| |
Darfur Quarterly Update
On a quarterly basis, Jewish World Watch provides an update on the status of the genocide in Darfur. These updates are prepared by Honey Kessler-Amado, Esq., Chair, Temple Isaiah, Jewish World Watch Committee and Member, JWW Synagogue Advisory Committee.
QUARTERLY UPDATE ON THE SITUATION IN DARFUR
JUNE 5, 2008
Regrettably, it appears that everything that has been tried to bring peace to the Darfur region has failed so far. As noted by Fabienne Hara of the International Crisis Group, "The (2006) Darfur Peace Agreement has failed. The transition to a U.N force has failed. ... [And] efforts to revive the peace process are not working." 1
On May 10, 2008, a Darfur rebel group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), launched a surprise attack on the outskirts of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, striking for the first time near the center of power in Sudan. At least 200 people were killed in the battle. Though the rebels were quickly defeated, their ability to get so close to the capital left many Sudanese shaken. 2 Perhaps emboldened by the attack by JEM, another rebel group, the Sudan Liberation Movement's Unity (SLM - Unity) faction, threatened on May 26, 2008 to launch similar attacks against Khartoum. 3
In response to the JEM attack, the government immediately began indiscriminate round-ups, detentions, interrogations and torture of Darfuris. Human Rights Watch expressed concern about the arrests of more than 100 supporters of the rebel movements or other political opponents of the regime. 4 The large-scale crackdown has expanded to include individuals not directly affiliated with the JEM attack. Darfuris in Khartoum and Sudanese human rights organizations have begun collecting the names of those detained and those whom have disappeared in the last week. The Sudan Organization Against Torture (SOAT) also reports that individuals believed to be Darfuris are being specifically targeted by the National Intelligence and Security Service. 5 Diaspora leaders also report that sources on the ground claim that the security forces have carried out summary executions of Darfuris. 6
Independent media in Khartoum and Darfuri journalists and lawyers have also been targeted for their efforts to reveal the details and extent of these human rights violations. On May 15, Reuters reported that Sudanese authorities shut down the Arabic-language independent newspaper Alwaan for publishing details of the May 10 rebel attack. 7 In addition to this step, Darfuri sources report that well-known Darfuri journalists were detained and violently interrogated in Khartoum in the days after the JEM attack. (These journalists include Ismail Adam of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat 's office in Khartoum and Al-Ghali Shigaifat, Chairperson for the Darfuri Journalist Association.) Journalists attempting to visit individuals in hospitals who sustained injuries during arrest and subsequent detention have been refused access to these individuals and were themselves threatened by the police and security agents. Darfur human rights defenders attempting to document these abuses have also been targeted. (Most notably, Abdul Shakur Hashim Dirar Kaidanah - a well-known Darfuri lawyer - was arrested in the week following the JEM attack.) 8
Meanwhile, a group of five small factions which was formed earlier this year to take part in peace talks appears to be unraveling. The United Revolutionary Force Front (URRF), a mostly Arab rebel group, has announced that it is pulling out of the group. This is a setback for United Nations and African Union envoys, who had spent months persuading these five rebel splinter-groups to unite to simplify negotiations. 9
In other troubling event, a convoy of Nigerian peacekeepers in Darfur was robbed of cash and weapons by militiamen in Sudanese Army uniforms, according to United Nations officials. 10 No one was injured in the attack, but it was a humiliating blow to the hybrid United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, which is struggling to prove it can be stronger and more effective than the African Union force it replaced. 11 (The hybrid UN-AU force was expected to be the world's largest peacekeeping force, with 26,000 soldiers and police officers at full strength. But, as reported in earlier Updates, the deployment has been slowed by resistance from the Sudanese government and bureaucratic delays. So far only 9,000 troops are in place). 12
The convoy was ambushed when it stopped at what appeared to be a military checkpoint with four soldiers, according to a senior peacekeeping official. But they were quickly outnumbered by about 60 men on horses and camels who were armed with automatic rifles and grenade launchers. The militiamen wore military uniforms, but peacekeeping officials said they were most likely Janjaweed (militias who were trained and armed by the government to fight rebels seeking greater autonomy in Darfur). 13 "There were so many janjaweed, they could not fight back," said the senior peacekeeping official, who works with the ambushed troops. "It was really disheartening, but they had no choice." 14 A senior officer based in West Darfur, where the attack occurred, said, "Everyone is asking, how can we protect anyone from these guys if we can't even protect ourselves?" 15
United Nations Developments
U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes has called for the creation of a Security Council expert group on the protection of civilians, which he said would be an informal forum bringing together all council member states. He reported that "[c]ivilians continue to account for the majority of casualties in armed conflict, often in flagrant violation of the rules of international humanitarian law." 16 He said that "[a] more consistent approach to integrating the protection of civilians into all relevant aspects of the Council's work could make a very real difference to the lives of millions trapped in the chaos and horror of war." 17
North-South Sudan Conflict
There has been fierce fighting recently in the disputed oil town of Abyei, a flashpoint in the civil war that raged between northern and southern Sudan for two decades. The aid group Doctors Without Borders said the fighting forced 60,000 people to flee and live in the open at the height of the rainy season. 18
Pagan Amum, a leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army which is the main political party of the South, has said that the country was on the brink of war over the bitterly disputed oil region of Abyei. Amum accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) leadership of trying to uproot Dinka tribesmen from the contested district. He described the current fighting as the most significant threat to the peace process that ended Africa's longest-running civil war between north and south Sudan. Under the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the border area of Abyei was accorded a special status, to be governed by a joint administration from the North and South, and the South was given a six-year transition period of power-sharing in Khartoum and allowed regional autonomy until a 2011 referendum on independence. However, now half-way through the transition period, Abyei has never yet been governed by a joint administration. People from the North and South and from the United Nations say the dispute over oil-rich Abyei cannot be solved until a proper, joint administration is functioning. 19
The Olympics and Advocating for Darfur
Athletes have few formal guidelines to follow when deciding whether to take a public stand about Darfur while in Beijing. Rule 51 of the Olympic charter, the constitution of the Olympic movement, forbids athletes from participating in a "demonstration or political, religious or racial propaganda" at Olympic sites. When the International Olympic Committee identifies a possible violation of Rule 51, it asks the Olympic Committee of the athlete's country to investigate. Depending on the outcome, Olympians can be disqualified or sent home. 20
The question of whether Olympic athletes will have the right to express political views in Beijing erupted in February, after news that Britain and New Zealand were planning to require that athletes sign contracts barring them from speaking about politically sensitive issues. Both countries quickly reversed themselves. The United States Olympic Committee permits athletes to express their opinions, provided they do not violate the charter, according to Darryl Seibel, a U.S. Olympics Committee. 21
With growing protests in Tibet and pressure mounting on Olympic sponsors to denounce China for its policy on Darfur, many athletes are struggling to figure out how to honor their beliefs and social and political concerns. Team Darfur, a coalition of more than 200 athletes, is seeking to raise awareness about the atrocities in Darfur. When not in uniform, several athletes plan to wear the Team Darfur wristbands around Beijing. 22 Brad Greiner, the cofounder of Washington-based Team Darfur, said that personal concerns about respecting the purpose of the games (celebration of athletic excellence) and business considerations (many of the athletes have lucrative contracts to endorse products produced in China) have kept some well-known athletes from joining the coalition. According to Mr. Greiner, many are wary of speaking out. 23
Updated by Honey Kessler Amado
for Jewish World Watch
1. "Darfur Rebels Threaten Khartoum as Peace Hopes Fade," Reuters (ed. Giles Elgood), May 26, 2008, NYTimes.com.
2. Lydia Polgreen, "Darfur Peacekeepers Robbed in Ambush," NYTimes.com, May 24, 2008.
3. "Darfur Rebels Threaten Khartoum as Peace Hopes Fade," Reuters, May 26, 2008, NYTimes.com.
4. "Mass Arrests After Rebel Attack Raise Concern Government Detains More Than 100 Opponents," Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/english/docs/2008/05/13/sudan18812.htm; and see SaveDarfur blog, May 19, 2008, "Summary of Accounts from Khartoum and Darfur Following May 10 Attack," www.savedarfur.org.
5. "Mass Arrests and Reports of Torture in Khartoum Following JEM Attacks," Sudan Organization Against Torture, 15 May 2008; and see SaveDarfur blog, May 19, 2008, "Summary of Accounts from Khartoum and Darfur Following May 10 Attack," www.savedarfur.org.
6. SaveDarfur blog, May 19, 2008, "Summary of Accounts from Khartoum and Darfur Following May 10 Attack," www.savedarfur.org.
7. "Sudan closes paper for publishing military details," Reuters 15 May 2008; and see SaveDarfur blog, May 19, 2008, "Summary of Accounts from Khartoum and Darfur Following May 10 Attack," www.savedarfur.org.
8. See SaveDarfur blog, May 19, 2008, "Summary of Accounts from Khartoum and Darfur Following May 10 Attack," www.savedarfur.org.
9. "Darfur Rebels Threaten Khartoum as Peace Hopes Fade," Reuters, May 26, 2008, www.NYTimes.com.
10. Lydia Polgreen, "Darfur Peacekeepers Robbed in Ambush," www.NYTimes.com, May 24, 2008.
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. "More Action Needed to Combat Civilian Deaths: U.N.," Reuters (ed. Cynthia Osterman), and Louis Charbonneau, www.NYTimes.com, May 27, 2008. According to Mr. Holmes, since January 2008, more than half a million people have been displaced by conflict, with 337,000 civilians fleeing Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, Somalia and Sudan.
17. "More Action Needed to Combat Civilian Deaths: U.N.," Reuters, www.NYTimes.com, May 27, 2008.
18. L. Polgreen, "Darfur Peacekeepers Robbed in Ambush," www.NYTimes.com, May 24, 2008.
19. "Sudan President Pledges Serious Peace Dialog ue," AFP (Agence France-Presse) May 27, 2008; www.ca.news.yahoo.com (Canada).
20. Katie Thomas, "Issue for Athletes: Protest on Darfur at Olympics," www.NYTimes.com, April 1, 2008.
21.Ibid.
22.Ibid.
23.Ibid. |
