US SENATOR OBAMA CARED ABOUT DARFUR ~ PRESIDENT OBAMA NEGLECTS DARFURIS

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A speech from the 2006 Rally for Darfur in Washington, D.C.

Million-Voices-Rally-Washington-D-C ~ Barack Obama, Elie Wiesel, Nancy Pelosi, George Clooney and others speak at the Rally for Darfur April 30, 2006 There is no embed for the video, only the link to the video. It is worth listening to. Hear Senator Obama take a stand that he hasn't taken since being President.

Amnesty calls on Sudan to tackle human rights abuses ahead of referendum

Source: Sudan Tribune

January 7, 2011 (NAIROBI) – Sudan must refrain from ramping up military attacks in Darfur and guard against human rights violations during and after the referendum on south Sudan’s independence, which is due to begin on Sunday, Amnesty International has demanded.

The vote on south Sudan independence is the final stipulation of the 2005’s peace deal that ended nearly two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan. South Sudan is largely expected to opt for secession.

The global human rights watchdog on Friday accused the Sudanese government of taking advantage of the fact that the world’s attention has shifted to south Sudan referendum to step up military operations in Darfur region.

According to Amnesty, more than 20,000 people were displaced in December last year by a spate of largely unreported attacks by government forces in several areas in Darfur region, including Dar Al Salam, Shangil Tobaya and Khor Abeche camps in north and south Darfur.

The conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur rumbles on despite numerous international efforts to broker a peace agreement between the Sudanese government and increasingly factionalized rebel groups.

In a media briefing received by Sudan Tribune on Friday, Amnesty said that the International Community had turned a blind eye on these attacks as its attention shifts towards south Sudan referendum.

Separately, Amnesty said that members of Sudan’s National Security and Intelligence Services are still abusing their massive powers, noting the arrest last November of 11 Darfuri activists who are still held in detention without charges or trial.

Amnesty further warned that the persecution of ethnic monitories in the north may increase during and after the referendum. It also noted that women in north Sudan still face “cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment” under the Public Order Law which sanctions flogging and arrest of women on the basis of their clothing and public behavior.

On the north-south issue, Amnesty warned against the implosive nature of the citizenship issue, saying that failure to reach an agreement on the issue of citizenship could lead to “mass displacements, various human rights violations and the separation of families in both the north and south.”

North and south Sudan remain deadlocked over a host of post referendum arrangements, most notably is the issue of citizenship and the status of the contested oil-producing area of Abyei.

Amnesty called on the north and the south to allow people to choose which citizenship they wish to obtain, noting that the conditions for obtaining citizenship must not discriminate on the basis of birth, ethnic origin, religion, gender, marital status or similar other factors.

The organization also called on the authorities in the north and the south to tackle human rights violations effectively during the referendum and to instruct law-enforcement bodies to protect people from intimidation and harassment as a result of their choices in the referendum.

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"...Gration said last month that one crucial effort was to determine the future status of Abyei, a disputed, oil-rich region that will not be voting next week because of disagreements over voter eligibility and logistical delays. If the country splits, the north and the south could both claim ownership of Abyei, turning the region into a potential flashpoint for renewed conflict.

"We are working with both sides to calm the rhetoric and put a plan in place that will give both sides reassurances," Gration said about the Abyei situation. "This is probably not a situation where either side will be happy. We're looking for a solution that leaves both sides angry but neither side mad."

Source: thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/01/04/kerry_to_spend_week_in_

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Southern Sudan government orders Darfur rebels out of Juba prior to referendum

Source: www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/southern-sudan-government-orders-darfur-rebels-out-of-juba-prior-to-referendum-2011010566279.html

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Sudan’s FM warns of war with Juba over Darfur rebels

December 28, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan foreign minister Ali Karti warned today that South Sudan support to Darfur rebel groups will lead to war with the new country.

If the South Sudan government wants to start its new era with a war that will be the case if it harbors Darfur movements, said the Sudanese official in a press briefing in Khartoum with the visiting Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa.

“We want the South to have a healthy start, safe and stable and we do not want it to be a party to what is going on between the government and the Darfur movements,” Karti further said.

The minister pointed out to government allegations that the southern Sudan ruling SPLM harbors Darfur rebels groups and supports them with logistics and weapons. Since last November, Sudanese warplanes also bombed different areas in southern Sudan saying they hit Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) fighters.

Minni Minnawi, the sole signatory of Darfur Peace Agreement and former Senior Presidential Assistant is now based in Juba. His forces clashed with the Sudanese army recently in different areas in Darfur and he is considered as “legitimate target” by Khartoum.

The government says JEM rebels are now trained by the southern Sudan army SPLA and Ugandan army, but the rebels and Juba denied the allegations.

Southern Sudanese are expected to vote for secession in a referendum on self-determination scheduled to be held on 9 January. The ruling party in the semi-autonomous region called to vote for separation accusing the National Congress Party (NCP) of not making unity attractive.

Karti stressed that the self-determination right aims to realize peace and not war he also said that his government will respect the outcome of the vote.

Officials from the ruling NCP to begin by President Omer Al-Bashir repeated pledges today that Khartoum will respect the result of the referendum which is expected to be widely in favor of secession.

The visiting Amr Moussa said the Arab League said there was no indication that north and south would return to war.

“I don’t see any indication that the parties have the willingness to go back to war,” Moussa said, adding “What is going on between them is far away from war. There is a political good will.”

The Arab League chief who will dispatch some 87 observers to monitor the referendum said the regional organization will “respect the result of the referendum and what the voters decide,” he said.

Related posts ~

1. Sudan’s FM warns of war with Juba over Darfur rebels
2. Sudan’s spy chief demands Juba to arrest Darfur rebels in Southern Sudan
3. South Sudan army denies supporting Darfur rebels
4. Khartoum’s army bomb South Sudan, targeting Darfur rebels
5. JEM rebels deny accusations of being supported by South Sudan

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our humanity in the balance

"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 Monday, June 7, 2010 - 8:37 PM

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

IF THERE AREN'T ENOUGH PEOPLE STANDING UP AND SAYING GENOCIDE WILL STOP WITH US - GENOCIDE WILL GO ON - AND SO IT DOES

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Torture Video from Darfur

Uploaded by SalemNews

SalemNews — May 26, 2010 — This video smuggled out of Umsauna, South Darfur, shows government soldiers (Government of Sudan) beating and torturing innocent civilians, asking them where JEM leaders are located.

After two days of a deadly battle, fighters from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) managed to claim Umsauna back from the GOS, 5 days ago - the town is now in their full control.

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May-25-2010

Shocking Torture Video from Darfur

Alysha Atma Salem-News.com African Affairs Correspondent

(UMSAUNA, South Darfur / PORTLAND, Oregon)

This video smuggled out of Umsauna, South Darfur, shows government soldiers (GoS) beating and torturing innocent civilians, asking them where JEM leaders are located.

After two days of a deadly battle, fighters from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) managed to claim Umsauna back from the GOS, 5 days ago - the town is now in their full control.

On-ground sources confirmed earlier today, that the GOS 106th infantry battalion lined more than 87 vehicles and are ready roll into Umsauna tonight.

Darfur has seen a massive increase in violence.

Radio Dabanga has reported several arrests of citizens in Nyala on suspicion of belonging to rebel parties specifically JEM.

The targeted violence has many innocent families fleeing into neighboring displaced/refugee camps. These camps are already suffering extreme shortages of water and food.

A leader of the displaced people in Kalma camp in South Darfur revealed that 480 families had fled to the camp in the wake of fighting between government forces and the Justice and Equality Movement in areas of Sharq Jebel Marra, Shangil Tobayi and parts of south the railway.

The camp leader, Hussein Abu Alsharati, said that these families are living in extremely difficult conditions. He said that no one has offered to help them.

480 more families flee to Darfur's huge Kalma camp - Radio Dabanga

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My letter to President Obama tonight via
www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

You can send your message: www.whitehouse.gov/contact

May 27, 2010

Dear President Obama,

I write to you about two important issues to me personally and globally.

The oil disaster should NOT be in the hands of BP. It is unbelievable that the government did not take this problem-solving away from BP and simply make them accountable in every way, financially, legally and criminally. As much as I supported you, Mr. Obama, for President, I am that disappointed in your handling of this crisis that has been going on for five weeks.

BP and lack of proper oversight by our government agencies allowed the present disaster in the gulf and yet you have let BP be in charge of the unending oil gushing into our planet’s waters. Rep. Charlie Melancon said more how he cared today, than this administration has demonstrated since the crisis in the gulf began.

And I am also thoroughly disappointed in your lack of interest in the Darfuris situation.

Special Envoy Gration is a disaster for the Darfuri people. And yet he remains the Special Envoy. The Sudan elections were a sham and yet your administration treats them like they are just.

It is difficult to remain calm with the inaction of our representative government on both of these issues. As a human rights activist, specifically regarding genocide prevention and intervention, and even more specifically, regarding Darfur and Sudan, I am thoroughly disgusted with this administration’s lack of engagement in the Darfuris’ plight.

The attending of al-Bashir’s May 27 inauguration by Haile Menkerios of South Africa, head of the UN Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and Ibrahim Gambari of Nigeria, joint head of the African Union/UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is inappropriate. Your silence is irrefutably wrong. And our USA acceptance of this election is obvious by how Gration speaks and behaves. It just makes me sick in my heart to watch our government continue the impotent handling of what goes on regarding the Darfuri people.

This video (link included) smuggled out of Umsauna, South Darfur, shows government soldiers (Government of Sudan) beating and torturing innocent civilians this week, asking them where JEM leaders are located. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zybNoI27nJI The article about this story from Salem-New.com http://www.salem-news.com/articles/may252010/darfur-video-aa.php

With all due respect, I would like to see you be the leader that I was led to believe you would be.

Sincerely yours,

Sandra Hammel

Use Your Voice To Stop Genocide RI

To show I am human and not spam my required words to type were: "the suffered".

You can also call or write to the President:

The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Please include your e-mail address

Phone Numbers

Comments: 202-456-1111

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

Darfur In the News

AFP: Sudan shuts door on more peace talks with Darfur rebel group. Sudan has closed the door on peace talks with Darfur's main rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), a top negotiator said Wednesday, warning that instead its leaders will be prosecuted. Presidential adviser Ghazi Atabani told reporters that the mediators in the peace talks between JEM and the Khartoum government -- Qatar, the United Nations and the African Union -- had been notified of Khartoum's decision. JEM, one of two key Darfur rebel groups, signed a framework accord in February in Doha that was hailed by the international community as a major step toward bringing peace to the region devastated by a seven-year war. But there was no final, comprehensive peace agreement by a March 15 deadline and JEM broke off from the talks that same month claiming ceasefire violations and resumed attacking government forces.

BBC: Sudan's Omar al-Bashir is sworn in as president. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir has been sworn into office again, following his controversial win in last month's elections. President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes in Darfur. Many international leaders stayed away from the inauguration but at least five African presidents attended the event. The UN said it was sending the heads of the two UN peacekeeping missions in the country to the ceremony. Presidents from Ethiopia, Chad, Malawi, Mauritania, and Djibouti were in the audience.

Citizen-Times: 2 Samaritan's Purse workers released, 1 still held in Sudan. Samaritan's Purse reports that two of three aid workers abducted in Sudan have been released. Here's the report posted on the Samaritan's Purse website Tuesday: Two Sudanese Samaritan's Purse workers abducted in the Darfur region last week have been released. A third staff member is still being held. Please continue to pray for continued safety and a quick release.

NPR: In Parts Of Sudan, Life Hasn't Changed In Centuries. In Sudan, voters are expected to return to the polls in January, when the South takes up a referendum on full independence from the North. But as the people of southern Sudan prepare to decide their future, it's necessary to acknowledge their present. For while some Southerners live in the 21st century, others are still in the 19th -- or in some cases, a biblical age.

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Statement from Darfuris in Diaspora, North America

Regarding the latest events in Darfur

May 26, 2010

We, the undersigned Darfuris in Diaspora in North America, would like to express our gravest concern regarding the suffering of our people back home in Darfur. There are numerous indicators that lead us to believe that the international community is no longer diligently seeking a just political solution to the conflict in Darfur.

Today we see the representatives of the institutions of the international community respond to the demands of the regime in Khartoum while Darfuris bleed to death in Darfur. Over a year after General Martin Agwai, the ex- head of UNAMID, said that war in Darfur is over, the Government of Khartoum continues more fierce campaigns of aerial bombings targeting civilians and water wells. Today, following elections described by the U.S. State Department as neither free nor fair, we see delegations from the United Nations, African Union, and Arab League turn a blind eye to the killings in Darfur that were inflicted recently by the Khartoum regime while they flock to Khartoum to celebrate the inauguration of the killer as president of Sudan.

We would like to summarize here in three points the danger of such indifference by the leading players of the international community:

1) The United Nations announced that it will send the two highest ranking of its officials in Sudan to represent at AlBashir’s inaugural ceremonies in Khartoum on the 27^th of May. The two top U.N. officials, Haile Menkerios, head of the U.N. Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), and Ibrahim Gambari, joint head of the African Union/U.N. Mission in Darfur (UNAMID, will celebrate with the killer in Khartoum while the blood of our relatives is spilled in Jebel Marrah and Jebel Moon. We, the sons and daughters of those whose blood is spilled there in Darfur, believe that the soft policy of the American Administration towards Sudan sent the wrong signal to the United Nation, African Union, Arab League, and other international bodies.

2) We believe that the first criterion of the international mediators in the Darfur conflict is to be honest brokers. The world witnessed and followed last week the unfolding events of the 19 hours standoff at the N’djamena’s airport in Chad. The leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, was denied entry to the country, yet what was learned later was that the international mediators were pulling strings from Doha, capital of Qatar, to force the head of JEM to sit down for negotiation with the Government of Sudan. The government of Sudan has a great interest in signing meaningless agreements with Darfuri factions. We believe that the mediators are serving, knowingly or not, as tools to the Government of Sudan to suppress the Darfuri cause. In the last seven years we have seen the international mediators press the Darfuri factions to compromise and give up in return for nothing except seeing the suffering of their own people prolonged. Instead, the international mediators should be exerting pressure on the government of Sudan, the root cause of the problem in Darfur. The N’djamena standoff was part of a tactic to force all Darfuri leaders into capitulation. We condemn such acts of those mediators who, through such acts will only make matters worse in Darfur.

3) Albashir is an indicted war criminal. In the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing on May 12^th, U.S. Special Envoy Gration testified that the Obama Administration is pursuing "locally owned accountability and reconciliation mechanisms in light of the recommendations made by the African Union's high-level panel on Darfur." In Darfur we have millions of our people who have lost everything, including loved ones, to the genocide. The victims hope for nothing in this life but justice. Darfuris have no trust left in Gration since he uttered the words “remnants of genocide” in his early days on the job. Now we believe that this AU panel on Darfur is nothing more than an effort to let AlBashir off the hook. We will not, as Darfuris, accept any substitute to the ICC as a venue for justice for Darfur crimes.

CC to:

- Honorable Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton.

- Honorable U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration.

- Honorable U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon.

- Honorable The joint AU-UN mediator Djibril Bassolé.

- Office of the Prosecutor, International Criminal Court.

Signed by:

No Name State ةيلاولا
مسلإا

1 Mohamed E. Suliman CA أُرىفٌاو
ْاٍُّط خذافٌا ذّذِ

2 Mohamed Altom CA أُرىفٌاو
َىرٌا ذّذِ

3 Maki Ibrahim Maki TX صاظىذ
ٍىِ ُُهازتإ ٍىِ

4 Abdulrahim Khamis TX صاظىذ
ضُّخ ُُدزٌاذثع

5 Kamaldine Moustapha IN أاَذٔإ
ًفطصِ َٓذٌا ياّو

6 Tragi Mustafa Abutalib Canada اذٕو
ةٌاطىتأ ًفطصِ ٍجازذ

7 Ismail Omar Ibrahim TX صاظىذ
ُُهازتإ زّع ًُعاّطإ

8 Dr. Mohamed Hassan NE اىطازثٔ
د
.
ٓظد ذّذِ

9 Bakri Gumaa NJ ٍظَزجىُٔ
حعّج يزىت

10 Aljazoli Sharif Haroun NY نرىَىُٔ
ْوراه فَزش ٌٍوشجٌا

11 Yahia Haroun TX صاظىذ
ْوراه ٍذَ

12 Basamat Ahmed Yahia GA اُجرىج
خاّظت
ذّدأ

13 Abdulgabar Sidig TX صاظىذ
كَذص راثجٌا ذثع

14 Bakhit Shata NE اىطازثٔ
حطش دُخت

15 Dr. Adam Omar Ismail NE اىطازثٔ
د
.
زّع َدأ

16 Eizaldin Mohamed Yahia TX صاظىذ
ٍذَ ذّذِ َٓذٌا شع

17 Adam Abdallah AZ أوشَرأ
اللهذثع َدآ

18 Mohamed Adam Ali CO ودارىٍو
ًٍع َدآ ذّذِ

19 Abdulrahman Shata NE اىطازثٔ
حطش ّٓدزٌاذثع

20 Alnaim Adam TX صاظىذ
َدآ ُُعٌٕا

21 Mohamed Adam Sharaf AZ أوشَرأ
فزش ذّذِ

22 Abubaker Atim TX صاظىذ
ُُذأ زىتىتأ

23 Gedo Hassan AZ أوشَرأ
ٓظد وذج

24 Dulalbait Hassan AZ أوشَرأ
ًطىِ دُثٌا ىض

25 Nusaiba Abass TX صاظىذ
صاثع حثُظٔ

26 Douri Hamid Wadi TN ٍظٕذ
ٌداو ذِاد ٌرود

27 Mahialdin Abakar Suliman PA أُافٍظٕت
ْاٍُّط زىتأ َٓذٌا ٍذِ

28 Alrayah Hamid Wadi TN ٍظٕذ
ٌداو ذِاد خَزٌا

29 Ahmed Omar Tuls TX صاظىذ
ضٍذ زّع ذّدأ

30 Adam Idriss TX صاظىذ
ضَردإ َدأ

31 Khalid Handhel TX صاظىذ
ًظٕد ذٌاخ

32 Mohamed babiker TX صاظىذ
زىتات ذّذِ

33 Adam Babiker AZ أوشَرأ
زىتات َدأ

34 Babiker Babiker TX صاظىذ
زىتات زىتات

35 Khalil Mohamed TX صاظىذ
ذّذِ ًٍُخ

36 Abdulrazig Ibrahim TX صاظىذ
ُُهازتإ قاسزٌاذثع

37 Ibrahim Abdulrahman TX صاظىذ
ّٓدزٌاذثع ُُهازتإ

38 Alsadig Gerbreel TX صاظىذ
ًَزثج قداصٌا

39 Eng. Ibrahim Abdulrahman TX صاظىذ
صذٕهٌّا
\

ّٓذٌاذثع ُُهازتإ

40 Abdulgader Adam TX صاظىذ
َدآ راثجٌاذثع

41 Ahmed Omar Khatir TX صاظىذ
زطاخ زّع ذّدأ

42 Hamid Husain Hajar GA اُجرىج
زجد ُٓظد ذِاد

43 Ibrahim Shata NE اىطازثٔ
حطش ُُهازتإ

44 Abdulaziz Babiker TX صاظىذ
زىتات شَشعٌاذثع

45 Ahmed Yahia Abdallah GA اُجرىج
اللهذثع ٍذَ ذّدأ

46 Hawa Ahmed GA اُجرىج
ذّدأ ءاىد

47 Sidig Abdahalla Abdulkarim TX صاظىذ
َُزىٌاذثع اللهذثع كَذص

48 Abubaker Saleh TX صاظىذ
خٌاص زىتىتأ

49 Suliman Abdulrahim TX صاظىذ
ُُدزٌاذثع ْاٍُّط

50 Ibrahim Shogar TX صاظىذ
رالىش ُُهازتإ

51 Sidig Idriss TX صاظىذ
ضَردإ كَذص

52 Abdallah Mohamed TX صاظىذ
ذّذِ اللهذثع

53 Ahmed Ishag TX صاظىذ
كذطإ ذّدأ

54 Mousa Thour TX صاظىذ
رىث ًطىِ

55 Bashir Gamous TX صاظىذ
صىِاج زُشت

56 Hussain Ibrahim TX صاظىذ
ُُهازتإ ُٓظد

57 Omar Bursham TX صاظىذ
ُشزت زّع

58 Ahmed Mohamed Abdelkarim TX صاظىذ
َُزىٌاذثع ذّذِ ذّدأ

59 Omar Mohamed TX صاظىذ
ذّذِ زّع

60 Adam Abdallah MI ْاجشرُِ
اللهذثع َدآ

61 Abdallah Osman TX صاظىذ
ْاّثع اللهذثع

62 Adam Mohamed Osman TX صاظىذ
ْاّثع ذّذِ َدأ

63 Mohamed Abdallah Haroun TX صاظىذ
ْوراه اللهذثع ذّذِ

64 Adam Hassan Tubaz TX صاظىذ
ساتىذ ٓظد ذّدأ

65 Ahmed Mohamed Arbab TX صاظىذ
باترأ ذّذِ ذّدأ

66 Gumaa Abdahlla TX صاظىذ
اللهذثع حعّج

67 Bushara Ishag TX صاظىذ
كذطإ جراشت

68 Alzubair Altahir TX صاظىذ
زهاطٌا زُتشٌا

69 Khalil Bahar TX صاظىذ
زذت ًٍُخ

70 Ahmed Alshaik TX صاظىذ
ذّدأ
خُشٌا

71 Faisal Ishag TX صاظىذ
كذطإ ًصُف

72 Ridwan Idriss Issa TX صاظىذ
ًظُع ضَردإ ْاىضر

73 Suad Idriss Issa TX صاظىذ
ًظُع ضَردإ داعط

74 Yasir Mohamed TX صاظىذ
ذّذِ زطاَ

75 Soubhi Abdulatif TX صاظىذ
فُطٌٍاذثع ٍذثص

76 Alsadig Mohamed Hassan TX صاظىذ
ٓظد ذّذِ قداصٌا

77 Mohamed Osman TX صاظىذ
ْاّثع ذّذِ

78 Esam Eldin Omar NY نرىَىُٔ
زّع َٓذٌا َاصع

79 Alamaldin Adam NY نرىَىُٔ
َدآ َٓذٌا ٍُع

80 Abdalla Ali NY نرىَىُٔ
ٍٍع اللهذثع

81 Suliman Awadalla TX صاظىذ
الله ضىع ْاٍُّط

82 Dr. Mohamed Ahmed Tirab NH زُشِاهىُٔ
د
.
بازُذ ذّدأ ذّذِ

83 Adeeb Yousif CA اذٕو
فطىَ ةَدأ

84 Mubarak Ishag TX صاظىذ
كذطإ نراثِ

85 Abdulrahman Ahmed TX صاظىذ
ذّدأ ّٓدزٌاذثع

86 Abdulhalim Adam Abdulkarim OH ىَاهوأ
َُزىٌاذثع َدآ ٍُُذٌاذثع

87 Sidig Younis OH ىَاهوأ
كَذص
ضٔىَ

88 Omaima Abdulla NE اىطازثٔ
اللهذثع حُِّأ

89 Abdulbagi Ismail NE اىطازثٔ
ًُعاّطإ ٍلاثٌاذثع

90 Abdullah Ismail NE اىطازثٔ
ًُعاّطإ اللهذثع

91 Abdulrazig Sabeel Abdalla NE اىطازثٔ
اللهذثع ًُثط قسازٌاذثع

92 Adam Sabeel Abdalla NE اىطازثٔ
اللهذثع ًُثط َدآ

93 Ibrahim Abdalla UT اذىَ
اللهذثع ُُهازتإ

94 Mansour Ishag TN ٍظٕذ
كذطإ رىصِٕ

95 Mohamed Abakar UT اذىَ
زىتأ ذّذِ

96 Hanan Atim NE اىطازثٔ
ُُذأ ْإد

97 Gamal Adam NE اىطازثٔ
َدآ ياّج

98 Aldouma Abdalla NE اىطازثٔ
اللهذثع حِوذٌا

99 Hassanain Suliman NE اىطازثٔ
ْاٍُّط ُٕٓظد ذّذِ

100 Issa Ziada NE اىطازثٔ
جداَس ًظُع

101 Abass Khamis NE اىطازثٔ
ضُّخ صاثع

102 Ibrahim Adam NE اىطازثٔ
َدآ ُُهازتإ

103 Abdalla Khamis UT اذىَ
ضُّخ اللهذثع

104 Suliman Hassan UT اذىَ
ٓظد ْاٍُّط

105 Abubaker Hassan Adam GA اُجرىج
َدآ ٓظد زىتىتأ

106 Salah Norain AZ أوشَرأ
َٓرىٔ حلاص

107 Abdulmunim Adam GA اُجرىج
َدآ ُعٌّٕاذثع

108 Adam Khatir UT اذىَ
زطاخ َدآ

109 Sultan Mohamed Haroun TX صاظىذ
ْوراه ذّذِ ْاطٍظٌا

110 Ahmed Mohamed Mousa TX صاظىذ
ًطىِ ذّذِ ذّدأ

111 Abass Gumaa TX صاظىذ
حعّج صاثع

112 Mohamed Abdulrahman TX صاظىذ
ّٓدزٌاذثع ذّذِ

113 Yagoub Adam NE اىطازثٔ
َدآ بىمعَ

114 Arbab Abdulrasoul NE اىطازثٔ
يىطزٌاذثع باترأ

115 Babiker Abdulrasoul NE اىطازثٔ
يىطزٌاذثع زىتات

116 Babiker Abakar Mousa GA اُجرىج
ًطىِ زىتأ زىتات

117 Ibrahim Adam NE اىطازثٔ
َدآ ُُهازتإ

118 Mousa Adam NE اىطازثٔ
َدآ ًطىِ

119 Zainab Abouh NE اىطازثٔ
ٖىتأ ةَٕس

120 Ahmed Mohamed NE اىطازثٔ
ذّذِ ذّدأ

121 Aydah Adam NE اىطازثٔ
َدآ ًذَ

122 Zainab Khamis NE اىطازثٔ
ضُّخ ةَٕس

123 Nasurldin Khamis NE اىطازثٔ
ضُّخ َٓذٌا زصٔ

124 Faisal Ali Abakar NY نرىَىُٔ
زىتأ ًٍع ًصُف

125 Altaib Ibrahim CA اذٕو
ُُهازتإ ةُطٌا

126 Ibrahim Abdalla UT اذىَ
اللهذثع ُُهازتإ

127 Adam Suliman GA اُجرىج
ْاٍُّط َدآ

128 Osman Dawood GA اُجرىج
دوؤاد ْاّثع

129 Ahmed Abakar UT اذىَ
زىتأ ذّدأ

130 Hamid Alrayah MI ْاجشرُِ
خَزٌا ذِاد

131 Abubaker Adam Altahir Alaska اىظٌأ
زهاطٌا َدآ زىتىتأ

132 Abdulkarim Mohamed TX صاظىذ
ذّذِ َُزىٌاذثع

133 Dr. Suliman Ismail NY نرىَىُٔ
د
.
ًُعاّطإ ْاٍُّط

134 Alsadig Gumaa Canada اذٕو
حعّج قداصٌا

135 Dr. Abdulgabar Adam PA أُافٍظٕت
د
.
َدآ راثجٌاذثع

136 Garalnabi Abass Absakeen PA أُافٍظٕت
ُٓىطىتأ صاثع ٍثٌٕا راج

137 Niemat Ahmadi DC
ٌد ٓطٕشاو
ٍط
ٌاذّدأ خاّعٔ

138 Mohamed Idriss Khamis NC
زرىٔ
إٌُوراو
ضُّخ ضَردإ ذّذِ

139 Abdulatif Omar Malik NY نرىَىُٔ
هٌاِ زّع فُطٌٍاذثع

140 Ahmed Ali Harry NY نرىَىُٔ
ٌزه ًٍع ذّدأ

141 Mohamed Adam Yahia VA إُُجزُف
ٍذَ َدآ ذّذِ

142 Gumaa Harry NY نرىَىُٔ
ٌزه حعّج

143 Ismail Jali MD ذٔلاَزُِ
ًُعاّطإ

ٌٍاج

144 Fakheraldin Altijani Ali NY نرىَىُٔ
ٍٍع ٍٔاجُرٌا َٓذٌا زخف

145 Mustafa Haroun NY نرىَىُٔ
ْوراه ًفطصِ

146 Mohamed Haroun NY نرىَىُٔ
ْوراه ذّذِ

147 Abdalla Ashor IA اىَإ
رىشاع اللهذثع

148 Alsadig Ashor IA اىَأ
رىشاع قداصٌا

149 Bakri Abdalla Canada اذٕو
اللهذثع ٌزىت

150 Adam Hassan AZ أوشَرأ
ٓظد َدآ

151 Suliman Abdalla Hassan UT اذىَ
ٓظد اللهذثع ْاٍُّط

152 Salah Eldin Zakaria Arbab ME ُِٓ
باترأ اَزوس َٓذٌا حلاص

153 Alfadil Zakaria ME ُِٓ
اَزوس ًضافٌا

154 Najumldeen Zakaria ME ُِٓ
اَزوس َٓذٌا ُجٔ

155 Elyas Zakaria ME ُِٓ
اَزوس صاٌُإ

156 Abdulsalam Hassan ME ُِٓ
ٓظد َلاظٌا ذثع

157 Babiker Boush ME ُِٓ
عىت زىتات

158 Ali Mudeer ME ُِٓ
زَذِ ًٍع

159 Salah Dahia SC
زواط
إٌُوراو
حُذض خٌاص

160 Kaltom Khamis NE اىطازثٔ
ضُّخ َىرٍو

161 Salma Ahmed TX صاظىذ
ذّدأ ٍٍّط

162 Abdalla Khamis UT اذىَ
ضُّخ اللهذثع

163 Salahaldin Abdalla MI ْاجشرُِ
اللهذثع َٓذٌا حلاص

164 Ahmed Mohamed TX صاظىذ
ذّذِ ذّدأ

165 Thourya Adam Issa IN أاَذٔإ
ًظُع َدآ اَزث

166 Fatima Haroun PA أُافٍظٕت
ْوراه حّطاف

167 Abdulrahman Fadoul TX صاظىذ
ًضف ّٓدزٌاذثع

168 Muntasir Nasir GA اُجرىج
زصأ زصرِٕ

169 Abdalla Mousa VA إُُجزُف
ًطىِ اللهذثع

170 Idriss Abdulrasoul Alaska اىظٌأ
يىطزٌاذثع ضَردإ

171 Dr. Adam Mohamed Ahmed VA إُُجزُف
د
.
ذّدأ ذّذِ َدآ

172 Dawood Saleh NJ ٍظَزجىُٔ
خٌاص دوؤاد

173 Dr. Ismail Abdalla MD ذٔلاَزُِ
د
.
اللهذثع ًُعاّطإ

174 Ibrahim Idam AZ أوشَرأ
َدآ ُُهازتإ

175 Mohamed Tajaldin NE اىطازثٔ
ذّذِ

َٓذٌا جاذ

176 Abubaker Ahmed Abakar NE اىطازثٔ
زىتأ ذّدأ زىتات

177 Mujahid Adam CA أُرىفٌاو
َدآ ذهاجِ

178 Shakir Abdolrasoul KY ٍوارٕو
يىطزٌاذثع زواش

179 Awadia Nyam NY نرىَىُٔ
َأُ حُضىع

180 Amira Mohamed MN اذىظُِٕ
ذّذِ ج زُِأ

181 Hamza Adam NY نرىَىُٔ
َدآ جشّد

182 Ahmed Suliman NY نرىَىُٔ
ْاٍُّط ذّدأ

183 Ramadan KY ٍوارٕو
ٍوارٕو ْاضِر

Darfurain Associations State ةيلاولا
ةيروفرادلا طباورلا

1 Darfurain Associations in Dallas TX صاظىذ
صلاد حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

2 Darfurian Associations in Phonix AZ أوشَرأ
ضىُٕف حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

3 Darfurian Associations in Toscon AZ أوشَرأ
ْىطىط حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

4 Darfurian Associations in Fort Wayne IN أاَذٔإ

خرىف حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار
َٓو

5 Darfurain Associations in New York NY نرىَىُٔ
حطتار
نرىَىُٕت رىفراد ءإتإ

6 Darfurian Associations in Salt Lake City UT اذىَ

هٌُ دٌىط حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار
ٍرُط

7 Darfurian Association in Houston TX صاظىذ
ٓرطىُه حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

8 Darfurian Association inDenver CO ودارىٍو
زفَٕد حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

9 Darfurian Association in Atlanta GA اُجرىج
اطٍٕطأ حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

10 Darfurian Association in Omaha NE اىطازثٔ
اهاِوأ حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتا حطتار

11 Darfurian Associaiton in Lincoln NE اىطازثٔ
ٌٓىىٌُٕ حَٕذّت رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

12 Darfurian Association in Alaska AK اىظٌأ
رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

13 Darfurian Association in SD SD اذىواد زواث
رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

14 Darfurian Assciation in NC NC
زرىٔ
إٌُوراو
رىفراد ءإتأ حطتار

Organizations
تامظنملا

1
Western Darfur Aid relief
Organization. TX صلاد
-
حثاغلإاو حَاعزٌٍ ْادىظٌا بزغ حّظِٕ

صاظىذ

2 Darfur Self-reliance Education CA أُرىفٌُاو
ٍذاذٌا ٍُعرٌٍ رىفراد حّظِٕ

3 Damanga Organization DC
ٌد ٓطٕشاو
ٍط
امٕتد حّظِٕ

4
Darfurian organization for Human
rights PA اُفٌدلاف
-

أُافٍظٕت
ْاظٔلإا قىمذٌ رىفراد حّظِٕ

5 Care organization for Unity & Dev. GA
اطٍٕطأ
-

اُجرىج
حُّٕرٌاو جذدىٌٍ حَاعزٌا حّظِٕ

6 Darfur Progress Organization TX
صاظىذ
صلاد حَٕذّت رىفراد حضهٔ حّظِٕ

7 Mayram Dar organization MN اذىظِٕ
ضٌىتإُِ حَٕذّت راد َزُِ حّظِٕ

8 Federal Democratic Collation NY اىَزِأ ةرىِ
ٍطازمَّذٌا ٌٍارذُفٌا فٌاذرٌا

9 Sudan liberation Movement NY اىَزِأ ةرىِ
ْادىظٌا زَزذذ حوزد

10 Equality & Justices Movement NE اىَزِأ ةرىِ
جاواظٌّاو يذعٌا حوزد

Source: savedarfurma.org

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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.

PRESIDENT OBAMA - WHAT DID YOU MEAN WHEN YOU SAID: We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again and as President of the United States

I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.”?

Sign the Petition

As a part of the grassroots campaign Sudan Sham 2010, I am writing President Obama daily. Below are two of the emails.

I use Organizaton form:
www.whitehouse.gov/contact/organizations

Anyone can use the form:
www.whitehouse.gov/contact

sudansham2010.org

>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:>:

"The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes..We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again and as President of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.” Presidential candidate Barack Obama

March 4, 2010

Sudan Sham 2010

Dear President Obama,

I write to you about Sudan. I cannot put it firmly enough in printed words how disappointed I am in your lack of interest in this deeply defining issue of humanity and justice. For me, this is proven by allowing US Special Envoy Gration to remain in his position, even while the people who are victims of the genocidal regime and still alive don’t have any confidence in him.

The only way for me to be convinced that you meant what you said about genocide and Darfur prior to becoming President is for you to actively become engaged in the Sudan policy set by your administration.

The State Department has not publicly disclosed the precise benchmarks it is applying to assess progress in Sudan. But clearly, whatever the benchmarks, things have only gotten worse since your administration has been in office. I am not blaming your administration for everything that has gone wrong, however I do hold your administration accountable for being willing to work with Omar al-Bashir, as if he isn’t a central part of the problems in Sudan. For example, the corrupt regime in Khartoum has at every turn blocked political reforms necessary for free and fair elections to take place. The government of Sudan's increased intimidation by kidnapping and killing citizens during the time running up to the election is proof this election is a sham.

The election will only be used to legitimize this genocidal regime led by the man indicted by the ICC for “crimes against humanity” and “war crimes”, President Omar al-Bashir. And yet, our government is showing no signs that it gets what is going to be the outcome of these misnamed “elections”. They won’t be a sign of anything other than the international community turning its head once again, when it should be looking straight into the face of a dictator who is only playing with us. While we are foolish about the truth, the genocide goes on actively and passively, simultaneously. In 2009 and 2010, genocide is tolerated because we don’t have the political will to make ending it a priority.

What will be your legacy regarding Sudan and genocide? I, as many grassroots activists, do not want to continue to be defined by complicity regarding stopping and preventing genocide.

Most sincerely,

Sandra Hammel
Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI
Leading Rhode Island in Sudan Sham 2010 campaign


and the message of March 9, 2010

Dear President Obama,

Feb. 2, 2010 during his congressional testimony on the U.S. government's annual threat assessment, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair stated "Looking ahead over the next five years, a number of countries in Africa and Asia are at significant risk for a new outbreak of mass killing…Among these countries, a new mass killing or NOCIDE, Southern Sudan, Bush DOESN'T CARE ABOUT DARFUR, genocide is most likely to occur in Southern Sudan."

Traditionally, the U.S. government talks tough about genocides and mass atrocities, but does little more than talk.

..................................................

..................................................

President Bill Clinton stood by while intervening simply by jamming radio signals in Rwanda could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. George W. Bush's administration said that the violence in Darfur was genocide, but made no real efforts to explain to our citizens how it was a threat to U.S. interests. Now, Blair has stated out loud what human beings with active consciences have known. And that is that mass killings are not only moral issues, but are threats to the national security of the United States. And since our governmental leaders operate as politicians first and human beings second, we could choose to act on behalf of our own interests and still be the caring country we like to believe that we are. And for me, an important part to this story is that, it is common sense and humanity centered decisions that could make a big difference for those suffering under a genocidal regime. We certainly shouldn’t be giving 95 million US tax dollars to assist Omar al-Bashir pretend he is leading a free and fair election this April 11.

In Foreign Policy Magazine in “How Genocide Became a National Security Threat” by Abramowitz and Woocher, it reads “Genocide's negative consequences for the United States are increasingly plain. Mass violence destabilizes countries and entire regions, threatening to spread trafficking in drugs, arms, and persons, as well as infectious disease pandemics and youth radicalization. When prevention fails, the United States invariably foots much of the bill for post-atrocity relief and peacekeeping operations - to the tune of billions of dollars. And even as Washington is paying, America's soft power is depleted when the world's only superpower stands idle while innocents are systematically slaughtered.”

It is in our best interest to stop soft shoeing around the “crimes against humanity and war crimes’ criminally charged President Bashir of Sudan. It is time to stay true to your words: "The United States has a moral obligation anytime you see humanitarian catastrophes. We can't say 'never again' and then allow it to happen again and as President of the United States I don't intend to abandon people or turn a blind eye to slaughter.”

Not only are we US citizens, who speak up on this deeply defining issue watching your actions and lack of actions regarding this, but those directly effected by your lack of leadership are well aware of what you have said versus what you have done about Darfur and Sudan. It only leaves me to wonder if you genuinely care. And as one who volunteered for your campaign for weeks, stepping outside of my comfort zone to go door to door for you to become our President, I am truly disappointed.

Mr. Gration is not working out in his role as US Special Envoy to Sudan. The marginalized Sudanese people that most need help have no confidence in him. And the longer you have him in this position, the less confidence they have in you.

And the Sudan Policy Review is a mystery, lacking transparency and accountability. Since, the Sudan Policy’s quarterly review just happened, we should be able to see some actions, as a result. Sudan has clearly violated benchmarks, and your policy promised consequences if and when this happens. The “unstinting resolve” that you, President Obama, promised regarding Darfur is at best, thin resolve.

I would like to see some resolve to show some engagement on this issue. Your leadership is needed and could make a world of difference to the indifference so far the world has shown.

Where there is a will, there is always a way and where there isn’t a will, there is never a way. Let’s have the courage to use political will to make a change. Change we can believe in.

Sincerely yours,

Sandra Hammel
Use Your Voice to Stop Genocide RI
Leading Rhode Island 2010 in Sudan Sham 2010 campaign

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

Jenn Marlowe, author and director of the film
Darfur Diaries book signing
just before the screening of the film by the same name.