16 Members of the Zaghawa Tribe Summarily Executed and Buried in Mass Graves in North Darfur

(9 June 2011) The African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS) today expressed grave concerns about the reported summary execution of 16 members of the Zaghawa ethnic group and the subsequent attack on a community leader attempting to investigate the incident.

On 1 June at 8 AM, a militia comprised of roughly 100 people on horses, camels, and in three landcruisers invaded the ethnically Zaghawa villages of Laminah, Terling and Hella Sheikh Khatir, Abu Zeriga area, near Shangil Tobaya in North Darfur. The militia, led by Ibrahim Abu Dur, is allegedly one of many created by the North Darfur government in December 2010 to attack ethnic Zaghawas in Khor Abeche and Shangil Tobaya following the dissolution of the Darfur Peace Agreement.

Militia members engaged in widespread looting of property and livestock, including seven Murah, a local term for herds of 100 head of livestock. Twenty one residents managed to trap the militia as they made their way out of Laminah and Terling and recover two of the stolen Murah. Eyewitnesses reported that this group of residents attempting to secure their property and livelihood was apprehended by personnel in Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) uniforms and militia members supported by military aircraft as they returned to Laminah and Terling. Nineteen members of the group were arrested and taken to Um Kaja village in Eastern Shangil Tobaya, roughly 2 kilometres away.

Sixteen members of the group were summarily executed by firing squad, including Omar al Abkar, 42, the Principal of Abzoraga Primary School. Those killed include:

•Mohamed Wadi Ibrahim Ganee, 42, Zaghawa, farmer
•Adam Wad Ibrahim Ganee, 38, Zaghawa, farmer
•Abdelrahman Dosa Sharif Dhani, 22, Zaghawa, farmer
•Khatal Khater Ghani, 45, Zaghawa
•AsehifAlshikh Tobaik, 71, Zaghawa, a Community Leader of Al Omana village
•Omar al Abkar, 24, Zaghawa, the principal of Abzoraga Primary School
•Guja Ahmed Nour, 42, Zaghawa, farmer
•Nouredain Seneen Idriss, 36, Zaghawa, farmer
•Eltayab Hassan Ibrah, 54, Zaghawa, farmer
•Nouradein Jalab, Zaghawa, farmer
•Khalid Musa Hamsa, Zaghawa, farmer
•Ibrahim Sharief Iman, Zaghawa, farmer


Three others, Adam Ahmed Arabi, Jamal, and Mubarak Yousif Idriss, managed to elude execution. They are currently being held at Shangil Tobaya military camp. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Artist Nadia Plesner wins case brought By Louis Vuitton

What a year for artists and copyright laws: Jeff Koons, Richard Prince, and now Nadia Plesner. Who? Nadia Plesner, the Danish artist who was taken to court for copyright infringement by luxury, artist-employing brand Louis Vuitton for the image of an emaciated child holding one of their distinctive patterned handbags in her painting "Darfurnica" (pictured).

On Wednesday Eyeteeth reported that a European court (contradicting their recent anti-art stance) had ruled in favor of Plesner in a lawsuit brought by the luxury brand over her use of their Audra handbag in the "Guernica"-referencing, Darfur awareness-raising painting. Louis Vuitton sought a penalty of €5,000 for every day that the image appeared on Plesner's website, which, as of right now, amounted to €485,000 (they began tallying her fee in late January). The brand also wanted the court to prevent Plesner from ever displaying the work online, or in the European Union (as well as another of her works that was the subject of a 2008 case).

Instead, the court in The Hague sided with Plesner stating, via Google Translate (of this article), that: Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

ARE YOUR INVESTMENTS

■Many financial institutions invest in PetroChina, a company which, through its parent, CNPC, provides Sudan's government with revenue that has been helping fund the Darfur genocide for years. The conflict has claimed 300,000 lives and left millions homeless. With a billion-dollar stake in PetroChina as of January 2011, JPMorgan Chase is one of its largest investors. On May 17, JPMorgan Chase shareholders have the opportunity to vote for genocide-free investing. How would you vote?
■Click here or on the image on the left to see the full-page ad in The Wall Street Journal from May 11, 2011, or click here for the pdf version.

■The full text of the shareholder proposal, "Proposal 10 - Genocide-free investing" as listed in the proxy statement, is included at the bottom of this page. The resolved clause of the proposal states:

"Shareholders request that the Board institute transparent procedures to prevent holding investments in companies that, in management's judgment, substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity, the most egregious violations of human rights. Management should encourage JPMorgan funds with separate boards to institute similar procedures."

Group of Darfuri journalists complains about "irresponsible management style" at Netherlands-based Radio Dabanga.

Association of Darfur Reporters & Journalists, 3 May 2011, via Ground Report: "Radio Dabanga started broadcasting into Darfur from Hilversum [the Netherlands] since December 2008 primarily because of [Sudanese] government censorship and crackdown on independent media. Because of, among others, Radio Dabanga, the Darfuri people realized that the international community has not forgotten them and their suffering. Thanks to the commitment of Dutch, other European and international friends, the voiceless people of Darfur started to have a voice in Radio Dabanga. However, this historical initiative is starting to collapse due to irresponsible management style of Radio Dabanga that continues to exclude the Darfuri journalists from every policy of Radio Dabanga. This irresponsible management style has not only damaged the effectiveness of Radio Dabanga but it has also endangered the lives of Darfuri journalists in The Sudan. Radio Dabanga management opened a studio in Khartoum. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The Bloody Sideshow in Sudan

By: Rebecca Tinsley.

As another wave of ethnic cleansing, rape and killing sweeps Darfur, those following the dramatic events in the Middle East and North Africa should reflect on the fate of six million civilians trapped in Sudan's bloody sideshow.

This might sound familiar: eight years ago, on April 25th 2003, a group of rebels rose up against the corrupt and brutal Arab regime that had oppressed and impoverished them for decades.

The regime in question was Sudan's National Islamic Front (NIF). The rebels attacked a military airfield at El Fasher in Darfur, humiliating the NIF which reacted by systematically slaughtering defenseless civilians, village by village.

The United Nations estimates 300,000 people died as a direct consequence of this act of defiance. According to Human Rights Watch, the NIF government, aided by their proxies, the Janjaweed militia, destroyed ninety per cent of non-Arab villages in Darfur.

However, there was no concerted international response; no jets were dispatched to bomb government tanks and protect civilians. Instead, survivors fled from their ruined homes, salvaging what they could carry, trying to reach refugee camps, where they remain to this day. The UN believes there are still two and a half million displaced Darfuris. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfuri Journalists en Organisations Furious on Radio Dabanga Leadership

Press Release: May 2nd, 2011

Darfuri Journalists en Organisations Furious on Radio Dabanga Leadership


Since the outbreak of the war in Darfur eight years ago, voices of the victims of the conflict remained absent and suppressed due to government restriction and censorship on press freedom in Sudan in general and Darfur in particular. The GOS has shut down the BBC World Service Trust radio project, suspended the FM broadcasts of Radio Monte Carlo in October2010 and refused to grant the United Nation and African Union Peace keeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) permission to set up a humanitarian FM radio station.
Radio Dabanga started broadcasting into Darfur from Hilversum since December 2008 primarily because of government censorship and crackdown on independent media. Because of, among others, Radio Dabanga, the Darfuri people realized that the international community has not forgotten them and their suffering. Thanks to the commitment of Dutch, other European and international friends, the voiceless people of Darfur started to have a voice in Radio Dabanga.
However, this historical initiative is starting to collapse due to irresponsible management style of Radio Dabanga that continues to exclude the Darfuri journalists from every policy of Radio Dabanga. This irresponsible management style has not only damaged the effectiveness of Radio Dabanga but it has also endangered the lives of Darfuri journalists in The Sudan. Radio Dabanga management opened a studio in Khartoum. That led to the arrest of Radio Dabanga workers and other activists on October 30th, 2010, other fled to Uganda and still other are missing within Sudan.
The Dafuri journalists in Hilversum who protested against this irresponsible action have been threatened by the management, some are dismissed and others are threatened with expulsion from The Netherlands.
On the eve of International Press Freedom we appeal to the Dutch people, the Dutch Government, the donors, the friends of the Darfuri people and the international community to rescue Radio Dabanga for the sake of the Darfuri people and their freedom.
After all it is the Dutch, European and other friends money and moral support that made Radio Dabanga a possibility. We, as Darfuri journalists and Darfur community in the Netherlands, are truly grateful for the hospitable and generous Dutch people and their government for their stand against injustice in the world; and especially in The Sudan. We are very grateful for their support for freedom of expression, freedom of press in Sudan and Darfur.
We are confident that they will continue to support us in our struggle for transparency, democracy and freedom of expression first and foremost within the entity Radio Dabanga and for our peoples in The Sudan.


Ends

Association of Darfur Reporters & Journalists
E-mail: radiodarfurreporters@gmail.com
Webpage: www.darfurreporters.org

Darfur Union
darfurunion@yahoo.com

Biden says 'great concern' over Darfur security

WASHINGTON — US Vice President Joe Biden has expressed "great concern" that security conditions in Darfur "continue to deteriorate" just months before Sudan is to split into separate states, the White House has said.

Biden's comments were made during a White House meeting with former South African president Thabo Mbeki, who is chairman of the African Union's special panel for Sudan.

"The vice president underscored the importance of ensuring the establishment of two viable states in Sudan after the south's independence in July and stressed that a resolution to the situation in Darfur must be part of that process," according to an official readout of the meeting.

Also attending the meeting were former Nigerian president Abdulsalami Abubakar, and former Burundi president Pierre Buyoya, both of whom are members of the Sudan panel.

On Darfur, Biden "expressed great concern that security conditions on the ground continue to deteriorate and are further aggravated by important restrictions on peacekeepers' and humanitarian workers' access to vulnerable populations," the statement said.Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

CRS resumes work in Darfur

Catholic Relief Services is resuming operations in Western Darfur more than two months after evacuating its staff. Earlier, the government had asked CRS to leave because it said it could not guarantee staffers’ security. CRS remained in Darfur in 2009 when the government expelled 13 other aid agencies.

If CRS had closed its program, more than 400,000 people would have been without food.
More than 70,000 people have fled fighting in Darfur, increasing the numbers of displaced.

The agency’s work in Darfur began after two insurgent groups largely aligned with African farming communities formed to fight what they claimed was the region’s historical marginalization from the Arab-dominated central government, as well as to lay their claim for a rightful share of the region’s mineral wealth.

The government responded by arming Arab nomads, ostensibly to counter the threat of the insurgency. Yet Arab militias — known as Janjaweed, or “devils on horseback” — also turned their weapons against innocent civilians.

School club raises funds to help sister school in Darfur

The members of Together Against Genocide, a student club at Palm Beach Central High School under the direction of social studies teacher Maureen Holtzer, have taken on a lofty project. Their goal is to raise $57,000 in two years to fund its sister school, the Aboutalib B School in Goz Amer refugee camp, in Darfur as part of the Dream Team Project.

The idea to sponsor a sister school was brought to Holtzer by TAG member Javier Suarez. The group, which Holtzer founded in 2008, has always raised money to help fund genocide awareness programs.

"This is just another way to help," she said. "It is about a school building another school."

The $57,000 will fund the building of the schools as well as fill it with all needed supplies, said TAG president Kim Lopater, a senior. As part of the sister school programs students from both schools will be able to interact with each other through photos, video clips and letters that will be posted on a special social network site. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sudan suspends Catholic aid group's work in Darfur

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan has suspended the work of the humanitarian agency Catholic Relief Services in West Darfur state, accusing it of distributing Bibles, a local aid official said on Saturday.
It was the latest in a series of restrictions on foreign humanitarian agencies in Darfur, where eight years of conflict have led to one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The United Nations estimates 300,000 people have been killed since the conflict began.

"The work of CRS has been suspended in West Darfur after there was an accusation that they had been distributing Bibles," Mohamed Awad, head of the government's Humanitarian Aid Commission in the state, told Reuters by telephone.

Darfur is almost entirely Muslim. Awad said Bibles had been found in refugee camps and schools and the governor had ordered an investigation which showed they had been handed out by CRS.

He said a final decision had yet to be made on CRS operations in the state. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfur citizens need protection

Last month, approximately 80 San Antonio area residents gathered to watch “The Last Survivor,” a documentary that presents the stories of four genocide survivors and their struggle to make sense of tragedy.

The showing of the film was timely, taking place on the very day that citizens of south Sudan began voting in a referendum to determine whether to become an independent country. This vote, in which an estimated 99 percent of the population voted for independence, is the culmination of a process put in place by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), which ended 22 years of civil war that resulted in 2 million deaths. The United States was instrumental in negotiating the CPA; it is important that the U.S. and its international partners remain engaged as post-referendum issues such as wealth sharing and border demarcation are worked out. There is significant risk of a return to violence if the international community looks away at this critical time.

In spite of all they have gone through, the people of South Sudan may be lucky compared to those in Darfur. The conflict in Darfur began during the time when significant attention was turned towards South Sudan as the CPA negotiations took place. Recently, as the world has turned to put the focus on the referendum in the south, violence in Darfur has once again increased. In December, over 32,000 Darfuri civilians were forced to flee from their homes because of aerial attacks by the government of Sudan and clashes between the government and rebel groups. In 2010, an estimated 300,000 civilians were displaced in Darfur. Over one-third of the population is living in internally displaced persons camps. Survivors face severe shortages of food and clean water.

The new U.S. Special Advisor to Darfur, Ambassador Dane Smith, must address these recent atrocities and make it clear to the Sudanese regime that violence targeting civilians will not be tolerated and will not lead to normalized relations with the United States. Ambassador Smith must push for unfettered access for peacekeepers and humanitarian workers throughout Darfur to support and protect the millions of civilians uprooted by the violence. Protection of civilians in Darfur is a key stepping stone toward eventual peace and new negotiations which can permanently end the crisis. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

New Satellite Images Reveal Continuing Human Rights Atrocities in Darfur, Amnesty International Says

WASHINGTON - February 2 - New satellite image analysis released today shows that while international attention is focused on the South Sudan referendum, grave violations of human rights continue in neighboring Darfur. Images secured by Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) and analyzed with partners from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) show irrefutably that civilians were targeted in the Negeha region of south Darfur with whole villages burned to the ground as recently as December. According to Amnesty International, in December alone, more than 20,000 people were displaced by government attacks, including in Dar Al Salam, Shangil Tobaya and Khor Abeche displacement camps in north and south Darfur.

Scott Edwards, AIUSA Advocacy Director for Africa, stated: "While the world has understandably turned a hopeful eye to the referendum process, the satellite evidence collected from the Negeha region of Darfur demonstrates what happens when vigilant attention wanes and support for accountability cedes to political or diplomatic expediency."

The imagery and analysis corroborate reports of attacks against civilians in Negeha in December 2010, just a few weeks before the referendum in South Sudan took place.

The release of the findings coincides with other recent high profile uses of satellite imagery in connection with the referendum, and builds on Amnesty International's three-year-old Eyes on Darfur (www.eyesondarfur.com) satellite project. It is a continuation of several years of work by Amnesty International to use geospatial tools for human rights monitoring.

"Unless the international community demands accountability for the atrocities and ensures that those responsible do not evade justice, these images will serve only as a reminder of the world's collective failure and responsibillity to the victims in Darfur," said Edwards.

Arrest warrants for President Omar al Bashir and several Sudanese officials and militia leaders have been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and in the case of the president, genocide. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfur: Sharp rise in violence, says Human Rights Watch

By James Copnall,

Campaign group Human Rights Watch says there has been a sharp increase in attacks on civilians in Darfur.

A civil war that began in 2003 in Sudan's Western region has flared up again in recent months.

But the conflict is receiving less attention, as Southern Sudan is about to split away following a separate civil war.

Human Rights Watch is accusing both government forces and rebels of attacks on civilians.

This week there has been fighting in Tabit, in North Darfur, which reportedly destroyed eight villages and caused thousands of people to flee the area.

Human Rights Watch says both government troops and rebel fighters targeted civilians according to their ethnic affiliations.

Both sides deny the claims.

Minimal attention

In the early days of the war in Darfur, it was largely a conflict involving rebels from three ethnic groups perceived as African, against government troops and allied Arab militias, known as the Janjaweed. Read more >>>>>>>

Darfur Moves Deeper into the Shadow of Indifference

Eric Reeves
With international attention focused so relentlessly on the referenda in South Sudan and Abyei—scheduled to be held less than four weeks from now (on January 9, 2011)—it was all too predictable that the continuing human catastrophe in Darfur would be rendered increasingly invisible. Indifference has begun to replace engagement with the Darfur crisis, as peace talks under African Union and Qatari auspices make no progress, reporting from the ground (including from human rights organizations) has become almost nonexistent, and aid organizations are unable to speak out about humanitarian conditions because of UN timidity. We are thus without any comprehensive chronicling of the massive human misery and genocidal destruction that has gone on for almost eight years.

But Darfur has not been entirely eclipsed, largely because the voices of Darfuri survivors continue to make their way to Sudanese news websites and human rights organizations, including the Sudan Tribune, Radio Dabanga, and the African Center for Justice and Peace Studies (ACPJS). None of these operates inside Sudan; the few workers for Radio Dabanga courageous enough to try to remain in Khartoum have now been arrested by security forces. But all these external sources have surprisingly good access to Darfuris on the ground by means of a range of electronic communication, and in my experience have proved consistently reliable (as opposed to statements by rebel groups, which often turn out to be exaggerations). Darfuris who have fled the region are also a source of news and intelligence, for those with contacts in this embattled diaspora. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Mariam Amu calls for peace, union and solidarity

Darfur: Mariam Amu

Mariam Amu singer

Khartoum Under Fire Over IDP Camp Conditions

The Sudanese government is hampering international efforts to address chronic levels of malnutrition in camps for displaced people in Darfur, according to the country head of the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF.

Nils Kastberg told the justice programme of Dutch-based broadcaster Radio Dabanga, an IWPR co-production, that Khartoum was blocking access to camps as well as delaying the release of vital nutrition surveys required by agencies such as UNICEF and the World Food Programme, WFP, to supply food aid to the region.

“We are extremely concerned,” Kastberg said. “When we conduct surveys to help us address issues, in collaboration with the ministry of health, very often other parts of the government such as the humanitarian affairs commission interferes and delays in the release of reports, making it difficult for us to respond in a timely way.”

Kastberg claimed that the country’s security services also hinder or delay access to the camps.

The grim situation has prompted further warnings from the International Criminal Court, ICC, of a continued campaign of genocide against internally displaced people, IDPs, in Darfur. Since 2003, the war-torn region has seen more than 2.5 million people pushed into these camps.

“The government is using hunger, rape and fear to attack these IDPs in their camps in Darfur,” Islam Shalabi, from the ICC’s office of the prosecutor, OTP, said. “This is another tool of war used by the government of Sudan.”

Prosecutors allege that Khartoum has conducted genocide by employing the national armed forces and allied Janjaweed militia to deliberately bring about the physical destruction of Darfur’s Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups.

The ICC has issued arrest war crimes warrants for three members of the Sudanese regime, President Omar al-Bashir, former humanitarian affairs minister Ahmed Haroun and Janjaweed militia leader Ali Abdul Rahman.. Bashir has been charged with genocide. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In Darfur, the worst may be yet to come

By By Morton Abramowitz

Reports are trickling in of increasing government-supported violence against Darfuris, deteriorating humanitarian conditions and widespread attacks on war-torn Darfur's beleaguered civil society. But the world has done little to acknowledge, much less address, this rapidly declining situation. Preparations for the North-South political referendum, which has potential for huge bloodletting, are sucking up all the oxygen. Even if Sudan peacefully splits, Darfur is headed for humanitarian and political purgatory.

Among some of the more dismaying events:

l In recent weeks Sudanese armed forces and elements of the Janjaweed armed militias have renewed attacks on villages throughout Darfur. Radio reports tell of targeted attacks on civilians in areas where Darfuri rebels claim they have no forces. Thousands of displaced people from razed villages are flooding westward into camps in Darfur, deepening problems for the displaced already there.

l Khartoum is likely to close a major camp for more than 80,000 displaced persons in South Darfur soon, reportedly to ensure better security for a nearby airport. Kalma is one of the oldest camps, and among its inhabitants are some of the most radicalized Darfuri rebels; in recent years, Kalma has been the site of intense clashes between rebel and government forces. There are not sufficient places to send the displaced or humanitarian aid to help them, so their future is uncertain. Efforts to move the displaced from Kalma could provoke still greater violence. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Darfur arms report that angered China goes to UN

The UN Security Council has received a controversial report on violations of the Darfur weapons embargo, after weeks of delays due to objections by China.

The confidential report, which was leaked, says Chinese bullets have been found in Sudan's conflict-torn region.

The document does not say Beijing is necessarily responsible.

But it suggests China is not doing enough to ensure arms it sells to Khartoum do not end up in Darfur. The Chinese have criticised the report.

They say it is vaguely worded and full of flaws.

Beijing had previously refused to allow the Security Council's Sudan Sanctions Committee to formally pass the report to council members.

Ceasefires and peace negotiations have failed to end the conflict in the volatile western Sudanese region. Read more >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>