Expelled NGOs must refuse to return

Aiding and Abetting Khartoum

By Rob Crilly - African Safari - May 7, 2009

So you are an NGO recently expelled from Darfur. Over the years the government in Khartoum restricted your operations in the field, kicked out your country director and a security officer, whom the regime accused of being a Mossad agent. Then, just when you are wondering how you can ever actually help the millions of people that depend on your aid,the government expels you altogether. Overnight your operation is shut down, cars impounded and computers seized. Hundreds of Sudanese staff lose their jobs at a stroke and your international workers are treated as criminals as they are put on flights out.

Not all your staff can leave though. One or two have to stay behind to shut things down and help the government take all the good bits of kit. The government also demands you pay six months wages to the local staff. It is made crystal clear that the internationals left behind will not be allowed to leave until millions of dollars in "severance pay" is handed to the government. The internationals are effectively hostages held for ransom. They have at least got their passports back - but no exit visa. They are trapped.

 

Would you, given these circumstances, ever consider returning to a country that has done all this? Particularly if the deal essentially involved you changing your name thus admitting that you were at fault? Would you want to scale all your operations back up, invest millions of dollars, knowing that Khartoum can kick you out again whenever they fancy? 

 

This is essentially the position Care, and three other American agencies find themselves in. I understand that the IRC, Oxfam and MSF have heard that they will never again be welcome in Sudan. (In some ways that is to the agencies' 

credit). But the other agencies have got Scott Gration, Barack Obama's new Sudan envoy, to thank for one of the most pathetic, weakminded deals I have ever encountered.

I was always concerned about the choice of a military man as envoy to a country known for its ability to run rings around diplomats. The choice seemed to reinforce Save Darfur's analysis of the problem, that military solutions - peacekeepers, no-fly zones and so on - where the way to rein in Khartoum's

war machine. Ending the conflict is going to take some tough negotiation but I was prepared to give Gration the benefit of the doubt.

 

This shabby deal suggests he is not up to the job.

 

Pals who have worked in Sudan tell me some head offices are keen to return. Darfur generates cash and profile for aid agencies. Returning though would hand Khartoum a propaganda victory and send a signal that the government can mistreat aid agencies with impunity (not for the first time). 

 

It is time for both the United Nations and the NGOs to show some spine and refuse to return. That is a desperately difficult thing to do when millions of Darfuris are in need, but backing down will only cause more suffering in the long run.

US envoy to Sudan met with Nafie Ali Nafie and Salva Kiir

KHARTOUM (AFP) — UN humanitarian chief hails Sudan aid move

The top UN humanitarian official on Thursday welcomed a move by Sudan to allow international aid agencies into the country after 13 were expelled from war-torn Darfur in March.

"I welcome the assurances... that not only UN agencies are welcome here to work on the humanitarian side but international NGOs, national NGOs of course are welcome (including) new NGOs," John Holmes told reporters.

"There's a degree of flexibility about that which I hope will be helpful as we go forward," he said after talks with officials from Sudan's ministry for humanitarian affairs.

Senior Sudanese aid official Hassabo Mohammed Abdelrahman said on Wednesday that Khartoum was ready to allow foreign aid groups to operate in Darfur but ruled out the return of the 13 aid agencies kicked out in March. [...]

US Senator John Kerry said last month after meeting officials in Khartoum that some humanitarian aid to Darfur would be resumed. [...]

Peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur's most active rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement, resumed on Wednesday in Qatar. JEM had suspended the negotiations after the ICC warrant was issued.

According to diplomatic and humanitarian sources in Khartoum, the United States has asked Sudan to allow back the expelled aid groups in return for the creation of a roadmap aimed at normalising diplomatic ties.

Khartoum and Washington have had strained relations since Beshir came into power in a 1989 coup.

The United States, which accuses Sudan of harbouring Al-Qaeda members, has imposed economic sanctions on the country since 1997.

US envoy to Sudan Scott Gration was also in the country on Thursday, on his second visit in a month, and met presidential advisor Nafie Ali Nafie.

The visits come as the rainy season is about to start in Sudan, complicating the delivery of humanitarian aid to Darfur where outbreaks of diseases are feared.

Suspected cases of meningitis have already been reported in several camps for displaced people in Darfur.

Gration also held talks on Thursday with Sudan's first Vice President Salva Kiir, who also heads the semi-autonomous government in south Sudan.

The two discussed implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, a peace deal signed between north and south Sudan in 2005 to end a bitter decades-long civil war.

Recent tribal clashes in southern Sudan raised fears of another deadly conflict in the region and a deterioration of the humanitarian situation.

The CPA stipulated general elections in 2009 which have been delayed to 2010.

"We want to see elections carried out, elections that are credible," Gration told reporters.

Italian special envoy visits UNAMID, Deputy Governor of N. Darfur and Zam Zam camp

UNAMID DAILY MEDIA BRIEF
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, May 6, 2009 via APO:

Italian special envoy visit to UNAMID

The Italian Special Envoy for Humanitarian Emergencies and Vulnerable Situations, Mrs. Margherita Boniver, today paid a one-day visit to El Fasher, North Darfur. The Special Envoy and her delegation were met at the airport by UNAMID senior officials.

Mrs. Boniver and her delegation were received by UNAMID Joint Special Representative, Mr. Rodolphe Adada who briefed them on the security, humanitarian and political situation in Darfur. They were also briefed on the status of UNAMID and on its deployment, achievements and challenges. Mr. Adada expressed appreciation to the Italian Government and the European Union for their support to UNAMID.

Mrs. Boniver said this was her third visit to Darfur since 2004, and noted that the situation had changed, that the worst was over and there was much better cooperation and coordination between the UN Agencies and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), “things are moving forward, UNAMID is an enormous success in Darfur,” she added. She thanked UNAMID for assisting the Italian INGOs working in the region and for a great job done on the ground.

The delegation also paid a courtesy call to the Deputy Wali (Governor) of North Darfur, Mr. Idris Abdallah Hassan; who also briefed them on the security and humanitarian situation in the region. The Deputy Wali reiterated his government’s commitment to the peace process and urged all parties to participate in the ongoing Doha initiative, as the problem of Darfur cannot be solved through violence.

Mrs. Margherita Boniver explained that the purpose of her visit was to assess the work of the Italian Non-Governmental Organizations working in North Darfur. She reiterated her Government’s commitment to the respect for human rights and hope that a comprehensive agreement would be reached soon.

The delegation visited Zam Zam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp where they had a meeting with the Omdas, Sheikhs (traditional leaders) as well as tribal leaders of the camp. They also had a meeting with COOPI, an Italian INGO and representatives of INGOs and of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) operating in North Darfur.

Meroe, Bajrawia, Northern Sudan

Photo entitled 'Another World'. Taken in Meroe, Bajrawia, Northern Sudan by Sudanese photographer Vit Hassan. See Vit's photostream at Flickr.

Found whilst browsing for the history of Meroe -
from The Italian Tourism Co. Ltd.:

Northern Sudan is one of Africa's most mysterious destination.The Nile river crosses the Sahara desert and along its valley lie very interesting archaeological sites of Egyptian and Meroitic civilization still unknown to the public. There are more pyramids in Sudan than in Egypt.  The Nubian desert, the Eastern part of the Sahara desert and the Nile Cataracts, are only some of Sudan's natural wonders.

 

The Italian Tourism Co. Ltd., the only incoming operator owned by European, offers only the best itineraries, the best accommodations, the best organization. Our staff knows all the archaeological sites, the hidden Nubian villages, the nomads' settlements, the more spectacular desert landscapes.  Our Company operates from Khartoum where a full operation office with Europeans staff is open during the tourism season (October to April).

 

A professional approach, care for details, experienced tour leaders and high-quality food and equipment form part of The Italian Tourism Company. Each tour is led by an experienced and highly competent European tour leader (English and French speaking), fully-trained Sudanese tour staff including experienced desert drivers and cooks.

 

The magnificence of the archaeological ruins and the impressiveness of the pyramids are testimonial of the quality and of the importance of the Egyptian civilisation in the valley of the Nile. 

The most import historical phase begins when the Egyptian Pharaohs conquered the whole Nubian territory leaving the funerary temples and playing an important role on the local culture. 

Then after a silent period, we have information regarding the birth of a new reign called Kushitic with Napata as its capital (near the actual Karima). With it the golden Nubian period begins; in 725 b.C. the Nubian king Piankhi conquered Egypt. In this period the custom of building temples as mortuary monuments begins in Nubia after having been abandoned for several centuries in Egypt.

 

The Nubian pyramids have no mortuary room inside, the real tomb is dug inside the rock below and is connected with the outside with an inclined tunnel with a small temple at its access. Meroe was the most important centre in Sudan for a few centuries. Towards the 4th century a.C. the city undergoes a decline phase, when the Ethiopian Christian king of Axum, Ezana, invaded Meroe and with this it was put an end to long history of the Kushitic dynasty.

 

The Italian Tourism team awaits you to host for a wonderful experience in Northern Sudan.

”…two shapes, above all, will remain in the minds of those who have visited this archaic country: the profile of the Kushitic sharp, pointed and light pyramids and the beauty of the bodies and faces of the Nubian people…”

The Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding in the Central African Republic, formally adopted today

Source: United Nations via APO
07 May 2009

Peacebuilding Commission endorses integrated strategy for long-term development, end to cycle of crises in Central African Republic / Chair of Country-Specific Configuration Describes Strategic Framework as Proof of Will to End Violence, Isolation, Desolation

NEW YORK, May 7, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Seizing the opportunity for sustainable peace in the Central African Republic, afforded by the success of last year’s inclusive political talks and the decision by key rebel factions to disarm, the Peacebuilding Commission today endorsed an integrated strategy to steer the engagement and dialogue among the Government, the United Nations and other international partners with a view to securing long-term development and breaking the cycle of multidimensional crises that has afflicted the landlocked country for decades.

The Strategic Framework for Peacebuilding in the Central African Republic, formally adopted today, identifies three priority areas for those partnership efforts: security-sector reform, including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration; governance and the rule of law; and economic expansion aimed at regional growth and organized around “development poles”.

It outlines the principles and modalities of cooperation, identifies initiatives under way, and analyses priorities, goals, challenges and threats to peacebuilding. Among the top priorities are reorganizing and deploying well-trained and equipped security forces, restoring trust between the people and Government institutions, organizing credible and transparent elections, and reviving economic activities.

In June 2008, the Central African Republic became the fourth country — after Burundi, Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau — to be placed on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission, which was established in 2005 to help countries in post-conflict situations avoid sliding back into war or chaos. The 31-member body agreed to take up the Central African Republic following a request from the Government, which, despite having made strides in consolidating peace, did not receive sufficient tax receipts to cover its security needs, the regular functioning of State services or debt repayments.

The strategy is consistent with strategic directions outlined in the national poverty reduction strategy paper for 2008-2010 and aims to support Government efforts to rapidly execute the recommendations resulting from the inclusive political dialogue. It seeks to shore up the Central African Republic’s fragile socio-political situation, which remains unstable due to ongoing armed conflict, particularly in the north-east, the existence of a large population of internally displaced persons and refugees from conflicts in neighbouring Sudan and Chad, and weak State services outside Bangui, the capital, its immediate vicinity and other main towns. The Government and the Peacebuilding Commission will conduct biennial reviews with the participation of all stakeholders in the Strategic Framework.

“The Framework is proof of the will of the Government and citizens of the Central African Republic to put an end to a long period of brutal violence, isolation and desolation,” said Jan Grauls ( Belgium), Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission’s country-specific configuration for the Central African Republic. The adoption of the Strategy was an “important milestone” which marked the beginning of a new phase in bringing sustainable peace to the Central African Republic. It also served as an expression of the world community’s desire to aid that process.

Welcoming the adoption via video link, Sylvain Maliko, Minister for Economy Planning and International Cooperation of the Central African Republic, said that, with the comprehensive peace agreement and the national political dialogue, 2008 had seen major developments. Due to the general amnesty, all players in the crisis had come together to discuss the country’s problems and produce various recommendations. Alongside his partners, the President intended to take that robust partnership forward and the Strategic Framework would reinforce that effort.

He further stressed that the critical disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process could be achieved only with assurances for overall security-sector reform. It was important to look at interrelated aspects of that process, particularly because its results must lead to economic development. There was also a need to create development architecture to help people in rural areas meet their needs.

Also from Bangui, Cyriaque Gonda, Minister for Communications, Good Citizenship, Dialogue Monitoring and National Reconciliation, said a number of delicate issues had been addressed in more than 300 recommendations during the inclusive political dialogue. Since strict implementation of those recommendations would be pivotal in sustainable peacebuilding, three committees — covering the political, governance and security arenas — had been established. To corroborate their activity, a follow-up committee had been set up with 25 members, many of them from the opposition, civil society and other groups.

Jean-Francis Bozizé, Minister for National Defence, highlighted the Government’s political dialogue, including with those still bearing arms, while acknowledging that the situation on the ground remained tense. Various groups sought to create a certain situation which the Government was trying to manage. Nevertheless, security-sector reform was under way, with early timetables having already been met. The Government faced implementation challenges and needed support in order to implement medium-term recommendations.

Also speaking by video link, Antoine Gambi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, added that, being new, the security-sector reform process required consolidation as well as the means for full implementation. Structures had been set up, daily activities were under way and the Government was trying to ensure national ownership of the process. The next round table on security-sector reform would take place in June.

Several members of the Peacebuilding Commission saluted the political and social momentum in the Central African Republic, and stressed the Government’s primary responsibility in continuing to build the peace. Gabon’s representative emphasized the importance of avoiding any situation in which political opposition groups would want to rearm, thereby jeopardizing the gains made to date. If disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts were unsuccessful, the rest of the peace process could be compromised.

Echoing that sentiment, the representative of the United States said that with violence spreading across the north and setting the stage for ethnic rather than merely political violence, time was growing short. The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process was an essential element in arresting that spread and allowing the Central African Republic to leverage its vast natural resources.

Many delegations expressed concern about the absence of funding mechanisms and the lack of clarity as to how resources would be used during the peacebuilding effort. A representative of the World Bank said that, as an “aid orphan” with limited capacity to manage its own needs from its own resources, the Central African Republic faced critical financing gaps. Unfortunately, World Bank support was similarly constrained, particularly with respect to International Development Association funds through 2011. The Bank was actively looking to ensure that the country could benefit from other funds made available by the international community, and working to establish a new subregional trust fund for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.

Also speaking today were the representatives of Jamaica (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement), Morocco, Japan, South Africa, El Salvador, Benin and France.

Making a statement on behalf of the European Community was the representative of the European Union.

The Peacebuilding Commission will meet again at a date and time to be announced.

UN moves staff as Chadian rebels advance

May 6, 2009 LIBREVILLE (AFP) —
UN moves staff as Chadian rebels advance

The UN refugee agency on Thursday said it has pulled all but two of 20 staff out of camps for 60,000 people in eastern Chad, because of a rebel offensive, a top official said.

For the UNHCR, "there are now only two people" at Koukou Angarana, a site 50 kilometres (30 miles) east of the town of Goz Beida, where other staff have been recalled, Serge Male, the head of the High Commissioner for Refugees office in Chad, told AFP by telephone.

The decision echoes one Wednesday by the UN World Food Programme in the same region, because three rebel forces were progressing across Chad from the eastern border with Sudan, stating that their sights were set on the capital Ndjamena.

"All the other humanitarian agencies are going to do the same" because the situation is "too volatile and too unstable," Male said, but he stressed that "we hope this won't last."

The UNHCR has meanwhile provided for "very short term" measures to keep about 20,000 Sudanese refugees at Koukou Angarana and about 40,000 Chadians displaced by previous internal conflicts, Male said.

A rebel leader on Thursday told AFP in Libreville by electronic mail that "we are advancing... Until now, everything has gone according to our strategy," adding that "no lives have been lost on either side."

The Chadian government has accused Sudan of backing the rebel assault that started on Monday, while the ink was scarcely dry on a peace pact between the fractious neighbours brokered in Doha by Qatar and Libya.

Rebels of the Union of Forces for Resistance (UFR) claimed in a statement that they captured government military vehicles during a brief land clash on Tuesday between Tizzi and Haraz Mangueigne.

But the government said it had carried out one air raid on the rebels, who were advancing across the hot, arid south of the central African country in hundreds of all-terrain vehicles.

Diplomatic sources said that on Wednesday the rebels entered Am-Timan, 180 kilometres south of Goz Beida, and Am-Dam, 110 kilometres to the north, where they encountered no resistance. The Chadian government has made no comment on these claims.

However, the military activity, which follows a thwarted rebel bid last year to seize Ndjamena after they entered the capital, has led to mounting fears for some 450,000 refugees and displaced people in camps in eastern Chad.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon "is following developments in eastern Chad with increasing concern," the UN said in a statement late Wednesday, calling on Chad and Sudan to resume peace talks and urging respect for UN humanitarian operations.

Chadian Interior and Public Security Minister Ahmat Mahamat Bashir said that forces were being dispatched to intercept a column of rebel fighters spotted in the Central African Republic (CAR) near the border with Chad.

But the rebel UFR on Thursday denied that there were any rebel forces in the neighbouring country. An officer in the CAR army said they had no information for the moment about a rebel presence. But he added: "The situation worries us."

Bashir accused Sudanese President Omar El-Beshir of ordering "mercenaries" to attack Chad and vowed that the rebels would be wiped out.

Chad and Sudan have had tense relations for years, each country accusing the other of trying to destabilise its government. The latest peace deal, signed only on Sunday in Doha, appeared now to have fallen through.

Peace between Chad and Sudan is regarded as essential to any lasting settlement to a six-year-old uprising in Sudan's western Darfur region, where the Chadian rebels have rear bases.

In February last year, rebels battled their way to Ndjamena in western Chad in a bid to overthrow President Idiss Deby Itno before being beaten back with logistical help from some French forces.

US envoy to Sudan in Doha during peace talks between GOS and JEM, May 6, 2009

From Sudan Tribune Thursday 7 May 2009:

No confidence building in Darfur without ceasefire, Sudan
May 6, 2009 (DOHA) — Sudan said today confidence building measures, such as exchanges of prisoners, could not be reached as long as a ceasefire agreement is not inked with Darfur rebels.

Darfur mediator, Djibril Bassolé, the Qatari state minister ath the foreign affairs and UD envoy to Sudan Scott Gration today in Doha during the peace talks between GOS and JEM, May 6, 2009 (QNAOL)

Thanks to the intervention of the US envoy to Sudan Scott Gration, delegations from the Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) met today in the Qatari capital to discuss ways to resume the Doha peace process.

JEM’s delegation said before its departure they would not re-negotiate the terms of the goodwill agreement and confidence building measures signed on January 17, 2009, which it says the government violated by expelling foreign aid groups.

Amin Hassan Omer, a member of the Sudanese government delegation and Minister of State for Youth and Sports expressed his government’s keenness to develop a time frame for the peace talks between the government and the rebel movements in Darfur, adding it would put an end to the suffering in Darfur and the increasing tension in the region.

Following a meeting today between the Government and JEM delegations in Doha, Omer further said any talk of building confidence without a ceasefire between the parties does not make sense. "We are delighted that talks resume here (in Doha) and we hope the other rebel groups would join this negotiation," he said.

Last February JEM rejected to sign a ceasefire asking Khartoum to implement a series of measures before such cessation of hostilities. Besides the humanitarian demands, the rebel movement said Sudan should release its members who are detained and sentenced to death after an attack on the Sudanese capital.

Then in April JEM suspended its participation in the peace process to protest the eviction of the foreign aid groups. However, Sudan accused the aid workers of cooperation with the International Criminal Court and rejected their return. Also Sudan said it was able to cover the humanitarian gaps.

Omer said that today’s meeting discussed what happened after the signing of the goodwill agreement in Doha and the steps taken by Khartoum. He further asserted the seriousness of his government to achieve peace in Darfur and alleviate the humanitarian situation there.

Further the Sudanese official he pointed out that JEM members detained by the government are save and receive the appropriate treatment. He said that the release will only intervene after the progress of the negotiations and the implementation of a ceasefire.

Amin also hailed the efforts of the US envoy that brought the JEM rebels with him to Doha. He added that the two countries can repeat the positive cooperation in Doha talks and repeat Naivasha Peace negotiations.

The US Special envoy for Sudan told reporters today at the end of the meeting that his country supports efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement in Darfur and negotiated solution to end the conflict.

Chad says no need for French military aid for now

May 7, 2009 AFP report (via Dow Jones Newswires):
Chad Foreign Min Says No Need For French Military Aid

PARIS (AFP)--Chad's foreign minister Wednesday said his country wasn't seeking any immediate military aid from France to put down a rebel offensive in the east of the country.

"We have a technical cooperation agreement with France that is still valid," Moussa Faki Mahamat told RFI radio after meeting with Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner in Paris.

"For the time being, the Chadian army has the capacity to address this new situation."

France has 1,100 soldiers based in in its former colony under a bilateral accord and 800 others are serving in a U.N.-led force that last month took over a European mission to protect refugees in camps.

The foreign minister called on U.N. Security Council members and the African Union to condemn "this blatant act of large-scale aggression" that he said was being led by Sudan.

Khartoum-backed rebel troops said Wednesday they were advancing toward the capital Ndjamena, which spokesman Ali Ordjo Hemchi described as the "final objective" in the offensive launched this week.

Kouchner met with Mahamat to discuss "diplomatic actions that could be taken to avert a worsening of the situation and possible consequences on regional security and stability," a Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

France supports the stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Chad, said spokesman Eric Chevallier.

Sudan describes actors Mia Farrow, Clooney as ‘ignorant’

From Sudan Tribune Thursday 7 May 2009

May 6, 2009 (PARIS) – The Sudanese government dismissed a hunger strike staged by US actress Mia Farrow in protest of Khartoum’s decision to expel more than a dozen aid groups describing her as ignorant.

US actress Mia Farrow (left) and US actor George Clooney (right)

The UN goodwill ambassador announced last month that she will begin fasting in a show of solidarity as a show of solidarity with the people of Darfur.

“On April 27 I will begin a fast of water only in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease” Farrow said in a statement.

But the spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in London, Khalid Al-Mubarak told the British Guardian newspaper suggested that the move is unwarranted.

The Sudanese official said that the US actress is unaware of Khartoum’s pledge to allow new aid agencies into Darfur including Western ones.

“Oxfam US can operate in the Sudan but not Oxfam UK, for example… ensures that there will be no gaps in the distribution of food” he said.

Sudan accused the expelled agencies of passing information to the International Criminal Court (ICC) which in March issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

The move stirred criticism by the international community including some of Sudan’s allies. However Khartoum said the decision is irreversible.

Al-Mubarak also criticized stances by some Western celebrities on the issue of Darfur.

“We appreciate Mia Farrow’s intentions and we respect her for her interest in the welfare of the Sudanese people” he said.

“She is a good actress and a good human being, but as a politician she is only a beginner. She is like George Clooney, who has also got involved in the Darfur question. He is good looking but ignorant. She is ignorant too” Al-Mubarak added.

Farrow travelled to Darfur three times and has been one of strongest advocates of the refugees in IDP camps and voiced criticism of countries like China which emerged as the strongest backers of Sudan in the UN Security Council (UNSC).

In a recent interview she also criticized US president Barack Obama suggesting that he and Vice President Joe Biden have backpedalled on his Darfur campaign promises.

US actor George Clooney has also travelled to Darfur and campaigned on the issue “using his star power” as the TIME magazine described it.

UN officials say as many as 300,000 people have died and more than 2.7 million driven from their homes since 2003.

The US administration under Bush labeled the Darfur conflict as genocide.

- - -

From New York Times 06 May 2009 - Mia Farrow Blogs Her Hunger Strike - copy of comment by James O’Donnell III:

While I respect Ms. Farrow’s motives and the sincerity that moves her and most SAVE DARFUR advocates to action, I have to point readers to recent scholarship by University of Columbia professor Mahmood Mamdani, whose work on Darfur is absolutely essential. I refer others concerned about this disturbing matter to Mr. Mamdani’s recent talk at Howard University (http://www.booktv.org/watch.aspx?ProgramId=LW-10377).

After an absolutely remarkable 3-hour discussion, featuring some pretty rough Q&A which the author/scholar handles both gracefully and authoritatively, it is absolutely clear that there has been NO GENOCIDE in Darfur and that the conflict has been grossly politicized in America, in the interests of furthering America’s military ambitions in the Horn of Africa.

While there have certainly been atrocities, they have been committed by BOTH sides, the nomads and the agriculturalists, Arab and non-Arab alike, and it is the West, including movements like Save Darfur, that currently are preventing reconciliation between the factions, for geopolitical reasons.

The worst period of the fighting was 2003-04, and the TOTAL death toll, going back to 2001, is somewhere around 70,000 — far different from the 400,000 number asserted by Save Darfur — and most have died not as the result of direct violence, but in connection with the desertification and drought that has been devastating Darfur since the 1980s.

While 70,000 dead represents an enormous tragedy, Professor Mamdani explains — clearly citing his sources (WHO, GAO, the State Department) — that since January 2005, the killings have gone down to a relative handful: less than 135 per month in 2008.

More significantly, he explains that the violence has been framed INCORRECTLY here as an Arab-Muslim vs. African “genocide.” This is absolutely and demonstrably untrue, per Mamdani, who makes his case with conviction and a wealth of facts (personally, I don’t know how anyone could hear his arguments and not be convinced, at least of his sincerity, but certainly of his authority). Mamdani is originally from Uganda and spent a year in Sudan, reading the reports of virtually every party in the country: IDPs, academics, NGOs, etc. (including Save Darfur representatives). He is a scholar and a humanitarian, with no grudge or bias, but an eye for injustice and a keen understanding of the modern history of conflict.

The people pulling the strings behind Save Darfur have had an easy time manipulating American public opinion — all too ready to believe the “bloodthirsty Arab” stereotype AND the “weak, victim” African one — despite the fact that the ARABS vs. AFRICANS Darfur paradigm is an outright falsehood, and a rather insidious one. While the whole truth is too nuanced to repeat in this comment, I again refer you to Professor Mamdani’s talk at Howard (and his recent book on the subject). He encapsulates the entire history of the region and the current conflict, dispelling that notion (Arabs vs. Africans), and lays bare the role of colonialism and Western manipulation and geopolitics in the tragedy of Darfur.

LEDE BLOG RESPONSE: Mr. Mamdani also made this same, controversial argument in an article in the London Review of Books in 2007. — RM

— James O’Donnell III

Save Darfur: "There is a dire crisis in Darfur. Only bold leadership from President Obama will end it"

Email just received from Save Darfur Coalition:

Dear friend,

"A big lie."

That's what Sudan's ambassador to the United Nations calls a U.N. report that there are "over 1 million people at life-threatening risk" due to the government of Sudan's decision to expel aid groups.

But we know the truth: there is a dire crisis in Darfur. Only bold leadership from President Obama will end it. And only we can ensure our president acts.

Add your name to our citizen open letter to President Obama.

Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem, the Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations, went even further in his recent comments, declaring that "everything is positive" in Darfur. Everything is positive??

With the expulsion of 16 aid organizations and the rainy season in Darfur about to begin, millions of refugees are at growing risk of potentially epidemic disease. Clean water is growing scarce, and lack of medical treatment and sanitation services means diseases like meningitis and cholera are poised to spread through displaced-persons camps.

I'm the Save Darfur Coalition's Senior Director of Campaign Advocacy. It's my job day in and day out to make sure we're putting as much pressure as possible on world leaders to end the genocide in Darfur.

That's the idea behind our citizen open letter to President Obama. We're outlining a tough agenda for the president to follow—one that gives the Sudanese government a choice: restore aid, end the genocide, and resume peace negotiations, or face a range of consequences from international isolation to increased multilateral economic sanctions.

But we realize that a letter with our names on it isn't enough. With no time to lose, we have to get the entire constituency of conscience involved.

Make sure President Obama hears the voices of citizens calling for action. Sign the letter today!

In 2006, I attended the Save Darfur rally on the National Mall and was inspired by the courage and commitment of everyone around me.

It's one of the reasons I joined the Save Darfur Coalition—and the reason I know you will act today. Thank you for all that you do.

—Mark

Mark Lotwis
Save Darfur Coalition

It's been over 2 months since Sudan expelled vital aid groups from the country.

Bold, agenda-setting leadership can't wait another day.

Sign the citizen open letter to President Obama now.

Donate to Help Save Darfur
Help build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition's crucial awareness and advocacy programs. Click here now to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation.

Is There a Save Darfur Industrial Complex?

From Dissident Voice by Bruce Dixon May 6, 2009:
Is There a Save Darfur Industrial Complex?

African tragedies, observed Ugandan scholar and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani in a March 20 presentation at Howard University, usually occur in the dead of night, outside the sight, concern or hearing of the Western public. The exception to this, he noted, has been Darfur. No armchair observer, Mamdani has traveled and worked extensively in Darfur as a consultant to the African Union in its attempts to peacefully resolve the conflict there.

Mamdani called Save Darfur “the most successful piece of single issue organizing since the Vietnam era antiwar movement, really more successful than the antiwar movement.” But Save Darfur, with slogans like “boots on the ground,” “out of Iraq, into Darfur” and persistent demands for the creation of “no fly zones” is far from being an antiwar movement.

As Black Agenda Report (BAR) pointed in a 2007 article, “Ten Reasons Why ‘Save Darfur’ is a PR Scam to Justify the Next US Oil and Resource Wars in Africa,” Save Darfur is no grassroots movement either.

The backers and founders of the ‘Save Darfur’ movement are the well-connected and well-funded U.S. foreign policy elite. According to a copyrighted Washington Post story this summer,

The “Save Darfur (Coalition) was created in 2005 by two groups concerned about genocide in the African country — the American Jewish World Service and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum . . .

The coalition has a staff of 30 with expertise in policy and public relations. Its budget was about $15 million in the most recent fiscal year . . .

‘Save Darfur will not say exactly how much it has spent on its ads, which this week have attempted to shame China, host of the 2008 Olympics, into easing its support for Sudan. But a coalition spokeswoman said the amount is in the millions of dollars.’

Though the “Save Darfur” PR campaign employs viral marketing techniques, reaching out to college students, even to black bloggers, it is not a grassroots affair, as were the movement against apartheid and in support of African liberation movements in South Africa, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique a generation ago. Top heavy with evangelical Christians who preach the coming war for the end of the world, and with elements known for their uncritical support of Israeli rejectionism in the Middle East, the Save Darfur movement is clearly an establishment affair, a propaganda campaign that spends millions of dollars each month to manufacture consent for US military intervention in Africa under the cloak of stopping or preventing genocide.

None of the funds raised by the “Save Darfur Coalition”, the flagship of the “Save Darfur Movement” go to help needy Africans on the ground in Darfur, according to 2008 stories in both the Washington Post and the New York Times.

The Appeal of Save Darfur to US Audiences

Mamdani explained the unique appeal of the Save Darfur Movement to US audiences by noting that unlike US responsibility for the one million Iraqi dead over the last six years, the Save Darfur Movement does not demand that we understand Darfur’s history, ethnography, or the complexities of the current conflict there, or acknowledge any culpability of our own. Unlike the killings in Iraq, Save Darfur does not demand that Americans respond as citizens, with a need to account for responsibilities and actions, but merely as human beings with a need to feel powerful and justified. Save Darfur, Mamdani argued, has de-historicized and de-politicized the conflict for its American audience, presenting them with a simple morality play in which they can be the heroes.

Everybody wants to be a hero. Nobody wants to be a citizen.

And what could be more heroically self-justifying and self-affirming than intervening on the side of the angels in the picture of straight-up racial conflict presented to us by the Save Darfur Movement? The trouble is, it’s an utterly false picture. The historic and present uses and definitions of race in America are not nearly the same as those in Africa. Most of Darfur’s janjaweed who committed atrocities against civilians in Darfur are as black as those they murdered, and just as indigenous. The prosecutors at the International Criminal Court who recently indicted the Sudanese president are accountable only to the wealthy nations of the UN Security Council, not to anybody on the African continent. And the casualty figures thrown out by Save Darfur are wildly inflated.

Darfuri Casualties Inflated by Save Darfur and US Authorities

Professor Mamdani noted that in response to a request from members of Congress, GAO, the independent US government agency whose job it is to monitor the accuracy of information disseminated by other organs of government assessed the widely varying casualty figures coming out of Darfur in 2006. 2004-2006 was the time when the atrocities in Darfur were at their height. They took the low-end figures of 50 to 70 thousand dead, which came from the World Health Organization, and the much higher ones of 200 to 400 thousand coming from people affiliated with Save Darfur, and submitted them to the National Academy of Sciences. The scientists told GAO that the lower figures were more accurate, and those were used in its 2006 assessment of the Darfur situation.

The State Department however, produced reports with two different sets of casualty figures, low numbers for the use of its policymakers, and the higher ones produced by Save Darfur and its allies for public consumption.

To this day, Mamdani contended, the US public is being fed grossly inflated on Darfuri casualties. He recounted a briefing he attended where the commander of the African Union’s forces reported 1,500 deaths in Darfur in all of 2008, as many as Save Darfur and the US government claim are dying every month.

Comparing Darfur and the Congo, Fake vs Real Genocides

Nobody disputes that there is a bipartisan military industrial complex in the US, which creates the “facts” it requires to justify interventions around the world. The Save Darfur coalition, comprising as it does figures who trace their activism to the Freedom Movement like Congressman John Lewis, along with the compatriots of the late Jerry Falwell, would not hold on any other issue under the sun. It is a creation of the bipartisan foreign policy establishment, which urgently needs “humanitarian” cover for its imperial ambitions to control Africa’s oil and other resources.

The blatant hypocrisy of the Save Darfur Movement is most evident when one compares the manufactured concern over 50 to 70 thousand dead in Darfur to the ink and air devoted to five million dead in neighboring Congo. But using professor Mamdani’s yardstick, it’s not hard to understand. Intervening in Darfur makes us heroes. But in the Congo, proxies of the US and the West have been instigated the invasion and depopulation and plundering of the whole of Eastern Congo. There is a lake of oil beneath Sudan, much of it in Darfur. But the Chinese are pumping that oil, not Chevron or BP or Exxon.

To return to our own 2007 article on the Save Darfur movement”

The selective and cynical application of the term “genocide” to Sudan, rather than to the Congo where ten to twenty times as many Africans have been murdered reveals the depth of hypocrisy around the “Save Darfur” movement. In the Congo, where local gangsters, mercenaries and warlords along with invading armies from Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Angola engage in slaughter, mass rape and regional depopulation on a scale that dwarfs anything happening in Sudan, all the players eagerly compete to guarantee that the extraction of vital coltan for Western computers and cell phones, the export of uranium for Western reactors and nukes, along with diamonds, gold, copper, timber and other Congolese resources continue undisturbed.

Former UN Ambassador Andrew Young and George H.W. Bush both serve on the board of Barrcik Gold, one of the largest and most active mining concerns in war-torn Congo. Evidently, with profits from the brutal extraction of Congolese wealth flowing to the West, there can be no Congolese “genocide” worth noting, much less interfering with. For their purposes, U.S. strategic planners may regard their Congolese model as the ideal means of capturing African wealth at minimal cost without the bother of official U.S. boots on the ground.

Responding to the very real genocide in the Congo would require ordinary Americans to think like citizens rather then heroic self-affirmers. But that’s a hard sell.

We can only hope that the members of the Congressional Black Caucus and other members of Congress who last month lent their credibility to the Save Darfur people can get over their self affirming “heroism” and begin to meet Dr. Mamdani’s challenge: to act like citizens and the leaders of citizens, to do the homework, to help others do the homework and to face up to our responsibilities for real genocide in the Congo, and prolonging the war in Sudan. It’s not too late.

Bruce Dixon is the managing editor of the Black Agenda Report, where this article first appeared. Read other articles by Bruce, or visit Bruce's website.

Sudan says 'door open' for foreign NGOs but not those expelled

May 06, 2009 KHARTOUM (AFP) —
Sudan says 'door open' for foreign NGOs

Sudan is ready to allow foreign NGOs to operate in the war-torn region of Darfur but rules out the return of 13 aid agencies expelled in March, a senior official said on Wednesday.

Hassabo Mohammed Abdelrahman, head of the government's Humanitarian Aid Commission, was speaking at a joint news conference with visiting UN humanitarian chief John Holmes.

"For the expelled 13 NGOs, it is finished. But this decision at this degree does not close the door for any new NGOs, American, British, French, whatever, with new names and new logos," Abdelrahman told reporters.

"The door is open. Any new NGO that fulfills the criteria is most welcome," he said.

Khartoum expelled the non-governmental organisations and local aid groups after the International Criminal Court in March issued an arrest warrant for its President Omar al-Beshir over alleged crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Sudan accused the NGOs of spying and working for the ICC.

The United Nations says 300,000 people have died -- many from disease and hunger -- and 2.7 million others been made homeless by the Darfur conflict which erupted in 2003.

Khartoum puts the death toll at 10,000.

Holmes said he was in Sudan "to review the humanitarian situation following the expulsion of the NGOs" which "left some serious capacity gaps which we need to fill in order to make sure there is no unnecessary humanitarian crisis."

The UN humanitarian chief stressed that health and sanitation were the most problematic areas, particularly with the rainy season approaching, raising fears of the spread of cholera.

Several cases of suspected meningitis cases have been reported in Darfur camps for the displaced.

France's Kouchner Discusses Rebel Offensive With Chadian Minister

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner on Wednesday met with his counterpart from Chad in Paris as Sudanese-backed rebels were battling their way deep into Chadian territory.

Kouchner discussed the rebel offensive in eastern Chad with Moussa Faki Mahamat, the foreign ministry said.

France has 1,100 soldiers serving in its former colony Chad under a bilateral accord and 800 of its troops are serving in a U.N.-led force that last month took over a European mission to protect refugees in camps.

Source: AFP (PARIS) report via Dow Jones Newswires 06 May 2009: France's Kouchner Discusses Rebel Offensive With Chadian Minister
- - -

From Radio France Internationale May 06, 2009:
Chad/Sudan/France: Within days of treaty, Sudan-backed rebels enter Chad

Photo: Sudanese Minister of International Cooperation Tijani Seleh Fudail, in Doha, Qatar, on 3 May 2009 (Reuters)

Armed rebels supported by the Sudanese government moved deep into Chad on Tuesday. This prompted Chad to accuse Sudan of breaking the peace treaty the two countries signed on Sunday.

The French government has confirmed eyewitness reports that armed groups have entered eastern Chad over the last two days.

"It appears that they have gone several kilometers into Chadian territory," said French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Eric Chevallier. He told RFI that France is still verifying their exact position and number.

Chevallier also said that France was not planning to defend the Chadian government militarily. "There is not such a mutual defense agreement", he said.

Interview: French Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Eric Chevallier
06/05/2009 by Marco Chown Oved

The offensive continued Wednesday as Chadian Foreign Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat was received by his French counterpart Bernard Kouchner in Paris to discuss an international reaction.

The UN mission in Chad said that on Monday it stepped up military patrols around the town of Goz Beida, and ordered humanitarian personnel to restrict their movement. Rebels attacked Goz Beida in June.

Chadian government spokesperson Mahamat Hissene said that "in launching this programmed aggression against Chad, the Sudanese regime has reneged on its signature in Doha".

On Sunday in Doha, Qatar, Sudan and Chad signed an agreement to stop hositilities and the use of force. The two countries have made a number of such agreements before, but they have fallen apart because of accusations that either side is supporting rebels in the other country.

Sudan denies that, in this case, it is supporting the rebels.

Omar Ismail, an advisor to the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress in Washington, told RFI that there is little doubt that some of the rebels in Chad are backed by Sudan. He also said that they are probably not tied to Janjaweed militias in Darfur.

Interview: Omar Ismail, an advisor to the anti-genocide project at the Center for American Progress in Washington
06/05/2009 by Marco Chown Oved

Ismael described the fighters as "ragtag rebel groups from different ethnic backgrounds... but they have a common goal, that is, to get rid of [Chadian President] Idriss Deby in [Chad's capital] N'Djamena".

Chad also said on Wednesday that the rebels have the ultimate objective of reaching N'Djamena.

- - -

Rebels, military 'clash in Chad'

NDJAMENA (AFP) 06 May 2009 — Sudan-backed rebels have clashed with Chadian government forces in the southeastern Salamat region and were progressing towards the capital Ndjamena, the rebels claimed Wednesday.

The Union of Resistance Forces (UFR) rebels said a "very short battle" took place Tuesday near Chad's border with Sudan and the Central African Republic.

There was no immediate government confirmation of the clash.

"UFR forces continue to progress towards total control of Chad's main towns," rebel spokesman Ali Ordjo Hemchi said in a statement.

"We are doing everything in our power to reach Ndjamena. Our final objective is Ndjamena," another rebel official told AFP by telephone.

In the statement, Hemchi said the rebels captured 12 army vehicles and destroyed nine others in Tuesday's clash between the towns of Tissi and Haraz-Mangue, claiming the government troops fled.

He gave no details of casualties on either side.

Chad's government announced Tuesday that the rebels had launched an offensive backed by Sudan, accusing its neighbour of reneging on a peace agreement signed at the weekend.

- - -
See Sudan Watch - April 24, 2009: UFR threatens war to overthow Chad's government - UN mission in Chad needs boosting

Mia Farrow on hunger strike for Darfur rebels and refugees

From YouTube by Mia Farrow 05 May 2009:

"Today is the ninth day for me with no food, only water. I am still protesting the expulsion of humanitarians from all of Sudan (including, of course, the Darfur region and the refugee camps). Please call the White House (202-456-1111) and tell President Obama to help get humanitarian groups back in Sudan. For more information go to www.miafarrow.org."



Taking advice from David Blaine and inspiration from Gandhi, the actress aims to fast for 21 days.

From The First Post 

by JACK BREMER
May 06, 2009

Mia Farrow, film actress, Unicef goodwill ambassador and former wife of Woody Allen, this morning began her 10th day of a hunger strike in solidarity with the refugees of Darfur. Holed up at her home in rural Connecticut, she does no intention of starving to death - "I am still a parent and I don't want to die," she says - but she does plan to continue the strike for 21 days in order to raise awareness of the dangers facing the people of Darfur.

At the weekend, five days into the hunger strike, she posted a video address on YouTube. "I'm fine," she said. "I'm feeling not at all hungry."

She went on: "A doctor is coming to check me out. And I was thinking, gee, the people in Darfur don't have doctors because Doctors Without Borders was expelled. The well pumps are breaking because Oxfam isn't there to do maintenance."

Two days later she posted on her website a message saying: "At this point I don't think about food. I am weaker and I am mostly in bed. I am clear-minded. I sleep less." She said she was reading Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi and listening to Bach and Mahler. "I am at peace and busy with my thoughts."

About half a million people are known to have died in the past five years in Darfur and many more have been made homeless. It has been described by the UN as the "world's greatest humanitarian crisis".

Matters were made much worse when the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir expelled 16 aid agencies from Darfur. This followed the International Criminal Court's issuing of an arrest warrant to face charges for his alleged role in the murder, rape, torture and displacement of millions in Sudan.

Farrow had visited Darfur 11 times before she began her hunger strike. Her campaign is designed to put pressure on Barack Obama's administration to get the expelled agencies back to Darfur.

Before embarking on her hunger strike, Farrow took advice from the illusionist David Blaine who once spent 44 days with no food in a Plexiglas case hanging over the Thames, and losing 34lb as a result. "He told me about how to prepare and what to expect," Farrow said. "He said after six days I won't feel hunger."

And she's taken inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi, who in May 1932 famously went on a 21-day hunger strike against British rule in India.

So far, 75 people have signed up on Farrow's website to join her fast. Some said they would, like the 64-year-old actress, only drink water; others said they would eat the same rations as those in the refugee camps. 

Wealthy foreigners taking over huge tracts of African land

Resentment of 'global land grab' contributed to the change of government in Madagascar.

From Globe and Mail
Wealthy foreigners taking over huge tracts of African land
By GEOFFREY YORK May 5, 2009

ANTANANARIVO, MADAGASCAR — When the new Land Reform Minister rummaged through his office in Madagascar's capital, he was shocked to discover the documents for a $2-billion deal to lease huge tracts of farmland to an Indian entrepreneur.

Just weeks earlier, his military-backed government had swept to power on a pledge to cancel a massive $6-billion agreement to lease 1.3 million hectares of farmland, about half the size of Belgium, to a South Korean company. And now, just as the furor was dying down, here was another massive farmland deal, negotiated with even more secrecy than the South Korean one.

It's unlikely to be the last. Many of the world's biggest and richest countries are buying or renting huge swaths of farmland in the world's poorest countries. Under pressure from growing populations and climate change – and worried by the food crisis of 2007-08, when prices soared and exporting countries halted food exports – the rich are seeking food security by acquiring land in Africa and Asia.

Wealthy foreign investors have acquired, or begun negotiating for, an estimated 15 to 20 million hectares of farmland in the developing world – equal to roughly half the size of Newfoundland and Labrador – since 2006. Most of this is in Africa, where the soil is fertile, costs are low and the owners are weak.

Critics are calling it a “global land grab” with neocolonial overtones. The African Union has warned that Africans could be exploited by the massive farmland deals because of their weak bargaining position. Overwhelmed by the rapidly developing trend, they are failing to get sufficient benefits in return, the AU says.

The buyers and leasers of African farmland are the rich and powerful (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates) or the hugely populous and land-hungry (China and India). For all of them, Africa is the jackpot, a region where vast tracts of land are cheap and underutilized.

Madagascar, one of the poorest countries in the world, is a prime target of those hungry for land. But there are plenty of other African targets, too. China is seeking 2 million hectares in Zambia to grow crops for biofuels. Saudi Arabian investors are spending $100-million to acquire land in Ethiopia, $45-million for land in Sudan, and millions more for 500,000 hectares in Tanzania. Libya has secured 100,000 hectares in Mali to grow rice. Qatar has obtained 40,000 hectares in Kenya.

The land deals are a sign of a shift in the world's priorities. Farmland is becoming as much of a strategic resource as oil fields.

But the farmland deals are increasingly controversial, sparking a nationalist backlash in some countries. Millions of peasants and nomads could be dispossessed by the land acquisitions. There are fears that food could be exported from countries that are suffering drought and hunger.

“These land acquisitions have the potential to inject much-needed investment into agriculture and rural areas in poor developing countries, but they also raise concerns about the impacts on poor local people,” says a new report by the International Food Policy Research Institute.

“Unequal power relations in the land acquisition deals can put the livelihoods of the poor at risk,” the institute said. “Since the state often formally owns the land, the poor run the risk of being pushed off the plot in favour of the investor, without consultation or compensation.”

The report lists 50 examples of farmland deals by foreign investors since 2006. Most were on a huge scale, and Africa was the biggest single target.

In Madagascar, there was an uproar when a South Korean company, Daewoo Logistics, announced a 99-year deal to lease 1.3 million hectares of land. South Korea is already the world's third-biggest corn importer, and it planned to grow half of its corn requirements in Madagascar.

The deal sparked such fury among the Malagasy people that it fuelled the rise of opposition leader Andry Rajoelina, who seized power in the island nation in March. “Madagascar's land is neither for sale nor for rent,” vowed Mr. Rajoelina, who promptly cancelled the deal.

The Daewoo deal shocked people in Madagascar because of its massive scale, its secrecy and the perception that the Koreans would be shipping food out of the country at a time when many of its people are malnourished and hungry. Some felt that the Daewoo deal had echoes of the colonial era, when Madagascar's French masters took huge swaths of farmland for themselves.

“The land is sacred for the Malagasy people,” said Hajo Andrianainarivelo, the Land Reform Minister in the new military-backed government. Even the country's national anthem sings of the need to protect “the land of our ancestors,” he noted.

The Malagasy people were never consulted on the Daewoo land deal, he said. “It led to a lot of frustrations, and we can understand that.”

Alain Andriamiseza, leader of a political party that favoured the Daewoo deal, says the land lease would have created 70,000 jobs on land that is mostly uncultivated now. The opposition to the deal was “an extremist nationalist viewpoint,” he said. “This is our island mentality; they don't want to give any land to foreigners.”

After the Daewoo deal was cancelled, it emerged that local officials had negotiated to lease 465,000 hectares of Madagascar farmland to an Indian company, Varun International of Mumbai, to grow rice for India's needs.

The minister, Mr. Andrianainarivelo, had denied the existence of the Indian deal when he was asked about it. “So far we have no dossier on it,” he insisted.

But when he was persuaded to forage through his new office, he opened a glass cabinet and suddenly found a thick book of documents on the deal.

He pulled it down and leafed through it in surprise. “They have all these signatures, but nothing is official,” he said, trying to recover his composure. “It's only an application.” Yet the documents clearly stated, on their front page, that the deal involved the “acquisition” of land for “contract farming.”

The foreign land investors are keeping a low profile in Madagascar now, worried about potential attacks from the enraged population. After spending millions of dollars on the aborted deal, Daewoo is winding down its operation in Madagascar, keeping its remaining staff in an unmarked office in a building with tight security. Varun's local office is equally difficult to find, with even the Indian embassy refusing to reveal its location.

Mr. Andrianainarivelo noted that the Indian entrepreneur signed his deal with regional leaders, not the central government. But he admitted that the regional officials could have signed other land deals, too.

“That's why we will change all of the regional bosses,” he said grimly.

Sudan 'launches attack on Chad'

Rebel movement in recent days in the east of Chad.

BBC News report 05 May 2009:
Sudan 'launches attack on Chad'

Chad's government has accused Sudan of launching a military attack, two days after the neighbours signed a reconciliation agreement in Qatar.

Communications Minister Mahamat Hissene said Khartoum was behind a "planned aggression", reported AFP new agency.

A BBC correspondent in Chad says he is referring to alleged Khartoum support for Chad rebels, a common claim. Sudan promptly denied the latest allegation.

In Doha on Sunday, Sudan and Chad agreed to end hostilities.

"While the ink has yet to dry on the Doha accord, the Khartoum regime has just launched several armoured columns against our country," the communications minister told state radio, reported AFP.

The two countries have long been at odds amid mutual allegations of support for insurgents in each other's territory, especially near the war-torn Darfur region along their common border.

Rebels on the move

Sudanese army spokesman Osman al-Agbash promptly rejected Tuesday's claim, telling AFP: "What is happening now inside Chad is between the Chadian army and the Chadian rebels. Sudan has no relation with this."

The BBC's Celeste Hicks in Chad's capital, N'Djamena, says there has been rebel movement in recent days in the east of Chad, but it is not clear if the insurgents have gone on the offensive.

She says the last time Chad's rebels launched a significant attack was on the eastern town of Goz Beida in June last year.

Chad has on a number of occasions since then accused Sudan of egging on the rebels, she says.

In May 2008, Khartoum accused N'Djamena of backing Darfur-based insurgents who launched an unprecedented attack on the Sudanese capital.

Chad denied any involvement and in turn accused Sudan of having backed a push by rebels on N'Djamena three months earlier that reached the gates of the presidential palace before being repulsed.

Solving the dispute between the two countries is seen as a key step in solving the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

Many Darfur rebels are from the same ethnic group as President Idriss Deby, and ever since their uprising began, he has been accused of offering them support.

Although Khartoum has repeatedly denied backing the rebels, analysts note the insurgents have operated out of Sudanese territory for several years.

Sunday's talks were brokered by Qatar and Libya, which have been leading reconciliation efforts between Chad and Sudan after they renewed diplomatic relations in November after a six-month rift.

N'Djamena and Khartoum also shunned each other diplomatically for four months in 2006 after an attack by rebels on Chad.

Snapshot of Google's newsreel:

Chad accuses Sudan of supporting new rebel push
eTaiwan News - ‎4 hours ago‎
AP Chad's government is accusing its neighbor Sudan of backing a new rebel push into its territories only days after the two signed an outline for a peace ...

Chad accuses Sudan of armed incursion
Washington Post - ‎8 hours ago‎
NDJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad accused neighboring Sudan on Tuesday of sending armed groups into the east of the country, just hours after the two countries ...

Sudan-backed rebels enter Chad
AFP - ‎1 hour ago‎
NDJAMENA (AFP) — Sudanese-backed rebels swarmed into eastern Chad and closed in on a strategic town Tuesday as the Chadian government accused its neighbour ...

Sudan 'launches attack on Chad'
BBC News - ‎10 hours ago‎
Chad's government has accused Sudan of launching a military attack, two days after the neighbours signed a reconciliation agreement in Qatar. ...

Sudan and Chad in fence-mending deal
AFP - ‎20 hours ago‎
DOHA (AFP) — Sudan and Chad have struck a deal to end hostilities and arrange a summit between their leaders in a move seen as vital for peace-making ...

UN chief hails Sudan-Chad agreement on ending hostility
Xinhua - ‎May 4, 2009‎
UNITED NATIONS, May 4 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hailed on Monday the agreement signed between Sudan and Chad on Sunday to halt violence ...

Sudan, Chad Agree to Stop Hostilities
Voice of America - ‎May 4, 2009‎
By VOA News Sudan and Chad have signed a new agreement aimed at ending hostilities against each other. Representatives of the two countries signed the ...

Chad and Sudan agree to end feud
Aljazeera.net - ‎May 4, 2009‎
Chad and Sudan have agreed to end hostilities against each other and normalise relations after reconciliation talks in the Qatari capital, Doha. ...

Chad and Sudan agree to halt attacks
Reuters UK - ‎May 4, 2009‎
DUBAI (Reuters) - Chad and Sudan have agreed to halt violence against each other and refrain from using force to resolve their conflicts, Qatari and African ...

UN chief hails Chad-Sudan talks for normal ties
Xinhua - ‎May 3, 2009‎
UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday welcomed the peace talks between Chad and Sudan to normalize their bilateral ...

Sudan and Chad sign normalization agreement
eTaiwan News - ‎May 3, 2009‎
AP Sudan and Chad have signed an agreement sponsored by Qatar and Libya to normalize relations. The gradual normalization process will conclude with the ...

Chad faces a new rebel attack
African Press Agency (subscription) - ‎55 minutes ago‎
APA-Ndjamena (Chad) Having already experienced a rebel attack that narrowly failed at the entrance of N'Djamena in February 2008, Chad was anew in turmoil ...

Africa: UN Chief Applauds Pact to Ease Tensions Between Chad And Sudan
AllAfrica.com - ‎1 hour ago‎
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the agreement signed between Chad and Sudan over the weekend, expressing the hope that it will ease the strain ...
- - -

See Sudan Watch - April 24, 2009: UFR threatens war to overthow Chad's government - UN mission in Chad needs boosting

Asteroid TC3 found in Nubian desert of N. Sudan

Photo: Peter Jenniskens, a scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., joined students of the University of Khartoum at the location of one of the larger finds from the first search campaign on Dec. 8, 2008. (NYT)

From New York Times:
Recovered Pieces of Asteroid Hold Clues to Early History
By KENNETH CHANG
March 25, 2009

Scientists who for the first time tracked an asteroid on a collision course with Earth, and watched as it exploded in the atmosphere, have now picked up some of the remnants on the ground.

The discovery and analysis of the meteorites, reported in Thursday’s issue of Nature, give scientists solid data on the composition of meteorites that originate from at least one type of asteroid, known as F-class.

Millions of asteroids, mostly small, whirl around the solar system, and over the years people have picked up tens of thousands of meteorites, the surviving rock fragments of asteroids that collide with Earth.

“But we don’t know where a single one of them comes from,” said Michael E. Zolensky, a cosmic mineralogist at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, during a NASA-sponsored news conference on Wednesday.

That changed when Petrus M. Jenniskens, a scientist at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, Calif., organized a search team to comb through a Sudan desert to look for pieces of an asteroid that had been spotted less than a day before it hit Earth last year.

“For the first time, we can dot the line between the meteorite in our hands and the asteroid astronomers saw in space,” said Dr. Jenniskens, the lead author of the Nature paper.

The 280 pieces, about 10 pounds in total, are of a rare type of meteorite known as ureilites. The hodgepodge of minerals in ureilites indicates they were heated up but not fully melted, suggesting that they were once part of a much larger asteroid that possessed planetlike geological processes.

Because ureilites are now linked to F-class asteroids, also rare, the hope is that scientists can now determine the history of asteroids, which contain some of the most primitive materials left over from the early solar system.

“It’s like the first step towards a Rosetta stone of understanding asteroids,” Dr. Zolensky said.

The cascade of discovery started when Richard Kowalski, working with the of the University of Arizona, spotted a moving white dot on his computer screen late Oct. 5 at an observatory on Mount Lemmon outside Tucson. He sent the coordinates to the Minor Planet Center at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

A computer program at the center automatically calculates the orbits of reported projects, but it failed for the object Mr. Kowalski reported, because Earth’s gravity appeared to be greatly distorting its orbit. The next morning, when Timothy B. Spahr, the center’s director, took a closer look, the asteroid, designated 2008 TC3, looked as if it was being pulled directly into Earth.

Dr. Spahr notified Steven R. Chesley, a scientist in NASA’s Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. “For the first time ever, I saw an impact probability of 100 percent pop up on the computer screen,” Dr. Chesley said. “And this was, needless to say, the kind of thing that makes you sit up straight in the chair.”

Because the asteroid was dim, the astronomers knew that it was small, about the size of a car and 80 tons, and would not cause any significant damage. Notice quickly spread, and asteroid watchers, professional and amateur, pointed their telescopes toward it.

With hundreds of observations coming in during the day, the computers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory refined the trajectory. “Our last pre-impact prediction was accurate to about a kilometer and a couple tenths of a second in the impact time,” Dr. Chesley said.

The asteroid disintegrated about 23 miles over the Nubian desert of northern Sudan about an hour before sunrise, 20 hours after Mr. Kowalski discovered it. It released the energy of one to two kilotons of TNT.

“We figured that probably was the end of the story,” Dr. Chesley said. The expectation was that none of 2008 TC3 survived the passage through the atmosphere.

But still, Dr. Jenniskens, an expert on meteor showers, wondered. “If we could find something, it would be tremendous,” he said. “So you have to try. It was really a long shot.”

In December, he flew to Sudan and organized a team of 45 students and staff members from the University of Khartoum to search through the desert for fragments of 2008 TC3. And they found the shiny black fragments that had come from space.

A version of this article appeared in print on March 26, 2009, on page A21 of the New York edition.