[wvns] Aid for Darfur with Strings Attached
A pledge of aid if Sudan opts for peacekeepers
By Maggie Farley
Los Angeles Times
September 22, 2007
Ministers and other top officials meet at the United Nations to
discuss developments in resolving the crisis in the Darfur region.
UNITED NATIONS -- -- If Sudan swiftly supports peacekeepers and talks
to end the conflict in Darfur, the world will help rebuild the
beleaguered region, ministers and other senior officials from more
than two dozen nations said Friday in a high-level meeting on the
region's crisis.
While they praised the Sudanese government for having agreed to open
talks with rebels next month and for finally allowing 26,000 foreign
troops to help stabilize Darfur in the next year, participants in the
three-hour meeting at U.N. headquarters found that every move forward
was mined with obstacles.
The government in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, has accepted a joint
U.N.-African Union peace force, but insists that all the troops be
from Africa. It has granted land for bases, but quibbles over
airstrips. It has agreed to a cease-fire, but continues to attack
rebels and civilians. It pledged access for aid workers, yet they are
still frequently harassed and harmed.
"We must recognize what the Sudanese government has done in terms of
progress, but this is not a blank check," said AU chairman Alpha Oumar
Konare. "We will do everything within our power to ensure that
security is restored as soon as possible in Darfur."
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced the creation of a trust
fund to help African nations that have offered troops but don't have
the equipment or transport to allow them to protect Darfur's civilians.
Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir has insisted that the
peacekeeping force have an "African character," because of the taint
of colonization that affects the region. The demand has become a
sticking point, because with 18 operations around the world, the
United Nations' peacekeeping department has had trouble mustering
sufficient well-trained and well-equipped soldiers from Africa.
On Friday, Sudan's foreign minister, Lam Akol, rejected soldiers and
engineers offered by Uruguay, Thailand and Norway, saying African
countries had pledged "190%" of needed troops.
"There are enough African troops for the operation, almost twice the
number that are required," he told reporters, rejecting suggestions
that some of the military personnel were not up to U.N. standards.
The deployment -- scheduled to be completed by mid-2008 -- is three
weeks behind schedule, but Britain's minister of state for Africa,
Mark Malloch Brown, suggested that a "significant first wave" of
troops could be in Sudan by the end of the year.
"The issue now should be a technical one, not a political one," he
said. Malloch Brown is a former deputy U.N. secretary-general.
The ministers also discussed arrangements for peace talks set for Oct.
27 in Tripoli, Libya. Sudan's government has said it is ready to
negotiate with Darfur rebels who are demanding more resources from
Khartoum, greater representation in the central government and
compensation for victims of the conflict. But recently, the demands of
the different rebel groups have escalated -- one is now asking for
independence for Darfur -- and at least two rebel leaders are refusing
to attend the talks.
Abdel Wahid, a leader of the Sudanese Liberation Movement who is in
exile in Paris, said he refuses to join talks until the government
honors past agreements to stop the violence in Darfur. U.N. officials
consider his backing to be key for a peace pact's success, and
ministers at the meeting said he should participate or be excluded
from all future talks or posts.
From Paris, Wahid wrote in a text message to The Times: "Hopefully, my
people will get one thing if nothing else: Security."
The officials -- from 26 nations, the European Union and the Arab
League -- also said they would rather spend money on helping Darfur
develop.
maggie.farley @ latimes.com
===
Old advice will help, not hinder, Darfur
By Cody Willard
The Financial Times Limited
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/bda5df12-f4ce-11db-b748-000b5df10621.html
One of the most important principles on Wall Street is Baron Nathan
Rothschild's famous piece of advice: buy when the blood is in the
streets. There is one place more than any other that meets that
criterion; Darfur. My advice is to rail against all those
well-intentioned but foolish folks at places such as the Sudan
Divestment Task Force and Genocide Intervention Network, begging us to
sell just about any assets or any stocks of any companies that do
business in Darfur.
Last April, I wrote a column for the FT called "Technology sheds light
on the heart of darkness". In it I outlined how the greatest way to
combat violence and corruption is to open up communication channels to
the victims and how the best way to open up communications channels is
through capitalistic investment. Assuming profit-driven investment is
the only way to create self-sustaining economic virtues, why on earth
would we believe the best way to help the people and to stop genocide
in Darfur is to completely isolate them? That is what will happen if
the developed world's investment community succumbs to the pressure
from groups such as Fidelity Out of Darfur and sells its assets in any
company doing business in Darfur. Its people will be further isolated.
Last week, the FT reported that Rolls-Royce, the British engine maker,
was joining Siemens, the German technology group, and other big
conglomerates and investment companies in pulling out of Darfur.
Rolls-Royce said it would "immediately cease" to pursue new business
in Sudan and "progressively withdraw" from supporting existing
contracts. That is one more company that will never care what happens
to the people in Darfur.
Virtuous cycles are created when we invest, when we build interests
when we and create connections in an economy. Vicious cycles replace
virtuous ones when we disinvest, remove interests and close connections.
These wrong-headed activist groups are now attempting to put pressure
on the great Warren Buffett to divest any investments his companies
have related to Darfur, specifically citing his (and Fidelity's
growing) investment in PetroChina. You see, PetroChina is a subsidiary
of CNPC, which itself is a "subsidiary" of the Chinese government. And
since CPNC does business in Sudan, which means CNPC does business with
the government in Sudan, these people want Buffett to sell his
PetroChina stake.
I guess these activists think that if PetroChina would just leave
Darfur, all the violence and bloodshed would cease. What do these
well-intentioned activists expect to happen when the government and
people and few businesses in Sudan are completely isolated and without
access to any capital? Do they expect the government gently to
capitulate? Are the 2m uprooted citizens of Sudan suddenly going to be
better off? What is the endgame of total isolation in the midst of
genocide?
Go and watch Hotel Rwanda and tell me what Don Cheadle's character,
Paul Rusesabagina, would want. He would want more help and interaction
and investment and connections to the developed world.
And from an investment perspective, there is even more reason to start
putting money to work in the companies willing to do business in
Darfur. All these forced liquidations in Sudan get done at far below
even their minuscule market values. You always want to be on the
buying side of a forced liquidation. And if there is no profit-driven
corporation on the buying side of these forced sells, it is going to
be politically driven governments, such as the Sudanese government
itself, that will be the buyers. That is not going to help.
Although it seems counterintuitive at first, the advice is rather
straightforward really, as the best time to buy is always when things
cannot get any worse. The best time to sell? When the bulls are
celebrating victory. I stepped into the figurative blood on Wall
Street and in Silicon Valley when I launched my tech-centric fund in
October of 2002, just 10 days before the Nasdaq hit its lowest point
since the peak in March 2000. After being aggressively long tech for
four years, I am approaching the US tech market with caution now that
the Nasdaq has more than doubled from those October 2002 lows.
I would rather be a buyer in Sudan than in the US.
Cody Willard is a hedge fund manager at CL Willard Capital.
www.codywillard.com
===
Checking on Darfur
Historic African American Press Delegation visits Sudan
By Jehron Muhammad
Akbar Muhammad, founder of Youth 4 Africa Foundation realized the
importance of seizing this opportunity and contacted James Mtume,
Co-Host of Open Line talk radio to solicit his help in organizing
members of the African American Press to travel to the Sudan and visit
Darfur.
This event was a historical trip and the first of its kind for an
African American press delegation to travel on a fact finding mission
to support what the media in the west has been saying about Two months
ago during a live feed to thousands who attended the Nation of
Islam’s Annual Savior’s Day Convention President of The Republic
of Sudan, Omar El-Bashir extended a special invitation to those
interested in visiting Sudan. The invitation was extended through
Akbar Muhammad to give individuals the opportunity to ask hard
questions about Genocide in the Sudan. The Sudanese government insists
that the horror stories we hear in the media are lies and propaganda
contrived by special interest groups in America.
Sudan or dispute the lies that are being told to millions of
Americans about the current crises in Sudan, especially Darfur.
Through the efforts of Mr. Muhammad this press delegation met with
Ministers of Government in Khartoum, visited IDP camps (internally
displaced people) in Darfur, and talked with people in the
marketplace, traveled to remote areas in Sudan to ask the pertinent
questions. Both BET and TV-One had a one on one exclusive interview
with President Omar El-Bashir. His Excellency encouraged the media to
feel free to go anywhere in Sudan and talk to anyone. He assured them
they would find nothing to support the atrocities that are being
charged by the media in the west.
It was not long ago that slavery in Sudan was a hot issue but the
inability of the media to substantiate chattel slavery in Sudan was
replaced by the issue of atrocities allegedly being committed with the
backing of the Sudanese government in Darfur. This issue has been
pitched to the American people with a special focus in the Black
community about Arabs killing Black people. Could it be because Islam
is the fasting growing religion in the world especially in the Black
Community?
According to several European publications and a small article
found in the Washington Post, the issue of slavery in Sudan was more
fraud than reality. So ridiculous was the perpetuators false campaign
against Sudan, that the world’s oldest human rights organization
Anti-Slavery International warned the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights that: "Unless accurately reported, the issue can become a
tool for indiscriminate and wholly undeserved prejudice against Arabs
and Muslims. (We) are worried that some media reports of "slave
markets," stocked by Arab slave traders â€" which (we) consider
distorted reality â€" fuel such prejudice."
Just as suddenly as the issue of slavery in Sudan appeared and
then disappeared, the only distorted reality remaining was Arab and or
Muslim atrocities against Black Africans. When we traveled in Sudan we
found that the lightest Arab is darker than most African Americans and
when we enquired about why they’re called Arab, were told simply
"some of us are Arab because we speak Arabic."
So what is the truth concerning atrocities being committed in
Darfur? This is a region that is 100 percent Muslims, where Idriss
Deby, President of Chad and many Chadian citizens share the same
tribal heritage of the people of Darfur. In addition this tribal group
called Zagawa based in Chad and Darfur are members of cross border
militia groups invading Darfur.
So who are its perpetrators, and the facts remaining about the
fairly recent implementation of a coalition government between the
so-called Arab North and the Black African South and why so little has
been reported?
These and other questions were being asked by an African American
press delegation that went to Sudan. The group according to Akbar
Muhammad, leader of the press delegation and coordinator of the tour
should report what is really happening in Darfur. "If what they are
saying is true about the government of Sudan then report it back to
the American public and if what they are saying about Arabs killing
Black Africans, raping their women, killing their children, pushing
Black Africans off their land then by all means report that but if
none of this is true then we should report what we find."
The press delegation included several African American
publications, including the Final Call, Philadelphia New Observer,
Trumpet Magazine, Black Entertainment Television, BET.com, TV-One and
New York’s KISS FM radio.
James Mtume co-host of Open Line on 98.7 KISS-FM has already
broadcast live from Sudan. According to Mtume, "On Sunday we gave our
first historic broadcast from Khartoum." Mtume whose weekly show
reaches over 1.5 million listeners believes "the truth is always
(somewhere) in the middle." Mtume who helped coordinate the fact
finding mission and is the son of famed Jazz musician Jimmy Heath
said, "The fact is Black media has never come to Sudan. How can we
claim a connection with Africa and not investigate the situation in
Sudan for ourselves. CNN, ABC, NBC should not be the only vein through
which our information is pumped. It is our responsibility as media
people and politicians to come see and decide for ourselves."
To schedule Akbar Muhammad to speak about doing business in Africa
or the crises in Sudan at your event, seminar, school or university,
you may contact him at Africanliteracy @ msn.com or 773-820-0297.
===
Not Everyone Agrees with Save Darfur Propaganda
BillCunningham <etwee@earthlink.net>
The "movement" to divest from Sudan, and to promote further US action
against that country, may not have reached everyone with its message.
However there is no question but that for nearly every day and night
for months events have been held in the Boston area concerning the
Darfur issue and that virtually all of them have been sponsored or
cosponsored by JCRC and its affiliates. I have been to a few of these
and have visted their websites and noticed people wearing the Darfur
t-shirts with the slogan "dare to interfere." At the events and on the
websites, quotes from Bush, Powell et al are prominently featured and
there are speakers and placards urging the Bush administration to take
action including military force. Have you seen the signs with a peace
symbol saying "deploy"?
This "movement" may not be really "grass roots" but looks a lot more
like it than anything we have done, or anything that the so-called "US
antiwar movement" has done in years.
Will calls for direct US military action in Sudan and divestment
result in help for Darfur refugees or stop the civil war there? The
harsh truth is that it almost certainly will not.
But this movement is actually persuading people, who might otherwise
focus on getting the US out of Iraq and Afghanistan, that the US
military can still play a progressive role! More likely than Sudan,
Iran will be the country that gets attacked. Iran is the main target
for both Washington and Tel Aviv, Sudan is a pawn.
Here is a prowar movement, drawing in idealistic young people at the
very time when support within the US for the occupations of Iraq and
Afghanistan is plummeting! And here we are, fussing among ourselves
not about HOW to deal with this, but WHETHER to deal with it.
Incredible. Never again, my ass!
A fool returns to his folly as a dog returns to his vomit - Proverbs
26:11
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