Sudanese photographer Vit Hassan: Meroe is one of archaeology’s greatest mysteries

Photo: 'Dunes versus pyramids' by Sudanese photographer Vit Hassan. Taken in Meroe/Bajrawia, Northern Sudan. Uploaded to flickr by Vit on 22 June 2009.



Photo: 'Sleeping Shadows' on dunes around pyramids in Meroe/Bajrawia, Northern Sudan. Uploaded to flickr by Vit on 21 July 2006. This photo was taken 10 minutes earlier than the one above.

For an ancient city and civilization that flourished for nearly a thousand years, Meroe is one of archaeology’s greatest mysteries. It is unknown where the people of Meroe originated. An even greater mystery is where these Meroitic people are today and why these unconquerable ‘Masters of Africa’ left their ancient city, and seemingly vanished.

From the sixth century B.C. until the fourth century A.D., the city of Meroe lay on the banks of the Nile River, between present day southern Egypt and northern Sudan. The first outsider to mention Meroe specifically was Herodotus, a Greek, in approximately 430 B.C. Herodotus visited Africa, and although he never made it as far south as Meroe, he was told by the natives about the existence of a magnificent city to the south. Herodotus later wrote about his travels on the Nile River. The Persians, led by their ruler Cambyses, had once attempted to conquer Meroe.

Although few Europeans had ever even seen the city, the possibility of finding great riches there prompted Cambyses to send an army to take it over. His army turned back far before ever reaching Meroe due to the harshness of the African terrain and hostile locals. For the next 400 years, Meroe was only spoken of sparsely, mainly in stories. During this time, Meroe was thought by most to be an island on the Nile. This misperception may be justified by the fact that the city was surrounded on three sides by water.

After these few, faint accounts of Meroe, no additional information of the city was recorded and it was virtually forgotten about until recent times when European travelers and archaeologists explored this region. This is mainly due to its geographical remoteness. Now, all that remains of the once great city are hundreds of mounds of brick and stone, and many temple ruins and pyramids. A small town now stands next to the ancient site. While there are only speculative reasons for the fall of the city, one of the main theories is that a group of Axumites to the north, overran the city sometime around the second half of the 3rd century.

It is unknown how the Meroitic rulers were able to maintain control over, what at the time, was a massive population. We can only be certain that there was a working monarchy in order. Such a monarchy was able to establish 72 generations of rulers, composed of a mixture of kings and queens. The exact social organization of Meroe is also still unknown, but there was definite social stratification between nobles and commoners. Kings and royalty lived in palaces while ordinary people lived in straw and brick huts. Everything from the activities of these people’s daily lives, to historical events within the city are also mysteries.

The reason there is still so much uncertainty surrounding the Meroians, is mostly due to the fact that their language and writing are indecipherable. No one knows for sure what their language sounded like or what their Egyptian resembling hieroglyphic writing stands for. The pictures closely resemble those of ancient Egypt, but we have thus far been unable to decode the Meroitic scripts. A lot may be understood about the Meroans in the future when their language can be decoded..

Text courtesy of Vit Hassan. Click here to view Vit's photostream at flickr.

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Pyramids & temples - Nuri, Northern Sudan



Photo: 'Monuments' by Vit Hassan. Taken in Nuri, Northern Sudan. Uploaded to flickr by Vit on 18 June 2009 with the following text:

The pyramid field of Nuri contained 21 kings together with 52 queens and princesess.

The first to build his tomb at Nuri was king Taharqa. His pyramid had 51.75 m square and 40 or 50 m high. Taharqa subterranean chambers are the most elaborate of any Kushite tomb. The entrance was by an eastern stairway trench , north of the pyramid's central axis, reflecting the alignment of the original smaller pyramid.

Three steps led to a doorway, with a moulded frame, that opened to a tunnel, widened and heightened into an antechamber with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. Six massive pillars carved from the natural rock divide the burial chamber into two side aisles and a central nave, each with a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The entire chamber was surrounded by a moat-like corridor entered steps leading down from in front of the antechamber doorway.

After Taharqa 21 kings and 53 queens and princesess were buried at Nuri under pyramids of good masonry, using blocks of local red sandstone. The Nuri pyramids were generally much larger than those at el-Kurru, reaching heights of 20 to 30 m. The last king to be buried at Nuri died in about 308 BC.

See Vit Hassan's photo set: Pyramids & temples

AU summit of heads of state denounce ICC

Photo: AU delegations attend the opening session of the 13th African Union summit of heads of state and government in Sirte, Libya, 01 July 2009 (AP/VOA)

After bitter wrangling, Africa's leaders agreed Friday to denounce the International Criminal Court and refuse to extradite Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who has been indicted for crimes against humanity in Darfur.

The decision at the African Union summit says AU members "shall not cooperate" with the court in The Hague "in the arrest and transfer of the president of Sudan to the ICC."

Sudan welcomed the move, and other Africans said it was a signal to the West that it shouldn't impose its ways on Africa. A human rights group said the decision was a gift to a dictator.

The 13th AU summit of heads of state, which concluded Friday in Sirte, Libya, also "expresses its preoccupation about the behavior of the ICC prosecutor" Luis Moreno Ocampo, whom African officials describe as too hard on al-Bashir.

Full story from AP (SIRTE, Libya) by Alfred de Montesquiou, Friday July 03, 2009: African leaders denounce international court
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From AFP (SIRTE, Libya) Friday July 03, 2009 - excerpt:   
AU to shelter Beshir from war crimes warrant: delegates

The African Union decided Friday not to cooperate with a war crimes warrant against Sudan President Omar al-Beshir and again appealed to the United Nations to delay the case.

"The conference decided not to cooperate in that field," the top AU official Jean Ping told reporters.

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From Voice of America News (Addis Ababa) Friday July 03, 2009 - excerpt:
AU Summit Compromise Leaves Continental Authority in Limbo

Africa's leaders meeting in Libya have taken a step toward creation of a continental authority that would have enhanced powers to deal with matters of mutual interest. But a compromise reached after days of heated debate is short on details.

After a marathon negotiating session that ended at four o'clock Friday morning, Benin's Foreign Minister Jean-Marie Ehouzou said, "The states are ready to give up a little part of their sovereignty for the benefit of the [union].

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From BBC News Friday July 03, 2009 23:28 UK - excerpt:
African Union in rift with court 

The African Union says it will halt co-operation with the International Criminal Court over its decision to charge Sudan's leader with war crimes.

President Omar al-Bashir was indicted over alleged atrocities in the Darfur region in March.

But delegates to an AU meeting in Libya agreed a resolution saying they would not co-operate in his arrest.

Analysts say the move means the Sudanese leader can travel across the continent without fear of arrest. [...]

In a statement, the AU pointed out that its request to the ICC to defer Mr Bashir's indictment had been ignored.

It went on: "The AU member states shall not co-operate... relating to immunities for the arrest and surrender of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir to the ICC."

The statement was backed by many African leaders who, analysts say, see the ICC as an attempt by the West to interfere in their affairs.

Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Alsamani al-Wasila welcomed the move, describing the resolution as "very clear".

But, says BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut, despite the Sudanese satisfaction a number of countries, including Chad and Benin, are reported to have expressed disquiet about the text.

It is also limited in scope, our analyst adds.

It does not ask the 30 African states that have signed up to the ICC to end their relationship with it.

Indeed, on the day this resolution was being passed, Kenya agreed explicitly to continue co-operating with the ICC, to prosecute those suspected of taking part in the violence that followed the December 2007 election.

The African Union decision is a blow to the court, but by no means a fatal one, our analyst says.

In a separate development, two female aid workers have been kidnapped in Darfur, reports say.

The pair - from Uganda and Ireland - were both working for the Irish charity Goal. They were seized from their compound in Kutum in northern Darfur by unidentified men, officials said. It is the third time foreign aid workers have been kidnapped in Darfur since March.

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From Reuters via Irish Times Saturday July 04, 2009:
African Union will not back Bashir charge

SIRTE, Libya – African Union heads of state voted yesterday not to co-operate with the International Criminal Court over its indictment of Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

“decides that in view of the fact that a request of the African Union has never been acted upon, the AU member states shall not co-operate persuant to the provisions of Article 98 of the Rome statute of the ICC relating to immunities for the arrest and surrender of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir to the ICC,” a text of the resolution said. –(Reuters)

Embassy of Sudan's letter to Rebecca Tinsley and others

Letters - The Guardian, Friday 3 July 2009
Peace In Sudan
By Dr Khalid Almubarak
Embassy of Sudan

Rebecca Tinsley and others (Horror of Bashir's rule in Sudan, Letters, 30 June) against President Omer al-Bashir of Sudan omitted significant facts. First, President Bashir has signed the comprehensive peace agreement of 2005 - which was brokered by the US, UK and others. That put an end to 22 years of civil war. Second, his government signed the Darfur peace agreement of 2006, which could have ended the conflict. Some rebels refused to sign and are prolonging the suffering of the displaced population.

Third, his government has managed to export oil and embark on development despite neoconservative sanctions. Fourth, Bashir heads a national unity government that is leading the country towards elections next year. The progressive electoral law guarantees women 25% of the seats of the assembly and ensures minority parties proportional representation. And fifth, the international criminal court accusations, intended to precipitate regime change, have had the opposite impact. The home front is now solidly behind the president.

In May and June, top-level meetings were held in Qatar and Washington in which the EU and the US were encouraging engagement and co-operation with the government of Sudan and ignoring calls similar to those expressed by Rebecca Tinsley and her co-signatories.

Letters - The Guardian, Tuesday 30 June 2009
Horror of Bashir's rule in Sudan

By Rebecca Tinsley Chair, Waging Peace, Gerhart Baum Former UN special rapporteur on human rights in Sudan, Giles Fraser Canon, St Pauls, Ed Husain Quilliam Foundation, Rabbi Maurice Michaels, Helen Baxendale, Stephen Mangan and six others

Today President al-Bashir celebrates 20 years since the military coup in which he took power in Sudan. In the past two decades he has waged two civil wars, taking the lives of more than 2.6 million people, and displaced a further 6.5 million; he has funded murderous rebel armies in Chad and Uganda; and most recently he has been indicted by the international criminal court for five counts of crimes against humanity and two counts of war crime.

Few of his contemporary dictators can claim so many casualties and such opprobrium. Yet Bashir continues to manipulate even his critics in the international community, setting Russia and China against Europe and the US, and cynically lobbying the African Union and Arab League to back him against the "neocolonialist", "imperialist", "Zionist", western "conspirators". Diplomats struggle to grasp that the architect of such ubiquitous suffering and violence can, at the same time, be a highly skilled diplomat. Bashir is the master of conceding the minimum required just at the right moment to delay concerted actions, such as sanctions, against his regime.

As Bashir enters his third decade in power, we urge the UN and its member states to reflect on the horror and destruction he has brought to his country and not to allow the suffering of the Sudanese people to be forgotten. Only a coherent, concerted and consistent policy towards Bashir will deliver peace and justice to the people of Sudan.

Further reading
Mar 04, 2009 - Sudan Watch: Waging Peace submitted more than 500 children’s drawings of Darfur that were accepted by ICC as evidence in any trial

Sudan: CECAFA 2009 Results

From Sudan Radio Service, Friday, 03 July 2009, CECAFA 2009 Results:

(Khartoum) - The CECAFA championships in Sudan entered its second day with four matches, two in Khartoum and two in Port Sudan. In Khartoum’s national stadium, Tanzania’s Prisons drew with Somalia’s Benadir Telecom 2-2 after a tough match. Benadir scored their two goals in the first half and were looking convincing until Prisons got back into game with a goal just before half time. After the break, Prisons scored after a hair-raising battle through the Somalis’ strong defense.

Following this match, TP Mazembe of DR Congo played against Uganda’s KCC but was beaten 3-2 after failing to stand their ground in defense. Referee Alfadil Abu Shanab sent off the Mazembe goalkeeper.

In Port Sudan, Sudan’s Hay El-Arab drew with Kenya’s Tusker FC 1-1. Hay El-Arab scored their equalizing goal towards the end of the match from a penalty. The second match in the coastal town was between Miembeni of Zanzibar and InterStars of Burundi. Miembeni beat the InterStars 2-1.

Thanks C :)

Further reading
Sudan Watch, Wed, 01 July 2009: CECAFA 2009 club football championship kicks off in Khartoum, Sudan

UPDATE: See Sudan Watch Monday, July 06, 2009:
CECAFA 2009 results: Hay El-Arab of Sudan make the quarters




Photo: "Sudan football" by bashkaaa (Source: www.panoramio.com). Note from Sudan Watch Ed: This might be a photo of Sudan football association's building.



Photo: "Khartoum photo by night" (Source: www.skyscrapercity.com)

UPDATE on Sunday 05 July 2009: CECAFA 2009 results: Sudan’s El-Merikkh wins all three matches to quarter finals

Click on tag label CECAFA (here below) to see latest footballing news reports here at Sudan Watch.

AU countries "shall not co-operate" with the ICC for the arrest and surrender of African indicted personalities

30 African Heads of State currently attending an African Union Summit in Sirte, Libya, among them President Kibaki, said they "shall not co-operate" with the ICC "for the arrest and surrender of indicted personalities".

African leaders discussed a drastic new decision against ICC that would, in practice, give Sudan President Omar Bashir impunity from prosecution for war crimes at The Hague.

African officials said the surprise new draft was circulated by Libya, which is hosting the 13th African Union summit.

From The Standard, Nairobi, Kenya, Thursday, 02 July 2009:
Poll chaos: Team to meet ICC prosecutor
By Standard Team

Chief mediator Kofi Annan’s meeting with Kenya’s delegation on post-election violence in Geneva was inconclusive as he asked them to meet International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Louis Moreno Ocampo first.

The news filtered along with revelation the Cabinet already is toying with a "Third Option’, which sidesteps a hostile Parliament and could lead to creation of a special division of High Court to handle post-election violence cases.

Annan opened the door for the team as 30 African Heads of State meeting in Sirte, Libya, among them President Kibaki, said they "shall not co-operate" with the ICC "for the arrest and surrender of indicted personalities".

The position awaiting formal ratification by the African leaders could widen the split between Parliament and the Government on whether to go for The Hague or a local tribunal.

Already, Parliament has once stopped a bid for a local tribunal by President and Prime minister Raila Odinga.

Sources reveal the meeting with Annan took about four hours of highly guarded discussions on Kenya’s request for extension of the August deadline. Annan ruled further talks would only take place after their familiarisation tour of The Hague court today.

In the Kenyan delegation out to buy more time to set up a local tribunal, or else Annan would pass the matter to ICC, were Land Minister James Orengo, Mutula Kilonzo (Justice), Attorney General Amos Wako, and Justice Assistant Minister William Cheptumo.

August deadline

The team meets Ocampo this morning even as Annan remained non-committal on whether he would extend the August deadline for handing over the ‘envelope’.

Issues discussed with Annan included modalities for establishing a special tribunal, as recommended by the Justice Phillip Waki Commission on post-election violence.

A joint statement from African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities said: " They agreed, in particular, to be in touch again after the Kenyan delegation has had an opportunity to meet with Ocampo."

In Sirte African leaders discussed a drastic new decision against ICC that would, in practice, give Sudan President Omar Bashir impunity from prosecution for war crimes at The Hague. African officials said the surprise new draft was circulated by Libya, which is hosting the 13th African Union summit.

The draft decision obtained by Associated Press provides that AU countries "Shall not co-operate" with the ICC for the arrest and surrender of African indicted personalities".

Annan and the Kenyan team agreed to continue interacting on the establishment of a special tribunal in the coming days, with a view to reaching an understanding on the matter.

The Standard has learnt Mutula floated the ‘Third Option’ to the Cabinet. The option is borrowed from a similar arrangement in Uganda between the Government and Lord’s Resistance Army.

special courts

If it takes off, the special courts are to be established by the Chief Justice who has powers to do so under the Constitution.

According to the new arrangement the special courts shall be established to try individuals who are alleged to have committed serious crimes during post-election violence. Some lawyers have argued it could be abused. They have also asked Annan not to tolerate impunity by conceding to demands of the Government, which they dismissed as time buying tactics.

Central Imenti MP Gitobu Imanyara warned MPs would block all attempts to create a local tribunal or a special division of the High Court. Imanyara argued the Government lacked political goodwill to implement it because its members were implicated.

"No amount of excuse would be allowed again. Let Annan hand over the envelope to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the Hague," Imanyara added.

Senior Counsel Paul Muite says attempts to create a special division could only be backed by amendments to the Constitution. "There is no short-cut and I doubt if Parliament is in the mood to pass the new law," Muite said.

If the special courts are to be established they shall have their own registry and as the case was in Uganda they shall facilitate protection and participation of witnesses, victims, women and children.

Sources said Mutula and Wako were preparing a Bill on the ‘Third Option’ to be tabled in Parliament when it reconvenes a week to August. It is expected that the special court will operate under the current laws, only that it would deal specifically with suspects of post-election violence.

Also to be established are a special appeals courts that would hear appeals for those who would be dissatisfied with the rulings by the special court.

Human rights lawyer Haroun Ndubi said the special division of the court would run into problems of prosecutorial powers, which are vested in the Attorney General, and only a change of Constitution can address it.

Sources at the Justice Ministry said prosecutions should focus on individuals alleged to have planned or carried out widespread, systematic or serious attacks directed against civilians or who are alleged to have committed grave breaches in accordance with the Rome Statute to which Kenya is a signatory.

African leaders tackle continent's challenges
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU – Thursday, 02 July 2009:

SIRTE, Libya (AP) — Africa's leaders were locked in a heated debate Thursday over a draft African Union summit decision that would give Sudan's president continent-wide impunity from prosecution for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

African officials said the surprise new draft was circulated by Libya, which is hosting the 13th African Union summit of heads of state in the coastal town of Sirte, east of the capital, Tripoli.

The draft obtained by The AP says the African Union "deeply regrets" that the United Nations ignored its previous demand for the ICC in The Hague to postpone its arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for crimes in Darfur.

Therefore, it says, AU countries "shall not cooperate" with the ICC "for the arrest and surrender of African indicted personalities."

If adopted, the common ruling could be a powerful blow to prosecuting African officials for war crimes.

Heads of states at AU summits reach their decisions behind closed doors and by consensus, not by vote. It was not clear if the new measure would be approved Thursday.

Several African leaders appeared to strongly resist the draft decision.

"Certainly that's not the position that we take," Ghana's Foreign Minister Muhammad Mumuni told reporters.

"For us in Ghana there is absolutely no equivocation at all about our acceptance and respect for the jurisdiction, the integrity and high honor of dignity of the ICC," he said.

Mumuni added that Ghana supports the AU's call to postpone the "ill-timed" ICC warrant against al-Bashir, which he said imperiled peace efforts in Sudan and could create "a huge power vacuum."

Ghana is among 30 African countries that are party to the international court. Reed Brody, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch, said the draft decision "basically orders them to flout their legal obligations."

The draft appeared to contradict assurances by the AU's executive chairman, Jean Ping, that the African Union would not reach hard decisions against the ICC. Ping said Wednesday that the AU would certainly not reach "dramatic or binding conclusions" for African countries who are party to the ICC.

"Though it is true that African heads of state are tired of being the only ones targeted" by the court, Ping said.

Human Rights Watch's Brody said it was unclear whether the draft would be passed.

"The question is whether Libya will be heavy handed" in pushing the decision through, he said on the sidelines of the summit.

Libya was one the first countries to ignore the ICC and host al-Bashir despite the international warrant against him issued in March. Al-Bashir is accused by the ICC prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity for masterminding Sudanese government violence that has led to the death of some 300,000 people in Darfur since 2003.

Sudan's acting Foreign Minister, El Samany El Wasila, hailed the new AU draft.

"I think it will be adopted, it will be Africa's confirmation that the ICC is politically motivated and should be ignored," El Samany El Wasila told The Associated Press.

El Wasila said the international court had proved it was biased by only acting against Africans "while it ignores Israel for Gaza or (former U.S. President George W.) Bush for Iraq."

Other issues at the summit included improving security across Africa and fighting piracy and civil war in Somalia. Libya, meanwhile, was spearheading a drive to lay the groundwork for an eventual United States of Africa.

Heads of state are to consider a decision to change the AU executive bodies from a "Commission" into an "Authority." The goal is to simplify the African Union and extend its powers over foreign affairs, the economy and defense as a buildup for what Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi ultimately envisions as a common federal government for Africa.

But some of the continent's wealthier nations, led by Nigeria and South Africa, appear to be resisting the move. African diplomats say there are worries the new structure could become overbearing.

There is a need to continue "building consensus on a very important matter like that," said Ghana's Mumuni.

A Libyan official, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Gadhafi stormed out of the conference room at one point because other leaders didn't follow his views. After returning, he told his African counterparts they must reach a decision on the AU Authority before the summit ends, the official said.

U.S. official Johnnie Carson says Sudan's Bashir should face ICC charges

According to AllAfrica's website, AllAfrica conducted an interview with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson. Here below is a copy of the part that relates to Sudan and was picked up by Sudan Tribune [July 02, 2009: US calls on Sudan president to stand before ICC] and reprinted by Ethiopian Review [July 02, 2009: U.S. senior officials calls on Sudan president to stand before ICC].  Note that the author of the piece is not named.

From AllAfrica INTERVIEW (Washington, DC) 01 July 2009: Africa: Obama Administration Tackling Wide Range of African Issues - Johnnie Carson

The administration's point person for Africa, Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, who has been on the job since May 7, says the Obama team is now fully engaged on a range of issues.

In this first AllAfrica interview with the assistant secretary, we explore some of the challenges for United States policies towards Africa. An upcoming conversation will discuss other challenges, other countries - and the progress and potential of Africa in this decade. [...]

On Sudan, following the multi-party talks last week in Washington, convened by President Obama's special envoy for Sudan, Scott Gration, how has the administration decided to engage with the government headed by President Omar al-Bashir, who faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) - but also is key to resolving the crisis in Darfur and the north-south conflict?

I look at it as engaging with the government broadly to achieve important objectives that we share with many in Sudan, both north and south, and with many across Africa and the international community. We think that it is absolutely critical that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in January 2005, be fully implemented, and that the people of southern Sudan have a right, in 2011, to hold a referendum which will determine their future.

We think it is also important that the issues of the boundary between the north and south be resolved. One of the more positive things to come out of this very successful conference is a commitment on both sides to accept the arbitration ruling on the border of Abyei. Every part of the CPA agreement should be fully implemented.

Gen. Gration has been trying to stop the humanitarian nightmare that has existed in Darfur for far too long and to help to bring about a long-term political settlement in the Darfur crisis. We should use our diplomatic power as effectively as we can to help bring a solution to each of these problems. There's no question that we're going to have to work with the government of Sudan. It is both a part of the problem and part of the solution. Notwithstanding all of this, an arrest warrant has been issued for Bashir by the ICC for war crimes in Darfur. He should do the right thing and face those charges.

Note that the U.S.A., along with Sudan and a handful of other countries, has not signed up to the ICC because it wants to protect against any U.S. citizens being brought before the Court. So what Mr Carson is saying sounds to me like nonsense. Why should he expect a Sudanese citizen to do what no U.S. citizen is expected to do, I wonder. The only reason I can think of is that he is spinning the media in order to sound like he is making the right noises to satisfy Save Darfur Coalition.

CECAFA 2009 club football championship kicks off in Khartoum, Sudan

This tournament will be hosted by Almerrikh, the Champion of Sudan, and it will kick start on 30 June 2009 and last until 12 July 2009, the 26th matches of the tournament will take place in three different venues, Almerrikh stadium at Omdurman, Khartoum stadium at Khartoum and Port Sudan stadium in Eastern Sudan.

12 teams are participating in the tournament from different 10 different countries with Sudan and Kenya participating with two teams each. The teams are Almerrikh SC (Sudan), Hay El-Arab SC (Sudan), TP Mazembe (DR Congo) (Invited), Tusker FC (Kenya), Mathare United (Kenya), KCC FC (Uganda), Kartileh Djibsat (Djibouti), Prisons FC (Tanzania), Miembeni FC (Zanzibar), Benaadir Telecom (Somalia), AS Inter Star (Burundi) & Atraco FC (Rwanda).

Read more from Sudan Online:  CECAFA Club Championship 2009.
Logo source: www.brandsoftheworld.com





Photos (above): Al Merreikh Stadium, also known as the red castle, is a multi-use stadium in Omdurman, City of Khartoum, Sudan. Established in 1962. The stadium is used mostly for football games and is considered the home stadium of both Al-Merreikh and the Sudan national team. Currently, the stadium has a capacity of 42,000 seats.



Photo: Al Hilal Stadium, Omdurman, City of Khartoum, Sudan.  (Note, Khartoum is the capital of Sudan and the seat of government.  The city of Khartoum is composed of three areas:  Khartoum proper, North Khartoum, primarily an industrial area;  and Omdurman, once the capital of the Mahdist government.)



Photo: Port Sudan Stadium, Port Sudan, Eastern Sudan.

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Association's Club Cup (CECAFA Club Cup) is a football club competition. It has been known as the Kagame Inter-Club Cup since 2002 due to sponsorship reasons as Rwandan President Paul Kagame has bankrolled the tournaments. It is played by clubs from East and Central Africa.

From Confederation of African Football:

The Council of East and Central Africa Football Association will stage the 2009 Kagame club in Sudan starting June 30. The annual championship has attracted 12 clubs from the region with TP Mazembe of DRC as guests.

The tournament sponsored by El Merreikh group and President of Rwanda HE Paul Kagame to the tune of US 600,000 promises to be a thrilling affair with El Merreikh club of Sudan promising to be the club to watch in the two week festival.

From Sudan Radio Service, 01 July 2009:

(Khartoum) – Amidst fireworks, cheering and tight security, the CECAFA 2009 club football championship was officially opened on Tuesday night in El-Merikh football stadium.

The first match, between Mathare United of Kenya and Kartileh from Djibouti, began before the ceremony. Mathare United beat Kartileh three nil.

Soon after the match and the colorful ceremony, El-Merrikh played and beat Atraco of Rwanda by six goals to one, giving the hosts a big push and sending the whole stadium into wild jubilation after a match that ended a few minutes before midnight. The chairman of the club, Dr. Omar Mahmoud Khalid, could not hide his joy following the match.

[Dr. Omar Mahmoud Khalid]:“This is a very exciting match, especially towards the end of the first half, when they scored four goals with beauty and style. We are happy with this performance, especially when El-Merikh has been absent for a long time. This affected their performance in the first half - but they picked up later.”

On Wednesday, Tanzania’s Prisons FC will battle it out with Benadir of Somalia while TP Mazembe of DR Congo will face Kampala City Club from Uganda.

El-Merikh now go on to play Kartileh of Djibouti and Mathare United will take on Atraco of Rwanda on Thursday evening in Omdurman.

In Port Sudan, InterStars of Burundi will play Miembieni of Zanzibar and Hay El-Arab will take on the Kenyans, Tusker FC.

From AFP - Sudan to host two CECAFA championships - 25 May 2009 (via footballcupleague.com):

(NAIROBI) - Sudan will host two CECAFA championships in July and August in a bid to solidify their rather shaky peace treaty between the North and the South, a top official said on Monday.

The club championships, originally scheduled for Uganda, will be held in Khartoum and Port Sudan between June 30 and July 12 and the youth under-17 contest in Juba a month later.

It will be the first major sporting event to be staged in the southern part of the country since the signing of the treaty in January 2005 which brought an end to their 20-year old civil war.

“The government of Sudan is committed to the promotion and willing to invest heavily in sports throughout the whole country,” CECAFA general secretary Nicholas Musonye told AFP.

“They have accepted to finance the staging of the two events to the tune of one million dollars (78 million shillings). It is a big boost for the sport.”

“We have, in turn increased the prize money from 60,000 dollars to 100,000 dollars (7.8 million shillings) of which the winners will pocket 50,000 dollars (4 million shillings),” said Musonye.

Sudan is enjoying a footballing reconnaissance with their two top club sides, Al Hilal and Al-Merreikh, reaching the group stages of the African Champions League and the national team in the hunt to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

UPDATE - Friday 03 July 2009:  click here for CECAFA 2009 Results

UPDATE - Sunday 05 July 2009: CECAFA 2009 results: Sudan’s El-Merikkh wins all three matches to quarter finals

Click on tag label CECAFA (here below) to see latest footballing news reports here at Sudan Watch.

AU-UN's Djibril Bassole meets URF Commander Bahar Idriss Abu Garda in Tripoli, Libya

From Sudan Radio Service, Wednesday, 01 July 2009:

(Tripoli) – The joint AU-UN peace mediator, Djibril Bassole, met the leader of the United Resistance Front in Tripoli Libya on Monday. The meeting is part of an AU-UN attempt to encourage Darfur anti-government groups to negotiate with the Government of National Unity.

The leader of the URF, Bahar Idris Abu Garda, spoke to Sudan Radio Service on Tuesday from Tripoli.

[Bahar Idris Abu Garda]:“In this meeting we discussed with the joint mediator Djibril Bassole about how to create a united stand when we participate in peace talks with the government. And earlier this month, we in the URF visited Doha on the invitation of the Qatar mediators, we also met the joint mediator; we discussed how to encourage the Darfur anti-government groups to be involved in the peace talks with the government. Bassole also met with the brothers who had signed the Tripoli Agreement. So he came to meet with the URF and the Tripoli agreement group.”

Abu Garda also said that Bassole told him that the mediators want all the other Darfur anti-government groups to be included in the talks.

[Bahar Idris Abu Garda]: “The mediator explained to us how the on-going talks in Doha between JEM and GONU have been obstructed and delayed, he also confirmed that the international community wishes that the talks should be comprehensive, he confirmed as well that the Doha talks only concern the goodwill agreement.”

The leader of the URF Darfur anti-government group, Bahar Abu Garda, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Tripoli.

See Sudan Watch, 19 May 2009: ICC charges URF Commander Bahar Idriss Abu Garda with murder, directing attacks and pillaging

African Union job vacancies - Employment in the AU Commission

A link to African Union job vacancies - Employment in the AU Commission is now in the sidebar here at Sudan Watch.

The vacancies are for various positions at AU Commission Headquarters based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and at its Representational and Specialized offices at its various duty stations.

Applicants who wish to have the Arabic and Portuguese version of the vacancies announcement may contact the webmaster: webmaster@africa-union.org

The deadline for receiving applications is as indicated on the list of vacancies.

Qualified African women are strongly encouraged to apply.

Note: The Commission of the African Union is a Non-smoking Environment.

Iran's Ahmadinejad cancels AU Summit visit - Sudan's Bashir and Zimbabwe's Mugabe attending AU Summit in Libya

From the website of UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, 01 July 2009:
Lord Malloch-Brown discusses African Union Summit on 5 Live (01/07/2009)

SPEAKER Lord Malloch-Brown

DATE 01 July 2009

Foreign Office Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown, discussed the objectives of the African Union Summit during an interview with 5 Live. He is attending the Summit from 1-2 July 2009.

Read the transcript

Shelagh Fogarty (SF): The Foreign Office Minister Lord Malloch Brown will meet world leaders later at an African Union summit in Libya.

Robert Mugabe and Omar al-Bashir, the indicted President of Sudan, are among the guests, though the Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has just announced that he is cancelling his trip. He was due to be there. Lord Malloch Brown joins us now. Good morning.

Lord Mark Malloch Brown (LMMB): Good morning.

SF: I suppose the difficult question in, when it comes to Africa is, is where do you begin? Is Somalia high on the agenda I imagine?

LMMB: Yes, Somalia’s really high on the agenda. The Government there is under real pressure from rebels. It’s fighting going on as we speak and we’re all racing to do what we can to support it, because if you remember a few years ago the country had really slumped under the control of hard line Islamist elements. And we’re just anxious to see a decent Government there that represents everybody, that protects people’s human rights and just offers a decent living to people. And that hangs in the balance at the moment.

SF: What about the cancellation by President Ahmadinejad? Was that to be expected as things are, are at the moment?

LMMB: Well I’m not sure. I mean I think it would have been typical of him to have shown up here and in a sense flaunted his success to the world, or at least here to an audience where there would have been some sympathy for his position. But I think red faces are saved all round by the fact he’s not coming. I mean I think probably to the majority of people here it’s a relief.

SF: What’s the latest from the Foreign Office on those remaining British Embassy employees? Iranian employees, but of the British Embassy, who were arrested?

LMMB: Well look, as you would expect I’m going to be very careful what I say about them. We’ve still got four who are being held and we just are being very, very sensitive about what we say publicly about them. But we’re making every effort inside Iran to secure their release. We consider they’ve done nothing wrong and this is a terrible breach of normal diplomatic protocols and laws.

SF: Away from that, Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, is going to be at this, at this summit meeting. It’s out of the headlines in the UK papers at the moment, but how far has it come down the line since this degree of co-operation between the Mugabe regime and Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition?

LMMB: Well we had Morgan Tsvangirai in London just recently with people from Robert Mugabe’s party, Zanu PF, in his delegation. We allowed them in, we treated them with full respect. We’re giving an increasing amount of humanitarian assistance to the Government. I’ve been meeting with people on both sides of the Government. I met with Robert Mugabe’s Vice President last week in New York, met with his Foreign Minister in South Africa a week or two before that.

So we’re really trying to increase the tempo of contact while continually saying in every encounter that we’re going to judge them by their deeds and actions. If this Government really can do the reforms it’s promised to do and can secure the reconciliation that it’s committed to, then the amount of support from the UK, Europe and the US will grow to reflect that.

SF: It was interesting and revealing in a way to see you mention that visit by Morgan Tsvangirai to London recently. He was heckled angrily by ex-pat Zimbabweans at an event in the UK wasn’t it who seemed to think that he was no more than a puppet of the Mugabe regime now that he had come from the outside to the inner circle.

LMMB: I think it was a little bit more complicated than it was reported because I think people inside Zimbabwe share some of that frustration and worry, is his good nature getting the better of him, is he being out manoeuvred by Mugabe. But equally they understand that the country was at such a low point that he had to do something, he had to engage, because so many people were going without food, there was the cholera crisis, basic services were breaking down, the schools were closed. And he’s been remarkably successful in turning a lot of that around.

I think the protesters at Southwark Cathedral were also in part motivated by the fact that there are quite a few so called illegal asylum seekers, those who’ve had their asylum seeking requests refused in the UK who once things are normal in Zimbabwe would have to go home. So I think there was a lot going on in that church meeting and it wasn’t just a commentary on Morgan Tsvangirai’s performance in Zimbabwe. It had a lot to do with asylum and refugee issues as well.

SF: Thank you Lord Malloch Brown, Foreign Office Minister, for talking to us this morning.

Hat tip: ISRIA

See AFP news report - Iran leader eclipses agenda of African summit - by Griffin Shea, 01 July 2009 (via The Sydney Morning Herald)

UNAMID Cost: 1 July 2008-30 June 2009: $1.6 billion - UNMIS Cost: 1 July 2008-30 June 2009: $858.77 million

UN Security Council Report has published its Monthly Forecast Report previewing issues likely to be considered in the UN Security Council during July 2009. The Report is published at www.securitycouncilreport.org and is available in PDF.

From UNSCs July 2009 Forecast re Sudan:

The mandate of the UNAMID expires on 31 July and the Council is expected to renew. The Council will consider the two most recent Secretary-General’s reports on UNAMID (one covering April and May and one likely to be received in mid-July covering June) and will be briefed by the joint AU-UN Special Representative, Rodolphe Adada. The Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Susana Malcorra, may brief on developments regarding UNAMID’s deployment. To read the full text, please click here

Excerpts:

In a briefing on 11 June, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes highlighted ongoing concerns about the impact of the NGO ejections on the Three Protocol Areas (Abyei, Blue Nile State, and Southern Kordofan State) and eastern Sudan. He also conveyed serious concerns about the high humanitarian toll of the tribal violence in Jonglei state and the renewed presence in Sudan of the Ugandan rebel group, Lord’s Resistance Army.

Two African nations indicated they will enforce the ICC’s arrest warrant for Bashir. In May, South Africa warned Bashir against attending President Jacob Zuma’s inauguration in Pretoria, and Botswana on 9 June announced that it would arrest Bashir should he visit.

An issue for Darfur—and for Sudan as a whole—are the growing concerns about the north-south relationship and the recent upsurge in tribal violence. Important in this context will be whether both sides accept the ruling, expected in July, of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague on Abyei.

On the possibility of additional names for targeted sanctions, members are divided. Some (such as Libya) are interested in adding rebel leaders, and others (like France) are willing to move forward only if additions would also include spoilers on the government side. Sanctions committees operate by consensus and this may mean a continuing standstill on the sanctions list issue.

The UK is the lead nation on Sudan.

Other Relevant Facts

UNAMID: Joint AU-UN Special Representative for Darfur

Rodolphe Adada (Republic of Congo)

Joint AU-UN Chief Mediator

Djibrill Yipènè Bassolé (Burkina Faso)

UNAMID: Size, Composition and Cost

Maximum authorised strength: up to 19,555 military personnel, 3,772 police and 19 formed police units (total police 6432)

Main troop contributors: Nigeria, Rwanda, Egypt and Ethiopia

Strength as of 23 June 2009: 13,455 military personnel (including 12,814 troops, 378 staff officers, 179 military observers and 84 liaison officers) and 2,972 police personnel (including 1,997 police advisers and 7 formed units composed of 975 personnel)

Cost: 1 July 2008-30 June 2009: $1.6 billion

UNAMID: Duration

31 July 2007 to present; mandate expires 31 July 2009

UNMIS: Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi (Pakistan)

UNMIS: Size, Composition and Cost

Maximum authorised strength: up to 10,000 military and 715 police personnel

Strength as of 31 May 2009: 8,722 troops, 540 observers, 184 staff officers and 629 police.

Main troop contributors: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Cost: 1 July 2008-30 June 2009: $858.77 million

UNMIS: Duration

24 March 2005 to present; mandate expires 30 April 2010

Sanctions Committee Chairman

Thomas Mayr-Harting (Austria)
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Below are summaries of some of the issues covered in UNSCs July 2009 Forecast.

Chad-CAR
In July the Council is expected to consider the Secretary-General’s report on the MINURCAT, including an update on the development of a strategic work plan with indicative timelines to measure and track progress on the implementation of benchmarks. To read the full text, please click here.

Children and Armed Conflict
In July the Council is expected to consider the annual report on the activities of the Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009. The Council is likely to be briefed by both France, which was chair of the Working Group until the end of 2008, and Mexico, which took over in January 2009. By the end of July, the Council is also expected to take up the issue of expanding the criteria for including parties to armed conflict in the annexes to the Secretary-General’s report on children and armed conflict, as foreshadowed in its 29 April presidential statement. To read the full text, please click here.

Women, Peace and Security
The Council is expected to hold a debate in July on implementation of resolution 1820 on sexual violence in conflict. (The Secretary-General’s report is due on 30 June). At press time it was unclear whether the report would be received on time and if the Council would consider it in July or August. It was also unclear whether there would be any formal Council action following the debate. To read the full text, please click here.
- - -

Source:
Security Council Report
One Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza
885 Second Avenue at 48th Street, 31st Floor
New York NY 10017

Tel: 212.759.9429 • Fax: 212.759.4038

contact@securitycouncilreport.org
www.securitycouncilreport.org

UNAMID: Security Situation in Darfur 30 June 2009

Darfur/UNAMID Daily Media Brief
Source: United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID)
EL FASHER (DARFUR), Sudan, June 30, 2009 (via APO)

Security Situation in Darfur

The security situation in Darfur is reported to be relatively calm.

UNAMID military conducted a total of 100 patrols including confidence-building, escort patrols, night patrols and investigation patrol covering fifty two (52) villages and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camps. Similarly, UNAMID Police advisers conducted 129 patrols in and around the villages and IDP Camps.

Attack on a UNAMID Formed Police Unit

Members of the Nigerian Formed Police Unit (FPU) came under attack yesterday at about 1515 hours by unknown gunmen in Ardamata area, near UNAMID camp in the West Darfur capital of El Geneina. The Commander of the FPU was shot in the leg and was taken to the Mission’s hospital for treatment by members of the convoy. The wounded officer is in a stable condition.

Advance Party of Ethiopian Battalion Arrives By Road

An advance party of the second Ethiopian battalion has arrived in the AU-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) by road, covering a distance of more than 1,800 kilometres.

This is the first time ever that a troop contributing country has undertaken such a venture and the Ethiopians carried transportation and equipment, including 76 transport vehicles, 20 support vehicles, as well as 39 drivers and logistics specialists. The second team of the advance party carrying 61 vehicles and equipment, supported by 149 personnel is expected to arrive in the Mission on Saturday 4 July.

When fully deployed, the battalion will be based in Graida in South Darfur and El Geneina in West Darfur. The main body of the battalion will be deployed in the Mission area at the end of August 2009.

Currently, Ethiopia’s contribution to UNAMID consists of an infantry battalion and engineering unit, as well as multi-role, reconnaissance and transport companies deployed in El Geneina and Kulbus in West Darfur.

On 31 July 2007, United Nations Security Council resolution 1769 (2007) authorized the establishment of UNAMID and set the Mission’s strength at 19,555 military personnel, including 360 military observers and liaison officers; an appropriate civilian component, including up to 3,772 police personnel; and 19 formed police units, comprising up to 140 personnel each.

ICC prosecutors seek genocide charge against Sudan's Bashir

Lawyers to seek genocide charge against Sudan's Bashir

AMSTERDAM, June 29, 2009 (Reuters) - Prosecutors will try to charge Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir with genocide in Darfur after the International Criminal Court (ICC) denied this count in March, prosecutors at the court said on Monday.

The court said last week it would allow prosecutors to appeal its ruling.

Prosecutors said in an e-mailed statement they would appeal on or around July 6 against the ICC's decision to exclude the genocide count.

The court, set up in 2002 by international statute, could change its decision if the prosecution could gather additional evidence, the ICC said in March.

(Reporting by Gilbert Kreijger)

Maybe ICC chief prosecutor Moreno-Ocampo is missing being in the spotlight.

South Sudan: Pre-war development projects are revived

From Sudan Radio Service, 29 June 2009:

(Khartoum) – The President of the Government of southern Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit and the Federal state Minister for Industry, Paul Marial Dot Agok met last week in Khartoum to discuss ways of reviving projects that were interrupted by the war.

[Paul Marial Dot Agok]:“My meeting with the first Vice-President was related to the development projects which were stopped due to the last war. We want to re-launch six projects, which are vital to those people in that part of Sudan, in south Sudan. We want to restart these projects so that people can have jobs. Among the projects are the Nzara industrial and agricultural project, the Tonj sisal factory, the Malut sugar factory, the Mongala sugar factory, the Tali Project and at the brewery in Wau. These are six projects we would like to start up again.”

The original projects date from the sixties. They were set up to help develop rural areas in south Sudan, but were abandoned at the outbreak of the twenty-one year civil war.

US 'is willing to consider' contributing to UN peacekeeping operations with more military observers, officers and police

The United States does not provide troops for U.N. peacekeeping forces, which would mean putting American soldiers under U.N. command.

But U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the United States "is willing to consider directly contributing more military observers, military staff officers, civilian police, and other civilian personnel — including more women — to U.N. peacekeeping operations."

The U.S. has already increased its military observers in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Liberia and is providing two additional military staff officers to the mission in Chad and the Central African Republic, U.S. officials said.

Source: Associated Press report by Edith M Lederer, AP Writer, June 29, 2009 -
US ready to beef up UN peacekeeping operations with military observers, officers and police

Micro-finance: BRAC provides loans for women in Yambio, Western Equatoria state

From Sudan Radio Service, 29 June 2009:
BRAC Provides Loans in Yambio

(Yambio) – An international micro-finance institution, Building Resources Across Communities, BRAC, is providing loans for women in Yambio, Western Equatoria state.

The scheme is aimed at enabling women to help them set up small businesses so that they are not dependent on aid.

Speaking to Sudan Radio service on Monday, Esther Wayo, BRAC’s branch manager in Yambio, described how the loans were benefiting the women.

[Esther Wayo]: “We give loans to women. We gave to 19 members. They are now doing their businesses and they are happy. We started giving them loans on 20th June. The amount we give depends on their ability to repay the money. The amount ranges from 400 to 600 Sudanese pounds because this is our first program in Yambio, that is why we are giving at that rate. Most of the women are doing businesses like selling things, cooking food. With installments, somebody who is given 500 Sudanese pounds will give it back at the rate of 16 pounds per week. The way I look at it, is that it is going to increase development in the area, not only in Yambio but also in other states”.

Esther Wayo was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Yambio.

See Save Darfur Coalition's accounts for the year Oct 01, 2007 to Sep 30, 2008

Check this out. Save Darfur Coalition's accounts for the year October 01, 2007 to September 30, 2008 - published on June 29, 2009 - can be viewed at:

http://www.savedarfur.org/page/-/PDFs/FY08_990.pdf

Hat tip: Alex de Waal's comment at his blog post Monday, June 29, 2009: Does “Save Darfur” Feed Darfur?
- - -

Here is a copy of some emails received from Save Darfur Coalition in March, April, May, June of this year. Three different emails were received during the month of March.

From: info@savedarfur.org
Subject: A five-year-old child
Date: 29 June 2009 15:20:37 BST

The rainy season will put thousands of Darfuri children at risk.

We need your help to urge world leaders to finally end the genocide.

Make your contribution to the Save Darfur Coalition today.

Dear friend,

What if life in a displacement camp was all you've ever known?

Five years of dependence on refugee rations and an inadequate water supply. Five years living with the threat of disease. And worst of all, five years of knowing too well what anguish looks like in your mother's eyes.

For thousands of Darfuri children, this is reality—another under-reported tragedy in the wake of genocide.

And, with the rainy season approaching, we only have two days left to reach our goal of 2,700 donors ready to say to President Obama and other world leaders: This suffering must end.

Make a generous gift today in support of our crucial advocacy efforts that give voice to those who are suffering.

Children make up half of the 2.7 million Darfuris who were driven from their homes and now call these displacement camps home. And Sudanese President Bashir knows this.

When his regime expelled 13 humanitarian aid organizations in March, Bashir knew this action would devastate relief efforts and reduce access to medical services, water and sanitation. He knew these camps might not be ready to face the challenges brought by the rainy season, especially the standing water that brings with it mosquitoes and the threat of disease.

Bashir knows this and doesn't care. That is the callousness we're up against.

That's why we need your help today. Together, our movement is demanding that the United States and the United Nations intervene to end this crisis once and for all. We're enlisting congressional allies to ensure continued funding for peacekeeping operations. We're meeting with administration officials to demand that they engage in sustained diplomatic negotiations.

And most importantly, we're bringing grassroots pressure to bear on our leaders and giving voice to a worldwide constituency of conscience to ensure that the children of Darfur can look forward to a future of peace.

Contribute to the Save Darfur Coalition today—and help us keep the pressure on world leaders so we can finally end the suffering.

With your continued support, I believe we can succeed.

Sincerely,

Suzie Armstrong
Save Darfur Coalition
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From: info@savedarfur.org
Subject: The rainy season
Date: June 2009 15:54:12 BST

The rainy season is on its way—and with it greater risk for 2.7 million Darfuris.

Help us urge world leaders to move quickly to protect them now—and finally end the suffering.

Please, donate to the Save Darfur Coalition before June 30.

Dear friend,

For Darfur, the rainy season is on its way.

Roads will be washed away in minutes, cutting the flow of aid to 2.7 million Darfuris who depend on it. Displacement camps will be deluged with standing water, leaving millions vulnerable to disease.

By June 30, we need 2,700 people—one for every 1,000 Darfuris living in these camps—to stand up and say: I will not let them be abandoned.

Click here and make a gift today—before the rainy season intensifies suffering for the people of Darfur.

We're at a new stage in this conflict. What once was the daily threat of armed gunmen terrorizing Darfuri villages has been replaced by despair and a daily struggle to survive in crowded, under-resourced refugee camps.

Khartoum's expulsion of 13 organizations caused a 40% drop in humanitarian aid capacity. The heroic efforts of the remaining aid groups have succeeded in stockpiling as much food as possible before the rains hit. But medical supplies and sanitation services are largely lacking and, with the heightened risk of disease, there could be tragic consequences.

This is the Sudanese government's design—to keep the world focused on managing the crisis instead of ending it.

We won't let it happen. Together, our movement is demanding progress for long-term peace. We're enlisting congressional allies to pressure the administration and world leaders. We're meeting with administration officials to push for action. And most importantly, we're bringing grassroots pressure to bear on our leaders and giving voice to the constituency of conscience.

But, if there's one thing we've learned, it's that the Bashir regime will not relent on its own. Putting an end to the suffering will take an even greater commitment on our part.

Contribute to the Save Darfur Coalition today—and help us increase our efforts now, before the rainy season strikes Darfur.

The rainy season brings with it intense new challenges. It's up to you and me to meet them head on. Thanks to the dedication you bring, I think we're up to it.

Sincerely,

Suzie Armstrong
Save Darfur Coalition

The Save Darfur Coalition is an alliance of over 180 faith-based, advocacy and human rights organizations whose mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of more than two million people in the Darfur region. To learn more, please visit http://www.SaveDarfur.org.
- - -

Your gift lays the groundwork for lasting peace

When the rainy season soon reaches Darfur, a horrifying situation will grow worse for 2.7 million Darfuris living in makeshift camps.

Your gift today will fuel our campaign pressuring world leaders to act. But it will also do so much more.

With your support, we won't just call for an end to the suffering—we'll unite the constituency of conscience and push for long-term peace in Sudan.

Don't delay. Make a generous gift now—and help us get to 2,700 donors before June 30.

Please select a donation amount:
$2,500
$1,000
$500
$250
$100
$50
$25
Other: $
Minimum payment: $5
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From: info@savedarfur.org
Subject: Don't delay - help us get to 50,000 signatures
Date: May 2009 14:33:00 BST

Bashir's regime isn't committed to peace—so President Obama must lead.

Help us get to 50,000 signers on our citizen open letter TODAY, and we'll bring copies to the White House on Friday during our March for Darfur.

Add your name now!

Dear friend,

It's become clear that the Bashir regime is not committed to peace—and that peace is dependent on President Obama's leadership.

That's why 41,938 people have already signed our citizen open letter and sent it to President Obama, and why Darfuris from across the country will march in front of the White House Friday and call on the Obama administration to act.

If we can get to 50,000 signatures by midnight tonight, we'll bring copies of the letters with us to the White House. Don't delay!

Just hours left—sign on to the letter now.

In the last two weeks, the Sudanese government prevented Darfuri delegates from traveling to a peace conference in Ethiopia, and appointed a man wanted for war crimes in Darfur as the governor of South Kordofan, a critical border region between North and South Sudan.

And Bashir's regime has yet to make good on promises of unfettered access for humanitarian groups to provide clean water, sanitation and essential health care services.

But our movement is refusing to be silent. Actress and activist Mia Farrow stoically undertook a 12-day fast in support of the people of Darfur. Richard Branson, Peter Gabriel, Representatives Donald Payne and Ilena Ros-Lehtinen, and hundreds of people worldwide carried on when her health forced her to stop the fast.

On Tuesday, members of the Congressional Black Caucus announced they are joining the fast in support of the people of Darfur. And on Friday, Darfuris and Sudanese from across the United States will march in front of the White House and call for action.

These courageous actions are bringing awareness of the crisis to millions. Now, it's up to us to transform that awareness into a powerful message for the White House: we need bold action now.

Sign our citizen open letter—if we get to 50,000 co-signers by midnight tonight, we'll bring copies to the White House!

Thank you for all that you do.

Sincerely,

Suzie Armstrong
Save Darfur Coalition

P.S. For more about Mia Farrow and the committed Darfur activists and members of Congress joining her fast, click here.

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

From: info@savedarfur.org
Subject: Your money - funding genocide?
Date: April 2009 20:55:04 BST

Tell the Vanguard Group not to invest in companies that fund genocide.

Vanguard shareholders are considering a new genocide-free investing proposal. Will you help us make sure it passes?

I'm a Vanguard investor, and I'm voting for genocide-free investing.

I'm not a Vanguard investor, but I'm calling on them to become genocide-free.

Dear Friend,

PetroChina is one of the largest oil industry partners of the government of Sudan—a government now headed by a wanted war criminal.

So you might be shocked to learn that in the past 3 months, The Vanguard Group—the world's largest family of mutual funds—has increased its holdings in PetroChina!

This week, Vanguard shareholders begin voting on a proposal to adopt a genocide-free investing policy—a proposal Vanguard opposes. Will you help us make sure it passes?

Yes, I'm a Vanguard shareholder, and I don't want to invest in companies that fund genocide.

I'm not a Vanguard shareholder, but I support genocide-free investing.

Investments from companies like PetroChina allow the government of Sudan to fund its campaign of death and destruction—and resist international pressure to restore humanitarian aid to Darfur. Genocide-free investing is a crucial effort to cut off funding for the genocide in Darfur.

TIAA-CREF, the giant US pension fund, has joined states and colleges in adopting Sudan divestment policies. Now, if Vanguard divests, it could set a new standard for the world's mutual funds.

Vanguard mutual fund shareholders are receiving proxy ballots in the mail this week. If you are a shareholder, please vote FOR Question 3, which would force Vanguard to transparently adopt a genocide-free investment policy. Vanguard claims to have a policy in place—but admits that it has yet to divest from a single holding due to concerns about human rights abuses.

And if you're not a Vanguard investor, make it clear that The Vanguard Group must stop doing business with PetroChina and Sudan—or you won't consider doing business with Vanguard.

I'm a Vanguard investor, and I'm voting for genocide-free investing.

I'm not a Vanguard investor, but I support genocide-free investing.

The voices of citizens and investors like you have compelled 27 states, over 60 universities, and big corporations like TIAA-CREF to take action against PetroChina. Together, we can add Vanguard to that list.

Sincerely,

Suzie Armstrong,
Save Darfur Coalition

P.S. Not sure if you are a Vanguard shareholder? Click here to learn more.

Donate to Help Save Darfur
Help build the political pressure needed to end the crisis in Darfur by supporting the Save Darfur Coalition's crucial awareness and advocacy programs. Click here now to make a secure, tax-deductible online donation.
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From: info@savedarfur.org
Subject: Bullets can miss
Date: March 2009 15:59:13 BST

Each day brings more alarming news about access to food, water, and medical care in Darfur. And with attacks on aid workers and peacekeepers increasing, calling on world leaders to act now couldn't be more important—and your support couldn't be more essential. DONATE $50 TODAY.

The situation in Darfur has grown more perilous each day.

We need to raise $150,000 by 3/31 to call on world leaders to act.

Watch our new video and send $50 immediately!

Dear friend,

Even at close range, bullets can miss. Starvation and disease are another matter.

At least 1.1 million lives are at immediate risk due to the Bashir regime's decision to expel aid organizations that provide essential food and medicine from the country.

The time to act is now. But there are only 2 days left to meet our goal of raising $150,000 to support our urgent advocacy work. Please donate today.

We're $52,007 from our goal with ONLY 2 DAYS left. Make your gift of $50 today! If we pressure world leaders to resolve the crisis, we can save thousands of lives.

Our new video tells the stories of survivors of the genocide and the constituency of conscience that brought us to this game-changing moment, with an ICC warrant for the arrest of Sudan's president and a newly-appointed U.S. special envoy ready to lead a sustained diplomatic effort toward peace in Sudan.

But the video also makes clear—we've entered a new phase of destruction, and we can't sit on the sidelines. In recent weeks, peacekeepers in Darfur have been attacked, aid workers have been kidnapped, and hunger and disease may soon spread like wildfire in refugee camps.

The crisis in Sudan demands a bold response from world leaders, and we are working night and day to get one. We are applying pressure at the highest levels of the White House and the U.N., helping Darfuris tell their moving stories to the world, and organizing thousands of Americans in their communities. Please stand with us today.

Only 2 days left to support our urgent advocacy campaign. Make your gift now.

When we speak out together, we impact the lives of thousands of courageous people facing unspeakable hardship. Watch our video. Hear their stories. Give them hope.

Sincerely,

Suzie Armstrong
Save Darfur Coalition

Re Abyei: NCP says both sides agree on accepting decision made by international arbitration

From Sudan Radio Service, 25 June 2009:
NCP Says Both Sides Agree on Crucial CPA Issues

(Washington D.C.) – The information secretary in the Sudanese embassy in the US, and the spokesperson of the NCP delegation, Saif el-Din Omer, said that the two parties have managed to agree on the most contentious issues in the implementation of the CPA.

He spoke to our producer Hussein Halfawi.

Halfawi: How do you in the NCP evaluate the outcome and the recommendations of the Washington meeting?

[Saif el-Din]: “I can assure you that the two partners have discussed all the contentious issues in the implementation of the CPA, and have reached an understanding, except on one important issue, which is the referendum issue, and the discussions are still going on about it here in Washington and they will continue discussing it in Khartoum or anywhere else. There are some suggestions on how to narrow the differences about this issue. But all the other issues have been agreed on.”

Halfawi: But the two main agendas discussed there, the census results and the border demarcations issue, have they been agreed on by the two parties?

[Saif el-Din]: “I have told you that the only important issue remaining is the referendum, and dialogue and discussions are going on about it. Regarding the Abyei issue, the two parties have agreed on accepting the decision which will be made by international arbitration, and their commitment to it. So the negotiations are not yet over. There is nothing worrying or disturbing to the two parties, who managed to reach a peace agreement which has stopped the war. They are capable of resolving any small differences.”

Halfawi: There are accusations from the SPLM that the NCP came to Washington to discuss the normalization of their relationship with the US, not to discuss the CPA issues, what do you say about this?

[Saif el-Din]:(interrupting) "I can tell you that the government did not come with any advance conditions, and this is not one of its policies in any negotiation. Whether it is with the United States or with the brothers in the rebel movements in Darfur. It does not believe in policy with conditions at all. Some people are criticizing the government for discussing the normalization of the relationship with the US. Personally, I think we should thank the government for it, because the sanctions on Sudan by the US are affecting all of the Sudanese people in the south and the north.”

Halfawi: So, can we say that the two partners will come back with a new spirit, to continue the full implementation of the CPA?

[Saif el-Din]: "I think so and hope so, and the good spirit they have started with, indicates that these small differences which emerge here and there from time to time are not new, unfortunately, and despite some parties trying to magnify these differences, the essential issue is not like that.”

The information secretary at the Sudanese embassy in the US, Saif El-din Omer, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service on Wednesday from Washington.

Further reading:

Aug 16, 2005 - Sudan Watch: Sudan: Abyei Boundary Commission report

May 30, 2006 - Sudan Watch: Interview with Dr Douglas H Johnson, expert on the Abyei Boundary Commission - Hofre Nahas area; part of Bahr El Ghazal transferred to Darfur in 1960s

Aug 21, 2006 - Sudan Watch: S. Sudan: SPLM says Abyei is exclusively for nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms

Jun 29, 2009 - Sudan Watch: Re Abeyi: SPLM's Pagan Amum says both sides tentatively agree on accepting decision by international arbitration court

For further reports, click on Abyei label here below.

US special envoy Gration's genocide remarks cause storm of protest

From Sudan Radio Service, 22 June 2009:

Gration's Genocide Remarks Cause Storm of Protest

(Nairobi/Darfur) - Representatives of internally displaced persons in Darfur have strongly rejected the US special envoy Scott Gration’s statement last week that what had happened in Darfur is “remnants of genocide”.

For its part, the Sudanese Foreign Ministry expressed the hope that what it described as Gration’s “denial of genocide” in Darfur would be the official position of the US administration.

ABC, a US TV channel, reported that the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, was furious when she was informed about General Gration’s remarks.

The US special envoy to Sudan made the remarks during an on-the-record press briefing in Washington on 17th June. A journalist asked him if he would describe the situation in Darfur now as genocide.

Gration said, “What we see is the remnants of genocide. What we see are the consequences of genocide, the results of genocide.”

His remarks indicate that he is under the impression that genocide had taken place (a point of view that the International Criminal Court was not willing to endorse in its accusations against President al-Bashir when they issued an arrest warrant against him). His answer suggests that he had no evidence that genocide is happening at the moment.

Nevertheless, General Gration’s remarks have sparked a controversy which may come back to haunt him as the partners to the signing of the CPA prepare to meet in Washington to discuss the progress of CPA implementation.

Sudan Radio Service spoke to some IDPs from refugee camps in Darfur on Monday, to ask them what they thought of the special envoy’s statement.

All the IDPs who spoke to us preferred not to be identified.

[Female IDP]: “It is clear that this statement is from a person who is biased to the government side. The law is clear, what is genocide? There is clear evidence which shows that there is genocide in Darfur. When someone displaces more than 29,000 people from only one camp, what do you call that? More than 200 or 300,000 have died. More that 300,000 rape cases. So what do you think genocide is? This is genocide, so from his statement, is clear that he is biased to the regime.”

[Male IDP]: “We think that this is an unacceptable statement from him as US envoy, because what is going on here, we have seen it ourselves and we don’t want evidence or proof from other bodies. We know that it is genocide and that this is happening against the African elements or the blacks, all these special envoys when they come, they meet with the government officials first, that’s why they try to implement their agendas. This is unacceptable statement and it was rejected by all the IDPs.”

[Male IDP]: “According to the UN definition of genocide, nobody needs to tell us that what has happened in Darfur was or wasn't genocide. If you eliminate a whole family, or a certain element completely, this is a clear indication that the government’s strategy was to eliminate all the people here. So the statement by the US envoy was disappointing and painful.”

Those were the views of some IDPs in Darfur who preferred not to be identified.

Re Abeyi: SPLM's Pagan Amum says both sides tentatively agree on accepting decision by international arbitration court

From Sudan Radio Service, 25 June 2009:
SPLM Says Washington Meeting Will Help Full CPA Implementation

(Washington D.C.) – The CPA partners, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the National Congress Party say that they are optimistic that the Washington D.C. CPA meeting will enhance the full implementation of the CPA.

The SPLM secretary-general, Pagan Amum, spoke to our producer Hussein Halfawi from Washington on Wednesday.

Halfawi: How satisfied is the SPLM with the outcome and the recommendations of the Washington meetings?

[Pagan Amum]: “The Washington meeting was a good meeting, because it has highlighted the issue of CPA implementation. This meeting comes at a time when only 18 months remain until the end of the interim period, to conduct the referendum in southern Sudan, and 10 months to go before the elections in Sudan and there are many issues that have not been implemented yet in the CPA. We hope that this conference and the meetings after this one will help us to concentrate on the implementation of the CPA, and that it will help pressurize the NCP to stop delaying the implementation of the CPA, particularly the referendum act, freedom of expression, and the issue of border demarcation and the census results - which have all been manipulated by the NCP.”

Halfawi: We know that SPLM have disagreed with the NCP on the census and border demarcation issues. How sure are you that these two issues will be resolved in the coming meetings in Khartoum and Juba?

[Pagan Amum: “We have agreed to continue our meetings, with the participation of the US. In the next few days there will be input from the IGAD countries. We hope that with the participation of these countries and particularly the US, we can exercise the necessary pressure to implement the CPA.”

Halfawi: Have you discussed the Abyei issue?

[Pagan Amum]: “Yes, we have discussed the Abyei issue, and there is a tentative agreement from the two sides on implementing the decision which will come out from the international arbitration court on Abyei, and to prevent any outbreaks of violence in the area.”

Halfawi: Can we say that the NCP and the SPLM after this meeting will come back with a different spirit to implement the CPA, or will there still be doubts and and exchanges of accusations?

[Pagan Amum]: “Concerning the issue of the implementation of the CPA, there are delaying tactics from the NCP side, we hope that the new American concern and the new international concern for the full implementation of the CPA will be able to create a new atmosphere to encourage the NCP to lift the barriers that they have put in the way of the implementation of the agreement, and to encourage them implement it, so they can normalize their relationship with the US.”

Halfawi: The head of the NCP delegation, Doctor Ghazi Salah el-Din announced earlier that they will discuss the issue of normalizing the Sudan-US relations first with the US officials, and then the CPA issues, do you think they went to Washington only for that purpose?

[Pagan Amum]: It seems that they came to the US to normalize their relations and to persuade the US to lift the sanctions on them, and to erase the name of Sudan from the list of the countries that are suspected of supporting terrorism in the world, in addition to other bilateral issues. But what has emerged there in the US is that the Americans wish to progress on the ground in the implementation of the CPA, and a resolution to the Darfur conflict, before normalizing their relations with the NCP.”

Halfawi: In our interview with the SPLM delegation in Nairobi before you left for Washington, you complained about the lack of transparency in the distribution of the oil revenue to the south. Did you discuss this issue as well?

[Pagan Amum]: “We have discussed all the issues, including the lack of transparency in the process of administrating and distributing the oil revenue. We are concentrating on working on the implementation of the CPA, to realize the full implementation of peace in all parts of Sudan, and to achieve a democratic regime in Sudan. On this basis, we can develop a good relationship with the US and the rest of the world.”

That was the secretary-general of the SPLM, Pagan Amum, speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Washington.

Further reading:

Aug 16, 2005 - Sudan Watch: Sudan: Abyei Boundary Commission report

May 30, 2006 - Sudan Watch: Interview with Dr Douglas H Johnson, expert on the Abyei Boundary Commission - Hofre Nahas area; part of Bahr El Ghazal transferred to Darfur in 1960s

Aug 21, 2006 - Sudan Watch: S. Sudan: SPLM says Abyei is exclusively for nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms

Jun 29, 2009 - Sudan Watch: Re Abyei: NCP says both sides agree on accepting decision made by international arbitration

For further reports, click on Abyei label here below.