Sunday, October 11, 2009
My name is Simon Deng, a Christian, a former slave in Sudan, victims of Jihad, by Annie Lessard and Marc Lebuis
"At 9 years, I was abducted into slavery and given to an Arab family. My people have been subjected to mass murder, slavery, systematic rape, religious persecution, famine imposed, dislocation, exile. We are the victims of what Khartoum has called "a holy war against infidels." How long will the world let the infidels be slaughtered and enslaved in the name of jihad? How long will the world be silent to avoid offending the killers and defenders of slavery? "
Former slave Simon Deng South Sudan has managed to escape and reached the United States where he received political asylum. Human rights activist, he gives lectures around the world on the situation in Sudan, where black Christians and animists are victims of slavery and forced Islamization.
Today, Algeria had called on Arab countries to enter the Security Council of the United Nations to oppose the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant against Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir last week to answer charges of crimes against humanity.
In 2006, Simon Deng made a presentation at a symposium organized by an NGO on the victims of jihad.
Slavery is not the past ..., blog Ketibi, January 14, 2006
On April 18, 2006, while the Commission on Human Rights UN was preparing once again to reject a resolution condemning the actions to pressure Sudan on Islamic countries, three NGOs organized a symposium in conjunction with the Committee on the "victims of jihad".
In front of a room moved to tears, Simon Deng has told how he had been enslaved - because black and Christian - by the Arab Islamist regime in Khartoum:
My name is Simon Aban Deng. I am Sudanese shiluk of the tribe, by the Christian religion. My people have been subjected to mass murder, slavery, systematic rape, religious persecution, famine imposed, dislocation, exile. We are victims of genocide, physical and cultural. We were wiped out as human beings because belonging to a different culture. All that we have not stumbled upon by accident: we have been and remain victims of jihadist regime in Khartoum.
During the two genocides committed by the Islamists, our losses have been enormous. From 1955 to independence in 1973, 1.5 million Sudanese Christians have been eliminated by the pro-Arab government in Khartoum. From 1983 until the recent peace treaty, 2 million people in southern Sudan were killed in what the regime in Khartoum has called "a holy war against infidels". Yes, I am an infidel according to their definition. I think many of you are too. We, the blacks "infidels" of the South, Christians and other non-Muslims, we refused to obey Islamic laws, we refused to be Arabized.
I was kidnapped and given to an Arab family as a "gift"
For this reason, ladies and gentlemen, I have been a victim of Arab slavery in Sudan. At nine years, my village was raided by Arab troops paid by Khartoum. As I ran to take refuge in the bush to escape the massacre, I saw my childhood friends being shot down. The old and the sick were burnt alive in their hut. The Arab troops were eventually find me. I was kidnapped and given to an Arab family as a gift. When you look at me, ladies and gentlemen, you see a gift? Do I look like an object or product?
Now is the turn of Darfur.
I was a child slave for several years. I was beaten repeatedly for a yes or a no. Sometimes a whim of my children "master". I worked hard and I had to endure many humiliations. As a child I had loved in my family, I had to get used to sleeping with animals and clean the ground where I slept. I ate the leftovers in the plates of my "master". I got up first and went to bed last, after having completed all the chores. The life of a slave was like hell, but there is no shame in being a slave, it is not a choice. The one who should be ashamed is the one who proclaimed himself the "master". If anyone should feel shame, it is the fundamentalist Muslim regime in Khartoum and its allies in the Muslim world. It is important never to forget that the African Christians of southern Sudan are victims of Islamism. The war against us has been and continues to conduct in the name of jihad.
There are 2 or 3 million refugees from South Sudan. They are treated like dogs. They are not even considered citizens in Sudan because citizenship is based on religion and that only Muslims are entitled. The Africans 'infidels' of this nation are not considered full citizens, while nearly 90% of the population is black.
This is the great challenge of Jihadists in Khartoum: Sudanese and Arabs, they wanted to impose an Arab culture in a country largely populated by blacks. They have done their work very effectively with weapons supplied by their friends in the Arab world. When they committed their genocide against us in the South, the world simply looked away. When millions of black Africans were slaughtered and hundreds of thousands of Sudanese children were enslaved, the world was indifferent. Even the UN has turned its back. Now is the turn of Darfur. Some observ, but most are used to not watch ...
How long will the world let the infidels be slaughtered and enslaved in the name of jihad?
Ladies and gentlemen, I ask this as a victim of slavery in Sudan: How long murder, slavery, religious persecution, systematic rape, starvation imposed and "the ethnic and religious cleansing" going they continue? When those who have the power to act and stop these crimes will they do?
I ask for my fellow Christians and animists in southern Sudan. My voice is their voice. How long will the world let the infidels be slaughtered and enslaved in the name of jihad? How long will the world be silent to avoid offending the killers and defenders of slavery?
Link
Labels: Children, Darfur, Saudi Arabia, Sudan
Friday, March 06, 2009
Darfur: MSF strongly protests further expulsion, medical programs forced to halt, by Iba Bouramine
People of Darfur held hostage to political and judicial agendas
MSF calls upon Government of Sudan to repeal decision and allow vital assistance to people of Darfur to resume
This morning, the Sudanese authorities in Khartoum demanded the immediate expulsion of a second section of the international medical organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The decision, brutal and sudden, follows the expulsion Wednesday of another section of the organization. MSF is appalled by this order, which clearly holds the needs of the population of Darfur hostage to political and judicial agendas. The organization protests the order in the strongest of terms and appeals to the government to repeal these decisions and allow MSF to resume independent and impartial humanitarian assistance immediately.
“The order to expel MSF from Darfur is a dramatic turn of events that will have unprecedented consequences for the people of the region. Much of the population of Darfur is totally dependent on international humanitarian aid,” says Dr. Christophe Fournier, International President of MSF. “The sudden halt of our medical programs, including vital surgical, nutrition, and basic healthcare programs, in large areas of Darfur will have an immediate and devastating impact on the population.”
The vast needs of the population left unaddressed by the expulsion of so many aid organizations leaves a huge void in assistance, impossible for any remaining agency to adequately fulfill. The basic needs of hundreds of thousands of people will now go unmet, be they medical, food, water and sanitation. Outbreaks of meningitis in Kalma camp and Niertiti – where an estimated 130,000 people are in urgent need of vaccination – risk going completely unanswered.
The remaining sections of MSF working in Darfur are committed to continuing to provide medical care in the areas where they are working. However, this is a far cry from addressing the extent of the needs throughout Darfur.
“The ability to provide independent humanitarian assistance in Darfur has been drastically diminished over the past year, but the actions of the Government of Sudan this week risk to cut off humanitarian assistance for displaced and local populations in large areas of Darfur,” adds Christophe Fournier. “The needs of the population are falling prey to political and judicial ends, which is wholly unacceptable. We appeal to the government to immediately repeal its decision and allow for independent and impartial humanitarian assistance for the people in Darfur.”
MSF firmly reiterates that the organization is completely independent of the International Criminal Court and does not cooperate with or provide any information to it.
MSF has been working in Sudan since 1979 and in Darfur since 2003. While MSF has now been expelled from delivering critical healthcare in five areas of West and South Darfur, including Feina in Jebel Mara, Kalma, Muhajariya, Niertiti and Zalingei, MSF teams continue to provide care in West Darfur in Golo and Killin, and in North Darfur in Kebkabiya, Kaguro, Serif Umra, Shangil Tobaya and Tawila. Prior to the expulsion, more than 100 MSF international staff and approximately 1,625 MSF Sudanese staff worked tirelessly to deliver essential medical aid to hundreds of thousands of people throughout Darfur.
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Labels: Darfur, Doctors Without Borders, Iba Bouramine, Sudan
ICC: Bashir Warrant Is Warning to Abusive Leaders, by Marie-Êve Marineau
(New York) - The International Criminal Court's (ICC) issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan signals that even those at the top may be held to account for mass murder, rape and torture, Human Rights Watch said today. ICC judges granted the warrant for Bashir, its first for a sitting head of state, on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes for his role in orchestrating Sudan's abusive counterinsurgency campaign in Darfur.
"With this arrest warrant, the International Criminal Court has made Omar al-Bashir a wanted man," said Richard Dicker, director of the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch. "Not even presidents are guaranteed a free pass for horrific crimes. By ruling there is a case for President al-Bashir to answer for the horrors of Darfur, the warrant breaks through Khartoum's repeated denials of his responsibility."
The court did not confirm the three counts of genocide that were requested by the ICC prosecutor. Genocide requires evidence that the crimes were committed specifically "with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part," a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group solely on the basis of its identity.
"Proving genocide charges is always extremely difficult," said Dicker. "President Bashir is hardly off the hook, as he is sought for crimes against humanity and war crimes, including widespread rape, murder, and torture committed as part of a government plan."
Under the ICC Statute, the prosecutor is able to request an amendment of the warrant to include genocide if he obtains additional evidence to support the charge.
The ICC prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Bashir on July 14, 2008. Following the prosecutor's announcement, Sudanese government officials made implicit and explicit threats of retaliation against international peacekeepers and humanitarian workers. On July 25, a Sudanese presidential advisor, Bona Malwal, stated in regard to peacekeeping forces that, "We are telling the world that with the indictment of our President al-Bashir we can't be responsible for the well-being of foreign forces in Darfur." President Bashir has also threatened to expel international peacekeeping forces if a warrant is issued.
The Security Council, its individual members, the UN Secretariat, the European Union, and the African Union have a critical role in promptly responding to any government-supported retaliation in Darfur following news of the warrant.
"The Sudanese government is obliged to maintain security in the country and the Security Council should act decisively to hold them to it," said Dicker. "Khartoum should not be allowed to use the arrest warrant as a pretext for stepping up its obstructionist policies that have hobbled peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts in Darfur."
The government of Sudan is required by a Security Council resolution to facilitate the deployment of the African Union/UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) and to cooperate with the ICC. Under international law, Sudan remains obligated to protect its own civilians and to provide full, safe, and unhindered access by relief personnel to those in need in Darfur. The arrest warrant does not change these obligations, nor does it have any impact on Khartoum's obligations to carry out the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the government of Southern Sudan.
"The Security Council and concerned governments should impose targeted sanctions against Sudanese officials responsible for any retaliatory violence, and consider other measures such as further banking restrictions or a widening of the arms embargo," said Dicker.
The ICC is an independent judicial institution. Sudan, though not a party to the Rome Statute creating the court, is subject to ICC jurisdiction through Security Council resolution. Having an official position as head of state does not provide immunity from criminal responsibility before the ICC.
Apart from the warrant against President Bashir, the ICC has issued two other warrants in relation to Darfur. On April 27, 2007, the court issued arrest warrants for State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun and a "Janjaweed" militia leader, Ali Kosheib. The prosecutor has also requested arrest warrants for three rebel leaders in connection with attacks on international peacekeepers at Haskanita in October 2007. That request is currently under consideration by the court.
Sudan has so far refused to cooperate with the ICC. All the arrest warrants remain outstanding. Haroun continues in his official position as state minister of humanitarian affairs. On November 24, the Sudanese government arrested and tortured three human rights defenders in Khartoum for allegedly giving information to the ICC.
"Khartoum is required to cooperate with the court," said Dicker. "Because the ICC has no police force of its own, it needs strong support from governments to ensure that all those charged with crimes are arrested."
Background
In a March 31, 2005 resolution, the Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the ICC prosecutor for investigation and prosecution. The decision was based on the recommendation of an international commission of inquiry, which found that violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law were continuing in Darfur and that the Sudanese justice system was unwilling and unable to address the crimes. Darfur is the first situation referred by the Security Council to the ICC.
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Labels: Darfur, Human Rights Watch, ICC, Marie-Êve Marineau, Sudan
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
Sudan - The International Criminal Court seeks the arrest of President Al-Bashir for genocide in Darfur, by Marie-Eve Marineau
The actions and threats have not intimidated Sudanese ICC. It has just issued a request for the arrest of President of Sudan, Omar Al-Bashir.
The Sudanese president had said yesterday that his country was not affected by the decision of the Court. Defying the international community, he had asked the ICC to "boil the decision and to drink the juice."
The ICC has thus confirmed its accusations against the President of Sudan, referred by seven charges, including genocide in Darfur and calls on Khartoum to deliver the President, recalling that it occurred under Chapter VII of the Charter United Nations. The ICC also called all countries, especially the signatories of the Rome Convention (on the ICC), to cooperate in order to arrest and hand over Al-Bashir at the ICC.
In their first response, the Sudanese authorities have called the decision of the ICC policy, accusing the West to lead a new offensive against colonial Sudan.
Television Al Arabiya "said that hundreds of Sudanese demonstrated in this time in Khartoum against the decision of the ICC.
Link
Labels: Darfur, ICC, Marie-Êve Marineau, Sudan
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