French FM to press Sudan on Darfur

Nov 10 2006 Reuters report excerpt:

France's foreign minister, who has repeatedly called on Khartoum to let U.N. peacekeepers into Darfur, will visit Sudan next week to speed up the search for a solution to the humanitarian crisis there, his ministry said.

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy will visit the Sudanese capital on Sunday, where he expects to meet President Omar Hassan al-Bashir before travelling to Darfur on Monday, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

"This visit takes place in the context of the move led by France with its partners from the international community to accelerate the settlement of the Darfur crisis," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

UN council sending group to AU meeting in Ethiopia re AMIS

Nov 10 2006 AP report via OR UN council sending group to Ethiopia by Alexandra Olson, AP Writer:

The U.N. Security Council U.N. Security Council is sending a delegation to a key African Union meeting with Sudan on Monday with a message that it still backs the U.N. takeover of peacekeeping in conflict-wracked Darfur, the council president said Thursday.

Sudanese and AU officials are starting a series of meetings in Ethiopia's capital on Monday to discuss the future of the 7,000-member AU force, whose mandate expires on Dec. 31.

"The purpose of this mission is to have a dialogue conducive to the implementation of Resolution 1706," which was adopted on Aug. 31 and authorizes the U.N. takeover of peacekeeping efforts, he said after the council discussed the mission late Thursday.

He said the delegation will be led by Britain, whose U.N. Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry led a Security Council mission to Sudan and neighboring Chad in June. Hedi Annabi, the assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, left for Sudan on Thursday for talks with the Sudanese government ahead of the meeting, said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Sudan's U.N. ambassador made clear his country would not accept any U.N. participation beyond the material and logistical support to the AU forces.

"(U.N.) forces will not be accepted in anyway. No blue helmets, only African Union forces, expanded, intensified, enhanced, augmented through the support of the United Nations ," said Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem.

On Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the United Nations wanted to go beyond the $22 million support package approved for the AU mission "to ensure that we do have an effective force on the ground."

Sudanese FM talks with next UN chief

Nov 9 2006 AFP report via ST - Sudan's FM opposes UN peacekeepers in Darfur - excerpt:

Sudan's foreign minister said Thursday he was opposed to the United Nations' plan to send peacekeepers to Darfur, after talks with his South Korean counterpart Ban Ki-moon, the next UN chief.

"I don't understand why the UN tries to send troops to Darfur," Lam Akol Ajawin told South Korea's Yonhap news agency, adding that the African Union should continue to take command in handling the crisis in Darfur.

"We also want a speedy resolution to the issue. But it is a matter to be handled by the Sudanese government and the African Union," said Ajawin, who is on a two-day trip to Seoul as part of a tour of Asia that also took him to Japan.

"We are resolved to address it, as shown in the peace talks in Abuja that started in 2004."

UPDATE: See Nov 7 2006 INTERVIEW-Next U.N. chief pledges swift action on Darfur.

INTERVIEW-Next U.N. chief pledges swift action on Darfur

Nov 7 2006 Reuters - excerpt:

The U.N. secretary-general elect, South Korea's Ban Ki-Moon, said on Tuesday he aimed to meet Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir as soon as possible to break the deadlock over U.N. peacekeepers going to Darfur.

Ban, who takes office on Jan. 1, said the international community and the United Nations in particular needed to halt the violence in Sudan's western Darfur region "before it's too late".

"I'm going to meet Sudanese leaders and other African leaders to help resolve this Darfur crisis before it's too late," Ban told Reuters in an interview in Seoul.

Asked if he planned to meet Bashir, Ban replied: "I hope I'll be able to meet him as soon as possible; but I'll try to meet the foreign minister first."

See Nov 10 2006 - Sudan's FM talks with next U.N. chief.

Controls tighten on media and aid workers in Darfur

Authorities also obstruct aid staff working in Darfur with a myriad permit requests, although Khartoum has promised in writing to provide free access for the humanitarian community.

"They make it very clear. They want to drastically reduce the number of NGOs in Darfur, and regain control," said one Western aid worker who asked to remain anonymous to protect her organisation, which is under threat of expulsion.

Full story by Opheera McDoom, Reuters, 8 Nov 2006.

Eritrea says ready to mediate between Sudan govt, Darfur rebels

Eritrea expressed readiness to mediate between the Sudanese government and Darfur rebel groups opposed to Darfur Peace Agreement signed in Abuja in May.

Full story ST 4 Nov 2006.

UN report says international community had to provide more equipment and support to AMIS

Reuters report via Gulf Times 6 Nov 2006 Sudan failed to disarm militias, UN report says.

Note, the report - prepared by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the basis of witness accounts - is due to be released shortly. It says "the international community had to provide more equipment and support to a struggling African Union force that is failing to stem the violence in Darfur."

White House drops support for UN peace force in Darfur - Eritrea as go between to renegotiate DPA?

Nov 5 2006 AFP report - White House drops support for UN peace force in Darfur - (via Taipei Times):

In a major policy reversal, Washington's special envoy for Sudan has confirmed the US is backing away from demands for deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to halt what it has called genocide in the the war-torn region of Darfur.

Andrew Natsios, US President George W. Bush's personal envoy to Sudan, said Washington and other Western governments were looking for an "alternate way" to deal with the violence in Darfur which has left at least 200,000 people dead and 2.5 million homeless in the past three-and-a-half years.

It was the first public admission that the US was reconsidering its backing for an Aug. 31 UN Security Council resolution, which Washington sponsored, demanding the immediate deployment of some 20,000 UN troops to replace an ineffective African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur.

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir rejected the UN demand and refused to meet with Natsios during a visit to Khartoum last week, the US envoy said in an interview with the US National Holocaust Memorial Museum which was posted on the memorial's Web site on Friday.

Natsios said Beshir was furious over Bush's renewal last week of US financial sanctions imposed on Sudan for its handling of regional conflicts, including Darfur, and alleged support for international terrorists.

"They were quite upset about [it], so much so that they canceled my meeting with President Beshir," he said.

At a White House meeting with Natsios on Wednesday, Bush said he was reviewing the US approach to the Darfur crisis, described as the first genocide of the 21st century, but he refused to provide details.

A UN-brokered peace agreement signed in May with one of the rebel groups brought hope for an end to the carnage, but ultimately failed when other groups refused to sign.

Since then government-allied forces have renewed offensives in the region, with the UN reporting on Friday that scores of civilians had been massacred in refugee camps in the region over the past few days.

Under pressure from European allies and human rights groups, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made Darfur a major US foreign policy priority in the middle of this year, insisting that only a UN "blue-helmeted" force would have the financial and political clout to stop the killing.

But Besher has refused to budge.

At a summit of African leaders in Beijing on Friday, the Sudanese leader said accepting UN troops in Darfur would lead to a debacle similar to Iraq.

Natsios now says the UN role is no longer essential.

"Our real interest here is not what it is called or what it looks like in terms of its helmet, but how robust and how efficient it is," he said.

Washington could accept either a strengthened African Union force or one led by Arab or Muslim nations, possibly backed by UN financial or logistical support, he said.

Another element of the new US approach is to use African mediation -- Natsios mentioned Eritrea as a potential go between -- to renegotiate the May peace agreement in a bid to draw in other rebel groups.

Sudan's Mustafa Ismail to be in charge of Darfur file

Smiley is back.

Mustafa Ismail to be in charge of Darfur file:

Sudan has removed Majzoub al-Khalifa, the presidential advisor from the file of Darfur. He has been replaced by Mustafa Osman Ismail, a Sudanese newspaper disclosed Saturday.

Note, the report tells us Mr Ismail: "who was very hostile to Eritrea in the past, has learnt to appreciate work besides the Eritrean mediators and president Asias Afwerki."

French Total pays $1.5m pa to maintain Sudan's oil rights

Oct 3 2006 Dow Jones report via ST. Excerpt:

Total spokeswoman Patricia Marie confirmed the company is paying the Sudanese government but wouldn't disclose how much. She added that the government had guaranteed the money would be spent on social programs benefiting the people of southern Sudan, including scholarships to students.

China pledges billions to Africa

Nov 4 2006 AP report via CBS - excerpt:

"Chinese assistance to Africa is sincere, unselfish and has no strings attached," Premier Wen Jiabao said at a gathering of Chinese and African entrepreneurs held as part of the conference.

President Hu Jintao pledged to double China's aid to Africa from its 2006 level by 2009.

Assist AU to do better job - China critical to finding solution in Darfur: UN Pronk

Nov 1 2006 AFP report AFP report via ST - excerpt:

"Some members of the (United Nations) Security Council have some leverage," Pronk told the BBC.

"If there is any country which could play an important role, it is China ... China never put a lot of pressure (on Sudan). The pressure came in particular from the other members of the Security Council."

Pronk also said that "debt relief (and) the lifting of the trade sanctions, could help easing the situation. It might bring the government of Sudan to a U-turn in its own position."

He advised against strong pressure on the country, however, and instead backed a stronger African Union force in Sudan along with diplomatic help from the United Nations.

"Don't put too much pressure on the Sudanese, because they have a habit of hitting back," Pronk told the broadcaster.

"Too much pressure is not very effective. Assist the African Union to do a better job, more resources in particular, so that you have, by more support to the African Union, a gradual transition.

"The difficulty is, the dilemma, how to respect the sovereignty of a nation and to, secondly, protect the people within a nation.

"That is a hell of a job. There is only one international organsation who can do so and that is the United Nations," he said.

UN's Pronk continues blogging: "Persona non grata. Some facts"

Good news. UN SRSG Jan Pronk continues blogging even though he is no longer on the ground in Sudan itself. Here is a copy of Mr Pronk's latest commentary at Jan Pronk Weblog November 4, 2006:

On October 22 I was told by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister Karti, that the Government of National Unity of Sudan had decided to consider my mission as Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in the Sudan as terminated. They requested me to leave the territory of Sudan within 72 hours. I responded that I would report this to Secretary General Kofi Annan and that I would wait for his instructions. At the same time I informed Minister Karti that I would advise the Secretary General to instruct me to return to New York for consultations. I was indeed requested by the Secretary General to held consultations in New York and also to brief the Security Council. This I did on 27 October. See my address to the Council on this website.

In an official letter, signed by the Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lam Akol (SPLM), the government presented a number of reasons for its decision. The letter has been made public. The Government is of the opinion that I have interfered unwarrentedly "in matters that do not fall within (my) mandate" and "acted in a way incompatible with the impartial and international nature of (my) duties or inconsistent with the spirit of (my) assignment". The letter then continues as follows: "Regrettably, Mr. Jan Pronk had developed a history of a pattern of hostility against the Government of the Sudan and its armed forces. He has repeatedly abused the powers of his office (and) violated his terms of engagement".

This is not true. I have never expressed hostility against the Government of Sudan and the armed forces. I have reported about their actions, criticized them when necessary and praised them when appropriate. I have even tried, more than once, to gain some international understanding for the position of the Government and have sought ways and means to foster cooperation between the Government of Sudan and the international community in order to protect innocent citizens.

The Government has illustrated its position by referring to my visit to Tawila, four days earlier. According to the letter I "made statements that the Government of the Sudan did not implement the Darfur Peace Accord (DPA) and is deceiving those who signed the DPA casting doubts about its achievements. He also stated that the Government of the Sudan is biased and is siding with the Arab Janjaweed with the purpose of cleansing the African tribes. ... Mr. Jan Pronk is now enticing, aiding and abetting the armed groups, signatories to the DPA to break away from the peace process".

It is a fact that I have criticized the Government of Sudan for violating the DPA and the cease fire agreement implied by this accord. I have also said, time and again, that the Janjaweed should be disarmed rather than allowed to continue attacking villages, raping women and killing unarmed farmers. I have expressed this criticism repeatedly, in my reports to the Security Council, in my press conferences as well as in numerous discussions with members of the government. I was not the only one. At the same time I have also condemned atrocities and violations carried out by rebel movements. However, I have never enticed them to break away from the peace agreement. On the contrary, I always told them: "stick to it, do not throw away the child along with the bathwater, unite with the other movements, signatories as well as non-signatories. Unite with them not in order to fight, but to negotiate further, in order to improve the text of the agreement. Unite for peace, not war".

In order to persuade the movements I told them that, though they might think having won two battles against the Sudanese Armed Forces, the latter would be able of defeating them, because the Government was mobilizing new forces, coming from Southern Sudan. The Government was also incorporating Janjaweed and militia into the paramilitary Popular Defence Forces. This is what I wrote also in my weblog nr 35, which has been objected to by the Government. It was not meant as a negative comment about the armed forces, but as a criticism of the Government itself and a warning against further violations of both the Darfur Peace Agreement and Resolutions of the Security Council that forbid mobilisation for hostile purposes. A few days before the Government took the decision to consider my assignment terminated, I had stated to government officials seeking clarification about my remarks, that I had not intended to provoke or insult the army. I regretted that such a perception had arisen. I added that, if I had written untruths, I would be willing to correct them. I also offered to clarify my statements in a meeting with the Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

This was taken for granted. The Government must have understood that my criticism did not refer to the army itself, but to the political leadership responsible for the instructions to the army.

The Government has stated that I have "actually engaged in activities incompatible with (my) status and had needlessly and recklessly endangered and undermined the nascent Darfur peace process." In the view of the Government "the ultimate effect of (these) recent actions ... abrogates the legal and moral responsibilities of (my) position as a Special Representative, violates the UN Charter and compromises the neutrality and integrity of he United Nations." The opposite is true. I did not endanger or undermine the peace process. On the contrary, I was able to convince those rebel movements who had continued fighting to refrain from launching further attacks on the Government forces. This was a breakthrough. During my visit to Birmaza the rebel commanders committed themselves to a non-aggression posture. Their political leadership confirmed this later on. However, before I was able to bring this message to the authorities in Al Fashr and Khartoum, the military had already bombed the very area where I had met the commanders. It seemed as if the Government was not interested in peace with these rebel movements, but preferred to cherish a justification for further military action. In order to make this point, one week later another bombing attack took place, on the very day that I reported to the Security Council in New York.

It is not up to the Government of Sudan to declare that I may have taken steps beyond my mandate. Only the Secretary General of the United Nations and the Security Council, which has given the mandate for the UN peace mission in Sudan and Darfur, are in a position to provide such a judgement. Both have rejected the decision of the Government to consider my mission terminated. In my most recent address to the Council, which I delivered on 27 October, I stated that in July this year I had already informed the Secretary General that I would not seek an extension of my present tenure after 31 December 2006. The Secretary General has decided that, in spite of the position taken by the Government, I should indeed continue my work till that date. This decision is meant to underscore that it is only up to the Secretary General himself to terminate an assignment. The Charter of the UN, the Convention on the Principles and Immunities of the UN and the Status of the Forces Agreement between the UN and the Government of Sudan do not allow for UN officials to be declared persona non grata. In the meantime Secretary General Kofi Annan and President Bashir of Sudan have agreed that I will return to Sudan for a short period, so that I can make orderly arrangements for handing over the leadership of the UN Mission in Sudan to the Officer in Charge, my present Deputy Taye Zerihoun. I intend to do so as soon as I receive the green light.

My position is not important. In the letter mentioned above the Government has "(reassured) the United Nations and the international community of Sudan's continued cooperation and commitment ... in accordance with the agreements concluded with the United Nations and the recognized principles of international law". That is a promise. The international community should see to it that this promise will be kept. The Mission of the United Nations in Sudan should no longer be hindered by the Sudanese bureaucracy or by National Security in the implementation of its mandate, its humanitarian work and the monitoring of the peace agreements. Even more important is that the international community should make clear to the Government of Sudan that adherence to principles of international law means that the signing of peace agreements and cease fire agreements implies an obligation to refrain from hostile military action.

So, thanks to Mr Pronk's blogging, we now we know that: "The Charter of the UN, the Convention on the Principles and Immunities of the UN and the Status of the Forces Agreement between the UN and the Government of Sudan do not allow for UN officials to be declared persona non grata."

Intermission

Back soon.



The biggest port city in Sudan-PortSudan (photo and caption by Sudanese photographer Vit Hassan).

Final chance for Sudan on Darfur: Blair

Nov 1 2006 AFP report via Gulf Times. Excerpt:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair warned Sudan yesterday that it faces a "crunch point" and will be internationally isolated if it fails to act over Darfur within weeks, his spokesman said.

Blair held talks with Sudanese Vice President General Salva Kiir Mayardit as the country faces strong international pressure to replace the African Union force in its troubled western Darfur region with up to 20,000 UN peacekeepers.

President Omar al-Bashir has rejected the plan, claiming it is a US-led plot to invade the country.

"The important thing is that we give President Bashir one final chance to move to agree a deal or face the consequences of increasing isolation and we’re facing that crunch point," Blair's official spokesman said.

"What's important is that the Sudanese government has no doubt about the seriousness of that message."

Sudan faces "isolation if they don’t respond to the will of the international community", he added, saying that Blair wanted to see "clear progress" ahead of an African Union meeting in late November.

The Sudanese government would have been left "in no doubt" what Blair meant after yesterday's talks, the spokesman said.

Britain's premier also used the meeting to call for dialogue with dissident rebel groups to restart, he added.

One of Sudan's top peace negotiators, Culture and Tourism Minister Mohamed Yusif Abdallah, said elsewhere yesterday that the government was continuing talks with groups which had not signed up to the Abuja peace agreement.

US Bush warns Sudan to end Darfur conflict

Oct 31 2006 AP report via ST - excerpt:

Bush said a "credible and effective" international force is crucial to bringing peace to the region.

"The United States is going to work with the international community to come up with a single plan on how to address this issue and save lives," he said.

UK Blair to urge Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur

Oct 31 2006 AP report via ST - excerpt:

Prime Minister Tony Blair will urge Sudan to accept UN peacekeepers for Darfur when he meets Tuesday with a Sudanese vice president, the prime minister's spokesman said.

Blair's official spokesman said the prime minister "believes that all sides should stop fighting, all sides should engage with the U.N. and the Sudanese government in particular should allow the U.N. to take over the operations of the African Union forces."

Chad army chief killed in battle

Note the following news report at Perth Now, from Reuters' correspondents in N'Djamena, mentions 'mercenaries at the service of Sudan.'

Oct 29 2006 Perth Now - Chad army chief killed in battle.

'I hate myself for being involved in this war' (Gethin Chamberlain)

Via POTP - a new feature by Gethin Chamberlain [one of the first correspondents to report on Darfur from the Chad-Sudan border], from Sunday's edition of the UK's Telegraph.

Bullets kicked up the dust in front of the armoured car. Another round flashed overhead, close enough for its high-pitched whine to be heard.

The African Union fuel convoy moving west across Darfur had driven straight into a firefight between the Sudanese army and rebels, in which the army was coming off worst. As mortar rounds exploded ahead, an injured government soldier crawled weakly towards his machine gun truck while another lay dead in front of a battered yellow lorry.

Three years after it attempted to quell a rebellion in its western Darfur region by unleashing a nomadic Arab militia known as the janjaweed – literally "devils on horseback" - Sudan's government has lost control of the war.

The suffering inflicted, in terms of hundreds of thousands dead and more than 2.5 million people displaced, has left Khartoum ostracised by the international community. More worrying for Sudan's President Omar al Bashir is that his army is demoralised and reluctant to fight on.

Sitting with his AK-47 at the guardhouse outside the Fata Burno camp for internally displaced people in north Darfur last week, Cpl Mohammed Adam Dahir said the army no longer had the stomach for the fight. "Even I hate myself, being involved in this war," he said. "Everyone wants it to end.

"I totally condemn what is going on. At the beginning of the war, I saw so many atrocities. I was helping to bury the dead. I don't want to stay in the army. I don't like it here because there is injustice and inequality. There is no protection for the civilians."

Cpl Dahir's words confirm the suspicions of Jan Pronk, the United Nations envoy, who was controversially expelled by Khartoum for claiming that Sudanese army morale was plummeting after defeat in two battles. The UN said [Friday], however, that Mr Pronk would return to the country until his contract expires at the end of the year.

The government had accused Mr Pronk of trying to undermine its authority, but the view given to The Sunday Telegraph from troops on the ground suggests that he was right about low morale. Cpl Dahir, 47, joined up 18 years ago and should be demobilising to rejoin the wife and five children he rarely sees. However, his commanders say that there are not enough soldiers and he must stay on.

Sixteen of them live in the rough brick building next to the camp. The army is supposed to send them food and water, but that stopped long ago.

"I am tired of it all," said his comrade, Cpl Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim. "I am worried about my family. They don't have enough food or money." None of the soldiers had seen the army attack civilians, they said. It was the janjaweed, their ostensible allies, who were to blame.

"What upsets me most is they kill the innocents and take their property," said Cpl Dahir. "The janjaweed are pro-government, but they go where there are people and animals and take the opportunity to fight for their own interests."

As he spoke, the secretary of the camp, Mohammed Yusuf Adam, reported that the janjaweed were in fields nearby, trying to steal livestock from locals. Cpl Dahir did not get up. "I will write a report and file it," he said. "Later I will take soldiers and try to drive them away."

An hour earlier, in the Kassab camp at Kutum, residents told African Union police that the janjaweed had snatched three women who were out collecting firewood that morning. Despite the fact that abducted women are usually raped, the police said they did not have the resources or authority to intervene.

What is happening in Darfur is not strictly genocide, but a scorched-earth policy in which the government has exploited ethnic and tribal rivalries. The result is that vast swathes of the country are depopulated. Crops go to seed next to burnt-out villages, where the population has fled to refugee camps around the main towns. Yet even there, they are not safe.

In August, the UN Security Council voted to send a 22,500-strong peacekeeping force to Darfur to take over when the African Union's mandate runs out on December 31. Few believe that it will meet that deadline, even if Khartoum drops its opposition.

Meanwhile, the African Union has to muddle through with its force of 7,000 soldiers. Hamstrung by obstacles placed in its path by Khartoum, it has neither the manpower nor the resources for the job, and cannot move along the roads without permission from the rebels or the government.

Every time it makes progress, an armed faction appears to complicate the situation further. "People need to be noble, they need to want peace," said Col Richard Lourens, the South African commander of the African Union force in Kutum, north Darfur.

"But there is a sneakiness in this country. It is like the HIV virus. Every time you build up immunity they change form."

It was one of his convoys that came under fire last week as The Sunday Telegraph travelled with it. Getting caught in the crossfire is a common hazard of their mission, as is getting bogged down on the rough, sandy roads.

"Going nowhere slowly," one of the soldiers joked, as the detachment prepared to spend another night by the roadside. It is the name of a popular South African television programme, but it could equally sum up the African Union mission.

"If I had another 1,000 men, then 'Wow'," said Col Lourens. "If the janjaweed broke wind, I would know they broke wind."

The African Union can barely make ends meet. The soldiers have not been paid since August and, at Kutum, they live on a monotonous diet of rice and goat.

Like many of his colleagues, Col Lourens would be happy if the UN dropped plans to send in its own force and instead funded an enhanced African Union force under a tough new mandate.

But while the diplomats wrangle, the warring factions continue to strengthen their hands.

"As long as the government of Sudan has power it will hold on to it," said Col Lourens. "But others also want land and power. They are prepared to see their people suffer and be displaced. Where is the will for peace?"

Sudanese First VP Kiir to London Sunday

Oct 29 2006 Sudan Tribune article:

Sudanese First vice-president will start one-week visit to the United Kingdom where he is expected to hold talks about peace implementation and Darfur crisis.

The First Vice - President and President of Government of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayadrit, is due to leave Sunday for London on a several-day visit to Britain.

Kiir would meet in London with the Prime Minister Tony Blair, Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett and International Development Secretary Hilary Benn.

Kiir is expected to discuss implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed between the SPLM and the Sudanese government in January 2005. The question of the pledged international aid to southern Sudan construction will be debated with British official.

Sources indicated that Tony Blair is eager to discuss Darfur crisis with the Sudanese First Vice President who has a different stance on UN forces deployment in Darfur.

Salva Kiir will hold a meeting with the Sudanese community in Britain.

The visit is the first of its kind since assuming his post.