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| August 29, 2009 |
More than half a million flee LRA attacks in Congo
In the past year, brutal attacks by the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) have driven at least 540,000 from their homes in eastern Congo, including125,000 people in the past three weeks alone.The LRA is responsible for mass murders, mutilations, rape and kidnappings of children. Terror and widespread destruction to homes, health centers and schools has caused acute food shortages, while insecurity and impassable roads challenge relief efforts. Some 8,000 Congolese have fled to neighboring South Sudan and to the Central African Republic, where there is no safety.
Aug 2009
By Andrew Heavens
KHARTOUM, Aug 28 (Reuters) - The departing commander of the U.N./African union peacekeeping force in Sudan's Darfur region this week said the area was no longer in a state of war. The comments sparked criticism from Darfur rebels, who warned they were planning new attacks, and from activists, who said Martin Luther Agwai had misrepresented the situation.
WHY IS DARFUR IMPORTANT?
U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes estimates up to 300,000 have died in the Darfur conflict and nearly 3 million people have been displaced. The conflict threatens peace between Sudan and neighboring Chad and has destabilised Sudan at a time when the fragile 2005 peace deal that ended its two-decade north-south civil war is under pressure again due to disputes over land and oil.
HAS THE DARFUR CONFLICT ENDED?
The levels of violence and attacks in Darfur have fallen since the mass killings of 2003 and 2004. But that does not mean the conflict is over.
Since January, the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) clashed with Sudan's army in and around the southern town of Muhajiriya in February; in settlements close to North Darfur's border with Chad in May; and most recently around Darfur's eastern boundary in early August. Sudan's government maintains its military presence; JEM has heavily armed forces, while other rebel groups, predominantly factions of the insurgent Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), continue to hold territory in Darfur.
The Darfur crisis still had a serious impact on people on the ground. The United Nations says 137,819 people were driven from their homes by fighting in Darfur in the first six months of this year, on top of the 2.7 million already in camps.
A level of inertia has set in on all sides of the conflict which has now dragged on without resolution for longer than World War Two.
WHAT COULD REIGNITE THE FIGHTING?
The worst threat could come from neighboring Chad. The Darfur conflict, originally launched by rebels pressing Khartoum for better representation and development, has become entangled in N'Djamena's convoluted political scene.
Most analysts accept that Sudan and Chad have been fighting a sporadic proxy war in recent years, with Chad's political elite supporting and funding their ethnic kinsmen among the leadership of JEM. Any overt war between Sudan and Chad would pour fresh cash and conflict over the border into Darfur.
There may well be a resurgence of violence after the rainy season, as both JEM and Khartoum try and maximise territorial gains ahead of currently stalled negotiations in Qatar.
WHAT COULD HAPPEN NEXT?
Khartoum will wring out every ounce of propaganda it can out of Agwai's statements. State media have already been misquoting him saying peace has returned to Darfur and Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has given the Nigerian general a medal. Rebels may try and prove him wrong by launching a token attack.
The real test of Agwai's line will come in the months ahead. If JEM and Sudan's government end up signing some sort of ceasefire and peace agreement in Doha, then the general will be remembered for his prescience. If not, his comments will go down as another of Darfur's false dawns.
| August 27, 2009 |
Sudan Crisis Still Urgent Priority for Obama
WASHINGTON, D.C. The Enough Project at the Center for American Progress released the following statements today concerning the remarks of departing UNAMID commander Martin Luther Agwai, who declared, "As of today, I would not say there is a war going on in Darfur." Enough Project Executive Director John Norris noted, "The outgoing commander is correct that there has been a lull in fighting in Darfur, but he entirely misses the big picture in doing so. What he and others conveniently fail to mention: the three million Darfuris stuck in refugee and displaced camps unable to return to their homes because of insecurity and violence. Instead of offering self-congratulatory remarks, the entire international community should be appalled that after more than six years they have failed to create the conditions on the ground that would allow displaced people to return home by disarming the janjaweed, holding perpetrators of earlier war crimes accountable, securing a viable peace deal, and putting a credible peacekeeping force in place."Enough Project Co-founder John Prendergast added, "The Obama administration is not leading a new peace process for Darfur; it is more energetically supporting a failed one. The United States must urgently lead a group of concerned nations,including Egypt and China, to offer sustained, high-level support for peace talks that focus on developing a draft peace proposal that addresses the core issues of the conflict and empowers the head mediator to reach a political settlement."
This week a coalition of anti-genocide advocacy organizations announced the launch of a bold new campaign called Sudan Now: Keep the Promise [www.SudanActionNow.com.] The campaign challenges President Barack Obama and top U.S. administration officials to live up to their campaign and political promises by taking strong and immediate action to help end the international crisis in Sudan and bring a lasting peace to the people of that country
But afterwards many are strong
at the broken places. "
Hemmingway
| August 26, 2009 |
Al Bashir is directly supporting Kony and the LRA
Further to my note of July 28, below, on the connection between the Lord's Resistance Army and Khartoum:The Lord's Resistance Army has wreaked havoc on the people in the Northeast and North Central areas of the DRC. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the LRA raids upon villages. Countless children have been abducted.
My sources on the ground told me that covert flights carrying weapons are landing in a 'secret' airstrip near the DRC border with Sudan. These flights come in from Khartoum and they are loaded with weapons. After unloading the arms, the LRA then fills the plane with children, abducted from villages they raided in Congo. On average about 200 children per flight are sent to northern Sudan where they are sold in the slave market for upwards of $800 each. Some of the planes are painted white-to resemble UN humanitarian flights.
Due to LRA activity; displacement and fear of death, captivity and mutilations, villagers are no longer able to farm and harvest their fields and gardens. This is now causing a serious financial hardship to the populations, as well as severe food shortages.
.This region is dominated by LRA and it is difficult to get solid facts so this information is valuable. I cannot reveal my sources but they are impeccable. It's crazy but even I know where Kony is. Even I now know the site of the 'secret' airstrip. It is in south Sudan. Even I know that the LRA have moved into the Ezo and Tamburi area of Sudan. Even I know that the LRA is supported by Omer al-Bashir and his cabal in Khartoum. Why is this allowed to continue?
The visit to Congo by Secretary of State Clinton was a milestone. Congolese women are victims of the worst atrocities imaginable. Clinton raised global awareness of their plight and lifted their hopes that a caring world will come to help them. I am still cheering the fact that she went there and said what she said!
But I wish she had mentioned the atrocities being committed in the Congo by the LRA
| August 25, 2009 |
http://www.sudanactionnow.com/
Dear Mr. President,
As a Senator, presidential candidate, and now as President of the United States, you have spoken eloquently and firmly about America's responsibility and your personal devotion to help bring peace and stability to the people of Sudan. You've said that "silence, acquiescence and paralysis in the face of genocide is wrong;" advocated for "strong consequences" and "real pressures [to] be placed on the Sudanese government;" proclaimed that "Sudan is a priority for this administration;" and declared that "If we act, the world will follow." All that conviction, Mr. President, demands strong action.
The U.S. must: Lead a more effective and urgent peace process for Darfur; build an international coalition for strict implementation of the North-South peace deal; and implement a policy that creates real consequences for those who continue to attack civilians, block life-saving aid, undermine peace and obstruct justice.
As you have said, "The worsening humanitarian crisis there [in Sudan] makes our task all the more urgent." Nearly 3 million Darfuris living in camps face the threat of rape and aid cut-offs, the country's president remains wanted for war crimes, and a return to full-scale North-South civil war looms. All that we are asking is that you live up to your words — all of them.
| August 24, 2009 |
New hope for women in the Congo
On August 10, Sec.of State Hillary Clinton announced that a new US program of $17 million would be funded to train doctors, supply rape survivors with cell phones and cameras to document violence, and train a female police force to protect women in the eastern Congo. The United States will be playing a larger role in Congo not only by providing aid but also by regulating U.S. mining companies. These mining resources fuel marauding rebel groups.In Goma, Clinton met with rape victims and visited the hospital where fistula surgeries are performed every day. She spoke out against violence against women and brought new hope to the women of the DRC.
| August 21, 2009 |
Sudan Tribune
21 August 2009.
(KHARTOUM) Sudanese authorities arrested some 27 residents of a North Darfur camp in a move to intimidate residents who voice their rejection to the peace process. A local leader of Abu Shouk camp, near the capital of North Darfur state El-Fasher, told Sudan Tribune that an Umda (local chief) Hussein Ishaq Sajo is among the arrested people.
The source, who requested anonymity, said the government attempts to frighten the IDPs and quell any opposition to government plans to involve the residents of Darfur camps in the Doha peace process.
Local leaders in Darfur camps support the SLM founder Abdel Wahid Al-Nur who is opposed to peace talks until the government disarms its militias and organizes the return of the displaced population to their homeland.
Reacting from Paris to the "arbitrary arrest", Al-Nur hailed the struggle of Darfur IDPs for their rights, adding this arrest once again confirms that Darfur people are not protected and their security remains an issue of concern. He also regretted the "political cover provided by the US President's envoy, Scott Gration, to the Sudanese government to carry out its genocidal schemes in Darfur."
He added that these civilians did not commit any crime to be arrested. He also slammed Gration for his support to government campaigns to involve the IDPs in the peace process.
Last month, during a series of meetings with Darfur displaced people, Gration encouraged them to prepare themselves to take part in a peace process hosted by the Qatari government.
| August 17, 2009 |
Link to Senator Bill Frist's video blog
As I indicated below on August 14th, former Senator Bill Frist announced that he would join the Darfur Fast for life to raise awareness about the ongoing suffering of the people of Darfur at the hands of the Sudanese government. In a video statement, Senator Frist assures Darfuri refugees that they are not forgotten, saying, 'We will not give up until there is peace for our Sudanese brothers and sisters and children."Here is Senator Frist's blog post and video on Enough Project's site
http://www.enoughproject.org/
| August 16, 2009 |
KENNETH H. BACON, 64: Pentagon Spokesman Became an Advocate for Refugees
Ken Bacon, WASHINGTON POST
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/15/AR2009081501336.html?hpid=moreheadlines
Mr. Bacon had spent 25 years at the Journal's Washington bureau before becoming the chief spokesman at the Pentagon in 1994, working under then-Defense Secretary William J. Perry. He held the position of assistant secretary of defense for public affairs and stayed in his post when William S. Cohen was named defense secretary in December 1996.
On a visit to the Balkans in 1999, Mr. Bacon saw firsthand the human toll of warfare, as hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes with no place to turn.
"I had never seen refugees before, never fully appreciated the sheer magnitude of one million people leaving their homes and needing food, shelter and medical care," he told the New York Times in 2001.
After leaving the Pentagon in 2001, Mr. Bacon became president of the D.C.-based advocacy group Refugees International and emerged as one of the strongest voices for the dispossessed around the globe. His organization, which accepts no funding from governments or the United Nations, estimates that there are 12 million international refugees.
Mr. Bacon was among the first to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, and he helped bring to light the problems facing millions of refugees from the war in Iraq. He was instrumental in finding sanctuary for displaced Iraqis in Middle East countries and lobbied for greater numbers of Iraqi refugees to be admitted to the United States. Between 2006 and 2008, the State Department increased funding for Iraqi refugees from $43 million to $398 million.
"The U.S. cannot afford to win the military battle and lose the humanitarian campaign," Bacon said.
After struggling with metastatic melanoma, Mr. Bacon wrote about his illness and his problems with insurance coverage in an essay published by The Post on July 21.
"My oncologist has spent hours filling out forms and arguing with the insurance company to arrange coverage for my chemotherapy," he wrote. "Now my wife and I are waging our own fight with the provider to arrange payment for my daily brain radiation, which has been rejected as 'not medically necessary' even though the cancer in my brain is growing rapidly."
"For me and other Americans
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Bacon, who was Pentagon spokesman during the Clinton administration, a "great humanitarian leader.- For millions of the world's most vulnerable people -- refugees and other victims of conflict -- Ken was an invaluable source of hope, inspiration and support.”
| August 15, 2009 |
Fatima is waiting for justice and a safe return home
A stain on our souls
Barack Obama 2006
Today 2.7 million survivors of the attacks upon their villages are living in camps,places more wretched than can be described or imagined.
| August 14, 2009 |
"Situation is an affront to our humanity: We will not give up until peace comes to Darfur"
Statement of DR. BILL FRIST;Nashville, TN - Today, former U.S. Senator Bill Frist, M.D. announced that he will fast by drinking only water on August 14, August 19 and August 21.
Senator Frist "I fast to send a message to fellow leaders, fasters and activists that we must definitively address the cause of the ongoing violence and persecution in Darfur. It is an affront to our compassion, our decency and our very humanity that the government of Sudan has put racism, political and financial interests ahead of its people. I want the refugees in Darfur to know they are not forgotten and that we will not give up until we see peace come to our Sudanese brothers, sisters and children."
On April 27, 2009, I began to fast of water only, in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrago continue for three weeks but after 12 days my blood sugar levels dropped to life threatening levels and as I had promised my children, I ended the fast.
But CEO of Virgin Airlines, Sir Richard Branson stepped up and fasted for three days. Since then a chain of concerned people in 33 countries around the world have kept the fast going for 110 days.
Senator Frist follows a line of other high profile fasters including Peter Gabriel, Carly Simon,and Jon Foreman, Congresspersons Donald Payne, Maxine Waters, John Lewis, Donna Edwards, Gwen Moore and others.
Bill Frist's blog posts will be available at www.fastdarfur.org. Senator Frist is a longtime advocate for globhealth care and economic development in low-income countries, medical mission work in Sudan. He introduced and broke a deadlocked congress to negotiate and finalize the Sudan Peace Act to be signed into law October 21, 2002. As Senate Majority Leader, he brought the bill to the floor that called the atrocities of Darfur "genocide," against the wishes of the administration.In addition, Senator Frist leads annual medical mission trips to Africa and is chair of Save the Children's "Survive to Five Campaign" as well as the Nashville-based Hope Through Healing Hands (www.hopethroughhealinghands.
| August 13, 2009 |
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/africa/july-dec09/savedarfurprez_08-13.html
| August 12, 2009 |
Eunice Shriver family statement
Is the intelligence info the US claims it is getting from Khartoum worth a hill of beans? Is it worth the suffering of millions ?
Conflicting Priorities Complicate US Policy Toward SudanBy Alan Boswell
U.S. policy in Sudan is conflicted between ending the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and rewarding Khartoum for quietly being a partner in the global battle against terrorism, says a senior analyst at a global intelligence company. The director of sub-Saharan Africa analysis at Stratfor, Mark Schroeder, says two policies in the Obama administration are at odds regarding U.S. policy towards Sudan. "The United States has had to balance two bigger areas of concern: one, the humanitarian conflict in Darfur, and two, Sudanese cooperation in the war on terror," Schroeder said.
The special U.S. envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, testified before a Congressional hearing two weeks ago the United States would have to soon "unwind" sanctions against Sudan to ensure south Sudan would be viable for possible independence in 2011.
The statement was condemned by a number of Darfur advocacy groups in the United States, including an umbrella group for the Darfur diaspora living in America. The Darfur Leaders Network called for the Obama administration to reject any softening of its stance towards the Sudan government, led by President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Gration has since clarified his testimony before Congress, saying in an interview late last week that his remarks had been misunderstood and that the United States is not considering lifting sanctions against Sudan.
According to Schroeder, a mobilized wing in Mr. Obama's Democratic Party considers the crisis in Darfur a key rallying point for justice against humanitarian abuses worldwide. But Schroeder says Khartoum has been a useful behind-the-scenes ally in the global struggle against terrorist groups.
"Now there are other elements within the United States government that have had to cooperate with the Sudanese government since 9/11 in terms of the war on terror," Schroeder said. "And the Sudanese government has been a more background partner to help the United States gather intelligence on international jihadists fighting in the Middle East, particularly in Iraq, and some of those jihadists that have come from Sudan and from the Horn of Africa region."
Sudan, which at one time served as the base for Osama bin Laden, remains on the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism.
Darfur rebel groups reject Khartoum control over the region. Many fear any easing of sanctions against Sudan would only empower the central government and strengthen Khartoum's position at the Darfur negotiation table.
| August 11, 2009 |
Congo
"Clinton's visit to Goma tomorrow provides the opportunity for the United States to deepen its overdue engagement in search of a solution for the world's deadliest war," Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast said yesterday."Tantalum helps cool cell phones and laptops. Tungsten enables the vibration function in a cell phone. Tin is a solder for most circuit boards in nearly every electronic product. And gold is used to encase wiring. Until the trade in minerals becomes legal and transparent, there will be no peace in Congo," Prendergast said.
Late last year I visited North Kivu. The level of violence against women is as horrific as I have ever seen. People are continually on the run from armed groups. Little girls, even babies are raped. I met women who had been gang raped, then raped with sharp objects, destroying their insides and if that were not enough, rifle butts were used to pound their legs into pulp. In the Goma hospital the surgeon performs as many fistula surgeries per day as possible. Awful, indescribable levels of violence being perpetrated by militia who are on a rampage, battling each other for control of the Congo's minerals.
Inform yourself:
http://www.enoughproject.org/
| August 10, 2009 |
Join the movement to end genocide and crimes against humanity:
www.enoughproject.org <http://www.enoughproject.org>
Join the Darfur Dream Team: Sister Schools Program, an initiative to connect American middle schools, high schools and universities with schools in the Darfuri refugee camps located in Chad:
www.darfurdreamteam.org <http://www.darfurdreamteam.org>
Judy Hellman, The Kansas City Star
On Thursday, I will join concerned people from across the country in a fast of solidarity with the people of Darfur. The Jewish Community Relations Bureau/American Jewish Committee invites the community to participate. Many thousands of people from 35 countries have participated in a rolling fast since Mia Farrow started the fast on April 27. The purpose of our fast is to call the world’s attention to the tragedy in Darfur and to demand the restoration of humanitarian aid to the people of Darfur and to the whole of Sudan. It has been more than three months since humanitarian groups were expelled from Sudan, and the situation remains unresolved. Across Sudan communities that relied on aid groups now suffer without adequate food, sanitation or medical supplies.
| August 7, 2009 |
EL GENEINA – Scores of families in West Darfur faced harassment when they returned to their home village to cultivate their fields, says the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Aid in Sudan. The UN-refugee agency, UNHCR will raise the issue to the Humanitarian Aid Commission of the Sudanese Government. Refugees have repeatedly told me that at the invitation of the Government of Sudan, Arab tribes from Sudan, Chad, Niger and Mali have come to Darfur and settled on their homelands. When the refugees try to return, the new occupants of the seized land threaten them and chase them away. Some camp chiefs have been detained over the last weeks after refusing to cooperate with Khartoum authorities. The displaced people feel increased pressure after US-envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, called upon the IDPs to prepare for return to their home areas. It was following his assertion in June that genocide in Darfur has ended. Several IDP-leaders organized protest demonstrations in the camps and have accused Gration of taking the side of the Sudanese government, which has long sought to dismantle the camps. In the Washington Post this week Gration denied that he is seeking to send Darfur’s displaced into harm’s way, saying he was simply ‘urging Darfurians and the United Nations to begin preparations for returns. “I am not pushing for anybody to go back right now, because I don’t think the situation is secure enough,” he said.
| August 4, 2009 |
Who is providing weapons and supplies to the LRA?
For more than two decades the fearsome Lord's Resistance Army and their leader Joseph Kony have moved through dense forests killing and mutilating civilians, and stealing children from remote villages in the Central African Republic, northern Congo and southern Sudan. They have kidnapped at least 20,000 children to use as sex slaves, to replenish their fighting force or to use as porters. As part of their initiation, the children are often required to kill their own parents. When they are too weak to walk, they are killed or left in the bush to die. Captives have had their noses, lips, and/or ears cut off.According to several reliable sources, the LRA receives supplies including sat phones, weapons and ammunition from northern Sudanese planes on 'secret' air strips ( one is in South Sudan, between Yambio and Maridi) or via air drops. One witness saw a plane which had been repainted white and it bore the letters 'UN'. Over the last 10 months or so the LRA have resurfaced in the NE part of DRC. No one knows the magnitude of the displacement but refugees are flowing into Sudan.
There is testimony from LRA abductees who managed to escape They saw air-drops taking place in a mountainous area called Karago, west of the town of Aba. The LRA are currently active in Ezo and Tamburi areas of Sudan.
Even I know this. So how can it be that Kony has not been apprehended.
Southern Sudanese officials have openly said that they believe that Khartoum continues to support the LRA.
| August 1, 2009 |
"How will WFP reach the hungry?" Pierre Carrasse, the U.N. agency's Aviation Branch Chief said. "How will doctors reach their patients?" UN flights are the lifeline to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in Chad, Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, West Africa and Afghanistan.
The joint UN-African Union Mission ( UNAMID), "has failed at many critical junctures due to lagging support from the international community and continued obstruction by the Sudanese government," a coalition of 22 non-governmental organizations said in a joint statement. "For instance, helicopters that are needed for transport remain undelivered, and the Sudanese government continues to impede the mission's effectiveness."
Janjaweed
Mr.josef Oumar returns to the ashes of tamandjour
burnt-village
Child-drawing-
burned-village-childs-shoe