After repeated calls from the activist community since the start of Obama’s administration, President Obama named General Scott Gration to be special envoy to Sudan. Scott Gration is a retired general from the Air Force who visited Chad with President Obama in 2006 when Obama was a senator.
Sixteen humanitarian agencies have been kicked out of Darfur by the Government of Sudan. This action by Sudan will leave about 1 million Darfuris without food, water, or medical aid.
Former Education Coordinator Sabina Carlson, interning in South Sudan, sent me some thoughts and observations a week after the ICC released the arrest warrant for al-Bashir. Living in the midst of Sudan, Sabina is able to offer us a unique view of the situation that we don’t normally have as student activists.
It was the afternoon of March 4, at 4:00 PM local time in Sudan, and Juba fell quiet.
Not many know that just below the southern tip of India, exists a small, tear drop-shaped island. Perhaps a symbol of the sadness that has reigned in one of Asia’s longest and most brutal ethnic conflicts, from the time of its independence from Britain in 1948, Sri Lanka has silently, but violently, spiraled downward.
Today, Tuesday, March 10th, send a progress report to President Obama over the Internet and urge him to take real action on Darfur. Sign up now and send your fax to Obama online.
In this week’s issue: Millions of Darfuri lives are at risk in the aftermath of the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Bashir, Southeast Asian leaders discuss the future of Rhohingya refugees in Burma, and the FDLR remains at large in eastern Congo.
Earlier this week, we reported on the Government of Sudan’s expulsion of aid groups in Darfur. The news came after the ICC issued its arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir and could be devastating for Darfuris.
Check out Nick Kristof’s op-ed on the removal of the aid groups and what the Obama administration can do.
Congress is already starting to respond to the International Criminal Court’s Wednesday announcement of its decision to issue an arrest warrant for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir.
Take a minute to check out GI-NET’s blog post on the topic.
Just wanted to follow up with a bit of info on the aid groups being kicked out of Sudan.
Following its issuance of the arrest warrant for al-Bashir this morning, international aid agency Oxfam GB confirmed that the Sudanese government revoked its license to operate in northern Sudan. Also revoked were licenses for Mercy Corps, Save the Children, IRC, CHF, MSF. Worldvision and Catholic Relief Services get to stay.
The Obama administration called on all parties to urge restraint in the aftermath of the ICC’s decision, and expressed support for efforts to hold the perpetrators of atrocities accountable. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters:
