Daily Darfur: Possible Progress? Don't Hold Your Breath.

by Michelle . · 2009-04-17 03:55:00 UTC
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Apparently, supposedly, maybe....in addition to possibly securing an agreement to readmit some foreign aid to Darfur...the Obama Administration, via Special Envoy Scott Gration, has also potentially convinced the government of Sudan (not sure about the rebels) to enter into new ceasefire negotiations.

From the Sudan Tribune:

"The London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat said that the proposal was agreed on during the visit of the US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration last week.

The newspaper said if the ceasefire talks succeed they will be followed by full blown peace talks similar to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North and South."

The word(s) of the day is: Cautious, cautious optimism. At least one commentator is more than a little bit skeptical:

"Many of the so called experts on the Sudan still naively think that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of the defiant President al Bashir can be trusted to bring peace to Darfur and this obviously reflects their shallow understanding of the political agenda of the Arab dominated, Khartoum based successive governments of the Sudan in dealing with the rest of the black African citizens in the country's periphery over the five decades that followed the Sudanese independence."

Events in DC

Martha has the details for two events posted on her blog: The "Honor the Past, Act Now for Darfur" event in front of the White House on Sunday, and the Zimbabwe Human Rights Solidarity Concert in Adams Morgan on Saturday.

The US Holocaust Memorial Museum conducts a Names Reading Ceremony on Yom Hashoah --- Holocaust Memorial Day, on Tuesday, April 21. If you are interested in participating, sign up for a 5 minute slot, or check out the many other events during the Days of Remembrance.

Are Activists to Blame for Darfur? Bring yourself, and hopefully your open mind, to an event at the Center for American Progress next Thursday.

[Photo from Reuters: U.S. President Barack Obama (C) meets with Sudan Special Envoy General Scott Gration (L) and Representative Howard Berman (D-CA) in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington March 30, 2009.]

Michelle . has been involved in various activist endeavors, including the Teach Against Genocide pilot campaigns.
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