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Attorneys: Arrest warrants against Sudan president are illegal By: Samson Ntale 7/26/2010 Munyonyo, Uganda Arrest warrants issued for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for allegations of war crimes and genocide are illegal and should be revoked, according to two British attorneys. The issue of immunity for a sitting president has never been resolved, and can only be dealt with by the International Court of Justice, according to Sir Geoffrey Nice and Rodney Dixon.
Sudan dissent brutally suppressed, says Amnesty report 7/19/2010 al-Bashir of Sudan faces charges of genocide at the ICC Sudan's security services have been accused of a campaign of violence and intimidation against anyone expressing opposition to the government. Amnesty International says former prisoners have reported arbitrary arrests, beatings and torture .Its report comes less than a week after Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir was accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of genocide. He denies the charge, saying he does not recognise the court's jurisdiction. Mr Bashir already faces an ICC arrest warrant, issued in March last year, for war crimes and crimes against humanity for the actions of his security forces in Darfur. The Amnesty report describes the actions of Sudanese security forces as a "rule of fear" against government critics. One doctor, arrested because he wrote an online article critical of the government, says he was hit all over his body with an electrical cable and repeatedly kicked in the groin. Once released, he received telephone death threats and has since fled the country. Amnesty says that far from responding to international calls for reform, Sudan has brought in a new law that gives security agents virtual carte blanche to harass and intimidate. BBC diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall says this is a critical year for Sudan, with a controversial self-determination referendum that could see South Sudan break away from the north due by January.
Hunger fears grow amid mass Sudan exodus By: Martin Plaut Juba Sudan
7/04/2010
Thousands of Sudanese are being forced to leave their homes and walk for days into an area already severely affected by food shortages .Some 14,000 members of the Lou Nuer have been expelled from Upper Nile and are arriving in neighbouring Jonglei. Their arrival is putting intense pressure on a population whose crops had all but failed. Earlier this year, aid workers told the BBC that Akobo county was the "hungriest" place on earth. Today in Akobo, food is in very short supply. The rains have arrived in Sudan, but the next harvest is still months away.Nearly one in ten children in the region are so badly malnourished they are at severe risk of dying .The charity Save the Children has already taken 600 children into its intensive feeding programme. And now thousands of people are arriving in the area, after being forced across the state border .Local officials decided they had no rights where they were living, after the border was re-drawn. Continue reading the main story This is one of the most serious situations that we've seen in south Sudan this year Kate Foster Save the Children Last Wednesday they were told to leave and now they have come, with the few possessions they can carry, to live with families to whom they are related. Kate Foster of Save the Children says their arrival is stretching already meagre resources to breaking point. "I think this is one of the most serious situations that we've seen in south Sudan this year," she said. "The situation in the south Sudan was so bad already, particularly for children, and the lack of food that's available to them. "It's really just going to be a very serious situation that will be compounded even further." Akobo was already coping with more than 20,000 people who were displaced by fighting that took place last year. A convoy of food being brought down the Nile was attacked in June. And ethnic clashes in August left 185 people dead, mainly women and children. Now a situation of extreme malnutrition is being made even worse by the expulsion of people across the state border. Sudan: Darfur Arab rivals 'in deadly revenge clashes' 6/23/2010 At least 48 people have been killed in clashes between rival Arab nomadic groups in Sudan's Darfur region, a leader of the Misseriya clan has said. He said Rezeigat fighters in cars had stormed villages on Friday morning and the fighting had continued till sunset. The Rezeigat and Misseriya and have been caught up in a series of revenge attacks in West Darfur since February. A spokesman for the joint African Union and UN peace force said a team had been sent to investigate the reports. "Tribes were blocking some of the access routes to where the fighting was reportedly going on," spokesman Chris Cycmanick told Reuters news agency. "The local population told us 40 were killed and 10 were injured." Correspondents say there are often clashes about grazing rights for cattle and water sources in the area. "Members of the Rezeigat tribe riding in nine vehicles... attacked three of our villages on Friday," Misseriya leader Ezzedine Eissa al-Mandil told AFP news agency. Mr Mandil told Reuters that 21 of Misseriya had been killed and 27 people from the rival Rezeigat group had died in the clashes near the settlement of Garsila in West Darfur. The violence between the two groups has coincided with an upsurge in fighting between the government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement. About 600 people died in fighting in Darfur last month - the highest monthly toll since UN and AU peacekeepers were deployed in 2008. According to the UN, an estimated 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than 2.6 million displaced since ethnic rebels took up arms in 2003. The Sudanese government, however, says such figures are a massive exaggeration. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur - charges he strongly denies. Some 27 peacekeepers have been killed in Darfur since 2008 6/22/2010 Three peacekeepers have been killed in Sudan's Darfur region, officials say. The peacekeepers, from Rwanda, came under attack in West Darfur, an official with the joint UN-African Union force told Reuters news agency. They were guarding a new base under construction in an area where there have been attacks in the past. The UN estimates 300,000 people have been killed in Darfur since rebels took up arms in 2003. "Brutally and without warning, about 20 men armed with AK47s [machine-guns] opened fire at our troops," peacekeeping force spokesman Kemal Saiki told the AFP news agency. He said he did not know which of the numerous armed groups operating in Darfur was behind the attack. The attack took place in Nertiti, which AFP says is near an area controlled by the SLA-Abdelwahid Nur faction, as well as the scene of recent ethnic clashes. Twenty-seven troops from the peacekeeping force known as Unamid have now died since the UN took joint control in 2008. After a period of relative calm, there has been a recent increase in the number of deaths in Darfur. About 600 people died in fighting in Darfur last month - the highest monthly toll since 2008. The renewed clashes come after the Justice and Equality Movement rebels pulled out of peace talks with the government. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur - charges he strongly denies. His government also denies charges it gave weapons to Arab militias accused of forcing black African civilians from their homes after the rebellion began Basketballer Manute Bol 6/20/2010
Bol gave most of his earnings to Sudan's southern rebels during the civil war Basketballer Manute Bol, the 7ft 7in (2.3m) sporting legend from southern Sudan, has died at the age of 47. He died at a hospital in the US state of Viriginia where he had been treated for kidney problems. After playing for 10 seasons for the America's prestigious NBA league, he worked for an aid group promoting reconciliation in Sudan. "Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us," Sudan Sunrise's Tom Prichard said. Born into the Dinka community in southern Sudan, Manute Bol spent his boyhood rearing cattle and only started playing basketball in his teens. When he was talent-spotted and went to the US, he could not speak any English. He was one of the two tallest players ever to compete in the NBA, but after he retired he was reported to suffer from terrible rheumatism. Continue reading the main story Despite his accomplishments on the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted in his native Sudan The Washington Wizards He gave a great deal of the fortune accrued during his basketball career in the 1980s and early 1990s to the southern rebels fighting the government in Khartoum. In 2005, the two sides signed a peace deal that ended the 21-year civil war. Before he died was working to build schools in the south, one of the least-developed areas of the world. He also campaigned to bring peace to the separate Sudanese conflict in Darfur, which erupted in 2003. The first NBA team Bol play for - the Washington Bullets, now called the Washington Wizards - said in a statement: "Despite his accomplishments on the court, his lasting legacy will be the tireless work and causes he promoted in his native Sudan and the cities in which he played."
ICC prosecutor: Sudan poll like vote under Hitler 3/24/2010 The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said on Tuesday that monitoring Sudan's election next month would be like monitoring a vote in Hitler's Germany. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo pressed for the arrest warrant issued by the ICC a year ago against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur region. Bashir is contesting the poll. Speaking a day after Bashir threatened to expel international election monitors for saying the vote may have to be delayed to deal with logistical problems, Moreno-Campo told a Brussels seminar:
"It's like monitoring a Hitler election. It's a huge challenge." Moreno-Campo is not involved in election monitoring. The European Union plans to send 130 observers to Sudan in April to assess the election, the country's first multi-party vote in more than two decades. Accusations of fraud have mounted ahead of the vote. The only long-term international observer mission in Sudan, the Carter Center, has said the election remains "at risk on multiple fronts" and urged Sudan to lift harsh restrictions on rallies and end fighting in Darfur ahead of the ballot. Bashir expelled major aid agencies from Darfur after the ICC last year issued its arrest warrant on counts that include murder, rape and torture. Many opposition parties have called for the elections to be postponed, saying Sudan needs time to pass democratic reforms. The vote is part of a 2005 peace agreement that ended more than two decades of civil war between north and south Sudan
Seven Killed In South Sudan Tribal Clashes 2/23/2010
by
:Andrew Heavens At least seven civilians were killed in crossfire as cattle-herding tribesmen attacked a weapons store to try to get arms to retaliate against a rival clan who had attacked them, officials said on Sunday.Sudan's south has been hit by a wave of ethnic violence that has killed at least 2,500 people since the beginning of last year, aid groups say, threatening stability in the oil-producing region ahead of presidential and legislative elections due in April. Violent cattle rustling raids are common in the underdeveloped territory, but the scale of the recent carnage has sparked accusations of political meddling Members of the Rek Dinka ethnic group attacked a camp occupied by Gok Dinka cattle herders in the remote Bahr Gel area of south Sudan's Lakes State on Saturday, southern army spokesman Kuol Diem Kuol told Reuters.A Gok Dinka group then went to the nearby settlement of Cueibert and tried to break into an army weapons store, filled with guns taken during a recent state-wide disarmament exercise, he said "The guards guarding the gun stores clashed with them to protect the guns," Kuol said. "So in the crossfire five civilians and two chiefs were killed." South Sudan's semi-autonomous government has launched programmes to collect hundreds of thousands of weapons left over from Sudan's two-decade north-south civil war, but has often met resistance from local populations caught up in the escalating violence The Gok then attacked a separate southern Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) base in Cueibert on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday morning, leaving an unknown number of additional casualties, said Kuol."They were repulsed, but there were casualties on both sides ... Cueibert town was evacuated," he added The deputy governor of Lakes State David Noc confirmed the seven deaths and said he was waiting for updates from the remote area Southern leaders have accused their former civil war foes in north Sudan of arming tribal militias to destabilise the region, a charge dismissed by Khartoum Analysts have suggested leading figures in the south may also be arming fellow tribe members to build up their constituencies The 2005 peace deal that ended Sudan's civil war promised southerners a referendum, due in January 2011, on whether to stay united with the north or split off as a separate country. Sudan has rejected presidential candidates 1/31/2010 The ruling has raised further doubts about the presidential and legislative elections after opposition accusations of fraud during registration and of intimidation and vote buying by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's NCP denies fraud and says the opposition is unprepared."Three candidates did not meet the requirements to run for the presidency," National Elections Commission official Salah Habeeb said Saturday, leaving 10 contenders for April's vote. Sudan's opposition has long complained the requirements for standing for the presidency were too tough in Africa's largest country, devastated by decades of civil war. Candidates must gather 15,000 supporting signatures from 18 of 25 states. The opposition says the commission's stringent rules are to skew the vote in favour of Bashir's party, which has ruled since taking power in a bloodless coup in 1989.Many parties want to field multiple candidates to split the vote and prevent Bashir getting the 50 percent plus one vote he needs to win, forcing a second round where they would support the opposing candidate. The only female candidate, Fatima Abdel Mahmood, leader of the Sudanese Socialist Democratic Union, said the ruling was a conspiracy against women and the party would appeal to the courts. "This is a form of discrimination," she told Reuters.Her deputy Abdullilah Mahmoud said the NEC rejected them as they had not stamped their papers at state level, despite being told by the NEC leadership that the central office in Khartoum could do that when they handed their papers in a day ahead of the January 27 deadline."We even collected our signatures twice because the first time they said it had to be done on their papers," he said. "When we handed in our papers again they said they were accepted. This is their error not ours." Independent candidate Abdallahi Ali Ibrahim said he had expected to be rejected as he had collected 16,000 signatures from only 15 states, but had submitted his candidacy anyway to highlight the problems with the system."We have a percentage of illiteracy of 70 percent in this country but they ask for 15,000 signatures," he told Reuters. He said he doubted the elections would be free or fair "not just because the government is dictatorial but because the other dancer in this tango is a bad dancer."Ibrahim was referring to what he called the weak opposition who have, despite complaints, accepted all the electoral irregularities and continued their campaigns. The election system will require about 1,000 different ballot papers for at least six different votes and has been called one of the most complex in the world. Sudan President Omar Bashir'sparty has said it will back the leader of its former civil-war enemies in the south's presidential
1/29/2010 The National Congress Party (NCP) said it would not field a candidate against ex-rebel leader Salva Kiir and wanted good relations with his SPLM party. But one southern official told the BBC he did not believe the NCP and accused them of backing the SPLM's rivals. The two sides signed a deal in 2005 to end two decades of north-south war. There have been tensions in recent months about the possibility of the oil-rich south voting to secede from the north in a referendum in a year's time. The BBC's Peter Martell in the southern capital, Juba, says there has been a grudging acceptance in the north of the likelihood of a split. And in a major about-turn last week, Mr Bashir said he would accept the result of the referendum next year - even if the south opted for independence. Destabilising the south? The NCP said it would not field its own candidate for the post of president of Southern Sudan. We hope the SPLM will do the same by withdrawing their candidate for the president of the republic," NCP presidential adviser Ali Tamim Fartak told Reuters news agency. Mr Kiir is not standing as the SPLM's rival to Mr Bashir in the national election, but the party has fielded Yassir Arman as a candidate But the SPLM's envoy to the US, Ezekiel Lol Gatkout, said the SPLM would not withdraw Mr Arman. If they are interested in sponsoring us why are are they interested in sponsoring armed groups that are destabilising the south," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme. He said the NCP was backing Lam Akol, who left the SPLM last year to set up his own party. The SPLM-Democratic Change was created by the NCP to challenge the SPLM," he said. Last year, some 2,000 people died in clashes in the reigon and southern politicians have often blamed the northern NCP. They say the NCP wants to destabilise the region so the election and independence referendum have to be delayed indefinitely. But northern politicians have strenuously denied the allegations. The election in April will be the first multi-party national election in a generation. The 22-year war between the mainly Muslim north and the Christian and animist south claimed the lives of some 1.5 million people Darfur groups reject merger with JEM before peace talks1/28/2010
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The US embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum has warned of a possible attack on Air Uganda planes.
The embassy said it had information that US travellers faced a potential threat between Juba in Sudan and the Ugandan capital, Kampala. But the Sudanese foreign ministry said the threat was "not serious". Sudan is on a list of 14 countries where US-bound passengers will be subjected to extra searches following the attempted plane bombing last month. Other Sudanese officials said they had known of a potential threat for some time. The AFP news agency reported that one plane en route to Juba was diverted as a precaution.
In a statement, the US embassy said it had "received information indicating a desire by regional extremists to conduct a deadly attack on board Air Uganda aircraft" on the Juba to Kampala route. The embassy said the "capacity of these extremists to carry out such an attack is unknown" but that the threat was "of sufficient seriousness that all American air travellers should be made aware". AFP said an Air Uganda flight was returned to Entebbe airport in Kampala when it was ordered to return. 'No alarm' Ignie Igunduura, a spokesman for Uganda's Civil Aviation Authority, said the information was not new and the authorities had "been aware of this threat for some time". But any time there is renewed information, and this renewed information came from the US but also others, you don't start taking chances," he said. A spokesman for the Ugandan army, Lt Col Felix Kulayigye, also said he was surprised the US had issued the warning as the intelligence had been known since early December. He said the country was "a constant target of these extremists" and was always on the alert, so there was "no cause for alarm". But Foreign Ministry spokesman Moawiya Osman Khalid said there was nothing to support the allegations of a planned attack and criticised the US for the manner of the warning. They did not inform us of this security threat, we learnt about it from the embassy's website," AFP quoted him as saying. "They did not ask for our cooperation,
which they should have done before notifying the media." The US has
stepped up its air security after a Nigerian man allegedly attempted to
blow up an airliner bound for Detroit on 25 December. Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab - who allegedly tried to detonate explosives concealed in
his underwear - has been charged with the attempted murder of 290 people
and five other counts. |
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Sudan parties agree on referendum |
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The two main political parties in Sudan's north and south have agreed to hold a key referendum promised over four years ago.The deal on Sunday resolves issues that had threatened to undermine the 2005 peace accord - signed after decades of civil war and millions of deaths.The south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) will now remain in a coalition government with President Omar Hasan al-Bashir's northern National Congress Party (NCP). Relations between the former foes had been strained, most recently last week when authorities in Khartoum arrested two senior SPLM officials and scores of their supporters during a protest.Analysts have warned of a risk of a return to conflict if the parties could not agree terms for laws supposed to pave the way to elections, due in April, and a referendum on southern independence in 2011.Both were promised under the original peace deal."We have reached agreement on three very important laws which have been grounds for serious disagreements between the two parties," Pagan Amum, the SPLM secretary general, told reporters. Crucial meeting He was speaking after a meeting between President al-Bashir, who heads the NCP, and south Sudan's president and SPLM leader Salva Kiir. Amum said the laws covered the national referendum, a consultation exercise for people living in boundary areas between north and south Sudan and a referendum on whether the oil-producing region of Abyei should join the south.NCP official Nafie Ali Nafie also confirmed a deal on those issues had been reached during the meeting.Amum said the two sides also agreed to form a committee to discuss remaining issues, including differences over a security bill which the SPLM has argued gave too many powers to security services.Both sides have met repeatedly over the past year to try to break a deadlock on the bills. The parties have announced breakthroughs before, but failed to end long-term wrangling over the details of the peace accord. |
African Union, United Nations and Government of sudan Meet in Khartoum
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11/18/2009
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By: Adam Aleheimir
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Juba south Sudan
The Tripartite Mechanism for Darfur has held its seventh meeting in Khartoum. The Undersecretary of the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mutrif Siddiq, Commissioner for Peace and Security of the African Union (AU), Ambassador Ramtane Lamamra, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Field Support, Ms. Susana Malcorra, headed their respective delegations. Joint Special Representative ad interim (JSR a.i.), Mr. Henry K. Anyidoho, led the team of the AU-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), which also included the DJSR for Operations and Management, Mr. Mohamed Yonis and Force Commander, Lt. General Patrick Nyamvumba. All delegations in their opening remarks expressed concern about the prolonging hostage situation involving the two UNAMID personnel who have been in captivity for 80 days since 29 August 2009. They stressed the importance of continuing efforts to ensure their safe release.
Furthermore, Dr. Siddiq reiterated the full commitment of his Government to the protection of UNAMID personnel. This remained a top priority, he said. The meeting also reviewed ongoing issues related to the Mission's deployment, including the final preparations for the impending arrival of the five Ethiopian tactical helicopters, which will be based at Nyala airport in South Darfur, and recruitment of national and international civilian personnel. They also addressed the status of the implementation of a bridging solution to permit immediate broadcasting of Radio UNAMID. The Government of Sudan gave assurances that action will be taken in the next week to allow broadcasts of radio programmes produced by UNAMID. Additional issues, such as staff security as well as water supply for Darfur local communities, were also raised during the meeting.
Participants reiterated the need to maintain the spirit of partnership and cooperation, which has so far led to significant progress in the Mission's deployment. They also expressed the determination to address all kinds of issues relevant to the facilitation of the deployment of UNAMID for the benefit of Sudanese in general, and Darfurians in particular, who have suffered as a consequence of the conflict.The next meeting of the Tripartite Mechanism is scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in February 2010.More than 15,000 military troops are now deployed in the Mission, representing 76%of the authorized deployment. Also, almost 2,850 police advisors representing more 75% of the authorized strength and more than 1,800 policemen are based in 12 formed police units (FPUs). The authorized number of FPUs for UNAMID is nineteen
First Vice President appreciates federal support to affected people in Jonglei State
11/18/2009
Nuba View Juba Sudan
First Vice President of the Republic and President of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit, appreciated the assistance extended by the federal ministerial committee, chaired by the Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Thabita Boutros, to the affected and displaced persons in Duk Padiet in Jonglei state following the attack by armed groups against the area last week. Meanwhile, the Federal Minister of Health said to the press that the federal committee briefed the First Vice President about its visit to Duk Padiet area in Jonglei State as well as the volume of support to the affected people, including blankets, tents, mosquito nets, food and medical stuff. She also referred to the meetings held with the leaders of government and native administration in the area. She added that the meeting with the First Vice President also touched on the efforts being exerted in Duk Padiet in Jonglei state and the necessity to retain assistance to the affected people as well as disarmament besides the necessity of holding reconciliation conferences among the tribes of the
Who is Responsible for the Duk Padiet Attack?
By Chol K. Thon,
SUDAN
9/25/2009
Duk, a county inhabited by Dinka ethnic group, was ablaze Sunday barely one
month after its neighboring Twic East payam of Wernyol experienced the same
disaster. The same Lou Nuer youths who had been menacing Twic East have been
confirmed responsible for the attack on the payam administrative center of Duk
Padiet.
The attack never before unprecedented in terms of the number of casualties, the strength of the attackers and their target of attack, raises questions in the minds of many as to who is the invisible hand behind this, who staged it and what could be the motive. The massacre in Duk had had its tip of the iceberg in the Wernyol and Baping attacks and therefore answering the questions which to us may be puzzling requires us to investigate them in the light of the other attacks on Dinka Bor soil
More than 100 people have been killed in clashes in the Jonglei state in southern Sudan
9/24/2009
officials have said.The extent of the clashes, which erupted one day earlier when fighters from the Lou Nuer tribe raided a rival village, emerged on Monday after officials reached the remote settlement. Kuol Diem Kuol, a spokesman for the South's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), said a total of 51 villagers and 28 soldiers, police and national security officers had been killed.From the attackers, 23 bodies were found on the ground. These attackers were found in uniform with arms and organised in a military organisation in platoons with G3 rifles," Kuol said.
Dr. Salahuddin and Accompanying Delegation Arrive in New York to Participate at UN General Assembly Meetings
New York, 9/24/2009
Sept. 24 The Presidential Advisor, Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin, Wednesday evening arrived in New York heading Sudan delegation for participation at the 64th session of the UN General Assembly. In a statement to the Director of the Organizations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Majdi Mohamed Taha, said that Dr. Salahuddin will deliver Sudan address before the General Assembly on September 28. He said that Sudan speech will include a briefing on the situation in Sudan, the conditions in Darfur, the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and Sudan stances concerning a number of issues. Ambassador Taha said that Sudan will participate effectively at the UN General Assembly meetings based on its leadership of the G 77 and China, adding that Sudan will assume during the session the position of the Vice President of the UN General Assembly. He indicated that Sudan delegation will hold a series of meetings on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session with delegations of other countries to discuss aspects of bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual concern.
Obama: NGOs eviction to worsen Darfur case
3/12/2009
Sudanese children sing and hold pictures of Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir outside the U.N. Offices during a demonstration against the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for al-Bashir, in Khartoum, March 11, 2009. US President Barack Obama has condemned the Sudanese government’s decision to expel aid groups, saying it risked creating an even greater humanitarian crisis in its western Darfur region.
Rochester woman charged with telling children to lie about abduction
3/12/2009
By
Janice Gregorson
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
A call about an attempted child abduction has led to criminal charges against a Rochester woman, who is accused of getting children to lie in order to get a man she dislikes arrested. Sara Monsour Fatain, 36, 4417 10th St. N.W., is charged with gross misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a child, gross misdemeanor harassment-stalking, and misdemeanor falsely reporting a crime, all on Dec. 19, 2008. A summons has been issued for her to be in Olmsted District Court on April 6.
Police were called to the Fatain residence on a report of an attempted child abduction Dec. 19. The caller said someone in a gold van tried to pull a 12-year-old boy into the vehicle. Police noted they had several recent prior contacts at the Fatain address about conflicts between Fatain and a man. She had accused him of various crimes and requested he be arrested. The complaint said officers had been unable to find evidence to support her claims.
On Dec. 19, police saw several children walking on the sidewalk toward the residence, but made no attempt to signal the officer as he drove by. Fatain said she did not make the call. Her son, who had been walking with the group, arrived home. He said that his friend had called the police for him. He said the man had tried to pull him into his van while he was walking with his friends. Fatain told police that the man used to be a family friend and that he was a "very bad man for trying to take her son." She said she wanted the man arrested, the complaint says.
When police questioned the boy further, he became nervous when asked to provide more detail about the alleged abduction attempt. The officer had the boy take him to the location where the incident occurred. Police said it had been snowing heavily that day, and there were no vehicle tracks in the snow near the curb where the boy said the incident occurred. The officer did not see any tracks in the snow consistent with someone being dragged or to indicate that a struggle had occurred. He said all of the tracks appeared to be walking tracks toward the boy's home.
Police then talked to two neighbor girls who had been with Fatain's son. They said Fatain told them to lie about what happened. They said that they had been at Fatain's home earlier, and that she told them how bad the man was and how she wanted him to go to jail. The 12-year-old boy then admitted to police that he lied about the gold van and the attempted abduction, the complaint says.
Freed opposition leader tells Bashir to surrender to ICC
3/11/2009
BY : Wellstone Oganda
nuba vIew
Sudan released an Islamist opposition leader today, two months after he
was detained for calling on President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to surrender
to the International Criminal Court.Dr Hassan al-Turabi, 76, flown to
his home in the capital Khartoum in the early hours without explanation,
made clear he had not changed his view that President Bashir should give
himself up to the court which issued an arrest warrant last week
.
The Arrest Warrant and ICC Pursuit of Justice without Fear or Favor
3/06/2006
By: Jwothab Amum Ajak,
In the pursuit of justice without fear or favor, ICC has at last unveiled the judges’ decision on the Chief Prosecutor application for AW in respect of President Bashir. However, the arrest warrant came as no surprise to many keen observers of the ICC. Simply because ICC can not put its credibility, neutrality and independence on the line and turn the arrest warrant into a political bargaining tool as wanted by Khartoum. If NCP-led government would have succeed in exchanging the arrest warrant with any one of its many offerings that then was going to throw into the dust bin the noble principle of accountability, equality and justice of the ICC Court.
Southern Sudan leader speaks of justice
By Edmund Sanders
3/6/2009
Reporting from Khartoum, Sudan -- Southern Sudanese
leader Salva Kiir spent most of his life as a
guerrilla soldier battling the northern-dominated
government of President Omar Hassan Ahmed
Bashir.Long before the Darfur conflict in western
Sudan captured international attention, southern
rebels led by Kiir's Sudan People's Liberation
Movement, or SPLM, fought a devastating civil war
that claimed more than 2 million lives. In 2005, the
warring parties signed an accord that turned former
combatants into political partners in a unity
government. The alliance has had its ups and downs,
with each side accusing the other of reneging on
terms of the deal and even sporadic armed clashes
between their armies.
Now Bashir is fighting for his political life as the
International Criminal Court prepares to issue an
arrest warrant against him today for alleged war
crimes committed during the government's
counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur.On the eve of
the announcement, Kiir, who serves as president of
the semiautonomous region of southern Sudan as well
as national first vice president, talked about what
the ICC case means for Sudan.
Uncertainty as Sudan awaits president's arrest
Many hope that the International Criminal Court's genocide case against President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir will lead to reform. But an arrest warrant, expected Wednesday
By Edmund Sanders
3/01/2009
Reporting from Khartoum, Sudan -- The billboard in downtown Khartoum delivers a not-so-subtle message to passing cars: "A real Sudanese never stands against a president during his time of need," reads the text, under a picture of a smiling President Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir. As if anyone in the Sudanese capital needed any reminders, an arrest warrant on genocide charges is expected to be issued against Bashir on Wednesday by the International Criminal Court, in a case that threatens to send the country down a path of uncertainty and instability
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Darfur rebel leader vows to topple President al-Bashir
2/27/2009
Fighters from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Sudan's Western Darfur
region
Anthony Loyd in N'Djamena The leader of the most powerful rebel group in Darfur
said that his forces will redouble their efforts to topple the Sudanese
Government the moment an international arrest warrant is issued against
President al-Bashir. “When this warrant comes it is, for us, the end of Bashir's
legitimacy to be President of Sudan,” Khalil Ibrahim, chairman of the Justice
and Equality Movement (JEM), told The Times. “We will work hard to bring him
down ... If he doesn't co-operate with the ICC [International Criminal Court]
the war will intensify.” Prosecutors for the ICC charged the Sudanese President
last year on ten counts — three of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and
two of war crimes. The court, based in The Hague, is considering the application
for an arrest warrant and is expected to rule on March 4.
Turabi’s wife raps Sudan’s Bashir, VP Taha over detention; hails ICC
2/26/2006
The wife of a jailed Islamist opposition leader pointed fingers at senior members of the Sudanese government accusing them of throwing her husband in jail over “personal grudges”.In mid-January Sudanese authorities took the leader of the Popular Congress Party (PCP) Hassan Al-Turabi into custody shortly after he made remarks in which he called on president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir to surrender himself to the International Criminal Court (ICC).Al-Turabi has yet to be officially charged and Sudanese officials have denied that he is being held over his ICC statements.
Diplomatic flurry in Sudan as ICC draws closer to deciding on Bashir case
2/20/2009
The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir today received the Senegalese president Abdoulaye Wade who arrived on a previously unannounced visit that lasted a few hours.Sudan official news agency (SUNA) said that Wade and Bashir discussed bilateral ties and developments related to the Darfur conflict in a closed meeting.
The Senegalese president told reporters afterwards that Sudan’s relation with Chad was on the agenda disclosing that he held a recent meeting with Chadian president Idriss Deby. He also noted that relations between the two countries are witnessing “some difficulties”.Last month Al-Bashir met with Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi along with Wade where he accused Chad of supporting the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in its latest attack on Muhajriya location in southern Darfur.
South Sudan halts army recruitment
2/17/2009
First Vice President and chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) Salva Kiir addresses a past news conference in Khartoum. He has said his government is committed to the process of proportional downsizing of armed forces through the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmed. Photo/FILE The South Sudan military has stopped recruitment, pending the lay-off of ex-combatants. “Yes, we have instituted the measure,” Nhial Deng Nhial, the minister for Sudan People’s Liberation Army said Tuesday. The remarks come only weeks after the region started disarming ex-combatants in Abyei, Southern Kordufan, and Blue Nile.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the 21-year north-south Sudan armed conflict recognized the Sudan Armed Forces, Sudan People’s Liberation Army and the Joint/Integrated Units as the national armies. The SAF is in charge of the north while SPLA is in charge of the south .Under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the north and south must cut their forces. Donors this Monday met government officials over the process.
Sudan’s First Vice President Salva Kiir said the government was committed to the process of proportional downsizing through the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmed, warning that integration of other militias had created problems. Under the CPA, all other armed groups had to be aligned either to Sudan People’s Liberation or to the Sudan Armed Forces. “This is a huge burden,” said Kiir.
According to the chairperson of the Southern Sudan Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration William Deng Deng, the government intentions are to downsize the army to enable the establishment of an efficient, capable and professional army that is financially affordable.“Politically, GoSS will not allow further intakes into the SPLA whether for political reasons or any other,” Deng Deng said in a February 6 letter addressed to donors. “This process is now complete and will enable the SPLA numbers to stabilize.”
Reserve force
Under the measure, the autonomous Sudanese region will create a reserve military force as it reduces the size of the main army basing on tough new standards, according to a new law approved by Parliament in January. The reserve force would be made up of those removed from the main army on account of, for example, scanty education and age.The Sudan People’s Liberation Army law, approved by the Parliament of the autonomous Sudan region, and awaiting the signature of the President of the Government of Southern Sudan before it becomes law, also sets the retirement age for officers.Government officials said the law will both make the army efficient and disciplined by laying down offences and the punishments, but they could not give the numbers. “The army is large and personnel have to be productively occupied, because right now, especially in the officer corps, we have a large number of officers. Some of them really - we have to find something for them to do,” Nhial told this correspondent in January.
Sudan president Omer Al-Bashir
2/07/2009
1944: Omer Hassan Al-Bashir is born in the northern Sudan village of Hosh Banaga.1960: Joins the Sudanese army and graduates from the military academy six years later. 1973: Served with the Egyptian army during the Yom Kippur war.1989: Brigadier Al-Bashir is chosen by the National Islamic Front (NIF) and its leader Hassan Al-Turabi to lead a coup ousting the government led by Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi. He is proclaimed as Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation.
1993: The Revolutionary Command Council for National Salvation is dissolved and Bashir is announced as president of Sudan.1996: Al-Bashir wins the presidential elections with 75.7% of the votes. All major parties boycotted the elections.1999: Al-Turabi who was parliament speaker introduced a bill to curb the president’s powers, after which Al-Bashir dissolved the parliament and declare a state of emergency following backing by the army and major figures at the NIF.2000: Al-Bashir is reelected for a second five years term receiving 86.5% of the votes.2001: The Sudanese president orders the arrest of Al-Turabi on allegations that he was trying to overthrow the government.
2003: Two Darfur rebel groups rise up, saying government neglects arid region and arms Arab militia against civilians.2004: The UN says Darfur has become one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. Washington labels the Darfur conflict as genocide. 2005: The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) led by Bashir and Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) led by John Garang sign a peace agreement ending two decades of civil war between North and South.2006: Al-Bashir refuses to accept UN peacekeepers in Darfur accusing the world body of ‘neo-colonialism’.2008: The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo requests an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir including three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder. The charges are connected to the conflict that broke out in Darfur in 2003
Police have beefed up security at Kogel
1/27/2009
By: Geoerge Olwenya
Bashir 'war crimes' call arrest
1/15/2008
Sudanese Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi has been
arrested after calling on President Omar al-Bashir
to hand himself in to face war crimes charges. The
veteran opposition leader is the most high-profile
Sudanese figure to say the president should go to
The Hague to face charges over Darfur.
Mr. Turabi's son said he was worried for the health
of his 76-year-old father. international Criminal
Court (ICC) judges are deciding whether to issue an
arrest warrant for Mr. Bashir. The BBC's Amber
Henshaw in Khartoum says tension is mounting ahead
of the ICC decision. The head of national
intelligence recently said foreigners in Sudan could
be attacked if an arrest warrant is issued for the
president. Mr. Turabi was taken from his Khartoum
home on Wednesday, family members said.
By: George
Olwenya
1/12/2009
Mama Sarah Obama
has started her journey to the US to witness the swearing-in
of her grandson Barack Obama as the 44th American
President.And she is not travelling empty-handed. As a
grandmother, she is carrying special gifts for her grandson
— a Luo traditional three-legged stool, a flywhisk and a
shield, which are symbols of leadership. "I wanted to give
him a spear too, but I have been told that due to security
reasons, I will not be allowed to board a plane with it,"
Mama Sarah told The Standard.Mama Sarah was in a jubilant
mood as she left Nyang’oma Kogelo village for Nairobi. There
was a battery of foreign and local journalists to record the
moment.
Accessing the home where Barack Senior was buried will no longer be easy following the new move to ensure the safety of President Obama’s family. Obama’s relatives from Kenya were given a VIP treatment during his inauguration in Washington DC. His grandmother, Mama Sarah Obama, his step-mother Kezia Obama, uncle Saidi Obama and half-siblings, Auma and Malik, sat metres from him during the ceremony.
Tighter security The Standard on Saturday also learnt that plans are underway to provide Mama Sarah with tighter security when she arrives from the US. Siaya OCPD Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Johnston Ipara yesterday confirmed that security in the village has been tightened.
Ipara said police officers trained in VIP protection will be in-charge of Mama Sarah’s security. "We have officers trained in other police operations and capable of handling all situations," said Ipara .
Sarah Obama
starts historic journe
SUDAN: It takes more than a law to stop the cut
1/6/2009
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A law passed
in November 2008 prohibiting female genital mutilation/cutting in the
state of Southern Kordofan is unique in Sudan. But for it to translate into
genuine abolition, deep-seated attitudes and misinformation will have to be
overcome. More than two-thirds of women in the state have undergone
according to a 2006 household survey conducted by the Ministry of
Health."All my daughters have been circumcised," Asia Abdalla Jibril, a
tea-seller, told in Kadugli, the state capital.
"The clitoris is dirty. If you undergo you become clean," Jibril said.
In Sudan, the Arabic word “tahur”, which means purity, is often used for FGM.
If a baby is sick, FGM helps,” added Jibril. “For example if a baby has duda
[fever] and weight loss, the cut helps the child to grow better and gain
weight." Most girls undergo FGM at about six years old in the state. This
attitude is not unusual. “Women affected by genital mutilation do not
uniformly regard it as mutilation, and may react negatively to being
referred to as ‘damaged’,” according to a report in Sudan and Somalia
compiled by Norway’s Country of Origin Information Centre in December 2008.
Bush promises to stay engaged on Sudan
By : Caren Bohan
1/1/2009
U.S. President
George W. Bush promised on Monday not to forget after he leaves office about
violence in the Darfur region of western Sudan, which the United States has
described as genocide. Two weeks before stepping down, Bush met Salva Kiir,
president of semi-autonomous south Sudan who led rebels fighting for autonomy
for Sudan's mostly animist or Christian south from the Muslim north in a civil
war that claimed 2 million lives.
ICC judges return from recess as world awaits decision on Bashir warrant
1/6/2009
the Judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) return from a month long judicial recess as the international community braces for their decision on charges against Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir. The judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber I which has officially started deliberating on the case against Al-Bashir in early October received additional information they requested from the ICC prosecutor two weeks before they went into recess.
The judges of the Pre-Trial Chamber I consist of Akua Kuenyehia from Ghana, Sylvia Steiner from Brazil and Anita Usacka from Latvia.In mid-July the ICC’s prosecutor Luis Moreno- Campo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder and accused Al-Bashir of masterminding a campaign to get rid of the African tribes in Darfur; Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.
Many observers expect the Judges to endorse all charges except genocide but Acampo expressed confidence that the warrant will be issued on all counts.It is possible that the judges have issued a decision under seal meaning it will be made public only after consultation with the prosecutor’s office as well as Victims and Witnesses Unit in The Hague based court. The prosecutor is likely to notify the UN leadership of the pending decision for them to take precautions to ensure safety of their staff and aid operations in Sudan.
Khartoum suggested that the UN staff and peacekeepers will be at risk if the judges issue an arrest warrant. A report published by the Saudi based Al-Watan quoting Sudanese diplomats said that Al-Bashir will conduct a ministerial reshuffle and form an emergency cabinet in wake of a possible arrest warrant. Other measures would include restricting movements of aid organizations, diplomats and UN Darfur peacekeepers as well as monitoring planes.The newspaper further said that these measures would effectively suspend implementation of the North-South peace agreement signed in 2005.However Sudan foreign ministry spokesperson Ali Al-Sadiq dismissed the report
Wife of Sudan Islamist leader accuses Sudanese officials of corruption
12/31/2008
The wife of the leading Islamic opposition leader blasted Sudanese officials including the president accusing them of accumulating wealth through their positions in the government. Wisal Al-Mahdi wife of Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi told the pro-SPLM newspaper Ajras Al-Hurriya in an interview that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) “demonstrated greed for money and power”.Al-Mahdi said that NCP figures contributed to the downfall of the Islamic ideology in Sudan “who built palaces and luxurious homes and ride private jets”.
Al-Turabi, a former ally of President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, was the government’s ideological mastermind in the 1990s and the De-facto ruler.However Al-Bashir and Al-Turabi split ranks and the latter was jailed on accusations of conspiracy. He was released in October 2003.The opposition leader was jailed again for more than a year in 2004 over accusations of connections with an alleged coup plot before being released in 2005.Al-Turabi’s wife provided what she claimed to be examples of corruption by top government officials.
“This does not require any proof. I ask you to go to Kafoori area to see for yourself 31 pieces of land owned by the president and his relatives. Then go to Al-Raqi area to see the homes of Al-Bashir, Ali Osman [2nd Vice President], Mustafa Ismail [presidential adviser]” she said.Al-Mahdi revealed that the minister of finance and economy Awad Al-Jaz bought apartments in Dubai prestigious Palm Islands.“Al-Jaz bought 30 apartments and wanted to buy more but they [Dubai authorities] rejected that and asked to him to disclose the source of his money but he declined to show them” she said.“Of course the source of his money is Sudan’s oil” she added.The prices of apartments in the Dubai Palm Island range between $1.7 million - $4.2 million.The issue of corruption in Sudan has been largely minimized by Khartoum observers say. Sudanese officials are not required to submit a report showing their net worth despite some lawmakers pushing for it.Sudan has consistently named by watchdog Transparency International as one of the most corrupt countries in Africa together with Chad and Guinea