Myspace/darfurpledge
YouTube/ourpledge
Facebook/ourpledge
Flickr/ourpledge
Twitter/ourpledge
Del.icio.us/ourpledge
Sudan tightens grip on Darfur camp
August 26, 2008
KHARTOUM (AFP) — Sudan boosted forces outside a volatile camp for displaced people in Darfur on Tuesday, sparking fears of new armed clashes as residents prepared to bury dozens of dead from fighting a day earlier.
Police moved into the impoverished and volatile Kalma in South Darfur on Monday. Casualty figures from subsequent clashes are impossible to verify, but residents have asked UN troops for burial shrouds and protection for funerals.
“It seems last night there was a build-up of security forces around the camp,” one UN official told AFP.
A Kalma community leader, Adam Mohamed, told AFP by telephone on Tuesday that more security vehicles had surrounded the camp, where conditions for the 80,000 residents were miserable and homes had been washed away by rain.
He said the death toll had climbed to 52 and that bodies were being buried at a cemetery inside the camp.
Government security officers described Kalma, which one aid worker said was the size of a small city, as a den of outlaws, armed robbers and rebel movements hoarding weapons, ammunition, explosives, narcotics and stolen goods.
“The police force will remain in its place until it enters the camp to collect the stockpiled weapons and prevent the rebels from getting inside the camp,” state media quoted the South Darfur security committee as saying.
Five policemen and seven Kalma residents were wounded when gunmen inside the camp opened fire “compelling” police to respond, the committee said.
But Ahmed Abdel Shafie, a commander in the nebulous Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) that first rebelled against the government in 2003, said the death toll from Monday’s shooting had risen from 27 to 36.
They included at least five women and two children, he said.
“The situation is very bad. The people are really suffering,” he told AFP by telephone from Darfur in west Sudan. The people, who live in mud and straw huts, lacked medication and were having to cope with heavy rain, he said.
The joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur said it had identified 11 bodies as of Tuesday afternoon.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) said 24 bodies were still lying in the camp and urged the United Nations to provide security for funerals and the white sheets needed to comply with Muslim ritual.
A spokesman for another faction of the SLA said 22 local leaders in the camp had been arrested but could provide no further details.
The United States, which has strained relations with Khartoum, has criticised Sudan over the incursion and called for a full investigation.
The violence overshadowed the first working day in Sudan of Djibril Bassole, the new international mediator trying to find a political solution in Darfur, who held talks with presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail.
“The first impression I have is that the Sudanese want peace… Of course it isn’t easy. Certain events complicate the task enormously,” he told reporters, without explicityly mentioning Kalma.
UNAMID said it had evacuated 49 wounded IDPs, mostly women and children, to hospital in the nearby town of Nyala overnight.
International charity Medecins Sans Frontieres, which runs a clinic in Kalma, said it was trying to regain access to the camp, as UN-led peacekeepers were locked in talks over how to find a long-term solution to Kalma.
“The government of southern Darfur is asking us to organise a meeting with IDP representatives to find a lasting solution but in the meantime we have been encouraging the IDPs to surrender their weapons voluntarily,” UNAMID spokesman Noureddine Mezni said.
UNAMID has struggled to provide security in Darfur with just over a third of the 26,000 troops they have been promised.
Darfur tensions have heightened in Sudan since the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court last month formally asked judges to issue an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Beshir.
The United Nations says that up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million fled their homes since the conflict erupted in February 2003. Sudan says 10,000 have been killed.
[End of Post]
Continue Reading: Sudan tightens grip on Darfur camp
ACTION: Write to Senator Obama and Senator McCain
Senate Resolution 632 urges the governments of the China and the international community to use the upcoming Olympic Games as an opportunity to push for the parties to the conflicts in Sudan, Chad, and the Central African Republic to cease hostilities and revive efforts toward a peaceful resolution of their national and regional conflicts. The resolution also encourages the United Nations Secretary-General and other international leaders to publicly promote the principles reflected in the Olympic Truce among all the warring parties in the region.
A cessation of hostilities during an Olympic Truce period –- such as that called for in Senate Resolution 632 -– could allow much-needed humanitarian aid to reach those people who have been out of reach of food, clean water, and medical care for years.
Both Senators McCain and Obama have raised their voices in support of the people of Darfur and have called on China to take action. The Beijing games represent a unique opportunity: an Olympic Truce could help restore peace and stability to Darfur. Click here to urge the Senators to take action by announcing their co-sponsorship of Senate Resolution 632 and speaking publicly in support of the Olympic Truce for Darfur.
[End of Post]
Continue Reading: ACTION: Write to Senator Obama and Senator McCain
CNN’s exclusive interview with ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
The big news today — The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant against Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes against the people of Darfur. Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be charged by the ICC.
Learn more. Watch CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson’s exclusive interview with ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo.
[End of Post]
Continue Reading: CNN’s exclusive interview with ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo
JOINT STATEMENT: Request for Darfur arrest warrant challenges impunity
The following media release discusses a joint statement signed by a number of human rights advocacy organizations from across the world, including Americans Against the Darfur Genocide.
–
The International Criminal Court prosecutor’s application for an arrest warrant against Omar Hassan Al-Bashir could be a major step towards combating impunity associated with the horrific crimes in Darfur, according to several human rights groups from around the world.
Today’s move comes after three years of investigation by the prosecutor and his team. In accordance with ICC procedure, the evidence gathered has been submitted to judges in the Pre-Trial Chamber who will then decide whether to issue arrest warrants on the basis of that information.
A spokesperson for the group said, “Until today, Sudan has failed to initiate genuine proceedings within Sudan to investigate or prosecute crimes in Darfur. Such impunity contributes to the cycles of violence that have plagued Sudan for decades. Those responsible for the atrocities in Darfur must be held accountable.”
Under the Rome Statute of the ICC, the court is empowered to prosecute “the most serious” cases of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide when states are unwilling or unable genuinely to do so. The prosecutor has indicated that he will only pursue individuals who bear most responsibility for the crimes. The Rome Statute provides that no one is immune from the crimes under the Court’s jurisdiction.
Continue Reading: JOINT STATEMENT: Request for Darfur arrest warrant challenges impunity
BREAKING: Bashir Accused of Genocide
[From the New York Times:]
Sudan’s Leader Is Accused of Genocide
By Marlise Simons, Lydia Polgreen, Jeffrey Gettleman
July 15, 2008
PARIS — The prosecutor at the International Criminal Court formally requested an arrest warrant on Monday for Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the last five years of bloodshed in the Darfur region of his country.
The prosecutor’s pursuit of Mr. Bashir introduced new volatility to the already chaotic situation in Darfur. While some diplomats and analysts worried that the move would undermine efforts to negotiate peace and provide aid to the millions displaced by violence, others said it offered new leverage to pressure the Sudanese government to end the conflict in Darfur.
Bracing for reprisals, United Nations peacekeepers and aid workers stepped up security in Darfur and pulled out all but the most essential civilians. Sudan promised not to vent its outrage on them, but said it would unleash a “diplomatic war” to try to scuttle the case.
It is the first time the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has brought genocide charges against anyone. It is also the first time the prosecutor has brought charges against a sitting head of state since the court opened its doors in 2002. Two other presidents, Slobodan Milosevic of Serbia and Charles Taylor of Liberia, were charged by other international war crimes courts, also while they were in office.
Darfur has been a shifting, many-sided conflict, with rebels fighting rebels, government-backed Arab militias killing civilians and one another, freelance bandits attacking aid workers and atrocities committed by all the armed groups.
In announcing the request, the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, said Mr. Bashir had “masterminded and implemented” a plan to destroy three main ethnic groups in Darfur, the Fur, the Masalit and the Zaghawa. Using government soldiers and Arab militias, the president “purposefully targeted civilians” belonging to these groups, killing 35,000 people “outright” in attacks on towns and villages.
“His motives were largely political,” the prosecutor said. “His alibi was a ‘counterinsurgency.’ His intent was genocide.”
Continue Reading: BREAKING: Bashir Accused of Genocide
Remember the faces of war in Sudan
CAPTION: Women and children sat near tents marking the spots where homes once stood in Sirba, another village that was attacked. Aid workers, diplomats and analysts say the return of such attacks is an ominous sign that the fighting in Darfur is entering a new and deadly phase (Photo: Lynsey Addario for The New York Times).
(Click thumbnail to see full-size)
[End of Post]
Continue Reading: Remember the faces of war in Sudan
Restarting the Darfur peace process
Djibril Bassolé, Burkina Faso’s Foreign Minister, was recently appointed as the new UN-AU Chief Mediator for Darfur. Needless to say, he has an immensely difficult task ahead of him. He must try to drive forward a peace process that has so far failed the people of Darfur.
A recent memo from the ENOUGH Project and the Save Darfur Coalition makes it clear that there are concrete solutions for effectively restarting the Darfur peace process. The memo excerpt below specifies some key things that need to happen over the next few months:
–
Since the conflict began in early 2003, we have among us made 10 research trips to the war zone. In our travels, we have found only one group of people who have consistently articulated workable solutions to the challenges facing Darfur: the internally displaced and refugee populations. The voice of the Darfurian diaspora is also emerging. The people of Darfur have strong views about what issues need to be addressed, and how. However, Darfurians have been conspicuously absent from peace efforts, helping explain why we have seen such limited progress. You will only succeed in your endeavors if you listen to them, and it is their voices that will ultimately make any peace process sustainable.
Continue Reading: Restarting the Darfur peace process
Attack on UNAMID Forces in Darfur: The Khartoum Regime is Responsible
By Eric Reeves
July 12, 2008
Originally published here.
On July 8, 2008, at approximately 2:45pm local time, heavily armed Janjaweed militia attacked a joint police and military patrol of the UN/African Union Mission in Sudan (UNAMID) in an area approximately 100 kilometers southeast of el-Fasher, near the village of Umm Hakibah (North Darfur). In a firefight that lasted approximately three hours, seven UNAMID troops and police were killed and twenty-two were injured, seven of these critically. Ten vehicles were destroyed or taken during the attack. Although there was initial uncertainty about the identity of the attacking force, this uncertainty has been eliminated in the course of a preliminary investigation. In addition to various published reports, UN Undersecretary for Peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guéhenno, offered a compelling July 11, 2008 briefing to the UN Security Council in closed session, making a number of telling observations that point unambiguously to Janjaweed forces as those responsible:
[1] Guéhenno told the Security Council that the attack on UN-authorized peacekeepers “took place in an area under Sudanese government control and that some of the assailants were dressed in clothing similar to Sudanese army uniforms. He also said the ambush was ‘pre-meditated and well-organized’ and was intended to inflict casualties rather than to steal equipment or vehicles” (Voice of America [dateline: UN/New York], July 11, 2008). The peacekeepers attacked reported seeing approximately 200 fighters, many on horses—a signature feature of the Janjaweed (Arabic for “devil [or spirit] on horseback”).
[2] Agence France Presse reports: “Guehenno was quoted as saying that the ambush was designed ‘to inflict casualties and was carried out with ‘equipment usually not used by (rebel) militias” ([dateline: UN/New York], July 11, 2008). Separately and confidentially, a UN official went further in confirming to this writer that some of the arms used, including large-caliber recoilless rifles, have never been seen in the arsenals of the rebel groups. This official said that Guéhenno, who is retiring, had rarely been so explicit in assigning responsibility for attacks in Darfur.
Continue Reading: Attack on UNAMID Forces in Darfur: The Khartoum Regime is Responsible
BREAKING: Bashir to Be Charged With Genocide
More on this really important news to come.
–
Sudan Leader To Be Charged With Genocide
Peace Efforts in Darfur Could Be Hampered, Some U.N. Officials Fear
By Colum Lynch and Nora Boustany
Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, July 11, 2008; A01
UNITED NATIONS, July 10 — The chief prosecutor of the Internationals Criminal Court will seek an arrest warrant Monday for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, charging him with genocide and crimes against humanity in the orchestration of a campaign of violence that led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians in the nation’s Darfur region during the past five years, according to U.N. officials and diplomats.
The action by the prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo of Argentina, will mark the first time that the tribunal in The Hague charges a sitting head of state with such crimes, and represents a major step by the court to implicate the highest levels of the Sudanese government for the atrocities in Darfur.
Continue Reading: BREAKING: Bashir to Be Charged With Genocide
ACTION: Submit a video question to the presidential candidates
The deadline for this action is Midnight EST today.
If you have twenty minutes or so today, please consider sending a Darfur-related video question to the NAACP for its 2008 Presidential Forum with Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. Feel free to craft your own personal angle with your video. You might ask the presidential candidates to outline their concrete step-by-step plan to bring peace and security to Darfur. Or ask them about more specific issues, such as the need to impose targeted multilateral sanctions against the Government of Sudan’s senior leaders, and the need for the U.S. to support the expansion of the ICC’s open case on Darfur.
Find out how to submit your question here.
[End of Post]
Continue Reading: ACTION: Submit a video question to the presidential candidates