Daily Darfur: Hillary Takes Her Gloves Off

First thing's first: Peacekeeping has to rank high on the list of most difficult and most thankless jobs, and it certainly doesn't help when troops come under fire themselves. Condolences to the family of the UNAMID peacekeeper who was shot and killed in an ambush in South Darfur yesterday.

The U.S. government finally shed its diplomatic niceties and came down hard on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir yesterday. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Bashir's decision to expel 13 foreign and three national aid agencies out of Darfur a "catastrophe," and placed responsibility for resulting deaths squarely on Bashir's shoulders:

"This is a horrendous situation that is going to cause untold misery and suffering for the people of Darfur, particularly those in the refugee camps," she said.

"The real question is what kind of pressure can be brought to bear on President Bashir and the government in Khartoum to understand that they will be held responsible for every single death that occurs in those in those camps," she told reporters.

Sudan's allies, she added, have a responsibility to either persuade Bashir to reverse his decision, or to quickly fill the substantial gaps left by the departing agencies to prevent further loss of innocent life. As Michael wrote yesterday at the Humanitarian Relief blog, filling these gaps is no easy task.

(In a bit of slightly good news --- take it as it comes --- a Sudanese government official assured reporters that all foreign aid groups will not face expulsion in a year, after Bashir made unequivocal remarks to that effect at a military rally on Monday. The government does, however, seek a "transformation" of the aid operation, with national organizations taking a "more proactive role.")

Late last night, following Clinton's remarks, word leaked from the White House that Obama will appoint retired Air Force  Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration as Special Envoy to Darfur --- finally fulfilling a pledge and a key policy ask of advocacy groups. Both Clinton's escalating rhetoric and Obama's appointment come after two weeks of apparent inertia --- at best, and floundering, at worst --- in the administration's response to the unfolding crisis in Darfur, which has left many hopeful activists feeling frustrated and betrayed.

An unnamed administration official said of Gration:

"He's someone with deep experience in the region, who has personal and professional relationships with key leaders and most importantly has a close personal friendship with the president and has his ear."

He said what?

The president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, went on a West/US-bashing rant in front of the cameras yesterday, first condemning treatment of the President of Iran, and then calling for a deferral of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Bashir, asserting that it "helps to deepen a perception that international justice is racist." I love this line from the New York Times article on the matter:

"Mr. d'Escoto has made controversial remarks periodically since assuming the presidency in September, but rarely so many in a single day."

The ambassador from Chile engaged a bit of damage control:

"He confuses his personal opinions sometimes with those of the General Assembly."

Other items of note...

Bashir will make his second trip to Darfur since the ICC arrest warrant announcement.

Natalie Ondiak has an interesting post up at the ENOUGH Blog on the politicization of humanitarian aid in Darfur.

Stop Genocide Now has plans for Obama's trip to LA over the next two days.

[Photo from Reuters: A Nigerian peacekeeping soldier from the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) patrols in Osha IDP's camp in Nyla, southern Darfur March 17,2009.]