Don't forget to participate in today's brainstorming session on our DU response to the Darfur Crisis! We need answers to these questions. This is where the discussion is tonight.http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3724411Here is a round-up of news. Thanks to SAVE DARFUR as always.
Latest News - From SAVE DARFUR
May 25, 2005 - A Chance for Peace in Darfur Editorial by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and AU Chairman Alpha Oumar Konarehttp://www.moroccotimes.com/paper/article.asp?idr=22&id=6775While no one knows for sure how many people have died in the conflict in Darfur, western Sudan, more than 2.6 million are suffering because of it, and in urgent need of assistance.
As part of our efforts to address the crisis in Darfur, we have jointly convened
donor conference in Addis Ababa: to give the rest of the world - especially the wealthy countries which have the means to contribute, and whose media and public opinion have been most vocal about the need to halt atrocities in Darfur - an opportunity to rally round and give practical support to the Africans who are actually doing something on the ground.
Help African Union Boost Troops Now
Human Rights Watch
http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/05/25/darfur11013.htm
International donors and African countries meeting Thursday to boost support for the African Union mission in Darfur must ensure that more AU troops are quickly deployed to protect civilians in the western Sudanese region. Human Rights Watch sets forth recommendations for the African Union and donors supporting the AU mission in Sudan.
The Darfur Crisis: simple needs, complex response
ReliefWeb
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/VBOL-6CQDBC?OpenDocument
An analysis of the needs in Darfur and the appropriate international response by Max Glaser, former UN-OCHA Senior Humanitarian Affairs Officer in Darfur between July and December 2004.
Food shortages and aid dependence set to continue in Darfur
International Committee of the Red Cross
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/VBOL-6CQC9J?OpenDocument
Food supplies in Darfur are running critically low and millions of people there are now dependent on food aid. The prospects for farmers being able to sow their fields this planting season are not encouraging. During the last planting season, less than 30% of arable land was cultivated. This proportion is set to decline further. If people cannot plant crops, there will be chronic food shortages. A depleted harvest at the end of the year will mean that increasing numbers of Darfuris remain completely reliant on humanitarian aid for their survival, trapped in a cycle of dependency for at least another 18 months.
Darfur needs bolder International Intervention
Crisis Group
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3468&l=1&m=1
With the high-level conference on the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) set to begin in Addis Ababa on 26 May 2005, the International Crisis Group is urging much stronger international intervention to stop the ongoing killing in Darfur.
In a letter addressed to world leaders (full text following article), including those meeting at the conference, Crisis Group President Gareth Evans highlights two areas in particular that immediately demand a bold new approach: the mandate of the international troop presence, and its size and capacity.
AU Calls for Increased Support to Darfur Mission
allAfrica.com
http://allafrica.com/stories/200505250014.html
Africa's peacekeeping mission in war-torn Darfur risks failure unless it receives increased support, the African Union (AU) warned on Wednesday.
Speaking on the eve of a major fundraising conference for the peacekeeping mission, AU Peace Commissioner Said Djinnit told reporters Darfur was a critical test of international commitment and Africa's resolve to end wars on the continent.
A "shopping list" of military hardware that includes helicopters, 116 armoured personnel carriers, passenger and cargo aircraft as well as trucks for African troops operating in Darfur will be presented at the summit on Thursday.
The Cost of Doing Business in Sudan
FindLaw's Writ
http://writ.news.findlaw.com/mariner/20050525.html
Human Rights Attorney Joanne Mariner describes and applauds the efforts of states and universities to divest.
Sudanese rebels kidnap three politicians in the east
Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L25359797.htm
Sudanese rebels kidnapped three ruling party politicians as they returned from a conference aimed at preventing conflict in Sudan's east, a government official said on Wednesday.
One of the two main Darfur rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), said in a statement it had joined forces with eastern rebels to kidnap the three men who were leaving the government-organised conference in the town of Kassala near the Eritrean border on Tuesday.
Both sides complain of marginalisation by the government, accusing it of concentrating on the country's central region, where most of the ruling elite hail from. Analysts fear the east has the potential to explode as Darfur has done.
UNHCR mobile teams seek out vulnerable people in Darfur
Reuters AltertNet
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/UNHCR/360f189d86e440005e8dd0498bc2fe13.htm
By destroying village life and forcing nearly 2 million people into instant slums on the outskirts of Darfur's bigger cities, the Janjaweed have re-engineered society in this troubled region, one the size of France.
Not only have they accelerated a process of urbanization that is taking place all over Africa, they have destroyed much of the culture and traditional rites of the displaced people - people who identify them as African tribes, in contrast to the "Arab" nomads who are persecuting them.
Treasurer scolded over Sudan
Philadelphia Inquirer
https://registration.philly.com/reg/login.do?url=http://www.philly.com%2Fmld%2Finquirer%2Fnews%2Fnation%2F11730924.htm
A Pennsylvania assemblyman challenges the state treasurer to support efforts to divest from Sudan.
Fontbonne students stand for social justice
Weymouth News (MA)
http://www2.townonline.com/weymouth/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=251614
Dubbing their effort "Ducks for Darfur," 21 young women in a senior theology class have worked hard to educate fellow members of the Fontbonne community, legislators and the public about the atrocities, the genocide, taking place in Sudan's Darfur region.
This is from a thread today by WesDem. Here is the DU thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=3726089&mesg_id=3726089Darfur Needs Bolder International InterventionBrussels, 25 May 2005: With the high-level conference on the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) set to begin in Addis Ababa on 26 May 2005, the International Crisis Group is urging much stronger international intervention to stop the ongoing killing in Darfur.
In a letter addressed to world leaders (full text below), including those meeting at the conference, Crisis Group President Gareth Evans highlights two areas in particular that immediately demand a bold new approach: the mandate of the international troop presence, and its size and capacity.
The current mandate of AMIS, as authorised by the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council, focuses on monitoring and verification, leaving to the Sudanese government the basic responsibility to protect civilians and humanitarian workers.
"Khartoum has utterly failed in its responsibility to protect its own citizens", says Evans. "And AMIS's own protection role is so highly qualified as to be almost meaningless".
-more-
http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=3468&l=1&m=1
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