The 100 abducted by the terrifying Lords Resistance Army were children. They are known for their brutality and for the fact that they horrifyingly disfigure their victims:

UGANDA’S LRA REBELS ABDUCT 100 CHILDREN IN CAR-REPORT
SomaliNet - USA
Daily Monitor reported last month that rebels have been accused of carrying out the biggest abduction in three years, leaving over 100 children in rebel hands in Central African Republic.

The rebels attacked Obo town in southeastern CAR on March 5 and 6, looting and taking children between 15 and 18 years them. Some hundreds of men loyal to LRA leader Joseph Kony made disturbances in Obo, 1400km from the capital Bangui, according to two reports seen by Daily Monitor, a local news agency APA said. more >>

Look who's stepping up with copters for the Chad/CAR (EUFOR) mission:

Russia Approves Help
for Chad EU Mission

By ANGELA CHARLTON

PARIS (AP) — Russia has approved the deployment of helicopters to bolster an EU peacekeeping force along Chad's border with the Darfur region of Sudan, the Russian defense minister said Tuesday.

The deployment would be the first direct Russian contribution to an EU military mission, an EU official said, though technical and legal details of the plan were still being discussed, and no timeline was announced.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, has already approved the mission and government funds have been allocated, Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said during a visit to Paris.

The EU force's mission to Chad and neighboring Central African Republic is to help limit possible spillover from the fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region. It is expected to be fully deployed by June with 3,800 troops from at least 14 countries.

A European diplomatic and security official in Brussels, Belgium, said Russia would be directly contributing to an EU mission for the first time.

In 2003, Russia made planes available to France for an EU mission in Congo, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter and because Russia's role had yet to be finalized.

The official said it could also be the first time Russian forces are placed under EU command, though it had yet to be decided whether the helicopters would be piloted by Russians or others.

Talk of a Russian contribution comes as EU diplomats express hope that Russian President-elect Dmitry Medvedev could ease strained relations between the 27-member bloc and Moscow on issues like Kosovo's independence and energy supplies.

The EU force faced frequent delays before it started deploying earlier this year, partly because of difficulty finding helicopters.

Russia and Ukraine have been considering contributing to the force, which has been authorized by the United Nations and is made up mostly of French troops under an Irish general's command.

At least 200,000 people have been killed and a further 2.5 million uprooted from their homes in Darfur since a rebellion broke out in 2003.

Associated Press writer Jamey Keaten contributed to this report.

 

Update
What people can do to help:

Write some more letters PLEASE. Write to the UN –to Ban Ki-Moon, (Secretary General) Write to the Permanent  5 members of the Security Council_France, China, Russia, England, and the US. The US  permanent representative is Zalmay Khalizada-although ultimately his boss is Condaleza Rice .  Urge the them  to insist that Khartoum accept  and facilitate the full and immediate deployment of UNAMID –the robust peacekeeping force of 26000 as outlined and agreed to in UN Resolution 1769 – Khartoum must cease to obstruct the deployment.

The World Food Programme’s loss of transport capacity  highlights the urgent, urgent need for security on the ground: no amount of money will address this issue.  Very few NGO’s will now deliver food by ground, leaving only unsustainably expensive airdrops as the alternative.  This is not a solution. Civilians and humanitarians cannot be protected by the force of less than 9000 that is currently on the ground.

And contact the sponsors of the Olympic games. Make it clear that in the face of genocide it is unacceptable that they  conduct ‘business as usual’.  

This alert from the World Food Program is chilling. As it is, in some of the camps  30 percent of the population is suffering from acute malnutrition. If the WFP cannot fly into Darfur the threat of  a humanitarian withdrawal looms. The UN peacekeepers MUST deploy so that humanitarian operations, the lifeline for some 4 million people, can continue.

Bandits halve WFP food deliveries into Darfur
AFP -
KHARTOUM (AFP) — Escalating banditry has forced the World Food Programme to halve food deliveries in Darfur and without immediate cash the UN agency will ground its humanitarian flights at the end of the month.

"This is an unprecedented situation. Our humanitarian air operation for aid workers could be forced to stop flying because we have no money, at a time when our helicopters and aircraft are needed more than ever because of high insecurity on the roads," said Kenro Oshidari, WFP representative in Sudan. more >>

From Reuters:

But back from talks in Khartoum and other capitals, Beijing envoy Liu Guijin on Friday defended his country as "working hard" on Sudan and others to end fighting, and said China could serve as a go-between bringing peace closer.

Departing from Beijing's usually vague language on Darfur, Liu called the violence there a "humanitarian disaster" that had "forced millions from their homes and, in particular, claimed the lives of tens of thousands."

Liu told a news conference that uncompromising rebel groups also bore blame, but said Sudan's government had top responsibility for stopping the killing. He also urged Khartoum to give ground on disputes holding up full deployment of U.N.-African Union peacekeepers.

The most excellent conngressman Wolf:

Republican: Bush Should Skip Olympics

By ANNE FLAHERTY – 6 days ago

WASHINGTON (AP) — A House Republican — chafing over President Bush's plan to attend this year's Beijing Olympics — wants to legally prohibit other U.S. government officials from using federal money to go.

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., cited concerns about China's record on human rights during a congressional hearing on Thursday and said Bush's presence would be akin to President Franklin D. Roosevelt sitting in the same stands as Germany's Adolf Hitler in 1936.

"Ronald Reagan would have never gone to the Olympics. I guarantee you that. Never gone," said Wolf, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Wolf, who co-chairs a congressional caucus on Sudan, blames China for not using its close ties with the Sudanese government to end the violence in Darfur. Wolf also charges that China has sold weapons to U.S. enemies, jailed countless political prisoners and tried to spy on America's high-tech industry, including companies in his district.

Wolf's legislation would not specifically prohibit the president from attending, which the congressman said would be tough to impose on a commander-in-chief. Instead the bill would focus on barring diplomatic and other federal officials.

Any American seen waving in the stands "will go down in history as cooperating in the genocide Olympics of 2008," Wolf said. "And history will never, ever, ever forgive them."

Last month, Bush said he planned to raise worries about human rights abuse in China with President Hu Jintao when he attends the games in August.

Bush was asked about reports that a laid-off Chinese factory worker faces subversion charges for saying human rights are more important than the Olympics.

"I am not the least bit shy of bringing up the concerns expressed by this factory worker, and I believe that I'll have an opportunity to do so with the president and, at the same time, enjoy a great sporting event," Bush said.

Wolf said the administration is missing its opportunity to deal with the crisis in Darfur.

Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte, who was testifying on foreign aid programs, responded to Wolf's comments by saying only that "there is no greater spokesman for human rights in the world than our president."

 

Hope HWR will join us in our efforts to rally a UN Resolution condemning the attacks, and the obstructions of UN Res 1769 as well as establishing consequences for these attrocities.

UN criticised over 'Darfur silence'           

The UN security council's silence over the crisis in Darfur has been labelled as "shameful" by Human Rights Watch (HRW).
 
The international group's criticism came on Wednesday after attacks in Sudan's Darfur region went unheeded by the security council.
    
HRW has demanded a probe into recent killings and sanctions for those committing them.
 
The conflict in Darfur entered its sixth year on Tuesday. It has seen the Sudanese army and its Janjawid para-mililtary fighters pitted against opposition forces.
    
HRW said that in western Darfur "hundreds of civilians" have been killed, tens of thousands have been displaced and provision of "life-saving humanitarian assistance" has been prevented from reaching the worst affected areas by government attacks on villages since February 8.
 
The rights group said that the UN security council "should strongly denounce" the recent assaults on the villages.
 
'Darkest days'
 
Georgette Gagnon, HRW's Africa director, said: "The Sudanese government’s recent attacks take us back to the very darkest days of the conflict.
 
"The security council shouldn't stand by as though this is "business as usual".
 
HRW said in a statement that "the council's inaction has given Sudan a green light to continue attacking civilian targets, flouting international law and security council resolutions" and obstructing the deployment of a UN-mandated peacekeeping force.
 
Gagnon added: "These horrific attacks on civilians show Khartoum's confidence that there will be no real consequences for its actions. It's time for the security council to prove them wrong."
 
HRW said that a panel of UN experts should be immediately established to look into the attacks in Western Darfur and that those responsible should be held to "targeted sanctions".
 
EU parliamentarians on Wednesday urged the EU to uphold an arms embargo to China, who they blame for stoking violence via arms exports to the Sudanese government.
 
The conflict in Darfur has raged since 2003 when anti-government forces attempted to gain a greater regional share of power.
 
Fighting has claimed 200,000 lives and displaced 2.2 million people, according to UN estimates.

An unimaginable news headline a year ago:

China admits effect of pressure over Darfur

BEIJING (AFP) — Global pressure on China over its ties to Sudan has spurred the Chinese government to take a more proactive stance on ending violence in Darfur, the nation's special envoy on the issue said Friday.

"Darfur is the focus of international attention and many Western nations want China to play a bigger role," Chinese diplomat Liu Guijin told journalists.

"This is why I have been appointed as the special envoy of the Chinese government on the Darfur issue."

Liu, fresh from a visit to the troubled region, was appointed China's envoy on Darfur in May last year, when an international campaign to pressure Beijing on Sudan ahead of the Beijing Olympics began to take on steam.

Although China has long opposed linking the Olympics to Darfur and other human rights issues, growing international scrutiny of Beijing's ties with Sudan has coincided with greater diplomatic activity by the Asian giant.

"Since last May, I have visited Sudan four times. In the future, if it is necessary, I will pay more visits," Liu said, who also travelled to Chad, Britain and France to discuss the conflict on his most recent trip.

"We have a good relationship with Sudan, we have some advantages in talking to Sudan, so we should use this as leverage... we will persuade them in a direct way to work with the international community and be more cooperative."

Aside from Sudan, campaigners have used this August's Olympics to pressure China over its controversial rule of Tibet and its domestic human rights record.

"As for the Olympic Games, any advice or comments, even if it contains misunderstandings or criticism, we are open to and welcome this advice,"
Liu said.

"We are willing to listen to any comments that contain reasonable elements, but for those few who attempt to tarnish the Olympic Games on the pretext of issues totally unrelated to the Olympics, like the Darfur issue, we are firmly opposed to such attempts."

Heres a piece by my friend Stephanie Hancock:

Traumatised Darfur refugees seek safety in Chad
Thu 6 Mar 2008, 14:20 GMT
By Stephanie Hancock

BIRAK, Chad, March 6 (Reuters) - The sun-blasted desert between this small Chadian border town and Sudan's Darfur is scattered with stunted trees and thorny shrubs.

Beneath each one, Sudanese refugees huddle under blankets or sheets tied to branches, desperately seeking shade.

Thousands have fled with their children and belongings from Sudanese army and militia offensives against a mountainous Darfuri rebel stronghold, Jebel Moon, whose silhouette is visible in the shimmering heat over the border.

The luckier arrivals are crowded into straw shelters on the outskirts of Birak, a settlement of mostly mud-brick homes and a few concrete buildings that lies at the crossroads of armed conflicts being waged on both sides of the frontier.

Between 10,000 and 20,000 Darfuri refugees have poured into Birak in the last two weeks since Sudan's army and its Janjaweed militia allies launched what they called a "cleansing" operation to try to dislodge insurgents from Jebel Moon in West Darfur. Shocked and traumatised, most refugees say their villages in Jebel Moon were bombed by Sudanese army aircraft and then attacked by Janjaweed fighters riding in vehicles and on horses and camels.

Crouching alone under a tree, 90-year-old Ali Abdan Doudou counts on the fingers of his gnarled hands the members of his family who were killed in the attacks. The dead include his brother, several of his children, nieces and nephews.

"Since my birth, I've never seen planes bombing like this. There were no warning signs the attack would come," he said.

Another refugee, Adam Aboho, said: "They came to kill us.

"We were able to bring nothing with us. Some people were lucky and had time to gather food, but I brought nothing out apart from my children.". He said he was being forced to beg for food from neighbours.

AMPUTATED LIMBS When villagers tried to flee the bombings, they ran into encircling Sudanese army troops and Janjaweed who killed and raped, and looted and torched homes, the refugees said.

Birak residents said they heard the bombing raids over the border and saw plumes of smoke rising on the horizon.

Many arrived injured from the fighting and the hospital at Guereda, a larger Chadian town northwest of Birak, is filled with women and children with bullet wounds. Several young children have had limbs amputated.

Sudanese spokesmen blamed the attacks against civilians on Darfuri rebels and on Chadian government and rebel forces, all of whom crisscross the porous frontier.

The refugee influx has triggered a fresh humanitarian emergency in Chad. It is already sheltering some 300,000 Sudanese refugees from fighting in Darfur that since 2003 has killed an estimated 200,000 people and rages on despite international peace efforts.

Hala Al-Horany, a protection officer for the United Nations refugee agency UNHCR, said many refugees were sleeping out in the open, enduring cold nights and scorching days.

"Most refugees ... are in a state of shock, especially those still unable to trace family members from Darfur," he said.

Chadian President Idriss Deby's government is itself recovering from an attack by Chadian rebels on the capital N'Djamena, far to the west.

The Chadian and Sudanese governments accuse each other of supporting hostile insurgents.

In Birak, Chadian anti-government rebels, their pickup trucks painted with black markings to distinguish them from army vehicles, race out of the town. Some carry mounted machine-guns, others are packed with fighters.

On the other side, their arch enemies, Sudanese JEM rebels who support Chad's President Deby, roll in aboard their pickups. They are known as "Toro-boro", another armed faction in the interlocking conflicts that grip Chad and Darfur.

European Union troops are deploying in east Chad with a U.N. mandate to protect refugees. But in lawless Birak, civilians are still at the mercy of the marauding factions. (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/) (Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Nick Tattersall and Robert Woodward)

© Reuters 2008. All Rights Reserved.

My son Ronan and I are deeply honored to have received this letter from Mr WEI jingsheng. It was sent to this website along with a completely fascinating albeit brief  biography of this remarkably courageous man and China's leading human rights advocate. With Mr WEI Jingsheng's permission I am pleased to place his letter on this site. It is wonderful to hear the true voice of China! I would like to  to express my solidarity with Mr. WEI Jingsheng  and the people of China!! Indeed "Let us shout out in one voice: stop the killing! Long live human rights! "

Bio of WEI Jingsheng:

WEI Jingsheng is the best-known Chinese human rights and democracy fighter and is the leader for the opposition against the Chinese Communist dictatorship.  He was sentenced to jail twice for a total of more than 18 years due to his democracy activities, including a ground breaking and well publicized essay he wrote in 1978: "the Fifth Modernization".  He is the author of "Courage to Stand Alone -- letters from Prison and Other Writings", which compiles his articles written initially on toilet papers in jail.

Wei Jingsheng is a winner of numerous human rights awards, including the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Human Rights Award in 1996, the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the National Endowment for Democracy Award in 1997, and the Olof Palme Memorial Prize in 1994.  Wei Jingsheng has been nominated seven times for Nobel Peace Prize since 1993.

He was praised in numerous places with varies titles, such as "Father of Chinese Democracy" and "Nelson Mandela of China".  Thousands of entries about him can be found on the Internet in many languages, not just in English and Chinese.

Wei Jingsheng was born in Beijing, China in 1950, into a high ranked military official family. His given name is very common and is an indication of the pride of his parents; a pride shared by many in the days immediately following the creation of the People's Republic - "Jing" means "capital" and "Sheng" means "birth."  He is the eldest of four children. His parents were longtime Chinese Communist Party cadres. He was brought up in the prestigious Party schools, and was exposed to and thus well knowledge of the internal dramas of the Beijing party and military upper class elite.

At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the sixteen-year-old Wei left Beijing to explore the country for himself. He traveled throughout north and northwest China. Seeing firsthand the true effects that communism had on the Chinese people. It was during this time that he first began to formulate his opinions on the Chinese Communist Party and the future of the Chinese people. By the time the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, Wei had been "sent down" to the countryside in his ancestral hometown in Anhui Province and also served in the People's liberation Army. The ten formative years he spent gaining a better understanding of the Chinese people's situation left an indelible mark on his thinking.

After moving back to Beijing, Wei took a job as an electrician at the Beijing Zoo. In 1978, a series of workers, intellectuals, and artists posted their thoughts and _expression on a piece of wall in Beijing. The place, and the period, became known as The Democracy Wall. At this time, Wei wrote an essay entitled "The Fifth Modernization" which stated that without democracy, China could not truly modernize. His essay caused a sensation- not only because it openly assaulted the "people's democratic dictatorship" propaganda of the Communists, but also because the author dared to sign the essay with both his real name and address. Wei joined a few friends in publishing an underground magazine called "Exploration". In its last edition, Wei wrote another article, "Democracy or a New Dictatorship?" which identified Deng Xiaoping, then Communist leader of China, as the new dictator. Three days later, Wei Jingsheng was arrested.

In 1979, Wei was tried, convicted of "counter-revolution" and sentenced to 15 years. He spoke in his own defense, and a copy of his statement was smuggled out of the courtroom and distributed in China and to the foreign press. He was first on death row for eight months, and then in solitary confinement for nearly five years. He was kept in two other forced labor camps under strict supervision from both guards and prison handlers until 1993 when he was released. Within six months he was arrested a second time. He was tried again, convicted of "counter-revolution" and sentenced to another 14 years. In 1997, after a total of 18 years in prison, Wei was taken from his cell and placed on a plane bound for the United States. He maintains that he was not freed, but that his exile is further punishment.

Currently residing in Washington DC area, Wei Jingsheng has not been silenced by his forced exile.  There are numerous reports of his work outside of China for the Chinese cause.  Many of his articles are published in major newspapers including English, more in Chinese.  Every week, he gives speeches and commentaries through various radio and TV stations, especially to the Chinese audience via Radio Free Asia, Voice of America, and BBC, etc.  His close ties to many congressional members and legislators, as well as governmental officials of many democratic countries, enable him to represent the Chinese democratic force and use his influence to push for human rights and democracy in China.

In 1998, he founded the Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition (OCDC) which is an umbrella organization for many Oversea Chinese democracy groups.   The OCDC has many members over dozens of countries.  He has been serving as its chairman since then.  He is also the president for the Wei Jingsheng Foundation, which is a non-profit organization registered in New York.  In September 2006, he co-founded Asia Democracy Alliance with other organizations of Taiwan, Tibet, Mongolia, Vietnam, etc. in the US Congress.

He was elected to lead the Alliance and is currently serving as its first president.

-- Please read Mr. Wei Jingsheng's letter in the following entry! --
 

Dear Mia Farrow and Ronan Farrow:

For a long time, you have been fighting for human rights in the Darfur region.  You are condemning the Sudanese government, which is directly responsible for the genocide; for the loss of hundreds of thousands of human lives there.  At the same time, you have cried out to people of justice in the international community, to collectively intervene in the disastrous situation inside Sudan.  Your precious effort have gained success recently.  A respectful artist, Mr. Spielberg, acting upon his conscience has now refused to be a director for the performance show in the Beijing 2008 Olympics because the Beijing Communist regime is a major supporter of the Sudanese government.

I fully support you and Mr. Spielberg's action and wish to show my respect for your courage and conscience!

Wherever human rights are endangered, the speakers for the local authorities have a common tune: it is an internal affair, do not intervene.  But you know the truth: human rights issues are never an isolated, local or internal affair.  Especially with today's advance of the world civilization, it can be no small issue when a government openly suppresses the peoples' basic human rights of freedom, including that of religion, assembly, speech and press, by using prison, exploitation, and even genocide against those of different nationality or faith.  Anyone with conscience witnessing such injustice will be forced to act.  We fully understand you, respect you, and support all your efforts for the human rights in Darfur, to save peoples' lives by putting pressure on the Beijing regime.

The fact that so far the Chinese communist government has refused to do anything to ease the crisis in Darfur, even refusing to address the issue or reply to the international world, is consistent with its own record. It has been brutally suppressing human rights in China for nearly 59 years.  It has committed numerous criminal movements or campaigns against humanity, resulting in tens of millions starved or un-natural deaths and persecuted millions of political prisoners. Today, with more sophisticated weapons and equipment, the Beijing regime is doing more and more to monitor, block, and suppress any free thought or speech inside China.  More dissidents, or prisoners of conscience, are brutally jailed, tortured or sentenced without fair trial, if any trial at all.  Under the communist government, workers in China now have no real union, no right to bargain, and no basic salary; child laborers, slave laborers, and farmer-turned workers are in even worse situations.

The Beijing communist regime practices hatred toward all the freedom-oriented societies.  It uses various methods, such as distorted propaganda, cheating, spying, bribery, and economic threat, to gain profit for the dictatorship regime.  Toward countries like Sudan, the Beijing regime could care less regarding human rights there, as long as it can share profit from blood.  After all, they two are real friends in many ways.  Beijing wants to be a part of the global economy, but does not want to take global responsibility.

Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said to the suppressed or suffering, "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

Dear Ronan Farrow and dear Mia Farrow:

We are very happy to say that you are not silent. Mr. Spielberg is not silent.  We shall never be silent!  Your influence and loud voice, from your deep conscience, demonstrated the power of justice from the international community.  You are friends for human rights.  Your action encouraged all of us to continue to fight for the human rights in the world.  Your action, we believe, will awake more friends from silence.

Please allow me to take this opportunity to call on the international community, all the peace loving friends, governments, authorities, business organizations, artists, scholars, all the people of conscience and justice, to unite.  Let us pay attention to the situations in Darfur, Sudan, and the Olympics 2008, Beijing.  Let us shout out in one voice: stop the killing!
Long live human rights!
 
WEI Jingsheng
Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition

During a visit to the British capital, the Chinese envoy Liu Guijin said that Beijing wasn’t satisfied with progress made on sending a hybrid force of African Union and U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur, and that it was quietly pushing behind the scenes to encourage Khartoum to collaborate with the international community.

"We are ready to work with the U.K. and the rest of the international community and contribute to the resolution of the Darfur issue," he said.

According to the Chinese envoy who will visit Chad also, Beijing is trying hard to find a "practical solution" to the Darfur problem through quiet diplomacy, which it sees as the most suitable route.

"We’re going to urge the government of Sudan to show more flexibility, and to be more cooperative," he said.

China presses Sudan over Darfur peacekeepers
Sun 24 Feb 2008, 17:50 GMT
By Opheera McDoom

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - China, under international pressure to help end conflict in Darfur, made a rare call on its Sudanese ally on Sunday to do more to allow foreign peacekeepers to deploy to the region.

But there was no respite in the fighting and the United Nations said it feared for thousands of civilians after reports that Sudan's forces bombed a rebel-held area in western Darfur.

China's envoy to Darfur, in a departure from Beijing's usual public diplomatic vagueness, made an unusual rebuke to Khartoum during a visit there and urged Sudan to remove obstacles to full deployment of a joint U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force.

"Rolling out the hybrid peacekeeping operation and resolving the Darfur issue require the joint efforts of all sides," Liu Guijin told China's official Xinhua news agency.

"First, the Sudan government should cooperate better with the international community and demonstrate greater flexibility on some technical issues. Next, anti-government organisations in the Darfur region should return to the negotiating table."

This is a statement every expert said the Chinese would never make.

China urges Sudan
to be "cooperative" on Darfur
Sun 24 Feb 2008, 14:35 GMT

BEIJING, Feb 24 (Reuters) - China wants Sudan to eliminate obstacles blocking full deployment of the new U.N.-African Union peacekeeping force for Darfur, Beijing's envoy said in Khartoum on Sunday, while also urging rebels to return to peace talks.

China's role in Sudan came under renewed international attention when film director Steven Spielberg recently quit as an artistic adviser to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, saying Beijing had failed to use enough of its sway with Khartoum to seek peace in Darfur.

China has often said negotiations, not sanctions, are needed to stop five years of fighting between Darfur rebels, the government and its allied militias.

***But in a departure from Beijing's usual public diplomatic vaguery envoy Liu Guijin said Sudan should do more to end the bloodshed by cooperating more with a "hybrid" peacekeeping force backed by the United Nations and African Union.***

***"Rolling out the hybrid peacekeeping operation and resolving the Darfur issue require the joint efforts of all sides," Liu told his country's official Xinhua news agency during a visit to Sudan.***

***"First, the Sudan government should cooperate better with the international community and demonstrate greater flexibility on some technical issues. Next, anti-government organisations in the Darfur region should return to the negotiating table."***

International experts estimate 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been driven from their homes during years of conflict in Darfur. Sudan says the toll is a Western media fabrication. It says 9,000 people have been killed.

A hybrid United Nations-African Union force took over this year from 7,000 understaffed and badly equipped AU peacekeepers who have been unable to stem the violence.

The joint force, known as UNAMID, is supposed to number 26,000 troops and police but so far only 9,000 UNAMID forces are on the ground in Darfur. Their deployment has been stymied by conditions set by Khartoum and a lack of air support from international donors.

Beijing is a big investor in Sudan's oil and the largest supplier of weapons to Khartoum. International critics say with that strategic stake in the East African country and China's seat on the U.N. Security Council, it could do a lot more to help end fighting in Darfur.

Facing renewed pressure as it prepares to host the Olympic Games in August, China has launched a diplomatic push to argue that it has in fact been crucial to recent promising developments in Darfur.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao this week said his country had been important in securing cooperation between Sudan and international organisations, and had quickly sent its own peacekeeping troops and humanitarian aid for Darfur.

Envoy Liu has also been in London with the same message. His latest pointed comments suggest China wants to show the world it is working on Khartoum.

In Sudan, Liu also said Darfur rebels should immediately return to the negotiating table. Libya-hosted peace talks broke up last year without any progress after the main Darfur rebel leaders boycotted them.

"In the political process, several months have passed without substantive progress," Xinhua cited Liu as saying.

The envoy said Western countries "should use their own influence to work on all the sides", and he urged the U.N. and African Union to work more closely with Sudan to overcome disagreements over the hybrid peacekeeping operation. (Reporting by Chris Buckley, editing by Mary Gabriel)

February 23, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — China’s special envoy on Darfur, Liu Giujin, will begin a five-day visit to Sudan on Sunday during which he will be calling on senior government officials and will pay a field visit to Darfur region.

The Chinese official will hold talks with the Sudanese officials on the development of the question in Darfur with regard to the political process and the hybrid operation.

China is considered to have influence over Sudanese leaders because it buys two-thirds of the northeast African state’s oil exports, sells weapons to its Islamic government and defends it in the U.N. But China has attracted criticism from the U.S. and other nations, who accuse it of not doing enough to bring violence to an end.

During a visit to the British capital, the Chinese envoy Liu Guijin said that Beijing wasn’t satisfied with progress made on sending a hybrid force of African Union and U.N. peacekeepers to Darfur, and that it was quietly pushing behind the scenes to encourage Khartoum to collaborate with the international community.

"We are ready to work with the U.K. and the rest of the international community and contribute to the resolution of the Darfur issue," he said.

According to the Chinese envoy who will visit Chad also, Beijing is trying hard to find a "practical solution" to the Darfur problem through quiet diplomacy, which it sees as the most suitable route.

"We’re going to urge the government of Sudan to show more flexibility, and to be more cooperative," he said.

However, he deflected the oft-raised criticism that China’s arms sales to the troubled nation were partially responsible for aggravating the violence.

Liu said that in 2006, only 8% of weapons imported by Sudan came from China. However, that figure is at odds with data from the U.N. which show transfers of military weapons and small arms from China to Sudan stood at $23 million in 2005, making China the largest reported supplier of such weapons to Sudan.

My Friends,

The Government of Sudan has intensified  bombing in west  Darfur. Terrified, destitute people are fleeing across the border into eastern Chad -- but the entire borderland is an inferno and aid workers cannot reach them. And  the world  WATCHES it happening.

The Government of Sudan will not stop until the genocide is complete. We in the United States do not have the diplomatic or financial leverage to make them stop. President Bush has used the word 'genocide" to describe these atrocities. No other word is as accurate. But he does nothing to stop it. China could stop it. China has all the "sticks and carrots"  Please everyone contact each sponsor. Tell them it CAN'T be business as usual. They should take their business elsewhere.  And let's all boycott these sponsors. We have choices -- the people of Darfur do not. 
Click here to get all the info on contacting the Olympic sponsors!

There is nothing to celebrate.

People keep congratulating me and that's not right. And the WSJ used the word "victory" in their title of the last piece which only in the most myopic sense is so.  The true picture is that things are terrible and getting worse in Darfur (with focus on West Darfur/Eastern Chad/the borderland). Security has deteriorated to the worst since 2003-4. We need to push harder on China. Let's boycott the Olympic Sponsors. Let's boycott the opening ceremonies of the games. Let's boycott Chinese goods. And let's not forget Tibet and Burma and those Chinese citizens whose human  rights have been abused or denied.

Lets not go to McDonalds -- it's Burger king for me. There ARE alternatives to supporting this unacceptable situation:

Don't drink Coca Cola, give Pepsi a try -- or drink water!
Don't use Kodak film, think about buying Fuji film.
Don't eat at McDonald's, stop by Burger King for a while.
Don't make your purchases with Visa, try Mastercard or American Express.
Don't wear Adidas, slip on some Reeboks.
Don't drink Budweiser from Anheuser-Busch, try Heinekin.
Don't wear a Swatch, try Timex for a change.
Don't shop at Staples, try Office Max.
Don't use GE light bulbs, buy a generic brand.
Don't drive a Volkswagen, put a Darfur bumper sticker on your car.
Don't use Johnson and Johnson products, buy the drug store brand Don't use Microsoft, send an email to all corporate sponsors, including:  Atos Origin, BHP Billiton, Samsung, Panasonic, UPS, Manulife, and Lenovo.

And feel better

I believe that all responsible leaders and citizens alike should think carefully as to how they might best use their leverage with China.  This is a defining moment for all of us, and deeply consequential for the people of Darfur. We must also think of the people of Burma, Tibet and those Chinese citizens whose human rights have been denied or abused

An aide worker reports things are going wrong wrong...and could get a lot worse.

Our colleagues had to pull out of border area (Birak) as bomboing was so intense. 

In case there is a God-pray for the refugees from Darfur:

NDJAMENA , 15 February 2008 (IRIN) - Efforts by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in eastern Chad to move newly-arrived Sudanese refugees from West Darfur to camps away from the volatile border were blocked by an unknown armed group, according to an agency spokeswoman.

"This is deeply concerning and we are making every effort with the Chadian authorities to get these refugees moved quickly," UNHCR spokesperson Jennifer Pagonis said at a press briefing in Geneva on 15 February.

Pagonis said 70 percent of the 8,000 new arrivals are women and children. The refugees are scattered near the border, east of the town of Guereda. They are "exhausted" and "in very poor condition," she added.

"Women report being raped. Children have been separated from their families."

On 11 February Chadian Prime Minister Nouradine Delwa Kassiré Coumakoye said the government would refuse entry to any new Sudanese refugees.

"We cannot admit any more," the prime minister said.

He also called on the international community to move all 240,000 Sudanese refugees in eastern Chad to another country. "It is because of them that we have the problems we have today," he said referring to the current armed rebellion.

The UNHCR spokeswomen did not say whether the combatants who stopped aid workers from moving the new refugees were acting under orders of the government.

"They gave no reason for their actions but it was clear the relocation would not take place," Pagonis said.

She said the UNHCR representative in Chad was currently at the border, "trying to find a solution to this problem which is leaving the refugees extremely exposed and vulnerable."
"The area is highly insecure with roaming armed groups posing a real threat to the refugees and aid workers," Pagonis said.

 

What a shame.  Just think what he might have accomplished.  No moral authority whatsoever.  So it follows that no American president has caused more damage than this one.

Bush says won't criticise China at Olympics
Fri 15 Feb 2008, 2:05 GMT

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush said he would go to China for the Olympics but would not talk publicly there about Beijing's policies since he urges its president in private to do more to relieve suffering in Darfur.

Bush said movie director Steven Spielberg's decision to quit his Beijing Olympics role because of China's policies in Sudan was a personal decision.

"It's up to him. I am going to the Olympics, I view the Olympics as a sporting event," Bush said, speaking to BBC World News America before flying to Africa.

He said in meetings with Chinese President Hu Jintao "I do remind him that he can do more to relieve the suffering in Darfur."

"There are a lot of issues that I suspect people are going to opine about during the Olympics -- the Dalai Lama crowd, you've got the Global Warming folks, you got Darfur.

"I am not going to go and use the Olympics as an opportunity to express my opinions to the Chinese people in a public way because I do it all the time with the President."

Bush also defended what he called his "seminal decision" not to send U.S. troops to Darfur despite what he called the genocide there.

His decision not intervene by force was taken partly out of the desire not to send U.S. troops into another Muslim country, he said.

"I was pretty well backed off of it by a lot of folks here in America who care deeply about the issue. Once you make that decision you have to rely upon an international organisation like the United Nations to provide the oomph," he said.

"It is a decision I am now living with and it is a decision that requires us to continue to rally the conscience of the world," he added.

International experts say some 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million fled their homes in more than four years of conflict since Darfur rebels took up arms against Sudan's government, prompting Khartoum to mobilise mainly Arab militias.

Spielberg said his conscience would not allow him to continue working as an artistic adviser to the August Games and he pledged to spend his time and energy not on Olympic ceremonies, but on trying to end the "unspeakable crimes against humanity" in Darfur.

On Monday, nine Nobel Peace Prize winners wrote a letter to China asking it to uphold the Olympic ideals by pressuring Sudan over Darfur.

China is accused by critics of shielding Khartoum in the face of international efforts to send peacekeepers to Darfur. It says the Games should not be politicised and any link made between Darfur and the Olympics is irresponsible and unfair.

In an extraordinary act of conscience, Steven Spielberg today announced the end of his involvement as an artistic directors of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Let us hope that Mr. Spielberg's decisive action will influence other participants, sponsors, and supporters of the Olympic Games to drop out.   This is the time to increase pressure on Beijing, the host country to the Olympics, and tragically, the underwriter of the Darfur genocide. 

STATEMENT FROM STEVEN SPIELBERG
REGARDING BEIJING OLYMPIC GAMES AND DARFUR

FEBRUARY 12, 2008

After careful consideration, I have decided to formally announce the end of my involvement as one of the overseas artistic advisors to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games.

In anticipation that this day might one day come, I left unsigned the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games contract presented to me nearly a year ago. Since that time, I have made repeated efforts to encourage the Chinese government to use its unique influence to bring safety and stability to the Darfur region of Sudan. Although some progress has been made along the way, most notably, the passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1769, the situation in Darfur continues to worsen and the violence continues to accelerate.

With this in mind, I find that my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual. At this point, my time and energy must be spent not on Olympic ceremonies, but on doing all I can to help bring an end to the unspeakable crimes against humanity that continue to be committed in Darfur. Sudan’s government bares the bulk of the responsibility for these on-going crimes but the international community, and particularly China, should be doing more to end the continuing human suffering there. China’s economic, military and diplomatic ties to the government of Sudan continue to provide it with the opportunity and obligation to press for change. The situation has never been more precarious – and while China’s representatives have conveyed to me that they are working to end the terrible tragedy in Darfur, the grim realities of the suffering continue unabated.

This has been a very difficult decision for me, as I have cherished the relationships with my Chinese counterparts, in particular, the noted director Zhang Yimou, who is a close personal friend. I have learned a great deal from working with him and all the other creative artists along the way. There is little that is more rewarding than to collaborate with those who bring vision and imagination to a challenging artistic task. And I greatly appreciated the spirit in which we worked together - a spirit that embodied genuine friendship and respect.

For me, the Olympic Games represent an ideal of brotherhood designed to bridge cultural and political divides. I am committed to building bridges between peoples and I saw, and continue to see, the Beijing Games as an opportunity to help ease some of the tensions in the world.

China has much to offer the world and I have no doubt that its international contributions will grow in the years ahead. With growing influence, however, also comes growing responsibilities. As China welcomes the world to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, I hope to be among those in attendance; and it is also my great hope that, with renewed and intensified efforts from China, there will be peace and security in Darfur at last.

CONTACT: ANDY SPAHN

ANDY SPAHN & ASSOCIATES

 

I was fortunate to have met Tom Lantos and his wife Annette. Both were survivors of the Holocaust and both were unforgettable.  Their love for each other was palpable, literally. I sat between them at breakfast on the day I testified for Lantos at his hearing on Darfur. It was as if I was sitting between two magnets. I almost asked to move so that they would not be separated. The Lantos's were inseparable. Annette went to work each day with her husband. And what a team they were --a pair of moral giants. 

Weren't we fortunate to have had Tom Lantos serving this nation and all that is wise and  right, for so many decades. We have lost one of our finest.

Tom Lantos, 1928-2008
Washington, DC - Congressman Tom Lantos (D-San Mateo, San Francisco), 80, passed away this morning due to complications from cancer at Bethesda Naval Medical Center.  

Elected to office in 1980, Lantos was Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and one of the country's leading champions of human rights.  His commitment to this issue was forged when, as a young man, he lost nearly his entire family in the Holocaust.

Today he was surrounded by his wife, two daughters, and many of his 18 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.  
 
After being diagnosed with esophageal cancer in late December, Lantos announced on January 2 that he would not seek reelection.  He said at the time, "It is only in the United States that a penniless survivor of the Holocaust and a fighter in the anti-Nazi underground could have received an education, raised a family, and had the privilege of serving the last three decades of his life as a Member of Congress.  I will never be able to express fully my profoundly felt gratitude to this great country."

The only survivor of the Shoah ever elected to Congress, Tom Lantos was in his 14th term.  His Democratic colleagues elected him chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in January 2007.  He was also a senior member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  

Throughout his adult life Lantos sought to be a voice for human rights and civil liberties.  He and Annette Lantos, his childhood sweetheart and wife of nearly 58 years were, as Lantos put it, "full partners both in Congress and in life," and they continued their work right up to his final days. Tom was the founding co-chairman of the 24-year-old Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which Annette directed as a volunteer since its inception.  He also founded the Congressional Friends of Animals Caucus.  

Annette said that her husband's life was "defined by courage, optimism, and unwavering dedication to his principles and to his family."

The date for a public memorial service has not yet been set.

 

Bush is the worst Presdent our nation has ever endured. Just look at his shameful position on the Sudan Divestment Bill (which passed unanimously).

Bush move on Darfur law criticized
Critics say he undercuts law on divestment; President cites his policy role
Lawmakers and human rights activists sharply criticized President Bush yesterday for issuing a signing statement that they said has undermined congressional efforts to pressure the Sudanese government to crack down on rebels responsible for the genocide in Darfur. Click here to read more >>

Actually this one is more recent. Just horrifying. Helene Caux of UNHCR (quoted here)  is a remarkable  woman. I first met her in eastern Chad in November 2006. In addition to her work in the field, her fine photographs have been exhibited around the world.

12,000 Flee Darfur for Chad
Up to 12,000 refugees fled Sudan's Darfur region to neighboring Chad over the weekend following air strikes by the Sudanese military and thousands more may be coming, the U.N. refugee agency said Sunday. Click here to read more >>

This remark from China's special Envoy to Sudan,  "The world is running out of patience over what’s going in Darfur," is a clear sign that China wants an end to the crisis in Darfur, even if it is for their own PR. So it's time for all of us to keep pushing. We hope China will  insist that  Khartoum cease aerial and ground attacks upon civilians in Darfur. We hope China will convince their Sudanese business partners to  remove all obstacles they have placed in the way of an effective deployment of the UN/AU  peacekeeping force -- all 26,000 of them -- as they agreed to in UN Resolution 1769.

We have a long way to go; just this month a UN peacekeeping convoy was attacked by Sudanese troops. And  two days ago a non-Arab village was attacked by Janjaweed -- 21 people were killed. 

BREAKING NEWS: China issues a warning to Sudan over Darfur crisis
(reprinted from www.sudantribune.com)
January 30, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — A senior Chinese diplomat today warned Sudan that "the world is running out of patience over what’s going in Darfur".

The Special envoy of Chinese government to Sudan Liu Guijin met with Sudan’s foreign minister Deng Alor on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit in Addis Abbaba.

Alor said that the Chinese envoy reaffirmed his government’s support to his country but called on Sudan "not to do things that will cause the international community to impose sanctions on them".

UN officials have accused Sudan of obstructing the deployment of peacekeeping force in Darfur pursuant to resolution 1769.

China has generally avoided appearing to pressure Sudan directly over the Darfur crisis to be in line with its long standing policy of not interfering in internal affairs of other countries.

Beijing, a veto wielding member in the UN Security Council, has protected Sudan from international condemnation and sanctions causing furstration among Western powers and human rights group worldwide.

Last week Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said China could "definitely not accept" rights groups that say China’s support for Sudan’s government is prolonging the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

The remarks were in response to calls by this groups to label the Beijing summer olympics as ’genocide olympics’.

"To link the Darfur issue to the Olympics is a move to politicize the Olympics and this is inconsistent with the Olympics spirit and will bear no fruit," Jiang told reporters at a news conference.

Energy-hungry China buys two-thirds of Sudan’s oil output and has refineries, a pipeline and joint exploration projects in the east African country.

I HOPE Kenya will find its way and not descend  into further violence but it doesn't look good. I feel Jeffrey Gettleman (reporter for The New York Times)  uncovers the currents and cross currents that are tearing Kenya apart. Not dissimilar to  ingredients that have brought other countries to unimaginable bloodbaths.  I planned to go to Kenya to speak to refugees coming out of the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. I never dreamed that Kenya of ALL places- would be the  bigger problem.

^^ I took this picture only a week ago from the plane over the Rift valley region of Kenya. Eldoret, in the Rift Valley is the site where the violence first erupted with the burning of a church in which people had sought shelter. It was burned to the ground with 50 or 60 mostly women and children inside. The house burning continues and many school aged children have been brutally murdered.

Violence Spreads in Kenya, Killing 19 in Fire
(reprinted from nytimes.com)
By JEFFREY GETTLEMAN

NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethnically driven violence intensified in Kenya on Sunday, and police officials said at least 19 people, including 11 children, were burned to death in a house by a mob.

The country seems to be becoming increasingly unhinged, with even the Kenyan military, deployed for the first time, unable to stop the wave of revenge killings.

More than 100 people have been killed in the past four days, many of them shot with arrows, burned or hacked with machetes.

It is some of the worst fighting since a disputed election in December ignited long-simmering tensions that have so far claimed at least 750 lives. The fighting appeared to be spreading Sunday across the Rift Valley region, a particularly picturesque part of Kenya known more for its game parks and fancy lodges.

The Kenyan government is now threatening to arrest top opposition leaders on suspicion of orchestrating the bloodshed, but opposition leaders are in turn accusing the government of backing criminal gangs.

According to police officials in the Rift Valley town of Naivasha, fighting erupted Sunday between gangs of Kikuyus and Luos, two of Kenya’s biggest ethnic groups, who have clashed across the country since the election. Witnesses said that mobs threw flaming tires and mountains of rocks into the streets to block police officers from entering certain neighborhoods. The mobs then went house to house, looking for certain people.

Grace Kakai, a police commander in Naivasha, said a large crowd of Kikuyus chased a group of Luos through a slum, trapped them in a house, blocked the doors and set the house afire. The police found 19 bodies huddled in one room, and Ms. Kakai said some of the children’s bodies were so badly burned they could not be identified.

“All I can say is that they were school age,” she said.

The incident was similar to one on Jan. 1, when up to 50 women and children seeking shelter in a church in another Rift Valley town were burned to death by a mob. The victims in that case were mostly Kikuyus, and Kikuyus across the country seem to have been attacked more than any other group.

In the past few days, many Kikuyus have organized into militias, saying that they are now ready for revenge.

“The situation is very bad,” Ms. Kakai said. “People are fighting each other and trying to drive them out of the area. We have to evacuate people.”

Thousands of families are streaming out of Naivasha, Nakuru, Molo, Eldoret and other towns across the Rift Valley. The region is home to supporters of both Mwai Kibaki, Kenya’s president and Raila Odinga, the top opposition leader, and the site of historic land disputes between members of rival ethnic groups.

Mr. Kibaki is a Kikuyu and Mr. Odinga is a Luo, and the disputed election, in which Mr. Kibaki was declared the winner by a narrow margin despite widespread evidence of vote rigging, set off the ethnically driven violence.

The Kenya of today is almost unrecognizable to the Kenya that until recently was celebrated as one of the most stable and promising countries on the African continent. On Sunday night, local television stations showed menacing young men brandishing machetes and iron bars at road blocks along one of the country’s busiest highways. The men hurled rocks at buses, with one large bus run off the road, as police officers stood by.

The Kenyan army was assigned early this month to help evacuate people from conflict zones, but on Friday, for the first time, soldiers were ordered to intervene between warring groups. That did not seem to make much of a difference, and witnesses said the soldiers had been as ineffective as the police.

A dusk-to-dawn curfew has been imposed in several Rift Valley towns, including Naivasha and Nakuru, but witnesses said the violence continued to rage in the countryside with bands of armed men burning down huts and attacking ethnic rivals with impunity.

Many Kenyans have said the most distressing aspect is that the opposing politicians, instead of cooperating to stop the bloodshed, continue to bicker over who started it.

That is exactly what happened on Sunday after news of the Naivasha killings spread. Salim Lone, Mr. Odinga’s spokesman, sent out a cellphone message calling the killings “ghastly” and saying that they were the work of criminal gangs backed by police officers and “part of a well orchestrated plan of terror.”

“The government is doing this to try to influence mediation efforts,” the message said, referring to the continuing but so far fruitless negotiations led by Kofi Annan, the former secretary general of the United Nations. “After stealing the elections from Kenyans, Kibaki now wishes to deny them justice and peace.”

Alfred Mutua, a government spokesman, called the accusations “ridiculous.”

“What is really happening is a continuation of the ethnic cleansing that Raila’s people are doing to kill the president’s people,” he said.

Mr. Mutua said the violence would stop “when we indict the leaders responsible for this.”

“We are working on indictments,” he said Sunday night. “That will happen very soon.”

Western diplomats have said that there is a debate raging within Mr. Kibaki’s inner circle about the wisdom of arresting top opposition figures, with some advisers pushing for it, while others fear the violence would only get worse if the leaders were jailed because their supporters would go on an even more intense rampage.

Kenyan newspapers reflected the gloom on Sunday.

“For the umpteenth time, we again ask President Kibaki and Orange Democratic Movement leader Mr. Raila Odinga to work for peace, truth and justice,” said an editorial in The Sunday Standard. “Kenya has bled enough.”

Nicholas Kristof is back!!  We missed him.

China’s Genocide Olympics
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
The Beijing Olympics this summer were supposed to be China’s coming-out party, celebrating the end of nearly two centuries of weakness, poverty and humiliation.

Instead, China’s leaders are tarnishing their own Olympiad by abetting genocide in Darfur and in effect undermining the U.N. military deployment there. The result is a growing international campaign to brand these “The Genocide Olympics.”

This is not a boycott of the Olympics. But expect Darfur-related protests at Chinese Embassies, as well as banners and armbands among both athletes and spectators. There’s a growing recognition that perhaps the best way of averting hundreds of thousands more deaths in Sudan is to use the leverage of the Olympics to shame China into more responsible behavior.

The central problem is that in exchange for access to Sudanese oil, Beijing is financing, diplomatically protecting and supplying the arms for the first genocide of the 21st century. China is the largest arms supplier to Sudan, officially selling $83 million in weapons, aircraft and spare parts to Sudan in 2005, according to Amnesty International USA. That is the latest year for which figures are available.

China provided Sudan with A-5 Fantan bomber aircraft, helicopter gunships, K-8 military training/attack aircraft and light weapons used in Sudan’s proxy invasion of Chad last year. China also uses the threat of its veto on the Security Council to block U.N. action against Sudan so that there is a growing risk of a catastrophic humiliation for the U.N. itself.

Sudan feels confident enough with Chinese backing that on Jan. 7, the Sudanese military ambushed a clearly marked U.N. convoy of peacekeepers in Darfur. Sudan claimed the attack was a mistake, but diplomats and U.N. professionals are confident that this was a deliberate attack ordered by the Sudanese leaders to put the U.N. in its place.

Sudan has already barred units from Sweden, Norway, Nepal, Thailand and other countries from joining the U.N. force. It has banned night flights, dithered on a status-of-forces agreement, held up communications equipment and refused to allow the U.N. to bring in foreign helicopters. The growing fear is that the U.N. force will be humiliated in Sudan as it was in Rwanda and Bosnia, causing enormous damage to international peacekeeping.

Another possible sign of Sudan’s confidence: an American diplomat, John Granville, was ambushed and murdered in Khartoum early this month. Many in the diplomatic and intelligence community believe that such an assassination could not happen in Khartoum unless elements of the government were involved.

Chinese officials argue that they are engaging in quiet diplomacy with Sudan’s leaders and that this is the best way to seek a solution in Darfur. They note that Sudan has other backers, and that China’s influence is limited.

It is true that since the start of the “Genocide Olympics” campaign (www.dreamfordarfur.org) a year ago, China has been more helpful, and it’s only because of Chinese pressure on Khartoum that U.N. peacekeepers were admitted to Darfur at all. But the basic reality is that China continues to side with Sudan — it backed Sudan again after it ambushed the U.N. peacekeepers — and Sudan feels protected enough that it goes on thumbing its nose at the international community.

Just a few days ago, Sudan appointed Musa Hilal, a founding leader of the Arab militia known as the janjaweed, to a position in the central government. This is the man who was once quoted as having expressed gratitude for “the necessary weapons and ammunition to exterminate the African tribes in Darfur.”

Other countries also must do much more, but China is crucial. If Beijing were to suspend all transfers of arms and spare parts to Sudan until a peace deal is reached in Darfur, then that would change the dynamic. President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan would be terrified — especially since he is now preparing to resume war with South Sudan — and would realize that China is no longer willing to let its Olympics be stained by Darfuri blood.

Without his Chinese shield, Mr. Bashir would be more likely to make concessions to Darfur rebels and negotiate seriously with them, and he would no longer have political cover to resume war against South Sudan. That would make long-term peace more likely in Darfur and also in South Sudan.

I’m a great fan of China’s achievements, and I’ve often defended Beijing from unfair protectionist rhetoric spouted by American politicians. But those of us who admire China’s accomplishments find it difficult to give credit when Beijing simultaneously underwrites the ultimate crime of genocide.

China deserves an international celebration to mark its historic re-emergence as a major power. But so long as China insists on providing arms to sustain a slaughter based on tribe and skin color, this will remain, sadly, The Genocide Olympics.

There MUST be a standing force imbedded in the the UN Responsibility to Protect. The alternative is what we have now -in the face of a genocidal government,  the world and the UN are powerless to protect innocent civilians threatened by mass atrocities.

"Our American military colleagues, after having proclaimed their "over-all strategic concept" and computed available resources, always proceedto the next step - namely, the method.  Here again there is widespread agreement.  A world organization has already been erected for the prime purpose of preventing war, UNO, the successor of the League of NAtions, with the decisive addition of the United States and all that means, is already at work.  We must make sure that its work is fruitful, that it is a reality and not a sham, that it is a force for action, and not merely a frothing of words, that it is a true temple of peace in which the shields of many nations can some day by hung up, and not merely a cockpit in a Tower of Babel.  Before we cast away the solid assurances of national armaments for self-preservation we must be certain that our temple is built, not upon shifting sands or quagmires, but upon the rock.  Anyone can see with his eyes open tat our path will be difficult and also long, but if we persevere together as we did in the two world wars - though not, alas, in the interval between them - I cannot doubt that we shall achieve our common purpose in the end."
 
 Churchill's infamous "Iron Curtain Speech," also known as "the Sinews of Peace Address." March 5, 1946

The Dream for Darfur delegation-(really Jill Savitt, Allison Johnson and me) were hosted by our extremely gracious  United States Ambassador Joseph Mussomeli and his wife Sharon with their adorable toddler son Thomas, at their  residence in Phnom Penh.

The following wise  words were delivered by the Ambassador to his guests. He gave me permission to post them here.  This is an admirable man, and a family I would hope  to meet again and someday, to know better. 

Joseph A. Mussomeli
Ambassador
Embassy Phnom Penh

The American writer and Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, criticized those who characterized genocide as insanity and mass murderers as madmen.  It would be equally valid to criticize those who think countries where genocides have occurred as somehow aberrant places inhabited by unusually violent or evil people.  The sad truth is that mass murder has very little to do with madness and everything to do with being human.  

Most of those who participate in the slaughter are not evil, sadistic people.  The real horror of genocide is that those who perpetrate the killing are for the most part common, average, law-abiding people.  The ingredients for genocide are rather mundane: a strong respect for authority, a passionate adherence to ideals, apathy, and cowardice.  Mundane qualities that when mixed together create a potent, deadly reaction.

Law-abiding people, idealistic people, people with a strong if distorted sense of justice, people who are too busy with their everyday lives, people who dare not risk their own safety and comfort.  Somewhere in those short phrases we all find ourselves.  And it is the ordinariness of the people who perpetrate and ignore these evils that should worry us.  How is it that the very ideals that make us human compel us to cruel, inhuman acts?  How many have died in the name of Justice, Freedom, Equality, and God?  The loftier the ideal, the easier, the more legitimated, the killings.  

So today we honor those who have died.  We remember those who have been forsaken by the very laws and ideals that should have protected them.  We pray that somehow, at some time, we will attain the wisdom and compassion and courage that will ensure these horrors cease.   In the Bible there is a proverb that “fear of God is the beginning of wisdom.”  I interpret that to mean that humility is essential to wisdom, to really understanding life.  For as long as we presume what we do is right, we are capable of any horror.  For as long as we believe that obeying a higher human authority renders us blameless, we risk these horrors.  For as long as we refuse to accept that we are fallible, for as long as we hide behind law and diplomatic niceties, for as long as we are more concerned about protecting governments from offense than protecting people from death, for as long as we lack the courage to see the pain around us, and for as long as we hide before our televisions and lull ourselves to distraction with our iPODs, and busy ourselves with our daily living, these tragedies will continue.

My visit to Tuol Sleng on  Saturday morning was deeply, profoundly  upsetting; the instruments of torture are displayed  in the very rooms where unimaginable atrocities were inflicted upon innocent men, women and children.  Like the Nazi's, the Khmer Rouge photographed their victims whose faces stare back from the walls-expressions of terror and of  hopelessness. I think I will forever be  haunted -especially by the faces of the children.

  Our visit was scrutinized by undercover police as well as swarms of  reporters and photographers. I was and am still struggling to compute what happened there.  So, later in the day,  I asked to pay my respects  quietly, privately,  in the company of  Mr Vanh Nath and a translator.  Now elderly and frail, Mr Vanh Nath is  one of the less than a dozen survivors of the Tuol Sleng torture center-  out of the 16,000 victims who perished there.   He is respected  as the Cambodian Elie Wiesel.  And so it was a shock when we 3 approached the guards and  the venerable and gracious Mr Van Nath was denied access to the site where he was tortured and where his agonizingly graphic paintings-depictions of human cruelty are displayed .  We left immediately and in silence.

Yet today, once again China has wielded its influence  claiming through a Bangkok newspaper that Mr Van Nath and I had tried to break into the the torture center: "they shoved a guard and tried to force a gate, and behaved in a very rude way".  This preposterous  lie has  given me further insight into the machinations of the Cambodian government and its close alliance with China.

Mia Farrow faces off with Cambodian police
1/20/2008 12:44 AMPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) --

Cambodian police blocked Mia Farrow from holding a genocide memorial ceremony Sunday at a Khmer Rouge prison, at one point forcefully pushing her group away from a barricade.

Farrow, who is working with the U.S.-based advocacy group Dream for Darfur, was in Cambodia as part of a seven-nation tour of countries that have suffered genocide to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

"My heart - our hearts - are breaking for what happened in Cambodia today, especially for the survivors of genocide," Farrow told a news conference after the confrontation with police.

The Cambodian government had barred the ceremony several days ago and police on Sunday sealed off all roads leading to the Khmer Rouge's infamous Tuol Sleng prison, which is now a genocide museum.

The American actress and seven other activists arrived at one of the barricades, about 170 yards from the museum's gate and refused to go away, linking their arms in a human chain.

Farrow held a bunch of white lotus flowers, a traditional offering for the dead.

"Our goal today was to deliver these flowers in deepest respect ... to honor those who have perished here in Cambodia and in Darfur and in all genocides everywhere," Farrow told the police and journalists.

Police started pushing the group, shouting, "Go! Go! Go!" and blowing whistles. Farrow and the others eventually returned to a waiting van and drove off, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.

Nobody was hurt or arrested during the standoff, said Theary Seng, director of Cambodian advocacy group Center for Social Development, which was working with Farrow.

Farrow had planned to light an Olympic-style torch outside the former prison to send a message to China - the next Olympic host and one of Sudan's major trading partners - to press the Sudanese government to end abuses in Darfur.

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur since 2003 when ethnic African rebels took arms against the Arab-dominated central government. Khartoum denies accusations it committed widespread war crimes.

The Cambodian government, which has strong economic and political ties with China, said days ago it would prevent the 62-year-old actress from going through with the ceremony. It accused the actress of having a political rather than humanitarian agenda.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith accused Farrow's group of trying "to exploit the bones of the dead Cambodians" to futher a political cause.

"Why don't they just go to China to do that," the spokesman said Sunday.

Farrow denied that her intentions were political in an interview Saturday, and said she was determined to press ahead with the ceremony.

"It's pretty harsh to be against a ceremony that honors the victims of Darfur and genocide survivors everywhere," Farrow said.

An estimated 1.7 million Cambodians died during the Khmer Rouge's genocidal reign from 1975-1979. Thousands of Khmer Rouge prisoners were tortured at the Tuol Sleng prison before being executed outside the capital at the site known as "the killing fields."

From 1975-1979, 1.7 million people were killed. Over 21% of the country's population.

When Cambodia gained independence from France in 1953, Prince Sihanouk came into power but was ousted in 1970 by a military coup led by Prime Minister Lon Noi. In response, the Prince aligned himself with the Khmer Rouge rebels who were slowly gaining a foothold in the remote mountain regions. The Prince urged his followers to overthrow the government of Lon Noi.

The Khmer Rouge, led by Poi Pot took over the country in 1975 and began a campaign of brutal 'cleansing'.  One of the first act was to force urban populations into the countryside.

The new government evacuated Cambodia's cities. Millions were marched into the countryside where they died  from malnutrition.  They were treated as slave laborers and countless people died of overwork and disease.

Buddhism was attacked. Monks were killed. Doctors, teachers, engineers or anyone of a professional occupation was killed along with his family

Vietnamese were expelled and killed. Of the approximately 250,000 Muslims, 90,000 were massacred.

The Tuol Sleng High School was converted into a prison and interrogation center. Prisoners were beaten and tortured with searing hot metal instruments, electric shock and other devices. Many were cut with knives or suffocated with plastic bags. Other methods for generating confessions included pulling out fingernails while pouring alcohol on the wounds or holding peoples heads under water. Women were sometimes raped. Children too were tortured and  killed.

Mercifully, the Vietnamese invaded in 1979. The prison staff fled leaving more than 6000 photographs and thousands of written records.  Of the 30,000 men women and children held there, only twelve survived. Only 4 are still alive. Van Nath survived because he had trained as an artist and was put to work painting pictures of Poi Pot. Many of his paintings which depict what he witnessed are on display. At Tuol Sleng today.  The prison is now a memorial.  Mr Van Nath and I visited the site this afternoon. We were warned in no uncertain terms to leave the memorial immediately. He was told not to return tomorrow.

He was to light the torch at our ceremony in the morning but he has now declined. I don't blame him.

The Chinese backed the Khmer Rouge and they are backing this government. We are not wanted here.

^^ Van Nath (an artist), photographed here with me in Cambodia, is just one of 12 survivors of the 30,000 who were imprisoned at Tuoi Sleng. I will, when I can, post images of some of the horrifying paintings that hang in the memorial.

The big question for us here is whether the Cambodian government, which has huge Chinese ties, will permit us to have our ceremony.  The Cambodian papers write that the  executive director of the documentation center and the US ambassador are saying the event is about honoring victims and should be allowed to take place.

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - Activists in Cambodia vowed Friday to defy a government ban and hold a mock Olympic-torch lighting ceremony featuring American actress Mia Farrow to bring attention to the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.

The Cambodian government earlier this week said it would prevent the 62-year-old actress from holding the ceremony Sunday at a former Khmer Rouge prison because the group had «a political agenda against China,» which is one of Sudan's key donors.

"Our resolve is still the same, which is to go forward" with the event, said Theary Seng, the director of the advocacy group Center of Social Development which is helping organize it.

"It's really difficult how anyone can be against honoring survivors of genocide, particularly as Cambodians," Theary Seng said.

Theary Seng insisted Farrow would attend Sunday's event.

Neither Farrow nor the group she is working with, the U.S.-based Dream for Darfur, could be reached for comment.

Chey Sopheara, the director of the Khmer Rouge's infamous Tuol Sleng torture center where thousands of Khmer Rouge prisoners were tortured, said he expected the government to deploy police to prevent ceremony organizers from entering the compound.

The Dream for Darfur group has called on China to use its influence to press Sudan to end abuses in Darfur.

The group has taken the torch to countries which have suffered genocide and has so far been lit at the Darfur-Chad border, Rwanda, Armenia, Germany and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Cambodia was to be the last stop before it heads to China.

Dream for Darfur claims China, host of the 2008 Olympics, has protected Khartoum at the U.N. Security Council and sold weapons to the Sudanese government, while making Sudanese oil purchases that have helped fund genocide there.

China was also the biggest backer of the Khmer Rouge's communist regime in the 1970s, which led to the deaths of an estimated 1.7 million Cambodians.

It is now a major donor to Cambodia, where the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen has strongly advocated a one-China policy. Hun Sen has frequently described China as Cambodia's «most trustworthy friend.

Government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said the event's organizers have a political agenda against China, prompting the ban.

"We do not want to see any trouble or confrontation with them,» said Touch Naroth, the police chief for Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh. «But we simply cannot let this group breach the law either."

He said Tuol Sleng genocide museum is a government property that must be protected from any unlawful activity but declined to elaborate on what measures the government was preparing ahead of Sunday's ceremony.

Cambodia bars US actress from holding Darfur ceremony

PHNOM PENH (AFP) — Actress Mia Farrow has been barred from holding a ceremony at a notoriou