Sudanese SLA member Abulgasem Ahmed Abulgasem arrested at home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Unsourced report at Darfur Daily News 2 Oct 2006:

Abulgasem Ahmad Abulgasem, a political opponent of the Sudanese government, prominent figure in Abuja Peace Negotiations and member of a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army, was arrested by the Saudi Arabian security forces on 26 September at his home in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he lived for 28 years.

The reason for his arrest is unclear but is believed to be connected to a speech in which he criticized the Sudanese government at the Sudanese Embassy prior to his arrest.

According to our source, Abulgasim was already deported on Saudi Arabia Airlines flight 453 from Jeddah to Kartoum, at 18:50 local time. His life is at imminent risk of torture and unfair trial if not at great danger of being sentenced to death.

More from Darfur Alert and Amnesty International Alert: Action needed to release Mr. Abu al-Ghassem.

Letter from JEM/NRF to UN SRSG Jan Pronk

On Friday Sep 29, 2006 Sudan's insurgent group JEM attacked and mortar bombed SLA-Minnawi forces near Greida, South Darfur - 40 killed.

The day before, JEM Leader Khalil Ibrahim, co-founder of NRF, published the following letter to Jan Pronk, UN special representative to Sudan, dated Thursday Sep 28 [via Sudan.net]

Dear Sir;

Thank you very much for your letter dated September 22nd 06. We respond to your Excellency with Ramadan greetings; greetings of piety, charity, peace and reflection. As an honour to the holy month of Ramadan, we are pleased to respond positively to your appeal and dedicate this festive month for peace and tranquillity for our people in Darfur. We seek this opportunity to reconfirm to you that our forces on the ground are clearly instructed all through not to act except in situations of self-defence and that instruction will be closely watched during the holy month. We hope that our adversaries will behave likewise.

As for your call to use this month for dialogue for peace, it is our conviction that the problem of Darfur is essentially political and can at best be resolved through peaceful negotiations. Military confrontation has never been our first choice and we look forward to dropping the gun out of the politics of Sudan all together. We are ready for a call from your office for resumption of peaceful settlement of Darfur conflict, any time, any where. The people of Darfur have suffered too much. They cannot wait any longer.

Sincerely yours;
[signed]
Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Mohamed
Chairman JEM
Co-founder of NRF

Good guys or what?

Mills joins Aegis Trust's Darfur campaign

Heather Mills is in negotiations with Aegis Trust to become a patron and even visit Sudan. A spokesman for Aegis confirms, "Ms Mills is very supportive of our Darfur campaign and wants to help push that on. She is lending her profile to the campaign. We are in dialogue with her." [via contactmusic.com]

Privatization of peacekeeping raises concerns

Oct 2 2006 World Peace Herald - Privatization of peacekeeping raises concerns:

Shortly after Secretary of State Colin L. Powell visited Darfur in 2004, Blackwater put together a proposal to go in there and stop the two sides from killing each other, Mr. Pelton said.

"The problem is, if you look at the presentation, it includes not only men with guns. They're offering helicopter gunships, a fighter bomber that has the capacity to drop cluster bombs and [satellite-guided weapons], armored vehicles. You say: "Wait a minute? That's a lot of offensive force. What does that have to do with peacekeeping?"

AU needs more UN support for Darfur - EU aid chief

Oct 2 2006 Reuters report by Ingrid Melander - excerpt:

The African Union needs increased United Nations support if it is to continue its peacekeeping operation in Darfur, European Commission aid chief Louis Michel said on Monday.

"In the current situation, the African Union cannot assume completely the job if it does not have an important contribution from the U.N.," Michel told reporters at the AU headquarters.

Let's hope such talk leads to the compromise of an "African Union Plus" that aid workers in Darfur (and this blog author) say they want too.

Sudan's JEM insurgents shell SLA-Minnawi forces nr Greida, S Darfur - 40 killed

Oct 2 2006 Guardian report by Jonathan Steele in Nyala, Sudan - Rebel groups kill 40 in Darfur - Foreign aid workers forced to abandon refugee camp:

Fierce clashes between rival African groups in south Darfur have left up to 40 people dead and prompted most foreign aid workers to abandon Greida, one of the world's largest camps for displaced people.

Fighters loyal to the Justice and Equality Movement, one of two rebel groups which refused to sign an internationally-brokered peace deal in May, used mortars and heavy machines to attack men from a faction of the Sudan Liberation Army which did accept the deal.

"Exchanges of fire lasted for three to four hours. It was only a mile from the town. It happened on Friday", the Guardian was told by an official from one of several aid agencies which withdrew from Greida to Nyala, the regional capital, at the weekend. They include Oxfam, Save the Children, and Merlin. Only the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has its own helicopters, has stayed in Greida to care for an estimated 130,000 homeless people who live in a vast camp beside the town.

The fighting appears to be the worst incident in Darfur since the peace deal was signed in May. Clashes in April sent 90,000 people fleeing to the camp but did not cause so many casualties.

In the first two and half years of the conflict in Sudan's western region so-called janjaweed militia backed by the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum caused most of the killing, with villages being burnt, women raped, and livestock stolen. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced.

But the last 12 months, and particularly the period since May, have seen a spate of inter-tribal clashes. Darfur used to have three rebel groups but splits have developed within each of them, creating a bewildering series of factions and a climate of chaos. Bandits are also exploiting the lawlessness.

In north Darfur 25 aid agency vehicles have been hijacked or stolen since May, in many cases along with satellite phones. The increase in ethnic tension has put staff at risk, if they come across roadblocks thrown up by people from a different tribe. Eleven Sudanese aid workers have been killed in the last three months

Medecins sans Frontières had two cars stolen from its compound at Saraf Omra. Oxfam lost a lorry in the same area, and its Sudanese driver has not been found, prompting both organisations to withdraw from the area.

The crisis means that most displaced people in the camps have better access to food and medicine thann those who stayed in their villages. MSF left Korma, a large district centre, in August because of security concerns.

"When we came here, we deliberately decided to work outside the camps", said Kristel Eerdekens, MSF Belgium's mission head in north Darfur. "Some 20,000 people live in Korma, but not even our local staff can work there now, which means there is no doctor at all."

In Saraf Omra, with a population of 55,000, the primary health clinic is left in the hands of medical assistants. "No caesarians can be done, and no referrals to hospitals," she added.

In Kebkebiya three out of nine patients with suspected cholera recently died, partly because MSF staff have had to stop driving out to village clinics. In Jebel Marra where many children have oedema MSF has had to abandon plans to open a therapeutic feeding centre.

The World Food programme curtailed food deliveries to large parts of north Darfur this summer because of the surge in insecurity. They were resumed to the town of Malha, north-east of El Fasher, last month after the government regained control of the main road, but German Agro Action, the non-governmental organisation which runs the local distribution of food aid, has to contact rebel commanders to get clearance.

Rebel attacks have made numerous areas inaccessible. "One WFP truck was taken north of Kutum a week ago by people with National Redemption Front written on their vehicles. We negotiated, and got it and the driver back, but the food was gone," said Chris Czerwinski, the WFP's regional mission head. "Two weeks earlier the same happened with two trucks. Again it was NRF. The drivers were held for 10 days." The National Redemption Front is one of the new splinter groups which reject the peace deal.

Janjaweed militia have also set up roadblocks, where WFP drivers have been beaten and had their possessions stolen, but the trucks and food were not taken, Mr Czerwinski said.

No aid official is willing to quantify how much of the crime is done by pro-government groups and how much by rebel groups or bandits, since the raiders rarely identify their loyalties. "It would be unfair to point the finger only at the government. All parties have done their share of creating insecurity," said Ms Eerdekens.

Alpha Konare, a former president of Mali who now chairs the African Union commission, last week blamed the rebels for most of the collapse in security.

Unfortunately, this report does not make clear whether the JEM faction is part of NRF or not. Whatever, they're not interested in peace. They've admitted their aim is to overthrow Khartoum regime and, I guess, replace it with themselves. No doubt they've staged this attack to get media attention in the run up to EU's Barroso trip to Darfur with peace agenda and the historic EU-AU meeting taking place today at AU HQ in Ethiopia.

UN's Malloch Brown lauds US, UK on Darfur

Great diplomacy by UN Deputy Secretary General Mark Malloch Brown. Responding to UN basher Bolton's clumsy demand for an apology, he praised the UK and US for being "on the right side" in seeking to end what he called an outrage in Darfur. - Reuters via ABC 1 Oct 2006:

But he said it was clear that Sudan did not respond well to ultimatums delivered from New York, Washington, London or Brussels and a new diplomatic approach was needed to engage the Sudanese government.

Malloch Brown said a broader coalition of countries was needed to press Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to put an end to "an outrage" - including China and Arab states.

He also called for a more realistic medium-term "carrot and stick" strategy to give Sudan, a long poor country enjoying an oil boom, an interest in cooperating over Darfur while keeping a potential "choke hold" on trade and more war crimes indictments against Sudanese officials if it did not comply.

Note, Mr Malloch Brown is a Brit. I can't help wondering if he cleared his initial statement with Tony Blair to enable the US to save face, calm down and pull its horns in. Whatever, it's good to hear such sensible level heads in the UN, speaking out. Great diplomats ooze charm and smooth, clever stuff!

Sudan signs wealth sharing deal with eastern rebels

Oct 1 2006 Reuters report by Cynthia Johnston - excerpt:

Sudan signed a wealth sharing deal with rebels in the country's east on Sunday and hopes to reach a final peace agreement to end a low-level insurgency there by the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, Sudanese media said.

The Khartoum government and eastern rebels had earlier reached agreement on security arrangements in the economically important east, and peace talks in the Eritrean capital Asmara will now turn to power sharing, state news agency SUNA reported.

Sudanese Presidential Adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail, head of the government delegation to the talks, expressed "hope that they would sign the final agreement with the Eastern Front before the end of the current holy Ramadan", SUNA said.

Ramadan, when Muslims fast from dawn to dusk, began roughly a week ago.

The east has the country's largest gold mine and its main port, where its oil pipelines take exports to the world market. Despite its riches, it remains one of the country's most impoverished regions.

SUNA, reporting the fresh agreements with the Eastern Front rebel coalition, said the wealth sharing deal included a 5-year action plan and would be backed by a government fund but it gave few details of what the agreement entailed.

It said that the security protocol, signed on Thursday, included lifting a state of emergency in eastern Sudan.

During about a decade of low-scale conflict, eastern rebels allied themselves with former southern rebels and those from Darfur, and similarly complained that Khartoum exploited their natural resources without developing their region.

But after some insurgents elsewhere in the country signed peace deals to join the central government, the eastern rebels found themselves in a weaker negotiating position.

This year, they also lost control of the Hamesh Koreb area on the Eritrean border where, along with southern rebels, they had based their forces. Under a 2005 north-south deal, the northern army took over the area earlier this year and U.N. peacekeepers later withdrew.

Top EU officials met Bashir Saturday

Sep 30 2006 Reuters report by Ingrid Melander - EU looks for common ground on Darfur - excerpt:

Top European Union officials met Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir on Saturday to try to find common ground on ways to end the military crisis in Darfur and ease one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

"We need to work together so that we can have real peace in Darfur," European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said as he left the presidential palace in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

"It was very important to understand the point made by the president of Sudan. I also conveyed to him very frankly and very openly our concern about the situation," Barroso added.

Photo: Sudan's Foreign Affairs Minister Lam Akol (R) speaks to the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso at Khartoum airport September 30, 2006. Barroso is in Sudan to try and convince Khartoum to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur. Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdalah

British experts attached to AU will be using Sudanese govt resources to help develop a media campaign extolling DPA

Sep 30 2006 Guardian report by Jonathan Steele in El Fasher, Darfur - excerpt:

It now emerges that Britain is working with the Sudanese government to try to sell the peace deal in the camps.

Hilary Benn's department is funding Simon Haselock and Andrew Harker, two British experts with Bosnian experience, to help develop a media campaign extolling the peace agreement. Although they are attached to the African Union, which is in charge of monitoring the faltering peace deal, they will be using Sudanese government resources.

A programme on the deal's merits will be broadcast on three state-owned radio stations, and focus groups will be invited to listen to them and discuss the topics raised.

Theatre groups will go round the camps, doing role-playing to say why the deal's opponents are wrong. Whether this will be enough to change the doubters' minds remains to be seen.

Diplomats are also offering talks in the hope of getting the non-signers to think again.

[via POTP]

The Humanitarian War Myth (Eric Posner)

Opinion piece by Eric A. Posner - The Humanitarian War Myth via Washington Post 1 Oct 2006 - excerpt:

"The best humanitarians of our day recognize that we face a painful dilemma: to tolerate atrocities in foreign states or to risk committing worse atrocities in the course of ending them. From Rwanda, many people drew the lesson that failure to intervene is the worse option. The Iraq war may be the first step in unlearning this lesson. If not, an intervention in Darfur surely will be."

Eric A. Posner is a professor of law at the University of Chicago and co-author of "The Limits of International Law."

Alex de Waal critiques Prunier and recounts DPA talks

"The African Union mediation team that laboured in Abuja, Nigeria, to try to bring a peaceful resolution to the conflict in Darfur was neither naive, deluded, nor opportunistic," writes Alex de Waal in commentary published at openDemocracy 29 Sep 2006. He should know. He was there as a member of the African Union's mediation team. Read the rest - Darfur peace agreement: so near, so far [POTP has a reprint 29 Sep 2006, sorry permalinks to POTP not working here]

Note, in the piece, Mr de Waal says:

"But, constantly, a stream of high-profile international visitors insisted that the process be hurried to a conclusion, because the humanitarian crisis was so bad. People were dying, we were told, so we should not be so slow. What finally convinced the United States to push for an accelerated conclusion to the talks was Khartoum's promise that if a deal was signed, it would allow United Nations troops in. President Omar al-Bashir then reneged on that promise."

As stated here several times before, despite searching, and following events closely at the time, I've yet to find a single news report that pinpoints who promised Khartoum would allow UN troops into Darfur. I'm not implying it never happened, I'm just interested to know what was said. I seem to recall seeing a report somewhere, hinting the source might have been VP Ali Taha behind closed doors. My point is, many months of tedious arguing over UN troops, while allowing AMIS to flounder in uncertainty, appear to have been wasted on hearsay. Only the Sudanese president can make such promises, not Mr Taha.

US provides $20m to African peacekeepers in Darfur

Good news. US Senate has approved today an emergency aid of 20 million USD to the African Union forces in Darfur.

"With the severity of this situation growing worse, and as the government of Sudan continues to block the deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force to Darfur, the African Union force remains the front line of security," said Senator Reid. - ST 30 Sep 2006.

Sudanese official criticises US's Rice threats

From Cairo 30 Sep 2006 Bahrain News Agency:

Sudanese official criticised reccent threats by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in case if Khartoum do not agree on deploying international forces in Darfur.

Advisor to Sudanese president Dr Majthoub Al Khalifa said these threats are not civilized, underlining the US targets to control central, west and east parts of Africa next to middle east region.

He's right. Such threats don't sound civilised.

USAID awards $31m infrastructure contract for S Sudan

Sudan is USAID's largest program in Sub-Saharan Africa, totaling $855 million in fiscal year 2005. The complex program provides extensive humanitarian and food aid to vulnerable people in Southern and Eastern Sudan and Darfur, as well as extensive reconstruction assistance in the south, Abyei, Blue Nile, and Southern Kordofan. Full story by USAID via ST 30 Sep 2006.

Lets hope none of this money is spent on military. Somewhere in Sudan Watch archives are reports of large sums of development funding being spent on southern Sudan's ex rebel group getting its army modernised and kitted out.

US's Bolton slams UN's Malloch Brown for criticizing UK, US on Darfur

Ha! This is rich coming from UN basher Bolton. Mr Bolton's comments, reported by AFP/ST today, are a nonsense. Especially considering he has a reputation for hostility towards the UN:

"These remarks bring discredit to the UN and are a stain on its reputation," said Bolton, the US envoy to the UN.

"Mr Malloch Brown should apologize to Bush and Blair."

Apologise? What a cheek! The only thing I regret about Mr Malloch Brown's remarks is that he coupled British Prime Minister Tony Blair's name with the US when in fact (and Sudan Watch archives show) Mr Blair has always been most considerate, careful and diplomatic when it comes to the Sudan. It's great to hear the viewpoint of top UN officials. I applaud Mr Malloch Brown for speaking out, especially since his comments were aimed to bring discredit to Washington's 'you damn well are going to let the UN deploy and if you don't, beware the circumstances."

Here are some snippets from article Who Is John Bolton? (via Center for American Progress 7 Mar 2005):

Bolton was infamous as a right-wing ideologue opposed to anything and everything that smacked of U.S. cooperation with or support for the United Nations. "If [the UN Secretariat building] lost 10 stories," Bolton once quipped, "it wouldn't make a bit of difference."

From calling support of the International Criminal Court the product of "fuzzy-minded romanticism [that] is not just naive, but dangerous" to discussing North Korean policy by saying that "sounder U.S. policy would start by making it clear to the North that we are indifferent to whether we ever have 'normal' diplomatic relations with it,"

On the eve of talks with North Korea about their nuclear weapons, Bolton took a novel approach to public diplomacy and publicly called King Jong Il a "tyrannical dictator" and an "evil regime." The State Department was forced to send a replacement representative after North Korea responded by calling Bolton "human scum" and stating their objection to negotiating with him.

Note, the article concludes by saying:

"At this point it is clear that the world Bolton has left us four years later is one that is more dangerous. He can only do more damage from a position of greater power.

Sep 9 2006 US's Bolton says there is a legal basis for armed intervention in Darfur?

Apr 15 2006 Sudan: Bolton blames British for "erroneous" leak

Mar 2 2006 John Bolton, US Ambassador to the UN, says the term Darfur "genocide" sounds right

Feb 21 2006 Bolton chides Annan on UN planning for Darfur force

Oct 11 2005 US: Bolton blocks UN briefing on atrocities in Darfur Sudan
- - -

BRACING FOR BOLTON - DISMAY AS US SENDS HAWK TO UN

Excerpt from Sudan Watch archives 9 March 2005 - UN joins AU to assess peacekeeping needs in Darfur, Sudan - Bracing for Bolton

The shock appointment of hardline neo-conservative John Bolton as US ambassador to the UN stunned the diplomatic community yesterday and raised questions about George W. Bush's commitment to work constructively for reform of the world body in its 60th anniversary year. His appointment must be ratified by the US Senate, where there is sure to be some opposition.

"Why would (President Bush) choose someone who has expressed such disdain for working with our allies?," said Senator John Kerry, who lost last year's election to Mr Bush. Full Story - 9 March, 2005 - Herald Sun - by David Nason in New York.

9 March: FT in America Firster says today: Mr Bolton is hardly likely to re-invent himself as a born-again multilateralist. But if US policy were to be changed in that direction by the decision-makers in Washington, it would carry more weight with the UN's many critics on the Republican right if it came out of the mouth of Mr Bolton. The dispatch of one of Washington's staunchest unilateralists to the UN may yet turn out an inspired decision. But the onus will be on Mr Bolton and his masters in Washington to prove this so. [Let's hope it turns out an inspired decision]

Seems Mr Bolton is turning out not to be an inspired decision after all.

US ADMINISTRATION STILL PUSHING FOR UN FORCE IN SUDAN

Excerpt from AP report via ST 30 Sep 2006:

U.N. chief envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, said did not expect the Sudanese government to accept a U.N. force anytime soon. And so, he said, the international community should instead push for the African Union's mission to be prolonged and reinforced.

But Friday, [US State Department spokesman] McCormack disagreed. "I don't think that there is a substitute for an international force at this point," he said. "Certainly, we are not going to throw in the towel on getting an international force into Sudan. OK?"

Yee Haw! Y'All Have A Nice Day!

Sudan balks at giving US envoy a visa

Reuters report via ST 29 Sep 2006:

"He (U.S. special envoy) has not been granted a visa yet. Certainly, I think Andrew (Natsios) would very much want to travel to Khartoum. We are having some difficulties now with the Sudanese government," said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, who declined to provide specific details.

McCormack said the United States would continue to put pressure on Khartoum to accept a 20,000-strong U.N. force to replace about 7,000 poorly funded African Union troops struggling to keep the peace in the arid region. "We think it is important that other states apply similar pressure to the Sudanese government," said McCormack.

Asked about Malloch Brown's reported comments, McCormack said the senior U.N. official should "apply himself to the task at hand rather than giving speeches."

I wish aggressive Americans could hear how primitive they sound this side of the pond. Is it any wonder now Sudan balks at issuing Americans full entry visas? Talking of warmongers, Eric Reeves pens another cryptic ream, weirdly titled "Khartoum Strong-arms, Negotiates to Retain Control of Darfur Security - The National Islamic Front will continue to determine the military and security dynamic throughout Darfur and eastern Chad". Who are such pieces aimed at? The rebels? Note, he tells his readers "the AU decision announced by Konare very likely paralyzes further movement toward non-consensual deployment for both military tactical reasons and political reasons." And he concludes by saying, quote: "If we wait to see the full scale and consequences of an inevitable AU failure to provide security for Darfur, we will be waiting while too many hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings die." "If we wait" eh? Who is the "we"? What is he suggesting? I think Eric Reeves is dangerous.

Al Qaeda No 2 urges jihad in Darfur if UN troops sent

Al Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri called on Muslims in a video released on Friday to launch a holy war against proposed UN peacekeepers in Darfur.

"O Muslim nation, come to defend your lands from crusaders masked as United Nations (troops). Nothing will protect you except popular jihad (holy war)," Zawahri said in the video posted on the Internet. - Reuters 29 Sep 2006.

AU-EC meeting 2 Oct 2006 AU HQ Addis Ababa

Copy of press release published at africa-union.org:

Addis-Ababa, 29 September 2006 - The European Commission and the Commission of the African Union will meet for a joint working session at the headquarters of the African Union in Addis Ababa on 2 October 2006.

Both Commissions will meet in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia for their third joint session within three years. This meeting is the latest testimony of an ever growing partnership between the two continental executive bodies: the European and the African Union Commissions.

For this occasion, the European Commission will hold its first ever meeting on another continent than Europe, travelling to Ethiopia with no less than 10 European Commissioners including President Barroso, all three vice Presidents Wallström (Communication), Frattini (justice) and Kallas (administration), the Commissioners Michel (development), Mandelson (trade), Gribauskaite (budget), Potocnik (research), Kyprianou (health), Kovaks (taxation), Spidla (employment) and Piebalgs (energy). The agenda of the meeting focuses on institutional partnership and development.

Almost one year after the adoption of the EU Strategy for Africa, both sides will review the progress in its implementation and decide on new steps to take. They will look at the implementation of the EU-Africa Partnership of Infrastructure. They will discuss how to manage better migration flows for the benefit of both continents. They will agree on how to exchange experience when it comes to their respective areas of responsibility such as employment, science and technology or health.

The European and African Union Commission will also strengthen their institutional ties. Both institutions will agree on a first large support programme of 55 million Euros for the African Unions operational and institutional development to be implemented as from 1 January 2007 and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to structure the exchange of officials and trainees between the two institutions.

Contact info:
Ms. Habiba Mejri - Cheikh, Spokesperson, CUA (+251- 11) 5514555
E-Mail: HabibaM@africa-union.org
Mr Amadeu ALTAFAJ, spokesman's service of the European Commission 0032 2 29526 58
Website:..http://www.africa-union.org/root/au/conferences/Past/2006/October/EUAU/AU-EU-meeting-en.htm

EU funding saved Darfur peacekeeping mission - AU

The AU's Peace and Security Commissioner Said Djinnit said Europe had been instrumental in funding AU operations across the continent.

"This is particularly true with the current efforts at peacekeeping in the Darfur region which enabled the AU to extend the mandate of the mission in Sudan by three months as a result of the contribution of 30 million euro by the EU," Djinnit said. - Reuters

Note, the EU is responsible for establishing and supporting the AU to enable African solutions for African problems.