UN's Pronk says UN should finance AU force in Darfur

Photo: The U.N. Secretary General's former representative in Sudan, Jan Pronk, gestures during a lecture at the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands, on Tuesday Jan. 30, 2007 (Peter Dejong/AP Photo)

I say, Jan Pronk deserves a medal for his efforts on behalf of the UN and people of Sudan. See AP report by Alfred de Montesquiou, 30 Jan 2007 - Sudan pushes aid groups to breaking point (via G&M) - excerpt:

Jan Pronk, a former U.N. envoy to Darfur, said Tuesday the world body should rethink its global peacekeeping operations and finance more missions by local or regional peace troops.

Mr. Pronk said in a lecture at the Netherlands' Institute of Social Studies that the U.N. could use the money it would spend on its own peacekeeping operation to finance another military force to carry out the task, such as the African Union in Darfur.

"They have good troops," he said, many of them with experience in U.N. peace missions to Bosnia or elsewhere. "I'm very positive about the African Union in Darfur."

Mr Pronk's suggestion seems the best and only real way forward, quick too. What's wrong with the UN funding AMIS and providing equipment, training and advice? Anarchy needs quelling before refugees can return home.



Sudan has existed since the year dot but these days does not have time on its side. Scientists say Sudan's increasing water shortages and climate change will, within a decade or two, make water more important than oil. Millions of poverty stricken people in other countries - where far worse things are happening (ie northern Uganda) - desperately need help. Sudan needs to grow and farm a lot more food. The fantastic Chinese backed Merowe Dam, expected to be completed in a few years time, is being built in northern Sudan (more on this later as I check on some facts).

Chinese president tells Sudan counterpart he must do more for peace in Darfur

Some of today's news reports suggest Chinese President Hu might not use his first visit to Khartoum to press hard on abuses, commerce only.

Feb 2 2007 AP report (via IHT) - Chinese president tells Sudan counterpart he must do more for peace in Darfur -

Chinese President Hu Jintao urged Sudan's Omar al-Bashir on Friday to work harder to bring more Darfur rebels into the peace process, a Sudanese official told The Associated Press.

Hu raised the issue during a closed-door meeting during the Chinese leader's landmark visit. The official, who was at the meeting but spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Chinese leader told al-Bashir his "government should work more earnestly to get the rebels who did not sign the Darfur peace agreement to join the peace process."

And the tribal leaders - not forgetting janjaweed - too please!

The Juba Post : Job vacancies

Current vacancies are advertised in THE JUBA POST.
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Click here for Feb. 06, 2009 Multiple vacancies announcement: local Sudanese needed in Southern Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Unity, and Warrap States.

Timeline: Sudan (BBC)

Timeline: Sudan via BBC 24 Jan 2007.

Chinese oil CPCN to improve Sudan social facilities

The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) began its business in Sudan in 1995 and has since then donated more than 30 million dollars in charity activities. - Xinhua via ST 1 Feb 2007.

Bloggers mull African summit (BBC)

The BBC News website - Bloggers mull African summit - looks at what some bloggers made of the performance of African leaders at their Ethiopian summit.

Pity they missed out The Sudanese Thinker.

China wants to persuade Sudan not to reject the UN resolution

Jan 31 2007 Times report by Jonathan Clayton in Johannesburg (China aims to bring peace through deals with dictators and warlords) excerpt:

Chinese officials say that [Chinese President] Mr Hu would be looking to help to broker lasting peace in Darfur. "I believe this visit will not only boost bilateral ties, but also peace and stability in the region," said Zhai Jun, the Assistant Foreign Minister, on the eve of the Africa mission. Mr Zhai said that criticism of China's relationship with Africa was unfounded. He said that Beijing was trying to help Africa to build infrastructure and alleviate poverty.

Shi Yinhong, of the International Relations department of the People's University in Beijing, said: "Hu Jintao wants to persuade Sudan not to reject the UN resolution. This will bring moral and diplomatic pressure on Sudan and also help China's ties with the US, the EU and greater Africa."

The Chinese People's Republic of Africa (Kommersant Moscow)

Jan 31 2007 commentary - The Chinese People's Republic of Africa by Alexander Gabuyev, - Kommersant Moscow. Excerpt:

By far the most important part of the trip will be the Chinese leader's visit to Sudan, where he will arrive on Friday. 'This visit will be the culmination of our relations with a friendly China,' said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday. This leg of the trip has also attracted significant attention from the international community, since many Western leaders are appalled at the very idea of cultivating a relationship with the regime that has been carrying on a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the local population in the oil-rich Darfur region. On the other hand, many hope that Beijing will succeed in convincing Khartoum to allow UN peacekeepers into Darfur.

Hu Jintao also appears to have come up with a original solution to the problem of Darfur. The Chinese deputy foreign affairs minister, who has a reputation as an excellent negotiator on delicate matters, visited Khartoum not long before Mr. Hu set off on his visit to Africa. Upon returning to Beijing, he confidently stated that "the Chairman's visit will undoubtedly bring peace and stability to Darfur." "China and Sudan are currently working on together on many questions, including military cooperation, and we have nothing to hide," he added pointedly.

Many experts believe that Hu Jintao will suggest to Khartoum that it permit a contingent of primarily Chinese UN peacekeepers to be deployed in Darfur. Around 150 Chinese military engineers are already in Sudan, but Beijing could still send a full detachment of troops to the country. Omar al-Bashir is not likely to object too strongly, since most of the petrodollars flowing into Khartoum come from multibillion-dollar contracts with the Chinese state-run oil companies CNPC and Sinopec. The moment is also politically ripe for such a proposal: on Monday, it was announced that the Darfur problem will cost Sudan the chairmanship of the African Union in 2007. Accepting a proposal from the Chinese concerning peacekeepers in the region would give Mr. al-Bashir an opportunity to portray himself in a better light.

Let's hope China can turn the situation around. Wish I had time today to search archives here for a news report quoting the late John Garang as saying he could not agree to Chinese peacekeepers because China is seen as onside with Khartoum.

SPLM, NRF to hold Darfur common ground meeting in Yei, S Sudan with Kiir

Spit. How is it that Sudanese "rebels" can operate out of England? Sudan Tribune article 30 Jan 2007 - excerpt:SPLM, NRF to hold Darfur common ground meeting in S. Sudan:

In a meeting held in London between the SPLM Acting Deputy Secretary General, Yasir Arman, and the NRF spokesperson, Ahmed Hussein Adam, it was agreed to accelerate preparations for the hold of a meeting in Southern Sudan Yei town with the participation of the SPLM chairman Salva Kiir Mayadrit in the near future.

I say, educated Sudanese people living outside of Sudan should return to their homeland and share their education and skills. What other hope is there for Sudan's children and its environment? Peace is in the hands of the Sudanese only. Foreigners can't force peace on them. But heads can be knocked together to see sense. Where are the powerful Sudanese/African/Arab women in all of this? What say the mothers, wives, sisters, friends of the Janjaweed? Since Sudan belongs to both the African Union and Arab League, I wonder if Sudanese women see Sudan as an African or Arab country.

Sudan sees Chinese President's coming visit "historic"

Speaking to the Chinese press, Malik [Sudanese Minister of Information and Communication Al-Zahawi Ibrahim Malik] said that President Hu's visit due on Feb. 2-3 was of significance, because he will be the first head of state of China to visit Sudan since the establishment of Chinese-Sudanese diplomatic relations 48 years ago. - Xinhua 30 Jan 2007 via ST.

Chinese President Hu arrives in Cameroon, kicking off Africa tour

Cameroon is the first-leg of Chinese President Hu Jintao's eight-nation tour which will also take him to Liberia, Sudan, Zambia, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Seychelles. - Xinhua

Note, the above report tells us on Monday, China announced to write off debts owned by 33 heavily indebted and least developed African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. The debts, in the form of interest-free government loans, matured at the end of 2005.

See indepth article by McClatchy Newspapers Tim Johnson (and special correspondent Fan Linjun from Beijing) 30 Jan 2007 - Obstacles face China's president on 2nd trip to Africa: "China cannot only just come here and dig for raw materials and then go away and sell us manufactured goods," [SA President] Mbeki told a youth congress last month in Cape Town.

UNICEF's Media Magic Digest

UNICEF has launched Media Magic Digest, a quarterly multimedia newsletter "for people interested in how young people create media around the world [which] aims to promote dialogue between broadcasters and young media enthusiasts."

(hat tipPSD Blog - World Bank Group)

Pulitzer Center Travel Grants for journalists to cover undercovered stories

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting funds international travel costs associated with reporting projects on topics and regions of global importance.

Grants are open to all journalists, writers, or filmmakers; staff journalists as well as free-lance, of any nationality are eligible to apply.

Most awards fall in the range of $3,000 to $10,000 but depending on project specifics may be as much as $20,000. See Pulitzer Center. (hat tip My heart's in Accra)

African news agency in Second Life

Ruud Elmendorp has opened a press agency for African news agency in Second Life.

No prospect for 2m Darfur refugees to return home: UN

"There is no prospect of return for internally displaced people in Darfur, nor for the more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees hosted in eastern Chad," UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told journalists in Geneva. - Reuters 30 Jan 2007.

Experts say Africa must prepare for climate change

Desertification has contributed to the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region as nomadic cattle-herding tribes clash with farmers over diminishing water supplies. - Reuters Jan 30, 2007.

John Garang: "It is said that Abyei is floating on oil"

Sudan Mirror editorial How Dr Garang wanted Abyei to be? (1) - Analysis January 26, 2007 - excerpt:

From one of the meetings I held with him [the late Dr John Garang de Mabior] he assured me that Abyei was on the top of his agendas. Abyei was one of his first priorities. While he was alive he never let down the Ngok Dinka people of Abyei or the Abyei cause. This is part of the speech he delivered in Agok the temporary capital of Abyei Area on June 16th, 2004 to explain the Abyei Protocol to the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms of which I attended:

"You people of Abyei, I greet all of you. I greet all of you; starting with the old man Lian Yak, all the elders, that woman called Achei Ngor who delivered a speech, all the women, all children in schools, all the children all over Ngok homeland-girls and boys, I greet you all. You the leaders of the homeland, starting with the Chief Ring e Makuach who delivered a speech and all the elders and chiefs of Ngok I greet you all and extend my greetings to the rest of Ngok who didn't come here.

Add your tongue to mine and greet all the Ngok people and tell them that Garang de Mabior came here with his comrades and was very pleased. I'll start my speech with the word 'Congratulation!' it is congratulation to you; because your homeland has been liberated, it is now in your hands and it is no longer in somebody else's hands. I congratulate you for the achievement you have made; for the struggle you have made. You struggled for fifty years (50 years) and some will say for one hundred years (100 years).

Because Abyei was transferred from Bahr el Ghazal to Kordofan in 1905 and now this is 2004. So it is ninety-nine years (99 years), it is only one year that is missing to complete one hundred years (100 years) since Abyei transfer. Your struggle started in 1954, before the Torit mutiny in 1955. It is the struggle of Abyei that started first.

The children of the school went to Rij el Fulla in 1954. They took permission from the District Commissioner of that time who was British during the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium. By that time the country was not given independence in 1956, because it was in 1954 when these students protested so they were arrested.

They went to petition in Rij el Fulla because they saw what was coming, that their homeland was going to be occupied by strangers. Those students were arrested and that was the beginning of the struggle of the Abyei people. So from 1954 to 2004, it is exactly fifty years (50 years). You have gotten your rights after 50 years; I congratulate you.

That is my first message, I congratulate you for the struggle you have made and it is that struggle you have made that brought these rights. And if there is somebody who claims that I am the one who liberated Abyei that is not true. It is you people who were struggling who liberated Abyei. Mine was only negotiation; but there were/are people who fought for Abyei since 1954. Also, from 1965 many of your people lost their lives during the Anyanya I, and you led the forces of Anyanya One in Bahr el Ghazal and people like Akonon e Mithiang lost their lives because of your homeland.

You also led the Anyanya II, and people like Miokol Deng whom I met in Bil-Fam also lost their lives because of your homeland. So it is your struggle that liberated Abyei, you have struggled for the last fifty years. You have fought for 50 years and that your right has been given to you in the negotiation in a place called Naivasha. So the first thing is a word of congratulation to you.

The remaining war of 'referendum' is an easy war. What is needed now is your unity and that you must work collectively. Because you've won the war for Abyei and I say there is nothing that will abrogate the protocol. My second message is that, everybody must come back; people must come back to Abyei land.

The nine sections of the Ngok Dinka that are contained in the protocol must come back. Ngok Dinka must return to their home areas, wherever they are in the Diaspora. If there is accessdised development in Abyei then people will return, and it is said that Abyei is floating on oil. Let us use this oil money to develop Abyei, this is when people will return. So take this message everywhere where Abyei people are, inside the Sudan and in the Diaspora, that people must return home. This is important."

China & the Republic of the Sudan

Jan 30 2007 via People's Daily Online -- The Republic of the Sudan:

Located in the Northeast part of Africa, the republic of the Sudan covers an area of 2.5 million sq km, more than any other country in Africa. Islam and Christianity are the main religions for its 35 million residents. Arabic is the official language. Khartoum is the national capital. Sudan's Incumbent president is Omar Hassan al- Bashir.

Since China established diplomatic relations with Sudan on Feb. 4th, 1959, the two countries have maintained long-term friendly relations. Chinese President Hu Jintao met with Sudanese President Bashir in 2005, on the sidelines of Asia-Africa Summit. Bilateral trade topped 3.9 billion U. S. dollars in 2005.

AU chief urges Sudan to end Darfur air raids

Alpha Oumar Konare, the African Union (AU) commission president, has called on Sudan's government to cease its aerial bombing of the Darfur region after opening a summit of the 53-member organisation in Ethiopia.

Konare made the appeal ahead of an address by Ban Ki-Moon, the new UN secretary-general.

"We appeal to the government of Sudan to stop attacking and bombarding Darfur and instead restore peace," he said, to leaders at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa. - Agencies (via MWC)
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Jan 29 2007 AFP report : AU chief urges Sudan to halt Darfur bombings :

Konare said that there had been signs of progress in ongoing negotiations to send a joint AU-UN force to Sudan but he added that we have to "apply these moves this without delay."

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon held talks with Konare about the deployment of the joint peacekeeping force for Sudan.

UN sources said both Ban and Konare expected the force to be deployed by the end of next month, despite the reluctance of Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir to accept UN troops to bolster a struggling 7,000-strong force.

W Darfur: MSF report on populations recently displaced

Copy of MSF article 29 Jan 2007 (via PeaceJournalism)

Since late December, 2006, new attacks in West Darfur, Sudan have destroyed several villages and have led to the displacement of thousands of people. Displaced persons have found refuge in Ardamata and Dorti camps, situated on the outskirts of El Geneina, the capital of west Darfur, while other people remain blocked further north in Tanjeke.

While some 750 families-more than 5,000 persons-have so far been able to reach the Ardamata and Dorti camps, numerous others have been left behind and remain at the mercy of armed groups still active in the region. In the village of Tanjeke, located 30 km north of El Geneina, at least one thousand families are gathered in small, individual shelters made of grass and leaves that lack adequate roofs. The displaced persons also lack water and soon will be in need of food. People are mostly coming from the camps of Artega and Kouta and are on the run for the second time in less than three years.

On January 19, an MSF evaluation team was able to reach Tanjeke, but high levels of insecurity on the road have prevented any further intervention. This highly volatile environment leaves the already weakened displaced population without much needed assistance.

Meanwhile, in El Geneina, displaced persons continue to arrive in small groups, mostly at night due to the risk of attacks on the roads. There are many reports of acts of violence perpetrated against villagers. In Ardamata camp, MSF has set up a mobile medical unit to screen new arrivals, and more than 500 people have been treated.

In addition, on January 8, non-food items such as water containers, blankets, and plastic-sheeting were distributed in Ardamata and Dorti camps to 750 families. High-energy protein biscuits have also been distributed to the displaced. A number of shelters have been erected as well.

"The living conditions in the camp are particularly difficult at this time of year, with temperatures falling to close to five degrees Celsius at night," said Stephane Reynier, MSF field coordinator in El Geneina. "The displaced population still trapped in the Sirba area are enduring very difficult conditions, in addition to coping with the insecure environment."

The constant insecurity in the region and on the roads in particular, is rendering movements extremely difficult for aid workers. In Darfur today, accessing populations in need is, in many cases, impossible.

MSF has been in West Darfur since January 2004.

Still not found any updates on Norwegian Refugee Council's departure from Kalma Camp. Who is now coordinating Kalma Camp?