UN International Day of Peace and 59th General Assembly - UN officials are now in Darfur assessing what should be done

Today is the United Nation's International Day of Peace. It's estimated that armed conflict claims two lives every minute and the UN is calling for a global ceasefire for the whole day. The day is aimed at promoting non-violence, not just in war zones but on the street and in people's homes.

Also on this day, US President George W Bush and more than 100 heads of state and government - along with many foreign ministers - are gathering in New York for a two-week long debate at the UN's 59th General Assembly. The debate is expected to address a wide range of issues, including Darfur. There could be pleas for the international community to provide more funding to help the humanitarian effort.

The reform of the Security Council is a key issue for some members who do not have one of the five permanent seats. A meeting is planned between Japan, India, Brazil and Germany, who all want permanent seats. However a high level panel which is discussing UN reform will only make its recommendations in December.

The resolutions passed by the General Assembly do not have any legal force, but they do have moral authority. Analysts say it is more a forum for debate than a forum for action.



On Darfur, here is the latest news report from the UN:

Two senior United Nations human rights officials have arrived in Darfur to examine how to shield beleaguered civilians there from further militia attacks.

High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour and the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Juan Méndez, visited camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and talked to African Union (AU) monitors in North Darfur, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard told reporters.

Mrs. Arbour and Mr. Méndez, who arrived in the Sudanese capital Khartoum over the weekend, will travel to South Darfur state today (Tuesday) before heading on to West Darfur and eventually returning to Khartoum.

The two officials have been dispatched by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to study the latest developments in Darfur and recommend what should be done to protect the inhabitants there from more attacks by the Janjaweed militias.

Before their departure, Ms. Arbour pledged to look into what more can be done to ensure that the people of Darfur "no longer have to fear massacres, rape, forced displacement and other abuses."

Genocide inquiry:

In dispatching the officials last week, Mr. Annan stressed they are not determining whether or not genocide has taken place.

That question will be addressed by a commission of inquiry which the Security Council, in a resolution adopted on Saturday, said the Secretary-General should establish.

UN Security Council will consider sanctions:

The resolution also stated the Council will consider imposing sanctions against Khartoum if the Sudanese Government does not cooperate with earlier resolutions to disarm the Janjaweed and protect the civilians, and if Khartoum does not agree to an expanded force of AU monitors.

AU/UN meeting this week re monitoring force:

AU officials and their counterparts in the UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations are meeting this week in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to discuss strengthening the monitoring force.

Jan Pronk meeting this week with AU and officials:

That subject will also be on the agenda when Jan Pronk, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Sudan, visits Addis Ababa and the Eritrean capital of Asmara this week for talks with AU officials and representatives of the two countries.

Mr. Pronk is also expected to discuss the peace talks taking place in Abuja, Nigeria, between the Sudanese Government and Darfur's two rebel groups.

Jan Pronk 5th meeting with JIM re joint Khartoum/UN pledges in June 2004:

On Friday Mr. Pronk attended the fifth meeting of the Joint Implementation Mechanism (JIM), the body set up in July to make sure Khartoum and UN meet the pledges made in a joint communiqué.

In that document, signed at the end of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's trip to the country, Khartoum promised to try to disarm the Janjaweed, who stand accused of killing and raping villagers and destroying their homes and cropland.

Militia attacks and the fighting between government forces and rebel groups has forced some 1.2 million Sudanese to flee within the country, and another 200,000 to cross the border and take shelter as refugees in Chad.

Mr. Eckhard said the expansion of the AU force and Khartoum's failure to end the impunity of many of the Janjaweed leaders were among the topics covered during the JIM meeting.

Further reading:

United Nations Day is celebrated on 24 October each year. World military expenditures – some $800 billion a year – would pay for the entire UN system for more than 65 years. Read more in About the United Nations - Introduction to the structure & work of the UN - and Questions and Answers... Image and Reality ...about the UN
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Update: 'Killers' are guarding Sudan refugees

Breaking news from the BBC: refugees in different camps in North Darfur have told UN rights official Louise Arbour that 'Killers' are guarding Sudan refugees. The militiamen have been recycled into Sudan's police force, she said.

"They claim to see former Janjaweed... recycled into the police," Ms Arbour told the BBC's Today programme. "There is a widespread belief they are being protected by their very oppressors."
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Other news:

African Union urges Sudan to cooperate with monitors in Darfur



Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Without admitting that its monitors in Darfur were facing hostility from the Sudanese regime, the African Union has urged Khartoum to let its mission act more effectively in the violence-torn region.

In a communiqué issued at the end of its 16th meeting, the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) demands full cooperation of the regime with the AU Mission in the Sudan (AMIS).

Reiterating the need for the AU to continue playing a lead role in searching for a solution to the Darfur conflict, the Council has expressed appreciation for the support given by the UN.
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Sudan MPs urge UN to put pressure on Darfur rebels

Khartoum, Sudan - UN should pressure rebels fighting the Sudanese government to rejoin peace talks on the conflict in Darfur rather than threaten Khartoum with sanctions, Sudanese parliamentarians said on Tuesday.

Members of Sudan's national assembly said the international community was putting too much pressure on the government side and not enough on the rebels, an approach they said led to the collapse last week of peace talks between the two sides.

"It is better for the international community to help to push both sides to sit down again for negotiations because if there is still war then it is difficult for them to sit down with each other," said William Othwonh Awer, chairman of the federal relations committee.
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Massacre looming in Darfur: Dallaire

Montreal, Canada - Sudan might ignite like Rwanda, says ex-peacekeeper. Canada should demand a military force be sent to Darfur before the situation escalates into a Rwanda-like massacre, Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire said yesterday.

"What should be done is an outright intervention," says Dallaire. He said, "When I compare it to Rwanda, there are so many similarities it makes you sick."

"Khartoum", he said, "is getting away with slaughter and genocide, while the world reacts, much as it did then, with embargos and restrictions. What is required is outright intervention under the premise of the Responsibility to Protect."

He was referring to a 2001 UN report that states three criteria for intervention in a nation-state's internal affairs: war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide.

Dallaire believes the UN should organize a force, led by African Union and Arab League forces with logistical support from middle-power countries like Canada and the Netherlands, to apprehend those responsible, and protect aid workers and displaced persons. "It's not (to be done) by the big powers, because the Islamic dimension is not negligible," he said.

Also today, Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, in his first speech to the UN General Assembly, is expected to urge developed nations to support an African peacekeeping force for the area.

Canada has agreed to Sudan's request to post an ambassador — the first in more than 10 years — to Ottawa. Dr. Faiza Taha's posting becomes official sometime next month.
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Romeo Dallaire



Gen. Romeo Dallaire former head of the UN Peacekeeping Force, witnessed unspeakable horrors in Rwanda, as extremist Hutus massacred over 800,000 Tutsis and Hutus in the space of a few days in 1994. 

Dallaire did everything he could, pleading for 2000 more peacekeepers to be added to his insufficiently equipped 3000 man force. If they had answered his pleas, the UN could have stopped the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Rwandans. 

Instead, following the deaths of 10 Belgian Peacekeepers assigned to protect the President, his forces were cut down from 3000 to a mere 500 men, who had to watch as one of the most horrible genocides in human history took place before their very eyes. 

Dallaire, frustrated, and disheartened by the UN's passive attitude, nonetheless stood for his beliefs, repeatedly confronting his superiors who did nothing to prevent the horrific events from unfolding. 

In 2002, he was honoured as the first recipient of the Aegis Trust Award. He is now working on the problem of war-affected children, and has visited countries where children are used as soldiers or are being sold into sexual slavery.
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Malaysia is closely monitoring the Darfur crisis

Kuala Lumpur - Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said Malaysia is closely monitoring the Darfur crisis and the UN Security Council’s threat to impose sanctions on Sudan’s vital oil industry. 

Syed Hamid, who was leaving for New York to attend the general assembly tomorrow, hoped the Darfur crisis would be discussed by the Organisation of Islamic conferences and the Non-Aligned Movement foreign ministers in New York. 

He said Sudan had no choice but to agree to abide by a UN resolution calling on it to restore security to Darfur or face possible sanctions.


NAM member countries represent many shades of political opinion
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Interviews with Sudanese refugees in Chad

Mosbat, Sudan - Policies, economics turned Muslims against Muslims in Darfur, Sudan by Sudarsan Raghavan, Knight Ridder Newspapers. Excerpt:

Jan Pfundheller, a retired police officer from Brewster, Washington, interviewed Sudanese refugees in Chad for a State Department survey that Secretary of State Colin Powell relied on to conclude that genocide is taking place in Darfur.

This is some of what she heard:

Nineteen men were killed while praying in a mosque.

An imam and his son were raped with sticks.

Then, there was the imam and a tribal sheik who were tied and forced onto their knees before a high-ranking uniformed Sudanese officer with two stars on his epaulet. He ordered them to reveal where the rebels were hiding. They replied they were only religious leaders and didn't know. So the officer ordered Janjaweed militiamen to pile straw around the pair and burned them alive.

Mosques tend to be places where men gather to pray and discuss communal matters, so killing imams wipes out leaders who wield great influence and who teach the youth their history and culture.

"They had this idea the blacks or the so-called slaves cannot be equal to their masters, even in terms of religion," said Bahar Ibrahim, a senior adviser to the rebels. "So if it is a slave mosque they can always destroy it."

Today, Mohamed's mosque is his tent. He no longer teaches the Quran to youth.

Dagne, the Africa expert, said the intent of the attacks was to "humiliate and dehumanize African Muslims ... to the point they don't exist as a cohesive community."

He added: "This is all about political survival and the methods they use is more vicious than any other regime in Africa."

This was not always the case. Darfur embraced Islam in the early 1800s, and Arabs and black Africans lived mostly in religious harmony through Darfur's days as an independent sultanate, then during British colonial rule and after independence in 1956.

Mohamed, sitting inside his tent, remembers better days over cups of sweet tea. Whenever Arab traders and nomads passed through the area, they would pray at his mosque and give donations. Sometimes, visiting Arab clerics would give sermons.

Mohamed said he was friends with the father of Musa Hilal and had been a guest at his house. The United States now accuses Hilal of being a senior Arab Janjaweed leader who's committed war crimes.

"There was no animosity between us," said Mohamed. "We had good relationships with Khartoum."

That changed in the 1980s. Successive Arab governments, in a divide-and-rule plan to maintain power, manipulated rivalries between Arab nomads and black African farmers, polarizing them racially.

The regime combined this with a policy of discrimination and neglect of Africans, while arming Arab tribes against them. The emergence of a shadowy alliance called the Arab Gathering, which professed the supremacy of the Arab race, further shattered Islam's unifying role.

Generations of intermarriage, which made Arabs and Africans nearly physically indistinguishable, were ignored. Soon, being of Arab lineage - determined by one's father's ethnicity - took precedence over being Muslim.

Arabs stopped visiting Mohamed's mosque and began to challenge the devotion of black Africans to Islam. "Now, in the days of this government, they look at us like animals," he said.
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Findings of Amnesty International's mission to Sudan

London - The picture in Darfur is one of distress, denial and disappointment - distress of people whose lives and livelihood have been destroyed, denial of responsibility by the Sudanese government and disappointment at the slow progress to resolve this crisis, concluded Amnesty International, the first international non-governmental human rights organisation to officially visit Sudan since the Darfur crisis began.

Darfur and Genocide – Does the West really care?

Darfur and Genocide – Does the West really care? is a pretty good report that provides an alternative viewpoint and raises some interesting points. The author is not named and the report is undated. Seems it was uploaded at Khilafah.com on September 19, 2004, and the source of the report is given as KCom Journal.

[Possibly, I found the report over at Patrick's Horn of Africa. If so, thanks Patrick - I'll visit your blog and insert link here.]

AU soldiers in Sudan blow the whistle - situation is "falling apart" in Darfur

A must-read report from today's Scotsman "Darfur troops blow the whistle", written by Fred Bridgland in Johannesburg, is copied here in full:

AFRICAN Union soldiers yesterday accused the Sudanese government of brazenly breaching the ceasefire in the Darfur region and continuing to attack villages with a contemptuous disregard for the presence of peace monitors.

AU peacekeepers claim the situation is "falling apart" in Darfur, with the Sudanese not complying with the ceasefire demands.

Their allegations come after the UN Security Council on Saturday approved a resolution threatening oil sanctions against Sudan if the government fails to rein in the Arab Janjaweed militias blamed for killing tens of thousands of black Africans in Darfur.

AU soldiers in Darfur leaked the contents of classified reports sent to the union’s Addis Ababa headquarters, after their superiors refused to publish them. They paint a damning picture of the Sudanese government’s contempt for peacekeeping.

"They [the government] are not acting in good faith," says the AU’s mission chief, Ghana’s Colonel Anthony Amedoh. "Everything is falling apart. There are so many clear violations by the Sudanese government. They’re using aircraft where they’re not supposed to and they’re moving their forces all the time. They are not complying at all, but we can’t stop them from violating the ceasefire, we can just report it. They just deny it and don’t stop what they are doing."

The African commanders say the Sudan government is treating them like fools while its army, acting in close alliance with the Janjaweed militias, continues its ethnic cleansing of the Fur, Zaghawa, Masalit and other black African tribes.

Colonel Barry Steyn, commander of the small South African force with the AU mission, says he counts bodies of Sudan army and Janjaweed victims each week and sends classified reports to Addis Ababa. Describing maggot-infested decomposing skulls, he says: "You believe there’s an inherent goodness in people, but you see some of these villages and it shakes that belief. You look at this stuff and it makes you turn dead white."

Saturday’s Security Council vote was carried 11-0 with four abstentions - China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria. China, a permanent council member with veto power and huge oil interests in Sudan, said immediately after the vote that it would veto any future resolution that sought to impose sanctions on Sudan. "I told the American government that the position of my government on sanctions is a firm one," said China’s UN ambassador, Wang Guangya. "We always believe that sanctions are not a helpful means to achieve political objectives. It will only make matters worse."

The resolution says the council would have to meet again to consider sanctions against Sudan’s petroleum sector or other punitive measures if the Khartoum government does not act quickly to stop the violence and bring the perpetrators to justice - or if it fails to co-operate with the 480-strong AU monitoring force. The council also ordered an investigation into whether the attacks constituted genocide. A declaration of genocide would oblige the UN to intervene militarily under the Convention on Prevention of Genocide.

The AU commanders decided to break silence and talk freely to visiting South African reporters because of the futility of their task and the AU’s refusal to publish what is really happening in Darfur.

"They [the Sudan Army] say there’s a fuel problem when they want to keep us on the ground," says Major Gordon Schmidt, a South African communications officer. "They don’t want us to take off because they don’t want us to see. It’s a big violation."

Schmidt was speaking as a Sudan army strike helicopter carrying 30 heavily armed soldiers took off on an attack mission from the Darfur town of Nyala. AU monitoring troops from Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal and Egypt were ready to follow in their own choppers. But they are dependent on the Sudan army for fuel and, as flight crew stood ready, an AU soldier reported back: "The Sudanese say there is no fuel." By the time fuel arrived, the Sudanese attack was over. AU commanders and their troops watched from their tents and land cruisers as Sudanese officials welcomed back the attack force with smiles, hugs and multiple signing of forms.

"These people are not truthful, we’re always fighting about these fuel issues," says Sergeant William Molokwane of the South African Defence Force. "We are supposed to know about these movements - troops moving out of the city, attack helicopters flying in and out of the airport. They will only tell us, ‘we are testing them’."

As Sgt Molokwane sighs with frustration, a Nigerian soldier comes in from patrol and tells his commander, Colonel Negabi : "We caught them fighting together red-handed." He said Sudan soldiers and Janjaweed militiamen were jointly attacking civilians in a large refugee camp.

Sgt Molokwane is distraught. "Aside from our small protection force [of 120 Rwandan soldiers] there are absolutely no arms here," he says. "If something happens now, what can we do?"
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Darfur clashes block access to refugees

Today (Mon Sep 20) Reuters reports clashes between Sudanese army and the rebels are hindering aid agencies trying to assess the needs of some of the more than one million displaced people there, the United Nations says. Here is the report, in full:

Due to clashes ... an interagency team was not able to commence assessment of villages in Tawilla rural areas," it said, adding the fighting was in North Darfur state, about 70 km (45 miles) west of the capital El-Fasher.

The U.N. said it received similar reports of fighting in Ailliet, about 250 km (150 miles) southeast of the capital.

A U.N. Security Council resolution passed on Saturday threatens economic sanctions on Khartoum if it does not stop violence in Darfur, which Washington has termed genocide. The U.N. says fighting has displaced 1.5 million people, with more than 200,000 refugees in neighbouring Chad, in one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.

African Union monitors say they have confirmed 20 violations in the past two months of an April ceasefire. They say the violations were from all sides.

The U.N. report said the biggest cause of death in the Darfur camps was diarrhoea, but that a confirmed case of meningitis in Mornei camp was causing concern. An outbreak of Hepatitis E, a water-borne disease, was being brought under control, it added.

Banditry on roads in South Darfur state was a problem, the U.N. said. A lorry carrying World Food Programme (WFP) commodities was attacked on September 16.

A WFP spokesman has said the bandits appeared to be random looters, with some dressed in ragged parts of Sudanese army uniform and others in civilian clothing.

After years of low-level conflict between Arab nomads and African farmers, rebels launched a revolt last year accusing the government of supporting Arab militias, known as Janjweed, to loot and burn African villages.

Khartoum admits arming some militias to fight the rebels, but denies any links to the Janjaweed, calling them bandits.
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Sudan 'Not Afraid of UN Darfur Sanctions'

Report from today's (Mon Sep 20) Scotsman says Sudan is not afraid of a US-backed UN resolution threatening sanctions over the violence in Darfur, President Omar el-Bashir has been quoted as saying.

“We are afraid neither of the UN nor of its resolution,” state-run television quoted el-Bashir as telling a meeting of local political leaders yesterday in Khartoum. The report did not elaborate.

El-Bashir’s remarks came as Louise Arbour, the UN high commissioner for human rights, arrived in Khartoum in preparation for a trip to the western Darfur region to look into the humanitarian situation.

Western governments and international aid agencies maintain that government-backed militias burned and looted villages and raped or killed many inhabitants. The US has said genocide was being carried out.

Arbour met with Justice Minister Ali Osman Mohamed Yassin, who said his government was ready to assist her but that ”there is no genocide or cases of rape” in Darfur. The government has denied supporting the militiamen and rejected characterisation of genocide.

Sudan’s parliament speaker, Ahmed Ibrahim Tahir, was quoted by the official Sudan Media Centre as making similarly defiant remarks during a meeting of tribal leaders in Darfur.

“If Iraq has opened one gate to hell for the West, we are going to open seven gates,” Tahir was quoted as saying.

Such a UN resolution, according to a Sudanese Foreign Ministry official, will only make it harder for the government to calm an insurrection in the region.

But despite his criticism, Mutrif Sideeq indicated that his government would try to comply with the resolution meant to push it to rein in ethnic Arab militias accused of killing ethnic African villagers and creating an even deadlier humanitarian crisis.

The government is accused of backing the Arab militia as a strategy against rebels based among Darfur’s African tribespeople.

Meanwhile, a prominent Sudanese opposition member announced on national television last night that he was quitting his political party because it was clear to him it was behind a coup attempt.

Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, deputy chairman of the Popular Congress Party and head of its legal department, was a close aid to the party’s detained leader and ideologue, Hassan Turabi.

He accused unspecified elements within the party of plotting to use armed force without the consent of the party apparatus to spread chaos and overthrow the government of President Omar el-Bashir.

On September 8, police arrested more than 30 members of the party in relation to an alleged coup plot. Turabi has been in detention since earlier this year after police rounded up party members following another alleged coup plot. Members of his party have denied any involvement in the alleged coup attempts.
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Britain stands with China in opposing Sudan sanction

According to the China Daily news today (Mon Sep 20) Britain stands with China in opposing Sudan sanction:

"Britain opposes sanctions against Sudan amid the Darfur crisis, said British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw during a telephone talk with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, on Monday.

Straw expressed his appreciation to the active role China has played in the Darfur crisis and said Britain, too, does not support the sanctions.

China opposes sanctions or threat of sanctions in international affairs, said Li, adding that sanctions can only complicate the humanitarian situation of the Sudanese people, including the Darfur people.

Moreover, Li and Straw had an exchange of views on the nuclear issue on the Korean peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue and spoke about how to further enhance bilateral friendly and cooperative relations between China and Britain."
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Britain says pressure on Sudan to intensify

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain says outside pressure has brought profound improvement in Darfur but Sudan has to do more to end the violence -- and the international community will intensify its efforts until it does.

International Development Secretary Hilary Benn was speaking after a U.N. resolution at the weekend threatened economic sanctions on Khartoum if it does not stop Arab militia terrorising African farmers in the remote western province.

Mr Benn met John Garang on Monday, leader of southern Sudanese rebels involved in a separate conflict and peace process, whom Khartoum has accused of backing insurgents in Darfur.

Benn said they agreed on the need for inter-connected solutions.

"Progress on completing the Naivasha process (about ending the southern conflict) is fundamental to the future of Sudan and to solving the crisis in Darfur," Benn said.

Asked about the U.S. use of "genocide" in relation to Darfur, he replied:

"The Americans have said what they've said. We've said it may be genocide. The U.N. has said 'crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing'. The point is whatever word you use to call it, what are you doing about the current situation?"
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Russia opposes sanctions on Sudan, eyes arms sales

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia defended on Monday its decision not to back a U.N. resolution that threatens Sudan with sanctions if it does not halt violence in the Darfur region, and said it hoped to increase arms exports to the African state. The Foreign Ministry said Russia had abstained in Saturday's U.N. Security Council vote on a resolution on Sudan because the threat of oil sanctions was not the best way to ensure peace in Darfur, in southwestern Sudan.

The Council adopted the resolution, which also called for an international probe into abuses including genocide, although China, Pakistan and Algeria joined Russia in abstaining.

"We think that the threat of sanctions contained in the resolution with regard to Sudan is not the best way at all to motivate Khartoum to fulfil its obligations to the U.N.," a ministry statement said. "In order to solve complex crises, the international community has at its disposal diplomatic instruments that have demonstrated their effectiveness."

Russia has been criticised for supplying warplanes to Sudan, where Arab militias are attacking African villagers in the Darfur region and displaced villagers say government aircraft have bombed their homes. Russia's arms export agency said it wanted to do more business with Sudan and other African nations. "One of the key points of the Rosoboronexport Corporation marketing strategy is the extension of the volumes, diversity and geography in defence sales to African nations, " the agency said in a statement.

It added it was seeking contracts to refit outdated Soviet-era equipment sold to countries such as Sudan, Ethiopia and Uganda . "As Russian aviation equipment delivered to African nations requires repair, overhaul and modification, Rosoboronexport has been offering various upgrade packages," the agency said.
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Arab League: Sudan resolution hasty

Excerpt of report that appeared today online at the Tehran Times. It is the third time in the past day that I have seen mentiions made of "riches" in Darfur. Going by reports I've read these past five months, I have a feeling oil was discovered in Darfur a year or so ago. There is a lot more to what is going on in Sudan than meets the eye - especially concerning the relationships and ties between countries. More on this later at my other blogs Asia Oil Watch and China Tibet Watch where I am working on a post about China and Egypt (they are friends) and Japan (they are working on being friends) - and the establishment of an East Asia Community.

Khartoum (Aljazeera) -- The Arab League rejected a UN Security Council resolution "envisaging" possible sanctions against Sudan over the conflict in Darfur, saying it would not help bring peace to the region, officials said on Sunday. League spokesman Husam Zaki told reporters on Sunday, "imposing sanctions will not help resolve the crisis or encourage the parties to try and end it. In fact, it will have the opposite effect".

Uthman Muhammad Yusuf, Governor of Darfur told Aljazeera the U.S. label of "genocide in Darfur is a big and historical lie. We defy those accusing us and call them to come to Darfur and prove it on the ground". The governor said, "there is no ethnic cleansing or genocide here. We are one family in Darfur and from one origin. We are united in one home, Dar-meaning home and Fur being the name of the oldest inhabitants of the region". "The U.S. and the rebels are lying about this divide. They are trying to create this division where it does not exist", he added.

"The UN, USA, Britain and Germany have complicated the situation in Darfur and hindered our efforts there", he said. When asked about negotiations with rebel movements, Yusuf said, "I think that talks with our brothers (the rebels) in Europe who lead luxurious lives in the grand hotels could only have little impact."

"Residents of Darfur are the only ones who can solve the real issues and we cannot allow a group that does not even represent 4% of Darfur's population to hold us ransom," he added.

The governor concluded Aljazeera interview by saying the rebels are seeking control of the resource rich area, refusing to be disarmed and are trying to blow the situation out of proportion with the help of the U.S. and the EU.
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Full Text: Security Council Resolution 1564 on Darfur

The Security Council September 18 adopted a second resolution on Darfur calling for an international investigation into reports of genocide.

The resolution, number 1564, was adopted by a vote of 11 to 0 with Algeria, China, Pakistan, and Russia abstaining. It was drafted by the United States and co-sponsored by Germany, Romania, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

The resolution asks Secretary General Kofi Annan to "rapidly establish an international commission of inquiry" in order to investigate reports of violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in Darfur to determine whether or not acts of genocide have occurred.

Expressing "grave concern" that Sudan has not fully complied with its previous resolution on Darfur ( resolution 1556), the council also said that it will consider taking "additional measures" such as an oil embargo or sanctions against individual members of the government if Khartoum doesn't comply with the U.N. demands.

In the resolution, the Security Council endorsed an expansion of the African Union (AU) monitoring force and asked nations to contribute equipment and funds for the deployment.
The council also demanded that Sudan submit the names of Jingaweit militia and other arrested for human rights abuses as proof that it has complied with resolution 1556.

Click here for the text of the resolution.

FRANCIS BOK - Attends Sept 12 rally outside UN building in New York City

Pictured below is anti slavery leader Francis Bok who rallied with 400 others outside the U.N. building in New York City on September 12, 2004, to protest slavery, rape and genocide in Sudan.

Speakers condemned the UN, and Kofi Annan in particular, for failing to uphold their vow of "Never Again."



At the age seven Francis Bok was abducted in the village of Nymlal in a slave raid by government forces in Sudan. Mr. Bok was strapped to a donkey and taken north where he became the slave of the Giema Abdullah family. For 10 years he was forced to sleep with cattle, beaten daily and fed rotten food. In 1996 he escaped to Cairo and made his way eventually to the US.

Mr. Bok founded the website iabolish.com and is thought to be the first freed slave to testify before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

[Thanks to Dr Pauly in NYC for emailing me the UN rally images]

Inside Sudan itself, a political crisis is brewing - Darfur peace talks adjourned for one month

AL-TURABI'S WIFE IN LONDON - Meeting with officials from Amnesty and British Foreign Office.

According to Al-Ahram, Wisal Al-Mahdi, the wife of Al-Turabi, is in London meeting with officials from Amnesty International and the British Foreign Office, lobbying support for her jailed husband, whom GoS say has been fomenting trouble in Darfur.
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TWO GROUPS WIELD POWER AND INFLUENCE IN SUDAN - Jaialiyin (President Bashir's people) and Shaagiya (Vice President Taha's people)

Here's what Al-Turabi's wife told Al-Ahram Weekly news:

"The two main Arab ethnic groups that are buttressing the regime in Khartoum and reaping the rewards are the Jaialiyin, Al- Beshir's people, and the Shaagiya, the Vice President Ali Othman Mohamed Taha's people."

"Members of these two groups now wield tremendous power and influence in the country. They are also very wealthy and repressive," she said.

Wisal Al-Mahdi said that she visited Darfur Jebel Marra with her husband in 1996 during a political campaign. "My husband has many followers in Darfur, and the government knows that."

She denied that her husband worked with the Janjaweed, adding that it was the government that has committed "heinous acts of rape and murder in Darfur".

Al-Ahram report states: "This charge is supported by humanitarian agencies and Western powers. Sudanese government officials, however, deny any responsibility. "We don't think this kind of attitude can help the situation in Darfur," Sudanese Minister Najeeb Al-Khair Abdul-Wahed told reporters in Abuja. "We expect the international community to assist the process that is taking place in Abuja, and not pour oil on the fire."
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GOS CRACKING DOWN ON OPPOSITION TO ITS REGIME - Al-Turabi moved to notorious prison - and son detained

Sudanese authorities have arrested Brigadier Mohamed Al-Amin Khalifa, a member of the Revolutionary Command Council that was formed following the bloodless coup d'état that brought Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir to power.

Hussein Khojali, editor of the opposition daily Alwan, was also arrested.

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan Al-Turabi was transferred to the notorious Cooper Prison.

Siddig, Al-Turabi's son, was also detained on Monday.

Scores of PCP officials now languish in Sudanese jails, arrested for their involvement in an alleged coup plot.

"The authorities are lying!" Wisal Al-Mahdi, wife of Hassan Al-Turabi, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "They are making it all up, to distract public attention from the humiliating predicament that they find themselves in over Darfur."
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DARFUR PEACE TALKS ADJOURNED FOR ONE MONTH - While AU chair consults with all parties concerned.

Today, the Darfur peace talks between Khartoum and rebel groups SLM and JEM have been adjourned for one month.

"We are going on recess and during the recess, we are being promised that the AU represented by the current chairperson, will undertake consultations with the two parties and also with the international partners who have shown interest in the issue of Darfur," Sudan's deputy foreign minister Najeib Abdulwahab told AFP.

GoS said it had confidence in the AU-brokered peace and was ready to resume whenever called upon to do so. "The government of the Sudan maintains that the talks led by the African Union and assisted by other concerned parties, will pave the way for a final, durable and just resolution of the conflict," it added.

Earlier, an AU mediator had said the talks would be suspended Friday "whether or not the rebels sign the protocol on humanitarian affair".

TUTU'S MESSAGE OF WISDOM - Women should rule the world

When we heard the revelations of unspeakable atrocities committed during the apartheid era we were appalled at how low we human beings can sink, that we had this horrendous capacity for evil, all of us.

Then we heard the moving stories of the victims of those and other atrocities relating how despite all they had suffered they were willing to forgive their tormentors, revealing a breathtaking magnanimity and generosity of spirit, then we realised that we have a wonderful capacity for good.

Yes people are fundamentally good. They, we, are made for love, generosity, sharing, compassion - for transcendence.

We are made to reach for the stars.

Desmond Tutu.

[Source: Courtesy "Tutu's handwritten message of wisdom" Hands That Shape Humanity]
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'WOMEN SHOULD RULE THE WORLD' -
Desmond Tutu suggests a "feminine revolution" takes place

Women should rule the world said Desmond Tutu speaking at a signing ceremony between the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust and the City of Cape Town.

Former Anglican archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu on Tuesday waxed lyrical about women, suggesting that a "feminine revolution" take place so that the fairer sex can rule the world.

Tutu was speaking at a signing ceremony between the Desmond Tutu Peace Trust and the City of Cape Town which brought a step closer the erection of a building bearing his name in the city CBD.

"Some of the best initiatives are those that occur because women are involved... It is almost a tacit acknowledgement of the crucial role that women play in nurturing, nurturing life," said Tutu in his tribute to women a day after Women's Day.

Tutu, who was seemingly mentally spurred on by Cape Town's sobriquet "Mother City", said that men had been given centuries to rule the world, but "have made a heck of a mess of things".

Tutu said the revolution he referred was one of women who were not afraid to be feminine, and who did not ape men in, for example, the stereotypical aggression.

"This revolution... is the last, best chance for making this globe hospitable to peace, to make this globe hospitable to compassion, hospitable to generosity and caring," he said. [More]
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Here's a snippet found on the internet:

" ... A billionaire media baron has taken a step to demonstrate his belief that women should run the world because men have "mucked it up" with too much warfare and military spending.

The United Nations Foundation Ted Turner established six years ago to distribute the £1 billion he pledged to UN causes has a new female-dominated board of directors.

"I've said for years and I'm really serious about it, I think men should be barred from holding public office for 100 years. The men have been running the world for too long and they've made a mess of it. ..."
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A WORLD OF WOMEN FOR WORLD PEACE-
PeaceWatch: U.S. Institute of Peace

Interesting to note there is a PeaceWatch U.S. Institute of Peace.



Top, left to right: Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Harriet Hentges, and Gay McDougall of the International Human Rights Law Group. Bottom, left to right: Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini of Women Waging Peace, Deepa Ollapally, and Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

It'd be good to see more women peace advocates seeking a greater voice in preventing and resolving international conflict.
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WHILE MEN MAKE WAR, WOMEN WAGE PEACE
By Swanee Hunt and Cristina Posa

Here is "While men make war, women wage peace" report dated December 2, 2001, reprinted from the Toronto Star.

Swanee Hunt is director of the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and a former U.S. ambassador to Austria (1993-97). Cristina Posa, a former judicial clerk at the U.N. International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, is an attorney in New York. Adapted from a longer piece in the May/June edition of Foreign Policy Magazine. December 2, 2001 reprinted from the Toronto Star:
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SUDAN'S FM OPTIMISTIC ABOUT STRIKING PEACE DEAL ...
... within 3 months

Today, Sudan's foreign minister said Monday he was optimistic about striking a peace deal within three months to end atrocities in Darfur and again rejected US charges of genocide in the region. On a visit to South Korea, said his government and rebel groups would "very soon" resume the African Union-brokered peace talks.

"Hopefully, before the end of this year, we will sign a final peace agreement," he told a news conference in Seoul. "Hopefully, by next year the whole of Sudan will be in peace."

MEANWHILE...

... Darfur rebels may quit talks ...ONE of two rebel groups in Darfur today threatened to walk out of peace talks unless the Sudanese Government quickly presented a viable plan to end the conflict in the region.

'The negotiations are at a crossroads,' said Mahgub Hussein, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).

'They could collapse at any moment if the Sudanese Government is incapable of presenting a positive vision for a political solution.'

Asked if that meant the SLM was threatening to pull out of the African Union-sponsored talks currently under way in the Nigerian capital Abuja, he replied: 'Yes."

Up to 10,000 Dying a Month in Darfur Camps

Today, BBC reports New alarm over Darfur crisis toll and Reuters reports up to 10,000 people, many of them children, are dying each month from disease and the effects of violence in Darfur camps despite a big international aid effort, the World Health Organization said Monday.

A study of settlements in the west and the north of the conflict ridden region, carried out by the United Nations health agency and the Sudanese government, pointed to a monthly toll of 6,000-10,000 out of a displaced population of 1.2 million.

"Thousands of these are children," said David Nabarro, who heads the WHO's health crisis action group.

"These mortality figures are of considerable concern ... What is disturbing is that we are already six months into this crisis," he said, adding that the rate was up to six times that of an African country facing no humanitarian crisis.

Diarrhea was the leading cause of death, particularly among children, but violence was also a "significant cause," although the survey, which was based on interviews, did not go into detail on the nature of the violence, he added.

"You should not be seeing these sort of figures six months into an emergency and they reflect the fact that we still have a huge humanitarian challenge ahead of us," he said.

But the mortality rate was in line with the 50,000 dead which the U.N. and other international bodies have been using as the likely toll since the crisis erupted, Nabarro said.

Around a quarter of those surveyed in the camps said they had no access to safe drinking water and between a third and a half had no latrines.

Insecurity and logistical problems brought on by the rainy season were hampering the relief effort, but humanitarian agencies also suffered from a continued cash shortage.

"The fact is that our relief operation for a number of reasons is not doing the job," Nabarro said.
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SUDAN ARRESTS EDITOR, CRACKS DOWN ON PRESS

Khartoum, Sudan, Sep. 12 (UPI) -- Sudanese authorities Sunday arrested an editor and cracked down on the press, confiscating newspapers and censoring articles.

Sources at Alwan daily newspaper said its chief editor, Hussein Khoujli, was arrested Saturday night, while its front-page main story was censored by authorities and replaced with a non-political article.

Editors at al-Sahafa daily newspaper also tens of thousands of that paper's copies were confiscated after it was printed Saturday night, allowing it to go to the press only after having removed an article.

They did not say what the article contained.

All Sudan's 12 newspapers Sunday refrained from mentioning the news conference held by the opposition Popular Congress Party, which accused authorities of fabricating accusations against the party and saying was trying to obtain weapons from Eritrea to overthrow the regime.

Direct news media censorship was imposed for the first time in 2000, but President Omar Bashir lifted the censorship last year.

Journalists said state censorship seemed to have returned during the weekend.

Further news: Sudanese prisoner dies while in custody
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SUDAN WANTS TO EXPAND ECONOMIC TIES WITH S KOREA

SOUTH KOREA: Visiting Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail has called for further economic cooperation with South Korea in sectors such as electronics, textiles, cars and the oil industry.

After signing an agreement to avoid double taxation with his South Korean counterpart Friday, Ismail said this agreement and his visit to Seoul will help boost the economic relationship of the two countries,

"I have met with some chairmen of important companies here, and also invited President Roh Moo-hyun and Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to our country. Maybe business groups will come with them,'' Ismail said in an interview with The Korea Times Sunday.

"Unfortunately, South Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) came in second after a Malaysian national company in a competition for an oil contract in our country recently,'' he said, citing KNOC's lack of specific knowledge on the international oil market and scarce government-level exchanges between the two countries as some of the reasons for the failure.

The minister, however, stressed that his country still has a lot of opportunities to offer investors, especially those from Asian countries, unlike other African nations where European companies tend to be dominant." "Our biggest trading partner is China. France is second, Malaysia third and India is following close behind,'' he said.

"Those countries in alliance with the U.S., like Japan and South Korea, have been reluctant to invest because of political interests. China, however, pursues an independent policy, as does Malaysia, India and Iran. China approached us first, so they became our number one partner,'' he added, explaining how China came to play such a big role in their economy, especially in the oil sector, since the Sudanese government has a ``sometimes difficult'' relationship with the U.S.

South Korea, with no crude oil produced on its territory, has been stepping up energy diplomacy, including projects involving trans-Siberian pipelines as well as direct imports from resource-rich countries.
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MUSICIANS GATHER FOR SUDAN APPEAL
Gorillaz, SOAD, Yoko Ono

Musicians, including Yoko Ono, have united to voice their disgust and create a global awareness of situation in the Sudan. Gorillaz, SOAD, Yorko Ono gather for Sudan appeal.

For more information: waxploitation.com/genocide

Sudanese prisoner dies while in custody - Sudan arrests editor, cracks down on press

Seems there is more to below copied reports and what is going on in Eriteria (ck spelling) than meets the eye. Maybe there has been a new but foiled attempt to topple present regime in Khartoum.

Today Khartoum flipped out over a news article that appeared in a Sudanese daily newspaper. Thousands of copies were ordered to be pulped to bury the article. The editor of a daily newspaper was arrested and accused of reporting "mis-information" that was harmful to the present regime in Khartoum.

Whatever the story was about, Khartoum did not want it circulated. Pity it didn't get leaked on the internet - I did google but can't find anything. One report said a newspaper had photographs of the arms that were found by Sudanese forces - maybe it was that - or the recent arrests and the deaths of one or two detainees through possible torture. Here are a copy of the reports to file here, add notes to, or bin later.

Sudanese prisoner dies while in custody

A Sudanese opposition party said Saturday a prominent political prisoner died from torture while in custody.

The Popular Congress Party, led by Hassan al-Turabi, said Shamseddine Idris died Saturday. He was one of 33 party activists arrested Wednesday on charges of plotting subversive acts aimed at toppling the government.

There was no independent information on the circumstances surrounding the death of Idris, who was a student leader in Khartoum. But the Secretary General of the Popular Congress Party, Abdullah Abu Fatima, said in a news conference a number of the party's detainees were being tortured while in custody.

Abu Fatima also denied any links to the weapons authorities said they seized Friday in a village north of the capital. He dismissed as a fabrication accusations the arms belonged to his party.

Sudanese authorities have carried out a wave of arrests and raids during recent days in search of weapons they say were supplied to the opposition party by neighboring Eritrea. They say the group intended to use the arms to carry out sabotage aimed at toppling the regime in Khartoum.
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=aadf8a6b3d578e79
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Sudan arrests editor, cracks down on press

Khartoum, Sudan, Sep. 12 -- Sudanese authorities Sunday arrested an editor and cracked down on the press, confiscating newspapers and censoring articles.

Sources at Alwan daily newspaper said its chief editor, Hussein Khoujli, was arrested Saturday night, while its front-page main story was censored by authorities and replaced with a non-political article.

Editors at al-Sahafa daily newspaper also tens of thousands of that paper's copies were confiscated after it was printed Saturday night, allowing it to go to the press only after having removed an article.

They did not say what the article contained.

All Sudan's 12 newspapers Sunday refrained from mentioning the news conference held by the opposition Popular Congress Party, which accused authorities of fabricating accusations against the party and saying was trying to obtain weapons from Eritrea to overthrow the regime.

Direct news media censorship was imposed for the first time in 2000, but President Omar Bashir lifted the censorship last year.

Journalists said state censorship seemed to have returned during the weekend.

http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/?sid=32f3c3522026efb3
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Islam online: Darfur's War of Definitions

The late Palestinian professor Edward Said once wrote that human rights are not “cultural or grammatical things, and when they are violated, they are as real as anything we can encounter.”

Sudan SPLM leaders are learning how to build a political party

Here is some good news coming out of Sudan - see copy of a report Sudan’s noble fight for freedom by Steve Edwards who returned on August 4 from Yei in southern Sudan.

CAN PEOPLE in a country ravaged by civil war and governed by a terrorist-aligned regime establish their own democracy? I returned, on Aug. 4, from Yei, Sudan, situated near the Ugandan border in the southern part of the largest country in Africa, and I believe it can be done.

The trip was part of a program with the International Republican Institute (IRI) of Washington, D.C., to provide training for the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) — the largest opposition political party in Sudan — on party building, the role of political parties, message development and effective communications strategies.

The IRI is a non-governmental organization, not affiliated with the U.S. Republican Party, but draws on experienced professionals with Republican backgrounds to conduct campaign and election training in emerging democracies throughout the world. The IRI was selected by the U.S. State Department to begin a program of training for opposition political parties in southern Sudan after Secretary of State Colin Powell’s trip to there in early July.

Many of President Bush’s critics claim he is trying to force his will on other countries throughout the world. I think promoting self-determined democracies with open elections, multiple political parties, free speech, freedom of religion and a society based upon the rule of law should be applauded, not dismissed. Preventing Sudan from becoming another Afghanistan is a top priority of President Bush and his administration.

The SPLM is transforming itself into a viable and thriving political party from being an opposition rebel army fighting the brutal, radical Islamist regime in the capital city of Khartoum.

The Sudan government is led by President Umar Al-Bashir, who gained power through a military coup in 1989. The war has been the longest civil war in Africa. More than 2 million Sudanese have been killed, with millions more displaced from their homes and families.

Just outside the compound where we conducted our training was a burned-out tank left by government military forces, which fled after the SPLM armed militia regained control of the village of Yei.

An entire generation of Southern Sudanese has grown up knowing only war. They have seen the infrastructure of their communities destroyed and decimated. There is no running water. Portable generators are used for electricity. Conventional phone systems do not exist.

The SPLM is building its political base in the southern part of the country, which is predominantly comprised of black Africans who are mostly of Christian faith. The regime in Khartoum is primarily Arab African and has long been a haven for international terrorists. Osama bin Laden lived there for many years in the early 1990s with the support of the Bashir regime; Al-Qaida was formed in Khartoum during the same period.

With the support of many Western countries and organizations, the SPLM has forced the Bashir government to the peace table. In June of this year, a cease-fire was agreed to at talks held in Kenya and a formal peace treaty is supposed to be signed within the next two months.

The treaty contains several protocols that give the SPLM control of the government operations in the southern part of the country and a certain number of seats in the national parliament. A referendum will be held to validate this in three years and full-fledged free and secret ballot elections will be held in six years.

I introduced myself to the leaders of the SPLM participating in the training sessions as coming from a state in America that has a motto of “Live Free or Die.” Gen. John Stark’s famous quote about the colonial troops’ victory at the Battle of Bennington in 1777 captured the spirit of a people fighting for freedom and liberty against an oppressive and tyrannical regime.

I shared with them the pride the people in New Hampshire have in supporting freedom, democracy and individual rights. It was in New Hampshire that I began my career, starting as an aide to Judd Gregg when he was still a congressman.

The training we provided to the SPLM political leadership was focused on how to build a political party, how to keep the party separated from the government offices, forming a party based upon ideas and principles and not on a personality, the importance of transparent financial record-keeping and documentation, developing key messages, and an effective communications strategy.

One of the most fascinating discussions we held was in a question I posed about whether they would be willing to risk losing an election by doing the “right thing” vs. attempting to cheat or do something unethical in order to win and gain power.

Being proud of your beliefs and accepting the judgment of others must be embraced, not feared. I asked what they worry about as they proceed on this historic endeavor. One of their top leaders replied he feared renewed war resulting from the violation of the peace treaty by the Khartoum regime. Another fear was how will SPLM leaders respect power once they have won elections.

This noble and healthy acknowledgment of recognizing the integrity of a sound form of government based upon the will of the people was truly impressive to me. Continued training and support is needed and will be provided by the United States and many organizations dedicated to democracy and freedom. I have great faith and hope for the SPLM.

Steve Edwards served as chief of staff for former New Hampshire Gov. Stephen Merrill and as an aide in Judd Gregg’s governor’s and congressional offices. He successfully managed three campaigns for governor in New Hampshire. He also has consulted with the International Republican Institute in Latvia, Lithuania, South Africa and Ukraine. He lives with his family in New Richmond, Wis.

Sudan wants to expand economic ties with South Korea

Visiting Sudanese Foreign Affairs Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail has called for further economic cooperation with South Korea in sectors such as electronics, textiles, cars and the oil industry.

[Note, on Sep 5 he met with Japan's Foreign Minister to ask for more aid. Guess the meeting wasn't a great success in his view or he would have made sure the press got to know about it. Going by press reports, it looks like the upshot of the meeting was that the Japanese agreed their contribution would improve when Sudan's handling of Darfur improved.]

After signing an agreement to avoid double taxation with his South Korean counterpart Friday, Ismail said this agreement and his visit to Seoul will help boost the economic relationship of the two countries,

"I have met with some chairmen of important companies here, and also invited President Roh Moo-hyun and Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon to our country. Maybe business groups will come with them,'' Ismail said in an interview with The Korea Times Sunday.

"Unfortunately, South Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) came in second after a Malaysian national company in a competition for an oil contract in our country recently,'' he said, citing KNOC's lack of specific knowledge on the international oil market and scarce government-level exchanges between the two countries as some of the reasons for the failure.

The minister, however, stressed that his country still has a lot of opportunities to offer investors, especially those from Asian countries, unlike other African nations where European companies tend to be dominant." "Our biggest trading partner is China. France is second, Malaysia third and India is following close behind,'' he said.

"Those countries in alliance with the U.S., like Japan and South Korea, have been reluctant to invest because of political interests. China, however, pursues an independent policy, as does Malaysia, India and Iran. China approached us first, so they became our number one partner,'' he added, explaining how China came to play such a big role in their economy, especially in the oil sector, since the Sudanese government has a ``sometimes difficult'' relationship with the U.S.

South Korea, with no crude oil produced on its territory, has been stepping up energy diplomacy, including projects involving trans-Siberian pipelines as well as direct imports from resource-rich countries.

Recently Sudan has received a lot of international attention regarding the Darfur crisis. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell reported to the U.S. Senate's Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday that the Sudanese government in Khartoum and the Janjaweed, or Arab militia under the government's control, is committing ``genocide'' against the people of Darfur, in the western region of Sudan. Ismail rebuffed the accusation against Sudanese government involvement in the "genocide'' as totally groundless.

"Of course there is a humanitarian crisis in Darfur. But is it okay to use the case for immoral political agenda? The Bush administration is just trying to detract the world's attention from Iraq, where their soldiers are dying and the prisoners of Abu Graib are being immorally and sexually abused,'' the minister said, accusing the U.S. of applying double standards to Iraq and Sudan.

He also pointed to the relatively lukewarm reaction from other parts of the world, such as members of the African Union (AU) and European countries, to the Darfur crisis. "Other delegations from AU, European and Arab countries have also been welcomed into our country to assess the situation, but it is only the U.S. who uses the term "genocide'' to describe the situation in Darfur,'' he said.

WILL GOVERNMENT OF SUDAN BE OVERTHROWN OR ARRESTED? If not, what assurances do they have that this will not happen?

Pleased to see Dan back posting at Passion of the Present. He's been away from his studies at Cambridge University and spent part of summer in Paris. It sure is comforting to have another person in the UK interested in blogging the Sudan.

Dan, in the comments at his post on Sudan's response to Colin Powell declaring genocide in Darfur, replied to a comment from a reader and non-blogger called Wikus. Here is a snippet from Dan's comment, followed by my response and thoughts on the US declaring genocide in Darfur:

" ... My view - and, I think, that of Jim, Ingrid and the rest - is that the AU - backed by Western, and ideally Arab, money and logistical support, should lead the way. So we agree with Eric insofar as we want "African Union troops to bring law and order". If Khartoum let the AU run free in Darfur, and the rest of the world gave them the practical help they needed, we'd be a lot happier. But (despite occasional half-hearted comments from Khartoum, which are intended to deflect criticism rather than to actually deal with the problem) IT ISN'T HAPPENING. ..."

And, here is a copy of my comment in response:

Yes, I agree the AU, backed by Western (AU couldn't afford it otherwise), and ideally Arab, money and logistical support, should lead the way to bring law and order. Here is one of my main questions that I think also helps throw light on why *IT ISN'T HAPPENING*

The question has bothered for me for months now because I've still not found any clues to answers, from anywhere.

What will happen to the government of Sudan (GOS) when foreign troops set foot in Sudan: will there be an attempt to overpower Sudanese forces and overthrow the present regime in Khartoum?

And, if not -- (which I think is the case because if anything, present regime is experienced and useful in counter terrrorism - I don't think we'd touch their oil with a ten foot barge pole for a long time - it's too expensive anyway - nor do I believe the US or UK or any other Western country are out to destablise Sudan, overthrow present regime - steal things - colonise them - turn them into Christians - or have motives that are anti Islam) -- what assurances do GOS have that this will not happen?

From what I can gather, the West is interested in peace for a united Sudan and wants to help because (apart from being useful on counter terrrorism) a stable Sudan will help Africa become less of a tinderbox and will benefit everyone all round. I believe their main interest is in a secure and stable, independent, prosperous Sudan that may even eventually lead to democracy - and grow into a country that everyone can do deals and business with.

I've said this before somewhere in the comments here, it seems (to me) GOS are resisting offers to help with security and disarmament to bring law and order -- out of fear that they (GOS) will lose what control they have left and be overpowered and overthrown.

How can such assurances be given to Khartoum while accusations of genocide are being directed at them and who can give the assurances?

If the latest US draft resolution calling for an investigation in genocide is approved by the UNSC, it would mean GOS face the next few years with fear and uncertainty as to whether they will be jailed and brought to international court.

And, even if GOS were given assurances that they'd remain safely in power (as long as they proved fit to govern), they could fear retribution from Arab tribes and militia who may attempt to eliminate GOS in retaliation for names of perpetrators being handed to UN investigators or AU missions.

Seems (to me anyway) GOS is cornered and in between a rock and a hard place. They probably fear being damned if they do (allow in peacekeepers with Chapter 7 mandate) and damned if they don't (they know they can't control the violence or rein in the Arab tribal leaders, militia and bandits or close down the so-called Janjaweed camps). From what I've read, the Arab tribal leaders don't feel the need to take orders from Khartoum - they do what they will, as each of them lord it over their own areas of the Sudan and rule the villagers and nomads by fear and benevolance.

It would appear the safest bet for Khartoum would be to allow only AU observers (that they know they can have some control over) but no-one else -- ever.

So my question is, does anyone know what the international community are doing to address GOS fears, if they are unfounded?

If two gangs are fighting to the death then someone (usually police) has to intervene. But if that fails -- then mediators are brought in. Perhaps this is the role that the President of the AU is taking, but how can GOS know he is to be trusted (he has 52 other nations plus UN etc on his side - who does Khartoum have on its side that it can trust?)

Seems Khartoum need to be given assurances through a mediator they trust - that if GOS can prove itself as fit to govern, it won't be overthrown or face trial -- plus reassurances on how the situation is to be handled after the Peace Accords are signed so that Arab tribal leaders, janjaweed, bandits, outlaws or whatever don't start another war.

Personally, I cannot see how the so-called Janjaweed can be disarmed. I've read they are like the Klu Klux Klan -- they are civilians that wear a sort of uniform, and when they take if off they disappear into the background and meld into society, mingling and living amongst ordinary folk.

At any time the perpetrators of atrocities could (and may already have done so) disappear into countries bordering Sudan and sneak back in when the time is right. Seems the outlaws and bandits don't have paid jobs. They make their living by banditry, stealing and looting. I've read that their culture makes them too proud to accept any form of help or aid; their macho upbringing forces them provide for their own, even if it means stealing from others, at any cost. These fit young men ought to be brought into the fold of the New Sudan and be given opportunities to become gainfully employed - ie trained as proper police, soldiers, or help build infrastructure etc.

Sudan has so much to look forward to once the Peace Accords are signed. Massive contracts have been signed to lay new oil pipes, build roads and railways to help food and aid flow, banks are opening, New Sudan Pound is being minted, flags and license plates produced... huge tranches of development funding are waiting to be released by the international community - as soon as Peace Accords are signed - to help the united and New Sudan develop basic infrastructure and enable it to take its natural resources and goods to market.

Seems it's better the devil you know - than the devil you don't know. Surely the present regime in Khartoum needs to be made to feel less insecure and more at ease and comfortable with the Darfur peace talks and agreements on power sharing, security issues etc for the newly united Sudan. GOS must be paranoid by now -- it surprises me they've not yet cracked up under the pressure.

Having said all of that: I don't believe a case for genocide against them will go to court, for the reasons I have just given. I think it is being used as part of a carrot and stick strategy. If my hunch is anywhere near correct, then GOS may as well (if they haven't already received it) be given cast iron assurances -- as quickly as possible -- so the violence stops immediately -- and the Peace Accords can be negotiated thoroughly and properly -- and once they are signed -- for thousands of peacekeepers to be allowed in to monitor ceasefire agreements by both sides to give every chance of lasting peace.

PS As to Wikus' question re why the Darfur conflict started so close to the finalisation of the north-south peace deal -- I am still curious as to why GOS saw fit all along to exclude western Sudan from the peace deal, which is why, it would seem the rebels took up arms in protest for their voices to be heard and for Darfur not to be marginalised, neglected but properly taken into account.

US POSITIVE DRAFT WILL BE ADOPTED AFTER SOME AMENDMENTS: UNSC members object to Darfur resolution

Sorry this post is another quick filing of notes for future reference. Need more time to read and sift through a list of online reports. Still no commentary here yet in this new blog. Not had a chance to insert links in sidebar here. Or develop style. Current posts here, for the moment, are part of an information gathering exercise.

Past four months of online reports and press cuttings to sort out. My new blogs are a way of quickly separating the reports into a five more stacks, sticking them into the electronic equivalent of a plastic sleeve, labelled with yellow post-it.

Titles of posts here at Sudan Watch, Congo Watch and Uganda Watch are serving as post-it notes, links within each post are the press clippings.

As time goes on, each post will be updated and added to with notes that I find when I start working on sifting through my drafts email folder. At the moment, it contains almost 344 "drafts". Seems everything I drag in from the Internet, ends up in my email drafts folder. The folder is littered with draft posts, abandoned posts, future posts, reports, notes and ideas.

Perhaps I need to take an extended blogging break to sort, sift, bin and tidy -- plus tweak template of main blog and change my other blogs into the same design.
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US positive draft will be adopted after some amendments

Here is a September 11, 2004, report UNSC members object to Darfur resolution that I've edited concerning latest on UN security council and draft of new US resolution

Several UN Security Council members objected on Thursday to a US draft resolution that threatens oil sanctions against Sudan but they supported a large African Union force in the country’s Darfur region.

US Ambassador John Danforth expects the draft to be adopted, perhaps next week and with some revisions. He said support for a large African Union monitoring mission in Darfur, expected to reach 3,000, was crucial to observe and stop abuses by its very presence in the country. “I am very encouraged by the meeting,” Danforth said. “The importance of getting an outside presence into Darfur to monitor the situation is something that is impossible to overstate.”

China threatened to use its veto power against the resolution if changes were not made to the text, objecting mainly to the specific sanctions threats. “The draft as it stands right now will not be acceptable, “ Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters.

A minimum of nine votes and no veto is needed for adoption in the 15-member council.

The resolution, which calls for an expanded African force, threatens punitive measures “in the petroleum sector” as well as against individual Sudanese officials if atrocities continue or Khartoum does not cooperate with the monitors. But it does not give a deadline.

Pakistan strongly opposed the text, including the sanctions threat as well as a provision calling for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to set up an inquiry that would determine if genocide had taken place. Russia and Angola also raised concerns. Germany and Britain were strong supporters of the text. Chile, Benin, Romania, France and Spain made positive comments. France questioned the need for sanctions threats at this time.

Danforth said sanctions needed to stay in the text because Sudan would not respond if there was no pressure and might delay or “stiff” the African Union force. “The possibility of sanctions must be out there,” he said. “Tens of thousands of people have been killed, people have been gang raped.” He said the Sudanese military was “complicit” in the attacks. “It’s got to stop.”

HELP AFRICA: CANCEL ALL DEBTS TO THE WEST - Mbeki discusses Darfur with Bush

End exploitation by multinationals

The World Socialist Web Site states their aim is to build a socialist movement of working people in Africa and internationally. Here is an excerpt from a September 11, 2004, piece and set of articles entitled An exchange on Sudan's Darfur conflict:

" ... The international unity of working people against the profit system is the only way to deal with regimes like that in Sudan and throughout Africa. Nationalism, accepting the division of the continent into a patchwork of competing and antagonistic nation states, has been shown to be a dead end. There is not a single national government in Africa that will come to the aid of the people in Darfur unless it has finance and backing from the West, and will benefit the interests of its own elite. The answer to the disastrous situation facing people in many parts of Africa, not only Darfur, is to break the grip of imperialism, cancel all debts to the West, end the exploitation by the multinationals, and develop the vast productive resources in the interests of working people. It means an alliance with the working class of the imperialist countries, as opposed to placing any confidence in the imperialist rulers and their governments. ..."
- - -

Mbeki discusses Darfur with Bush

Sorry, no time to post commentary here. Just filing a copy of this September 10 report, for future reference:

US President George Bush on Friday discussed the situation in Sudan's violence-wracked Darfur region with South African President Thabo Mbeki, said a White House spokesperson.

The two leaders "discussed Darfur and they discussed the African Union efforts in the Darfur region" as well as Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo's meeting with Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir," said Scott McClellan.

Bush and Mbeki also "agreed on the need to move forward on completion of a free trade agreement between the United States and the Southern African Customs Union", McClellan said as Bush made a reelection campaign stop here.

"They also discussed the importance of addressing the situations in the Congo and Zimbabwe," said McClellan.

Bush also thanked Mbeki "for the recent steps South Africa has taken to pursue individuals and firms associated with the A.Q. Khan network", the nuclear proliferation group run by the father of Pakistan's nuclear programme, he said.
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The Arab League, UN, G8, EU and CAP

Notes to self: Algeria is the lone Arab member of the UN Security Council.

Explore scrapping of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and cancellation of debts of the poorest nations in the world.

Find out who is for and against these two issues, and why.

POWELL FINDS GENOCIDE IN DARFUR: Killings in Darfur constitute genocide - "U.S. Declares Genocide in Sudan"

Breaking news from the BBC: "US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the killings in Sudan's Darfur region constitute genocide. Speaking before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Mr Powell said the conclusion was based on interviews with Sudanese refugees.

He was speaking as the UN Security Council prepared to debate a US resolution that threatens oil sanctions if Sudan does not stop the abuses. His use of the term genocide is likely to influence the diplomatic debate. The draft resolution presented by Washington is due to be discussed later on Thursday.

Mr Powell blamed the government of Sudan and pro-government Arab Janjaweed militias for the killings. "We concluded that genocide has been committed in Darfur and that the government of Sudan and the Janjaweed bear responsibility and genocide may still be occurring," Mr Powell said.

The Sudanese government says it believes Sudan's allies within the UN will not agree to sanctions."

Update: More via Reuters "U.S. Declares Genocide in Sudan"

AU OBSERVERS' FINDINGS - need to be publicised for the world to know: Sudan hinders African mission to protect Darfur

Jim Moore has picked up on my post about the continuing duplicity of the government of Sudan toward the African Union observers and why the African Union observers' findings need to be publicised for the world to know that Sudan is hindering the African mission to protect Darfur.

SUDAN'S FORCES HAVE SEALED OFF AREA TO STARVE 20,000 TO DEATH? UN staff members evacuated from camp on July 29?

Here is a copy of a comment I have just left at Jim's post of Sep 6 (sorry still can't direct link to posts at the Passion) entitled "Crimes of the Sudenese government, oil boycotts and sanctions":

Jim, the report "The government of Sudan doesn't hide its atrocities", that you've linked to here, I found alarming. Authored by Kelly D. Askin, it was published yesterday, and again at IHT today, entitled "Sudan's government does not hide its atrocities". Kelly Askin is senior legal officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative - where the report also appears. Note these two paragraph excerpts, in particular the second:

" ... I met with survivors from nine different villages that had been attacked, although exactly how many villages were involved is unclear. I spoke with one survivor after another who told a strikingly similar story of the most recent attacks: Government planes flew overhead to view the villages, and then government vehicles attacked from the hillsides while thousands of janjaweed simultaneously set in on horseback. Most of the villages had been attacked before, and survivors had sought safety in the nearby mountains. But Sudanese policemen had gone to the mountains and used microphones to lure the civilians back to the villages, saying it was safe and offering protection.

While on the border we could hear planes and bombing just to our north. Survivors told us that a UN camp for internally displaced persons had also been attacked that Saturday and, ominously, that UN staff members had been evacuated from the camp on July 29, a week and a half before the attack. There were also reports that some 20,000 men, women, and children were trapped in the Jabal Moon mountains near Chad. Soldiers had sealed off the area to prevent their escape and to stop aid from getting through in what was apparently an attempt to starve them to death. ..."

Has anyone read elsewhere that UN staff members had been evacuated from a camp on July 29? And what about the 20,000 men, women, and children reportedly trapped in the Jabal Moon mountains near Chad? Is it true that Sudanese soldiers recently sealed off the area to prevent their escape and to stop aid from getting through in what was apparently an attempt to starve them to death? Can anyone verify this information? If it is true, why has a big deal not been made of it by the UN and news agencies?

Can anyone verify this report? The government of Sudan doesn't hide its atrocities

Here's an alarming report entitled The government of Sudan doesn't hide its atrocities. Authored by Kelly D. Askin, it was published yesterday (and again today, entitled Sudan's government does not hide its atrocities) by the International Herald Tribune. Kelly Askin is senior legal officer at the Open Society Justice Initiative. 

Check out the paragraph below that I have emboldened. Has anyone read elsewhere that UN staff members had been evacuated from a camp on July 29? And what about the 20,000 men, women, and children reportedly trapped in the Jabal Moon mountains near Chad? Is it true that Sudanese soldiers recently sealed off the area to prevent their escape and to stop aid from getting through in what was apparently an attempt to starve them to death? Can anyone verify this information? If it is true, why has a big deal not been made of it by the UN and news agencies? Here is the report, in full:

N'DJAMENA, Chad -- As Bill Frist, the majority leader of the U.S. Senate, was interviewing Darfurian refugees in Chad earlier this month, the Sudanese government and Arab janjaweed forces attacked a number of black Darfurian villages just a few miles away, over the Sudanese border. Frist was in Chad because Sudan had refused to grant him a visa, even though Khartoum had done so on earlier occasions. The timing and location of the attacks demonstrated the Sudanese government's confidence that it could act with impunity.

I was in Chad at the same time to provide parallel assistance to a U.S.- government-funded mission led by the Coalition for International Justice, to interview refugees about why they fled Darfur, and to participate in documenting and assessing the crimes they endured or witnessed before leaving. According to witnesses I interviewed, since its independence from Britain and Egypt in 1956, Sudan has systematically discriminated against its black citizens, amounting to the crimes against humanity of persecution and apartheid. It has now reached the scale of genocide - executed through violence, starvation and other means of destroying the black Africans in the Darfur region.

After interviewing five boys aged 10 to 18 who had escaped from their capture and torture by janjaweed or Sudanese government forces, I spoke with a Sudanese refugee-camp leader who had just received information that several Darfurian villages were being attacked by government and janjaweed troops. Traveling to the border the next morning, I met dozens of men, women, and children who had managed to escape the ambush and were now trickling into Chad.

I met with survivors from nine different villages that had been attacked, although exactly how many villages were involved is unclear. I spoke with one survivor after another who told a strikingly similar story of the most recent attacks: Government planes flew overhead to view the villages, and then government vehicles attacked from the hillsides while thousands of janjaweed simultaneously set in on horseback. Most of the villages had been attacked before, and survivors had sought safety in the nearby mountains. But Sudanese policemen had gone to the mountains and used microphones to lure the civilians back to the villages, saying it was safe and offering protection.

While on the border we could hear planes and bombing just to our north. Survivors told us that a UN camp for internally displaced persons had also been attacked that Saturday and, ominously, that UN staff members had been evacuated from the camp on July 29, a week and a half before the attack. There were also reports that some 20,000 men, women, and children were trapped in the Jabal Moon mountains near Chad. Soldiers had sealed off the area to prevent their escape and to stop aid from getting through in what was apparently an attempt to starve them to death.

The definition of genocide is not limited to mass killing, although that is the means that generates the most attention and outrage. The Genocide Convention of the United Nations also requires states to prevent and punish other acts committed with an intent to destroy, even partially, a racial, ethnic, national or religious group. The most common form of genocide committed in Darfur is the infliction of “slow death” through starvation and disease - an act covered under Subarticle C of the Genocide Convention, which prohibits inflicting on a group “conditions of life” calculated to result in its demise.

The government of Sudan, far from being a helpless bystander, is a leading participant in these crimes, and its soldiers and its air force are openly working hand in hand with the janjaweed. The slaughter, rape and massive destruction over the past several months were preceded by decades of systematic discrimination by Khartoum in all areas of life against black Darfurians. The government cannot be trusted to protect the civilians, much less assist them. The African Union, with the logistical and, if necessary, military support of Western democracies, must act before tens of thousands more innocent lives are lost. And justice must be pursued in order for Sudan to have any chance for a real and lasting peace.

GENERAL ROMEO D’ALLAIRE: A Broken Soldier, A Peacekeeper's Nightmare (Transcript) - and review of book "Shake Hands with the Devil"

Yesterday, I came across the following transcript while reading Crazy Canuck's blog Lost Below the 49th

The transcript, courtesy of an ABC online report dated February 7, 2001, is copied here, in full, for future reference.

A Peacekeeper's Nightmare (Transcript) (This is an unedited, uncorrected transcript.)

GENERAL ROMEO D’ALLAIRE I was just like any other person who is left homeless, screaming and yelling and crying and drinking.

TED KOPPEL, ABCNEWS He was a decorated general at the height of his military service. He’d been preparing for just such an assignment his entire career.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE I am a field commander who had knowledge of the situation on the ground, and I was not able to convince my superiors in taking the proper action.

TED KOPPEL But what happened to his mission left him haunted and nearly destroyed him.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE You will never forget this stuff. It has imposed itself in your brain forever.

TED KOPPEL Tonight, Broken Soldier, a peacekeeper’s nightmare.

ANNOUNCER From ABCNEWS, this is Nightline. Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.

TED KOPPEL I don’t know whether some times of day are worse than others for Romeo D’Allaire , but if so, this is probably one of the bad times, a time when he might be thinking about going to bed, to sleep. On the other hand, his is a nightmare that rarely ends. The memories are surely as bad or worse than any dreams might be. Romeo D’Allaire is a soldier who was caught in the middle, trapped between what he knew he ought to do and what he was being ordered to do. And no, if you think D’Allaire is a soldier taking cover behind another man’s orders, you are wrong. Almost alone among those who might have shared the blame for what happened, retired Lieutenant General Romeo D’Allaire accepts his blame fully. And the source of his personal anguish is not what he did, but what he failed to do.

He was, in the spring of 1994, field commander of a United Nations peacekeeping force. He is a Canadian. His force of peacekeepers was made up of international troops, a couple of thousand men, sparsely armed, adequate perhaps for policing a cease-fire, if both sides had been committed to observing it, but totally inadequate for stopping a campaign of genocide. General D’Allaire warned his superiors in New York. He predicted what would happen. He begged for help. But when his warnings were ignored, when help was denied, when the US government, which could have made a difference, refused to, then General D’Allaire and his men stood by and watched as 800,000 people were slaughtered. As Kevin Newman reports, Romeo D’Allaire has never been able to get those images out of his mind.

KEVIN NEWMAN, ABCNEWS (VO) It was a mission Lieutenant General Romeo D’Allaire was eager to command. He was at the prime of his military career when the United Nations put him in charge of its Rwandan peacekeeping mission. His command in Rwanda earned him a promotion when he returned to Ottawa. He was about to be Canada’s next chief of defense staff, the country’s top soldier.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE Did a good job, not too bad. You know, work hard and you’ll get through it. Don’t worry, Romeo because—and all I was doing was driving myself right into the ground.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) His career unraveled in the spring, the day after his 54th birthday.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE I walked down one of the main roads here in Ottawa for about an hour. I stopped and bought a bottle of scotch. And I walked to the—to the park, sat on the bench, and I was reliving my mission. The booze was—I mean I was just drinking it like that out of the bottle. And I was just like any other rubby-dub or person who is left homeless, screaming and yelling and crying and drinking. I was screaming for them to kill me.

KEVIN NEWMAN So what happened? Well, the story of Romeo D’Allaire is much more than the personal tragedy of a broken man. As a peacekeeper, he found himself alone amid forces too powerful for one man to overcome, a nation in the madness of genocide and a world largely indifferent to it. It was and is the peacekeeper’s nightmare.

(VO) It begins, as it usually does, with the dream of something better. When the United Nations peacekeepers started arriving at Rwanda’s main airport in the fall of 1993, it was for a routine mission to monitor a cease-fire between two warring sides, the Hutu-led government and Tutsi opposition. It didn’t last.

SOLDIER (From file footage) Hit the deck!

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) Within months, UN soldiers were being ambushed and killed. Western governments panicked, ordering their soldiers to abandon the mission.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE (From file footage) It’s simply going to get messier, I suspect, until we get a cease-fire.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) At the UN peacekeeping compound in Rwanda’s capital, Romeo D’Allaire tried to regain control.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE My force was withering. I had no capability to defend any onslaught. I mean, we couldn’t defend the airport. We couldn’t even defend the headquarters with enough troops because every minute passing, nations were—capitals were calling their troops and giving them orders.

1ST MAN (Foreign language spoken)

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) With the attacks continuing, D’Allaire heard reports that Hutu authorities were registering all Tutsis in the country for the purpose, he faxed UN headquarters in New York, ‘of their extermination.’ It was a warning of the genocide that would begin three months later. Hutu extremists butchered Tutsis and Hutu moderates by the hundreds of thousands. The roads were blood soaked and littered with bodies. Bloated corpses floated in rivers. Terrified refugees ran to camps so vast there were people as far as the eye could see. The killers entered the camps and murdered some more. The United Nations and its peacekeeping force of now barely 400 were helpless.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE Now when you look at those people as they are dying of hunger and thirst, women having chil—children and dying right there, when you go to the sites where massacres had already been and the people are still, you know, injured and a bit alive, and you look at them, you know what you see in their eyes, what I saw in their eyes? Bewilderment. They saw me. They saw what was happening, and they were saying, ‘What happened? What happened?’

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) What happened is that Romeo D’Allaire’s warning was ignored. His desperate appeal to intervene before the killing started was rejected by UN peacekeeping headquarters, led at the time by the current secretary-general Kofi Annan, who did not believe that there was support among the members for more involvement. As a peacekeeper, D’Allaire was told he could not take sides. He had to remain impartial. He was ordered by UN headquarters to meet with the very same authorities who were sanctioning the killings.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE How can I negotiate with a person who’s just finished slashing and hacking people? How do I make a joke with him? How do I plead with him? How come I didn’t take my pistol out and blow a hole right in the middle of his forehead? And do that day in and day out. What stops you from doing that? And is it moral to do that?

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) Journalist Carol Off, who has just published a book on UN peacekeeping, says institutionalized impartiality is its greatest failing.

CAROL OFF, AUTHOR The worst that the United Nations has done is create something that they call ‘moral equivalency,’ where the easiest way to keep a peacekeeping force operating in a country is to pretend that both sides are equal, to look at them as moral equivalents, to not see them as good guys and bad guys. And that’s where we failed in Rwanda. That’s where we failed in Bosnia.

UNDER-SECRETARY GENERAL UN PEACEKEEPING JEAN-MARIE asdf GUEHENNO I prefer to speak about impert—impartiality than—than neutrality.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) The head of UN peacekeeping today says many hard lessons have been learned from the failures, but the guiding principle of involvement remains the same.

JEAN-MARIE GUEHENNO You can’t say that one side is right and the other side is—is wrong. You have to come to a—an arrangement—a political arrangement where the peacekeeping operation then can—can deploy.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) For the soldiers involved, being impartial can be personally devastating. In Bosnia, the blue-helmeted UN stood by for years while violence engulfed the lives of thousands. The final horror was when Dutch peacekeepers stood passively as Serbs separated women and children from the men of Srebrenica. The men were then exterminated. Just as in Rwanda, UN peacekeepers were forbidden to act.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE An individual sergeant or corporal who witnesses such actions who cannot use force goes through a mental crash. His moral values, his ethical values, his religious beliefs are all brought together and they’re all crashing against the rules of engagement and against the use of force, which he considers the natural means to solve it. And so that enormity, it—it’s your whole being.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) All soldiers witness horror. Peacekeepers have the added burden of following orders to stand by and simply watch.

TED KOPPEL As the weeks went on, the horrors in Rwanda worsened, and General D’Allaire’s pleas for help grew more desperate. That in part two of Kevin Newman’s report when we come back.

ANNOUNCER This is ABCNEWS: Nightline, brought to you by...

(Commercial break)

TED KOPPEL General D’Allaire’s warning that Hutus were preparing to slaughter Tutsis by the thousands had gone unanswered by the United Nations and its members, and soon his warning was a reality, as Kevin Newman explains in part two of his report.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) It went on for three months. The killers had nothing to fear. No one was stopping them even though news reports were revealing to the world the horror and magnitude of the genocide. General Romeo D’Allaire was now openly pleading for help.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE I need food, medicine, and material for two million people, and I got to stockpile it now. Because, ladies and gentlemen, if I may say in conclusion, we’re all late. We’re already weeks and weeks late.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) D’Allaire was saddled with peacekeepers from countries that sent no weapons with them or ways to house or feed them. There was only one country that could help. Only one country has the capability of moving troops and material fast enough and imposing order on chaos quickly, the United States. And it was refusing to get involved.

(OC) So by being involved, could the United States have prevented more of the killing in Rwanda?

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE Oh, absolutely. I only asked. I was down to barely 2,000 by then. And I asked only for 3,000 more combat troops. We could have nipped it.

KEVIN NEWMAN Why didn’t we act?

RICHARD HOLBROOKE You have to ask the people who were there. I’m—I don’t know. I find it inconceivable that the United States blocked action in the Security Council.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) Richard Holbrooke was the Clinton administration’s last UN ambassador. Its first, Madeleine Albright, said during the months of killing, it was impossible to confirm that an organized campaign of genocide was under way. The State Department acknowledged it only as it was ending and 800,000 were already dead.

1ST WOMAN (From June 10 1994 file footage) We have every reason to believe that acts of genocide have occurred.

2ND MAN (From June 10 1994 file footage) How many acts of genocide does it take to make genocide?

KEVIN NEWMAN The United States isn’t merely one member of the United Nations. It is arguably the most influential. So in the judgment of many, it is inconceivable that the United States didn’t know the magnitude of the Rwandan genocide since reports of it had been circulating in this building for months. The reasonable conclusion then is that the US chose not to help the peacekeepers. And the consequences of that were horrific.

(VO) America was still traumatized by another peacekeeping mission in another African country a year earlier, Mogadishu, Somalia, where 18 US rangers were killed and some brutalized.

RICHARD HOLBROOKE Mogadishu was a powerful driving force in American foreign policy ever since it occurred in October of 1993. It has deeply affected the shape of the American political debate over our involvement in peacekeeping.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) From that point forward, the Clinton administration declared US troops would only be involved in peacekeeping missions that were in America’s national interest. The Bush administration is looking to tighten the definition further. Not getting involved, in the opinion of at least one peacekeeper, ensures the nightmare of Rwanda will be repeated.

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE That cost is the cost of being a world power. Abdicating that is turning into a self-centered power in itself. And it is going to shrink the superpower.

RICHARD HOLBROOKE We have two choices, abandon the UN and watch it get worse, or make the UN effective through high efforts to reform it.

CAROL OFF Other countries have come to terms with this and realized that we can’t only be interested in our own country, our own national security. We must intervening to—in the interest of humanity.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) Almost five years after one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century, President Clinton went to Rwanda to apologize for not responding sooner.

PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON (From file footage) We did not immediately call these crimes by their rightful name, genocide.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) But Romeo D’Allaire is alone among the players in this tragedy in accepting responsibility for what happened. Tranquilizers and antidepressants, nine pills a day, which settle his mind, but not his conscience.

(OC) When people tell you you did all you could, what does that mean to you?

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE Nothing. In fact, I find it very negative. I am a field commander who had knowledge of the situation on the ground and I was not able to convince my superiors in—in—in taking the proper action to prevent this genocide. You live always with the dimension that you don’t have long to live. For me, it’s like, go to Carnegie Hall, huge, black curtains are coming. You know how they come to the middle and then they they swing around all around and, you know, envelope someone. And so they’re coming. You just don’t have much time. And so...

KEVIN NEWMAN Before you lose control again or what? I don’t understand. Before what?

ROMEO D’ALLAIRE To—To—to be either lucid or to kill yourself.

KEVIN NEWMAN (VO) This is Kevin Newman for Nightline in Ottawa.

TED KOPPEL When we come back, an American politician who tried but failed to gain support for General D’Allaire and the peacekeepers in Rwanda.

(Commercial break)

TED KOPPEL Until his retirement in 1997, Paul Simon served his home state of Illinois in the US Senate for 12 years. He is now a professor at Southern Illinois University and joins us from our Chicago bureau.

You tried to get in touch with the White House?

PAUL SIMON, DEMOCRAT, FORMER SENATOR ILLINOIS I did. I called—I chaired the Subcommittee on Africa. The ranking Republican was Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont. When we heard what was starting to happen in Rwanda, we got on the phone to General D’Allaire, who is—who is one of the few heroes in this whole tragic, tragic story. And he told us, he said, ‘If I can get 5,000 to 8,000 troops quickly,’ he said, ‘We can put a stop to this thing.’

TED KOPPEL Now, you called—you called the White House. Whom did you try to reach?

PAUL SIMON Well, I—what I did was, Jim Jeffords and I signed a letter. We had it hand delivered to the White House that afternoon urging immediate action, leadership in the Security Council.

TED KOPPEL And wher—where and when did you hear back?

PAUL SIMON And I didn’t hear anything for a week or 10 days. And then I called the White House and talked to someone. I remember I tried to reach Tony Lake, who was the only high level person in the White House who knew anything about Africa.

TED KOPPEL He was the national security adviser to the president at that point.

PAUL SIMON That is correct. And...

TED KOPPEL But—but he wouldn’t talk to you.

PAUL SIMON Well, he wasn’t there at that point.

TED KOPPEL Well, I mean, presumably they could have reached him, right?

PAUL SIMON Well, I don’t know what happened. Anyway, I talked to someone else. And the—the basic message was there isn’t a base of public support for doing anything in Africa. It was a tragically anemic response.

TED KOPPEL And you’re saying that—that the general was asking for somewhere between 5,000 and 8,000 troops, I mean, in the—in the taped report that we just saw he said 3,000 would have made a difference. Why do you believe that that request was denied not just by the United States, I mean, you know, this would have been an international force presumably. We wouldn’t have had to supply all those soldiers or even the majority of them, would we?

PAUL SIMON Or maybe even none of them. If we had just asked the Security Council to act and we could have transported troops. But I would certainly have favored having some of those troops be American troops. I think the—the lesson of Somalia that you’ve heard about before, you know, we learned the wrong lesson. Hundreds of thousands of lives were saved in Somalia. It’s one of the finest things that former President Bush did.

TED KOPPEL In point of fact, later on, the United States did become involved in the Balkans and—and sent the US Air Force, together with other NATO air forces, to bomb over Kosovo and Serbia. I have to ask the question, and it is probably going to be the last question I can ask you on this, is—is there racism involved here? I mean, it sure seems as though there is.

PAUL SIMON I...

TED KOPPEL It’s easier to let Africans die than to let Europeans die?

PAUL SIMON It should be added that we moved much too late in the Balkans also. But, there is racism. There is another political factor and that is because of slavery, the roots of African Americans were severed from their countries in Africa. So when as a senator I visited in a Greek community in Chicago, people ask me what I’m doing to help Greece or visit a Jewish community, they ask what I’m doing to help Israel, Polish community, Poland. When I visit an African-American community, hardly anyone asks about Africa because there isn’t a sense of identity with Rwanda or Senegal or any other country.

TED KOPPEL Do you think we’ve learned anything at all?

PAUL SIMON I don’t know. And when I—when I hear that we’re only going to respond when there’s a strategic interest involved, humanity is our strategic interest. If we can—if we’re going to see massive slaughters of people and we’re not going to do anything, but we will move if there’s oil or something like that involved, then we haven’t learned much of a lesson.

TED KOPPEL Senator Simon, I thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Good of you to..

PAUL SIMON Thank you.

TED KOPPEL Good of you to come in.

I’ll be back in a moment.

(Commercial break)

TED KOPPEL Tomorrow on “World News Tonight,” a giant tobacco company spending more money publicizing its good works than it spends on the good works themselves. The money trail, tomorrow on “World News Tonight.”

And that’s our report for tonight. I’m Ted Koppel in Washington. For all of us here at ABCNEWS, good night.
- - -

Note to self to get the book Shake Hands with the Devil : The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda and explore similar items.

Review - courtesy Amazon.com:

Lt. General Roméo Dallaire is revered by Canadians everywhere. When I finished the book, I could understand why. Here was a man who screamed into the void. No one listened, no one cared, no one heard. But he never stopped screaming. He valued every human life. He wept for every human loss. He never gave up.
Stephen Lewis in The Walrus

Using the detailed daily notes that were taken by his assistant in the field, Gen. Dallaire painstakingly recreated the events leading up to the genocide and provides a minute-by-minute account of the eruption of bloodshed in April, 1994, as his pleas for reinforcements to UN headquarters in New York were ignored.
Stephanie Nolen, The Globe and Mail

Almost certainly the most important book published in Canada this year.
The Globe and Mail

Shake Hands with the Devil is both an exorcism and a scathing indictment. With all the powerful immediacy of an open wound, Shake Hands with the Devil is the most important non-fiction book of the year.
The Vancouver Sun

It [is] a story of international indifference and political failure, but it [is] also one of the most profoundly disturbing tales of the century.
The Ottawa Citizen

With considerable effort, pain and sacrifice, retired Lieutenant-General Romeo Dallaire has provided us with an insider?s account of how he struggled with one of the most horrific events in the 20th century while an indifferent world and an incompetent United Nations looked on. Hopefully, this well written and comprehensive book represents the last chapter in Dallaire's painful Rwandan journey.
The National Post

Shake Hands with the Devil [is] one of the year's, if not the decade?s, most important events in Canadian publishing.... Dallaire gives us something to believe in. That he has done so with his eyes and heart wide open to the worst our species has to offer is a monumental achievement. Shake Hands with the Devil delivers this remarkable man and his story to us.
Vancouver Sun; Times-Colonist (Victoria)

[O]n the enormously important issue of Third World development and the moral obligation of the Western world to assist the dispossessed, [Shake Hands With The Devil] is a powerful cri de coeur for the powerless, and a gut-wrenching description of what really happened during those awful months 10 years ago.
The Toronto Star

Dallaire, the proud, dedicated Canadian in charge of that mission, a man of deep humanitarian conviction.
The Ottawa Citizen

The very spareness of the prose reflects a supreme effort at self-mastery and heightens the anguish described....He manages to convey the full horror of the genocide in relatively few passages of extraordinary, wrenching lyric power....This is a book to read to understand what genocide means, to relect on the failure of *humanity,* and to be inspired by the courage of the few in the face of genocidal horror and international indifference.
The Gazette

With the best intentions in the world, we asked Romeo Dallaire to inhabit an unspeakable world for us, to witness horrors beyond imagining, to carry a moral burden that no one person should ever have had to shoulder. He has now done us the immeasurable service of setting out in print what price that burden exacted on his mind and his soul.
The Gazette

Anyone wondering whether the United Nations still has a role to play ought to be reading Romeo Dallaire's long-awaited account of the Rwandan massacre. Shake Hands with the Devil is a harsh, uncompromising account of a great catastrophe - one the great powers saw coming and chose not to prevent. This is an important book.
Edmonton Sun

As painful as Shake Hands with the Devil is to read, it is impossible to imagine the agony it author had to go through to write it. What he witnessed, what he was incapable of stopping, would have broken anyone. Dallaire?s condemnation of the free world is stark and uncompromising. It is impossible to read this memoir, written in meticulous detail, without feeling sick and without feeling rage.
Calgary Herald

[A] powerful story of leadership and sacrifice, of moral and physical courage, and a deep love of humanity. In short, a story of a fine soldier and a hero.
The Edmonton Journal

This is an important book because it is a factual record of the genocide of recent times?. So we encounter with him the misery and chaos and the sheer unadulterated terror of living through an unnecessary and avoidable atrocity?. Read this book and rediscover if you have lost it, your capacity for moral outrage.
Winnipeg Free Press

Shake Hands with the Devil, Dallaire?s powerfully eloquent reconstruction of genocide, [is] a haunting story of evil?.That he has survived and found a way to write about those events is a triumph. Not a book for the faint of heart, perhaps. But Shake Hands with the Devil should be mandatory reading for Western leaders and citizens of every country that pays lip service to the peacekeeping ideals and the sanctity of human life.?
The Chronicle-Herald (Halifax)

[A]n almost day-by-day chronology of the horror?. Dallaire has written an emotional, often bitter book, moving and tragic.
The Telegram (St. John's)

[Dallaire's] passionate, disturbing memoir of those awful days is harrowing reading. It is a savage book. But his humanity shines through, unlike so many others tainted by the blood of innocents.
?The Calgary Sun

[Shake Hands with the Devil] is an affidavit for an indictment - an indictment of the murderers, the hamstrung, bureaucratized UN, and the self-absorbed developed world?. If Shake Hands with the Devil serves as an introduction to the Rwandan genocide, even for those only voyeuristically in what happened to a Canadian general, it has surpassed its original intent. For all this, Romeo Dallaire emerges as our post-Cold War hero.
Quill & Quire

To read his soul-searching book is to feel a rush of empathy with its author. It is also to confront uncomfortable truths. Shake Hands with the Devil is an uncommonly courageous work, wrung from the depths of despair and wrought in plain, forthright prose. Abroad in the world, the Canadian humanitarian needs a saint?s compassion, a scholar's knowledge, and a soldier's strength. Bravely and passionately, Romeo Dallaire has shown us where to start.
Literary Review of Canada

In his book, Shake Hands with the Devil, Dallaire has documented the callousness and inertia that precluded military intervention in Rwanda. The book is a scathing indictment of the United Nations and its member countries and a dire warning of the consequences to be expected when we choose to not get involved.
?The Hamilton Spectator

Retired Lieutenant General Romeo Dallaire has writeen a book that is sure to mark all those that read it. Shake Hands With the Devil is a book with a message. LGen Dallaire?s *cri du coeur* is a must read.
The Edmonton Sun

There's something about [Shake Hands With the Devil] that is Shakespearean - this sincere soul with a solid heart who tries to do the right thing while the rest of the world cynically covers their butts.
Michael Donovan, interviewed in The Globe and Mail

[a] remarkable book. I hope Canadians will read this book?Dallaire does not spare us any of the details, for which, once again, thank you!...Read this book! Thank you, again, Dallaire ? not just for the book, but also your service to Canada and the world.
The Guelph Mercury

Product Description:
On the tenth anniversary of the date that UN peacekeepers landed in Rwanda, Random House Canada is proud to publish the unforgettable first-hand account of the genocide by the man who led the UN mission. Digging deep into shattering memories, General Dallaire has written a powerful story of betrayal, naïveté, racism and international politics. His message is simple and undeniable: “Never again.”

When Lt-Gen. Roméo Dallaire received the call to serve as force commander of the UN intervention in Rwanda in 1993, he thought he was heading off on a modest and straightforward peacekeeping mission. Thirteen months later he flew home from Africa, broken, disillusioned and suicidal, having witnessed the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandans in only a hundred days. In Shake Hands with the Devil, he takes the reader with him on a return voyage into the hell of Rwanda, vividly recreating the events the international community turned its back on. This book is an unsparing eyewitness account of the failure by humanity to stop the genocide, despite timely warnings.

Woven through the story of this disastrous mission is Dallaire’s own journey from confident Cold Warrior, to devastated UN commander, to retired general engaged in a painful struggle to find a measure of peace, reconciliation and hope. This book is General Dallaire’s personal account of his conversion from a man certain of his worth and secure in his assumptions to a man conscious of his own weaknesses and failures and critical of the institutions he’d relied on. It might not sit easily with standard ideas of military leadership, but understanding what happened to General Dallaire and his mission to Rwanda is crucial to understanding the moral minefields our peacekeepers are forced to negotiate when we ask them to step into the world’s dirty wars.

Excerpt from Shake Hands with the Devil

My story is not a strictly military account nor a clinical, academic study of the breakdown of Rwanda. It is not a simplistic indictment of the many failures of the UN as a force for peace in the world. It is not a story of heroes and villains, although such a work could easily be written. This book is a cri de coeur for the slaughtered thousands, a tribute to the souls hacked apart by machetes because of their supposed difference from those who sought to hang on to power. . . . This book is the account of a few humans who were entrusted with the role of helping others taste the fruits of peace. Instead, we watched as the devil took control of paradise on earth and fed on the blood of the people we were supposed to protect.

Product Details:
• Hardcover: 584 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (October 10, 2004)
• ISBN: 0786714875

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