foreign minister on Monday rejected suggestions by SRSG Jan Pronk to make additions to the Darfur Peace Agreement, Reuters' Opheera McDoom reported today - excerpt:
Photo: Sudan's National Assembly. Sudan Tribune article Sudanese parliament ratifies Darfur Peace Agreement July 1, 2006.
Displaced people in Mornei, West Darfur
Photo: Displaced persons rallying in camp Mornei, 30 miles South of El Geneina, West Darfur. The people demonstrate for peace, but against the Darfur Peace Agreement and against the cut in the food rations which had been announced shortly after the signing of the agreement. Caption: Jan Pronk - Weblog June 26, 2006. Photo: Paula Souverijn-Eisenberg
U.N. special envoy Jan Pronk wrote in his June 28 weblog that many things needed to added to the May 5 peace deal such as more transparency in disarming pro-government militias and international security guarantees, which were key demands of the rebels who refused to sign the deal.I say, do you think Mr Pronk would use his personal weblog to suggest how to put new life into Darfur's Peace Agreement, without clearance from his employers? I don't think he would. If you want to break an impasse, float an idea, open up dialogue, start a debate, shake a few trees, use a weblog! I'd like to see President Bashir start one. I'm serious, it would be great to learn more about life in Khartoum and what his colleagues, family and friends think about the millions of Sudanese people without homes, food, water, medics, education and gainful employment. I wonder what Mr Akol means when he says "... we will amend the peace deal when the reality on the ground dictates."
But Foreign Minister Lam Akol dismissed Pronk's statement. "An addition is an amendment," he told reporters in Khartoum, adding only the parties to the deal could agree any changes to the deal. "We will never accept an amendment because Pronk says ... we will amend the peace deal when the reality on the ground dictates (and) it does not," he added.
Pronk called this a "new political fact" that required additions to the deal. But Akol said Pronk was in no position to say that. Calling Pronk "junior", he said: "Do I believe Pronk or do I believe (U.N. Secretary-General) Kofi Annan?" he said, adding Annan had not echoed his envoy's words when he met him on Sunday.
Photo: Sudan's National Assembly. Sudan Tribune article Sudanese parliament ratifies Darfur Peace Agreement July 1, 2006.
Displaced people in Mornei, West Darfur
Photo: Displaced persons rallying in camp Mornei, 30 miles South of El Geneina, West Darfur. The people demonstrate for peace, but against the Darfur Peace Agreement and against the cut in the food rations which had been announced shortly after the signing of the agreement. Caption: Jan Pronk - Weblog June 26, 2006. Photo: Paula Souverijn-Eisenberg
Romeo Dallaire says Darfur "is not a genocide but it is a (case of) massive crimes against humanity"
Romeo Dallaire, the Canadian senator (Liberal) who once commanded the UN mission in Rwanda, says AMIS needs "a second wave of reinforcements" to be able to wait out the arrival of UN troops, which won't be until sometime next year, Ottawa Citizen Laura Payton reported July 3, 2006. Excerpt:
Darfur has been the focus of much of Dallaire's public statements recently, and last week brought him the opportunity to make some progress as part of a UN committee on genocide prevention, which met for the first time to discuss its mandate.Note, the Canadian government (Conservative) pledged $20 million to the African union mission in Sudan last month. Canada has contributed $190 million to the mission since 2004, including money, equipment and military and civilian experts.
The committee will focus on gathering intelligence and giving advice to the UN secretary general and the Security Council, the body at the UN that decides when to begin military action. Dallaire said the committee hopes to prevent future genocides like the 1994 massacre in Rwanda.
Besides watching out for genocide specifically, the committee wants to look at human rights abuses that don't qualify as genocide, like Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge or the ongoing violence in Sudan. "Cambodia killed a couple of million (people) but it wasn't a genocide because it was politically motivated, (involving people of) the same ethnicity," he said. Likewise, Darfur "is not a genocide but it is a (case of) massive crimes against humanity."
Bashir tells AU summit Chadian officers and soldiers fighting alongside rebels in Darfur and calls for protection of Sudanese refugees in Chad camps
July 3, 2006 Sudan Tribune report - Sudan expresses readiness to normalize bilateral ties with Chad - excerpt:
Addressing the African Summit on Sunday, President Omar al-Bashir stressed that Sudan has no interest to undermine the security of Chad, especially that its was working to boost the security in Darfur, which is related to the conditions in Chad.
He said that the implementation of the recently signed Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) would be difficult, unless comprehensive stability in Chad is achieved. He indicated that Sudan has made several attempts for normalization of its relations with neighbour Chad, despite the Chadian interventions in Darfur.
Al-Bashir denied in his speech Chadian accusations, adding that it was not true to claim that all the incidents in Chad were the creation of Sudan. He said that Chadian officers and soldiers are fighting alongside the rebels in Darfur.
He called for protection of the camps of the Sudanese refugees in Chad and halting the recruitment of children by elements who aim to abort DPA.
Al-Bashir pointed out that Sudan has did its best to implement the Tripoli declaration, which it has signed with Chad, through the concerned mechanisms and committees, but the Chadian government did not dispatch its envoys in accordance with the declaration.
The February 8 agreement signed by Chadian and Sudanese leaders in Tripoli came after N’Djamena declared itself in a state of war with Khartoum in December amid growing violence on the border.
Meanwhile, he stressed the importance of establishing relations between Sudan and Chad, which are to be based on good neighbourliness and cooperation to realize stability at the area and to maintain security at the joint border.
Darfur holdout rebels to meet Libyan leader
Darfur holdout rebels are to meet Libyan leader in the coming days in a bid to explain their position and persuade him to plead their cause with GoS. - ST (unsourced article Khartoum) July 2 2006.
Bashir and Deby meeting at AU summit brokered by Gaddafi
Local Arab-language media reported a meeting between Presidents Bashir and Deby at the AU summit, in Banjul, Gambia on 1 June. The meeting was reportedly brokered by President Gaddafi of Libya. - UN Sudan Situation Report 02 July 2006.
Also, see July 3 2006 UPI report Gadhafi sponsors Chad-Sudan reconciliation:
Also, see July 3 2006 UPI report Gadhafi sponsors Chad-Sudan reconciliation:
Moammar Gadhafi has sponsored a reconciliation agreement between Sudan and Chad as part of the Libyan leader's efforts to iron out conflicts in Africa.
Libyan news agency JANA said Gadhafi sponsored a tripartite meeting with Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and Chad's Idriss Debby in the Gambian capital, Banjul, during which the reconciliation was sealed early Monday.
It said the reasons for the conflicts between Sudan and neighboring Chad were reviewed and debated, and at the end Bashir and Debby agreed to set up a joint committee to prepare arrangements for normalizing relations between their two countries.
The two presidents reaffirmed their commitment to the "Tripoli Declaration," which they signed in February in a summit meeting hosted by Gadhafi during which they agreed to normalize diplomatic relations and ban the presence of rebels using their territories to launch attacks against each others' countries.
JANA reported that "Gadhafi expressed to the Sudanese and Chadian presidents his appreciation of their responsible attitude and positive response to his reconciliation initiative and their keenness to preserve peace, security and stability in the black continent."
The conflict between Sudan and Chad broke out last December, when Chad declared that it was in a state of war with Khartoum following an attack by Sudanese rebels against a Chadian village on the shared eastern border.
Gadhafi announced an initiative to settle the conflict in January, including shifting 3,000 African Union troops deployed in Darfur to the border between Chad and Sudan to monitor possible violations.
United Nations Sudan Situation Report 02 July 2006
Here is a summary of political events since 28 June 2006, the date when SRSG Jan Pronk published his blog entry on how to breathe life into the Darfur Peace Agreement. Excerpt from UN Sudan Situation Report 02 July 2006 by UN Country Team in Sudan:
On 28 June, SRSG Pronk published comments about the DPA on his weblog. He emphasized the need to implement the Agreement, to broaden its 'circle of support', and to support the transition to a UN peacekeeping operation.
Local Arab-language press gave extensive coverage to the SRSG's comments. The reports emphasized the SRSG's comments that the opposition rebel issues should be addressed in the DPA, that further dialogue was required and that more compensation was required for affected persons.
On 30 June, the SRSG, accompanied by PDSRSG Zerihoun, went to Juba to launch the UN Radio "Miraya" together with the First Vice President Salva Kiir. Speaking at the ceremony, FVP Salva Kiir stated that he had no objection to a transition to the UN force in Darfur. After the ceremony, the SRSG and the PDSRSG held discussion with VP Kiir on Eastern Front, LRA and implementation of the CPA issues. On 30 June, in Juba, FVP Salva Kiir stated that he had no objection to a transition to the UN force in Darfur.
Local Arab-language media reported a meeting between Presidents Bashir and Déby at the AU summit, in Banjul, Gambia on 1 June. The meeting was reportedly brokered by President Gaddafi of Libya.
Meanwhile, local Arab-language press reported that the AU withdrew 30 Chadian AMIS monitors from Darfur at the request of Sudan's Foreign Ministry. The Peace and Security Council (PSC) heard Sudan's request at their meeting in Banjul on 27 June.
On 30 June, SLA-Minawi faction's External Relations Secretary Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim issued a statement supporting the suspension of the DPA. Meanwhile, a delegation of SLA-Minawi remains in Khartoum for talks with the Government of Sudan on DPA implementation.
On 30 June, in Asmara, Darfur rebel leaders founded the National Redemption Front (NDF). The NRF's Founding Declaration flagged a forthcoming statement on its position regarding the DPA. The signatories include Dr Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of JEM, Mr Ahmed Ibrahim Diraige (Chairman) and Dr Sharif Harir of the Sudan Federal Democratic Alliance and Khamis Abdalla Abakar, formerly SLA-Abdul Wahid Deputy Chairman. Abdul Wahid, the leader of the SLA-Abdul Wahid faction, did not sign the declaration.
On 1 July, the National Legislature ratified the DPA. According to the official Sudanese news agency, the Legislature called on the international community to provide support and assistance for Darfur's reconstruction and urged parties that did not sign the agreement to join the peace process.
On 1 July, the Ceasefire Political Commission (CPC) met in Khartoum, with the SRSG [Jan Pronk], DSRSG and Force Commander in attendance. The meeting was briefed on the status of formation of Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) by the Co-Chairs and Technical Committee of the Joint Defense Board, JIU Commander (SAF) and Deputy Commander (SPLA).
THINK PIECE: Anti-UN sentiment in Darfur lighting rod for African nationalism (William Church)
An opinion piece in today's Sudan Tribune 'Anti-UN sentiment in Darfur lighting rod for African nationalism' by William Church is so good, it is difficult to choose excerpts, so I am copying the piece here in full. Mr Church is Director of the London based Great Lakes Centre for Strategic Studies and can be reached at wchurch@glcss.org
The battle over United Nations troops replacing African Union troops in Darfur has scratched the long festering wound of outside influences controlling the destiny of Africa. Darfur is a lighting rod of anti-United Nations sentiment because it contains the seeds of African hope, frustration, lack and desires.
Anyone who thinks the solution to Darfur's humanitarian crisis is as simple as UN troops replacing African Union (AU) peacekeepers has failed to understand that the battle is not about peacekeeping in Darfur-or even Africa. Darfur is about Africans finding an African solution and the end of outside, political interference in Africa.
There maybe a good reason why the government of Sudan does not trust the United Nations, despite the AU official position on the transfer of peacekeepers to the UN. The story of Darfur is similar to the story of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. A permanent member of the UN Security Council aided a situation that developed into genocide in one case and in the second example it may be complicit although not directly involved. In essence, Sudan is asking the question if the Security Council can be an honest peace broker if one of its members is political involved in the situation. This question also holds true with the situation in Somalia, where there are allegations of United States involvement in the current struggle.
The following examples are not meant to indict or criticize any one member of the Security Council. Instead, they are meant to demonstrate that the government of Sudan may have valid concerns about United Nations involvement.
It is a matter of public record that French paratroopers trained and supported the military of the genocidal government of Rwanda's President Habyarimana. Later that same Rwandan military executed, along with the Interahamwe, the devastating 1994 Rwandan genocide. In addition, French-paratroopers, in the eyes of the current Rwandan government, played a dubious role at the end of the 1994 genocide when they blocked the pursuit of the genocidal forces. This event and others have long colored the relationship between Rwanda and the United Nations and is a lesson, well-remembered in Africa.
French involvement in Chad also raises similar concerns. International Crisis Group (ICG) and other organizations have reported that Chad's French-backed army allegedly exploited the social and political instability in Darfur when it supported factions of the Sudan Liberation Army in their rebellion against the Khartoum government. The suspected or real Chadian involvement adds to the level of distrust and this week culminated in Khartoum expelling Chadian peacekeepers with the AU force in Darfur.
Sudan also understands there are questions about the lack of due process in examining the evidence reported by the UN Panel of Experts. These Expert Panels are used to shape Security Council policy and develop the basis for sanctions against governments and individuals, and rightly, the government of Sudan is concerned about the Security Council's abuse of these Expert Panels.
In 2005, a consultant to a UN Expert Panel called for a public review of the evidence in a DRC arms embargo report. He charged that the Experts did not conduct a complete investigation, violated their own standards of evidence, and intentionally misrepresented their evidence in their official report to the Security Council.
The ex-UN Expert Panel consultant was joined by the governments of South Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda, which also disputed the methodology of the Experts and their evidence. These governments, like the ex-consultant, called for a public review of the evidence. The Security Council responded by conducting a vicious slander campaign against the ex-consultant, and then refused calls for a public review and conducted a closed door, non-transparent review of the evidence. In the end, they issued a press release stating they fully supported the Experts, ignoring calls from African states for a public hearing. This case, like the others, adds to Sudan's concern if the Security Council can be an honest broker of peace and if sanctions will be used against it as a form of regime change.
However, there is a much larger principle at stake. Darfur is a lighting rod for African Nationalism because it hits to the heart of two key African issues: capacity building and sustainability.
Sudan is suspicious of the Security Council's motives since the UN has never articulated the reason why properly equipped and mandated AU peacekeepers are less effective that properly equipped and mandated UN peacekeepers. Sudan's doubt increases especially when it knows that there are 26,000 well-equipped African UN peacekeepers already serving in Africa that could just as easily serve the AU if properly supported and mandated. In addition, there are over 7,000 AU peacekeepers in Darfur that are more than capable if properly supported and mandated.
There is a lingering suspicion that the overarching UN view is that Africans can not manage their own affairs unless there is a foreign overseer. This is supported by the everyday experience of African leaders and Africans.
International donors talk about capacity building and sustainability and then push contrary policies. African leaders ask themselves why they can not decide themselves how wide their roads must be or whether it is tarmac or another surface. Instead those decisions are made thousands of miles away at international donor headquarters.
Africans are asking about the gap between rhetoric of sustainability and capacity building and the reality of international donor policy. African leaders are asking if the goal is African capacity building and sustainability then why is it that the international donors require contracts for their funds to be dispense to companies owned by foreign nationals, which represent the international donor community, and not Africans.
For some members of the international community, aid to Africa is either a jobs program for their own citizens or disguised subsidies for their national industries. African leaders in Rwanda and Uganda have been widely criticized for exercising their sovereign right to control the international National Government Organizations (NGOs) in their countries.
African leaders are asking why international donors place more weight on foreign think-tank reports about corruption or human rights than reports from African human rights organizations which may directly contradict an organization like US-based Freedom House, which admits that it has never visited some of the countries it evaluates. The same questions are being asked about the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) Peer Review process. African leaders are asking why foreign governments and organizations give more weight to assessments by international organizations and not the NEPAD findings.
It is important to note that this question echoes the current situation assessment in Darfur. The government of Sudan maintains a view that the problems are being resolved with the current force and with the current peace agreement. The United Nations disagrees with that assessment. Once again, it raises the question of who is better able to assess and develop a solution to an African problem. What is implied in the automatic assumption that the United Nations' view is correct?
The answer to this question demonstrates a general African suspicion about the international community and a growing rebellion against foreign intervention. Uganda's President Museveni has been quoted recently as saying that he will no longer allow foreigners to tell him how to run his government. Rwanda President Kagame has consistently fought for Rwanda's right to manage and define itself, and in a telling manner, this has been greeted with hostile response by some members of the international community.
Sudan's President al-Bashir is echoing those same African concerns when he stresses his belief that this is an African problem and it must have an African solution. If the international community truly wants to have a new partnership with Africa then it should listen to these concerns. This does not mean that the world should ignore the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. It means the quickest solution to the humanitarian crisis is to work with the government of Sudan to find an African solution that builds long-term capacity and allows Africans to demonstrate their leadership skills.
[Pity the piece did not address the fears re UN/ICC list of 51 Darfur war crime suspects. I've yet to find any report addressing Khartoum's fears of UN troops arresting suspects]
The battle over United Nations troops replacing African Union troops in Darfur has scratched the long festering wound of outside influences controlling the destiny of Africa. Darfur is a lighting rod of anti-United Nations sentiment because it contains the seeds of African hope, frustration, lack and desires.
Anyone who thinks the solution to Darfur's humanitarian crisis is as simple as UN troops replacing African Union (AU) peacekeepers has failed to understand that the battle is not about peacekeeping in Darfur-or even Africa. Darfur is about Africans finding an African solution and the end of outside, political interference in Africa.
There maybe a good reason why the government of Sudan does not trust the United Nations, despite the AU official position on the transfer of peacekeepers to the UN. The story of Darfur is similar to the story of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda. A permanent member of the UN Security Council aided a situation that developed into genocide in one case and in the second example it may be complicit although not directly involved. In essence, Sudan is asking the question if the Security Council can be an honest peace broker if one of its members is political involved in the situation. This question also holds true with the situation in Somalia, where there are allegations of United States involvement in the current struggle.
The following examples are not meant to indict or criticize any one member of the Security Council. Instead, they are meant to demonstrate that the government of Sudan may have valid concerns about United Nations involvement.
It is a matter of public record that French paratroopers trained and supported the military of the genocidal government of Rwanda's President Habyarimana. Later that same Rwandan military executed, along with the Interahamwe, the devastating 1994 Rwandan genocide. In addition, French-paratroopers, in the eyes of the current Rwandan government, played a dubious role at the end of the 1994 genocide when they blocked the pursuit of the genocidal forces. This event and others have long colored the relationship between Rwanda and the United Nations and is a lesson, well-remembered in Africa.
French involvement in Chad also raises similar concerns. International Crisis Group (ICG) and other organizations have reported that Chad's French-backed army allegedly exploited the social and political instability in Darfur when it supported factions of the Sudan Liberation Army in their rebellion against the Khartoum government. The suspected or real Chadian involvement adds to the level of distrust and this week culminated in Khartoum expelling Chadian peacekeepers with the AU force in Darfur.
Sudan also understands there are questions about the lack of due process in examining the evidence reported by the UN Panel of Experts. These Expert Panels are used to shape Security Council policy and develop the basis for sanctions against governments and individuals, and rightly, the government of Sudan is concerned about the Security Council's abuse of these Expert Panels.
In 2005, a consultant to a UN Expert Panel called for a public review of the evidence in a DRC arms embargo report. He charged that the Experts did not conduct a complete investigation, violated their own standards of evidence, and intentionally misrepresented their evidence in their official report to the Security Council.
The ex-UN Expert Panel consultant was joined by the governments of South Africa, Rwanda, and Uganda, which also disputed the methodology of the Experts and their evidence. These governments, like the ex-consultant, called for a public review of the evidence. The Security Council responded by conducting a vicious slander campaign against the ex-consultant, and then refused calls for a public review and conducted a closed door, non-transparent review of the evidence. In the end, they issued a press release stating they fully supported the Experts, ignoring calls from African states for a public hearing. This case, like the others, adds to Sudan's concern if the Security Council can be an honest broker of peace and if sanctions will be used against it as a form of regime change.
However, there is a much larger principle at stake. Darfur is a lighting rod for African Nationalism because it hits to the heart of two key African issues: capacity building and sustainability.
Sudan is suspicious of the Security Council's motives since the UN has never articulated the reason why properly equipped and mandated AU peacekeepers are less effective that properly equipped and mandated UN peacekeepers. Sudan's doubt increases especially when it knows that there are 26,000 well-equipped African UN peacekeepers already serving in Africa that could just as easily serve the AU if properly supported and mandated. In addition, there are over 7,000 AU peacekeepers in Darfur that are more than capable if properly supported and mandated.
There is a lingering suspicion that the overarching UN view is that Africans can not manage their own affairs unless there is a foreign overseer. This is supported by the everyday experience of African leaders and Africans.
International donors talk about capacity building and sustainability and then push contrary policies. African leaders ask themselves why they can not decide themselves how wide their roads must be or whether it is tarmac or another surface. Instead those decisions are made thousands of miles away at international donor headquarters.
Africans are asking about the gap between rhetoric of sustainability and capacity building and the reality of international donor policy. African leaders are asking if the goal is African capacity building and sustainability then why is it that the international donors require contracts for their funds to be dispense to companies owned by foreign nationals, which represent the international donor community, and not Africans.
For some members of the international community, aid to Africa is either a jobs program for their own citizens or disguised subsidies for their national industries. African leaders in Rwanda and Uganda have been widely criticized for exercising their sovereign right to control the international National Government Organizations (NGOs) in their countries.
African leaders are asking why international donors place more weight on foreign think-tank reports about corruption or human rights than reports from African human rights organizations which may directly contradict an organization like US-based Freedom House, which admits that it has never visited some of the countries it evaluates. The same questions are being asked about the NEPAD (New Partnership for Africa's Development) Peer Review process. African leaders are asking why foreign governments and organizations give more weight to assessments by international organizations and not the NEPAD findings.
It is important to note that this question echoes the current situation assessment in Darfur. The government of Sudan maintains a view that the problems are being resolved with the current force and with the current peace agreement. The United Nations disagrees with that assessment. Once again, it raises the question of who is better able to assess and develop a solution to an African problem. What is implied in the automatic assumption that the United Nations' view is correct?
The answer to this question demonstrates a general African suspicion about the international community and a growing rebellion against foreign intervention. Uganda's President Museveni has been quoted recently as saying that he will no longer allow foreigners to tell him how to run his government. Rwanda President Kagame has consistently fought for Rwanda's right to manage and define itself, and in a telling manner, this has been greeted with hostile response by some members of the international community.
Sudan's President al-Bashir is echoing those same African concerns when he stresses his belief that this is an African problem and it must have an African solution. If the international community truly wants to have a new partnership with Africa then it should listen to these concerns. This does not mean that the world should ignore the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. It means the quickest solution to the humanitarian crisis is to work with the government of Sudan to find an African solution that builds long-term capacity and allows Africans to demonstrate their leadership skills.
[Pity the piece did not address the fears re UN/ICC list of 51 Darfur war crime suspects. I've yet to find any report addressing Khartoum's fears of UN troops arresting suspects]
SLA-Minnawi welcomes UN Pronk call to amend Darfur deal
SLA rebel leader Minni Minawi praised a blog entry authored by the UN envoy to Sudan Jan Pronk in which he outlined how to put life into the Darfur Peace Agreement - Minnawi spokesperson, Esam Edin al-Haj, renewed the demand - of the wing opposed to the DPA within the movement - to suspend Abuja deal signed on 5 May. Full report Sudan Tribune July 3, 2006.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
AU Mission in Darfur mandate extended until end of 2006
The African Union has agreed to a UN request to extend the mandate of its military mission in Darfur by three months until the end of 2006, its chairman Denis Sassou Nguesso said, Reuters [via The Age] reported July 3, 2006:
Photo: Kofi Annan, Secretary General of U.N, seated centre, speaks to journalists at the venue of the African Union Summit AU in Banjul, Gambia Sunday, July 2, 2006. Annan held talks with Sudan's president Sunday and said he was hopeful U.N. peacekeepers would eventually be deployed to Darfur. (AP Photo/George Osodi/Yahoo)
"On the request of the secretary general, the African Union will continue to fulfil its mission until the end of the year," said Congo Republic president Sassou Nguesso, who holds the revolving AU presidency.
Photo: Kofi Annan, Secretary General of U.N, seated centre, speaks to journalists at the venue of the African Union Summit AU in Banjul, Gambia Sunday, July 2, 2006. Annan held talks with Sudan's president Sunday and said he was hopeful U.N. peacekeepers would eventually be deployed to Darfur. (AP Photo/George Osodi/Yahoo)
Eastern Sudan rebels (Beja Congress) call for UN humanitarian intervention in their region
Beja Congress Europe press release calls for "UN humanitarian intervention" in Eastern Sudan. It is signed, on behalf of the Beja doctors and intellectuals, by Dr Abu Amna, Beja paediatrician, Schoeffenstrasse 26, 65933 Frankfurt, Germany, 2 July 2006.
Note, June 9 2006 Abu Amna, press release Beja Congress calls for UN participation in Eastern Sudan talks
Note, June 9 2006 Abu Amna, press release Beja Congress calls for UN participation in Eastern Sudan talks
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