Africa

Burundi

AFP 31 Aug 2004 Burundi moves to set up South African-style truth commission BUJUMBURA, Aug 31 (AFP) - The National Assembly of Burundi, a central African country which has witnessed several inter-ethnic massacres since its independence in 1962, on Tuesday passed legislation establishing a South-African-style Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The bill was passed by a vote of 121 in favor, 11 against and 18 abstentions, Jean Minani, chairman of the transitional National Assembly, said. Absent from the vote was the parliamentary group of the country's main rebel group, the Hutu Forces for the Defence of Democracy (FDD). "Creation of this commission is a major step on the path to peace and reconciliation between the sons and daughters of this country," Minani said. The commission will be tasked to "establish the truth on all acts of violence perpetrated in Burundi since independence on July 1, 1962, establish responsibilities and the identity of those responsible," according to the bill. More than 300,000 people have died in Burundi since rebels from the Hutu ethnic majority took up arms in 1993 against the government and army led by the minority Tutsi ethnic group. The bill now goes to the Senate, where approval is a foregone conclusion as the FDD, the only group which opposes the legislation, is not represented. The commission's 25 members must be appointed by the head of state in consultation with the government, which includes the FDD. The body will have a two-year term, which can be extended by another year. It is patterned on South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission which began hearings in 1996 to shed light on apartheid-era atrocities. That commission completed its work in 2003, after having compiled a list of some 19,050 names of victims of gross human rights violations under apartheid between 1960 and 1994. Perpetrators of the crimes were given amnesties if they showed remorse and fully disclosed the nature of their acts before the commission, while victims were able to confront those responsible for their pain.

BBC 3 Sep 2004 Tutsis boycott Burundi cabinet President Ndayizeye must organise elections by end of October Ministers from Burundi's leading Tutsi parties have boycotted a cabinet meeting called to discuss the drafting of a new constitution. Last month, the Uprona party and its nine allies refused to sign a South African-brokered power-sharing deal, to form the basis of the constitution. They want further dialogue about power-sharing between Hutus and Tutsis, who make up 15% of the population. Without a new constitution, elections due by 31 October cannot go ahead. Political process jeopardised The boycotters, led by Vice-President Alfons Marie Kadege, said they were not withdrawing from government. But they insisted there needed to be a "national consensus" on power-sharing or the whole political peace process would be jeopardised. POWER SHARING National Assembly: 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsis 3 Twa seats Government: 60% Hutu, 40% Tutsis Senate: 50% Hutu, 50% Tutsis 3 Twa seats Q&A: Burundi's peace Reacting to the boycott, presidential spokesman Panrace Cimpaye said as ministers in government they are beholden to President Domitien Ndayizeye, not their individual parties. The cabinet meeting, he stressed, was to discuss a new constitution, not impose it, and as such was the dialogue the Tutsi parties were calling for. The Pretoria accords state the national assembly and government comprise 60% ethnic Hutus and 40% Tutsis. But Uprona wants seats to be given to parties as well as ethnic groups. The Burundi parliament approved on Tuesday an independent electoral commission which includes three Hutus and two Tutsis to oversee the country's first elections. Some 300,000 people have been killed since the civil war broke out in 1993. About 5,000 United Nations peacekeepers are in the country to support the South African-brokered peace process.

Reuters 4 Sep 2004 UN officials surprised by massacre "findings" By David Lewis KINSHASA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A U.N. investigation into a massacre of Congolese refugees in Burundi has not yet determined who carried out the killings, U.N. officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo said on Saturday. "There was a preliminary report but it was decided that another multi-disciplinary team should investigate further," said Albrecht Conze, co-chair of the U.N. team in Congo and Burundi compiling the report. "We have been tasked to carry out this investigation and are currently working on our findings and the report," he told Reuters on Saturday. Conze's comments came after reports on Friday that the world body had evidence the slaughter was carried out by Burundian rebels and two armed groups from neighbouring Congo. More than 160 Tutsi refugees were killed at the Gatumba camp in August. A Burundian rebel group took responsibility, saying it had been aiming to hit a nearby military base. However Rwanda and Burundi have accused armed groups operating in Congo and have threatened to invade their vast neighbour to hunt down those they consider responsible. Diplomats in New York said Hedi Annabi, U.N. assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, had told a closed-door Security Council briefing that the slaughter by the three groups was "meticulously planned" and launched from Congo. U.N. officials in Congo said they were surprised to see these remarks given that those compiling the report had not yet drawn their conclusions and the evidence was scant. "This is going to create a lot of confusion and it is going to put (U.N. peacekeepers) in a difficult position. So far there is no concrete evidence to suggest this," said a second senior U.N. official in Congo, who declined to be named. The United Nations has 10,800 peacekeepers in Congo, helping the vast central African nation emerge from a five-year civil war which sucked in six neighbouring armies. "The first report documented the human rights violations (at the Gatumba camp) and outlined the possible scenarios of who was responsible," he said. Pancrace Cimpaye, a spokesman for Burundi's presidency, said it would not make any comment until it had seen the U.N. report. Henri Mova Sakanyi, spokesman for Congo's government urged investigators to find out who was responsible for the attack. "The people investigating need to be more precise and say exactly who is responsible," he said. "I have the impression that they are just repeating what people said a few hours after the massacre. That would be regrettable." (Additional reporting by Patrick Nduwimana in Bujumbura)

D R Congo

IRIN 1 Sept 2004 UN report suggests DRC groups participated in Burundi massacre NAIROBI, 1 Sep 2004 (IRIN) - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has cited evidence that a Burundian rebel group acted in consort with armed groups from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) when it carried out a massacre of refugees at Gatumba on the Burundian side of the border. Annan said in his first report on the UN Operation in Burundi (ONUB): "Eyewitnesses reported to ONUB that [the rebel Forces nationales de libération] FNL had actually attacked a nearby FAB (Burundi Armed Forces) base, while Congolese Mayi-Mayi and FDLR (Rwandan [Hutu] ex-FAR/Interahamwe) elements carried out the Gatumba massacre." He said the attackers appeared to target refugees who were Tutsis from the DRC, known as the Banyamulenge, "while refugees of other ethnic groups and repatriated Burundians were left unharmed". He also said the FDLR denied any involvement in the attack. A joint MONUC/ONUB team began an investigation on 16 August to establish the facts. The massacre has increased regional tensions and threatened to undo the DRC's fragile transitional coalition government. Various Banyamulenge leaders have accused leaders in Kinshasa of complicity. One of the DRC's vice-presidents, Azarias Ruberwa, who is Tutsi, temporarily suspended his participation in the government. South African President Thabo Mbeki has come to Kinshasa to mediate. "The Gatumba massacre and reports of a possible alliance between FNL and Rwandan and Congolese armed groups is a worrying development not only for Burundi but also for the entire subregion," Annan said.

AFP 1 Sept 2004 UN in DRC starts disarmament programme in troubled Ituri region KINSHASA, Sept 1 (AFP) - The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Wednesday launched its disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration programme of armed militias in the strife-torn eastern Ituri region. "The DRC programme was launched as expected in (Ituri's main town of) Bunia and throughout the region," said Patricia Tome, spokeswoman of the mission known as MONUC. It was done in the presence of UN and DRC officials, as well as leaders of Ituri's armed militias, Tome said. MONUC expressed its hope that Ituri's main armed militias respected the committment they made in May in the capital Kinshasa to help the transition government bring peace to Ituri and restore the authority of the state there. Even as the rest of DRC moves slowly toward recovery from its brutal 1998-2003 war -- which saw some 2.5 million people die in combat and from disease and hunger, according to the UN -- Ituri remains plagued by inter-ethnic violence. At least 55,000 people have been killed in the gold- and diamond-rich region of Ituri, which borders Uganda, since 1999 and half a million others driven from their homes. Ituri district commissioner Petronille Vaweka called on all armed groups to "take part massively in this programme." The voluntary programme targets around 15,000 former fighters, including 6,000 children. Those disarming will each receive a 50-dollar payment and be temporarily housed in orientation centres for idenitification purposes. Elsewhere in DRC, a MONUC official announced that the military court in Katanga had on August 26 resumed a hearing into 22 soldiers accused of crimes against humanity. Luc Henkinbrant said the landmark case, which had been delayed from April, involved 22 soldiers on counts of "rape, pillage and murder" in a raid on the village of Ankoro in November 2002. The United Nations has 10,800 troops in DRC charged with protecting military observers and overseeing key aspects of the country's overall peace process, such as the disarmament of some of the militia groups.

HRW 2 Sept 2004 D.R. Congo: Ituri Court Must Prosecute Gravest Crimes Donors and DRC Authorities Should Increase Funding for Local Courts (Brussels, September 2, 2004) – Judges in the newly restored court in the Ituri district of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) must intensify efforts to prosecute serious human rights crimes, Human Rights Watch said in a briefing paper released today. Since 1999, armed conflict among rebel factions, local ethnic groups, and foreign fighters in the northeastern region has resulted in numerous atrocities that have gone unpunished. On August 17, the court in Bunia, Ituri’s capital, handed down its most serious conviction so far. Human Rights Watch welcomed the court’s prosecution of Commander Rafiki Saba Aimaible, the former security chief of the Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC), an armed group in Ituri responsible for serious crimes. Commander Rafiki was found guilty of arbitrary arrests aggravated by torture, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. With support from the European Commission, the Ituri court resumed its work six months ago after having been closed since May 2003, when its judges had to flee deteriorating security conditions. However, the new investigative judges assigned to the court have largely limited prosecutions to minor crimes and have not investigated the more serious human rights abuses. In one case, the leader of one armed group was charged on the basis of theft, but the prosecutor failed to bring charges of murder, rape, or torture committed by people under the suspect’s direct command, which had been documented by Human Rights Watch. The court has lacked the political will to take on these more serious cases. National courts, such as the tribunal in Bunia, will need to complement the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which started investigating war crimes in the DRC on June 23 – the first-ever investigation by the new international court. The ICC will focus on the most senior perpetrators, and is unlikely to be able to try lesser-ranking individuals who also carried out abuses. These perpetrators will need to be tried by national courts. “If the new court in Bunia is to be effective, it must prosecute the gravest crimes as well as minor offenses,” said Pascal Kambale, counsel for Human Rights Watch’s International Justice Program. “The ICC will focus on the high-level perpetrators, so the national courts must ensure that other suspected human rights criminals don’t get off the hook.” In November, the European Commission and other donors initiated a six-month project to help restore the criminal justice system in Bunia. This short-term funding helped judges and investigative judges start working again years after the court had been closed, but many serious problems remain. There is no capable police force able to carry out investigations, and there is a lack of protection for witnesses who come forward to testify. The Human Rights Watch briefing paper, “Making Justice Work: Restoration of the Legal System in Ituri, DRC,” highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the justice program in Ituri, seen by many as the potential test case for rebuilding the largely defunct justice system throughout the DRC. It calls international donors and the DRC transitional government to provide longer-term funding and support to the criminal justice system. “The Ituri justice program is a foundation for rebuilding the national justice system,” said Kambale. “If the government and international donors are serious about ending the cycle of violence and securing justice for victims, they must ensure there is more funding and political will to make this happen.” Human Rights Watch has documented serious crimes in the conflict that ravaged Ituri since 1999, including ethnic massacres, rape, and torture. A local conflict between Hema and Lendu ethnic groups allied with national rebel groups and foreign backers, including Uganda and Rwanda, has claimed over 60,000 lives since 1999, according to United Nations estimates. In the past eight months, fighting has decreased in the area, though human rights abuses continue. “The conviction of Commander Rafiki is a good start for the court in Ituri,” said Kambale. “We need to see more trials focusing on these serious human rights crimes to help end the cycle of violence and ensure that victims see justice being done.” For more information on the state of the judicial system in the DRC, please see Democratic Republic of the Congo: Confronting Impunity. For more information on justice in the Democratic Republic of Congo, please see http://www.hrw.org/doc/?t=justice&c=congo

Agence France-Presse 3 Sept 2004 France introduces UN resolution on DRCongo UNITED NATIONS, Sept 3 (AFP) - France introduced a draft resolution in the UN Security Council Friday to reinforce the troop strength of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and broaden its writ. The resolution, based on recommendations in UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's latest report on the situation in central Africa, proposes increasing the troop strength of the mission, known as MONUC, from 10,500 troops to 23,900. The draft makes no specific mention of a rapid reaction force that Annan's special envoy in DRC William Lacy Swing had recommended for the MONUC. However a diplomatic source said it would not be necessary because, were MONUC to be increased to 23,000 as the resolution stipulates, it would be sufficiently large for an ad hoc rapid reaction force to be formed from within as events warranted. France's resolution recommends deployment of a supplemental company of 150 troops in the north and the south of Kivu in eastern DRC. It calls on MONUC to: -- "deploy and maintain a presence in the key areas of potential volatility in order to promote the re-establishment of confidence;" -- "ensure the protection of civilians under imminent threat of physical violence; -- "ensure the protection of United Nations personnel, facilities, installations and equipment; -- "monitor and prevent movements of combatants across the border between the Democrati Republic of the Congo and Burundi, in close cooperation with the United Nations Operation in Burundi; -- "monitor the illegal flow of arms across the borders;" -- "contribute as appropriate to the respect of cease-fire agreements; and, -- "contribute to the disarmament portion of the national program of disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of Congolese combatants."

BBC 20 Sept 2004 Militia attack DR Congo town Some 14 people have been killed when 300 militiamen attacked a town in north-eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the UN says. Four people were shot dead and another 10 burnt in Lengabo town, UN spokeswoman Rachel Eklou told the BBC. Lengabo is in Ituri, one of DR Congo's most volatile districts, where UN peacekeepers were deployed last year to quell clashes between ethnic militias. Some 150 UN troops have been sent to Lengabo, Ms Eklou said. The war in DR Congo She told the BBC Focus on Africa programme that an ethnic Lendu militia had attacked the town, populated by the Bira community. Some 91 houses were burnt in Lengabo, 10km south-west of the district capital, Bunia, Ms Eklou said. The Lendus have been fighting their Hema rivals for many years in Ituri but Ms Eklou said they had not previously had any problems with the Biras. Some 50,000 people have been killed in Ituri since 1999, but the level of violence has been reduced since 4,000 UN peacekeepers were deployed in the region last year.

Equatorial Guinea

Reuters 29 Aug 2004 Equatorial Guinea president says thwarted "massacre" LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo said an international plot to overthrow him would have resulted in a massacre and those responsible deserve death by firing squad. In a rare interview, Obiang told London's Mail on Sunday newspaper he was prepared to visit Britain if necessary to secure extradition for those accused of trying to oust him. "I want to see them in my country, in my prisons ... If I were to be the judge, I would apply the maximum penalty -- execution by firing squad," he said. The trial resumes in the capital Malabo on Monday of 19 men accused of involvement in an attempt to overthrow the government in the tiny oil-rich African nation. The defendants include eight South Africans, six Armenians and five from Equatorial Guinea but Obiang said they were bankrolled by international businessmen. Mark Thatcher, the 51-year-old son of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, was arrested in South Africa on Wednesday on suspicion of helping finance the plot. Trying to cast its net wider, Obiang's government has requested international arrest warrants for all those it suspects of involvement. They include London-based businessmen Eli Calil. "My investigators have uncovered an elaborate network of payments into offshore accounts which we believe are linked to these men and to business associates of theirs," Obiang said in the interview. "The crimes they intended to commit, which include multiple murder, would have been committed here and this is where I believe they should be brought to face the consequences." Equatorial Guinea, split between lush volcanic islands and a mountainous jungle mainland, has attracted increased foreign interest since large offshore deposits of crude oil were discovered in the 1990s. The former Spanish colony, ruled by Obiang since he seized power from his uncle in a 1979 coup in which the uncle was killed, now pumps 350,000 barrels per day, making it sub-Saharan Africa's third-biggest producer. "These men are nothing but blood-thirsty pirates and thieves with no regard for human life. They were doing this to get their hands on our oil, that was their only aim," he said. "If their plans had gone ahead there would have been a massacre. There have been coup attempts against me in the past and no doubt there will be others in the future. That is why the international community must support us against all mercenaries coming in to steal our country and our wealth." Equatorial Guinea has not asked for Thatcher's extradition and says it will not consider doing so until it has weighed all the evidence against him. But it has asked Zimbabwe to extradite Simon Mann, a former British special forces officer it accuses of leading the coup plot. He was found guilty by a Harare court on Friday of seeking to possess dangerous weapons. That court also acquitted 66 other defendants of weapons charges, most of them arrested in March with Mann when Zimbabwean authorities seized their plane. "I have instructed lawyers to seek all means possible to find and arrest those responsible ... I intend to pursue them through courts in Britain and elsewhere by every means possible," Obiang told the Mail.

Nigeria

Reuters 2 Sep 2004 Politicians wage geopolitical war in central Nigeria By Dino Mahtani JOS, Nigeria (Reuters) - Power broker and devout Christian Chief Solomon Lar is on a crusade against Islamic "invaders" he says are sweeping down through central Nigeria, killing his people and forcing them off their fertile lands. Lar is one of many politicians embroiled in a battle for dominance over Nigeria's "Middle Belt", an ethnically diverse central area on the cusp of the Muslim-dominated north and Christian south. Conflict has simmered throughout Lar's home state of Plateau since street fighting in the state capital Jos killed hundreds in 2001. It culminated this May in a massacre of hundreds of Muslims by Christian Tarok militiamen in the town of Yelwa. "That was a reprisal in response to orchestrated attacks in Plateau by well-armed Islamic fundamentalists similar to al-Qaeda," said Lar, a Tarok tribesman, once governor of Plateau, at his residence in Jos. Analysts say the violence is threatening to destabilise the young democracy of Africa's most populous country, with systematic purges of minority religious and tribal communities across the Middle Belt. The Plateau crisis prompted President Olusegun Obasanjo -- Nigeria's military ruler from 1976 to 1979 -- to declare a state of emergency there, suspending the elected governor and replacing him with a former military chief of staff. GEOPOLITICAL TINDERBOX The history of the Middle Belt conflict goes back over 200 years to the first holy jihad by a northern ethnic Hausa-Fulani empire that conquered huge swaths of West Africa but was halted by Middle Belt warriors before it reached what is now Nigeria's Atlantic coast. Mutual hatred took root during British colonial rule as rival communities were played off against each other, escalating after independence as politicians and traditional rulers stoked tensions to cling on to power. Environmental changes have compounded the strife as Hausa-Fulani herders push south into more fertile farmlands, fleeing from arid zones caused by over-grazing and the expansion of the Sahara desert. In Wase, one of Plateau's ethnically mixed local government areas, Muslim Hausa-Fulani now outnumber the indigenous Christian tribes following a series of purges on Christian communities and settlements. For Nicholas Mamsing, a high school teacher and part time farmer in the Christian enclave of Kadarko in Wase, the attacks on his community's farms were caused by a political row over elections. "This whole thing started when we began demanding to carve out our own local government back in 2001, so that we could have our own say in things," he said overlooking a field of near burned down huts, charred trees and wilted maize. Most of Kadarko's Christian community have since been chased out by Muslims, said Mamsing, swelling a toll of at least 250,000 people who have been displaced from their homes by violence in Plateau state this year. Under pressure to retaliate against the assault on Kadarko, and other Christian districts, Christian militia regrouped and orchestrated an attack on Yelwa, a Muslim enclave in a neighbouring area. "We were called to a meeting by the local government chairman. I realised it was a trap when I saw heavily armed militiamen swarming into the neighbourhood," said local Islamic preacher and Yelwa resident Mohammed Kabiru Umar, who hid in a dried out well during the May 2 massacre. "The security forces were nowhere to be seen as they were withdrawn before the killings happened. That order had to come from somewhere." FLAWED DEMOCRACY Since Nigeria emerged from 15 years of military rule in 1999, thousands have been killed in sectarian violence as a new generation of politicians wage turf wars over their domains. Elections last year were marred by widespread vote rigging, intimidation and violence, with the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) winning a landslide majority in state and national assemblies. Analysts say the PDP maintains its political domination by using Nigeria's oil wealth to paper over sectarian differences by buying off political rivals if they have not already been swept away by violence. In Plateau, some militant Christian groups felt betrayed by the PDP, which struck deals with Muslims to win elections. The party's solution to the conflict has been to woo shady power brokers back to the fold. The real business of reconciliation has already finished, played out in high political circles behind closed doors. A peace conference inaugurated by Obasanjo in Plateau in August is celebrating the return of peace, but pointedly failed to set up a panel of enquiry to investigate political backing of the violence. Suspects arrested by police are largely cattle thieves. "No party can survive without bridging the ethnic divide," said Dr. Abubakar Siddique Muhammed, head of political science at Ahmadu Bello University, Nigeria's premier tertiary institution. "In Plateau, there is a process of resolving the crisis and those opponents controlling resources are being brought back so that the PDP's candidates will be credible," he said.

Rwanda

Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne) 31 Aug 2004 Thousands of Genocide Victims Reburied in Rwanda Kigali Bodies of 5,821 victims of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda exhumed from mass graves in Mutura district in the North West Rwanda province of Gisenyi were reburied on Monday. "The genocide started here way before 1994", the Speaker of the Rwandan senate, Vincent Biruta said during the burial in Mutura. The area experienced killings of ethnic Tutsis also in the early nineties. The Rwandan authorities believe that these killings were the groundwork for the 1994 genocide. A substantial number of those buried on Monday were killed inside Mudende University campus. Genocide survivors and local authorities speaking at the burial accused senior university authorities of coordinating attacks against Tutsis students at the university and other Tutsis in nearby communities. The north west of Rwanda was regarded as the power base of the government that presided over the 1994 genocide. Reburial of genocide victims has been going on since the end of the genocide. Genocide survivors' organizations believe that there are still many mass graves that are yet to be discovered.

zenit.org (Vatican) Code: ZE04083102 Date: 2004-08-31 Rwandan Bishops Criticize Parliament’s Report on Genocide Stress Criminal Factor and Ask that Generalizations be Avoided KIGALI, Rwanda, AUG. 31, 2004 (Zenit.org).- A Rwandan parliamentary commission accused the Catholic Church of covering up the responsibility of priests in the 1994 genocide, an accusation that the country's bishops consider "an unjustified generalization." The parliamentary report also accuses the Church of spreading the genocide, of hiding the guilty in ecclesial communities, and of fostering poverty. The bishops have responded by stating that the Church, as an institution, cannot admit to a crime it has not committed, and have countered the accusations point by point. The writing of the parliamentary commission's report on the Ginkoro massacres began on January 20, with the intention of investigating the massacres that occurred in that Rwandan province. The African country's genocide broke out on April 7, 1994, with fierce confrontations between Hutus and Tutsis. In just three months, 800,000 people were killed and three million fled the country, while corpses floated down the rivers and on Lake Victoria, according to United Nations sources. The bishops' note of response begins by praising the positive aspects of the report. In the second part, they refute the accusations made against the Catholic Church. "We thank the government of Rwanda for its determination to be watchful, so that Rwandans can live in security and peace," the bishops write. However, the prelates fault the report for "unjustified generalizations," when "the personal ideas of some persons are attributed to his ethnic group, region, religious confession, or the association to which he adheres." The bishops are "in perfect agreement with the commission" when it states that "those responsible and the faithful who are guilty of the ideology of the genocide, no matter what their confession, will never be able to escape from justice." Nevertheless, the report has "deplorable and painful errors, as onerous and grave affirmations are made that are not based on the truth of the events and go against persons who might suffer unhappy consequences," the episcopal document notes. By way of example, the bishops mention "the confusion of persons and names, and the erroneous attribution to the Catholic Church of associations that in no way belong to it," they explain. "The Catholic Church affirms that genocide is such a serious sin that protection cannot be given to someone who is guilty of it," the bishops continue. "Therefore, to say that the Church is covering up for priests and others who are responsible is something that goes against the truth. It is the state's responsibility to hunt down all those people, wherever they are," they add. "For its part, the Church has requested all its members who have committed this crime to have the courage to admit their sins." "The Church is right in not admitting a crime it never committed," the bishops emphasize, adding that "its mission is well known by all: to reconcile men with God and to exhort them to fraternity." "There is a surprising anomaly in the report: verdicts are questioned which have already been given by the judiciary of our country." "This is in obvious contradiction with the judicial power's principle of independence, as generally a verdict is appealed when new evidence is available and proceedings begin again in the courts," they emphasize. The accusations made in the report against the ecclesial communities also surprised the Rwandan episcopal conference. "If some person has hidden in our ecclesial communities for his own ends, this cannot be imputed to them," the document stresses. The bishops commit themselves to pay careful attention so that communities will not be used in a counter-productive manner. "We say the same about our ecclesial institutions and the associations of our Christian faithful," they continue. Moreover, "to dare to say, in contradiction to the truth, that in the majority of dioceses the priests belong to one ethnic group, the Hutu, means to use language that carries discriminatory ideas." "There are rules for admission to orders and the religious life. We do not know of one diocese that has rejected a candidate to the priesthood who possessed all the requisites. Likewise, no diocese will ever oblige a candidate to be a priest, a religious or a nun just because of the fact that he or she belongs to one or another ethnic group," they explain. Another accusation in the report which the bishops disputed is that "the Church is the promoter of an ideology of poverty and works to keep the population poor." "Whoever says this ignores completely the role the Catholic Church has played and continues to play to improve the population's conditions of life," they respond. "The Catholic Church will never abandon the poor because this is fundamental and constitutive of its mission." These errors of the report are attributed to the fact that "it has been written in haste, in a precipitous manner and with no desire to verify the testimonies gathered," the Rwandan prelates say. The Bishops end their document with an appeal to the people to walk in "the truth that reconciles all Rwandans."

Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne) 2 Sep 2004 Genocide Suspects' List to Swell to Over 500,000 Kigali The number of people suspected of participating in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is expected to spiral from the present 100,000 to over 500,000 within the coming year, a senior official with the courts set up to try genocide suspects told Hirondelle News Agency on Wednesday. "Statistics drawn on the basis of information collected from the first phase of Gacaca court hearings indicates that we will end up with between 500,000 and 600,000 genocide suspects", the director of the legal department in National Service for Gacaca Jurisdictions(NSGJ), Augustin Nkusi said. Gacaca courts are semi-traditional courts set up three years ago to speed up the trials of genocide suspects. For over one year, only 700 out of some 10,000 courts have been operating in a pilot phase. The rest are expected to begin work later this month. All Gacaca hearings held until now were in a pre-trial phase identifying victims and suspects. Nkusi said that the estimates of genocide suspects made by the NSGJ were an extrapolation from the suspects' lists drawn by the 700 courts. The figure of over 500,000 is about three times the estimate made by the government before the trials began. "This is a big challenge for Gacaca courts", admitted Nkusi. "We must not forget that there was mass participation in the 1994 genocide", he added. However, Nkusi maintained that despite the latest indications of a much bigger number of suspects, Gacaca courts would still complete all genocide trials in a period of between five and eight years. Gacaca courts were set up after authorities realized that classic courts would take over 100 years to handle all genocide suspects. Since the first genocide trials in 1996, regular courts have delivered judgments for 8,000 accused. Regular courts will continue to handle cases involving the highest of four categories of genocide suspects. From the estimated 500,000 suspects, 50,000 would be of the category to be handled by standard courts. Observers say that the government is likely to tighten the categorization process to reduce to a manageable figure the number of suspects to be handled by regular courts. The categorization is done by Gacaca courts. "

washingtonpost.com 28 Sept 2004 In Darfur, Rwandan Soldiers Relive Their Past - Protectors Hope Presence Will Halt Another Genocide By Emily Wax Washington Post Foreign Service Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Page A20 EL FASHER, Sudan -- As the sun set over this desert camp, Pvt. Lambert Sendegeya, an African Union soldier from Rwanda, popped in a tape of music from his country and launched into a series of leg bends. Lt. Eugene Ruzianda peered from his canvas tent and, removing his green beret, joined the evening exercises. As they stretched, they lamented their daunting task: protecting 80 African Union military observers who are charged with monitoring a rarely observed cease-fire in Sudan's strife-torn region of Darfur, an area about the size of France. They rattled off the reports of violence they had heard and the instances in which victims had handed them handwritten notes about fighting and rapes. But neither the monitors nor the protection forces have enough vehicles or manpower to investigate, the soldiers said. "Every night you go to sleep thinking, 'I could do more. We could do more with a better mandate,' " said Ruzianda, also a Rwandan, whose family fled to Congo during a civil war in his country in the 1990s. "I hate it, to see people living like this. There are some things that remind me of our country when people were fleeing. It can be a shock to see it all again. This time, the only comfort is that at least we are here. At least there is something." These men are part of the generation that survived the 1994 Rwandan genocide, 100 days of violence in which 800,000 people were slaughtered. The Organization of African Unity, since replaced by the African Union, stood by silently while the carnage unfolded. The United Nations, which had a small force on the ground during the bloodshed, also did not intervene. Now 155 Rwandans, part of a 305-member African Union force, are being asked to demonstrate that Africans can stop African wars. The United Nations, backed by the United States and the European Union, called for the group's involvement in Darfur, its first serious test. Burned villages smolder across the region. About 1.4 million Africans who were driven from their farms now live in squalid tent cities that continue to swell. Thousands of people have died in the crisis, which the United States has termed a genocide. The violence erupted in February 2003, when African tribes rebelled against the Arab-led government. The government responded by bombing villages and arming and supporting an Arab militia known as the Janjaweed to put down the rebellion, according to the United Nations and human rights groups. The government has said the Janjaweed is not under its control. The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution this month that threatens sanctions against Sudan unless it stops the violence and establishes a commission to investigate atrocities. The council has also threatened to send 3,000 more African Union troops to Darfur if security does not improve. The monitors and their protectors are key to ending the conflict. Their job is to track violations of the cease-fire by the government and by the African rebels and report them to the union's political wing, which is conducting peace talks between the two sides in Nigeria. Aid groups say the force's mandate is vague and are pressing for more explicit orders that would allow the soldiers to use force to stop the attacks on civilians. Sudan's government has said it would reject any role for the force beyond monitoring. In Khartoum, government-owned newspapers are filled with fiery editorials accusing the troops, who represent 12 countries, of bringing HIV/AIDS to Sudan. Other stories have likened the mission to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. But Sudan's government may not have a choice. Attacks are continuing in villages and around camps, which refugees describe as "prisons without walls," said Louise Arbour, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, who recently visited the region. "People cannot return home because they do not trust the government to protect them," Arbour said. "It's clear they need an increased international presence on the ground." The African Union force, created in 2002, is still in its infancy. The union's chairman, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, has appealed for $200 million to buy logistical equipment. The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved a bill providing $75 million for the force. During a recent visit to a base in El Fasher, Gen. Festus Okonkwo of Nigeria sat in an air-conditioned trailer and listed the vehicles in his tiny fleet: three helicopters and six armored personnel carriers. "As many more as you can afford to give me, I will take," Okonkwo told a visiting delegation that included U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Ariz.), chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on foreign operations. The shortages resonate with the Rwandans. "We hope and would appreciate the very important help," said Maj. Emmanuel Rugazoora, a Rwandan commander. "We want to solve an African problem. No one should be ashamed to ask for more help where there are people suffering." Rugazoora encouraged his men to keep working, and not to worry about politics. "Focus on Darfur," he ordered. "We want to go in deep," said Sendegeya, the private, who grew up as a refugee in Burundi during Rwanda's war. Many of his family's friends, who stayed behind, were killed. "As a Rwandan you feel this should be looked at very carefully and there should be goals," said Sendegeya, 32. "My sentiment is emotional if there is a problem." There are days when there are not enough cars for all of the monitors to go out, and Sendegeya sits in his tent, cleans up the compound and exercises. But he said he was glad to be here. "You know, it's interesting because in spite of everything, I feel like I am doing something to resolve the conflict," he said. Ruzianda, his immediate commander, slapped his friend's back and said he understood. "Even when I complain, I am very happy to be contributing to this, even a little bit," said Ruzianda, who was a member of the military force that stopped the genocide in Rwanda. "It's different for us." The Rwandan soldiers, some holding AK-47s, gathered to talk about the good they said they hoped they were doing. Many said they had attended ceremonies back home in April commemorating the 10th anniversary of the genocide. They talked about the women who attended the ceremonies, many wailing and holding up framed photo collages of the children they had lost. Some of the soldiers mentioned that foreigners descended on their country for the anniversary, but weren't there a decade ago to stop the slaughter. And they spoke about the words inscribed atop the recently opened genocide museum: "Never Again." One youthful-looking guard, who said he had lost his parents in the genocide, walked away. "I'm going to bed," he said. Another stared bleakly at the ground. Ruzianda smiled weakly and shrugged his shoulders. "This is my wish: never again. And isn't that what we are proclaiming here? So stop being foolish," he said. "Our continent doesn't need this all over again."

Somalia

AFP 3 Sept 2004 Somalis uneasy with idea of peacekeeping force MOGADISHU, Sept 3 (AFP) - Residents of the war-torn Somali capital on Friday said they are uneasy with the prospect of deploying a peacekeeping force here, once a new government is installed to try to end years of anarchy. The country has been carved up into fiefdoms governed by unruly warlords with constantly shifting alliances, since dictator Mohammed Siad Barre was toppled in January 1991. The same warlords, recently selected as lawmakers for a Somali parliament that started its sessions on Thursday in Nairobi, hope to vie for the Somali presidency in the coming weeks in the nearly completed peace talks in Kenya. The clan-based assembly is tasked with appointing a speaker and a transitional president, who will in turn appoint a prime minister. The prime minister will name a cabinet that will operate for an initial period of five years. "Peace is good for everybody here, but it cannot be brought by those who created the mayhem (warlords)," Ahmed Mumin Hassan, a businessman in Mogadishu's main Bakara market, told AFP in Mogadishu. "There is no way a a parliament that is dominated by warlords can function to promote peace and harmony among the Somalis," Hassan explained. Amid such fears, the African Union (AU) has strongly hinted that a peacekeeping force could be deployed in Mogadishu after a new government is formed. But Somalis vividly remember the botched military and humanitarian intervention by the United Nations and the United States in the early 1990s, shortly after the central government collapsed and the country turned into a"failed state". Plans on October 3, 1993 to arrest top Somali warlord, General Mohamed Farah Aidid, whose militia had killed 24 Pakistan peacekeepers in an ambush four months earlier, went terribly wrong and led to a gunbattle in which hundreds of Somalis and 18 US special forces were killed. It culminated in an ugly scene where the battered bodies of US special forces soldiers were dragged through the dusty streets of Mogadishu by a frenzied mob. That had a lasting effect on Washington's subsequent decisions about sending troops abroad. "Accepting the new government is conditional," said Hassan Ibrahim, a gunman who protects aid workers in Somalia. "If the coming government will not import troops (peacekeepers) to take over our jobs, we may welcome it," Ibrahim told AFP. Retired army officer Mohamud Sheikh Hassan said sending foreign peacekeeping troops to Somalia could doom peace talks, which started on October 15, 2002 in the western Kenyan town of Eldoret. "Since there is no warlord capable of over-running his rivals since 1991, negotiation is the only solution for peace without involving foreign troops, who could complicate the matter," Hassan added. Ahmed Matan Musa, who calls himself a "true believer" of Islam, took a hardline stance on the idea of outside peacekeepers for the chaotic Horn of Africa nation. "Troops from outside are appreciated by elements that are less patriotic and are not true believers of Allah," Hassan explained. "Look what happened to Sunni prisoners in Iraq and remember the atrocities committed by UN and US intervention forces in Somalia in 1993," Musa added, referring to abuses committed by US troops on Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib prison. Yahya Ahmed Dhere, a weapons dealer in north Mogadishu's Argentine arms market, said one solution could be the legalisation of weapons' sales. "In America, there are big stores that sell weapons without undermining security. There is nothing sinister if we sell weapons to only very decent people for their self-defence," he added. Dhere is one of several traders who equip Mogadishu gangs with a fearsome array of weapons, including anti-aircraft guns mounted on pick-up trucks and machine guns. "We welcome a new government, but say no to peacekeepers," a young Somali refugee said in Nairobi, the capital of neighbouring Kenya.

Sudan

IRIN 1 Sept 2004 Armed men burn village, top UN official decries abuses [ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations] © IRIN An IDP near Al-Junaynah, West Darfur NAIROBI, 1 Sep 2004 (IRIN) - Armed men travelling in three vehicles attacked the village of Nortik, 75 km south of El-Fasher, in the Sudanese region of North Darfur on Friday, burning down 48 huts and injuring 18 people, the United Nations reported. In a situation report issued on Tuesday, the UN said that clashes had also occurred between Sudanese government forces and rebels in two locations in Darfur - along the Tawila-Kabkabiya road and between El-Fasher and Tawila. The report was issued as the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Jan Egeland, said in an interview on the BBC Hard Talk programme that the Sudanese government had not done enough to improve the security situation in Darfur. "There is still rampant abuse, rape and killing of civilians. We need to see that the Sudanese government is doing its best to disarm Janjawid [pro-government] militias as fast as it can," Egeland said. "The government has not done enough." About 1.2 million people in Darfur are displaced as a result of the insecurity that has reined there since early 2003, when rebels took up arms against the state to fight against what they said was the marginalisation of their area. In turn, the government turned to militias known as the Janjawid, to help it against the rebels. However, the Janjawid have been attacking - and committing abuses against - civilians. A ceasefire was signed earlier this year but, according to Egeland, both government and rebels had been breaking it. Some one million internally displaced people now live in camps, according to Egeland, to which they are often confined by the lack of security. "When the women leave the camps, they are raped. When the men try to leave, they are killed," Egeland said. "We could end up with 139 concentration-camp like areas unless the situation improves. Many IDPs do not have drinking water yet, sanitation is bad and diarrhoea is the biggest killer." Egeland said aid had been getting, against all odds, to the IDPs and that humanitarian agencies "have been able to feed a million people in Darfur in the middle of the rainy season". However, he said the difficult security situation had affected the delivery of aid. "In Darfur, we are kidnapped, our trucks have been looted by militias. There is a police force, but it is not enough," Egeland said. He said there were still about 200,000 people whom aid providers had not yet been able to reach, and more assistance was needed from the international community. "If we do not get enough money by the end of the year, we may have to cut resources," Egeland said. He added that many countries did not give as much as they could and he hoped they would give more. Asked how many people were dying daily in Darfur, Egeland said the UN did not have an exact figure, but that estimated mortality rates were astronomically high in February and March - about 4 to 6 deaths per 10,000 people each day - but has since gone down and now stood at an estimated two out of 10,000. He urged the Security Council, which is due to meet on Thursday to discus a 30-day deadline it gave Sudan to improve security in the camps, to step up the pressure on the parties. "A lot of women and children are dying as we speak. I hope the Security Council will exercise its obligations," he said. "I would like to see a Council that is continually seized on the matter. I hope it will build the pressure on the parties." On 30 July, the Council passed a resolution demanding that Sudan disarm the Janjawid militias within 30 days or face further actions. It demanded that Sudan apprehend and bring to justice the militia leaders and their associates who had incited and committed violations of human rights and international humanitarian law in Darfur, and called on the government to immediately fulfill all the commitments it made in a statement issued jointly with the UN Secretary-General on 3 July, in particular by facilitating the distribution of relief aid to those affected by the conflict. Sudanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Mustafa Osman Ismail said in a statement that the resolution did not address the causes of the Darfur conflict and the 30-day period "was illogical and difficult to be implemented". Instead, he said, Sudan was ready to act on the Darfur situation in 90 days. Meanwhile, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Wednesday that its three employees who had been held captive by rebels in Darfur, had been released. The three, as well as three members of the Sudanese Red Crescent, disappeared in North Darfur on Saturday afternoon, while they were on a mission to register IDPs, WFP said. "We are delighted that our people, as well as those working for the Sudanese Red Crescent, have been freed unharmed," WFP Senior Deputy Executive Director, Jean-Jacques Graisse, said. "Their disappearance was a matter of enormous concern to us and we were very relieved to hear of their release." "We call upon all armed groups in the region to stop targeting those involved in humanitarian work and allow them to do their duty without fear of intimidation," Graisse added. "Any continuation or escalation of incidents such as the one just resolved is likely to have far-reaching consequences for the relief operation."

September 1, 2004 U.N. Urges Quick Increase in Troops for Sudan By WARREN HOGE UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 1 — Secretary General Kofi Annan said today that the government of Sudan had failed to keep commitments to rein in the militias terrorizing the country's Darfur region and that a large international force was required there as soon as possible. "Attacks against civilians are continuing and the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed," Mr. Annan said in a sternly worded report to the Security Council. "No concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the mlitia leaders or perpetrators of these attacks," Mr. Annan said, "allowing the violations of human rights and the basic laws of war to continue in a climate of impunity." He said that the United Nations continued to receive reports of militia destruction of villages with many deaths — in some cases up to three and four assaults on the same places — and of the raping and killing of people venturing forth from displacement camps. In addition, he said, refugees reported coming under attack by government forces, sometimes from the air. An estimated 50,000 black Africans have been killed and 1.2 million have been displaced by marauding Arab Janjaweed militias armed and encouraged by the government in Khartoum in a campaign of razing villages, destroying crops and poisoning water supplies that the United Nations has characterized as ethnic cleansing and the United States Congress has called genocide. Today's report used the term "scorched earth policy." Mr. Annan said that the Sudanese government had not supplied the United Nations with the names of any militia leaders and had offered no evidence of trying to disarm them or curb their violence. There was also evidence, he said, that authorities were arresting common criminals and calling them Janjaweed to appear to be in compliance. To back up his recommendation of a stepped-up international presence "as quickly as possible," Mr. Annan said that the United Nations had prepared a blueprint for the substantial enlargement of the African Union monitoring force already there. Its present complement is 380 military observors and troops, and diplomats say that a force of up to 3,000 is being contemplated. Mr. Annan's report, based on findings by his special envoy, Jan Pronk, was the first monthly accounting called for in the July 30 Security Council resolution on Darfur that said the Sudanese government could face punitive measures if there were not continuing progress in protecting people and curbing the violence. Mr. Pronk will brief the Council Thursday when focus will not be on sanctions, which a number of the 15 member states oppose, but on the proposal to beef up the African Union presence. The United States, which has been in the lead on the Darfur situation, is reportedly prepared to help pay for the larger force. In his report's only positive portion, Mr. Annan credited the Sudanese for "some progress" in improving security inside several displaced person camps, in deploying additional police, in ceasing efforts to force people to return to their dangerous home lands and in the easing of restrictions on humanitarian relief workers and human rights monitors. The Sudanese government disputed Mr. Annan's report in a letter to the Security Council from Mustafa Osman Ismail, the country's foreign minister. Mr. Ismail said that Sudan was making "relentless efforts" to meet its commitments to the United Nations, and it noted that 12 Janjaweed fighters had been convicted, with three of them facing the death penalty. The letter concluded: "The government of Sudan stands ready to reach a political settlement and reestablish law and order in Darfur."

Deutsche Presse Agentur 1 Sept 2004 Sudan condemns U.N. Security Council report Abuja (dpa) - Sudan's minister of humanitarian affairs, Mohammed Yusuf, Wednesday in Abuja condemned a United Nations Security Council report supporting the deployment of troops in the troubled Darfur region, calling such a move unilateral. "All the sides in the Sudan crisis would have to discuss the issue, consider the merits and the demerits of deploying African Union troops to the area before taking a stand,'' he said. He also condemned the Security Council's indictment of the government of Sudan. "All the sides in the Sudan crisis are guilty of violating the ceasefire agreement and that is why we have ceasefire monitors. Unless there is peace, there will continue to be problems,'' he said. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday in the first 30-day assessment of the conflict that the Sudanese government has failed to fully implement commitments to improve the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Annan has called for African Union monitors - not troops - saying they could decrease the level of violence in Darfur. Annan's report, drawn up by his special envoy for Sudan, Jan Pronk, was submitted to the U.N. Security Council for discussion on Thursday. The 15-nation council has threatened to impose sanctions against Khartoum in case of failure to meet those commitments. The conclusion that Khartoum has so far failed to show progress in achieving its commitments would prompt the council to impose sanctions. The council has already imposed an arms embargo on the Khartoum-backed Arab militias fighting in Darfur. Yusuf said all sides involved have seen "the need for tranquility and peace'', adding that he was confident that the U.N. would not impose sanctions on Sudan. He said the government has "achieved a lot of progress''. Ahmed Togodt, spokesman of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement, who who was standing by while Yusuf was addressing journalists, interjected: "There are some lies there. The Sudanese government has consistently promised to contain the Janjaweed militia killing our people, but we have been at these talks for 10 days now and it has not done anything to contain the Janjaweed.'' "It is also not true that there will be a national conference where all sides will discuss the deployment of African Union peace keepers. The people of Darfur will take on the government of Sudan until they leave our people alone,'' Togodt charged. The 18-month conflict in Darfur has claimed up to 50,000 lives due to violence, starvation and disease. At least 1.2 million people have been forced to flee from their homes, while two million are in acute need of food and medical attention. Togodt called for African Union peacekeepers to "protect our civilian population and not the Janjaweed militia as we presently have.'' Delegates of the government of Sudan and of two rebel groups in the country, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement and Army, began peace talks in Abuja last week. The talks are being held under the auspices of the African Union to find a lasting solution to the crisis in Darfur, western Sudan. Meanwhile, U.S. President George W. Bush has expressed satisfaction with the African Union's efforts to resolve the conflict in Darfur. The U.S. embassy in Abuja quoted Bush in a statement issued Wednesday as having said he was delighted with ongoing AU-sponsored peace talks in Abuja and its decision to deploy ceasefire monitors to Darfur. Swedish Foreign Minister Laila Freivalds said Wednesday that sanctions should not be imposed at present on the government of Sudan but recommended continued pressure to improve conditions in the Darfur region. Freivalds, who visited Sudan on Tuesday for talks with her Sudanese counterpart Mustafa Osman Ismail, told Swedish radio that "demands of what needs to be done should be concrete''.

CSM 1 Sept 2004 ANALYSIS: What's behind the Darfur crisis - and what's next? By DAVID S. HAUCK, Christian Science Monitor (CSM) - Thursday is a pivotal day for the government of Sudan. The United Nations Security Council begins debate on whether Khartoum has disarmed and brought to justice the Arab militias in the western part of the country responsible for killing more than 30,000 people and causing some 1.4 million others to flee their homes over the past 18 months. The penalty for noncompliance: economic and diplomatic sanctions. The U.N.'s mission to Sudan, finishing its fact-finding work in Darfur last week, says that security has improved inside the camps and aid supplies are slowly reaching the camps. Still, some 75 villagers were reportedly killed in six separate attacks last week. Critics have condemned the international community's slow response to the situation. But there are many factors at play. Western troops "invading" an Islamic country, even for humanitarian reasons, may be politically impossible after Iraq and Afghanistan. Members of the Security Council like Russia and China have business interests in Sudan. Then there's the question of genocide: The U.N. has yet to define the Darfur situation as such, which would, by international law, require members to act. If the solution seems complex, the roots of the problem are perhaps more so. Who's fighting whom? The conflict in Darfur, three provinces in western Sudan, is usually cast in terms of Arabs vs. black Africans, but the reality is more muddled. Nearly everyone in the region is Muslim, and the skin color of the Arabs and non-Arabs is often indistinguishable. The distinction between the two groups falls mainly on their occupations: farmers and nomadic herders. According to Human Rights Watch, an international monitoring group, the farmers are generally non-Arabs, or ethnic Africans. They live and farm in the central part of the region. The pastoralists, who reside in the north, are largely of Arab descent. They are nomadic and seminomadic and herd camels by trade. Spats have periodically flared between the two groups, as migrating camel herders in search of water during the dry season would graze on the farmers' land. Disputes over lost crops would be settled by tribal leaders, with the nomadic tribes reimbursing the farmers. Recent droughts, however, have exacerbated the tension. The pastoralists began raiding farms to restock their decimated herds, and with the introduction of automatic weapons in the 1980s, banditry increased and the clashes became more violent. Receiving no help from the central government, the farmers began arming themselves. In fact, instead of trying to quell the conflicts, Khartoum sided with the Arabs, according to Human Rights Watch. It recruited, paid, and armed more than 20,000 Arab militiamen, called Janjaweed (which translates as either "a man with a horse and a gun" or the more sinister "devil on horseback"). How did the current crisis begin? The low-level clashes came to a head in February 2003 when two non-Arab rebel militias - the Sudan Liberation Army and the Justice and Equality Movement - attacked and captured several towns in Darfur. They demanded that Khartoum increase economic development in the region, share power, and disarm the Janjaweed. The government refused and in July launched major offensives. After battling for months, the two sides agreed to a series of cease-fires in September, but they were routinely violated. By December all efforts at peace collapsed. The Janjaweed increased attacks against civilians, according to international observers, creating what the U.N. has called "the worst humanitarian crisis in the world." It has set up 147 refugee camps throughout Darfur and in Eastern Chad to accommodate the 1.4 million civilians who have fled their homes. The U.N.'s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says that another $434 million is needed by the end of the year to respond to the most urgent needs. Darfur's location at the southern edge of the Sahara makes it difficult for aid groups to reach, compounded by the onset of the rainy season. What shelter there is comes from tents donated by aid organizations or tarps strapped to tree branches. Is it genocide? Aside from 305 African Union troops and 80 monitors currently in Darfur, the international community has yet to intervene militarily to stop the bloodshed. One reason is that the U.N. has not deemed it to be genocide. In 1948, in an effort to ward off another Holocaust, the U.N. drafted a convention defining genocide as including killing or causing bodily or mental harm "in whole or in part, (to) a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group." The U.S. Congress passed resolutions in July urging President Bush to call the crisis a genocide. The Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington called the Darfur crisis a "full-fledged genocide emergency," the first time it has ever issued such a warning. But unless the U.N. calls it genocide, member states are not obligated to intervene. The U.S. is pushing for a greater African Union military presence. And the White House was pivotal in pushing for U.N. Resolution 1556, which gave Khartoum until Aug. 30 to avoid sanctions. It has also poured in more than $194.1 million in aid, says the U.S. Agency for International Development. How will this end? Until recently, the Sudanese government has stonewalled efforts to bring aid to the refugees. Robert Rotberg, an Africa scholar at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., says the Sudanese government "fears that outsiders will discover how it has funded and created the Janjaweed," he says. "Khartoum is engaged in a massive coverup." Some diplomats say Sudan is doing just enough to avoid sanctions. A preliminary U.N. report on Darfur released Wednesday said Khartoum had lifted restrictions on humanitarian relief, deployed some 10,000 police officers to the region, and begun disarming the Janjaweed. The report also recommended a rapid increase to the international monitoring force already on the ground. The AU has offered to send in 3,000 troops, but Khartoum has so far rejected the offer. Also, Russia rejects sanctions. Outgoing Security Council president Andrei Denisov of Russia said Monday that Khartoum has made significant progress. And though Sudan isn't a major oil exporter, producing 250,000 barrels per day, countries may balk at sanctions that might push global oil prices higher. If sanctions are slapped on Khartoum, Rotberg argues they must include barring SudanAir from flying internationally and cutting off oil shipments. He also says that a U.N. force led by France or another European country must be deployed to bring an end to the crisis. Darfur snapshot - Population: 6 million - Religion: 98 percent Muslim - People at risk: 2.2 million - Refugees: 1.4 million - People killed in 18-month crisis: 30,000 (est.) - Aid workers operating in region: 4,000 - Funds required: The U.N. says it needs $434 million by the end of the year. The U.S. has contributed $194.1 million. - Troop deployments: 200 French soldiers are deployed on the border between Chad and Darfur. Rwanda and Nigeria have sent 305 troops to assist the African Union's 80 military observers in the region. Sources: U.N., USAID, World Almanac

AFP 1 Sept 2004 Sudanese govt, rebels agree on protection of civilians in Darfur by Ade Obisesan ABUJA, Sept 1 (AFP) - The Sudanese government and rebels late Wednesday agreed on an African Union mediated plan to protect the Darfur region's 1.2 million displaced people from hunger, rape and murder, the parties said. "At this meeting, we came to the agreement on this protocol on humanitarian issues. So this is the end of this part of the talks. We will continue tomorrow (Thursday) on security issues," the leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Ahmed Mohammed Tugod, told journalists. "We have reached an agreement by the end of today and we believe this is a step forward, it is timely and opportune because the people in Darfur actually need to have some sort of tranquility," Sudan's minister of humanitarian affairs, Mohammed Yusuf, said. "The Darfur people need some sort of understanding that things are moving forward. So this agreement is sending the right signal in this direction," he said. "We are happy with this conclusion (agreement) ... we can now make another effort forward," said Yusuf, who was mandated by the chief negotiator for the Sudanese government at the talks, Majzoub al-Khalifa, to address journalists at the end of the talks. Although an agreement has been reached by the two parties on the humanitarian issue, the accord would be formally signed at the end of talks on the security issues, the next item on the agenda of the peace meeting, the two parties said. "The agreement will be signed when we conclude talks on the second issue on the agenda, that is the security issue. There is a link between both agreements -- humanitarian and security issues in Darfur," the minister said. Besides humanitarian and security issues, the other issues on the agenda of the talks are political, economic and social affairs. On the UN report indicting the government in Khartoum over tardiness in implementing the Security Council decision and violation of the ceasefire accord, the minister said that his government had performed well within the 30-day deadline set for it. The UN Security Council gave Sudan a 30-day deadline on July 30 to disarm its proxy Arab militia, the Janjaweed, withdraw its regular forces from around the camps of the displaced and ensure free access to the area for aid agencies. "In the understanding with the UN secretary-general, the action plan was for 90 days. But the Security Council shortened the time to 30 days. Therefore, within the 30 days, I think the efforts (of the Sudanese government) were quite marvellous ... remarkable," Yusuf said. On the reported UN plan to have a permanent peacekeeping force in Darfur, the minister said that the matter has to be discussed between the Khartoum government and the African Union. "That is a unilateral decision (by the UN). It will be discussed between Sudan and the AU. We will see in what form it is going to be presented, the modalities to have the peacekeepers and how to manage the whole operation. We will also consider the merits and demerits of the idea," he said. "Violations to ceasefire are always from all sides, and not on one side. The violations will really come to a halt if a peace agreement is signed," he said. He said that the Sudanese government was totally confident that the UN would not impose sanctions on it. "I am 100 percent sure that what has been done is quite satisfactory and I do not think that the UN will go to the direction of applying any sanctions on Sudan," said the minister. But the JEM leader retorted, accusing the Sudanese government of not honouring its commitments to the international community on the resolution of the crisis in Darfur. "They have done nothing so far to meet the commitments which they made with the international community. We in the two (rebel) movements therefore welcome any African troops to protect our civilians in Darfur," Tugod said. Talks on security issues in Darfur, including the implementation of the Ndjamena ceasefire agreement, disarmament of the Janjaweed and other militias, cantonment of the armed elements of the movements and release of prisoners and detainees was to begin Thursday at 10 am (09h00 gmt).

AFP 1 Sept 2004 Darfur rebels release aid workers held as hostages: WFP NAIROBI, Sept 1 (AFP) - Rebels in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur region have released six aid workers taken as hostages over the weekend, a World Food Programme (WFP) spokesman said here Wednesday. "The three WFP staff members and three members of Sudanese Red Crescent (SRC) were released by the SLM (Sudan Liberation Movement) this morning," Peter Smerdon told AFP by phone. There were only three SRC workers, and not five as earlier thought when they were snatched on Saturday, he explained. The humanitarian workers "were being held by the SLM and were released following negotiations," Smerdon added. "They were flown by helicopter to El-Fasher after being picked in the Tabit area, south of El Fasher," he said, adding that "they are well and unharmed." The aid workers went missing on Saturday afternoon in the area of Shangel Tubai, south of North Darfur state capital of El-Feshir, he added. The Khartoum government swiftly blamed the kidnapping on the rebels, although it did not say which of the two factions that have been battling the army and allied militias for the past 18 months it held responsible. But both the SLM and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) on Tuesday vehemently denied any involvement. "We in the two movements have contacted all our commanders on the field and they have confirmed to us that they are not involved in the kidnap," Ahmed Mohammed Tugod, chief negotiator for the JEM, told AFP on the margins of peace talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja. On Tuesday, Khartoum said the rebels had also kidnapped 22 other health workers, who were involved in a vaccination programme near Nyala in southern Darfur, but the rebels again rejected the accusation.

NYT 2 Sept 2004 Annan Says Sudan Hasn't Curbed Militias; Urges More Monitors By WARREN HOGE UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 1 - Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that Sudan had failed to keep commitments to rein in militias terrorizing the Darfur region and that a large international force was required there as soon as possible. "Attacks against civilians are continuing and the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed," Mr. Annan said in a report to the Security Council. "No concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders or perpetrators of these attacks, allowing the violations of human rights and the basic laws of war to continue in a climate of impunity." He said the United Nations continued to receive reports of the destruction of villages and many and of the raping and killing of people venturing forth from camps for displaced persons. In addition, he said, refugees reported coming under attack by government forces, sometimes from the air. Sudan disputed Mr. Annan's report in a letter to the Council from Mustafa Osman Ismail, the foreign minister. Mr. Ismail said Sudan was making "relentless efforts" to meet its commitments to the United Nations, and noted that 12 Janjaweed fighters had been convicted, with three of them facing the death penalty. The letter concluded: "The government of Sudan stands ready to reach a political settlement and reestablish law and order in Darfur." Some 50,000 black Africans have been killed and 1.2 million displaced by marauding Arab Janjaweed militias armed and encouraged by the government in Khartoum in a campaign of razing villages, destroying crops and poisoning water supplies that the United Nations has characterized as ethnic cleansing and the United States Congress has called genocide. Today's report used the term "scorched-earth policy." Mr. Annan said the Sudanese government had not supplied the United Nations with the names of any militia leaders and had offered no evidence of trying to disarm or curb them. There was also evidence, he said, that authorities were arresting common criminals and calling them Janjaweed to appear to be in compliance. To back up his recommendation of a stepped-up international presence "as quickly as possible," Mr. Annan said the United Nations had prepared a blueprint for the enlargement of the African Union monitoring force already there. Its current complement is 380 military observers and troops, and diplomats say a force of up to 3,000 is being contemplated. Mr. Annan's report, based on findings by his special envoy, Jan Pronk, was the first monthly accounting required by a Security Council resolution on July 30 on Darfur that said the Sudanese government could face punitive measures if there were not continuing progress in protecting people and curbing the violence. On Thursday Mr. Pronk will brief the Council, where the focus will not be on sanctions, which a number of the 15 member states oppose, but on the proposal to expand the African Union's presence. The United States, which has been in the lead on the Darfur situation, is reportedly prepared to help pay for a larger force. In his report's only positive portion, Mr. Annan credited the Sudanese for "some progress" in improving security inside several displaced-persons camps, in deploying more police, in ceasing efforts to force people to return to dangerous homelands and in easing restrictions on relief workers and rights monitors. Returning from a visit to Panama on Wednesday, Secretary of State Colin L Powell echoed Mr. Annan's conclusions and said the United States would also urge Sudan to accept a larger monitoring force.

Sep. 02, 2004 SUDAN Interviewers recount tales of horror in Darfur region Experts who interviewed refugees from Sudan's troubled Darfur region related the horrors they heard, part of a State Department-sponsored study. BY SUDARSAN RAGHAVAN Knight Ridder News Service TOULOUM, Chad - Mercedeh Momeni, a New Jersey deputy attorney general, can't forget the story of a 15-year-old disabled boy in Sudan's Darfur region whom two Sudanese soldiers threw into a burning hut to die. Jan Pfundheller, a retired police officer from Brewster, Wash., remembered a black African woman who was raped by Arab thugs, members of a militia called the janjaweed. Then she was forced to watch men in her village be castrated and executed. Pfundheller's husband, Brent, a retired federal narcotics agent, recounted how black African men were raped with sticks and rifles. TWO DOZEN EXPERTS The three were among two dozen experts, most of them American, who spent a month interviewing refugees in Darfur under contract to the U.S. State Department to help determine whether the violence that's sweeping the western region of Sudan constitutes genocide. More than 30,000 people have died and 1.2 million have been driven from their homes in ethnic violence pitting the Arab militias against black African villagers. The full report, made up of 1,200 refugee interviews, is on the desk of Secretary of State Colin Powell. It's unclear when the State Department will announce its conclusion. But many of the experts -- who have backgrounds in law and human-rights and criminal investigations and experience in areas of ethnic cleansing, including Rwanda, Bosnia and Kosovo -- said it was clear that the atrocities in Darfur needed to be stopped, whether or not they were called genocide. ''I was shocked by the scope of the tragedy,'' said Jan Pfundheller, who interviewed rape victims for the study. ``What happened in Kosovo was evil. This is more vast and equally as evil.'' ''Obviously, there is evidence to bring a lot of indictments for war crimes, crimes against humanity and violations of the Geneva Convention,'' Brent Pfundheller said. Two teams of 12 experts each conducted the study. The interviewers included employees of the State Department and the Agency for International Development, as well as human rights lawyers. The study is the largest of its kind by the U.S. government. EARLY REPORT A preliminary report from about a quarter of the interviews in the State Department study found widespread atrocities -- including mass rape and summary executions, and strong links between the government and the janjaweed, which Sudan denies backing -- though it didn't label them genocide. The Pfundhellers heard stories of how the Arab janjaweed and Sudanese soldiers looted and razed villages and drove out black Africans, how women were gang-raped, how they targeted and executed males, even babies. ''As a tool of terror, killing your men and raping your women seemed effective,'' Jan Pfundheller said. ``If you have women without men to make a family, it changes the face of their society.'' Others clearly were moved by the interviews they conducted. ''There was a strong current of racial animus running through the stories,'' said Andrew Loewenstein, 30, who practices international law in Boston. He was visibly shaken and fighting back tears. He added: ``They would check to see if a baby was a male or girl.'

BBC 3 Sept 2004 Sudan rejects Darfur peace force The fate of thousands of homeless people hangs on a security deal Sudan will not accept a peacekeeping force in the troubled Darfur region but may agree to extra monitors being deployed, its foreign minister says. Mustafa Osman Ismail was reacting to a suggestion from a UN envoy that several thousand military observers were urgently needed to improve security. Jan Pronk did not specify, but said the 3,000 troops which the African Union (AU) is considering were "not enough." On Thursday, the UN Security Council discussed Darfur. No action was agreed. Deadlock The BBC's Ishbel Matheson in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, says the government will be relieved to have seen off the immediate threat of international sanctions. But the United States is pressing for sanctions against Khartoum, insisting that it is still backing Arab militias. DARFUR CONFLICT More than 1m displaced Up to 50,000 killed More at risk from disease and starvation Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing Sudan blames rebels for starting conflict Q&A: Has security improved? Spotlight catches Sudan's red tape Up to 50,000 people have been killed in the 18-month conflict and more than a million have fled their homes. Some 300 AU troops are in Darfur to monitor a shaky ceasefire and Nigeria is planning to send another 1,500. Many non-Arab refugees say their villages were attacked by Janjaweed militias, working with government security forces. Such joint attacks have continued in the past week, said US ambassador to the UN John Danforth, citing a report from AU military observers. "If the job of providing security is provided exclusively by people who have been dropping bombs on the people of Darfur, the people of Darfur are going to say: 'What kind of protection is this?'" he said. Presenting a UN report on Darfur to the Security Council, Mr Pronk also urged Sudan to accept extra monitors. Sudan insists that the extra police officers it has sent to Darfur will protect civilians. It denies arming the Janjaweed and blames the violence on two Darfur rebel groups which took up arms last year. Peace talks between the rebels and the government in Nigeria are deadlocked over disarmament and other security issues, the rebels say. Sanctions At the end of July, the UN called on Sudan to rein in the Janjaweed or face unspecified measures. Amid argument among member states over whether Khartoum should face sanctions, the organisation gave itself 30 days to report on the situation. No concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders UN report UN Security Council report (157K) Most computers will open PDF documents automatically, but you may need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download and install the reader here Mr Pronk told the council the authorities had fulfilled a commitment to deploy extra police and improve security in some areas, but had not met its commitments in two respects: "First, it has not been able to stop attacks by militias, nor to disarm these militias. "Second, no concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even to identify any of the militia's leaders or the perpetrators of these attacks." The report, prepared by Mr Pronk on behalf of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, does not mention sanctions but Mr Danforth said they remain "on the table".

washingtonpost.com 4 Sep 2004 Editorial: Who Cares About Darfur? Saturday, September 4, 2004; Page A30 UNTIL RECENTLY, the international momentum on Darfur seemed positive. The plight of Sudan's western province was recognized as the world's most pressing humanitarian crisis, and a congressional resolution described the eradication of African villages by a government-backed Arab militia as genocide. After much misguided talk about getting Sudan's government to protect civilians in the region -- a wishful idea, given that the government's proxies have taken children from mothers and tossed them into fires -- a consensus has more or less formed that foreign peacekeepers are needed. But now, despite this progress, it seems the momentum is fizzling, in which case the world will have woken up to a catastrophe and understood what it must do -- and then decided not to do it. About 1.5 million Darfuris have been chased from their homes, some leaving behind villages whose wells have been poisoned with the dismembered bodies of their loved ones. Until they return home, they will depend largely on food airlifted at vast cost by the international community. But they are not going to return until it is safe, and that means that a trusted force must be on hand to protect them. The most extensive survey of refugees carried out so far suggests that a quarter of the attacks on civilians have been perpetrated by the government, and half of such attacks beyond that featured the government assisting the militia. The trusted force that could make refugees feel secure cannot be the government. It could, as Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has suggested, involve fighters from the Sudan People's Liberation Army, the southern rebel army that recently negotiated peace with the government. But it is more likely to involve foreigners. A few weeks ago, British and Australian leaders hinted that their countries might supply peacekeepers. Recently, however, no hints have been forthcoming. The best hope for intervention comes from the African Union, which already has a handful of troops in Darfur and which stands ready to provide perhaps 3,000 -- by no means enough for an area the size of France yet certainly worth having. But the African Union is unwilling to deploy troops in the face of Sudanese resistance, which for the moment is determined. It would be nice if the young organization, which has discredited itself by its failure to deal more severely with renegade members such as Zimbabwe, could muster the will to present Sudan's government with an ultimatum. But this seems unlikely. If the African Union is unwilling to play hardball, in theory the United Nations could do so. In July the Security Council passed a resolution giving Sudan's government 30 days to ensure the safety of Darfur's civilians. But although Sudan has not complied, council members show no inclination to follow up with sanctions; instead, there is talk of another resolution, which will urge, exhort and call upon Sudan to do the right thing but which won't spell out the consequences should Sudan again fail to do so. Nor is there much prospect of pressuring Sudan via other channels. The Bush administration has depleted its diplomatic capital and is not inclined to assemble a coalition of the willing that could act if the council and the African Union prove immobile. So the efforts on Darfur have hit a roadblock. Foreign peacekeepers are evidently necessary, but there is no mechanism to force their deployment. The risk is that, with few cards to play, outsiders will accede to a face-saving deal with Sudan's government, perhaps trading an invitation to deploy African Union forces for a mandate so restrictive as to render them useless. But the United States and its allies need to shake themselves awake. Hundreds of thousands of lives are at stake in Darfur, and it is up to the world's leaders to decide if they care.

Reuters 5 Sep 2004 Violence Displaces Another 3, 000 in Darfur - U.N. By REUTERS Published: September 5, 2004 Filed at 2:40 p.m. ET KHARTOUM (Reuters) - More than 3,000 people have been displaced since the end of August by violence in an area of Sudan's North Darfur state, a United Nations report said on Sunday. It said villages south of Zam Zam, 11 miles south of North Darfur's capital El Fasher, had been attacked, but a U.N. official said it was not clear yet who was behind them. Advertisement The United Nations says the world's worst humanitarian disaster has been created by fighting in the western Darfur region that has displaced more than a million people and killed up to 50,000. Sudan's government has come under mounting international pressure to end the conflict and disarm Arab militias, or so-called Janjaweed, which have been blamed for much of the violence. ``Attacks on villages south of Zam Zam have resulted in a population movement of around 3,000 to 4,000 persons,'' said the U.N. report, adding that half of those who had fled their homes had been moved to a camp in Zam Zam. ``There has been a sharp upturn in the number of attacks throughout the southern part of North Darfur,'' it said. SCARCE RESOURCES Rebels took up arms against the government in February 2003 after years of low-level clashes between Arab nomads and African farmers over scarce resources. The rebels accuse the government of arming the militias to loot and burn African villages, a charge Khartoum denies. It says the Janjaweed are outlaws. Peace talks brokered by the African Union in the Nigerian capital Abuja have been dogged by accusations from both sides of cease-fire violations. Rebel and government representatives were tightlipped on Sunday on the state of the negotiations, but both sides were due to meet AU negotiators to discuss proposed amendments to a draft security document mooted by the Union. Rebels said only the government and Janjaweed could be responsible for the attacks near Zam Zam because it was too close to government-controlled El Fasher. ``It must have been government forces or the Janjaweed. No rebel group can go there because it is too close to the city,'' said Abdulhafiz Musa Mustapha, a spokesman for the Sudan Liberation Movement rebel group. Mustapha said fresh attacks had taken place on Sunday near the town of Jabalmoon, some 45 miles north of the West Darfur provincial capital Geneina, but no reports of casualties were immediately available. Sudan government delegates at the talks declined to comment. The United States said on Friday it was preparing a new U.N. resolution on Darfur and that Secretary of State Colin Powell might address shortly whether the violence in western Sudan constituted genocide. The U.S. Congress has already labeled the conflict in Darfur genocide, but President Bush's administration has not yet taken that step. Sudan denies carrying out genocide. The U.N. Security Council threatened on July 30 to consider imposing unspecified sanctions on Sudan if it failed within 30 days to disarm and prosecute the militias. When the deadline expired last week, the United Nations did not call for sanctions but sought a wider mandate for African monitors to stop abuses.

washingtonpost.com 5 Sept 2004 Sudan Rejects U.S. Label Of 'Genocide' in Darfur KHARTOUM, Sudan -- Sudan said on Saturday that the United States was wrong to try to label the conflict in Darfur as genocide and that recent hard-line U.S. statements on Sudan were aimed at Americans and the U.S. elections. The United States criticized the United Nations last week for being soft on Sudan after a U.N. envoy said Khartoum had taken some steps under the threat of possible sanctions to comply with a demand to increase security in Darfur. No sanctions were called for. Instead, U.N. envoy Jan Pronk proposed a wider mandate for African Union monitors to help stop abuses in Darfur.

washingtonpost.com 6 Sept 2004 Witness to Genocide By Fred Hiatt Monday, September 6, 2004; Page A23 Imagine that genocide were taking place -- thousands of children dying, women raped, men mowed down in groups -- just as the American political parties held their quadrennial conventions. Surely it would be a major subject of conversation and alarm as the nation's political elite debated their agendas for the coming four years. No? No. Of course not. We all know that genocide is taking place, in the Darfur region of western Sudan, and you did not hear it discussed during eight nights of rousing oratory at two conventions. Well, but be fair, you say; party conventions are hardly the place or time to talk about such depressing matters. Behind the scenes, the foreign policy mandarins of each party, the masters of "never again" rhetoric, must have been consumed by the issue. Right? No again. In Boston and New York, the Council on Foreign Relations, the nonprofit membership organization of the foreign policy elite, held panel discussions on the central issues of the next four years. Ambassadors and Cabinet ministers mingled with professors and pundits. They congratulated each other on how foreign policy has moved, after many years on the periphery, to the heart of this presidential campaign. They discussed Iraq, terrorism, trade deficits, China, Korea, the Voice of America, European public opinion, port security . . . but not Darfur. A million people may die, tens of thousands already have, and -- nothing. How can this be? One explanation would be that Americans (and Europeans, who were decently represented in the audiences of both panel discussions) just don't care all that much. The victims of Darfur are poor, black and far away. The issues are hard to understand. U.S. and European security is not at stake. This was more or less George W. Bush's attitude when he was running for president in 2000 and said the Clinton administration had been right not to intervene to stop the 1994 Rwanda genocide, in which some 800,000 people died. "That's an important continent," he said of Africa, "but there's got to be priorities. . . . We can't be all things to all people in the world." A more charitable explanation would be that people care but that stopping genocide is not easy. Villages are being destroyed across an area the size of Texas. Sudan's air force and its proxy gangster militia can induce starvation simply by poisoning wells or covering them with sand. Sudan's government opposes and frustrates outside intervention. U.N. Security Council members such as China oppose anything that affronts Sudan's sovereignty. But Darfur should be debated precisely because it raises difficult questions -- and because those questions aren't so different from the challenges that were posed by Iraq and Kosovo and that may arise again in Iran, or Burma, or Zimbabwe, or in many other spots. When is it legitimate to infringe on a nation's sovereignty to ensure global security or rescue an imperiled population? Who should perform those jobs? What if the United Nations says no? France and Germany opposed President Bush's war in Iraq in part because the international community was not unified. Now U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan is clear: An international rescue force is required. But still they hesitate. Why? Sen. John F. Kerry criticized Bush for failing to conduct adequate diplomacy before waging war on Iraq. But on Friday, in an admirably tough statement on Darfur, he urged Bush to "insist on the triumph of our common humanity over least common denominator diplomatic compromises." So what are the rules? If the Security Council says no, will a rescue mission -- in violation of international law -- still be the right thing to do? "Being a witness to genocide is not an option," Bush's ambassador at large for war-crimes issues, Pierre-Richard Prosper, said in April, on the 10th anniversary of the Rwanda genocide. "Saving lives is a moral obligation of all nations and all individuals . . . we should always choose to act rather than hope that with time reason will prevail." Did he mean it? The Bush administration seems to have learned at least one lesson from Rwanda: Do not let history record that you were indifferent as a genocide unfolded. Secretary of State Colin Powell has visited Darfur; the White House has pressed the Security Council for action. Republicans may have been mostly silent in New York, but if you scour the party platform you will find a condemnation of Sudan's government. The administration has sent a great deal of food. On the 10th anniversary of the Darfur genocide, no one will be able to say that Bush and his people took no notice. But if there is such an anniversary -- if the genocide proceeds deliberately before us, even as we have all been warned and warned again -- what will it say about the Bush presidency? Well, he was very busy in the summer and fall of 2004, and Darfur is far away.

AFP 6 Sept 2004 Sudan's ruling party dismisses EU sanctions threat over Darfur KHARTOUM, Sept 6 (AFP) - Sudan's ruling National Congress party has dismissed an EU threat to impose sanctions on the country if it does not do more to rein in militias in the western Darfur region, a press report said. The NC's deputy secretary general, Nafie Ali Nafie, was quoted Monday by Al Ayam newspaper as saying his party rejects the EU threat. "The European Union will not impose sanctions and we reject this and the government is living up to its duty towards the people of Sudan," he said. He was speaking after a meeting Sunday between First Vice President Ali Osman Taha and NC Secretary General Ibrahim Ahmed Omar on the Darfur situation. On Saturday, Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, whose country currently holds the EU presidency, welcomed some progress on the humanitarian situation in Darfur. However, he lamented that security remains a problem. "It is necessary to make it quite clear that we may be forced to impose sanctions at some point in the future," he said, adding that EU officials have been asked to draw up a list of possible sanctions and their implications. Rebel groups rose up against Khartoum in February last year, alleging that Darfur's black African tribes have been economically and politically marginalised by Khartoum's Arab elite and demanding greater autonomy for the region and a bigger share of the national income. According to UN estimates, up to 50,000 people have died in Darfur. Another some 1.4 million people have fled their homes, with about 180,000 crossing the border into Chad. Peace talks in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, between rebel groups and the Sudanese government were stalled on Monday over the issue of disarmament, officials from the African Union said.

NYT 14 Sept 2004 Sudan's Agony: Will the World Act? (4 Letters) To the Editor: Re "Sudan Government's Attacks Stoke Rebels' Fury" (front page, Sept. 11): The images are haunting and speak compellingly of the urgent need for United Nations and African Union intervention in the killing fields of Darfur. A million and a half people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed in a civil war that has riven the heart and soul of Sudan. The world must no longer stand by in complicit silence and allow the carnage to continue; we must defend the defenseless in what is now the charnel house of Darfur. Dave Morse Yokohama, Japan, Sept. 12, 2004 To the Editor: Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's designation of genocide in Sudan (news article, Sept. 10) is welcome but insufficient. To spur intervention, there is another, more powerful label he could apply: terrorism. The State Department's definition of terrorism is "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents." This is a perfect description of the conduct of the Janjaweed under Sudan's government. Doyle Stevick Roosisaar, Estonia, Sept. 10, 2004 To the Editor: President Bush and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell are to be lauded for finally acknowledging that mass killings, rapes and displacement of civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan may properly be characterized as genocide ("Powell Says Rapes and Killings in Sudan Are Genocide,'' news article, Sept. 10). At Nuremberg, the United States proclaimed that only the guilty should be held to account, after a fair trial. For failure to remember those lessons in Iraq, we are paying a bitter price. The Bush administration has repeatedly shown contempt for the United Nations, to which it now turns for help. It continues to ignore and undermine the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is competent to deal with charges of genocide. Either the Security Council or Sudan itself could request the court to investigate and bring to justice those responsible for the atrocities. By turning its back on the court, our government may be suspected of hypocrisy and politically motivated gestures. Benjamin B. Ferencz New Rochelle, N.Y., Sept. 10, 2004 The writer was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg war crimes trials. To the Editor: Thank you to Nicholas D. Kristof for speaking out about the genocide in Sudan ("Reign of Terror,'' column, Sept. 11). That thought, as well as the slaughter of 800,000 Rwandan civilians in 1994, easily comes to mind on a day of American mourning. From there, it is but a short mental leap to recall the untold millions of civilians who died under Stalin and Hitler: all killed as "undesirable and expendable," just because of who they were. Amid the memorials for 9/11, in which we all mourn the tragic loss of life, wouldn't it be appropriate also to acknowledge the deaths of Iraqi civilians, many of them women and children, whose number is not advertised but is estimated by some organizations to be triple our own 9/11 civilian losses? While we remember our own tragedy, it would be honorable to remember that each life, whether American, Iraqi or Sudanese, is equally precious. Barbara Speer Saugerties, N.Y., Sept. 12, 2004

WP 15 Sept 2004 Death Rates in Darfur Rising, WHO Says U.N. Agency Cites Disease and Sudanese-Backed Militia as Causes of Increase By Colum Lynch Washington Post Staff Writer Wednesday, September 15, 2004; Page A18 UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 -- Between 6,000 and 10,000 people are dying from disease and violence each month in Sudan's Darfur region as heavy rains and a marauding militia hinder U.N. efforts to respond to one of Africa's worst humanitarian crises, according to a survey of mortality rates by the United Nations' World Health Organization. The latest U.N. figures demonstrate that survival rates have worsened in Darfur over the past three months as the United Nations struggles to provide food to nearly 1 million displaced people in more than 120 camps throughout Darfur. The main killers are preventable conditions such as diarrhea, which accounted for nearly a quarter of the deaths, and a wave of violence that has plagued the region since civil war began in February 2003. Sudan challenged the findings of the survey, saying that mortality rates among displaced civilians in Darfur are improving. "I do not think this assessment is correct," Sudan's minister of humanitarian affairs, Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, told reporters in Khartoum after a meeting with Andrew S. Natsios, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development. "The death rate is decreasing." The Bush administration has accused Sudan and a government-backed militia of committing genocide. The United States is pressing the U.N. Security Council to adopt a resolution this week threatening to consider oil industry sanctions against Khartoum if it does not crack down on the militia and invite thousands of additional African monitors into Darfur. The resolution also calls for a formal U.N. inquiry into human rights abuses to determine if genocide has occurred there. The European Union backed the Bush administration's call for a U.N. commission of inquiry to determine whether the government or government- backed militia is guilty of committing genocide. In an attempt to broaden support for the resolution, the United States presented council members on Tuesday with a revised version of the resolution. It softened the threat of sanctions, asking only that the council "shall consider" imposing punitive measures against Sudan if it fails to comply with its obligations. A previous version warned that the council "will take further actions" if Sudan does not comply. "Our hope is that the vote will come towards the end of the week. But we feel that the time is of the essence," said John C. Danforth, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. "With respect to the number of people dying in Darfur, it is a very large number of people, and it is a true tragedy, and all the more urgent the need for getting the African Union in place, which is the most immediate thing that can be done to help the people of Darfur." The United States and human rights groups allege that Sudan and an Arab militia known as Janjaweed have used extreme violence as part of a counterinsurgency campaign, killing tens of thousands of black African villagers in Darfur and driving more than 1 million from their homes. The U.N. estimates represent the most extensive study of mortality rates in Darfur and are drawn from a survey by WHO and Sudanese government epidemiologists of more than 3,100 households between June 15 and Aug. 15. The figures are not nearly as high as the worst-case-scenario projections of USAID; it predicted that as many as 300,000 will die over nine months, including as many as 36,000 in August. State Department spokesman Richard A. Boucher said: "Whatever the [precise] numbers are, I think we all understand it's a terrible situation, a situation where many, many people are suffering and many, many people remain at risk." "These death rates indicate that there is a humanitarian crisis in these states," the WHO survey said. "The population, especially in the West and possibly in the North, is dying at between five and ten times the rate that is normal for people in Sudan." U.N. officials cautioned that the results are preliminary and that death rates in the region could be higher. "Delivering relief to these communities is one of the most difficult tasks any of us have been involved in," said David Nabarro, head of WHO's action team. "We are still worried that we are underestimating mortality rates."

Arabic News 15 Sept 2004 www.arabicnews.com Garang: Genocide 'embedded' in Sudan's war strategy Sudan, Politics, 9/15/2004 Sudanese rebel leader John Garang says the violence in Darfur by government - supported militias called Jingaweit is the logical conclusion to a method of waging civil war that has genocide at its very core. Garang, chairman of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), which has waged a bloody struggle against the Khartoum regime, told a September 10 round table sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), "The seeds of genocide are embedded in the [Khartoum] government's counter-insurgency strategy. What is happening in Darfur is the same thing that has happened in southern Sudan for the last 21 years." According to the United Nations, as many as 50,000 people have been killed and more than a million others displaced in the Darfur region in what Secretary of State Colin Powell recently told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee was an ongoing pattern of genocide tolerated by the Khartoum regime. The war -- pitting mainly black Christian southerners against the Arab-dominated north -- has resulted in more than two million deaths since the early 1980s. Garang said, "A lot of emphasis has been put on the Jingaweit," which has become "a household word here in the United States and in many countries. But I want to submit that the problem is not [solely] the Jingaweit. Yes, the Jingaweit are the killers. And in that sense they are the problem. They are a tool in the hands of the [Khartoum] government. The problem in Darfur is the government's counter-insurgency strategy." He explained: "Counter-insurgency is a legitimate weapon in war but it is unique. You recruit individuals from the constituency of the insurgents because they know the local languages, the terrain, and the local cultures. You then form counter-insurgency units who are deployed alongside regular government troops." In Sudan, Garang said, "the government has taken counter-insurgency several steps further by recruiting not just individuals from the constituency of the insurgents," but also recruiting whole tribes or whole ethnic groups to fight other ethnic groups that are against the government. "This is what happened in Rwanda," Garang said. In 1994, "the Hutus were used by the [JuvŽnal] Habyarimana government to fight moderate Hutus and Tutsis and eliminate them. In Darfur this is the same thing, where the government is using elements of Arab tribes" to murder and rape mainly black, non-Arab Muslims. "And so you end up with people fighting people instead of an army fighting an army, and that indeed is the basis of genocide," he emphasized. Of his vision of a peaceful Sudan based on mutual respect and power sharing, Garang said: "I challenge those in Khartoum who say Sudan is just an Islamic Arab state. Yes, Islam is part of our culture. We are proud of it. We have an element of Arab culture in us, but that's not all of Sudan." Garang said he yearned for a Sudan where "nobody is above me and I'm not above anybody else." And therefore, "This is the basis of the new Sudan: recognition of all the countries [regions] and all the tribes" on an equal basis before the law and in government.

AFP 17 Sept 2004 African Union talks on Sudan's Darfur region adjourned for one month: Sudan ABUJA, Sept 17 (AFP) - African Union-sponsored talks on restoring peace to Sudan's western Darfur region adjourned for one month Friday to give negotiators more time to resolve disagreements on the key issues, delegates said. "We are going on recess and during the recess, we are being promised that the AU represented by by the current chairman, will undertake consultations with the two parties and also with the international partners who have shown interest in the issue of Darfur," Sudan's deputy foreign minister Najeib Abdulwahab told AFP. When asked when the talks would resume, he said: "In a month's time", without being specific. The three-week-old talks between the Sudanese government and two rebel groups -- Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) -- have yet to make meaningful progress because of disagreements on the key issues of security and disarmament. The Sudanese government in a statement on Friday blamed the United States and rebel groups for stalling the talks, especially for refusing to sign the agreement on the humanitarian issue. "It is regrettable that while the negotiators were fully engaged in the consideration of the security issue, and while they were making real progress, statements made by senior officials of the USA poisoned the talks environment and sent wrong signals to the rebels who immediately stiffened their positions," the statement said. Last week, US Secretary of State Colin Powell described the situation in Darfur as "a genocide" and blamed the Sudanese government and its proxy Arab militia Janjaweed for it. The Khartoum government said it had confidence in the AU-brokered peace and was ready to resume whenever called upon to do so. "The government of the Sudan maintains that the talks led by the African Union and assisted by other concerned parties, will pave the way for a final, durable and just resolution of the conflict," it added. Earlier, an AU mediator had said the talks would be suspended Friday "whether or not the rebels sign the protocol on humanitarian affair". The war in Darfur broke out in February 2003 when rebels rose up against Khartoum to demand an end to the political and economic marginalisation of their region, peopled mainly by black Africans. Khartoum's response was to back an Arab militia group, known as the Janjaweed, and give it a free rein to crack down on the rebels and their backers. In the 19 months since the conflict began, some 50,000 people have been killed, according to UN estimates. The Janjaweed has been accused of conducting a scorched earth policy in Darfur, of ethnic cleansing and even, in tandem with Khartoum, of genocide -- an accusation made last week by US Secretary of State Colin Powell. The United States has brought a resolution on Darfur before the UN Security Council, threatening to impose sanctions on Sudan's oil industry if Khartoum does not take steps to end the carnage in its western region. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Thursday called on the Security Council to act immediately on the resolution. China has threatened to veto the resolution, which presses Khartoum to rein in the Janjaweed and calls for an expanded force of African Union monitors in Darfur.

Reuters 18 Sept 2004 UN Council Votes for Resolution on Darfur Abuses By REUTERS Filed at 4:16 p.m. ET UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution on Saturday that threatens oil sanctions against Sudan if Khartoum does not stop atrocities in the Darfur region. The vote was 11-0, with four abstentions, on the U.S.-drafted resolution that also calls for an expanded African Union monitoring force and a probe into human rights abuses including genocide. China, Russia, Algeria and Pakistan abstained. China earlier threatened to veto the measure and its U.N. envoy, Wang Guangya, consulted with U.S. Ambassador John Danforth until the last minute. ``We don't want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,'' Wang told reporters before the vote. The resolution says Sudan has to cooperate with an expanded African Union monitoring mission in Darfur, where an estimated 50,000 people have been killed and 1.2 million forced out of their homes. U.N. officials hope at least 3,000 African Union monitors and troops go to Darfur to investigate and serve as a bulwark against abuses. It also calls for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan to set up a commission that would investigate human rights abuses and determine if genocide had occurred, as the United States believes it has, in the western Sudanese region where Arab militia have been terrorizing African villagers. ``We act today because the Government of Sudan has failed to fully comply with out previous resolution, adopted on July 30,'' Danforth said. ``The crisis in Darfur is uniquely grave. It is the largest humanitarian disaster in the world. SECURITY AGREEMENT The latest version before the council urges African rebels and all other parties to the faltering African Union negotiations to sign an agreement on security quickly. Rebels began an uprising in Darfur in February 2003 after years of skirmishes between mainly African farmers and Arab nomads over land and water in the area as large as France. The government turned to the militia, drawn chiefly from the nomadic Arab population, to help suppress the rebels but the Janjaweed, often backed by government forces, escalated the conflict, raping villagers and pillaging. Over the past week, the United States softened language on sanctions and eliminated a call for Sudan to stop all military flights over Darfur. But the resolution retains the main action points: a threat of sanctions, a commission to investigate the possibility of genocide and an expanded African Union monitoring force U.S. and U.N. officials hope will reach some 3,000 troops and observers and serve as a bulwark to further abuse. Specifically, the resolution says that if Sudan does not comply with its demands or cooperate ``with the expansion and extension'' of the African Union mission, the council ``shall consider taking additional measures ... such as actions to affect Sudan's petroleum sector and the Government of Sudan or individual members of the Government of Sudan."

NYT 19 Sept 2004 Authority Is Approved for Sanctions Against Sudan By WARREN HOGE UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 18 - The Security Council passed a resolution on Sudan on Saturday holding out the threat of sanctions on the country's leaders and its oil industry if the government fails to curb ethnic violence and setting up an inquiry into whether that violence constitutes genocide. The vote on the 15-member panel was 11 to 0, with Algeria, China, Pakistan and Russia abstaining. The measure calls upon Secretary General Kofi Annan to create an international commission to determine if the campaign by marauding Arab militias against the villagers of Darfur, in western Sudan, has reached the level of genocide. The militias, known as Janjaweed and equipped by the government, are accused of killing up to 50,000 residents of Darfur raping women and girls, destroying crops and polluting water supplies and forcing 1.2 million people off their lands. In an unaccustomed intervention into a Security Council debate, Mr. Annan on Thursday said he had already thought of names to recommend to the commission that will explore genocide. The United States last week officially labeled the violence in Darfur genocide, and the resolution passed Saturday represents the first time the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide has been formally invoked. The resolution also reinforces the role of the 53-member African Union in taking the lead in calming the situation in Darfur and calls on other nations and the government of Sudan to help it expand its presence there. Jan Pronk, the United Nations representative in Sudan, has said he believes a force of monitors and troops totaling 5,000 is necessary. In four revisions over the last 10 days, the American drafters addressed objections from individual countries by making the threatened imposition of sanctions more conditional and less automatic and by adding language acknowledging steps the Sudanese government had taken to ease restrictions on relief workers and broaden cooperation with United Nations aid workers. As passed, the resolution says the Security Council "shall consider" action rather than immediately take action on sanctions, and it "welcomes" steps by Sudan to remove earlier administrative obstructions preventing aid workers and equipment from reaching Darfur. John C. Danforth, the United States ambassador, told the Council that the United States had adjusted the language to reflect the feelings of some delegations that Sudan had met some of its commitments but had not abandoned its own belief that strong measures were imperative. "No one should be under the slightest illusion as to why the government of Sudan has met even this commitment," he said. "It did so because of the intense pressure from the international community and it did so with great reluctance and with long delays that thwarted an early effective humanitarian response." Speaking after the vote, the ambassadors of the four abstaining countries said they had withheld support from the resolution because they feared that imposing sanctions could provoke the Sudanese government to withdraw the cooperation it had offered thus far. Elfatih Mohamed Ahmed Erwa, the Sudanese ambassador, dismissed the resolution as "the worst form of injustice and indignity," and he said its sponsor, the United States, was the country that should answer for killing Afghan, Iraqi and Palestinian women and children.

Daily Star 20 Sept 2004 www.dailystar.com.lb Sudan agrees to implement UN resolution Khartoum warns West of dangers of intervention Compiled by Daily Star staff Monday, September 20, 2004 KHARTOUM: Sudan condemned as "unfair" Sunday a new UN resolution urging Khartoum to restore security to the crisis-wracked Darfur region or face sanctions but said it would abide by the UN's demands. However, the speaker of the Sudanese Parliament cautioned the West not to intervene in his country, warning that it risked opening the "gates of hell." The cabinet, in a meeting chaired by Vice President Ali Osman Taha, "reaffirmed its commitment to implementing the Security Council resolution" as well as earlier agreements with the world body, junior foreign minister Naguib al-Khair Abdel Wahab said. Ministers stressed their commitment to "more positive measures to further improve the humanitarian and security conditions" in Darfur region. But they criticized Saturday's UN resolution as "unfair and contradicting the African Union (AU) resolutions and the African responsibility of resolving African conflicts through African mechanisms and in an African context." Washington, by sponsoring the resolution, "undermined the AU role and poisoned the environment of (peace) negotiations in Abuja" between Khartoum and rebel groups, Abdel Wahab charged. Security Council Resolution 1564 warns that the Security Council "will envisage" sanctions against Sudan's oil industry unless Khartoum makes good on its promise to protect the population of Darfur. The resolution was sponsored by the United States, which says Khartoum and its proxy Arab militias are guilty of genocide in Darfur. An estimated 50,000 people have died and 1.4 million have been displaced in Darfur, where UN officials say pro-government Janjaweed militias have carried out a scorched-earth campaign of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab minorities. The war broke out in February 2003 when rebels rose up against Khartoum to demand an end to the marginalization of their region, one of the poorest in Sudan. In a fiery tirade, parliament speaker Ibrahim Ahmed al-Taher warned Western nations not to intervene. "If Iraq opened for the West one gate of hell, we will open seven such gates," Taher was quoted as saying by the Sudanese Media Center, an information outlet affiliated to the government. "We will not surrender this country to anybody." The UN vote came ahead of a week-long mission to Sudan by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, due to arrive later on Sunday. Kamal al-Obaid, an official with President Omar al-Bashir's ruling National Congress, said the resolution contradicted a report by UN envoy Jan Pronk and accused the United States of "breaching all international values and norms," the independent Al-Sahafa newspaper said. Obaid said his government was committed to addressing the crisis in Darfur "not in response to the threat contained in the resolution but in pursuance of the government's unchanging position of resolving all problems through dialogue." The UN resolution was adopted after three weeks of talks between Khartoum and Darfur rebels in Nigeria were suspended because of disagreements on key issues. Khartoum's chief delegate to the Abuja talks, Majzoub al-Khalifa Ahmed, accused Washington of using Darfur for political purposes ahead of the November presidential election, "forgetting the crimes it has committed in Iraq and elsewhere," Al-Anbaa newspaper reported. The Arab League also rejected the resolution, saying it would not help bring peace to the troubled region. "Imposing sanctions will not help resolve the crisis or encourage the parties to try to end it. In fact, it will have the opposite effect," League spokesman Hossam Zaki told reporters in Cairo. A senior Amnesty International official said Sunday that the world's patience is running out on war-torn Darfur and Sudan has to immediately stop all rights abuses and end a cycle of broken promises. "The world - and most importantly Darfurians - are tired of people being raped, tortured, killed and driven out of their homes. The patience of the international community is not unlimited," Kolawole Olaniyan, Amnesty International's legal adviser on Africa, said. "We are tired of rhetorical promises which are never kept." German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer told journalists in Berlin Saturday night the resolution was "an important sign that the international community isn't ready to accept humanitarian disasters which are also blows to human rights."

NYT 24 Sept 2004 African Union to Send Troops in Bid to Curb Sudan Violence By WARREN HOGE Published: September 24, 2004 UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 23 - Nigeria's president, Olusegun Obasanjo, said Thursday that the African Union, of which he is the chairman, had decided to send thousands of troops and monitors to help curb the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan. The fighting there has killed 50,000 villagers and displaced 1.4 million others. Advertisement Mr. Obasanjo said he expected a force of 3,000 to 5,000 to be assembled by the first week in October, but he added that millions of dollars were needed to deploy it. A Security Council resolution passed Saturday that threatened Sudan with sanctions if the violence continued gave the lead peacemaking role in Darfur to the 53-nation African Union. It currently has about 90 military observers in Darfur and 300 troops to protect them. They are monitoring a conflict that began in February 2003, when two rebel groups from Darfur's black African population rose up against perceived discrimination by the government in Khartoum, Sudan's capital. In response, the national authorities armed Arab militias known as the Janjaweed, which retaliated with a campaign that the United Nations has termed ethnic cleansing and the United States has called genocide. The resolution called on Secretary General Kofi Annan to create an international commission to determine whether genocide had occurred. Mr. Obasanjo said he did not believe the situation in Sudan constituted genocide because there was no evidence of the kind of government planning to eliminate a particular group of people that the term implied. Jan Pronk, the United Nations special envoy to Sudan, told reporters in Khartoum that he would report his latest findings on Darfur to the Security Council in a week. He said "atrocities, very bad killings, rape, burning of villages have taken place," but stopped short of using the word genocide. Mr. Obasanjo, one of 89 heads of state or government at the United Nations for the opening of the General Assembly, said the resolution's call on the African Union was welcomed. "Let us lead in solving African problems, in providing solutions for African problems,'' he said. "But please give us the wherewithal, give us the tools and we will do the job.'

NYT 25 Sept 2004 Envoy Suggests Sharing Power to Aid Darfur By SOMINI SENGUPTA ABECHE, Chad, Sept. 24 - Stepping into the political quagmire of Sudan, Africa's largest country, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, Ruud Lubbers, suggested Friday that limited autonomy could quell the rebellion in the Darfur region in the west, but made it clear that debating self-rule was not an option. "Within the limits of territorial integrity, there are of course possibilities in such a large country as Sudan for regions to develop schemes, what you might call power-sharing," he told reporters on the start of a tour through war-torn Darfur and the refugee camps that the war has spawned in Sudan and in Chad. "These are limited forms of autonomy within the framework of territorial integrity." The Arab-led government of Sudan faces a threat of penalties from the United Nations Security Council for engaging in what the Bush administration has called a campaign of genocide against black Africans in the west. Sudan has vigorously denied accusations of ethnic cleansing and genocide. The Council held out the prospect of penalties if the government failed to stanch the violence, and authorized an inquiry into whether the attacks met the legal definition of genocide. Secretary General Kofi Annan's special representative for Sudan, Jan Pronk of the Netherlands, is to brief the Security Council at the end of this month. Mr. Lubbers said reports from staff members who have visited limited areas of Darfur indicate a decline in overt violence. He pointed to Sudan's commitment to ending aerial bombings and giving what he called a signal to the government's allied Arab militia, known as the Janjaweed, to refrain from attacking villages. "They've made their commitments," he said. "To a large extent we see, indeed, improvements. It's still too early to make a complete judgment." A Sudanese official told The Associated Press in Cairo that his government would be open to talks. "What do they mean by an autonomous region?'' Sudan's state minister for humanitarian affairs, Muhammad Youssef Abdullah, said in a telephone interview. "This is something to be discussed." An American official said he was not surprised that Sudan had expressed a willingness to discuss power-sharing, noting that Sudan had already achieved much of its goal of clearing Darfur of its African communities . Other United Nations officials have reported recent attacks by both rebels and pro-government militias in Darfur. Sudan has strongly criticized the Security Council resolution, saying it sends the wrong message to the armed rebels in Darfur, but promised to comply. Noncompliance could carry a steep price, including sanctions on the export of Sudan's oil and the purchase of weapons. Mr. Lubbers is to meet Monday with senior government officials in Khartoum, after visits to camps of the displaced here and in Darfur. His comments about limited autonomy were among the most explicit political proposals in Darfur, where nearly two years of fighting between guerrillas and Sudanese government forces and their allied militia have left an ugly trail of killings, rapes and abandoned villages. Chad is now host to nearly 180,000 Sudanese refugees. It is unclear how the government in Khartoum and the two rebel groups in the west will react to his declaration. The rebels' political demands have been limited to vague calls for the sharing of political power and wealth. Peace talks broke down this month; they are being held in the Nigerian capital, Abuja.

NYT 27 Sept 2004 U.N. Envoy Urges More African Peacekeepers in Sudan By SOMINI SENGUPTA GENEINA, Sudan, Sept. 26 - The United Nations' top envoy for Sudan called Saturday for a large and swift deployment of African Union peacekeepers with a mandate to protect civilians and monitor Sudanese security forces on the ground in Darfur. The government in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, accused an opposition party linked to the Darfur rebellion with a coup attempt that failed Friday. "We need many thousands of African union troops with a broad mandate, quick deployment, big numbers," Jan Pronk, the United Nations secretary general's special representative for Sudan, said Saturday evening in a telephone interview from Khartoum. "Broad, quick, big. That's very important." Mr. Pronk, of the Netherlands, is to brief the United Nations Security Council later this week, as it considers what action to take against Khartoum, including possible sanctions against oil exports. Sudan has vigorously criticized the Security Council's sanctions threat but has pledged to cooperate with the United Nations inquiries. The state-run news agency, meanwhile, accused the country's chief opposition party of plotting the assassinations of senior government officials in coup attempt on Friday. It was the third time this year that Khartoum charged its opponents in the Popular Congress Party with plotting an overthrow. Many of its leaders, including its chief, Hassan al-Turabi, an outspoken Islamist and a former ally of President Omar el-Bashir, have been arrested in recent months. Speaking to reporters here in the capital of West Darfur State on Sunday, the Khartoum-appointed governor, Suleiman Abdalla Adam, blamed the rebels for the coup attempt, characterizing one of the two Darfur guerrilla groups, the Justice and Equality Movement, as the political opposition's military wing. "They are seeking foreign intervention,'' he said. "That's why they are escalating the situation." The Sudanese government has insisted that it alone is responsible for the protecting its own territory and has so far declined the offer of African Union peacekeepers, except for about 300 who have come to provide security to unarmed African Union cease-fire monitors stationed in Darfur. But Mr. Pronk, in the interview on Saturday, said Sudanese government officials had told him they were willing to accept a larger but unspecified number of African Union troops with greater responsibilities, also unspecified. "I need a positive reaction to my proposal," he said, adding that 5,000 would be the minimum number required for patrolling Darfur, an area as large as France. "Of course it is slow, but pressure works." The peacekeepers, he said, should be given a mandate that includes protecting villages, staying in displaced people's camps at night, monitoring Sudanese police forces around the camps and supervising the disarmament of pro-government Arab militias. War broke out in western Sudan in early 2003, when a rebel insurrection, frustrated by what it called Khartoum's marginalization of Darfur, demanded economic and political reforms. The government swiftly struck back, deploying Arab militias across the region who quickly earned a reputation for killings, rapes and razing of villages. The Security Council has insisted that the militias, known as the janjaweed, be disarmed. The Sudanese government has said it needs time to disarm the militias and restore security to Darfur. It has already deployed additional police officers to monitor the area around displaced people's camps. Human rights investigators and United Nations officials say men in uniform are sometimes accused of harassing and raping women outside the Darfur camps. Virtually no one reports rapes any more to Sudanese law enforcement authorities. The United Nations' high commissioner for human rights, Louise Arbour, criticized the government for remaining in denial about widespread reports of rape. "There is an obvious disconnect in the way the government sees" the situation, she said in a press statement on Saturday, following a weeklong tour of Darfur. "It's time to put the shame where it rightfully belongs: on the perpetrators and on those who allow these crimes to happen." In the interview on Saturday, Mr. Pronk took pains to point out that militia attacks had quieted down in Darfur since early September, but that fighting between government forces and rebels was continuing in some places. Conditions in Darfur remained at a standstill, he said, and the underlying grievances that fueled the rebellion had yet to be addressed. "No improvement, no deterioration," he said. "It's not yet fully under control." United Nations officials here in West Darfur said Sunday that while there appeared to be no widespread, consistent pattern of violence in the area at the moment, sporadic clashes continued in a climate of fear and tension. A government official came under attack last week as Andrew Natsios, the director of the United States Agency for International Development, visited Murnei, a displaced people's camp southeast of here. At the Riad camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Geneina on Sunday, women spoke of the risks that haunt them daily. To step out of the camp to gather brush in the empty scrubland was to subject themselves to rape, they said. "We cannot go out and get firewood; Omar Bashir will get us," said Nusra Suleiman Hakkar, 40, referring only half-jokingly to her president. The government has come under increasing pressure most recently from the United Nations high commissioner for refugees, Ruud Lubbers - to consider a power-sharing deal to quell the Darfur rebellion. Mr. Lubbers, also of the Netherlands, arrived here on Sunday for a three-day tour of the country. In the afternoon, Mr. Lubbers visited the Riad camp and talked with displaced people there. "We don't have any rights in Sudan because we are black," said Mohamed Abakar Adam, 23, one of the men at the camp. "Even today, on a daily basis, we are being killed and raped." He appealed for outside help and told Mr. Lubbers that he would return to his home village only if the United Nations - not his government - told him to go. "If foreigners did not come we would have all been in our graves by now," Mr. Adam said. Speaking to reporters later, Mr. Lubbers said the man had delivered a strong message, hyperbole notwithstanding. "I think he is exaggerating, but the basic point is clear," Mr. Lubbers said. "He's trying to mobilize international presence." If the Security Council ultimately decides on sanctions, its impact on the Sudanese government's finances and the lives of ordinary people is impossible to measure. The Council has also agreed to empanel an independent commission to investigate whether the violence in western Sudan constitutes genocide. Other than the members of the African Union, no country, including the United States, which has been the most outspoken in its charges of genocide, has said it is willing to send its own troops to Darfur.

washingtonpost.com 28 Sept 2004 Next Steps In Sudan To end the violence and aid refugees, reining in the Darfur rebels is essential. By Alan J. Kuperman Tuesday, September 28, 2004; Page A27 Remembering its shameful inaction in Rwanda a decade ago, the international community has warned of genocide in Darfur and threatened sanctions against Sudan. Unfortunately, these symbolic steps will not stop the violence in Sudan, and in fact they may exacerbate it. International condemnation of Sudan is emboldening Darfur's anti-government rebels to reject compromise and escalate their attacks. Confronted by a persistent rebel offensive, Khartoum refuses to rein in its army and allied militia, which are conducting their counterinsurgency by perpetrating genocide. Even if the United Nations could overcome opposition from Russia and China, sanctions would not compel Khartoum to halt genocidal tactics against the rebels, because its army lacks the means to fight them conventionally. Nor is there international will yet to intervene to stop the violence. The United States is preoccupied in Iraq, and the African Union lacks the logistics and the nerve to invade a sovereign state. The only way to stop the genocide is for the rebels to accept a cease-fire. But the rebels refuse to halt hostilities, even to allow the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians on whose behalf they supposedly are fighting, because they are convinced that the international community is on their side. They coldly calculate that the longer they fight and provoke government retaliation against their civilians, the more likely international intervention on their behalf will be. This phenomenon has been noted even by one of Khartoum's staunchest critics, Pulitzer-Prize winning author Samantha Power, who recently described "a rebel movement emboldened by the belief that the United States is on its side" [op-ed, Sept. 13]. Darfur is not unique. The international community has repeatedly exacerbated ethnic conflict through what I call the "moral hazard of humanitarian intervention." By threatening to intervene against states that use excessive force, we increase the prospects of rebellion and armed secession -- and thereby encourage them. In Bosnia 10 years ago, the head of U.N. peacekeepers complained that the Muslim-led government, which had armed and seceded from Yugoslavia, was breaking cease-fires because if it "attacked and lost, the resulting images of war and suffering guaranteed support in the West for the 'victim state.' " His predecessor likewise observed that the Muslims were "committed to coercing the international community into intervening militarily." This coercion eventually succeeded, but only after three years of war and 150,000 deaths. A few years later the scenario played out in Kosovo. Rebels of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) attacked Serbian targets, provoking retaliation against Albanian civilians that succeeded in attracting NATO intervention. A senior rebel later admitted to me: "We knew our attacks would not have any military value. Our goal was not to destroy the Serb military force [but to make it] become more vicious. . . . We thought it was essential to get international support to win the war." Another KLA leader confessed to the BBC: "We knew full well that any armed action we undertook would trigger a ruthless retaliation by Serbs against our people. . . . We knew we were endangering civilian lives, too, a great number of lives." In Sudan's peace talks, the government has accepted two African Union peace proposals that the rebels have rejected. Khartoum said the union could substantially expand the size of its small peacekeeping force in the country so long as it was dedicated to maintaining a cease-fire by cantoning the rebels. The government also accepted a humanitarian protocol to facilitate aid to the civilians it is accused of targeting for genocide. But the rebels rejected both these peace proposals, apparently because the compromises would mitigate humanitarian suffering and thereby reduce the likelihood of decisive international intervention. In a remarkably cold calculation, the rebels continue to sacrifice the lives of their own civilians to gain political leverage. None of this excuses the barbarity of the government. Khartoum has armed the Arab militia troops, given them a green light for wanton violence against black rivals in rebel-held areas, and launched airstrikes -- a campaign that Secretary of State Colin Powell has rightly labeled genocide. The authors of this violence should be apprehended and punished in due course. But the immediate priority is to stop the killing. If the international community pressures only the government side, while giving the rebels a pass, the war will continue, as will the genocide. American diplomats should insist the rebels accept the African Union proposal to halt fire and be protected in specified areas by its peacekeepers. If the rebels stopped fighting, Khartoum would lose its excuse not to rein in the militias. If genocide nonetheless continued, even Sudan's defenders in the U.N. Security Council might accept the argument that the time had come for decisive intervention. The writer is resident assistant professor of international relations at Johns Hopkins University in Bologna, Italy, and author of "The Limits of Humanitarian Intervention: Genocide in Rwanda." .

Tanzania

Hirondelle News Agency (Lausanne)17 Sept 2004 Trial of Catholic Priest Accused of Genocide to Open Monday Arusha The trial of a catholic priest accused of taking part in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda is to open Monday at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR). Father Athanase Seromba, the priest in charge of Nyange parish of Kivumu commune, Kibuye province (western Rwanda), is the first catholic priest to stand trial at the tribunal. Father Seromba has pleaded not guilty to four counts of Genocide, or alternatively, Complicity in Genocide, Conspiracy to Commit Genocide and Crimes against Humanity (Extermination). The prosecutor alleges that Seromba conspired with, among others, Grégoire Ndahimana, the Bourgmestre (Mayor) of Kivumu commune, prominent businessman Gaspard Kanyarukiga, Fulgence Kayishema, a police inspector and others to entice Tutsis to take refuge at Nyange Catholic parish with a view to exterminating them. "Father Anastase Seromba did prevent the refugees from taking food and instructed gendarmes (Para-military police) to shoot any Inyenzi (cockroaches, derogatory word for Tutsis) who tried to get some food from the presbytere or the parish banana groves", reads the indictment in part. It continues that on or about April 13, 1994, an attack was launched against the Tutsis taking refuge at the church. The Tutsis managed to push back the attackers out of the church. "The survivors quickly tried to return to the church, but father Athanase Seromba ordered that all doors be closed, leaving many refugees (about 30) outside to be killed". Also in the indictment are allegations that Seromba and local leaders supplied fuel and grenades to burn down the church. Two days later, the local leaders allegedly ordered Athanase alias 2000, the driver of a bulldozer working on a nearby road construction site, to bring down the church on the refugees hiding in it. The prosecutor maintains that when the driver hesitated to demolish "God's house", the local leaders "requested the intervention of Athanase Seromba who came and ordered Athanase alias 2000 to destroy the church, telling him that Hutu people were numerous and could build another church. An estimated two thousand people allegedly died when the roof of the church came crashing down on them. Kivumu commune had been home to around 50,000 Hutus and 6,000 Tutsis. The prosecutor claims that "in July 1994, there was no Tutsi known in Kivumu commune". Residents of Nyange Parish are deeply divided on the alleged involvement of father Seromba in the killing and subsequent demolition of the church. Genocide Survivor, Charles Kagenza claims to have been present at the church when Seromba allegedly ordered the demolition of the church. He removes his hat and points to scars on his head. "This came from the attack," he says. "It would have been better if Seromba spoke the truth and asked for forgiveness, but now that is impossible because he has pleaded not guilty". 45-year old Munyarugamba is of a different view. He energetically defends Father Seromba and he is not alone. "I know him. He was a good man, a good priest", he says. "I do not think he did what they are accusing him of doing". Father Anastase Seromba is not the only Catholic Priest in the ICTR's custody. Two others have been arrested and are awaiting trial. Father Hormisdas Nsengimana, the former Rector of Christ Roi College in Nyanza, was arrested in Cameroon in March 2002 while a former military chaplain, Father Emmanuel Rukundo had been arrested six months earlier in Switzerland. Unlike the other two, Father Seromba surrendered to ICTR authorities in February 2002. Despite protests from human rights organizations, Seromba had been living and working in the Italian town of Florence for many years before his surrender. Seromba is defended by Alfred Pognon from Benin and Patrice Monthe from Cameroon. Pognon had previously been on the team that defended Rwandan Bishop Augustin Misago who was acquitted on genocide charges by Rwandan authorities in 2000. It is not yet known whether Seromba will have a member of the clergy on his defence team like his colleague, Hormisdas Nsengimana, who has on his investigative team Father Remi Mazaz from France. "

Uganda

Deutsche Presse Agentur 20 Sept 2004 - Rebel death toll in Sudan battle reaches 30 Kampala (dpa) - The toll of Ugandan rebels killed in southern Sudan after a fierce battle over the weekend rose to 30 Monday when five more bodies were found, Ugandan military officials said. The Ugandan army, using helicopters and ground troops, Saturday evening shelled hide-outs of Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) guerrillas in a remote location in southern Sudan, with initial reports speaking of 25 dead guerillas and seven taken captive. ``We have found five other bodies and now the total of the dead is 30. We are continuing the offensive and the search for more bodies,'' the northern region military spokesman, Lieutenant Paddy Ankunda, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa Monday. Under a protocol signed between Uganda and the Sudanese government in 2002, Ugandan troops entered Sudan early that year to fight the LRA from their jungle bases there.

Americas

Canada

Toronto Star 30 Aug 2004 thestar.com Liberal MP decries Ottawa response to Sudan crisis FROM CANADIAN PRESS OTTAWA — A Liberal backbencher has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Paul Martin accusing the federal government of responding to genocide in Sudan with nothing but humanitarian aid. David Kilgour, a former cabinet minister who once handled Asia-Pacific, Latin America and African issues for the Liberal government, is comparing Africa's latest bloody civil war in Sudan's Darfur region to the genocide in Rwanda of a decade earlier. "Ten years ago, Canada, along with the United Nations Security Council and dozens of other countries, shamefully apologized for allowing one million Rwandans to die under our watch and we promised not to do it again — but isn't that what we've done so far?" wrote Kilgour, an Edmonton MP and one of only two Liberals elected in Alberta. "Has humanitarian aid become Canada and the UN's response to genocide?" A spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said the UN Security Council is getting a report on the Sudanese situation on Thursday. "We certainly share everyone's concern with the grave humanitarian crisis in Sudan," said Sebastien Theberge. Theberge could not say whether the Canadian position is that more has to be done. "In terms of next step, there's a general assembly of the United Nations starting in three weeks from now and one can certainly assume the situation in Sudan will be discussed." Kilgour wrote that it's time for the Canadian government to take a "harder-lined stance" against the Sudanese government in Khartoum, including: — Provide logistical support to the 300-plus African troops monitoring a ceasefire in Darfur, and develop contingency plans for wider military intervention. — Push for a stronger UN resolution on Sudan, including an arms embargo on the entire country, not just the militias. — Call for an international inquiry into crimes against humanity, with Canadian involvement in establishing and monitoring the commission. The Conservatives also called for Canadian action Tuesday. Foreign affairs critic Stockwell Day said Canada must show ``relentless leadership instead of hopeless dithering," on the Sudan file. The Official Opposition is demanding a major diplomatic push backed by sanctions, in addition to doubling or tripling humanitarian aid to the region. Officials from the Foreign Affairs department are to hold a background briefing on the situation in Sudan with Canadian media on Wednesday.

Afrol.com 30 Aug 2004 Oil company faces genocide charges over Sudan engagement afrol News, 30 August - The Canadian oil company Talisman Energy is set to face charges of "complicity in genocide and war crimes" in a US court due to its past engagements in southern Sudan. The Presbyterian Church of Sudan is challenging the company, claiming its operations had fuelled an "oil war" in the region that victimised "hundreds of thousands" of people. Talisman Energy, a Canadian oil company, "must face charges of complicity in genocide and war crimes in a federal District Court in New York," according to a statement released today by the US law firm of Berger & Montague, representing the alleged victims in southern Sudan. On 27 August, a New York had denied Talisman Energy's motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. The complaint, filed by the Presbyterian Church of Sudan and other alleged "victims of the oil war in southern Sudan" claim that Talisman, in an "unholy alliance with the Islamic government of Sudan, committed genocide and war crimes in connection with the exploration and extraction of oil in southern Sudan." The plaintiffs seek disgorgement of Talisman's revenues from its Sudan operations as "compensation for hundreds of thousands of victims forced to flee their homes and left in despair without food, water, shelter, or medical care as a result of the strategic plan by Talisman and the government of Sudan to use helicopter gunships and high altitude bombing to depopulate areas around the oil fields," the US law firm says. The Presbyterian Church of Sudan originally had filed its lawsuit against Talisman in 2001, but there has until now been disagreement over the New York court's jurisdiction in the case. Friday's ruling means that the Canadian oil company cannot avoid to have the charges proven in a US court. The United States have a much tougher stance on Sudan than Canadian authorities. Since the case was filed in 2001, Talisman has ended its controversial operations in Sudan. One and a half year ago, Talisman sold its Sudan holdings to ONGC Videsh Ltd, an Indian state-run oil company. According to the company itself, Talisman thus achieved US$ 1.2 billion for its 25 percent stake in the Greater Nile Oil Project, making a large profit after four years of involvement. Oil developments in southern Sudan have been controversial since they started as they were observed to fuel and prolong the war between North and South Sudan. Many credible human rights reports from the oil-rich region have suggested that oil companies were followed by the Sudanese army, which emptied the area of its population. For Talisman, the four-year engagement in Sudan was profitable but a major blow to its international image. "Shareholders have told me they were tired of continually having to monitor and analyse events relating to Sudan," Talisman President Jim Buckee confessed as the company pulled out of the war-torn country in late 2002. The company's shares had suffered heavily from the engagement.

BBC 20 Sept 2004 Rwanda story takes Toronto prize Don Cheadle stars as a selfless landlord in Hotel Rwanda A film about a man who saved 1,000 people during the Rwandan genocide won the audience award at the Toronto Film Festival on Sunday. Hotel Rwanda is based on the true story of hotel owner Paul Rusesabagina who hid potential victims. Omagh, which deals with the relatives of the Irish bomb attack in 1998 which killed 29 people, won the critics' awards voted for by journalists. The film, directed by Pete Travis, has already been shown on Channel 4. The Toronto Film Festival, which ended on Sunday, has emerged as one of the most influential festivals in the world, where numerous multi-million dollar deals are done. The jury prize, called the Fipresci, was won by New Zealand film In My Father's Den, about a war journalist who returns to his home after 16 years carrying a dark secret. Rhyming slang Hotel Rwanda was directed by Belfast-born director Terry George and features Ocean's 11 star Don Cheadle as a hotel owner who provided refuge for Tutsis fleeing killings by the Hutu militia in 1994. Mr Rusesabagina used his influence as a prominent Hutu businessman to shelter potential victims, contacting dignitaries including Bill Clinton, the King of Belgium as well as the French foreign ministry. George was a co-writer on the Oscar-nominated film In the Name of the Father, which focused on the wrongful conviction of the Guildford bombers. The best Canadian feature film award went to the comedy It's All Gone Pete Tong, which features the BBC Radio 1 DJ whose name has become rhyming slang for "wrong".

Canadian Press 2 Sept 2004 Dallaire disgusted at apathy on Sudan He says nations in the West would be more alarmed if the victims were white. ALEXANDER PANETTA, CP 2004-09-02 03:37:51 OTTAWA -- The Canadian general who watched helplessly while genocide raged in Rwanda launched a tirade yesterday against Western countries for their "lame and obtuse" response to unnervingly similar horrors unfolding in Sudan. The muted international response to Sudan's plight is rekindling painful memories for Romeo Dallaire, 10 years after the retired lieutenant-general led the ill-fated United Nations peacekeeping mission during the Rwandan massacre. "It makes me sick," Dallaire said. "It burns inside and the sentiments or the feelings that I had of abandonment in Rwanda are exactly the same that I feel today in regards to the Sudan." Dallaire is haunted by his experience in Rwanda. His 100 days there reduced the former commander to a suicidal, pill-popping civilian, according to his best-selling memoir, Shake Hands with the Devil. What is happening in Sudan suggests the world's powers and the United Nations have learned little from Rwanda and that genocide remains a flourishing business, Dallaire said. "I am just disgusted with the lame and obtuse responses coming from Canada and the western world." About 30,000 have been killed and one million people have been removed from their homes in Sudan during a conflict between native Africans and a pro-government Arab militia. A UN report released yesterday called for an immediate increase in the international monitoring force to help halt marauding militias in the western desert region of Darfur. Canada plans to send about $250,000 in military equipment -- vests, helmets and other gear -- but has no plans to send troops, Defence Minister Bill Graham said yesterday. Despite his hellish experience in Rwanda, Dallaire said he would still want to be deployed to Sudan if he were active today to help raise awareness of the crisis. Western politicians would care more if the victims were white, he suggested. He has often made similar allegations about the international apathy to Rwanda 10 years ago.

Toronto Star 21 Sept 2004 Massacre looming in Darfur: Dallaire Sudan may ignite like Rwanda, says ex-peacekeeper U.N. sends Arbour on fact-finding mission to region GRAHAM FRASER NATIONAL AFFAIRS WRITER MONTREAL - Canada should demand a military force be sent to Darfur before the situation escalates into a Rwanda-like massacre, Lt.-Gen. Roméo Dallaire said yesterday. "What should be done is an outright intervention," he said. "When I compare it to Rwanda, there are so many similarities it makes you sick." Khartoum, he said, is "getting away with slaughter and genocide," while the world reacts, much as it did then, with embargos and restrictions. A United Nations resolution Saturday threatened oil sanctions against Sudan if it does not stop the atrocities. Louise Arbour, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, arrived in Khartoum yesterday to begin a fact-finding mission. The former justice of the Canadian Supreme Court told CBC television her primary goal is "to increase our capacity to offer protection, particularly (to the) displaced people in these camps." Meanwhile, clashes between Sudanese army and rebel forces in Darfur are preventing aid agencies from assessing the needs of some of the more than 1 million displaced people there, the United Nations said today. Tomorrow, Prime Minister Paul Martin, in his first speech to the U.N. General Assembly, is expected to urge developed nations to support an African peacekeeping force for the area. Despite deep concerns over the violence, Canada has agreed to Sudan's request to post an ambassador — the first in more than 10 years — to Ottawa. Dr. Faiza Taha's posting becomes official sometime next month. In 1994, Dallaire was in command of a skeletal United Nations peacekeeping force of fewer than 300 men in Rwanda when 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists. He has since estimated just 5,000 peacekeepers would have prevented the slaughter, but U.N. officials and world leaders resisted his frantic appeals for more troops. Yesterday, he listed the current parallels to that situation. "The fundamental one is that Khartoum is calling the Western world's bluff." At the same time, the world's response to the killing and rape of thousands in the western Sudan region is remarkably similar to the massacre in Rwanda. "We are doing exactly the same," he said. "Talking embargo, trying to save the north-south treaty, we are restricting travelling, and all the rest of it. What is required is outright intervention under the premise of the Responsibility to Protect." He was referring to a 2001 U.N. report that states three criteria for intervention in a nation-state's internal affairs: war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide. The conflict in Darfur has killed at least 50,000 so far. More than 1.2 million people have fled their villages, many for makeshift settlements where they face continued attacks. Dallaire believes the U.N. should organize a force, led by African Union and Arab League forces with logistical support from middle-power countries like Canada and the Netherlands, to apprehend those responsible, and protect aid workers and displaced persons. "It's not (to be done) by the big powers, because the Islamic dimension is not negligible," he said.

ctv.ca 26 Sept 2004 Ottawa holds off claiming 'genocide' in Darfur CTV.ca News Staff Despite evidence of war crimes in Sudan and crimes against humanity, Canada says it is still "premature" to describe the situation as genocide. "We're supporting very strongly the Security Council resolution calling for an independent investigation of the possibility of genocide," Aileen Carroll, the Minister for International Cooperation, told CTV's Question Period on Sunday. "And we're willing to stay with that -- at this time." Carroll spoke to CTV from Khartoum, where she is leading a Canadian delegation to Darfur in the western part of Sudan. When asked if Ottawa would echo the warning of U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, and call the situation "genocide," Carroll stuck to a more nuanced diplomatic tone. "The decision to use that word may still be premature," she said. Darfur was plunged into crisis 19 months ago, when civil war broke out. The situation has become increasingly desperate ever since. Last month, the World Health Organization said 10,000 people were dying every month in the region, and that more than 1.2 million others have been displaced from their homes and forced to live in camps with little or no food, shelter or water. African Union monitors situation Right now, the African Union has about 80 military observers monitoring the situation in Darfur. They're being helped by 300 UN soldiers. Carroll said the Martin government is satisfied -- so far -- with the work being done in the region by the AU. The minister also re-iterated the Prime Minister's pledge to the United Nations last week to give $20 million to assist the African Union forces. "I think they're doing a very good job. It's a new field for them, but nevertheless there's a great sense everywhere that this is Africa responding to this dilemma," Carroll told CTV. The fighting in Darfur developed after years of low-level conflict between Arab nomads and African farmers. Revolt started in 2003 In February 2003, rebels launched a revolt in the region, seeking to end years of political and economic neglect. The rebels also accused the government of enlisting the help of Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, to loot and burn African villages. The government in Khartoum admits arming some militias to fight the rebels, but denies any links to the Janjaweed, calling them bandits. Carroll told Question Period she's been both angered and upset by what she has witnessed. She acknowledged she was visibly moved in an interview with CTV last week, after hearing how one woman had been raped by several men in one of the Darfur camps. "I guess having just moved away from that conversation -- and then attempting to tell Canadians that I want to transfer what I'm seeing into their living rooms -- it was a little difficult," she said. Also last week, Carroll became fed up with Sudanese government security forces who were watching her every move. While visiting one camp, home to 20,000 people, she got into a scuffle with a suspected government agent as he tried to intimidate refugees. She yelled at him to go away and he yelled back at her Carroll has announced that the Canadian International Development Agency would provide an additional $10.8 million for humanitarian aid and peacebuilding efforts in Sudan. CIDA had recently pledged a $1-million contribution to protect and promote the human rights of Darfur civilians. The $10.8 million will be distributed as follows: $6 million to the World Food Programme for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Darfur and Sudanese refugees in Chad $3 million to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to provide emergency food aid, water, and sanitation services $1 million to the Canadian Red Cross for two mobile health units that will distribute urgently needed primary health care to IDP settlements and rape victims $400,000 to provide emergency reproductive health services for young people in 20 camps in Darfur $471,000 to the International Rescue Committee to help the generation of Sudanese youth exposed to years of conflict

Chile

washingtonpost.com 26 Aug 2004 Chile Strips Pinochet's Immunity Move Paves Way for Possible Trial By Federico Quilodran The Associated Press Thursday, August 26, 2004; 12:22 PM SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chile's Supreme Court on Thursday stripped Gen. Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, paving the way for a possible trial for the former Chilean dictator on charges of human rights abuses. The court voted 9-8 to lift the immunity granted the 88-year-old Pinochet enjoys as a former president, a court spokesman said. The decision removes the last legal obstacle for prosecutors seeking to bring Pinochet to justice and marked a reversal of previously court rulings in cases against him. Pinochet's lawyers had no immediate comment. The Supreme Court had repeatedly ruled that Pinochet is physically and mentally unfit to stand trial. A 2002 report by court-appointed doctors stated that Pinochet has a mild case of dementia. He uses a pacemaker, suffers from diabetes and arthritis, and has had at least three mild strokes since 1998. The ruling came in a lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of "Operation Condor," a repression plan implemented by the military dictatorships that ruled South American nation in the 1970s and '80s. Pinochet took power in a coup in 1973 in which the elected president, leftist Salvador Allende, was assassinated. A report by the civilian government that succeeded Pinochet said 3,197 people died or disappeared during his 17-year rule.

Knight Ridder News Service 1 Sept 2004 New charges appear likely for Pinochet BY KEVIN G. HALL SANTIAGO, Chile - A judge said Tuesday that he would question ex-President Augusto Pinochet Monday about political murders during his 17-year rule, raising prospects that the former leader may soon face new criminal charges. The development is the latest in a string of blows for Pinochet, who avoided murder charges two years ago when Chilean justices ruled that he suffered from dementia and couldn't stand trial. Now, the 88-year-old Pinochet is facing probes of possible political and financial crimes that opponents hope will discredit his rule and ensure that he spends the rest of his life as a convict. The new investigations include one by Judge Sergio Muñoz into whether Pinochet hid assets, after a U.S. Senate committee released a report July 14 alleging that the former president kept secret accounts in Washington, D.C.-based Riggs Bank and that bank officials helped him hide wealth by creating shell companies in the Bahamas. Another focuses on the September 1974 murder of a Pinochet opponent, Gen. Carlos Prats, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where a new political openness has led to movement in the case. Pinochet's most immediate problem is Judge Juan Guzmán, whose announcement that he would question the former president came only a day after Guzmán received official Supreme Court notification that Pinochet had been stripped of his immunity from prosecution. At issue are 19 killings of political dissidents between 1974 and 1978. The killings allegedly were part of a pact among six South American military dictatorships to kill perceived opponents.

Colombia

AFP 2 Sept 2004 Powell reminds Uribe that US aid to Colombia tied to human rights PANAMA CITY, Sept 1 (AFP) - US Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday he was "very impressed" by the results of a multi-billion-dollar, US-funded anti-drug and counter-insurgency program in Colombia, but warned that the aid could be jeopardized by human rights abuses. Powell said he had reminded Colombian President Alvaro Uribe of a US legal requirement that he certify Colombia's armed forces as respecting human and civil rights before releasing assistance for the program, once known as "Plan Colombia," during a brief meeting in Panama. "We talked about the fact that as he moves forward, he has to keep his eye on human rights and civil rights to make sure that while he is cracking down, it's done in a way that is consistant with acceptable human rights standards," Powell said. "I reminded him that I have to make certifications on this, but I am very impressed at what he has done, and think Plan Colombia is now paying off," he told reporters on board his plane en route from here to Washington. Powell and Uribe both attended Wednesday's inauguration of Panamanian President, Martin Torrijos, and held a private meeting shortly after the ceremony. Colombia's military has been accused of numerous abuses in the past and US lawmakers have made the human rights certification a pre-requisite for the assistance, which since 2000 has amounted to 3.3 billion dollars. Uribe's government is battling two left-wing insurgencies -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) -- and is being pressed to crack down on right-wing paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), all of which are suspected of involvement in the drug trade. Powell said he had seen notable improvements in the situation in Colombia since Uribe took office in 2002, particularly in eradicating the country's coca crop and in stemming extra-judicial killings and abductions. "He is determined not to yield or shrink from this," Powell said of Uribe. "He has put enormous pressure on the FARC and the other organizations that he has been dealing with -- the AUC and the ELN -- and there has been some success at that," he said. "The murder rates have gone down, the kidnapping rates have gone down, so the degree of civil society instability that had existed since the beginning of (US President George W. Bush's) adminstration, that's all been improved." Since Bush took office in 2001, funds allocated to aerial coca eradication programs in Colombia doubled from 49 million dollars to 100 million and the number of US personnel involved in them grew from 179 to 298. Powell said Uribe had asked for additional assistance to help lure FARC and other rebels not implicated in criminal behavior and willing to give up their arms back into Colombia society. "We talked about possible ways we could help, whether in Plan Colombia or maybe new programs (that) might be needed for this kind of reintegration," he said without elaborating.

Guatemala

rightsaction.org 2 Sept 2004 NINE DEAD, DOZENS WOUNDED, as RIOT SQUADS (SIDING WITH WEALTHY SECTOR) FORCIBLY EVICT IMPOVERISHED CAMPESINOS IN (yet another) LAND DISPUTE [Rights Action summarizes here what happened based on information prepared by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, www.ghrc-usa.org, mgimbel@ghrc-usa.org] September 2, 2004 - A clash between police officers and armed campesinos occupying the Nueva Linda plantation in Champerico, Retalhuleu, left nine dead and many wounded. Mid-day, August 31, some 800 police officers descended on a group of poor families that have been farming and living on the land since September 2003, in protest of the disappearance of campesino leader Héctor René Reyes. At least three police officers were killed in the confrontation, and at least six campesinos were shot dead, including two minors. Twenty-four individuals suffered injuries, at least twenty-five campesinos are allegedly missing. Homes were illegally entered and burned. Journalists, who were beaten and threatened by police during the forty-minute attack, allege that three of the six campesinos were executed extrajudicially, and campesinos leaders report that their missing family members are buried in a clandestine mass grave. SCAPE-GOATING THE POOR Interior Minister Carlos Vielmann blamed the incident on the presence of clandestine groups, and classified the campesinos as "members of organized crime." Nobel Laureate and current Goodwill Ambassador, Rigoberta Menchú agreed with Vielmann's position and added that the farmers are "bandits." Her comments were poorly received by many Guatemalans who feel that the human rights defender and peace activist is a turncoat. Vielmann and Menchú's statements reflect the fact that the Nueva Linda farmers were allegedly armed with automatic rifles. According to a Prensa Libre editorial from Sept 2, authorities knew as early as last December that the campesinos were armed with AK-47s, but chose to send in police regardless. A statement released by GAM (Mutual Support Group) claims that campesinos may have purchased the weapons to protect themselves from heavy drug trafficking that takes place in the region. 2003 FORCED DISAPPEARANCE OF COMMUNITY LEADER Campesino organizations strongly denounce the claim that the evicted families have any ties to organized crime, and insist that the government is to blame for not investigating the September 5, 2003 disappearance of campesino leader, Héctor René Reyes. René Reyes was allegedly abducted by the private security of the owner of the Nueva Linda plantation, Spaniard Carlos Vidal Fernández Alejos. In protest to the disappearance, the campesinos occupied land on Nueva Linda and stated firmly that they would stay there until the René Reyes case was clarified. [Given that impunity for the wealthy and powerful in Guatemala is the norm, nothing was done about this forced disappearance.] The government did not attempt to negotiate with the campesinos, but rather issued a court order and deployed police to violently evict them from the land. EXECUTIONS and POSSIBLE MASS GRAVES Further consequences of the conflict were the arrest of thirty-two campesinos, including Julia Cabrera, a single mother of ten children. According to Cabrera she was selling vegetables on the plantation when the police arrived and started throwing tear gas canisters. She witnessed her sixteen-year-old son David Natanael López shot twice in the back and killed. "But I did not see who took my six-month old baby, because the police grabbed me by the hair and began to hit me," Cabrera stated. When she came to, she found herself inside a car and in police custody. Cabrera has been denied the right to attend her son's funeral and she is concerned for the health and safely of her infant child. On the national level, congressional representatives passed a resolution yesterday condemning the acts of violence, most of who believe that the police "acted in an erroneous manner." Independent congressman, Pedro Palma Lau, expressed that the confrontation left the 1996 Peace Accords behind. Today, congress will hear reports on the Nueva Linda incident from Vielmann, Defense Minister César Méndez Pinelo, and Human Rights Ombudsman Sergio Morales. So far in the investigation, authorities have names, photos, and possibly know the whereabouts of the few armed campesinos, and one weapon has been recovered. Yesterday, with a court order, representatives from the Human Rights Ombudsman's Office (PDH) and three congressmen visited the site to verify the existance of a clandestine mass grave. Alexander Toro Maldonado from the regional PDH office in Retalhuleu received the allegation from campesinos that, "within the plantation a mass grave was dug where they [the police] buried the bodies of the campesinos and children killed in the confrontation." Sergio Morales said, "[the campesinos] showed us a place where the earth has been moved. They say that it is a grave and that between seven and twenty people are buried there." While no graves were found, Damián Vail from the National Indigenous and Campesino Coordinator (CONIC), directed justice of peace Hugo Flores and congressmen Raúl Robles (UNE), Luis Argüello (GANA) and Alfredo de León (ANN) to an area where they found an arsenal of weapons and a septic pit covered over with heavy machinery. Morales added that campesinos had claimed bodies were thrown in a river but investigators had found no evidence of that. Toro Maldonado, announced that the PDH will request a court order to investigate four sites on the plantation for mass graves. In addition to investigating claims of mass graves, authorities will investigate allegations of at least three extrajudicial executions on the part of the police. One journalist witnessed an elderly man being shot in the head after he was captured. Police proceeded to shoot the man five more times, kicked and trampled the body and then according to the account, officer Boris Morales yelled, "Victory!" while standing over the dead body. Journalists recount two other incidents of extrajudicial executions. Reporters claim that after the police discovered that members of the press witnessed them, they chased the reporters down, and beat and verbally abused them. One reporter was hospitalized. Police stole their equipment and destroyed it, most likely to destroy evidence of extrajudicial execution. A DISAPPEARANCE AND IMPUNITY Three years ago, in need of land, a group of campesinos originally from twenty-two different communities (displaced by government repression during the conflict and by poverty), occupied territory by the side of a highway between the towns of Retalhuleu and Champerico (on the Pacific coast). After two years and with the assistance of a number of land rights and community development organizations, the roughly 1,500 campesinos were granted rights to the Monte Cristo farm by the Guatemalan government’s Land Fund. Among the farmers that received access to Monte Cristo was Hector René Reyes, who, in spite of working as the administrator for the Nueva Linda Plantation, became a campesino leader not only at Monte Cristo, but also throughout the region. The owner of the Nueva Linda Plantation, Carlos Vidal Fernández Alejos, opposed René Reyes's decision to live and work at the Monte Cristo farm. On August 5, 2003 a few days after the Monte Cristo farm was turned over to the campesinos, Fernández Alejos' private security visited René Reyes with the pretext of picking up shotguns and other arms that were on the Nueva Linda plantation. The security officers asked René Reyes to accompany them on a visit of the plantation. Hours later the bodyguards returned without René Reyes, saying that they had left the campesino in the nearby town of Retalhuleu. Since then René Reyes has not been seen again. The crime was not investigated, and in order to pressure the National Civil Police and the Public Prosecutor's Office, the campesinos took action by settling on the Nueva Linda plantation. Authorities never attempted to negotiate with the campesinos, or to further investigate the disappearance. Instead, the plantation owner and authorities sought out a court order to evict the campesinos. STRUCTURAL LAND PROBLEMS Guatemala has a long history of exploitation of the poor majority and agrarian conflict. On June 8th, 2004 the country was paralyzed by a nationwide strike organized by a diverse coalition of community development and land groups to protest recent violent evictions of indigenous families from disputed lands, leaving thousands homeless. The protesters surrounded government buildings and blocked roads in twenty of the twenty-two departments of the country. Although the strike was originally planned to last two days, only eight hours into the strike an agreement was reached, ending the strike peacefully. In the agreement, the Supreme Court agreed to investigate the legality and process of the recent land evictions. President Berger agreed that his administration would promote concrete measures to deal with the agrarian conflict. President Berger also promised to halt land evictions during a ninty day period to review agrarian policy. In exchange for these concessions, the protesters agreed to a moratorium on protests and strikes during those ninty days, after which time they would reconvene with the government to evaluate what, if any, progress that had been made. While Berger's promise to halt evictions was broken on August 7 when 113 families were peacefully evicted from a plantation in Escuintla, the eviction at Nueva Linda will redefine relations with campesino groups. The violence in Champerico took place just over a week shy of the ninty day evaluation period. President Berger responded yesterday that this group did not belong to any of the campesino groups who negotiated the moratorium, tacitly implying that this justifies the eviction. The events of August 31 will shake Guatemala, its internal security policy, and the way it reacts to land takeovers and agrarian conflict. While investigations are underway, various land and community development/ campesino rights groups have requested that investigations be conducted with transparency, and that the Berger administration settle the root causes of the conflict: the lack of investigation into the disappearance of the René Reyes, and poor land distribution and agrarian policy. Unless the latter is reconsidered and readjusted, Guatemala may find itself in another internal conflict that reflects 1980s era mass clandestine graves and extrajudicial executions. [The information above was compiled by Max Gimbel at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA. www.ghrc-usa.org/ mgimbel@ghrc-usa.org]

Reuters 3 Sep 2004 Guatemala to Seek Justice if Police Killings Proven By Frank Jack Daniel CHAMPERICO, Guatemala (Reuters) - The Guatemalan government vowed on Friday to use the full force of the law if claims that police summarily executed at least three peasant squatters on a ranch this week are true. The government-appointed human rights ombudsman told Congress that police may have shot dead three unarmed peasants in cold blood while evicting thousands of squatters from a ranch on Wednesday near the southern town of Champerico. Journalists say they saw police execute unarmed squatters. Frank La Rue, the presidential human rights secretary, said the government was awaiting the results of forensic tests. "I am waiting for clear and verified information. If there were extrajudicial killings we will look for justice with the full force of the law," he told Reuters by telephone. The three allegedly executed by police were among nine people who died when police and peasants, some armed with AK-47 assault rifles, clashed at the Nueva Linda cattle ranch. "There is evidence that extrajudicial killings occurred during the eviction and the necessary documentation is being sent to the public prosecutors' office," Sergio Morales, the human rights ombudsman, told Congress on Thursday. President Oscar Berger has tried to clean up Guatemala's poor human rights record since he came to power in January. He has cut the size of the army and apologized for past rights abuses, including the infamous 1990 killing by the military of anthropologist Myrna Mack. But security forces in rural areas are often a law unto themselves. A Guatemalan press photographer said police shot an unarmed elderly man in the head during the ranch eviction, then threw his corpse in some bushes. "They had beaten him and he was on his knees. They told me not to take photos, pulled out a pistol and shot him," said the photographer for a national paper, who asked not to be named. The squatters occupied the ranch last year in protest at the kidnapping of ranch-hand Hector Rene Reyes, allegedly by the owners. They say his disappearance was never investigated. Under instructions of prosecutors, workers excavated a suspected mass grave at the ranch on Thursday but found no sign of up to 20 other peasants alleged to have been summarily executed by police on Wednesday and dumped there. After evicting the squatters, police set fire to their huts and possessions.

Mexico

washingtonpost.com 2 Sept 2004 New Genocide Charges Planned in Mexico Despite Setback in Case Against Echeverria, Prosecutor Targeting 30 Ex-Officials By Kevin Sullivan Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, September 2, 2004; Page A17 MEXICO CITY, Sept. 1 -- The special prosecutor investigating government human rights abuses during the period known in Mexico as the "dirty war" said he planned to charge 30 former civilian and military leaders with genocide, despite legal setbacks in his unprecedented effort to bring the same charge against former president Luis Echeverria. Prosecutor Ignacio Carrillo Prieto, speaking in an interview Tuesday, defended his attempt to hold former political leaders accountable for deaths and disappearances during a campaign of repression against students and other activists from the 1960s to the 1980s. The special prosecutor has faced criticism since July, when he asked a judge to issue an arrest warrant for Echeverria, 82, who was president from 1970 to 1976. He also sought warrants against 11 other former top officials, accusing them of genocide in connection with a 1971 massacre in which about 30 student protesters in Mexico City were killed by security forces. Carrillo Prieto did not say when he would bring genocide charges against the 30 other former officials, but he said his office had evidence linking them to about 200 deaths and disappearances. "This war is long and complicated, but we have to go forward," Carrillo Prieto said. He also called on President Vicente Fox to rally support for the prosecutions, despite powerful political opposition to confronting Mexico's past. Although Fox has backed his efforts, Carrillo Prieto said the president has not made the investigations a top priority. Fox did not, for example, provide funding to exhume suspected mass graves in the southern state of Guerrero, he said. "If there's not the priority, the will doesn't matter," said Carrillo Prieto, a former law professor who was appointed by Fox in January 2002. He said he planned to meet with the president next week. "If there's not a positive response, I'm going to say, 'Mr. President, what's this about?' " Carrillo Prieto said his reading of international law defines genocide as the systematic attempt to eliminate any ethnic, religious or national group. Prosecutors examining human rights crimes in Yugoslavia and Argentina have concluded that such groups could also include political dissidents, Carrillo Prieto said. He has accused Echeverria of using the state's military and police powers to try to systematically "exterminate" Mexican political dissidents, which Echeverria has denied. Less than 24 hours after he applied for the warrants against Echeverria and the 11 others, the judge turned him down, ruling that the country's 30-year statute of limitations on genocide had expired. Carrillo Prieto argued that official investigations into the massacre remained open until 1982, so the 30-year time frame should start then and not expire until 2012. The attorney general, for whom Carrillo Prieto works, appealed the judge's decision to the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule soon on whether it will consider the appeal. Carrillo Prieto said he was not discouraged by the judge's ruling; he said he had expected it. He said further that he faces powerful opposition to exploring the abuses, which took place during the rule of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, or PRI, which controlled the government from 1929 to 2000. For many Mexicans, the judge's swift ruling was proof that Mexico's powerful political establishment and weak judicial system were unwilling to fully investigate abuses that occurred during the PRI era, when presidents governed with nearly dictatorial authority. "We've made advances, but we're not satisfied, and we shouldn't be," Carrillo Prieto said. "What doesn't help, though, is when people say, 'It's not worth it.' The worst thing people can do now is lose hope." Many critics have complained that Carrillo Prieto overreached by accusing Echeverria of genocide, a charge that could be difficult to prove and might even allow the extremely unpopular former president to escape prosecution. Carrillo Prieto defended his decisions in the case. "Even if there were better possibilities with lesser charges, the important thing is to state the legal and historical truth of the matter -- Mexicans deserve that," he said. "This involves homicides that constitute genocide." It is "ridiculous," he said, to have a statute of limitations on genocide. In related cases, the special prosecutor's office has obtained arrest warrants for eight individuals: One died, six are fugitives, and Miguel Nazar Haro, one of the top internal security officials from the dirty war era, is in jail. Carrillo Prieto said he would ask a judge Friday to issue an arrest warrant against another top state government official, but he declined to identify that person.

Peru

BBC 27 August, 2004 Peru's lessons from the past By Hannah Hennessy BBC correspondent in Lima A survivor of Peru's internal war - the bandage covers a machete wound (Image courtesy of Caretas) Dirty gnarled hands cradle a ragged photograph of a missing relative. An indigenous woman bends over a dead loved one. A farmer stares straight into the camera. A strip of cloth covers one eye and a machete wound. These photographs are part of Yuyanapaq, which means "to remember" in Quechua, the indigenous language spoken by most of the estimated 70,000 people who were killed or disappeared during political violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000. Many more were raped, injured or forced to abandon their homes, their lives ruined by fighting between government troops and rebel insurgents like the Shining Path. Numerous truth commissions have operated throughout the world, investigating conflicts in countries like Rwanda and Argentina. But Yuyanapaq, in the Peruvian capital Lima, is the only museum to have been initiated by a truth commission. A memorial museum constitutes a homage to the victims, but at the same time signifies a kind of permanent promise that nothing like this will happen again in this country Salomon Lerner Its 27 rooms weave together testimony gathered by Peru's Truth Commission with photographs taken during the violence. Since it opened a year ago, it has received more than 100,000 visitors and critical acclaim. But now its future is uncertain. Peru's Catholic University, which owns the building where the museum is housed, needs its property back and the Peruvian government hasn't found an alternative. Salomon Lerner is the former head of Peru's Truth Commission, which published its report into the violence on 28 August, 2003. He came up with the idea for the museum. "A memorial museum constitutes a homage to the victims, but at the same time signifies a kind of permanent promise that nothing like this will happen again in this country," he said. Memories for the young In one room of the museum, children describe the last time they saw their parents. Played on a hidden tape recorder, their words give voice to the 40,000 children orphaned by Peru's internal war. Other children were kidnapped by the Shining Path and forced to fight for the rebels or treated as slaves. The faces of children peer out of black and white photographs. One captures the fear in the face of a young boy. Another shows a little girl in an orphanage. She is too young to know, let alone understand, what has happened to her family. It's real history. We lived this and those of us who survived all this - we cannot forget. I think the world should know and must know Visitor to the museum Mr Lerner says a visit to the museum gives a good overview of the commission's 4,000-page report, and is especially important for young Peruvians. "Those who weren't alive during this period or who hardly remember it because they were very little. This has allowed them to discover an aspect of the life of their country that they did not know about or did not imagine." On a visit to the museum, 21-year-old Jorge agreed, although he had memories of the violence. "I remember the car bombs when I was a little boy. I remember when they put the flags in the ground to mark the armed strikes. I hope this serves as an example so it doesn't happen in other countries." Another visitor to the museum, who didn't want to give her name, said she fled Peru during the violence and has since returned to her country. "It's real history. We lived this and those of us who survived all this - we cannot forget. I think the world should know and must know," she said. This young boy was forced to work for Shining Path rebels (Image courtesy of Caretas) Peruvians know the healing process will take a long time. But a year after the Truth Commission published its report, making a series of recommendations, little has been achieved. Mr Lerner says although the Peruvian government apologised on behalf of the state for the political violence late last year, it has been dragging its feet. It has not punished the guilty, says Mr Lerner. It has been waivering over desperately needed institutional reform and there has not yet been any compensation for thousands of Peruvians who lost loved ones or whose lives were ruined by the violence. On Thursday, however, Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero announced the creation of a reparations plan that would not just provide collective compensation to groups of victims, but to individual victims of the violence as well. Peruvian media said this should be effective from next year, but there was no sign that it had been factored into budget for 2005 and it was not immediately clear how much money the government was considering. In the past, the Peruvian government has defended itself against criticisms, saying it will take time to implement the recommendations made by the Truth Commission. For his part, Mr Lerner hopes that the government will heed the commission's recommendations and ensure that those who suffered throughout 20 years of violence are never forgotten, and the past is not repeated. And he hopes Yuyanapaq really can help Peruvians remember, but in order for it to do that the state has a moral duty to secure the museum's future. "It's up to the state, not a private organisation to ensure the museum has a permanent place, where it can show, like Yuyanapaq does, what happened in these 20 years. This is part of the symbolic reparations the state owes to Peruvian society, so this photo exhibit serves as a lesson to all Peruvians for the future."

United States

washingtonpost.com 29 Aug 2004 One More Casualty of the War on Terrorism - The Dangers of Making the United Nations Subservient to U.S. Goals By Salim Lone Sunday, August 29, 2004; Page B05 Millions of Americans watching the buildup to war in Iraq and the debates in the United Nations concluded that the U.N. was impossibly wrongheaded, determined to thwart the United States in its effort to make the world safe from Saddam Hussein. After all, President Bush, and the globally respected secretary of state, Colin Powell, argued strenuously that the U.S. way was the right way, if only an obstinate U.N. would listen. Looking back now, long after the easy march to Baghdad unraveled into looting, murder, kidnapping and general destruction with no clear resolution, perhaps some Americans are wondering what would have happened if their leaders had listened instead of argued. No doubt, they now have a very different image of the United Nations. Unfortunately, so does much of the rest of the world. The standing of the United Nations, which began to erode after the collapse of the Soviet Union made the United States the only superpower, has plummeted in the post-9/11 period, and the events of one year ago remind us of the depths to which it has fallen, in the Muslim world in particular. Last August, the United Nations team led by Sergio Vieira de Mello, the secretary general's special representative in Iraq, was getting nervous about the widespread perception that the U.N. mission was an adjunct of what had rapidly become a very unpopular U.S. occupation. Indeed, on the morning of Aug. 19, which would see 22 of my colleagues die in a vicious terrorist attack, the chiefs of communication of all the U.N. agencies in Baghdad had met in an emergency session to hammer out a plan to counter this perception of our role in Iraq. Nothing we might have done in this regard would have deterred the fanatics who blew up our headquarters that fateful day, killing the widely respected Vieira de Mello and many others on his team, but the lack of a strong Iraqi, Arab and Muslim outcry against this atrocity chilled us to the bone, even as it revealed the ferocity of the anger toward the U.N. That anger was based, essentially, on the perception in the Arab and Muslim world that the U.N. was unable to contain or even condemn U.S. and Israel military excesses, the most explosive of which were the invasion of Iraq and the brutal Israeli suppression of the second Palestinian intifada, which began in the fall of 2000. In a rare challenge to the United States, the U.N. Security Council had, in fact, refused to authorize the Iraq war. This, however, was quickly forgotten by Muslims when the U.N. effectively sanctioned the invasion after the fact with resolutions that accepted U.S. occupation goals in Iraq. Ever since Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, Muslims have considered the U.N. attitude toward Iraq as the epitome of the world body's profound double standards. That aggression had led the Security Council to authorize a devastating war in 1991 and to also impose its most punitive sanctions ever. UNICEF estimated that the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children were associated with the sanctions, though other studies put the figure closer to 300,000. In 1996, Madeleine Albright, then U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told "60 Minutes," "The price is worth it," a statement she later said she regretted. The punishments the U.N. meted out to Iraq outraged Muslims, because the organization had for more than a quarter of a century allowed Israel to occupy and expand control of Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese land with impunity. That 1991 war, accompanied by the stationing of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, was one of the primary catalysts for our age of global terrorism, which began with the World Trade Center bombing in 1993. The new Iraq war is seen by even the most moderate Muslims as taking the double standard to a new high. While American leaders argued that the war would liberate Iraq from a dangerous dictator and remove a threat of weapons of mass destruction, Muslims saw it as a crusade by U.S. neoconservatives to crush and occupy Islamic countries, in the guise of fighting terrorism. And Muslims were even more infuriated when the Security Council, anxious not to further antagonize the world's lone superpower, subsequently legitimized a war and occupation that most of the rest of the world had clamorously opposed. Muslims see the threats of military intervention against another Muslim regime, Sudan's, as the latest example of that double standard, pointing to how the United States and other powers stood by as a terrible genocide unfolded in Rwanda, killing 800,000 people in just 100 days. A year later, more than 7,000 Bosnians under U.N. protection were slaughtered as the major powers looked on. Partisans from the Muslim-Western divide will argue that the U.N. obstructs the achievement of American goals or is subservient to them. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in between -- but is much closer to the Muslim perception, I would argue. It could hardly be otherwise. The United States is the world's mightiest nation, and U.N. member states and Secretary General Kofi Annan know that without a close relationship with the United States, the U.N. would be irrelevant to global security. But there's the rub: If that relationship is too close, it will even more surely doom the United Nations, whose greatest strength is a commitment to building global consensus on vital issues. Ironically, it was in Iraq that the perception of too close a relationship between the United States and U.N. was so far off-base. The close, early relationship that Vieira de Mello, a Brazilian who was considered a brilliant negotiator of post-conflict nation-building, had formed with L. Paul Bremer, administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority, had dissipated by late July 2003. The contact between them became intermittent once the CPA could deal directly with the Iraqis it had appointed, with Vieira de Mello's help, to the Governing Council. Vieira de Mello was deeply dismayed by occupation tactics as well as the arrest and conditions of detention of the thousands imprisoned at Abu Ghraib prison. And he argued that a vote on a new constitution was vital. The low point in the relationship had come at the end of that July, when the United States, backed by Britain, blocked in the Security Council the creation of a full-fledged Iraq U.N. mission. Vieira de Mello believed such a mission was vital. And later, even as the United States pushed strongly for the U.N. to stay in Iraq in the face of terrible danger after the Aug. 19 bombing that took Vieira de Mello's life, the Bush administration continued to refuse to consider any U.N. role as it planned the creation of post-war Iraqi institutions. The November 2003 agreement on which all current transitional arrangements are based does not even mention the U.N. Clearly, the Bush administration wanted a U.N. presence in occupied Iraq as a legitimizing factor -- not as a partner with a vast reservoir of post-conflict peace-building experience that could be used to bring the occupation to an early end. Those of us in Baghdad last summer knew that such a partnership was essential to averting a major conflagration in Iraq. The United States did finally turn to the U.N. in January, when Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Iraq's most revered Shiite cleric, created a real crisis by mobilizing tens of thousands of protesters to campaign against the plan to choose the new interim government without elections. But the U.N. that the Bush administration turned to was not the Security Council -- where major players such as France, China and Russia would have demanded major changes in U.S. occupation policies. Instead, Washington turned to Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi, his special Mideast envoy. Even that proved cosmetic, since neither the interim president nor the prime minister were the choices of Annan and Brahimi. The Bush administration places relentless pressure on countries to support even the most questionable aspects of its war on terrorism, regardless of the damage that such support would pose for those countries' stability. The current drive to get a U.N. mission operating in Iraq again under the protection of forces from Muslim countries is a perfect example. Such a presence in Iraq would pose excruciating risks to both the U.N. and any countries that might comply, especially Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. The United States is not desisting. Once again, it is pushing its short-term goals at the expense of longer-term stability, and has learned little from the cataclysm that befell the U.N. a year ago this month. Washington shows no interest in addressing its deep rift with moderate Muslims, even though it surely must know that it will never be able to win the war against Islamic terrorism through a military strategy alone, without the support of this billion-strong community. Except for a tiny fringe, Muslims want no truck with terror, which has wrought such enormous suffering for them. The United Nations is an irreplaceable institution because it struggles, however imperfectly, to reach global consensus on the most critical issues facing humanity. It is that universality that allows it to confer legitimacy on the most contentious enterprises. The terrorists who blew up the mission in Iraq dealt a severe blow to U.N. fortunes in the Middle East, but much more lasting damage is being done to the U.N. ideal by demands for it to see the world only through American eyes. Ultimately its capital will be squandered and its resolutions rendered worthless for large chunks of humanity, particularly Muslims. Member states and the secretary general should see this eroding legitimacy as the greatest challenge the organization faces. But they will be unable to make effective headway unless the United States itself recognizes that it needs, in its own interest, to show greater respect for the United Nations. A beginning must be made with Iraq. The continuing conflict there is laying the groundwork for a cataclysm more fearsome than any we have seen so far. The United States should recognize that it can never fulfill its spectacularly ambitious agenda in Iraq. There will be no peace as long as U.S. troops remain, because the region's people are convinced that Americans are there to pursue oil and military bases while supporting Israel. Both presidential candidates should be considering how, after the November election, they can turn to the U.N. Security Council for leadership. A new political and military mission including France, other antiwar states and Muslim countries is the only hope for peace in Iraq. Even then, it will not be easy. Author's e-mail:salimlone@msn.com Salim Lone, who worked for the United Nations for 20 years, was director of communications for the U.N. mission in Iraq headed by the late Sergio Vieira de Mello. He is a Muslim from Kenya.

NYT 3 Sep 2004 OP-ED COLUMNIST Feel the Hate By PAUL KRUGMAN I don't know where George Soros gets his money," one man said. "I don't know where - if it comes from overseas or from drug groups or where it comes from." George Soros, another declared, "wants to spend $75 million defeating George W. Bush because Soros wants to legalize heroin." After all, a third said, Mr. Soros "is a self-admitted atheist; he was a Jew who figured out a way to survive the Holocaust." They aren't LaRouchies - they're Republicans. The suggestion that Mr. Soros, who has spent billions promoting democracy around the world, is in the pay of drug cartels came from Dennis Hastert, the speaker of the House, whom the Constitution puts two heartbeats from the presidency. After standing by his remarks for several days, Mr. Hastert finally claimed that he was talking about how Mr. Soros spends his money, not where he gets it. The claim that Mr. Soros's political spending is driven by his desire to legalize heroin came from Newt Gingrich. And the bit about the Holocaust came from Tony Blankley, editorial page editor of The Washington Times, which has become the administration's de facto house organ. For many months we've been warned by tut-tutting commentators about the evils of irrational "Bush hatred." Pundits eagerly scanned the Democratic convention for the disease; some invented examples when they failed to find it. Then they waited eagerly for outrageous behavior by demonstrators in New York, only to be disappointed again. There was plenty of hatred in Manhattan, but it was inside, not outside, Madison Square Garden. Barack Obama, who gave the Democratic keynote address, delivered a message of uplift and hope. Zell Miller, who gave the Republican keynote, declared that political opposition is treason: "Now, at the same time young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrats' manic obsession to bring down our commander in chief." And the crowd roared its approval. Why are the Republicans so angry? One reason is that they have nothing positive to run on (during the first three days, Mr. Bush was mentioned far less often than John Kerry). The promised economic boom hasn't materialized, Iraq is a bloody quagmire, and Osama bin Laden has gone from "dead or alive" to he-who-must-not-be-named. Another reason, I'm sure, is a guilty conscience. At some level the people at that convention know that their designated hero is a man who never in his life took a risk or made a sacrifice for his country, and that they are impugning the patriotism of men who have. That's why Band-Aids with Purple Hearts on them, mocking Mr. Kerry's war wounds and medals, have been such a hit with conventioneers, and why senior politicians are attracted to wild conspiracy theories about Mr. Soros. It's also why Mr. Hastert, who knows how little the Bush administration has done to protect New York and help it rebuild, has accused the city of an "unseemly scramble" for cash after 9/11. Nothing makes you hate people as much as knowing in your heart that you are in the wrong and they are in the right. But the vitriol also reflects the fact that many of the people at that convention, for all their flag-waving, hate America. They want a controlled, monolithic society; they fear and loathe our nation's freedom, diversity and complexity. The convention opened with an invocation by Sheri Dew, a Mormon publisher and activist. Early rumors were that the invocation would be given by Jerry Falwell, who suggested just after 9/11 that the attack was God's punishment for the activities of the A.C.L.U. and People for the American Way, among others. But Ms. Dew is no more moderate: earlier this year she likened opposition to gay marriage to opposition to Hitler. The party made sure to put social moderates like Rudy Giuliani in front of the cameras. But in private events, the story was different. For example, Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas told Republicans that we are in a "culture war" and urged a reduction in the separation of church and state. Mr. Bush, it's now clear, intends to run a campaign based on fear. And for me, at least, it's working: thinking about what these people will do if they solidify their grip on power makes me very, very afraid.

NYT 3 Sept 2004 FOREIGN POLICY Kerry Wants Broader Effort by Bush on Crisis in Sudan By DAVID M. HALBFINGER NANTUCKET, Mass., Sept. 2 - Senator John Kerry called on President Bush on Thursday to take the lead in stopping the killing of civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan by declaring it a genocide, pushing for tough United Nations sanctions on the government, backing the deployment of an international force and raising money for relief aid. As a United Nations special envoy, Jan Pronk, briefed the Security Council in New York on his findings that Sudan had failed to rein in the Arab militias attacking black Africans in Darfur, Mr. Kerry said the choice facing the Bush administration was "whether to give Sudan another pass or, finally, to punish the real perpetrators of the violence." "Many governments want to evade the issue yet again," Mr. Kerry said in a statement. "I hope ours will not be one of them." An estimated 50,000 black Africans have been killed and 1.2 million have been displaced by marauding Arab Janjaweed militias armed and encouraged by the Sudanese government. The United Nation has characterized the campaign of raping women, razing villages, destroying crops and poisoning water supplies as ethnic cleansing, and Congress has declared it genocide. A report by Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday used the term "scorched-earth policy." In a sternly worded report based on the findings of Mr. Pronk, Mr. Annan said that attacks against civilians were continuing, that a vast majority of militias had not been disarmed and that "no concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders or perpetrators of these attacks, allowing the violations of human rights and the basic laws of war to continue in a climate of impunity." At the United Nations, the United States has taken the lead in pressing reluctant members of the Security Council to act on the Sudan crisis, and on Thursday Ambassador John C. Danforth, formerly President Bush's special envoy to Sudan, complained that Mr. Pronk was too easy on the Sudanese government. "The fact of the matter is that the government of Sudan has been directly involved in military action against civilian villages in Darfur, including within the last week, and it's just important to set that straight," Mr. Danforth said. Mr. Pronk, he said, was "flat-out wrong" not to have made that point. Mr. Danforth added that the United States felt it was important to bring as much pressure as possible on Sudanese leaders. "Without that kind of pressure," he said, "the government of Sudan will try to do its usual job of trying to float through this thing." Mr. Kerry noted that the administration had estimated in June that as many as one million civilians could die if the militias were not disarmed and relief aid failed to get through. Yet, he said, the administration "and the international community have not done nearly enough." He called on Mr. Bush to "stop equivocating" and declare the attacks a genocide, and to release the findings of a State Department investigation of the crisis. Two dozen experts hired by the department spent a month interviewing refugees and confirming widespread atrocities, and their report, which includes 1,200 interviews, is on the desk of Secretary of State Colin L. Powell. Mr. Kerry also said the president should press the United Nations to create a commission to investigate possible war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. He urged Mr. Bush to press the Security Council to impose sanctions on the Sudanese government in Khartoum, the capital, including freezing the assets of government leaders and their business affiliates, outlawing arms sales or transfers to Sudan, and embargoing Sudanese oil. Administration officials have dismissed such talk as unrealistic, however, given the opposition of Security Council members, particularly China and France. On Wednesday evening, Mr. Powell cautioned that sanctions could be vetoed or could make Khartoum more intransigent. Mr. Kerry also said the United States should provide or help raise the full $531 million needed for food, medicine and other relief supplies. The administration says it will have allotted $295 million by the end of the month. On the question of military intervention, Mr. Kerry said the administration should push the United Nations to deploy an international force and to authorize it to use all means necessary to disarm militias, protect civilians and allow aid to get through. Warren M. Hoge contributed reporting for this article from the United Nations, and Steven R. Weisman from Washington.

zaman.com 3 Sept 2004 Friday Kerry Targets Armenian Votes with Promise to Recognize 'So-Called Genocide' With two months left before the November 2nd U.S. Presidential Election public polls indicate that Democratic candidate John F. Kerry and his Republican rival, US President George W. Bush, are neck and neck. Kerry hopes that the promise he made yesterday to recognize the So-Called Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2005, will earn him the support of Armenian American voters and push him ahead in the polls. Kerry, who is known for his long running support of the Armenian cause in Washington, sent a letter to a music festival organized by American Armenian National Congress. In the letter Kerry assures the Armenians that he will fight against the denial of so-called Armenian Genocide and, if he is elected, his administration will recognize this violence on April 24, 2005, its 90th anniversary. Kerry went on to say that this represents a crime against humanity and that it should be used as a tool to prevent future genocide. The Democratic Candidate added that there can be no compromising of morals when trying to end genocide. The American Armenian National Congress announced last month that they will support Kerry since he has been one of their voices inside Washington for the past 20 years.

Harrison Daily Times, Arkansas 3 Sep 2004 Mountain Meadows massacre film debuts By: Kevan Mathis 09/03/2004 HARRISON--This monument on Highway 7 south near Harrison marks the spot near Crooked Creek where a wagon train of Arkansas pioneers began their westward trek before being killed by Mormons on Sept. 11, 1857. A movie about the tragedy will be played Sept. 11 at the Lyric Theatre and The History Channel will air a documentary Dec. 15. When most people think of 9-11 they remember the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City. However, this year on that historic date many Harrison residents will be commemorating when 121 men, women and children from Boone County were slaughtered by Mormons and Indians in Utah 147 years ago on Sept. 11, 1857. Utah filmmaker Brian Patrick will be showing his new film entitled, 'Burying the Past: Legacy of the Mountain Meadows Massacre,' with shows at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Sept. 11 at the Lyric Theatre in downtown Harrison. The movie chronicles events which began when the Fancher/Baker wagon train carrying almost 150 Arkansas settlers, 16 wagons, 100 oxen and 900 head of cattle began their fateful trek westward from Caravan Springs located on Crooked Creek a few miles south of Harrison on Highway 7. After a five-day siege, the Mormon Militia persuaded the emigrant party to surrender on Sept. 11. Then the militia and their allies killed all members of the party with the exception of 17 children under the age of six, who were adopted into Mormon families. Most of the children were returned to other Arkansas relatives about two years later. Historians say that after the Arkansas settlers put up more of a fight than the Mormons anticipated, Mormons tricked the pioneers by coming into their camp under a white flag of truce with the promise of allowing them to go free if they laid down their arms. With the settlers running short on food, water and ammunition, they decided to accept the Mormons' false offer of freedom. However, after being marched a few hundred yards away from their camp, Mormons and a few Indians reportedly shot, clubbed or stabbed 120 people, many of which by then were women and children. Then-Utah Governor Brigham Young later denied to authorities that he knew anything about the killings. However, Patrick and most historians insist that Young had to be involved because he controlled every aspect of the Mormon way of life. Many Arkansas descendants of the dead pioneers still resent the fact that after the massacre, the Mormons did not bury any of the victims. Instead, wild animals such as wolves and coyotes apparently devoured many of the bodies. After U.S. military soldiers later found out about the murders, they arrived several months later to bury some remains and erected a cross surrounded with large rocks. However, many historians agree that Brigham Young later arrived at the scene and kicked down the cross. Part of the current controversy remains for Arkansas descendants for two reasons. The Church of the Latter Day Saints in Utah still has not officially accepted responsibility that some of their ancestors participated in the massacre. Another aspect of contention for some ancestors is that the Mormon Church officially owns and maintains the monument and massacre site containing the bones of their dead. The massacre occurred about 40 miles southwest of Cedar City, Utah as the pioneers were on their way to California. "This tragic event marks the worst massacre of Americans by other Americans in our history prior to the Oklahoma City bombing," according to Patrick, who teaches film/video classes at the University of Utah. "The exact cause of this horrific deed has remained mysterious, contentious, and largely unresolved, especially to the descendants of the victims," Patrick said. Patrick said it is thought that fear of a military invasion, revenge against anti-Mormon sentiments, and greed all played a role in the event. Afterward, the close-knit Mormon society closed ranks to protect its guilty members and only one man - John D. Lee - was deemed the scapegoat, convicted, and executed for the massacre. This little-known story of one of the most despicable crimes in the American West is told through the actual documented account of a four-year-old girl named Nancy Saphrona who survived the massacre. Saphrona was 22 years old and married to Dallas Cates when she gave her statements about the massacre to a Little Rock reporter in 1875. Reports state that Saphrona was spared because the Mormons thought she was too young to ever report what she had seen. Saphrona witnessed the slaughter of her entire family including her father, Peter Huff; her mother, Saletia Ann Brown; two brothers; and a sister. Nancy Saphrona was taken away by John Willis, whom she lived with in Utah until she was returned to relatives in Arkansas two years later. She later died in Arkansas while she was only in her late 20s, report claim. Patrick's film includes interviews with historians, descendants of the 17 children whose young lives were spared, visits to family reunions, anthropologists analyzing bullet-riddled skulls, plus the reenactment of the wagon train battle and massacre. The film explores issues of forgiveness, reconciliation, and religious intolerance with the descendants from both sides of the massacre. "Burying the Past' also discusses the involvement, cover-up, and responsibility of the Mormon Church for this horrific event," Patrick said in an interview with the Daily Times. Beyond the history, the movie chronicles the Mountain Meadows Association's efforts to get a long-neglected Mountain Meadows monument 40 miles southwest of Cedar City rebuilt, efforts spurred when Latter Day Saint Church president Gordon B. Hinckley got behind the project. Patrick contacted Association members and attended reunions of the survivors' families in Arkansas. "They seem more interested in telling people about the story and the details of the actual massacre," Patrick said. "Very few of them seem to have a deep-seated hatred or resentment. But as I got more and more into it, I found that those people were out there and these were people who didn't really want anything to do with the church rebuilding the monument. They had this story in their ancestry, and they weren't going to give it up." Back in Utah, Patrick attended reunions of the John D. Lee family, who regard their ancestor as "a scapegoat who was not the main culprit or the main perpetrator," he said. Recent controversy erupted during construction of the new monument in 1999 when workers accidentally unearthed about 30 pounds of human remains. The LDS Church sent the bones to archaeologists at Brigham Young University, the last place many of the Arkansas descendants wanted their ancestors' remains to go. "All of a sudden, all these lines of aggravation and dissension started cropping up again," said Patrick, the only person to get videotape of the bones. The film shows University of Utah forensics experts piecing skull fragments and proving that some of the massacre victims were shot in the back of the head while others were stabbed or beaten to death with stones. "The official reaction from paid Mormon sources to my book has been virulently hostile, but the personal reaction of the Mormons I've talked to is very accepting," Patrick said. "The Mormons know what happened and most have not been fooled by the preposterous frauds that have been perpetuated as history in this case. They're ready for the truth." Patrick, who uses several current Boone County residents in the movie, said that he hopes the film has positive effects. "When we talk about these issues of the past, it's better than having them still simmer in the background. I hope the movie will have some positive effects in healing." Two other groups will also hold meetings in the Harrison area concerning the 147th anniversary of the incident. The Mountain Meadows Massacre Descendants will hold their organizational meeting Sept. 11 at the Comfort Inn Convention Center in Harrison. Registration for the event is 8:45 a.m. with the meeting beginning at 9:30. A television documentary about the massacre is scheduled to air on The History Channel Dec. 15.

White House 21 Sept 2004 Following is [an excerpt from ] the text of President Bush's address to the United Nations General Assembly: PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. Secretary General, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen: . . . At this hour, the world is witnessing terrible suffering and horrible crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan, crimes my government has concluded are genocide. The United States played a key role in efforts to broker a cease- fire, and we're providing humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. Rwanda and Nigeria have deployed forces in Sudan to help improve security so aid can be delivered. The Security Council adopted a resolution that supports an expanded African Union force to help prevent further bloodshed and urges the government of Sudan to stop flights by military aircraft in Darfur. We congratulate the members of the council on this timely and necessary action. I call on the government of Sudan to honor the cease-fire it signed and to stop the killing in Darfur.

NYT 25 Sept 2004 OP-ED COLUMNIST Another Triumph for the U.N. By DAVID BROOKS And so we went the multilateral route. Confronted with the murder of 50,000 in Sudan, we eschewed all that nasty old unilateralism, all that hegemonic, imperialist, go-it-alone, neocon, empire, coalition-of-the-coerced stuff. Our response to this crisis would be so exquisitely multilateral, meticulously consultative, collegially cooperative and ally-friendly that it would make John Kerry swoon and a million editorialists nod in sage approval. And so we Americans mustered our outrage at the massacres in Darfur and went to the United Nations. And calls were issued and exhortations were made and platitudes spread like béarnaise. The great hum of diplomacy signaled that the global community was whirring into action. Meanwhile helicopter gunships were strafing children in Darfur. We did everything basically right. The president was involved, the secretary of state was bold and clearheaded, the U.N. ambassador was eloquent, and the Congress was united. And, following the strictures of international law, we had the debate that, of course, is going to be the top priority while planes are bombing villages. We had a discussion over whether the extermination of human beings in this instance is sufficiently concentrated to meet the technical definition of genocide. For if it is, then the "competent organs of the United Nations" may be called in to take appropriate action, and you know how fearsome the competent organs may be when they may indeed be called. The United States said the killing in Darfur was indeed genocide, the Europeans weren't so sure, and the Arab League said definitely not, and hairs were split and legalisms were parsed, and the debate over how many corpses you can fit on the head of a pin proceeded in stentorian tones while the mass extermination of human beings continued at a pace that may or may not rise to the level of genocide. For people are still starving and perishing in Darfur. But the multilateral process moved along in its dignified way. The U.N. general secretary was making preparations to set up a commission. Preliminary U.N. resolutions were passed, and the mass murderers were told they should stop - often in frosty tones. The world community - well skilled in the art of expressing disapproval, having expressed fusillades of disapproval over Rwanda, the Congo, the Balkans, Iraq, etc. - expressed its disapproval. And, meanwhile, 1.2 million were driven from their homes in Darfur. There was even some talk of sending U.S. troops to stop the violence, which, of course, would have been a brutal act of oil-greedy unilateralist empire-building, and would have been protested by a million lovers of peace in the streets. Instead, the U.S. proposed a resolution threatening sanctions on Sudan, which began another round of communiqué-issuing. The Russians, who sell military planes to Sudan, decided sanctions would not be in the interests of humanity. The Chinese, whose oil companies have a significant presence in Sudan, threatened a veto. And so began the great watering-down. Finally, a week ago, the Security Council passed a resolution threatening to "consider" sanctions against Sudan at some point, though at no time soon. The Security Council debate had all the decorous dullness you'd expect. The Algerian delegate had "profound concern." The Russian delegate pronounced the situation "complex." The Sudanese government was praised because the massacres are proceeding more slowly. The air was filled with nuanced obfuscations, technocratic jargon and the amoral blandness of multilateral deliberation. The resolution passed, and it was a good day for alliance-nurturing and burden-sharing - for the burden of doing nothing was shared equally by all. And we are by now used to the pattern. Every time there is an ongoing atrocity, we watch the world community go through the same series of stages: (1) shock and concern (2) gathering resolve (3) fruitless negotiation (4) pathetic inaction (5) shame and humiliation (6) steadfast vows to never let this happen again. The "never again" always comes. But still, we have all agreed, this sad cycle is better than having some impromptu coalition of nations actually go in "unilaterally" and do something. That would lack legitimacy! Strain alliances! Menace international law! Threaten the multilateral ideal! It's a pity about the poor dead people in Darfur. Their numbers are still rising, at 6,000 to 10,000 a month.

NYT 28 Sept 2004 When to Go In: Sudan and the World (5 Letters) To the Editor: David Brooks ("Another Triumph for the U.N.," column, Sept. 25) spins an elegant web of sarcasm about the United Nations' failure to act as he would wish in Darfur. But the United Nations, at its best and its worst, is a mirror of the world, reflecting its agreements and disagreements. Where the world (as represented in the Security Council) agrees, the United Nations does intervene decisively, as it is currently doing in 18 hot spots, from Congo to Haiti and from Liberia to East Timor. Where there are disagreements, the United Nations provides the mechanism for discussion to resolve them, and compromises have to be found. But that doesn't mean the organization is sitting around wringing its hands; our humanitarian workers are on the ground, bringing food, shelter and nourishment to the displaced in Darfur and Chad, as are our political representatives, putting pressure on the authorities to end the atrocities and working to promote the efforts of the African Union's monitors in the area. Mr. Brooks's concern for the victims in Darfur would be better used to demand that the world's outrage be matched with real contributions to the United Nations' continuing lifesaving efforts, which are severely underfinanced. Shashi Tharoor U.N. Under Secretary General for Communications and Public Information New York, Sept. 27, 2004 • To the Editor: David Brooks is right to condemn the outrageous dithering at the United Nations in the face of the disaster in Sudan. But he fails to make the obvious connection between Sudan and our war in Iraq. Even if the Bush administration were inclined to intervene unilaterally in Sudan (it is not clear that it is), its ability to do so would be constrained by the international community's natural skepticism of the United States' motives. Most of the world does, indeed, regard our invasion of Iraq, justified in part as a humanitarian intervention, as an example of "unilateralist empire-building." One of the many costs of our misadventure in Iraq is the squandering of United States moral authority that might be used in genuine humanitarian emergencies like Sudan. Anthony Greco New York, Sept. 25, 2004 • To the Editor: A widely recognized predicament of the United Nations is that states sometimes use it for the purpose of "washing hands." A particularly violent humanitarian crisis gets a lot of publicity, but no major power has the resolve to invest seriously in solving the crisis. The United Nations offers a nice alternative: states make a small investment in the problem, claim that they are "good citizens," and then blame the United Nations when things go wrong. David Brooks falls into precisely this trap when blaming the United Nations for what is happening in Sudan. Perhaps the United States can take the moral high ground relative to the Europeans on this issue, but at no point was the United States prepared to do what it takes to stop the killing, either multilaterally or unilaterally. The problem is not multilateralism but lack of resolve on the part of the great powers. Erik Voeten Washington, Sept. 25, 2004 The writer is assistant professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University. • To the Editor: I feel compelled to respond with praise for David Brooks's exceptionally focused view of the United Nations' interminable debating when called upon to decide how, when and if to respond to a crisis that is concurrently spinning out of control. He hits every United Nations nail on the head. Therese Delaplace Oakland, Calif., Sept. 25, 2004 • To the Editor: David Brooks advocates unilateral opposition to genocide over multilateral dickering. Would that President Bush agreed! Samuel Ruhmkorff Northampton, Mass., Sept. 25, 2004

washingtonpost.com 23 Sept 2004 Archer K. Blood; Dissenting Diplomat By Joe Holley Washington Post Staff Writer Thursday, September 23, 2004; Page B04 Archer Kent Blood, 81, a career diplomat whose Blood Telegram denouncing the complicity of the United States in "genocide" in the former East Pakistan prompted his recall from his post as consul general in Dhaka, died Sept. 3 of arterial sclerosis at a hospital in Fort Collins, Colo. He had lived in Fort Collins since 1993. Mr. Blood served for 35 years in the State Department, with postings in Greece, Algeria, Germany, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and India. He was the senior official among 20 members of the U.S. diplomatic corps who signed the dissenting cable, which was prompted by the Pakistani military's brutal crackdown against the Bengali inhabitants of what was known as East Pakistan in March 1971. At least 10,000 civilians were massacred in the first three days; the eventual civilian death toll might have been as high as 3 million. Some 10 million Bengalis, about 13 percent of East Bengal's population, fled across the border into India. In their cable, Mr. Blood and his fellow signatories charged: "Our government has failed to denounce the suppression of democracy. Our government has failed to take forceful measures to protect its citizens while at the same time bending over backwards to placate the West Pakistan-dominated government. Our government has evidenced what many will consider moral bankruptcy, ironically at a time when the U.S.S.R. sent President Yahya Khan a message defending democracy. . . ." Writer Christopher Hitchens, in his 2001 book "The Trial of Henry Kissinger," described the cable as "the most public and the most strongly worded demarche, from State Department servants to the State Department, that has ever been recorded." President Richard M. Nixon and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, seeking to use Pakistan as a backdoor diplomatic opening to China, immediately recalled Mr. Blood from his post. Although he had been scheduled for another 18-month tour in Pakistan after home leave, he never returned to his post. He was assigned to the State Department's personnel office. Government sources told The Washington Post the next year that reports about the magnitude of the killings were disbelieved at the time. State Department officials considered the dispatches alarmist. Although Mr. Blood received the Christian A. Herter Award in 1971 for "extraordinary accomplishment involving initiative, integrity, intellectual courage and creative dissent," his career suffered. "I paid a price for my dissent. But I had no choice," he told The Post in 1982. "The line between right and wrong was just too clear-cut." Mr. Blood, who was born in Chicago, graduated from high school in Lynchburg, Va. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1943, and received a master's degree in international relations from George Washington University in 1963. He served as a naval officer in the North Pacific during World War II, and joined the Foreign Service in 1947. During the last decade of his career in the Foreign Service, he was acting ambassador to Afghanistan and served two terms as charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. He retired in 1982. After his retirement, which he called "self-imposed exile," he was a diplomatic adviser to the commandant at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. Mr. Blood wrote the 2002 book "The Cruel Birth of Bangladesh: Memoirs of an American Diplomat" and was professor emeritus of political science at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa. Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Margaret Millward Blood of Fort Collins; four children, Shireen Updegraff of Fort Collins, Barbara Rankin of Denver, Peter Blood of Alexandria and Archer Blood of Shaker Heights, Ohio; three sisters; and eight grandchildren.

Asia-Pacific

Afghanistan

Voice of America 31 Aug 2004 US warplanes bomb Afghan village, civilian casualties reported Ayaz Gul, Islamabad In Afghanistan, at least eight civilians are reported dead in a clash between U.S. forces and suspected anti-government militants. Afghan officials say the civilians were killed late Monday in eastern Kunar Province when U.S warplanes bombed a village. Reports say a compound belonging to a Danish relief group was also hit during the attack, injuring a member of the group. A U.S. military statement said the aircraft were helping to counter an attack by militants against coalition troops. But the statement does not confirm air strikes against civilians. The statement says only that a group of children were injured after an insurgent blew himself up with a grenade in the area. The fighting in Kunar Province follows a major bomb attack against the office of a U.S. company Sunday in Kabul. The blast killed at least 10 people, including three Americans and three Nepalese. The private U.S. firm provides security for transitional President Hamid Karzai and is also training the Afghan national police. Speaking to reporters, U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad condemned the insurgent attack in Kabul, but he said such actions will not stop efforts to rebuild Afghanistan. "Ultimately, the failure of these terrorists is inevitable," he said. "Let there be no doubt about that. They will fail because the ideology they espouse is one of hatred and destruction." Insurgents linked to the former Taleban regime claimed responsibility for the Kabul blast and promised more attacks before Afghanistan's presidential election, to be held on October 9. In recent weeks, there has been an upsurge in clashes between the U.S.-led coalition and Taleban insurgents who have vowed to oppose upcoming national elections. The radical Islamic militia says the elections are meant to ensure U.S. domination of Afghanistan.

washingtonpost.com 5 Sep 2004 Afghan Blast Has Alarming Implications 9 Children, Teacher Killed in Attack on Modernizing School By Pamela Constable Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, September 5, 2004; Page A24 NAIK NAM, Afghanistan -- Saher Gul was chalking a long division lesson on the blackboard of his two-room village school. Twenty-five boys, ages 9 to 19, were sitting cross-legged on the dirt floor. Suddenly the earthen walls and ceiling exploded and collapsed, smothering the class in a mountain of rubble. Sher Mahmad was chatting with friends in the dusty village square when he heard the explosion. He sprinted toward the school, he said, where his son and four other young relatives were studying. Everyone dug frantically at the dirt, trying to reach the students before they suffocated. "Who would do such a thing? This is against Islam, against our religious law, against all humanity," said Mahmad, a farmer in this drought-baked hamlet in Paktia province. Mahmad's son and Gul, the teacher, survived, but nine boys and a teacher died when a bomb detonated in the schoolyard last Saturday afternoon. The circumstances of the attack remain confused, and possible motives abound. The village is remote, and news of the blast was initially obscured by a high-profile terrorist bombing last Sunday in Kabul, the capital, 90 miles north. Three Americans and at least seven Afghans were killed when a car bomb detonated outside a U.S. security company's office. But in some ways, the bombing of the tiny Mullah Khel school was both more horrifying in its targeting of children and more alarming in its implications for Afghan society. The country, just emerging from 25 years of bloodshed and ideological tumult, is struggling to find a peaceful postwar balance between conservative tradition and modernizing progress. The Taliban, an extremist Islamic militia that ruled most of Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, has claimed responsibility for the Kabul bombing and has vowed to sabotage the country's movement toward political and social change by attacking foreigners, aid projects, schools for girls, government facilities and anyone working to promote October's presidential elections. The bombed school is located in Zurmat, a troubled district that was once a stronghold of the Taliban and where support for the Islamic militia still exists. During Taliban rule, officials said, the Mullah Khel school was a Koranic academy, or madrassa, which taught Islamic studies to boys who lived on the premises. After the collapse of the Taliban, the school continued offering morning Islamic lessons for local boys. But two months ago, with support from a foreign-funded agency called the Afghan Primary Education Program, it added an afternoon curriculum of English, math and other subjects taught in regular public schools. Mullah Khel did not teach girls, and there are no elementary schools for girls in the village or nearby. In the past year, suspected Taliban militants have threatened rural girls' schools and set fire to several at night, but this was the first deadly attack to occur while a school was in session. "Those who did this want to keep Afghanistan from education, to close the doors to progress. They don't know God, they only know money and destruction," said Mohammed Hashim, the police chief in Zurmat. He described the district as a "difficult and dangerous area. It was a major Taliban base. The people may not support them but they don't support us either," he said. A second possible motive was the school's link to the election. In recent months, the teachers at Mullah Khel had been involved in helping men and women register to vote, and some residents speculated that this could have made it a target for extremist violence. But Gul, 26, who was at home Tuesday recovering from minor injuries, and a variety of older community leaders said everyone in the area was enthusiastic about both the afternoon classes and the chance to participate in elections. "I cannot imagine who would kill these innocent children. All the tribal elders supported our lessons and encouraged me to educate their sons," Gul said. "Everyone here understands the value of education. A teacher is like a candle for the community, but it can only spread light when it is lit." Perhaps the most important clue to the attack is that a religious instructor at the school, Mohammed Nawab, is missing. The explosives were hidden in Nawab's motorbike, which was parked in the schoolyard. Nawab has been missing since the day of the attack, raising official and private speculation that he was either kidnapped by the bombers or part of their plot. Three days after the blast, the twisted wreck of the motorbike still stood in the yard. The earthen perimeter of the compound had crumbled in several places; the roof and one wall of Gul's classroom were gone. On a wall that was still standing was his blackboard with a few chalk marks and a torn map of the world. Outside, in the village plaza, boys with bandages on their heads and arms swarmed around a visiting unit of U.S. Marines, who had arrived from a military post in the provincial capital, Gardez, to dress their wounds and hand out toys. Last Saturday, Afghan and U.S. troops were called to the area and administered emergency medical aid. "The ceiling fell on me and then I was unconscious," said Mohammed, 9, whose nose was covered with a bandage. "When I woke up I thought someone had fired a rocket at the school. I saw the hands of some boys coming from the dirt, and some bodies. I was hurt, too. We were all buried under the wall." Despite the villagers' insistence that the school had no enemies, several officials and professionals in the region said they were extremely wary of traveling in the Zurmat district. One doctor in Gardez said he could not safely drive an ambulance to Zurmat, and another health official said he kept secret any plans for staff members to travel to clinics in the district. Residents also reported that two Afghans working for an aid agency had been ambushed and killed by gunmen on the road from Gardez to Zurmat in July. Hashim, the police chief, said a personal dispute had triggered the incident, but he insisted that two trucks of soldiers accompany a reporter to visit the bombed school, about five miles off the same road. Among the families of Naik Nam, the bombing has left a pall of fear and grief. The tribal elders are leathery, sun-baked men who rarely express emotion, but there were tears in the eyes of Gul Mahmad, 60, as he stood Tuesday over several freshly mounded graves at the edge of the village. "We were so proud and happy when the school opened. None of us ever had the chance to get an education," said Mahmad, as a dusty desert wind whipped his turban cloth around him. "I had three grandsons in that school, and now two of them are dead. If I meet the people who did this, I will turn them over to the government, but I wish I could devour them myself."

Jakarta Post 12 Sept 20004 Munir's body flown to Malang INDONESIA: The body of top human rights activist Munir arrived at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport from the Netherlands on a Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) plane at about 5 p.m. on Saturday. Two hours later the remains were flown aboard a Merpati plane to Munir's hometown of Malang, East Java, for burial at about 9 a.m. on Sunday. Hundreds of Munir's colleagues and other activists met his body at the airport and joined his wife, Suciwati, in Malang to pay their last respects to the outspoken rights campaigner. Among the entourage were noted political analyst Ikrar Nusa Bhakti, Indonesianist Jeffrey Winters, Indonesian Corruption Watch chairman Teten Masduki, former state secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak and former Alliance of Independent Journalists chairwoman and The Jakarta Post managing editor Ati Nurbaiti. Munir died onboard a Garuda Indonesia flight from Jakarta to Amsterdam on Tuesday, about two hours before the plane landed at Schiphol Airport. He was flying to the Netherlands to pursue his master's degree. The airport conducted an autopsy on his body in accordance with Dutch regulations. Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said The Hague had reported the autopsy was complete and had ruled Munir's death was not suspicious. Munir is survived by his wife and one daughter. www.imparsial.org IMPASIAL was established in June 2002 by 17 of Indonesia s most prominent human rights advocates who shared the same concern: the power of the state showed an increasing tendency to assert itself to the detriment of civil society. The founders of IMPARSIAL are: T. Mulya Lubis, Karlina Leksono, M. Billah, Wardah Hafidz, Hendardi, Nursyahbani Katjasungkana, Binny Buchory, Kamala Chandrakirana, HS Dillon, Munir (1965-2004) , Rachland Nashidik, Rusdi Marpaung, Otto Syamsuddin Ishak, Nezar Patria, Amiruddin, and Poengky Indarti.

India

screenindia.com 3 Sept 2004 Indian films sway Fribourg Int Film Fest Pradip Biswas Indian films, quite varied in nature, content and form, of course very strong in presentation, came to sway those attending Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF), headed by the most dapper and mercurial genius Martial Knaebel, the personality instrumental for promoting Indian films every year at his venue. This year it was no exception. Interestingly, Martial Knaebel selected three Indian films this year to be screened both in competitive and general section of the 18th edition of FIFF. The selection has brought enormous praise from all participants at FIFF and they have acknowledged Indian films as ‘genuinely made with artistic passion and truth’. The films shown at FIFF are Rajiv Menon’s Margaam (The Path), Rakesh Sharma’s Final Solution, winner of International award, and Arvind Sinha’s Kaya Poochhe Maya Se (Journeyings and Conversations). The films have been treated as a mark of what the Festival Director Martial Knaebel has described: ‘the choice of coherence’ in the discourse of each of its authors. . . . The most stirring film in the Indian entry is perhaps Rakesh Sharma’s Final Solution, winner of Wolfgang Staudte award and Special Jury award (NETPAC), Berlin International Film Festival. The Final Solution is segmented in four acts such as, The Trace of Pride and Genocide Terror, The Mandate of Hate and Hope and is like ‘a political study of Machiavellism and hate’. Borrowing its obvious reference from history, the title exposes what Rakesh Sharma calls ‘Indian Fascism’. The film is a testimony to powerfully and skillfully developed witness account of the fearsome mechanism triggered off by ‘religious hate’. According to Martial Knaebel, the Festival Director, the film studies ‘the lethal intentions’ of religious bigots leading to tragic genocide. The film is of 218 minute duration. The film captures intolerance of eighteen months (from February 2002 to July 2003) in the Gujarat region following the killings of 2,500 Muslims. This genocide took place, according to the director’s statement, after a train was set on fire in which 59 Hindus perished on 27 February 2002. The film examines the malevolence and one-sided campaign devised by the Hindu community to isolate and constrain the Muslims. In fact, Rakesh Sharma commented, “I completed the film in January and have been doing rounds for censor certificate since then but nothing has come of it. Now that the film is invited and shown at International film festivals and other screenings (places where censor certificate is not an issue) around the world and is being received well, I have to show it with an opening card announcing this film has not yet been given clearance. From February onwards, I have been receiving show cause notices asking me how I am screening this film but they haven’t had the time or the tolerance to grant the film a simple censor certificate’. The film impressed the film-buffs at FIFF and provoked a great debate on nature of decimating innocent people of other ethnic race and religion. On the issue of its title the director seems straight and open while tackling the most controversial topic of religious intolerance in India. What took the uppermost value of the film at FIFF is its ‘plain human courage’ showing how the ‘fundamentalist politicians cleverly exploit religious belief systems’ by interpreting it with the ‘fundamentalist belief system’. Finally the film proves a point: in this kind of wild-cat politics there is no Hindu, there is no Muslim, there are only ‘victims’. The film has also won awards for the director such as Silver, Humanitarian award as the best film, Hong Kong International Film Festival. The film was shown in more than hundred theatres of various countries. The Final Solution, as it stands, awe-struck cinephiles at FIFF for its daring revelation about ’impact on Hindus and Muslims, ghettoisation, the call for economic boycott of Muslims and continuing acts of violence’.

BBC 3 Sep 2004 BJP attacks new Gujarat inquiry The train was carrying Hindus from the disputed religious site at Ayodhya India's opposition Bharatiya Janata Party has criticised the setting up of a new inquiry into the incident that triggered riots in Gujarat in 2002. Fifty-eight people were killed when a train carrying Hindu activists was allegedly set ablaze by a Muslim mob near the town of Godhra. The BJP said the new inquiry is was "a challenge to the rule of law" as the event is already being investigated. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in riots following the attack. 'Political motives' BJP spokesman Arun Jaitley said the government decision reflected a "callous attitude" towards the victims of the incident, as the new committee has been asked to examine if the passengers contributed to the fire on the train. A retired Indian judge, UC Bannerjee, was appointed on Thursday to determine the cause of the fire. The riots that followed killed more than 1,000 people He is to submit his report in three months. The BJP has also accused the government of politicising the issue which took place when the BJP led the national government. Gujarat state is still governed by a BJP administration which was accused of doing little to prevent the riots which followed the Godhra killings. The existing investigation has yet to pinpoint the exact cause of the fire on the train. Rail Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav told parliament in July that forensic investigations revealed that inflammable material inside the train had led to the fire. He said the former BJP government had not made the forensic report public. The train was carrying passengers returning from the disputed religious site of Ayodhya in northern India. Some 56 people are still being held in connection with the alleged attack.

BBC 22 Sept 2004n Murder charges in Gujarat trial The Muslims were burnt alive inside the bakery Sixteen Hindus have been charged in a court in the Indian city of Bombay (Mumbai) with the murder of 12 Muslims during the Gujarat riots in 2002. The accused have pleaded not guilty and the trial will begin on 4 October. The victims were burned to death in a bakery in Baroda town during riots which claimed more than 1,000 lives. India's Supreme Court ordered a retrial after a Gujarat court acquitted the 16 and five others when key witnesses withdrew their evidence. The five others accused in the case have still not been arrested. "Efforts are on to arrest the five absconders. We may be able to do it soon," a police officer told the Reuters agency. Court anger BBC News Online's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says this retrial is the first major step towards bringing to justice those behind some of India's worst religious violence in decades. Known as the Best Bakery case after the bakery in Baroda where the Muslims died, it has often been cited by human rights groups as evidence that victims of the Gujarat riots had gained little justice. The Supreme Court ordered that the retrial be moved out of Gujarat after accusing the state government of judicial failures. The 2002 riots were sparked off after a suspected Muslim mob attacked a train, killing nearly 60 Hindu passengers. Human rights groups pushed for a retrial of the Best Bakery case after a key witness admitted lying in court and not testifying against the accused. She said she had been threatened by senior figures in the local organisation of Gujarat's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party. Several other prosecution witnesses also withdrew their evidence, leading to the acquittal of the 21 Hindus.

Indonesia

NYT 27 Sept 2004 Indonesia's Progress To the Editor: Re "Ex-General Appears to Win by Big Margin in Indonesia" (news article, Sept. 21): When President Megawati Sukarnoputri steps down next month, she leaves Indonesia far safer than when she was elected. Four years ago, Aceh and West Papua were exploding with independence movements, the Moluccas and Sulawesi were the scene of gruesome massacres and Borneo saw the near extermination of the Manduras. In decisive moves, her government resolved these problems. Aceh and West Papua were given a larger share of their oil revenues; the leader of the Laskar Jihad was arrested and the Sulawesi massacres were stopped by Mrs. Megawati's deployment of 4,000 troops. Without the United States' insistence that Indonesia address human rights before being eligible for aid, Mrs. Megawati would not have had a strong hand to make it a priority. Without such a commitment to human rights from the next president, we risk Indonesia's devolving into turmoil again. Richard O'Brien Sarasota, Fla., Sept. 23, 2004 The writer is former director, Center for the Prevention of Genocide.

Iraq

Al-Ahram (Cairo) 19 - 25 August 2004 weekly.ahram.org.eg Issue No. 704 Arab, Turk or Kurd? Nermine Al-Mufti traces the chequered past of an ethnically interwoven city Time was that Kirkuk was a microcosm of Iraq's social strata, a myriad of ethnic, doctrinal and religious variations. Back then, Iraqis used to say that the best thing about their country was its complex structure, the mosaic of a long history of civilisation. Today Kirkuk still mirrors Iraq, but what it mirrors is a wounded country, a country hesitant to choose between federalism and confederacy, a country fearful of partition, a country racked by daily military operations, terror attacks, assassinations and organised crimes, by murder, drugs and abduction. Kirkuk was the city, because of oil, that gave Iraq its wealth and relative modern fame. Today, this same oil makes the city dread a divided future, makes its inhabitants wish that their city never had that source of wealth that made them poor and sleepless. I visited Kirkuk recently, having read a Human Rights Watch report that warned of hostilities breaking out at any moment in the city. I found pictures of Kurdish Turkish leader Abdullah Ocalan plastered on the walls in the Kurdish parts as well as elsewhere in the city, along with the Kurdish flag. Kirkuk was the last city in Iraq to fly the Iraqi flag following the restoration of "sovereignty". It was as if the city's Kurdish officials were coerced into raising a flag they hardly recognise. In Kirkuk, assassinations and threats continue, with everyone demanding their rights while ignoring those of others. Why the Ocalan images? Perhaps they were meant as a signal to the Turkish authorities that sent a military commissioner to divine the mood in the city. Half the population of Kirkuk, according to reliable Iraqi and Western documents, are Turkoman. The rest are Arabs, Kurds and Assyrians. The Encyclopaedia Britannica states that over half the population of Kirkuk is Turkoman. Hanna Batatu, in his trilogy about Iraq, describes the city as "Turkish [Turkoman] in every sense of the word", at least until recently. The Kurds moved gradually from nearby villages to this town. Stephen Longrigg, in his book Four Centuries of Modern Iraq, says that ancient Turkoman immigrants settled in Talafar and a long line of villages on the Mosul road between Dali Abbass and Al-Zab Al-Kabir. Most of them settled in beautiful Kirkuk, which changed little in the last two centuries, Longrigg states. Salim Matar, in his book The Dialogue of Identities, refers to the Declaration ratified by the parliamentary council meeting on 5 May and addressed to the League of Nations. The Declaration contains Iraq's pledges to the Council of the League of Nations. The pledges were drafted by a committee formed by the Council upon a decision made on 28 January 1932. The Declaration, in Article 9, states that the dominant community in the Kafri and Kirkuk provinces is Turkoman and notes that "the Turkish and Kurdish languages have been declared official languages, alongside Arabic." There are dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of documents testifying to the majority of Turkoman in Kirkuk. Saadeddin Arkej, chairman of the Turkoman Council, says that according to the 1957 census, one of the most credible censuses in Iraq, the Turkoman numbered 560,000 of Iraq's total population of 6 million. Many documents speak of the concentration of Turkoman in a crescent running from Talafar, north of Mosul, to the outskirts of Diyali to the east. "But we have always been, and still are, for a pluralist and united Iraq. We want to coexist as we always did, Arabs, Kurds and Turkoman," Arkej adds. One Kurdish researcher, who wrote several books about the Kurds and their struggle, says that Kurdish demands are excessive, and that because of the close ties Kurds have with the Americans, they have lost much of the credibility and sympathy they used to enjoy among Iraqis in general. The Kurds have paid a high price, and now they want compensation, but the truth is that all Iraqis deserve compensation, the researcher notes. Mohamed Rashid Kirkuki, a Kurd from Kirkuk, says, "For a reason still unknown to me, I and my family were expelled from Kirkuk. Not all the Kurds who entered the city after 10 April, 2003 were expelled in the past. We are the original Kurds of Kirkuk. We came back and we found our homes and property that Saddam's regime had confiscated. Unfortunately, some found their homes demolished, but they have the title deeds. The compensations are complicated because of those who do not have the right papers. These people, unbeknown to them, have become a bargaining chip in the hands of the leaders. They are poor people, and yet they have become fodder for the continued conflict over Kirkuk." Khabad Shirwan, also a Kurd from Kirkuk, says that everyone should recognise the Kurdishness of Kirkuk and take into account the demonstrations that were staged in support of independence. Our future is in Kirkuk, regardless of any decisions or viewpoints, Shirwan adds. Hundreds of thousands of Arabs live in Kirkuk, a vestige of Saddam's attempt to Arabise the city. Residents of the city were able to marginalise the newcomers, particularly since most of the latter were poor and illiterate countryside people and no match for an urban society with the least percentage of illiteracy in Iraq. Some of the Arab newcomers were housed in homes of the Turkoman and Kurds who had been expelled or forced to sell their property. To complicate things further, the Arab newcomers have given up all their rights back in their hometowns. They are now registered Kirkuk residents, with nowhere to go. They have been driven by poverty to take a part in the Arabisation. Some of them have left Kirkuk. Others have been expelled. But the majority still reside in Kirkuk and now the Kurds want them out. While the Arabs of Kirkuk are trying to side with the Turkoman in confronting the Kurdish tide, a problem surfaced in the village of Bashir, one that led to tensions between the Arabs and the Turkoman. Irshad Harmazi, a former resident of Bashir, claims that the village, which was Shia and Turkoman, was the scene of genocide. Over 350 families were killed, although some women and children managed to get away, he says. Saddam gave the village's agricultural land to Arab peasants from the original Arab stock of Kirkuk, and now the latter refuse to return the land to its original owners. Turkoman never resort to arms to settle their problems, I was told. As a result, they frequently lose their rights. Kirkuk is getting ready for a new census that will be pivotal in determining its future. It is watching closely the Kurdish waves of newcomers, who are settling everywhere, including in football fields and scouts camps. Ethnic clashes in Kirkuk are one reason for the postponement of the National Assembly.

Reuters 15 Sept 2004 U.S. army defends helicopter attack in Baghdad 15 Sep 2004 16:43:22 GMT Source: Reuters By Ed Cropley BAGHDAD, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. military defended on Wednesday two helicopter pilots who fired seven rockets into a crowd of Iraqis in Baghdad this week, saying they had come under "well-aimed ground fire" and responded in self-defence. Initially, the military had said they opened fire on Sunday to destroy a crippled U.S. armoured vehicle to prevent looting. At least five people including a television journalist were killed in the incident around the blazing wreck of the Bradley, which had been crippled by a car bomb in central Baghdad's Haifa Street, a bastion for anti-American insurgents. Colonel Jim McConville, head of the U.S. First Cavalry Division's aviation brigade, said two helicopters armed with heavy machineguns and a total of 21 rockets had swooped over the burning vehicle and the crowd of Iraqis. "While he (the lead pilot) was overflying the target he received well-aimed ground fire so close that he could hear it over his intercom system," McConville told a news conference. "The trail aircraft that was following the lead aircraft saw tracer fire coming up from the vicinity of the Bradley, aimed -- well-aimed -- at the lead aircraft." "The second aircraft, having observed insurgent, or terrorist, forces firing at our aircraft, engaged ... the insurgents with one rocket. The second aircraft had 14 rockets on board but chose to engage with only one rocket to ... provide a proportional response." WITNESS ACCOUNTS Mazen Tomeizi, a Palestinian producer for Al Arabiya television, was killed while filming a piece to camera when the first missile struck behind him. Reuters cameraman Seif Fouad was wounded in one of the subsequent rocket strikes. Witnesses in Haifa Street dispute the U.S. military's version of events, saying they saw no one firing at the helicopters before the aerial attack. Fouad's footage of the crowd around the Bradley in the moments before the helicopter strike also showed no evidence any one in the crowd around the vehicle was armed or firing. The footage shows a crowd of men and teenage boys milling around the vehicle, as Tomeizi speaks in the foreground. The journalist is then cut down and his blood spatters on the lens. The U.S. military said that on a second pass over the burning vehicle and the crowd, which had scattered after the first missile hit, the helicopters fired a further six missiles. The military said that on a third pass the lead helicopter fired 30 .50 calibre rounds from its heavy machinegun. McConville said the pilots had chosen the option of a "close combat attack" because they were concerned about the risk of hitting civilians if they fired from further away. He also said some of the casualties might have been caused by the wrecked vehicle's ammunition exploding or "cooking off" and urged Iraqis to keep away from burning military vehicles.

BBC 18 Sept 2004 Iraqi car bomb kills 23 in Kirkuk Police in Kirkuk have become the latest targets of militants A suicide car bomb attack on the Iraqi national guard headquarters in Kirkuk has killed 23 people, officials say. The victims in the northern city were queuing to apply for jobs, said a general in the national guard. Bloodied bodies were strewn across the street, which was littered with twisted metal and shards of glass. Elsewhere, there were repeated attacks on US soldiers near Baghdad airport and US planes carried out fresh strikes on the restive city of Falluja. The attacks came on the day Iraqi Airways flew its first international flight into Baghdad airport for 14 years. It is not clear if there was any connection.

NYT 19 Sept 2004 For Hussein, a Spartan Life at His Former Palace By JOHN F. BURNS BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 18 - Nine months after American troops pulled him disheveled and disoriented from an underground bunker near his hometown, Tikrit, Saddam Hussein is living in an air-conditioned 10-by-13 foot cell on the grounds of one of his former palaces outside Baghdad, tending plants, proclaiming himself Iraq's lawful ruler, and reading the Koran and books about past Arab glory. American and Iraqi officials who have visited the former Iraqi leader say he wears plastic sandals and an Arab dishdasha robe, eats American soldiers' ready-to-eat meals for breakfast, and is permitted three hours' daily exercise in a courtyard outside his cell. He has been flown by Black Hawk helicopter to an American military hospital in Baghdad, where doctors ran tests for an enlarged prostate, which they believe could be an early pointer to cancer. He has undergone hours of interrogation by investigators preparing evidence for his trial on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. But he has refused to acknowledge any wrongdoing, or to show remorse for the hundreds of thousands of people killed during his 24-year dictatorship, officials say. He has insisted that his position as Iraq's president gave him legal authority for all he did and that his victims were "traitors." At every encounter, the officials say, he insists he is still the constitutionally elected president. More than 80 other "high-value detainees" at the same prison - including more than 40 who were on the Pentagon's "pack of cards" of Iraq's most-wanted fugitives - are kept away from Mr. Hussein, said Bakhtiar Amin, the Iraqi human rights minister. Mr. Hussein has been in solitary confinement since his capture on Dec. 13, officials said, because of a fear that he would try to rig evidence or intimidate old associates in the prison. But the core of the group, 11 men who appeared with him in court on July 1, are allowed to exercise together, and to play chess, poker, backgammon and dominos. Offsetting those privileges, they have faced indignities that Mr. Hussein has been spared, including, at the outset, digging their own latrines. But the strict protocol favored by authoritarian governments still rules. "They call each other by their old titles, Mr. Minister of this, Mr. Minister of that," Mr. Amin said. "It is as if nothing has changed." When Mr. Hussein appeared in court to be advised of his legal rights and of the charges under investigation, officials said it could be two years or more before he was brought to trial. None of the other former officials who appeared with him were likely to come to trial for as much as a year, they said, because of the tons of documents to be processed, as well as the need to interview the thousands of Iraqis who have come forward as potential witnesses. But the interim government of Prime Minister Ayad Allawi has decided to speed the legal processes. It has begun a shake-up of the staff at the special tribunal set up last year to hear the cases and hopes to begin the first high-profile trial, probably against Ali Hassan al-Majid, a cousin of Mr. Hussein's known as Chemical Ali, by November. Mr. Hussein's trial will follow, perhaps next year if the prosecutors are ready, Iraqi and American officials say. In an interview at his heavily guarded residence in Baghdad on Thursday, Dr. Allawi said the government had "received the resignation" of Salem Chalabi, the American-educated lawyer who has been the court's chief administrator. He is a nephew of Ahmad Chalabi, the exile leader who was favored by the Pentagon before the March 2003 invasion, but who has recently been shunned by the American hierarchy here. Ahmad Chalabi has set himself up as a rival to Dr. Allawi among Iraq's majority Shiites, and his nephew, who has been implicated by the Allawi government in a murder case unrelated to the work of the tribunal, has been out of Iraq for most of the past two months. Small Pleasures In prison, Mr. Hussein has asked for some vestiges of the pleasures he enjoyed when he moved between dozens of palaces. "This was a man whose regime used a shredder to turn human bodies into ground beef," said Mr. Amin, the 46-year-old rights minister, who spent years abroad as an exile chronicling the abuses of Mr. Hussein's government and petitioning foreign governments and rights organizations to shun the Iraqi government. "And now he sits there in his cell and asks for muffins and cookies and cigars," he said. Mr. Hussein and his top lieutenants are being held at Camp Cropper, a heavily fortified compound that crouches behind high walls topped with rolls of razor wire, beneath sandbagged watchtowers manned by soldiers with machine guns. The camp lies within a vast American complex known as Camp Victory, which includes a network of palaces as well as lakes that Mr. Hussein filled with fish. Planes using Baghdad International Airport pass low over the prison, 10 miles from the center of Baghdad. For the trials, courtrooms are being readied in one of the vast, neo-imperialist buildings inside the former Republican Palace compound in central Baghdad that make up the Green Zone, the headquarters for the Allawi government and 2,500 American military and civilian officials. The five-judge panels that will preside at the juryless trials will have the power to impose death sentences on Mr. Hussein and his associates, some of whom wept when they were told at the July hearing that they faced possible execution. For Mr. Hussein and his victims, a trial in the new court building, which The New York Times was asked not to identify for security reasons, will have a special irony. Mr. Hussein, who favored an architectural style emphasizing huge sandstone columns and portals, will face a reckoning in one of the buildings he erected to glorify his rule. In the dock, he will be a short walk away from the Republican Palace beside the Tigris River, once his main seat of power. The Allawi government believes that the Iraqis, subjected to decades of terror, will begin to recover only when they see the men responsible brought to account. "Without justice, I don't see any possibility of healing the wounds in this society," Mr. Amin, the human rights minister, said. "These people turned Iraq into a 'massgrave-istan' by the scale of their crimes." "They made an industry of murder," he said. Establishing Legitimacy There are political pressures, too. Dr. Allawi will be a candidate in elections set for January, a crucial step toward the goal of a constitutionally established, popularly elected government by January 2006. With the mounting insurgency, he needs to bolster his waning popularity among Iraqis who increasingly blame him for the chaos. By putting top figures from the former government on trial, aides believe, he can remind Iraqis of the trauma that ended with their overthrow. In the interview, Dr. Allawi said political calculations and a desire for revenge - he was nearly killed by assassins Mr. Hussein sent to his exile home in London, who attacked him with an ax while he slept, leaving him hospitalized for a year - played no part in his decision to accelerate the trials. Rather, he said, what he sought was a catharsis. "We need to bury the past," he said. Dr. Allawi was a rising student leader in the governing Baath Party in the 1960's when he first met Mr. Hussein. He recalled him as a "thug who enjoyed hurting others," and as a man whose rule had been "like a horror movie." Now, he said, Mr. Hussein was paying the price. "My guess is that Saddam is dying every day," he said. "He is in prison, he is alone, he has lost everything, he has no power, nothing; and to him, that is worse than death." Western legal experts familiar with the tribunal's work say they doubt the tribunal can meet Dr. Allawi's timetable for a November start to the trials. In many cases, the preparation of evidence is far from complete, and so far, the tribunal has found no Iraqi lawyers to defend Mr. Hussein and his associates. In July, several defendants, including Mr. Majid, who is alleged to have led the chemical weapons attacks on scores of Kurdish villages that included the bombing of Halabja in March 1998 that killed at least 5,000 people, said they wanted lawyers from elsewhere in the Arab world, but none have come forward. "The high-value criminals have been informed about this, that no Iraqi lawyers are willing to take their cases, and that the foreign lawyers who said that they would didn't come forward, either," Mr. Amin said. In his cell, Mr. Hussein has a fold-up bed, a small desk and a plastic chair, as well as a supply of bottled water and ice, a prayer mat and a choice of more than 170 books from a library supplied by the International Committee of the Red Cross. He reads Arabic-language books with a pair of thick-rimmed spectacles, officials said, including tales from nearly 1,000 years ago, when Baghdad was the capital of the Islamic world. On visits to the Army's hospital in the Green Zone, Mr. Hussein has staked out his independence in other ways. In the hospital - named for Ibn Sina, a scientific pioneer of the early Islamic world - he has been treated by American military doctors and Iraqi physicians who were on his presidential medical team. Near wards filled with wounded American soldiers, he has undergone blood tests and scans that have confirmed that he has an enlarged prostate gland, medical officials said, as well as a hernia problem and trouble with one of his eyes. But he has refused a surgical biopsy that might determine whether the prostate condition was cancerous, a decision officials involved said was common among American men of Mr. Hussein's age, 67, who often choose not to take the biopsy when they are told that the condition could take years to become life-threatening. "He has time," one official said. "There is no health issue that would prevent him standing trial." Another official said Mr. Hussein had helped an American Navy surgeon take blood by gripping a tourniquet on his arm, and remarked, in English, "Perhaps I should have been a doctor, not a politician." In the courtyard by his cell, Mr. Hussein has placed white-painted stones around the plants he tends, a fact that struck Mr. Amin, the human rights minister, as bizarre. "It's an irony of history," he said. "This is a man who committed some of the biggest acts of ecocide in history, when he drained the marshes in southern Iraq, used chemical weapons against 250 Kurdish villages, and shipped whole palm tree plantations to the charlatan leaders of the Arab world who were his shoeshine boys. "And now he's a gardener." Mr. Amin said Mr. Hussein had been denied newspapers, radio and television, and thus knew little about the political events in Iraq that have followed his capture. But he said the former ruler was upset when he was told that a prominent Sunni tribal leader, Sheik Ghazi al-Yawar, had been named by the United States to replace him as president. "He was shaken and he was very upset," Mr. Amin said. "He couldn't accept that." He added: "He's a megalomaniac and a psychotic. He has never expressed any remorse for any of his victims. He is a man without a conscience. He is a beast." Therapy Sessions Declined An American general said Mr. Hussein had been offered sessions with American military psychologists, but had refused them, as had all his closest associates. Still, all 12 are watched by an American mental health team - especially under interrogation - for any sign that they may be contemplating suicide. None has given cause for concern so far, the general said. Other officials gave a somewhat different picture, saying that some of the men had bouts of depression and complained bitterly about being denied family visits. In the converted mosque annex at Camp Victory that was used as a courtroom in July, several of the former leaders seemed deeply shaken when told they faced a possible death penalty. Several blamed Mr. Hussein for the killings, and said they were only following orders. Since then, Iraqi officials said, several have offered to cooperate with their interrogators. One is Tariq Aziz, the cigar-smoking, whiskey-drinking former deputy prime minister, who was Mr. Hussein's diplomatic emissary; another is Barzan al-Tikriti, Mr. Hussein's half-brother. Mr. Amin said he was hailed by Mr. Tikriti during a visit to Camp Cropper. "Somebody called out, 'Mr. Minister! Mr. Minister!' and said, 'Why are you treating me like Ali Hassan al-Majid? I am not one of them, everybody knows about the deep rivalry within my family' " - a reference, Mr. Amin said, to an incident in the early 1990's when Uday Hussein, the former ruler's oldest son, who was married to Mr. Tikriti's daughter, shot and seriously wounded his father-in-law in the legs during an argument over his treatment of his wife. "He was depressed, it was a cry for help," Mr. Amin said. "But I told him, 'If you want to see the list of your crimes, I will show it to you. It is a long one.'

Israel

NYT 1 Sept 2004 Twin Blasts Kill 16 in Israel; Hamas Claims Responsibility By STEVEN ERLANGER BEERSHEBA, Israel, Aug. 31 - Six months of relative quiet in Israel ended in carnage on Tuesday, as two suicide bombers blew up two buses 100 yards apart in this southern desert town, killing at least 16 people, including a 4-year-old child, and wounding more than 100 others, many of them seriously. Sixteen of the wounded were school-age children; 18 people remained hospitalized, three in critical condition and five in serious condition, Israeli hospital officials said, in the worst bombing in the country in nearly a year. The terrorist group Hamas claimed responsibility, calling it a retaliation for the assassinations in Gaza months ago of two of its leaders, Sheik Ahmed Yassin, its founder, and his successor, Dr. Abdel Aziz Rantisi. After meeting with his security cabinet on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pledged that Israel "will continue fighting terror with all its might" and said the bombings would have no effect on his plan for unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Some prominent politicians called for the speedy construction of the contested separation barrier between the Israelis and the Palestinians - which does not yet stretch to the area near Beersheba - regardless of an Israeli Supreme Court decision that the impact on Palestinian livelihood and land should be taken into account in determining its route. In Beersheba, a town of 180,000 people 50 miles south of Tel Aviv, what for many was a trip to market on the day before the start of the school year concluded with families shattered and shocked, and the main street strewn with glass, pencils, schoolbooks, groceries, bank cards, purses and body parts. A book in Russian lay on the pavement; a plastic bottle of laundry detergent, punctured by shrapnel, leached on the cloth covering one of the victims. The two bombers also died, the severed head of one sharing the bloody floor of a bus with a mound of human limbs, shreds of clothing and the stuff of ordinary life - onions and grapes. Forensic experts and Orthodox Jewish medical workers who collect human remains for burial stepped carefully around the remains. Both buses, the 6 and the 12, left the central bus station in this heavily immigrant city at nearly the same time, 2:55 p.m., full of people who had been to the central market. When Bus 6, an older model, exploded, the driver of Bus 12, Yaacov Cohen, had the presence of mind to open his doors and tell people to get out. "I opened the bus doors and people began to get off the bus, then I heard a huge blast," Mr. Cohen told Israeli radio. "I couldn't believe it, it was amazing; I didn't realize it was on my bus. I looked at myself and saw I was all right, but when I looked back at the passengers I saw such painful sights." In Washington, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell condemned the attack. In Gaza, thousands of supporters of Hamas celebrated in the streets, and The Associated Press reported that one of the bombers' widows hailed the attack as "heroic" and said her husband's soul was "happy in heaven." In the nearby West Bank city of Hebron, which Israel believes was the launching point for the attack, Hamas put out a leaflet saying: "If you thought that the martyrdom of our leaders would weaken our missions and discourage us from jihad, then you are dreaming." Retaliation was likely, and there were reports on Tuesday night that Israeli forces had surrounded the house of the two suspected suicide bombers, whose names were said by Israeli radio to be Ahmed Qawasmeh and Nasim Muhammad Ali Jaabari. The last successful bombing in Israel took place last July, when an off-duty soldier died at a Tel Aviv bus stop. But the bombing on Tuesday was the worst since a suicide attack on a restaurant in Haifa last October killed 21 people. Last March, a double suicide bombing in Ashdod killed 10 workers in the city's port. In Israel, the attack produced an expected measure of indignation, resolution and fear, with calls by some prominent politicians for the government to complete the controversial separation barrier without regard to anything but security, despite the Supreme Court ruling that the route be altered where it impinges too much on the lives of Palestinians. At the bombing scene, the Israeli public security minister, Tzahi Hanegbi, said the attacks showed that the barrier was effective, because they occurred in the southern part of the country, far from where parts of the fence have been completed. "It's not a secret," he said. "Where there's a fence there is little or no terrorism, and where there is no fence we hope to fix it." Yuval Steinitz, of Mr. Sharon's Likud Party, who is chairman of the parliament's foreign and defense committee, criticized the Supreme Court for urging the military to take into consideration the impact on Palestinian lives and land before continuing with parts of the barrier. "The court decision was unreasonable and irresponsible," he said, saying that the Palestinians "could always be compensated later, after the fence is built, saving lives." Court rulings aside, the area between Hebron and Beersheba was considered less vulnerable to terrorism than other parts of the country, army officials said tonight, and the barrier there was never scheduled to be begun until 2005, once the area around Jerusalem was complete. There are likely to be more attempts to strike Israel in the south, one official said, "because it's easier." Early Tuesday, a Palestinian was arrested trying to enter Israel from Gaza through the Erez checkpoint. The man was found to have explosives sewn into his brown boxer shorts, the authorities said. Leaders of the Palestinian Authority condemned the suicide bombings and called for a resumption of peace talks. "The Palestinian interest requires a stop to harming all civilians so as not to give Israel a pretext to continue its aggression against our people," Yasir Arafat said in a statement. The Israeli government generally considers Mr. Arafat's condemnations of terrorism to be half-hearted and insincere. At the scene, Doug Moke, 20, an American studying public policy at Ben Gurion University here, said he was in shock. Speaking near an impromptu memorial to the dead - a scrawled sign and 12 candles, protected from the wind by halves of a cardboard box, he said, "It's one thing to read about it in the newspaper, but it's another thing to see them actually scrape the body parts off the street."

www . haaretz .com 2 Sept 2004 Background: Has the world given up on Palestine? By Bradley Burston, Haaretz Correspondent Four years and 4,000 deaths into the uprising, has the world given up on the cause of the Palestinians? As the real-time history of the Holy Land repeats itself in a tail-chasing parade of tragedy and farce, there are signs that even Palestinians have to a degree wearied of the demands, the costs, and the conduct of their own struggle. Last month, thousands of Palestinians jailed in Israeli prisons and detention camps declared a hunger strike in protest over such restrictions as body searches and bans on telephone use and physical contact with family members. But the protest has flagged, not least because of the tepid response of the Muslim world and the lack of involvement by Palestinians themselves. To the chagrin of Islamic groups and politicians championing the prisoners' cause, the fervor of many in the West Bank and Gaza Strip has been directed elsewhere. It has focused on crooner Ammar Hassan, 27, of the village of Salfit, the Palestinian contestant in the Lebanese al-Mustaqbal television's "Superstar 2" vocalist competition. Moreover, even the song contest has been cited by Palestinians as evidence of the mounting apathy of those they had counted on most. When text-message and internet votes from throughout the Arab world were tabulated in the finals of the contest, Palestinians were stunned and dismayed to learn that Hassan had been handily defeated by the Libyan contestant. The results stirred open resentment in Salfit, where 5,000 Palestinians had gathered to watch the finals. "They sold Jerusalem," a vexed Mahmoud Yassin, 20, said of Arabs who had cast votes elsewhere. "It's no surprise they now sold out Ammar." Palestinians, their economy ruined by lack of access to work in Israel, as well as Israel Defense Forces attacks and other factors, have also watched as their protests, international legal campaigns, and United Nations moves against the West Bank fence have fallen on less than receptive ears. The nature of the conflict, its glacial immutability, the lack of clear delineation into victims and villains, as well as the high-profile expansion of Islamist terrorism into the hearts of Manhattan and Moscow and dramatic developments in Iraq - all of these may have played a part in the perceived drop in resonance of the Palestinian cause. At the same time, Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, and the Fatah Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades have over the past months failed to deliver on promises of swift, breathtaking, Israel-crushing escalation in terror attacks, leaving the militants open to a new brand of discreet criticism from fellow Palestinians. On Tuesday, five months of relative calm - more accurately, five months of failed Palestinian attempts at avenging the IDF assassinations of Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi - came to an abrupt end in the sleepy Negev town of Be'er Sheva, where suicide bombs hit two buses within seconds of each other. Hamas sent hundreds of its masked loyalists into the streets of Gaza to hail the attacks, which left 16 people dead and more than 90 wounded. Rather than confirming the continued potency of Hamas, however, the bombings seemed to point to the opposite. "Hamas spokesmen yesterday acknowledged in a fairly obvious fashion the military weakness of their movement," remarks Haaretz Arab Affairs Editor Danny Rubinstein. "They explained that the bombings in Be'er Sheva came to avenge the murder of their leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, thereby disclosing the fact that during the months that elapsed since their liquidation, Hamas' military wing, Iz Al-Din al-Kassam, failed to respond. "Why did you wait so long?" Hamas spokesman in Gaza, Sami Abu-Zuhry, was asked by a Al-Jazeera television network correspondent. His reply: "We had to prepare for this operation meticulously, so we waited." It little helped the Hamas cause when the movement released a videotape made prior to the attacks, which seemed to subtly underscore the long delay in avenging the assassinations. In the tape, one of the Be'er Sheva bombers recites a dedication of the attack to the Palestinian prisoners, then falters and, which a sheepish smile, appears to forget what he was to say next, that the attack was also to avenge the killings of Sheikh Yassin and Rantisi. Palestinians also watched as normally sympathetic international news outlets explained that the attack was carried out in an area of Israel unprotected by the West Bank fence, underscoring Israeli arguments that the barrier was crucial to the security of the citizens of the Jewish state. The Palestinian concern comes at a time when the living symbol of Palestine, Yasser Arafat, has been largely abandoned by allies in Europe, openly scorned by Washington, and has become the target of unprecedented criticism by his constituents. In recent months, there have also been indications that the Hamas leadership has suffered a drop in its status among Palestinians since the assassinations. The organization is also believed to be suffering a shortage of weaponry, as well as an internal debate over how to respond to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's disengagement proposal. The militant groups are keen to prove that their attacks drove Israel out of the Gaza Strip and four settlements in the northern West Bank. But they are also aware that Palestinian terror attacks are the most potentially powerful weapon that Israelis opposed to the pull-out could use to foil the plan. There was also something new and, for militants, disturbing in the perceived response to suicide bombings this week. "All Hamas activists who gave interviews yesterday to Arab media outlets declared that this attack was vengeance for the assassination of their leaders," Rubinstein writes in Wednesday's paper. "But their words betrayed signs of defensiveness over criticism directed at them for hurting civilians."

www . haaretz .com 6 Sept 2004 Many times crueler and more dangerous By Danny Rubinstein Many people, including Palestinians, stressed the fact that 10 of the hostage-takers who perpetrated the horrifying bloodbath in a school in Ossetia in southern Russia were Arabs (this was the main headline in Al-Ayyam on Saturday). The fact that Arab terrorists, members of Al-Qaida, participate in operations by Chechen separatists has been known for some time. There are a few hundred Arab volunteers, graduates of the war in Afghanistan, who, after fighting in Bosnia, came to Chechnya about 10 years ago. They are the ones who gave the Chechens' ethnic-nationalist struggle, which has been going on for centuries, the flavor of an extreme Islamic jihadist war. Following the Al-Qaida terror attacks in the United States and throughout the world - and after Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq and Chechnya - the question arises: Why would these volunteers and their ilk not also come here? Why would they not also mobilize to help the Palestinian struggle in the West Bank and Gaza? There have already been a few such incidents. Al-Qaida terror has struck Jewish targets associated with Israel, such as a hotel in Mombasa and synagogues in Istanbul and Djerba, Tunisia. From a technical standpoint, at least, such a development is possible. Al-Qaida terrorists are capable of infiltrating into the territories. They might obtain help from Palestinian Muslim extremists, and would try to carry out atrocities such as they have committed in other parts of the world here as well. Such a development is liable to be especially possible if the Palestinian Authority collapses and anarchy, despair and chaos reign in Gaza and the West Bank. It is interesting to note that for now, Al-Qaida's infiltration of or participation in the Palestinian struggle is being blocked by Hamas. Hamas's opposition is rooted mainly in ideology: The movement was born from and grew up in the ranks of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood, which is a fierce ideological rival of the Saudi Wahhabi school of Islam that bred Al-Qaida. Even more important is the political background of this rivalry. Hamas vehemently opposes internationalizing the conflict with Israel and turning it into a global struggle. Hamas leaders have spoken more than once about their unyielding opposition to conducting operations against Israel outside the borders of Palestine. "We have no interest in being at war with the whole world," Sheikh Ahmed Yassin said once. Yassin, like Yasser Arafat and his people, feared that Al-Qaida operations would cause the entire world to depict Muslims and Arabs in the threatening guise of cruel terrorists. Hamas, like all offshoots of the Muslim Brotherhood, also opposes attacks against other Muslims, and therefore harshly denounced Al-Qaida's recent terror attacks in Saudi Arabia. Hamas's current leadership - or, more accurately, what remains of it after Israel's assassinations - will not lend a hand to involvement by Al-Qaida in their struggle. Like Arafat and the PLO, and also like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which operates under Iran's auspices, Hamas leaders view this as a national struggle against the occupation, not as part of a global struggle against the evils of a decadent West. Israel's government - which boycotts the Palestinians' national government and no longer views it as a partner for diplomatic dialogue, and is now also threatening to attack Hamas leaders in Syria - is thus liable to bring about a situation in which, on the ruins of these organizations, wild growths that are many times crueler and more dangerous will spring up.

WorldNetDaily.com 16 Sept 2004 Palestinian Authority clergy call for genocide of Jews Use TV broadcasts to urge killing of 'brothers of the monkeys and pigs' Twice in three days, Palestinian television has shown religious leaders calling for the mass killing of Jews. Both clerics said such a slaughter is a necessary stage in history and must be carried out quickly, reported Palestinian Media Watch. Each cited the same Hadith, Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad. SPONSORED LINKS Mortgage Rates Drop to 6-month Low Lock in the lowest rates of the summer. Get up to 4 free quotes from trusted lenders. Apply now - bad credit OK. www.LowerMyBills.com Distance Learning Directory - Online Degrees Bachelor, Master and Post-Grad degrees online from accredited colleges and universities. Business, Education, IT, Healthcare, more. Browse by degree or program. Request info and get started today. www.classesusa.com Palestinian leaders traditionally have taught that the following Hadith applies today: The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. And the Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him! Says Palestinian Media Watch: "This teaching may well be a dominant motivating factor that drives terror against Israeli civilians, because it presents the killing of Jews as a religious obligation, not related to the conflict over borders, but as something inherent to Allah's world." Sheik Ibrahim Madiras' sermon of last Friday was broadcast the same day on PA TV. Madiras declared, "The Prophet said: The Resurrection will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them. The Muslims will kill the Jews, rejoice [in it], rejoice in Allah's Victory. The Muslims will kill the Jews, and he will hide. "The Prophet said: The Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: oh servant of Allah, oh Muslim this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him! Why is there this malice? Because there are none who love the Jews on the face of the earth: not man, not rock and not tree; everything hates them. They destroy everything – they destroy the trees and destroy the houses. Everything wants vengeance on the Jews, on these pigs on the face of the earth, and the day of our victory, Allah willing, will come." Two days later, on Sept. 12, Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Maadi made the following comment on his weekly television show: "We are waging this cruel war with the brothers of the monkeys and pigs, the Jews and the sons of Zion. The Jews will fight you and you will subjugate them. Until the Jew will stand behind the tree and rock. And the tree and rock will say: oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!" The reference to monkeys and pigs is from a story in the Quran that claims Jews were cursed by Allah and turned into monkeys and pigs.

Laos

AP 27 Sept 2004 · U.S. asks Laos to check massacre report THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON -- The State Department said Monday it is taking seriously allegations that Laotian military forces may have massacred children of the country's Hmong ethnic minority. Deputy spokesman Adam Ereli urged the Laotian government to investigate the reports. "We have consistently called for the Lao government to respect the rights of its ethnic minorities and pressed the government to resolve this problem in a humanitarian and peaceful way," he said. Ereli said the U.S. government has not seen a videotape showing the aftermath of the reported attack. Laos has denied the reports and said the evidence was not credible enough to warrant an investigation. A Laotian Foreign Ministry spokesman said the video purporting to show the victims was fabricated. Amnesty International has accused government troops of carrying out war crimes in attacks on five unarmed youths, age 13-16, in central Laos last May. The London-based human rights group said it had seen and heard credible evidence that the youths, members of a Hmong rebel group, "were brutally mutilated ... by a group of approximately 30-40 soldiers."

Saudi Arabia

BBC 19 Sept 2004 Saudi jails 'seditious' academic Saudi authorities have intensified their search for al-Qaeda suspects A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a university professor to five years in jail for sowing dissent and sedition. Hard-line Islamist academic Said bin Zair was arrested in April on charges of condoning suicide bombings in an interview on Qatar-based al-Jazeera TV. Zair, 57, was released a year ago after spending eight years in prison without charge. He had demanded reforms in the Saudi monarchy. His son said the former mass communications professor would appeal. No lawyer Zair was arrested over remarks on 15 April "in which he backed the terrorist acts in Riyadh which targeted Muslims and non-Muslims", the interior ministry said. Zair had appeared on a programme to discuss a recording purported to be of al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in which he offered to suspend attacks against European interests if they stop supporting the US in its war on terror. "The verdict was announced in the absence of a lawyer," who was never appointed, his son, Abdullah, said following the sentencing hearing. "The judge said there was no need for a lawyer according to Sharia [Islamic law]," he said. Saudi Arabia is fighting a wave of violence believed to be linked to Bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.

Europe

Bosnia See Netherlands

Boston Globe 28 Aug 2004 Families of massacre victims feel betrayed by UN tribunal By Brian Whitmore and Mirsad Fazlic, Globe Correspondents | August 28, 2004 SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina -- Nearly a decade ago, Munira Subasic lost her husband and son in the worst massacre of civilians in Europe since the Holocaust. And while she and others whose relatives were systematically killed in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre said yesterday that they were happy about the arrest of Marko Boskic at his home in Peabody on federal immigration charges this week, the news that he would never appear in the dock at the United Nations war crimes tribunal reopened bitter, festering wounds. With its limited resources, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, located in The Hague, is focusing on high-level cases like that of former Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic and has no charges pending against Boskic, officials at the court said yesterday. But for victims' relatives, like Subasic, the situation feels like betrayal. ''We are disgusted by the Hague tribunal because it's not just the executors they are not processing, but much higher-level criminals, too," said Subasic, 57, a member of an advocacy group representing family members of those killed in the Srebrenica massacre. Subasic's husband was one of 1,200 men Boskic is alleged to have helped gun down after the men were taken from Srebrenica to a collective farm nearby. Her son and 22 other family members are missing and presumed killed. The body of Subasic's husband was exhumed in 1996, but because of a long process of identification of victims' remains, was not buried until last month. ''Boskic should be handed over to The Hague and he should be tried there because it is a terrible thing to kill someone's child and leave the family to suffer, unable even to find the bones," Subasic said. ''I cannot understand how the American authorities could have given a green card to such a monster." In July 1995 Serb militias entered Srebrenica, which had been declared a United Nations ''safe area," and rounded up and killed 8,000 unarmed Muslim men and boys. Boskic, an ethnic Croat who was fighting with the Serbs, was allegedly part of an execution squad that gunned down an estimated 1,200 men brought to the Branjevo farm in Pilica, near Srebrenica. ''So, killing a thousand people doesn't make you a big fish, as far as The Hague is concerned. How many do you have to kill to face trial? Five thousand, maybe?" said Dragan Lukac, director of the Bosnian State Intelligence Service, which has authority to arrest suspected war criminals. Subasic said she also was outraged that the two alleged masterminds of the Srebrenica massacre, the wartime Bosnian Serb president Radovan Karadzic and his top military commander Ratko Mladic, have not been apprehended. The UN war crimes tribunal has indicted both men on genocide charges. Karadzic and Mladic are among 21 people indicted for war crimes in the former Yugoslavia who remain at large. ''The Americans, who captured Saddam Hussein in Iraq, which is enormous, just haven't been able for nearly nine years to find these two in a country the size of Bosnia-Herzegovina; that's a fairy tale for little children," Subasic said. Likewise, Zumra Sehomerovic, 52, whose husband died in the Srebrenica massacre, said she wants Washington and the international community to get tougher with accused Balkan war criminals. ''Why don't the Americans start treating them like they do terrorists?" Sehomerovic said. Like many relatives of Srebrenica victims, Sehomerovic and Subasic say they do not trust local courts to try war crimes cases impartially. Anton Nikiforov, an adviser to UN war crimes prosecutor Carla del Ponte, said he empathizes with the families of Srebrenica victims. ''Their anger is understandable, but the process of justice is not confined to" the international war crimes tribunal, Nikiforov said. ''Our mandate is limited, and our resources are limited," he added. ''We are one international institution with three courtrooms and six trial chambers. It is the right and responsibility of local courts to prosecute war crimes cases." Fazlic reported from Sarajevo. Whitmore reported and wrote from Prague.

St Petersburh Times 24 Aug 2004 www.sptimes.ru #997, Tuesday, August 24, 2004 OPINION Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word By Mart Laar Aug. 23, 1939, sealed the fate of my family. On that day, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, whose secret protocols divided up Central and Eastern Europe between them. Within five years, my grandfather was shot by the Nazis. Two of my great-uncles were sent to Siberian death camps by the Soviets. My father-in-law was deported to Siberia as a nine-year-old boy, where he struggled to survive against death by starvation. Unknown to him, his hopes of seeing his father alive again were in vain; his father was shot early in 1941 by the KGB in Moscow's Kirov prison for the crime of being an ordinary policeman in independent Estonia. Thousands of stories like these have recently emerged from the Soviet archives. The new evidence shows that by encouraging Hitler to start World War II, Stalin hoped to simultaneously ignite a world-wide revolution and conquer all of Europe. A week after signing the pact, on Sept. 1, 1939, Hitler attacked Poland from the west. On Sept. 17, Stalin's Red Army hit Poland from the east and finished the job. In the next few months, Stalin took Bessarabia (currently Moldova) from Romania. Then his army moved to the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and annexed them in 1940. In November 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Finland, which heroically defended itself during the Winter War. All of the conquered territories suffered through terror, deportations and killings. For the next 10 years, well after the formal end of the war, armed resistance movements fought against Soviet aggression in the Baltics and western Ukraine. They were then replaced by political resistance movements. As a result of Soviet occupation, the Baltic countries alone lost more than a fifth of their population. This cannot be forgotten, nor forgiven, just because, after two years of their alliance, the Hitler-Stalin conflict started in 1941 and resulted in the sacrifice of millions of Russians fighting against the beast that Stalin himself had helped to unleash on the world. The postwar Nuremberg tribunal was justified in condemning one part of this criminal pact - Nazism. Even more, Germany has publicly apologized for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and for all the destruction and terror that Nazi Germany visited on the world. Perhaps this has not healed all of the wounds but it has healed a lot of them. And that matters not only for the victims of Nazism but for Germans themselves. Germany has faced up to its past and is now free to keep building its democratic and prosperous society. Unfortunately the same has not happened to the other side in this bargain. The crimes of communism are not condemned. During most of its existence, the Soviet Union denied even the existence of the secret protocols of Molotov-Ribbentrop, not to mention the crimes against humanity that are directly attributable to this pact, such as the massacre of thousands of Polish officers at Katyn early in the war. And even when the existence of secret protocols was recognized, first the Soviet Union and then Russia refused to undo the results of the pact. For instance, only after enormous international pressure was exerted on Russia did Moscow withdraw all its troops from the Baltic states on Aug. 31, 1994. This day is now marked as the end of World War II for these countries, with celebrations each year. But in Moldova, annexed by the Soviet Union after Molotov-Ribbentrop, Russia still maintains military bases regardless of protests by Moldova, the OSCE and the European Union. Russia has often promised to remove its troops from this area, but until this occurs, remnants of the pact are still in place. To this day, Russia maintains that Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were never occupied by the Soviet Union. This month, Russia refused to apologize for standing by, just outside the city, as the Nazis crushed the Warsaw Uprising of 1944, because Moscow hoped the Nazis were, in effect, smoothing the way for a communist takeover of Poland in 1944. Worse yet: Russia refuses to say three simple words to the victims of communism: We are sorry! Those words can help heal many wounds and remove existing mistrust. But an apology isn't as important even for the victims of communism as it is for Russia itself. When a nation cannot face up to its history, it will live like a human being suffering from a permanent neurosis. Nations that cannot make peace with their past cannot build a future. It looks increasingly as if this is one of the reasons why democracy is not thriving in Russia and why this great country hasn't developed as hoped after the fall of the Soviet Union. We all must encourage and support Russia to follow this difficult path. Mart Laar is former prime minister of Estonia. This comment first appeared in Friday's edition of The Wall Street Journal.

Germany

DPA 16 Sept 2004 Slovak massacre suspect proclaims innocence 16 September 2004 MUNICH - Ladislav Niznansky, the former Slovakian citizen facing what may be the world's last Second World War atrocity trial, denied to a German court Thursday that he played any part in three massacres. Niznansky, 86, told the Munich judges: "Civilians were taboo as far as I was concerned." He has previously admitted being a soldier in the armed forces of the Slovak puppet state, and later joining a Nazi-led anti-insurgency force that hunted down and killed anti-German partisans in 1945. Now a German national, he has been indicted with a role in the murder of 164 people, many of them women and children. The indictment says he personally fired the sub-machine-gun that killed at least 20 and commanded the execution squads that killed the others. The communist authorities in Czechoslovakia sentenced him to death in absentia in 1962 and often pointed to his employment at the Radio Free Europe research department in Munich in an effort to discredit the radio station. German prosecutors dropped an inquiry against him, maintaining they did not have free access to information, but re-opened the case in 2001, when post-communist Slovakia sent over the files. Niznansky is being held at a Munich jail.

Netherlands

BBC 1 Sept 2004 Bosnian Serb propagandist jailed The court said Brdjanin had backed an ethnic cleansing plan A former Bosnian Serb political leader has been sentenced to 32 years for war crimes and crimes against humanity. However, Radoslav Brdjanin, a member of the Bosnian Serb government in the war of the early 1990s, was cleared by The Hague tribunal of genocide charges. Judges said Brdjanin authorised the torture and forcible deportation of non-Serbs at the start of the conflict. He is also said to have turned a blind eye to atrocities at several camps, TV footage of which caused world outrage. The verdict means that the tribunal has still to sustain a genocide charge against any of its indictees. An earlier genocide conviction, of the Bosnian Serb general Radoslav Krstic, was overturned on appeal and reduced to complicity. 'Propaganda campaign' Brdjanin was a prominent member of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic's hard-line Serb Democratic Party, backing a plan to drive ethnic Croats and Muslims from parts of Bosnia by force before his resignation from the party in 1994. "The trial chamber found that the accused made one of his most substantial contributions to the implementation of the 'strategic plan' by way of a propaganda campaign against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats," the court said. It added that as a senior official in the north-western Krajina region he had provided "moral encouragement and support" to military and police running the detention camps at Omarska, Trnopolje and Keraterm. Images from the camps shocked the world when broadcast internationally in the summer of 1992. Judges said Brdjanin would be given five years' credit for the time he has already spent in detention. His co-defendant in the case, former army chief of staff General Momir Talic, died of cancer last year. Mr Karadzic and military leader Ratko Mladic - the tribunal's two most wanted suspects - are still at large.

BBC 2 Sept 2004 Court imposes lawyer on Milosevic Milosevic is not expected to co-operate with his new lawyer Judges at the UN tribunal in The Hague have said they will impose a defence lawyer on former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic against his will. The decision was made after medical tests showed he was not fit to represent himself. "If he continues to do so, it would cause further delays," presiding judge Patrick Robinson said. Mr Milosevic is on trial for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Balkans in the 1990s. Mr Milosevic has represented himself since the beginning of the trial in February 2002. He suffers from high blood pressure and heart problems. His frequent bouts of ill health have caused months of delay to the trial, which has been interrupted more than a dozen times. This is highly improper. You do not take away somebody's right to self-defence when he is sick Slobodan Milosevic Doctors say his heart condition could become life threatening if he continues to represent himself. "It is in the interests of justice to assign a counsel and we will do so," Judge Robinson said. The judges said they recognised Mr Milosevic's right to represent himself, but said the right "is not unfettered". Prosecutor Geoffrey Nice said Mr Milosevic was "manipulating this tribunal" with his health problems. Mr Milosevic called the ruling illegal and said it deprived him of his right to represent himself. "This is highly improper," Mr Milosevic said. "You do not take away somebody's right to self-defence when he is sick." But the judge said the ruling is in line with the tribunal statutes and that the decision would guarantee a fair and expeditious trial. The court did not immediately name the lawyer who will act as defence counsel for the former Yugoslav president, or say when he would be assigned. On Wednesday, prosecutors said Mr Milosevic was wasting court time by not taking drugs prescribed to control his high blood pressure. No co-operation Mr Milosevic is not expected to co-operate with any counsel appointed against his will. By defending himself, Mr Milosevic has been able to repeatedly criticise the tribunal, whose legitimacy he refuses to recognise. He would not be able to do this if a court-appointed lawyer took over his case. The lawyer would also be able to continue the defence when Mr Milosevic is too ill to attend hearings. The three independent lawyers acting as "friends of the court" (amici curiae) have argued that appointing a defence counsel would be wrong and might even give Mr Milosevic grounds for appeal should he be convicted, says legal affairs analyst Jon Silverman.

hrw.org 3 Sept 2004 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ICC States Must Ensure Support for Court Adequate Financial and Political Backing Is Crucial as First Cases Begin (The Hague, September 3, 2004) – States that have ratified the treaty establishing the International Criminal Court must provide the necessary financial and political support for the court as it begins its first field investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch said today. The ICC’s annual Assembly of States Parties is set to meet in The Hague from September 6 to 10. “Now that the ICC is beginning to reach out to witnesses and victims, we expect these states to step up to the plate and provide the appropriate funds for the court to do its job,” said Richard Dicker, director of Human Rights Watch’s International Justice program. “It’s not about giving the court a blank check, but making sure that the ICC has the necessary financial and political backing for this critical phase of its work.” The ICC has already begun investigations into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. Both situations were referred to the ICC prosecutor by the governments of the countries themselves, demonstrating a clear need for the court. Human Rights Watch noted that these investigations mark a significant new phase in the ICC’s work that will highlight the importance of the court in bringing justice to victims and fighting impunity. The investigations will also present the court for the first time with the difficult challenge of gathering evidence on the most serious crimes, which involve thousands of victims and complex legal issues. “The court will face tough issues, such as providing protection for victims and witnesses, and getting states to cooperate with its investigations,” said Dicker. “To meet these challenges, the court will need financial resources and the political will of supportive states.” The Assembly of States Parties represents all of the member states of the ICC. It has the responsibility to provide management oversight to the court and ensure it functions effectively. Human Rights Watch said that in addition to providing necessary funds, the body should work to promote universal acceptance of the ICC treaty, assist countries in implementing legislation to facilitate cooperation with the court, and aid the court in any instances of non-cooperation by states. The International Criminal Court can prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when national judicial systems are unable or unwilling to do so. The ICC, based in The Hague, has broad international support. Currently, 94 countries have ratified the Rome Statue establishing the court, and nearly 140 have signed this treaty. For more information about the ICC, see http://hrw.org/campaigns/icc/

Reuters 39 Sept 2004 BOSNIA: HAGUE PROSECUTOR URGES SENTENCING The prosecution at The Hague war crimes tribunal, Peter McCloskey, asked for a 32-year sentence for an former Serbian commander, Vidoje Blagojevic, who has been charged with genocide in the 1995 Srebrenica massacre. Up to 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed after a so-called United Nations safe area at Srebrenica, in eastern Bosnia, fell to Serbian forces in July 1995. The court indictment said Mr. Blagojevic's brigade was responsible for the security of territories around Srebrenica and took direct part in its capture.

Russia see Turkey

BBC 1 Sep 2004 Russia Opposes Imposition of UN Sanctions on Sudan 2004-09-01 BBC Monitoring Newsfile Text of report by Sudanese radio on 1 September Russia through its envoy to the UN Security Council, Andrey Denisov, has rejected the imposition of sanctions on Sudan regarding Darfur issue. It threatened to use its veto on any resolution calling for the imposition of sanctions. It stressed that the [Sudanese] government has taken positive steps to improve the conditions in Darfur. Russia also emphasized its support for the African Union in resolving the issue.

NYT 1 Sept 2004 Suicide Bomber Kills 9 at Moscow Subway Station By STEVEN LEE MYERS MOSCOW, Wednesday, Sept. 1 - A woman blew herself up outside a subway station in Moscow on Tuesday evening, killing at least 9 other people and wounding more than 50, officials said. The suicide bombing came exactly a week after bombs destroyed two passenger airliners over Russia. The woman's bomb, packed with bolts or other bits of metal, exploded after 8 p.m. in a parking lot bustling with commuters and shoppers outside the Rizhskaya subway, two and a half miles north of the Kremlin. Moscow's mayor, Yuri M. Luzhkov, said the bomber's target might have been the subway itself, because witnesses told investigators that the woman had approached the entrance only to turn away because two police officers were checking documents and bags. In February, a woman carrying a bomb destroyed a subway car here, killing at least 41. "She got scared," Mr. Luzhkov said at the scene. "She turned back into the crowd and blew herself up. It was a very powerful explosion." The attack was the latest in a series of bombings across Russia - from the heart of the capital to the ruins of Grozny - stemming from the separatist conflict in Chechnya. On Wednesday morning, a group calling itself the Islambouli Brigades of Al Qaeda, the same group that said it was responsible for the twin air bombings last week, claimed responsibility for the blast in Moscow in a posting on an Arabic-language Web site, and it tied the attack to the Chechnya conflict. The bombing occurred only hours after President Vladimir V. Putin declared for the first time that last week's twin air disasters, which killed 90 people, were acts of terrorism and vowed that Russia would not bow to terrorist demands. Those attacks also appear to have been carried out by female bombers. "We have fought, and are fighting, and will continue to fight these forces," Mr. Putin said after meeting with President Jacques Chirac of France and Chancellor Gerhard Schröder of Germany in Sochi, a resort on the Black Sea. Outside the station, situated on Prospekt Mira, Russians once again faced the grim and increasingly familiar aftermath of terrorism. The blast set two cars on fire, pocked walls and shattered windows in the circular building above the subway entrance and in a shopping center across the parking lot. An hour after the attack, wrenched bodies still lay where they fell. One young woman, inconsolable, searched the stunned crowds, shouting "Pasha!" over and over. "Something flew past my head - I don't know what it was," said Aleksei Borodin, 29, who was walking with his mother when they felt the concussive shock of the explosion. "I saw hands and feet." Despite an increased security effort, suicide bombings, mostly by women, have struck with deadly frequency over the last two years, unnerving Russians. The women, whom the news media here call "black widows," are said to be avenging the deaths of husbands, sons, fathers and brothers who have died in the grueling conflict in Chechnya, though in many cases little is known about the women's lives. In Moscow alone, such bombers have struck at an outdoor music festival in July 2003, outside the National Hotel in the city's heart in December, and in the subway in February. On Tuesday, the Federal Security Service confirmed that the investigation into last week's air disasters now focused on two women thought to be Chechens: Satsita Dzhbirkhanova and Amanat Nagayeva. Sibir Airlines Flight 1047, a Tupolev-154 headed to Sochi, where Mr. Putin spent most of August, and Volga AviaExpress Flight 1303, a Tupolev-134 to Volgograd, crashed nearly simultaneously last Tuesday night after bombs exploded inside them, near the rear of each aircraft. According to investigators cited in Russian news reports, the women may have assembled and detonated the bombs in the rear bathrooms. Investigators found traces of an explosive, hexogen, in the wreckage of both, as well as evidence of an explosion in damage to seats and tray tables. The women's bodies, still not positively identified, are the only ones of the victims that have not been claimed by relatives. Sergei N. Ignatchenko, the service's chief spokesman, emphasized in an interview that it was possible that the women's passports could have been stolen and used by the bombers. In the days after the airliners crashed, officials publicly played down the possibility of terrorism. By contrast, there was little hesitation after Tuesday's bombing. Even before it happened, evidence emerged suggesting that whoever was behind the attacks may have been plotting a series of them, including more bombings still to come. The Federal Security Service announced that an explosion at a bus stop in Moscow on the night the airliners crashed was a terrorist act, possibly related to the airline bombings, and not hooliganism as first reported. That bomb, hanging in a plastic bag on a lamppost, wounded four people on the highway leading to Domodedovo International Airport, where the two passenger planes departed roughly two hours later. On Friday, a Web posting from the Islambouli Brigades of Al Qaeda said its fighters had hijacked the two airliners to avenge the deaths of Muslims at the hands of Russian forces in Chechnya and elsewhere. Russian officials say there is no evidence of a hijacking on board, and the group's statement has not been independently confirmed. In August, the group claimed to have carried out an attempt to assassinate Shaukat Aziz, then Pakistan's prime minister-designate; the attack killed eight people but left Mr. Aziz unhurt. The bombings have occurred on either end of Sunday's presidential election in Chechnya, which has proved to be another ambiguous milestone in the war. It was held to replace Akhmad Kadyrov, who was assassinated in May when a bomb exploded under a stadium grandstand in Grozny. The Kremlin's favored candidate, Maj. Gen. Alu Alkhanov, easily won the election, but American and European officials, as well as rights groups here, criticized the vote as not meeting international standards for fairness. On Election Day in Chechnya, there were also clear signs of ballot manipulation. Chechnyan separatist leaders like Aslan Maskhadov, in hiding or in exile, have distanced themselves from attacks on civilians. His representative abroad, Akhmed Zakayev, denounced General Alkhanov's victory as a fraud and, while denouncing terrorist attacks, said Russia's policies in Chechnya were responsible. In Sochi, Mr. Putin said the claim of responsibility for the twin air attacks, if confirmed, would prove that the conflict spilling out of Chechnya was being fueled by international terrorist groups linked with or inspired by Al Qaeda. "If one of the terrorist organizations has claimed responsibility for this and it is linked to Al Qaeda, that is a fact that confirms the link between certain forces operating on the territory of Chechnya and international terrorism," he said. Mr. Putin, Mr. Chirac and Mr. Schröder, who last year were allied in opposition to the American-led war in Iraq, found themselves meeting again, this time in the shadow of terrorism. Mr. Chirac had delayed his arrival in Sochi by a day because of the kidnapping of two French journalists in Iraq. With Mr. Putin expressing support, Mr. Chirac said France was doing everything it could to win their release. He declined to comment on the kidnappers' principal demand, that France revoke a ban on Muslim head scarves in schools. On the street near Tuesday's blast, people expressed fear and, worse, the uncertainty of where terrorism would arise next. Tatyana Pavlova, 19, was selling books in a small canopy only 100 feet from where the bomb went off. Still stunned an hour after the attack, she described smoke and fire and the jarring scenes of the wounded rushing by her. "It is the first time I have seen it so close," she said. "Before, we only heard it on the news. You take the Metro, and sometimes you think something could happen. We simply pray to God each time that nothing happens to you." Erin E. Arvedlund and Sophia Kishkovsky contributed reporting for this article.

Independent UK 2 Sep 2004 'For every one of us you kill, we will wipe out 50 children' By Andrew Osborn in Beslan, North Ossetia 02 September 2004 Yesterday should have been a peaceful opportunity to swap stories of the long summer holidays; a day of friendships rekindled and lunch-time games in the sunshine for the 400 children and teachers of Beslan, a small town in North Ossetia. But from now on, the date of 1 September will remembered in the Caucasus republic as a day of infamy after Chechen fighters stormed into the classrooms of Beslan, took teachers and pupils hostage and threatened to massacre the children. The attack, which has already claimed at least eight lives, began shortly after the start of the school day. Dressed in black and wearing masks, 17 heavily armed attackers, including at least four women wearing suicide-bomb belts, burst into the building. Children were placed against windows to deter rescue operations and to stop Russian snipers picking off the terrorists. Hours later a chilling message was relayed to parents. Kazbek Dzantiyev, of the region's interior ministry, said the hostage-takers had threatened that "for every destroyed fighter, they will kill 50 children and for every injured fighter 20 [children]". Sitting, squatting and standing last night, many of the relatives cradled their heads in their hands, barely raising their tear-stained faces to look at passers-by. In what looked like a small adjoining theatre some 200 people sat in seats merely staring at the empty stage. Meanwhile, five minutes away, snipers inside the school took pot shots at anyone approaching as heavily armed troops kept the curious at bay. Anger and despair prevailed among the relatives: "They should bring back capital punishment," said Ibrahim Gubiev, whose son and daughter were trapped inside. "We the parents are standing here powerless. We can't do anything. The situation is at a dead end. They can't storm the building because if they do suicide bombers will blow the whole place up. Never mind withdrawing our troops from Chechnya. We should send more of them in." Lev Dzugayev, an aide to North Ossetia's president, said brief contact with the captors indicated they were treating the children "more or less acceptably" and were holding them separately from the adults. Police put the total number of hostages at between 300 and 400. Pupils at the school are aged between seven and 17. The local hospital was caring for at least 11 wounded. As darkness fell, with no end to the siege in sight, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, was embroiled in the worst crisis of his presidency. The attackers are thought to be Chechen but their demands were unclear. Officials said they had tossed a video tape from a window in which they demanded the release of "comrades in arms", captured in a series of attacks in neighbouring Ingushetia in June that killed more than 90 people. The authorities closed all roads into Northern Ossetia to prevent rebel reinforcements getting through. They also shut the local airport. Russian television showed a grim-faced Mr Putin rushing back to Moscow from his holiday home by the Black Sea while the head of the Russian interior ministry went straight to Beslan. Russia said that America had offered whatever help was needed to deal with the crisis. President George Bush spoke to Mr Putin by telephone. Afterwards a Kremlin statement said: "He [Mr Bush] stressed that the United States is ready to extend support in any form to deal with this new barbaric terrorist act." Russia also called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Fatima Khabolova, a spokeswoman for the regional parliament, said parents of the seized children had videotaped an appeal to Mr Putin to fulfil the terrorists' demands. A spokesman for the North Ossetia interior ministry said: "The main task is to free the children alive ­ and everybody located there, but the most important thing is the children." Witnesses near the school reported hearing sporadic gunfire well into the early afternoon. Russian sources said the fighters had opened fire on an armoured troop carrier with a grenade launcher. The raid came a day after a Chechen female suicide bomber blew herself up outside a Moscow metro station, killing nine people, and just over a week after two airliners were blown out of the sky in southern Russia, killing 90 passengers and crew. Russia's Defence Minister, Sergei Ivanov, said the country was in a state of war, but "the enemy is unseen and there is no front line".

washingtonpost.com 3 Sept 2004 Russian Special Forces Storm School Hostages Seen Leaving the School, Some Wounded By Peter Baker and Susan Glasser Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, September 3, 2004; 7:35 AM BESLAN, Russia, Sept. 3 -- Russian special forces Friday stormed the school near Chechnya where hundreds of children and adults have been held hostage for 52 hours. The action followed an intense gun battle during which dozens of hostages escaped even as gunmen fired on them. While many hostages apparently got out safely, many others were wounded, some mortally. Two hours after the fighting started, men were observed carrying burned, charred and bloodied children from the school and stuffing their apparently lifeless bodies into the sides and backs and trunks of their cars. As they did, fighting flared anew. Unconfirmed early reports from news agencies said that at least 200 people were hospitalized. Gunfire was sustained for about 45 minutes and was then sporadic even after the troops entered the school. Some two hours after the initial battle, smoke rose from the school. Outside, children clad only in their underwear were being treated or comforted in makeshift hospitals. Groups of women, screaming and wailing, gathered close by. The troops went in after a battle that began at 1 p.m. local time (5 a.m. EDT), when authorities reportedly attempted to retrieve bodies of people who had been killed near the school at the outset of the seizure, according to Russian news agencies. Negotiations over the recovery of the bodies had preceded the recovery attempt. As the retrieval was underway, two loud explosions, possibly from grenade launchers, were heard, followed by sustained automatic weapons fire. Unconfirmed news agency reports said some of the guerillas attempted to escape the school while authorities were retrieving the bodies. Other reports said hostage-takers had opened fire on the individuals recovering the bodies. Amid the shooting, children and adults began fleeing the school, prompting more gunfire, some of it aimed toward the school, some of it coming from the school. There were also many more explosions and reports that part of a roof was collapsing. During the battle, dozens of people got out of the building, including children clad only in their underwear, apparently because of the intense 90 degree plus heat inside the school. Others were carried out of the school on stretchers or piggyback, on the shoulders of adults. A makeshift hospital was set up outside the school, where both adults and children were being treated. Some were transported away by ambulance. At one point, some armed civilian men ran towards the school in an apparent attempt to retrieve children. Many of them quickly retreated, however, after being fired on from within the building. Then the first group of police or soldiers headed towards the school, followed later by special forces. Russian attack helicopters circled overhead. "Many many dead. Many dead children," said a young boy who was "blown out of the window by an explosion." The distraught boy did not appear outwardly to be injured and his comments could not be verified, though the bodies loaded into cars appeared to substantiate his words. The Interfax news agency reported that some of the hostage takers were attempting to break out through crowds near the school and that security forces fired on them as they ran. The attack on the school, in the region of North Ossetia just west of Chechnya, came at the close of Wednesday's opening-day ceremony, just after 9 a.m., when hundreds of students, teachers and parents were packed into the gym. About a dozen adults were killed in the initial shootout. Two days into the standoff, confusion remained over the number of hostages, and many relatives here accused the government of deliberately understating the total. The official tally was reported at 354 Thursday morning by Lev Dzugaev, an aide to the North Ossetian president. Minutes later, local Interior Ministry chief Kazbek Dzantiyev said 400 children and an unknown number of adults were in the building. Parents who were gathered in the local House of Culture said the actual number was far higher, and separatist leader Zakayev said he was told by the government mediators that the total was close to 1,000. Estimates on the number of guerrillas were similarly uncertain, ranging from 15 to 40, including at least two women wearing explosives. The heavily armed insurgents -- described by officials and people who fled the school as a mix of ethnic Chechens, Ingush, Russians and Ossetians -- were demanding the withdrawal of Russian troops from the nearby separatist republic of Chechnya and the release of guerrillas jailed after a raid this summer in Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya. They have mined the school and threatened to blow it up if the government tries to storm it. Glasser reported from Moscow

NYT 6 Sep 2004 REACTION Moscow's Gloom Deepens as Fear Becomes Routine By SETH MYDANS OSCOW, Sept. 5 - "We ride on the subway and think it is for the last time," the Rev. Aleksandr Borisov told Russian Orthodox worshipers on Sunday morning. "We gather in a church and think it is our last liturgy." This was not simply the homily of a Sunday sermon. Following one of the most horrific terrorist acts in recent times, with the massacre of hundreds of children, parents and teachers in a schoolhouse on Friday, Father Borisov said he was speaking quite literally. "We received a warning yesterday that terrorist acts are planned in churches in the center of Moscow," he said at the Church of SS. Cosmas and Damian in the heart of the capital, one of many churches across Russia holding memorial services for the victims on Sunday. "World War III has begun." In the days after a deadly hostage-taking in the republic of North Ossetia, near Chechnya, which took more than 300 lives, a sense of dread, fatalism and futility has spread through the capital. "You Americans, you have your bin Laden, and now maybe so do we," said Vasily Nizovtsev, 34, who sells pirated video discs along with cigarettes and telephone credit cards. This is not the United States, though, where the terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001 came out of a clear blue sky. This was the latest attack linked to a decade-long separatist war in Chechnya. Dozens of people were killed last fall in a bombing of the Moscow subway. In late 2002, about 130 died as the result of a terrorist attack at a Moscow theater. In the past two weeks more than 500 people have been killed - in attacks in Chechnya, in the bombings of two airliners, in a suicide bombing outside a Moscow subway station and in the schoolhouse siege that at last count had left 338 dead. After days of near-silence, President Vladimir V. Putin emerged somberly from his tent on Saturday to tell his countrymen that Russia had become the pale shadow of a once-great nation, vulnerable to threats from within and without. He promised strong new measures along the lines of the United States homeland security defenses, but few people interviewed here in the past two days seemed to take much heart. "Putin said the country is weak and defenseless, and that's true," said Yuri Rublyov, 20, a student who was handing out fliers offering free coffee at a downtown cafe. "Under Stalin, something like this never would have happened." But, like professional political commentators who have marveled at Mr. Putin's political imperviousness, he said: "Remember, this is not America. He doesn't have to say anything. In America you demand answers. Here, it's not the same." The horror left one leading newspaper speechless. The front page of Saturday's issue of Izvestia carried just a giant photograph of a man holding a wounded child - more eloquent than the thousands of words that could have filled that space. With shocking scenes of dead or terrified children filling the television screens after a near-news blackout during the days of the hostage-taking, Moscow has slipped into an anguished funk. A festive annual City Day weekend was canceled and the government announced two days of mourning culminating in plans for a huge rally on Tuesday near Red Square. The state-controlled television station NTV said it would cancel all entertainment programming and advertising on those days. It called for a moment of silence on Thursday morning "in the memory of the dead and in the name of the living." The brutality of the hostage-taking seemed almost a natural disaster _ - an outbreak of human savagery in which neither the perpetrators nor their motives were known. The Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov, who recently predicted that any Russian-backed president of Chechnya would face assassination, hurried to distance himself from the schoolhouse killings, saying, "There can be no justification for terror against innocent citizens." He took the opportunity, though, to blame Mr. Putin, who inaugurated the second round of the war in 1999 and has pursued it single-mindedly at great human cost. Around Moscow, the trauma of the attacks aroused confusion, conspiracy theories, dreams of vengeance and bitter humor. "Obviously, somebody is trying to start a war," said Yevgeny Kagelizi, 24, a street cleaner who was picking up trash with a metal spike. "It's a terrific business." A printer who would give only his name and patronymic, Mikhail Fyodorovich, 63, asserted: "I think our special services did this. We have no terrorism in our country. The planes, they were all props. This was carried out by our government to strengthen their position, because we have no state left." In his sermon, Father Borisov said many parishioners had spoken at confession of an urge for revenge, which he called an understandable emotion that did not require repentance. "A terrible fate awaits those who commit such acts," he said of the terrorists. But he added: "The national reaction must be solidarity and love. Let evil be overcome by good. This requires courage, creativity and compassion." Tatyana Tolstaya, a leading writer and television personality, said reality was to be found not in the commanding words of Mr. Putin's public statements on Saturday but rather in a parody of them on a satiric Web site here, vladimir.vladimirovich.ru. "If suddenly some god of truth appeared, this is what Putin would say, because, perhaps, this is what he really thinks," Ms. Tolstaya said. The parody of Mr. Putin's speech goes: "Yes, war has been declared on us. Yes, if we want to end this war, we'll only be able to do it together. I'm like you, and like you I don't know what to do. And like you I know that the militia takes bribes, that highest-level bureaucrats think only of how to grab themselves more money, that the army is being used as free construction labor, that the oligarchs are stealing oil and not paying taxes, that the troops in Chechnya are kidnapping people, that everything is rotten and crumbling. These aren't some of my people. This is you. The people. Everyone around me. And I'm like you. Don't you understand?" Erin E. Arvedlund and Sophia Kishkovsky contributed reporting for this article.

www.pakistantimes.net 6 Sept 2004 Beslan Massacre: The Spilled Blood Has Changed Rules By Tariq Saeedi - Pakistan Times Special Contributor ASHGABAT (Turkmenistan): At 9 am, Wednesday morning, Yelena was a pretty, compact bundle of energy, made of sugar and spice and all things nice. Fifty-six hours later, she was a broken doll. She departed the world in less than seven years of her arrival. She was not alone - more than 150 children left with her. The unbelievable ruthlessness that visited Beslan, a small town of 30000 in North Ossetia, has changed some basic rules. Nothing will be the same ever again. In this age of asymmetrical conflicts, the people who are fighting for their rights and the people who are withholding those rights need to understand that their ability to pursue their respective agendas depends ultimately on the public support. In the end, it is the people who really matter. More than 350 dead have been counted in the Beslan tragedy already – some 155 of them children – and the toll is likely to rise considerably because about 205 hostages are still not accounted for. This is not the time to indulge in niceties. There is no justification for what happened there. It is one of those occasions when one can see the rationale of summary trial and execution. Discarding political correctness, one can emphasize that nothing short of execution would serve the cause of justice in this case. The senseless massacre of our children – for they are our children no matter who we are – has changed some basic rules forever. Public Support The people who are struggling for their rights and the people who are withholding or suppressing those rights seem to have forgotten that their accomplishments in any given direction are limited by the extent of public support they can muster. United States and Great Britain in Iraq and Afghanistan, Russia in Chechnya, Israel in Palestine, India and Pakistan in Kashmir, Sudan in Darfur, must remember that state power is nothing but a social contract between the government and the people. When the people want to withdraw from that contract, no one can stop them. Likewise, the groups and parties struggling for their real or perceived rights need to understand very clearly that their existence and continued activity is dependent entirely on the goodwill of the communities they purport to represent. From now on, the governments and the people who are struggling against the governments for whatever reason must remember that the patience of the public has reached its limit. The long and mighty arm of God has begun its sweeping action. Russia Never Changes Putin remained hidden somewhere for 56 hours while the hostages were suffocating in the gym hall, explosives hanging over their heads and guns pointed at their chests. Prime Minister of Russia was calmly explaining some minor points for the next year’s budget as the troops were storming the school and dead children were painting the pavement crimson. The state Duma – the Russian Parliament – remained silent as a fish; the politicians who start each working day with a mouthful of epithets for the countries who are supposedly violating the rights of ethnic Russians were to be found nowhere. The Russian media that is proud of its aggressive stance against many of the CIS countries was no better. Channel One (ORT) was showing a serial film most of the time during the exchange of fire between the hostage-takers and the security forces. RTR (Russia TV) was reporting from a point carefully chosen to hide what was actually going on in the school, assuring the viewers that ‘everything is under control.’ An NTV correspondent, who was probably not properly briefed, tried to report something about the carnage and the anchorperson intervened, ‘we should not talk about that.’ This could have been the Russia of Czarist times, this could have been the Soviet Union of communist times but this was actually the democratic Russia under an immensely popular president. Nothing changes in Russia. While Putin may be comfortable with his tough stance and profane language, he needs to understand that rules have changed already. The present round of war in Chechnya is going on for the last six years. The male population of Chechnya is not more than 80000, which is almost equal to the total number of Russian troops engaged in Chechnya; one Russian soldier for each Chechen male. If this ratio has not been able to break the resolve of Chechen people, what else would? Russia has tried and imposed two presidents on Chechnya through highly questionable ballots and the result is still the same. In the elections last week, the Kremlin candidate Alkhanov was reported to have won the elections by a sweeping majority. No one cared to hide the fact that his main opponent had been disqualified on a mere technicality and the polling stations were virtually deserted while the Russian media was reporting high turnout of voters. Probably it has never occurred to Putin the Chekist that one way to solve the Chechen problem could be to find and respect the will of the Chechen people. The departed children of Beslan have told Putin that things have changed now. Stroking a child’s head and touching a woman’s arm in the midnight visit is not enough. Promise of an all-out war against the terrorists is also not enough. If the state power comes down indiscriminately and heavily on anyone who matches a ‘profile’ it would lead to more bloodshed and more tragedy. What Putin needs to understand immediately is that all the fringes of the present-day Russian Federation are heavily populated by Muslims. It is a nearly perfect ring: Dagestan, Chechnya, Ingushetia, Bashkortistan and Tatarstan. If the sense of perceived oppression and state heavy-handedness spreads in the masses, it would only end in fragmentation of Russian Federation, resulting in a smaller Russia surrounded by hostile Muslim states from all sides. There may be a temptation to crackdown on all Muslims but Putin must avoid it at all costs. The only solution, as always, is the political solution. Legacy of Stalin The jagged edges of Ferghana valley stabbing into Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, and the scattered Chechens, Koreans, Germans and other minorities because of repeated deportations are some of the legacies of Stalin. A number of the deported Chechens found refuge in Jordan. Khattab, one of the most feared Chechen fighters, was dubbed an Arab but actually he was the grandson of Chechens who had been deported to Jordan during Stalin era. There is no telling how many other Chechens who have returned from exile are classified as Arabs. Although Stalin thought that by scattering these people he was breaking the strength of these people, the reality is entirely opposite now. Take the case of Chechens. They are scattered in a couple of dozen countries including Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the entire CIS region. This provides the Chechen struggle with worldwide support bases and countless options. Another fact worth remembering is that Chechnya is the land of Imam Shamil, who fought for a quarter of a century against Russian oppression; every third male in Chechnya has Shamil as first, middle or last name. After the fall of communism, the Russian government should have allowed the Chechens to return to their homeland if they wanted. This would have given a chance to document their return and keep a tab on them. The thing to keep in mind is that Dagestan, Chechnya, North Ossetia and Ingushetia are kind of tribal societies. Small ethnic groups are tightly packed together. Even at the best of times there is only uneasy peace between different groups. The Beslan tragedy has disturbed the equation already but the Russian government must use all resources at its disposal to restore the balance and plan long-term measures to maintain peace and harmony. After 40 days of mourning period, there is likelihood of clashes in the region. Horizontal Expansion of Asymmetrical Conflicts Asymmetrical conflicts have expanded horizontally in recent years. Small groups and minorities, when faced with the state power that neither recognizes their problems nor negotiates with them, are turning more and more to soft targets. Faced with the full might of the state power, the people struggling for their real or perceived rights are continuously amending their moral code. What was absolutely unthinkable a few years ago has become kosher daily routine now. The phenomenon is clearly visible in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine and elsewhere. This is inhuman, merciless and absolutely cruel but the people who are up in arms against their governments probably see some strategic value in this. When fear and uncertainty spreads in the society, the government authority is weakened automatically. When people lose confidence in the government, they begin searching for alternate methods to protect themselves. The decrease in people’s confidence in their governments results in proportional increase in the power of the opposing groups. By expanding the range of targets, the terrorists try to make it very expensive for the government to stay in power – expensive financially and emotionally. Sometimes the government overcomes the resistance by sheer power but that is only a temporary solution. Also, times comes when the cost is not bearable anymore and withdrawal is the only solution, as happened in Algeria for France, Vietnam for USA, and Lebanon for USA and Israel. Beslan tragedy underlines that political solution is the only option for both sides. Why to suffer more pain for nothing. People and history will not forgive any side that refuses to come to the negotiation table. The Mother of All Conspiracy Theories Telephone conversation and email exchange with some Russian analysts shows that many are convinced there is a conspiracy behind the recent wave of terrorism in Russia. “If nothing else is clear, we always try to find who stands to benefit,” said one analyst. “What is happening in Russia, would only benefit the United States,” he added. Others agreed. What the analysts said, can be summed up as follows: The presidential elections are approaching in the United States and Bush is feeling isolated at home and abroad. He desperately needs allies abroad and voters at home. Russia and France could be the most desirable allies in these times of need. The string of terror in Russia that includes an explosion near a bus stop in Moscow where four persons were injured, crash of two aircraft resulting in 90 deaths, suicide bombing near a Metro station causing 11 deaths and the school siege ending in more than 350 dead are all unique in the Russian history in the sense that no known Chechen group claimed the responsibility or presented any clear list of demands. The only intended outcome seems to persuade the Russian people and the Russian government that they are facing international terrorism and they have no choice but to align themselves with the United States. The same motives seems to be behind the kidnapping of French journalists in Iraq i.e. to convince the French government and the French people to reconsider their stance and join hands with the United States. It is known fact that some Chechen groups are financed clandestinely by the United States and they may have been used to engineer these incidents. As conspiracy theories go, this is the mother of them all and it seems to have some weight. Judicial Use of Public Sympathy Public support is crucial for any venture. In the wake of 9-11, the USA had the entire world on its side but it squandered away this asset by attacking Iraq without any justification. Chechens had a lot of sympathy the world over because of Kremlin aggression but the Beslan incident has stripped Chechens of that shield. Now Putin has the sympathies and support of the world but signs are visible already that he is about to throw it all to the wind. His promises of tougher approach and his insistence that there is no problem in Chechnya mean that the present cycle of violence and counter-violence would bring no respite for the Russian people. Putin must make most judicial use of the public sympathy that he has at home and abroad. This is quite possibly the last chance for Putin to put things right. Islamic Countries Need to Wake up Beslan is also probably the last call for the Islamic countries to wake up. Islamic tenets are very clear on the subject. When the Jews were under siege in the fort of Khiber, some distance from Medina, one of the companions of The Prophet proposed cutting down the water supply to the fort to force the Jews to come out in the open. The Prophet said that cutting the water supply is not the proper way to wage a battle. There are women and children, there are old and sick people and there are non-combatants in the fort. Cutting down the water supply would affect them all and that is not how we fight wars. We fight only those who are up in arms against us. When dispatching an army for combat in the east, The Prophet instructed the commander to refrain from harming women and children, the sick and the elderly, the scholars and religious leaders, the places of worship and the places of public utility. He forbade the commander to pollute water sources, cut down green trees or burn the agricultural fields. When Muslims entered Mecca as a victorious army, the standing order was: Don’t harm anyone who takes refuge in Ka’aba, in Abu Sufiyan’s house or in his own house. Don’t harm non-combatants and don’t harm a combatant when he throws down his arms. In case of legitimate struggle for rights – and there are many around the globe – the Muslim scholars need to specify the rules very clearly: What are the perimeters of a genuine struggle, what are the legitimate targets, and when does the struggle become terrorism. Muslims also need to understand that there is no concept of clergy in Islam. In fact, Islam is not a religion; it is a path (Deen). Professional clergymen in Islam are promoting the rot that has almost reached the core. If they are frustrated by 250 years of humiliation, the fault lies entirely with them. It is the law of nature that a nation that cannot defend its rights, falls subject to other nations. It is also the law of nature that a society devoid of justice cannot maintain its independence and dignity for long. If you feel sad that Gouraud strode to the tomb of Saladin in Damascus in July 1920 and said, "Awake Saladin, we have returned. My presence here consecrates the victory of the Cross over the Crescent," you need to remember your own deeds for centuries before that. If the Muslim clergymen have any doubts about Islamic teachings on the subject and the scope of interfaith harmony, they should try to find as to who is the custodian and doorkeeper of the Church of The Holy Sepulcher, the holiest church in the Christian world. They are also advised to find if they are afflicted by the equivalent of the ‘Jerusalem Syndrome.’ While they are at it, they may as well visit the St. Catherine’s monastery at mount Sinai and read the letter of Prophet Muhammad that is displayed in a frame on the library wall. Blame Game Must Stop Beslan children have written in their blood that the blame game must stop now. When states pursue their own interests and claim innocence when something goes wrong, when it is fashionable to maintain that there are no freedom fighters in the world and everyone who resists the state power is a terrorist, when rhetoric says that we are trying to safeguard people’s interests and reality shows that people’s interests are being trampled under the wheels of APCs, when you come to liberate the oil and gas under the earth but subjugate the people over the earth, when secession is not an option because of natural resources or strategic location, something is seriously wrong with this world. All sides need to acknowledge that there are good governments and there are bad governments, there are dishonest presidents and there are honest presidents, there are freedom fighters and there are terrorists. This is not a black and white world. Let this be the last Beslan for our children?

RFE/RL 6 Sep 2004 Troubling Questions Remain About Bloody Beslan Siege By Jeremy Bransten President Putin in a Beslan hospital Russia has begun two days of mourning for the hundreds of victims of the North Ossetia school massacre. But three days after the siege was broken, many fundamental questions remain about the tragedy and the authorities' handling of the incident. The exact number of victims, the number of hostage takers, and many other details have still not been revealed. Prague, 6 September 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Flags are flying at half-staff across Russia as the people of Beslan, in North Ossetia, continue to bury their dead following the bloody hostage crisis at the local school on 3 September. Shock and grief are the predominant emotions in this small Caucasus town, as one young man told reporters today: "I feel terrible. I had a sister here who died. My other sister is in hospital. What do I feel? Do you hear the people crying? That is how I feel." But mixed with the tears are increasing questions about what exactly happened in Beslan, when the three-day-old hostage crisis ended in chaos.The idea that Russian forces decided to break the siege at the last minute in reaction to the militants' actions is a fabrication meant to cover up the disastrous outcome of what he believes was a planned assault. According to the latest government figures, some 330 people -- about half of them children -- were found dead after Russian special forces stormed the school. How they died and whether all of them were killed during the assault is unclear. More than 500 people remain hospitalized. But three days after the event, scores of people are still unaccounted for. Locals continue to search for missing relatives and wonder why the authorities cannot help them locate their missing loved ones. Initially, the authorities said 16 terrorists were behind the hostage taking and that 13 were reported to have escaped. Then, different officials cited numbers ranging from 29 to 34 terrorists, saying all had been killed, except for three who were captured. Nine of the hostage takers were said to be Arabs, and a 10th was reported to be African. Moscow has offered no proof to back up these claims, however. Last night, Russian television broadcast footage of one man in custody -- clearly of Caucasian origin -- who was identified as one of the hostage takers. The Russian authorities say it was never their intention to storm the school and end the siege by force. They say the assault by special forces came as a last-minute decision when the hostage takers began shooting at ambulance drivers who had come to collect the bodies of dead hostages on 3 September. At that moment, another group of hostages managed to escape from the school, shooting and explosions broke out, forcing commandos to act. But the source of the explosions still remains unclear. Did the hostage takers unwittingly set off booby traps they had planted throughout the building, as some have suggested, or did Russian commandos disguised as medical personnel initiate hostilities by firing a rocket-propelled grenade or other weapon, as other versions have it? Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer disputes the official version of events as presented by the government. He tells RFE/RL that the idea that Russian forces decided to break the siege at the last minute in reaction to the militants' actions is a fabrication meant to cover up the disastrous outcome of what he believes was a planned assault. Just as in the hostage-taking drama at the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow in October 2002, he accuses the authorities of hiding the truth from the Russian public. From the very start, he notes, the authorities downplayed the magnitude of the crisis, saying some 300 hostages had been seized in Beslan, when the real number was more than 1,000. While foreign news channels such as CNN and the BBC broke into programming to bring live updates from Beslan, Russian state television kept quiet: "It is perfectly clear that from the very start, from September 1, when the hostages were seized, the Russian authorities and the special services lied. They lied intentionally about what was happening. They misled everyone about how many hostages there were, intentionally diminishing their number several times over. They lied, saying that the hostage takers had refused to conduct negotiations when, in fact, it was the Russian authorities who refused to hold talks from the very start, just as in the Dubrovka case, when they also refused to conduct negotiations. They lied, saying that the hostage takers had no demands when, in fact, they had demanded that President [Vladimir] Putin sign a decree withdrawing Russian forces from Chechnya." Felgenhauer says the idea that the special forces mounted a last-minute, spontaneous attack is not technically credible, as the offensive was backed up by attack helicopters -- proving advance coordination: "Although there is an air base near Beslan, I know how much time it takes to transmit instructions to pilots. Even if the helicopter was fueled, armed, and waiting, and the pilots were already suited up -- if it had been a spontaneous decision -- they would have had to wait for instructions. An order would have had to be given. They would have had to get aboard, to warm up the engine. They could not have made it to the school in less than half an hour or even more." Reports that the hostage-takers had managed to hide weapons and explosives in the school, prior to the attack, points to their meticulous preparation, raising questions about how they gained access to the building in the weeks preceding the attack. Initially, some reports said the school had undergone extensive reconstruction work during the summer, providing an opportunity for the militants to disguise themselves as workers and hide their munitions in the building. But those reports were later disputed by some local residents, who said the reconstruction work only amounted to a paint job, leaving the question of when and how such quantities of weapons could have been hidden in the building unanswered. Questions also have been raised about the lack of involvement on the part of the local authorities in North Ossetia in trying to defuse the crisis as it was progressing. Respected former Ingush President Ruslan Aushev was the only noted regional figure who played any prominent role in trying to peaceably end the standoff. North Ossetian President Aleksandr Dzasokhov could only plead forgiveness from his people after the massacre: "I want to apologize to all of those who have been touched by grief. I say this because we were not able to protect our children and our teachers and our parents." Finding the truth about who carried out the attack in Beslan is of key importance, as many analysts have noted. If there was, indeed, an Ingush component, as officials have said, there are fears this could touch off ethnic tensions in the region. The two neighbors have long had acrimonious relations and fought a short war in 1992 that resulted in 600 deaths. On the other hand, if Arab fighters took part in the attack, as the Kremlin claims, it raises questions about Moscow's preparedness to fight international terrorism. Putin has promised renewed vigilance and new measures to combat terrorism. But as former State Duma deputy and human-rights activist Yuli Rybakov tells RFE/RL, so much money is already being spent on defense and security in Russia that it is hard to see how this can be increased. The question is, rather, how is the money being spent? "One-third of the budget which the State Duma is about to approve goes for defense, for the provision of our security. One trillion rubles, 30 percent of the budget -- which comes out of our pockets -- is being spent on security. And what is the result? This year's increase in defense spending alone amounts to 100 billion rubles [around $3 billion]. That's just extra money from the budget for our military, and the special services alone will get an additional 80 billion rubles [$2.6 billion]. And do we have the option of checking how this money is spent?" There are now many people, not only in Beslan, who would like to have an answer.

www.mosnews.com 17 Sept 2004 Commision Pardons the Murderer of Young Chechen Woman Created: 17.09.2004 19:18 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 20:40 MSK MosNews Yuri Budanov who was jailed for the killing of a young Chechen woman has been pardoned. A pardon commission of Ulyanovsk region where former colonel is jailed granted his appeal on Wednesday, Interfax news agency reported Friday. However, this decision comes to force after being signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin. Budanov was sentenced to 10 years of prison on July 25, 2003, by the North Caucasus district military court, for having kidnapped and killed Chechen Elza Kungayeva. On October 6, the military collegium of the Russian Supreme Court upheld this decision. On March 30, the presidium of the Russian Supreme Court found no grounds to annul this sentence. In May, ex-colonel Budanov made an appeal for pardon. Two days later, he withdrew his appeal because the question of his citizenship was not yet clear and his possible place of residence and work was not determined. Russia’s human rights envoy Vladimir Lukin denounced the pardon in an interview to Interfax. After the recent school siege in Beslan, Russia must maintain a tough stance against “the murderers of innocent people,” Lukin said, and make sure there isn’t an “impression that we approach these issues with double standards.” The chairman of the pardon commission of Ulyanovsk Region, Anatoly Zherebtsov, told MosNews that time that Budanov had served in Belarus at the time of the USSR’s collapse, and had rejected Belarussian citizenship. In the time of the Soviet Union, he used his officer certificate instead of a passport. He did not receive a passport while serving in Russia. Now, he is unable to get all necessary documents while being in custody. The administration of the colony where Budanov is imprisoned, has learned this facts only now, Zherebtsov said. Budanov’s family was then evicted from the Russian republic of Buryatia and moved to Ukraine, he added. Later, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Budanov had Russian citizenship. The investigation found that Budanov had kidnapped Kungayeva on March 27, 2000. He took her to his military unit, questioned and strangled her. He said during court hearings that he had considered her a rebel sniper. The decision of the regional pardon commission must be confirmed by the head of Ulyanovsk region, Vladimir Shamanov, who was one of the fiercest commanders of the Russian troops in the North Caucasus in 1999 and 2000. After that, the decision must be signed by the Russian president.

BBC 17 Sept 2004 Chechen rebel claims Beslan siege Shamil Basayev has a $10m bounty on his head Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev has said he organised the Russian school siege in which at least 320 hostages were killed, many of them children. In a letter published by leading rebel websites, he said a suicide battalion had carried out the Beslan attack. The letter also claimed bomb attacks on two Russian airliners and a Moscow metro station this summer. Russia is offering $10m for the capture of Mr Basayev, whose reported actions a US official described as "inhuman". QUICK GUIDE The Chechen conflict "On the question of Basayev's statement taking credit for the massacre in Beslan, it is proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that this is inhuman," said US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on a visit to Poland. "Anyone who would use innocents for political aims is not worthy of existence." Aslan Maskhadov, the main Chechen rebel leader, has denied any links to the three-day siege in the North Ossetian town which ended in carnage. In other developments: President Vladimir Putin warns that Russia is "seriously preparing to take preventive action against terrorists... in accordance with the norms of international law" A regional amnesty commission pardons Colonel Yuri Budanov, a Russian army officer sentenced to 10 years in jail for murdering a young Chechen woman - but the pardon must still be approved by President Putin. 'Martyr battalion' The message from Mr Basayev was published on Friday by Chechen Press and Kavkaz Tsentr, the two main Chechen rebel websites. In the most impudent manner Putin is now... accusing us also of international terrorism and appealing to the world for help Statement on Beslan attributed to Shamil Basayev Excerpts: Basayev's letter Chechnya killer pardoned The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says it is no surprise that there is a claim of responsibility from the warlord, now Russia's most wanted man. Mr Basayev said his Riyadus-Salikhin "martyr battalion" had carried out the Beslan raid and the other attacks. He identified the commander of the Beslan raid as a "Colonel Orstkhoyev" and said that 31 people from various ethnic groups in Russia were involved along with two "Arabs". The attackers included 12 Chechen men and two Chechen women, he said. Mr Basayev blamed President Putin for the deaths at the school, which he called a "terrible tragedy". He said they had been caused by Russian special forces storming the building on 3 September. RECENT ATTACKS 3 Sep: At least 320 hostages die when Beslan school siege comes to bloody end 31 Aug: Suicide bomber kills 10 outside Moscow metro station 24 Aug: Suspected suicide bombers destroy two airliners shortly after they leave the same Moscow airport, killing 89 Russia's most wanted Russia has always insisted its commandos assaulted the Beslan school only when explosives planted by the hostage-takers began to go off inside and children tried to run to safety. "In the most impudent manner Putin is now trying to blame us for that, accusing us also of international terrorism and appealing to the world for help," said Mr Basayev. Describing Mr Putin as a "bloodsucker", he accused him of wanting to "satisfy his imperial ambitions and to keep his job". "He wants to link the rest of the world to the blood spilled in Beslan... but forgets at the same time that 'Chechnya is Russia's internal affair'," he said. Mr Basayev said the hostage-takers had been demanding the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. Crackdown Mr Putin announced sweeping security and political changes in the wake of the Beslan siege, sealing borders in the Caucasus region and revealing plans to return more power to the president. But Mr Putin was criticised by his predecessor as president, Boris Yeltsin, who said Russians should not allow their country to move away from democracy. "The stifling of freedoms... will mean... the terrorists will have won," Mr Yeltsin said in an interview published in the Moscow News. Our correspondent says it is the first significant comment from Mr Yeltsin since he handed power to Mr Putin five years ago.

washingtonpost.com 24 Sept 2004 Russia Arrests 2 More Policemen as Crackdown Grows By Peter Finn Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, September 24, 2004; Page A22 MOSCOW, Sept. 23 -- Two policemen were arrested Thursday in the Russian republic of Ingushetia on charges of aiding the Chechen guerrilla leader Shamil Basayev, Russian officials announced. The move appeared to be part of a widening crackdown on corruption and incompetence in the lower ranks of the security services following the Beslan school massacre. This week, three police officers in Beslan were charged with criminal negligence in connection with the school siege in the southern Russian town, which left at least 338 people dead, nearly half of them children. The Russian prosecutor general's office declined to provide details on the alleged negligence. In addition, authorities this week arrested a police captain in Moscow who allegedly failed to question or search two suicide bombers at Domodedovo International Airport after they were brought to him by other officers. The two women later bribed their way onto planes that were brought down in midair by nearly simultaneous explosions, killing all 90 people on both flights. Watchdog groups say that in the wake of the school siege, which led to widespread criticism of the police, the Russian government is trying to show that it is serious about addressing police corruption. But the groups noted that so far only beat policemen and relatively low-ranking officers have been targeted. "The authorities want to show that they are tackling violations in the police, and finding evidence against small fry is a lot easier," said Pavel Chikov, head of the legal department at Public Verdict, a group that monitors the police. "The authorities are now speaking out about corruption, and I think it is going to have a positive impact on this problem." Addressing the nation after Beslan, President Vladimir Putin signaled an imminent crackdown on corruption and noted that even petty corruption, such as extorting bribes from drivers at the country's ubiquitous checkpoints, can have "grave consequences" for society. "Sanctions," Putin said, "should be adequate to the effects of that crime." The arrests in Ingushetia stem from a June attack on police posts and other government installations there that left 88 people dead, including the local interior minister, who oversaw public security. Arms seized from police arsenals during the raid were later used to take over the school in Beslan, Russian officials said. The prosecutor's office said today that a traffic policeman, Magomed Lolokhoyev, had used his position to enable guerrillas, including Basayev, to pass through police checkpoints before the June attack. Lolokhoyev is also accused of transporting weapons for the attackers. The prosecutor's office said it had opened cases against several other policemen and that they had been declared wanted. Officials said separately that more Beslan police officers may be charged with negligence. "The investigation has established that Magomed Lolokhoyev had a direct link with . . . Basayev," Ingushetia's acting interior minister, Bislan Khamkhoyev, told the Russian news agency Interfax. "This is a very big game. . . . Those who were killed during the siege of the school in Beslan also took part in the Ingushetia raid. These are the most errant and inveterate murderers." In a recent Internet posting, Basayev asserted responsibility for the Beslan siege as well as the downing of the two civilian aircraft and a subway station bombing Aug. 31 in Moscow, where 10 people were killed. In newspaper interviews, he has also taunted Russians about the ease with which he can reach targets by bribing police officers.

Serbia

AP 5 Sept 2004 Serbian Leader Urges Suspects to Surrender BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- Still reluctant to catch and extradite suspects wanted by a U.N. war crimes court, Serbia's Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica urged the men to surrender voluntarily to the international tribunal in comments published Sunday. ``Concerning handover of the indicted, I think that, by far, the most convenient form would be voluntary surrender,'' Kostunica was quoted as saying in the Dnevnik daily. Kostunica spoke as Western pressure continued to build on Serbia to hand over more than a dozen wanted men indicted in connection with the Balkan wars of the 1990s or risk renewed isolation. Serbia and its tiny partner Montenegro emerged from strict sanctions in 2000 when former leader Slobodan Milosevic, the key figure in the 1990s conflicts, was ousted and extradited to the U.N. court in The Hague, Netherlands. He is being tried on 66 counts of war crimes and alleged genocide. Several of Milosevic's lieutenants have also been extradited or surrendered voluntarily. But some suspects remain at large -- notably the Bosnian Serb wartime commander, Gen. Ratko Mladic. Kostunica's government insists that Mladic is not hiding in Serbia. However, four former police and army generals indicted in connection with the 1998-1999 Kosovo war are in Serbia but openly refuse to surrender. Kostunica dismissed fears that the U.N. Security Council would use its right to punish Serbia-Montenegro, the successor state to the former Yugoslavia, for not bringing all suspects to justice. ``In the most recent statements from foreign officials, there was no harsh tone concerning the (required) cooperation with The Hague court,'' he was quoted as saying by the daily, published in the northern city of Novi Sad. He insisted that Serbian authorities have been cooperating with the U.N. court, including sharing classified documents from state archives with U.N. prosecutors. But the United States and the European Union are demanding that Serbia deliver the suspects -- something Kostunica's conservative Cabinet is reluctant to do. The Cabinet and numerous hardline groups here regard the U.N. court as biased, anti-Serb and accuse it of being too lenient in prosecuting atrocities where Serbs were the victims. Kostunica has avoided decisive action to catch the suspects -- probably to avoid alienating nationalists here, including Milosevic's Socialists, who support his government in Serbia's parliament. But he has encouraged the indicted to turn themselves in. Voluntary surrender ``puts a suspect in a better position before the (U.N.) court'' and would also entail ``better assistance'' from the state to a suspect's defense in court, Kostunica said. But he also reiterated his opinion that the four generals should be tried in Serbia, not in The Hague. Also Sunday, human rights activist Natasa Kandic accused Kostunica's government of deliberately protecting the war crimes suspects and said police were aware of the whereabouts of another prominent fugitive, Goran Hadzic, a former leader of the 1992-1995 Serb rebellion in Croatia. When U.N. prosecutors announced charges against Hadzic in July, he immediately went into hiding, triggering U.N. accusations that Serbian authorities were helping him elude justice.

AP 28 Sept 2004 Serbian Police Step Up War Crimes Search By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 10:16 p.m. ET BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) -- An elite Serbian police unit has stepped up the search for a top war crimes suspect after government officials ordered his arrest in the face of Western pressure, a senior security officer said Tuesday. Acting on U.S. and other intelligence tips, the anti-terrorist unit -- backed by a team of Western experts -- was combing Serbia in an intensive search for Gen. Ratko Mladic, the former Bosnian Serb commander indicted by the U.N. war crimes tribunal, the Serbian security officer told The Associated Press. ``The noose is tightening around Mladic,'' the officer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. A senior U.S. diplomat acquainted with the search operation said: ``We're optimistic that Mladic will soon be arrested.'' Mladic and wartime Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic are the two most-wanted suspects sought by the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands. Mladic and Karadzic were indicted in 1995 for genocide and crimes against humanity for their roles in the massacre of up to 8,000 Muslim boys and men at Srebrenica in Bosnia and for the siege of Sarajevo during the 1992-95 war there. The tribunal's chief prosecutor, Carla Del Ponte, has repeatedly said that Mladic is hiding in Serbia. Karadzic is believed to be in neighboring Bosnia. Serbian officials had claimed that Mladic was no longer in Serbia. Serbia-Montenegro, the successor state to Yugoslavia, has been under mounting international pressure to arrest and extradite Mladic and 15 other war crimes suspects to the U.N. tribunal. The United States and the European Union have made future financial and political support conditional on Mladic's arrest. Serbia's officials have been reluctant to extradite the suspects because most Serbs consider the tribunal to be biased against them. Many still see the suspects -- especially Mladic -- as wartime heroes. But on Monday, Serbian President Boris Tadic said: ``The suspects must be extradited to The Hague tribunal to face justice ... there is no dilemma about that.'' On Tuesday, deputy Defense Minister Vukasin Maras told the Beta news agency that ``the state will use all its potentials to bring the fugitives to The Hague tribunal.'' The Serbian security officer said the search for Mladic was centered around the Serbian town of Valjevo, a hilly forest region 40 miles southwest of Belgrade.

Turkey

zaman.org 3 Sept 2004 Friday 'Rebels Stain the Chechen Resistance' Chechen Foundations in Turkey have responded to the activists who raided a school and took more than 1,000 hostages including several hundred children in the district of Beslan in the North Ossetia Republic of Russia. This incident would be directed like a weapon against Chechnya, the Chechens said, and the hostage-taking event is terrorism. "While opposing the actions of Russia, it would be terrorism to commit the same acts." Ali Yandir, the President of the Caucasus Chechen Mutual Society said that they did not approve of this type of action by civilians. Yandir claimed, "This incident might lead to the increase of genocide practiced by Russians on Chechens. Chechen Committee President Cuma Bayazit emphasized that the inclusion of defenseless people and children in such an action is unacceptable and demanded that the action be finished as soon as possible. Russia caused the death of thousands of children in Chechnya, Bayazit said, "However, this does not necessitate the killing of Russian children by organizing such actions." 09.03.2004 Ufuk Koroglu Istanbul

Ukraine

AFP 29 September 2004 Kuchma Commemorates Massacre Of Jews -- Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma today placed a wreath at a monument to the tens of thousands of Jews who were massacred at Babi Yar, near Kyiv, during World War II. Also attending the ceremony was Deputy Prime Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk and Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko. The monument commemorates the mass killings of Jews that began around 29 September 1941. In the first days of the massacres, an estimated 34,000 Jews were killed and their bodies dumped in the Babi Yar ravine. Over the next two years, tens of thousands of other victims were murdered at the site.

United Kingdom

BBC 24 Aug 2004 Straw demands action in Darfur Mr Straw is urging Khartoum to curb Arab militias in Darfur UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has urged Sudan to do more to resolve the Darfur refugee crisis after he visited a refugee camp in the troubled region. Mr Straw said Khartoum had made progress with humanitarian access and security within the camps. But more needs to be done to make the area safe enough for people to feel they can go back home, he added. One million people in the region have fled attacks by pro-government Arab militias. 'Sudan's role' Mr Straw toured a feeding centre for critically ill children at the Abu Shouk refugee camp in northern Darfur. He said it was critical that Khartoum establish "safety and security across Darfur and get the political process going". Rebel groups operating in Darfur also had to take responsibility for restoring stability to the region, he said. Following talks with President Omar al-Bashir in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, Mr Straw said he had urged the Sudanese leader to work with the international community to end the crisis. "Our collective interest is to see a safe, secure and prosperous Sudan able to live at peace with itself amongst all its states and many tribes," he told correspondents. "I also said to the President that the government of Sudan had to help us to help them and that meant fulfilling the obligations imposed on them by the United Nations." He said the last thing the international community wanted was conflict with the Sudanese government. Safe zones Mr Straw's visit comes less than a week before the UN's 30 August deadline for the Sudanese government to disarm the pro-government militia blamed for atrocities against civilians in Darfur. The foreign secretary said it would be up to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to decide whether the Sudanese authorities had done enough before a decision was taken on international action. DARFUR CONFLICT More than 1m displaced Up to 50,000 killed More at risk from disease and starvation Arab militias accused of ethnic cleansing Sudan blames rebels for starting conflict Q&A: Darfur conflict Sudan has named twelve safe areas in Darfur and is sending thousands of police to the area, saying they are there to protect the displaced civilians. But according to BBC correspondent Hilary Andersson who is in one of the safe areas - Kalma camp in south Darfur - few civilians feel comforted by the arrival of the new security forces. She says most displaced people in Darfur tell stories of how their villages were attacked by Janjaweed militia operating together with government forces, who are now meant to be their protectors. Mr Straw also met representatives of the African Union (AU) monitoring mission during his visit. "What I understand is that there has not been aerial bombardment since the end of June, that the ceasefire as a formal ceasefire is broadly holding, but that atrocities have continued," he said. Peace talks In Abuja, Nigeria, peace talks between representatives of the Sudanese government and two rebel groups broke down on Tuesday evening, amid disagreement over the garrisoning of rebel forces in Darfur. Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo had earlier claimed that all sides were agreed on the need to garrison troops as a precursor to disarmament. Discussions on an agenda for peace talks will now resume on Wednesday morning. But any agreement would be just one step on a very long road, the BBC's Anna Borzello in Abuja says. While Nigeria seems determined to resolve the political crisis within the AU, some observers wonder if the Sudanese government and rebels are really willing to talk, or if they are simply trying to present their best face to the international community, she says. Previous talks collapsed in July, when the rebels walked out after the government refused to meet the rebels' terms. 'Five-star' camp In the harsh sun, surrounded by hundreds of brightly veiled women, Mr Straw had plunged straight into the heart of the Abu Shouk camp on Tuesday. He asked the refugees what had brought them to the camp and what would persuade them to go back to their villages. One woman said she had been bombarded from the air, presumably by Sudanese government planes. Another said while the Janjaweed militia were still at large, she was too scared to go home again. The UN has accused the Janjaweed of killing an estimated 50,000 people in Darfur in an 18-month reign of terror. More than a million people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting, which escalated last year after rebels took up arms against Khartoum. Sudan's government denies the charge that it used the Janjaweed to quell the rebel uprising, and has promised to disarm the militia.

icnorthwales.icnetwork.co.uk 6 Sep 2004 I survived the massacre of 77 children Sep 6 2004 By David Greenwood, Daily Post A WOMAN who survived a German U-boat attack which claimed the lives of 77 children made her debut as a public speaker in North Wales at the weekend. Beth Williams, 78, had been invited to give a talk to mark Merchant Navy Day at the Ucheldre Centre, in Holyhead, and by her side was husband Glyn, 74, who was born and bred in the town. From Liverpool, now living in High Benton, York-shire, it was the first time for Mrs Williams to speak in Wales about the sinking of the City of Benares 600 miles from land in the north Atlantic, 64 years ago this month. Mrs Williams, who regularly visits her husband's family in Holyhead, including his 94-year-old mother Maud, wasn't nervous about giving the talk. "I was determined to take it in my stride," she said.. As Beth Cummings, she was one of 91 evacuee children on their way to a new life in Canada when the U-48 launched its torpedo attack in a Force 8 gale at 10pm on September 17, 1940. Two torpedoes missed the 11,000-tonne passenger ship but a third struck just beneath the girls accommodation. Mrs Williams recalled: "With the help of an officer some of us, including my best friend Bess, who later became my sister-in-law, managed to reach a lifeboat but it was difficult to launch because of the way the ship was going down. "Then when it was in the water, it was hit by a huge wave which smashed it against the side of the ship. "I was thrown into the water and to this day I still remember going under. "It's as clear as ever," she said. "It was as though I was in a lift. Lots of things were going by me. Then I popped up and managed to swim back to the lifeboat, which was completely waterlogged. "The sea was rough and it was 19 hours before we were picked up by HMS Hurricane, which was sunk by a U-Boat Christmas Eve 1943. We were taken back to Scotland and spent some time in hospital." Mrs Williams, returned to Liverpool and worked for a marine company and met Glyn, a seaman, and they married a year later. * The City of Benares was carrying 400 passengers. In all 325 were drowned including 77 children. The tragedy ended the government's Children's Overseas Resettlement Scheme in which 1,530 children were sent to Canada, 577 to Australia, 353 to South Africa, 202 to New Zealand and 838 to the United States by the American Committee in London.

BBC 9 Sept 2004 Pollen helps war crime forensics By Peter Wood At the BA Science Festival Pollen provided a vital clue linking burial sites Researchers have revealed how a team of forensic experts used pollen to help them to convict Bosnian war criminals. Professor Tony Brown of the University of Exeter used the method to link mass graves in Bosnia, which supported the case for genocide by the prosecution. He says pollen and unchanging soil characteristics can "provide strong circumstantial evidence placing a vehicle or person at a crime scene". The research was presented at the BA's annual Festival of Science in Exeter. "Forensic pollen analysis has made a significant contribution to the investigation of war crimes in Bosnia," Professor Brown explained. Bosnian war criminals tried disguising their acts of genocide by exhuming mass graves and reburying bodies in smaller graves, claiming they were the result of minor battles. Laborious search The prosecution at the UN war crimes tribunal needed to show that the many "secondary" burial sites could be linked to a few "primary" ones, to prove that mass graves had initially existed. Professor Brown was part of the North East Bosnian Mortuary Team which conducted forensic examinations of mass graves. The team, which worked under constant UN guard, examined 20 sites over a four-year period from 1997. Soil samples were taken from skeletal cavities, inside the graves, and from around the suspected primary and secondary burial sites. Pollen from the soil samples was cleaned with powerful chemicals before being analysed, and the mineralogy of the soil itself was examined. Telltale clue Once complete, matches could be made between different samples - ultimately leading to links between primary and secondary burial sites. Professor Brown said: "For example, one primary execution and burial site was in a field of wheat. When bodies were found in secondary burial sites they were linked to the primary location through the presence of distinctive wheat pollen in soil recovered from the victims." Independent ballistics work was in 100% agreement with the conclusions of the pollen and soil analysis, he added. Overall, the work formed a significant component of the generic body of evidence used against those involved in the Srebrenica atrocities. Professor Brown said a case in point was the conviction of Radislav Krstic, commander of a military unit which participated in the massacres in and around Srebrenica in the summer of 1995.

BBC 17 Sept 2004 From Rwanda's genocide to UK prejudice by Anna Lindsay BBC iCan, Oxford Jean Baptiste Kayigamba's profession forced him to flee As a Tutsi and former journalist who survived the 1994 genocide, Jean Baptiste Kayigamba was a well-respected member of his community in Rwanda. But it was his work that forced him to flee his home four years ago, leaving his wife and three children behind. He says the largely state-controlled media meant journalists who criticised the government became targets for arrest or death threats. Now, having been granted asylum, he has been unable to find permanent work. He actively speaks out in his community to try to educate others about the prejudices experienced by asylum seekers. I left Rwanda and then I realised it was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire Jean Baptiste Kayigamba He told the BBC: "I came to this country from my home country because of the problems I'd had there in my work as a professional journalist. "I had continually felt that I was in serious danger because of my freedom of expression. "It was not an easy decision to make given the fact that I was a father, the main bread winner of the family - of three children and a wife and without any immediate person to take care of them." Despite having travelled during his career as a journalist, Jean-Baptitste says arriving in Britain was terrifying. "It was winter, I didn't have proper clothing, it was terrible. Jean Baptiste was seperated from his family for three years "Then there was the interrogation you don't know what's going to happen, whether you are going to be deported." After months of waiting, Jean Baptiste was granted refugee status. Three years later his wife, Yvonne, and three children joined him in Britain. They first settled in Oxford's Rose Hill area but after suffering racial abuse, the family moved to Headington. "I left Rwanda and then I realised it was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire." Jean Baptiste says it is this prejudice that is preventing him from finding long-term work in Britain. Since arriving, Jean Baptiste has failed to find a permanent job, despite signing up to many agencies. 'Never be discouraged' "He told me that OK, we've got a couple of other people to interview and then we'll get back to you and then the months and the months past, I hadn't even gotten any response, not even a refusal," he said. "This prejudice, I think, is undoubtedly dictated by the tabloid press. "But my experience helped me to engage in discussions in the community - especially here in Oxford and around where I live. He has been invited to talk at schools and public meetings about his life as an asylum seeker. "I enjoy talking to people, sharing with them my experience, and looking to how we can improve the mutual understanding between the different communities. "The most important thing is never to be discouraged. Try, because my whole life has been a life of struggle."

Belfast Telegraph 25 Sept 2004 www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk Belfast school to unveil stark genocide warning with wall mural By Fiona McIlwaine Biggins 25 September 2004 A wall mural examining the realities of genocide will offer a stark warning to the people of Northern Ireland when it is unveiled at a Belfast school next week. The new 32-foot mural, created by young people from east Belfast and Bray, will mark the anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda on Monday. The Year 12 students from Orangefield High School and Presentation College developed the mural in order to highlight the horrors of genocide to members of their own generation. The work involved young people exploring the nature and consequences of violence, looking at the issue from the viewpoint of the conflict in Ireland and how such issues can be explored through art. It is based on the eight stages of genocide - classification, symbolisation, dehumanisation, organisation, polarisation, preparation, extermination and denial. One Orangefield pupil, Chris McClelland, said: "While it is incomprehensible to people throughout the world as to how 800,000 Rwandans could be killed in 100 days in 1994, so too is it incomprehensible that 3,636 people could be killed in Northern Ireland in 30 years. "These realities and the educational implications of them have been at the heart of our work over the past three months." The mural will be officially launched at a ceremony on September 27 at 11am at Orangefield High School.