UK's Blair: "We must show that an African life is worth the same as a western one"

Key points from Tony Blair's speech 26 Sep 2006 - via Guardian:

We must also take action on Darfur, he says. We must show that an African life is worth the same as a western one, says Mr Blair.

I say, let's hope Africans and Arabs are saying the same.
- - -

As-Sudan literally means the Land of the Blacks in Arabic - An Arab is defined by language and culture and not skin color

Excerpt from blog entry authored by Amanda in South Sudan:

It seems that my issue is that I am being mistaken for a northern Arab. To me that is ridiculous, but virtually any Black person whose skin is more brown than ebony could be mistaken for someone from the North.

Firstly let me help you to expand your definition of an Arab.

In the United States at least, and I believe the same is true for much of Europe we think an Arab is a light skinned/olive skinned individual with curly to kinky hair who, speaks Arabic. Like African Americans, Arabs come in all shades of skin color.

I used to look at all Sudanese as being Black, after all As-Sudan literally means the Land of the Blacks in Arabic. I was initially shocked and offended some years ago to learn that the northern Sudanese consider themselves Arabs and not Black, after all they look like they would fit in at one of my family reunions. But being here has helped me understand why they consider themselves Arab.

So an Arab is defined by language and culture and not skin color.

I had previously written about how as a Black person in Africa I am often put into a local ethnic group, well that can be a good thing because it makes me less conspicuous, but it can also be dangerous depending on socio-political and historical factors.

- - -

Ethiopian tea-woman



Photo titled "Shy": She has on forehead tatoo as mark of her religion-She is Christian. Same tatoos she has on her neck, hands and as she told me also on all her body... [Taken in Khartoum, Sudan by Vit Hassan - caption also by Vit]

Sudan willing to accept compromise - UN military advisers, police and civilians to reinforce AMIS

Good news of a proposal that's gaining momentum. AP report by Alfred de Montesquiou 26 Sep 2006 - excerpt:

The UN and Sudan are discussing the deployment of UN military advisers to reinforce the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur, officials from both sides said Tuesday.

The Sudanese government's top official on Darfur, Majzoub al-Khalifa, said in an interview with The Associated Press that Sudan was willing to accept a compromise involving UN advisers.

"There is a third way. ... Why not let the UN place its men, command expertise and materiel at the service of the AU mission,'' al-Khalifa said.

Bahaa Elkoussy, a UN spokesman in Sudan, said the two sides were negotiating over sending UN advisers "to facilitate the deployment of the AU."

"There are ongoing discussions to provide the AU force with support, pending a future decision from the UN Security Council," he told the AP.

He would not elaborate. But other UN officials in Sudan, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks, said the proposal was to send more than 100 UN military advisers and dozens of police and civilians to reinforce the AU mission.

Elkoussy said UN personnel were ready to be sent to Darfur in the coming weeks "as soon as there is a solid agreement with the (Sudanese) government."

The AU confirmed Tuesday it was planning to send up to 4,000 more African peacekeepers to Darfur, though it lacks the gear and the cash to schedule their deployment.

"At least 1,300 troops are immediately available. We are negotiating with our partners for the funds to send them in," said Noureddine Mezni, the AU spokesman in Sudan.

The AU has had little effect in preventing atrocities in Darfur, but Mezni said this would change under the force's new "concept of operations," which sets out more robust tasks for the peacekeepers.

EU to give AU $70m - EU is AU's top supporter

The European Commission (EC) will give the African Union 55 million euros ($70 million) to support its operations during a visit this week to the pan-African body's headquarters, an EC envoy said on Tuesday.

Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will lead the delegation to Addis Ababa, during the Sept. 30- 0ct. 2 trip. - Reuters 26 Sep 2006.

'Sudan to approve Darfur peacekeepers'

"No soldier should go to Sudan without the permission of the Sudanese government because it's not about making war with the Sudanese people but helping them," AU head Alpha Oumar Konare said on Monday.

Konare's comments came as al-Bashir, in Sudan, lashed out at the US, saying Washington's plans to create a "new Middle East" were behind an international push to replace AU peacekeepers with UN forces in Darfur. - ndtv

Ramstein crew flies with Botswana into Darfur

Ramstein Airmen flew with a Botswana C-130 Hercules crew to the Darfur region Sept. 23 and 24 to support the African Union peacekeeping mission.

Two C-130 crewmembers from the 86th Operations Support Squadron, aerial porters from the 86th Air Mobility Squadron and a force protection specialist from the 786th Security Forces Squadron, joined the Botswana C-130 crew that transported 56 Ugandan civil police into Darfur. - U.S. Air Force

UN's Pronk suggests using the UN Charter's Chapter VIII to support the AU deployment in Darfur as a viable option

Excellent article at Aljazeera today - Darfur: U.S. confrontational approach rejected - by Ilham Kocache, Horn of Africa Researcher at GLCSS (The Great Lakes Centre for Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank, with offices in Central and East Africa). Here is a copy, in full:

This week brought a clear path forward for the Darfur conflict and humanitarian crisis. The UN Security Council's confrontational approach was dealt a near fatal blow and the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan Jan Pronk outlined a five step solution for Darfur and suggested a compromise solution of a Chapter VIII approach.

At a press conference following his Security Council appearance, Pronk suggestion that using the UN Charter's Chapter VIII to support the African Union (AU) deployment in Darfur was a viable option.

"Chapter VIII is a possibility," Pronk said, "whereby there is another force (which acts) on behalf of the United Nations which has been requested by the Security Council and fully financed by the UN."

He stressed that AMIS, the AU force, could continue to be led by the AU with AU peacekeepers, and that he believed the Government of Sudan was willing to accept this solution. Pronk, however, stressed the caveat that the force must be more effective than if it is now.

Contrary to the continued calls by some governments for the UN to act unilaterally against Sudan, AU Commission Chairperson Alpha Konare was quoted in the Sudan Tribune as contradicting this view.

"That means this has to be done with the Sudanese government's approval and we have clearly said that even if the UN was to come, the bulk of the troops would be AU forces, the command would be African and the AU political leadership will be there," Konare said, after the AU extended presence of its Darfur units until the end of the year.

He also contradicted certain members of the Security Council, which have consistently placed the blame solely on the Government of Sudan. According to Konare, the current instability in Darfur is more the direct result of fighting between the rebel movements themselves than between the rebels and the Government of Sudan.

As discussed in last week's article, Darfur Crisis: Shared Responsibility (Sudan Tribune Comments 18 September 2006) the primary solution is the restoration of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA). Pronk, in supporting that position, outlined a five step program to get the DPA into "intensive care" before it dies.

The first step is to "get everyone on board."

"Abdul Wahid's group," Pronk said, explaining one of the core problems of the DPA, "are out of the agreement and we need to bring them on board."

This is vital to the DPA because Abdul Wahid's group, which mostly represents Furs, is a significant portion of the population. He stressed that Abdul Wahid's group maintained the original ceasefire and has not resumed fighting and that peace will not be possible without their cooperation.

He concluded the description of the first step by stating bluntly, "they must be brought on board."

Pronk called for establishing a truce as the second step. He stressed that the approach used at the peace talks caused the rebel movements to split into different, uncontrollable factions.

"They were told: First sign, then talk. That further split the rebel movements," he reported to the Security Council. According to Pronk, this led the National Redemption Front to break the ceasefire in July and contribute to the current escalating events in Darfur.

He stressed it was "an outright violation of the DPA", and that a truce was needed to bring the DPA out of its coma. Pronk said, "Mini Minawi can play a role, maybe, in mediating between his present and his former allies in order to finally get peace on the ground."

Reforming the non-functioning Ceasefire Commission (CFC) was identified as the third step.

"It simply does not function," Pronk said. "It has been hijacked by the signatories, it is not well chaired, non-signatories have been excluded, and the United Nations has been silenced."

He urged the CFC to start addressing the violations of the DPA. In addition, he envisions a renewed and authoritative CFC that is fully representative of all parties.

"In the southern Sudan," he recalled, "the CJMC is one of the most important pillars of the CPA. If it were taken out, the CPA would be paralyzed. That is exactly the present state of the DPA, so the third condition is to start addressing the violations of the DPA through a renewed, fully representative, but authoritative CFC."

The SRSG called for improving the DPA as the fourth step. According to Pronk, many people of Darfur have lost faith in the DPA and a new round of consultations should be started.

"We must talk, add, improve and give an opportunity to those who feel excluded and form at least one third of the population of Darfur. We must get their interests guaranteed, on paper as well as in reality," he said, stressing that the new talks can not be seen as reopening the peace negotiations.

Finally, Pronk called for all parties to get off the collision course of confrontation and work on rebuilding trust and respect.

"Secretary-General Kofi Anan has clearly said that "without the consent of the Sudanese Government, the transition will not be possible", reported Pronk, directly contradicting the position of unilateral action. "However, getting the consent of the Government requires consultations. A transition to a United Nations force has to be made attractive to the Sudanese leadership in order to get its support. That also requires trust, confidence-building and time. It requires that those in favor of a transition and those against it should refrain from the present collision course."

Clearly, SRSG Pronk recognizes by stressing his last point that the hostile rhetoric by certain members of the Security Council have continued the crisis in Darfur and raise suspicions by the Government of Sudan. Once again -- as this author stated after the DPA was signed, in July, and now -- the quickest solution to the Darfur humanitarian crisis is a robust AU peacekeeping force.

This is the ideal time for the Government of National Unity to demonstrate to the world that this was not a war of Arabs against non-Arabs. This is the time for the Government of National Unity to work closely with SRSG Pronk and initiate his five step program. It is time for the Government of National Unity to demonstrate that Africans - North Africans and Sub-Saharan Africans, regardless of their ethnic or religious background -- will solve African issues, without outside political rhetoric."

Ilham Kocache may be reached at Ilham.kocache@glcss.org

Darfur damned by western pity (Brendan O'Neill)

Excerpt from Guardian's CiF by Brendan O'Neill Darfur: damned by western pity:

"The people of Darfur and Sudan, like the people of Bosnia before them, are likely to pay a heavy price indeed for the patronage of their latte-drinking "friends" in the west."

I say, kudos to Brendan for speaking up with such an unfashionable viewpoint. I doubt those who disagree with Brendan's article will understand what he is getting at. Even if they do, whether they realise it or not, they are supporting the insurgents aiming for regime change and, in turn, helping to prolong the conflict.

Well meaning but misinformed people are manipulated by others with self serving agendas. Who would they like to see in place of the current regime? Doubt if they know the answer to that question. Before any of them get mad at Brendan, I'd like them to ask themselves why they (and the people they agree with on Darfur) have not supported the African peacekeepers in Darfur who've been doing a great job under appalling conditions. The insurgents want UN troops fighting onside and have been spinning the media to discredit and denigrate African troops in Darfur.

See Jonathan Steele's article in the Guardian 19 Sep 2006: "Sorry George Clooney, but the last thing Darfur needs is western troops: The rebels, not Khartoum, scuppered this year's peace deal - the solution has to be an expanded African Union force." [via POTP]

Bashir imposes travel restrictions on US officials in Sudan

Sudan's Bashir accuses US of meddling in Darfur (ST Sep 25, 2006):

The Sudanese leader, just back from an overseas trip to gather support from nonaligned nations and attend the UN General Assembly in New York, said Sudanese officials were unfairly scrutinized by US Homeland Security during the visit.

In response, no American official in Sudan would be allowed to travel more than 25 kilometers away from the presidential palace in Khartoum without a special permit, al-Bashir said. "The measure is effective as of Monday," he said.

From Reuters/Aljazeera

"Any American official who comes to Sudan, we will stamp his passport for only 25km from the presidential palace," he [Bashir] said. "Even if they apologise and lift theirs, we will not lift ours."

Heh. Nah nah na na nah. Maybe Mr Bashir isn't aware that after 9/11, most visitors to the US feel unfairly scrutinized by US Homeland Security. Strange how he doesn't impose travel restrictions on the rebels. It irks me that JEM et al are free to swan in and out of Europe, the US and Sudan.

Did Reuters get it wrong? Today, China's Xinhua says this:

President Omar al-Bashir also said the removal of this measure would depend on the amelioration of the bilateral ties, according to the report.

"Any American official visiting Sudan will have his passport stamped and his movement restricted at a limit of 25 kilometers," al-Bashir said, adding that this measure would not be removed unless relations between Sudan and the United States are improved.

President Omar al-Bashir, Sudan - coup in 1989

Sep 22 2006 BBC report - Coup leaders' addiction to power - tells us the tide turned in the 1980s, when Latin American governments agreed not to recognise leaders who came to power by military means.

Ely Ould Mohammed Vall, Mauritania - coup in 2005
Francois Bozize, Central African Republic - coup in 2003
Gen Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan - coup in 1999
President Yahya Jammeh, The Gambia - coup in 1994
President Omar al-Bashir, Sudan - coup in 1989
Blaise Campaore, Burkina Faso - coup in 1987
President Lansana Conte, Guinea - coup in 1984
Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, Libya - coup in 1969

Let's not support "rebels" who use violence to get what they want. Peacekeepers serving in war zones deserve to be supported, appreciated and respected. African Union peacekeepers in Darfur need all the support and help they can get.

Are all Darfurian civilians rebels? When trying to install security in Darfur, how can one tell the difference between a rebel and a civilian, a bandit and a civilian, a terrorist and a civilian, a janjaweed and a civilian? The Sudanese government is accused of "indiscriminate" attacks and bombings of Darfur villages. Where do the rebels, bandits and janjaweed eat, sleep and live? How do they make a living? Where are the families of these people? News reports tell us the Sudanese government backs the militias, but never say or even look into who funds the so-called rebels. So many questions.

Who will be the next UN Secretary General? Runners for Kofi Annan's job

Kofi Annan has this week begun his last UN General Assembly session as Secretary General. He must stand down by the end of the year, and the race to succeed him is gathering pace.

Seven people have already declared their candidacy, but it is possible that Mr Annan's successor will not be among them. There is still time for others to throw their hats into the ring.

Traditionally, the UN Security Council recommends a candidate and the 192-member General Assembly approves the choice.

Click here for portraits of the seven candidates. (Courtesy BBC)

See updates at newsblog Who will be the Next UN Secretary General?

NRF commanders claim Musa Hilal's Janjaweed forces are on their way to crush NRF in N Darfur

Today's Sunday Times publishes a report by BBC correspondent Jonah Fisher in Sudan saying the Sudanese government has denied undertaking the continuing bombing raids and claims its military actions are in self-defence against rebels who will not sign last May's peace deal.

On 26 Aug 2006, NYT correspondent Lydia Polgreen reported Sudan's foreign minister, Lam Akol, said in an interview that Khartoum's plan to use troops to pacify Darfur is already in motion. "With this plan, we are implementing the Darfur Peace Agreement," Mr Akol said. "We do not need the permission or the input of the United Nations or anyone else."

On 21 Sep 2006, Darfur rebel group NRF issued the following press statement (via Sudan Tribune):

According to fresh news from Darfur, the janjweed forces of Musa Hilal have left Elfashir, yesterday September 19th, heading towards Umsidra area, the site where the forces of Albashir were badly defeated ten days ago. The forces of Hilal are estimated to be around 1300 men on 70 plus vehicles, camels and horses. They are now camping in Umsiala north of Kutum town.

Through the whole of yesterday, Antonov planes and helicopter gunships pounded civilian villages of Umsidra, Hashaba, Kulkul, Jiraya and Anka in North Darfur. Needless to say, the bombardment led to human waves of newly displaced civilians in the bombarded area and the number of causalities is yet to be produced.

According to our sources, the new assault is prompted by rebellion of the demoralised government army in Alfashir. Hilal struck a deal with the regime of Albahsir, whereby the Janwaeed will take over the duty of crushing the NRF in North Darfur. In return, the Janjaweed will be allowed to drive away indigenous populations of North Darfur and occupy their land as they have done in Jabal Mara area of South and West Darfur. However, we would like to reassure the peace loving people of Sudan in general and Darfur in particular, that we will never allow such plans to be realized except in the day dreams of the regime. We regret in advance the losses to life of people who are deemed to die under the deception of the regime.

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Further reading

Sep 9 2006 Sudan's Camp Rwanda in deadly Tawila, N Darfur - On Feb 27, 2004, hundreds of Arab tribesmen in military uniforms attacked Tawila, led by Musa Hilal, the leader of the militia known as the janjaweed.

Jun 12 2006 Interview: Sheik Musa Hilal, leader of Um Jalul tribe in his hometown of Mistariha, North Darfur

Mar 26 2006 Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal says Sudanese government call to arms is carried out through tribal leaders

Feb 21 2006 List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)

May 3 2005 ABC's Interview with Janjaweed leader Musa Hilal in Sudan

Feb 20 2005 Janjaweed leader says followed orders in Darfur, Sudan

Aug 22 2004 Janjaweed Leader Moussa Hilal - interview with UK Telegraph and IslamOnline.net

Nov 18 2004 Sudanese militia leader Hilal accused of Sudan massacre speaks exclusively to ABC News

Egypt wants guarantees to persuade Sudan to accept UN

If true, this is interesting. Via Sudan Tribune 22 Sep 2006:

According to Arabic language al-Sahafa, the Egyptian government and the Saudi Arabia are exerting efforts to persuade Sudan to accept the deployment of the international peacekeepers in Darfur.

Sudan would receive guarantees that the UN forces would not be used against the government officials, and the US would give pledge to lift economic sanctions imposed on the Sudan since 1997, the report said.

One wonders why it has taken so long to offer Khartoum such obviously needed guarantees. It's no big deal to lift sanctions and see justice being carried out by the Sudanese in their own courts. US President GW Bush vowed no US citizen would ever be tried by the ICC. Why should the Sudanese not vow same for their own people?

PostGlobal, The Washington Post's forum, debates Darfur

Email received from Amar.Bakshi@washingtonpost.com Sep 20:

The Washington Post PostGlobal site (blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal) wants to devote its upcoming coverage to the situation in Darfur.

We'd like to get you all on board in helping us craft a question (as soon as possible) and then in letting your readers know that we are convening a place for people around the world to discuss the issues.

We send our question to the editors of 50 worldwide publications - Economist, Caijing, Asian Age, Daily Star, South African Star etc. and about 100 global blogs to convene debate.

Let me know if you're interested in being a part in formulating the question, and if you'd be willing to spread the word.

Amar

Another email received today:

PostGlobal (http://blog.washingtonpost.com/postglobal) is an international blog and forum for the Washington Post. During the next few days, the site will be hosting online discussions on solutions to the crisis in Darfur. We urge you to join the debate alongside Bill Emmott - former editor of The Economist, Alex de Waal - author of Darfur: A Short History of a Long War, Christine Ockrent - French journalist, and many more. This is the time for the world to come together over the crisis in Darfur. Get engaged and join the debate.

Thanks Amar. Sorry I've not had time to get involved in formulating a question. But I did spend an hour this evening reading the replies to your latest question:

"Should regional solidarity be allowed to trump human rights needs? What could be done to pull away support from the Sudanese regime and enable UN troops to enter?"

I agree with Alex de Waal's answer titled "Sudan Solution: Politics is Paramount", especially this excerpt:

"The most important action in support of human rights in Darfur is progress towards a political settlement. Such progress will, in itself, provide protection for the people of Darfur; it will bring forward the day when stability can return; it will make it possible for a peacekeeping force to operate effectively..."

Also, this comment by AK, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA:

"There is no doubt that people in Darfur are dying. But the term genocide has been used too freely. First off, the killing in Darfur is not completely one sided as some might lead you to believe. Secondly, the fighting is based on resources more than it is on anything else. Resources such as water and grazing/farming land are essential for both groups involved. Thirdly, there is no "racial" issue here. EVERYONE in Darfur is African, and EVERYONE in Darfur is Muslim. There are tribes who have been Arabized through trade and intermarriage, but have no clear Arab lineage. There is no clear cut line between Arab vs. African.

On the Issue of the UN intervention, there is no doubt in my mind that the US and France along with the sponsors of the resolution have illegitimate interests. I say, if they truly want there to be peace, fund the African Union force and supply them with the needed equipment to complete their mandate.

The other major problem with the UN resolution is that it only addresses the military and humanitarian aspect of the conflict, not the political aspect. Just giving food and sending soldiers is not going to bring peace, lasting peace to the people of Darfur and all of Sudan.

Plus this comment, by AM, Vienna, VA, caught my eye:

"Why are outsiders needed?
If you recall, it is the insurgency that is causing the problems."

Note, PostGlobal, an experiment in global discussion of important issues, operates as part of washingtonpost.com. Overseeing the site in Washington is Hal Straus, washingtonpost.com's Opinions Editor, and Amar Bakshi, the Editor/Producer of PostGlobal. Good luck chaps!

If I had to pose a question, I guess it would be the one I've asked myself many times over the past two years but never found an answer:

Why has the African Union Mission in Darfur (AMIS) never received the support and funding it so badly needed?

I wonder what question The Sudanese Thinker would ask ... [Hi Drima!]

UN readies experts, equipment for AU in Darfur - UN Security Council Resolution extends UNMIS to 8 Oct 2006

Today, the UN confirmed it would move 100 personnel, including military officers, to Darfur in the next few weeks to man communications and other equipment for the AU. - Reuters via SABC:

Also today, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution extending for two weeks, until October 8, the UN mission in Sudan, which has some 10,000 peacekeepers in southern Sudan to monitor a peace agreement there.

John Bolton, a US ambassador, said the short rollover "would give us more time to build up momentum and pressure on the government in Khartoum to accept the inevitability - that there is going to be a UN peacekeeping force."

Darfur 'still being bombed' - Egypt supports Sudan's position on Darfur

UN human rights monitors claim Sudanese government aircraft bomb Darfur villages. - UN News Centre 22 Sep 2006

Mubarak told Bashir that Egypt supported Sudan's position on Darfur, underlining that a possible deployment of UN forces could only be conducted with consent from the Sudanese government. - Xinhua/ST 22 Sep 2006

Britain has called for a summit on Darfur. - Reuters 22 Sep 2006 via Scotsman

The UN is meeting today to discuss what can be done to stop the violence. - BBC TV 22 Sep 2006



Photo: A displaced Sudanese woman fetches water at the Argo camp in Tawilla, north Darfur, Sudan, September 6, 2006. (Reuters/Candace Feit)

Climate change and war - UN peacekeeping in S Sudan and Darfur would cost $2.7 billion annually - for how many years?

"On the list of the presently largest relief operations in the world Darfur is number one and Southern Sudan number two," writes UN SRSG Jan Pronk in his weblog September 22, 2006. Excerpt:

"Close to 90.000 metric tons of food aid were provided to 1.3 million people throughout South Sudan. Nearly 400 anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines and more than 16.000 unexploded objects were collected and destroyed, amongst others along 265 km roads. The reopening of these roads made humanitarian and commercial traffic possible. This was further facilitated by the construction of nearly 900 km roads and the rehabilitation of seven airfields. About 800 new water points were established. More than 750 schools were rehabilitated and about 4500 teachers were trained. Several millions of children were reached through the vaccination and immunization rounds, amongst others against measles and polio.

To cover the humanitarian needs for this year, 2006, in both Darfur and Southern Sudan we have presented an aid program to the international community amounting to 1.6 billion dollar. So far we have received 1.1 billion. It means that we had to cut assistance again.

Presently UNMIS, with 10.000 military, costs another one billion dollar per annum. If we are going to deploy in Darfur as well, as has been stipulated in resolutions of the Security Council, this will increase to 2.7 billion dollar annually.

WHEN WILL A POLITICAL SETTLEMENT BE REACHED?

I say Mr Pronk, $2.7 billion annually for something the majority of Sudanese don't seem to want? How long will it go on for? ... 2 years? 20 years? 200 years? When will the insurgents reach a political settlement? How many water pumps cost $2.7 billion? When is walk away time? Who decides when enough is enough? The insurgents claim to be fighting in the best interests of "their" people but how old will they be when they reach a political settlement? When they get old and grey and peg out, will their children carry on the fight? The point I am making here is, the warring parties in Sudan may as well reach a political settlement NOW and get started on pulling together to PUMP WATER before it's too late, otherwise Darfur will be uninhabitable. Maybe that's what they want, to be left alone with the oil. Read on:

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WAR

Visiting Africa's Sahel region, Jeffrey Sachs says it's clear that climate change is already driving warfare in Ethiopia and Sudan. This time, peacekeepers, sanctions and humanitarian aid are not going to cut it. Instead, the developed world needs to cut its emissions drastically while helping developing countries adapt - and fast. See commentary by Jeffrey Sachs at Global Policy Forum on "Climate Change and War" 1 March 2005. Excerpt:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has declared that the two issues at the center of the G-8 Summit this July will be African poverty and global climate change. These may seem to be distinct issues. In fact, they are linked. A trip I took to a village in the Tigre region in northern Ethiopia shows why.

One morning, I was taken to a dry riverbed at the village's edge. Farmers were digging a pit in the riverbed, down to the water table approximately two meters below ground level. They explained that, until recently, this was a perennial river - one that flows throughout the year. But now, the river stops flowing during the dry season. Only when the annual rains begin in the summer does water reappear in the river bed. Until then, water-starved communities dig for water - if they can find it and if they can afford to pump it out.

In northern Ethiopia, as in much of Africa, the rain cycle has changed markedly in recent years. Ethiopian village life has long depended on two crops, one during a short rain in March and April, and the main crop during the long rain in the summer months. In recent years, the short rains have failed entirely, and long rains have been erratic. Hunger is omnipresent. Perhaps half of the children are severely underweight.

Much of arid sub-Saharan Africa, notably in the Sahel (the region just south of the Sahara desert), has experienced a pronounced drop in rainfall over the past quarter-century. This decline coincided with a rise in the surface temperature of the neighboring Indian Ocean, a hint that the decline in rainfall is in fact part of the longer-term process of man-made global warming.

Failures of rainfall contribute not only to famines and chronic hunger, but also to the onset of violence when hungry people clash over scarce food and water. When violence erupts in water-starved regions such as Darfur, Sudan, political leaders tend to view the problems in narrow political terms. If they act at all, they mobilize peacekeepers, international sanctions and humanitarian aid. But Darfur, like Tigre, needs a development strategy to fight hunger and drought even more than it needs peacekeepers. Soldiers cannot keep peace among desperately hungry people.

One course of action must be to help impoverished African regions to "adapt" to climate change and to escape the poverty trap. Water-stressed regions like Ethiopia and Sudan can adapt, at least in part, through improved technologies such as "drip irrigation," rainwater harvesting, improved water storage facilities, deep wells, and agro-forestry techniques that make best use of scarce rainfall. Better land-management practices (the re-planting of degraded forests, for example) can recharge underground water aquifers.

Poor countries cannot afford these technologies on their own - nor should they have to. Help for poor countries in Africa and elsewhere to adapt to climate change should not be described as charity or aid, but rather as compensation for damages being imposed on the poorest people on the planet. Greater help for these countries to escape from extreme poverty has been promised for decades but has not been delivered.

In addition to adapting to climate change, the world must also reduce future risks to the planet by cutting back on greenhouse gas emissions, which are the source of man-made climate change. While adaptation to climate change is necessary - because it is already occurring - it is not enough. If the world fails to mitigate future climate change, the effects of rising temperatures, increasing droughts, more numerous and severe tropical storms, rising sea levels and a spread of tropical diseases will pose huge threats to the entire planet. The famines in Ethiopia and the violence in Darfur suggest what can lie ahead.

Photo: Click on image for details of Sudan's Chinese backed Merowe Dam.

Bashir meets Mubarak - AU can solve conflict in Africa

AP/ST 21 Sep 2006:

"Our aim is not to finalize the role of the AU at the end of this year, but to encourage them to continue forward and to set a positive example," Magzoub Al-Khalifa Ahmed, an adviser to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, told a Khartoum press conference.

"They are able to solve the conflict in Africa," he said.

Al-Bashir, returning from the annual UN General Assembly session [in New York] stopped briefly in Cairo on Thursday and held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. There was no comment on what they discussed.

SA: Reinforce African Union army in Darfur

South Africa's Deputy Foreign Minister Aziz Pahad said the AU troops would remain until December 31 but UN should take control of the peacekeeping mission. He said with the extension of the AU troops' stay, there was time for the UN security council to review its resolution to "blue hat" the AU troops. - Sapa 21 Sep 2006.

Darfur: UN estimates over 400,000 deaths, 2m displaced

Over the past two years, I've covered miles of news reports on Darfur and am still unable to understand why the African Union Mission in Darfur was never given the support it needed to function effectively. Report by the UN News Centre 21 Sep 2006 - Annan welcomes extension of African Union mission in Darfur:

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Mr Annan stressed that additional funding for the mission, known as AMIS, is urgently required for it to function effectively during its new mandate in a region where UN officials estimate over 400,000 people have lost their lives and some 2 million more have been driven from their homes in three years of fighting between the Sudanese Government, allied militias and rebel forces.

Note, the report states UN officials estimate over 400,000 deaths.

UN envoy Jan Pronk calls for Ramadan calm in Darfur

Following yesterday's excellent news that AU peacekeepers are to remain in Darfur, The Times reported today:

Jean-Marie Guehenno, the UN Undersecretary-General in charge of peacekeeping, welcomed the AU's decision. The logistics and support supplied to the African peacekeepers is expected to amount to 200 unarmed trainers and advisers at a cost of $22 million over the next four months, as well as help airlifting supplies and troops, and arranging contracts for food, fuel and water.

UN SRSG Jan Pronk has a great idea that, hopefully, could give fighters time to pause for thought and reflect on what is really important for the millions of defenceless women and children imprisoned in camps in Darfur and Chad, and start the Darfur-Darfur Dialogue. Reuters/ST Sept 21, 2006:

The UN envoy to Sudan on Thursday urged warring groups in Darfur to stop fighting during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan to let relief workers operate in the region where conflict has displaced more than 2 million.

"I am sending letters to the president and to all the seven movements ... asking them to respect a month of tranquillity during Ramadan," Jan Pronk said in reference to Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Darfur rebel groups.

"Get off the collision course ... Don't fight, don't bomb, don't change your positions," Pronk told reporters in Khartoum. The Islamic month of Ramadan begins with the new moon in the coming days.

Pronk said a halt to fighting would lead to "creating an atmosphere whereby you can start talking again rather than fighting again with each other." It would also allow U.N. agencies to reach those in need, he said.

Good luck to Mr Pronk. Let's hope everyone will take a month off to rest and reflect on what is really important: PUMPING WATER NOT WAR!! Note this gem, by an insightful blogger at dishyduds blogspot re "Climate Change and Darfur":

"I now believe that the United States has a moral obligation to alleviate the struggles in Africa. It is our responsibility because we are the largest contributors to the root of the problem. I no longer support a UN military presence. Peace cannot be forced, and military action would only act as a band-aid on a seeping infected wound. The root cause needs to be addressed and the United States needs to lead as we had a hand in creating the problem. The peace needs to be rewritten to include provisions for all tribes to address what they were fighting over to begin with. Famine relief needs to be supported by all western world countries, especially those who are the largest contributors to global warming."

Read the full story. And, some more good news:

Water firm awarded $203 mln contract for Port Sudan (Sudan Tribune, Sep 17 2006)

Water treatment and hygiene education protect millions in Sudan

UNICEF has been working closely with the Federal Ministry of Health of the Government of National Unity, as well as state authorities, to treat water sources and storage systems. And while acute watery diarrhoea continues to be reported in a number of states, fatalities have fallen from 6 per cent to 3 per cent in the last month. Full story 20 Sep 2006.



Photo: Children gather at a community water point in Sag el Naam, in Sudan's North Darfur State. Following recent outbreaks of acute watery diarrhoea, UNICEF and its partners have embarked upon a massive programme of water chlorination and hygiene education. (Copyright UNICEF Sudan/2006/Carwardine)