Sudan's Bashir: "All we need is funding for the African troops"

Sudan's president says UN forces not needed in Darfur (Jan 10 2007 AP report by Nedra Pickler via G&M) excerpt:

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir said Wednesday that African Union forces can maintain order in Darfur and United Nations forces are not needed.

"Our experience with UN operations in the world is not encouraging," Mr. al-Bashir told an Associated Press reporter Wednesday at his residence.

"There are sufficient forces in the Sudan from African countries to maintain order and they can provide order. All we need is funding for the African troops."

Mr. al-Bashir has resisted intense international pressure to allow UN peacekeepers to help bring stability to the region.

His latest comments came at the end of a meeting with New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson.

US launches air strike in Somalia

Somalia's interim Deputy Prime Minister Hussein Aideed said the US 'have our full support for the attacks', the Associated Press news agency reported. - Full story by BBC 9 Jan 2007: US launches air strike in Somalia.

NGOs targeted - Aid workers beaten, raped in SLA controlled Gereida, S Darfur

Action Contre la Faim (Action Against Hunger) said Friday its 23 employees were among the 71 NGO personnel evacuated after the attack, which occurred in Gereida, in southern Darfur, on the night of December 18.

ACF said "NGOs were clearly targeted", but did not identify the assailants. The area is controlled by the rebel Sudan Liberation Army.

Full story by AFP 5 Jan 2007 via ST.

Save Darfur Coalition arranges for U.S. Governor (Democrats) Bill Richardson to fly via private jet to Sudan

Interesting. I wonder how much this trip cost. Save Darfur Coalition strikes me as a political group. Copy of AP report via Sudan Tribune - Bleak assessment of Darfur as Richardson starts mission:

Jan 7, 2007 (KHARTOUM) - Governor Bill Richardson got a bleak assessment of the deteriorating situation in Darfur as he arrived in the Sudanese capital Sunday, hoping to lay the groundwork for peace in the region.

On a 17-hour overnight flight, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations worked on a plan to broker a ceasefire, continue the flow of humanitarian aide and persuade Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to allow U.N. peacekeepers.

On arrival, Cameron Hume, the top U.S. diplomat in Sudan, laid out Richardson's challenge. "I don't think anybody's strategy is working," Hume told Richardson at the airport.

The Democrat from the U.S. state of New Mexico, a few advisers and officials with humanitarian groups flew aboard a private jet for the trip arranged by the Save Darfur Coalition. The group asked for Richardson's help in trying to improve the situation in Darfur because he has negotiated successfully with al-Bashir in the past.

Richardson planned to meet with the president on Monday, then fly to Darfur on Tuesday to see rebel leaders.

"I'm not discouraged," Richardson said after the briefing from Hume. "I think we make some measurable progress if we can help the ceasefire and the humanitarian situation and possibly start a united political process that helps the U.N. peacekeeping effort alive."

Hume explained at his hour-long briefing that violence is on the rise in Darfur, making it more difficult for humanitarian groups to travel and distribute aid. He said there have been occasions of rebel groups attacking humanitarian offices, stealing their vehicles and assaulting workers.

Hume said African Union troops that are supposed to be providing protection have slowed patrols, meaning it is more critical that U.N. forces get in the region. So far, al-Bashir has allowed only 20 civilians to be sent in for assistance.

Asked why al-Bashir has permitted the visit of Richardson and activists who have criticized his government, Hume smiled. "Well, first of all he likes the governor," he said. "I think it also has a fact to do with elections in the United States, looking beyond the Bush administration. I don't think they feel threatened by the delegation."

Richardson plans to announce soon whether he will run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. The trip to Sudan helps highlight Richardson's extensive international experience as he prepares for a possible run in a competitive field.

Sudan orders air strikes on Darfur before arrival of UN peacekeepers

Sunday Telegraph report by Jonathan Erasmus in Darfur, 7 Jan 2007. Excerpt:

In October, The Sunday Telegraph witnessed Sudanese soldiers loading bombs on to Antonov aircraft at El Fasher air base in North Darfur before a number of villages were attacked.

Last week, new arrivals at the Otash camp in the South Darfur capital, Nyala, said they were forced to flee their villages when government helicopter gunships opened fire on them.

Under the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed in Abuja, Nigeria, last May, Sudan had agreed not to carry out aerial attacks in Darfur. But rebel groups say Sudanese Antonov bombers have been conducting raids on Jebel Marra and the North Darfur regions of Anka, Um Rai and Kutum.

A senior Sudanese Liberation Army commander told The Sunday Telegraph: "We were prepared to adopt a ceasefire. Just two days later our positions were bombed by the government.

"These kind of attacks are what we have come to expect from Khartoum, they are doing what they can before the UN arrives."

Escalations in fighting and government aerial attacks often happen when new peace agreements or resolutions are signed.

"When a deadline is set for there to be a change in what is happening in Darfur, the number of attacks on villages and towns increases along with clashes between rebel groups and the government," said one aid worker.

"With the latest resolution, it now looks imminent that UN troops will be on the ground here. But every time there has been any progress in terms of peace agreements, you can be sure that factions of rebel groups and the government will do what they can to secure territories for their own and weaken the other side."

UN aid organisations in Darfur say they have been told that Sudan has also said that there must be no senior UN officials in the region, only junior officials who would act under orders from the AU.

UN officials in Darfur say they have not been told when they will be seeing the blue berets of the UN troops but only that the troops that come are likely to be made up of soldiers from African nations.

One UN official added: "The implementation of the latest resolution will prove challenging, with AU commanders in certain regions of Darfur not wanting to concede that they need support from the incoming UN troops."

In the meantime, Sudanese forces are using the interim period to attack the territories held by rebels who have not signed up to the DPA and are therefore legitimate targets.

Darfur rebels say Sudan govt is oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs

BBC news report Jan 5 2007 - UN in new peace drive for Darfur - excerpt:

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 after a rebel group began attacking government targets, saying the region was being neglected by Khartoum.

The rebels say the government is oppressing black Africans in favour of Arabs.

Arab militias responded to try to put down the uprising. The government denies accusations from the rebels it is backing the militias.

I wonder about the above title, if it is the insurgents responsible for creating the myth of Arabs v Africans in Darfur.

As I recall, some of Eric Reeves' old essays on Southern Sudan's recent war were peppered with the word 'genocide'. My point is, trying to understand whether what the media is telling us - that the aim of Arabs in Sudan is to wipe out Africans in Darfur - and why they aren't all just classed as Sudanese.

I don't know if every Sudanese person is officially registered at birth and death. Sudan is huge, the size of Europe. It's bound to have a national identity problem with so many different tribes, languages, customs, dialects. Around 75% of Sudanese are illiterate. I'm not surprised it continues to be ruled by a stick. When I watch film re-enactments of battles in ancient China and the bloodshed there thousands of years ago, I'm not surprised Sudan understands China. We're told world population growth is too great, that 6 billion people on this planet is two thirds too many. Maybe I'm reaching the conclusion that wars and genocide are a natural course of life and evolution.

Megite is One of "The new 100 most useful sites"

Check out Megite, one of The new 100 most useful sites recommended by Guardian Unlimited. See Megite Blog.

Lakes States governor details plan to quell insecurity

Via Sudan Tribune - speech of Lakes State Governor on the Cultural Awareness Week under the auspices of ministry of Information and Culture Lakes State - excerpt:

"...with the introduction of my security measures and tours all over the state from mid September through November, there is relative peace and tranquillity realized now.

Since October there are no cases of sectional or tribal fights and cold blood killings reported.

People are now moving freely in greater Yirol and other parts of the State without fear and hostilities.

My strategies and efforts of quell the insecurity in the State is through well studied systematic approach in four stages.

These stages are as follows:

1- Law and Order: in this stage we are imposing disarmament and arresting culprits to face charges and investigations.

2- Application of Justice: in this stage the criminals and all accused persons must face justice in fair trials in the courts of law.

3- Public Reconciliations: in this stage the state Government will involve churches, leaders of the communities and all stakeholders in process of healing and harmony.

4- Sustainability of Peace through Development: in this stage we will encourage both public and private sectors in the development of our state; which will in turn provide the employment to our people and hence keep them out of the troubles.

[cut]

In the area of water and pasture which attract serious competition and conflicts among our communities during the dry season, we have a pledge from government of South Sudan (GOSS) to excavate and deepen some of our rivers and Lakes. The work will start very soon with their two rivers; Bahr-Naam and Bahr-Gel. It is also in our agenda to create water reservoirs (Haffir) and more hand pumps to provide water for both human and animals.

Africa: castrating Africa

Africans are having too many children they can't pay for - Pascal Sevran Told Apologise or Quit

Via Global Voices -� Africa: castrating Africa - Jan 4, 2007, filed under the sub heading of Sub-Saharan Africa/Racism:

Sotho writes a short, but thought provoking piece titled, Castrating Africa: Pascal Sevran is a French TV host. In his latest book, "Le Privilege des Jonquilles," he says, "The black man's dick is responsible for hunger in Africa."

Note how we all see things differently. I'd have filed that item not under the sub heading of Racism but something else, ie War & Conflict/Ideas/Freedom of Speech.

UN reports tribal clashes in Darfur, 7 Killed and 30 Wounded

Jan 4 2007 AP news report (via ST) - excerpt:

UN reports tribal clashes in Darfur, 7 Killed and 30 Wounded:

AU peacekeepers are still being held hostage since their car was hijacked in December, as are five Sudanese water engineers seized in October.

Some 118 vehicles were stolen in Darfur in 2006, of which 28 were recovered and 90 are still missing, the U.N. said.

I wonder how and where the bandits buy fuel for the missing 90 vehicles. Don't recall seeing any photos of petrol stations in Darfur.

Africa deserves the leadership it gets

Excerpt from Joshua Wanyama's commentary at his new website African Path 20 Dec 2006:

"... it took Kenyans since 1963 to 1992 to vote for a president. 40 years! And to think that we grew up in schools learning our country's history and civics convinced that we live in a democratic country. How can a people be led so blindly? The ones who saw this injustice were silenced while everyone else suffered in silence. Therefore we deserved the leadership we got.

Most African countries gained independence and our grateful masses entrusted absolute powers to the leaders who fought to free us from oppression and colonization. Now this does not mean the leaders we got actually fought, all it means was that some were at the right place at the right time. Kenyatta was a freedom fighter as were others but once they got power, their true colors came out. The famous George Orwell book "Animal Farm" comes to mind every time I think of African leadership. "All animals are equal, but some who are more equal than others."

After all, This is Africa."

Joshua Wanyama is a Kenyan currently in Minneapolis. He has set up a news and blog aggregator site for Africa starting Jan 1st, 2007 called African Path - and has developed a similar model for the Middle East at http://www.arabisto.com that went live on 9/25/06. Best wishes and good luck to all involved!

U.S. CENTCOM's Media Engagement Team For the Media - Rewards for Justice

Check it out: U.S. CENTCOM's Media Engagement Team - For the Media.

**Shiver** Browsing around CENTCOM's site, I found a link to a creepy site called Rewards For Justice.

Libya to build statue of Saddam

Jan 4 2007 BBC report excerpt:

Saddam Hussein was president of Iraq from 1979 until 2003.

Libya has said it will build a statue of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, executed in Baghdad on Saturday. It would show him standing on the gallows with a Libyan resistance leader who fought Italian occupation, executed in 1931, Libya's Jana news agency said.

Libya declared three days of mourning after Saddam Hussein's death and cancelled public celebrations around the Eid religious holiday.

On the eve of the hanging, Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi said Saddam Hussein was a prisoner of war who must be tried by Iraq's invaders, the US and Britain, according to Reuters news agency.

Flags on Libyan government buildings flew at half-mast following his death.

[hat tip www.Arabisto.com - news and commentary on the Middle East]

All of our children are precious...

A Canadian blogger wants to send toys to poor children in Sudan. I'd like to chip in and send them some art materials, water engineers and world class land rights lawyers.

British diplomat gets top UN job

Good. Sir John Holmes will replace Norway's Jan Egeland as under-secretary-general for political affairs and emergency relief co-ordinator.

Full story icWales 4 Jan 2007.

PS If anyone finds news on what is happening with Norway's NRC and Darfur's Kalma camp, please share - thanks.

UN removes 4 peacekeepers from Sudan after abuse

Fact of life, a barrel of good apples can contain a few rotters. AP report via ST:

U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jane Holl Lute said Tuesday night that the allegations could be true, but "these environments are ones in which it is difficult to ascertain the truth."

She said she has personally spoken to the force commander and chief of staff in the U.N. mission in southern Sudan "and I know they are very well briefed on what U.N. policy is and have taken steps to implement that policy across the board in that mission."

"But we don't have the facts yet in this case, and we need to ascertain the facts and follow it through to appropriate resolution and take action if necessary," she said.

Lute, who served in the U.S. Army for 16 years, said vigilance on this matter has to be "a constant factor of life when you're rotating through 200,000 troops in as diverse environments as we do."

Candace Feit's photography exhibit examines Darfur

Senegal-based photojournalist Candace Feit, whose work has been featured in Time, The New York Times and Le Monde, will exhibit photos of Darfur, Sudan, as well as photos that show life in other parts of Africa.

Via PoughkeepsieJournal 3 Jan 2007

Job opportunity: Genocide Intervention Network

Genocide Intervention Network is seeking a Chief Operating Officer. The job description can be found via Pienso.

SLM Nur's latest Mission Statement

Today, the Sudan Tribune published copy of 2 Jan 2007 Mission Statement by Abdul Wahid Mohamed Ahmed Alnour. Note, in the statement, Mr Nur refers to his group of bandits as "an independent political movement." Also, he signed the statement as Chairman of the SLM/A even though he was, reportedly, impeached last year.

I've lost track of how many "independent political movements" freely roam Sudan, carrying mortars and guns with which to murder and maim fellow citizens. Getting to the truth about Sudan's bandits and other mysterious forces - and people like Nur - is like trying to nail down mercury.

From what I can gather, we know very little about the ringleaders in the Darfur war and nothing about how (and why) they manage to operate so easily from Europe. I find it strange they don't appear to be subjected to the same travel/immigration rules as the rest of us. I wonder what they declare as their occupation and funding when completing visitor Visa forms.

UN Council has five new members; Russia chairs

The council presidency rotates monthly, according to the English alphabet, with Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, taking over for January from Qatari Nassir Abdulaziz al-Nasser. - Reuters 3 Jan 2007.