Another peace process for Darfur?

Will there be peace in Darfur . . .? I began to see it as a long gone possibility. Let us resign to the fact that it is going to be a long, long process. . .

With the myriad of peace processes coming up everyday: African Union, Libyan, Saudi Arabian, Nigerian, Qatari, I wonder which one will bear fruit. Can't someone just merge all these together?

Egypt is again throwing its lot into the peace process business. That is making the whole thing interesting? Was it to counter the Qatari Peace process? Egypt skipped the Arab Summit in Qatar and now comes up with another peace process. I know not for what reason.

While they keep on meetimg in the Arab capitals, Darfur still cries . . .

(Yawn)

ICC and Bashir: the Biritish and French Connection

So the French and the British are ready to support the deferral of the arrest warrant for the Sudanese President . . .

It had been a an issue thatan arrest warrant will put the peace in Southern Sudan in danger of collapse and wosrsen the plight of the Darfuris. And ofcourse put the UNAMID force under more danger.

Are we right? Are the possible threats real? It seems the world dont want to be on the trail and error side. To err may cause more lives than already been lost.

So better the caution.

What about Darfuri children?

Ismail Ahmed Ismail entered the record books as the first Sudanese to win a medal in an Olympic. Good for him.

What bothered me is this: he dedicated his medal to the children of Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Where are the children from Darfur? Don't they deserve a medal?

A minute in remembrance . . .

I pause one minute for the victims of September 11. Six years on, the tragedy still fresh. And the world is not any more safer than it was before.

No killing is justifiable. I add another minute for all the viictims of injustice around the world, in Africa and Sudan: a minute for victims of the genocide in Rwanda, Darfur. A minute for the innocent dying in Iraq. A minute for the Israelis dying under Palestinian rocket fire. A minute for the Palestinians suffering the brunt of Israeli repression.

A minute for the victims of apatheid in South Africa. A minute for the Zimbabweans dying while fleeing in search of food. A minute for the Somalis being killed everyday in Mogadishu. A minute for the thousands of Africans who died trying to cross the oceans and seas to reach Europe. A minute for the Afghanis dying to safe their country. A minute for those who died in Guantanamo prison.

A minute for those who disappeared in Sudan, South Sudan without trace. A minute for the fallen heroes of the struggle for freedom.

And ofcourse, a minute for Dr. John Garang de Mabior, founder and leader of the SPLM/A and Vice President of the Republic of the Sudan, liberator, hero and freedom fighter.

Do you have a minute you want to share? Feel free to add in the comments.

Ban Ki Moon press conference

Source

Another round of Darfur peace talks

After reassuring Southern Sudanese of his support for the complete implementation of the CPA, Ban Ki Moon announced the resumption of peace talks with the rebels on 27th October in Libya.

What had exactly been agreed in the meetings remain to be seen. Which of the rebel movements are attending? How about SLM leader Abdel Wahid el Nur? It seems the talks will start without him. This guy is playing on the huge support he has in the refugee camps in Darfur to wait his time out. He considers himself the champion of the Darfuris.

Will his strategy work? Nur wants peace keepers on the ground and the disarmament of the Janjaweed first before talks. Is it reasonable or delaying tactics? Maybe, they should change the meaning of the UN force in Darfur from Peace Keeping Force to Peace Making/Enforcing! The former means there has to be peace for the forces to keep first, not the other way round!

Ban Ki Moon in Sudan

The presence of the UN Secretary General in the Sudan is very important for two reasons: the fragile North-Peace Agreement is in need of support and importantly peace in Darfur. Everyone knows that.

The failure of CPA in the South will surely hamper any progress in Darfur. How can you believe Khartoum about any agreement in Darfur if they don't honour another in the South? The government in Khartoum don't seem to see this or they are just playing a game of wait and see.

Ban Ki Moon has a big task in his hands. If he failed the people of Darfur in his first year in office, he will be remembered for it years from now, no matter what he does again for the world. Now, everyone is giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I pray he succeeds.

Al Hilal Sudani 3 - 0 Ahli Cairo!

There are few moments that one can sometimes be proud of the country, even for afew days!That day was last Sunday when Hilal FC bashed their age-old rivals 3 nil! It was a triumph worth celebrating! Ahli had the shock of their lives. And El Merrikh is progressing nicely too.

Am proud of our national team too. The fact that they qualified for the African Nations Cup after more than 30 years is quite amazing. But will they shine, or just show up and return home? For the love of the game, we wait and see.

And by the way our team is there in Osaka too for the IAAF! Three cheers for Muna jabir and the team! I am counting on more gold than Algiers for Sudan.

Atleast there is something to smile about, to take away the depression of Darfur.

The Darfur rebels Arusha deal

The rebels have finally reached a consensus on how to move forward towards negotiations with the government. However, it is not clear who will represent them in talks. It is still hard to see how they will workout the final details.

Meanwhile, the SLM leader has his own plans for Darfur, a three-prong approach he called conflict suspension, conflict resolution and conflict transformation. Now we wait and see how the process is going to turn out.

Next stop for the AU/Un mediators: Khartoum.

Darfur rebels talking in Arusha

The meeting to unify the ranks of the fragmented Darfur rebel movements is going on in Arusha, Tanzania. The AU and UN are hoping that they will be able to front one voice for talks with the regime in Khartoum. But will they?


I believe it is going to be a daunting task, but not impossible. What is fragmenting the rebels is not their demands for the people of Darfur, but greed for power. The regular splits wee all about power. They can all claim to be speaking for the poor people of Darfur, but what is happening is not the case.

Is the rebel group of Abdel Wahid el Nur right in not attending the reconciliation talks? He claims he will not attend the talks until fighting stops in Darfur and a multilateral ceasefire is in place. Unfortunately for him his actions will bring more damage to the people of Darfur. If they are fighting the same cause, at least he should go and listen to what the others are saying. His claims will be legimate if he joint the other groups, THEN demand cessation and disarmament of the Janjaweed or whatever as ONE voice. It will have more effect than his sole rantings.

The UN had already secured the force for Darfur, and he should not put himself as an obstacle now, for the sake of his people . . .

Sudan's diplomatic coup

Sudan has won a huge diplomatic coup with its acceptance of the new hybrid force for Darfur. UNAMID (United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur) will be a force that follows Sudanese demands: African structure, no chapter seven, no force disarmaments, no threat of sanctions. As the FM said, Resolution 1769 was made with their full consultation.

True, the international community watered down the resolution in order to avoid veto by China and ensure Sudanese acceptance. What happen next? With the rebels divided into a dozen faction and some refusing to attend the Arusha talks, Sudan looks on with glee!

Now the international community will have to work hard to unify the rebel command for a political settlement.

UN approves Darfur forces

The UN has unanimously passed theresolution authorising the deployment of over 20 thousand peace keepers. Now let the waiting begin . . .

Husband sticking by his wife

Despite the stories of desperation in the midst of the conflict in Darfur, some stories can bring a smile on your face.

Bashir in Darfur

Why is the high profile visit of President Bashir to Darfur causing a stir? Is it not only logical that a president visits any part of his country? These are the questions, but they seem to be different when it comes to Darfur.

The Sudanese media is hyping the visit to show case that Darfur is getting peaceful, although he travelled to the region amid massive security of his own! And his call for peace and development? It is being called propanda in the West, because he finds himself squeezed on all fronts.

Yah, the playing field is still littered with conspiracy, etc. But peace will come to Darfur oneday.

Let there be water . . .

. . . and there was water, much water, under the sands in Darfur! Good news for the people. Now that "water" will end the cycle of violence, once the wells are dug, I hope they don't find another excuse to go to fight.

Time to talk, again

Another Darfur peace talk starting in Libya, but without the rebels! No, the AU, UN and the Libyan government say they are laying down the blue prints for talks that will be restarted soon. Good to hear. At least, also, the rebels are talking to each other and are fronting one body for the talks with Khartoum.

Stoves that save lives . . .

How can stoves that use fire wood safe lives in Darfur? Strange, but it is something that is happening. A group of scientists have built a special stove that uses less firewood for effective cooking. Result: it reduces the number of trips to gather firewood, thus less chances of attacks and rapes.

Ingenious. More people are doing lttile things for great achievements. They are flaming hope in Darfur.

Source

Is Sudan a failed State?

I find the recently published Failed States Index 2007 utterly unbelievable and rubbish. It is one of these publications that doesn't hold water. I have a lot of grievances with my country, but I don't consider it a failed state. For this am sure.

The Index puts Sudan at the top of the list, followed by Iraq and Somalia. Every sane man on the planet knows that there is no government in Somalia for the last ten years. Actually there was no STATE! And how will you describe the carnage raging in Iraq, with a hopelessly impotent American-backed government? It is in a state of civil war, a government that doesn't have control over its territories, etc.

The Index may have used different indicators to arrive at this conclusion, but it is wrong. There is stability in South Sudan after twenty years of war, the East is quiet. Darfur is the only war-torn spot in the country now, and does not reflect the whole picture.

You can call Sudan what you want, but not failed: ask Somalis and Iraqis what they think first!

Another envoy for Darfur

How many special envoys will it take to bring peace to Darfur? 10, 20, 50? All the ones there are no good enough, or just not doing enough. Any country with a conscience wants to be seen doing something for Darfur by having an envoy there.

Now the Chinese are following suit. After being criticized left, right and center for not doing enough for Darfur, it has caved in. China now appointed a seasoned diplomat as its special envoy for Darfur.

This is a significant move to deter the pressure on China. The call by some quarters to boycott the Beijing olympics come 2008 is hard one for China to bear.

Let us hope, with arrival of yet another envoy, the elusive peace may atlast be around the corner.

Wanted by ICC: Haroun and Kushayb

The ICC has atlast issued the arrest warrants for the two suspects of the Darfur genocide: Ahmed Haroun and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-al-Rahman, also know as Ali Kushayb.

We remain to see how this can be executed. Sudan has already rejected the warrants and said they will not hand over the suspects to the ICC. It is interesting, knowing that Sudan is not a signatory to the ICC.

The world's efforts to solve the Darfur conflict seem to be disjointed. There is a big drive to see the hybrid force sent to Darfur, and the rebels are trying to unite for a peace talks. The USA has already acknowledged that their are signs of Sudan relaxing its refusal of the deployment.

What could the arrest warrants add to these efforts? Nothing. Sudan will get more stubborn, the rebels more divided and the Darfurians will continue to suffer. As Khartoum plays the time game, the world wonders what to do next.