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Thursday, August 5, 2010

WHEN WILL THE TIME BE THE RIGHT TIME FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA

TO DO SOMETHING OF SIGNIFICANCE REGARDING DARFURIS?

A letter I sent today via: www.whitehouse.gov/contact


August 5, 2010


Dear President Obama,


Happy Birthday wishes.


I am a supporter of yours and your efforts with one heartfelt exception. And that is your lack of engagement in the Darfur and Sudan issues. I don't believe General Gration has served us or the Darfuri and Sundanese people well at all. He has been a disaster in my opinion as many community leaders also feel.


Mr. President, millions of lives – and your legacy – are on the line.


One recent report is only one of many that are unforgivable to let languish:

“UNITED NATIONS, August 4 In Darfur, while the UN is giving assurances that the violence in the Kalma camp has passed, humanitarian groups have been barred from the camp, housing eighty thousand internally displaced people, for the past four days. This emerged only upon detailed questioning of top UN peacekeeper Alain Le Roy…”


I have written many letters to you about this humanity-defining issue. I have made several youtube videos, some addressed to you, which I am sure you have not seen, but I do out of desperation, because I don’t know how to get your attention and I must do something. Here is a link to just one of my youtube videos with inclusion of the New Hampshire primary party night where I helped your campaign for the week running up to the primary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVsvZPry_0Y

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Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog


I understand that you are have been overwhelmed with the many issues in our country and the war in Afghanistan (which I disapprove of) and they have had your attention. But it is simply not acceptable to let this issue of extreme human injustice of the Darfuris to go on and on. And furthermore, we essentially have lost any credibility because we have not made stands based on morality and justice.


Please, I implore you to put this crisis on your "to do" list. We await your leadership with much angst with good reasons. So you can imagine how it is for the tens of thousands living in the heat on the sand under a canvas.


Thank you for your attention in advance.


Most sincerely,

Sandra Hammel

Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI, Community leader since 2004

Genocide will only stop with "us" - our leaders have taught us this


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Dear President Obama - my first letter to the President

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Both uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

Click post title to take simple action to make a difference.

www.stopgenocidenow.org/awol

Source for below information:

www.innercitypress.com/dpko1sudan

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 4 -- In Darfur, while the UN is giving assurances that the violence in the Kalma camp has passed, humanitarian groups have been barred from the camp, housing eighty thousand internally displaced people, for the past four days. This emerged only upon detailed questioning of top UN peacekeeper Alain Le Roy. Video here, from Minute 47:36.

Inner City Press asked if there had not also been murders in the Zalingi camp -- Le Roy said yes -- and about the restrictions on UN peacekeepers' movements ordered by Sudanese authorities.

Le Roy said that while the Wali of South Darfur has issued such a declaration, requiring advance notice of any UNAMID mission movements, including on the roads, the UN is “discussing” this with Khartoum.

One wonders why the UN has not said more about the barring of humanitarian groups from the Kalma camp. Is it a sop to the government, or reflective of a lull before new UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos takes over in September?

Why has the US, after Friday's consultations, not asked for any Council action in the five days since? There were rumors early in the week of an Obama administration re-think of, or at least meeting on, Sudan policy. But it does not appear to have happened.

While admitting further deterioration and tensions in Darfur, the UN is still putting South Sudan developments in a positive light, noting that the National Congress Party as well as SPLM have asked the UN to monitor the referendum.

Le Roy said the UN does not usually monitor, but in this case is moving toward naming three Eminent Persons, whom it will support with 10 to 20 staff, to monitor.

Inner City Press asked who would choose the Eminent Persons -- might they included former South African president and Al Bashir supporter Thabo Mbeki? -- but Le Roy did not answer.

Regarding Abyei, he described the Dinka questioning the rights of nomads to come in and vote, but said it would be up to a Commission which does not yet exist.


UN's Le Roy in Sudan, humanitarian access not shown

Le Roy's logistics colleague Susana Malcorra recently briefed the Press, and was asked by Inner City Press what the UN would do to ensure that those Southerners in the north who are registered to vote by the NCP can, in fact, vote.

Sources tell Inner City Press that Khartoum plans to register many Southerners and then make it difficult to vote, to drive turn out below 60% and invalidate the referendum. Ms. Malcorra said that the UN would be watching Southern registrants in the North. But Le Roy on Wednesday spoke only of the South. Watch this site.

* * *

Sudan Not on August Agenda of UN Council, Russia Against Larger Investigations But Has "Clear Picture of Bizarre Incident"

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, August 4 -- Despite increased violence in Darfur and the stalling of talks in South Sudan about the referendum, the UN Security Council in August does not have a single Sudan item on its agenda.

Inner City Press on August 3 asked this month's Council president Vitaly Churkin of Russia how had been responsible for the hostage taking of the Russian pilot in Darfur. Video here, from Minute 20:32.

Churkin said Russian now has a “clear picture of this rather bizarre episode.” But he declined twice to say if government aligned Janjaweed had been responsible. “The Sudanese authorities did what they could,” he said. Informed sources say that Janjaweed did it in order to revive or increase payments from the Sudanese government.

Following up on the July 30 Security Council meeting on the killings in the Kalma camp, Inner City Press asked Churkin about what other Council members revealed, that Russia along with China opposed France's request for an “investigation.”

While Churkin began, You are not accurate in your assertion, he then said that there is a danger of the UN turning into an investigative body, with “new panels springing up.” The reference, it seemed, was to the UN's advisory panel of experts on war crimes in Sri Lanka, which Russia has opposed.


n Nyala, Gambari and copter, Russian pilot and "bizarre episode" not shown

Like China, though, and the U.S., Russia has a special envoy to Sudan, Mr. Margelov, who was quoted blaming the pilot taking on the Janjaweed.

Calling the killings in the Kalma camp a “relatively minor incident,” Churkin said Russia had accepted a UNAMID investigation, just not a “larger investigation.” We'll see -- top UN peacekeeper Alain Le Roy is slated to brief the Press later today.

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On Darfur Camp Violence, Nur's Role as Unclear as US Stance on Doha, Sudan Says Camp Is Under UN Control, Lobbies

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, July 30, updated -- Darfur camp violence was taken up by the UN Security Council on Friday afternoon. According to UN sources, members of the Liberation and Justice Movement group which is negotiating with Khartoum were targeted by members of the Abdel Wahid Nur faction, which is not.

While the United States called for the consultations, it is not clear if the US stands with the UN and its Darfur envoy Ibrahim Gambari in saying that the solution to Darfur is to be found in Doha across the table from Omar al Bashir's negotiators.

French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner loudly announced that Paris based Abdel Wahid Nur would be joining the Doha process. Nearly immediately, Abdel Wahid Nur qualified this with the conditions previously listed, including safety in Darfur.

Inner City Press asked Ibrahim Gambari on July 27 about Abdel Wahid Nur's participation. Gambari said no, and characterized the conditions, including safety, as something you get at the END of negotiations, not as a precondition. One can see this as either realism or a too cavalier attitude to the protection of civilians, especially for one in charge of a peacekeeping mission with such a mandate.


More Kalma from the past, Gambari not shown

Sudan's acting Ambassador, on his way at 4 pm into the Council's suite where he would not be allowed into consultations, said that Gambari had told him at 2:30 that he would be placing some calls to get information, and would himself be giving the briefing at 4. But at that time, he was spotted by an Inner City Press source strolling the streets outside the UN, dress in white national dress.

Gambari also said on June 27 that he has gone to Paris twice to meet Abdel Wahid Nur. Three days later, he is still in New York, but not in the consultations room. Briefing was Alain Le Roy of Peacekeeping, joined at 4:40 by Lynn Pascoe of Political Affairs.

The South Sudan referendum Eminent persons monitoring group the UN is moving to set up, which Inner City Press exclusively reported earlier today, would be staffed by Pascoe's Department of Political Affairs and not the UN peacekeeping mission run by Haile Menkerios. Whether Pascoe's arrival at the Council was about this, or the Doha process implications of the attacks in the Darfur IDP camps is not yet known. Watch this site.

Update of 5:09 -- Sudan's charge d'affaires was lobbying in the hall outside the Council. “We cannot live with a paragraph about inspecting the Kalma camp... the camp is under the control of UNAMID...” Then, after fumbling with their passes, they went into the Council's suite. Coming out were the outgoing Nigerian presidency's plants and bean bag chairs with Islamic script. Coming in -- Russia's set up, for August..

Update of 5:29 p.m. -- there will be a press statement. Unclear if it will include the paragraph about inspecting or investigating in Kalma camp, which Sudan is opposing.

Update of 5:55 p.m. -- while UN TV had been told the press statement would be ready and read by now, the Council has gone into recess. Inner City Press is told by Council source that France has proposed the UN send an investigation team to Kalma camp. China and Russia have opposed it, as does Sudan. Developing.

Update of 6:13 p.m. -- Here's what happened: France “aggressively” asked for an investigation, setting of “red lights” among some other delegations. But wait - the US asked the meeting, but France made the proposal. Why? Le Roy pointed the finger at the Abdel Wahid Nur group, but France says they've spoken to him and he denies it. THAT's why France wants the investigation. You heard it here first....

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Monday, June 7, 2010

"WE GOT TO STOP TALKING ABOUT IT AND ACT" JOE BIDEN re DARFUR

SILENCE KILLS IN ITS COMPLICITY TO KILLING BY TREACHERY

Sandra Hammel


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This week, Vice President Joe Biden travels in Africa, meeting with several heads of state and other high ranking officials to discuss a host of global and regional issues.

Some of Joe Biden statements about Darfur:


This is incredible…what’s happening. And I promise you...I promise you.


We're all going to sit here 5 and 10 years from now and we’re going to be saying "Why didn’t we do the things that we can do?" You know, we got to stop talking about it. A lot of talk goes on about it. You’re going to have thousands and thousands and thousands of people die. We got to stop talking and act.



and

We cannot let months and years continue to tick away while they continue to suffer. (July 2008)


Send a letter to Vice President Biden, urging him to make the situation in Sudan a priority during his trip to Africa. Go to
http://action.savedarfur.org/campaign/vptrip


Post this video on the WhiteHouse Facebook page: www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse

Tweet this: VP #Biden, as you travel in Africa, build and use leverage towards lasting peace in #Sudan @WhiteHouse @StateDept http://bit.ly/bwDIxP

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Uploaded June 7, 2010 by stopgenocidenow


Gabriel Stauring and his team at Stop Genocide Now put together this powerful video on behalf of Sudan Now. The video highlights statements that Biden has made over the years regarding Darfur.

You can download the video at:
http://gallery.me.com/threadsuns1#100239


Here are a few actions that you can take to maximize this powerful
advocacy tool. These are time-sensitive actions so please act quickly:

- Post it on your organization's website
- Send it out in email blasts
- Twitter link to with message: VP #Biden, as you travel in Africa,
build and use leverage towards lasting peace in #Sudan @WhiteHouse @StateDept

Another effective action is to post the video at
http://www.facebook.com/WhiteHouse


Biden’s Africa trip is all about Sudan

Posted By Josh Rogin

Source: the cable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/07/biden_s_africa_trip_is_all_about_sudan

Vice President Joseph Biden is leading an interagency delegation to Africa this week, but his final stop at the 2010 World Cup is not the point of the journey. Biden is there to get involved in Sudan policy and lend some senior-level supervision to an issue that has split the Obama administration for months.

On Wednesday, Biden will become the senior-most Obama administration official to meet with Southern Sudanese President Salva Kiir. The purpose of the meeting will be "to talk about the necessary steps to fully implement the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and to plan for post-referendum Sudan," a senior administration official told The Cable, adding that the conversation will be "mostly about the future of southern Sudan." That's an indication that the Obama team is getting concerned that the January 2011 elections, when the South is widely expected to vote to separate from the North, a result that could spark violence or even a return to civil war.

There are Sudan meetings woven throughout Biden's seven-day journey through Africa. He already spoke about the future of southern Sudan with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Monday in Sharm el-Sheikh, it's sure to come up in his Tuesday meetings with Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga, and the vice president's office has said Sudan will be at the top of the agenda during Biden's meeting Thursday with former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

Sudan Special Envoy J. Scott Gration is on the trip with Biden, along with Assistant Secretary of State for African affairs Johnnie Carson and the National Security Council's senior director for Africa Michelle Gavin, among others.

The elevation of the Sudan issue to the top levels of the White House is exactly what leading Sudan activists have been demanding of the administration for months. They are fed up with what they see as deep divisions inside the Obama team about how to approach Sudan.

"It really is time for the president, the vice president, and Secretary of State [Hillary] Clinton to get more directly involved in this issue," said John Norris, executive director of the Enough Project. But it's still not clear whether Biden's involvement will lead to a sustained level of attention for Sudan at the top levels of the White House, Norris cautioned.

The divisions inside the administration are not new, but were reinforced last month during what multiple administration sources describe as a vigorous and heated internal debate over whether or not to send a U.S. government representative to the re-inauguration ceremony for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who has been indicted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court.

Multiple administration sources tell The Cable that Gration and Carson were among those who advocated internally for sending a representative to the inauguration (which was also a ceremony to inaugurate Kiir, the State Department is quick to point out). Administration officials who argued against sending an envoy included U.N. ambassador Susan Rice and the NSC's Samantha Power.

An administration official told The Cable that Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg supported the decision to send an envoy. But NGO sources contradicted that account, saying that Steinberg, at least at one point, argued against it.

It was Secretary Clinton who ultimately made the decision to send the chief consular officer at the U.S Embassy in Khartoum to attend Bashir's inauguration. Sending a junior-level representative was a compromise, but one that apparently left both sides equally unhappy.

"Our presence at this ceremony should not be confused in any way with our continuing pledge that President Bashir should respond to the warrant for his arrest for war crimes in Darfur," State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said. "We have nothing to do whatsoever with President Bashir."

The decision and that explanation puzzled and irritated advocacy leaders.

"President Obama has said that genocide has been committed in Darfur by the Bashir-led government. The ICC indicted Bashir for war crimes," said John Prendergast, cofounder of the Enough Project and an increasingly outspoken critic of the administration's Sudan policy. "The Obama administration has thus broken with precedent in bestowing a measure of legitimacy by sending a U.S. diplomat, however low-ranking, to the inauguration of an indicted war criminal head of state."

Prendergast said that the Obama team had argued that it was necessary to keep lines of communication open to ensure the safe return of the American hostage being held in Sudan, but dismissed that assertion because there was nothing the U.S. side got in return for attending the ceremony.

Officials have also argued that not sending an envoy would have broken protocol, another claim advocacy leaders dismiss.

"The issue of war crimes charges makes this an entirely different kettle of fish, whether or not that's in the protocol book," said Norris, who added that not sending a representative would have sent the message that Obama was serious about the ICC.

The Sudan advocacy community has had increasingly strained relations with Gration, who is seen as being too soft on the brutal Khartoum regime and too powerful inside the administration, using his personal relationship with Obama to exert control over the issue often outside the purview of officials above his station, including Clinton.

Sometimes, the internal tension has spilled over into public, such as when ABC News reported that Rice was "furious" in June when Gration said that Darfur was experiencing only the "remnants of genocide." The State Department quickly confirmed that its official position is that genocide is ongoing.

Above all, Sudan watchers worry that the U.S. government is failing to prepare for what could be a very bloody aftermath to the January referendum. They also lament that details of the "benchmarks" upon which the administration's Sudan policy is supposed to be based have never been revealed publicly and are said to be still undefined.

Back in October, Clinton said when announcing the administration's new Sudan policy: "Assessment of progress and decisions regarding incentives and disincentives will be based on verifiable changes in conditions on the ground. Backsliding by any party will be met with credible pressure in the form of disincentives leveraged by our government and our international partners."

But despite what many, including Rice, see as lots of backsliding, no disincentives can be seen and, as the discussion over sending the envoy illustrates, the internal policy debate seems to be at a stalemate.

"If they're fighting on an issue like that, it's hard to believe there's great clarity on the larger issues," said Norris. "We're at something of a standstill. They seem to be stuck at how do you calibrate how exactly you deploy the pressures or incentives."

Those frustrations are shared by some on Capitol Hill.

"I have expressed concern at different times, including in the run-up to last month's election, that the administration has not spoken out more forcefully about abuses by the NCP or sought to hold them accountable," said Sen. Russ Feingold, D-WI, referring to Bashir's ruling National Congress Party. "Although I am not opposed to engagement, we need to be firm and to ensure any engagement is based on evidence that the NCP is willing to cooperate and has made concrete progress on previous promises."

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We Are All the Keepers of Justice.

In Sudan, there is an emergency.

Silence kills in its complicity to killing by treachery.

Uploaded March 19, 2009 by ilovemylifesblog

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Monday, June 7, 2010 Round-up of

Darfur In the News

Reuters: Bashir says Darfur peace talks are final round. Sudan's president said on Saturday the current round of Darfur peace talks would be the final negotiations with any armed group. Qatar-hosted peace talks are due to open on Sunday but the leaders of the two original Darfur guerrilla groups are both refusing to join. Smaller factions who have few forces on the ground are participating. "The current Doha round will be the last for any armed group and there will be no legitimacy through the gun, only through the ballot box," Bashir told a meeting of his ruling National Congress Party late on Saturday.

Rueters Africa : Uganda says Sudan's Bashir not invited to AU meeting. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, who faces the risk of arrest on war crimes charges, has not been invited to next month's African Union conference in Uganda, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said in a statement. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has an indictment against Bashir over crimes in Sudan's western Darfur region and African states that are signatories to the agreement establishing the court are obliged to arrest him. Museveni's office issued a statement late on Saturday saying Sudan would be represented at the conference by "other government officials" and not Bashir.

AFP: 41 killed in Darfur fighting: Sudan tribal source. Clashes between rival Arab tribes in Sudan's western region of Darfur killed 41 people in three days, a tribal leader told AFP on Sunday. According to Ezzedin Eissa al-Mandil of the Misseriya tribe, the fighting broke out on Thursday when "members of the Rezeigat tribe attacked one of our villages west of the town of Kass" in South Darfur. "They killed one person and returned on Friday, with fighting taking place from morning to night. There were also clashes on Saturday and in total 41 people were killed and 17 wounded," Mandil told AFP. The claim could not be immediately confirmed with the Rezeigat tribe or the governor of South Darfur. But a spokesman for the joint UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur said UNAMID had received reports of fighting between the Nuwayba tribe, a branch of the Rezeigat, and the Misseriya tribe, without casualty figures.

Sudan Tribune: Sudan in critical stage, requires AU intervention-envoy. Sudan's much anticipated referendum is just months away, but preparations for this historic event remains a critical issue that requires the intervention of African Union (AU) members, Mr. Jonas Gahr Store, the Norwegian Foreign Minister has observed. "The peace process in Sudan is in a decisive and critical phase. We can already see that this will be a key issue on the international agenda the next 12 months," Mr. Store said. According to the Norwegian Foreign Minister, if Southern Sudanese opted to vote for their independence, the process must be peaceful, and that both the north and south should cooperate, particularly on the distribution of oil revenues.

Times: South Sudan Moves Toward Independence. The referendum in January 2011 which, if the vote goes as predicted, could be followed by official secession as early as that July. The North will likely resist the South splitting away, for fear that it will lose territory and oil, most of which will lie - as far as the North is concerned - on the wrong side of any new border that's created. But in theory, the question of whether to separate or not will be one for the South alone to answer - and, as most Southerners see it, independence would finally put a merciful end to centuries of subjugation and neglect. But independence will hardly solve all of the South's problems. Kiir must build a functional state out of his war-ravaged land - and without infrastructure, institutions or even much know-how. The fear is that, in a place where war has become a way of life and guns seem as plentiful as people, still more violence could follow.

Rueters: Sudanese paper halts printing in censorship protest. A Sudanese newspaper said on Sunday it would suspend publication for one week in protest at stringent censorship by authorities, as five other papers were censored in Africa's largest country, journalists said. Journalists from six independent or opposition papers told Reuters they were visited and directly censored by the security forces late on Saturday night. Other papers said they were called and told not to write about specific news including the strike by doctors over pay and working conditions and the International Criminal Court, unless it was from a government source. "We will suspend our newspaper for a week in protest at the pre-(publication) censorship," said Faiz Al-Silaik, acting editor in chief of the Ajras Al-Huriya paper, aligned to the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement

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Genocide will not end
until

enough people
pressure our elected officials to take a stand


Contact President Obama

For organizations
www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

For everybody
www.whitehouse.gov/contact

You can also call or write to the President:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
They request that you include your e-mail address

Phone Number
Comments: 202-456-1111
and
1-800-GENOCIDE

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Uploaded by ilovemylifesblog

Websites with the goal to help Darfuris get justice
www.stopgenocidenow.org/iact
ionsudan.net
www.whilewewaitsudan.org
www.radiodabanga.org


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Friday, April 2, 2010

OH PRESIDENT OBAMA - ABOUT THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE - HOW ABOUT APPLYING WHAT YOU HAVE SAID in regards to SUDAN?

FROM PRESIDENT OBAMA'S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE SPEECH:

The same principle applies to those who violate international law by brutalizing their own people. When there is genocide in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma - there must be consequences. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression.

This brings me to a second point - the nature of the peace that we seek. For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based upon the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.

Source: obama-nobel-peace-prize

Part 1
Part 2
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Part 3 has the excerpt above

Part 4


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Sign this petition: http://bit.ly/bLmQlQ

Despite rosy reports from some senior U.S. Government officials, violence in Sudan continues to mount in advance of national elections to be held later this month. This includes a recent offensive by the Government of Sudan in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur, which in recent weeks has killed hundreds and driven as many as 100,000 people from their homes. The Obama Administration has largely ignored this ongoing violence and has instead heralded exclusionary peace talks on Darfur as “major progress," going so far as to call the talk a “landmark.” The Administration also appears to blindly support the upcoming elections, which nearly all international human rights organizations agree have no chance of being either free or fair.

The U.S Sudan policy is not just adrift -- it risks enabling gross human rights violations by the Government of Sudan. We urgently need Congress to engage on this important topic.


At Facebook become a fan of Sudan Now at
http://www.facebook.com/SudanActionNow

At Twitter follow @sudanactionnow

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Received the following news in an email April 2, 2010:
Dear All,

News from West Darfur reported that thousands of Internally
Displaced Persons (IDPs) from camps around the
city of Kass
(West Darfur) have stormed the city and occupied the city
buildings.
Thousands of the IDPs are reportedly filling the
streets of the city. The Mayor (NCP)
and other NCP members
have fled the city. The Defense and Security Ministers have

flown from Khartoum to ElGeneina ( capital of West Darfur).

Mohamed Suleiman
Darfuri


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SCENARIOS: Sudan elections brinkmanship - what's next?

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/africaCrisis/idUSLDE6300L6

Thu Apr 1, 2010 5:45am EDT

KHARTOUM, April 1 (Reuters) - South Sudan's main party has announced a partial and unilateral boycott of April elections, withdrawing its presidential candidate and boycotting polls in Darfur, citing the conflict there and electoral fraud.

The move surprised and angered Sudan's opposition, who said they had been promised the support of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) for a joint position on a possible boycott of the April 11 polls in the entire north of Sudan.

Some analysts have said with Yasir Arman out of the race, incumbent Omar Hassan al-Bashir's return to the presidential palace is assured.

Here are some scenarios of what could happen next.

OPPOSITION MEETING

The opposition parties will meet on Thursday night. Some want a boycott but others want to challenge Bashir. Bashir's National Congress Party (NCP) will hope their divisions will stop them reaching a common position.

A mass withdrawal from the polls would deny Bashir the legitimacy he wants to help him defy an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

ENDORSEMENTS

The SPLM, who enjoy majority support in the south, which has 25 percent of Sudan's electorate, have not endorsed another presidential candidate. Arman has said they will not do so because they want to expose fraud in the presidential elections.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which has mass support from the Islamic Khatmiyya sect, had been in talks with the NCP to endorse Bashir in exchange for key government positions but more recently joined the opposition ranks, mulling a boycott.

The NCP will watch closely whether the DUP decides to withdraw from the presidential poll, stay in the race or endorse Bashir.

The other large northern sectarian party, the Umma Party, may be reluctant to withdraw its presidential candidate. Umma party chief Sadeq al-Mahdi was the last democratically elected leader of Sudan and has been considered one of the three favourites in the presidential election.

He may believe his chances are good of beating Bashir with Arman out of the picture, and could push for the opposition to unite behind his candidacy.

However alleged electoral irregularities could push them to boycott, saying there is no way the polls can be free and fair and Bashir is already guaranteed a win.

INTERNATIONAL OBSERVERS

The only long-term international observer mission, the Carter Center, and observers from the European Union will be following events closely.

While they are likely to continue their missions, they will be concerned that any endorsement they give the polls will lend credibility to the outcome.

REFERENDUM

Earlier this week Bashir, worried by the threat of an SPLM-opposition alliance, issued a stark warning to the SPLM: if you refuse to take part in elections, the planned 2011 referendum in south Sudan on secession will not be held.

The SPLM's announcement of a boycott of elections in Darfur implies it will continue to run in all other parts of Sudan, ending its earlier threat of a full boycott in the north in solidarity with opposition parties.

The referendum is a priority for the SPLM and the international community, concerned any move to derail the sensitive vote could reignite a north-south civil war which claimed 2 million lives and destabilised much of east Africa. (Reporting by Opheera McDoom)

Regarding the excerpt from the above article:

"REFERENDUM

Earlier this week Bashir, worried by the threat of an SPLM-opposition alliance, issued a stark warning to the SPLM: if you refuse to take part in elections, the planned 2011 referendum in south Sudan on secession will not be held.
"

This of course proves again Bashir expects to "win" the election, for if he were to lose, how would he be able to deny the referendum?

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US envoy in crisis talks after Sudan election pullout

Source:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSLDE6300DU

Thu Apr 1, 2010 3:52am EDT

By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, April 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Sudan envoy Scott Gration began crisis talks with political leaders in Khartoum on Thursday after the shock withdrawal of a presidential candidate threatened to undermine the credibility of coming elections.

Yasir Arman, the candidate for the south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) pulled out of the race late on Wednesday, less than two weeks before voting, citing concerns over election fraud and insecurity in Darfur.

Opposition parties were due to meet later on Thursday to discuss whether to unite in boycotting the vote, a move that would seriously undermine what were supposed to be Sudan's first multi-party elections in 24 years.

The SPLM also said it would boycott voting in Darfur, the scene of a seven-year conflict, going back on an earlier threat to pull out of the whole vote in the north in solidarity with opposition parties.

The elections are central to a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between Sudan's Muslim north and the South, where most follow Christianity and traditional beliefs.

Analysts said Arman's withdrawal effectively handed the presidential race to Sudan's incumbent president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and could be part of a deal with Bashir's northern National Congress Party to guarantee a referendum on southern independence also promised under the peace deal.

But a boycott by the opposition could derail any claim by Bashir to have been elected in fully democratic elections.

U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Gration had flown to Khartoum in reaction to Wednesday's news and was planning to shuttle between meetings with leading opposition and government figures.

On Wednesday a joint statement by Washington, Britain and Norway said they were "deeply concerned by reports of continued administrative and logistical (electoral) challenges, as well as restrictions on political freedoms".

But they said "irrespective of the outcome of elections", it was essential the January 2011 referendum go ahead on time.

Sudan's north-south civil war killed 2 million people and destabilised much of east Africa. Darfur's separate conflict has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives in violence Washington has called genocide.

Last year the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir for war crimes in Darfur. He hopes to defy the court and legitimise his rule with a win in April's polls. (Editing by Opheera McDoom)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gration post: http://blogs.state.gov/sudan/index.php/site/entry/diaspora_community/

I am just catching up with all the news that came in my email box today. And only an inanimate object could think the election in Sudan has anything to elect in an atmosphere of justice.

Click on the post's title to go to the new website
for the latest on the ground news about Sudan
I (Eye) on Sudan
and actions you can take to make a difference
about this defining issue

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Thursday, March 25, 2010

TELLING IT LIKE IT IS IN JEBEL MARRA, DARFUR

Stop the humanitarian blockade of Jebel Marra, Darfur

The source of this post may be found by clicking this post's title.

Thursday 11 March 2010.
By Anne Bartlett

March 10, 2010 — For the people of Jebel Marra, the self congratulatory backslapping and treaty signing in Doha seem to be a world away from the reality of their existence as they starve on the mountain slopes of Darfur. Forced from their villages as a result of a military campaign launched by the Government of Sudan, the idea of peace seems a distant prospect to say the least. Over the last 6 weeks, the displacement of over 250,000 people who are now forced to live in caves or to run from village to village in search of safety also seems far away from the concerns of the International Community, UNAMID, Save Darfur, human rights organizations or indeed anyone who might be expected to help. Instead, innocent people have been left to fend for themselves: their hopes for the future reduced to ashes alongside their villages which the Sudanese government recently burnt.

The big question here is why? Why is blatant genocide being ignored? Why, for example, can the likes of Jerry Fowler of Save Darfur tour the region telling anyone who will listen that: “Organized fighting is not widespread ... Nor is there systematic violence against civilians”. Why, given his “vast” experience on Darfur, is he not able to spot the fact that a quarter of a million people are at this very moment sitting on the side of a mountain not far from him, while he tours around shaking hands? Why, one might ask, with his propensity for “saving” locals, is he not able to see beyond the end of his nose and take some action?

As if the myopia of Save Darfur is not bad enough, then there are the political sideshows which aim to distract attention from the government’s recent activities in Jebel Marra. First there is the carnival of the incompetent in Doha. Susan Rice’s remarks that Doha is a “mere truce between two Islamists factions” are completely correct. Yet given her clarity, why is the US State Department supporting a “peace process” with individuals like Tigani Seisi when he has never been anything more than a puppet of Sadiq Al-Mahdi and the Umma Party? Why should a man who is held in such distaste by the people of Darfur be championed as their leader when his spell as Governor of the region was nothing short of a disaster?

Finally, why is there a systematic attempt to downplay the government of Sudan’s campaign of genocide in Jebel Marra by linking it to fights between opposing rebel factions? This persistent reporting of rebel group infighting when a quarter of a million people face annihilation by the government is bizarre to say the least. The ability to downplay the crisis faced by such a large amount of people demonstrates the effectiveness of the Sudanese government media machine. It also shows how one of the most despicable campaigns that the government has launched to systematically destroy and purge the heartland of Darfur while the world looks the other way, has been successfully disguised by amplifying a lesser story.

If genocide is about intent, then it is hard to find clearer evidence of a systematic attempt to annihilate a group of people in a given geographical area than in Jebel Marra today. In the eastern and southeastern areas of the Jebel Marra — in towns such as Kidinyeer, Leibei, Faina, Dirbat, and Jawa — there is a clear attempt to encircle the area with the express intention of preventing people from being able to enter or leave. Once the population is locked into the area, the real work of genocide can proceed apace. Water sources are buried leaving locals without any way to access clean drinking water. Grain stores are burnt, cutting the supply of food to nothing. Grinding mills are taken away to ensure that no flour can be made. The government forces which invaded the region have also looted houses, markets and removed all the livestock. Even the humanitarian organizations that were operating have been forced to withdraw from the area as a result of their offices being looted. Food is now in scarce supply; potable water absent and the scene is set for carnage on a massive scale.

If slow starvation and thirst is not enough, then consider the cases of four women from Kidyneer. Unable to escape fast enough from government forces, they have been captured and turned into sex slaves. For Hawwa Mohamed Ali Hassaballa 58, Haram Abulgasim Hassaballa 56, Bahria Mohamed Saleh 54, Khadija Abdulrasul Abulgasim 32 their life today is one of brutality. Raped on a continual basis and held with government militias, they probably wonder whether they will even survive. Contrast this with all participants in Doha with their fancy suits, per-diems and disingenuous hand-shaking. Has Sudan’s political strata been reduced to a parade of the greedy and corrupt, while innocent women – mothers, daughter and wives – are brutalized and receive no protection from those who are supposed to help them?

Whichever way one views the situation, one thing is clear: all that counts today is the strength of one’s political connections and how much one can talk. All that counts are the sham peace talks, expensive airline tickets and the empty rhetoric of the international community. Those without such connections are simply forgotten. For those without power, human rights conventions mean nothing; hard-fought conventions to stop genocide buy them no time. Today the people of Jebel Marra wait hoping that tomorrow will bring a better day. They wait hoping that someone will come to their rescue and stop the humanitarian blockade of their region. Unfortunately however with the current apathy of those in power, it may be some time before their plight is noticed. Let us hope that it will not be too late.

Dr. Anne Bartlett is a Professor at the University of San Francisco. She may be reached at albartlett@usfca.edu


Standing with Darfur

If you want peace, work for justice
إذا كنت تريد السلام ، أعمل من أجل العدالة

StopGenocideNow.org



Tweet this button to read: @JimLangevin Call for a Intelligence Committee special hearing re: #Sudan policy review and demand pressures and consequences #SudanSham

GENOCIDE WILL only STOP WITH US - Our leaders have taught us this







Contact links:

President Obama:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
or for organizations at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

Secretary of State Clinton:
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

State Department Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/EngageStateDept


Ambassador Susan Rice:
http://archive.usun.state.gov/Issues/Contact2.html

Vice President Biden:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
or for organizations at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

And at http://sudansham2010.org/page3/page3.html
do the tweets but replace any reference to Senate Resolution 404
with something important like "Gration has got to go"
in words of your choosing.

* Action to take: US RI Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Call (401) 453-5294 or Email

Message:
I would like to thank Senator Whitehouse for his continued efforts for Darfur and Sudan. The Sudan Policy’s quarterly review just happened. Sudan has clearly violated benchmarks, and Obama’s policy promised consequences and pressures if and when this happens. Senator Whitehouse, as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, should hold a hearing about the Sudan Policy quarterly review. The Senate Intelligence Committee members should ask about the specific benchmarks, pressures, and incentives in the policy, hrolding our administration to their word.

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Wednesday, March 24, 2010

US ENVOY GRATION HAS GOT TO GO

General Scott Gration has been a disastrous choice by President Obama for Special Envoy to Sudan from the time he opened his mouth. It is hard to imagine Obama has paid any attention to what Gration has been saying for a year now. The statements, one after another, are such ridiculous statements. They are untrue and simply the opposite of helpful.

U.S. Envoy's Outreach to Sudan is Criticized as Naive

Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, September 29, 2009


www.washingtonpost.com

EL FASHER, Sudan -- The volatility of this East African nation -- from the Darfur conflict to the threat of renewed civil war in the south -- is becoming a test of how President Obama will reconcile a policy of engagement with earlier statements blasting a government he said had "offended the standards of our common humanity."

Top administration officials are scheduled to meet Tuesday to discuss a major review of the United States' Sudan policy. But even as that document is being finalized, U.S. diplomacy has remained mostly in the hands of Obama's special envoy to Sudan, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration, who is pushing toward normalized relations with the only country in the world led by a president indicted on war-crimes charges.

Although Gration describes the approach as pragmatic and driven by a sense of urgency, his critics here and in the United States say it is dangerously, perhaps willfully, naive. During a recent five-day trip to Sudan, Gration heard from southern officials, displaced Darfurians, rebels and others who complained uniformly that he is being manipulated by government officials who talk peace even as they undermine it.

Still, at the end of the visit, Gration maintained a strikingly different perspective. He had seen signs of goodwill from the government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, he said, and viewed many of the complaints as understandable yet knee-jerk reactions to a government he trusts is ready to change.

"We've got to think about giving out cookies," said Gration, who was appointed in March. "Kids, countries -- they react to gold stars, smiley faces, handshakes, agreements, talk, engagement."

Gration's approach has supporters, including Eltyeb Hag Ateya, a Sudanese professor and critic of Bashir's ruling party. He said Gration is "completely different" from previous envoys, who succeeded only in alienating the people who hold the levers of power in Sudan.

Gration's detractors say his approach is based on a misunderstanding of how Bashir's ruling party works. John Prendergast, co-chairman of the Enough Project, a human rights group advocating tougher, multilateral sanctions against Sudan, said Bashir and his top advisers respond only to pressure. "They do not respond to nice guys coming over and saying, 'We have to be a good guest,' " he said. "They eat these people for dinner."

Adam Mudawi, a Sudanese human rights activist who has seen envoys come and go, put it more bluntly: "In six months, he'll find out," he said. "They are liars."

But in interviews during the trip, Gration said that Sudanese government officials have not lied to him. He spoke of new realities in Darfur, where a brutal government campaign has given way to banditry and fighting among rebel factions and tribes. Although many say the government has orchestrated the chaos, Gration spread the blame. Rebels have turned into criminal gangs and have not unified for peace talks, he said. And many displaced Darfurians are dealing with "psychological stuff" that is leading to unhelpful mistrust of the government, he said.

Gration said that in his view, the ruling party deserves credit lately for allowing some foreign aid groups to return after Bashir expelled others following his March indictment by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes in Darfur. Gration said economic sanctions, first imposed in 1997, have thwarted development that would help marginalized parts of Sudan.

And as distasteful as it may seem, he said, engaging the ruling party is the only way to get a settlement in Darfur and to avert a potentially devastating war ahead of the semiautonomous southern region's 2011 vote on independence.

Ghazi Salahuddin, a close Bashir adviser, praised Gration for "trying to be evenhanded." During a stop in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state, Gration was greeted like a rock star by hundreds of cheering Bashir supporters in a conference hall plastered with posters of Bashir and Obama, poorly photo-shopped together.

Read the full article: www.washingtonpost.com

U.S. Envoy Gration Denies Present-Day Conflict in Darfur as “Genocide”

http://www.damanga.org/newsroom/press_releases

June 17, 2009- According to multiple news sources, The U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan, General Scott Gration, referred to the situation in Darfur in a U.S. State Department briefing as merely “remnants of genocide” and “unlike the coordinated effort [characteristic of the genocide] between 2003-2006”.

Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy is very disturbed by Gration’s statements and find it extremely unfortunate that Mr. Gration was deliberately and intentionally, trying to undermine the Darfur genocide by describing the violence as merely a “usual conflict” and also comparing the genocide the dissimilar Southern Sudan conflict. Gration is clearly ignoring the massive killings, rapes, air force raids, and the Janjaweed attacks that plague Darfur daily, allowing the systematic destruction to continue in the region.

It is becoming increasingly apparent from such statements that the Obama administration’s promises to end the genocide in Darfur are empty. Instead, Gration, Secretary of State Clinton, Vice President Biden, and even Obama himself seem to be turning a blind eye to the situation while they enjoy the recent peace within the Southern Sudan region. Gration’s statement that “violence in the south is greater than that in Darfur” seems unfounded in light of the recent ICC arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir in regards to the violence in Darfur that has killed over 450,000 people since 2003 and has destroyed countless other lives. Of course, the total causalities from 1993 up to 2003 are excluded from most data but amount to over 100,000 (Please visit www.damanga.org for more archived information and facts since the early 1990's).

It is very clear that this administration may have alternative motives: perhaps this double standard between campaign rhetoric and tangible action is rooted in religious motives (Muslim Darfur vs. Christian South), political interests (oil in south Sudan), or economic interests (once again, oil, China, and cost of intervention). As Darfuris, we are disheartened by the Obama’s administration inaction and cheap rhetoric.

Damanga hopes and urges Obama and his Envoy Gration, to reconsider their undermining statements concerning Darfur and restore justice to the Darfur region by enforcing the ICC arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir; their statements and inaction only allow the violence to continue. For real change to occur, Damanga urges that the following actions and policies be immediately implemented by the U.S., Europe, Canada, and the U.N:

- Immediate implementation of the UNSC Resolution number 1769 that has been passed since 2007 demanding the following:

-Deployment of 26.000 multinational peacekeepers to Darfur, with full mandate of chapter 7 to stop violence in Darfur and Sudan.

- Application of a non-fly zone over Darfur and Chad boarders.

- Disarmament of all the Janjaweed Arab militia killers.

- Application of a trade embargo against Sudan's import of weapons from China, Russia, India and other Arab countries.

- Sanctions against the Sudanese government, and companies doing business with Sudan. Force all American and foreign companies that
have standing business ties with President Al-Bashir’s administration to divest immediately from Sudan.

- The Freezing of all international assets of the Sudanese government and Janjaweed personnel.

- Support for the ICC work and arrests of those already indicted beginning with Bashir, Ahmad Haroun, Salih Kusheeb.

- Return of the lands that were confiscated by the Sudanese government and given to recruited Janjaweed militiamen to their Darfuri owners.

- Security for the safe return of IDP's and Refugees so that they may go back home to rebuild their villages, schools and other facilities.

Darfur displaced reject Gration’s statements on genocide

Saturday, June 20th, 2009
www.darfurpeace.org


June 20, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — The spokesperson of Darfur internally displaced people slammed the statements made by US envoy to Sudan over the issue of genocide in Darfur and criticized his policy of constructive engagement with Khartoum.

Hussein Abu Sharati regretted remarks made by Scott Gration last Wednesday about genocide in Darfur. “What happened and still is happening in Darfur is genocide and it is regrettable to see the envoy of President Obama speculating over such sensitive issue,” he said.

“Gration was in Darfur and the IDPs he met explained to him their suffering, the precarious security situation and the attacks that the government militias still carry out against them.” “So we are deeply hurt and extremely disappointed,” further added Abu Sharati.

Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, the leader of the rebel United Resistance Front in an interview with Sudan Tribune today echoed Abu Sharati statements and underlined the contradiction of his remarks with what President Obama had said earlier this month in Germany.

The IDPs representative said their demand for security and the disarmament of the government backed militias before the peace talks finds its root causes in the genocide and attacks committed on daily basis against the civilians.

“This is what he had heard from the IPDs but unfortunately he is working now in his constructive dialogue with Khartoum and this approach could lead easily to this position,” he said.

“…The people living in IDP camps and refugee camps have the opportunity to move back to a place of their own choosing and to be able to live in safety and security and dignity,” said Gration in a press briefing on Wednesday June 17.

Abu Sharati criticized this remark by the US envoy saying he seems forgetting that the essence of the conflict in Darfur was the control of land.

“The militias are engaged in this genocide because the government had promised them our fertile land that they are now occupying illegally after changing its features.” …”So what we want is our land not any other land because what Gration is saying is exactly what the government is trying to implement: settle the IDPs in other places while their lands are given to the pro-government militias and we will never accept this issue.”

The IDPs spokesperson stressed they want the international community to take in consideration that the Darfur people have been killed for their land and no solution for this conflict could be sealed without taking into account this demand.

“This is why we ask for security and to evict these people from our land.”

Abu Sharati also minimized the importance of the Qatari process saying they do not feel “concerned by the issues discussed there or represented by the rebel movement (JEM) involved in the process.”

(ST)

Darfur's Stubborn Realities

Thursday, August 6, 2009

from The Boston Globe, August 6, 2009
http://www.sudanreeves.org/Article247.html

boston.com/bostonglobe

(Published as “The Phony Optimism on Darfur”)

In Senate testimony last week, US special presidential envoy for Sudan Scott Gration offered a peculiarly upbeat assessment of the crisis in Darfur and the prospects for peace throughout Sudan. He argued that we should move toward normalizing relations with the regime in Khartoum, including lifting sanctions and removing Sudan from the State Department list of terrorist-sponsoring nations. This would be a grave mistake—and would reward, at precisely the wrong moment, a regime comprising the very men who have orchestrated genocide in Darfur and continue to renege on key elements of the 2005 north/south peace agreement.

There was little policy detail in Gration’s testimony because debate within the Obama administration continues to be intense. But Gration is close to Obama and seems determined to set the tone and establish the substance of US Sudan policy. He clearly went a step too far in declaring on June 17 that genocide had ended in Darfur, and that there were only “remnants of genocide,” a characterization disowned by the State Department, US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice—and President Obama himself, who used the word “genocide” in the present tense during speeches in Germany and Ghana.

More troublingly, Gration has said too little about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the consequences of Khartoum’s March 4 expulsion of 13 key international humanitarian organizations; he has demonstrated little appreciation for what was lost, and the difficulty in generating new capacity. Stop-gap measures are beginning to fail at the height of the rainy season, and a number of camps report grave health and sanitation crises.

Gration also appears excessively optimistic about the moribund Darfur peace process. He repeatedly declared to Darfuris and humanitarians during a recent trip to the region that peace in Darfur would be achieved by the end of this year. But any meaningful peace agreement will first require an effective cease-fire, with robust monitoring of a sort that cannot be provided by the current UN/African Union peacekeeping force, which is badly under-equipped, under-manned, and has lost the confidence of most Darfuris.

Humanitarians were dismayed at Gration’s insistent talk about the “voluntary” return of some 2.7 million displaced persons languishing in camps throughout Darfur. There is no humanitarian capacity to oversee such returns and ensure their voluntary nature; Khartoum refuses to provide security in areas it controls; and Darfuris in the camps complain bitterly that they are being asked to return to lands without protection, and which have oftentimes been taken over by Arab tribal groups. The notorious Janjaweed have not been disarmed and pose a constant threat. Even in the camps themselves security is tenuous; women still face rape, men are tortured and murdered, and looting is commonplace. In the past, it has been Khartoum that has pushed for returns under these threatening conditions; now, perversely, it is the US special envoy.

In his Senate testimony Gration suggests that his travels to Cairo and Beijing enabled him to meet “leaders who share our common concern and want to work together toward shared objectives.” This ignores the long and resolutely obstructionist role both Egypt and China have played in Sudan over many years. Shortly after Gration’s testimony, a senior Egyptian official described Darfur as an “artificial” crisis directed against the people of Sudan. Beijing’s continued shipment of advanced weaponry to Khartoum; its opposition to the role of the International Criminal Court in pursuing atrocity crimes in Darfur; and its relentless support of Khartoum at the Security Council leave one wondering what Gration means by “common concern.”

Most disturbingly, Gration gives no evidence in any of his public comments of understanding the ruthless nature of the security cabal that rules Sudan and is determined to retain its stranglehold on national wealth and power; like many before him, he is convinced that the National Islamic Front is controlled by men who can be reasoned with, cajoled, rewarded, made to do “the right thing.” He ignores the basic truth about these men: during their twenty years in power they have never abided by any agreement with any Sudanese party—not one, not ever. Any rapprochement that is not preceded by clear and irreversible actions to establish unimpeded humanitarian access, create freedom of movement and deployment for peacekeepers, and meet the critical benchmarks of the north/south peace agreement is doomed to fail.

[Eric Reeves is author of “A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide”]

US Darfur envoy criticized by refugees

By The World September 15, 2009

www.theworld.org

Darfur refugees are criticizing US envoy Scott Gration for reportedly downplaying the scope of the crisis in the Sudanese region. Anchor Marco Werman finds out more from human rights lawyer, Rebecca Hamilton, who accompanied Gration on part of his tour through the region this past weekend.

Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

MARCO WERMAN: We go next to another East African trouble spot. Darfur, a region in Sudan. Darfur became the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in 2003. That’s when rebels there took up arms against the Sudanese government. An estimated 2.7 million people were driven from their homes and many still live in camps. U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration visited some of them over the weekend. He was not always welcomed. Human rights lawyer Rebecca Hamilton accompanied Gration. She’s in The Hague at the moment. So General Gration was appointed by President Obama, who was seen as kind of a champion of Darfur during last year’s election campaign, even using the word genocide to describe what happened there. So what kind of reception did General Gration get, Rebecca?

REBECCA HAMILTON: Among the displaced population in the camps there was, I think, it’s said it’s a very strong reaction against Gration coming to visit. There was one gentleman in the room who had this U.N. paper luggage tag effectively taped to the one eye. And at first you looked at him, and you were thinking, “This is someone we need to get medical care urgently because this is what he’s using for an eye patch.” But in actual fact it was a protest. When he stood up, he said, “I’m wearing this on my one eye because I cannot look to you, Scott Gration, with both eyes after what you said. And this is due to a set of misunderstandings and miscommunications over the testimony that Gration gave recently before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

WERMAN: What was the misunderstanding?

HAMILTON: Yeah, well, it’s over some statements that he made. So he basically spent 85% of the first day there saying three points to all these groups that he spoke with. He said, “I never said Sudan should be removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list. I never said that sanctions should be removed from Khartoum, and I never said that the displaced had to leave their camps now.” And the displaced listened to this. They were sort of ranging from polite to moderately receptive in these groups, but a lot of the times afterwards, I had women come up to me and say, “You know, we heard him apologize but we don’t accept it because we simply don’t believe him.” They at this point perceived him as being … not acting in the interests of the displaced.

WERMAN: Now we should clarify that. You were not there as a member of the special envoy delegation, correct?

HAMILTON: No, and yeah, that’s an important clarifier. I’m writing a book on Darfur policy and the impact of advocacy, and I was really just getting to be a fly on the wall to see the special envoy in action on the ground.

WERMAN: This was his first trip to Darfur, correct?

HAMILTON: No, it’s actually, I think four …

WERMAN: I mean, under the Obama Administration.

HAMILTON: … it’s his fourth trip into Darfur. He’s been extremely active as a special envoy and that’s something that is … I mean, this man is 200% committed to the job, and I would say that having had off-the-record conversations with him, he has a much more nuance of understanding of the government in Khartoum than I perhaps had given him credit for, and that he perhaps gets credit for in the media. So there’s a lot of positive things that you can say, but the fundamental take-away that I got from this trip this weekend was about this really disconnect between him and the displaced population at the moment.

WERMAN: And so with this rather sort of bumpy trip to Darfur, I mean, how does that actually taint the White House policy regarding Darfur at this point? How do the Darfuris feel about, you know, Obama’s policy?

HAMILTON: Well, I think it’s a huge challenge because there was, as you mentioned, so much hope with the Obama Administration coming in. People said very specifically we had a lot of hopes that the change in administration would deliver results for us on the ground in Darfur, and we’re feeling that our hopes are being dashed.

WERMAN: Human rights lawyer, Rebecca Hamilton, is writing a book about the Darfur Advocacy Movement, and she’s just back from a trip to Darfur with U.S. Envoy Scott Gration. Thank you very much for your time indeed.

HAMILTON: Thank you.


U.S. envoy pushes for Darfur peace deal before Sudanese elections

Washington Post

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2010; 8:39 PM

NAIROBI -- The U.S. special envoy to Sudan warned Wednesday that efforts to bring peace to the country's troubled Darfur region could become less of a priority for the Obama administration if a full-fledged peace agreement is not reached before Sudanese elections scheduled for mid-April.

"There are going to be a lot of things that are keeping us from focusing on Darfur," retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration told reporters here. "That's why we have this little window where we really need to get the framework solidified."

Gration's comments came as the Sudanese government and one of Darfur's main rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement, resumed talks Wednesday in the Qatari capital, Doha, in a bid to conclude a formal peace accord by a March 15 deadline. But since the two sides signed a preliminary treaty last month, violence has flared in Darfur and some disagreements have emerged. Moreover, none of Darfur's other main rebel groups are engaged in peace talks with the government.

Further complicating matters are the upcoming elections, Sudan's first multiparty vote in nearly a quarter-century. Afterward, Gration said, the focus will be on reaching agreements and enacting other measures ahead of a January 2011 referendum in which South Sudan will vote on whether to secede.

"In the next two weeks I think we are going to see a real big focus on the election," Gration said. "There is not going to be a lot of bandwidth to be doing Darfur and negotiations."

The possibility that Darfur -- a top U.S. priority since the Bush administration declared in 2004 that a genocide was unfolding there -- could be placed on the back burner reflects Sudan's tenuous state as the country enters one of its most decisive periods since achieving independence in 1956. It is also likely to displease influential American activist groups that have urged Washington to end the violence and hold the Sudanese government accountable for alleged war crimes.

The conflict in Darfur has claimed an estimated 300,000 lives, and more than 2.7 million people have been driven from their homes, according to U.N. figures. It began in 2003 when rebels rose against the government, accusing it of politically and economically marginalizing the sprawling western region. The government retaliated by unleashing its army and proxy Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which targeted Darfur's mostly black African population, razing villages and raping women.

Last year, the International Criminal Court in The Hague indicted Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir for committing crimes against humanity in Darfur -- the first sitting head of a nation to face such charges.

On Wednesday, Gration said Bashir should respond to the charges, but he stopped short of labeling the violence genocide. Until last year, he said, the international community's focus on Darfur had taken precedence over the 2005 peace deal between North and South Sudan, which ended a 20-year civil war that killed an estimated 2 million people.

"Frankly, we were pulled off message and off focus when Darfur happened, and Darfur sort of overshadowed what was happening in terms of implementation of the" north-south peace agreement, Gration said.

Gration, who heads to Doha this week partly to help bring other Darfur rebel groups to the table, said the current treaty has a better chance of success than previous failed peace deals. A key reason, he said, is a rapprochement between Chad and Sudan, which have accused each other of backing rebel groups. "This is one of the first very serious agreements we've had," he said.

Still, there are major differences to bridge. The Justice and Equality Movement, for instance, wants next month's elections postponed so that the group ands its supporters in Darfur can participate -- a move the government is unlikely to support.

Gration acknowledged that even if a full-fledged agreement is reached, it would only partially solve Darfur's problems.

"If there's going to be a comprehensive and lasting peace, all of the rebel groups really need to be involved," he said.



``````````````````````````````````````````

Gration on Darfur: inside a meeting gone wrong

by Josh Rogin March 2, 2010

The Cable Foreign Policy

While the Sudanese government was busy striking a peace deal with the Darfuri people of western Sudan, back in Washington, Obama's point man on the issue was holding a tense meeting with members of the Darfuri diaspora that has since touched off a fierce controversy.

A coalition of Sudan groups has been complaining that inside the Jan. 26 meeting, which was held off the record at the United States Institute of Peace, Special Envoy Scott Gration -- who outraged Darfur campaigners last September when he said the Khartoum regime was more likely to respond to incentives than threats -- made several statements that veered far from the Obama administration's official policy. Others deny that account.

While the exact content of his remarks are in dispute, "clearly the meeting between Gration and the Darfuris was a disaster," according to one Washington-based advocacy leader, who was not in the meeting but communicated with several attendees.

"Every time Gration speaks, he seems to churn up a whole damage-control exercise," the advocacy leader said.

An open letter (pdf) sent to President Obama in mid-February by 35 mostly smaller Sudan-related groups alleges that, inside the Jan. 26 meeting, Gration said the Sudanese government didn't intentionally kill civilians in Darfur and that the U.S. government is planning to shift some $2 billion in funding from that region to South Sudan. The letter calls for Gration's removal as Sudan envoy.

But according to multiple sources, those groups are twisting Gration's words to make them seem more out of step than they actually were. The Cable spoke with several of the participants in the meeting, all of whom asked for anonymity because they had agreed to keep Gration's remarks off the record. The consensus was that the letter to Obama mischaracterized much of what the special envoy actually said.

It may be impossible to determine exactly what Gration did say, since no transcript exists and there were language and communications difficulties to boot. Only four of the 35 groups in the letter actually had a representative in the meeting, the Washington-based advocacy leader pointed out. Gration's office did not respond to requests for comment.

Several attendees acknowledged there was palpable frustration at the end of the meeting, however, due to a perception that Gration chose mostly to explain his own thinking rather than have a genuine exchange of views.

The differing accounts of the meeting highlight a growing divide among Sudan groups over how to deal with Gration. One faction mostly outside Washington wants to force his ouster, whereas another faction, mostly consisting of larger institutions inside the Beltway, assumes that he's not likely to be thrown overboard any time soon and worries that his sacking would only create a vacuum at a critical time in U.S. diplomacy.

These larger groups hope that before 2011, when the autonomous South Sudan region is due to hold a referendum on whether to secede altogether, the White House will assign ownership of this issue to senior officials in the State Department and the National Security Council, wresting some control away from Gration.

Advocacy leaders worry what might happen if the fragile truce in Sudan falls apart, the South votes for independence, and the U.S. is forced to take sides. They see Gration's reaction to the latest agreement as an indication he is too inclined to give Khartoum the benefit of the doubt.

"We have had agreements in the past; most have failed," Gration said last week in Doha, the Qatari capital. "I think this is different."

Last week, however, U.N. officials accused the government of Sudan of increasing its attacks on Darfur civilians, despite the new truce.

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed people could change the world.
Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
Margaret Mead

See 50 days of actions
running up to the Sudan April 11-13, 2010 Elections
at the website:

http://sudansham2010.org/

GENOCIDE WILL only STOP WITH US
Our leaders have taught us this




Tweet this button to read: @JimLangevin Call for a Intelligence Committee special hearing re: #Sudan policy review and demand pressures and consequences #SudanSham








Contact links:

President Obama:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
or for organizations at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

Secretary of State Clinton:
http://contact-us.state.gov/cgi-bin/state.cfg/php/enduser/ask.php

State Department Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/EngageStateDept


Ambassador Susan Rice:
http://archive.usun.state.gov/Issues/Contact2.html

Vice President Biden:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
or for organizations at
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

And at http://sudansham2010.org/page3/page3.html
do the tweets but replace any reference to Senate Resolution 404 with something important like "Gration has got to go"
in words of your choosing.

* Action to take: US RI Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Call (401) 453-5294 or Email

Message:
I would like to thank Senator Whitehouse for his continued efforts for Darfur and Sudan. The Sudan Policy’s quarterly review just happened. Sudan has clearly violated benchmarks, and Obama’s policy promised consequences and pressures if and when this happens. Senator Whitehouse, as a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, should hold a hearing about the Sudan Policy quarterly review. The Senate Intelligence Committee members should ask about the specific benchmarks, pressures, and incentives in the policy, holding our administration to their word.


If you want peace, work for justice
إذا كنت تريد السلام ، أعمل من أجل العدالة

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