Bloggers unite to support Darfur peacekeeping mission - a troika of 30,000 forces from Sudan, New Sudan and UN/AU

My most favourite blogger Jim Moore (who, sad to say, hasn't blogged much since this great post) is back on track with another brilliant big gun idea.

Here it is, in the following copy of his latest post at Passion of the Present April 21, titled "Sudanwatch on the SPLM's offer to help in Darfur..and hey, maybe the Genocide Intervention Fund should raise money for the SPLM/A to intervene in Darfur.."

Ok, here is a really interesting idea, highlighted by Ingrid Jones over at the terrific Sudan Watch blog. Now combine this with the Genocide Intervention Fund, and we might have something.

South Sudan: SPLM/A willing and ready to deploy 10,000 of its troops to Darfur

On April 11, 2005 southern Sudan former rebel group SPLM/A issued a statement making clear its position on UN resolution 1593 [re ICC] rejected by Khartoum, and reaffirming its offer to help with security in Darfur as well as assisting Darfur and eastern Sudan to achieve a settlement along the lines of the comprehensive peace agreement for southern Sudan.

According to the statement, the SPLM/A stands in solidarity with all the marginalised people of Sudan and urges both the UN and Government of Sudan to sit down to agree on the next steps to resolve the impasse in a manner that will achieve both peace and justice in Darfur. Excerpt:

"The SPLM wishes also to reaffirm its willingness and readiness to help on the two tracts of security and political settlement in Darfur. In this regard the SPLM renews its offer of deploying 10,000 SPLA troops in Darfur drawn from its component of the Joint Integrated Units (JIU's) that are stipulated in the CPA. Under this scheme, the GOS would also deploy 10,000 troops. From its component of the JIU's while the AU upgrades its present contingent in Darfur to 10,000 troops. A tripartite command structure from GOS, SPLM and AU would then be formed to command the combined force, with logistical support from the international community. This combined force would be robust enough to provide security, stabilize Darfur and enhance prospects for a fair and just political settlement as well as forestall foreign interventions."

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Open Letters to President of Sudan Blog

Here's pinging a note to Jim: Thanks for above post - great - just what I needed. A few days ago, I was on the verge of giving up blogging about Darfur. Posting nearly every day for one year seemed pointless and too disheartening. So many rubbish news reports and propaganda around. Politicians and bloggers don't have much to say. It was sickening seeing Darfur news reports churned out again like a repeat from last year ... shortage of food ... short of funds ... rainy season coming ... janjaweed still attacking. Out of frustration, I experimented with starting up a blog to post "Open Letters to the President of Sudan" in a lateral thinking effort to gain some understanding of what is really going on and why peace is taking so long. I even toyed with the idea of sending President Bashir a copy of Mahatma Gandhi's Autobiography "The Story of My Experiments With Truth" via Amazon.com. But within 24 hours, I deleted the whole thing after realising what a complete waste of time and energy it would be trying to make contact with someone who doesn't even care to understand his own people, nevermind us. I'll email you later.]
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A troika of 30,000 forces from Sudan, New Sudan and UN/AU

Last year, when John Garang first proposed an equal amount of troops, say 10,000 each, from SPLM/A, the Government of Sudan and African Union [or UN, sorry I can't recall exactly] I thought it was a great idea that might take another year to come to fruition. At that time, we thought there'd be enough AU and UN troops on the ground in Darfur by now to help the refugees return home.

Could the troika or trimvirate become a reality in two months time? With the right amount of pressure it might. How else is anarchy in Darfur to be quelled and law and order restored? Despite many politicians and diplomats working behind the scenes, helping to bring warring parties together for talks, tribal leaders included, the long awaited 1,000 AU troops for Darfur have still not arrived. [Note too here below, FT.com report says key warlords, crucial for peace in Sudan, did not turn up for talks. Pity.]

Surely a serious troika/trimvirate would be better than the military intervention option that activisits are pushing for. A force that is united to bring peace and unite Sudan would receive tons of support from the UN, EU and US [and NATO if asked by the AU] to help with disarmament and restore law and order in a fair and decent professional manner.
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Definitions of troika and triumvirate

See definitions of troika and triumvirate on the Web.
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Found on the Internet - source unknown

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "While abhorring segregation, we shall love the segregationist. This is the only way to create the beloved community."

Over and over, he stressed separating the doer from the deed. He believed this was a crucial element to nonviolent struggle not only because of the moral obligation to love our enemies, but because he knew that part of the "truth-force" that Gandhi taught was to understand that men are neither gods nor devils to be falsely exalted by either praise or scorn. A beloved community relies upon honesty and equality, which are both endangered when anyone is given the powerful and illusive label of "bad guy."
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German parliament approves deployment in southern Sudan

Today, April 22, the German parliament gave the green light to send 75 soldiers to Sudan as part of a UN mission to secure a January peace accord with southern rebels.

The deployment, initially set for six months, would be limited to southern and eastern Sudan based on a UN Security Council resolution passed in late March and approved by Khartoum this month.

The troops, mainly military observers, will join a group of 750 UN observers who form part of the contingent of 10,000 UN peacekeepers.

While the Germans will not offer any direct help to Darfur in the west of the country, they will be able to liaise with African Union troops deployed there. - via ReliefWeb Berlin April 22 (AFP)
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UK to send troops - EU ponders using troops to help quell Darfur strife

Guy Dinmore and Hubert Wetzel in Washington and Daniel Dombey, in Vilnius are doing some good reporting at FT.com.

Here is an excerpt from their latest report at the FT April 22, with additional reporting by Rob Crilly in Nairobi. [Note it says "Tony Blair, the prime minister, had made plans to send a UK contingent after the summit meeting of the Group of Eight industrialised nations he is to host in early July."]:

"French and German forces could be sent to stop the violence in Sudan's Darfur region as part of a European Union peacekeeping mission that is one of several ideas to be discussed by EU foreign ministers next week, officials said yesterday.

The proposed EU peacekeeping force would support an African Union observer mission made up largely of Nigerian and Rwandan troops already in the region but in too few numbers to have a significant impact.

The EU contingent, if agreed, was likely to give logistics support to the African observers but EU ground forces had not been ruled out, provided there was the consent of the Sudanese government and the AU, the officials said.

Analysts in Washington were sceptical of either party being able to agree or that the EU would find consensus or the available troops.

EU foreign ministers have Darfur on their agenda at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. Belgium's foreign minister, Karel de Gucht, discussed the issue in Washington this week, a Belgian spokesman said. Mr de Gucht told a separate meeting that the main issue was whether to send ground forces or just help with logistics such as airlift, helicopters and communications.

According to one participant who asked not to be named, Mr de Gucht suggested that Tony Blair, the prime minister, had made plans to send a UK contingent after the summit meeting of the Group of Eight industrialised nations he is to host in early July.

An EU official noted there was new diplomatic momentum to take action in Darfur following a successful donors' conference last week in Oslo to firm up a peace agreement signed in January to end Sudan's separate north-south civil war.

The first UN troops have started arriving in south Sudan to enforce the peace deal ending 21 years of war. Meanwhile in Nairobi attempts to reconcile warring militias with the main rebel movement and the Khartoum government ended with an appeal for unity despite the absence of key warlords.

Observers said that without figures such as Gabriel Tanginya and Paulino Matip, who both command militia blamed for abducting civilians, reconciliation attempts would be worthless."
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University of California letter-writing campaign for divestment begins

Students at UCLA are advocating pulling assets out of businesses in Sudan. Their letter-writing campaign for divestment begins today April 22.

Students will mail letters today to the University of California president and treasurer asking them to investigate the university's financial holdings and relinquish stocks held in companies that do business in Sudan, if such investment is revealed in their investigation.

Those participating in this week's letter-writing campaign, organised by the Darfur Action Committee believe that divestment can be an effective tool in persuading the country's government to change its policies, said Bridget Smith, a fourth-year international development studies student.

Adam Rosenthal, a second-year law student at UC Davis and the student regent designate for the UC Board of Regents, said it is important to know if the university holds investments in Sudan. "We have a responsibility that at least our books are clean of (the Sudanese government's) horrific policies," he said.

Divestment is a difficult policy for the UC to adopt because the university does not invest in companies individually, but rather holds stocks in an index fund comprised of a broad range of companies determined automatically by their size and nature in the market, said Trey Davis, a spokesman for the UC Office of the President.

"It's difficult to remove certain companies from an index without destroying the financial rationale for the index," he said.

Earlier this month, Harvard University announced its decision to divest financial holdings amounting to $4.4 million in PetroChina Company Limited because of the company's ties to the government in Sudan.

Edmond Keller, a UCLA political science professor, said he expects other universities will also divest, creating a "domino effect." If the divestment campaign is widespread internationally it can cause significant changes in Sudan, Keller said.

Allowing more peacekeeping forces to protect citizens in Sudan would be one significant goal that divestment efforts can potentially realise, he added.

In previous weeks, students have addressed letters to California senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, and their respective representatives asking them to sign on to the Darfur Accountability Act, which will increase diplomatic pressures on the Bush administration to address the crisis in Darfur.

Both senators and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., have co-signed the legislation, though there is no indication that efforts made by student groups prompted them to do so.
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CNPC will not inject Sudan into PetroChina-source

On the subject of global citizen activism and divestment campaigns, note this copy of a report from Singapore, April 20 Reuters:

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) will leave its oilfields in politically risky Sudan out of the assets it plans to inject into its flagship listed unit PetroChina, a source close to the plan said.

The Sudanese assets accounted for more than half of the portfolio's 12.88 million tonnes of output in 2003, and according to Deutsche Bank, they account for 52 percent of CNPC's overseas crude reserves of 1.76 billion barrels.

"The Sudanese assets are not expected to be included," the source, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters on Wednesday.

PetroChina, the country's largest oil and gas producer, said last month it might buy multi-billion dollar overseas assets from its state-owned parent. But it did not give details.

PetroChina has few assets abroad, and its crude output is flagging in ageing oil fields. A purchase of all of CNPC's overseas assets in one hit would have boosted PetroChina's output by up to 15 percent.

Analysts have expressed concerns that an injection of CNPC's Sudan assets would increase PetroChina's risk profile. [Heh.]
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Sudan's SPLM condemns govt use of force to quell students protest

A report from Khartoum yesterday, April 21 via Sudan Tribune says the SPLM led by John Garang has officially protested against the government use of force to quell students demonstrations staged for more than a week in Khartoum. Excerpt:

According to the Khartoum based newspaper Al-Mshaheer, the SPLM said it rejected any present effort aimed at toppling the regime in Khartoum "through confrontation and revolution incited by the demonstrations. "The SPLM is for reconciliation when dealing with the country's issues", it further said.

Pointing out at the students' demonstrations in Khartoum, the SPLM official spokesman, Yasir Arman, said the SPLM would reject any confrontation with the government in order to topple it. He said the time had come to implement the peace agreement.

In a discussion held in Khartoum yesterday between SPLM leaders, civil society activists and political forces, Arman said the SPLM was committed to cooperate with the ruling National Congress and "it should go on until the end with an open heart and mind".

[Let's hope they mean what they say. Material provided by the BBC Monitoring Service - SudanTribune April 22, 2005]
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Warm thanks to Sudan Watch readers

Thank you to Bidisha Banerjee for kindly mentionting this blog Sudan Watch in a post at Slate Magazine April 20 (my birthday, nice surprise thanks) and to the many others who link and email messsages. The Slate post got noticed in Las Vegas.

Hi here to Waveflux too ;)

South Sudan: SPLM/A willing and ready to deploy 10,000 of its troops to Darfur

On April 11, 2005 southern Sudan former rebel group SPLM/A issued a statement making clear its position on UN resolution 1593 [re ICC] rejected by Khartoum, and reaffirming its offer to help with security in Darfur as well as assisting Darfur and eastern Sudan to achieve a settlement along the lines of the comprehensive peace agreement for southern Sudan.

According to the statement, the SPLM/A stands in solidarity with all the marginalised people of Sudan and urges both the UN and Government of Sudan to sit down to agree on the next steps to resolve the impasse in a manner that will achieve both peace and justice in Darfur. Excerpt:

The SPLM wishes also to reaffirm its willingness and readiness to help on the two tracts of security and political settlement in Darfur. In this regard the SPLM renews its offer of deploying 10,000 SPLA troops in Darfur drawn from its component of the Joint Integrated Units (JIU's) that are stipulated in the CPA. Under this scheme, the GOS would also deploy 10,000 troops. From its component of the JIU's while the AU upgrades its present contingent in Darfur to 10,000 troops. A tripartite command structure from GOS, SPLM and AU would then be formed to command the combined force, with logistical support from the international community. This combined force would be robust enough to provide security, stabilize Darfur and enhance prospects for a fair and just political settlement as well as forestall foreign interventions.

Somaliazation of Sudan

Note, final point No. 6, in statement above - also at SPLMToday - contains the phrase "Somaliacization of Sudan." It is a typo. The word should read "Somaliazation." A quick search on google shows Somaliazation means 'the division, partition of a country'.
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UN sees AU as best choice to settle Darfur situation

Radia Achouri, spokeswoman for UN Advanced Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), said in Khartoum yesterday, April 20, that the UN sees the African Union (AU) as the best choice to settle the situation in Darfur.

At a press conference, Achouri backed her claims by citing the AU's experience in African affairs, as well as the capability and wisdom it showed in handling the security situation in Darfur.

Achouri said the AU acted as a mediator between the conflicting parties of Darfur and between disputed tribes to prevent any possible clashes. She stressed there is a need for the upcoming meeting of the AU's security council to adopt a resolution to increase the number of AU monitoring forces in Darfur. - via (Xinhua) April 20, 2005
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UN Commission approves Sudan resolution and calls for increased UN force in Darfur

The UN Human Rights Commission today, April 21, unanimously adopted a milder resolution condemning "continued, widespread and systematic" violations by both sides in Darfur, without directly blaming Khartoum for abuse or mentioning war crimes.

It also called on the Sudanese government to disarm allied militia "and to stop supporting them", called for an increased UN monitoring force in Darfur, and upgraded the status of a UN human rights expert for a year.

The resolution had support from Sudan and other African nations, the US, the European Union and others. It was approved after the EU withrdrew a more stiffly worded document.

The 53-member Commission, effectively rallied around a strengthened African motion, which also called on the government and rebels in Darfur to resume peace talks, respect a ceasefire agreement and investigate crimes.

Khartoum had warned the UN this week against appointing a special human rights rapporteur for Sudan, arguing such an "irrational" move would only complicate the Darfur crisis. But it backed down Thursday, allowing a UN "special rapporteur" to replace the existing "independent expert" with a one-year mandate.

Shortly before the draft was due to be debated in the Commission, a Luxembourg diplomat said cooperation with the African group and Sudan had "produced an agreement which offers the best chance of halting human rights violations in Sudan, which we are concerned about and which we condemn".

Commenting on the resolution passed Thursday, the UN High Commisioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said: "The substance seems very appropriate."

US delegation chief Rudy Boschwitz gave full backing to the resolution. "That it condemns those responsible for atrocities, including the government of Sudan, and that it provides for a strong mechanism for investigating ongoing human rights abuses and bringing about their end means that this Commission is, unlike last year at this time, doing its job responsibly," he added.

The EU motion withdrawn Thursday had sought condemnation of "the fact that most attacks have been deliberately and indiscriminately directed against civilians, many of them under the direct responsibility or tolerated by the government of Sudan". It had also warned that "continuing, widespread and systematic violations of human rights" in Darfur "may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity".

The final resolution was the result of weeks of heavy negotiations between the EU, the US and African nations.

The Africans agreed to remove wording that praised the Sudanese governments steps to improve the situation in Darfur, while the Western countries dropped specific condemnation of the Sudanese government. - via AP Geneva Apr 21, 2005.
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El-Waha in El Fasher will be the Falluja of Sudan

Note, the UN Situation Report for April 6 [published here during that week] states:

UNMIS officials held an introductory meeting in El Fasher with Muslim leaders from North Darfur, including the Director General of the Ministry of Social and Cultural Affairs.

During the meeting, UNMIS explained its mandate in assisting civil society in reconciliation. All participants showed a willingness to cooperate, and scheduled further information sharing meetings for the near future.

The local radio station in El Fasher announced that in a meeting with tribal leaders on 4 April, the Commissioner of El-Waha locality in El Fasher (a locality of nomadic tribes in North and part of South Darfur) rejected Security Council Resolution 1593, and proclaimed that El-Waha will be the Falluja of Sudan if any of its people are taken to the ICC.

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US risks fuelling militant Islam in Sahara

Note this excerpt from an article April 11, 2005 [via geeskaafrika.com] by Nick Tatters all, titled "US risks fuelling militant Islam in Sahara":

"The United States will only fuel a rise in Islamic militancy in countries bordering the Sahara desert if it takes a heavy-handed approach to fighting terrorism in the region, an influential think tank says.

Proselytizing Pakistani clerics, an Algerian fundamentalist group allied to al Qaeda and growing resentment of US foreign policy were causes for concern but did not make West Africa a hotbed of terrorism, the International Crisis Group (ICG) said on Thursday.

"There are enough indicators to justify caution and greater western involvement out of security interests, but it has to be done more carefully than it has been so far," ICG's West Africa project director Mike McGovern said in a report.

Mindful of the al Qaeda training camps that emerged in Afghanistan, some US officials say countries like Mali, Niger, Chad and Mauritania, which are among the world's poorest, make similarly fertile hunting ground for militants seeking recruits.

US Special Forces and military experts have trained soldiers in all four countries as part of efforts to help them fight the threat in the region's vast swathes of desert. But a military policy that offers no alternative livelihoods to already marginalised nomadic populations risked causing resentment and radicalising locals further, ICG said. Full Story.
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NATO ready to help Darfur if asked by AU

NATO is ready to help end the crisis in Darfur if asked for assistance by the African Union, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said Thursday, April 21.

The 26-nation NATO military alliance would not be sending soldiers into Darfur, Scheffer underlined at a meeting of alliance foreign ministers in Vilnius. But the organisation could provide planning and logistical support to the African Union in its efforts to end the crisis, he said.

French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier disagreed that there was a role for NATO in Darfur and stressed that Africans should retain the lead in peace efforts. "NATO does not have a calling to be the gendarme of the world," he told a news conference at the same meeting.

General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer stressed the aim was "not to have NATO boots on the ground" but to offer support.
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UN troops arrive in Sudan

A report today, April 21, from Khartoum, confirms more than 40 United Nations troops arrived in Sudan as the vanguard of a 10,000-strong UN peacekeeping force that is to support a January peace agreement which ended 21 years of civil war in the south of the country, a UN spokesperson said.

Radhia Achouri, spokesperson for UN special representative for Sudan Jan Pronk, told reporters the 44 staff officers from the multinational force arrived on Wednesday, April 20, 2005.
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Australian troops head to Sudan

The Australian government announced April 20 that it has approved fifteen Australian Defence Force personnel to be deployed for an initial period of 12 months as part of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS).

The Defence Minister Robert Hill says the group will include logistics experts, military observers and air movement specialists, and that some of them will leave Australia within days. Excerpt from Kim Landers' interview in World today April 20 with Robert Hill who said of the Australian troops:

"They're specialist roles. Three of them I know are in relation to air movements, managing, guiding the air movements of the force. The total military force including the infantry I think is about 10,000, so the logistic challenges of such a force are really quite considerable.

I suspect that the UN will be in Sudan for a long time. It's of course been a civil war that's gone on for decades; it is an historical opportunity. The fact that the international community is responding to support the peace agreement I think is very important and it is likely that we'll be requested to stay longer, we may well be requested to provide different specialised elements during the course of the UN program there.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says the UN mission that the Australians will be a part of, will also play a major role in supporting the African Union's mission to end the violence in Darfur.

Australian troops have served in UN peacekeeping missions in Africa before. Similar sized contingents have served in Mozambique between 1994 and 2002 and also in Ethiopia and Eritrea, a mission which ended earlier this year."

[Note, the UN Security Council authorised the establishment of UNMIS on March 24, 2005, after the government of Sudan and the SPLM agreed to end a civil war that has lasted for more than 20 years]
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Toyota Land Cruisers for agencies in Darfur

75 Toyota Land cruisers financed by ECHO have been approved - all of the vehicles must be used exclusively in the Darfurs.
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African Union keen to double Darfur force, says Rwanda

Excerpt from a Reuters report March 18, 2005:

"The AU is seeking to double its forces in Darfur to about 6,000 troops, a number that could stabilise Sudan's troubled western region, Rwanda's foreign minister said on Friday.

With security rapidly deteriorating, the commander of AU troops in Darfur has told Rwandan officials that a 6,000-strong force would be able to secure all major refugee camps and roads, Rwanda's Foreign Minister Charles Murigande said.

"They have asked us if we are willing to increase our participation and we have promised that we are willing. We are willing to give more troops to southern Darfur," Murigande told Reuters in an interview during a visit to Singapore.

The Nigerian commander of the AU's force in Darfur, Festus Okonkwo, told Rwandan President Paul Kagame that 6,000 troops would be enough to "bring the level of violence to probably what would be acceptable", Murigande said.

"He is talking from experience because where you have the AU force deployed, violence has stopped. Where you still have violence is in areas where you do not have AU forces," he said.
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Sudanese FM proposes "road map" to USA on Darfur

April 18, 2005 report from Khartoum (SUNA) - excerpt:

Foreign Affairs Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail revealed that the proposals the government presented to the US Administration on how to resolve the Darfur crisis were written proposals - an eight-point road map.

Regarding the interest by SPLM to participate in the Darfur peace talks at Abuja, Ismail said the government would welcome any efforts to resolve the problem, pointing out that the SPLM would be part of the government in two months time, and that if the problem would still rage on by then, the SPLM would take part in any policy on how to resolve the Darfur problem. Also, the SPLM, he said, would be part of any governmental delegation in charge of resolving the Darfur problem.

Mr Ismail said Resolution 1593 is being dealt with by the Justice Ministry which is studying it from a legal point of view and how Sudan should deal with it. However, Resolution 1590 on the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force to monitor the ceasefire in the South is being dealt with by the Foreign Ministry, he explained.

Re the AU mediation between the government and the Security Council, Ismail pointed out that it was not a mediation. Simply, he explained, Resolution 1593 gave the AU a role which is not less important than the role of the ICC, and therefore the AU is only playing the role that it is supposed to be playing to resolve the Darfur problem. The position is clear, he added, any solution must be reached inside Sudan. Therefore, any suggestion that the talks should be held in a foreign capital is out of the question, he said.

Within this context, he added, the government is continuously in contact with African leaders to find a solution. For this reason an envoy of Nigerian President Obasanjo would be arriving in the country today, and Senegalese President Abdallah Wade would be making a stop over today on his way to kuwait, he said.

Eritrean president says "war is imminent"

Eriteria is on the war path with Ethiopia. A BBC news report published at Sudan Tribune today April 21 says Sudan accuses Eriterea of wanting to create an opposition party to overthrow the Government of Sudan. Excerpt:

"All able-bodied residents of Senafe southern Eritrea have been instructed to dig trenches and, according to our source, with the message of "war is inevitable" being carried at the regional levels throughout the nation, a sense of foreboding has engulfed Eritrea.

Relations between Eritrea and Sudan are tense with the two governments frequently accusing each other of supporting opposition movements on the other's soil.

The border between the two countries has been officially closed since October 2002, when Khartoum accused Asmara of supporting an offensive led by Sudanese rebels near Kassala, in eastern Sudan.
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Ethiopia-Eritrea: UN investigates clashes on border

A report today from ReliefWeb April 21 says UN is investigating clashes on the border.
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Panel of army, party chiefs urges Eritreans to be ready for "any eventualities"

April 18 report from Eritrea via (ERINA) says a panel of army, party chiefs urged Eritreans to be read for any eventuality, fight against the enemy's psychological warfare, avoid dependence on aid and achieve food security.
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Eritrea determined to form new opposition front

April 18 Khartoum news report via Sudan Tribune claims the secretary-general of the ruling Nationa Congress (NC) Ibrahim Ahmad Omar has accused the Eritrean government of striving to create an opposition alliance to replace the Sudanese government and obstruct current efforts for reaching an agreement between the government and the opposition National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Mohamed Osman Al-Mirghani and currently based in Cairo.

He said that the Eritrean regime and Israel had begun to establish military training camps for the rebels and were harbouring leaders of the said alternative alliance, the Sudanese Al-Khartoum newspaper reported.
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Eritrean president holds talks with Sudanese opposition chairman

April 15 news report from Asmara, Eritrea (ERINA) confirms President Isaias Afwerki on April 14 held talks with Maulana Mohamed Osman Al-Mirghani, Chairman of the Sudanese National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on the objective situation in Sudan.

In the meeting, the President reiterated that Eritrea would continue its efforts for promoting a comprehensive political solution to the Sudanese problem.

New analysis claims Darfur deaths near 400,000 - Experts estimate 500 people a day are dying

Email just received today April 21 from US-based David Rubenstein at Save Darfur.org with the message "I thought you would want to see this distressing news immediately. It certainly emphasizes the urgency of our work":

"In the most comprehensive statistical analysis to date, experts have concluded that close to 400,000 people have died in Darfur since the conflict began over two years ago. The Washington-based Coalition For international Justice (CIJ) and experts from Northwestern and Toronto Universities estimate that 140,000 people have been killed by Sudanese government forces and their proxy militia and 250,000 Darfur civilians have died from either disease, starvation or exposure.

"This is the first thorough review of data which recorded deaths from violence, disappearances, disease, starvation and exposure during flight in the largest geographical area yet available in Darfur," said John Hagan, the  John D. MacArthur Professor of Sociology and Law at Northwestern University, who led the analysis of the estimated 140,000 deaths by violence.

Hagan and his colleague University of Toronto researcher Patricia Parker reviewed data culled from 1,136 interviews of refugees from Darfur conducted by the Coalition for International Justice last summer, as well as data presented in the World Health Organization's survey of deaths in refugee camps last year. Based on their analysis of the combined data, they estimate that the number of persons who have died or disappeared between February 2003 to April 2005 is close to 400,000.

The initial CIJ survey was initiated by the US State Department and led the US government to conclude last September that the events in Darfur constituted genocide.

"These numbers continue to grow as the attacks persist and aid organizations are denied access to civilians in urgent need of international assistance," said Stefanie Frease, CIJ's Director of Programs, who led the international team that interviewed refugees from Darfur in Chad last summer. "Despite the death toll so far, not enough is being done to save the thousands who will inevitably die unless the world community supports the type of intervention needed to stop the killing."

Analysis of the combined CIJ and WHO surveys reveals that about 15,000 deaths are occurring per month, or about 500 deaths per day.

The analysis of CIJ interviews was independently initiated by Hagan, Parker and CIJ."

UN Sudan Situation Report April 17, 2005

The following is a copy in full of an email received today giving the latest situation report by United Nations personnel on the ground in Sudan:

Key Developments:

Following the attack on a vehicle carrying the Chadian Consul-General in ElGeneina, Darfur, by armed gunmen on 16 April, the GoS has issued a statement expressing its "deep regret" over the incident, in which the the Consul-General was reported to have been seriously injured.

In spite of this, Chadian President Idriss Deby announced on 16 April that Chad would resume its mediation efforts on Darfur, following discussions with a GoS envoy in Chad.

The statement issued by the Chadian Government does, however, call on the GoS to act against the armed elements in the interests of preserving friendly relations between the two countries.

Political Affairs:

Following meetings with GoS officials and civil society groups based in Khartoum, US Deputy Secretary of State, Robert Zoellick met with SPLM/A leader, John Garang, in Rumbek, on 15 April. The latter briefed Zoellick on his plans for the South, including how the funds pledged at the recent Donors' Conference in Oslo would be utilised. Mr. Zoellick discussed the implementation of the CPA with Garang, as well as how to engage Darfurian tribal leaders to encourage them to play a conciliatory role between the region's rebel groups. Separately, the South-South Dialogue is expected to start in Nairobi on 18 April.

On 14 April the VMT reported that SPLA in Lankien are meeting with forces under the Command of Maj Gen Simon Gatwich (Lou Nuer Forces) in Pultruk. Forces under the Command of Gen Gatwich are in control of Pultruk, where the situation seems to have stabilised and both parties seek to keep the area calm in order for NGOs to return. According to press reports, a transport group (CMC Motors) is due to open new branches in South Sudan, following the "return of peace to the region." Such moves will be watched closely to determine the extent to which the economic situation in the South improves.

Humanitarian

The Minister of Social Welfare in Bentiu held a meeting with OCHA and WFP on 14 April. He stated that there was an attack in the cattle camps surrounding Nhialdiu on 23 March 2005 carried out by the Leek tribe on the Bul tribe. According to the Minister, 20 people were reported killed with 24,000 heads of cattle looted by the Leek group. The Minster added that approximately 6,000-10,000 civilians were displaced into Nhialdiu as a result of fighting. The Bul regrouped and launched a counter attack on the Leek, sending more civilians into Nhialdiu and further into Bentiu and Rubkona. Currently there are an estimated 6,000-10,000 people, mostly women and children, in Nhialdiu that require urgent assistance in the water, food and medical sectors, the Minister said. OCHA and WFP are planning to send an assessment mission to the area.

IDPs

393 returnees were registered passing through Kosti on 14 and 16 April to various locations in south Sudan.

Sheiks in El Neem camp in El Daein report that approximately 15,500 IDPs currently lack water, sanitation, shelter and NFI. Insecurity north of Ed Daein continues to increase the number of displaced populations.

Protection

Serious protection concerns have been reported 3-5km north of El Daein, where progovernment militias are reportedly harassing and looting properties. Discussions with the AU are ongoing to devise strategies in order to address the situation.

On 14 April the locals of Um Kher IDP camp (W Darfur) complained of harassment by armed Arab militias when they go out to fetch firewood.

On 14 Apr at Humber village the Sheik was arrested by armed Arab militias and detained at Mugasat check point for two days. However, he was released with the help of the GOS Police.

Human rights:

OHCHR and the AU CIVPOL conducted an assessment of Sisi (W Darfur). The community highlighted that there had been increased harassment by armed militia. The team met with four rape victims who outlined their stories which had taken place over the last two weeks. The cases had been reported to the police but when questioned, the police denied having received the reports.

Military:

UNMIS continues its steady deployment with the arrival in the mission on 17 April 2005 of Colonel Jeffrey Charles Sims (UK), Chief of Staff (COS), Joint Monitoring Coordination Office (JMCO-Juba). Colonel Arnt S Lund, (Norway - SHIRBRIG), UNMIS Military Chief of Staff (COS) arrives in the mission evening 17 April.

The Force Commander along with Head of Mission of the Verification and Monitoring Team (VMT) had a meeting with Commander Salva Kiir, Chief of the SPLA and Dr Justin, SPLM Representative at Nairobi on 14 April 2005 at the SPLA office at Nairobi. Discussions focused on the UNMIS Military Deployment to assist and support the CPA based on SC resolution No 1590.

Lt Col Anwar Ahmed ( Egypt ) , Liaison Officer (Sector IV- Nuba Mountains) deployed at JMC HQ at Tillo (Kadugli - Nuba Mountains) as the UNMIS Military Liaison Officer with the Joint Military Commission ( JMC) on 14 April 2005.

Civil Affairs:

On 14 April 2005, in a meeting with the Director of Civil Affairs, King Rahmtallah Mohamed of El Fasher and five other tribal leaders from North Darfur stressed that the UN should continue its humanitarian work, and help end the violence in Darfur. The King and tribal leaders fully support the SC resolutions on Darfur, and appealed for the UN "to speed up the trial of those who committed the crimes to send a warning to those who are still committing crimes." According to the King, the crimes have been committed by more than 51 people.

The Kennana Sugar factory in Rebec has again terminated the services of large numbers of its workers (a total of 2000 workers have been laid off at three different periods during the past six month). The bulk of the former workers are from the Shuluk tribe, and headed back to heir homelands in and around Malakal Town.

Insecurity:

On 14 April tension between the tribesmen aligned with the SPLA and other armed forces has been reported around Murle village.

On 14 April fighting reportedly broke out between SLA and Arab Militia from Masry, Daba Toga, and in the Abdul Bagir area of N Darfur on 13 April 2005. Seven people were killed and two wounded during the fight.

On 14 April, 11 Sudanese Ministry of Health polio vaccinators were detained in areas north of Kutum (N Darfur) by SLA. They were released promptly, but their vehicles have not yet been recovered.

Reports of violence in Kutum are increasing, related allegedly to the presence of progovernment militia in the town at night. On 15 April, GoS soldiers attempted to raid the WFP warehouse in Kutum they were tasked with protecting. The soldiers opened fire on WFP guards when the latter challenged them.

On 15 April, a national staff member of an INGO was shot and killed in the Golo area. Preliminary information states the shooting is likely to be connected to a personal issue, unrelated to the work of the INGO. There are concerns regarding a pattern of incidents targeting humanitarian organizations perpetrated by pro-government militia in the area.

On 15 April, militias reportedly looted 100 cows from nomads north of Um Kasara (S Darfur). No injuries reported.
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Further reading:

SHIRBRIG: Multi-national Standby Force High Readiness Brigade For UN Operations.
UNMIS: United Nations Mission in the Sudan.

African Union team due in Khartoum to discuss Darfur talk

An African Union delegation will arrive in Khartoum next week to discuss arrangements for resuming peace negotiations between Sudan's government and Darfur rebels, a Sudanese official said Sunday.

"The government upholds its position on the need for dialogue and negotiation as a means for addressing the Darfur question," Agriculture Minister and chief negotiator Majzoub al-Khalifa Ahmed told reporters.

[Post via SEPNet with thanks]
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Violence continues to affect aid operations in Darfur - agencies

April 18 Reuters - Red Cross says attacks on aid convoys in Darfur are on the increase, stopping urgently needed food from getting through.

April 18 IRIN - WFP says violence continues to affect aid operations in Darfur. The Danish Refugee Council reported that a local staff member was shot and killed while off duty on Friday evening in Golo, in Jebel Marra region, W. Darfur.

[Still no news of the 12 UN WFP trucks stolen April 6. Another, with a contractor driver, is still missing. News reports last year said Sudan's bandits are too proud to ask for or accept charity hand-outs. They support themselves and their families by stealing.]

Sudan: New oil field in Darfur expected to produce crude oil by August 2005 - Videocon + White Nile update

Further to April 16 post here at Sudan Watch re Darfur oil, PANA news today says Sudan has discovered an oil field in Darfur expected to produce 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day by August of this year, a cabinet minister revealed in Khartoum Saturday. Excerpt:

The announcement made by the minister of energy and Mining Awad Ahmed Al-Jazz at a news conference did not surprise many oil experts here because previous reports had indicated the region has untapped oil, gold, iron, silver as well as natural gas.

Most of Sudan's current oil production comes from oil fields in southern Sudan, where a peace treaty was signed recently between the government and rebels on 9 January this year.

According to the accord signed in Nairobi, Kenya, 50% of oil revenues from the south will go to the Sudan People's Liberation Army/Movement (SPLA/M), while Khartoum takes the other half.

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Videocon to buy stake in Sudan oil field

April 16, 2005 Sify India report excerpt:

Videocon signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Khartoum province in Sudan last month for investing and developing oil projects there. The company planned to take a stake of up to 76 per cent in an offshore Sudanese field located in the Red Sea, which it will explore along with a consortium of global partners.
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April 15, 2005 Reuters Mumbai report excerpt:

Financial services company Videocon Industries has decided to invest $100 million for a 76 per cent stake in an oil field in Sudan, Chairman VN Dhoot said on Friday.

"The Videocon group wants to expand in the energy sector and Sudan is opening up and has good oil fields," he told the agency.

India, which imports 70 per cent of its oil needs and barely produces the gas it consumes, has been encouraging companies to chase up energy ventures.

Videocon signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Khartoum province in Sudan last month for investing and developing oil projects there, the company said in a notice to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

It said Videocon's board was also considering investing in the development and exploration of oil in India and in the Middle East.

The group, which also makes televisions and home appliances, already has a stake in the Indian oil field, Raava, located in the Krishna-Godavari basin off the country's eastern shore.

ONGC Videsh, a unit of state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp, is already active in Sudan with equity stakes in some projects.
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ONGC lines up $350 m for overseas drill

April 17, 2005 New Delhi, Telegraph Calcutta India report - copy:

ONGC-Videsh Ltd has committed an expenditure of over $350 million to explore overseas oil blocks that it recently acquired in Sudan, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Qatar, Libya and Australia. Senior officials say this is the 'minimum committed expenditure' and investment will be stepped up if there is a major oil or gas find.

The highest expenditure of $269 million has been earmarked for block 5A in Sudan, in which OVL has a 24 per cent stake. The block is being operated by Malaysian oil giant Petronas, which has a 68.9 per cent share.

Similarly, OVL will invest $26 million in block 5B in Sudan, also operated by Petronas. While the Malaysian firm owns a 41 per cent share in it, OVL has 23.5 per cent.

OVL has a 100 per cent participating interest in the Najwat Najem oil structure in Qatar, in which it will invest $15.5 million. It also has an interest in a block in Libya, where the first two wells that were drilled have turned out to be dry and the company is gearing up for spudding another two.

This shows that oil exploration has an element of risk involved in it and having acquired a stake in an overseas exploration block may or may not lead to an oil find.

OVL had also acquired a stake in a gas block in the US offshore, which it had handed over to Oil India Ltd. But this venture had to be abandoned as the drilling did not yield any hydrocarbons.

OVL has committed an expenditure of $7.2 million as its 55 per cent share in Block WA in Australia, where Antrim Energy Inc is the operator with a 32.5 per cent share.

The Indian company will also invest $21.8 million in the Ivory Coast block, where OIL has a 11.5 per cent stake. The other major shareholders are Sinopec of China and Vanco, both with 30 per cent.

The government is planning to strengthen OVL by increasing its equity base. Following the success story of the Sakhalin and raising returns from the Greater Nile project in Sudan, ONGC-Videsh is no more a fledgling company.

The offshore Vietnam gas field and the large gas find in Myanmar, where ONGC and Gail have a 30 per cent stake, have put the OVL into the big league.
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White Nile must provide another document to relist shares

By Simeon Kerr LONDON, Apr 13, 2005 (Dow Jones) -- Shares in White Nile Ltd. (WNL.LN) will remain suspended until at least the last week of April as London's Alternative Investment Market has asked for the firm to provide more documentation, a top executive said Wednesday.

Andrew Groves, co-founder of the firm that hopes to develop a disputed oil tract in southern Sudan, says AIM asked White Nile last Friday to get southern officials to provide more information before the firm can relist.

"The exchange was very supportive, we just need another document," Groves told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview from South Africa.

Groves, who declined to elaborate on the nature of the extra document, said he would hold meetings with officials from the soon-to-be-formed southern Sudanese regional government next Thursday and Friday in Nairobi, Kenya.

He hopes to relist the stock - suspended for two months after rising thirteen-fold on the south Sudan deal - once these meetings produce the final document required by the stock exchange.

This document will be included in the much-delayed information circular detailing the firm's southern Sudanese deal that White Nile has to distribute to investors before its shares reopen for trading.

The circular had been expected Thursday or Friday.

White Nile on Feb. 16 said it had an agreement with the government of South Sudan for a 60% stake in Block Ba, more than half of the huge Block B claimed by a consortium consisting of Total SA (TOT), Marathon Oil (MRO) and Kuwait Petroleum Corp. (KPT.YY)

Nile Petroleum Corp., the south's state-owned firm, holds the remaining 40%, and will take a 50% stake in White Nile once the stock relists.

Total executives say White Nile lacks the expertise and finance to exploit the potentially huge amounts of oil in the block. The French major also says the White Nile deal runs counter to January's peace agreement that ended two decades of north-south conflict.

Total is seeking to meet senior southern Sudanese officials over the next few weeks to press its case, but it has yet to secure a meeting with John Garang, who led the south's insurgency against the northern government and will head the south's autonomous government.

Groves said U.K.-based Exploration Consultants Ltd. estimates that raising 150,000 barrels a day of crude output in Block Ba would cost $120 million.

A $1.4 billion pipeline linking the southern oil fields to the Indian Ocean via Kenya would be funded through bank bonds once seismic surveys prove there are commercial quantities of crude oil in the block, he said.

South Sudanese foreign commissioner Costello Garang is scheduled to meet the press and White Nile investors next week in London.
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Harvard Divests in PetroChina, Sudan Genocide

Apr 15, 2005 report by David Kute and Leeshai Lemish, The Epoch Times. Excerpt:

PetroChina is a division of the China National Petroleum Corporation, a Chinese state-owned company that is one of the key players in the Sudanese oil industry. According to Pitzer College's Sudanese Professor Lako Tongun, China has been selling weapons to the genocidal Sudanese government, and China's veto power kept the United Nations from issuing a strong resolution on the crisis.

"Divestment is not a step that Harvard takes lightly," said Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers in a press release. "But I believe there is a compelling case for action in these special circumstances, in light of the terrible situation still unfolding in Darfur and the leading role played by PetroChina's parent company in the Sudanese oil industry, which is so important to the Sudanese regime."


Photo: Cambridge, MA., April 2005: Harvard President Lawrence Summers releases press statement about divesting PetroChina investment. (Jodi Hilton/Getty Images)

The effort at Harvard has inspired student organizations at other schools to take similar steps. In California's Claremont Colleges, the Genocide Awareness Committee is spearheading an effort to inquire into their own colleges' investments while calling upon other schools to do the same. In a letter distributed from students at the Claremont Colleges to other universities last week, groups commended Harvard's decision to divest.

"No matter how profitable it might be for a college or university to invest in PetroChina or any other company entangled in this genocide," their letter said, "we must condemn such a position as utterly immoral."
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Second Sudanese student dies of protest injuries

A Sudanese student has died of the injuries he sustained during clashes with riot police in the capital last week, an official said on today, Monday April 18, 2005.

Khaled Mohammed Nour, 22, a student of commerce at Nilein University in Khartoum, died in hospital on Sunday night, the Interior Ministry official said. Police beat him on the head during the protests last Thursday, a student source said.

He was the second Sudanese student to die in the protests against the conduct of student elections at the University of Ed Delenj in central Sudan. The protesters say the elections were rigged in favour of pro-government candidates. - via SudanTribune April 18, 2005.


Photo: Sudanese riot police watch students protesting with banners outside the French embassy in Sudan's capital Khartoum April 13, 2005. (Reuters).
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A recent comment at a site somewhere on the Internet

We saw this all too well in Bosnia a decade ago. Back then, Bosnian civilians watched the aid trucks continue to roll while their neighbors were gunned-down in full daylight. "We will die with our stomachs full," they used to say. Are we now going to stand by and watch a replay in Darfur?

War crimes - have we learned anything?

"Haven't we learned anything? Are we no further forward than we were 60 years ago?" asks the BBC's highly regarded world affairs editor John Simpson, in his report "War crimes - have we learned anything?

In the piece, published at BBC news online today, he writes:

"There was a time when we thought that killing on an industrial scale might be a thing of the past; but, depressingly, the pictures are no longer just in black and white nowadays. It may be 32 years since General Augusto Pinochet's men began killing left-wingers in Chile, and 30 since the Khmer Rouge arrived in Phnom Penh to force the entire population out into the killing fields. But it's only 11 years since Rwanda, and 10 since the Bosnian Serb general, Ratko Mladic, ordered the murder of every male Muslim in Srebrenica. And in Darfur people are dying right now."

He concludes by saying:

"It takes more than shaking our heads over old television pictures of piles of bodies to make sure that these terrible crimes aren't repeated. Governments will never take enthusiastic action unless they think we really care about these things."

Full Story.


Photo (AFP/BBC UK): More than a million people died under the Khmer Rouge rule.
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Quotation

"If the people will lead, the leaders will follow."

[via Nile Basin Blog with thanks]
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Feeding the hungry of southern Sudan

See Photo Gallery and follow the journey taken by WFP food aid to the victims of the long civil war in south Sudan, from its arrival at the Port of Mombasa in Kenya to its delivery to locations across the conflict-stricken region.


Photo: WFP/Debbie Morello

Some food remains in temporary storage before being dispatched to its final destination in the region. WFP has a storage capacity of 30,000 metric tons at the port; half of it in its own warehouse, the rest in rented space. The storage of such large amounts of food requires very tight quality control, to ensure the conditions are clean and dry.


Photo: Copyright 2005 WFP/Evelyn Hockstein

[via Nile Basin Blog with thanks]
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"We will die with our stomachs full"

It's only 11 years since Rwanda, and 10 since the Bosnian Serb general, Ratko Mladic, ordered the murder of every male Muslim in Srebrenica.

Here is a copy of a recent comment - found at a site somewhere on the Internet - on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur, Sudan:

"We saw this all too well in Bosnia a decade ago. Back then, Bosnian civilians watched the aid trucks continue to roll while their neighbors were gunned-down in full daylight. "We will die with our stomachs full," they used to say. Are we now going to stand by and watch a replay in Darfur?"


Photo (AFP/BBC UK): Gen Mladic (R) and his political master, Radovan Karadzic (L), the president of the Bosnian Serbs in the early 1990s, are still at liberty, in territory where Nato troops operate freely.

U.S. Catholic Worker Team: Darfur-related trial in Washington DC May 25, 2005

On February 4, 2005, seven Americans were arrested for blocking the entrance to the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C., to protest the ongoing genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur.

Their trial begins 9 am, May 25, 2005 at Superior Court, Room 120, 400 Indiana Ave NW, Washington, D.C.


Photo: Ken Hannaford-Ricardi is arrested at the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C., February 2, 2005.

Here is a copy of Jim Moore's post April 17 at http://passionofthepresent.org [sorry, unable to hyperlink to post]:

VERY VERY IMPORTANT: Darfur-related trial in DC May 25



From: Mike Benedetti
Date: April 16, 2005 12:01:02 PM EDT
To: passionofthepresent@yahoo.com
Subject: Darfur-related trial in DC May 25
Reply-To: Mike Benedetti

On Dec 23 you ran an article about some Catholic Workers visiting Darfur. Thought you might be interested that they were arrested for civil disobedience at the Sudanese embassy in February, and are preparing for a trial in late May. For more info, see: http://www.pieandcoffee.org/category/darfur/

Mike Benedetti

This is call to those in the Passion of the Present community: if you feel called to help on this issue, it would be appreciated. Let us know at passionofthepresent@yahoo.com if you'd like to help.

New US envoy for Sudan Robert Zoellick lays out priorities for Sudan's crisis

America's new Deputy Defence Secretary, Robert Zoellick, makes a refreshing change from all the other politicians who seem programmed to give nothing away. He has just completed a trip to Iraq and Sudan where he packed in a whole load of tours, meetings and press interviews.

He is the first senior US official to travel to Khartoum since Congress was told last September that a long US inquiry had determined the Sudanese government and allied janjaweed militia were responsible for genocide in the western region.

Upon landing in a noisy propeller plane at Rumbek in south Sudan, Mr. Zoellick was treated like royalty and greeted by several hundred people and a military brass band that had practised for days. With two billion dollars at stake, the band played slightly-off key (smile). You can imagine it was all very friendly. Sudanese people, like most Africans, have a reputation for having gentle, kind and friendly dispositions.

Mr. Zoellick seems right for his job. See why in a New York Times article April 17 by Joel Brinkley, who may have been one of several reporters that accompanied Mr. Zoellick on his trip. Here is an excerpt:

Mr. Zoellick does not seem to trust fully the cables, briefings and diplomatic discussions on which most diplomats base their thinking.

"I like to see people face to face," he said, even if it means traveling halfway around the world. "You can read, you can study, but to see people and circumstances, it's a motivator."

To get ready for meetings here, or in Khartoum or other stops on his journeys, he reads and thinks - alone, his aides said. Most senior diplomats rely most heavily on briefings from State Department experts. Mr. Zoellick relies largely on his own research. He makes copious handwritten notes, then prepares three-by-five file cards he carries in his shirt pocket.

On the way home on Friday, he created a three-column, fine-print list of follow-up calls and other actions for next week and seemed pleased to show the list to reporters - though not in a way that they could read what he had written.

Aides seem both admiring and amused by Mr. Zoellick's style. He seems unconcerned.

As he put it, "I don't spend a lot of time comparing myself to others."
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Zoellick lays out priorities for Sudans crisis

During his two-day visit to Khartoum, Condoleezza Rice's top deputy laid out priorities for addressing Sudan's crisis. Here follows a snapshot and snippets from various press reports.


Photo (AFP/Salah Omar) US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick (L) met Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha (R) 14 April 2005 in Khartoum.

Mr Zoellick said Sudan may not have total control over militias behind atrocities in Darfur but must do more to stop the violence.

He expressed his intent to keep pushing the expansion of the African Union force now serving as monitors in Darfur from roughly 2,000 to 7,000 or 8,000, and to persuade NATO or various NATO members to provide logistical support for the AU mission.

He has pressed for the African Union to double its troops in Darfur, and asked leaders of the government and the rebels to halt raids on villages and relief caravans.

He also pushed for an inclusive process to address underlying conflicts between African tribes, the mostly Arab government, its allied militias and non-Arab rebels.

"The fundamental issue has to be trying to deal with the larger policy," Zoellick said.

"I think that there's a possibility of again strengthening the security conditions in Darfur, but I'm focused very heavily now on meeting the near-term humanitarian needs as we approach the rainy season," Zoellick said after talks with government and other officials on Thursday.

The United States has pledged US $1.7 billion for Sudan's recovery, with much of the aid slated to ease the humanitarian crisis and begin reconstruction of the south. Congress has approved about half that amount.
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Zoellick looks to Sudan's south for blueprint to end Darfur's conflict

Mr Zoellick pressed the Sudanese government Thursday to take specific steps that would demonstrate it is cooperating to halt the violence in Darfur, including allowing NATO or the U.S. military to assist in a rapid expansion of an African-led monitoring force.

He has said that the $2 billion in promised U.S. aid to help implement the North-South peace accord could be imperiled if Khartoum did not address the separate crisis in Darfur, which is located in western Sudan. The threat was also designed to persuade John Garang, the southern rebel leader to get involved in Darfur -- or risk losing the money as well.

Zoellick said he suggested that Sudan demonstrate its sincerity by focusing on specific steps, such as quickly issuing visas to aid workers, facilitating the expansion of the monitoring force established by the African Union (AU) and quickly investigating violent incidents.

Currently, nearly 2,300 AU forces patrol an area the size of France, and later this year the union is expected to approve an increase to 7,700.

Zoellick said he told officials that if Sudan could not adequately police Darfur, the government should welcome the introduction of forces to maintain law and order.

"It's Sudan's country," Zoellick told a news conference. "Countries are held responsible for actions in their territory."

Sudan's first vice president, Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, told reporters before meeting Zoellick, "We are working diligently to stop the violence" and "get Darfur back to normalcy." And during a lengthy session with Zoellick, Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail also handed him a hand-written action plan for resolving Darfur and returning people to their lands. But Taha has made similar remarks before -- and, during Powell's visit 10 months ago, Ismail announced that Sudan and the U.S. had agreed on an action plan on Darfur.

Mr. Zoellick is exploring whether a small force of NATO, European or U.S. forces could provide logistical support, such as C-130 cargo flights, to help expand the AU force. The Sudanese government has resented the presence of the troops, which although they have a weak official mandate, have helped calm areas where they are deployed.
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Zoellick meets Garang

Mr. Zoellick met the leader of Sudan's former southern rebels on the second day of a diplomatic mission to press for peace efforts in Sudan and an end to the crisis in Darfur.

The U.S. may soon begin to help southern Sudan's former rebels with military modernization as efforts to implement a peace deal gather steam, he said on Friday.

See more in "Zoellick looks to Sudan's south for blueprint to end Darfur's conflict" April 16 2005 FT.com report by Guy Dinmore in Rumbek and El Fasher, Sudan.
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Zoellick says Sudan may not have total control over militias

April 15 report by Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent Reuters Rumbek, Sudan. Excerpt:

Zoellick aims to press Garang for quick moves to implement the peace deal -- as he had when he met government officials on Thursday.

Under January's North-South agreement, Khartoum and the SPLM will set up a coalition government, decentralise power, share oil revenues and form joint military units.

Zoellick said Sudan may not have total control over militias behind the atrocities in Darfur but must do more to stop the violence. He urged support for an expanded African Union (AU) monitoring force in the troubled region.

"Where the government doesn't feel it can act, then we need to be able to support the AU to be able to act," he added.
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Zoellick visits Darfur

On the second day of his trip, after flying from Khartoum to Darfur, Mr. Zoellick toured Abu Shouk camp near El Fasher after briefings by aid organisations.

"The near-term need is to try to ensure these people get food and water and basic supplies. Then you also have to provide the security for them," said Mr. Zoellick, after his visit to the camp.

The final step, he said, would be to "work on a political solution for the overall conflict and allow people to go back so they can return to their traditional lives in their villages."

Mr. Zoellick requested that the Khartoum-based government ease visa restrictions for foreign aid workers trying to get food to relief camps before planting season. There was a pressing need to get more food into the camps and Sudanese officials had agreed to speed up visas for aid workers trying to cope with the crisis.
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Zoellick signals that violence in Darfur is not genocide

On Thursday Mr. Zoellick put pressure on the Sudanese government to stop the violence in Darfur but backed away from the Bush administration's assertion that the mass killings and village burning amounted to genocide.

"I don't want to get into a debate over terminology," he said when asked [at a press conference after meeting Vice-President Taha] if the U.S. believed genocide was still being committed in Darfur against mostly African villagers by Arab militia and their government backers.

He said it was Colin Powell, the former secretary of state, who had "made the point" in his testimony to Congress.

Nonetheless, Mr Zoellick did speak of "crimes against humanity", in line with the findings of a UN commission of inquiry. He said he had emphasised to the Sudanese government the need for accountability through sanctions and legal processes, referring to the UN resolution that sent the issue of Darfur to the International Criminal Court.

Mr Zoellick, also proposed to the government that it start using its own courts and make the process transparent. Read full story by Guy Dinmore, The Financial Times, Khartoum, Apr 15, 2005.

Note, estimates of the numbers of dead from the conflict vary hugely. The Bush administration says 60,000-160,000 people have died from fighting, disease and famine. Aid organisations say that the death toll is closer to 300,000.
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Zoellick fears support for Darfur could ebb

Mr. Zoellick expressed concern on Friday that support for Darfur could ebb before refugees packed into teeming camps to escape violence could return home.

Darfuri civic leaders who met Zoellick in Khartoum on Thursday described a dire situation in their home province.

"All Darfur is a (prison) camp because there is insecurity, starvation," said Mahmoud Mustafa el-Mekki, a senior tribal official.

Madibbo Adam Madibbo, foreign affairs secretary of the Umma Party, Sudan's largest opposition party, said the government could rein in militias blamed for atrocities in Darfur "but are not willing".



Photo: Internal displaced Sudanese sit on a vehicle with their belongings as they travel inside Abou Shouk camp in Darfur April 16, 2005 where the starvation and armed conflict threaten the lives of millions of people in the arid western Sudanese region. Picture taken April 16, 2005 Reuters/Beatrice Mategwa.

Sudan: UN warns 3 million may need food by end of the year

Re US Deputy Defence Secretary Robert Zoellick's visit to Abu Shouk camp in Darfur, an AU spokesman in the main AU base for Darfur in El Fasher pointed out that the mission - which has a mandate to observe and not police or fight - only had about 280 vehicles and some 3,000 men to patrol a land the size of France. When Mr. Zoellick visited he found nearly 50 of those vehicles were inside the AU compound.

When former secretary of State, Colin Powell visited the same camp last June, the Sudanese government assured him it would act to halt the violence, which it blamed on others.

Since then, Abu Shouk has more than doubled in size to 80,000 residents [FT.com says 100,000]. In the last three months or so, foreign observers say government forces have been better behaved. But they continue to arm and train the Arab Janjaweed militia who are settling old scores and plundering scarce resources in a conflict exacerbated by famine, land rights and tribal rivalries.


Picture taken April 15, 2005: African Union Force Commander Major General Festus Okonkwo from Nigeria and Deputy Force Brigadier General John Bosco Kazura from Rwanda laugh in El-Fasher, Darfur, April 15, 2005.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick expressed concern on Friday that support for Darfur could ebb before refugees packed into teeming camps to escape violence return home. (Reuters/Beatrice Mategwa)

FT.com says the UN, which fed some 1.4m people in Darfur last month, warns that it will probably have to feed 3m by the end of the year. But a descent into anarchy and banditry is hindering deliveries that need to be stepped up before the onset of the rainy season next month.

Mr Zoellick said his heart went out to these people. The government could do a lot more to stop the violence and banditry, while tribal reconciliation was needed, he added. The overall conflict needed a political solution, he went on, noting that the latest chapter of the north-south conflict took over 20 years to settle.

Read more at FT.com April 16 2005 report by Guy Dinmore in Rumbek and El Fasher, Sudan.


Photo: Hungry Sudanese scramble for food left behind at a food distribution center on August 9, 2004. (Alessandro Abbonizio/AFP-Getty Images)
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The UN in Sudan: Peacekeeping, Peace Enforcement, Peace Creation

StrategyPage ran an update on the Sudan peacekeeping mission. Here is an excerpt [note there is no mention of U.S. troops]

The peacekeeping force data (from StrategyPage):

On March 24 the UN Security Council voted to send peacekeeping troops to help enforce the south Sudan peace agreement. UN Security Council Resolution 1590 authorized the 10,000 military peacekeepers recommended in February. The peacekeeping operation will be called The UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS). It is conceivable that the south Sudan peacekeeping force could "assist" African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, although some UN officials are talking openly of UN peacekeepers getting involved in Darfur. But UNMIS' first mission is to monitor and verify the southern ceasefire agreement. It will also help demobilize "ex-combatants" (presumably SPLA guerrillas). The Security Council's peacekeeping mandate relies on Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which is more "aggressive" than Chapter 6. Most peacekeeping ops are run under Chapter 6, but after the continuing troubles in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the Security Council may have decided to give the Sudan mission more immediate authority to use force.

There will also be a sizeable civilian police contingent (of up to 715 policemen). Jordan, Kenya, Malaysia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Turkey, Sri Lanka and Sweden will supply police officers in the Sudan effort.

How long will it take to put the 10,000 troops and 715 police in the field? The UN said "several months." That's fair - if several means six or more. The UN report acknowledged logistical difficulties. However, the logistics net in south Sudan can supply the 10,000 troop contingent - there are roads and airfields that can be improved. Darfur is another matter.

The UN said the 10,000 peacekeeping troops will be provided by Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Cambodia (about a company), Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, Fiji, Finland, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Rumania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uruguay, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

[via David Aitken with thanks]
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Watching Darfur Die by Kofi Annan

Note an opinion piece titled "Billions of Promises to Keep" by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, New York Times, April 13 2005.

[via Coalition for Darfur with thanks]
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Bush holds talks with Rwandan leader at White House

April 16 VOA - President Bush met with Rwandan President Paul Kagame at the White House to discuss efforts to bring peace to Central Africa's troubled Great Lakes region. They also discussed a host of other regional issues from peacekeeping in southern Sudan and violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo to helping bring elections to Burundi.

The Rwandan leader says Mr. Bush vowed to continue his engagement in African affairs. "We requested the president to use his powers to help Africa in different ways, in socioeconomic development, in assuring there is peace and security not only in our region but also in the whole continent. And the president was very supportive of that," he said.

Sudan says oil discovered in impoverished Darfur

Here is no surprise. But, if true, it is the first time a Sudanese official has confirmed it: an oil field has been discovered in southern Darfur.

Note, southern Darfur is the region where a savage attack on Khor Abeche [which was controlled by the SLM, the main rebel group in Darfur] by 200 militia and a group of 150 people hailing from Niteaga took place April 7, 2005.

By UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Published April 16, 2005

KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Sudan said Saturday initial oil drilling operations in the troubled Darfur region indicate there is abundant oil in the area.

Sudan Energy Minister Awad al-Jaz told reporters in Khartoum an oil field was found in southern Darfur and it is expected to produce 500,000 barrels of oil per day by August.

Most of the country's oil production comes from oil fields in southern Sudan, where a peace treaty was recently signed between the government and rebels.

According to the accord, 50 percent of oil revenues from the south will go to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement [the former rebel group of south Sudan], while the other half to Khartoum.

The country started exporting oil in August 1999.


Photo: Sudan Energy Minister Awad Ahmed Al-Jaz (Sudan Tribune)
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Further reading

July 6, 2004 Zaman online report 'Oil Underlies Darfur Tragedy'

July 11, 2004 post - Arab sources say oil discovered in Darfur - Sudan and India sign new pipeline deal.

July 12, 2004 post by Jim Moore re Oil and Darfur.

Dec 4, 2004 post on Oil and Darfur - India signs new pipeline deal - France interested in Uranium and has drilling rights.

Apr 3, 2005 post - Oil found in South Darfur - Oil issues threaten to derail Sudan hopes for peace.

Apr 10, 2005 post - India to send peacekeeping force next month to police southern Darfur, Sudan
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China National Petroleum Corp owns most of a field in southern Darfur

Here are some excerpts from a Washington Post report by Peter S. Goodman, December 23, 2004:

A report by the U.S.-funded Civilian Protection Monitoring Team, which investigates attacks in southern Sudan, asserted that government troops have "sought to clear the way for oil exploration and to create a cordon sanitaire around the oil fields."

China National Petroleum Corp., still owned by the Communist Party government, bought into the Sudan consortium in 1996. It joined with Sudan's Energy Ministry to build the country's largest refinery, then last year invested in a $300 million expansion that nearly doubled production, according to a report in the Shenzhen Business Post.

The consortium's Heglig and Unity oil fields now produce 350,000 barrels per day, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Separately, CNPC owns most of a field in southern Darfur, which began trial production this year, and 41 percent of a field in the Melut Basin, which is expected to produce as much as 300,000 barrels per day by the end of 2006. Another Chinese firm, Sinopec Corp., is erecting a pipeline from that complex to Port Sudan on the Red Sea, where China's Petroleum Engineering Construction Group is building a tanker terminal.
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OIL AND GAS CONCESSION HOLDERS

See oil concession map in sidebar on right. The following information is from USAID:

BLOCKS
1 (Unity) Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company
2 (Heglig) Talisman Energy Inc. (Canada)
4 (Kailkang) Petronas Carigali (Malaysia), Sudapet (Sudan) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)
3 (Adar) Gulf Petroleum Corporation (Qatar),
7 (Mellut) Sudapet (Sudan) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)
5a Lundin Oil AB International Petroleum Corporation (IPC) (Sweden) Petronas Carili (Malaysia) OMV Sudan Exploration GmbH (Austria) and Sudapet (Sudan)
5 (Central) TotalElFina (France)
6 China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

[Oil Concession information from rightsmap.com]
SUDAN
DARFUR

UK renews mediation efforts to end east Sudan problems

The British government has renewed its initiative to end the crisis in east Sudan, the Sudanese Al Ray Al-Amm said.

Full Story at Sudan Tribune, April 12, 2005.



Photo: Rebels from Sudan's Eastern Front parade during a conference held by the Front north of Kassala town, near the Eritrean border. (AFP)
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UK Shadow ministers sign parliamentary statement on Darfur

On April 12, UK campaigners "Protect Darfur" issued a Press Release calling for the UK to push for a UN Chapter VII peace enforcement mandate for operations in Darfur, to be led by the African Union with support from wealthy nations.

Note, it's all very well calling for an expanded mandate and more troops for Darfur but what the African Union and nearly all politicians and journalists fail to mention or explain is that nobody else wants to go. Perhaps this explains what's happened to the long overdue 1,000 soldiers:

"There have been these persistent reports that the logistics was not ready for the [AU] troops, but that hasn't been the case for several months. Nobody that wants to be on the ground is not on the ground," says Charles Snyder, the leading U.S. negotiator for Sudan, in an AllAfrica interview April 11, 2005.

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French Ambassador in Washington responds to Washington Post

Well done to the French Ambassador in Washington for his neat response to the quirky Washington Post whose reports are so misleading half the time with emotive inaccuracies, you have to wonder who is in charge of quality control over there. Sometimes though, despite being heavily US centric which leaves readers blinkered, their reports are quite good. But there's no consistency which gives one the impression they are out to manipulate readers for political purposes.

Here is a copy of the French Ambassador's response in the Washington Post, April 16, titled "France's Role in Darfur" [let's not forget that France was the first to respond last year with 200 troops who were instrumental in air-lifting life saving emergency aid into Darfur - they may still be stationed on the Chad-Sudan border]:

Regarding the April 11 editorial "Doing Better by Darfur"

The African Union has indicated that it wishes for the Darfur crisis to be resolved by Africans. In this context, France and the European Union, as well as the United States, have provided major assistance to the deployment of the African Union's mission in Darfur.

France, bilaterally and within the European Union, has supported the African Union mission financially and logistically through its troops stationed in Chad. France also has provided humanitarian aid to displaced people. France has contributed some $86 million to Darfur, and it and the European Union intend to pursue their efforts there.

The scope of the E.U. efforts -- in conjunction with those of other contributors, including the United States -- was such that to date, NATO has not been asked to provide assistance for Darfur. Allegations that France opposed NATO intervention are therefore unfounded.

Should the African Union's Peace and Security Council meeting next Friday decide to increase the African Union's troop strength, France and the E.U. will support an expanded African Union mission in Darfur.

The U.N. Security Council recently adopted two resolutions on Darfur: one imposing sanctions and the other making it possible to refer the matter to the International Criminal Court. This is a positive development in which France played a role. The horror of the Darfur situation should spur us to increased cooperation and joint initiatives, rather than engaging in blame games.

JEAN-DAVID LEVITTE

Ambassador

Embassy of France

Washington
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Josef Scarantino's Sudan trip to help set up Internet cafes

After hearing southern Sudanese Silvestro Akara Bakhiet speak on the southern Sudan peace agreement at University of California at Davis at the beginning of March, Josef Scarantino of SEPNet (Sudan Emancipation & Preservation Network) met Silvestro and agreed to become the web developer for their newly-named organization New Sudan Generation (formerly Pageri Organization). Josef says he knew little of the organization and their work in Sudan, but wanted to be a part of their work in any way that I could after hearing Silvestro's passionate plea for help.

Next month, Josef will be making a trip to Sudan on behalf of New Sudan Generation. He will visit Eastern Equatoria, Southern Sudan; Kampala, Uganda; and possibly Nairobi, Kenya. The trip will last 2 months, May through June, 2005.

NSG Executive Director and Silvestro will accompany him for three weeks in Uganda and southern Sudan working with refugees, internally displaced persons (IDP's), and the various schools that NSG helps fund. After three weeks, Silvestro will return home and Josef will remain in Sudan to work on a current NSG project.

Besides working with Silvestro on NSG's projects, he will help set up seven Internet cafes in southern Sudan and help train the people on using the Internet and the computers that NSG has donated. The Internet cafes will provide a basic income for those who operate them and will help in educating and connecting the Sudanese people to the rest of the world.

Josef is also arranging for partnerships with a few other organisations that will include well-drilling and training for water needs, a shipment of 25,000 books for educational needs in the few schools that exist in southern Sudan, and a possible Micro-Enterprise project founded on beekeeping and the export and sale of honey. Full Story

UN and AU condemn 'premeditated' militia attack in Darfur - Commentary on Charles Snyder's interview - Why Nuba feel betrayed

An AFP report April 14 via Reuters says Khor Abeche, which was controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement, the main rebel group in Darfur, was reportedly attacked because the rebels refused to turn over the bodies of two assailants killed during an earlier militia raid on the village on March 9.

The attack that was launched on April 7 by some 200 militiamen on horseback led by Nasir al Tijani, backed up by a group of 150 people hailing from Niteaga, a joint statement by AU and UN envoys.

"We expect that Government authorities will also take appropriate action against Al Tijaniwho had in their very presence, repeatedly threatened the destruction of Khor Abeche until he finally did so on April 7," the two envoys said.

"The AU had prepared to deploy its troops in Niteaga and Khor Abeche since April 3, to deter precisely this kind of attack, but was prevented from acting by what can only be inferred as deliberate official procrastination over the allocation of land for the troop's accommodation," they added.

Note, the Darfur rebel group SLA agreed Monday to resume stalled peace negotiations with the government, retracting earlier conditions it had set for returning to the peace table. But it might not mean very much because the UN's situation report posted here recently says there are splits within JEM, the other main Darfur rebel group. Notice how the rebels split whenever they are pressed in a corner to negotiate? Scroll down here today to see what may be bubbling over in the Nuba Mountains in southern Sudan.
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African Union protects women from attacks in North Darfur camp

Here is some good news. April 14 Reuters report says African Union (AU) personnel in North Darfur have started providing armed escorts for displaced women and girls to protect them from attacks, an AU official told IRIN on Wednesday.

"The women from Abu Shouk IDP [internally displaced person] camp in North Darfur are escorted by AU soldiers once a week, when they venture outside the camp to collect firewood," said Justin Thundu, AU's public information officer at El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

Thundu said the AU considered these escorts an integral part of its protection mandate in Darfur. "Beside our daily patrols, it is one of the activities we carry out to promote confidence-building among the IDPs."

"We haven't heard of any harassment cases around Abu Shouk over the past weeks," Thundu added. "It has been a very successful exercise. We are doing it in a few other camps as well"
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Commentary on Charles Snyder's important interview

On April 11, 2005, I posted here a copy of AllAfrica's important interview with Charles Snyder, the leading U.S. negotiator for Sudan.

Here is a copy of a comment I bashed out and left at Eugene's post on the interview with Charles Snyder. I planned to write a post on the interview but since my comment covers most of what I would have written, it will act as the post for here:

Hello Eugene, I can't recall when I last read such an open in-depth interview with a politician currently involved with Sudan. You have to wonder about the reason for this interview. As you well know, they're usually not so forthcoming with details. Who knows, maybe it's for the benefit of the rebels - for them to accept Bashir's Nuba mountain type deal as a way to stop the fighting and spend the next year or two negotiating a peace deal. Jan Pronk recently said after the ICC resolution, the rebels have no need to fight anymore - that it's over.

See what Charles Snyder said about the delay in getting the AU troops there? He says it's not to do with lack of resources, but that everyone who wants to be there is there right now -- meaning: nobody else until May/June/July is willing to go (seems difficult to believe).

Perhaps the UN/AU strategy is to complete north-south deal, wait for Garang et al to be situated in Khartoum, get funding in place + 10,000 UN peacekeepers before offering again the 10,000 SPLM/A troops that Garang suggested for Darfur last year (to be matched with 10,000 Sudanese troops and 10,000 from the UN). Interesting too - and I haven't seen it reported elsewhere - the Nuba type deal that Bashir put on the table (why didn't he offer to corral the Janjaweed in the peace zones? No doubt the peace zones he offered to the rebels are not in the areas of Darfur where the oil and minerals lay).

Garang's team should have arrived in Khartoum within 2 weeks of the Jan 9 peace deal - they only arrived this weekend which means they are two months behind schedule. Why nobody has demanded a proper explanation for the delay in the long awaiting 1,000 AU troops is beyond me. I can never shake the feeling that there is a lot more going on than meets the eye - and we know only a fraction of what is happening behind the scenes. The media does so little investigative reporting.

It's interesting to see Charles Snyder giving Khartoum more than an A grade on the terrorism front - wonder what he meant by that - and who he meant by "the others" working alongside the Janjaweed. South Darfur seems like real trouble, ie the area where the latest big raid took place. You have to wonder what is the attraction of that particular area - the UN and AU say Sudanese officials have been delaying AU troops getting accommodation there (why the AU needs permission is amazing).

It was surprising and disappointing to see Egypt's Darfur summit cancelled for April 20 - there is a large meeting a few days before - I wonder how much involvement the Libyan leader has and what is behind the hold up on the opening up the route through Libya that he offered last year for aid trucks to get through into Darfur. Rainy season will be falling again soon. Note President Bush is meeting at the White House with Rwandan President April 15 re peacekeeping for Sudan and the Great Lakes region. Bye for now. Kind regards. Keep up the great blog. Ingrid | Homepage | 04.11.05 - 4:22 pm

Eugene's reply to the comment:

Your point about the inability to get AU troops to Darfur is a good one. As we all know, they are far short of their mandated strength right now and seem unable to get more troops into the region.

This raises an interesting point about calls to increase the size of the AU mission to Darfur to somewhere around 25,000 - 50,000 (at least that seems to be the necessary number, according to the few military people willing to talk about it.) If the AU can't even get 3,000 troops to the region after all this time, how are they going to get 50,000 there?

Talk of an expanded AU mission is all well and good, but if nobody wants to actually send troops, it is just a lot of empty talk.

Also, the issue of terrorism is one that seems important, but ignored. Eric Reeves' two latest anlysis pieces both hinted at the presence of Islamic terrorists in the region or some sort of tie between them and the Janjaweed. It is all rather vague thus far, but if Reeves is hearing about it from his sources on the ground it must mean something and it makes you wonder about Snyder's willingness to give Khartoum "a better than an 'A' grade." Eugene Oregon | Homepage | 04.11.05 - 5:08 pm

Note: Eugene has since posted some follow ups -- see April 13 post titled Lacking the Political Will and April 13 post on The Destruction of Khor Abeche.

Also, in an April 8 post highlighting a few key points from Eric Reeves' latest update, Eugene selected this excerpt:

[O]ne nongovernmental organization (NGO) that has had an especially important reporting presence in Darfur indicates confidentially that it received explicit threats from the Janjaweed and Khartoum officials in February 2005 to the effect that if there were an ICC referral from the UN, "there would be an explosion of violence against NGO and UN workers"; "Musa Hilal [the most notorious of the Janjaweed commanders] will join Osama bin Laden; the Janjaweed will become a branch of al-Qaeda --- these were the types of threats we heard."

A Darfuri in exile, with exceptionally good contacts on the ground in Darfur, also reports that in the wake of the UN's referral of Darfur war crimes to the ICC, there is a "feeling among the NGO and humanitarian aid community that the Janjaweed would escalate their attacks on foreigners." This source also refers to Khartoum's opening of "camps for training foreign Janjaweed and Arab mujahadeen from other countries to fight [foreigners]. These people may now target the foreign [humanitarian aid] community in Darfur."

[edit]

"Sudanese officials greet the ICC recommendation [by the UN Commission of Inquiry] with a combination of annoyance and arrogance. Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail recently threatened the 800 to 1,000 international humanitarian workers in Darfur by warning that referrals to a criminal court could lead to 'a direct threat to the foreign presence... Darfur may become another Iraq in terms of arrests and abductions.' A [paramilitary Popular Defense Force] official told Refugees International that 'if the wanted on the list are penalized, it will not solve the problem. It will start war again.' His colleague added, 'There will be an explosion.'"

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After 21 years of fighting, the Nuba feel betrayed

Following on from the post above re Charles Snyder's interview, Mr Snyder spoke of a Nuba Mountain type deal the Sudanese President recently put on the table for the Darfur rebels to consider. The following report "Politics-Sudan After 21 Years of Fighting, the Nuba Feel Betrayed," authored by Darren Taylor in Nairobi, was published online April 6, 2005 [apologies for mislaid web link to original report]. Here is a copy, in full:

As nations from around the world scramble to secure lucrative contracts to develop southern Sudan following the signing of a peace deal in January, one of the war-torn country's minority groups is preparing for a fresh battle.

During the 21-year conflict between the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), the Nuba people were anomalies: Muslim camel keepers who fought side by side with the black, largely Christian, cattle herders of southern Sudan against the repressive Islamic rulers in Khartoum.

Their homeland, the Nuba Mountains, is an isolated, arid wasteland in northern Sudan, on the border with the south, where only hardy brush, scorpions and tough nomads survive. The government branded the Nuba "traitors to Islam" for allying themselves with the SPLM/A. Yet the Nuba consistently refused to abandon the darker skinned peoples of the south.

For their 'betrayal', Sudanese government Antonov aircraft and helicopter gunships showered the Nuba with bombs and bullets. Schools were razed; water supplies destroyed. "Many, many killed in explosions; many died of hunger and thirst," said Saeed Anwar, an SPLM/A official in the Nuba Mountains.

The graves of Nuba people killed in government attacks line the region's hillsides. Perhaps rumours of vast oil and diamond deposits under the desert sands were responsible for both the southern forces and the northern government claiming the area as theirs. In any event, the deadlock over who would rule the Nuba Mountains in peacetime had for years prevented agreement being reached, and war persisted. But, under immense pressure from the United States especially, SPLM/A leader John Garang signed the deal Jan. 9 and, say analysts, effectively betrayed his erstwhile allies, the Nuba.

The praise singers point out that the peace agreement has won important concessions for the southern Sudanese: provision for wealth from resources such as oil to be shared by the previously opposing forces; the withdrawal of government troops from the south, and the right for southerners to vote, following a six-year interim period, for unity with, or secession from, the north. But the document is also clear that the Nuba Mountains will form part of the north and its people will continue to be subject to the government and its harsh Islamic sharia law.

Daudi Mohamed, 46, a former SPLA guerilla living in exile in Kenya, lamented: "Our women will still be taken like animals to Khartoum to be stoned (for alleged adultery) and to work as slaves in Arab homes. Our men are still going to be forced to join the northern armies. Any one of us accused of stealing, our hands will be chopped (off). I, like my people, am crying! "What have we fought for?" he shouted, his words cutting through the noise of a nearby metal grinder.

Mohamed was born, raised and taught how to launch rocket grenades in the Nuba Mountains. Instead of going to school, he went to war. "We have fought for nothing. Garang has sold us out," he scoffed, slouching in the doorway of his sparse, oil stained auto spares shop on the outskirts of Kenya's capital Nairobi.

Under the agreement, the Nuba, who fought alongside the SPLM/A for decades for self-determination and religious and economic freedom, will be denied the opportunity to vote for secession as the peace deal unequivocally defines them as 'northerners'.

And although president Omar Hassan al-Bashir and his government have committed themselves to what the agreement terms 'popular consultation' in the area, this would probably prove "meaningless because local government will be dominated by government delegates," said John Ashworth, a respected human rights monitor who has worked in Sudan since the war erupted in 1983.

According to the deal, only a few token seats in the Nuba legislature will be reserved for SPLM/A officials leaving them with little political power. "This is a very bad agreement for the Nuba Mountains; they've really got very, very little out of it. When I challenged some senior SPLM people there about what they would do about the situation, they said: 'well, then we'll go back to war'," Ashworth stated.

The SPLM/A governor of the Nuba Mountains, Abdul Aziz Hilu, was not available for comment, but one of his officials told IPS: "Our leaders were sidelined in the peace talks. But the feeling in the end was: let's sign the peace and see what happens. We can always rebel later. Let's have an imperfect peace rather than no peace at all. If we continue to be oppressed we will rise up and continue to fight."

But Ashworth feels that should the Nuba return to arms, "they'll be wiped out", because they can no longer count on Garang's guerillas, and sympathy from the world at large for this tiny ethnic minority - who are estimated to number around 1.4 million - will also be "thin" as they will be seen as "rebelling against peace".

For a diplomat who has watched the peace process unfold for the past three years, the sidelining of the Nuba came as no surprise. "Garang has always acted primarily in the interests of his Dinka people (the largest ethnic group in Sudan). He has therefore sacrificed his minority allies in order to secure peace for the majority," he reasoned.

Observers say the lesser ethnic groups of Sudan - most notably the Nuer, Shilluk and Beja - tolerated Garang for his ability as a fiery warmonger but are less likely to accept him as their political leader when he is confirmed soon as al-Bashir's Vice-President.

Tribal animosities have simmered under the SPLM/A's apparently united surface since the war began. The tension boiled over in 1991 when Garang's deputy, Riek Machar - a Nuer - and senior official Lam Akol - a Shilluk - rebelled against Garang. The insurrection resulted in a bloody war within a war that almost destroyed the liberation movement. But it is the Muslim minority groups of SPLM/A's northern allies, like the Nuba, who have been the biggest losers with the signing of the peace agreement.

"We are alone," Mohamed sighed. "We do not expect anyone to help us. It will be suicide to begin fighting again without the Commander's (Garang's) backing. We wanted to be part of the south; we wanted to feel the joy of voting for independence. But now we are back to being slaves."

And he returned to his spanners and drum of old oil.
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Closure of Libyan-Sudanese border devastates Darfur

"The currently limited prospects for migrant workers in Libya, combined with the threat of detention, the difficulties of return to Sudan, and the loss of contact with their families in Darfur and uncertainty about their fate, have created a sense of despair among many migrant Darfurians in Libya."

This was the conclusion of a report Darfur Livelihoods Under Siege, published by the Feinstein International Famine Center at Tufts University in Massachussetts. The report was the subject of a discussion meeting held in London April 15, 2005, under the auspices of the Overseas Development Institute. Full story at Mathaba.Net News April 15, 2005.



Photo: www.masters-of-photography.com