By Robert I. Rotberg | October 24, 2005
''NEVER AGAIN!" promised Washington, London, Brussels and the United Nations after the massacres in Bosnia, Cambodia, and Rwanda. But the killing fields of Darfur are more than two years old, and still the world permits innocent farmers, children, and displaced people to be killed and women repeatedly raped. What is to be done?
Despite the presence of African Union military observers, displaced people living in squalid encampments in Darfur and along the western border have been attacked by marauding janjaweed, Arabic speaking militia on camelback. Official Sudanese military helicopters have reputedly strafed villages in support of janjaweed assaults. Soldiers from several armies of the African Union have ''monitored" many of these attacks, but without interfering.
Their limited and constrained mandate and their insufficient numbers (not yet at the 7,000 target strength for a war-ravaged area the size of France) give the African Union effort more of a cosmetic than a meaningful role in damping down the persistent conflict between the government-backed janjaweed from northern Darfur and their prey from southern Darfur.
More than 100,000 Darfurians have been killed since 2003. Nearly 2 million people, pushed out of their homes and fields by combat and the janjaweed, are attempting to survive in precarious huts of palms, reeds, and plastic bags in the dozens of camps in Darfur and along the western border with Chad. The scale of Darfur's human tragedy dwarfs natural disasters and all but the most destructive recent wars of Africa. President George W. Bush has called the mayhem ''genocide." UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has used equally strong words. Must the powers of the world merely wring their collective hands, but do nothing?
So far, the big powers and the UN have respected the Sudan's sovereignty and avoided forceful intervention. African Union observers have served as proxies for real action, but they are too few, have little equipment, fuel, and ability to patrol, and have their hands tied by wrong orders. Waiting for the AU to become more robust is a recipe of despair, because of the Sudan's prominent membership in the organization. Given the UN's newly endorsed ''responsibility to protect" norm, much more can and should be done to save lives.
Negotiations between the rebels and the Sudanese government are now into their sixth round. But the talks being held intermittently in Abuja, Nigeria's capital, show no signs of progress. The Sudanese government, having concluded a major peace agreement earlier this year with the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement of southern Sudan, and established a joint government for the entire country, hardly wishes to cosset new separatists in Darfur.
The 22-year war between south and north Sudan, now concluded, was largely over access to petroleum resources. In some respects, because of suspicion that oil will also be found in Darfur, the battles are also more about control of future oil possibilities than about land, discrimination, respect, or local self-government. They are not about religion, for all contenders are Muslims (albeit some are more Islamist than others), nor about language or race.
Petroleum exports, worth about $1 billion a year to Khartoum, provide the national lifeline. They are the military government's only means of support. Cutting off exports, easily done at Port Sudan on the Red Sea by one or two American, British, or French frigates, authorized by the UN, would concentrate the minds of the rulers of the Sudan and presumably compel them to restrain the janjaweed and negotiate sensibly in Abuja.
So would the insertion of NATO or European Union troops into Darfur with a clear mandate not to watch, but forcibly to prevent further losses of life. Annan could and should demand such action before thousands more are killed senselessly across the desert wastes of Darfur.
So far the Sudan has called the UN's bluff. It must not be allowed to operate any longer with impunity.
Why wait? It is true that China, which imports oil from the Sudan, might object. So might Russia, or African nation-states attempting to protect the Sudan.
But the UN General Assembly is now on record in favor of ''protecting" innocent civilians within sovereign countries and within war zones. Local commanders of the AU monitoring force also know that they are making little difference in halting hostilities. They have told their governments they feel powerless and frustrated. Darfur is the place to begin showing that the world cares.
Robert I. Rotberg is director of the Program on Intrastate Conflict at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and president of the World Peace Foundation.
© Copyright 2005 The New York Times Company
Monday, October 24, 2005
Teenagers petition to halt Darfur deaths
Web Posted: 10/24/2005 12:00 AM CDT
Rudy Arispe
If Denisse Dubrovsky, who is Jewish, and Yousef Arar, a Muslim, were living in the Middle East, chances are they would be bitter enemies.
But Dubrovsky and Arar say they realize the importance for people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to get along when working for a common goal: peace.
The two 17-year-old Churchill High School seniors have been working side by side in their efforts to call attention to the killing of African civilians by government-supported militias in the Sudanese region of Darfur.
Dubrovsky and Arar and about 30 other students from Churchill, Clark, Alamo Heights and East Central high schools were at Alamo Plaza on Sunday afternoon, trying to collect 400 signatures for a petition they plan to forward to the state's elected officials in hopes they will ask President Bush to pressure the United Nations to intervene in Darfur. By the end of the day, Dubrovsky said they had collected 350.
The students had originally planned to stage a so-called "die-in," in which they would lie down in Alamo Plaza and pay symbolic homage to Darfur's dead. But without the 100 students they had hoped for, those plans were scrapped.
Dubrovsky said her interest in the Darfur conflict came after hearing her parents discuss the number of Sudanese who had lost their lives. So she started researching the subject.
"I'm Jewish, and I grew up hearing stories about the Holocaust, and what appalled me is nobody did anything about it right away," she said. "The world has said so many times it can never happen again, so we have to do something about what is now going on in Darfur."
According to a Save Darfur Web site, since 2003, rebels in Darfur have taken up arms to protect their communities against government-backed militias recruited among groups of Arab descent in Darfur and Chad. Over the past year, these Janjaweed militias have received government support to clear civilians from areas considered disloyal to the Sudanese government.
As a result, 400,000 people have died, 2.5 million have been displaced and more than 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad, according to the Save Darfur Web site.
Wearing green T-shirts that read "Don't Condone Murder by Keeping Quiet," the students stopped passers-by to inform them about Darfur and asked if they would sign the petition. They also waved posters with the messages "Not Another Rwanda" and "Act Now Before More Are Killed."
Kathryn Allen of San Marcos said she was happy to see teenagers trying to make a difference.
"I think it's amazing that they care," Allen said after signing the petition. "It reminds me of the '60s. You don't often hear about the good kids and the good work they do."
Fermin Rajunov drove his 17-year-old daughter, Katina, to the event and said he was proud of her for giving up a Sunday afternoon.
"I'm pleased to see our children are making such an effort to do something about what is going on in the world," Rajunov said. "We all have to pressure the president to make sure the United Nations knows what's going on in Darfur."
Arar believes there is a benefit for people to see Jewish and Muslim students volunteering together to educate the community about Darfur.
"It will bring home the point we're making for peace," he said. "We all have a responsibility for each other."
rarispe@conexionsa.com
www.mysanantonio.com
Rudy Arispe
If Denisse Dubrovsky, who is Jewish, and Yousef Arar, a Muslim, were living in the Middle East, chances are they would be bitter enemies.
But Dubrovsky and Arar say they realize the importance for people of all ethnic and religious backgrounds to get along when working for a common goal: peace.
The two 17-year-old Churchill High School seniors have been working side by side in their efforts to call attention to the killing of African civilians by government-supported militias in the Sudanese region of Darfur.
Dubrovsky and Arar and about 30 other students from Churchill, Clark, Alamo Heights and East Central high schools were at Alamo Plaza on Sunday afternoon, trying to collect 400 signatures for a petition they plan to forward to the state's elected officials in hopes they will ask President Bush to pressure the United Nations to intervene in Darfur. By the end of the day, Dubrovsky said they had collected 350.
The students had originally planned to stage a so-called "die-in," in which they would lie down in Alamo Plaza and pay symbolic homage to Darfur's dead. But without the 100 students they had hoped for, those plans were scrapped.
Dubrovsky said her interest in the Darfur conflict came after hearing her parents discuss the number of Sudanese who had lost their lives. So she started researching the subject.
"I'm Jewish, and I grew up hearing stories about the Holocaust, and what appalled me is nobody did anything about it right away," she said. "The world has said so many times it can never happen again, so we have to do something about what is now going on in Darfur."
According to a Save Darfur Web site, since 2003, rebels in Darfur have taken up arms to protect their communities against government-backed militias recruited among groups of Arab descent in Darfur and Chad. Over the past year, these Janjaweed militias have received government support to clear civilians from areas considered disloyal to the Sudanese government.
As a result, 400,000 people have died, 2.5 million have been displaced and more than 200,000 have fled across the border to Chad, according to the Save Darfur Web site.
Wearing green T-shirts that read "Don't Condone Murder by Keeping Quiet," the students stopped passers-by to inform them about Darfur and asked if they would sign the petition. They also waved posters with the messages "Not Another Rwanda" and "Act Now Before More Are Killed."
Kathryn Allen of San Marcos said she was happy to see teenagers trying to make a difference.
"I think it's amazing that they care," Allen said after signing the petition. "It reminds me of the '60s. You don't often hear about the good kids and the good work they do."
Fermin Rajunov drove his 17-year-old daughter, Katina, to the event and said he was proud of her for giving up a Sunday afternoon.
"I'm pleased to see our children are making such an effort to do something about what is going on in the world," Rajunov said. "We all have to pressure the president to make sure the United Nations knows what's going on in Darfur."
Arar believes there is a benefit for people to see Jewish and Muslim students volunteering together to educate the community about Darfur.
"It will bring home the point we're making for peace," he said. "We all have a responsibility for each other."
rarispe@conexionsa.com
www.mysanantonio.com
Media Advisory/News Teleconference: Five Jewish Leaders
Report on Trip to Chad; 'Bearing Witness to Oppressed of Sudan'
Mon Oct 24
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Journalists are invited to participate in a News Teleconference: "Bearing Witness to the Oppressed of Sudan" on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Ruth Messinger, president and executive director of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), led a delegation of Jewish leaders to Chad during the week of October 17 to bear witness to the ongoing oppression and suffering of the people of Darfur, Sudan, and to assess AJWS relief efforts and determine further aid needs.
In addition to Ruth Messinger, the delegates and teleconference presenters are: John Fishel, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism; and Rabbi David Stern of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas.
The purpose of the trip to the region where only a handful of humanitarian and world leaders and some very brave aid workers have traveled, is the latest effort by American Jewish World Service to broaden the awareness of the American Jewish community to the atrocities that began over two years ago in Darfur, Sudan.
Just over one year ago, Ms. Messinger traveled to camps for the internally displaced in Darfur, Sudan to bear witness to the crimes against humanity that were being inflicted on more than two million people in the region and to assess humanitarian aid needs. More than 200,000 refugees reside in camps in Chad.
To reserve your space and receive the teleconference call-in number and password, please contact Ronni Strongin at 212-273-1657 or rstrongin@ajws.org. For more information about AJWS and its efforts in Sudan, visit http://www.ajws.org .
CONTACT: Ronni Strongin, AJWS Public Relations, work 212-273-1657, cell 516-655-0520, rstrongin@ajws.org
Mon Oct 24
NEW YORK, Oct. 24 (AScribe Newswire) -- Journalists are invited to participate in a News Teleconference: "Bearing Witness to the Oppressed of Sudan" on Thursday, Oct. 27 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Ruth Messinger, president and executive director of American Jewish World Service (AJWS), led a delegation of Jewish leaders to Chad during the week of October 17 to bear witness to the ongoing oppression and suffering of the people of Darfur, Sudan, and to assess AJWS relief efforts and determine further aid needs.
In addition to Ruth Messinger, the delegates and teleconference presenters are: John Fishel, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles; Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale, New York; Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism; and Rabbi David Stern of Temple Emanu-El in Dallas, Texas.
The purpose of the trip to the region where only a handful of humanitarian and world leaders and some very brave aid workers have traveled, is the latest effort by American Jewish World Service to broaden the awareness of the American Jewish community to the atrocities that began over two years ago in Darfur, Sudan.
Just over one year ago, Ms. Messinger traveled to camps for the internally displaced in Darfur, Sudan to bear witness to the crimes against humanity that were being inflicted on more than two million people in the region and to assess humanitarian aid needs. More than 200,000 refugees reside in camps in Chad.
To reserve your space and receive the teleconference call-in number and password, please contact Ronni Strongin at 212-273-1657 or rstrongin@ajws.org. For more information about AJWS and its efforts in Sudan, visit http://www.ajws.org .
CONTACT: Ronni Strongin, AJWS Public Relations, work 212-273-1657, cell 516-655-0520, rstrongin@ajws.org
More Violence In Darfur
23 October 2005
Janjaweed Arab militias recently attacked Geneina, a town near Sudan's border with Chad. The New York Times reports that "in a scene that aid workers described as something out of a Hollywood western, the militiamen surrounded the police station. . . .roughed up the chief and freed several of their members from jail." The newspaper says that the fact that the Janjaweed "are now emboldened enough to turn their guns on the government is a sign of trouble."
Fighting broke out in Darfur in 2003 after rebels complained that the region had been marginalized by the central government. Rebels affiliated with the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement attacked Sudanese government facilities. Supported by the Sudanese government, the Janjaweed responded by launching attacks on civilians from Sudan's African Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa groups in Darfur.
In July, the Sudanese government and the rebels agreed on a declaration of principles. The document calls for the guarantee of tribal ownership of land in Darfur and for increased autonomy for the region. It also calls for an end to hostilities. But despite efforts by the United Nations, the African Union, and others, there recently was an upsurge of violence in Darfur. A tense and inherently unstable security situation remains in Darfur. However, there have been no reported attacks in the last week.
All sides have been responsible for ceasefire violations. And the United States’ focus continues to be on strengthening African Union efforts and promoting accountability in the United Nations Security Council. U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli says that the continued violence in Darfur is "unacceptable":
"There are obviously things the government of Sudan wants that they're not going to get if they continue to do this. Number two, there are additional measures that could be taken depending on the circumstances, depending on events on the ground. Number three, you have an ongoing situation of conflict in Darfur between rebels and militias that are supported by the government."
The conflict in Darfur, says State Department spokesman Ereli, "has gone on for too long."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
source: voa.com
Janjaweed Arab militias recently attacked Geneina, a town near Sudan's border with Chad. The New York Times reports that "in a scene that aid workers described as something out of a Hollywood western, the militiamen surrounded the police station. . . .roughed up the chief and freed several of their members from jail." The newspaper says that the fact that the Janjaweed "are now emboldened enough to turn their guns on the government is a sign of trouble."
Fighting broke out in Darfur in 2003 after rebels complained that the region had been marginalized by the central government. Rebels affiliated with the Sudanese Liberation Movement/Army and the Justice and Equality Movement attacked Sudanese government facilities. Supported by the Sudanese government, the Janjaweed responded by launching attacks on civilians from Sudan's African Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa groups in Darfur.
In July, the Sudanese government and the rebels agreed on a declaration of principles. The document calls for the guarantee of tribal ownership of land in Darfur and for increased autonomy for the region. It also calls for an end to hostilities. But despite efforts by the United Nations, the African Union, and others, there recently was an upsurge of violence in Darfur. A tense and inherently unstable security situation remains in Darfur. However, there have been no reported attacks in the last week.
All sides have been responsible for ceasefire violations. And the United States’ focus continues to be on strengthening African Union efforts and promoting accountability in the United Nations Security Council. U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli says that the continued violence in Darfur is "unacceptable":
"There are obviously things the government of Sudan wants that they're not going to get if they continue to do this. Number two, there are additional measures that could be taken depending on the circumstances, depending on events on the ground. Number three, you have an ongoing situation of conflict in Darfur between rebels and militias that are supported by the government."
The conflict in Darfur, says State Department spokesman Ereli, "has gone on for too long."
The preceding was an editorial reflecting the views of the United States Government.
source: voa.com
Situation in Darfur seriously degenerating, says Guterres
24 Oct 2005 16:57:21 GMT
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
GENEVA, October 24 (UNHCR) – The UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has said that the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan is once again deteriorating sharply, and warned that a further calamity could take place there very soon, which might have "a devastating impact" on neighbouring countries as well as on the situation in other parts of Sudan.
"What we are witnessing on the ground is a very serious degeneration of the situation," he told reporters and other guests at an event in London to mark the international launch of a DVD of the 'Voices for Darfur' concert. "...It is extremely nasty, with ugly events."
The security situation has deteriorated tremendously within the past six weeks, especially in West Darfur, with ambushes, hostage-taking and attacks on villages as well as on the Aro Sharow camp for displaced people that left 34 displaced people and local villagers dead. Aid workers increasingly are the focus of attacks. Humanitarian agencies say this is seriously hampering their capacity to operate on the ground.
Guterres, who visited Darfur two months ago, said at that time he was optimistic that, though not easy, peace would be possible in Darfur, and that if it came about it would have a beneficial impact on the rest of the country.
"You have three different crises at the moment," he said. "South Sudan, where peace was established based on the sharing of oil revenues; you have Darfur, and you have eastern Sudan, where the implications are also in relation to the neighbours and the problem between Eritrea and Ethiopia."
"Darfur ... in my opinion is the key for success or failure for Sudan as a whole," he said. "If there is success in Darfur, it will have a positive impact for coordinating a peace agreement in the south and for allowing peace to develop in the east."
But the reverse, he warned, would probably produce the opposite result: "If it gets worse in Darfur, it will deteriorate, and even in the south the agreement will be weakened."
He expressed deep concern about the possible adverse effect on other countries in the region, especially Chad, which already hosts more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur.
As a result of a number of recent security incidents, the UN decided on October 11 to relocate non-essential staff out of part of West Darfur as a precautionary measure. It is hoped that this is a temporary measure and work can resume in the near future. Much will depend on the extent to which the Sudanese government can guarantee security for displaced people and aid workers on its territory.
UNHCR has been present in West Darfur since June 2004, with offices in El Geneina, Zalinge, Mukjar and in Nyala (south Darfur). There are 37 international staff and 37 national staff working in those offices. Depending on the security situation, an additional five offices will be opened to enhance protection monitoring coverage and better assist the displaced people.
Guterres made his comment at an event to mark the launch off the DVD of a recent all-star charity concert on behalf of refugees from Darfur, and to thank the singers who took part.*
One of them, Greek opera star Mario Frangoulis, told UNHCR staff at the agency's headquarter in Geneva on Monday that his own planned visit to Darfur had been cancelled because of the security situation. However, he insisted he wants to keep "the flame alive," and spread awareness of the problem in Darfur and UNHCR's work there. All the artists who took part in the concert, as well as those such as Sade, David Gray and Franz Ferdinand, who contributed exclusive material to the DVD, were fully engaged he said and wanted to do what they could to draw attention to the plight of the victims of the Darfur concert.
Out of the $31 million required for UNHCR's activities in 2005, contributions of only $14.4 million have been so far received.
UNHCR news
Source: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
GENEVA, October 24 (UNHCR) – The UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres has said that the situation in the Darfur region of Sudan is once again deteriorating sharply, and warned that a further calamity could take place there very soon, which might have "a devastating impact" on neighbouring countries as well as on the situation in other parts of Sudan.
"What we are witnessing on the ground is a very serious degeneration of the situation," he told reporters and other guests at an event in London to mark the international launch of a DVD of the 'Voices for Darfur' concert. "...It is extremely nasty, with ugly events."
The security situation has deteriorated tremendously within the past six weeks, especially in West Darfur, with ambushes, hostage-taking and attacks on villages as well as on the Aro Sharow camp for displaced people that left 34 displaced people and local villagers dead. Aid workers increasingly are the focus of attacks. Humanitarian agencies say this is seriously hampering their capacity to operate on the ground.
Guterres, who visited Darfur two months ago, said at that time he was optimistic that, though not easy, peace would be possible in Darfur, and that if it came about it would have a beneficial impact on the rest of the country.
"You have three different crises at the moment," he said. "South Sudan, where peace was established based on the sharing of oil revenues; you have Darfur, and you have eastern Sudan, where the implications are also in relation to the neighbours and the problem between Eritrea and Ethiopia."
"Darfur ... in my opinion is the key for success or failure for Sudan as a whole," he said. "If there is success in Darfur, it will have a positive impact for coordinating a peace agreement in the south and for allowing peace to develop in the east."
But the reverse, he warned, would probably produce the opposite result: "If it gets worse in Darfur, it will deteriorate, and even in the south the agreement will be weakened."
He expressed deep concern about the possible adverse effect on other countries in the region, especially Chad, which already hosts more than 200,000 Sudanese refugees from Darfur.
As a result of a number of recent security incidents, the UN decided on October 11 to relocate non-essential staff out of part of West Darfur as a precautionary measure. It is hoped that this is a temporary measure and work can resume in the near future. Much will depend on the extent to which the Sudanese government can guarantee security for displaced people and aid workers on its territory.
UNHCR has been present in West Darfur since June 2004, with offices in El Geneina, Zalinge, Mukjar and in Nyala (south Darfur). There are 37 international staff and 37 national staff working in those offices. Depending on the security situation, an additional five offices will be opened to enhance protection monitoring coverage and better assist the displaced people.
Guterres made his comment at an event to mark the launch off the DVD of a recent all-star charity concert on behalf of refugees from Darfur, and to thank the singers who took part.*
One of them, Greek opera star Mario Frangoulis, told UNHCR staff at the agency's headquarter in Geneva on Monday that his own planned visit to Darfur had been cancelled because of the security situation. However, he insisted he wants to keep "the flame alive," and spread awareness of the problem in Darfur and UNHCR's work there. All the artists who took part in the concert, as well as those such as Sade, David Gray and Franz Ferdinand, who contributed exclusive material to the DVD, were fully engaged he said and wanted to do what they could to draw attention to the plight of the victims of the Darfur concert.
Out of the $31 million required for UNHCR's activities in 2005, contributions of only $14.4 million have been so far received.
UNHCR news
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Gunfire in West Darfur main town in Sudan - sources
Sun Oct 23, 2005 11:58 AM GMT
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Heavy gunfire in West Darfur's main town kept aid staff locked in their homes in the latest violence in the remote region bordering Chad, sources in the aid community and U.N. officials said on Sunday.
Aid workers have been confined to el-Geneina after clashes and armed looters closed all the roads out of the town to U.N. staff.
Non-essential staff have been preparing for a possible full evacuation if the violence escalates, U.N. officials have said.
"There was firing heard in seven or eight locations in the town last night," said one source, who declined to be named.
"Police said it was drunk soldiers who had been paid early because of Eid," the source added. Eid is the Muslim holiday which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
George Somerwill, a U.N. spokesman, confirmed there was gunfire in the town but could give no further details.
"There was gunfire heard during the night in el-Geneina town and aid workers were confined to their houses," he said.
The government often threatens aid agencies with closure if they comment on the security situation in Darfur.
Authorities have arrested senior Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) workers and ordered heads of British aid agencies Oxfam and Save the Children to leave the country for publishing information on Darfur.
Another U.N. source said aid workers were confined to their residences all night but were allowed to move again early this morning after the gun battles stopped. The police said they had fired back at the soldiers, the source added.
Government officials in el-Geneina were not immediately available for comment.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million forced from their homes during a 2-1/2-year conflict in Darfur. There are almost 11,000 aid workers in the region.
The United States called the violence genocide and blamed the government and its allied Arab militias, known locally as Janjaweed. Khartoum denies the charge but the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged war crimes committed during the revolt.
Reuters
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Heavy gunfire in West Darfur's main town kept aid staff locked in their homes in the latest violence in the remote region bordering Chad, sources in the aid community and U.N. officials said on Sunday.
Aid workers have been confined to el-Geneina after clashes and armed looters closed all the roads out of the town to U.N. staff.
Non-essential staff have been preparing for a possible full evacuation if the violence escalates, U.N. officials have said.
"There was firing heard in seven or eight locations in the town last night," said one source, who declined to be named.
"Police said it was drunk soldiers who had been paid early because of Eid," the source added. Eid is the Muslim holiday which marks the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.
George Somerwill, a U.N. spokesman, confirmed there was gunfire in the town but could give no further details.
"There was gunfire heard during the night in el-Geneina town and aid workers were confined to their houses," he said.
The government often threatens aid agencies with closure if they comment on the security situation in Darfur.
Authorities have arrested senior Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) workers and ordered heads of British aid agencies Oxfam and Save the Children to leave the country for publishing information on Darfur.
Another U.N. source said aid workers were confined to their residences all night but were allowed to move again early this morning after the gun battles stopped. The police said they had fired back at the soldiers, the source added.
Government officials in el-Geneina were not immediately available for comment.
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 2 million forced from their homes during a 2-1/2-year conflict in Darfur. There are almost 11,000 aid workers in the region.
The United States called the violence genocide and blamed the government and its allied Arab militias, known locally as Janjaweed. Khartoum denies the charge but the International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged war crimes committed during the revolt.
Reuters
Saturday, October 22, 2005
US wants more cooperation by Khartoum gov. on Darfur
POL-SUDAN-DARFUR-US
US wants more cooperation by Khartoum gov. on Darfur
KHARTOUM, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- Sudan on Saturday said it would cooperate to salvage the peace agreements on the troubled western region of Darfur, as the United States appeared not to be satisfied with action taken by the central government so far.
Following talks with President Hassan al Beshir here today, Jendayi Frazer, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for Africa, told reporters that the Khartoum government would be committed to implementation of the peace accords struck to end the 2-1/2 years of fighting between rebels, the Sudanese army and Arab militias.
"We are hoping that at latest by the end of the year that you will have a political solution to the crisis in Darfur," she told reporters, stressing "We are not satisfied with the level of progress there (in Darfur)." President Beshir had asked when U.S. economic sanctions, imposed on Sudan in 1997 for human rights violations, would be lifted, she noted "as long as the situation continues in Darfur it would be very difficult for the United States and President (George W.) Bush to make the case that the human rights sanctions should be lifted".
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting and more than two millions have been forced from their homes. The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged war crimes. (end) hja.
US wants more cooperation by Khartoum gov. on Darfur
KHARTOUM, Oct 22 (KUNA) -- Sudan on Saturday said it would cooperate to salvage the peace agreements on the troubled western region of Darfur, as the United States appeared not to be satisfied with action taken by the central government so far.
Following talks with President Hassan al Beshir here today, Jendayi Frazer, the U.S. assistant secretary of State for Africa, told reporters that the Khartoum government would be committed to implementation of the peace accords struck to end the 2-1/2 years of fighting between rebels, the Sudanese army and Arab militias.
"We are hoping that at latest by the end of the year that you will have a political solution to the crisis in Darfur," she told reporters, stressing "We are not satisfied with the level of progress there (in Darfur)." President Beshir had asked when U.S. economic sanctions, imposed on Sudan in 1997 for human rights violations, would be lifted, she noted "as long as the situation continues in Darfur it would be very difficult for the United States and President (George W.) Bush to make the case that the human rights sanctions should be lifted".
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in the fighting and more than two millions have been forced from their homes. The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) is investigating alleged war crimes. (end) hja.
Sudan not trying Darfur war crimes-U.N. official
October 22, 2005 8:20 PM
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan arbitrarily arrests and tortures civilians and has failed to try those responsible for crimes committed during a 2-1/2-year revolt in its Darfur region, a senior U.N. rights official said on Saturday.
Sima Samar, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Sudan, said there was a culture of impunity for those who raped women, especially in Darfur, and that the government's excuses for inaction were not acceptable.
"Gender-based violence continues unfortunately with impunity," she told reporters after a week-long trip to Sudan.
"The government acknowledges the existence of sexual violence but contests the magnitude of the problem," she added.
She said emergency laws in force in Darfur in western Sudan and in the east were also being applied in the capital Khartoum.
"People are arbitrarily arrested and held incommunicado," she said at U.N. headquarters in Khartoum.
"Detention by security forces, torture, ill-treatment and killing of civilians continues," Samar said, singling out mistreatment of people internally displaced by conflicts.
The government admits there are problems with its security forces but says it investigates all rights violations.
Sudanese officials were not immediately available to comment on Samar's accusations.
WAR CRIMES COURT
Sudan wants U.S. economic sanctions, imposed since 1997, to be lifted. But U.S. officials say the rights situation in Darfur must improve first.
The United States has called the Darfur violence genocide and blamed Khartoum and its allied militia, a charge the authorities deny.
Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 2 million forced from their homes by the fighting and a widespread campaign of rape, killing and burning in non-Arab villages since the Darfur revolt began in early 2003.
Samar, a Muslim from Afghanistan, said a special national court for war crimes in Darfur had tackled too few cases and had not dealt with crimes committed during the conflict, focussing rather on random looting incidents.
"Unfortunately it was not really the crimes committed during the war in Darfur," she said, adding the court's chief justice had said that of 72,000 complaints filed in Darfur, it had tried only three cases.
The government says the national court will be a substitute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is investigating alleged war crimes in Darfur. But investigators have yet to be granted permission to visit Sudan.
"Unfortunately the minister of justice clearly said that they are not going to cooperate with the ICC," Samar said.
Samar, who visited Darfur and southern Sudan as well as prison facilities in Khartoum, said the security forces appeared to act above the law, and gave the example of the recent arrest and torture of students who were demonstrating peacefully in Khartoum.
"The detention and torture of students ... is an indication that the national security continues to function above the law and without any accountability," she said.
www.swissinfo.org
By Opheera McDoom
KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan arbitrarily arrests and tortures civilians and has failed to try those responsible for crimes committed during a 2-1/2-year revolt in its Darfur region, a senior U.N. rights official said on Saturday.
Sima Samar, the U.N. special rapporteur for human rights in Sudan, said there was a culture of impunity for those who raped women, especially in Darfur, and that the government's excuses for inaction were not acceptable.
"Gender-based violence continues unfortunately with impunity," she told reporters after a week-long trip to Sudan.
"The government acknowledges the existence of sexual violence but contests the magnitude of the problem," she added.
She said emergency laws in force in Darfur in western Sudan and in the east were also being applied in the capital Khartoum.
"People are arbitrarily arrested and held incommunicado," she said at U.N. headquarters in Khartoum.
"Detention by security forces, torture, ill-treatment and killing of civilians continues," Samar said, singling out mistreatment of people internally displaced by conflicts.
The government admits there are problems with its security forces but says it investigates all rights violations.
Sudanese officials were not immediately available to comment on Samar's accusations.
WAR CRIMES COURT
Sudan wants U.S. economic sanctions, imposed since 1997, to be lifted. But U.S. officials say the rights situation in Darfur must improve first.
The United States has called the Darfur violence genocide and blamed Khartoum and its allied militia, a charge the authorities deny.
Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 2 million forced from their homes by the fighting and a widespread campaign of rape, killing and burning in non-Arab villages since the Darfur revolt began in early 2003.
Samar, a Muslim from Afghanistan, said a special national court for war crimes in Darfur had tackled too few cases and had not dealt with crimes committed during the conflict, focussing rather on random looting incidents.
"Unfortunately it was not really the crimes committed during the war in Darfur," she said, adding the court's chief justice had said that of 72,000 complaints filed in Darfur, it had tried only three cases.
The government says the national court will be a substitute for the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is investigating alleged war crimes in Darfur. But investigators have yet to be granted permission to visit Sudan.
"Unfortunately the minister of justice clearly said that they are not going to cooperate with the ICC," Samar said.
Samar, who visited Darfur and southern Sudan as well as prison facilities in Khartoum, said the security forces appeared to act above the law, and gave the example of the recent arrest and torture of students who were demonstrating peacefully in Khartoum.
"The detention and torture of students ... is an indication that the national security continues to function above the law and without any accountability," she said.
www.swissinfo.org
The Darfur despair / Rwanda is being replayed in western Sudan
Editorial:
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Flashing signals that look more and more like Rwanda in 1994, a tragedy that killed upwards to a million people, the problem of Darfur in western Sudan is spinning further and further out of control.
The conflict there, in one of the most inhospitable settings on Earth, involves so far some 2 million people. Nobody knows how many Sudanese have died since it started in 2003, but the toll is in the five-figure range. Nor does anyone know how many people have been displaced from their homes, farms and villages, although that number is in the seven-figure range: camps in Sudan house 1.8 million, another 200,000 Sudanese are in camps in neighboring Chad.
It is no tribute to them for the effort, nor excuse for them, nor criticism, but nations of the African Union have showed themselves so far incapable of dealing with the problems of Darfur. There are currently some 6,000 AU troops -- mostly Nigerians -- in the Darfur area, in principle monitoring a negotiated but, in fact, nonexistent ceasefire. Rebels of the Sudanese Liberation Army, one of the five rebel factions, are attacking, killing and taking hostages from among AU troops now.
The world, in the form of the Africans, and then the United Nations are paying some attention to what is happening, but that attention is proving itself so far to be ineffective.
There are peace talks, in principle under way in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. They involve what are now five rebel groups, the best known being the SLA and the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudanese government and the militia allegedly supported by it, the so-called janjaweed. They are camel and horseback-mounted marauders, whose specialties are rape and burning villages. The Abuja talks are currently suspended, reportedly because the rebel groups are scrapping among themselves.
The Bush administration has been sporadically vocal on the subject of Darfur, calling it genocide, and has run into Sudan various noteworthies, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick. But the United States doesn't even have an ambassador in Sudan, and it is perfectly clear that this is a situation that has gone beyond any susceptibility to be dealt with by words; threats, cajolery, even tempting offers of aid to various parties to the conflict have had no perceptible effect.
It is easy to argue that Darfur is far away, too complex to grapple with effectively and, basically, of little significance to the United States. That was the same argument employed by Clinton administration and U.N. officials in 1994 as Rwandan Hutu government armed forces and interhamwe militia cut their way through more than 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
President Clinton and other officials from that era continue to wring their hands and ask pardon for having stood by and let the Rwandan slaughter occur in 1994. That conflict, at least, more or less ended. No end is in sight for Darfur. Presumably, when it does end, there will be a certain number of Bush administration officials, hopefully those responsible for the inaction now, doing comparable penance, way too late for the dead Sudanese.
There remains the possibility of doing something about Darfur now, rather than after the death toll piles up even more bodies in the desert.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Flashing signals that look more and more like Rwanda in 1994, a tragedy that killed upwards to a million people, the problem of Darfur in western Sudan is spinning further and further out of control.
The conflict there, in one of the most inhospitable settings on Earth, involves so far some 2 million people. Nobody knows how many Sudanese have died since it started in 2003, but the toll is in the five-figure range. Nor does anyone know how many people have been displaced from their homes, farms and villages, although that number is in the seven-figure range: camps in Sudan house 1.8 million, another 200,000 Sudanese are in camps in neighboring Chad.
It is no tribute to them for the effort, nor excuse for them, nor criticism, but nations of the African Union have showed themselves so far incapable of dealing with the problems of Darfur. There are currently some 6,000 AU troops -- mostly Nigerians -- in the Darfur area, in principle monitoring a negotiated but, in fact, nonexistent ceasefire. Rebels of the Sudanese Liberation Army, one of the five rebel factions, are attacking, killing and taking hostages from among AU troops now.
The world, in the form of the Africans, and then the United Nations are paying some attention to what is happening, but that attention is proving itself so far to be ineffective.
There are peace talks, in principle under way in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria. They involve what are now five rebel groups, the best known being the SLA and the Justice and Equality Movement, the Sudanese government and the militia allegedly supported by it, the so-called janjaweed. They are camel and horseback-mounted marauders, whose specialties are rape and burning villages. The Abuja talks are currently suspended, reportedly because the rebel groups are scrapping among themselves.
The Bush administration has been sporadically vocal on the subject of Darfur, calling it genocide, and has run into Sudan various noteworthies, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick. But the United States doesn't even have an ambassador in Sudan, and it is perfectly clear that this is a situation that has gone beyond any susceptibility to be dealt with by words; threats, cajolery, even tempting offers of aid to various parties to the conflict have had no perceptible effect.
It is easy to argue that Darfur is far away, too complex to grapple with effectively and, basically, of little significance to the United States. That was the same argument employed by Clinton administration and U.N. officials in 1994 as Rwandan Hutu government armed forces and interhamwe militia cut their way through more than 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
President Clinton and other officials from that era continue to wring their hands and ask pardon for having stood by and let the Rwandan slaughter occur in 1994. That conflict, at least, more or less ended. No end is in sight for Darfur. Presumably, when it does end, there will be a certain number of Bush administration officials, hopefully those responsible for the inaction now, doing comparable penance, way too late for the dead Sudanese.
There remains the possibility of doing something about Darfur now, rather than after the death toll piles up even more bodies in the desert.
AU Press Release on the end of 6th Round of Darfur peace talks
Saturday 22 October 2005.
AFRICAN UNION
PRESS RELEASE NO. 17
THE SIXTH ROUND OF THE INTER-SUDANESE PEACE TALKS ON DARFUR ENDED TODAY IN ABUJA, NIGERIA
Oct 20, 2005 (ABUJA) — The Sixth Round of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur between the Government of the Sudan (GoS), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), organized under the auspices of the African Union (AU) ended today Thursday, 20 October 2005, in Abuja, Nigeria, with a commitment by the Parties to make the next Round a decisive one and to work tirelessly for the achievement of that objective in order to give a respite to the people of Darfur from their long suffering.
The closing ceremony, which was chaired by the AU Special Envoy and Chief Mediator, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, was attended by all the Sudanese Parties, the Chadian Co-Mediation, the Facilitators and the International Partners. In his statement, Dr. Salim, while underscoring the modest progress made during this Round, stressed the importance and the urgent need to integrate a gender perspective into the Agenda of the negotiations. “ The women of Darfur are entitled to have a place on this negotiating table,” he said. Consequently, he urged all the Parties to increase the number of women on their respective delegations for the next Round.
Like the Parties, the Special Envoy reiterated his commitment to make the next Round a decisive one. To this end, he intends to undertake extensive consultations with all the stakeholders, prior to the convening of the Seventh Round. He also expressed his gratitude to the Chairman of the African Union, President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Presidents of Chad, Libya and Eritrea, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Prof. Alpha Oumar Konaré and to the International Partners and the Resource Persons, who were the Coordinators of the Commissions.
In their statement, the Parties reaffirmed their determination to use the intervening period between the Sixth and Seventh Rounds, to consult widely with their various constituencies, in order to be better prepared for the final phase of the negotiations. They also expressed their readiness to address the outstanding problems that may have undermined the pace of the negotiations during the current Round For their part, the Co-Mediation, the Facilitators and the Partners who took the floor, reiterated their support and appreciation to the African Union for its mediation. They also expressed concern at the slow pace of the Talks and appealed to the Parties to make an improvement on the level of preparation and determination to conclude the negotiations.
It may be recalled that during this Sixth Round of the Talks, three Commissions were set up on the substantive issues of Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing and Security Arrangements. On Power Sharing, the Parties reached agreement on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as well as on Criteria and Guidelines for Power Sharing, two items out of the nine on the Agenda. On Wealth Sharing, they agreed on a ten- point Agenda to be discussed during the next Round, while informal consultations were conducted on the issue of Security Arrangements.
The Seventh Round of the Talks will be opened in Abuja, Nigeria, on 21 November, 2005
Press Contact: Mr. Assane BA: Tel + 234 806 564 4914 Mr. Moussa Hamani: Tel + 234 806 529 4818
AFRICAN UNION
PRESS RELEASE NO. 17
THE SIXTH ROUND OF THE INTER-SUDANESE PEACE TALKS ON DARFUR ENDED TODAY IN ABUJA, NIGERIA
Oct 20, 2005 (ABUJA) — The Sixth Round of the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks on Darfur between the Government of the Sudan (GoS), the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), organized under the auspices of the African Union (AU) ended today Thursday, 20 October 2005, in Abuja, Nigeria, with a commitment by the Parties to make the next Round a decisive one and to work tirelessly for the achievement of that objective in order to give a respite to the people of Darfur from their long suffering.
The closing ceremony, which was chaired by the AU Special Envoy and Chief Mediator, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, was attended by all the Sudanese Parties, the Chadian Co-Mediation, the Facilitators and the International Partners. In his statement, Dr. Salim, while underscoring the modest progress made during this Round, stressed the importance and the urgent need to integrate a gender perspective into the Agenda of the negotiations. “ The women of Darfur are entitled to have a place on this negotiating table,” he said. Consequently, he urged all the Parties to increase the number of women on their respective delegations for the next Round.
Like the Parties, the Special Envoy reiterated his commitment to make the next Round a decisive one. To this end, he intends to undertake extensive consultations with all the stakeholders, prior to the convening of the Seventh Round. He also expressed his gratitude to the Chairman of the African Union, President Olusegun Obasanjo, the Presidents of Chad, Libya and Eritrea, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, Prof. Alpha Oumar Konaré and to the International Partners and the Resource Persons, who were the Coordinators of the Commissions.
In their statement, the Parties reaffirmed their determination to use the intervening period between the Sixth and Seventh Rounds, to consult widely with their various constituencies, in order to be better prepared for the final phase of the negotiations. They also expressed their readiness to address the outstanding problems that may have undermined the pace of the negotiations during the current Round For their part, the Co-Mediation, the Facilitators and the Partners who took the floor, reiterated their support and appreciation to the African Union for its mediation. They also expressed concern at the slow pace of the Talks and appealed to the Parties to make an improvement on the level of preparation and determination to conclude the negotiations.
It may be recalled that during this Sixth Round of the Talks, three Commissions were set up on the substantive issues of Power Sharing, Wealth Sharing and Security Arrangements. On Power Sharing, the Parties reached agreement on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as well as on Criteria and Guidelines for Power Sharing, two items out of the nine on the Agenda. On Wealth Sharing, they agreed on a ten- point Agenda to be discussed during the next Round, while informal consultations were conducted on the issue of Security Arrangements.
The Seventh Round of the Talks will be opened in Abuja, Nigeria, on 21 November, 2005
Press Contact: Mr. Assane BA: Tel + 234 806 564 4914 Mr. Moussa Hamani: Tel + 234 806 529 4818
Cary Clack: Darfur waits for world governments to live up to 'never again'
10/22/2005 San Antonio Express-News
Few combinations of two words are as powerful and unambiguous as "never again."
Born out of the ovens, concentration camps and slaughter of the Holocaust, "never again" became a vow and a commitment that never again would the world tolerate genocide, that never again would people do nothing while other people were being murdered.
The phrase became a promise that the evil of tyrants would be challenged and stopped.
Like so many promises, that of "never again" has been broken. It wasn't kept in Bosnia, in Rwanda, in Srebrenica, in Kosovo. And, today, it's not being kept in Darfur, the region of Sudan where in 21/2 years the government and its janjaweed militias are responsible for the deaths of nearly 400,000 people and for transforming 2 million others into refugees. Women and girls are routinely raped and children are thrown into fires.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have called what's happening in Darfur the greatest humanitarian crisis of our times. Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice have called it genocide. This week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the international community must apply pressure on the Sudanese government.
To be a Darfurian, terrorized by madmen and isolated from the rest of the world, is to continue to wait for some faint sliver of hope that they aren't forgotten and that the promise of "never again" will save them.
As with Bosnia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Kosovo, the United Nations and the United States and the rest of the world have been woefully slow and ineffective in responding to their plight.
The media's coverage of the tragedy there has been inadequate. The Genocide Intervention Fund released a study in July that found that the Michael Jackson child molestation trial received more than 50 times the coverage from U.S. network and cable-news television stations than the genocide in Darfur.
That's why programs like the ones that will be held next week on two local campuses are so important in not allowing the story of Darfur to be forgotten. On Monday night at 7, Darfurian refugees will speak in the University of Texas Health Science Center's MS1 Lecture Hall. The next night at the same time, Trinity University's Northup Lecture Hall will be the site of another discussion on the International Criminal Court.
There is a growing nonpartisan and nonideological movement in the United States to stop the genocide in Darfur. College students, liberal activists, Christian and political conservatives have been admirable in persistently publicizing what's happening and providing resources to Darfur. Few American journalists have been as passionate and relentless on this issue as my colleague, Jonathan Gurwitz.
Ismail Ibrahim, who left Darfur in 1994 and now lives in Dallas, will be one of the speakers Monday night. He has more faith in the American people to do right by his country than he does the American government.
"I see something different," he says of the Americans he's met. "I see in their eyes and feelings they're trying to do everything to help Darfurians in Darfur."
He remains frustrated with the response of world governments.
"After two years, it's going to be too late," says Ibrahim. "And we're still going to be saying 'never again.'"
cclack@express-news.net.
Few combinations of two words are as powerful and unambiguous as "never again."
Born out of the ovens, concentration camps and slaughter of the Holocaust, "never again" became a vow and a commitment that never again would the world tolerate genocide, that never again would people do nothing while other people were being murdered.
The phrase became a promise that the evil of tyrants would be challenged and stopped.
Like so many promises, that of "never again" has been broken. It wasn't kept in Bosnia, in Rwanda, in Srebrenica, in Kosovo. And, today, it's not being kept in Darfur, the region of Sudan where in 21/2 years the government and its janjaweed militias are responsible for the deaths of nearly 400,000 people and for transforming 2 million others into refugees. Women and girls are routinely raped and children are thrown into fires.
The United Nations and human rights organizations have called what's happening in Darfur the greatest humanitarian crisis of our times. Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice have called it genocide. This week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the international community must apply pressure on the Sudanese government.
To be a Darfurian, terrorized by madmen and isolated from the rest of the world, is to continue to wait for some faint sliver of hope that they aren't forgotten and that the promise of "never again" will save them.
As with Bosnia, Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Kosovo, the United Nations and the United States and the rest of the world have been woefully slow and ineffective in responding to their plight.
The media's coverage of the tragedy there has been inadequate. The Genocide Intervention Fund released a study in July that found that the Michael Jackson child molestation trial received more than 50 times the coverage from U.S. network and cable-news television stations than the genocide in Darfur.
That's why programs like the ones that will be held next week on two local campuses are so important in not allowing the story of Darfur to be forgotten. On Monday night at 7, Darfurian refugees will speak in the University of Texas Health Science Center's MS1 Lecture Hall. The next night at the same time, Trinity University's Northup Lecture Hall will be the site of another discussion on the International Criminal Court.
There is a growing nonpartisan and nonideological movement in the United States to stop the genocide in Darfur. College students, liberal activists, Christian and political conservatives have been admirable in persistently publicizing what's happening and providing resources to Darfur. Few American journalists have been as passionate and relentless on this issue as my colleague, Jonathan Gurwitz.
Ismail Ibrahim, who left Darfur in 1994 and now lives in Dallas, will be one of the speakers Monday night. He has more faith in the American people to do right by his country than he does the American government.
"I see something different," he says of the Americans he's met. "I see in their eyes and feelings they're trying to do everything to help Darfurians in Darfur."
He remains frustrated with the response of world governments.
"After two years, it's going to be too late," says Ibrahim. "And we're still going to be saying 'never again.'"
cclack@express-news.net.
Sudan’s Darfur is worse than ever
Saturday 22 October 2005.
Editorial, the Houston Chronicle
Oct 20, 2005 — Americans have been horrified over the past two and a half years at the brutality of Arab janjaweed militias of Darfur, Sudan, swooping in to burn villages and rape and kill the tribespeople, who are of African descent. More shocking still was the evidence - undeniable to all but ministry officials in the capital city of Khartoum - that government military soldiers and helicopters were participating in the raids.
The unchecked butchery, touched off in 2003 by anti-government uprisings by two black rebel groups against Sudan’s Arab government, has left tens of thousands of helpless villagers dead and turned another 2 million into refugees.
Recently, refugees began clearing out of camps and returning to their land to plant crops in the hopes that African Union peacekeepers, a negotiated cease-fire and ongoing peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja would return this desert region in western Sudan to some semblance of normalcy. The razing of villages had subsided, though cynics contended it was because hundreds already had been destroyed.
The fact of the matter, according to accounts this week in the New York Times and elsewhere, is that the situation indeed has changed. It has grown worse.
In a bizarre twist, eyewitnesses last month saw janjaweed militiamen effectively turn on their government supporters, according to Times reporter Marc Lacey. The janjaweed surrounded a police station, assaulted the police chief and released a number of jailed janjaweed fighters.
It would be a delicious example of poetic justice if the breakdown in the janjaweed/government coalition meant improved security for innocent villagers. Rather, life in Darfur is more chaotic and violent than ever.
Not only have janjaweed fighters turned on their government sponsors in some instances, but the number of rebel groups has grown and now they have begun launching attacks on each other. There are reports that fighters are streaming over the border from Chad to join the conflict. And janjaweed militia again are attacking villagers, who, again, are pouring by the thousands back into refugee camps.
Meanwhile, African Union peacekeeping troops, pitifully few for the scale of this complex conflict, have been ambushed by rebels fighting the Sudanese government. On Oct. 9, 38 African Union soldiers were abducted by one rebel group and rescued after a pitched battle with another.
The escalating violence has hindered United Nations humanitarian efforts to provide displaced Sudanese with food and medical care.
These events are a grim reminder that the problems in Darfur are far from solved. The world must not divert its attention.
Editorial, the Houston Chronicle
Oct 20, 2005 — Americans have been horrified over the past two and a half years at the brutality of Arab janjaweed militias of Darfur, Sudan, swooping in to burn villages and rape and kill the tribespeople, who are of African descent. More shocking still was the evidence - undeniable to all but ministry officials in the capital city of Khartoum - that government military soldiers and helicopters were participating in the raids.
The unchecked butchery, touched off in 2003 by anti-government uprisings by two black rebel groups against Sudan’s Arab government, has left tens of thousands of helpless villagers dead and turned another 2 million into refugees.
Recently, refugees began clearing out of camps and returning to their land to plant crops in the hopes that African Union peacekeepers, a negotiated cease-fire and ongoing peace talks in the Nigerian capital of Abuja would return this desert region in western Sudan to some semblance of normalcy. The razing of villages had subsided, though cynics contended it was because hundreds already had been destroyed.
The fact of the matter, according to accounts this week in the New York Times and elsewhere, is that the situation indeed has changed. It has grown worse.
In a bizarre twist, eyewitnesses last month saw janjaweed militiamen effectively turn on their government supporters, according to Times reporter Marc Lacey. The janjaweed surrounded a police station, assaulted the police chief and released a number of jailed janjaweed fighters.
It would be a delicious example of poetic justice if the breakdown in the janjaweed/government coalition meant improved security for innocent villagers. Rather, life in Darfur is more chaotic and violent than ever.
Not only have janjaweed fighters turned on their government sponsors in some instances, but the number of rebel groups has grown and now they have begun launching attacks on each other. There are reports that fighters are streaming over the border from Chad to join the conflict. And janjaweed militia again are attacking villagers, who, again, are pouring by the thousands back into refugee camps.
Meanwhile, African Union peacekeeping troops, pitifully few for the scale of this complex conflict, have been ambushed by rebels fighting the Sudanese government. On Oct. 9, 38 African Union soldiers were abducted by one rebel group and rescued after a pitched battle with another.
The escalating violence has hindered United Nations humanitarian efforts to provide displaced Sudanese with food and medical care.
These events are a grim reminder that the problems in Darfur are far from solved. The world must not divert its attention.
UNHCR calls for renewed focus on Darfur
Saturday, October 22, 2005 (London):
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called for a renewed focus on Darfur in Sudan as the risk of conflict in the region escalates.
Speaking in London on Friday, the UN High Commissioner, Antsnio Guterres, asked the international community to help restore peace in Darfur in western Sudan.
Guterres said the situation in the country was "very serious".
He stressed the need for the international community to act to save people in Darfur.
He also warned that peace talks between northern and southern Sudan could break down again.
Fighting and insecurity throughout Darfur is hindering food and relief aid to tens of thousands of people and forcing more displaced Sudanese into already crammed refugee camps.
A recent rise in violence, marked by increased banditry and attacks on African Union peacekeepers, has led to the movement of aid workers being restricted.
The Darfur conflict started after rebels - the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement - took up arms against the Arab-dominated government to win more political and economic rights for the region's African tribes.
Sudan's government is accused of responding by backing Janjaweed militiamen responsible for rapes and killings of Sudanese of African origin - claims which the government denies.
The United Nations estimates the fighting has resulted in the deaths of more than 180,000 people through violence, disease or malnutrition. (AP)
© 2004 NDTV. All rights reserved.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has called for a renewed focus on Darfur in Sudan as the risk of conflict in the region escalates.
Speaking in London on Friday, the UN High Commissioner, Antsnio Guterres, asked the international community to help restore peace in Darfur in western Sudan.
Guterres said the situation in the country was "very serious".
He stressed the need for the international community to act to save people in Darfur.
He also warned that peace talks between northern and southern Sudan could break down again.
Fighting and insecurity throughout Darfur is hindering food and relief aid to tens of thousands of people and forcing more displaced Sudanese into already crammed refugee camps.
A recent rise in violence, marked by increased banditry and attacks on African Union peacekeepers, has led to the movement of aid workers being restricted.
The Darfur conflict started after rebels - the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement - took up arms against the Arab-dominated government to win more political and economic rights for the region's African tribes.
Sudan's government is accused of responding by backing Janjaweed militiamen responsible for rapes and killings of Sudanese of African origin - claims which the government denies.
The United Nations estimates the fighting has resulted in the deaths of more than 180,000 people through violence, disease or malnutrition. (AP)
© 2004 NDTV. All rights reserved.
Sudan detains lawyer defending refugees - Amnesty
22 October, 2005
KHARTOUM - Sudanese authorities have arrested and allegedly mistreated a lawyer defending the rights of refugees who live in camps outside the capital Khartoum, rights group Amnesty International said in a statement.
About 2 million people who fled regional conflicts in Sudan live in slums surrounding Khartoum. Police clashed with refugees in the Soba al-Aradi camp in May, leaving at least 30 people dead, including 14 policemen, rights groups and witnesses said.
The lawyer, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Gadir al-Arbab, had helped provide information about many of those arrested and killed during the clashes. He had said earlier he feared for his life after being threatened by security forces.
"Allegedly he has been ill-treated in custody, and is at risk of further ill-treatment," Amnesty said in a statement on Saturday. "Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his work in defense of human rights."
Amnesty has not seen the lawyer as it does not have international staff in Sudan and has tried unsuccessfully to get visas to visit. Amnesty employees, including Secretary-General Irene Khan, were granted visas for one visit after the British Foreign Minister Jack Straw intervened.
Authorities have denied opening fire in the camp but witnesses heard shooting and some camp residents said they had lost relatives who were killed by gunshot wounds.
Hundreds were arrested in the shooting‘s aftermath and an independent paper was suspended for printing reports on it.
Amnesty said Arbab had reportedly been charged for crimes including waging war against the state, murder and undermining the constitutional system. Two of the charges carry the death penalty.
Interior ministry officials declined to comment on Arbab‘s arrest and said they had not seen the Amnesty report.
Most refugees in the camps around Khartoum are from the war-torn south and remote Darfur regions. Authorities have often demolished their homes without warning, forcibly moving the refugees, a move condemned by the United Nations .
KHARTOUM - Sudanese authorities have arrested and allegedly mistreated a lawyer defending the rights of refugees who live in camps outside the capital Khartoum, rights group Amnesty International said in a statement.
About 2 million people who fled regional conflicts in Sudan live in slums surrounding Khartoum. Police clashed with refugees in the Soba al-Aradi camp in May, leaving at least 30 people dead, including 14 policemen, rights groups and witnesses said.
The lawyer, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Gadir al-Arbab, had helped provide information about many of those arrested and killed during the clashes. He had said earlier he feared for his life after being threatened by security forces.
"Allegedly he has been ill-treated in custody, and is at risk of further ill-treatment," Amnesty said in a statement on Saturday. "Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for his work in defense of human rights."
Amnesty has not seen the lawyer as it does not have international staff in Sudan and has tried unsuccessfully to get visas to visit. Amnesty employees, including Secretary-General Irene Khan, were granted visas for one visit after the British Foreign Minister Jack Straw intervened.
Authorities have denied opening fire in the camp but witnesses heard shooting and some camp residents said they had lost relatives who were killed by gunshot wounds.
Hundreds were arrested in the shooting‘s aftermath and an independent paper was suspended for printing reports on it.
Amnesty said Arbab had reportedly been charged for crimes including waging war against the state, murder and undermining the constitutional system. Two of the charges carry the death penalty.
Interior ministry officials declined to comment on Arbab‘s arrest and said they had not seen the Amnesty report.
Most refugees in the camps around Khartoum are from the war-torn south and remote Darfur regions. Authorities have often demolished their homes without warning, forcibly moving the refugees, a move condemned by the United Nations .
Darfur agony goes on as the UN fails to act
Sat 22 Oct 2005 show images
GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT
FIFTEEN months after the United Nations' Security Council issued an ultimatum to the government of Sudan to clean up its act in Darfur or face action, shocking new evidence of atrocities is emerging. Various governments have labelled the campaign of murder and forced displacement in Darfur as genocide and the UN last year described Darfur as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Yet according to the UN's own situation reports and accounts of investigations by African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces, the black African farmers targeted in the initial wave of violence continue to face the daily threat of violence.
The UN and AU reports detail murders, rapes and the burning of entire villages by Sudanese government forces and their armed militia allies, known as janjaweed.
They also reveal the threat now facing humanitarian aid workers in the region, who have increasingly found themselves the target of attack.
A UN report from last month sheds light on the worst recent incident involving aid workers, describing how the group of 22 people travelling in seven vehicles was ambushed on the road from Beida to Geneina in west Darfur on 1 September.
"The bandits took cash, cameras and other personal belongings and ripped out all VHF communication equipment," the report says. "The bandits then beat the staff members with sticks and rifles while they were lying on the ground. Seventeen persons suffered injuries such as blunt trauma, head injury with stitches, back injuries, haematoma on the scalp, etc."
Aid workers say the security situation has deteriorated badly in recent months. There is a reluctance to speak publicly because of the action taken by the Sudanese government against international workers who have spoken out in the past, but one worker - who did not wish to be named - yesterday described how there were attacks every day in August against aid convoys.
"There has been a massive increase in attacks against humanitarian agencies," the worker said, adding that the victims of the 1 September ambush were also stripped of their clothes during the attack.
"The few cars that were moving have stopped and no-one can use any of the roads outside Geneina [the capital of west Darfur]. People cannot move and that means they can't get to any of the camps in west Darfur."
The worker said that an increase in fighting in north and south Darfur meant that movement there was also restricted and had prompted more villagers to abandon their homes and seek refuge in camps. There had been recent co-ordinated attacks against between 30 and 40 villages prompting thousands of people to flee. Several civilians were killed in a large clash between Sudan Liberation Army rebels and government forces this week.
The AU has sent thousands of troops into Darfur to try to keep the peace between the warring parties and it sends teams of investigators to look into reports of ceasefire violations. Previously confidential reports from AU investigators on attacks which took place earlier this year have now been made available and provide fresh insight into the extent of the brutality faced by the black African farmers driven from their homes by the Sudanese government and its Arab militia allies.
One AU report into an attack on the village of Duma by janjaweed militia details how six fighters executed in cold blood a woman, Miriam Mohammed Abubakat, as she was fetching wood with nine others.
One witness told investigators that one of the janjaweed grabbed Mrs Abubakat: "The woman was trying to loose herself from the man and they fell down on the ground. One of the militia came forward and told his friend who was struggling to pull his head aside so that he could shoot the woman. He then put the muzzle of the gun on her head and shot the woman."
Another handwritten witness statement from a teacher, Omar Ahmed Adam, recounted how the fight had started when the janjaweed began raping the group of women. Mrs Abubakat was killed, he said, because she had refused to submit.
Another report details how 20 Sudanese soldiers murdered a man, Abdul Halim Adam, by shooting him in the back as he drew water at a well in the Abushouk refugee camp. Investigators concluded that the attack had taken place with the full knowledge of the Sudanese police officers in the camp.
The team was also able to gather information about a number of rapes committed against women in the camp. Witnesses told the AU team that Sudanese soldiers were in the habit of visiting the camp to take away girls by force. The girls were taken to unknown locations and raped, the report said.
Other AU reports from earlier in the year describe a number of attacks on villages by armed militias. One report provides a full account of one of the worst incidents, an attack on the village of Khor Abeche in April.
The investigators described how about 200 janjaweed under the command of Nasr Atijani Abdel Gadir attacked at 8am, killing four people, injuring many more and destroying everything except a school, mosque and a few huts. The report said 15 villagers were later declared missing. An AU helicopter was sent to investigate reports of the attack and was able to take pictures of janjaweed attackers mounted on horses and camels and the village ablaze.
Survivors described how the janjaweed had spoiled the wells and left almost 800 people without food. Mohamed Bushm Adam, the village leader, said seven children died because of the water shortage and many villagers were still hiding in the mountains, afraid to return.
Even AU peacekeepers are now coming under direct attack. Five Nigerians with the AU's 6,300-strong contingent in Darfur are known to have died in an attack, blamed on the Sudan Liberation Army, which also killed two civilians earlier this month.
Days later, 38 African Union peacekeepers were taken hostage by rebel forces in Tine near the border with Chad. A dissident faction of Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement was blamed for the attack.
The latest UN report from Darfur paints a grim picture of daily killings and the forced removal of villagers from their homes. The report - which covers just four days in Darfur - notes the discovery of the bodies of two AU peacekeepers, killed in the ambush near Menawashi; an attack on the town of Liria in which 18 people died, 11 of them women; a fight over grazing rights in which an unknown number of people died and 100 families from Wandi were forced from their homes; the ambush of a truck on the near Tore in which four people died; the shooting dead by seven armed bandits of two passengers in a commercial vehicle and theft of six million Sudanese dinar; and the burning of the market in Kafod in which one person was killed and an aid agency forced to relocate its team.
Aid agencies say that without security in the region, they are powerless to help those most in need. Oxfam operates in 16 camps in Darfur but is currently unable to reach five because it is too dangerous to use the roads.
A spokeswoman for Oxfam said clashes between Sudanese government forces and rebels were hampering aid efforts.
"Thousands of people are facing horrific violence every day," she said. "Humanitarian agencies including Oxfam are being targeted. All parties are breaching the ceasefire and it is causing more death and displacement."
source: scotsman
GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT
FIFTEEN months after the United Nations' Security Council issued an ultimatum to the government of Sudan to clean up its act in Darfur or face action, shocking new evidence of atrocities is emerging. Various governments have labelled the campaign of murder and forced displacement in Darfur as genocide and the UN last year described Darfur as the world's worst humanitarian crisis.
Yet according to the UN's own situation reports and accounts of investigations by African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces, the black African farmers targeted in the initial wave of violence continue to face the daily threat of violence.
The UN and AU reports detail murders, rapes and the burning of entire villages by Sudanese government forces and their armed militia allies, known as janjaweed.
They also reveal the threat now facing humanitarian aid workers in the region, who have increasingly found themselves the target of attack.
A UN report from last month sheds light on the worst recent incident involving aid workers, describing how the group of 22 people travelling in seven vehicles was ambushed on the road from Beida to Geneina in west Darfur on 1 September.
"The bandits took cash, cameras and other personal belongings and ripped out all VHF communication equipment," the report says. "The bandits then beat the staff members with sticks and rifles while they were lying on the ground. Seventeen persons suffered injuries such as blunt trauma, head injury with stitches, back injuries, haematoma on the scalp, etc."
Aid workers say the security situation has deteriorated badly in recent months. There is a reluctance to speak publicly because of the action taken by the Sudanese government against international workers who have spoken out in the past, but one worker - who did not wish to be named - yesterday described how there were attacks every day in August against aid convoys.
"There has been a massive increase in attacks against humanitarian agencies," the worker said, adding that the victims of the 1 September ambush were also stripped of their clothes during the attack.
"The few cars that were moving have stopped and no-one can use any of the roads outside Geneina [the capital of west Darfur]. People cannot move and that means they can't get to any of the camps in west Darfur."
The worker said that an increase in fighting in north and south Darfur meant that movement there was also restricted and had prompted more villagers to abandon their homes and seek refuge in camps. There had been recent co-ordinated attacks against between 30 and 40 villages prompting thousands of people to flee. Several civilians were killed in a large clash between Sudan Liberation Army rebels and government forces this week.
The AU has sent thousands of troops into Darfur to try to keep the peace between the warring parties and it sends teams of investigators to look into reports of ceasefire violations. Previously confidential reports from AU investigators on attacks which took place earlier this year have now been made available and provide fresh insight into the extent of the brutality faced by the black African farmers driven from their homes by the Sudanese government and its Arab militia allies.
One AU report into an attack on the village of Duma by janjaweed militia details how six fighters executed in cold blood a woman, Miriam Mohammed Abubakat, as she was fetching wood with nine others.
One witness told investigators that one of the janjaweed grabbed Mrs Abubakat: "The woman was trying to loose herself from the man and they fell down on the ground. One of the militia came forward and told his friend who was struggling to pull his head aside so that he could shoot the woman. He then put the muzzle of the gun on her head and shot the woman."
Another handwritten witness statement from a teacher, Omar Ahmed Adam, recounted how the fight had started when the janjaweed began raping the group of women. Mrs Abubakat was killed, he said, because she had refused to submit.
Another report details how 20 Sudanese soldiers murdered a man, Abdul Halim Adam, by shooting him in the back as he drew water at a well in the Abushouk refugee camp. Investigators concluded that the attack had taken place with the full knowledge of the Sudanese police officers in the camp.
The team was also able to gather information about a number of rapes committed against women in the camp. Witnesses told the AU team that Sudanese soldiers were in the habit of visiting the camp to take away girls by force. The girls were taken to unknown locations and raped, the report said.
Other AU reports from earlier in the year describe a number of attacks on villages by armed militias. One report provides a full account of one of the worst incidents, an attack on the village of Khor Abeche in April.
The investigators described how about 200 janjaweed under the command of Nasr Atijani Abdel Gadir attacked at 8am, killing four people, injuring many more and destroying everything except a school, mosque and a few huts. The report said 15 villagers were later declared missing. An AU helicopter was sent to investigate reports of the attack and was able to take pictures of janjaweed attackers mounted on horses and camels and the village ablaze.
Survivors described how the janjaweed had spoiled the wells and left almost 800 people without food. Mohamed Bushm Adam, the village leader, said seven children died because of the water shortage and many villagers were still hiding in the mountains, afraid to return.
Even AU peacekeepers are now coming under direct attack. Five Nigerians with the AU's 6,300-strong contingent in Darfur are known to have died in an attack, blamed on the Sudan Liberation Army, which also killed two civilians earlier this month.
Days later, 38 African Union peacekeepers were taken hostage by rebel forces in Tine near the border with Chad. A dissident faction of Darfur's rebel Justice and Equality Movement was blamed for the attack.
The latest UN report from Darfur paints a grim picture of daily killings and the forced removal of villagers from their homes. The report - which covers just four days in Darfur - notes the discovery of the bodies of two AU peacekeepers, killed in the ambush near Menawashi; an attack on the town of Liria in which 18 people died, 11 of them women; a fight over grazing rights in which an unknown number of people died and 100 families from Wandi were forced from their homes; the ambush of a truck on the near Tore in which four people died; the shooting dead by seven armed bandits of two passengers in a commercial vehicle and theft of six million Sudanese dinar; and the burning of the market in Kafod in which one person was killed and an aid agency forced to relocate its team.
Aid agencies say that without security in the region, they are powerless to help those most in need. Oxfam operates in 16 camps in Darfur but is currently unable to reach five because it is too dangerous to use the roads.
A spokeswoman for Oxfam said clashes between Sudanese government forces and rebels were hampering aid efforts.
"Thousands of people are facing horrific violence every day," she said. "Humanitarian agencies including Oxfam are being targeted. All parties are breaching the ceasefire and it is causing more death and displacement."
source: scotsman
Death toll in Darfur tops 100,000 since UN directive
GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT
MORE than 100,000 people are now believed to have died in the Darfur region of Sudan since the United Nations Security Council set a 30-day deadline last year for the Khartoum regime to begin to resolve the crisis in the area.
Humanitarian agencies and the African Union are warning that the situation in Darfur is again deteriorating, with five AU peacekeepers killed in the past week and parts of the region inaccessible after an aid convoy was ambushed and the staff stripped and beaten.
Shocking new evidence of atrocities committed by the Sudanese government and its janjaweed militia allies in Darfur region has emerged in previously confidential African Union reports, and in the United Nations' own briefing papers. The evidence includes accounts of rapes, murders and the razing of entire villages - accounts which have been confirmed by AU monitors.
The AU has sent thousands of troops to Darfur to try to maintain a ceasefire agreed by the warring parties but it has concluded that all sides are breaching that agreement.
The AU yesterday missed a new deadline to increase troop numbers in the region to more than 7,000, mainly because it remains $173 million short of the money it needs to finance the operation. It is also short of fuel and is being hindered by the Sudanese government, which has refused to allow a consignment of Canadian-supplied armoured personnel carriers to enter the country.
On 30 July last year the UN security council gave the Sudanese government 30 days to make progress on pledges to resolve what is now widely recognised as genocide, and what the UN itself described as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
Since then, thousands more people have died. Exact figures remain hard to come by, but World Health Organisation's estimates suggest about 100,000 have died since that deadline was set. WHO estimated that about 10,000 people a month died last year, and although that figure has now fallen to about 5,000 a month, the death rate among children under the age of five is double the overall average and the situation is described as "extremely fragile".
Yesterday, the aid agency Oxfam described the situation in Darfur as "catastrophic". Spokesman Malcolm Fleming said humanitarian agencies were increasingly being targeted in violent banditry and looting and fresh clashes between government and rebels continued to destabilise large parts of the region.
"The security situation is not improving and thousands of people are facing the threat of horrific violence each day," he said. Because large numbers of roads are not safe to use, aid agencies are having trouble accessing camps and delivering supplies. The parties continue to break the ceasefire, causing more death and displacement."
He said there was a desperate need for food, clean water and medical attention inside the camps for those displaced by the violence.
"The scale of the Darfur crisis is still catastrophic. Nearly two million people are stuck inside camps and many are going into their third year of displacement," he said.
source: the scotsman
CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT
MORE than 100,000 people are now believed to have died in the Darfur region of Sudan since the United Nations Security Council set a 30-day deadline last year for the Khartoum regime to begin to resolve the crisis in the area.
Humanitarian agencies and the African Union are warning that the situation in Darfur is again deteriorating, with five AU peacekeepers killed in the past week and parts of the region inaccessible after an aid convoy was ambushed and the staff stripped and beaten.
Shocking new evidence of atrocities committed by the Sudanese government and its janjaweed militia allies in Darfur region has emerged in previously confidential African Union reports, and in the United Nations' own briefing papers. The evidence includes accounts of rapes, murders and the razing of entire villages - accounts which have been confirmed by AU monitors.
The AU has sent thousands of troops to Darfur to try to maintain a ceasefire agreed by the warring parties but it has concluded that all sides are breaching that agreement.
The AU yesterday missed a new deadline to increase troop numbers in the region to more than 7,000, mainly because it remains $173 million short of the money it needs to finance the operation. It is also short of fuel and is being hindered by the Sudanese government, which has refused to allow a consignment of Canadian-supplied armoured personnel carriers to enter the country.
On 30 July last year the UN security council gave the Sudanese government 30 days to make progress on pledges to resolve what is now widely recognised as genocide, and what the UN itself described as the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
Since then, thousands more people have died. Exact figures remain hard to come by, but World Health Organisation's estimates suggest about 100,000 have died since that deadline was set. WHO estimated that about 10,000 people a month died last year, and although that figure has now fallen to about 5,000 a month, the death rate among children under the age of five is double the overall average and the situation is described as "extremely fragile".
Yesterday, the aid agency Oxfam described the situation in Darfur as "catastrophic". Spokesman Malcolm Fleming said humanitarian agencies were increasingly being targeted in violent banditry and looting and fresh clashes between government and rebels continued to destabilise large parts of the region.
"The security situation is not improving and thousands of people are facing the threat of horrific violence each day," he said. Because large numbers of roads are not safe to use, aid agencies are having trouble accessing camps and delivering supplies. The parties continue to break the ceasefire, causing more death and displacement."
He said there was a desperate need for food, clean water and medical attention inside the camps for those displaced by the violence.
"The scale of the Darfur crisis is still catastrophic. Nearly two million people are stuck inside camps and many are going into their third year of displacement," he said.
source: the scotsman
Friday, October 21, 2005
World has just weeks to save Darfur, says UNHCR
October 21, 2005 7:05 PM
By Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - The world has just weeks to help restore peace in Sudan's Darfur region or risk watching it slide back into civil war with repercussions for the whole region, U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday.
A patchy cease-fire was falling apart as the two main rebel groups began to disintegrate, an African Union (AU) peace force was hopelessly undermanned, under-equipped and under-funded and the world appeared to have lost interest, he said.
"Everything is getting out of control. This is happening on both sides," Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Reuters. "The crucial moment is from now to the end of the year."
"We are close to a moment in which a new major tragedy might occur in Darfur," he added at the launch of a DVD of a concert last December to raise money for refugees from the strife-torn region the size of France.
"It would have a major impact on the neighbours ... and on the whole African region."
The United Nations says at least two million Sudanese have been turned into refugees in their own country by 2 1/2 years of fighting between rebels, the Sudanese army and Arab militias known as Janjaweed, believed to be backed by Khartoum.
Another 200,000 have been forced to flee to camps in neighbouring Chad.
Rape, murder and robbery are rampant, and food is scarce despite the efforts of aid agencies.
A sixth round of faltering peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja was adjourned until November on Thursday. Since mid-September scant headway has been made.
WORSENING VIOLENCE
Security in Darfur has deteriorated in recent weeks, especially in the area bordering Chad, where militias have attacked refugee camps and AU personnel have been abducted by dissident rebels.
Guterres said that if Darfur, where banditry is rife and aid agencies are virtually unable to operate, collapsed into civil war again it could not only destabilise the whole of the vast country but the entire area.
"Even our staff there can barely move. There is no security," he said. "What we are witnessing on the ground is a very serious deterioration."
Yet the international community -- which had appeared to have focussed its attention on Darfur a year ago and persuaded all sides to talk -- had turned its eyes elsewhere.
He urged the United Nations, the European Union and other major international players like China to refocus their efforts to reinvigorate the peace talks and give the 6,000-strong AU force the ability to operate effectively.
"The engagement of the international community is absolutely crucial," he said. "Darfur became a forgotten crisis."
"The African Union force cannot effectively protect the people of Darfur ... and in some cases even themselves," he said, likening the task facing the fledgling force to placing one policeman in London and asking him to stop all crime there.
Reuters
By Jeremy Lovell
LONDON (Reuters) - The world has just weeks to help restore peace in Sudan's Darfur region or risk watching it slide back into civil war with repercussions for the whole region, U.N. refugee chief Antonio Guterres said on Friday.
A patchy cease-fire was falling apart as the two main rebel groups began to disintegrate, an African Union (AU) peace force was hopelessly undermanned, under-equipped and under-funded and the world appeared to have lost interest, he said.
"Everything is getting out of control. This is happening on both sides," Guterres, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Reuters. "The crucial moment is from now to the end of the year."
"We are close to a moment in which a new major tragedy might occur in Darfur," he added at the launch of a DVD of a concert last December to raise money for refugees from the strife-torn region the size of France.
"It would have a major impact on the neighbours ... and on the whole African region."
The United Nations says at least two million Sudanese have been turned into refugees in their own country by 2 1/2 years of fighting between rebels, the Sudanese army and Arab militias known as Janjaweed, believed to be backed by Khartoum.
Another 200,000 have been forced to flee to camps in neighbouring Chad.
Rape, murder and robbery are rampant, and food is scarce despite the efforts of aid agencies.
A sixth round of faltering peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja was adjourned until November on Thursday. Since mid-September scant headway has been made.
WORSENING VIOLENCE
Security in Darfur has deteriorated in recent weeks, especially in the area bordering Chad, where militias have attacked refugee camps and AU personnel have been abducted by dissident rebels.
Guterres said that if Darfur, where banditry is rife and aid agencies are virtually unable to operate, collapsed into civil war again it could not only destabilise the whole of the vast country but the entire area.
"Even our staff there can barely move. There is no security," he said. "What we are witnessing on the ground is a very serious deterioration."
Yet the international community -- which had appeared to have focussed its attention on Darfur a year ago and persuaded all sides to talk -- had turned its eyes elsewhere.
He urged the United Nations, the European Union and other major international players like China to refocus their efforts to reinvigorate the peace talks and give the 6,000-strong AU force the ability to operate effectively.
"The engagement of the international community is absolutely crucial," he said. "Darfur became a forgotten crisis."
"The African Union force cannot effectively protect the people of Darfur ... and in some cases even themselves," he said, likening the task facing the fledgling force to placing one policeman in London and asking him to stop all crime there.
Reuters
US lawmaker blasts waiver allowing Sudan lobbyist
Fri 21 Oct 2005 6:05 PM ET
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A Republican congressman criticized the State Department on Friday for allowing a U.S. lobbying firm to work for Sudan while the Bush administration is trying to tighten sanctions on the African country over the bloody conflict in its Darfur region.
Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia said he was "shocked" that the department granted a waiver from an order barring U.S. companies from doing business with Sudan. "This allows this guy to lobby for Sudan, which the Congress and the administration have said is complicit in genocide," he said.
In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Wolf said the waiver conflicted with the administration's push for the U.N. Security Council to tighten sanctions for Khartoum's failure to crack down on the janjaweed militias in the Darfur conflict.
Wolf, who has made five trips to Sudan and said he has seen genocide there first-hand, is chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees the State Department's budget.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli did not respond specifically to Wolf's letter. But he said the department's decisions were aimed at getting Sudan "to take responsible actions with regard to the violence in Darfur, and to facilitate and assist humanitarian work in Darfur, and to negotiate a political solution to the violence in Darfur."
In his letter to Rice, Wolf questioned how the U.S. company -- C/R International founded by former U.S. diplomat Robert Cabelly -- had exercised "such bad judgment" to sign on with Sudan, which is seeking to smooth relations with the United States. (Additional reporting by Sue Pleming)
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
WASHINGTON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - A Republican congressman criticized the State Department on Friday for allowing a U.S. lobbying firm to work for Sudan while the Bush administration is trying to tighten sanctions on the African country over the bloody conflict in its Darfur region.
Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia said he was "shocked" that the department granted a waiver from an order barring U.S. companies from doing business with Sudan. "This allows this guy to lobby for Sudan, which the Congress and the administration have said is complicit in genocide," he said.
In a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Wolf said the waiver conflicted with the administration's push for the U.N. Security Council to tighten sanctions for Khartoum's failure to crack down on the janjaweed militias in the Darfur conflict.
Wolf, who has made five trips to Sudan and said he has seen genocide there first-hand, is chairman of the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees the State Department's budget.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli did not respond specifically to Wolf's letter. But he said the department's decisions were aimed at getting Sudan "to take responsible actions with regard to the violence in Darfur, and to facilitate and assist humanitarian work in Darfur, and to negotiate a political solution to the violence in Darfur."
In his letter to Rice, Wolf questioned how the U.S. company -- C/R International founded by former U.S. diplomat Robert Cabelly -- had exercised "such bad judgment" to sign on with Sudan, which is seeking to smooth relations with the United States. (Additional reporting by Sue Pleming)
© Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Annan urges international community to apply immediate pressure for peace in Darfur
Source: United Nations News Service
Date: 20 Oct 2005
The resurgence of violence in Sudan's Darfur region and the Government's continued unwillingness or inability to restrain armed tribal militias, may threaten the peace talks, and the international community needs to apply renewed pressure for a successful outcome, the United Nations Secretary-General says in a report.
"The month of September witnessed an alarming deterioration in the security situation in all three Darfur states," and the violence has sent displaced persons fleeing from camps, stymied humanitarian agencies trying to provide relief, and produced fear among people whose families have been killed or attacked, says Mr. Annan.
A growing divide within the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SMLA) is a potential obstacle at the negotiation table for continued peace talks in the Nigerian capitol of Abuja, Mr. Kofi Annan says to the Security Council in his monthly update. Increasing reports of gross human rights violations, and the worsening violence against civilians could further threaten the country's steps towards peace, he adds.
Violent incidents have been initiated by all warring factions, including the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Popular Defence Forces, and the SMLA in Northern and Southern Darfur, while banditry and hijackings have brought humanitarian operations practically to a standstill along all roads leading to Geneina in Western Darfur, he reports.
Thirty-five internally displaced persons (IDPs) were killed, 10 were wounded, and 4,000 IDPs and villagers were forced to flee during an attack by bandits on 28 September. Rapes and attacks on women have increased in Western and Southern Darfur, and at least a third of the victims are estimated to be girls under the age of 18, he says.
The abduction of children has continued during this upswing in violence in violation of international and Sudanese law, Mr Annan says, and UN human rights officers have reported cases of torture, sexual and gender-based attacks.
"Armed international personnel were not immune to the violence either," he adds, with three soldiers from the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) wounded in September after being shot at by unknown assailants.
"The Government's record during the reporting period is troubling because of the evidence that its forces triggered some of the incidents, and because there are clear indications that, in many cases, the tribal militia operated with enabled support from the Government," he says.
The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when two rebel groups demanded an end to economic marginalization and sought power sharing within the Sudanese state. Since then, 1.8 million people have been internally displaced, 200,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad, and 3.3 million Darfurians have needed humanitarian assistance.
An increase in AMIS forces to protect innocent civilians and help restore order is badly needed, Mr. Annan says, which will require additional funding. He also calls on world leaders to apply pressure on the warring factions in Darfur, in particular on the SMLA, "to steer the current round of talks in Abuja towards a positive outcome."
"This is a crucial moment for Darfur and no time must be lost," he adds.
Date: 20 Oct 2005
The resurgence of violence in Sudan's Darfur region and the Government's continued unwillingness or inability to restrain armed tribal militias, may threaten the peace talks, and the international community needs to apply renewed pressure for a successful outcome, the United Nations Secretary-General says in a report.
"The month of September witnessed an alarming deterioration in the security situation in all three Darfur states," and the violence has sent displaced persons fleeing from camps, stymied humanitarian agencies trying to provide relief, and produced fear among people whose families have been killed or attacked, says Mr. Annan.
A growing divide within the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SMLA) is a potential obstacle at the negotiation table for continued peace talks in the Nigerian capitol of Abuja, Mr. Kofi Annan says to the Security Council in his monthly update. Increasing reports of gross human rights violations, and the worsening violence against civilians could further threaten the country's steps towards peace, he adds.
Violent incidents have been initiated by all warring factions, including the Sudanese Armed Forces, the Popular Defence Forces, and the SMLA in Northern and Southern Darfur, while banditry and hijackings have brought humanitarian operations practically to a standstill along all roads leading to Geneina in Western Darfur, he reports.
Thirty-five internally displaced persons (IDPs) were killed, 10 were wounded, and 4,000 IDPs and villagers were forced to flee during an attack by bandits on 28 September. Rapes and attacks on women have increased in Western and Southern Darfur, and at least a third of the victims are estimated to be girls under the age of 18, he says.
The abduction of children has continued during this upswing in violence in violation of international and Sudanese law, Mr Annan says, and UN human rights officers have reported cases of torture, sexual and gender-based attacks.
"Armed international personnel were not immune to the violence either," he adds, with three soldiers from the African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) wounded in September after being shot at by unknown assailants.
"The Government's record during the reporting period is troubling because of the evidence that its forces triggered some of the incidents, and because there are clear indications that, in many cases, the tribal militia operated with enabled support from the Government," he says.
The Darfur conflict erupted in February 2003 when two rebel groups demanded an end to economic marginalization and sought power sharing within the Sudanese state. Since then, 1.8 million people have been internally displaced, 200,000 have fled to neighbouring Chad, and 3.3 million Darfurians have needed humanitarian assistance.
An increase in AMIS forces to protect innocent civilians and help restore order is badly needed, Mr. Annan says, which will require additional funding. He also calls on world leaders to apply pressure on the warring factions in Darfur, in particular on the SMLA, "to steer the current round of talks in Abuja towards a positive outcome."
"This is a crucial moment for Darfur and no time must be lost," he adds.
Sudan‘s Darfur peace talks adjourn to November
Staff and agencies
20 October, 2005
By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA - The sixth round of African Union-mediated talks to end the Darfur conflict adjourned for a month on Thursday with mediators and delegates saying modest progress had been made.
The talks, which began on a sluggish note in the Nigerian capital Abuja in mid-September, were stymied by rebel disunity, growing violence in the western Sudanese region and deteriorating relations between Sudan and the AU.
Much of the negotiation centered on technical points rather than tangible issues of wealth and power-sharing needed to end the conflict, which started in early 2003 and has driven 2 million people from their homes to refugee in camps in the vast arid region and across the border in Chad.
Agreements were reached on human rights and fundamental freedoms and guidelines for power-sharing, while preliminary discussions were held on the federal system of governance, the delegates and mediators said in a joint statement.
They gave no details on the substance of the agreements. The seventh round of talks starts in Abuja on November 20.
"We are confident that even though modest progress was made during this session, the foundation had been laid to enable us to move forward on the substantive issues on the agenda for the power-sharing negotiations, during the next round," the statement said.
An agenda was also agreed for negotiations on wealth-sharing and informal consultations held on security arrangements and negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Darfur.
While the two main rebel groups, the main Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), were negotiating peace in Abuja, splinter groups were blamed for attacks on the 6,000-strong force monitoring Darfur‘s shaky ceasefire agreement.
The SLA/M and JEM launched a rebellion against the Sudanese government more than 2-1/2 years ago, accusing Khartoum of neglect and political and economic domination.
The United Nations says Khartoum responded by arming Arab militia accused of a widespread campaign of rape, killing and burning in non-Arab villages.
U.N. officials have said a recent surge in violence has hindered vital aid to hundreds of thousands of refugees and restricted the movement of many of the 11,000 humanitarian workers in the remote region.
"The security situation in Darfur is not improving -- thousands of people still face threats of horrific violence every day," said Nikki Bennett from British aid agency Oxfam.
"Humanitarian agencies are increasingly being targeted by banditry and looting incidents," she said.
20 October, 2005
By Camillus Eboh
ABUJA - The sixth round of African Union-mediated talks to end the Darfur conflict adjourned for a month on Thursday with mediators and delegates saying modest progress had been made.
The talks, which began on a sluggish note in the Nigerian capital Abuja in mid-September, were stymied by rebel disunity, growing violence in the western Sudanese region and deteriorating relations between Sudan and the AU.
Much of the negotiation centered on technical points rather than tangible issues of wealth and power-sharing needed to end the conflict, which started in early 2003 and has driven 2 million people from their homes to refugee in camps in the vast arid region and across the border in Chad.
Agreements were reached on human rights and fundamental freedoms and guidelines for power-sharing, while preliminary discussions were held on the federal system of governance, the delegates and mediators said in a joint statement.
They gave no details on the substance of the agreements. The seventh round of talks starts in Abuja on November 20.
"We are confident that even though modest progress was made during this session, the foundation had been laid to enable us to move forward on the substantive issues on the agenda for the power-sharing negotiations, during the next round," the statement said.
An agenda was also agreed for negotiations on wealth-sharing and informal consultations held on security arrangements and negotiations for a permanent ceasefire in Darfur.
While the two main rebel groups, the main Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), were negotiating peace in Abuja, splinter groups were blamed for attacks on the 6,000-strong force monitoring Darfur‘s shaky ceasefire agreement.
The SLA/M and JEM launched a rebellion against the Sudanese government more than 2-1/2 years ago, accusing Khartoum of neglect and political and economic domination.
The United Nations says Khartoum responded by arming Arab militia accused of a widespread campaign of rape, killing and burning in non-Arab villages.
U.N. officials have said a recent surge in violence has hindered vital aid to hundreds of thousands of refugees and restricted the movement of many of the 11,000 humanitarian workers in the remote region.
"The security situation in Darfur is not improving -- thousands of people still face threats of horrific violence every day," said Nikki Bennett from British aid agency Oxfam.
"Humanitarian agencies are increasingly being targeted by banditry and looting incidents," she said.
Chaos in Darfur, Peace in the East
October 20, 2005: The UN said that it will withdraw "non-essential staff" from Sudan's western Darfur region. Four to five months ago there were indications that the security situation in Darfur was improving and might continue to improve. African Union (AU) peacekeepers were trickling into the region. Aid convoys were arriving with greater frequency. Reports that the rebel movement was fragmenting began turning up in August-- which meant more "freelance" violence. In September and October, raids by Islamist militias increased. Now it appears that some Arab militias have turned on their chief backer, the Sudanese government. Government control of the militias it backed has always been always iffy. That was the case in southern Sudan when the government paid Moslem militias to fight the SPLA. Often times the militias (many drawn from northern and western tribes) had their own agenda. That agenda included crime. This seems to be the path Darfur is taking.
October 19, 2005: The situation in Darfur is out-of-control. Aid groups are afraid to move relief supplies in some areas because of all the armed gangs, who attack and loot aid convoys. Some of the gangs are technically working for the government, others are just local tribesmen operating as bandits.
October 18, 2005: In the south, SPLA militiamen and Ugandan soldiers cooperated to track down Ugandan LRA rebels who have been operating, and raiding, in southern Sudan.
October 17, 2005: Clashes between troops and Darfur rebels left five civilians dead. In southern Sudan, fighting with Ugandan rebels left two Ugandan soldiers dead.
October 14, 2005: A peace deal has been worked out with Eritrea, ending a decade of bad feelings, and occasional violence. Eritrea had been supporting rebels in eastern Sudan, so the new peace deal will do much to reduce the extent of that rebellion.
October 13, 2005: Two more AU peacekeepers were found dead. The two had been reported missing after an AU patrol was ambushed earlier in the week. Rebels have also kidnapped 40 peacekeepers.
October 19, 2005: The situation in Darfur is out-of-control. Aid groups are afraid to move relief supplies in some areas because of all the armed gangs, who attack and loot aid convoys. Some of the gangs are technically working for the government, others are just local tribesmen operating as bandits.
October 18, 2005: In the south, SPLA militiamen and Ugandan soldiers cooperated to track down Ugandan LRA rebels who have been operating, and raiding, in southern Sudan.
October 17, 2005: Clashes between troops and Darfur rebels left five civilians dead. In southern Sudan, fighting with Ugandan rebels left two Ugandan soldiers dead.
October 14, 2005: A peace deal has been worked out with Eritrea, ending a decade of bad feelings, and occasional violence. Eritrea had been supporting rebels in eastern Sudan, so the new peace deal will do much to reduce the extent of that rebellion.
October 13, 2005: Two more AU peacekeepers were found dead. The two had been reported missing after an AU patrol was ambushed earlier in the week. Rebels have also kidnapped 40 peacekeepers.
A murderous response to Sudan’s ‘new era’
By Nat Hentoff
In a Sept. 28 Washington Times Op-Ed article, "An optimistic future; The beginning of a 'new era' in Sudan," Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed, chief of mission for Sudan in Washington, wrote: "Every reliable report coming out of Darfur indicates that the situation has stabilized and the mortality rate has returned to pre-war levels. ... It is the beginning of a new era in Sudan." The grisly facts on the ground, however, refute the ambassador's public-relations ploy.
On Sept. 28, the Associated Press, reporting on the increasing violence in Darfur, also directed at humanitarian operations, quoted Jan Egeland, under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
"If it continues to be so dangerous on humanitarian work, we may not be able to sustain our operation for 2.5 million people requiring lifesaving assistance. ... It could all end tomorrow — it's as serious as that." (There are currently no plans for the United Nations to leave, but there is much concern that Darfur is sliding into chaos).
Opponents of the Khartoum government perpetrate some of the violence; but the chief perpetrators are the savage Arab militia, the Janjaweed, supported by and often in company with the armed forces of the Khartoum government.
The African Union (AU), with 7,000 troops in Darfur, has been courageously trying to stabilize the continuing genocide (as George W. Bush once accurately called it). But on Oct. 1, there was a denunciation of the Sudan government by Baba Gana Kingibe, the African Union's special representative to Sudan.
Kingibe told the Associated Press that "Government forces have 'resorted to violent, destructive and overwhelming use of force not only against rebel forces, but also on innocent civilian villages.'"
The Khartoum government has, of course, denied his charges, as they continually deny that they have any operational connection with the Janjaweed, who destroy villages, and, after they murder their husbands, gang rape the women.
Buried in the Oct. 2 New York Times -- which, aside from its invaluable columnist, Nicholas Kristof, has not paid much continuing attention to Darfur — there was this Reuters report, datelined Khartoum:
"The African Union accused the Sudanese government on Saturday of coordinating with Arab militias (the dread Janjaweed) in attacks on civilians in the Darfur region, and it said all sides in the conflict were violating cease-fire agreements."
Also, with regard to what Khartoum calls the "new era" in Sudan, on Oct. 3, the Sudan Tribune Web site (www.sudantribune.com), with Khartoum as the dateline, disclosed: "Laurens Jolles, head of the mission for the UN refugee agency in Darfur, said 34 men have been killed in raids carried out by 250 to 300 Arabs against the Aro Sharow camp for displaced people in West Darfur." (Again, the murderous Janjaweed.)
Meanwhile, an Oct. 3 Reuters dispatch from Khartoum emphasized, from a source in the African Union, that "a summit of the 53-nation African Union scheduled to be hosted by (the government of) Sudan in January could be changed to another venue as a form of protest (to the continuing violence in Darfur) from around the continent."
The African Union is so troubled that it has sent its deputy chairman, Patrick Mazimhaka to Khartoum. Said AU spokesman Adam Thiam to Reuters: "He is going to express the concern of the pan-African organization in the light of the recent development in Darfur and demand explanations over recent attacks on villages and refugee camps in Darfur in which 32 people were killed." (The United States supported the AU's decision to investigate the attacks.)
Furthermore, as attacks on humanitarian organizations in Darfur also continue, Eric Reeves — the most authoritative continuing analyst on Darfur — points out on Oct. 1: "If humanitarian personnel are forced to withdraw on an emergency basis, there will be immediate and devastating consequences for the provision of food, medicine, water, shelter and the security that has derived simply from the presence of humanitarian workers. Any restarting of humanitarian operations would be extraordinarily difficult and slow-moving."
On Oct. 4, during National Public Radio's "News and Notes" with Ed Gordon, Professor Nat Irvin of Wake Forest University, recalled "how far we have come from last September when then Secretary Colin Powell had given a speech about the very positive prospects for peace to actually occur in the Sudan. ... now here we are faced with having to reiterate the saying of 'Never again' (as world leaders who allowed the genocide in Rwanda said so piously so late.)
But Sudan's chief of mission in Washington, Khidir Haroun Ahmed, heralding Sudan's "optimistic future," charges that "some observers fail or refuse to see things as they are."
Things as terrifying as they are in Darfur have once more exposed the uselessness of the United Nations in ongoing genocide -- and the absence of a new coalition of willing democratic nations, including the United States, to support the African Union more substantively because the AU cannot stop the killing without such help.
Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.
and author of many books, including "The War on the Bill of Rights and the Gathering Resistance" (Seven Stories Press, 2003).
Copyright 2005, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
In a Sept. 28 Washington Times Op-Ed article, "An optimistic future; The beginning of a 'new era' in Sudan," Ambassador Khidir Haroun Ahmed, chief of mission for Sudan in Washington, wrote: "Every reliable report coming out of Darfur indicates that the situation has stabilized and the mortality rate has returned to pre-war levels. ... It is the beginning of a new era in Sudan." The grisly facts on the ground, however, refute the ambassador's public-relations ploy.
On Sept. 28, the Associated Press, reporting on the increasing violence in Darfur, also directed at humanitarian operations, quoted Jan Egeland, under-secretary-general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
"If it continues to be so dangerous on humanitarian work, we may not be able to sustain our operation for 2.5 million people requiring lifesaving assistance. ... It could all end tomorrow — it's as serious as that." (There are currently no plans for the United Nations to leave, but there is much concern that Darfur is sliding into chaos).
Opponents of the Khartoum government perpetrate some of the violence; but the chief perpetrators are the savage Arab militia, the Janjaweed, supported by and often in company with the armed forces of the Khartoum government.
The African Union (AU), with 7,000 troops in Darfur, has been courageously trying to stabilize the continuing genocide (as George W. Bush once accurately called it). But on Oct. 1, there was a denunciation of the Sudan government by Baba Gana Kingibe, the African Union's special representative to Sudan.
Kingibe told the Associated Press that "Government forces have 'resorted to violent, destructive and overwhelming use of force not only against rebel forces, but also on innocent civilian villages.'"
The Khartoum government has, of course, denied his charges, as they continually deny that they have any operational connection with the Janjaweed, who destroy villages, and, after they murder their husbands, gang rape the women.
Buried in the Oct. 2 New York Times -- which, aside from its invaluable columnist, Nicholas Kristof, has not paid much continuing attention to Darfur — there was this Reuters report, datelined Khartoum:
"The African Union accused the Sudanese government on Saturday of coordinating with Arab militias (the dread Janjaweed) in attacks on civilians in the Darfur region, and it said all sides in the conflict were violating cease-fire agreements."
Also, with regard to what Khartoum calls the "new era" in Sudan, on Oct. 3, the Sudan Tribune Web site (www.sudantribune.com), with Khartoum as the dateline, disclosed: "Laurens Jolles, head of the mission for the UN refugee agency in Darfur, said 34 men have been killed in raids carried out by 250 to 300 Arabs against the Aro Sharow camp for displaced people in West Darfur." (Again, the murderous Janjaweed.)
Meanwhile, an Oct. 3 Reuters dispatch from Khartoum emphasized, from a source in the African Union, that "a summit of the 53-nation African Union scheduled to be hosted by (the government of) Sudan in January could be changed to another venue as a form of protest (to the continuing violence in Darfur) from around the continent."
The African Union is so troubled that it has sent its deputy chairman, Patrick Mazimhaka to Khartoum. Said AU spokesman Adam Thiam to Reuters: "He is going to express the concern of the pan-African organization in the light of the recent development in Darfur and demand explanations over recent attacks on villages and refugee camps in Darfur in which 32 people were killed." (The United States supported the AU's decision to investigate the attacks.)
Furthermore, as attacks on humanitarian organizations in Darfur also continue, Eric Reeves — the most authoritative continuing analyst on Darfur — points out on Oct. 1: "If humanitarian personnel are forced to withdraw on an emergency basis, there will be immediate and devastating consequences for the provision of food, medicine, water, shelter and the security that has derived simply from the presence of humanitarian workers. Any restarting of humanitarian operations would be extraordinarily difficult and slow-moving."
On Oct. 4, during National Public Radio's "News and Notes" with Ed Gordon, Professor Nat Irvin of Wake Forest University, recalled "how far we have come from last September when then Secretary Colin Powell had given a speech about the very positive prospects for peace to actually occur in the Sudan. ... now here we are faced with having to reiterate the saying of 'Never again' (as world leaders who allowed the genocide in Rwanda said so piously so late.)
But Sudan's chief of mission in Washington, Khidir Haroun Ahmed, heralding Sudan's "optimistic future," charges that "some observers fail or refuse to see things as they are."
Things as terrifying as they are in Darfur have once more exposed the uselessness of the United Nations in ongoing genocide -- and the absence of a new coalition of willing democratic nations, including the United States, to support the African Union more substantively because the AU cannot stop the killing without such help.
Nat Hentoff is a nationally renowned authority on the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights.
and author of many books, including "The War on the Bill of Rights and the Gathering Resistance" (Seven Stories Press, 2003).
Copyright 2005, Newspaper Enterprise Assn.
Georgetown students respond to Darfur
the Cowl - World
Issue: 10/20/05
By Matthew Sullivan
In early 2003, fighting began in Darfur, a western region of the African nation Sudan. Rebels from that region initially attacked the Sudanese military in 2003 because they felt that a recent peace treaty had not been fair to the people of Darfur. In response, the military and opposing rebel groups supported by the Sudanese government launched attacks on the Darfur region. These attacks soon targeted civilians and became a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the non-Arab people of Darfur. Many people in Darfur were killed, raped, or had their homes destroyed.
The genocide being committed against the people of Darfur continues to this day. While the United Nations, United States, and African Union have all attempted in various ways to address the crisis, the genocide continues. The death toll is estimated to be as high as 400,000 and is still climbing with millions more displaced in neighboring Chad or at risk of starvation.
In response to this crisis, a group of students from Georgetown University organized a student advocacy group to work to end the genocide. The group, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) was created in September 2004. Its primary purpose is to stop genocide in Darfur by raising awareness about the genocide, raising funds to support victims, and advocating a swift and sustainable political solution. Since last year, STAND chapters have been formed in nearly 200 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, according to National Director Patrick Schmitt, a Georgetown senior. Individual chapters of the group form on college campuses and perform their actions independently of the Georgetown group while still existing under the umbrella of STAND as a whole. No chapter currently exists at Providence College.
The group recently sponsored the Darfur Fast on Oct. 6. All participants of the "fast" were asked to abstain from one luxury item for the day and donate the savings to relief efforts in Darfur. Participants included 160 high schools and colleges as well as many notable figures, like Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.), New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof and Bill Cosby. In total between $1-2 million was estimated to have been raised from the effort.
Currently, STAND is working to have the Senate pass the Darfur Accountability Act. This act would require the President to freeze the financial accounts of anyone deemed by the United Nations to be involved in the genocide and to deny visas to those people as well. Crucial to the bill's passage is the support of the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). STAND chapters throughout Indiana have been applying pressure on Sen. Lugar by calling, writing his office, and writing letters to the editor. Recently, Congress increased its funding of the African Union after pressure from STAND and other grassroots groups.
Walter Fauntroy, who served as Martin Luther King's political liaison and was a leader in the anti-apartheid movements, has said, "This is the biggest student action I've seen since the fall of apartheid." Schmitt attributed the success of STAND to its ability to produce tangible results despite the common view that most students are apathetic to politics. "STAND has been so effective because people see that their time with STAND has been productive," noted Schmitt.
The situation remains grim in Darfur with two million displaced persons, and according to the United Nations three million people at risk for starvation. However, STAND believes it has made and will continue to make a significant difference in helping the people of Sudan. "While it seems unlikely that a small group of college students can have much impact on events happening 6,000 miles away, if people from across the country do a small part they together can have a significant impact on bringing an end to this tragedy," said Schmitt.
For more information, visit http://www.standarfur.org/
Sources: The New York Times, Patrick Schmitt
Issue: 10/20/05
By Matthew Sullivan
In early 2003, fighting began in Darfur, a western region of the African nation Sudan. Rebels from that region initially attacked the Sudanese military in 2003 because they felt that a recent peace treaty had not been fair to the people of Darfur. In response, the military and opposing rebel groups supported by the Sudanese government launched attacks on the Darfur region. These attacks soon targeted civilians and became a campaign of ethnic cleansing against the non-Arab people of Darfur. Many people in Darfur were killed, raped, or had their homes destroyed.
The genocide being committed against the people of Darfur continues to this day. While the United Nations, United States, and African Union have all attempted in various ways to address the crisis, the genocide continues. The death toll is estimated to be as high as 400,000 and is still climbing with millions more displaced in neighboring Chad or at risk of starvation.
In response to this crisis, a group of students from Georgetown University organized a student advocacy group to work to end the genocide. The group, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur (STAND) was created in September 2004. Its primary purpose is to stop genocide in Darfur by raising awareness about the genocide, raising funds to support victims, and advocating a swift and sustainable political solution. Since last year, STAND chapters have been formed in nearly 200 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, according to National Director Patrick Schmitt, a Georgetown senior. Individual chapters of the group form on college campuses and perform their actions independently of the Georgetown group while still existing under the umbrella of STAND as a whole. No chapter currently exists at Providence College.
The group recently sponsored the Darfur Fast on Oct. 6. All participants of the "fast" were asked to abstain from one luxury item for the day and donate the savings to relief efforts in Darfur. Participants included 160 high schools and colleges as well as many notable figures, like Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.), New York Times Columnist Nicholas Kristof and Bill Cosby. In total between $1-2 million was estimated to have been raised from the effort.
Currently, STAND is working to have the Senate pass the Darfur Accountability Act. This act would require the President to freeze the financial accounts of anyone deemed by the United Nations to be involved in the genocide and to deny visas to those people as well. Crucial to the bill's passage is the support of the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). STAND chapters throughout Indiana have been applying pressure on Sen. Lugar by calling, writing his office, and writing letters to the editor. Recently, Congress increased its funding of the African Union after pressure from STAND and other grassroots groups.
Walter Fauntroy, who served as Martin Luther King's political liaison and was a leader in the anti-apartheid movements, has said, "This is the biggest student action I've seen since the fall of apartheid." Schmitt attributed the success of STAND to its ability to produce tangible results despite the common view that most students are apathetic to politics. "STAND has been so effective because people see that their time with STAND has been productive," noted Schmitt.
The situation remains grim in Darfur with two million displaced persons, and according to the United Nations three million people at risk for starvation. However, STAND believes it has made and will continue to make a significant difference in helping the people of Sudan. "While it seems unlikely that a small group of college students can have much impact on events happening 6,000 miles away, if people from across the country do a small part they together can have a significant impact on bringing an end to this tragedy," said Schmitt.
For more information, visit http://www.standarfur.org/
Sources: The New York Times, Patrick Schmitt
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
A Call to Action: Help End the Genocide in Darfur
[ picture is missing] A Sudanese girl is embraced by her sister at Abushouk camp near El Fasher. Photo: Finbarr O’Reilly © Corbis
The question sent chills down my spine: “Were they less human?” It was a question posed by Canadian Lt. General Romeo Dallaire as he described the profound horror of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which left over 800,000 dead in a matter of weeks. Dallaire, leader of a small United Nations peace-keeping force, made a heroic attempt to warn of the impending massacre. Tragically, his plea went ignored. As was the case with the Holocaust, Cambodia and Bosnia, many have since apologized for not intervening and have forcefully proclaimed: “Never again.” Yet now, with the memory of Rwanda still fresh in our conscience, it is happening again—and the world continues to look away.
Over the past two and a half years, 400,000 Sudanese have been systematically slaughtered in attacks orchestrated by their own government in the Darfur region of Sudan. Three million more—many of them children—have been violently displaced and face the very real prospect of death from disease or starvation. The genocide began early in 2003 after African Muslim rebel groups cited marginalization and discrimination. They struck military installations, demanding fair representation in their region’s government and an equitable share of their country’s limited resources. The predominantly Arab Muslim government responded by arming a militia group, known as the Janjaweed, and coordinating an ongoing series of brutal attacks designed not only to quell the uprising, but eliminate any trace of the opposition.
The assaults are carried out with frightening precision—typically beginning with military air strikes followed by militia on horseback. Designated teams torture and kill the men of the village, while others gang-rape and mutilate the women. Before leaving, the village is set ablaze. Women and girls who survive risk further sexual assault whenever they leave their refugee camp in search of water or firewood.
The international community, including the U.S., have done close to nothing to stop this death and destruction. In fact, the UN and governments around the globe continue to debate the viability of sanctions and resolutions against the Sudan government, while arguing over the definition of genocide.
I recently spoke with Linda Mason, a Board member of Mercy Corps, who recently returned from the Sudan where she interviewed displaced women, who had, thus far, survived the genocide. I told her of a photograph I’d seen, years ago, of an African woman holding her severely malnourished child as they waited in line for food at a refugee camp. What I remembered most about the pictured woman was the dignity with which she carried herself. Mason echoed that very sentiment in relation to the women she’d met in Darfur. Silently, we both knew that this memorable quality, in and of itself, would not be enough to sustain them.
An Awakening
It is said that the end-stage of life is a time for self-evaluation, a search for meaning—a time when the truly important becomes simplified and clear. We often feel similarly when faced with the mortality of a loved one. Yet, we frequently distance ourselves from our responsibility to fellow citizens of the world. Our fragile psyche is often unable to contemplate our obligation to protect the innocent and the defenseless—for fear of failing. How tragic that we often choose to avoid our own emotional pain at the catastrophic expense of others.
My own feelings of despair and helplessness over Darfur began to evolve into determination and hope over the course of one weekend. On February 4, I attended a lecture by General Dallaire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. During his speech, Dallaire painfully recalled his discovery of a three year-old Rwandan boy—the sole survivor of a village destroyed. When he looked into his eyes, he saw the eyes of his own son and wondered how anyone could consider this child less human.
The following evening, I saw the film Hotel Rwanda, which was based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a common man, who through sheer will and determination saved the lives of 1,200 of his fellow countrymen during the Rwandan genocide. Never before had I witnessed the remarkable impact a single individual can have in the face of impossible odds.
Further inspiration came that spring, when I attended a reception honoring Sudanese women at the Capitol in Washington, DC. One of the speakers was Yar Kang, a Sudanese Christian from Southern Sudan. Ms. Kang had lost nearly three dozen relatives during her country’s decades-old North-South War. Many of those fighting for the government forces of the North had been from Darfur. Following the peace accord late last year between the North and the South, word of the Darfur genocide reached her pastor. He then asked Ms. Kang for help in organizing a church-sponsored relief mission. She responded by stating that she could not forgive those who had murdered her family and that her Muslim neighbors were not deserving of assistance. Her pastor encouraged her to pray with him, which she did. Today, Yar Kang has found a place in her heart for forgiveness and has dedicated herself to the relief efforts of Sudan Mercy, helping the people of Darfur.
It is impossible to know why some of us have been born into lives of relative safety and good fortune, while others suffer an unimaginable fate. What is most assured, however, is that we have an inherent duty to protect the most vulnerable from harm.
At the Holocaust Museum, General Dallaire stated that the deployment of 44,000 peace-keeping troops in Darfur—with a mandate to protect innocent civilians—could stop the cycle of violence and create the conditions necessary for a meaningful peace agreement. He went on to say that we have the collective capacity to exert our will and compel our government to take action, if only we would use that power.
General Dallaire, Paul Rusesabagina and Yar Kang courageously confronted the unspeakable. Now, it is our turn to do the same…
John Morlino is President of the Essence of True Humanity Is Compassion (The ETHIC), a nonprofit organization promoting peace, nonviolence and compassion for all beings. For more information visit www.the-ethic.org or call (866) 843-3844. He is also founder of The ETHIC’s Darfur Pledge campaign, www.DarfurPledge.org.
Take the Darfur Pledge
Would you make a single phone call if it could end the genocide in Darfur? Would you be willing to make that same phone call, every day, if necessary, until the killing stopped? If so, please make that commitment by taking the Darfur Pledge. All we ask, is for you to do the following:• Call the White House once a day, Monday-Friday (202-456-1414), and leave the following message for President Bush: “Forty-four thousand Peacekeepers could end the genocide in Darfur. Please act immediately.” If you’re unable to get through or if this call poses a financial hardship, please send a daily email with the same message to: President@WhiteHouse.gov.• Recruit one more person to do the same.• Go to our website, www.DarfurPledge.org, and register that you’ve taken the pledge. By doing so, we’ll be able to verify the number of concerned individuals who have chosen to give a voice to their conscience.The complexities of this crisis are many. But the fact remains that the economic, cultural, religious and political tensions in Darfur cannot be addressed, nor can humanitarian aid be effective, until the cycle of violence is stopped.So, please, join the more than 1,000 people who’ve taken the Darfur Pledge. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”—J.M.
Source: satyamag.com
The question sent chills down my spine: “Were they less human?” It was a question posed by Canadian Lt. General Romeo Dallaire as he described the profound horror of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, which left over 800,000 dead in a matter of weeks. Dallaire, leader of a small United Nations peace-keeping force, made a heroic attempt to warn of the impending massacre. Tragically, his plea went ignored. As was the case with the Holocaust, Cambodia and Bosnia, many have since apologized for not intervening and have forcefully proclaimed: “Never again.” Yet now, with the memory of Rwanda still fresh in our conscience, it is happening again—and the world continues to look away.
Over the past two and a half years, 400,000 Sudanese have been systematically slaughtered in attacks orchestrated by their own government in the Darfur region of Sudan. Three million more—many of them children—have been violently displaced and face the very real prospect of death from disease or starvation. The genocide began early in 2003 after African Muslim rebel groups cited marginalization and discrimination. They struck military installations, demanding fair representation in their region’s government and an equitable share of their country’s limited resources. The predominantly Arab Muslim government responded by arming a militia group, known as the Janjaweed, and coordinating an ongoing series of brutal attacks designed not only to quell the uprising, but eliminate any trace of the opposition.
The assaults are carried out with frightening precision—typically beginning with military air strikes followed by militia on horseback. Designated teams torture and kill the men of the village, while others gang-rape and mutilate the women. Before leaving, the village is set ablaze. Women and girls who survive risk further sexual assault whenever they leave their refugee camp in search of water or firewood.
The international community, including the U.S., have done close to nothing to stop this death and destruction. In fact, the UN and governments around the globe continue to debate the viability of sanctions and resolutions against the Sudan government, while arguing over the definition of genocide.
I recently spoke with Linda Mason, a Board member of Mercy Corps, who recently returned from the Sudan where she interviewed displaced women, who had, thus far, survived the genocide. I told her of a photograph I’d seen, years ago, of an African woman holding her severely malnourished child as they waited in line for food at a refugee camp. What I remembered most about the pictured woman was the dignity with which she carried herself. Mason echoed that very sentiment in relation to the women she’d met in Darfur. Silently, we both knew that this memorable quality, in and of itself, would not be enough to sustain them.
An Awakening
It is said that the end-stage of life is a time for self-evaluation, a search for meaning—a time when the truly important becomes simplified and clear. We often feel similarly when faced with the mortality of a loved one. Yet, we frequently distance ourselves from our responsibility to fellow citizens of the world. Our fragile psyche is often unable to contemplate our obligation to protect the innocent and the defenseless—for fear of failing. How tragic that we often choose to avoid our own emotional pain at the catastrophic expense of others.
My own feelings of despair and helplessness over Darfur began to evolve into determination and hope over the course of one weekend. On February 4, I attended a lecture by General Dallaire at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. During his speech, Dallaire painfully recalled his discovery of a three year-old Rwandan boy—the sole survivor of a village destroyed. When he looked into his eyes, he saw the eyes of his own son and wondered how anyone could consider this child less human.
The following evening, I saw the film Hotel Rwanda, which was based on the true story of Paul Rusesabagina, a common man, who through sheer will and determination saved the lives of 1,200 of his fellow countrymen during the Rwandan genocide. Never before had I witnessed the remarkable impact a single individual can have in the face of impossible odds.
Further inspiration came that spring, when I attended a reception honoring Sudanese women at the Capitol in Washington, DC. One of the speakers was Yar Kang, a Sudanese Christian from Southern Sudan. Ms. Kang had lost nearly three dozen relatives during her country’s decades-old North-South War. Many of those fighting for the government forces of the North had been from Darfur. Following the peace accord late last year between the North and the South, word of the Darfur genocide reached her pastor. He then asked Ms. Kang for help in organizing a church-sponsored relief mission. She responded by stating that she could not forgive those who had murdered her family and that her Muslim neighbors were not deserving of assistance. Her pastor encouraged her to pray with him, which she did. Today, Yar Kang has found a place in her heart for forgiveness and has dedicated herself to the relief efforts of Sudan Mercy, helping the people of Darfur.
It is impossible to know why some of us have been born into lives of relative safety and good fortune, while others suffer an unimaginable fate. What is most assured, however, is that we have an inherent duty to protect the most vulnerable from harm.
At the Holocaust Museum, General Dallaire stated that the deployment of 44,000 peace-keeping troops in Darfur—with a mandate to protect innocent civilians—could stop the cycle of violence and create the conditions necessary for a meaningful peace agreement. He went on to say that we have the collective capacity to exert our will and compel our government to take action, if only we would use that power.
General Dallaire, Paul Rusesabagina and Yar Kang courageously confronted the unspeakable. Now, it is our turn to do the same…
John Morlino is President of the Essence of True Humanity Is Compassion (The ETHIC), a nonprofit organization promoting peace, nonviolence and compassion for all beings. For more information visit www.the-ethic.org or call (866) 843-3844. He is also founder of The ETHIC’s Darfur Pledge campaign, www.DarfurPledge.org.
Take the Darfur Pledge
Would you make a single phone call if it could end the genocide in Darfur? Would you be willing to make that same phone call, every day, if necessary, until the killing stopped? If so, please make that commitment by taking the Darfur Pledge. All we ask, is for you to do the following:• Call the White House once a day, Monday-Friday (202-456-1414), and leave the following message for President Bush: “Forty-four thousand Peacekeepers could end the genocide in Darfur. Please act immediately.” If you’re unable to get through or if this call poses a financial hardship, please send a daily email with the same message to: President@WhiteHouse.gov.• Recruit one more person to do the same.• Go to our website, www.DarfurPledge.org, and register that you’ve taken the pledge. By doing so, we’ll be able to verify the number of concerned individuals who have chosen to give a voice to their conscience.The complexities of this crisis are many. But the fact remains that the economic, cultural, religious and political tensions in Darfur cannot be addressed, nor can humanitarian aid be effective, until the cycle of violence is stopped.So, please, join the more than 1,000 people who’ve taken the Darfur Pledge. In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”—J.M.
Source: satyamag.com
Sudan chemical weapons allegations from Norway, Germany
afrol News, 15 September - As Western powers are pushing for UN sanctions against Sudan, new allegations of chemical weapons use by Khartoum authorities are emerging. The allegations are made by a conservative German daily and Norwegian "humanitarian organisation" openly supporting Sudanese rebels. German and Norwegian government authorities however question these reports.
In Germany, the conservative daily 'Die Welt' yesterday published an article titled "Syria is testing chemical weapons on Sudanese." As its sources, the newspaper quotes "material from Western intelligence services that at 'Die Welt's' disposal," which was "supported by eyewitness reports published in several Arab media."
The article in 'Die Welt' reports that Syrian and Sudanese military authorities in a meeting in Khartoum in May this year agreed on a deepened cooperation, in particular regarding chemical weapons. They reportedly agreed to test Syrian weapons on villages in Darfur, and the Arab website 'Ilaf' allegedly on 2 August reported about large numbers of people in a Khartoum hospital treated for suspicious injuries by Syrian doctors.
The German newspapers' report quickly was quoted by major news agencies and published today by media throughout the world. Reports by the German leftist journal 'Der Spiegel' - where German intelligence officers said they did not believe the "rumours" that have "existed since January or February" - were given less international publicity. German intelligence suspected "Sudanese exile groups" to have fabricated the story.
At the same time, in Oslo (Norway), the state broadcaster 'NRK' published interviews with the Sudan expert of the Norwegian Peoples' Aid (NPA), saying Darfuri civilians had told him their villages had been attacked with chemical weapons. During the day, NRK news spots concluded that the Khartoum government had attacked Darfuri civilians with chemical weapons.
Ivar Christiansen, the NPA Sudan expert that had visited Darfur one month ago, however told afrol News a different story. In Darfur's central Jebel Marra Mountains, Mr Christiansen had visited three almost depopulated villages. Here, the so-called "humanitarian spokesman" of the Darfuri SLA rebels had approached him with several persons he claimed to be civilians of nearby villages. During the following talks, all translations had been made by the SLA representative.
- They begged us to go with them to their villages, where people had died in peculiar ways, indicating the use of chemical weapons, Mr Christiansen told afrol News. The alleged Darfuri villagers wanted the NRA representatives to take blood samples of the dead to collect proof of a chemical weapons attack. After consulting Norwegian military headquarters in Oslo, Mr Christiansen said, he had decided not to go as taking the blood samples out of Sudan "would be illegal."
Mr Christiansen says he thus has no proof of the allegations. Asked whether he personally finds the SLA-translated eyewitness reports credible, he recalls an NRA statement of July 1999, accusing Khartoum of using chemical weapons against the Southern Sudan SPLA rebels. "If this happened in 1998 and in 2004, it makes me reflect whether it also has gone on in between," the NRA Sudan expert comments.
Indeed, the NRA is the first-ever source alleging Khartoum's use of chemical weapons against its own population. In a press release, it even stated that "chemical bombing" in Southern Sudan had been "confirmed". The allegations led Khartoum to invite a UN investigation team, which concluded there was "no evidence of exposure to chemicals" among the people allegedly victimised.
The NRA's 1999 press release indeed created international waves. Karsten Klepsvik, the spokesman of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, told afrol News that Norway's Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson at that time took the NRA allegations "very seriously", reporting it to international bodies and pushing Khartoum to let the UN investigate the allegations. Mr Klepsvik underlines that no proof was however found.
According to Mr Christiansen, however, proof in 1999 was not decisive. While UN researchers concluded against the use of chemical weapons, "a parallel investigation in a Dutch laboratory" had concluded that there were poisonous elements in the blood samples that "could have been tear gas or nerve gases," Mr Christiansen claims.
Further investigations urged by the NRA had however been "stopped by Minister Frafjord Johnson," the NRA representative says, claiming this was because the Oslo government at that time was involved in the IGAD peace process between Khartoum and SPLA, "and did not want negative publicity." When afrol News asks Mr Christiansen whether this rejection by Ms Frafjord Johnson came at about the same time as the Minister's publishing of a report highly critical of NRA's role in Sudan, he answers confirming.
It had just been exposed that the NRA was working tightly with the SPLA, actively undermining the Khartoum regime. The Norwegian Ministry of Development had published a report saying that NPA reporting to donors and the media were "imprecise and full of wrongful information." The government report concluded that NPA had been "primarily interested in aiding the [SPLA] rebels' military progress" instead of providing humanitarian aid.
Mr Christiansen today confirmed to afrol News that the NPA still "openly supports the SPLM," the political wing of the SPLA, and South Sudan's "rights to obtain autonomy, practice its own religion and manage its own resources." The pro-SPLM group however was trying to improve ties with Khartoum and is seeking permission to establish itself as an NGO in government-controlled areas, Mr Christensen underlined.
The NRA has repeatedly been accused of "smearing campaigns" and "propaganda exercises" against Khartoum by Sudanese officials. If Khartoum is to be believed, the NRA's "campaign" has been quite effective. Speculations around Khartoum's use of chemical weapons have surfaced many times after 1999, always being based on the NRA's statement that was rejected by UN researchers. As the UN Security Council is currently discussing Sudan sanctions, new NRA claims could not have come at a worse moment for Khartoum.
There have also been reports questioning the funding and ethics of NRA lately. The Norwegian group NorWatch in April this year disclosed that NRA was clearing mines in Iran on behalf of the Norwegian oil giant Norsk Hydro, while refusing to clear mines in nearby areas used by Iranian civilians. The NRA's financing by oil companies is seen as problematic regarding its operations in Sudan, where the many conflicts are fuelled by oil interests. Presently, only minor Norwegian oil companies are present in Sudan, according to Oslo government sources.
Mr Klepsvik from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told afrol News that the Oslo government presently had no concrete plans to launch an investigation into NRA's claims, as it did in 1999. "We only have this information from the media," says Mr Klepsvik. If a more serious inquiry reached the Ministry, its experts "would have to look into it to establish the facts," he added. Asked whether the NRA's credibility had been hurt by previous allegations, the Norwegian diplomat however said, no, "That was way back, in 1999."
The Sudanese government since 1999 categorically has denied having or using chemical weapons. The Khartoum government has signed and ratified (May 1999) the Chemical Weapons Convention, outlawing any such weapons. The United States in 1998 bombed a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan claiming it produced weapons. These claims have not been repeated by any foreign government after this bombing - widely understood as an error.
By staff writers
© afrol News
In Germany, the conservative daily 'Die Welt' yesterday published an article titled "Syria is testing chemical weapons on Sudanese." As its sources, the newspaper quotes "material from Western intelligence services that at 'Die Welt's' disposal," which was "supported by eyewitness reports published in several Arab media."
The article in 'Die Welt' reports that Syrian and Sudanese military authorities in a meeting in Khartoum in May this year agreed on a deepened cooperation, in particular regarding chemical weapons. They reportedly agreed to test Syrian weapons on villages in Darfur, and the Arab website 'Ilaf' allegedly on 2 August reported about large numbers of people in a Khartoum hospital treated for suspicious injuries by Syrian doctors.
The German newspapers' report quickly was quoted by major news agencies and published today by media throughout the world. Reports by the German leftist journal 'Der Spiegel' - where German intelligence officers said they did not believe the "rumours" that have "existed since January or February" - were given less international publicity. German intelligence suspected "Sudanese exile groups" to have fabricated the story.
At the same time, in Oslo (Norway), the state broadcaster 'NRK' published interviews with the Sudan expert of the Norwegian Peoples' Aid (NPA), saying Darfuri civilians had told him their villages had been attacked with chemical weapons. During the day, NRK news spots concluded that the Khartoum government had attacked Darfuri civilians with chemical weapons.
Ivar Christiansen, the NPA Sudan expert that had visited Darfur one month ago, however told afrol News a different story. In Darfur's central Jebel Marra Mountains, Mr Christiansen had visited three almost depopulated villages. Here, the so-called "humanitarian spokesman" of the Darfuri SLA rebels had approached him with several persons he claimed to be civilians of nearby villages. During the following talks, all translations had been made by the SLA representative.
- They begged us to go with them to their villages, where people had died in peculiar ways, indicating the use of chemical weapons, Mr Christiansen told afrol News. The alleged Darfuri villagers wanted the NRA representatives to take blood samples of the dead to collect proof of a chemical weapons attack. After consulting Norwegian military headquarters in Oslo, Mr Christiansen said, he had decided not to go as taking the blood samples out of Sudan "would be illegal."
Mr Christiansen says he thus has no proof of the allegations. Asked whether he personally finds the SLA-translated eyewitness reports credible, he recalls an NRA statement of July 1999, accusing Khartoum of using chemical weapons against the Southern Sudan SPLA rebels. "If this happened in 1998 and in 2004, it makes me reflect whether it also has gone on in between," the NRA Sudan expert comments.
Indeed, the NRA is the first-ever source alleging Khartoum's use of chemical weapons against its own population. In a press release, it even stated that "chemical bombing" in Southern Sudan had been "confirmed". The allegations led Khartoum to invite a UN investigation team, which concluded there was "no evidence of exposure to chemicals" among the people allegedly victimised.
The NRA's 1999 press release indeed created international waves. Karsten Klepsvik, the spokesman of the Norwegian Foreign Ministry, told afrol News that Norway's Development Minister Hilde Frafjord Johnson at that time took the NRA allegations "very seriously", reporting it to international bodies and pushing Khartoum to let the UN investigate the allegations. Mr Klepsvik underlines that no proof was however found.
According to Mr Christiansen, however, proof in 1999 was not decisive. While UN researchers concluded against the use of chemical weapons, "a parallel investigation in a Dutch laboratory" had concluded that there were poisonous elements in the blood samples that "could have been tear gas or nerve gases," Mr Christiansen claims.
Further investigations urged by the NRA had however been "stopped by Minister Frafjord Johnson," the NRA representative says, claiming this was because the Oslo government at that time was involved in the IGAD peace process between Khartoum and SPLA, "and did not want negative publicity." When afrol News asks Mr Christiansen whether this rejection by Ms Frafjord Johnson came at about the same time as the Minister's publishing of a report highly critical of NRA's role in Sudan, he answers confirming.
It had just been exposed that the NRA was working tightly with the SPLA, actively undermining the Khartoum regime. The Norwegian Ministry of Development had published a report saying that NPA reporting to donors and the media were "imprecise and full of wrongful information." The government report concluded that NPA had been "primarily interested in aiding the [SPLA] rebels' military progress" instead of providing humanitarian aid.
Mr Christiansen today confirmed to afrol News that the NPA still "openly supports the SPLM," the political wing of the SPLA, and South Sudan's "rights to obtain autonomy, practice its own religion and manage its own resources." The pro-SPLM group however was trying to improve ties with Khartoum and is seeking permission to establish itself as an NGO in government-controlled areas, Mr Christensen underlined.
The NRA has repeatedly been accused of "smearing campaigns" and "propaganda exercises" against Khartoum by Sudanese officials. If Khartoum is to be believed, the NRA's "campaign" has been quite effective. Speculations around Khartoum's use of chemical weapons have surfaced many times after 1999, always being based on the NRA's statement that was rejected by UN researchers. As the UN Security Council is currently discussing Sudan sanctions, new NRA claims could not have come at a worse moment for Khartoum.
There have also been reports questioning the funding and ethics of NRA lately. The Norwegian group NorWatch in April this year disclosed that NRA was clearing mines in Iran on behalf of the Norwegian oil giant Norsk Hydro, while refusing to clear mines in nearby areas used by Iranian civilians. The NRA's financing by oil companies is seen as problematic regarding its operations in Sudan, where the many conflicts are fuelled by oil interests. Presently, only minor Norwegian oil companies are present in Sudan, according to Oslo government sources.
Mr Klepsvik from the Norwegian Foreign Ministry told afrol News that the Oslo government presently had no concrete plans to launch an investigation into NRA's claims, as it did in 1999. "We only have this information from the media," says Mr Klepsvik. If a more serious inquiry reached the Ministry, its experts "would have to look into it to establish the facts," he added. Asked whether the NRA's credibility had been hurt by previous allegations, the Norwegian diplomat however said, no, "That was way back, in 1999."
The Sudanese government since 1999 categorically has denied having or using chemical weapons. The Khartoum government has signed and ratified (May 1999) the Chemical Weapons Convention, outlawing any such weapons. The United States in 1998 bombed a pharmaceutical factory in Sudan claiming it produced weapons. These claims have not been repeated by any foreign government after this bombing - widely understood as an error.
By staff writers
© afrol News
Amnesty International Launches Action: “Confronting War Crimes against Women”
CONTACT: Amnesty International
Denise Bell, (c) 646 425 044; (h) 212 924 0654
dcbell70@yahoo.com
NEW YORK – On October 19, 2005, Amnesty International launches a year-long panel series in New York City to bring greater attention to war crimes against women. From 7:00 to 9:00pm in Jerome Hall at Columbia Law School, panelists Christine Hansen, Kelly Askin, Bill Berkeley, and Sonia Navani will discuss the ongoing brutalization and murder of women in areas of conflict and the legal and practical challenges in bringing criminals to justice and treating survivors. Today casualties among women and children outnumber casualties among combatants.
The series is one part of Amnesty’s campaign to raise public awareness and mount public action to bring to justice perpetrators of war crimes against women. “We must act before violence against women becomes a standard munition in the modern arsenal. We’re already witnessing that happen,” said Denise Bell, an Amnesty activist working on the issue. “Look at the ongoing atrocities in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amnesty is acting to press governments to hold perpetrators accountable, and the series is one way of galvanizing public awareness.”
DETAILS
WHO:
• Christine Hansen, Executive Director, The Miles Foundation (moderator), is an expert on gender violence associated with U.S. Armed Forces.
• Kelly Askin, Senior Legal Officer, International Justice, the Justice Initiative of the Open Society Institute, is the J. Skelly Wright Fellow at Yale Law School and served as legal advisor to the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
• Bill Berkeley, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, is a former editorial writer for the New York Times and author of The Graves Are Not Yet Full — Race, Tribe and Power in the Heart of Africa.
• Sonia Navani, Program Officer, Gender-Based Violence & Reproductive Health, International Rescue Committee, is a gender violence specialist with extensive experience in West and East Africa.
WHEN:
October 19, 2005 • 7:00-9:00pm • Reception 6:30-7:00 (Refreshments will be served) Admission free. RSVP (optional) at AmnestyRSVP@yahoo.com
WHERE:
Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 104 435 W 116th Street at Amsterdam Avenue (Take the 1 train to W 116th Street; walk one block east)
Denise Bell, (c) 646 425 044; (h) 212 924 0654
dcbell70@yahoo.com
NEW YORK – On October 19, 2005, Amnesty International launches a year-long panel series in New York City to bring greater attention to war crimes against women. From 7:00 to 9:00pm in Jerome Hall at Columbia Law School, panelists Christine Hansen, Kelly Askin, Bill Berkeley, and Sonia Navani will discuss the ongoing brutalization and murder of women in areas of conflict and the legal and practical challenges in bringing criminals to justice and treating survivors. Today casualties among women and children outnumber casualties among combatants.
The series is one part of Amnesty’s campaign to raise public awareness and mount public action to bring to justice perpetrators of war crimes against women. “We must act before violence against women becomes a standard munition in the modern arsenal. We’re already witnessing that happen,” said Denise Bell, an Amnesty activist working on the issue. “Look at the ongoing atrocities in Darfur and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Amnesty is acting to press governments to hold perpetrators accountable, and the series is one way of galvanizing public awareness.”
DETAILS
WHO:
• Christine Hansen, Executive Director, The Miles Foundation (moderator), is an expert on gender violence associated with U.S. Armed Forces.
• Kelly Askin, Senior Legal Officer, International Justice, the Justice Initiative of the Open Society Institute, is the J. Skelly Wright Fellow at Yale Law School and served as legal advisor to the International Criminal Tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
• Bill Berkeley, Adjunct Professor of International Affairs at the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, is a former editorial writer for the New York Times and author of The Graves Are Not Yet Full — Race, Tribe and Power in the Heart of Africa.
• Sonia Navani, Program Officer, Gender-Based Violence & Reproductive Health, International Rescue Committee, is a gender violence specialist with extensive experience in West and East Africa.
WHEN:
October 19, 2005 • 7:00-9:00pm • Reception 6:30-7:00 (Refreshments will be served) Admission free. RSVP (optional) at AmnestyRSVP@yahoo.com
WHERE:
Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Room 104 435 W 116th Street at Amsterdam Avenue (Take the 1 train to W 116th Street; walk one block east)
The Darfur Conspiracy
By STEVEN STALINSKY
October 19, 2005
Two Times Reporters Under Scrutiny for War Reporting
Seeing Daggers
Bush Commission Seeks End to Deduction of State, Local Taxes
The Oracles at Delphi: Shifting Burden to Taxpayers
Senator Clinton Wins a Round In Coast Court
With the backing of the Arabdominated government of Sudan, nomadic Arab militias have been committing genocide against the mainly Muslim tribes people of Darfur since 2003. An editorial in the Washington Post on August 12, 2005, titled "Arabian Shame," criticized wealthy governments throughout the world for not properly giving aid to Darfur - while America had given 53% of all donations.
The editorial was especially critical of oil-rich Arab countries: "This Arab indifference is shameful. The victims of Sudan's worst crisis, in Darfur, are Muslim, and aid to non-Muslim southern Sudan is essential. ... Arabs have every reason to care about Sudan, and yet they have done far less than remote non-Muslim countries."
To read this article in its entirety, you must be a subscriber to NYSun.com
October 19, 2005
Two Times Reporters Under Scrutiny for War Reporting
Seeing Daggers
Bush Commission Seeks End to Deduction of State, Local Taxes
The Oracles at Delphi: Shifting Burden to Taxpayers
Senator Clinton Wins a Round In Coast Court
With the backing of the Arabdominated government of Sudan, nomadic Arab militias have been committing genocide against the mainly Muslim tribes people of Darfur since 2003. An editorial in the Washington Post on August 12, 2005, titled "Arabian Shame," criticized wealthy governments throughout the world for not properly giving aid to Darfur - while America had given 53% of all donations.
The editorial was especially critical of oil-rich Arab countries: "This Arab indifference is shameful. The victims of Sudan's worst crisis, in Darfur, are Muslim, and aid to non-Muslim southern Sudan is essential. ... Arabs have every reason to care about Sudan, and yet they have done far less than remote non-Muslim countries."
To read this article in its entirety, you must be a subscriber to NYSun.com
Fast for the victims in Sudan raises awareness
By SHERI SHEFA
Staff Reporter
In response to the apathetic attitudes of the people of the western world, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, or STAND, made a statement Oct. 6 when they organized a worldwide fast in an effort to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
The premise behind the International Solidarity Fast for Darfur is that the participants were expected to abstain from a meal or a luxury, like a coffee or a chocolate bar, and give the money they saved to STAND representatives who will donate all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders, a charitable organization that provides relief to Darfurian refugees.
Aside from raising money for the cause, the fast was also meant “to send a powerful message that we, the international community, recognize our responsibility to protect the world’s populations from humanitarian crises.”
Jonathan Laski, the media director for STAND Canada at the University of Toronto, said it is too early to tell how much money was raised, but he is encouraged by the information he received from campus representatives at the University of Western Ontario.
“Western had 250 to 350 students at the rally… and about $350 was raised,” he said.
But, this is just one of the more than 100 campuses that participated in the international event.
STAND, in association with Tzedec Hillel and the Innis Residence Community Outreach Committee, presented a lecture at the Innis Residence at U of T by Dr. Norman Epstein and Dr. Acol Dor, co-chairs of Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan.
They gave a historical overview of the conflict in Sudan, and informed the gathering about ways to put pressure on the government to help. Dor also shared her story of escape from Sudan.
Since 2003, the pro-government Arab militia, Janjaweed, has attempted to exert control over a country divided by religious and ethnic backgrounds.
The conflict over land between African farmers and Arabic nomads escalated into a violent war between African guerrilla groups and the Janjaweed.
To date, about 400,000 people have been killed, about two million are displaced, and millions more are suffering from starvation, exposure, and disease. It is feared that the death toll could reach one million if the international community doesn’t interfere.
Laski is also excited about the media attention the project has received. MTVU, a channel designed for college and university students that combines news and music, visited 10 American campuses and filmed scenes from the fast.
He said that BBC World has agreed to broadcast that footage in Darfur and Eastern Chad to show them that there are people in North America who care and are making an effort to help.
While Laski recognizes that little can be done without the support of the government, he hopes that the fast will demonstrate the community’s willingness to do whatever it takes to resolve the crisis.
He said Jews have a special responsibility to the victims in Darfur.
“We have experienced the worst genocide,” said Laski, referring to the Holocaust. “We need to be the first to stand up…We have the opportunity, as well as a responsibility to stop a genocide.”
Laski hopes that the fast will educate the participants, stir their emotions and help them connect with active students.
“There is still a lot to be done. Overall, the idea is to educate. You can’t have someone advocate unless they know what’s going on,” he said.
They are still accepting donations through their website, www.darfurfast.org. For more information, visit www.standcanada.org.
Staff Reporter
In response to the apathetic attitudes of the people of the western world, Students Taking Action Now: Darfur, or STAND, made a statement Oct. 6 when they organized a worldwide fast in an effort to raise awareness about the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
The premise behind the International Solidarity Fast for Darfur is that the participants were expected to abstain from a meal or a luxury, like a coffee or a chocolate bar, and give the money they saved to STAND representatives who will donate all proceeds to Doctors Without Borders, a charitable organization that provides relief to Darfurian refugees.
Aside from raising money for the cause, the fast was also meant “to send a powerful message that we, the international community, recognize our responsibility to protect the world’s populations from humanitarian crises.”
Jonathan Laski, the media director for STAND Canada at the University of Toronto, said it is too early to tell how much money was raised, but he is encouraged by the information he received from campus representatives at the University of Western Ontario.
“Western had 250 to 350 students at the rally… and about $350 was raised,” he said.
But, this is just one of the more than 100 campuses that participated in the international event.
STAND, in association with Tzedec Hillel and the Innis Residence Community Outreach Committee, presented a lecture at the Innis Residence at U of T by Dr. Norman Epstein and Dr. Acol Dor, co-chairs of Canadians Against Slavery and Torture in Sudan.
They gave a historical overview of the conflict in Sudan, and informed the gathering about ways to put pressure on the government to help. Dor also shared her story of escape from Sudan.
Since 2003, the pro-government Arab militia, Janjaweed, has attempted to exert control over a country divided by religious and ethnic backgrounds.
The conflict over land between African farmers and Arabic nomads escalated into a violent war between African guerrilla groups and the Janjaweed.
To date, about 400,000 people have been killed, about two million are displaced, and millions more are suffering from starvation, exposure, and disease. It is feared that the death toll could reach one million if the international community doesn’t interfere.
Laski is also excited about the media attention the project has received. MTVU, a channel designed for college and university students that combines news and music, visited 10 American campuses and filmed scenes from the fast.
He said that BBC World has agreed to broadcast that footage in Darfur and Eastern Chad to show them that there are people in North America who care and are making an effort to help.
While Laski recognizes that little can be done without the support of the government, he hopes that the fast will demonstrate the community’s willingness to do whatever it takes to resolve the crisis.
He said Jews have a special responsibility to the victims in Darfur.
“We have experienced the worst genocide,” said Laski, referring to the Holocaust. “We need to be the first to stand up…We have the opportunity, as well as a responsibility to stop a genocide.”
Laski hopes that the fast will educate the participants, stir their emotions and help them connect with active students.
“There is still a lot to be done. Overall, the idea is to educate. You can’t have someone advocate unless they know what’s going on,” he said.
They are still accepting donations through their website, www.darfurfast.org. For more information, visit www.standcanada.org.
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