---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Aug 10, 2011 at 1:53 PM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: South Kordofan - assorted articles To: Group <[email protected]>
An assortment of articles from the last few days: 1. Bishop Andudu on BBC (video) - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14428795 2. The Anglican and the Evangelicals: Insights from the Sudanese Genocide Religion Dispatches August 9, 2011 By Frederick Clarkson When evangelical activist Brad Phillips told senior members of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa about what he had seen and heard during a recent trip to South Kordofan, Sudan, they called an emergency hearing. The stories of atrocities carried out by Sudanese forces and allied militia have riveted world media attention since mass killings began in early June: house-to-house searches, summary executions, collection of bodies like trash loaded on trucks in bags, the digging and filling of mass graves, bombing of farms and villages, and chasing Nubans with attack helicopters into the Nuba mountains. Fresh, firsthand accounts are the stuff of which great committee hearings are made. But as compelling as the testimony was, the hearing made clear that there is no apparent solution. The hearing also brought into sharp focus the religious identities of both the perpetrators and the victims, as well as those of some of the participants in the hearing, and shed light on how those identities informed their perspectives. Ethnic Cleansing The current violence began in the run up to the July 9 inauguration of the newly independent South Sudan. South Kordofan is a northern border province, and home to many supporters of the SPLM, the political movement aligned with the South, and the SPLA-North, one of its armed wings. History has left them behind, in the name of peace, to face the vengeance of a regime led by indicted war criminals. The ethnic Nuba, who are Black Africans, and predominantly Christian of various stripes, have been the target of a long-term ethnic cleansing and “Arabization” campaign by Khartoum. Hundreds of thousands had been killed as part of the wider civil war in which some two million people died, until the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Accord (to which the UN and the U.S. were signatories) slowed the violence. Unfortunately for the Nuba, the peace accord placed them in the northern side of the divided nation. The Nuba are concentrated largely in ten towns in five counties in South Kordofan province, including the capital, Kadugli. The era of forced conversions and teaching Arab-centric history in schools, has given way to what many are grimly calling a Final Solution. The Anglican... Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail, the Anglican Bishop of Kadugli, is emerging as the catalytic figure in the public eye. Following the House hearing, he flew to New York to participate in a press conference (his first) and to press the UN Security Council to act. Andudu is unique not only because but for a medical trip to the U.S., he might now be in a mass grave in Kadugli, and not only because he is a refugee bishop, unexpectedly cast onto the international stage—but because he actually represents the people being discussed. He is a Nuban from Kadugli, where the worst of the atrocities occurred, and is in daily contact with members of his congregation. In his prepared statement at the hearing (as in an earlier interview with RD) he emphasized respect for the pluralist culture of the Nubans, in which Muslims and Christians maintain a good relationship. “We all belong to one human family, whatever our national, ethnic or political differences,” he wrote in his prepared testimony. “The state-sponsored ethnic cleansing campaign is targeting Nuba people, including not only Christians—such as the Anglican Church, the Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church, and the Sudanese Church of Christ in Kadugli—but also Muslims, including those who worship at the mosque in Kauda, which a SAF fighter plane recently targeted with ten rockets.” “We are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers, wherever they may be. Loving our neighbor requires promoting peace and justice in a world marred by genocidal violence.” ...and the Evangelicals Brad Phillips, who heads the Virginia-based Persecution Project, now lives in Kenya, and simultaneously serves as the Sudan country director for Voice of the Martyrs, an evangelical agency that since 1967 has focused on helping Christians in restricted countries, emphasizing communist and Muslim countries. It functions as a hub for many other evangelical partner groups, and while it carries out humanitarian aid and support for people persecuted for their faith, evangelization is the core mission. (It has, for example, a project of prayer, seeking conversion of Muslims during Ramadan. Both Subcommittee Chairman Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA) stated during the hearing that the books of Voice of the Martyrs founder Richard Wurmbrand were influential in their thinking about religious freedom in the world.) Phillips hails from a family of Christian Reconstructionists, led by his father Howard Phillips, head of The Conservative Caucus, and an architect of what became the American Religious Right political movement in the 1970s. Brother Doug Phillips is best known for his Texas-based homeschooling publishing house, Vision Forum. On his father’s in-house TV show in 2007, father and son cast the situation in Sudan at the time, and the work of the Persecution Project, in stark Manichaean terms. The elder Phillips introduced one segment, for example, by saying, “Brad, you have been focusing on the persecution of Christians in Sudan, some two million of them killed by Islamist Marxists...” The presence at the hearing of Bishop Andudu, a champion of Muslim-Christian cooperation, made it difficult for anyone to cast the Nuban story in such terms. Rep. Frank Wolf, who sat in as guest of the committee because he shares a longstanding interest in Sudan, seemed to struggle with this. He did acknowledge that “some” of the two million killed in the civil wars were not Christians—whereas in fact, most of the hundreds of thousands of those killed in Darfur were Muslims. For his part, Phillips tried to emphasize the notion that churches and their leaders are being targeted. The presumption, he said, is that if you are a Christian you are part of the SPLM opposition group, and that the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) sought church membership lists. But this may not be strictly accurate. The SAF, according to reliable reports, had short lists of community and political leaders, some but not all of whom were Christian clergy. They also used voter registration lists to identify SPLM supporters. Significantly, at the top of the list is SPLM leader Abdul Aziz Adam al-Hilu, who happens to be Muslim. “A Fundamentally Evil Government” Rep. Wolf, a “Family stalwart,” went on a tear against the Khartoum regime. “This is a fundamentally evil government,” he declared. “And until you remove Bashir, this will continue!” “The UN has failed,” he continued. “The UN failed in Rwanda. The UN failed in Bosnia. The UN failed in Darfur!” Responding to reports that UN peacekeepers in Kadugli not only failed to protect, but actually turned internally displaced people over to Sudanese intelligence, he said, “It sounds like the Nazis to me. It sounds like something out of a bad movie!” Wolf believes that Bashir is worse than Libyan leader Qaddafi and President Assad of Syria, that after 21 years in power, Bashir must be removed, and that the U.S. should close the Sudanese Embassy and expel its diplomats. He said Bashir is like Hitler, should be arrested and “should be taken to the Hague and tried.” Brad Phillips said he agreed “100 percent” with Wolf. Wolf’s tirade underscores the hard truth that the international system has little capacity to prevent mass atrocities, or to stop them in the early stages. The pioneering work of the privately, but seat-of-the-pants-financed, Satellite Sentinel Project has shown what can be done to document and expose aggressive military postures and on the ground horrors, notably mass graves. Bishop Andudu called on the U.S. government to use its own satellites to document the mass graves and to help to preserve the evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The U.S. government seems to have recognized the problem. Ranking Member Donald Payne (D-NJ) said that the Obama administration had just announced several initiatives to avert atrocities, including the establishment of an Atrocities Prevention Board. A False Moral Equivalence? But much of the hearing focused on the inadequacy of both the American and the United Nations’ response to the crisis. Chairman Smith was clearly upset that no one from the State Department was available to testify. And there was a deeper issue. Smith said, apparently referring to elements of the Obama administration. While Phillips’ fresh reports and documentation captured the attention of members of the House from both parties, when he took his information to the State Department, he said he was told that their policy was one of “moral equivalency between the two sides.” Smith protested: “SPLM-North members are not bombing people indiscriminately, driving Arabs off their lands and out of their homes nor going door-to-door to identify their perceived enemies and execute them. The Government of Sudan’s military forces are.” “Some are trying to down play the overwhelming responsibility of the Sudanese government for the devastation taking place in Southern Kordofan by referring to the refusal of the SPLM-North to lay down their arms to negotiate with Khartoum,” Smith observed. “But there is no moral equivalence between the SPLM-North’s actions and those of the government.” Phillips' experience at the State Department did not surprise Jonathan Hutson, Director of Communications for the anti-genocide Enough Project of the Center for American Progress, who attended the hearing. “The Obama administration’s overly even-handed approach has been frustrating to all of us in the anti-genocide movement,” he told Religion Dispatches. “As the world can see, independence for South Sudan has not brought peace to Darfur or to the border areas of South Kordofan and Abyei. The administration has assigned a false moral equivalence to those most responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity.” In light of the steady stream of credible reports of atrocities that have come out of South Kordofan since early June when the campaign began, and are by all accounts, ongoing, “Our government should get off the fence,” Phillips declared, “and distinguish between the victims and the perpetrators of genocide.” An Eyewitness Account Since the hearing, the story of the crisis in South Kordofan has continued to command international political and media attention. Following the hearing, Bishop Andudu flew to New York to join human rights groups in urging members of the Security Council to take action. News organizations led coverage of their press conference with the Bishop’s call for intervention by the Security Council. Sudanese exile and human right groups organized a rally across from the UN. Hutson and the Bishop spoke along with a woman named Gedila Musa, a Nuban expatriate who lives in the U.S. but was in Kadugli in June. In her speech she told of witnessing the horrors of women fleeing their homes, carrying their children into the mountains—because she was fleeing with them. Some days, they had no food or access to water. “People have to be very careful when walking,” she told the crowd. “They have to remain very low and hide in order to avoid being targeted by airplanes. People are very tired, the mountains are very big and it is tiring to walk. I personally was very very exhausted. The elderly and kids who are sick or injured have nobody to turn to, there are no doctors.” “Some days, people don’t drink at all,” she said. “They have to wait till the planes leave so they can go outside and get water before they come back and bomb again. The elderly have been put in the mountains because they can’t walk every day.” “On 17th of June in the morning,” she concluded, “bombing was heavy, two planes, two MIGs and helicopters were bombing Kadugli. I looked at my kids and told them that we have to leave. We relied on God and left. Our travels were long and it took four days to get a plane to be able to leave the region. If we had waited just one day, we wouldn’t have made it out of there alive.” Afterward, the UN’s press office took the unusual step of issuing a press release featuring a statement from Bishop Andudu—as well as a webcast and a podcast. C-SPAN (which broadcast the proceedings live) featured Chairman Smith on its Sunday Newsmakers show. The host who clearly noted the religious themes of the hearing, asked Smith what motivates his human rights work in the House. He said that all of his work in this area is “motivated by my faith. I mentioned earlier about being our brothers and sisters keepers,” he said. “We have been admonished by the scriptures—I am a Catholic—and I believe passionately in our Lord’s statement, what you do to the least of these, you do likewise to me. And that could be any disenfranchised person.” He went on to say that his concern applied to anyone, Christians, Animists, and Muslims in Sudan. The Government of Sudan responded to the hearing and other events of the week, declaring: “The military operations carried out by the Sudanese authorities in South Kordofan target the rebels, regardless of race, color, religion, and attempts to portray this as targeting the Nuba peoples... are deliberate attempts to distort and damage Sudan’s image.” http://www.religiondispatches.org/archive/politics/4979/the_anglican_and_the_evangelicals%3A_insights_from_the_sudanese_genocide__ END2 3. Darfur, S. Kordofan rebels agree to overthrow Sudanese government, JEM rebuffs alliance August 8, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in South Kordofan and two factions from the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) in Darfur sealed an alliance with the publicized goal of overthrowing the government of President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and establishing a secular state in the country. The Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) however distanced itself from the accord over the issue of the secular state and insisted instead that the focus should be the creation of a citizenship rights state. Gamar Dalman, the media adviser to the SPLM leader in South Kordofan, told Sudan Tribune in a phone interview on Monday that the tripartite agreement was signed today in Kaoda, South Kordofan, by Ramadan Hassan Nimir from the SPLM-Kordofan, Abul Gassim Al-Haj representing the SLM-Abdel Wahid Al-Nur and Al-Rayah Mahmood on behalf of the SLM-Minni Minnawi. He said the agreement "provides for the use of political and military means to topple down the regime of the [ruling] National Congress Party (NCP)" and movement towards a secular state in the whole of Sudan. Dalman also emphasized that the alliance pact is open to all the other political forces in the country. The SPLM-North reached a framework agreement with the Sudanese government brokered by the head of an African Union Panel Thabo Mbeki to negotiate a political partnership between the two parties and to discuss security arrangements. But the Sudanese president came back a week later and rejected it. He also ordered the army to hunt down Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu, leader of the Southern Kordofan SPLM and bring him to justice. The SPLM-North Sudan said after a leadership meeting on July 21st that included Chairman Malik Aggar and Secretary General Yasir Arman besides Vice-Chairman Al-Hilu that it would only resume talks with Khartoum if the latter accepts a mediated process. The summit also declared that the SPLM will determine its political strategy including the principle of regime change within a month’s time. Dalman said the rapprochement between the SPLM-North and Darfur rebel groups was initiated by the Secretary General Yasir Arman adding that he along with Aggar are now "rebels" against Khartoum. He also underlined that all the political forces were approached to join the alliance. He pointed out that the issue of the secular state is the only guarantee for Southern Kordofan’s people who reject any other option in this respect. He however said if Khartoum accepts to resume an internationally brokered process, they will bring the demands of their Darfurian allies and put it on the negotiating table with the NCP’s government. JEM REBUFFS THE ALLIANCE OVER SECULAR STATE CLAUSE A delegation of JEM rebels headed by its deputy chairman Ahmed Adam Bakheit was part of the talks held in South Kordofan. The rebel group, which took part in the fighting against the government troops alongside SPLM South Kordofan last month, refused to join the alliance over the principle of the secular state. JEM spokesperson Gibreel Adam Bilal, told Sudan Tribune the secular state is not the most important issue at the present stage and the efforts should be directed at toppling the regime. He said their delegation emphasized that the future Sudanese state should be built on the basis of full and equal citizenship, as well as the separation of the religion and the state. "However imposing the secularism is similar to the theocratic state and such decision should be decided by the whole Sudanese people," Gibreel said. He disclosed that JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim discussed this point in his telephone conversation with the SPLM Secretary General Yasir Arman on Sunday. Bilal said that JEM’s position on the place of religion "is quite clear". He also underlined another divergence on the role of the political forces that refuse to carry arms against the regime. He said his group wanted a place be clearly designed for these forces to ensure their participation in the interim period. But Ahmed Tugud JEM’s top negotiator stated to Sudan Tribune that their delegation is still discussing with other parties ways to resolve contentious issues related to the drafting of the document. He also criticized some rebel officials for leaking the contents of the agreement before it is finalized. JEM is part in the Doha political process to end the Darfur conflict but refused to sign a peace deal with Khartoum asking to open direct negotiations on the seven chapters of a framework peace document, a matter that Khartoum refuses. Ibrahim Gambari the Joint Special Representative and the interim mediator informed the rebel group in a meeting held in Doha last Saturday that Khartoum still refuses to open the whole document for talks and says it can discuss only JEM political participation and the security arrangements. The JEM delegation is preparing to leave the venue of the peace process saying it will return if a new development occurs, showing its commitment to the Doha process to end the eight year conflict. The two SLM groups of Al-Nur and Minnawi are not part of the Doha process. Al-Nur adopted recently a holistic approach saying Darfur crisis can only be solved through a regime change in Khartoum. While the government rejects to include in the Doha process Minnawi who signed the 2066 peace agreement in Abuja. Dalman said that a statement by the signatories is in the works and will be put out on Tuesday with the text of the alliance pact. In Khartoum the Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website, a media outlet close to the Sudanese intelligence service, accused the South Sudan government of sponsoring the meeting and claimed that the SLPA’s chief of staff, James Hoth, personally supports the military aspect of the integration of Darfur and Southern Kordofan rebel combatants. Reacting to the deal, the NCP political officer, Qutbi al-Mahdi said the alliance wants to weaken the Doha accord signed with the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on July 14th. He further said it proves the continued support from the SPLM to Darfur rebels. (ST) END3 4. SPLM-North and JEM agree to work against Sudan’s NCP August 7, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) North and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) said today they agreed to work with all the Sudanese political forces to re-establish democracy in the country. SPLM-North and JEM recently carried out a joint military attack on one of the Sudan Armed Forces garrison in Southern Koredofan. The Sudanese army confirmed the attack but said it repelled the assailants Yasir Arman, SPLM-North Secretary General and JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim "agreed to work with all the forces of democratic change to raise the country from thetotalitarianism to democratic transformation,” said a statement released by the Darfuian movement on Sunday. Yasir discussed over the phone with Khalil Ibrahim — who is hosted by the government of Muammar Gadaffi since May 2010 — the current political situation and future of the country after the secession of the South Sudan. "The two parties discussed the future of the Second Republic in light of the complexities facing the Sudanese people as result of the oppressive policies carried out by the National Congress Party," said the statement. Khalil and Yarman further discussed the issues of peace in Sudan and how to ensure equal citizenship rights to all the Sudanese and ways achieve democratic transition. Different rebel officials from the two sides did not rule out a political alliance between the rebellion in Southern Kordofan and Darfur armed groups who fight against the government since eight years. However, the perspective of such alliance, would complicate the settlement of pending issues between the north and South Sudan governments and bring more tension to the already edgy relations between the two sides. Khartoum accuses Juba of supporting both the SPLM, their comrades in arms during long years in Southern Kordofan and Darfur rebel groups. Sudanese president Omer Al-Bashir rejected a framework agreement brokered by the AU panel and inked by his assistant Nafie Ali Nafie and the SPLM-North leader Malik Aggar on 28 June. Bashir said talks should be conducted inside the country and without international mediator stressing that no more internationally sponsored peace process to settle internal conflicts. The Sudanese president also blasted JEM rebels who are part of the Doha process and said the Qatari sponsored process is the last on Darfur conflict. (ST) END4 5. Sudan’s ruling party raps SPLM-North over new rebel alliance August 9, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese presidential assistant and deputy chairman of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) Nafie Ali Nafie slammed the Northern sector of the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM-North) over a new alliance forged with Darfur rebels this week. Nafie accused SPLM-North of collaborating with unspecified foreign circles to destabilize the country but emphasized that nothing will hinder the progress of the state. Yesterday it was revealed that SPLM-North signed an agreement with two factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) in Darfur led by Abdel-Wahid Mohamed Al-Nur and Minni Arcua Minnawi. It stated that the main goal of the new coalition is to overthrow the regime through political or military means. Gamar Dalman, the media adviser to the SPLM leader in South Kordofan, told Sudan Tribune in a phone interview on Monday that the rapprochement between the SPLM-North and Darfur rebel groups was initiated by the Secretary General Yasir Arman adding that he along with Chairman Malik Agar are now "rebels" against Khartoum. He also underlined that all the political forces were approached to join the alliance. The oil-rich state of Southern Kordofan includes large populations which sided with the south during the 20-year civil war. SPLA units in the state led by former deputy governor Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu have been fighting Khartoum government troops since early June. Sudan has accused al-Hilu of launching a rebellion inside South Kordofan to try and control the region, and team up with rebels in other areas to challenge the national government. Nafie who was addressing South Kordofan lawmakers in Khartoum said that external and internal forces are working together "to create a new south" that incorporates marginalized population in Sudan. He called for strengthening state efforts through legislative and executive mechanisms to defeat what he described as a conspiracy. The Sudanese parliament speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir said that the SPLM in South Kordofan committed a "huge mistake" by declaring war in the state. The NCP’s media officer Ibrahim Ghandour described yesterday’s accord as a "dangerous turn" and a threat to peace in Sudan. A copy of the agreement seen by Sudan Tribune emphasizes the establishment of a citizenship state based on democratic values and respect to the rule of law. Furthermore, it calls for crafting a new constitution that separates religious institutions from state ones "to prevent exploiting religion in politics". (ST) END5 6. Ex-South Kordofan governor appeals for end of war August 7, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A former governor of Sudan’s southern state of South Kordofoan has launched an initiative to stop the ongoing war there between the country’s army and rebels of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) led by Abdul Aziz Adam Al-Hilu. South Kordofan, which borders the Republic of South Sudan and Sudan’s troubled western region of Darfur, has descended into a state of war since 6 June between Sudan army known as the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and SPLA forces. Over 72,000 people fled their homes as the fighting escalated into aerial bombardment by Sudan army, according to UN estimates, many others are believed to be killed. Daniel Kodi, the former governor of South Kordofan and a senior SPLA commander, convened a press conference at Al-Sharqah Hall in Khartoum on Monday and called for an immediate ceasefire and provision of humanitarian assistance in the state. The veteran politician from South Kordofan’s dominant Nuba population also called for addressing the situation of the Nuba fighters in the SPLA through political and security arrangements. Kodi reiterated that his initiative was non-partisan and self-motivated whose sole purpose is to bring peace and stability to the people of South Kordofan. The SPLA general severely faulted Abdul Azizi Al-Hilu for his decision to “ignite” war in the state, adding that the reasons he used for that decision was unjustified and lacking in logic. Kodi further chided Al-Hilu for what he said was his failure to take the opportunities he had to resolve issues of contention between the two sides through peaceful means and opted for the option of war. He charged that that this war serves to exploit the Nuba people in service of the agendas of quarters that has no relationship with the area, in a veiled reference to the government of South Sudan. The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) last week issued a press release in which it accused Kodi of collaboration with Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP). The movement said it would hold a meeting in the coming days to issue a punitive decision against anyone involved in collaboration with the NCP. (ST) END6 7. Sudanese gather in New York to urge the UN to stop ‘ethnic cleansing’ in S. Kordofan By Gisela Perez-Mauri August 8, 2011 (NEW YORK) — About one hundred Sudanese and South Sudanese citizens gathered outside the United Nations on Friday to push the international community to take action on ongoing killings and bombings in Sudan’s South Kordofan, a state bordering South Sudan, after reports of heavy fighting in June and satellite images of alleged mass graves last month. "I’m begging for help from the UN to impose a no-fly zone in the Nuba Mountains and stop the killings," said Abdul Basha, a 37 year-old man from that region in South Kordofan, who held a sign with pictures of dead bodies found in the violently stricken Sudanese state. Basha, who came to the United States as a refugee seven years ago, lost his mother in the June bombings, just one week after he left his homeland after a ten-day visit. Since then, he has not heard about his father, who he thinks disappeared during the fighting in the region. A recent UN report referred to summary executions, aerial bombardments and shelling of neighborhoods by both pro-southern rebel groups and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), but qualifying SAF actions as "especially egregious". The UN has warned about possible war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hikma Koko, 18, is a refugee from the Nuba Mountains who came to the United States with his mother, father and siblings in 2000. Most of Koko’s family still lives in the hard-hit region. She thinks that Omer Al-Bashir, the Sudanese President who has expressed his intention to create an Islamic state, is carrying out “ethnic cleansing” in this mainly pro-South, non-Muslim region. "The situation is getting worse everyday, people don’t have jobs and they are segregated in their own country. It’s like they were second class citizens," said Koko quoting members of her family in the Nuba Mountains. Demonstrators carrying signs of "end genocide, save lives", "stop killing the Nuba children" or "racist regime in Sudan must go," were screaming "Al-Bashir to ICC" –recalling that the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant to the Sudanese President for alleged genocide and crimes against humanity during the separate conflict in Darfur. While Sudanese activists were rallying outside the UN, Reverend Andudu Adam Elnail, an Anglican Bishop of South Kordofan, met Security Council members to urge them to stop what he also defines as "ethnic cleansing". "We need the Security Council to push the Khartoum Government to sit with the two parties and agree to a ceasefire. We need peace in Sudan," he said. "Then, people will be able to eat and talk," said Elnail, in reference to recent reports of expulsion of humanitarian aid agencies from South Kordofan. Peggy Hicks, Global Advocacy Director at Human Rights Watch, who also spoke to the press, emphasized that it is difficult to get a sense of the "horrendous abuses" that are going on in South Kordofan because of the lack of international media and humanitarian staff in the region. However, she said that it is "cynical that the lack of information means that there needs to be inaction by the UN" in the area. "If the Security Council wants more information on what’s going on, they are responsible for ensuring access to South Kordofan," she said forcefully. Hicks alerted about the need to end what some UN staff members and reporters may know as "Sudan fatigue", since ethnic and religious tensions in the African country have long been in the Security Council agenda. "What message do we send to human rights perpetrators? Keep up!," she said angrily. "Fatigue does not apply to address mass atrocities in South Kordofan," she said, after reminding that some 200,000 people are thought to have fled the area since the aerial bombardments, artillery shelling and extra-judicial killings began in June. (ST) END7 8. UNSC meeting failed to call for ceasefire in South Kordofan, Sudan says August 9, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A meeting held on Tuesday between members of the UN Security Council to discuss the situation in Sudan has failed to yield a resolution binding the country to ceasefire with rebels in South Kordofan State, a diplomat said. Sudan has been battling fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) since early June in the volatile region of Kordofan which borders the war-battered western region of Darfur and the newly established state in South Sudan. Dafa’a Allah Al-Haj Ali, Sudan’s permanent envoy to the UN, said that the UNSC’s closed-door session held on Tuesday had received a briefing from the UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Valerie Amos on the situation who spoke about the need of hundreds of refugees for humanitarian assistance as well as the importance of declaring a cessation of hostilities. The Sudanese diplomat said that some countries led by the U.S and France had demanded that the UNSC issues a statement obliging the Sudanese government to ceasefire but the demand received objection from the representatives of China, Russia, India and Lebanon which argued that the information on atrocities committed in the region were sourced from non-governmental organization and thus unverifiable. Ali further said that the meeting was concluded without issuing a resolution or statement. He, however, added that Washington, Paris and Berlin hinted at the possibility of returning to discuss the issue. Sudan has been at loggerheads with the UNSC since the latter voted on 29 July to pass a resolution extending the mandate of the UN-AU Joint Peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) for a year and instructing the mission to prioritize protection of civilian and facilitation of humanitarian assistance. Khartoum severely criticized the resolution which, according to the country’s foreign minister Ali Karti, included many negative signals and false information. Karti said the resolution aims to “manipulate” the mission’s mandate and tarnish the image of the country. The already-tense relations between Sudan and the world body further plummeted after the UN castigated Sudan for the death of three Ethiopian peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei and who succumbed to their wounds awaiting medical evacuation delayed by Sudanese authorities for three hours. The UNSC on Tuesday issued a statement condemning “in the strongest terms” acts of hostilities against peacekeepers in Sudan following the death on Friday of a UNAMID peacekeeper from Sierra Leone in an attack by identified gunmen in Darfur (ST) END8 9. Sudan says UNSC meeting on South Kordofan has ulterior motives August 8, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese foreign ministry on Monday questioned the motives behind the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting today saying that it is the result of "fierce campaign" by activists groups. Al-Obaid Marawih, foreign ministry spokesperson, told state media that the meeting is taking place at a time when efforts are underway for the return of stability and security in South Kordofan state. The latter is the scene of fighting since early June between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA) units led by Abdel Aziz al-Hilu. Classified UN reports as well as right groups have accused Khartoum of committing war crimes in the state and targeting ethnic Nubian people. Last week, a senior US lawmaker called for the immediate deployment of peacekeepers to the state to prevent "another potential genocide". Marawih said what reinforces the skeptical view of the UNSC meeting that it was originally scheduled for Thursday but was moved up to Monday instead. The UNSC apparently held the meeting earlier as the UN Peacekeeping Chief Alain Le Roy’s last day on the job is Wednesday, The outgoing official briefed the council as part of today’s meeting. Marawih stressed that there are positive results occurring on the ground in South Kordofan including the return of IDP’s to their areas, resumption of work in development projects and divisions in the SPLM ranks due to the refusal of the Nuba leaders to "continue war and destruction". The Sudanese official accused UNSC of scheduling the meeting for fear of the positive developments in South Kordofan. He slammed unspecified pressure groups who he claimed are trying to spread false news and information as part of a programmed plan to increase the amount of negative media coverage about the situation in South Kordofan and Abyei. Many USNC countries were infuriated over Sudan’s threat to shoot down UN helicopter that was to move three injured Ethiopian peacekeepers to receive treatment at the hospital. The UN said that getting necessary clearances from Sudanese authorities took three hours during which the soldiers passed away. But Khartoum denied the charge saying they granted authorization on an expedited basis before adding that UN personnel were to blame for the negligence that led to the death of the peacekeepers. (ST) END9 10. South Kordofan SPLA in the media war NB: Includes video footage at http://www.sudantribune.com/South-Kordofan-SPLA-in-the-media,39760 by Toby Collins August 6, 2011 (LONDON) – The Sudan People’s Liberation Army-(SPLA) fighting the troops of North Sudan in South Kordofan have released photographs and video purporting to show their spoils. The SPLA of South Kordofan have been in conflict with North Sudan’s troops since just prior to the secession of South Sudan on 9 July. Many people from South Kordofan fought with the SPLA in the 22 year civil war between North and South Sudan. The new state border puts South Kordofan in North Sudan. There have been widespread allegations of atrocities committed by North Sudan’s army, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in the conflict. In a press statement released on 1 August the SPLA claimed the following victories: Attacked SAF forces in Salara on 10 July SPLA, seizing two large tank carriers, one long-range radio, three machine guns, six boxes of mortar shells, and three boxes of ammunition. Destroyed part of Kadugli, the state capital, runway on 26 July, rendering it unusable for large aircraft. Defeated Peter Gadet’s militia in Kranjo Abdalla and wounding his brigadier, Tomas Teil. Attacked SAF base in Alahmar on 28 July. SAF sustained heavy loses. Seized two armoured vehicles, four landcruiser pickups mounted with doshkas, small weapons and munitions Gunned down SAF armoured helicopter in Um Thoran on 28 July. These victories and evidence of them have not been authenticated, but they act as a indication of the SPLA’s media savviness. There is currently a media blackout in South Kordofan; few journalists have been able to gain access to the area. Therefore coverage is being mainly based upon eyewitness accounts and satellite imagery. The evidence to support the case that Khartoum’s military are committing atrocities in South Kordofan is overwhelming, but it not known on what scale it is taking place. Irrespective, the rhetoric and actions of the international community has been markedly insipid. The UK Foreign Secretary was “shocked” by reports of SAF’s indiscriminate aerial bombardment and individuals being targeted based on their ethnicity or political affiliation. He went on to “condemn” the prevention of humanitarian aid entering the area. The US Secretary of State was “very concerned” about “Tens of thousands of people have been driven from their homes, and [...] reports of very serious human rights abuses.” The UN has called upon the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate the conflict. However, North Sudan is ruled by a man with an ICC arrest warrant against his name and the recently “elected” governor of South Kordofan is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Although the US President said of South Kordofan in June, “those who flout their international obligations will face more pressure and isolation and they will be held accountable for their actions,", inertia prevails. The military balance is weighted so heavily in Khartoum’s favour the dissemination of pro-SPLA propaganda into the international arena is indicative of a military which wants support; they are not about to lay down their arms, on the contrary, they are stockpiling. (ST) END10 11. Over 5,000 refugees from South Kordofan arrive in Unity State for settlement By Bonifacio Taban Kuich August 5, 2011 (BENTIU) – Over 5,000 refugees have arrived in South Sudan’s Unity State, according to the UN and other organisations working in the are, after being displaced by fighting over the last month between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the north Sudan state of South Kordofan last June. The SPLA say the fighting erupted after the SAF attempted to disarm them in the run up to South Sudan’s independence on July 9. During the North-South civil war disenfranchised groups from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan joined the Southern-based SPLA in the war against Khartoum. Since South Sudan became independent, Khartoum has demanded that SPLA members from North Sudan move to South Sudan, disarm or integrate into SAF. Khartoum says that the fighting, which began in Kadugali on July 5 was triggered by an SPLA attack on a police station. Around 70,000 people are estimated to have been displaced by the fighting. Most are thought to have moved north but some, like the 5,113 who entered Unity State, moved southward into newly independent South Sudan. On Thursday Unity State officials witnessed the Situation in Parieng County where many of the refugees had arrived. A joint committee consisting of internationals NGO’s and the Unity State government has agreed to offer immediate permanent settlement to refugees from South Kordofan in Parieng County. The commissioner of Parieng Mabeak Lang Bilkuey and the Abdul Elbagi Ali the of Elbouram, across the border in South Kordofan have indicated that Yida would be an appropriate place to resettle refugees coming from South Kordofan. Bilkuey added that it is the task of state government and his county to allocate a good land for these refugees settlement in the state. Hussein Algumballa a representative of the Nuba refugees urged international NGOs to provide humanitarian assistance. Algumballa briefed the United Nations agencies and Unity State government officials during their visits to Parieng on the solutions for the refugees, who he said were suffering in Yida. He said that the situation of refugees in Yida is becoming worse every day since they had travelled for 13 days to escape the violence in South Kordofan. David Mulbah United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protection officer based in Unity State said that the best allocation of refugees must be a minimum of 50 kilometres away from the border of the two countries. He said that poor roads in the area would be a major issue for settlers in Parieng County. The Unity State deputy governor William Dawut Riak joined both UN agencies and the state officials in pledging to find a good environment for the settlement of refugees. Riak said: “The first thing is that we don’t want the refugees to be settle along the border as we already notice what had happen in Jaw and the South Kordofan, so we need to put the refugees in good places and also to have good educations, health’s services and others but not to defended on reliefs alone but to get involved in the agriculture activities”. He added that he will forward the case to both the state and national governments to find an amicable solution in order to come up with a policy as soon as possible for the settlement of refugees in Unity State. He added that it would not be up to the international community alone to carry out task. Riak said his government would join hands with development partners to find better solutions for the Nuba refugees. (ST) END11 12. Bishop calls for investigation into South Kordofan “ethnic cleansing” Saturday, 06 August 2011 20:36 Miraya The Anglican Bishop of Kadugli in Sudan's region of South Kordofan, Reverend Andudu Adam El-Nail, has requested the international community to send a fact-finding committee to investigate what he called "ethnic cleansing" in the Nuba Mountains. Addressing the press in New York, Bishop El-Nail said the Anglican Church in Kadugli was burnt down and the Catholic Church in the area is being occupied by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). He said the situation in South Kordofan is getting worse. http://www.radiomiraya.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6563:kadugli-bishop-calls-for-investigation-into-south-kordofan-ethnic-cleansing&catid=85&Itemid=278 END12 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
