l i s a l a p e e r y . c o m

Life in Darfur. 2007 began literally with a bang when nine tear gas bombs were thrown into the All Saint's Cathedral in Khartoum, Sudan during New Year's Eve mass.  Police were attempting to catch a man who assaulted someone with a knife and was allegedly hiding in the crowd of 500 worshippers. Other's speculate this could be an act of religious intolerance; the majority of Sudan is Muslim, though there is a Christian minority. The Islamic Government of Sudan has denied involvement. Six people were sent to the hospital, and a plastic chair was burned in the chaos. Former Vice President Abel Alair and his wife were among those injured.

Troops under fire. Allegations have been surfacing all month that UN and other peace keeping troops are raping children age 12 and up in Sudan, as reported in the Daily Telegraph earlier this month. The 11,000 UN peace keepers and police from 70 countries are in the region enforcing a resolution that effectively ended the 21-year war in the southern region.  The UN Children's Fund's representatives say the report with these allegations only mentions the Sudanese army troops, not the UN's. Sudanese military have not responded to the reports. The children reporting the allegations are from the southern region of Sudan and have been separated from their families. Many have walked all over the country from refugee camp to refugee camp as they were chased away and attacked by militants in the Janjaweed government army, run out of Khartoum, Sudan. Read the actual accounts

It's no secret the Sudanese government is "allegedly" killing and raping the country's civilians through the government sanctioned Janjaweed army. So is that government in a position to kick out the peace keepers? Apparently, the chief of the UN envoy wrote in his personal blog that the Sudanese Army is struggling in the war. The government says his remarks amount to psychological games to lower the moral of the troops.  Now this is my interpretation of the comments at their most basic level, but the message remains the same. Sudan continues to refuse assistance at the cost of civilian's lives. So the envoy Jan Pronk of the Netherlands, has about 50 some hours to get out of Sudan. The government has said they will cooperate with his replacement. Because he has a negative, undermining attitude. What kind of attitude does it take to kill your country and defend your actions?

Simultaneously, on October 19th a plane carrying Sudanese troops went down in the Nile, killing at least 70 troops. On October 16th the New York Times ran this piece about how Sudanese troops are fleeing the country. Maybe Mr. Pronk's assessment wasn't so off base afterall.

This past week, the United Nations General Assembly resolved to deploy troops to Darfur , Sudan ; the Sudanese president rejected the UN resolution; and peace activists around the world demonstrated to bring attention to the forgotten war.

The UN resolution was designed to curb the incessant violence, attempting to end to what's being called the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Currently, the African Union army is fighting the rebel faction that's been battling the government in Kahrtoum for the past three years. The army is broke, improperly equipped and needs more manpower. They're fighting by mandate which will end September 30^th. The UN resolution called for at least 20,000 peacekeepers to enter the region. The Sudanese response was to reject the Security Council resolution, with that country's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir citing a severe mistrust of the western world. Al-Bashir believes if the west gets involved, Sudan will be redrawn and broken up (again). Sudan 's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Ahmed Karti, is suspicious about Israel 's participation, stating that Israel is funding the militia with weapons and supplies while working to protect its interest, which extends from the Nile River to the Euphrates . Karti apparently believes the western countries and Israel are supplying or supporting the government-funded Janjaweed militia. Pressure is mounting for Al-Bashir, though, because other African nations, which currently house Sudan 's refugees, are alluding to UN intervention by force.

More than 200,000 people have died and another 2 million people have been displaced to other countries in this war started by non-Arabs who felt left out and misrepresented by the government. The Sudanese government responded by forming the Janjaweed militia, known for raping, murdering, pillaging, and running people out of their homes and out of the country. Where the militia doesn't cause death, disease, famine and wild animals often do.

A Global Day for Darfur was celebrated around the world on September 17^th with rallies and candlelight vigils to draw attention to the western region of Sudan . Organized by humanitarian rights groups around the world, Christian, Muslim and Jewish world leaders gathered in prayer to make sure people don't forget about Darfur . At the same time, activists in Sudan marched to the UN in protest the deployment of peacekeepers.

I'm happy to see discussion locally: Fri, Sep 2, 8:30am:  "What Should be Done to End the Genocide in Darfur?"  An Exploration of the Humanitarian, Political & Military Options.  Catholic Commission Breakfast Briefing by Congressman, Sherrod Brown (D-13).  Held at Martin University Center, 105 Fir Hill, Akron, Ohio. Cost of
Continental Breakfast: $10.00.  Please make reservations. Make Checks Payable to:  Catholic Commission. Send to: P.O. Box 434, Akron, OH 44309-0434.  For more information, contact: Tom Allio at 330/535-2787 www.catholic-action.org

1983: Islamic laws are enacted by the government in Khartoum. Government rebels took up arms in protest, and the war hasn't ended yet.

2003: The Arab-run government of Khartoum, Sudan, was accused by non-Arab Sudanese of giving preferential treatment to Arab tribes in the region. Rebel activity and war increased. The government denied the allegations.

2003-2005 Two million Sudanese have been completely displaced from their homes, their villages, and in many cases, their country. Sudan has been torn apart by army tanks that have run over entire towns; by warfare from tribe to tribe and from warriors to civilian. Men between the ages of 15 and 35 are missing from society. Word on the street is that the government is sanctioning rapes, looting, rampages, and killings of the Sudanese people. The government denies the allegations.

January 2005: A peace deal of sorts was reached between

June 28 2005: A big step. In hammering out the new constitution for Sudan, there is some opening up as lawmakers consider allowing the South to remain Christian and not imposing Islamic law, as has been the case for some time, and also getting rid of the requirement that the president be Muslim. Non-Muslims would not be harassed in Kahrtoum should this new law be implemented. The discussion is big news as until now, this topic wasn't open for discussion.