See the International Criminal Court's reading of the Arrest Warrant for Sudanese President Bashir at the bottom of this post.
NEWS
News from Darfur is grim.
March 7, 2009
In Kabkabya North Darfur at 3:00 a.m., an armed group attacked ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) compound where they kept the guards in one room and took everything.
Here is the text from an email received today, March 7, 2009 of March 6th news:
Through some satellite phone calls, calls from Darfuris in Diaspora in U.S.A., Canada, Chad, Europe, and other sources, this is what is happening in Darfur:
1 Riyad IDP camp near Al Guneina (West Darfur) was attacked by Janjaweed yesterday. Eight civilians were killed and 381 homes (shelters) were burnt to ground.
2 Zamzam Internal Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, the situation there is getting worse everyday. More people kept coming from Muhajiriiya and surrounding villages. Some newcomers say they have walked for 22 days on foot to get to the camp. They were not able to go to Nyala in South Darfur because the Janjaweed are conducting search and destroy mission between Muhajiriiya and Nyala.
4 Some villagers say they used to economize consumption of their food ration and save some food to cover gaps in food supply by burrying the food near homes. They say the Janjaweed and GoS troops while driving them away from their villages, they dig and take the saved food.
5 Many Darfuris ask the international community to come up with an emergency plan in the coming days to address the expulsion of the NGO's (air drop of food, No-fly Zone, etc.).
6 The expelled NGO's (Non-governmental organizations) are: Oxfam, CARE, MSF-Holland, Mercy Corps, Save the Children, the Norweigan Refugee Council, the International Rescue Committee, Action Contre la Faim, Solidarites, and CHF International.
Mohamed Suleiman
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It is estimated that approximately 3,000,000 Darfuris depend on aid for survival. One of the main differences between the hundreds of thousands killed in Darfur and the millions killed in South Sudan (besides the duration of the conflicts) had been the presence of humanitarian aid organizations. Now that difference is gone.
What You Can Do to Help
Action focuses on Congress
There is no more effective pressure point than the Congress of the United States. Many of those in Congress are interested in doing the right thing for Darfur to address the current humanitarian catastrophe. It is our job to tell them what the right thing is. Your help is needed to forward the main policy points from the Enough Project paper, issued Thursday, to individual Representatives and Senators.
Action concerned human beings can take:
1. Call your Senator's office at 202-224-3121 and ask to speak to the staffer for foreign affairs. You can also contact your elected Representative and Senators by going to this link www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected
2. Tell that person that you are calling to advocate for firm action in response to the Sudan government's expulsion of humanitarian aid organizations and that you would like the Senator to advocate the following:
a) FULL deployment and use of UNAMID to deliver humanitarian aid,
b) No-fly zone--(ban on offensive military flights),
c) Sanctions on senior Sudanese officials and an arms embargo
d) Appointment of a Special Envoy to Sudan
A more detailed list of EnoughProject policy points is below.
3. Then, offer to send the link to the EnoughProject policy paper to the Senator's office. (Alternatively, you can simply do so by going to the Senator's contact page on his or her website). The link to send is here: Statement on the NGO Expulsions by Sudan | Enough. You could also cut and paste the policy points from below and the report from Darfur above if you wish.
4. Then call your representative at 202-225-3121 and follow the same steps.
As always, your willingness to be engaged in action to keep alive hope for the Darfuri community is immensely appreciated.
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The Enough Project policy paper with a list of key steps:
“The Obama administration and the other members of the United Nations Security Council must convey a simple and direct message to Khartoum: Access for relief agencies needs to be immediately restored, or the international community will use all necessary means to restore this access,” said John Norris, Executive Director of the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress.
“The time has come for the international response to Darfur’s agony to move beyond the rhetorical, and the vulnerable people of Sudan do not have time for lengthy policy reviews.”
In response to the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese government has moved to expel humanitarian organizations from the most vulnerable areas of Darfur and other areas in East and North Sudan. In addition, a number of important Sudanese human rights defenders around the country have faced a broadening crackdown.
Enough Project co-founder John Prendergast noted, “The decision by Sudan to cynically deny its own citizens lifesaving aid threatens a profound humanitarian emergency and demands a robust and decisive response from the international community " and the Obama administration in particular.“
President Bashir’s government has a long history of cutting off humanitarian aid as a deliberate military and political strategy, and this tactic was widely used in Sudan’s earlier North-South conflict.
- Working with the U.N. Security Council to support a resolution authorizing an expanded United Nations peacekeeping force, known as UNAMID, backed by air support to guarantee the safe delivery of relief supplies;
- Accelerating discussions both at the U.N. and with NATO allies regarding the institution of either a no-fly zone or other practical steps to counter continued violations by Sudan on the U.N. ban on offensive military flights in Darfur;
- Working with the U.N. Security Council to implement targeted sanctions against those most responsible for violence in Sudan and imposing a comprehensive arms embargo against the government of Sudan;
- Making UNAMID effective with a robust force on the ground in Darfur, with a competent lead nation and a clear command-and-control structure;
- Working closely with interested parties with leverage in Sudan and the region, especially China, the United Kingdom, France, and key African countries, to coordinate efforts on peace, the protection of civilians, and accountability; and,
- Appointing a senior special envoy to address not only the situation in Darfur, but Sudan’s multiple conflicts and their regional dimensions.
Darfur Leaders,
See SDC’s (SAVE DARFUR COALITION) statement on the NGO situation below. Coalition partners are sending a letter based off this statement to Obama, with copies to Clinton and Rice. So far we’ve got 5 leaders of major national organizations to sign on!
Below the SDC press release is the statement from Susan Rice on the GoS expulsion of humanitarian organizations.
If you can, please send a text message to the State Department. Secretary of State Clinton is traveling to Europe and to some Arab nations in the coming days. Getting a flood of messages about this situation may encourage discussion on the situation during her already scheduled meetings.
Text message Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at 90822 to make sure she knows that the potential catastrophe in Darfur must be her immediate priority.SAVE DARFUR URGES SWIFT U.S. LEADERSHIP IN RESPONSE TO SUDAN’S RESTRICTION OF DARFUR AID
Coalition: ‘Engagement by Obama administration can no longer be delayed; too many lives are at risk’
WASHINGTON – The Save Darfur Coalition today called on the Obama administration to condemn Sudanese President Bashir’s decision to revoke the licenses of 13 aid organizations operating in Darfur. In a statement, coalition president Jerry Fowler noted that this action by the Sudanese government underscores the need for the United States to lead the international community in a sustained diplomatic effort to bring peace to Darfur and all of Sudan.
“The Sudanese government’s decision to restrict the flow of humanitarian aid to Darfur represents the possible prelude to a humanitarian catastrophe of the highest magnitude. The 13 organizations that had their licenses revoked are some of the largest international aid groups in Darfur and sustain an apparatus that provides the last remaining lifeline for 4.7 million conflict-affected Darfuri people. Millions of civilians are at immediate risk of starvation and disease. President Obama must lead the international community in immediately condemning President Bashir’s actions, making clear that there will be swift and severe consequences if the decision is not reversed.
“World leaders must hold President Bashir accountable for meeting Sudan’s obligation under international law to protect the lives of civilians in Sudan. Arab and African states in particular, many of whom face a tide of refugees if Sudan’s actions are not reversed, must immediately demand that President Bashir reverse his decision and reinstate the humanitarian aid organizations. The decision, which the United Nations has said will cause irreparable damage to aid operations in Darfur, cannot be allowed to stand.
“This action by the Sudanese government, in addition to Wednesday’s announcement of an arrest warrant for President Bashir by the International Criminal Court, underscores the need for the United States to immediately undertake an urgent, sustained diplomatic push to resolve the conflict in Darfur, including the reopening of humanitarian access. Sudan’s recent actions reinforce the need for President Obama to appoint a full-time Sudan envoy with the stature, mandate and authority to drive all aspects of Sudan policy. Engagement by the Obama administration at the highest levels can no longer be delayed; too many lives are at risk. Darfur demands the administration’s attention now.”
Call your Senators and Representative
Find your elected politicians contact information at this link:
Write President Obama
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
You can also call or write to the President:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Comments to President Obama:
202-456-1111
or
1-800-GENOCIDE
The White House available 9 AM - 5 PM EST weekdays
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The USA State Department public comment line
works 24 hours a day and 7 days a week.Genocide Ends
When Enough of Us
Stand Up Against It
JOIN US
1-800-GENOCIDE
www.savedarfur.org
www.genocideintervention.net
www.standnow.org
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After the International Criminal Court this week ordered his arrest on war crimes, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan’s ever-ruthless leader, ordered the expulsion of 13 international aid groups that keep millions of impoverished Sudanese alive with food and medical care. If Mr. Bashir does not reverse the expulsion, it should be considered added proof of his guilt.
It is the first time the 7-year-old court has sought to arrest a sitting head of state. The warrant — for war crimes and crimes against humanity — is undeniably deserved. The judges said that Sudan’s president played an “essential role” in the murder, rape, torture and displacement of large numbers of civilians in Darfur.
We share the concerns of those who fear that Mr. Bashir and his henchmen will now crack down even harder on Darfur — where an estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million driven from their homes — and provoke a violent backlash in other parts of Sudan. But the world must not cower before such blackmail. That will not bring stability to Sudan or justice for its victims. There can be no impunity for such atrocities.
The African Union (seeking to protect one of its own), some Arab states (Libya rates special condemnation), and China (mesmerized by Sudan’s oil riches) are pressing the United Nations Security Council to delay the indictment for a year to give peace talks in Darfur a chance. The United States and its allies should block any such move. Mr. Bashir’s defenders have made that same argument ever since the court prosecutor sought the arrest warrant in November. Four months later, government attacks continue, and it is clear that Mr. Bashir has absolutely no interest in peace.
During the campaign, President Obama pledged strong action to halt genocide in Darfur. Strong action is definitely needed.
A United Nations peacekeeping force is still short of troops and equipment. Mr. Obama should press America’s allies to contribute both — and guarantee that the Pentagon will get them there quickly. He should encourage China to stop supplying the weapons wielded by Khartoum’s army and militias and call on the rest of the world to tighten sanctions on Mr. Bashir’s cronies in hopes that they will finally oust him.
Mr. Obama should also name a special envoy to revive a serious peace process. And he should urge all of America’s allies to comply with the arrest order if Mr. Bashir decides to leave Sudan — there is talk that he may try to attend an Arab summit in Qatar later this month. Any country that continues to enable Mr. Bashir should be branded as an accomplice to his many horrors.
A version of this article appeared in print on March 7, 2009, on page A20 of the New York edition.
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