Daily Darfur
Daily Darfur: Trouble to the West and the South
Published July 17, 2009 @ 03:27AM PT
To the West:
The Chadian air force reportedly crossed the border into Sudan and launched a bomb raid on suspected rebel bases in West Darfur yesterday --- the fourth such raid since May, when Chad accuses Sudan of supporting yet another rebel attack:
The Sudan Media Center website, which is considered close to the intelligence services, reported that two Chadian planes had raided the Umm Dukhun area of Western Darfur on Thursday.
The website, quoting senior military officials, said there were no causalities but that the Sudanese army was on "standby" and waiting for "the green light for retaliation".
Tensions between the two countries continue to escalate over accusations of a proxy war: Each government supports rebels attempting to overthrow the other. Interestingly, though, not much was made of reports that the Sudanese air force conducted a cross-border bomb raid of its own against Darfuri rebels based in Chad. The bombing raid occurred at the end of May, a mere 2 km from the Oure Cassoni refugee camp.
Daily Darfur: Popular Dissent on the ICC - But Who's Listening?
Published July 16, 2009 @ 04:08AM PT
A coalition of prominent South African civil society organizations joined the protest against a recent African Union declaration of non-cooperation of the International Criminal Court case against Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
The statement signed, by many well-known South African human rights champions, including Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu, asserts that the South African government will be in defiance of its own constitution if it complies with the resolution, which "represents the most serious challenge to the struggle against impunity and lawlessness on the African continent."
South Africans are not alone in feeling a disconnect between their will and their government's actions on the ICC/Bashir debacle: A new poll of seven majority-Muslim and African nations finds that, "contrary to the position of their governments, publics in four nations approve of the indictment of Sudanese President Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur, one is divided and two are opposed." (See image on the right.)
"This suggests that leaders of some majority-Muslim and African nations, in denouncing the indictment of President Bashir, are out of step with their people," comments Steven Kull, director of WorldPublicOpinion.org.
But will popular dissent amount to anything?
Uganda, for one, is now referring to statements made by a foreign ministry official that indicated that the government would arrest Bashir if he visited as a "diplomatic embarrassment."
Daily Darfur: More Flip-Flopping on ICC
Published July 15, 2009 @ 03:17AM PT
Confusion continues over Uganda's position on the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir --- namely, will the government of Uganda arrest Bashir if he accepts an invitation to attend a conference in Kampala later this month?
A Ugandan foreign ministry official made comments at a press conference with ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo earlier this week indicating that the government might honor its commitments under the Rome Statute, but then later retracted the statement in an interview with the Ugandan Daily Monitor.
Now, the Sudanese official news agency (SUNA) is reporting that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called Bashir to apologize for the incident, assuring him that the statements do not reflect an official position. The Daily Monitor, however, reports that Museveni's press secretary told a news conference that the president will issue a final position on the matter "in the coming days."
Bashir, in the meantime, has yet to confirm his visit. I'm willing to bet that he doesn't risk it.
Daily Darfur: To Arrest or Not to Arrest - The Uganda Version
Published July 14, 2009 @ 03:18AM PT
An official at Uganda's foreign ministry issued wishy-washy comments regarding a possible visit by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir at the end of the month.
Speaking at a press conference with ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo yesterday, Okello Oryem seemed to indicate that his government will consider defying the African Union and acting on the International Criminal Court arrest warrant for Bashir, should he decide to pay a visit.
Ocampo was in Kampala yesterday, to discuss the cases against Bashir and Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony, and urged the government to act on its obligations as a signatory to the Rome Statute. Oryem did not give a definite response, but said that Uganda is committed to its obligations:
"Let's wait for Bashir to arrive here and we see which action will be taken against him by the government of Uganda."
Sounds a bit like a dare. However, Oryem then turned around and told Uganda's Daily Monitor that Bashir will not be arrested:
"Gen. Bashir has been invited here by the Uganda government and he will not be arrested."
So which is it, Uganda? The (very small and often sidelined) optimistic side of me would like to hope that Oryem was backtracking in order to lure Bashir into a trap...but it's just after 5am here in DC, and I'm not known to be optimistic before my second cup of coffee.
(For those of you interested in the ICC, tune into the broadcast of "The Reckoning" on PBS tonight.)
Daily Darfur: Progress Towards Peace, or Playing Charades?
Published July 13, 2009 @ 03:10AM PT
Egypt jumped (more completely) into the ring of those trying to broker a peace deal between the government of Sudan and the rebels in Darfur, hosting seven rebel groups for a three-day conference and meeting with Sudansese President Omar al-Bashir on Sunday. The head of Egypt's intelligence agency urged the rebel groups to "unite their viewpoints and their ranks." (Creating a mega-group? Surely, exactly what the government of Sudan wants.)
The conference was a bit of a departure from fellow-Arab League state Qatar's high-profile attempts to lead the Darfur peace process, as Qatar has focused mostly on reaching out to the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Darfur's largest rebel group, who were notably absent from the Egyptian meetings.
Which, of course, begs several questions:
- Given that Egypt is known to be a bit resentful of Qatar's rising prominence in the region, is the Egyptian conference complimentary, or is Egypt trying to steal Qatar's thunder?
- And for that matter, are any of the various conference, talks, panels, and delegations --- US, UN, AU, Qatar, Egypt, etc etc --- complimentary, or is everyone scrambling for their own Nobel Peace Prize?
- And what is the role of the government of Sudan in all of the above? Is there a meaningful commitment to peace, or are they able to show good grace in public and distract the international community by going making the appearance of positive participation, all the while going about business as usual knowing that the uncoordinated peace efforts will continue to run in circles?
In sum: Do the various peace talks have any chance of achieving their professed goals, or do they simply amount to an international dog and pony show?
Daily Darfur: Who Has the Whole Story on Aid Gaps?
Published July 10, 2009 @ 04:10AM PT
A couple of reports, though vague, should be calling into question the government of Sudan's assertion that "gaps are filled, all is calm, go home."
According to UNAMID's daily press briefing yesterday:
"The general security situation in Darfur has been relatively calm. However, residents of internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps continue to experience indiscriminate shooting by unknown persons during the night in the camps. With regard to the humanitarian situation, IDPs continue to raise complaints about the lack of water, as well as other physical, social and educational facilities."
A few important questions left unanswered: Who is responsible for the shooting? Is it general crime, or something more political? Is anyone trying to find out? And are the IDP complaints about water valid? How serious and widespread are they?
And about that --- the government claims that the humanitarian aid situation is under control, with all of the gaps created by the aid group expulsions taken care of. Yet Darfuris in the camps are calling into Radio Dabanga with stories of water, food, and medicine shortages. Camp leaders complain that international visitors are only shown what the government of Sudan wants them to see. (FYI: US Envoy Scott Gration is on his way to Darfur again.)
So what accounts for the discrepancy? As Michael recently reported on Humanitarian Relief, our doomsday predictions about aid breakdowns have not yet come to pass. Are reports of shortages isolated and manageable, or is there a larger disconnect between what the government of Sudan wants us to know and what is actually transpiring on the ground? If there are significant shortages, why haven't we seen more movement out of Sudan and into Chad? Is anyone in a position of international influence asking these questions?
The government of Sudan has a distinct advantage in controlling the flow of the information, post-expulsion: It kicked out many of the region's witnesses, and effectively bullied others into silence. So can we be sure that we are being told to whole story?
Daily Darfur: Zuma Under Fire for AU Resolution on ICC
Published July 09, 2009 @ 03:55AM PT
Voices of dissent continue to trickle out from African civil society in response to last week's African Union resolution declaring non-cooperation with the International Criminal Court over the indictment of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.
An editorial in South Africa's Business Day slams new president Jacob Zuma for "meekly" submitting to the "gangster" politics of the AU:
"In doing so, the new government missed a golden opportunity to set a new tone for foreign policy, which the Thabo Mbeki administration had managed to pervert. What we need is a foreign policy based on the principles of respect for the rule of law and the restoration of human dignity."
In a separate article, Business Day writes that "South Africa has been upstaged by Botswana breaking ranks and condemning" the resolution. Both pieces also criticize the conduct of the summit, arguing:
"It is understood Gaddafi forced the AU resolution on member states without proper debate or attempting to find consensus, as is the norm on sensitive matters."
Meanwhile, however, Ghana's president expressed his support for the resolution, the day before President Barack Obama's visit to the country. Obama is due to give a major speech outlining his policy for the continent.
