Ominous news from cyberspace: Darfur advocacy groups in the United States--collectively without rival in shaping international efforts to halt ethnically targeted violence in western Sudan and eastern Chad--have been the target of cyber-espionage that most likely leads back to the Chinese government.
Beijing is angry because it is the focus of a large and intense shaming campaign highlighting the fact that China is both host of the 2008 Olympic Games--and thus custodian of the Games's various ideals--as well as complicit in the Darfur genocide by way of its support for the brutal regime in Khartoum. What was to have been Beijing's post-Tiananmen Square coming out party is rapidly becoming a public relations nightmare. And so the Chinese government has sanctioned cyber-espionage against the advocacy organizations most responsible for this shaming campaign. Read more >>>>>
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Make Sudan an Offer It Can’t Refuse
DESPITE almost 1.5 million bombing sorties flown against Germany during the Second World War, the United States and Britain failed for lack of trying to destroy the system of transport that fed the gas chambers and crematoria. Thirty-five years later, America did not, despite its unquestioned naval supremacy, protect the Vietnamese boat people. That we and our two allies capable of projecting power, France and Britain, are now distracted and divided by the wars in the Middle East is terribly unfortunate for the people of Darfur.
The genocide there is thus an unattended stepchild left to well-meaning groups and individuals who further sap the possibility of decisive action by directing attention to delicate measures of relief and equally fragile diplomacy. Blankets are necessary, but they will not stop the razing of villages. As Sudan brazenly defies, if not the world’s will, then, its wishes, and the death toll closes upon half a million, the pity is that the people of Darfur can in fact be saved. In concert with our allies or entirely alone, we have the military potential to accomplish this.
The multinational troops in Darfur have neither the training nor the mobility to defend the population adequately. Seventy-eight countries, each with its own rules of engagement, are represented in what is less a rescue mission than a camping trip to the Tower of Babel. A possibly influential force is developing in Chad, where the European Union, soon to be supplemented by Russian helicopters, will deploy weakly to defend a line drawn across largely empty desert. But why not cross that line? Violating sovereignty is a matter of immense consequence and gravity. Then again, so is genocide. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The genocide there is thus an unattended stepchild left to well-meaning groups and individuals who further sap the possibility of decisive action by directing attention to delicate measures of relief and equally fragile diplomacy. Blankets are necessary, but they will not stop the razing of villages. As Sudan brazenly defies, if not the world’s will, then, its wishes, and the death toll closes upon half a million, the pity is that the people of Darfur can in fact be saved. In concert with our allies or entirely alone, we have the military potential to accomplish this.
The multinational troops in Darfur have neither the training nor the mobility to defend the population adequately. Seventy-eight countries, each with its own rules of engagement, are represented in what is less a rescue mission than a camping trip to the Tower of Babel. A possibly influential force is developing in Chad, where the European Union, soon to be supplemented by Russian helicopters, will deploy weakly to defend a line drawn across largely empty desert. But why not cross that line? Violating sovereignty is a matter of immense consequence and gravity. Then again, so is genocide. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, March 24, 2008
Three Darfur war crimes suspects inaugurate new health facilities
(KHARTOUM) — Three Sudanese officials accused of taking part in the Darfur war crimes inaugurated health facilities in the town of Merowe 350 km north of the capital Khartoum.
Salah Gosh (left); Ahmed Haroun (Center); Musa Hilal (right) The officials included Salah Gosh, the head of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Service; Ahmed Haroun, minister of state for humanitarian affairs and Musa Hilal adviser to the ministry of Federal Affairs.
Gosh has been accused by human rights group of being one of the Sudanese officials responsible for orchestrating the war crimes in Darfur and counter insurgency campaign. He was identified by the UN panel of experts as an individual who should be sanctioned.
Musa Hilal, leader of the Darfurian Arab Mahameed clan, has been named by numerous eyewitnesses in Darfur as leading terror campaign against the African tribes in the war ravaged region. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Darfur peacekeeping force at risk of failing, already
ABU SUROUJ, Sudan: As Darfur smolders in the aftermath of a new government offensive, a long-sought peacekeeping force, expected to be the world's largest, is in danger of failing even before it begins its mission because of bureaucratic delays, stonewalling by the Sudanese government and reluctance from troop-contributing countries to send peacekeeping forces into an active conflict.
The force, which officially took over from an overstretched and exhausted African Union force in Darfur on Jan. 1, has just over 9,000 of an expected 26,000 soldiers and police officers, and will not fully deploy until the end of the year, United Nation officials said.
Even the troops that are in place, the old African Union force plus two other battalions, lack essential equipment - like sufficient armored personnel carriers and helicopters - to carry out even the most rudimentary of peacekeeping tasks. Some even had to buy their own paint to turn their green helmets United Nations blue, peacekeepers here said. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, March 23, 2008
If China wants attention, it should show it in Darfur
China's leaders may believe the chance for their country to gain global respect lies in the Olympic Games in Beijing, but their real chance to impress lies in Darfur.
China is the largest trading partner of the African nation Sudan and potentially its most influential ally. In November, China sent a team of military engineers to Darfur, the region of Sudan that has seen major bloodshed and turmoil the past five years. China has publicly voiced "grave concerns" about the violence in Darfur and says it is interested in stepping up efforts for an international peacekeeping force there.
If China wants to gain the world's attention, Darfur presents it with an excellent opportunity. As a nation that has sold arms to Sudan and is looking to gain a diplomatic and economic foothold elsewhere, the plight of Darfur gives China the chance to show just how serious it is about becoming a more engaged, influential player — for peace, not conflict. The world already knows about China's might. Now is the time to see its will. Read More >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
China is the largest trading partner of the African nation Sudan and potentially its most influential ally. In November, China sent a team of military engineers to Darfur, the region of Sudan that has seen major bloodshed and turmoil the past five years. China has publicly voiced "grave concerns" about the violence in Darfur and says it is interested in stepping up efforts for an international peacekeeping force there.
If China wants to gain the world's attention, Darfur presents it with an excellent opportunity. As a nation that has sold arms to Sudan and is looking to gain a diplomatic and economic foothold elsewhere, the plight of Darfur gives China the chance to show just how serious it is about becoming a more engaged, influential player — for peace, not conflict. The world already knows about China's might. Now is the time to see its will. Read More >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Deadly Attacks in West Darfur Include Rape and Breach International Law
A report describes extensive looting during and after the attacks, and catalogs "consistent and credible accounts" of rape committed by armed men in uniform.
(DARFUR) - Recent attacks by militias and the Sudanese army on four villages in West Darfur that left at least 115 people dead and some 30,000 displaced violated international humanitarian and human rights law, a United Nations report released today has found.
The report, issued jointly by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), describes attacks on four villages north of El Geneina, the regional capital.
The attacks on the villages of Saraf Jidad, Sirba, Silea and Abu Suruj were carried out as part of a push by the Sudanese Government in late January and early February to drive back an insurgent group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The February 8th attacks involved aerial bombardments by helicopter gun ships and fixed-wing aircraft, accompanied by ground offensives by soldiers and armed militia on horses and camels, the report says.
The report describes extensive looting during and after the attacks, and catalogs “consistent and credible accounts” of rape committed by armed men in uniform.
"These actions violated the principle of distinction stated in international humanitarian law, failing to distinguish between civilian objects and military objective," the report concludes.
"Moreover, the scale of destruction of civilian property, including objects indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, suggests that the damage was a deliberate and integral part of a military strategy," it adds. Read more >>>>>>>
(DARFUR) - Recent attacks by militias and the Sudanese army on four villages in West Darfur that left at least 115 people dead and some 30,000 displaced violated international humanitarian and human rights law, a United Nations report released today has found.
The report, issued jointly by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), describes attacks on four villages north of El Geneina, the regional capital.
The attacks on the villages of Saraf Jidad, Sirba, Silea and Abu Suruj were carried out as part of a push by the Sudanese Government in late January and early February to drive back an insurgent group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).
The February 8th attacks involved aerial bombardments by helicopter gun ships and fixed-wing aircraft, accompanied by ground offensives by soldiers and armed militia on horses and camels, the report says.
The report describes extensive looting during and after the attacks, and catalogs “consistent and credible accounts” of rape committed by armed men in uniform.
"These actions violated the principle of distinction stated in international humanitarian law, failing to distinguish between civilian objects and military objective," the report concludes.
"Moreover, the scale of destruction of civilian property, including objects indispensable for the survival of the civilian population, suggests that the damage was a deliberate and integral part of a military strategy," it adds. Read more >>>>>>>
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Humanitarian Crisis in Darfur Continues
(19 Mar 08 -RV) People in Sudan’s Darfur region are at risk of starvation as security in the area continues to worsen. With numerous supply trucks hijacked and many drivers missing, the UN’s World Food Programme says food deliveries will become increasingly challenging. WFP spokesperson Emilia Casella notes that although the situation has not yet affected the daily rations to refugees, food deliveries have been cut in half..More >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Darfur envoys seek more peacekeeping support
By Thomas Atkins
GENEVA, March 18 (Reuters) - U.N. and African peace envoys on Tuesday urged donor nations to speed support to peacekeepers in war-torn Darfur, and called on Chad and Sudan to work harder to cool border tensions exacerbating the long-running conflict.
"If we can get a quicker deployment of the peacekeeping troops then we can convey the message that yes, the security is increasing," said Jan Eliasson, the U.N. special envoy to Darfur.
"For peacekeeping to be successful there has to be a peace to keep," he told a news briefing at the close of two-day talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva.
Efforts to end the conflict in which some 200,000 people are estimated to have died have been dogged by tribal clashes, tensions between Chad and Sudan, divergent interests by the international community and fragmented rebel demands.
Darfur has been beset by unrest since early 2003 when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Khartoum, accusing the central government of neglect. More story >>>>>>
GENEVA, March 18 (Reuters) - U.N. and African peace envoys on Tuesday urged donor nations to speed support to peacekeepers in war-torn Darfur, and called on Chad and Sudan to work harder to cool border tensions exacerbating the long-running conflict.
"If we can get a quicker deployment of the peacekeeping troops then we can convey the message that yes, the security is increasing," said Jan Eliasson, the U.N. special envoy to Darfur.
"For peacekeeping to be successful there has to be a peace to keep," he told a news briefing at the close of two-day talks at the United Nations offices in Geneva.
Efforts to end the conflict in which some 200,000 people are estimated to have died have been dogged by tribal clashes, tensions between Chad and Sudan, divergent interests by the international community and fragmented rebel demands.
Darfur has been beset by unrest since early 2003 when mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms against Khartoum, accusing the central government of neglect. More story >>>>>>
Monday, March 17, 2008
EU boycotts China oil firm over funding of Darfur regime
By Kim Sengupta
Monday, 17 March 2008
The European Parliament has disinvested in a firm accused of being one of the chief bankrollers of the Sudanese regime's military campaign in Darfur after pressure from MEPs and human rights activists.
The Independent can reveal that, in a significant step in boycotting firms whose revenues are said to fuel the genocide, the EU has sold its shares in the Chinese oil giant PetroChina/ CNPC. The move follows revelations that MEPs' pension funds continued to be invested in the company, despite widespread criticism of Chinese support for the regime in Khartoum.
The decision strengthens the international campaign to apply pressure on the Sudanese government over the continuing killings, rapes and forced evictions in Darfur by its own troops and the Janjaweed militia which colludes with state forces.
China is the foremost foreign investor in Sudan and a main supplier of weapons. It buys two thirds of Sudanese oil output.
Eighty Nobel laureates, politicians and artists have written to the Chinese President Hu Jintao urging greater action on Darfur. The actors George Clooney and Mia Farrow, as well as the film director Steven Spielberg, who recently withdrew from his role as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics, have been among those highlighting the suffering resulting from some of the Chinese-linked revenue.
The Independent revealed last week that the conflict in Darfur had entered a violent and deadly new phase. Internal reports by humanitarian agencies operating in the region reveal that the active Sudanese government-backed military phase of the conflict, thought to have ended early in 2005, has resumed, with horrifying consequences. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, 17 March 2008
The European Parliament has disinvested in a firm accused of being one of the chief bankrollers of the Sudanese regime's military campaign in Darfur after pressure from MEPs and human rights activists.
The Independent can reveal that, in a significant step in boycotting firms whose revenues are said to fuel the genocide, the EU has sold its shares in the Chinese oil giant PetroChina/ CNPC. The move follows revelations that MEPs' pension funds continued to be invested in the company, despite widespread criticism of Chinese support for the regime in Khartoum.
The decision strengthens the international campaign to apply pressure on the Sudanese government over the continuing killings, rapes and forced evictions in Darfur by its own troops and the Janjaweed militia which colludes with state forces.
China is the foremost foreign investor in Sudan and a main supplier of weapons. It buys two thirds of Sudanese oil output.
Eighty Nobel laureates, politicians and artists have written to the Chinese President Hu Jintao urging greater action on Darfur. The actors George Clooney and Mia Farrow, as well as the film director Steven Spielberg, who recently withdrew from his role as artistic director of the Beijing Olympics, have been among those highlighting the suffering resulting from some of the Chinese-linked revenue.
The Independent revealed last week that the conflict in Darfur had entered a violent and deadly new phase. Internal reports by humanitarian agencies operating in the region reveal that the active Sudanese government-backed military phase of the conflict, thought to have ended early in 2005, has resumed, with horrifying consequences. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Oil for China, Guns for Darfur
A new report by a nongovernmental organization links Beijing's access to Sudan's oil with China's sale of small arms used in the Darfur conflict
by Moira Herbst
China's thirst for oil is causing bloodshed. So says New York-based nongovernmental organization Human Rights First, which on Mar. 13 released a report linking China's rising imports of Sudanese oil with sales of Chinese small weapons to Khartoum, used to further the deadly conflict in the western region of Darfur. The report is part of a broader campaign called Made in China: Stop Arms Sales to Sudan, timed to coincide with the runup to the Beijing Olympics in August. "China's huge appetite for oil from Sudan filled Khartoum's coffers, enabling Sudan to buy Chinese arms," says Betsy Apple, a Human Rights First program director and author of the report. "It's a toxic oil-for-arms relationship." Apple says the group is calling for China to halt arms sales to Sudan immediately. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>
by Moira Herbst
China's thirst for oil is causing bloodshed. So says New York-based nongovernmental organization Human Rights First, which on Mar. 13 released a report linking China's rising imports of Sudanese oil with sales of Chinese small weapons to Khartoum, used to further the deadly conflict in the western region of Darfur. The report is part of a broader campaign called Made in China: Stop Arms Sales to Sudan, timed to coincide with the runup to the Beijing Olympics in August. "China's huge appetite for oil from Sudan filled Khartoum's coffers, enabling Sudan to buy Chinese arms," says Betsy Apple, a Human Rights First program director and author of the report. "It's a toxic oil-for-arms relationship." Apple says the group is calling for China to halt arms sales to Sudan immediately. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>
Pressure on China to act
THE bloodshed in Darfur, rather than abating after UN peacekeepers finally deployed to the war-torn region in western Sudan earlier this year, has instead gotten worse.
The tragedy is that such news should come as no surprise. Sudan, which has thumbed its nose at the world for five years, either ignoring or undermining efforts by the international community to stop government-backed, murderous attacks on civilians in Darfur, has recently stepped up assaults, again, on innocent inhabitants in the region. Observers say the level of violence – including murder, rape, looting and destruction of property – is now as bad as its worst levels, seen back in 2003 and 2004.
For Sudan’s government, embroiled in a brutal war with rebels from the Darfur region, the world’s reluctance to press the regime with more than heated words and half-hearted attempts to intervene have emboldened the authorities. Despite the carnage – which some experts now say has cost 400,000 lives and displaced more than three million people – the UN has so far been able to field just over 9,000 members of a planned contingent of 26,000. And most of those now on the ground representing UNAMID (United Nations African Union Mission to Darfur) have come from the previous, and largely ineffective, African Union force of some 7,500 soldiers. Read more >>>>
The tragedy is that such news should come as no surprise. Sudan, which has thumbed its nose at the world for five years, either ignoring or undermining efforts by the international community to stop government-backed, murderous attacks on civilians in Darfur, has recently stepped up assaults, again, on innocent inhabitants in the region. Observers say the level of violence – including murder, rape, looting and destruction of property – is now as bad as its worst levels, seen back in 2003 and 2004.
For Sudan’s government, embroiled in a brutal war with rebels from the Darfur region, the world’s reluctance to press the regime with more than heated words and half-hearted attempts to intervene have emboldened the authorities. Despite the carnage – which some experts now say has cost 400,000 lives and displaced more than three million people – the UN has so far been able to field just over 9,000 members of a planned contingent of 26,000. And most of those now on the ground representing UNAMID (United Nations African Union Mission to Darfur) have come from the previous, and largely ineffective, African Union force of some 7,500 soldiers. Read more >>>>
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
We were armed by Sudan, say Darfur killers
By Nima El Bagir
Adjusting his camouflage turban, the commander pointed at the weapons and vehicles inside his camp in Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur.
Telegraph TV: Preview of 'Unreported World: Meet the Janjaweed'
"All the hardware that we have - where did we get it from?" said Mohammed Hamdan. "Do you think we just magicked it out of the air? It belongs to the government."
With those words, he destroyed a myth carefully crafted by Sudan's regime.
Hamdan commands hundreds of gunmen from the notorious Janjaweed militia, which human rights groups blame for countless atrocities in Darfur's civil war.
Instead, Mr Bashir has denounced them as "bandits and thieves" and denied giving them any arms or supplies.
Yet Hamdan spoke near a Toyota Land Cruiser, mounted with a heavy machinegun, and his fighters were armed with mortars, anti-aircraft guns and Kalashnikov rifles. "The weapons, the cars, all that you see, we got it from the government," he said. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Adjusting his camouflage turban, the commander pointed at the weapons and vehicles inside his camp in Sudan's war-torn region of Darfur.
Telegraph TV: Preview of 'Unreported World: Meet the Janjaweed'
"All the hardware that we have - where did we get it from?" said Mohammed Hamdan. "Do you think we just magicked it out of the air? It belongs to the government."
With those words, he destroyed a myth carefully crafted by Sudan's regime.
Hamdan commands hundreds of gunmen from the notorious Janjaweed militia, which human rights groups blame for countless atrocities in Darfur's civil war.
Instead, Mr Bashir has denounced them as "bandits and thieves" and denied giving them any arms or supplies.
Yet Hamdan spoke near a Toyota Land Cruiser, mounted with a heavy machinegun, and his fighters were armed with mortars, anti-aircraft guns and Kalashnikov rifles. "The weapons, the cars, all that you see, we got it from the government," he said. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Saturday, March 08, 2008
U.S. and Canada team up for Darfur initiative
Steven Edwards , Canwest News Service
UNITED NATIONS - Canada partnered with the United States on Thursday in a bid to speed up deployment of a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region.
The United Nations Security Council approved the joint UN-African Union force last year, but equipment shortages and some administrative foot-dragging by the Sudanese government has meant only 9,200 soldiers are currently on the ground - and 7,000 of them had been there in an earlier AU force.
The U.S.-Canadian initiative aims at bringing together what one official called a "captive audience" of countries willing to fill equipment needs.
Canada has already delivered 105 armoured personnel carriers as part of a much wider aid package, but the mission still lacks vehicles and helicopters both for ground and air mobility and for firepower.
Belgium, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Italy were among countries attending the first of weekly meetings Thursday hosted by U.S. and Canadian diplomats at UN headquarters. Russia said Wednesday it is in talks aimed at delivering helicopters.
"Canada and other partners are concerned about the delays and is encouraging discussion. . . to create security in the region and to support renewed peace talks," said Eugenie Cormier-Lassonde, a spokeswoman with the Foreign Affairs Department. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
UNITED NATIONS - Canada partnered with the United States on Thursday in a bid to speed up deployment of a 26,000-strong peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region.
The United Nations Security Council approved the joint UN-African Union force last year, but equipment shortages and some administrative foot-dragging by the Sudanese government has meant only 9,200 soldiers are currently on the ground - and 7,000 of them had been there in an earlier AU force.
The U.S.-Canadian initiative aims at bringing together what one official called a "captive audience" of countries willing to fill equipment needs.
Canada has already delivered 105 armoured personnel carriers as part of a much wider aid package, but the mission still lacks vehicles and helicopters both for ground and air mobility and for firepower.
Belgium, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Norway and Italy were among countries attending the first of weekly meetings Thursday hosted by U.S. and Canadian diplomats at UN headquarters. Russia said Wednesday it is in talks aimed at delivering helicopters.
"Canada and other partners are concerned about the delays and is encouraging discussion. . . to create security in the region and to support renewed peace talks," said Eugenie Cormier-Lassonde, a spokeswoman with the Foreign Affairs Department. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Sudan 'still bombing in Darfur'
A BBC correspondent in Chad has seen helicopters drop bombs over the Sudanese border in Darfur.
Stephanie Hancock says she saw a helicopter flying across the sky, then heard explosions and saw clouds of smoke coming from the ground.
Nations sending peacekeepers to Darfur are due to discuss how to speed up the force's deployment later at the UN.
Earlier, Russia offered to provide some of the helicopters which the force needs to move around the vast area.
So far only 9,000 of the planned 26,000 troops are on the ground.
Scared
Our correspondent in Baga Katala on the eastern Chadian border with Sudan was with a group of refugees who had fled previous bombing in Darfur.
They said Sudan's military wanted to stop them returning home.
Thousands of people have fled a recent government offensive in West Darfur.
Our correspondent said the helicopter was a dark colour - the refugees said the Sudanese military helicopters are black. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Stephanie Hancock says she saw a helicopter flying across the sky, then heard explosions and saw clouds of smoke coming from the ground.
Nations sending peacekeepers to Darfur are due to discuss how to speed up the force's deployment later at the UN.
Earlier, Russia offered to provide some of the helicopters which the force needs to move around the vast area.
So far only 9,000 of the planned 26,000 troops are on the ground.
Scared
Our correspondent in Baga Katala on the eastern Chadian border with Sudan was with a group of refugees who had fled previous bombing in Darfur.
They said Sudan's military wanted to stop them returning home.
Thousands of people have fled a recent government offensive in West Darfur.
Our correspondent said the helicopter was a dark colour - the refugees said the Sudanese military helicopters are black. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Beijing's Propaganda Campaign Can't Obscure Complicity in Darfur Genocide
Recent massive civilian displacement and destruction in West Darfur, orchestrated by the National Islamic Front regime in Khartoum, has been amply chronicled by UN and nongovernmental humanitarian organizations, as well as by journalists on the ground (see especially an excellent overview by Lydia Polgreen of the New York Times, “Scorched-Earth Strategy Returns to Darfur” [dateline: Suleia, West Darfur], March 2, 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/world/africa/02darfur.html?em&ex=1204693200&en=d7ed1f3a93bc9c6f&ei=5087%0A. See also my two recent analyses of this brutal campaign at
http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article205.html and http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article204.html). Hundreds have been killed or died as a result of the violence and subsequent flight. Some 60,000 people have been newly displaced, more than 13,000 of these into a highly insecure region of Eastern Chad. Some 20,000 civilians are effectively trapped in the mountainous Jebel Moun region to the east of the initial assaults, and are prey to Khartoum’s ongoing bombing attacks, as well as ground attacks by regular army forces and Janjaweed militias. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article205.html and http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article204.html). Hundreds have been killed or died as a result of the violence and subsequent flight. Some 60,000 people have been newly displaced, more than 13,000 of these into a highly insecure region of Eastern Chad. Some 20,000 civilians are effectively trapped in the mountainous Jebel Moun region to the east of the initial assaults, and are prey to Khartoum’s ongoing bombing attacks, as well as ground attacks by regular army forces and Janjaweed militias. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Arab militias, backed by the government, return in Darfur
SULEIA, Sudan: The janjaweed are back.
They came to this dusty town in the Darfur region of Sudan on horses and camels on market day. Almost everybody was in the bustling square. At the first clatter of automatic gunfire, everyone ran.
The militiamen laid waste to the town - burning huts, pillaging shops, carrying off any loot they could find and shooting anyone who stood in their way, residents said. Asha Abdullah Abakar, wizened and twice widowed, described how she hid in a hut, praying it would not be set on fire.
"I have never been so afraid," she said.
The attacks by the janjaweed, the fearsome Arab militias that came three weeks ago, accompanied by government bombers and followed by the Sudanese Army, were a return to the tactics that terrorized Darfur in the early, bloodiest stages of the conflict.
Such brutal, three-pronged attacks of this scale - involving close coordination of air power, army troops and Arab militias in areas where rebel troops have been - have rarely been seen in the past few years, when the violence became more episodic and fractured. But they resemble the kinds of campaigns that first captured the world's attention and prompted the Bush administration to call the violence in Darfur genocide.
Aid workers, diplomats and analysts say the return of such attacks is an ominous sign that the fighting in Darfur, which has grown more complex and confusing as it has stretched on for five years, is entering a new and deadly phase - one in which the government is planning a scorched-earth campaign against the rebel groups fighting here as efforts to find a negotiated peace founder. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, February 28, 2008
UN - Shameful Silence On Civilian Killings in Darfur
The UN Security Council should strongly denounce the Sudanese government's recent bombardment of civilian villages in West Darfur and impose targeted sanctions on those responsible, Human Rights Watch said in a letter today.
Human Rights Watch warned that the Council's inaction has given Sudan a green light to continue attacking civilian targets, flouting international law and Security Council resolutions.
"The Sudanese government's recent attacks take us back to the very darkest days of the conflict," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The Security Council shouldn't stand by as though this is 'business as usual.'" Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Human Rights Watch warned that the Council's inaction has given Sudan a green light to continue attacking civilian targets, flouting international law and Security Council resolutions.
"The Sudanese government's recent attacks take us back to the very darkest days of the conflict," said Georgette Gagnon, Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "The Security Council shouldn't stand by as though this is 'business as usual.'" Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Indicted Sudan minister says west 'has no place in Darfur'
A Sudanese minister wanted for crimes against humanity by the international criminal court (ICC) has criticised western intervention in Darfur.
Ahmad Harun, Khartoum's humanitarian affairs minister, said the international criminal court (ICC) "has no place in this crisis at all".
Mr Harun, formerly head of the Darfur security desk, has been issued with an arrest warrant in The Hague over 40 counts of crime against humanity and war crimes including mass murder; widespread rapes; the burning of a mosque; and the expulsion of 60,000 people.
Since 2003 more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million forced from their homes in Sudan's western region of Darfur through the actions of the government-backed Janjaweed militia and rebel groups.
A joint United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force has been deploying since the new year, although it remains critically under strength.
In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper, translated from Arabic by the Save Darfur Coalition, Mr Harun denies crimes against humanity have taken place in Darfur.
He said the conflict was a result of Khartoum "assum[ing] its natural position of defending and protecting its citizens", although he admits "mistakes" were made. Read More >>>>>>>>>>
Ahmad Harun, Khartoum's humanitarian affairs minister, said the international criminal court (ICC) "has no place in this crisis at all".
Mr Harun, formerly head of the Darfur security desk, has been issued with an arrest warrant in The Hague over 40 counts of crime against humanity and war crimes including mass murder; widespread rapes; the burning of a mosque; and the expulsion of 60,000 people.
Since 2003 more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million forced from their homes in Sudan's western region of Darfur through the actions of the government-backed Janjaweed militia and rebel groups.
A joint United Nations/African Union peacekeeping force has been deploying since the new year, although it remains critically under strength.
In an interview with al-Hayat newspaper, translated from Arabic by the Save Darfur Coalition, Mr Harun denies crimes against humanity have taken place in Darfur.
He said the conflict was a result of Khartoum "assum[ing] its natural position of defending and protecting its citizens", although he admits "mistakes" were made. Read More >>>>>>>>>>
Boiling Over
A terrible consequence of the Darfur Peace Agreement, signed in May 2006 and resulting chiefly in dividing the anti-Khartoum rebel movement, is that it has allowed too many influential people to speak euphemistically about the crisis that's taking place in western Sudan and eastern Chad. Human destruction and displacement are no longer "genocidal," but rather a function of rebel fractiousness, opportunistic banditry, and a generalized "insecurity." Similarly, the role of the Khartoum regime is no longer that of orchestrating indefensible acts of violence, but of obstructing humanitarian operations and defying various international demands. All of it is terrible, of course, but not genocide.
Well, recent events in West Darfur, along the border with Chad, should compel us to start calling things by their correct names again. What we're seeing in Darfur now is a level of ethnically targeted violence that hasn't been approached since the terrifying days of 2004. Beginning on February 8, Janjaweed militias, coordinating with Khartoum's regular troops and military aircraft, began to attack areas north of el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. They targeted the towns of Sirba, Abu Surug, and Silea---all of which had come under control of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) this past December and January. Determined to drive the rebel group from its close proximity to el-Geneina, and bent on destroying its perceived base of civilian support, Khartoum struck quickly and savagely. (But not quickly enough to take out the rebels, who fled in advance of the attacks.) Soon, the destruction of ethnically African Masseleit and Erenga civilians and towns began in earnest. Militarily imprecise barrel bombs leveled much of these three towns, as well as surrounding villages and displaced persons camps. More than 60,000 civilians fled, perhaps 12,000 into eastern Chad, where the intensity of Khartoum's bombing attacks forced the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to withdraw its personnel. In Silea, a town of 25,000, only 200 remained when aid officials arrived on February 14. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Well, recent events in West Darfur, along the border with Chad, should compel us to start calling things by their correct names again. What we're seeing in Darfur now is a level of ethnically targeted violence that hasn't been approached since the terrifying days of 2004. Beginning on February 8, Janjaweed militias, coordinating with Khartoum's regular troops and military aircraft, began to attack areas north of el-Geneina, the capital of West Darfur. They targeted the towns of Sirba, Abu Surug, and Silea---all of which had come under control of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) this past December and January. Determined to drive the rebel group from its close proximity to el-Geneina, and bent on destroying its perceived base of civilian support, Khartoum struck quickly and savagely. (But not quickly enough to take out the rebels, who fled in advance of the attacks.) Soon, the destruction of ethnically African Masseleit and Erenga civilians and towns began in earnest. Militarily imprecise barrel bombs leveled much of these three towns, as well as surrounding villages and displaced persons camps. More than 60,000 civilians fled, perhaps 12,000 into eastern Chad, where the intensity of Khartoum's bombing attacks forced the U.N. High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to withdraw its personnel. In Silea, a town of 25,000, only 200 remained when aid officials arrived on February 14. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, February 24, 2008
'Justice' needed for Darfur
The Hague - Nine months after the first arrest warrants were issued for those suspected of being behind atrocities in Sudan's Darfur region, the chief international prosecutor believes he has the masterminds in his sights.
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has vowed to target the most senior people behind the violence and says that peace will only be possible in troubled Darfur if arrests are made and those responsible are brought to justice.
He issued a warrant last May for the arrest of Sudan's secretary of state for humanitarian affairs Ahmed Harun, but despite a UN resolution requiring Khartoum to comply with the court Harun is still at large.
"If Harun is not arrested and removed there will be no justice, no peace in Darfur," Moreno-Ocampo said in a telephone interview with AFP from his native Argentina on Friday.
He said arresting Harun "is the condition for any solution in Darfur." Read more>>>>>
International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo has vowed to target the most senior people behind the violence and says that peace will only be possible in troubled Darfur if arrests are made and those responsible are brought to justice.
He issued a warrant last May for the arrest of Sudan's secretary of state for humanitarian affairs Ahmed Harun, but despite a UN resolution requiring Khartoum to comply with the court Harun is still at large.
"If Harun is not arrested and removed there will be no justice, no peace in Darfur," Moreno-Ocampo said in a telephone interview with AFP from his native Argentina on Friday.
He said arresting Harun "is the condition for any solution in Darfur." Read more>>>>>
Darfuris caught in crossfire as Sudan bombs rebels
(Reuters)
- Sudan has reportedly bombed a rebel-held area in Darfur, despite assurances from Khartoum that civilians sheltering in the area near the Chad border would be allowed safe passage, the United Nations said on Sunday.
"UNAMID has received reports this morning of aerial bombings in the Jabel Moun area in western Darfur," a U.N. statement said. "We are gravely concerned for the safety of thousands of civilians in this area."
Sudan launched an offensive on February 8 to retake parts of West Darfur state from rebels. Residents said at least 114 people were killed, but the army said many of those were rebels in civilian clothing.
Thousands of people fled the fighting. Some crossed the border into neighboring Chad but many sought refuge in the nearby Jabel Moun area, which has been the scene of sporadic battles between army and rebels and has been a no-go area for the U.N.-AU peacekeeping mission known as UNAMID.
U.N. officials estimate some 20,000 people were in Jabel Moun. Read more >>>>>>>>
- Sudan has reportedly bombed a rebel-held area in Darfur, despite assurances from Khartoum that civilians sheltering in the area near the Chad border would be allowed safe passage, the United Nations said on Sunday.
"UNAMID has received reports this morning of aerial bombings in the Jabel Moun area in western Darfur," a U.N. statement said. "We are gravely concerned for the safety of thousands of civilians in this area."
Sudan launched an offensive on February 8 to retake parts of West Darfur state from rebels. Residents said at least 114 people were killed, but the army said many of those were rebels in civilian clothing.
Thousands of people fled the fighting. Some crossed the border into neighboring Chad but many sought refuge in the nearby Jabel Moun area, which has been the scene of sporadic battles between army and rebels and has been a no-go area for the U.N.-AU peacekeeping mission known as UNAMID.
U.N. officials estimate some 20,000 people were in Jabel Moun. Read more >>>>>>>>
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Destruction in West Darfur Town Shocking, Reports UN Refugee Agency
United Nations refugee agency staff participating in a joint assessment of the West Darfur town of Sirba, which came under air and ground attack from the Sudanese Government and allied militia groups earlier this month, say they were shocked at the level of destruction they witnessed.
A joint UN humanitarian mission involving the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Ameerah Haq, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, visited Sirba yesterday, as some locals drift back to the town in the wake of the deadly attack on 8 February.
The residents who stayed or returned pleaded with the assessment mission for help in securing their town and nearby villages from further attacks, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters today in Geneva.
The residents also warned that fleeing across the nearby Chadian border was dangerous because of the continuing conflict in the area and the widespread banditry, and they voiced concern about their compatriots who have been living in eastern Chad since the attacks on Sirba and on the villages of Sileah and Abu Suruj.
UN agencies have been distributing emergency items such as food and shelter material since the attacks, while the Sudanese Government has also provided tents. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
A joint UN humanitarian mission involving the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) as well as the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Ameerah Haq, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, visited Sirba yesterday, as some locals drift back to the town in the wake of the deadly attack on 8 February.
The residents who stayed or returned pleaded with the assessment mission for help in securing their town and nearby villages from further attacks, UNHCR spokesperson Ron Redmond told reporters today in Geneva.
The residents also warned that fleeing across the nearby Chadian border was dangerous because of the continuing conflict in the area and the widespread banditry, and they voiced concern about their compatriots who have been living in eastern Chad since the attacks on Sirba and on the villages of Sileah and Abu Suruj.
UN agencies have been distributing emergency items such as food and shelter material since the attacks, while the Sudanese Government has also provided tents. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Friday, February 22, 2008
French minister says peacekeeping force arriving to protect Darfur refugees
PARIS: Some 500 European soldiers have already arrived in Chad as part of the EU peacekeeping mission to protect refugees from Darfur, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday.
The minister told reporters that planes are bringing equipment into the capital of the central African country, N'Djamena, and the eastern city of Abeche "nearly all the time" ahead of the full arrival of the troops.
The bulk of the 3,700-strong peacekeeping force, known as EUFOR, is expected to be flown in next month. A 150-member advance team arrived earlier, and Kouchner told reporters that Swedish and Polish troops are deploying.
The force — starting up on a delayed schedule because of fighting in Chad — is to help protect thousands of refugees who have fled fighting in Sudan's Darfur region.
Kouchner, speaking after a meeting with Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmad Allam-Mi, said that the European Union troops' mandate allows them to defend refugees under attack and themselves "and are very capable of doing so." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
The minister told reporters that planes are bringing equipment into the capital of the central African country, N'Djamena, and the eastern city of Abeche "nearly all the time" ahead of the full arrival of the troops.
The bulk of the 3,700-strong peacekeeping force, known as EUFOR, is expected to be flown in next month. A 150-member advance team arrived earlier, and Kouchner told reporters that Swedish and Polish troops are deploying.
The force — starting up on a delayed schedule because of fighting in Chad — is to help protect thousands of refugees who have fled fighting in Sudan's Darfur region.
Kouchner, speaking after a meeting with Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmad Allam-Mi, said that the European Union troops' mandate allows them to defend refugees under attack and themselves "and are very capable of doing so." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Suffering in Sudan brings calls for action
by Elaine Durbach
One question simmered at the center of the conference on Darfur at Kean University in Union last Friday, Feb. 15: Of all the tragic situations calling out for international intervention, why keep focusing on this one seemingly hopeless conflict?
That question was asked by each member of the roster of distinguished speakers at the Wilkins Theatre. It was repeated by many in the audience of almost 1,000 teachers and high school and college students from around the state and by political and community leaders from New Jersey and beyond who gathered for the conference — Darfur: The First Genocide of the 21st Century — hosted by the university’s Center for Human Rights.
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times writer Nicolas Kristoff, the keynote speaker, gave the answer in three parts:
• Though elsewhere there have been larger numbers of victims, the cruelty inflicted on the people in the southwestern region of Sudan is extreme.
• The entire region is in danger of descending into warfare, sucking in not only northern and southern Sudan, but also Chad and the Central African Republic.
• Despite all the failed attempts, the aggression in Darfur can be halted if the right pressure is brought to bear on those supporting it.
Kristoff was returning to Africa the following day, planning to visit Darfur for the 10th time. “It’s not the magnitude of the suffering,” he said. “Many more people die each year of malaria and AIDS. I’ve seen awful things in other places, but nothing moves me more than being in Darfur — the degree of suffering there and the degree of evil. The tearing of the moral fabric there demands of us that we assert our humanity by helping others.”
With the Olympics Games drawing nearer, he said there is a rare chance to persuade host country China to reduce its crucial support for the Sudanese government — specifically by halting the supply of spare parts needed to keep its air force flying. Read more >>>>>>>>>
One question simmered at the center of the conference on Darfur at Kean University in Union last Friday, Feb. 15: Of all the tragic situations calling out for international intervention, why keep focusing on this one seemingly hopeless conflict?
That question was asked by each member of the roster of distinguished speakers at the Wilkins Theatre. It was repeated by many in the audience of almost 1,000 teachers and high school and college students from around the state and by political and community leaders from New Jersey and beyond who gathered for the conference — Darfur: The First Genocide of the 21st Century — hosted by the university’s Center for Human Rights.
Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times writer Nicolas Kristoff, the keynote speaker, gave the answer in three parts:
• Though elsewhere there have been larger numbers of victims, the cruelty inflicted on the people in the southwestern region of Sudan is extreme.
• The entire region is in danger of descending into warfare, sucking in not only northern and southern Sudan, but also Chad and the Central African Republic.
• Despite all the failed attempts, the aggression in Darfur can be halted if the right pressure is brought to bear on those supporting it.
Kristoff was returning to Africa the following day, planning to visit Darfur for the 10th time. “It’s not the magnitude of the suffering,” he said. “Many more people die each year of malaria and AIDS. I’ve seen awful things in other places, but nothing moves me more than being in Darfur — the degree of suffering there and the degree of evil. The tearing of the moral fabric there demands of us that we assert our humanity by helping others.”
With the Olympics Games drawing nearer, he said there is a rare chance to persuade host country China to reduce its crucial support for the Sudanese government — specifically by halting the supply of spare parts needed to keep its air force flying. Read more >>>>>>>>>
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
UN refugee agency quits Chad/Darfur border amid new bombings
GENEVA (AFP) —
The United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday it had withdrawn a team caring for refugees from the Chad/Darfur border after fresh aerial bombing in the conflict-riven Sudanese province.
"Aerial bombardment overnight and this morning in West Darfur, Sudan, close to the border with Chad, has forced UNHCR to withdraw its team caring for newly arrived refugees in the Birak area away from the insecure border," spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told journalists.
The team will return "immediately the situation calms down," she added.
Seven refugees from Darfur crossed the border into Chad on Monday night, carrying with them a 55-year-old woman who had lost both her legs during an alleged bombardment of the Aro Sharow camp for internally displaced people, north of Jebel Moon in West Darfur, Pagonis said.
The woman later died at Birak's health centre, and the refugees said more people would now be fleeing to Chad.
"We have no further details of the alleged bombing raid but bombing could be heard from Birak," Pagonis said.
"This highlights the extremely vulnerable situation of the refugees and the humanitarian workers helping them," she added.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said at least 10,000 people had fled Darfur following heavy bombardment and aerial attacks by the Sudanese army and its Janjaweed militia allies on February 8. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, February 18, 2008
Protecting Darfur's Women From Rape
By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU
KALMA, Sudan (AP) — U.N. peacekeepers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks whizzed into this refugee camp. A dozen women came to meet them, bringing their donkeys, water rations and homemade axes.
It was time for one of the refugees' most perilous tasks: collecting firewood.
Countless refugee women have been assaulted or raped, mostly by Arab janjaweed militiamen, after leaving the relative safety of their camps to gather wood in the open wilderness of Sudan's Darfur region. Most men don't even leave the camps because they risk being killed.
But one of the first steps taken by U.N. peacekeepers since they launched their mission in Darfur in January is to restore "firewood patrols" to protect women on their forays outside Kalma, home to 90,000 refugees and one of the region's largest camps.
The women walking out of Kalma one morning in late January were smiling and waving hellos as their leader, Khadidja Abdallah, came up to greet the peacekeepers who had come to escort them.
It was a stark contrast to nearly a year ago, in May, when an Associated Press reporter first met Khadidja. Then, the "sheikha," or woman chief, was cowering in a mud hut deep inside Kalma, trying to comfort seven refugee women who had been gang-raped while collecting firewood.
African Union peacekeepers in place then had halted firewood patrols because they felt powerless to stop violence. Khadidja and the woman bitterly complained that the AU force had all but given up on protecting Darfur civilians.
More than 2.5 million people have fled to camps around Darfur in the war between the Arab-dominated Khartoum government and ethnic African rebels. The government is accused of unleashing the janjaweed, who are blamed for widespread atrocities against ethnic African villagers and refugees. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
KALMA, Sudan (AP) — U.N. peacekeepers in armored vehicles and pickup trucks whizzed into this refugee camp. A dozen women came to meet them, bringing their donkeys, water rations and homemade axes.
It was time for one of the refugees' most perilous tasks: collecting firewood.
Countless refugee women have been assaulted or raped, mostly by Arab janjaweed militiamen, after leaving the relative safety of their camps to gather wood in the open wilderness of Sudan's Darfur region. Most men don't even leave the camps because they risk being killed.
But one of the first steps taken by U.N. peacekeepers since they launched their mission in Darfur in January is to restore "firewood patrols" to protect women on their forays outside Kalma, home to 90,000 refugees and one of the region's largest camps.
The women walking out of Kalma one morning in late January were smiling and waving hellos as their leader, Khadidja Abdallah, came up to greet the peacekeepers who had come to escort them.
It was a stark contrast to nearly a year ago, in May, when an Associated Press reporter first met Khadidja. Then, the "sheikha," or woman chief, was cowering in a mud hut deep inside Kalma, trying to comfort seven refugee women who had been gang-raped while collecting firewood.
African Union peacekeepers in place then had halted firewood patrols because they felt powerless to stop violence. Khadidja and the woman bitterly complained that the AU force had all but given up on protecting Darfur civilians.
More than 2.5 million people have fled to camps around Darfur in the war between the Arab-dominated Khartoum government and ethnic African rebels. The government is accused of unleashing the janjaweed, who are blamed for widespread atrocities against ethnic African villagers and refugees. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, February 17, 2008
UN Says Armed Men Block Transfer of Darfur Refugees From Chad Border
By Lisa Schlein
Thousands of refugees from Sudan's conflict-ridden Darfur province began fleeing to Chad a week ago to escape deadly attacks by government-backed Janjaweed militia.
The U.N. refugee agency estimates around 9,000 newly arrived refugees are scattered along the border between Chad and Sudan. And, there are reports that more refugees are trickling in.
U.N. refugee spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis says efforts to move the refugees away from the volatile border to safer campsites inland were blocked by the presence of armed men.
She says the identity of the men is unknown, nor did the men give any reason for their actions. But, she says it was clear to aid workers they would not be able to relocate the refugees.
"The situation is so serious that our representative in Chad is now at the border trying to find a solution to this problem which is leaving the refugees extremely exposed and vulnerable," she said. "The area is highly insecure with armed groups roaming around and they pose a real threat to the refugees and the workers. And, also, in this region at night, the temperatures drop to around freezing. So, it is extremely cold, and that also is a threat to the well-being and lives of the refugees." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Darfur: Hundreds of Children Missing After Darfur Attack
Nairobi
Several days after Sudanese government-backed militia attacked villages in West Darfur, hundreds of children remain unaccounted for, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
"There are an unknown number of children aged 12-18 who are missing, especially boys. Nobody knows what has happened to these children," Naqibullah Safi, head of UNICEF for West Darfur said.
Initial reports suggested that up to 800 children were unaccounted for, but the actual number is probably lower, UNICEF said in a statement following an assessment mission to the towns of Sirba and Abu Surouj.
"One of UNICEF's main concerns is to take care of the large numbers of children who have been orphaned or abandoned by their parents, or have gone missing in the confusion of the last few days," the agency noted.
The UNICEF team found that buildings had been burned and thousands of residents had fled the towns.
"Initially people needed food and medicine, there were cases of malnutrition, but the most common problem was people were burned," Safi said. "There are some civilian casualties, but exact figures are not known. Most shelters in Sirba have been burned, and 60-70 percent of Abu Surouj." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Several days after Sudanese government-backed militia attacked villages in West Darfur, hundreds of children remain unaccounted for, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said.
"There are an unknown number of children aged 12-18 who are missing, especially boys. Nobody knows what has happened to these children," Naqibullah Safi, head of UNICEF for West Darfur said.
Initial reports suggested that up to 800 children were unaccounted for, but the actual number is probably lower, UNICEF said in a statement following an assessment mission to the towns of Sirba and Abu Surouj.
"One of UNICEF's main concerns is to take care of the large numbers of children who have been orphaned or abandoned by their parents, or have gone missing in the confusion of the last few days," the agency noted.
The UNICEF team found that buildings had been burned and thousands of residents had fled the towns.
"Initially people needed food and medicine, there were cases of malnutrition, but the most common problem was people were burned," Safi said. "There are some civilian casualties, but exact figures are not known. Most shelters in Sirba have been burned, and 60-70 percent of Abu Surouj." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-02-13-spielberg-beijing-protest_N.htm
BEIJING — Steven Spielberg was supposed to lend a little Hollywood glitz to this year's Beijing Olympics.
Instead, the heavyweight director's rejection of a role in the Summer Games on human rights grounds stands as the event's biggest political challenge yet.
Spielberg, who won an Oscar for his 1993 Holocaust film "Schindler's List," said he was turning down a position as artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies because China was not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan into ending the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region.
That decision drew praise from a slew of other groups critical of Beijing, boosting a months-long campaign by activists to spotlight the communist regime's human rights record.
Although not entirely unexpected, Spielberg's announcement Tuesday appeared to catch Beijing flat-footed. Neither the organizing committee nor China's Foreign Ministry had responded by late Wednesday. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Instead, the heavyweight director's rejection of a role in the Summer Games on human rights grounds stands as the event's biggest political challenge yet.
Spielberg, who won an Oscar for his 1993 Holocaust film "Schindler's List," said he was turning down a position as artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies because China was not doing enough to pressure its ally Sudan into ending the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region.
That decision drew praise from a slew of other groups critical of Beijing, boosting a months-long campaign by activists to spotlight the communist regime's human rights record.
Although not entirely unexpected, Spielberg's announcement Tuesday appeared to catch Beijing flat-footed. Neither the organizing committee nor China's Foreign Ministry had responded by late Wednesday. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Darfur: Heavy bombardment by Sudanese army and the janjaweed
The UN refugee agency says heavy bombardment and armed attacks in Darfur by the Sudanese army and the Janjaweed militia at the weekend have forced 12,000 refugees to flee into eastern Chad.
The refugees have fled to the Birak region, UN High Commissioner for Refugees spokeswoman Helene Caux told AFP on Sunday.
Eastern Chad remains highly volatile after recent fighting between Chadian government and rebel forces, which led the UNHCR to evacuate staff from the country and thousands of Chadians to cross to neighbouring Cameroon, she said.
However, the fresh refugees from Darfur "have been through the worst already," she added.
Her colleague Catherine Huck, who runs UNHCR's operations in the Chadian eastern town of Abeche, stressed the difficulties that recent unrest in Chad itself have created for aid workers.
Last weekend saw rebels enter Njdamena and surround the presidential palace before retreating, leaving at least 160 people dead.
"We are already operating in an environment where security is spiralling downwards, where the supply line from NDjamena is cut after recent fighting, and where our field offices are running short of fuel," Mr Huck said in a statement. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Friday, February 08, 2008
Militia attacks West Darfur towns
8 February 2008
A large army-backed militia force is carrying out attacks on the West Darfur towns of Sirba and Abu Suruj. Janjawid militia on horses and in vehicles, supported by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), began their attack on the two towns on Friday morning.
According to reports from people living in the area, nine military aeroplanes from the SAF were seen overhead, described as being two MIG, two Antonov and five helicopters. The attacks started at 10am and were continuing at sunset.
The number of civilians in Sirba and Abu Suruj has grown due to an influx of internally displaced people who have fled there after earlier attacks elsewhere. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), an armed group in Darfur opposing the Government of Sudan, seized control of the area in December 2007. It remains unclear whether JEM fighters are still in the area.
JEM fighters often station themselves within civilian areas. Attacks by Janjawid and SAF almost invariably fail to discriminate between civilian and armed groups. On 24 January, Janjawid and SAF forces carried out an indiscriminate attack on the town of Saraf Jidad near Abu Suruj. Some 24 people, mostly farmers, including the Fursha (chief) of the area, were killed in the attack.
This attack is a major test for African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which took over from the African Union Mission in Sudan on 31 December 2007 with a mandate to protect civilians in Darfur. Read more >>>>>>>>
A large army-backed militia force is carrying out attacks on the West Darfur towns of Sirba and Abu Suruj. Janjawid militia on horses and in vehicles, supported by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), began their attack on the two towns on Friday morning.
According to reports from people living in the area, nine military aeroplanes from the SAF were seen overhead, described as being two MIG, two Antonov and five helicopters. The attacks started at 10am and were continuing at sunset.
The number of civilians in Sirba and Abu Suruj has grown due to an influx of internally displaced people who have fled there after earlier attacks elsewhere. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), an armed group in Darfur opposing the Government of Sudan, seized control of the area in December 2007. It remains unclear whether JEM fighters are still in the area.
JEM fighters often station themselves within civilian areas. Attacks by Janjawid and SAF almost invariably fail to discriminate between civilian and armed groups. On 24 January, Janjawid and SAF forces carried out an indiscriminate attack on the town of Saraf Jidad near Abu Suruj. Some 24 people, mostly farmers, including the Fursha (chief) of the area, were killed in the attack.
This attack is a major test for African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID), which took over from the African Union Mission in Sudan on 31 December 2007 with a mandate to protect civilians in Darfur. Read more >>>>>>>>
Thursday, February 07, 2008
ICC vows "no impunity" for African war criminals
By Pascal Fletcher
DAKAR (Reuters) - There can be no impunity for those guilty of war crimes in Africa such as mass rape or slaughtering civilians, even when peace processes are under way, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said on Thursday.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo made the pledge as he arrived in Central African Republic for a visit to back an ICC investigation into a series of rapes, killings and other abuses that occurred during armed conflict in the country in 2002 and 2003.
The Hague-based ICC, which has opened an office in the poor, landlocked former French colony, is gathering evidence about systematic acts of sexual violence which accompanied fighting in the capital Bangui between government troops and rebels. Read more >>>>>>>
DAKAR (Reuters) - There can be no impunity for those guilty of war crimes in Africa such as mass rape or slaughtering civilians, even when peace processes are under way, the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor said on Thursday.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo made the pledge as he arrived in Central African Republic for a visit to back an ICC investigation into a series of rapes, killings and other abuses that occurred during armed conflict in the country in 2002 and 2003.
The Hague-based ICC, which has opened an office in the poor, landlocked former French colony, is gathering evidence about systematic acts of sexual violence which accompanied fighting in the capital Bangui between government troops and rebels. Read more >>>>>>>
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Dutch say willing to host Darfur peace talks
AMSTERDAM (Reuters)
- The Dutch government would seriously consider hosting peace talks for Darfur if the request came from the African Union or the United Nations, a Dutch minister said on Tuesday while on a visit to Sudan.
"The Netherlands is prepared to take an active role in bringing together rebel groups (and the Sudanese government)," Development Minister Bert Koenders said after meeting with a representative of the Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army (SLM/A) rebel group, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
ANP quoted SLM/A commander Ahmed Abdel Shafi as saying ahead of the meeting: "The Netherlands would be a good option for peace talks." He added: "Last October we gave a letter to the Dutch ambassador in Khartoum, with a request for peace talks in the Netherlands." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
- The Dutch government would seriously consider hosting peace talks for Darfur if the request came from the African Union or the United Nations, a Dutch minister said on Tuesday while on a visit to Sudan.
"The Netherlands is prepared to take an active role in bringing together rebel groups (and the Sudanese government)," Development Minister Bert Koenders said after meeting with a representative of the Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army (SLM/A) rebel group, according to Dutch news agency ANP.
ANP quoted SLM/A commander Ahmed Abdel Shafi as saying ahead of the meeting: "The Netherlands would be a good option for peace talks." He added: "Last October we gave a letter to the Dutch ambassador in Khartoum, with a request for peace talks in the Netherlands." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, February 04, 2008
Darfur Rebel Leader Wants Peace Talks in Netherlands
KHARTOUM, 05/02/08 - Rebels from the Sudanese province of Darfur have asked the Netherlands to host possible peace talks with the Sudanese government. The request will be discussed today with Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen.
Ahmed Abdelshafi, an important commander of the Sudan Liberation Movement Army (SLM/A), said yesterday that his organisation sent a letter to the Dutch ambassador in Khartoum last October with the request to hold peace talks in the Netherlands. "The Netherlands would be a good option for peace talks," he said.
Verhagen is currently in Sudan with Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders. Abdelshafi is to have a meeting with them this afternoon. He hopes that the ministers will come up with a response to his request. "We will see what the agenda of the Dutch ministers is." A spokesman for the foreign ministry in The Hague did not wish to anticipate the meeting yesterday. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Ahmed Abdelshafi, an important commander of the Sudan Liberation Movement Army (SLM/A), said yesterday that his organisation sent a letter to the Dutch ambassador in Khartoum last October with the request to hold peace talks in the Netherlands. "The Netherlands would be a good option for peace talks," he said.
Verhagen is currently in Sudan with Development Cooperation Minister Bert Koenders. Abdelshafi is to have a meeting with them this afternoon. He hopes that the ministers will come up with a response to his request. "We will see what the agenda of the Dutch ministers is." A spokesman for the foreign ministry in The Hague did not wish to anticipate the meeting yesterday. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Friday, January 25, 2008
Impunity in Sudan
The U.N. must either stand up to the Sudanese thugs now or pack up its peacekeepers and go home.
It's a bleak day for humanity when one of the architects of the genocide in Darfur gets a promotion. In a gesture of supreme defiance of decency and international law, the Sudanese government announced Monday that it had appointed Musa Hilal, a militia leader who recruited and mobilized the janjaweed militias responsible for the carnage in Darfur, to be a special advisor to the president on ethnic affairs.
It gets worse. Hilal is the third alleged war criminal to be elevated to a government post. He is under United Nations and U.S. State Department sanctions; the other two have been indicted by the International Criminal Court. In an especially cynical move, one of the indicted has been put in charge of humanitarian aid to Darfur. Sudan also has been doing everything possible to obstruct the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, including shooting at a clearly marked U.N. convoy this month.
Appeasement and negotiation from a position of weakness have not and will not stop the thuggery of the oil-rich Sudanese regime. Only muscle will do. But the "civilized" world has done next to nothing to enforce meaningful economic sanctions, hasn't even moved to arrest the indicted war criminals and, disgracefully, has yet to provide even one of the helicopters that U.N. peacekeepers need. It's time to face facts: Unless the U.N. gets far more political, economic and military support from its posturing but so-far feckless members, it may as well pack up its blue helmets and go home. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
It's a bleak day for humanity when one of the architects of the genocide in Darfur gets a promotion. In a gesture of supreme defiance of decency and international law, the Sudanese government announced Monday that it had appointed Musa Hilal, a militia leader who recruited and mobilized the janjaweed militias responsible for the carnage in Darfur, to be a special advisor to the president on ethnic affairs.
It gets worse. Hilal is the third alleged war criminal to be elevated to a government post. He is under United Nations and U.S. State Department sanctions; the other two have been indicted by the International Criminal Court. In an especially cynical move, one of the indicted has been put in charge of humanitarian aid to Darfur. Sudan also has been doing everything possible to obstruct the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers, including shooting at a clearly marked U.N. convoy this month.
Appeasement and negotiation from a position of weakness have not and will not stop the thuggery of the oil-rich Sudanese regime. Only muscle will do. But the "civilized" world has done next to nothing to enforce meaningful economic sanctions, hasn't even moved to arrest the indicted war criminals and, disgracefully, has yet to provide even one of the helicopters that U.N. peacekeepers need. It's time to face facts: Unless the U.N. gets far more political, economic and military support from its posturing but so-far feckless members, it may as well pack up its blue helmets and go home. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Janjaweed chief named presidential advisor
A Sudanese militia leader accused of committing crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur has been appointed as special advisor to President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan, Human Rights Watch reported on Monday.
Musa Hilal is a "notorious" janjaweed militia leader and he and his men have perpetrated serious crimes, Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, said.
"Rewarding him with a special government post is a slap in the face to Darfur victims and to the U.N. Security Council," according to Dicker.
In April 2006, the U.N. Security Council imposed a travel ban and asset freezes against Hilal and in 2004 the U.S. State Department named him as "one of the six militia leaders alleged to be responsible for serious crimes in Darfur," Human Rights Watch reported.
For Dicker, his appointment as a presidential advisor is "a clear rejection and slap in the face at the international expectations, and at the same time it is a way in which the Sudanese government can measure the intensity of response from the international community." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Musa Hilal is a "notorious" janjaweed militia leader and he and his men have perpetrated serious crimes, Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch, said.
"Rewarding him with a special government post is a slap in the face to Darfur victims and to the U.N. Security Council," according to Dicker.
In April 2006, the U.N. Security Council imposed a travel ban and asset freezes against Hilal and in 2004 the U.S. State Department named him as "one of the six militia leaders alleged to be responsible for serious crimes in Darfur," Human Rights Watch reported.
For Dicker, his appointment as a presidential advisor is "a clear rejection and slap in the face at the international expectations, and at the same time it is a way in which the Sudanese government can measure the intensity of response from the international community." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Darfur: Fear for safety
Sudan: Fear for safety
- Ali Haroun (m)
- Faisal Abdullah al-Tahir (m)
- Mohiedin Sharaf (m)
- Tya Kuku Rahal (m)
- Ibrahim Suleiman (m)
- Abdullah Amir al-Mu’minin (m) legal adviser, and at least eleven others
The first five people named above and eight of the others have been detained for five weeks, reportedly in Dirbat, by the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdel Wahed (SLA/A-W), an armed opposition group in Darfur. They are apparently being detained on the orders of Abdel Wahed Mohammed Nur, the leader of the SLA/A-W. Their exact location is not known and Amnesty International fears that they are at risk of being tortured or ill-treated or unlawfully killed.
Some of the men come from Ain Siro, an area 30 kilometres north-west of Kutum in North Darfur, which is under the control of the SLA/A-W. Amnesty International understands that Ali Haroun and the others from Ain Siro supported the unity of the different factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which has splintered into several factions, as well as engaging in political dialogue to end the conflict in Darfur. They were reportedly summoned to the headquarters of the SLA/A-W in Dirbat, where they were disarmed and detained in December. Sources suggest that one of the group, Tya Kuku Rahal, may have been unlawfully killed during his detention.
Abdallah Amir al-Mu’minin, the SLA legal adviser, and three others, are said to have been abducted in Dirbat by SLA/A-W commanders and taken to an unknown place of detention. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
- Ali Haroun (m)
- Faisal Abdullah al-Tahir (m)
- Mohiedin Sharaf (m)
- Tya Kuku Rahal (m)
- Ibrahim Suleiman (m)
- Abdullah Amir al-Mu’minin (m) legal adviser, and at least eleven others
The first five people named above and eight of the others have been detained for five weeks, reportedly in Dirbat, by the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdel Wahed (SLA/A-W), an armed opposition group in Darfur. They are apparently being detained on the orders of Abdel Wahed Mohammed Nur, the leader of the SLA/A-W. Their exact location is not known and Amnesty International fears that they are at risk of being tortured or ill-treated or unlawfully killed.
Some of the men come from Ain Siro, an area 30 kilometres north-west of Kutum in North Darfur, which is under the control of the SLA/A-W. Amnesty International understands that Ali Haroun and the others from Ain Siro supported the unity of the different factions of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), which has splintered into several factions, as well as engaging in political dialogue to end the conflict in Darfur. They were reportedly summoned to the headquarters of the SLA/A-W in Dirbat, where they were disarmed and detained in December. Sources suggest that one of the group, Tya Kuku Rahal, may have been unlawfully killed during his detention.
Abdallah Amir al-Mu’minin, the SLA legal adviser, and three others, are said to have been abducted in Dirbat by SLA/A-W commanders and taken to an unknown place of detention. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, January 14, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Sudan admits responsibility for Darfur attack: UN official
Sudan admits responsibility for Darfur attack: UN official
48 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — A Sudanese military commander has taken responsibility for a recent attack on a supply convoy of the new UN-African Union peacekeeping force in west Darfur, a senior UN official told the Security Council Wednesday.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of the UN peacekeeping department, told the 15-member council that a Sudanese area commander had confirmed that "a Sudanese armed force unit fired upon a convoy" ferrying supplies for rations for troops of the joint UN-Africa peacekeeping force (UNAMID) in west Darfur.
Earlier Sudan's UN envoy Abdalmahmood Mohamad rejected the charges and instead blamed Chad-backed rebels for Monday's attack.
He specifically blamed rebels of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which he claimed was strongly supported by the Chadian government.
"They (rebels) are encouraged to attack UNAMID to confuse all the cards and to put the government under pressure," Mohamad said, stressing Khartoum has nothing to gain from such an attack. Read more >>>>>>>
48 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — A Sudanese military commander has taken responsibility for a recent attack on a supply convoy of the new UN-African Union peacekeeping force in west Darfur, a senior UN official told the Security Council Wednesday.
Jean-Marie Guehenno, head of the UN peacekeeping department, told the 15-member council that a Sudanese area commander had confirmed that "a Sudanese armed force unit fired upon a convoy" ferrying supplies for rations for troops of the joint UN-Africa peacekeeping force (UNAMID) in west Darfur.
Earlier Sudan's UN envoy Abdalmahmood Mohamad rejected the charges and instead blamed Chad-backed rebels for Monday's attack.
He specifically blamed rebels of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which he claimed was strongly supported by the Chadian government.
"They (rebels) are encouraged to attack UNAMID to confuse all the cards and to put the government under pressure," Mohamad said, stressing Khartoum has nothing to gain from such an attack. Read more >>>>>>>
Saturday, December 29, 2007
Statement from SLA/M command of North Darfur
Statement from SLA/M command of North Darfur
Air Siro
We, the leadership of Ain Siro command post, do neither tolerate any forward advance by, nor willing to engage in any talks with, the group that is heading to Ain Seiro under the leadership of Yousif Kurjukola and Tarrada prior to releasing all our political and military personnel who are currently under their custody. Kurjukola and his team put Ali Haroun and his team under custody for almost a week now. Their lives are under imminent threat.
We urge international community to interfere to secure the release of the detainees.
Joint Chiefs of Staffs of North Darfur
Ain Siro
December 28th, 2007
Air Siro
We, the leadership of Ain Siro command post, do neither tolerate any forward advance by, nor willing to engage in any talks with, the group that is heading to Ain Seiro under the leadership of Yousif Kurjukola and Tarrada prior to releasing all our political and military personnel who are currently under their custody. Kurjukola and his team put Ali Haroun and his team under custody for almost a week now. Their lives are under imminent threat.
We urge international community to interfere to secure the release of the detainees.
Joint Chiefs of Staffs of North Darfur
Ain Siro
December 28th, 2007
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Hillary Roberts: Darfur action is possible
By BDN Staff
"We must be a leader and voice of reason and hope in this terrible crisis."
We are lucky to live in our close-knit, "Mainers take care of Mainers" communities. I am reminded of this on a daily basis. Despite occasional unsettling stories of crime and tragedy, positives prevail here. This can make it easy to overlook the world’s ugliness, that side of humanity that I never saw growing up in a small Piscataquis County town of 300 people.
In 2003, the first genocide of the 21st century began in Western Sudan in a place called Darfur. An Arab militia called the Janjaweed, aided by the Sudanese government, began what can only be looked at as a campaign of terror and genocide. The victims of this genocide are mainly non-Arab or African tribal groups, primarily the Fur, Massaleit, and Zaghawa.
The ethnic cleansing by the Janjaweed sounds more like a fictional horror movie than a reality that continues to plague Darfur and other parts of Africa. The militia groups have killed civilians, burned villages, raped women and young girls, abducted children, poisoned water supplies and destroyed food sources. In 2005, an estimated 15,000 people were being killed every month. Since 2003, when the killing began, an estimated 400,000 people have perished. More than one million people have been forced from their villages and homes to refugee camps in other parts of Africa.
The U.S. government officially declared the crisis in Darfur a genocide in July of 2004. Since 2005, both the U.S. House and Senate have had opportunities to support several important pieces of legislation that would help to end the genocide. The first piece that was introduced, a bill called the Darfur Genocide Accountability Act, did not pass. However, that initial bill sent a powerful message that action from every level of government was needed in order to support an end to the tragedies taking place in Africa. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"We must be a leader and voice of reason and hope in this terrible crisis."
We are lucky to live in our close-knit, "Mainers take care of Mainers" communities. I am reminded of this on a daily basis. Despite occasional unsettling stories of crime and tragedy, positives prevail here. This can make it easy to overlook the world’s ugliness, that side of humanity that I never saw growing up in a small Piscataquis County town of 300 people.
In 2003, the first genocide of the 21st century began in Western Sudan in a place called Darfur. An Arab militia called the Janjaweed, aided by the Sudanese government, began what can only be looked at as a campaign of terror and genocide. The victims of this genocide are mainly non-Arab or African tribal groups, primarily the Fur, Massaleit, and Zaghawa.
The ethnic cleansing by the Janjaweed sounds more like a fictional horror movie than a reality that continues to plague Darfur and other parts of Africa. The militia groups have killed civilians, burned villages, raped women and young girls, abducted children, poisoned water supplies and destroyed food sources. In 2005, an estimated 15,000 people were being killed every month. Since 2003, when the killing began, an estimated 400,000 people have perished. More than one million people have been forced from their villages and homes to refugee camps in other parts of Africa.
The U.S. government officially declared the crisis in Darfur a genocide in July of 2004. Since 2005, both the U.S. House and Senate have had opportunities to support several important pieces of legislation that would help to end the genocide. The first piece that was introduced, a bill called the Darfur Genocide Accountability Act, did not pass. However, that initial bill sent a powerful message that action from every level of government was needed in order to support an end to the tragedies taking place in Africa. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Hillary Roberts: Darfur action is possible
By BDN Staff
"We must be a leader and voice of reason and hope in this terrible crisis."
We are lucky to live in our close-knit, "Mainers take care of Mainers" communities. I am reminded of this on a daily basis. Despite occasional unsettling stories of crime and tragedy, positives prevail here. This can make it easy to overlook the world’s ugliness, that side of humanity that I never saw growing up in a small Piscataquis County town of 300 people.
In 2003, the first genocide of the 21st century began in Western Sudan in a place called Darfur. An Arab militia called the Janjaweed, aided by the Sudanese government, began what can only be looked at as a campaign of terror and genocide. The victims of this genocide are mainly non-Arab or African tribal groups, primarily the Fur, Massaleit, and Zaghawa.
The ethnic cleansing by the Janjaweed sounds more like a fictional horror movie than a reality that continues to plague Darfur and other parts of Africa. The militia groups have killed civilians, burned villages, raped women and young girls, abducted children, poisoned water supplies and destroyed food sources. In 2005, an estimated 15,000 people were being killed every month. Since 2003, when the killing began, an estimated 400,000 people have perished. More than one million people have been forced from their villages and homes to refugee camps in other parts of Africa.
The U.S. government officially declared the crisis in Darfur a genocide in July of 2004. Since 2005, both the U.S. House and Senate have had opportunities to support several important pieces of legislation that would help to end the genocide. The first piece that was introduced, a bill called the Darfur Genocide Accountability Act, did not pass. However, that initial bill sent a powerful message that action from every level of government was needed in order to support an end to the tragedies taking place in Africa. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
"We must be a leader and voice of reason and hope in this terrible crisis."
We are lucky to live in our close-knit, "Mainers take care of Mainers" communities. I am reminded of this on a daily basis. Despite occasional unsettling stories of crime and tragedy, positives prevail here. This can make it easy to overlook the world’s ugliness, that side of humanity that I never saw growing up in a small Piscataquis County town of 300 people.
In 2003, the first genocide of the 21st century began in Western Sudan in a place called Darfur. An Arab militia called the Janjaweed, aided by the Sudanese government, began what can only be looked at as a campaign of terror and genocide. The victims of this genocide are mainly non-Arab or African tribal groups, primarily the Fur, Massaleit, and Zaghawa.
The ethnic cleansing by the Janjaweed sounds more like a fictional horror movie than a reality that continues to plague Darfur and other parts of Africa. The militia groups have killed civilians, burned villages, raped women and young girls, abducted children, poisoned water supplies and destroyed food sources. In 2005, an estimated 15,000 people were being killed every month. Since 2003, when the killing began, an estimated 400,000 people have perished. More than one million people have been forced from their villages and homes to refugee camps in other parts of Africa.
The U.S. government officially declared the crisis in Darfur a genocide in July of 2004. Since 2005, both the U.S. House and Senate have had opportunities to support several important pieces of legislation that would help to end the genocide. The first piece that was introduced, a bill called the Darfur Genocide Accountability Act, did not pass. However, that initial bill sent a powerful message that action from every level of government was needed in order to support an end to the tragedies taking place in Africa. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Bakhita’s performative hope
By Rene Q. Bas
Continuing my effort to get you to read Pope Benedict’s latest encyclical Spe Salvi by giving you excerpts from it, here now is his answer to the question “In what does this hope consist, which, as hope, is ‘redemption’ ”?
“3. … The essence of the answer is given in the phrase from the Letter to the Ephesians quoted above: the Ephesians, before their encounter with Christ, were without hope because they were ‘without God in the world.’ To come to know God—the true God—means to receive hope. We who have always lived with the Christian concept of God, and have grown accustomed to it, have almost ceased to notice that we possess the hope that ensues from a real encounter with this God.
“The example of a saint of our time can to some degree help us understand what it means to have a real encounter with this God for the first time. I am thinking of the African Josephine Bakhita, canonized by Pope John Paul II. She was born around 1869—she herself did not know the precise date—in Darfur in Sudan. At the age of nine, she was kidnapped by slave-traders, beaten till she bled, and sold five times in the slave-markets of Sudan. Eventually she found herself working as a slave for the mother and the wife of a general, and there she was flogged every day till she bled; as a result of this she bore 144 scars throughout her life.
“Finally, in 1882, she was bought by an Italian merchant for the Italian consul Callisto Legnani, who returned to Italy as the Mahdists advanced. Here, after the terrifying ‘masters’ who had owned her up to that point. Bakhita came to know a totally different kind of ‘master’—in Venetian dialect, which she was now learning, she used the name ‘paron’ for the living God, the God of Jesus Christ. Up to that time she had known only masters who despised and maltreated her, or at best considered her a useful slave. Now, however, she heard that there is a ‘paron’ above all masters, the Lord of all lords, and that this Lord is good, goodness in person. She came to know that this Lord even knew her, that he had created her— that he actually loved her. She too was loved, and by none other than the supreme ‘Paron’ before whom all other masters are themselves no more than lowly servants. She was known and loved and she was awaited. What is more, this master had himself accepted the destiny of being flogged and now he was waiting for her ‘at the Father’s right hand.’ Now she had ‘hope’—no longer simply the modest hope of finding masters who would be less cruel, but the great hope: ‘I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.’ Through the knowledge of this hope she was ‘redeemed,’ no longer a slave, but a free child of God. She understood what Paul meant when he reminded the Ephesians that previously they were without hope and without God in the world—without hope because without God. Hence, when she was about to be taken back to Sudan, Bakhita refused; she did not wish to be separated again from her ‘Paron.’ Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Continuing my effort to get you to read Pope Benedict’s latest encyclical Spe Salvi by giving you excerpts from it, here now is his answer to the question “In what does this hope consist, which, as hope, is ‘redemption’ ”?
“3. … The essence of the answer is given in the phrase from the Letter to the Ephesians quoted above: the Ephesians, before their encounter with Christ, were without hope because they were ‘without God in the world.’ To come to know God—the true God—means to receive hope. We who have always lived with the Christian concept of God, and have grown accustomed to it, have almost ceased to notice that we possess the hope that ensues from a real encounter with this God.
“The example of a saint of our time can to some degree help us understand what it means to have a real encounter with this God for the first time. I am thinking of the African Josephine Bakhita, canonized by Pope John Paul II. She was born around 1869—she herself did not know the precise date—in Darfur in Sudan. At the age of nine, she was kidnapped by slave-traders, beaten till she bled, and sold five times in the slave-markets of Sudan. Eventually she found herself working as a slave for the mother and the wife of a general, and there she was flogged every day till she bled; as a result of this she bore 144 scars throughout her life.
“Finally, in 1882, she was bought by an Italian merchant for the Italian consul Callisto Legnani, who returned to Italy as the Mahdists advanced. Here, after the terrifying ‘masters’ who had owned her up to that point. Bakhita came to know a totally different kind of ‘master’—in Venetian dialect, which she was now learning, she used the name ‘paron’ for the living God, the God of Jesus Christ. Up to that time she had known only masters who despised and maltreated her, or at best considered her a useful slave. Now, however, she heard that there is a ‘paron’ above all masters, the Lord of all lords, and that this Lord is good, goodness in person. She came to know that this Lord even knew her, that he had created her— that he actually loved her. She too was loved, and by none other than the supreme ‘Paron’ before whom all other masters are themselves no more than lowly servants. She was known and loved and she was awaited. What is more, this master had himself accepted the destiny of being flogged and now he was waiting for her ‘at the Father’s right hand.’ Now she had ‘hope’—no longer simply the modest hope of finding masters who would be less cruel, but the great hope: ‘I am definitively loved and whatever happens to me—I am awaited by this Love. And so my life is good.’ Through the knowledge of this hope she was ‘redeemed,’ no longer a slave, but a free child of God. She understood what Paul meant when he reminded the Ephesians that previously they were without hope and without God in the world—without hope because without God. Hence, when she was about to be taken back to Sudan, Bakhita refused; she did not wish to be separated again from her ‘Paron.’ Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, December 24, 2007
Failure looms in Darfur
Three years after the United States accused Sudan of committing genocide in Darfur and a full year after the United Nations began pushing to deploy its own peacekeeping force there, the conflict remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.
There will be only about 6,500 UN peacekeepers in Darfur 10 days from now, when a new joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID) is scheduled to take over in western Sudan.
That's barely a quarter of the promised force of 26,000 peacekeepers who were supposed to replace 7,000 under-equipped, dejected and ineffective African Union troops who have been struggling to stop a conflict that has raged for nearly five years.
Before the UN even sets foot in Darfur, critics are predicting the mission could become the world's biggest peacekeeping failure.
It's too big, too disorganized and has no strategic plan. It lacks critical international support and is being hamstrung by the deliberate obstruction of the Sudanese government.
Last week, a coalition of 35 foreign aid groups working in Darfur issued a report that predicted "the deployment of this force is in danger of failing" and accused the government in Khartoum of "actively undermining the ability of the force to protect civilians."
"Sudan is saying 'yes' and then doing everything in its power to obstruct and undermine the hybrid force," said Steve Crawshaw of Human Rights Watch.
"The Security Council has responded to this defiance with hand-wringing but nothing more."
"If it continues, the UN's hands will be tied as much as the African Union's have been, spelling disaster for the UN and more importantly for the Darfuri people," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International's Africa director.
The new UN-led force is not expected to reach half-strength until March and UN negotiators are still unable to plan even the most basic elements of the Darfur peacekeeping operation.
General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan's President, has thrown as many roadblocks in the way of a UN deployment as possible. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
There will be only about 6,500 UN peacekeepers in Darfur 10 days from now, when a new joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID) is scheduled to take over in western Sudan.
That's barely a quarter of the promised force of 26,000 peacekeepers who were supposed to replace 7,000 under-equipped, dejected and ineffective African Union troops who have been struggling to stop a conflict that has raged for nearly five years.
Before the UN even sets foot in Darfur, critics are predicting the mission could become the world's biggest peacekeeping failure.
It's too big, too disorganized and has no strategic plan. It lacks critical international support and is being hamstrung by the deliberate obstruction of the Sudanese government.
Last week, a coalition of 35 foreign aid groups working in Darfur issued a report that predicted "the deployment of this force is in danger of failing" and accused the government in Khartoum of "actively undermining the ability of the force to protect civilians."
"Sudan is saying 'yes' and then doing everything in its power to obstruct and undermine the hybrid force," said Steve Crawshaw of Human Rights Watch.
"The Security Council has responded to this defiance with hand-wringing but nothing more."
"If it continues, the UN's hands will be tied as much as the African Union's have been, spelling disaster for the UN and more importantly for the Darfuri people," said Erwin van der Borght, Amnesty International's Africa director.
The new UN-led force is not expected to reach half-strength until March and UN negotiators are still unable to plan even the most basic elements of the Darfur peacekeeping operation.
General Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan's President, has thrown as many roadblocks in the way of a UN deployment as possible. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Friday, December 14, 2007
UN rights council drops Darfur expert group
The UN Human Rights Council on Friday dissolved a group of experts tasked with monitoring abuses in Darfur after demands from African countries to ease the political pressure on Sudan.
The unanimous decision to halt the mission of the seven rights experts comes a week after the group accused Sudan of failing to protect civilians in Darfur from rape, torture and other forms of violence.
The task of overseeing Khartoum's progress in protecting human rights in Darfur will now fall to the UN's special envoy to Sudan, Simar Samar, whose mandate was unanimously extended for a year. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
The unanimous decision to halt the mission of the seven rights experts comes a week after the group accused Sudan of failing to protect civilians in Darfur from rape, torture and other forms of violence.
The task of overseeing Khartoum's progress in protecting human rights in Darfur will now fall to the UN's special envoy to Sudan, Simar Samar, whose mandate was unanimously extended for a year. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Spielberg urges China again to help end Darfur 'genocide'
LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Legendary film director Steven Spielberg has appealed to Chinese President Hu Jintao for a second time to use China's influence over Sudan to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
In a November 15 letter to Hu released Thursday, Spielberg, who is serving as an artistic advisor for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said the situation in Darfur had deteriorated since he last wrote him in April.
"So I write to you now with a renewed sense of urgency in the hope that China will redouble its efforts to pressure Sudan to join in a fair peace agreement and, at last, bring an end to the genocide," he wrote.
Spielberg urged China to contribute much needed helicopters and heavy transport vehicles for the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission and to press Sudan to stop delaying the force's deployment.
"China's economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide you with the influence and the obligation to press for change," he wrote. Read more >>>>>
In a November 15 letter to Hu released Thursday, Spielberg, who is serving as an artistic advisor for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, said the situation in Darfur had deteriorated since he last wrote him in April.
"So I write to you now with a renewed sense of urgency in the hope that China will redouble its efforts to pressure Sudan to join in a fair peace agreement and, at last, bring an end to the genocide," he wrote.
Spielberg urged China to contribute much needed helicopters and heavy transport vehicles for the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission and to press Sudan to stop delaying the force's deployment.
"China's economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide you with the influence and the obligation to press for change," he wrote. Read more >>>>>
Thursday, December 13, 2007
UN Rebukes Sudan Over Human Rights Abuses in Darfur
A group of UN experts has criticized the government of Sudan for failing to implement most of the recommendations made by special investigators to the conflict-racked Darfur region. The group presented its report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva from where Lisa Schlein reports for VOA.
This group was set up to work with the government of Sudan to help it implement the recommendations made by previous investigators to Darfur.
Special representative on the human rights situation in Sudan, Sima Samar, says the government cooperated and worked well with the Group in procedural terms. Read more >>>>>>>>
This group was set up to work with the government of Sudan to help it implement the recommendations made by previous investigators to Darfur.
Special representative on the human rights situation in Sudan, Sima Samar, says the government cooperated and worked well with the Group in procedural terms. Read more >>>>>>>>
Darfur, & China's Genocide Olympics
Tim Morgan
I've rarely been a big fan of Hollywood-style, lefty social activism. But two cheers for activist-actress Mia Farrow for taking on the continuing genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
The situation in Darfur could be resolved in a matter of days and weeks if the Bashir regime in Khartoum was willing to abide by its commitments. A nation-state loses its legitimacy when it permits its own citizens to be slaughtered at will with no consequences locally, nationally, or internationally.
Here's a recent comment about Darfur from the highly credible International Crisis Group:
The Darfur conflict has changed radically in the past year and not for the better. While there are many fewer deaths than during the high period of fighting in 2003-2004, it has mutated, the parties have splintered, and the confrontations have multiplied. Violence is again increasing, access for humanitarian agencies is decreasing, international peacekeeping is not yet effective and a political settlement remains far off.
The bottom line is that the innocent still die daily inside Darfur as the interagency wrangling and political realities prevent the peace-keeping forces from moving into position with the necessary resources.
There is a student organization in Canada, Dream for Darfur. It's doing good work in raising funds for advocacy and care. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
I've rarely been a big fan of Hollywood-style, lefty social activism. But two cheers for activist-actress Mia Farrow for taking on the continuing genocide in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
The situation in Darfur could be resolved in a matter of days and weeks if the Bashir regime in Khartoum was willing to abide by its commitments. A nation-state loses its legitimacy when it permits its own citizens to be slaughtered at will with no consequences locally, nationally, or internationally.
Here's a recent comment about Darfur from the highly credible International Crisis Group:
The Darfur conflict has changed radically in the past year and not for the better. While there are many fewer deaths than during the high period of fighting in 2003-2004, it has mutated, the parties have splintered, and the confrontations have multiplied. Violence is again increasing, access for humanitarian agencies is decreasing, international peacekeeping is not yet effective and a political settlement remains far off.
The bottom line is that the innocent still die daily inside Darfur as the interagency wrangling and political realities prevent the peace-keeping forces from moving into position with the necessary resources.
There is a student organization in Canada, Dream for Darfur. It's doing good work in raising funds for advocacy and care. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, December 09, 2007
“Genocide’s Victory,” The Boston Globe, December 8, 2007 and The International Herald Tribune, December 9, 2007
THE BRUTAL REGIME in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, has orchestrated genocidal counter-insurgency war in Darfur for five years, and is now poised for victory in its ghastly assault on the region's African populations.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, adopted in July, authorized a force of 26,000 troops and civilian police to protect Darfur's civilians and the humanitarian groups serving some 4.2 million desperate people. Without protection, these groups will be forced to withdraw. But Khartoum has obstructed the force authorized by the UN, and final success in these efforts seems within grasp. On Nov. 26, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the UN undersecretary for peacekeeping, raised the prospect that the UN-authorized force for Darfur may have to be aborted because of Khartoum's actions.
Guéhenno asked a question that answered itself: "Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?"
The unprecedented UN/African Union "hybrid" mission for Darfur (UNAMID) has been badly hurt by the refusal of militarily capable nations to provide the two dozen helicopters required, at the least, for operations in Darfur. No NATO country has offered even one helicopter - a sign that, despite fulsome rhetoric, these nations' real concern for Darfur is minimal. But it is Khartoum's brazen obduracy that threatens to leave the people of Darfur without protection. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, adopted in July, authorized a force of 26,000 troops and civilian police to protect Darfur's civilians and the humanitarian groups serving some 4.2 million desperate people. Without protection, these groups will be forced to withdraw. But Khartoum has obstructed the force authorized by the UN, and final success in these efforts seems within grasp. On Nov. 26, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, the UN undersecretary for peacekeeping, raised the prospect that the UN-authorized force for Darfur may have to be aborted because of Khartoum's actions.
Guéhenno asked a question that answered itself: "Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself and that carries the risk of humiliation of the Security Council and the United Nations and tragic failure for the people of Darfur?"
The unprecedented UN/African Union "hybrid" mission for Darfur (UNAMID) has been badly hurt by the refusal of militarily capable nations to provide the two dozen helicopters required, at the least, for operations in Darfur. No NATO country has offered even one helicopter - a sign that, despite fulsome rhetoric, these nations' real concern for Darfur is minimal. But it is Khartoum's brazen obduracy that threatens to leave the people of Darfur without protection. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
ICC Prosecutor: “Massive crimes continue to be committed in Darfur today, Sudan is not complying with Security Council resolution 1593 and is not coop
Today in New York, International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, told the United Nations Security Council that the Government of The Sudan is not cooperating and asked the Security Council to send today a strong and unanimous message to the Government of the Sudan, requesting compliance with Resolution 1593, requesting the execution of the arrest warrants.
“Sudan has not arrested Harun and Kushayb” the Prosecutor said. In his statement to the Council, the Prosecutor reiterated the fact that the Government of The Sudan, as the territorial state, has a legal duty to arrest and surrender Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb to the ICC.
Massive crimes continue to be committed in Darfur today. All information points not to isolated acts but to a pattern of attacks by Sudanese officials against civilians, in particular the 2.5 million displaced people.
“In Darfur in 2003 - 2004, we witnessed the first phase of the criminal plan coordinated by Ahmad Harun. Millions of people were forced out of their villages and into camps. In the second phase – happening right now in front of our eyes –Ahmad Harun is controlling the victims inside the camps, controlling their access to food, humanitarian aid and security; attacks against the civilians and the displaced in particular take multiple forms; women are raped; emerging local leaders are targeted; the displaced are surrounded by hostile forces; their land and homes are being occupied by new settlers. The rationale is the same as before: target civilians who could be rebel supporters.” Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
“Sudan has not arrested Harun and Kushayb” the Prosecutor said. In his statement to the Council, the Prosecutor reiterated the fact that the Government of The Sudan, as the territorial state, has a legal duty to arrest and surrender Ahmad Harun and Ali Kushayb to the ICC.
Massive crimes continue to be committed in Darfur today. All information points not to isolated acts but to a pattern of attacks by Sudanese officials against civilians, in particular the 2.5 million displaced people.
“In Darfur in 2003 - 2004, we witnessed the first phase of the criminal plan coordinated by Ahmad Harun. Millions of people were forced out of their villages and into camps. In the second phase – happening right now in front of our eyes –Ahmad Harun is controlling the victims inside the camps, controlling their access to food, humanitarian aid and security; attacks against the civilians and the displaced in particular take multiple forms; women are raped; emerging local leaders are targeted; the displaced are surrounded by hostile forces; their land and homes are being occupied by new settlers. The rationale is the same as before: target civilians who could be rebel supporters.” Read more >>>>>>>>>>>
Monday, December 03, 2007
"Darfur’s final chance," from The Guardian on-line, November 30, 2007
by Eric Reeves
On Monday, UN under-secretary for peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guéhenno raised the terrifying prospect that the UN-authorised peacekeeping force for Darfur may well have to be aborted because of obstructionism on the part of the Khartoum regime. Guéhenno declared that because of Khartoum's actions we are fast approaching a moment in which members of the UN security council will have to ask a critical question:
"Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself and that carries the risk of humiliation of the security council and the United Nations and tragic failure for the people of Darfur? "
The question, of course, answers itself. Privately, Guéhenno and other UN officials suggest an even gloomier picture of a mission that has already largely collapsed and is far behind on deployment benchmarks.
To be sure, the unprecedented UN/African Union "hybrid" mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been badly compromised by the refusal of militarily capable nations of the world to provide the two dozen transport and tactical helicopters required, at a bare minimum, for security and protection operations in Darfur. Not a single Nato country has offered even one helicopter. Sadly, this serves as too accurate a measure of the real concern for Darfur on the part of those whose rhetoric has been most fulsome. But it is brazen obduracy on the part of the Khartoum regime that has created the deepest threat that the people of Darfur will be left entirely without protection, and that humanitarian operations will have to be suspended throughout the region. The UN estimates that 4.2 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
On Monday, UN under-secretary for peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guéhenno raised the terrifying prospect that the UN-authorised peacekeeping force for Darfur may well have to be aborted because of obstructionism on the part of the Khartoum regime. Guéhenno declared that because of Khartoum's actions we are fast approaching a moment in which members of the UN security council will have to ask a critical question:
"Do we move ahead with the deployment of a force that will not make a difference, that will not have the capability to defend itself and that carries the risk of humiliation of the security council and the United Nations and tragic failure for the people of Darfur? "
The question, of course, answers itself. Privately, Guéhenno and other UN officials suggest an even gloomier picture of a mission that has already largely collapsed and is far behind on deployment benchmarks.
To be sure, the unprecedented UN/African Union "hybrid" mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has been badly compromised by the refusal of militarily capable nations of the world to provide the two dozen transport and tactical helicopters required, at a bare minimum, for security and protection operations in Darfur. Not a single Nato country has offered even one helicopter. Sadly, this serves as too accurate a measure of the real concern for Darfur on the part of those whose rhetoric has been most fulsome. But it is brazen obduracy on the part of the Khartoum regime that has created the deepest threat that the people of Darfur will be left entirely without protection, and that humanitarian operations will have to be suspended throughout the region. The UN estimates that 4.2 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Te paard door Darfur met Netwerk
In Netwerk NCRV zijn er unieke beelden van de gevolgen van een slachtpartij van de gevreesde Arabische Janjaweed-milities in Darfur. Franse journalisten slaagden erin om in het geheim opnamen te maken van de verwoesting van twee dorpen door de Janjaweed eerder dit jaar. Te paard en met steun van lokale milities trekt het camerateam Darfur in om vast te leggen hoe de regering van Soedan de opstandige provincie Darfur etnisch zuivert. Less verder >>>>>>>>>>
No Surprise Sudan Wants to Punish British Teacher afetr Darfur
Ever been to Sudan? I have. It's not a friendly place for Westerners, nor is it embracing of other cultures, religions or beliefs. So it should come as no surprise that the fundamentalist goons who run the country and its powerful hard-line clerics believe that punishment is necessary for Gillian Gibbons, a British teacher who allowed her students to vote to name a teddy bear "Muhammad."
Sudan is run by radical Islamic fundamentalists. Remember, this is the country that gave shelter to bin Laden after his home country of Saudi Arabia kicked him out. He built training camps just outside the capitol and owned a large, luxurious city house down the street from a radical mosque. According to government reports, bin laden plotted attacks on U.S. interests while in Sudan. (Once pressure mounted on Sudan for harboring bin Laden, they eventually kicked him out, too. That’s when he set up shop in Afghanistan.)
In late 2004, FOX sent me there to report on Darfur (long before this became the hip Hollywood cause). Our crew (including 2 guys — a producer and cameraman) and I also visited some of bin Laden's old stomping grounds, including a training camp and his house. We toured the al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum that U.S. missiles hit in retaliation for the attack on our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. We also visited southern Sudan, a lush and remote area primarily inhabited by black Christians and Animists, people who believe in spirits. Read more >>>>>>>>>
Commander says violence possible if Darfur force delayed
El-FASHER, Sudan (Reuters) - Failure to deploy a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping mission could push Sudan's Darfur region back into a spiral of violence, the military head of the mission said on Saturday.
U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said last week Khartoum had demanded such stringent restrictions on the 26,000-strong force that its deployment was in doubt.
"If people are disappointed this could be expressed in many ways and one of them could be in a violent way and then ... we will go back to square one," force commander Martin Luther Agwai said.
On the possibility the force would not deploy, he said: "As the man on the receiving end I'm disturbed and concerned." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
U.N. peacekeeping chief Jean-Marie Guehenno said last week Khartoum had demanded such stringent restrictions on the 26,000-strong force that its deployment was in doubt.
"If people are disappointed this could be expressed in many ways and one of them could be in a violent way and then ... we will go back to square one," force commander Martin Luther Agwai said.
On the possibility the force would not deploy, he said: "As the man on the receiving end I'm disturbed and concerned." Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Mia Farrow accuses world of closing its eyes to Darfur
Berlin - The world is averting its eyes from the human tragedy in Sudan's Darfur Province, Mia Farrow said during a visit to Berlin Thursday in her role as ambassador for the UN children's organization UNICEF.
'What shocks me most about the situation in Sudan is not the many deaths but that so few people are concerned about them,' said the US actress, who has visited the region seven times.
Farrow called for pressure to be exerted on China as the most important trade partner of the region, saying that while there was widespread condemnation of China, there was no action.
Farrow and publicist Michel Friedman lit a large torch recalling the Olympic flame in front of Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, in reference to the 2008 Olympic Games being held in Beijing in the summer. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
'What shocks me most about the situation in Sudan is not the many deaths but that so few people are concerned about them,' said the US actress, who has visited the region seven times.
Farrow called for pressure to be exerted on China as the most important trade partner of the region, saying that while there was widespread condemnation of China, there was no action.
Farrow and publicist Michel Friedman lit a large torch recalling the Olympic flame in front of Berlin's Holocaust Memorial, in reference to the 2008 Olympic Games being held in Beijing in the summer. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Olympic sponsors ignore Darfur protest
(Fortune) -- Good citizens speak out when they see injustice. Can good corporate citizens be expected to do the same?
That's the uncomfortable question being raised by a human rights group called Dream for Darfur, which is asking sponsors of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to voice their opposition to China's support for the government of Sudan. The Sudanese government has been accused of waging a genocide against its own citizens in Darfur.
This week Dream for Darfur issued a length report as part of its challenge to 19 Olympic sponsors, including such well-known global brands as Coca-Cola, General Electric, Kodak, Microsoft and Visa, to press China, Sudan's most important global ally, to use its influence to end the Darfur crisis. China buys oil from the Sudanese government, and sells weapons to the Khartoum regime. Since 2003, about 200,000 people have died and an estimated 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur.
In a the report, Dream for Darfur asks: "Why are the major corporations sponsoring the Olympics - some of the most recognizable brands in the world - refusing to speak out against the world's most wrenching humanitarian crisis?" "Sponsors are supporting China's efforts to position itself in glowing terms on the world stage," said Jill Savitt, director of Dream for Darfur. "But they are silent about China's role in the Darfur genocide, and in their silence, they are complicit." Read more >>>>>
That's the uncomfortable question being raised by a human rights group called Dream for Darfur, which is asking sponsors of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing to voice their opposition to China's support for the government of Sudan. The Sudanese government has been accused of waging a genocide against its own citizens in Darfur.
This week Dream for Darfur issued a length report as part of its challenge to 19 Olympic sponsors, including such well-known global brands as Coca-Cola, General Electric, Kodak, Microsoft and Visa, to press China, Sudan's most important global ally, to use its influence to end the Darfur crisis. China buys oil from the Sudanese government, and sells weapons to the Khartoum regime. Since 2003, about 200,000 people have died and an estimated 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes in Darfur.
In a the report, Dream for Darfur asks: "Why are the major corporations sponsoring the Olympics - some of the most recognizable brands in the world - refusing to speak out against the world's most wrenching humanitarian crisis?" "Sponsors are supporting China's efforts to position itself in glowing terms on the world stage," said Jill Savitt, director of Dream for Darfur. "But they are silent about China's role in the Darfur genocide, and in their silence, they are complicit." Read more >>>>>
Rights Group Criticizes China for Failure to Act on Darfur
Human rights advocates say China is not doing enough to address the crisis in Sudan's troubled region of Darfur. One group is calling on corporate sponsors of the 2008 Olympic Games to push China to do more. But as VOA's Alex Villarreal reports from Washington, their responses have also drawn criticism.
U.S.-based advocacy group Dream for Darfur says corporate sponsors of the Olympics in Beijing have failed to do their part to pressure China to ensure peace in Darfur.
The group issued a report card Monday grading the companies' responses to the Darfur crisis after asking them to take a stand. Sixteen out of 19 sponsors failed or got Ds, including Microsoft, Panasonic and Visa. General Electric earned the highest grade, a C-plus.Read more >>>>>>>>>>
U.S.-based advocacy group Dream for Darfur says corporate sponsors of the Olympics in Beijing have failed to do their part to pressure China to ensure peace in Darfur.
The group issued a report card Monday grading the companies' responses to the Darfur crisis after asking them to take a stand. Sixteen out of 19 sponsors failed or got Ds, including Microsoft, Panasonic and Visa. General Electric earned the highest grade, a C-plus.Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Sudan: Govt Obstacles Threaten Darfur Peacekeeping Mission, Say UN Officials
The full and rapid deployment of the hybrid United Nations-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is in jeopardy because of a series of objections and obstacles raised by the Sudanese Government and the lack of offers for crucial force units, senior United Nations officials warned the Security Council today.
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told an open debate on the war-torn region of western Sudan that with five weeks remaining before UNAMID is due to accept the transfer of authority from the existing AU peace operation, critical gaps in mobility capabilities remain.
The mission is short of one heavy and one medium transport unit, three military utility aviation units and one light helicopter unit, while an earlier pledge for one reconnaissance company has been withdrawn, he said.
"If no appropriate offers for these missing units are identified by early 2008, it may become necessary to revert to the Council to consider options to mitigate the lack of air mobility. This may require an increase in troops. But more troops will not 'replace' military aviation and they would also require more logistic support, more land, more water, and would likely not appear in Darfur until late 2008. Another sub-optimal last-resort measure would be to 'borrow' these capabilities from other missions." Read more >>> >>> >>>
Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guéhenno told an open debate on the war-torn region of western Sudan that with five weeks remaining before UNAMID is due to accept the transfer of authority from the existing AU peace operation, critical gaps in mobility capabilities remain.
The mission is short of one heavy and one medium transport unit, three military utility aviation units and one light helicopter unit, while an earlier pledge for one reconnaissance company has been withdrawn, he said.
"If no appropriate offers for these missing units are identified by early 2008, it may become necessary to revert to the Council to consider options to mitigate the lack of air mobility. This may require an increase in troops. But more troops will not 'replace' military aviation and they would also require more logistic support, more land, more water, and would likely not appear in Darfur until late 2008. Another sub-optimal last-resort measure would be to 'borrow' these capabilities from other missions." Read more >>> >>> >>>
Monday, November 26, 2007
Darfur conflict 'worsens'
Nairobi - The conflict in Darfur has worsened "radically" for the past year, with rebel groups fracturing, new dimensions to the crisis evolving and a fledgling peace deal far from taking shape, an international think-tank has warned.
In a new report entitled Darfur's New Security Reality, the International Crisis Group (ICG) detailed the grim situation in Sudan's embattled western province and the international community's failure to deal with it.
The report said: "Violence is again increasing, access for humanitarian agencies is decreasing, international peacekeeping is not yet effective and a political settlement remains far off."
ICG lambasted newly-restarted peace talks in Libya as being exclusive and not addressing the root causes of the conflict. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In a new report entitled Darfur's New Security Reality, the International Crisis Group (ICG) detailed the grim situation in Sudan's embattled western province and the international community's failure to deal with it.
The report said: "Violence is again increasing, access for humanitarian agencies is decreasing, international peacekeeping is not yet effective and a political settlement remains far off."
ICG lambasted newly-restarted peace talks in Libya as being exclusive and not addressing the root causes of the conflict. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Darfur Group Says Olympic Sponsors Must Fight Violence in Sudan
ATR) A report card from the non-profit group Dream for Darfur gives failing grades to sponsors of the Beijing Olympics for not pressuring China and its ally Sudan to end the genocide in Darfur. But sponsors and the IOC say there may be more effective approaches to solving this crisis than the Olympics can offer.
New York-based Dream for Darfur gives the 12 IOC worldwide sponsors, plus seven other high-visibility Beijing sponsors and suppliers, bad marks on pushing Beijing to alleviate suffering in Darfur.
"The multinational companies that underwrite and help stage the Olympic Games have vast resources, and are in a position to speak up about the tarnishing of the Olympics by China’s ongoing support of Khartoum’s genocidal campaign," reads the introduction to And Now…Not a Word from Our Sponsors. Read more >>>>>>
New York-based Dream for Darfur gives the 12 IOC worldwide sponsors, plus seven other high-visibility Beijing sponsors and suppliers, bad marks on pushing Beijing to alleviate suffering in Darfur.
"The multinational companies that underwrite and help stage the Olympic Games have vast resources, and are in a position to speak up about the tarnishing of the Olympics by China’s ongoing support of Khartoum’s genocidal campaign," reads the introduction to And Now…Not a Word from Our Sponsors. Read more >>>>>>
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Darfur rebels tell China peacekeepers to go home
KHARTOUM (AFP) — Darfur rebels on Sunday said freshly deployed Chinese peacekeepers were not welcome and as Khartoum's "allies" in Sudan's war-ravaged western region threatened they were not immune from attack.
China, the biggest buyer of Sudan's oil and which sells the country weapons, has been accused of shielding Khartoum -- blamed for fanning the violence in Darfur -- from international sanctions.
"Our position is clear, the Chinese are not here for peace and they must leave immediately," Justice and Equality Movement commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Asher told AFP by telephone one day after Chinese engineers arrived in Darfur.
"Otherwise, we will consider the Chinese soldiers as part of the government forces and we will act accordingly," said Asher, who is also a brother of JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim.
The 135 Chinese arrived as part of the vanguard of a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission set to take over from poorly equipped African troops next year. A total of 315 Chinese engineers are expected in Darfur by next month.
"China is complicit in the genocide being carried out in Darfur and the Chinese are here to protect their oil interests in Kordofan," a region to the east of Darfur where JEM recently carried out an attack on an oil installation. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
China, the biggest buyer of Sudan's oil and which sells the country weapons, has been accused of shielding Khartoum -- blamed for fanning the violence in Darfur -- from international sanctions.
"Our position is clear, the Chinese are not here for peace and they must leave immediately," Justice and Equality Movement commander Abdel Aziz el-Nur Asher told AFP by telephone one day after Chinese engineers arrived in Darfur.
"Otherwise, we will consider the Chinese soldiers as part of the government forces and we will act accordingly," said Asher, who is also a brother of JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim.
The 135 Chinese arrived as part of the vanguard of a joint African Union-UN peacekeeping mission set to take over from poorly equipped African troops next year. A total of 315 Chinese engineers are expected in Darfur by next month.
"China is complicit in the genocide being carried out in Darfur and the Chinese are here to protect their oil interests in Kordofan," a region to the east of Darfur where JEM recently carried out an attack on an oil installation. Read more >>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Murder, arson and rape do not suffice as weapons in Sudan's campaign against the civilians of Darfur.
By Jim Hoagland
UNITED NATIONS ― Murder, arson and rape do not suffice as weapons in Sudan's campaign against the civilians of Darfur. Khartoum also plays the race card to block outsiders from coming to Darfur's rescue.
No, Sudan's rulers have no shame in pursuing what since 2004 the U.S. government has labeled and tolerated as ``genocide." And they now have few obstacles left to crushing resistance in the rebellious western province, where conflict and atrocity have left nearly half a million people dead and displaced 2 million more, according to the United Nations.
Give these all-too-human devils their due: By lying, stalling and relying on a warped sense of racial solidarity both with Arab countries and post-colonial African nations, the Sudanese have kept the initiative and kept the world off balance.
They have stymied the United Nations and the United States and are on the edge of winning in Darfur ― a reality that is rapidly sinking in here and in world capitals.
Washington's response to the spreading collapse of Darfur's last, best hope for significant international help is a long-delayed urgency that risks being too little, too late. President Bush and his senior foreign policy aides are finally doing things they should have done months ago.
U.S. efforts center on the 26,000-member U.N.-authorized peacekeeping force that is supposed to deploy into Darfur starting Jan. 1. It would replace a much smaller African Union contingent that has been unable to protect itself or civilians from government-backed tribal militias or the rebels in a conflict that turns on ethnicity, land resources and politics, with religious aspects thrown in. Read more >>>>>
UNITED NATIONS ― Murder, arson and rape do not suffice as weapons in Sudan's campaign against the civilians of Darfur. Khartoum also plays the race card to block outsiders from coming to Darfur's rescue.
No, Sudan's rulers have no shame in pursuing what since 2004 the U.S. government has labeled and tolerated as ``genocide." And they now have few obstacles left to crushing resistance in the rebellious western province, where conflict and atrocity have left nearly half a million people dead and displaced 2 million more, according to the United Nations.
Give these all-too-human devils their due: By lying, stalling and relying on a warped sense of racial solidarity both with Arab countries and post-colonial African nations, the Sudanese have kept the initiative and kept the world off balance.
They have stymied the United Nations and the United States and are on the edge of winning in Darfur ― a reality that is rapidly sinking in here and in world capitals.
Washington's response to the spreading collapse of Darfur's last, best hope for significant international help is a long-delayed urgency that risks being too little, too late. President Bush and his senior foreign policy aides are finally doing things they should have done months ago.
U.S. efforts center on the 26,000-member U.N.-authorized peacekeeping force that is supposed to deploy into Darfur starting Jan. 1. It would replace a much smaller African Union contingent that has been unable to protect itself or civilians from government-backed tribal militias or the rebels in a conflict that turns on ethnicity, land resources and politics, with religious aspects thrown in. Read more >>>>>
People must know what's happening in Darfur, Sudan
I am a freshman at Leigh High School in San Jose. I am currently enrolled in World Geography and Cultures. After learning about the unfortunate things that are currently happening in Darfur, Sudan, I felt the need to contact you. The lives of millions hang in the balance. Many people are unaware of the extent of this devastating massacre.
Did you know that there are 2.5 million people in the refugee camps or towns in Darfur, knowing that the Sudanese militia (Janjaweed) will find and kill them? The Janjaweed will torture and kill the men and children. The wives will be left for the militia to rape and then kill them straight after. After all of the people in the camp or town are dead, they will then loot and burn it down to the ground, making sure that nobody can ever go back there. Read more >>>>>>>
Did you know that there are 2.5 million people in the refugee camps or towns in Darfur, knowing that the Sudanese militia (Janjaweed) will find and kill them? The Janjaweed will torture and kill the men and children. The wives will be left for the militia to rape and then kill them straight after. After all of the people in the camp or town are dead, they will then loot and burn it down to the ground, making sure that nobody can ever go back there. Read more >>>>>>>
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Global indifference to Darfur tragedy comes to fore in 'On Our Watch'
Actress Mia Farrow has embraced her most important role -- Darfur activist -- with fervor.
In calling attention to "the world's most shameful crisis," she has visited the region, written op-ed pieces and given thousands of interviews. "It has eclipsed everything else in my life," she says.
Her story enriches On Our Watch, a compact, straightforward history of atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Frontline documentary premieres at 10 p.m. Tuesday on WMFE-Channel 24.
On Our Watch is basically the story of United Nations inaction and ineptitude on Darfur. The program charts the world's indifference to a catastrophe that has killed at least 200,000 and displaced 2.5 million in the past four years.
The documentary presents a few victims of the janjaweed, militias of nomadic Arabs. Sudan unleashed these barbaric groups to put down rebels in Darfur and created the 21st century's first genocide. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In calling attention to "the world's most shameful crisis," she has visited the region, written op-ed pieces and given thousands of interviews. "It has eclipsed everything else in my life," she says.
Her story enriches On Our Watch, a compact, straightforward history of atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan. The Frontline documentary premieres at 10 p.m. Tuesday on WMFE-Channel 24.
On Our Watch is basically the story of United Nations inaction and ineptitude on Darfur. The program charts the world's indifference to a catastrophe that has killed at least 200,000 and displaced 2.5 million in the past four years.
The documentary presents a few victims of the janjaweed, militias of nomadic Arabs. Sudan unleashed these barbaric groups to put down rebels in Darfur and created the 21st century's first genocide. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
US Senator Calls for International Action in Darfur
By Alex Villarreal
U.S. veteran Senator Edward Kennedy is calling on his colleagues in Congress and the international community to do more for Sudan's troubled region of Darfur. He drew attention to the crisis while presenting an award honoring his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, to a prominent doctor and human rights advocate in Darfur. VOA's Alex Villarreal reports from Capitol Hill.
Speaking in Washington Friday, Senator Edward Kennedy said the United States has a moral obligation to address the crisis in Darfur.
His appeal came during a ceremony presenting the 2007 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, Medical Treatment Director of the Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Sudan, a leading Sudanese human rights group.
Kennedy praised Dr. Ahmed for his work and said the world can learn from his example. "Through his own heroic acts of humanity, Dr. Mohammed has singlehandedly created thousands of ripples of hope for the innocent victims of the horrific genocide in Darfur. His work is a call to our own collective conscience to do more to reach an enduring peace for Darfur that is true to the fundamental principles of human rights," the senator said. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
U.S. veteran Senator Edward Kennedy is calling on his colleagues in Congress and the international community to do more for Sudan's troubled region of Darfur. He drew attention to the crisis while presenting an award honoring his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, to a prominent doctor and human rights advocate in Darfur. VOA's Alex Villarreal reports from Capitol Hill.
Speaking in Washington Friday, Senator Edward Kennedy said the United States has a moral obligation to address the crisis in Darfur.
His appeal came during a ceremony presenting the 2007 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award to Dr. Mohammed Ahmed Abdallah, Medical Treatment Director of the Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture in Sudan, a leading Sudanese human rights group.
Kennedy praised Dr. Ahmed for his work and said the world can learn from his example. "Through his own heroic acts of humanity, Dr. Mohammed has singlehandedly created thousands of ripples of hope for the innocent victims of the horrific genocide in Darfur. His work is a call to our own collective conscience to do more to reach an enduring peace for Darfur that is true to the fundamental principles of human rights," the senator said. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
When will Darfur mediator learn?
by Suliman A Giddo
There are so many lessons that our mediators should have learned by now. After the Abuja Peace Agreement, which restrained peace process, we expected that further consultations and a refinement to the agreement would follow to resolve the conflict in Darfur.
To begin, the environment in which the Abuja negotiations took place was one in which the mediators were peremptory and over-controlled the rebel delegations; this exerted tremendous, and unrealistic, pressure on the movement leaders. If it were otherwise, what did the Chair of the African Union mean by his statement to the Sudanese Government’s delegation that “anything acceptable to the Sudanese parties is acceptable to us.”? (Alex de Waal, 2007, War in Darfur, and the search for peace-, page 278) The Chairman completely ignored the presence of the other negotiating parties; that statement alone was enough to prove to the rebels that their perception of a profound bias on the part of the mediation team was true. Read more >>>>
There are so many lessons that our mediators should have learned by now. After the Abuja Peace Agreement, which restrained peace process, we expected that further consultations and a refinement to the agreement would follow to resolve the conflict in Darfur.
To begin, the environment in which the Abuja negotiations took place was one in which the mediators were peremptory and over-controlled the rebel delegations; this exerted tremendous, and unrealistic, pressure on the movement leaders. If it were otherwise, what did the Chair of the African Union mean by his statement to the Sudanese Government’s delegation that “anything acceptable to the Sudanese parties is acceptable to us.”? (Alex de Waal, 2007, War in Darfur, and the search for peace-, page 278) The Chairman completely ignored the presence of the other negotiating parties; that statement alone was enough to prove to the rebels that their perception of a profound bias on the part of the mediation team was true. Read more >>>>
Monday, November 12, 2007
Dueling Over Darfur: PRENDERGAST vs ALEX DE WAAL
Have advocacy movements like the Save Darfur Coalition helped or hindered the search for a political solution in Sudan's troubled province? Should the killings there really be classified as genocide, or has the meaning of the term been devalued by activists trying to draw public attention to the conflict? After NEWSWEEK raised some of these questions in a report called "Packaging a Tragedy," two leading Darfur experts, Alex de Waal and John Prendergast, discussed these issues in an online forum for NEWSWEEK.
De Waal is program director at the Social Science Research Council, a fellow of the Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University, and a director of Justice Africa. He has written and edited several books on Darfur, including "Famine That Kills: Darfur, Sudan, 1984-1985" and, most recently, " War in Darfur and the Search for Peace . " Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
De Waal is program director at the Social Science Research Council, a fellow of the Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University, and a director of Justice Africa. He has written and edited several books on Darfur, including "Famine That Kills: Darfur, Sudan, 1984-1985" and, most recently, " War in Darfur and the Search for Peace . " Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Sunday, November 04, 2007
How does one make a dent in Darfur killings?
A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths are statistical, disastrous and calamitous. The number of endangered lives in Darfur continues to increase.
People are more likely to assist a little girl or boy found in the street in distress than they are to help a distant population that is suffering and being killed as is happening in Darfur.
We need to make a constant effort to pause and truly consider what really lies behind the numbers rather than to rely on intuitive responses. The situation is 6,000 times the severity and magnitude of Virginia Tech. Read more >>>>>>>
People are more likely to assist a little girl or boy found in the street in distress than they are to help a distant population that is suffering and being killed as is happening in Darfur.
We need to make a constant effort to pause and truly consider what really lies behind the numbers rather than to rely on intuitive responses. The situation is 6,000 times the severity and magnitude of Virginia Tech. Read more >>>>>>>
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Darfuris tell of troubles in war-torn homeland
Darfuris tell of troubles in war-torn homelandSCOTT FONTAINE; The News Tribune Published: November 3rd, 2007 01:00 AM
Ibrahim Mousa Adam starts his day like most people. He says he wakes up, thinks about what he has planned and mentally schedules his activities.
It’s not that simple for his countrymen.
“If you are in Darfur, you think differently,” he said. “If you are a woman, you think, could I be raped today? Could my sister? Could my 12-year-old daughter?
“If you are a man, you think, could I be killed today? Could my brother? Could my father?”
Adam and Daoud Hari have an unenviable task: The two Darfuris are on a speaking tour, asking anyone who will listen to support their people’s fight against the conflict in the western region of Sudan. The two attracted a crowd of about 250 people at Kilworth Chapel at the University of Puget Sound on Friday. The presentation started with a video about the history of the violence and interviews with those affected.
The conflict in Darfur has claimed up to 450,000 lives and displaced about 2.5 million people since early 2003, according to United Nations estimates. The Sudanese government has armed and trained brutal militias called Janjaweed, who have carried out most of the violence in what the United States calls genocide. Read more >>>>>>>
Ibrahim Mousa Adam starts his day like most people. He says he wakes up, thinks about what he has planned and mentally schedules his activities.
It’s not that simple for his countrymen.
“If you are in Darfur, you think differently,” he said. “If you are a woman, you think, could I be raped today? Could my sister? Could my 12-year-old daughter?
“If you are a man, you think, could I be killed today? Could my brother? Could my father?”
Adam and Daoud Hari have an unenviable task: The two Darfuris are on a speaking tour, asking anyone who will listen to support their people’s fight against the conflict in the western region of Sudan. The two attracted a crowd of about 250 people at Kilworth Chapel at the University of Puget Sound on Friday. The presentation started with a video about the history of the violence and interviews with those affected.
The conflict in Darfur has claimed up to 450,000 lives and displaced about 2.5 million people since early 2003, according to United Nations estimates. The Sudanese government has armed and trained brutal militias called Janjaweed, who have carried out most of the violence in what the United States calls genocide. Read more >>>>>>>
The international organization Human Rights Watch is calling on the Sudanese government to put an end to forcibly relocating people displaced by conflict in the Western region of Darfur. As Derek Kilner reports from VOA's East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, the United Nations has accused Sudanese police of forcibly moving displaced people from a camp in South Darfur.
According to U.N. officials, Sudanese police on Sunday relocated a number of displaced people from the Otash refugee camp near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. The U.N.'s top humanitarian official, John Holmes, said that the security forces were using sticks and rubber hoses to round up camp residents.
The Don Quixote of Darfur
In the eyes of Luis Moreno Ocampo, the war in Darfur will end thousands of miles from the killing fields, in a narrow, wood-paneled room carved out of an old parking garage in the Hague. It is here that Moreno-Ocampo, the Argentine prosecutor of the five-year-old International Criminal Court (ICC), intends to bring to justice the perpetrators of Sudan's genocide. Moreno-Ocampo and his team of lawyers will occupy one side of the courtroom, presenting their evidence to a three-judge panel that will decide the case. On the other side will sit the defendant, Ahmad Muhammed Harun, Sudan's former Interior Minister, whom Moreno-Ocampo has charged with orchestrating the slaughter in Darfur. "The prosecution of Harun will break the system that is responsible for these crimes. It will force a change in behavior," says Moreno-Ocampo. As he imagines the possibilities, a smile crosses his face. "I would love to be in court with Harun. I have a great case."
But there are a few problems. Nearly six months since Moreno-Ocampo gave the U.N. Security Council a warrant for the arrest of Harun and Ali Kushayb, a leader of the government-backed janjaweed militia, neither man has been delivered to the Hague. Read more >>>>
But there are a few problems. Nearly six months since Moreno-Ocampo gave the U.N. Security Council a warrant for the arrest of Harun and Ali Kushayb, a leader of the government-backed janjaweed militia, neither man has been delivered to the Hague. Read more >>>>
Doomed to failure
With terrible predictability, peace talks in Sirte, Libya between the Khartoum regime and Darfur's various rebel groups broke off yesterday, having accomplished nothing other than to reveal the poverty of international efforts in halting the ongoing genocide in Sudan's western region. Nor was progress made in fashioning a ceasefire, the essential context for meaningful negotiations. I
nstead, Khartoum - which had announced with much fanfare a unilateral ceasefire when talks opened on October 27 - launched the very next day what may be a final solution to its Darfur problem: the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and journalists in the region are all reporting Khartoum's assaults on camps for displaced persons, including violent relocation of civilians to insecure areas. Read more >>>>>
nstead, Khartoum - which had announced with much fanfare a unilateral ceasefire when talks opened on October 27 - launched the very next day what may be a final solution to its Darfur problem: the United Nations, Human Rights Watch and journalists in the region are all reporting Khartoum's assaults on camps for displaced persons, including violent relocation of civilians to insecure areas. Read more >>>>>
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)