Thanks to SAVE DARFUR - Latest News at:
http://www.savedarfur.org/go.php?q=latestNews.htmlLatest News - June 3, 2005
Darfur's real problem http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/02/AR2005060201666.htmlWashington Post Editorial"The idea that Darfur's crisis is not really the government's fault has never fit the facts. In response to a rebellion by two local armed groups, Sudan's government attacked civilians with helicopter gunships and armed a local militia to raze villages. Then, far from soliciting international help to deal with the humanitarian fallout, Sudan's government actually blocked aid groups' access to Darfur. Its policy toward displaced people was to deprive them of food, sanitation and protection: in other words, to kill them.
On Wednesday President Bush called the Darfur killings "genocide," a description that implies some moral obligation on the part of the United States to act to stop the killing. But his administration has yet to improve on the schizophrenic pressure-cum-cooperation approach of the past year, in part because it is hemmed in by the world's indifference."
Divestment bill introduced in Ohiohttps://registration.ohio.com/reg/login.do?url=http://www.ohio.com%2Fmld%2Fbeaconjournal%2Fnews%2Fstate%2F11806635.htm Associated PressOhio state senator Jeff Jacobson introduced SCR 17 to encourage the U.S. to lead multilateral efforts to bring those responsible for the egregious human rights violations to justice and to encourage Ohio companies and institutions, multinational corporations operating in Ohio and agencies and political subdivisions of the state to divest themselves of interests in any companies that conduct business in Sudan. State representative Adam Viers introduced a similar version in the General Assembly.
Saving Darfur http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05154/515460.stmWall Street JournalActor Don Cheadle has given $25,000 to Save Darfur, a nonprofit dedicated to raising awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Sudan's Darfur region. Mr. Cheadle was part of a recent Congressional delegation to the area and credits his Oscar-nominated role in "Hotel Rwanda" with opening "my heart and eyes and mind" to the refugee disaster in Africa.
European Commission allocates 12 million euros to Darfur refugees in Chad http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/EVIU-6CZEQY?OpenDocumentReliefWebThe European Commission has released 12 million euros in humanitarian aid for the victims of the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, to alleviate the consequences of the population movements affecting Chad. This aid is to cover the immediate needs of the refugees, the host population and returnees.
US calls for more police to protect Darfur refugees http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=8691248ReutersThe United States called on Friday for the deployment of more African Union police in refugee camps in Darfur, saying it would help stop attacks against civilians in the Sudanese region. During a visit to Darfur, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick also urged the Sudanese government to disarm Arab militias accused of rape, burning and killing.
Human Rights Watch: Darfur--Arrest War Criminals, Not Aid Workers posted by
Jack Rabbit with the DU discussion at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=116&topic_id=10222 Press release from Human Rights WatchDateline London, Tuesday May 31http://www.hrw.org/english/docs/2005/05/31/sudan11043.htmDarfur: Arrest War Criminals, Not Aid WorkersDonor governments and the United Nations must condemn the Sudanese government's arbitrary arrest and intimidation of aid workers, Human Rights Watch said today. The Sudanese government should drop charges against all aid workers, including the head of Médecins Sans Frontières in Khartoum, Paul Foreman, who was arrested yesterday and released on bail.
The Sudanese authorities detained a second Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) staff member in Nyala, South Darfur, early this morning. Foreman's arrest followed escalating public threats against MSF in the Sudanese media over the past few weeks. Sudanese authorities claim that an MSF report on rape published on March 8 violated Sudanese law and that the report is "false." The precise charges against MSF are unclear but—according to an article in the Khartoum-based pro-government newspaper Al-Ra'i al-Aam include spying, provision of false information and disturbing the peace.
The government concluded that the report was false, according to Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commission, when MSF did not respond to government demands to produce the evidence of rapes. MSF's report stated that the organization had treated more than 500 women and girls in Darfur in a period of four and a half months, and it called on local authorities to do more to stop the abuses. The government sought names and other details, in violation of the doctor-patient privilege.
In addition to the MSF staff, more than twenty aid workers have been arbitrarily arrested, detained or threatened with arrest in the past six months in Darfur, according to Human Rights Watch research. International media are increasingly being denied visas to the region.
Related News on Bush, G8 Meeting and Africa:I cannot sign up to Blair's African mission, says Bush posted by
emad with this DU discussion at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1826327 June 03, 2005 I cannot sign up to Blair's African mission, says Bush http://www.timesonline.co.uk/login.php?grid=28,15&uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesonline.co.uk%2Fnewspaper%2F0%2C%2C174-1639179%2C00.html%3Fgavalidate&gareason=loginFrom Roland Watson in Washington PRESIDENT BUSH has laid bare his opposition to the flagship initiative of Tony Blair’s term at the helm of the group of eight leading industrialised nations.
Mr Bush said he could not sign up to Mr Blair’s ambitious aim to double aid for Africa in the next decade. “It doesn’t fit our budgetary process,” Mr Bush said. But he promised to work constructively with Mr Blair on African aid when the G8 convenes in Gleneagles next month.
Washington has made clear to London over recent weeks that Mr Bush could not sign up to the figures being put forward by Mr Blair. But the President’s blunt response when asked if he was prepared to increase US aid to the levels on the G8 agenda cast a shadow over preparations for the gathering.
As host of this year’s G8, an annual economic summit involving the seven largest industrialised economies and Russia, Mr Blair has placed the plight of Africa at the top of his list of priorities. The aim is to meet the UN target that countries should spend 0.7 per cent of their national output on aid.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,174-1639179,0... A second thread on the same issue:NYT: Bush Maintains Opposition to Doubling Aid for Africa posted by
DeepModem Mom with her thread at:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1516797 Bush Maintains Opposition to Doubling Aid for Africahttp://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/02/politics/02prexy.html?By ELIZABETH BECKER and DAVID E. SANGER at the NYTimesPublished: June 2, 2005
"WASHINGTON, June 1 - President Bush refused on Wednesday to budge on his administration's opposition to doubling aid for Africa, a major proposal on the agenda for a summit meeting of industrial nations next month in Scotland."
Actions:From the Sudanese Government: From:
http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/Sudanese FM warns aid groups about meddlinghttp://www.sudantribune.com/article_impr.php3?id_article=9897Via AP Wed June 1, 2005. Excerpt:Striking an unapologetic note after the arrest of two foreign aid workers, Sudan's foreign minister Wednesday (June 1) warned international organizations not to meddle in the country's affairs or tarnish its image.
"Organizations operating in Sudan should observe the country's national security in their dealings and they should not be seen to tarnish Sudan's image through issuance of false information," Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail was quoted as saying by the official Sudan News Agency.
Ismail said Sudanese authorities had investigated the agency's claims and found they contained incorrect information. He said investigations of the two aid workers were continuing.
The minister called on international organizations "to avoid meddling into what does not concern them."
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