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| November 29, 2009 |
So government officials, accompanied by army, police and janjaweed forces have begun to raid the camps. Those who resisted registration were killed. Reportedly UNAMID peacekeepers were also present but did nothing to stop the executions.
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http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?page=imprimable&id_article=33276
November 28, 2009 Seven Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were killed Friday in West Darfur following a wrangle between the residents and government troops which attempted to force them to take part in voter registration.
The IDPs ask the government to disarm militia and to bring to justice responsible of atrocities committed in the restive region as well as to conclude a peace deal with the rebel groups before organize elections in the country. However, the local authorities in Darfur launched a voter registration process in the three states of the province in a bid to count IDPs that the UN estimates their number to be 2.7 million.
The Sudanese regular forces and militia in West Darfur state on Friday evening at 05:00pm killed seven people in Deleij IDPs camp, some 280 klm from El Geneina the capital of West Darfur state. The incident took place after attempts by local officials to persuade the residents of the camp to register in electoral lists.
In a discussion with the officials who were accompanied by regular forces from the army and police besides Janjaweed militiamen the residents reiterated their rejection to the electoral operation.
"They had a hot discussion with the officials after declaring their support to (the rebel leader) Abdel Wahid Al-Nur, then the regular forces and the militia started shooting on the innocent civilians," said Hussein Abu Sharati the spokesperson of Darfur IDPs and refugees.
He further said the peacekeepers in the area were present but did not intervene to prevent the killing.
Speaking on Saturday afternoon, the IDPs spokesperson added the regular forces had been withdrawn after the killing.
Abu Sharati also stressed that what was happened in Deleij could be repeated in two other camps in North Darfur.
According the spokesperson, the Sudanese authorities already visited Al-Maliha and Kassap camps today and threatened to arrest tomorrow those who refuse the voter registration operation. "Today they already arrested seven local leaders (Mashaikh) from Kassap camp," he further said.
(ST)
| November 27, 2009 |
The airstrip in Birao is heavily guarded
Darfur, eastern Chad and the equally anarchic north of the Central African Republic are roamed by militia of all kinds, the abduction , beatings and murder of humanitarian aid workers is increasingly commonplace. The region is now so dangerous that six aid groups temporarily withdrew from eastern Chad, leaving 37,000 displaced people without assistance.
People cannot leave the camps because of the rampant violence and because so many of their homelands have been occupied by Arab tribes from elsewhere. If the surge in violent attacks upon aid workers and their compounds continue, more NGO’s will be forced to withdraw. More than 3 million people have been displaced in Darfur, Chad and CAR. Most are women and children. What will happen to them?
Link to full piece here.
www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article33259#comment_article
by Roger Winter- former USAID manager and former US State Department special envoy for Sudan assigned to follow Darfur dossier and implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
November 26, 2009 — Having visited Abyei on numerous occasions over the last fifteen years, it has become a place that I regularly go to see President Bashir and his National Congress Party at their predictable worst. Visually, the destruction of May 2008, when Abyei’s market and most of its homes were burned to the ground by Bashir’s 31st Sudan Armed Forces Brigade, were, of course, the most striking sights. Abyei’s civilians fled south, displaced once again. To top things off, the 31st blew up the facilities of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement, the NCP’s ‘partner’ in the mis-named Government of National Unity. This wanton destruction by Khartoum’s forces was followed by both Parties presenting their cases to the Permanent Court of Arbitration(PCA) in the Hague. On July 22 of this year the PCA rendered its findings which both Parties committed to implement, including by properly demarcating the borders.
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But the dark storm clouds of Bashir and his NCP, along with the criminals of the 31st Brigade, are not far away. Both Bashir and his NCP have a perfect record insofar as agreements are concerned; they NEVER , EVER keep an agreement they sign. --.
The task of the demarcation team is to lay out Abyei’s boundaries pursuant to the PCA decision. This involves working in the field, on the ground and in the air, to plot out and mark the boundaries with pillars and markers so that there is no question of the border’s location. The plan was to install between 25 and 30 major pillar markers along with smaller markers between pillars. So far, four pillars have been installed, all in southern locations. When visiting other areas for their preliminary work, the team has been threatened with death and bodily harm. The process is now at a standstill. The demarcation task was to have been completed in November.
Bashir has publically made promises to the Misseriya community about Abyei’s future. His promises are all at odds with the Abyei Protocol of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, not to mention the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration. He obviously couldn’t care less about demarcation. He wants Abyei and he wants it all.
| November 25, 2009 |
This week, in response to the new UN report, the utterly shameless Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem says the U.N./African Union Peacekeeping Mission (UNAMID) should get out because there is no longer any conflict in Darfur. The UN report accuses the Sudanese government of harassing peacekeepers and obstructing their movements throughout the region. Outrageously the Khartoum cabal headed by man indicted by the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity including the murder, rape, pillaging and displacement of millions, is able to dictate which parts of Darfur may and may not be accessed by international peacekeepers.
www.savethechildren.org <http://www.savethechildren.org
United Nations High Commission for Refugees
www.unhcr.org <http://www.unhcr.org
United Nations Children's Fund
www.unicef.org <http://www.unicef.org
Medecines sans frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)
www.msf.org <http://www.msf.org
International Rescue Committee
www.theirc.org <http://www.theirc.org
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
http://www.icrc.org
Solar Cookers-
Solar Cookers are provided to Darfuri women in camps in Chad through Jewish World Watch. To donate go to http://www.jewishworldwatch.org or call 818-501-1836.
Paul Farmer-Partners in Health
http://www.pih.org/who/vision.html
For $199.00 you can put a sturdy, totally cool lap top in the hands of the poorest children on earth, go to http://www.amazon.com/xo Or you can give a laptop AND buy one for the child in your own world for $399.000 . If you have the ability, you could give $100 or $1000 and even specify where you want them to go! For example, somebody can buy 100 for a refugee camp or buy 1000 for a small town. Here's a link to the video about the laptop
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GB87EI/ref=sc_i <http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GB87EI/ref=sc_iw_c_0_1>
Excellent article by by Andrew Heavens
There was a time when visits to Darfur were uncertain affairs, fraught with danger. These days, as long as you travel with the right people and stick strictly to the right route, they can be as comfortable as a coach trip. Darfur has got used to hosting visitors in the six years since it became one of the world's best known conflict zones. North Darfur's governor Osman Kebir told Tuesday's trip he had welcomed about 800 delegations since July 2006, which would make about one a day. One official was overheard referring to El Fasher's "red carpet camps" where residents turn out to welcome party after party. Critics question the use of these Darfur day-trips, especially around El Fasher, which is a world away from the region's remaining badlands. It might have been interesting to find out what the residents of Abu Shouk themselves thought about the quick consultation. But this journalist and a colleague were quickly brought back into line when we tried to sneak out of the police compound and walk to the edge of the actual camp."You can't go there, what are you doing?" asked one of the officials with the AU group. "You might speak to the wrong people.¦ And why are you making things more complicated for us than they already are?"
Link to the complete article
http://blogs.reuters.com/
25 Nov 2009
By Katy Glassborow, Tajeldin Abdhalla Adam and Blake Evans-Pritchard in The Hague (AR No 237, 25-Nov-09)
Abdalla Adam, an IDP (internally displaced person) leader from Alryad camp in El Geneina, West Darfur, says that he desperately wants to return to his village, Mestarei, from which he was forced to leave in 2003, but cannot because others have occupied his land. Shortly after he was expelled, Arab settlers moved in.
"We were evicted by force from our land, which was given to settlers," he said. "The ultimate goal of this campaign of killing and displacement is to eliminate us and give our land to these settlers. We don't want to live in these camps but for now we have to because there is no where to go."
"This is about our land, which we are very attached to, where we have our houses, farms and orchards, and where our ancestors lived, died and were buried," Adam explained.
Adam is not alone in expressing such anxieties. Many other IDPs would also like to leave the camps and return to their former villages, once the situation improves, but fear that they no longer have land to go back to.
Mohamed Abdalla Aldoma, a lawyer from the Darfur Bar Association, said, "Land occupation in Darfur is a very vital issue. But, unfortunately, everybody, including the [United Nations] who documented it in 2007, are silent now."
Around three million Darfuris (mainly members of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa so-called black African Darfur tribes) have been displaced by government forces and allied janjaweed militia since 2003. Perceiving these tribes as disloyal and harbouring insurgents, the Khartoum government deliberately targeted this section of the population, destroying homes, crops, livelihoods, killing men, raping women and forcing people off their land. There are claims that Khartoum annulled traditional customary law - which gave ownership rights to the region's sedentary African tribes and leasing rights to Arab nomads - and then actively encouraged Darfur Arabs and Arabs from other countries such as Chad to settle on land previously occupied by the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa, in a bid to swell support for Bashir's regime.
One estimate from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, UNCHR, puts the number of Chadians that migrated to Darfur between 2006 and 2007 at 30,000, but gives no indication that the Sudanese government was responsible for encouraging this influx. Aldoma says that he has documented many cases where settlers, who were clearly foreigners, were given Sudanese IDs. "In some places the settlers have taken full control of the land including farms, orchards and water resources," he said.
Salih Osman, a Sudanese legislator and human rights campaigner, warns time is running out to resolve the problem and that, in the absence of official records, traces of villages and land ownership could disappear. During the fighting, many villages were razed and surrounding fields burnt.
"In time, the remnants of the ruined villages will vanish, and someone will come and say he found the land and there was no sign of previous possession," Osman said. "The longer we keep people in camps, the longer there is a possibility of something like this happening. We all fear that this will be an ethnic cleansing, in the sense that millions of people will never be able to go back to their regional homes."
DANGER OF RETURNING
IDPs report that, whenever they try to leave the camps, they are in danger of being attacked by militiamen.
When two IDPs, Omer and Ali, left their camp at Kereinig, east of El Geneina, recently to cultivate peanuts a few km away, they were ambushed by armed men. They were then beaten and Omer's arms were broken.
"We were very lucky to survive," he said. "We thought they were going to shoot us, but instead they beat us and threatened to kill us if we come back again." Omer said that the two men had wanted to leave the camp to grow something for their families to eat.
"But these armed men in military uniform have prevented us," he said. "They told us that they are the government, and they are the masters of this land."
Ibrahim Adam, from the Kasab IDP camp in Kutum, North Darfur, recalls how he was attacked by four armed soldiers when he took his goats to graze in bushland 20 minutes walk away from the camp.
"They knocked me down and started to kick me with their boots all over my body while I kept rolling like a ball," he said. "Then they tied me to a tree and left with the goats." Ibrahim was eventually discovered by his family, who managed to free him from the tree. Ibrahim says that neither UNAMID, the UN peacekeeping operation in the region, nor the police were able to take any action.
"We are just living in big prisons," he said. "We have no freedom to move, let alone go back to our destroyed villages."
| November 24, 2009 |
Sudan has blocked peacekeeping patrols in Darfur on 42 separate occasions this year, the UN says, amid fears of a new conflict in the region.
Weapons of War still flow into Darfur in violation of UN Embargo
A new report by the UN Security Council panel of experts states that the Darfur arms embargo has been blatantly violated by all parties, including Sudanese government forces, allied Janjaweed militias, rebel groups and insurgents from neighboring Chad. The 2005 embargo restricted arms exports into Darfur but not the rest of Sudan, so while it is permissible for Sudan to import arms, transferring them to Darfur is a violation.The panel notes the "prominence of Chinese manufactured arms and ammunition found among the material that the Panel documented in Darfur". Although other Chinese companies were mentioned in the report, China North Industries Corporation and China Xinshidai Company are described as makers of the type of ammunition that was described as "omnipresent" in Darfur. Also the attack and transport helicopters, Antonov bombers and jet Fan-Tan bombers. The Panel states that the army and Janjaweed are using hundreds of new Toyota Land Cruisers. The UN panel found that the Sudan Armed Forces in Darfur have been using mostly equipment brought to Darfur after the 2005 sanctions measures. "Almost all the documented ammunition, vehicles and aviation equipment, and much other military materiel is of post-embargo production.."
Sudan also continues to violate the arms embargo by deploying entire armed units to the Darfur region as belligerents.
The report highlights the human costs of warfare in Darfur past and present. It cites the deaths of scores of civilians throughout 2009. It notes that "the women of Darfur, roughly half of the population of the region, continue to suffer from all forms of gender-based violence".
West Darfur is the launching point for Chadian rebel offensives against Chad. Roughly 95% of Chadian rebels are based in Sudan, says General Balla Keita who heads UNAMID, the UN-African peacekeeping force in Darfur. The Chadian rebels are directly tied to the Sudanese Government National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) in terms of supplies, training, and command structure.
In an annex to the UN report is a scanned copy of a signed letter from Chadian rebel commander Timan Erdimi addressed to the Sudanese Director of Security Services. The translated document states, "In my own name, and on behalf of all the combatants of our movement, I would like to express my deep respect and feelings of gratefulness for all the support you have provided us and the efforts you exerted to give us material and moral support in order to help our cause"
The letter included a request for 2,000 vehicles, 12,000 SPG-9 rockets, 10,000 rocket-propelled grenades, 4,800 107 mm rockets, and other armaments. It is dated April 15, 2009, within weeks of a rebel assault into Chad.
Sudanese security personnel provided the equipment to the Chadian rebels, escorted deliveries of vehicles to Chadian bases in West Darfur, and sponsored training sessions.
"Financing provided by the Government of the Sudan to Chadian armed opposition groups enables them to rent houses in El Geneina and in Khartoum, where their leadership has been observed spending months during reunification and alliance-building talks, and to work closely with the Sudanese security services" stated the report. "Convalescent combatants are given housing in Khartoum and are eventually returned to their West Darfur bases in Government of the Sudan aircraft and vehicles."
An except of the Report
Report of the Panel of Experts established pursuant to
resolution 1591 (2005) concerning the Sudan
UN Arms Embargo Fails to Stop Flow of Munitions in Darfur
Monday, November 23, 2009
Most of the major armed actors in the Darfur conflict have continued to
exercise their military options, violate the United Nations arms embargo and
international humanitarian and human rights law, and impede the peace process.
The Darfurian population continues to be victimized by the effects of attacks
and counter-attacks involving most of the armed movements that frequently lead to
the disproportionate use of force by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and their
auxiliary forces, and result in killings, injuries and displacements. Internally
displaced persons continue to suffer from the inability to return to their homes and
from acts of banditry, as well as from the lack of adequate humanitarian services,
partly caused by the expulsion of international non-governmental organizations on
4 March 2009.
All parties to the conflict continue to fail to meet their affirmative obligations
under international humanitarian and human rights law in areas under their control.
The system of administration of justice of the Government of the Sudan has failed to
provide redress to victims of human rights violations perpetrated in the context of the
conflict in Darfur. Lacking adequate systems of justice, rebel movements, both
signatories and non-signatories to the Darfur Peace Agreement, have also failed to
uphold human rights and the rule of law in areas under their control. Perpetrators of
violations of international humanitarian and human rights law are allowed impunity
and victims are not compensated for their suffering.
The women of Darfur, roughly half of the population of the region, continue to
suffer from all forms of gender-based violence. The Panel of Experts has conducted
dozens of in-depth interviews and interacted with hundreds of women of all ages
who have related the various forms of abuse and violence that they are experiencing
and that highlight the failure of the Government of the Sudan and the parties to the
conflict to protect women.
- The Government of the Sudan, while demanding respect for its privileges
as a sovereign State, also falls short in exercising transparency and accountability.
Government officials often object to inquiries made by the Panel under its mandate
and offer lip service while committing sanctions violations. Restrictions placed by
the Government of the Sudan on the freedom of movement of UNAMID flight
operations have had a direct impact on the Panel's ability to conduct some of its
independent monitoring missions.
Representatives of the Government of the Sudan contend that there has been no
need to seek prior approval from the Committee established pursuant to resolution
1591 (2005) in order to move military equipment and supplies into the Darfur region,
as required-
| November 23, 2009 |
Some estimate that there are only about 250 rebels left. Most have died or defected.
According to one escapee "Since December 14, Kony no longer communicates on phone. He now sends one of his security men on foot to convey messages. They would move 10 to 20km away from him and then communicate on phone.”
The atrocities committed by the LRA have been widely documented by human rights groups and are among the worst the Congolese suffered at the hands of Joseph Kony. On Christmas day, his fighters killed at least 143 people in Faradje and abducted 160 children. According to survivors, the LRA crushed their victims’ skulls with axes and bats. They also set fire to 940 houses, three schools and nine churches. They killed another 86 people in the first week of January in the towns of Sambia, Akua and Tomate, to the south of Faradje. The massacres were in retaliation for the participation of the Congolese army in 'Operation Lightning Thunder,' attempt to apprehend the LRA.
Asked where they got their weapons, ammunition and new uniforms from, the defector rebel, Arop said they received supplies from SAF, (the Sudanese Army) many of which were still buried in river banks and hills in Southern Sudan. In Congo, he said, they seized weapons from the UN soldiers they ambushed and killed.
As for food, before Operation Lightning Thunder they relied on the supplies given by Caritas during the peace talks. “Every month we received 200 bags of beans, 200 bags of rice, 200 bags of posho, 100 jerry-cans of cooking oil, 100 boxes of wheat flour, 100 sachets of salt and 100 boxes of soap.”
Arop said Kony keeps surviving because he never takes part in battles. “Whenever attacked, he runs away and leaves his fighters to fight back. I have never seen him fight.”
| November 22, 2009 |
I took this photo in CAR. Incredibly the eldest of these two little girls is ten years old, her sister is 8. The two are no bigger than an average 4 year old in the US. The older child has a ‘club foot”. A simple surgery could fix it here, but in CAR the child and her sister are accused of witchcraft and doomed to a life of isolation, abuse and scorn.
I don’t know why so many children in CAR are born with a club foot but this is the case, and no surgeon in CAR is skilled in this type of surgery.
Calling all orthopedic surgeons. Is someone willing to go to CAR ? This is a chance to help many young lives. Unicef in CAR could identify and gather the children. I would gladly purchase your ticket.
Darfur's people don't want to vote
Many of the people of Darfur do not want to vote because they don't trust or want any of the candidates. But the Khartoum government is forcing the refugees and IDP's to register to vote. Now people fear there will be clashes and further violence and chaos in the region. Refugees told me they will resist being forced to register ..and "will fight to death".One Darfuri wrote "I'm so worried about a possible catastrophe. I will let you know if any developments. Thank you."
| November 21, 2009 |
The Joint mediation held a four day consultative meeting in the Qatari capital from 17 to 20 November in order to identify the means for supporting the peace process. Over one hundred group from the tribal, traditional, youth, women and displaced took part of the consultation.
The Darfur rebels denounced the dominance of pro-National Congress Party groups and asked the mediation to consider this factor when it comes to assess the outcome of the meeting.
"The final statement issued by the consultative meeting of the Darfurian civil society called on both the Government and the Movements to immediately ceasefire, cease hostilities and to cooperate earnestly with the international community and the mediators to reach a just peace," said a statement released by the Mediation Friday.
The civil society reaffirmed that Doha will remain the sole venue for negotiations on Darfur peace, said the statement.
The mediation hopes the mobilization of the civil society would contribute to create favorable climate for the Doha process as its concerns are expressed in the action conducted to achieve peace.
Djibrill Bassolé* said on Wednesday civil society consultations would continue in Darfur to ensure that the voice of wider segments of the Darfurian communities would be heard.
The civil society consultations shall continue in the form of sequential consultative meetings planned to take place in order to ensure that the voice of wider segments of the Darfurian communities, with regards to the peace process, would be heard.
(ST)
Bassolé served in the government of Burkina Faso as Minister of Security from November 2000 to June 2007 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Cooperation from June 2007 to September 2008. Bassolé has been the Joint African Union United Nations Chief Mediator for Darfur since August 2008.
| November 20, 2009 |
300 armed men on camels attack 2 villages in South Darfur. 11 Dead
More than 300 gunmen took part in the attack in the state of South Darfur, the mission said.
| November 19, 2009 |
Tilting at Windmills
Is there some good reason we should not be pushing to get the UN to introduce a bill declaring that all minerals, including oil, belong to the people of the country in which they are mined? Those who extract them etc can make their profit but the majority of the revenues should go toward the health, education and welfare of the people. Of course this wont happen any time soon for all the reasons we know too well, but why shouldn't we be trying for it?| November 18, 2009 |
Hutu killings continue in neighboring Congo
Females, even babies, are raped in this region of Congo (North Kivu) . I spoke to women who told me they had been gang raped, then raped with a bayonet, after which the militia would use their rifle butts to pound the women's legs to pulp.
Fistula surgery is performed at the Goma hospital where the surgeon operates non-stop. But not all of the women can be repaired and their psychological wounds are another matter.
| November 17, 2009 |
"As Sudan's largest export partner and greatest source of foreign investment, China is in a position to exert pressure on Khartoum to resolve the conflict in Darfur and implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement."
Urge president Obama to raise the problem of Chinese influence and arms sales to Sudan in his meetings with President Hu Jintao and others, today.
Call 1800-GENOCIDE to reach the White House toll free or call the White House directly 202 456 1111
Or 202 456 1414
| November 16, 2009 |
http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/newsroom
| November 15, 2009 |
44 Members of Congress sent a letter to the President concerning China's involvement in Sudan.
The helicopter gunships, bombers and vast majority of weaponry used against people of Darfur have been and continue to be of Chinese origin. No country has greater influence over Khartoum than China. On November 13, as President Obama prepared to visit China, 44 members of the United States Congress signed a letter to President Obama in which they state:" Failure to exert sufficient public pressure on China regarding its relationship with Khartoum will send a signal to the rest of the world that the United States places other interests ahead of achieving peace in Sudan. If that happens, the talk of an American-led multilateral effort to bring peace and justice to this war-ravaged land will have been mere words.
"Therefore, we ask that in your meeting with President Hu Jintao and other Chinese officials, Sudan feature prominently on the agenda. We ask also that you push for the Government of China to exert influence over Sudan to end its attacks in Darfur, faithfully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with South Sudan, prepare for free and fair elections, and make a renewed commitment to the ongoing peace process. Furthermore, China must be reminded of its obligations to cease any actions that actually contribute to the violence, namely the provision of weapons and technology which have aided the genocide in Darfur."
If you agree and want your voice to be heard call 1800-GENOCIDE. Ask for the White House and strongly urge the President to make Sudan a priority in his upcoming discussions with President Hu.
| November 14, 2009 |
The border between Darfur and Chad is completely porous but during the rainy season the rivers (wadis) fill with water, inhibiting incursions from Sudanese militia and giving people a few months of security. But by October, the rains have ended, the wadis are dry and the attacks resume.
In October of 2006, I was in in eastern Chad when some 60 villages were attacked and destroyed by janjaweed. Many people were killed, mutilated, raped and wounded. Many thousands were were displaced. If you are interested, here is a link to piece I wrote at that time for the WSJ; No Hopes For US http://www.miafarrow.org/ed_072707.html
Since 2006 the aid organizations have worked in very dangerous conditions. There are the Janjaweed attacks, the incursions of Chadian rebels ( their training camps are inside Darfur and they are entirely armed and supported by the Sudanese government) and in a lawless land, ‘banditry’ thrives.
Today 250,000 Sudanese refugees and nearly the same number of displaced Chadians are completely dependent on humanitarian relief . Tragically that aid is further compromised.
| November 13, 2009 |
“America's Sudan policy is in a holding pattern, waiting for the next crisis to refocus global attention. Meanwhile, women are raped, with impunity. Weapons are illegally imported, with impunity. Civilians are attacked, with impunity. And at some point, impunity becomes permission.”
Link to full Washington post article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/12/AR2009111209826.html
| November 12, 2009 |
The new resolution urged Israel and Palestine to launch the investigations that "are independent, credible and in conformity with international standards" within a period of three months.
The president of the 64th General Assembly session, Ali Treki, told reporters after the adoption of the new resolution that "this is an important declaration against impunity." "It is a call for justice and accountability," he said. "Without justice, there can be no progress toward peace. Human beings should be treated as human beings, regardless of his or her religion or nationality."
The resolution was adopted after more than 40 countries, including Israel, took the floor at the two-day plenary General Assembly session on the Goldstone report, which accused both Israel and Hamas militants of war crimes in the Gaza conflict, which left more than 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis killed.
| November 11, 2009 |
| November 8, 2009 |
Sudanese President Omer Al-Bashir is feeling the heat.
Al-Bashir was scheduled to be in Turkey today for a major economic Islamic Conference. But the presidential plane from Khartoum arrived without its premier passenger. He obviously heard the rumor that Israeli and Greek fighter jets were prepared to intercept his plane en route. He most definitely is feeling the heat.
| November 6, 2009 |
Mohammad Abdur Rab, the WHO's representative to Sudan, warned that a lack of skilled health workers and drug shortages were putting millions of lives at risk in conflict-affected areas where huge numbers of people have been uprooted.
In western Darfur, where an estimated 4 million people have been driven from their homes since rebels took up arms in 2003, he said 15 percent of children were malnourished and infectious diseases including malaria, meningitis and diarrhea were rampant.
In the country's south, more than 2,000 pregnant women are currently dying for every 100,000 live births.
There are only 10 fully qualified nurses in South Sudan, which has a population of 8 million.
Abdur Rab said international donors needed to increase their support for fragile health services in Sudan.
Especially in South Sudan, infectious diseases, viral epidemics and chronic ailments are proving an extreme challenge to the existing network of care-givers, he said. Non-governmental organizations and aid groups provide 80 percent of all the health services on offer in that region, which are only reaching 25 percent of the population, he said.
In Darfur, where the government expelled 13 foreign aid organizations and closed three local aid groups earlier this year, extra reinforcements are needed to avoid outbreaks of deadly diseases such as cholera. "The March 2009 expulsion of NGOs has affected primary health services, resulting in a decline in the quality of care," he said, adding the country's shortages of drugs and surgical and anesthesia equipment were causing further strain.
Contagious diseases left unchecked, could also present health risks beyond Sudan's borders, said Abdur Rab, who warned: "Sudan has almost all the diseases in the medical book."
By Laura MacInnis
Reuters
Turkey has been trying to secure its entry to the European Union, but more recent economic interests appear to have eclipsed that wish-bringing Turkey closer to the Arab world than toward Europe. Since 2006, trade between Turkey and the African continent has tripled from $6 billion to $18 billion.
One Turkish factory in Khartoum employs 1,100 workers that make the uniforms for the Sudanese army. Another Turkish company is constructing a 29 story skyscraper, the tallest building in Sudan
"Turkey has an active Africa policy, and Sudan is an important African country," says Soli Özel, a Turkish foreign-policy analyst. "I think [the government] believes it can get away with what is essentially an immoral approach towards Khartoum."
Only a few African countries, including Uganda, South Africa and Botswana, have indicated that they would honor the ICC warrant.
| November 4, 2009 |
The 2005 peace deal set up a transitional unified government based in Khartoum in the north, and Juba in the south. But the hostilities and a complete lack of trust between north and south is far from ended. As a core part of the 2005 peace deal, in 2011 there is to be a referendum in which the south can chose whether to become independent from the north. Based on my two trips to Southern Sudan, I believe this is what the people of Southern Sudan hope for, although no one believes the north will allow it to happen without a return to war. Remember the oil fields.
Voter registration officially began this week.
"These elections are supposed to represent a new event in Sudan's history," said Aly Verjee, a Carter Center spokesman. "Observation is important ... to build confidence in the process both nationally and internationally." The Carter Center-based in Atlanta has been invited to monitor the elections.
But permits for the 32 monitors from the Carter Center are being denied or delayed by Khartoum officials. Funds promised to state-level election committees have not come through, therefore local committees are unable to pay staff. It is not clear to the people where the registration sites are, and sites are closed arbitrarily. According to the Carter Center, insecurity and intimidations are obstructing international observers from monitoring registrations for Sudan's first nationwide elections.
The Carter Center called on Sudan to disarm militias. The are asking Khartoum to revoke the "state of emergency" in the western Darfur region as this will serve to hamper the voting there. Although Sudanese authorities claim voting will take place in Darfur, many are skeptical.
The Carter Center have called upon Sudanese authorities to ensure the observers' freedom of movement. But the team continues to meet obstacles. These many hindrances will diminish the capacity of the only international group Sudan permitted to monitor the voting — to verify the fairness of the election.
| November 2, 2009 |
"Our [Mbeki panel] goal was to find a way out [to Bashir] from the dilemma of the ICC "
'Our goal was to find a way out for Sudan president' says Mbeki panel memberMonday 2 November 2009
Sudan Tribune.
November 1, 2009- The African Union (AU) high level panel on Darfur wanted to find a way out for Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir from the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment, one of the commission members said today in an interview.
This week the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) endorsed a report prepared by an eight-member team headed by former South African president Thabo Mbeki that was tasked with crafting a formula to resolve the conflict in Darfur that would take into consideration peace, justice and reconciliation. The panel was formed weeks before the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir prompting skepticism from Darfur rebels and other critics who say that the AU wants to circumvent the indictment, something which Mbeki has denied in meetings with Darfur IDP's.
Mbeki called for a hybrid court to try war crimes suspects and changes to Sudanese laws. It took no position on the ICC warrant except to say that the Hague-based tribunal cannot try all the suspects, effectively supporting its work.
However, one of the members of the AU panel said that the goal of the mission was to give Bashir an exit strategy from the ICC row.
"Incriminating the president is out of question and fundamentally unacceptable" the former Egyptian foreign minister said in an interview with the Egypt based Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper.
"Our [Mbeki panel] goal was to find a way out [to Bashir] from the dilemma of the ICC that sparked a great deal of controversy" Maher said. The AUPD member, who served as Egypt's Foreign Minister from 2001 until 2004, said that the ICC case against Bashir was "political" in nature and "biased" against the Sudanese head of state"with exaggeration in depicting the situation".
"Demanding the prosecution of an African head of state before an international tribunal is totally unacceptable" the former Egyptian top diplomat said.
Maher said that achieving justice in Darfur "will be through Sudanese prosecution with African members selected by Sudan and agreed upon by the AU".
The remarks made by Maher will likely cause a huge embarrassment to the AU and the panel chief, Mbeki who sought to quell accusations on seeking to protect the Sudanese president.
Tunnels-deadly lifelines into Gaza
A Palestinian was suffocated to death on Sunday when one of the 800 or more tunnels along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt collapsed. Two others were injured in the collapse which happened when the workers were bringing in supplies from Egypt.While I was in Gaza one tunnel worker, a child, was killed and seven were injured during an Israeli bombing raid.
The I.5 million people living in Gaza depend on hundreds of tunnels beneath the border to get fuel and other products since Gaza has been sealed off after Hamas takeover in June 2007. But Israeli bombings are frequent and more than 130 Palestinians, many of them children have been killed while working in the tunnels.
| November 1, 2009 |