Image and reality in Darfur
If in doubt, follow the money.
From today's Independent:
World marches to save Darfur
With demonstrations in 40 countries yesterday, pressure is mounting on Sudan to allow in peacekeepers and end a conflict in which 300,000 people have died
By Steve Bloomfield
Published: 18 September 2006
Survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide marched through the streets of Kigali yesterday, calling for the world to take action to end the slaughter in Darfur. They were joined by hundreds of thousands of protesters in more than 40 countries around the world - many of whom wore blue hats to symbolise support for a United Nations peacekeeping force to enter the troubled Sudanese region.
More than 300,000 people are believed to have died and at least 2.5 million have lost their homes in what the United States and some humanitarian groups have labelled genocide.
Freddy Umutanguha, who survived the Rwandan genocide, said: "We survivors stand with the victims in Darfur. We know what it is like to lose our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. We know what it is like to lose everything and see all who are dearest to us destroyed."
In London, survivors of the Holocaust joined protesters outside the Sudanese embassy, while Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders delivered prayers for the people of Darfur to Downing Street.
The former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright addressed a rally in Central Park, New York, and demonstrations and rallies took place across Asia and Africa.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution two weeks ago to send 20,000 peacekeepers to Darfur to end the crisis. But the resolution requires Sudan's government to agree to the presence of UN troops, and so far Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, has refused.
Some 7,000 poorly equipped African Union troops are currently trying to keep a lid on the violence. But their mandate ends on 30 September and Sudan is unwilling to allow them to stay.
Speaking in Havana, at a meeting of non-aligned nations, Mr Bashir said: "We don't want the United Nations back to Sudan, no matter the conditions." He has likened a UN force in Darfur to "Western colonisation" and has vowed to personally lead the "jihad" against it.
Yesterday Tony Blair outlined a "carrot and stick" approach to persuading Sudan to allow in a UN force. The Prime Minister also wrote to leaders of EU nations and the EU president, Jose Manuel Barroso, calling for joint European action.
While it is unlikely that a UN force will be arriving in Darfur soon, diplomatic activity over the weekend and in the coming week is likely to lead to some action. The UN has passed a resolution calling for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Darfur, although like all 13 resolutions passed on Darfur it has not yet been enforced. One of the main tactics employed by Sudan is to bomb villages from the air before the Janjaweed, horse-borne militia, move in. Diplomats believe the no-fly zone could be introduced soon as a first step. France has jet fighters in neighbouring Chad which could enforce it.
Mr Blair and President George Bush have also been trying to persuade China, one of Sudan's strongest allies, to use its influence to change Mr Bashir's mind. China has lucrative oil ties to Sudan and, along with another country with economic links, Russia, refused to vote for the recent UN resolution to send in peacekeepers.
Western diplomats believe that China may throw its weight behind the call for a UN force. While Mr Bashir claims to be against a UN presence in his country, some 10,000 "blue helmets" are in south Sudan implementing a recently signed peace agreement between north and south. White UN Land Cruisers are a common site in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.
Mr Bashir has also argued that the push for a UN force in Darfur is coming mainly from the West. But Muslim groups were heavily involved in yesterday's "Day for Darfur" and more demonstrations and events took place in Africa than in Europe.
Brendan Cox, director of Crisis Action, said: "What you saw was the coming together of Muslims, Christians and Jews with a very clear single message. The situation is on the edge - we are looking into the abyss. The international community has to live up to its responsibilities."
From today's FT:
HEADLINE: US moves stall to press Sudan on Darfur
BYLINE: Guy Dinmore in Washington
BODY:
Moves in Congress to put financial pressure on Sudan to stop the killings in Darfur have been stymied by a combination of big business interests and the Bush administration, according to supporters of legislation blocked in the Senate that would have endorsed decisions by US states to divest from companies involved in Sudan.
Tens of billions of dollars in equity are at stake, mostly of non-US companies and including two listed Chinese energy giants involved in Sudan's rapidly growing oil industry which fuels the military with arms and other supplies.
While giving rhetorical backing to anti-genocide protests staged around the world on Sunday, Democrats and Republicans admitted that a new watered down draft of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act was further evidence of US unwillingness as well as inability to take decisive action.
The draft put forward last week after long delays by Senator Richard Lugar, head of the foreign relations committee, took out controversial language known as "section 11" in the House equivalent that passed in April. This would have given a green light to a growing, celebrity-backed Sudan divestment campaign that has successfully targeted states, universities, pension and investment funds, persuading them to dump stock.
In June New Jersey became the first state to divest fully public funds from foreign companies linked to Sudan, selling $2.16bn of stock. Maine, Oregon, Illinois and Connecticut have also passed divestment legislation, as have many public and private universities with billions of dollars in endowments.
"Section 11 was critical," said Jason Miller, national policy director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force which is co-ordinating the campaign. His group pushes for divestment targeted not at all companies in Sudan but those deemed to be directly helping the government, through the oil industry which accounts for over half of state revenues and some telecommunications companies that have directly assisted the military.
On the other side, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), a US business lobby group representing major industries, is fighting the campaign and has sued the state of Illinois.
Bill Reinsch, president of the NFTC, lobbied Congress. He told the FT that the principle was simple "the president of the United States runs foreign policy; the mayor of Berkeley does not".
The NFTC also complains that lists of target companies are drawn up by unaccountable private interest groups. He said some of the US companies listed had been exempt from existing US sanctions to do business with Sudan usually in the south where rebel groups recently signed a peace accord with Khartoum. Others had nothing to do with Sudan, he said.
It is not clear whether Mr Lugar's draft will get through the committee, though there is a sense that so much time has been wasted that something is better than nothing. The sudden arrival of the draft caught many by surprise and it is still being studied. No one contacted by the FT could explain why support for a "no fly zone" over Darfur had apparently been dropped as well.
The State Department declined to make an official comment on the issue.
One administration official questioned whether the legislation would make any difference. He said there was little the US could do on its own, its military was stuck and exhausted in Iraq, China was refusing to co-operate and Nato was tied up in Afghanistan.
To that list, analysts said, should be added US reluctance to make Darfur a priority in its difficult relationship with China, Sudan's oil wealth, and a still close intelligence relationship between Washington and Khartoum in the war on terror.
Companies affected by the divestment campaign include: PetroChina, Sinopec, ABB, Alstom, Siemens, Schlumberger, Tatneft of Russia, Italy's Finmeccanica, Weir Group of the UK, and Shell.
From today's Independent:
World marches to save Darfur
With demonstrations in 40 countries yesterday, pressure is mounting on Sudan to allow in peacekeepers and end a conflict in which 300,000 people have died
By Steve Bloomfield
Published: 18 September 2006
Survivors of the 1994 Rwandan genocide marched through the streets of Kigali yesterday, calling for the world to take action to end the slaughter in Darfur. They were joined by hundreds of thousands of protesters in more than 40 countries around the world - many of whom wore blue hats to symbolise support for a United Nations peacekeeping force to enter the troubled Sudanese region.
More than 300,000 people are believed to have died and at least 2.5 million have lost their homes in what the United States and some humanitarian groups have labelled genocide.
Freddy Umutanguha, who survived the Rwandan genocide, said: "We survivors stand with the victims in Darfur. We know what it is like to lose our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters. We know what it is like to lose everything and see all who are dearest to us destroyed."
In London, survivors of the Holocaust joined protesters outside the Sudanese embassy, while Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders delivered prayers for the people of Darfur to Downing Street.
The former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright addressed a rally in Central Park, New York, and demonstrations and rallies took place across Asia and Africa.
The United Nations Security Council passed a resolution two weeks ago to send 20,000 peacekeepers to Darfur to end the crisis. But the resolution requires Sudan's government to agree to the presence of UN troops, and so far Sudan's President, Omar al-Bashir, has refused.
Some 7,000 poorly equipped African Union troops are currently trying to keep a lid on the violence. But their mandate ends on 30 September and Sudan is unwilling to allow them to stay.
Speaking in Havana, at a meeting of non-aligned nations, Mr Bashir said: "We don't want the United Nations back to Sudan, no matter the conditions." He has likened a UN force in Darfur to "Western colonisation" and has vowed to personally lead the "jihad" against it.
Yesterday Tony Blair outlined a "carrot and stick" approach to persuading Sudan to allow in a UN force. The Prime Minister also wrote to leaders of EU nations and the EU president, Jose Manuel Barroso, calling for joint European action.
While it is unlikely that a UN force will be arriving in Darfur soon, diplomatic activity over the weekend and in the coming week is likely to lead to some action. The UN has passed a resolution calling for a no-fly zone to be imposed over Darfur, although like all 13 resolutions passed on Darfur it has not yet been enforced. One of the main tactics employed by Sudan is to bomb villages from the air before the Janjaweed, horse-borne militia, move in. Diplomats believe the no-fly zone could be introduced soon as a first step. France has jet fighters in neighbouring Chad which could enforce it.
Mr Blair and President George Bush have also been trying to persuade China, one of Sudan's strongest allies, to use its influence to change Mr Bashir's mind. China has lucrative oil ties to Sudan and, along with another country with economic links, Russia, refused to vote for the recent UN resolution to send in peacekeepers.
Western diplomats believe that China may throw its weight behind the call for a UN force. While Mr Bashir claims to be against a UN presence in his country, some 10,000 "blue helmets" are in south Sudan implementing a recently signed peace agreement between north and south. White UN Land Cruisers are a common site in Sudan's capital, Khartoum.
Mr Bashir has also argued that the push for a UN force in Darfur is coming mainly from the West. But Muslim groups were heavily involved in yesterday's "Day for Darfur" and more demonstrations and events took place in Africa than in Europe.
Brendan Cox, director of Crisis Action, said: "What you saw was the coming together of Muslims, Christians and Jews with a very clear single message. The situation is on the edge - we are looking into the abyss. The international community has to live up to its responsibilities."
From today's FT:
HEADLINE: US moves stall to press Sudan on Darfur
BYLINE: Guy Dinmore in Washington
BODY:
Moves in Congress to put financial pressure on Sudan to stop the killings in Darfur have been stymied by a combination of big business interests and the Bush administration, according to supporters of legislation blocked in the Senate that would have endorsed decisions by US states to divest from companies involved in Sudan.
Tens of billions of dollars in equity are at stake, mostly of non-US companies and including two listed Chinese energy giants involved in Sudan's rapidly growing oil industry which fuels the military with arms and other supplies.
While giving rhetorical backing to anti-genocide protests staged around the world on Sunday, Democrats and Republicans admitted that a new watered down draft of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act was further evidence of US unwillingness as well as inability to take decisive action.
The draft put forward last week after long delays by Senator Richard Lugar, head of the foreign relations committee, took out controversial language known as "section 11" in the House equivalent that passed in April. This would have given a green light to a growing, celebrity-backed Sudan divestment campaign that has successfully targeted states, universities, pension and investment funds, persuading them to dump stock.
In June New Jersey became the first state to divest fully public funds from foreign companies linked to Sudan, selling $2.16bn of stock. Maine, Oregon, Illinois and Connecticut have also passed divestment legislation, as have many public and private universities with billions of dollars in endowments.
"Section 11 was critical," said Jason Miller, national policy director of the Sudan Divestment Task Force which is co-ordinating the campaign. His group pushes for divestment targeted not at all companies in Sudan but those deemed to be directly helping the government, through the oil industry which accounts for over half of state revenues and some telecommunications companies that have directly assisted the military.
On the other side, the National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC), a US business lobby group representing major industries, is fighting the campaign and has sued the state of Illinois.
Bill Reinsch, president of the NFTC, lobbied Congress. He told the FT that the principle was simple "the president of the United States runs foreign policy; the mayor of Berkeley does not".
The NFTC also complains that lists of target companies are drawn up by unaccountable private interest groups. He said some of the US companies listed had been exempt from existing US sanctions to do business with Sudan usually in the south where rebel groups recently signed a peace accord with Khartoum. Others had nothing to do with Sudan, he said.
It is not clear whether Mr Lugar's draft will get through the committee, though there is a sense that so much time has been wasted that something is better than nothing. The sudden arrival of the draft caught many by surprise and it is still being studied. No one contacted by the FT could explain why support for a "no fly zone" over Darfur had apparently been dropped as well.
The State Department declined to make an official comment on the issue.
One administration official questioned whether the legislation would make any difference. He said there was little the US could do on its own, its military was stuck and exhausted in Iraq, China was refusing to co-operate and Nato was tied up in Afghanistan.
To that list, analysts said, should be added US reluctance to make Darfur a priority in its difficult relationship with China, Sudan's oil wealth, and a still close intelligence relationship between Washington and Khartoum in the war on terror.
Companies affected by the divestment campaign include: PetroChina, Sinopec, ABB, Alstom, Siemens, Schlumberger, Tatneft of Russia, Italy's Finmeccanica, Weir Group of the UK, and Shell.
posted by UK plc at 10:00 AM
1 Comments:
Si: your lack of punctuation makes life harder than it needs to be. If you quote an item that is longer than one paragraph, it is conventional to include an " at the start of every quotational paragraph to succeed the initial one.
Jimbruv
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