7 YEARS OF GENOCIDE NOW - THE NEGLECTED NEWS STORY BY THE USA MEDIA IN GENERAL

"The most important things belong first, not last or never."
Words of the Earth by Cedric Wright

Included in this post:
1) Darfur
2) Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open
3) The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus with Heath Ledger

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Bashir's Pre-Election Victory Lap at the Scene of the Crime

Sean Brooks Policy Expert, Save Darfur Coalition

Posted: January 15, 2010 05:24 PM

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sean-brooks/bashirs-pre-election-vict_b_425342.html

Can you imagine Slobodan Milosevic running for president in Srebrenica? The world would have been justifiably outraged. Yesterday, however, indicted war criminal Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir visited El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. While not an official campaign appearance, the trip comes three days after Bashir received the formal presidential nomination of his party in the upcoming elections in April. It is long past due for the world - and particularly the United States - to express its grave concern about the sham electoral process that in a few months could effectively legitimize Bashir's repressive government.

This week at a campaign stop, Bashir vowed to his supporters that the elections would teach the world lessons in dedication and sacrifice. What they are really teaching the world is that a dictatorial and even genocidal regime can forgo its commitments to peace and democratic transformation without suffering any consequences. These elections did not fall from the sky, but - instead - were supposed to be a key milestone in transforming the country after decades of civil war. The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) agreed to by Bashir's party and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in 2005 set a path for the Sudanese to rebuild their political institutions, economy, and society.

The death and destruction in Darfur and continued repression of political opponents by the Bashir regime over the last four years vitiated the CPA-inspired hopes that those in power in Khartoum had disavowed intimidation and violence as the chief means to resolve political differences within Sudan. But despite the lack of basic political freedoms and the insecurity that persists in Darfur, the Bashir regime now promotes these elections as a critical moment in the history of Sudan. Their strategy cannot be any clearer: use these elections to consolidate power within Sudan and re-legitimize themselves in the international community.

While Milosevic attempted to steal the Serbian elections in 2000 after a decade of bloodshed in the Balkans, he could not campaign in Srebrenica, the site of the worst massacre during the civil war because Bosnia had gained independence. In stark contrast, Bashir's visit to Darfur serves as a pre-election victory lap at the scene of the crime. Indeed, his regime has declared that Darfur is now safe enough for elections to take place and, if that's the case, it follows that the conflict must be over. Despite clashes this week between rebel forces and the Sudanese army, violence over the last two years has significantly diminished in Darfur. The clever 2010 election strategy though by Bashir attempts to hide the fact that 2.7 million Darfuris remain displaced, a peace agreement with the Darfuri rebels remains elusive, and Bashir and others perpetrators of war crimes remain fugitives from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes committed in Darfur.

Furthermore, The Carter Center, which will monitor the elections in April, reported last month that many Darfuris chose not the register due largely to the presence of Sudanese government armed forces at numerous registration sites, in addition to the wariness about participating in a less than free and transparent election process. A solution to Darfur in 2010 cannot emerge from the ballot box but must come from real negotiations between the Sudanese government and divided rebel movements - who also must set aside their personal and political differences to negotiate a political settlement in the best interest of the Darfuri people.

Due to the lack of a safe political environment for freely contested elections, few in Sudan doubt that Bashir will win re-election in April. The real question for Sudanese opposed to this outcome: how will the world respond? The Bashir regime believes that it can secure quiet acceptance of the results in exchange for promises that it will bring the conflict in Darfur to an end and allow the people of South Sudan a vote for secession in January 2011. In short, Khartoum is bargaining conflict management and prevention for re-legitimization in the international community. To add serious injury to this equation, Khartoum has a history of empty promises that deliver anything but the pledged outcome.

If we were not so deeply familiar with the history of conflict in Sudan, such a deal might seem plausibly adequate. Unfortunately though, accepting this offer from the Bashir regime ignores the chief drivers of conflict in Sudan for the last 50 years: the monopolization of power and wealth at the center and the marginalization of the periphery. The consequences of allowing the regime to steal the elections will not address the root causes of the conflict in Darfur or other persecuted areas of Sudan. And even if the South secedes in 2011, a re-legitimized regime in Khartoum will no doubt cause it endless troubles.

It is for all of these reasons that the international community, led by the United States, should state clearly that it will not allow these elections to change the way it views the corrupt and repressive regime in Khartoum. Of course, conflict management in Darfur and the implementation of the CPA should continue, but not under any illusion that those in Khartoum serve as a representative and reformed government of the Sudanese people.

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Bloomberg News: Southern Sudan Party Names Presidential Candidates. Southern Sudan's leader, Salva Kiir, will run for president of the semi-autonomous region instead of challenging Umar al-Bashir for the presidency of Sudan in April elections, a spokeswoman for his party said. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement, which rules Southern Sudan, named a top party official in the north, Yasser Arman, as its candidate for the Sudanese presidency, Keji Germelili, an SPLM spokeswoman, said today in a telephone interview in Khartoum, the capital.


The Economist: Sudan's coming elections-How did it come to this? ON JANUARY 11th Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president, resigned as head of the army, as the constitution requires, in order to accept his party's nomination as its presidential candidate in a general election due in April. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the dominant party in the semi-autonomous region of south Sudan and ostensibly the main opposition party throughout the country, is set to announce its own candidate. But it is likely to be a lesser figure than its leader Salva Kiir, himself by no means charismatic. Some guess that the SPLM may not even put up a candidate against Mr Bashir at all.


Reuters: Sudan needs more funds for referendum, report says. Sudan needs more cash and support from donor countries if its national elections and a southern referendum on independence are to take place safely, the body monitoring the north-south peace deal said on Thursday. The 2005 pact ended two decades of civil war in Africa's largest country. However, its implementation has been slow, as has the delivery of almost $5 billion pledged by donors to develop the war-ravaged south. Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years are due in less than three months and a referendum is scheduled in southern Sudan next January on whether to secede from the north.

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Clashes-in-Darfur-as-Elections-Raise-Tensions

LEARN WHAT YOU CAN DO

enoughproject.org/Benchmarks

standnow.org
www.savedarfur.org

Genocide will only stop

when we make it a priority to do so

Light a candle for Darfur

Candles only stay lit for 48 hours,
then you can light another candle.
You can also light more than one candle at a time.

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Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a backhand during a practice session ahead of the 2010 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 15, 2010 in Melbourne, Australia. January 14,
Photo by Mark Dadswell/Getty Images AsiaPac

Australian Open

Draws

Schedule

Pictures of Rafael Nadal

Fan Support Sites ~ Great sources of information

vamos brigade

Rafa's Babolat-sponsored forum

For online viewing try

www.fromsport.com

I don't know the channels for sure,
but ESPN2 may be having the Australian Open:
sports.espn.go.com/espntv/espnGuide

www.atdhe.net


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