Thursday 2 August 2007.
August 1, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan said on Wednesday it would consider releasing elderly Darfur rebel Suleiman Jamous, who could be vital to a peace process after the United Nations approved a big peacekeeping force for the region.
Suleiman Jamous (J.T)
Jamous, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) humanitarian coordinator, has been virtually imprisoned for 13 months in the South Kordofan region bordering Darfur. Khartoum has branded him a terrorist.
Foreign Minister Lam Akol said the question of Jamous had never been brought up by envoys from the United Nations and African Union, although U.S. envoy Andrew Natsios mentioned Jamous a couple of months ago but never referred to him again.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ali al-Sadig said Sudan’s government assumed the United States had lost interest.
"We are ready to consider the situation," he said. "We are ready to talk on the issue of Jamous."
The U.S. embassy and African Union were not immediately available to comment. The U.N. mission declined comment.
The United Nations Security Council on Tuesday approved a 26,000 strong force to try to quell violence in Darfur.
Analysts say Jamous is crucial to uniting the military and political leadership of splintered Darfur rebel groups ahead of peace talks with the government.
Diplomats are trying to get a deal between at least a dozen factions at a meeting in Tanzania from Aug. 3 to 5.
Akol said the government was prepared to help the rebels unite, but had not heard a request to release Jamous from U.N. envoy Jan Eliasson or AU envoy Salim Ahmed Salim.
"We never heard from the special envoys...that there was somebody somewhere that was central to the peace process," the minister said.
Jamous, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) humanitarian coordinator, was the main liaison between the world’s largest aid operation and rebels in Darfur, keeping looting of aid convoys down and humanitarian workers safe.
Last year the United Nations removed Jamous from Darfur to a U.N. hospital in South Kordofan without informing the government. The government warned if he left the hospital he would be arrested.
On Tuesday, 11 prominent international activists sent a letter to Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir, appealing for the release of Jamous. The rebel urgently needs a stomach biopsy which cannot be performed in South Kordofan.
(Reuters)
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Sudan 'will support Darfur force'
Sudan will co-operate with UN and African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, Sudan's UN ambassador said after the UN Security Council backed a joint force.
The mandate for the 26,000-strong force was watered down to appease critics and it will only be able to protect civilians deemed to be under threat.
The new UN-AU mission head welcomed the move but urged a political solution "as there needs to be a peace to keep".
The warring factions in the four-year conflict are due to meet on Friday.
We will be committed, we will be faithful and honest to our obligations
Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad
Sudan's UN ambassador
Since rebel groups rose up against the Khartoum government's rule in 2003, at least 200,000 people are thought to have died in the region and more than 2m have fled their homes.
Sudan's government and pro-government Arab militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.
'Without prejudice'
Darfur's rebel groups have long sought UN peacekeepers and have hailed the resolution
"We very much welcome the UN troops in Darfur any time, without any condition," Sudan Liberation Army commander Abu Jamal Khalil Ali told the BBC.
READ THE RESOLUTION
Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader
Abu Elgasim, field commander for a different SLA faction, also welcomed the UN resolution.
The first peacekeeping troops are due to begin arriving in October.
"We will be committed, we will be faithful and honest to our obligations," Sudan's ambassador to the UN Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad told the BBC.
However, he also warned that the resolution was not a "blank cheque" for the peacekeepers.
The resolution says they can use force "to protect civilians without prejudice to the responsibility of the government of Sudan".
Head of the UN-AU hybrid mission Rodolphe Adada told the BBC the force would be one of "two legs for finding peace in Darfur".
"I'm sure it will be one of the main tools for forwarding peace in Darfur, but it's only a peace operation, you need to have peace to keep," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"This is why the political meeting is of the essence."
The mission, to be known as Unamid - the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur - is expected to cost up to $2bn (£1.1bn) a year and will be world's largest peacekeeping force.
Mr Adada said the force will mainly be drawn from African countries, a move also hoped to appease Sudan's initial antagonism to the force.
But the resolution says the UN has overall command of the force.
'Disappointed'
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the mission as "historic and unprecedented".
Humanitarian workers hope the new force will provide security for them to be deliver aid to civilians.
"It is very clear that the humanitarian situation in Darfur is deteriorating, so we're hopeful that we can get back to a situation where we can just get on with our work," Sarah Smith from aid agency Goal told the BBC.
Jonathan Pearce, from the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee, said the peacekeeping force could make a "tremendous impact".
But Democrat Russ Feingold, who chairs the US Senate foreign relations sub-committee on Africa, said: "I am very disappointed that the resolution's co-sponsors have succumbed to pressure from the Sudanese government."
The new force will not have the right to disarm the militias and it does not have the powers to pursue and arrest suspected war criminals indicted by the International Criminal Court.
Furthermore, the resolution does not threaten sanctions against Sudan if it does not comply.
The unanimous vote came after negotiations secured the support of China, which has a veto on the Security Council and strong economic interests in Sudan.
The joint African Union-UN meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, is to try later this week to establish a framework for peace talks between the Darfur rebels and Sudanese government.
One of the numerous rebel groups signed a peace deal last year but the violence has continued.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6925538.stm
The mandate for the 26,000-strong force was watered down to appease critics and it will only be able to protect civilians deemed to be under threat.
The new UN-AU mission head welcomed the move but urged a political solution "as there needs to be a peace to keep".
The warring factions in the four-year conflict are due to meet on Friday.
We will be committed, we will be faithful and honest to our obligations
Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad
Sudan's UN ambassador
Since rebel groups rose up against the Khartoum government's rule in 2003, at least 200,000 people are thought to have died in the region and more than 2m have fled their homes.
Sudan's government and pro-government Arab militias are accused of war crimes against the region's black African population, although the UN has stopped short of calling it genocide.
'Without prejudice'
Darfur's rebel groups have long sought UN peacekeepers and have hailed the resolution
"We very much welcome the UN troops in Darfur any time, without any condition," Sudan Liberation Army commander Abu Jamal Khalil Ali told the BBC.
READ THE RESOLUTION
Most computers will open this document automatically, but you may need Adobe Reader
Abu Elgasim, field commander for a different SLA faction, also welcomed the UN resolution.
The first peacekeeping troops are due to begin arriving in October.
"We will be committed, we will be faithful and honest to our obligations," Sudan's ambassador to the UN Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad told the BBC.
However, he also warned that the resolution was not a "blank cheque" for the peacekeepers.
The resolution says they can use force "to protect civilians without prejudice to the responsibility of the government of Sudan".
Head of the UN-AU hybrid mission Rodolphe Adada told the BBC the force would be one of "two legs for finding peace in Darfur".
"I'm sure it will be one of the main tools for forwarding peace in Darfur, but it's only a peace operation, you need to have peace to keep," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.
"This is why the political meeting is of the essence."
The mission, to be known as Unamid - the United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur - is expected to cost up to $2bn (£1.1bn) a year and will be world's largest peacekeeping force.
Mr Adada said the force will mainly be drawn from African countries, a move also hoped to appease Sudan's initial antagonism to the force.
But the resolution says the UN has overall command of the force.
'Disappointed'
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the mission as "historic and unprecedented".
Humanitarian workers hope the new force will provide security for them to be deliver aid to civilians.
"It is very clear that the humanitarian situation in Darfur is deteriorating, so we're hopeful that we can get back to a situation where we can just get on with our work," Sarah Smith from aid agency Goal told the BBC.
Jonathan Pearce, from the UK's Disasters Emergency Committee, said the peacekeeping force could make a "tremendous impact".
But Democrat Russ Feingold, who chairs the US Senate foreign relations sub-committee on Africa, said: "I am very disappointed that the resolution's co-sponsors have succumbed to pressure from the Sudanese government."
The new force will not have the right to disarm the militias and it does not have the powers to pursue and arrest suspected war criminals indicted by the International Criminal Court.
Furthermore, the resolution does not threaten sanctions against Sudan if it does not comply.
The unanimous vote came after negotiations secured the support of China, which has a veto on the Security Council and strong economic interests in Sudan.
The joint African Union-UN meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, is to try later this week to establish a framework for peace talks between the Darfur rebels and Sudanese government.
One of the numerous rebel groups signed a peace deal last year but the violence has continued.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/6925538.stm
Sunday, July 29, 2007
BEIJING’S MOMENT OF TRUTH ON DARFUR
Friday 27 July 2007.
For Immediate Release
WILL BEIJING SUPPORT CHAPTER 7 MANDATE ON NEW UN RESOLUTION?
July 26 — While the Government of China has been quoted in the past several days as saying the new UN Resolution on a peace support operation for Darfur is “good,” there is growing concern that China will not support a Chapter 7 mandate for the peacekeeping force.
The debate concerns the new draft of a UN Security Council resolution (proposed by Ghana, France, and the UK) to authorize deployment to Darfur of approximately 26,000 civilian police and troops. The Chapter 7 mandate would confer upon the mission enforcement authority: “all necessary means,” including military means, which would be available to police and troops, thereby providing robust rules of engagement for those who threaten civilians, humanitarians, or the force itself. Without such a mandate, the force could not actively protect civilians.
“Anything less than a clear commitment to Chapter 7 authority will weaken the force of the resolution and embolden Khartoum,” said Eric Reeves, Sudan advisor to Dream for Darfur. “We will learn a great deal about whether Beijing intends to play a helpful role, or continue with a mere façade of concern for Darfur.”
Beijing has in the past objected to Chapter 7 authority for Darfur resolutions. Currently, the Khartoum regime---both at the UN and in the regime-controlled news media---is condemning Chapter 7 authority in the current draft resolution. This is so despite the fact that President Omar al-Bashir last month assured UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he accepted “unconditionally” the proposed African Union/UN “hybrid force” that is the centerpiece of the current resolution.
Under increasing pressure from the international community, including mounting pressure over Beijing’s inconsistent roles as both Olympic host and supporter of the regime in Khartoum, China has taken modest but constructive steps to address the Darfur crisis and to urge Khartoum to do so as well. China has said publically that it is doing everything within its power to resolve the Darfur issue.
“The moment of truth is at hand. Right now, Beijing has a clear opportunity to demonstrate whether or not it is willing to assist those in the international community determined to protect acutely vulnerable civilians and humanitarians,” Reeves said. “Beijing’s actions going forward must be judged in the context of a present decision about Chapter 7 authority for the security force deploying to Darfur.”
For more information, contact Matt Chandler: Matt Chandler: matt@rbistrategies.com / Office: 303.832.2444,x23 / Mobile: 303.523.2855 ###
Olympic Dream for Darfur is a global advocacy campaign, run by the Dream for Darfur organization, which was established in May 2007. Our goal is to secure protection for civilians on the ground in Darfur by focusing advocacy attention on Beijing, as Olympic host, and a government with unrivaled leverage with the government in Sudan.
For Immediate Release
WILL BEIJING SUPPORT CHAPTER 7 MANDATE ON NEW UN RESOLUTION?
July 26 — While the Government of China has been quoted in the past several days as saying the new UN Resolution on a peace support operation for Darfur is “good,” there is growing concern that China will not support a Chapter 7 mandate for the peacekeeping force.
The debate concerns the new draft of a UN Security Council resolution (proposed by Ghana, France, and the UK) to authorize deployment to Darfur of approximately 26,000 civilian police and troops. The Chapter 7 mandate would confer upon the mission enforcement authority: “all necessary means,” including military means, which would be available to police and troops, thereby providing robust rules of engagement for those who threaten civilians, humanitarians, or the force itself. Without such a mandate, the force could not actively protect civilians.
“Anything less than a clear commitment to Chapter 7 authority will weaken the force of the resolution and embolden Khartoum,” said Eric Reeves, Sudan advisor to Dream for Darfur. “We will learn a great deal about whether Beijing intends to play a helpful role, or continue with a mere façade of concern for Darfur.”
Beijing has in the past objected to Chapter 7 authority for Darfur resolutions. Currently, the Khartoum regime---both at the UN and in the regime-controlled news media---is condemning Chapter 7 authority in the current draft resolution. This is so despite the fact that President Omar al-Bashir last month assured UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that he accepted “unconditionally” the proposed African Union/UN “hybrid force” that is the centerpiece of the current resolution.
Under increasing pressure from the international community, including mounting pressure over Beijing’s inconsistent roles as both Olympic host and supporter of the regime in Khartoum, China has taken modest but constructive steps to address the Darfur crisis and to urge Khartoum to do so as well. China has said publically that it is doing everything within its power to resolve the Darfur issue.
“The moment of truth is at hand. Right now, Beijing has a clear opportunity to demonstrate whether or not it is willing to assist those in the international community determined to protect acutely vulnerable civilians and humanitarians,” Reeves said. “Beijing’s actions going forward must be judged in the context of a present decision about Chapter 7 authority for the security force deploying to Darfur.”
For more information, contact Matt Chandler: Matt Chandler: matt@rbistrategies.com / Office: 303.832.2444,x23 / Mobile: 303.523.2855 ###
Olympic Dream for Darfur is a global advocacy campaign, run by the Dream for Darfur organization, which was established in May 2007. Our goal is to secure protection for civilians on the ground in Darfur by focusing advocacy attention on Beijing, as Olympic host, and a government with unrivaled leverage with the government in Sudan.
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