February 28, 2010 — In an article published in the Sudan Tribune of May 27, 2009 I explained the American expression of ‘selling someone down the river’ and pondered rhetorically if that kind of betrayal was what the Obama Administration was doing to Southern Sudanese. I decided that, at the time, it was too soon to come to that conclusion, but there were reasons to be seriously concerned. That is now very ancient history. It has been for some time now very clear that, knowingly or not, selling-out all of Sudan’s marginalized people is exactly what President Obama’s Administration is doing. The Agent of this tragedy is President Obama’s Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration; his Controller is, obviously, President Obama himself. Read more

Washington; and Doha, Qatar
Most governments don’t acknowledge it. The Sudanese president dismisses it. Darfurians demand that it be recognized. Academics, activists, and lawyers dispute whether it is still occurring or whether it occurred at all. International Criminal Court (ICC) judges debate standards of evidence surrounding it. The nature of recent attacks this past week by Sudanese government forces and militia allies against defenseless civilians potentially augurs its resurgence. And if a fledgling peace process continues to move forward, then any evidence of it ever happening may well be swept under the rug. Read more

commentary by Susan Morgan, Executive Director, Pax Communications Full article

Assistance by and pressure from the United States, United Kingdom, Italy, and Norway were essential to negotiating and signing the CPA, an agreement that aimed to rectify the existing center-periphery dynamic by establishing a new political, military, and economic system based on the values of justice, democracy, and human rights and creating processes to engage with marginalized populations, including elections and referenda. Unfortunately, as so often happens, the international community’s support for implementation and enforcement has been woefully insufficient.

The ruling National Congress Party, or NCP, came to power by military coup in 1989. It has continued its governing tactic of “divide and rule” despite the CPA and has successfully maintained the poverty, malnutrition, and lack of education and health care afflicting southern Sudanese. It has similarly marginalized the Beja in the east, the Nubians in the far north, and the people from the Nuba Mountains or South Kordofan. And, of course, the genocide in Darfur continues, leaving an estimated 3 million people displaced and in grave danger.

Tensions related in part to the NCP’s obstruction of the CPA have provoked renewed violence in South Sudan. Its intransigence has prevented the establishment of conditions essential to free and fair elections. An election in April rigged to legitimize the NCP and a leader accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity threatens the integrity of the referendum and could push the country into full-scale war. Millions of additional lives would be at risk. Destabilization of the entire region is a realistic possibility.

Human rights activists around the world recognized the need for immediate re-engagement with Sudan through diplomacy by world leaders. On January 9, “Sudan 365: A Beat for Peace” kicked off an international campaign urging intensive and coherent diplomatic support to prevent increased violence and provide civilian protection. Drummers (including a 12-year old in London) beat for peace at 35 events held in 26 countries to mark the anniversary. Some of the world’s most famous drummers made a global beat for peace video—viewed over 100,000 times—to launch the campaign.

Sudanese in the U.S. and concerned Americans have been calling on President Obama since his campaign to assume personal leadership in facilitating peace in Sudan. He has not heard our words. We can only hope that he will respond to the beat of the drums—long a symbol of freedom for Africans. The lives of millions of Sudanese depend on it.

Mohamed E. Suleiman, a native of North Darfur and a member of the Zaghawa tribe, is currently a resident of Northern California, President of the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition and a member of the Darfur Leaders Network. His village, Umbarow, was burned and destroyed by the Government of Sudan and Janjaweed. Mr. Suleiman lost members of his family in the Darfur genocide; his mother and siblings still reside in Darfur. Mr. Suleiman is the author of the blog While We Wait.

Martina Knee is a member of the Executive Committee of the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition. She is also a 2009 Carl Wilkens Fellows of the Genocide Intervention Network.  Read Full Article >>

Event photos
www.sudan365.org

Special thank you to participants who made this a full evening:
Jake Stueckle, drummer from San Francisco School of the Arts;
Deng Jongkuch, Director of Impact a Village and one of the “Lost Boys” of Sudan;
Rebuilding Hope film rebuildinghopesudan.org
Mohamed Suleiman, President of the San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition;
Dr. Noelle L’Etoile, Co-founder of Health Alliance for Sudan and Assistant Professor of Neuroscience, UC Davis;
Laura Talmus, Director Westen Region of American Jewish World Service.

Deng Jongkuch, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan living in San Jose, will speak. In 2001, after nearly fourteen years in refugee camps, Deng was selected with 3,800 other boys to come to the United States. SF Bay Area Darfur Coalition President Mohamed Suleiman, a Darfuri, will also speak.

More about worldwide participation: http://www.savedarfur.org/pages/sudan365-a-beat-for-peace

SF Campaign Sponsors: San Francisco Bay Area Darfur Coalition, American Jewish World Service, The Congregation Emanu-El, Health Alliance for Sudan

DATE & TIME:
Saturday, January 9
6:45 pm-9:00 pm

LOCATION:
Congregation Emanu-El
2 Lake Street (at Arguello)
San Francisco, CA 94118
Map

COST & REGISTRATION:
Free – donations welcomed

MORE INFO:
Contact: Martina Knee
Email: info@darfursf.org
Phone: 415-221-8400

Washington, DC, December 15, 2009 – A bipartisan group of Senators is working to ensure the United Nations (U.N.) Security Council does not tolerate continued human rights and arms embargo violations by the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Darfur. U.S. Senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ) led the group in writing to the United States Ambassador to the U.N., Dr. Susan Rice, citing a recent report by the Panel of Experts on Sudan, which states, “…almost all sides in the conflict have failed in their obligation to comply with Security Council sanctions” and urging her to ensure the U.N. Security Council reviews the panel’s recommendations for action.

Senators joining Feingold and McCain in sending the letter were Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Arlen Specter (D-PA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Robert Casey (D-PA), Susan Collins (D-ME), Joseph Lieberman (ID-CT), Richard Burr (R-NC), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Bob Corker (R-TN), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), James Risch (R-ID), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The text of the letter is below and a copy is available here (PDF).

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December 14, 2009

Ambassador Susan Rice
Permanent U.S. Representative to the United Nations

Dear Madam Ambassador,

We are pleased that you spoke forcefully about the UN Secretary-General’s latest report on the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), which reports dozens of instances in which the Government of Sudan has denied peacekeepers freedom of movement and access. As you said, this is a blatant violation of the terms of the Status of Forces Agreement and greatly impedes UNAMID’s ability to carry out its important peacekeeping mission. A fully operational UNAMID is critical to protect civilians and monitor the security situation until a viable political settlement can be reached to end the conflict.

We are writing to you about another recent report on Darfur presented to the UN Security Council by the Panel of Experts on Sudan in October. As you are likely aware, this report states that almost all sides in the conflict have failed in their obligation to comply with Security Council sanctions and to cooperate with the monitoring efforts of the Panel of Experts. We urge you, as you did with the UN Secretary-General’s report on UNAMID, to speak out publicly about these reported violations. With the next Panel of Experts currently being constituted, it is especially important that the Security Council make clear that obstruction of their work is unacceptable.

In their report, the Panel of Experts found that violations of international humanitarian and human rights law remain rampant in Darfur. The report states, “The Darfurian population continues to be victimized by effects of attacks and counter-attacks involving most of the armed movements that frequently lead to the disproportionate use of force by the Sudanese Armed Forces and their auxiliary forces, and results in killings, injuries and displacements.” The report documents a number of specific violations of the UN arms embargo by the Sudanese government and armed movements, especially the Justice and Equality Movement. The report also suggests that auxiliary forces of the Sudanese government, known as the Janjaweed, continue to carry arms and engage in violence.

The Panel of Experts recommends that the Security Council request the Government of Sudan report to the Sanctions Committee on a bimonthly basis on movements of troops and material into and out of Darfur, the scope and state of disarmament of the Janjaweed and related militias, and efforts to ensure the protection of all Darfurians. The report also recommends that the Security Council explore possible ways to provide assistance to the Dakar Contact Group’s monitoring of the Chadian-Sudanese border. Finally, the confidential annex of the report provides information on a number of individuals who could be added to existing sanctions lists.

We urge you to ensure that these recommendations are carefully reviewed and discussed by the Security Council. While we realize some Security Council members may oppose action at this time, we believe it is important to begin a discussion at the Security Council about pressures that can be brought to bear against belligerents in Darfur in the case that these violations persist. As we have learned from the past, such pressures will only be effective if they have multilateral support. We hope ongoing attempts to achieve a peace agreement will succeed and that such pressures will not be necessary, but we should be prepared if the parties continue to drag their feet as they have in the past.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you and General Gration to deliver on the administration’s commitment stated in its Sudan strategy to “work to more concretely transform widespread international concern about Darfur into serious multilateral commitments.”

Merely condemning NCP’s actions not a sufficient consequence, say advocates

CITIES NATIONWIDE – December 15, 2009 – Today 50 organizations representing Sudan advocates and Sudanese expatriates from around the country, together with actress Mia Farrow and Sudan expert Eric Reeves, sent an open letter to President Obama calling on him to impose immediate consequences on the Government of Sudan for public violations of human rights in advance of the elections [in Sudan] and for the eroding situation on the ground.

The letter recommends that President Obama 1) Lead the United States and the broader international community in applying the pressures necessary to ensure that the conditions for credible elections mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) are enacted and implemented without further delay, 2) Act immediately to secure multilateral asset freezes and travel bans on National Congress Party (NCP) leaders, multilateral support of the International Criminal Court cases against key Sudanese officials, multilateral enforcement of the UN Security Council arms embargo; and denial of multilateral debt relief, 3) Direct Special Envoy Gration, the State Department and USAID to conduct and make public an assessment of the current status of humanitarian services and 4) Direct Special Envoy Gration to promptly brief the appropriate House and Senate committees on the contents of the classified documents that are part of the Administration’s Sudan policy.

According to the letter, the Administration’s Sudan policy review promised a balanced approach of both incentives and pressures. “The policy will lack credibility if no consequences are imposed now, particularly after the very public violations of human rights on Dec. 7 and 14 and the eroding situation on the ground. There is no need to wait further to impose consequences on Sudan for these clear and critical violations. These actions by the Government of Sudan illustrate the importance of the United States acting with a fierce urgency to deliver the promised consequences. Merely condemning the NCP’s action is not a sufficient consequence,” the letter states.

On Sunday, the NCP and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and south agreed to the terms of a controversial referendum on southern independence on Sunday. However, according to Mohamed Suleiman, a Darfuri and a spokesman for the group, the NCP has a consistent track record of breaking its agreements. “The fact that the government violently quelled a peaceful demonstration the day after announcing this agreement demonstrates that it will not honor the reform of Sudanese laws necessary for credible elections, including freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and association, and freedom of speech,” he said.

The letter cites Obama’s recent address in Oslo where he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize. “Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure — and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one,” President Obama said in his speech there.

[The text of the letter can be downloaded here (PDF).

Check out the website and learn how Genocide Intervention Network and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will collaborate to build the movement to end genocide and a different future! If you would like to do more and collect pledges, please either follow the steps on the website to create and enter your own pledge event or email martinaknee@gmail.com.