TIME TO SPEAK OUT ON CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY INTERNATIONAL AND SUDAN:
AN OPEN LETTER TO ANTI-SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL

The European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council
Date of Publication: May 2001

We address this open letter to Anti-Slavery International given its
well-deserved reputation as one of the world's premier human rights
organisations, and its particular concern about slavery and slavery-like
practices. We call upon Anti-Slavery International to once again
publicly speak out with regard to the claims of government-sponsored
slavery and "slave redemption" in Sudan being made by groups such as
Christian Solidarity International.

A civil war has been fought in Sudan between the Sudanese government and
the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) since 1983. As Anti-Slavery
International will be only too aware, while there have been legitimate
concerns about inter-tribal raiding and abduction in the course of this
conflict, several organisations and anti-Sudanese activists have claimed
there is a flourishing "slave trade" in Sudan in which the Sudanese
government and its northern forces raid southern villages and "enslave"
Dinka tribesmen, women and children. These claims have been made by
groups such as the Swiss-based Christian Solidarity International (CSI).
CSI further claim that in the course of visits to parts of southern
Sudan it has engaged in "slave redemptions" whereby southern Sudanese
tribesmen, women and children are supposedly "bought back" from northern
Sudanese tribesmen said to have abducted them. Christian Solidarity
International and other groups claim to have "bought" back or "redeemed"
thousands of slaves, often several hundred at a time, from Arab traders.
(1) These groups have also been active in taking outsiders in with them
on pre-arranged trips. Westerners, often with no experience whatsoever
of Africa, then come back believing what they have been told they saw.
Having taken these claims at face value, several of these "political
pilgrims" have taken somewhat opportunistic positions with regard to
"slavery" in Sudan.

This has degenerated into little more than a propagandistic circus.
African-American activists such as Rev Al Sharpton and pop star Michael
Jackson have now also been caught up in this circus. (2) Even 'The New
York Post' has described Al Sharpton as "a crass opportunist". (3) We
now also have further crass opportunism in the form of anti-Sudanese
activists deliberately getting themselves arrested in front of the
Sudanese embassy in Washington. Former District of Columbia
Congressional delegate Walter E. Fauntroy, radio talk show host Joe
Madison and the Hudson Institute's Michael Horowitz all chained
themselves to the fence in front of the Sudanese embassy in protest at
"slavery" in Sudan. When they appeared in court their lawyers were
Johnnie Cochran, of O.J. Simpson fame and former Monica Lewinsky scandal
independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr. (4) All these people claim to be
responding in large part to allegations about "slavery" and "slave
redemption" made by groups such as Christian Solidarity International.

It is also clear that there is concern amongst better-informed sources
much closer to the issue about this American campaign. 'Africanews', a
Nairobi-based newsletter closely identified with the Roman Catholic
Church in Kenya and in southern Sudan, has observed that:

"Analysts, mainstream Church officials, and aid workers are worried that
the stance taken by the Christian Right might jeopardize relief
operations and precipitate a humanitarian crisis in Sudan...Since last
year, interest in Sudan by Americans has mushroomed largely due to
campaigns led by missionary groups and U.S. based African-American
churches, resulting in an unusual alliance of right-wing politicians
identified with the Republican Party and members of the Democratic
Congressional Black Caucus...Observers also note that some leaders -
particularly Rev. Al Sharpton - could be using the Sudanese conflict to
build political careers back home." (5)

Anti-Slavery International has itself spoken out in the past challenging
many of the claims made by Christian Solidarity International. The
official 1997 Anti-Slavery International report on allegations of
Sudanese slavery commented on claims of government involvement in
slavery: "he charge that government troops engage in raids for the
purpose of seizing slaves is not backed by the evidence. (6)

Anti-Slavery International's comments were supported by the then co-
director of African Rights, the human rights expert, and Sudan
specialist, Alex de Waal:

"(O)vereager or misinformed human rights advocates in Europe and the US
have played upon lazy assumptions to raise public outrage. Christian
Solidarity International, for instance, claims that "Government troops
and Government-backed Arab militias regularly raid black African
communities for slaves and other forms of booty". The organization
repeatedly uses the term "slave raids", implying that taking captives is
the aim of government policy. This despite the fact that there is no
evidence for centrally-organized, government-directed slave raiding or
slave trade." (7)

Anti-Slavery International has also articulated deeper concerns about
the sort of claims made by Christian Solidarity International. In a
submission to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva
you publicly stated:

"There is a danger that wrangling over slavery can distract us from
abuses which are actually part of government policy - which we do not
believe slavery to be. Unless accurately reported, the issue can become
a tool for indiscriminate and wholly undeserved prejudice against Arabs
and Muslims. are worried that some media reports of "slave
markets", stocked by Arab slave traders - which consider distort
reality - fuel such prejudice." (8)

Anti-Slavery International has also questioned other claims made by
Christian Solidarity International, particularly its claims that tens of
thousands of people have been "enslaved" in Sudan. In your 1999
submission to the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, for
example, your organisation stated that

"A representative of Christian Solidarity International spoke at the
beginning of this year of "tens of thousands" of people in slavery in
Sudan, and of "concentration camps" for slaves. At Anti-Slavery
International, we know of no evidence to justify an assertion that
20,000 people or more are currently held as captives and slaves in these
areas of Sudan."

Christian Solidarity International's Claims Challenged by Other
Independent Sources

As Anti-Slavery International will know, there have since been further
detailed criticisms of the claims made by Christian Solidarity
International. One credible source is the report by the Canadian
government's special envoy to Sudan, John Harker, into human rights
abuses in Sudan. The Harker report, 'Human Security in Sudan: The Report
of a Canadian Assessment Mission', was commissioned by the Canadian
government and published in February 2000. One of the two missions with
which John Harker was tasked was to: "independently investigate human
rights violations, specifically in reference to allegations of slavery
and slavery-like practices in Sudan. (9) While Harker was critical of
many human rights abuses in Sudan, he clearly questioned the credibility
of claims of large-scale "slave redemption" made by Christian Solidarity
International:

"eports, especially from CSI, about very large numbers were
questioned, and frankly not accepted. Mention was also made to us of
evidence that the SPLA were involved in 'recycling' abductees...Serious
anti-abduction activists...cannot relate the claimed redemptions to what
they know of the reality. For example we were told that it would be hard
not to notice how passive these 'slave' children are when they are
liberated or to realize how implausible it is to gather together so many
people from so many locations so quickly - and there were always just
the right number to match redemption funds available!"

The Harker Report also detailed how fraudulent "slave redemptions" were
being used to raise money for the SPLA, money which he stated is used to
purchase arms and ammunition:

"Several informants reported various scenarios involving staged
redemptions. In some cases, SPLM officials are allegedly involved in
arranging these exchanges, dressing up as Arab slave traders, with
profits being used to support the SPLM/A, buy weapons and
ammunition...We did speak with an eyewitness who can confirm observing a
staged redemption and this testimony conformed with other reports we had
from a variety of credible sources. The 'redeeming group' knew they were
buying back children who had not been abducted or enslaved. The exchange
was conducted in the presence of armed SPLA guards. The 'Arab' middle
man/trader delivering the children for 'redemption' was recognized as a
member of the local community even though he was dressed up in
traditional Arab costume for the event." (10)

Christian Solidarity International's claims of mass "slavery" in the
Nuba mountains have also been firmly questioned by human rights experts.
Alex de Waal, for example, states that CSI has "also alleged that there
is mass enslavement in the Nuba mountains, which is contested by Nuba
human rights activists". De Waal states that "African Rights' monitors
in the Nuba Mountains have come across two incidents of possible - but
unconfirmed - enslavement in two and a half years". (11)

The Reuters news agency has also reported deliberate misrepresentations
with regard to "slave redemptions": "Local aid workers...say that they
have seen children who they have known for months passed off as
slaves...And Reuters interviewed one boy in Yargot who told a completely
implausible story of life in the north, a story which he changed in
every respect when translators were swapped." (12)

In May 1999, the 'Christian Science Monitor' also clearly stated:

"There are increasingly numerous reports that significant numbers of
those 'redeemed' were never slaves in the first place. Rather, they were
simply elements of the local populations, often children, available to
be herded together when cash-bearing redeemers appeared." (13)

It is clear that several independent sources have questioned
fundamentally the claims made by Christian Solidarity International. The
Canadian government's special envoy has dismissed CSI's claims of "slave
redemption" as unbelievable. Anti-Slavery International has itself
questioned several of CSI's claims. It is now clear that many "slave
redemptions" are staged. Independent sources have stated that while some
of those outside groups involved in these "redemptions" may have been
innocently misled, other outside groups may be purposefully using "slave
redemptions" in order to raise money for the SPLA.

As Anti-Slavery International will know, these "slave redemptions" fuel
the Sudanese conflict in at least two ways. They echo inaccurate and
stereotyped propaganda images of Sudan and the Sudanese conflict which
serve only to misinform the international community, which in turn can
distort positions taken by countries such as the United States. And, if
what credible outside commentators have said is true, the money raised
through fraudulent "slave redemptions" is actually used to procure
weapons for the SPLA which are then used to prolong the war.

Anti-Slavery International has previously articulated concerns that
claims made by Christian Solidarity International "distort reality" and
that fuel "indiscriminate and wholly undeserved prejudice against Arabs
and Muslims". It is clear that Christian Solidarity International
continues to make these claims, that they have gained even more
prominence within the United States and that such claims are fuelling an
ill-informed anti-Sudanese frenzy in that country. Anti-Slavery
International must have the courage to once again urge the international
community to exercise the utmost caution in assessing claims made by
groups such as Christian Solidarity International.

Notes

1 See, for example, 'Five Thousand Sudanese Slaves "Freed"', News
Article by BBC World Africa Online on 22 December 1999 at 18:24 GMT and
'Swiss NGO Buys Freedom for 4,000 Sudanese Slaves', News Article by
Agence France Presse on 1 February 2000.
2 See, for example, 'Jackson to Tackle Child Slavery', News
Article by BBC News Online on 20 April 2001, at 10:57 GMT.
3 'Rev. Al Has No Bravery on Slavery', 'The New York Times', 24
April 2001.
4 'Sudan Protest Makes Odd Bedfellows', 'The Washington Post', 30
April 2001.
5 'Christian Right Might Inflame War, Observers Fear', Africanews,
Issue 62, May 2001. It should be noted that Africanews describes itself
as "the initiative of a group of lay Christians...AFRICANEWS editorial
staff wants to prove that the media can be used to promote peace and
solidarity. In particular, AFRICANEWS expresses its preferential option
for the poor. All news and their analysis will be given from the
perspective of the African grassroot people, their struggle for freedom,
dignity and justice." 'AFRICANEWS: News and Views From Africa' at
http://www.peacelink.it/amani/afrinews_eng.html
6 Peter Verney, 'Slavery in Sudan', Sudan Update and Anti-Slavery
International, London, May 1997.
7 Alex de Waal, 'Sudan: Social Engineering, Slavery and War',
'Covert Action Quarterly', Spring 1997.
8 The reference number of this submission to the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights is TS/S/4/97, and is available to view on the
Anti-Slavery International web-site at http://www.charitynet.org/asi/sub
mit5.htm
9 John Harker, 'Human Security in Sudan: The Report of a Canadian
Assessment Mission', Prepared for the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ottawa, January 2000, p. 1.
10 Ibid., pp.39-40.
11 Alex de Waal, 'Exploiting Slavery: Human Rights and Political
Agendas in Sudan', 'New Left Review', (London), Number 227, 1998, p.145.
12 'Aid group tries to break Sudan slavery chain', News Article by
Reuters on July 11, 1999 at 23:40:58.
13 "Slave 'Redemption' won't save Sudan", 'Christian Science
Monitor', 26 May 1999.

end quote.

The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).

http://www.sudmer.com/The%20House%20of%20the%20representative.htm

The House of Representatives of the U.S.A keeps fueling the bloody internal conflict in Sudan that has raged since 1955 ... before Sudan independence . ESPAC-20 June 2001.

An in-depth analysis with referential historical facts, events and testimonies authentically presented by the London-based the European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council attracting the attention of the international community to the destructive nature of the unfortunate move recently adopted by the House of Representatives of the U.S.A against Sudanese people and against their legitimate aspirations for peace , stability and development , as well as against the same aspirations of the peoples of Africa .

Begins Text :-

THE 'SUDAN PEACE ACT': PERPETUATING AFRICA'S LONGEST WAR

The European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council
Date of Publication: June 2001
On 13 June 2001, the United States House of Representatives passed "An Act to facilitate relief efforts and a comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan", also referred to as the 'Sudan Peace Act'. A more explicit example of confused, distorted and poorly-informed legislation would be hard to find. It is an Act that while paying lip service to the need for a "negotiated, peaceful settlement to the war in Sudan" at the same time provides one side to the conflict with millions of dollars worth of logistical assistance. It is an Act that decries the manipulation of food aid while ignoring the fact that the side it is supporting has been accused of diverting two-thirds of food aid within the areas it controls. It is also an act which decries the abuse of human rights within Sudan but provides millions of dollars to those accused of appalling human rights abuses in Sudan.

In so doing the United States seeks to continue foreign interference in a conflict that has raged since 1955, fought, in its most recent phase, since 1983 between the Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) led by John Garang. Even a brief examination of attempts to achieve a comprehensive solution to the conflict in Sudan and relief efforts within that country reveal the deep flaws within this legislation.

A "negotiated, peaceful settlement to the war in Sudan"
In any examination of the search for a "negotiated, peaceful settlement to the war in Sudan", a little should be said first about those people who drafted this Act. The Act was drafted by legislators such as Representatives Tancredo, Wolf and Payne and Senators Frist, Brownback and Feingold, whose previous involvement with Sudan had resulted in an escalation in the Sudanese conflict and regional tensions. In April 2001, former United States President Carter, one of the most respected and objective commentators on events within Sudan, said of this period: "For the last eight years, the U.S. has had a policy which I strongly disagree with in Sudan, supporting the revolutionary movement and not working for an overall peace settlement." (1)

This echoed earlier concerns voiced by Carter. In December 1999 he had observed: "The people in Sudan want to resolve the conflict. The biggest obstacle is US government policy. The US is committed to overthrowing the government in Khartoum. Any sort of peace effort is aborted, basically by policies of the United States...Instead of working for peace in Sudan, the US government has basically promoted a continuation of the war." (2)

It is clear, then, that these legislators are hardly the best qualified group of people to talk about peace in Sudan. Far from working for peace they have stood by while the United States militarily and economically destabilised the largest country in Africa. They helped shape American Sudan policy from 1993 onwards - precisely the period referred to by Carter. While they publicly lament the numbers of deaths during this conflict, they are themselves directly responsible for the deaths through war, starvation or disease of thousands of Sudanese. Far from taking Carter's concerns into consideration, the 'Sudan Peace Act' merely perpetuates the Clinton Administration's failed and farcical Sudan policies. The United States Congress has shown itself either amazingly naïve or blatantly hypocritical in drafting the 'Sudan Peace Act'. In either case this piece of legislation reflects very badly indeed on Congress. This American attitude is all the more regrettable since the Sudanese government has repeatedly invited constructive United States involvement within Sudan. (3)

A "comprehensive solution to the war in Sudan"?
While making for good rhetoric, Congressional calls for a comprehensive solution illustrate either naivety or cynicism. For a solution there has to be some sort of political objective on the part of those waging war on the Sudanese government. The political complexion of the SPLA movement has varied from professedly Marxist through to now politically identifying with American Bible-belt Christian fundamentalists. Even on such a fundamental issue as to whether the SPLA is fighting for a separate south or a united Sudan, there continues to be confusion. (4)

The war has always been about the political status of southern Sudan.
While the SPLA appear to be confused, the Khartoum authorities' approach would appear to be clear. If the SPLA are fighting for autonomy or even separation this has already been offered by the government. In 1997, having already introduced a federal system and exempted southern Sudan from Sharia law, the Sudanese Government, in the Khartoum Peace Agreement, also offered, amongst other things, the holding of a free and fair, internationally-supervised, referendum in which the people of southern Sudan could, for the first time ever, choose whether to remain as a part of Sudan or to become independent. This offer has also been written into the 1998 Constitution, and repeated on several occasions (5),

most recently during the June 2001 peace talks in Nairobi. (6)

It is an offer that has also been acknowledged by the SPLA.(7)

The Sudanese government has repeatedly offered a comprehensive ceasefire.(8)

Throughout 2001, the Sudanese government once again called for a peaceful resolution of the conflict. In April and in mid-May 2000, Khartoum once more declared its readiness to enter into "an immediate and comprehensive ceasefire" and to restart negotiations for the achievement of a comprehensive peace: it called upon the SPLA to do the same. (9)

Khartoum appears to have sought out every possible peace forum. (10)
The Sudanese government has also repeatedly requested international assistance in securing a peaceful end to the conflict.(11)

It is difficult to see how much further towards a comprehensive solution the Sudanese government can go. The SPLA's inability to articulate what they are fighting for is echoed in its approach to the peace process. In erratic shifts in position, the SPLA has both accepted and then refused regional attempts at peace-making, sometimes within the space of 48 hours. (12)

Its commitment to a peaceful solution is questionable. John Garang, for example, commenting on the November 1997 round of peace talks in Nairobi, stated that "We intended not to reach an agreement with the . This is what we did and we succeeded in it because we did not reach an agreement." The 'Sudan Peace Act' has exacerbated an already critical situation. While professing to wish to see an end to war in Sudan, the 'Sudan Peace Act' actually authorised the release of $10 million dollars in assistance to what they called the National Democratic Alliance. This followed an earlier payment of three million dollars. (13)

All this funding will be channelled to the Sudan People's Liberation Army. As prominent American Sudan specialist Stephen Morrison, the head of the Sudan project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington-DC, has pointed out: "The NDA is a bit of a phantom. It is basically the SPLA and a few elements." (14)

Commenting on the release of American funds for the SPLA, Morrison also stated: "This package feeds false hopes and expectation on the part of the southerners and sustains excessive paranoia in Khartoum." (15)

For all the immediate implications of such clear American assistance, of even deeper concern is the fact that such aid serves to encourage the SPLA, already patently without any clear political objective, to continue with what is an unwinnable war. Shortly after the announcement of American assistance, for example, the SPLA launched a concerted offensive in the Bahr al-Ghazal region of southern Sudan in May 2001. The offensive continued during a regional peace summit in Nairobi in early June, with the rebels ignoring further calls for a peaceful solution to the conflict. (16)

It was thus particularly ironic that Congress passed this Act at the time it did given that amongst the "findings" of the Act was the claim that "he Government of Sudan has intensified its prosecution of the war against areas outside of its control".(17)

The Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels had themselves launched this offensive in the Bahr al-Ghazal region of southern Sudan in late May and June which had certainly intensified the civil war in that country. In so doing they had ignored repeated offers of ceasefires by the government. This SPLA offensive has resulted in massive displacement of southern Sudanese civilians. On 8 June, the International Committee of the Red Cross stated that the offensive had led to the displacement of at least 20,000 civilians. The Sudanese Catholic Information Office reported that most activities within the region had been halted by the offensive: "locations from Tonj northwards remain no go areas forcing both church and humanitarian agencies to suspend their flights to the region." (18)

By 11 June, the United Nations estimated that 30,000 civilians had been displaced within Bahr al-Ghazal. (19)

Two days later, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Rumbek, Bishop Mazzolari, reported that just under 60,000 civilians had been displaced by the offensive, and that these civilians were in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. (20)

to be continued.....................

The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).

>http://www.sudmer.com/The%20House%20of%20the%20representative.htm
The very humanitarian access spoken of repeatedly in the 'Sudan Peace Act' has been disrupted by the SPLA. History would appear to be repeating itself. Former President Carter has in the past stated that the millions of dollars of assistance to the rebels previously provided by the Clinton Administration had a negative effect on the SPLA's interest in negotiating a political settlement. (21)

The Bush Administration's financial support for the SPLA has also clearly encouraged the SPLA to once again ignore calls for a negotiated settlement of the conflict and to continue with what can only be described as a no-win war. Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail accuses the United States of pursuing a policy that prolongs the Sudanese war: "Your policy will not lead to peace. It will lead to the continuation of war, the suffering of the people, the loss of lives in the south ... This war, this problem, will not be settled by fighting. It has to be settled by political means. The government of Sudan is ready for that". (22)

America's provocative acts take place at a time when the there have been significant positive political changes within Sudan itself. The former Prime Minister, Sadiq al-Mahdi, himself ousted in 1989 by the present government, and a pivotal rebel leader, was quoted by an April 2001 American fact-finding mission as saying that: "the United States has been an obstacle to peace in Sudan and also to unity among the opposition. The United States' policy has been a problem. He said that Sudan is like a pregnant woman that is about to deliver and needs a midwife to help the delivery. They all believe that the United States could act as a midwife. They all accept this. But, the United States, instead of helping deliver the baby, killed it..." The former prime minister has also declared that: "There are now circumstances and developments which could favour an agreement on a comprehensive political solution." (23)

Congressional Support for Sudanese "War Criminals" What then is the nature of the organisation so enthusiastically embraced by the United States Congress? Simply put, the 'Sudan Peace Act' links the United States to a group with an appalling human rights record. A previous attempt by the American government in late 1999 to provide assistance to the SPLA had resulted in considerable concern domestically. In November 1999, for example, eight reputable US-based humanitarian organisations working in Sudan, groups such as CARE, World Vision, Church World Service and Save the Children, no friends of the Sudanese government, publicly stated that the SPLA has: "engaged for years in the most serious human rights abuses, including extrajudicial killings, beatings, arbitrary detention, slavery, etc." (24)

In December 1999, Human Rights Watch stated that: "The SPLA has a history of gross abuses of human rights and has not made any effort to establish accountability. Its abuses today remain serious". (25) '

The New York Times', another outspoken critic of the Khartoum government, was also unambiguously critical of any assistance to the SPLA: "hanneling assistance to southern rebels would ally Washington with a brutal and predatory guerrilla army. One of the tragedies of Sudan's war is that John Garang's S.P.L.A. has squandered a sympathetic cause. Though its members claim to be "Christians resisting Islamization, they have behaved like an occupying army, killing, raping and pillaging." (26)

It is ironic that the 'Sudan Peace Act' also contains a section dealing with "the investigation of war criminals" given that the same Act provides the SPLA, an group accused of involvement in war crimes, with millions of dollars worth of American tax-payers money. The 'New York Times', for example, has stated that SPLA leader John Garang is one of Sudan's "pre-eminent war criminals". (27).

The U.S. Congress cannot have been unaware of this appalling human rights record. The Clinton Administration's Sudan expert, John Prendergast, who served with both the National Security Council and State Department, and who has briefed many of these legislators, has, for example, stated on record that the SPLA "was responsible for egregious human rights violations in the erritory it controlled". (28)

Prendergast also personally placed on record that: "The SPLA has faced a tidal wave of accusations and condemnation from international human rights organizations and local churches over its human rights record." (29)

Prendergast personally recorded SPLA involvement in wide-scale killings, ethnic cleansing, terrorism, widespread raping of Equatorian women, systematic abuse of humanitarian aid, corruption and an absolute disregard for human rights. Prendergast confirmed the existence of ethnic tensions between the largely Dinka SPLA, and the Nuer tribe, as well as communities in Equatoria in southern Sudan, ever since the SPLA came into being in 1983, with the SPLA showing an "absolute disregard for their human rights". (30)

He was also able to confirm that, in an echo of the war crimes carried out in Bosnia, SPLA behaviour included the systematic raping of women from different ethnic groups. (31)

Very significantly, given the Act's desire to make SPLA access to relief even easier, Prendergast further documented the SPLA's deliberate abuse of aid and society in those areas it controls: "The human rights abuses of the SPLA are by now well-documented...What is less understood is the abuse and manipulation of humanitarian assistance, the undermining of commerce, and the authoritarian political structures which have stifled any efforts at local organizing or capacity building in the south. These are the elements which have characterized the first decade of the SPLA's existence." (32)

While Prendergast was advising on Sudan, the SPLA engaged in ethnic cleansing every bit as murderous as that carried out in Bosnia or Kosovo. SPLA ethnic cleansing continues to this day. The BBC and other reliable sources have reported on SPLA violence towards non-Dinka ethnic groups, groups which "accused the SPLA of becoming an army of occupation" (33),

exactly the phrase used by Prendergast himself in 1997. (34)

It would appear that the United States would believe that the human rights of black and brown Africans are not the same value as those of Bosnians or other white Europeans. Humanitarian Assistance to Sudan: Operation Lifeline Sudan The 'Sudan Peace Act' states and restates concern about the facilitation of relief efforts within southern Sudan. The Act is also hostile to the United Nations-administered Operation Lifeline Sudan. It further repeatedly refers to the manipulation of food aid by the government of Sudan. Whatever the veracity of the claims about the Sudanese authorities, what the Act conveniently ignores is that the SPLA, the organisation it seeks to logistically assist, and to whom it wishes to make access to relief aid easier, has been the biggest abuser of relief aid in this conflict. The human rights group, African Rights, for example, has clearly stated that: "On the whole, SPLA commanders and officials of the Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Association (SRRA, its humanitarian wing), have seen relief flows as simple flows of material resources. The leadership has also used aid for diplomatic and propaganda purposes." (35)

Despite stated concerns about the manipulation of relief aid, this did not feature in the legislation. While professing deep concern about urgent humanitarian relief deliveries within southern Sudan, the U.S. Congress also ignored that fact that in June 2000 the group they support deliberately broke a humanitarian ceasefire in Bahr al-Ghazal. This humanitarian ceasefire had been brokered by the European Union in July 1998 in order to stabilise aid access to southern Sudan's most famine affected areas. (36)

The European Union registered "its grave concerns regarding the offensive launched by the SPLM/A in the region of Bahr al-Ghazal". (37)

The recent offensive was launched by the SPLA, still clearly without any discernible political agenda, despite UNICEF warnings that the drought situation in drought-affected areas of Sudan was "fast approaching critical" (38)

And that the food supply outlook was "highly precarious" and likely to worsen". (39)

The World Food Programme has repeatedly warned of the impending crisis in statements headlined 'Acute Hunger Set to Hit Sudan as War Continues and Drought Unfolds', 'Major Food Crisis Looms in Sudan' and, in June 2001, 'Sudan Food Crisis - On the Brink'. (40)

It should be noted that the horrendous 1998 famine in southern Sudan was precipitated by similar SPLA offensives As much was reported on by CNN in early April 1998 under headlines such as "aid agencies blame Sudanese rebel who switched sides": "Observers say much of the recent chaos has resulted from the actions of one man, Kerubino Kwanying Bol, a founding member of the rebel movement...He aided rebel forces in sieges of three government-held towns, which sent people fleeing into the countryside." (41)

to be continued again.......................

>
>The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6,
>Al-An'am:
>
>75. So also did We show
>Abraham the power and the
>laws of the heavens and
>the earth, that he might
>(with understanding) have certitude.
>76. When the night covered him
>over, He saw a star:
>He said: "This is my
>Lord." But when it set,
>He said: "I love not
>those that set."
>77. When he saw the moon
>rising in splendour, he said:
>"This is my Lord." But
>when the moon set, He
>said: "unless my Lord guide
>me, I shall surely be
>among those who go astray."
>
>78. When he saw the sun
>rising in splendour, he said:
>"This is my Lord; this
>is the greatest (of all)."
>But when the sun set,
>he said: "O my people!
>I am indeed free from
>your (guilt) of giving partners
>to Allah.
>79. "For me, I have set
>my face, firmly and truly,
>towards Him Who created the
>heavens and the earth, and
>never shall I give partners
>to Allah."
>
>
>the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
>
>http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/
>
>subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh
>Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise
>You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa
>anta (I bear witness that
>none has the right to
>be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka
>(I seek Your forgiveness), wa
>attuubu ilaika (and I turn
>to You in Repentance).


The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).

>>http://www.sudmer.com/The%20House%20of%20the%20representative.htm

Newsweek magazine (18 May 1998) also reported that: "Aid workers blame much of the south's recent anguish on one man: the mercurial Dinka warlord Kerubino Kuanyin Bol". Humanitarian relief to the war affected parts of Sudan is provided by Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS). Operation Lifeline Sudan began in 1989 under the auspices of the United Nations, and with the approval and cooperation of the government of Sudan and the SPLA. Operational Lifeline Sudan is a consortium of aid agencies bringing together the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children's Fund and 35 other non- governmental organisations. It seeks to bring food and humanitarian aid to those communities in southern Sudan most affected by the fighting and drought, communities within both government and rebel-held areas of the south. Operation Lifeline Sudan was unprecedented in as much as it was the first time that a sovereign government had agreed to the delivery of assistance by outside agencies to rebel-controlled parts of its own country. As the London 'Guardian' newspaper observed: "Most of the people affected live in areas controlled by anti-government rebels and...they were reached by flights from Kenya. Governments involved in civil wars usually refuse to authorise cross-border feeding." (42)

The Sudanese model, developed during the tenure of the present Sudanese government, has subsequently been used in several other areas of civil conflict. It is a matter of record that the number of Khartoum-approved Operation Lifeline Sudan feeding sites in southern Sudan has grown from twenty in the early 1990s to well over one hundred by 1998. During the 1998 famine, the number increased to more than 180 locations. (43)

So, far from diminishing access to humanitarian relief, Khartoum would appear to have greatly increased access. These increases in food delivery sites were agreed by the Khartoum authorities despite it being widely known that the SPLA were diverting very sizeable amounts of this aid for its own uses, something which itself serves to prolong the conflict. Washington's claims about Sudanese non-cooperation with humanitarian relief are also undermined by the fact that unanimous United Nations resolutions have acknowledged "with appreciation" the cooperation of the Sudanese government with agreements and arrangements facilitating "relief operations". (44)

The strength of Operation Lifeline Sudan is that international relief aid is delivered by a neutral United Nations structure in keeping with international humanitarian law. The often questionable nature of previous non-OLS "humanitarian" assistance to Sudan has been documented. The American government, for example, has given millions of dollars in funding to Norwegian People's Aid (NPA), a non-governmental organisation active in southern Sudan. A November 1999 Norwegian television documentary, entitled 'Weapons Smuggling in Sudan', has highlighted the role played by NPA in logistically and politically perpetuating the Sudanese civil war. (45)

There had always been considerable speculation as to whether NPA was militarily involved with the SPLA. This documentary confirmed that the NPA has for several years organised an air-bridge for the supply of weapons to battle zones within Sudan. One of the NPA pilots involved in the gun running stated that on one occasion his plane had landed at SPLA bases with some 2.5 tonnes of weapons. It was stated that Norwegian People's Aid had flown between 80 - 100 tonnes of weapons into Sudan in aeroplanes supposedly carrying humanitarian assistance. Among the tonnes of weapons flown into Sudan were landmines. The documentary also placed on record other clear evidence of NPA military involvement with the SPLA. Given that Norwegian People's Aid openly states that " major contributor to our programme in Sudan, is the USAID" (46)

Two questions must be asked. The first is how much American taxpayers money has been used to provide the Sudan People's Liberation Army with weapons of war, ncluding landmines? And secondly, was the Administration and Congress aware that it was in effect funding such operations? The activities of Norwegian People's Aid have long been of considerable concern to some of its donors. The Norwegian government had previously commissioned an independent investigation into NPA. The subsequent report documented NPA complicity in the diversion of food aid to the SPLA. It stated that: "NPA's intervention is that of a solidarity group. It has taken a clear side in the war. It supports the causes of SPLA/M...NPA's solidarity approach means that in practice the activities of NPA are closely related to the political and military strategies of the rebel movement." (47)

This is the sort of organisation that the 'Sudan Peace Act' envisages channelling "relief" in southern Sudan rather than the neutral and accountable UN mechanisms. The United States Congress cannot be unaware of the SPLA's systematic theft of humanitarian aid and its diversion for its own purposes. In July 1998, at the height of the devastating 1998 famine, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the starvation-affected diocese of Rumbek, Monsignor Caesar Mazzolari, stated that the SPLA were stealing 65 percent of the food aid going into rebel-held areas of southern Sudan. Agence France Presse also reported that: Much of the relief food going to more than a million famine victims in rebel-held areas of southern Sudan is ending up in the hands of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), relief workers said. (48)

There is also a direct link between the supply of food aid to the SPLA and the war in southern Sudan. The SPLA has been documented as having clearly engaged in the systematic theft and diversion of emergency food aid intended for famine victims and refugees. The SPLA has repeatedly used food aid, and its denial, as a weapon in their war against the Sudanese government. In so doing it has been at least partly responsible for the famines that have resulted in the deaths of so many Sudanese civilians. Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of SPLA food aid diversion is that there is evidence that the SPLA sells diverted humanitarian aid, either stolen from civilians or directly from aid agencies, in order to purchase weapons and munitions with which to carry on the war. (49)

The 'Sudan Peace Act' seeks to make it even easier for the SPLA to divert relief aid, directly affecting famine-stricken communities and indirectly prolonging the war. What then would be the sort of non-OLS "relief" situation in southern Sudan? We already have a clear indication of what this would entail. In February 2000, because of unacceptable demands made upon them by the SPLA, eleven international non-governmental aid organisations were forced to leave southern Sudan. These NGOs included CARE, Oxfam, Save the Children and Medecins Sans Frontieres. The SPLA had demanded that all aid agencies active in southern Sudan sign a memorandum which dictated SPLA control over their activities, and aid distribution, as well as which Sudanese nationals the agencies employed, and which stipulated a swath of "taxes" and charges for working in southern Sudan. The NGOs involved handled about 75 percent of the humanitarian aid entering southern Sudan. (50)

The withdrawal of these NGOS directly affected US$ 40 million worth of aid programs. (51)

The expelled aid agencies stated that one million southern Sudanese were at risk as a result of the SPLA's decision to expel the NGOs. (52)

The European Union described the SPLA demands as a serious violation of humanitarian law and suspended its substantial aid program to rebel-controlled areas. (53)

One can only imagine the uproar within Congress had the Sudanese government cut the provision of humanitarian aid to southern Sudan by 75 percent. Such behaviour by the SPLA does not even rate a mention by Congress. Not only has the SPLA severely restricted humanitarian outreach within southern Sudan for political reasons, but the 'Sudan Peace Act' would make it even easier for the SPLA to engage in massive food aid diversion.

Conclusion

The flaws of the 'Sudan Peace Act' are there for all to see. The Act is characterised by cynicism, misinformation and double standards. While professing deep concern about relief delivery in southern Sudan, forexample, the Act ignores the fact that the group it is sponsoring has been guilty of diverting two-thirds of all relief going into the areas it controls, was responsible for a suspension of 75 percent of humanitarian projects in southern Sudan by insisting on SPLA control of the relief aid, and has repeatedly launched offensives within areas that are already seriously famine and drought affected. The Act claims to be concerned about war crimes and yet actively seeks to sustain some of the conflict's worst abusers of human rights. The most constructive role that the U.S. Congress could play with regard to the Sudanese conflict would be to bring the SPLA to the negotiating table. Far from doing this, however, Congress has sought to encourage the SPLA, a group without an identifiable political objective, with millions of dollars in support - in effect encouraging further conflict. When one has the respected former American president Jimmy Carter,former Sudanese prime minister and opposition leader Sadiq al-Mahdi and the Sudanese government all agreeing that the United States has been the biggest single obstacle to peace in Sudan it isa concern that must be recognised. The Bush Administration's Sudan policy can only be described as confused and uncoordinated. It would appear that a group of legislators who are at best naïve and at worst dogmatic religious fanatics, are at present driving America's Sudan policy. In so doing they are damaging the reputation of the United States within the international community. The simple fact is that Sudan has moved on politically, domestically, economically, regionally and within the international community. The sooner American policy reflects these changes and works towards a peaceful solution to Sudanese problems the sooner Sudan will be at peace.
Notes

1'Carter Says Wrong Time for Mideast Talks', News Article by Reuters on 24 April 2001.

2 'Carter, Others Say US Has Faltered in Africa', 'The Boston Globe', 8 December 1999. For more details of American support to the SPLA see 'Ex-President Opposes Policy of Aiding Khartoum's Foes', 'The Washington Times', 25 September 1997; 'Sudan's American-aided guerrillas', 'The Economist', 25 January 1997; 'Sudan Accuses US of Supplying Rebels with Mines', News Article by Xinhua, 21 January 1999, at 12:53:58; 'US flies in howitzers to subdue Sudan', 'Africa Analysis', No 290, 6 February 1998; 'Albright Meets Sudan Rebels, Pledges US Support', News Article by Reuters on 10 December 1997, at 09:05 EST; 'U.S. said to promise aid to Sudanese rebel areas', News Article by Reuters on 2 June 1998, at 11:37:57.

3 See, for example, amongst many overtures: 'Interview - Sudan Wants to Bury Hatchet with US', News Article by Reuters on 20 May 1999 at 09:19:23, 'Sudan Wants Dialogue With US, Bashir Tells Envoy', News Article by Reuters on 7 March 2000 at 06:40:53, 'Sudan Wants Better Ties with US's Bush', News Article by Agence France Presse on 2 February 2001 and 'Sudan Welcomes U.S. Peace Involvement but Urges Neutrality', News Article by Associated Press on 28 May 2001.

4 See, 'Sudanese rebel leader wants "united" Sudan with "equality"', News Article by Agence France Presse on 12 August 1999 at 08:12:59; 'SPLA committed to Sudan unity', News Article by ArabicNews.com on 29 November 1997; 'Separatist leader wants Sudan to split into two', News Article by BBC on 22 March 1999 at 18:21 GMT; 'Sudanese rebels accused of planning separate state', News Article by Agence France Presse on 2 August 1999 at 11:49:08.

5 See, 'Sudan offers South secession', News Article by BBC on 22 February 1999 at 00:16:14 GMT; 'Southern secession better than more war: Sudan's president', News Article by Agence France Presse on 22 February 1999, at 10:04:31;; 'Sudan Says Happy for South to secede', News Article by Reuters on 7 May 1998.

6 'Khartoum Urges Rebels to "Stop Fighting and Talk"', News Article by Agence France Presse on 5 June 2001

7 See, 'Referendum agreed at Sudan peace talks', News Article by BBC World on 7 May 1998, at 11:06 GMT and 'SPLA plays down deal on referendum in southern Sudan', News Article by BBC, on 7 May 1998, at 13:24 GMT.

8 See, 'Sudanese government declares ceasefire', News Article by BBC World on 5 August 1999 at 16:24 GMT, at 11:58:37; 'Sudanese government declares comprehensive cease-fire', News Article by Associated Press on 5 August 1999 at 17:36:10; "Sudan Government to Observe Ceasefire Despite SPLA Rejection", News Article by Agence France Presse on 7 August 1999 at 14:33:50;'EU Welcomes Cease-Fire in Sudan', News Article by Xinhua on 20 August 1999 at 10:36:48; 'Annan welcomes ceasefire', News Article by UN Integrated Regional Information Network, 11 August 1999; 'Annan hails Sudan cease-fire allowing aid to flow', News Article by Reuters on 6 August 1999 at 17:07:39; 'Annan calls on Sudan's SPLM leader to sign ceasefire', News Article by Agence France Presse on 7 August 1999, at 02:37:52; 'Sudanese rebels reject peace plan', News Article by BBC World on 30 August 1999 at 14:33 GMT; 'Sudanese Rebels Reject Government Cease-Fire', News Article by Reuters on 5 August 1999 at 12:03:55.

9 See, for example, 'Sudan's Government in Favour of Ceasefire in 18-year Civil War', News Article by Agence France Presse on 22 April 2001 and 'Government "Ready for a Ceasefire', News Article by United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network, 15 May 2001.

10 "Sudan Backs Combination of Arab and African Peace Drives", News Article by Agence France Presse on 24 October 1999 at 13:51:08

11 See, for example, 'Sudan calls for Western Pressure on southern Rebels to Accept Ceasefire', News Article by Agence France Presse on 26 April 2000; 'US Catholic Clerics Urged to Pressurise Garang into Accepting Cease-Fire', News Article by Sudan News Agency on 27 March 2001; 'Britain Can Pressurize Rebels to Realize Cease-Fire, Sudanese Diplomat', News Article by SUNA, 26 February 2001; 'Sudanese Government Welcomes Carter's Initiative to End the War in southern Sudan', News Article by ArabicNews.com on 26 April 2001.

12 See, "Sudanese Rebels Reject Peace Plan", News Article by BBC News Online Network on 30 August 1999 at 14.33 GMT; "Sudanese Rebels Snub Libyan-Egyptian Mediation Effort", News Article by Agence France Presse on 30 August 1999 at 21:01:12; and then "Sudanese Rebel Leader Supports Peace Plan: Egypt", News Article by Agence France Presse on 31 August 1999, at 23:20:41 and then Sudanese Rebels Say They Can't Commit to Egyptian-Libyan Peace Drive', News Article by Agence France Presse on 14 May 2001; "Sudanese Rebels Reject Reconciliation Accord", News Article by Associated Press on 29 November 1999 at 15:23:09.

13 'Sudanese Rebels to Receive Dlrs 3 Million in Assistance', News Article by Associated Press on 25 May 2001.

14 'U.S. Slates $3 Million for Sudan's Opposition', 'The Washington Post', 25 May 2001.

15 'U.S. Slates $3 Million for Sudan's Opposition', 'The Washington Post', 25 May 2001.

16 See, for example, 'Khartoum Urges Rebels to "Stop Fighting and Talk"', News Article by Agence France Presse on 5 June 2001 and 'Sudan's Government Calls on International Community to Push for Cease-Fire', News Article by Associated Press on 5 June 2001.

17 'An Act To Facilitate Famine Relief Efforts and a Comprehensive Solution to the War in Sudan', 107th Congress, 1st Session, Washington D-C, 13 June 2001.

18 'Civilians Flee Town Under Siege', News Article by Sudanese Catholic Information Office, Nairobi, 8 June 2001.

19 'Tens of Thousands Displaced by Bahr al-Ghazal Fighting', U.N. Integrated Regional Information Network, 11 June 2001.

20 'Fighting in Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal Leaves 57,000 Displaced: Bishop', News Article by Agence France Presse on 13 June 2001.

21 'Ex-President Opposes Policy of Aiding Khartoum's Foes', 'The Washington Times', 25 September 1997.

22 "Interview - Sudan Says US Harming Peace Prospects", New Article by Reuters on 25 October 1999 at 14:58:29

23 'Developments in Sudan Favour National Reconciliation: Mahdi', News Article by Agence France Presse on 25 December 1999 at 12:38:20.

24 'Humanitarian Organizations Oppose Plan Providing Food to Sudanese Rebels', Press Release by InterAction, the American Council for Voluntary International Action, Washington-DC, 30 November, 1999.

25 'Rights Group Warns US Against Feeding Sudan Rebels', News Article by Reuters on 14 December, 1999 at 11:34:40.

26 'Misguided Relief to Sudan', 'The New York Times', 6 December 1999.

27 'Misguided Relief to Sudan', Editorial, 'The New York Times', 6 December, 1999.

28 John Prendergast, 'Crisis Response: Humanitarian Band-Aids in Sudan and Somalia', Pluto Press, London, 1997, p.77.

29 Ibid, p.72.

30 Ibid, p.57.

31 Ibid, p.28.

32 Ibid, p.46.

33 See, for example, 'Growing Friction in Rebel-Held Southern Sudan', News Article by BBC Online on 9 June 1999 at 16:36 GMT.

34 Ibid, p.57.

35 Alex de Waal (Editor), 'Food and Power in Sudan', African Rights, London, 1997, pp.5,7.

36 'UN and other Agencies Warmly Welcome Temporary Cease-Fire over part of southern Sudan', United Nations Department of Public Information, 16 July 1998.

37 'Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the Civil War in Sudan', European Union, 30 June 2000.

38 'Drought Situation "Fast Approaching Critical" - Unicef', News Article by United Nations Integrated Regional Information Network, Nairobi, 11 May 2001.

39 'Food Supply Precarious and Likely to Worsen', News Article by United Nations IRIN, Nairobi, 15 May 2001.

40 See, 'Acute Hunger Set to Hit Sudan as War Continues and Drought Unfolds', News Release by World Food Programme, Nairobi, 13 February 2001; 'Major Food Crisis Looms in Sudan', News Release by World Food Programme, Nairobi, 29 March 2001, and 'Sudan Food Crisis - On the Brink', News Release by World Food Programme, Nairobi, 15 June 2001.

41 '1 million people face famine in Sudan, Ethiopia', News Article by CNN on April 10, 1998: Web posted at 6:04 p.m. EDT (22:04 GMT).

42 'Millions Still in Need in Sudan', 'The Guardian', London, 25 April 1998.

43 'The Guardian', London, 25 April 1998.

44 'Emergency Assistance to the Sudan', UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/53/1 O, 17 December 1998.

45 'Vapensmuglerne I Sudan', 'Brennpunkt', NRK Television, Norway, 17 November 1999.

46 See, for example, the Norwegian People's Aid website at http://www.npaid.org/about_npa/funding.html

47 'Evaluation of Norwegian Humanitarian Assistance to the Sudan', a report submitted to the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, COWI, Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo, November 1997, p.27.

48 'Aid for Sudan Ending Up With SPLA: Relief Workers', News Article by Agence France Presse on 21 July, 1998 at 08:23:48.

49 'Aid Money Supported Rebellion in Sudan', 'Aktuelt', Denmark, 20 May, 1998.

50 'Rights Group Urges More Talks on Sudan Relief', News Article by Associated Press on 8 March, 2000 at 05:30:49 EST.

51 'Seven Aid Agencies Urge Renewed Negotiations for Relief to Southern Sudan', News Article by Associated Press on 1 March, 2000.

52 'Expelled Aid Agencies Say Million at Risk in Sudan', News Article by Reuters on 1 March, 2000.

53 'European Commission Statement on Southern Sudan', European Union, 29 February, 2000.

end quote.

The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).

if the brainwashed arabicized muslim africans of northern sudan and the brainwashed christians to the south never existed, sudan would not be in a civil war and slavery wouldnt even be an issue...

religion among other things has been used by invaders as a tool to divide the black world upon itself.

by the way, these articles do not deny the existance of slavery in the sudan, they only allege that the government is not advocating it or actively involved.

interesting thing you said all day. But did you "KNOW first then speak?" That's essential...

PEace
Solarus

***Words of Wisdom***

"Every time you rise from your sleeping state, you have been reincarnated. Every time you recover from a bad experience, you have been reincarnated. Every time you have been given a new lease on life, you have been reincarnated. Every time you breath in and out, take in the fresh breath of life and feel the divine intelligence flowing in and around you, you have been reincarnated."- Mfundishi Bakari

On "love":

"I am in love everyday, whether I am with someone or not. Why? All love is based on a search for spirit. For me love is timeless, transcendent, peaceful, freeing, soul-based, unifying, and enhanced evolution. This is the basis of my activism."- Nettrice, the embodiment of Oshun

"Since we all make up the rules as we go along, love can mean many different things to many different people. But, for me love is a total commitment to understanding that is not limited to just people but is open to the totality of life. As long as we approach love from a fear based mentality and perceive it through veils of guardedness and anxiety, it will always be restricted by our fears."- Mfundishi Bakari

____________________________
"the real pyramids were built with such precision that you can't slide a piece of paper between two 4,000 lb stones, and have shafts perfectly aligned so that you can see a tiny aperture through dozens of these mammoth blocks

*

My words have reached their end. If they be sweet, or if they don’t be sweet, let some go and let some come.

____________________________
"the real pyramids were built with such precision that you can't slide a piece of paper between two 4,000 lb stones, and have shafts perfectly aligned so that you can see a tiny aperture through dozens of these mammoth blocks

you present ideas, and opinions based on what you know (and usually having read what you have posted on this board what others know)

i do the same, and perhaps with the same "knowledge" bank as you, but choose to look at things differently.

salami and bologna to you 2.

You HAVE TO BE ignorant of the customs and conditions of HUMANS in history. To even call everyone in the South of Sudan "Christians"is ignorant because many of them are "animalists", not "Christians".

Secondly, "slavery" has been around for a while. The west is using thier already establish muslim bashing influence to further thier cause by labeling Southern Sudan a Christian entity and using the term "slavery"as a trigger because the only way they can gain alliance of the black pop. is to call it that which brings horrible immages to mind.

Top it all of with some pictures of refugees from Sierra Leone who limbs are being chopped of for the "ice" so many black folks rock, and you have the perfect picture of a headline story.

Why is the West sweating Sudan so much? From an inside scoop... OIL.

You know these people don't give a damn about Sudan and Africans...please. Get over there and see for yourself.

If you just sit and allow other people to tell you something without researching it for yourself then YOU are the one who has been brainwashed.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"The one whose faith is perfect is afflicted by the whisperer(shaytaan). The thief does not bother entering a ruined house."-(al-Jawahir al-Hisan)

>You HAVE TO BE ignorant of
>the customs and conditions of
>HUMANS in history. To even
>call everyone in the South
>of Sudan "Christians"is ignorant because
>many of them are "animalists",
>not "Christians".

you must not be able to read because i didnt call "everyone" to the south "christians"

>Secondly, "slavery" has been around for
>a while. The west is
>using thier already establish muslim
>bashing influence to further thier
>cause by labeling Southern Sudan
>a Christian entity and using
>the term "slavery"as a trigger
>because the only way they
>can gain alliance of the
>black pop. is to call
>it that which brings horrible
>immages to mind.

yeah and so what?

>Why is the West sweating Sudan
>so much? From an inside
>scoop... OIL.
>
>You know these people don't give
>a damn about Sudan and
>Africans...please. Get over there and
>see for yourself.

uh huh. are you talking to me? i already know this.

>If you just sit and allow
>other people to tell you
>something without researching it for
>yourself then YOU are the
>one who has been brainwashed.

you are making reactionary and incorrect assumptions about what i know and what i don't based on a couple of lines which you read incorrectly.


>
>
>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
>"The one whose faith is perfect
>is afflicted by the whisperer(shaytaan).
>The thief does not bother
>entering a ruined house."-(al-Jawahir al-Hisan)
>

I know what you said, and I stand by my statements. Take it personally or no, a hit dog will holler. I address it to anyone who advocates ignorance. It is bliss ya know.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"The one whose faith is perfect is afflicted by the whisperer(shaytaan). The thief does not bother entering a ruined house."-(al-Jawahir al-Hisan)

what ignorance?

can you tell me what the mahdist revolt in 1881 was really about?

could you kindly define before i jump into conclusions

---------------------------
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---------------------------
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THE ILLEST THAT EVER DID IT

What does slavery mean? There are all different types of slavery.
If we have no understanding of African or Sudanese history, then we, as Americans, will project our understanding of the transatlantic trade onto any use of the term. Do we want to learn, or debate? There are people we know who are slaves, and happy to be, as long as they can choose their masters. What about freedom? What about the real issue of slavery.. that even many of our American heros, such as Fredrick Douglas died thinking of themselves as a color. If slavery in the continental United States was completely race based, then why do we choose to perpetuate that belief in our lives? The fact that we are told to see things through race tinted lenses from the time we are put into school is an atrosity. The fact that so many of us have overcome our society's need to segregate us is a wonderful thing. Congratulation to those who have overcome. There are so many things we can do to effect our environment, why do we spend so much time debating? Yes, it's fun SOMETIMES, but what about building each other up? We've learned to put people down, we've learned to share what it means for us to be American, but even above and beyond that we are God's people first. Until we realize that no one except our creator can define us, NOT EVEN OUR VARIOUS GOVERNMENTS OR NATIONAL BORDERS, we will be enslaved to someone else's definition of us. That is what I believe slavery is. Roses

We should weep on a daily basis over the situation in Sudan. From what I have heard, more people have been killed in this war than in Serbia, Rwanda, and Somalia combined. Whether or not that is true, the bottom line is people are suffering in the worst way over there and how much is actually being done to stop this...?

Too many pretend-to-be conscious brothers who happen to be from the north of Sudan are busy talking garbage about how things aren't so bad, it's Western propaganda, blah, blah... they need to find a heart. YOUR PEOPLE ARE DYING OVER NOTHING.

I don't want to stereotype Sudanese muslims. Actually, I was talking to one just the other day. We touched on the topic of the war... (this will be paraphrasing)

"Africa is screwed up, man. The war is just plain stupid. The north is desert. The south is the most fertile, beautiful part of the country. And what is the government doing? Destroying the south. Now, there are landmines everywhere, people can't grow anything... it's just stupid."

Now, you'll notice he didn't mention all the people being slaughtered, raped, sold into slavery, etc. But at least he wasn't making excuses for the evil government. Random thought: When was the last jihad that actually corresponded to Qu'ranic ideals? Maybe Palestinians, right? Really though? With all the suicide bombings?

Anyway, I was watching something on TV this morning about Sudan. Yes, it was Christian, so anyone is free to call it biased (they're also free to be cold-hearted losers more concerned with politics than lives). Now, this will sound bad, but I started to think of the Nation of Islam's identification of the white man as the devil. I was almost, note ALMOST, like, "Sudanese Arabs are devils." Here's what I would have meant had I allowed myself to complete that thought.

We know damn well every white person can't be evil. As many a white person will even admit, the title devil can apply if you consider that the white man, as a generalized character, has done the work of a devil. Now, it hurt me to even write those four offensive words in the last paragraph, but the government and the army and people supporting the jihad against the south are doing the work of devils. Just like evil Africans in Sierra Leone, Uganda, Rwanda, and elsewhere teaching little kids to be cold-blooded killers. DEVILS! Just like the Japanese soldiers who raped all those Chinese and Korean women. DEVILS! Just like the people who made it so a large percentage of the recognizably Aboriginal people I've seen are drunk and homeless. DEVILS! Just like... well, you get the picture. DEVILS!

I'm gonna cut this tirade short now. I'm calming down. I'm cool.

DEVILS!!!!

>Now, you'll notice he didn't mention
>all the people being slaughtered,
>raped, sold into slavery, etc.
> But at least he
>wasn't making excuses for the
>evil government.

how is the government evil? for trying to establish an islamic state? there is nothing evil about that.

>Random thought:
>When was the last jihad
>that actually corresponded to Qu'ranic
>ideals? Maybe Palestinians, right?
> Really though? With
>all the suicide bombings?

starting from the present backwards: palestine, kashmir, sudan, philipines, chechnya, macedonia, albania, bosnia, afghanistan, etc, etc, etc..............

jihad itself is a "Qur'anic ideal". the actions WITHIN THE JIHAD might NOT ALL BE "Qur'anic ideals", but that varies with each of the above mentioned.

as far as those suicide bombs go...............do you think that they would resort to that if they had another alternative? ya think david would have used a slingshot on goliath if he had a .45? they are doing the bst they can w/ what they have. may Allah help them.

and if you are referring to the victims of the "suicide bombs", those innocent bystandards, then look to the victims of f-16 dropped bombs, or helicopter released bombs, etc............how many a innocent bystandard was killed by those methods as opposed to a "suicide bomb"?

>Anyway, I was watching something on
>TV this morning about Sudan.
> Yes, it was Christian,
>so anyone is free to
>call it biased (they're also
>free to be cold-hearted losers
>more concerned with politics than
>lives).

no doubt it was on b.e.t. the show where you cant even hear the the slightest sound of the natives talking, but you can hear the overdub of the translation! never really know what that dinka woman was saying..............

the fact of the matter is that it is biased. . -> _ !

and by the way, wouldnt you rather be a "cold-hearted losers more concerned with politics than lives" than a hypocrite that pretends they are more concerned about lives than anything, but the ONLY LIVES THEY ARE CONCERNED WITH ARE THOSE OF THEIR OWN FAITH, FORGET THE REST OF EM? at least the cold hearted loser's position is clear! the others are so wishy washy, no one really knows what they are up to!

Now, this will
>sound bad, but I started
>to think of the Nation
>of Islam's identification of the
>white man as the devil.

note: although i am not in the nation of islam, nor do i share ALL OF THER BELIEFS, i have to say that what they meant is not something of a present nature. they meant it as "as long as they have existed, they (whites) have been doing evil and the devils work". of course, i dont agree with this at all, but i will say that they have been responsible for a WHOLE LOTTA CRAP THATS JACKED UP IN THE WORLD, RIGHT NOW.

> I was almost, note
>ALMOST, like, "Sudanese Arabs are
>devils." Here's what I
>would have meant had I
>allowed myself to complete that
>thought.

>We know damn well every white
>person can't be evil.
>As many a white person
>will even admit, the title
>devil can apply if you
>consider that the white man,
>as a generalized character, has
>done the work of a
>devil. Now, it hurt
>me to even write those
>four offensive words in the
>last paragraph, but the government
>and the army and people
>supporting the jihad against the
>south are doing the work
>of devils.

WAR IS WAR. thats it. there is nothing good about war. however, ALL the actions that happen during war cannot be universalized as evil. some, but not all. an then, that depends on whether or not "x,y,z" is really happening or not and why.

have you noticed that i havent said anything personally myself about the sudanese war. why? b/c i dont know. it would be silly for me, in fact even sinful, to tell someone something about it and not really know.

as far as the war is concerned, i personally trust the muslims to report it. as they have no reason to lie w/ their reports. they are not going to gain any more outside support than they already have. in fact, they are constantly gaining enemies in the world, who wishh only to sit on their asses, and let biased reports be the main staple of their diet of hatred for the sudan govt. so what would be the purpose about lying about what is going on?


The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).

>how is the government evil? for
>trying to establish an islamic
>state? there is nothing evil
>about that.


maybe not evil. but why try to impose something on a significant amount of the population that does not want it, to the point of war? why not create two separate states if that's your intention.

i would gather from what i know, that this war has less to do with "islamic ideals", than with certain economic factors. lands where non-muslims predominate in sudan, such as the Boing region or the southern Blue Nile province are said to be oil rich. The government wants to clear the land.

there are atrocities being committed on both sides in the war right now, no doubt. but the relationship between muslims and non-muslim, especially indigenious africans has never been one of an equal trade of reciprocity when it comes to the atrocities. it is clear who the aggressor was.

in the 1800s, muhammad ali pasha, the egyptian military leader reguarly raided non-muslim villages in the sudan for slaves to be used in his forces. this is an undeniable fact, that even Hasan Turabi, a prominent muslim leader in sudan does not deny.

>>Random thought:
>>When was the last jihad
>>that actually corresponded to Qu'ranic
>>ideals? Maybe Palestinians, right?
>> Really though? With
>>all the suicide bombings?
>
>starting from the present backwards: palestine,
>kashmir, sudan, philipines, chechnya, macedonia,
>albania, bosnia, afghanistan, etc, etc,
>etc..............
>
>jihad itself is a "Qur'anic ideal".
>the actions WITHIN THE JIHAD
>might NOT ALL BE "Qur'anic
>ideals", but that varies with
>each of the above mentioned.
>
>
>as far as those suicide bombs
>go...............do you think that they
>would resort to that if
>they had another alternative? ya
>think david would have used
>a slingshot on goliath if
>he had a .45? they
>are doing the bst they
>can w/ what they have.
>may Allah help them.



>and if you are referring to
>the victims of the "suicide
>bombs", those innocent bystandards, then
>look to the victims of
>f-16 dropped bombs, or helicopter
>released bombs, etc............how many a
>innocent bystandard was killed by
>those methods as opposed to
>a "suicide bomb"?
>
>>Anyway, I was watching something on
>>TV this morning about Sudan.
>> Yes, it was Christian,
>>so anyone is free to
>>call it biased (they're also
>>free to be cold-hearted losers
>>more concerned with politics than
>>lives).
>
>no doubt it was on b.e.t.
>the show where you cant
>even hear the the slightest
>sound of the natives talking,
>but you can hear the
>overdub of the translation! never
>really know what that dinka
>woman was saying..............
>
>the fact of the matter is that it is biased. . -> _ !
>
>and by the way, wouldnt you
>rather be a "cold-hearted losers
>more concerned with politics than
>lives" than a hypocrite that
>pretends they are more concerned
>about lives than anything, but
>the ONLY LIVES THEY ARE
>CONCERNED WITH ARE THOSE OF
>THEIR OWN FAITH, FORGET THE
>REST OF EM? at least
>the cold hearted loser's position
>is clear! the others are
>so wishy washy, no one
>really knows what they are
>up to!
>
>Now, this will
>>sound bad, but I started
>>to think of the Nation
>>of Islam's identification of the
>>white man as the devil.
>
>note: although i am not in
>the nation of islam, nor
>do i share ALL OF
>THER BELIEFS, i have to
>say that what they meant
>is not something of a
>present nature. they meant it
>as "as long as they
>have existed, they (whites) have
>been doing evil and the
>devils work". of course, i
>dont agree with this at
>all, but i will say
>that they have been responsible
>for a WHOLE LOTTA CRAP
>THATS JACKED UP IN THE
>WORLD, RIGHT NOW.
>
>> I was almost, note
>>ALMOST, like, "Sudanese Arabs are
>>devils." Here's what I
>>would have meant had I
>>allowed myself to complete that
>>thought.
>
>>We know damn well every white
>>person can't be evil.
>>As many a white person
>>will even admit, the title
>>devil can apply if you
>>consider that the white man,
>>as a generalized character, has
>>done the work of a
>>devil. Now, it hurt
>>me to even write those
>>four offensive words in the
>>last paragraph, but the government
>>and the army and people
>>supporting the jihad against the
>>south are doing the work
>>of devils.
>
>WAR IS WAR. thats it. there
>is nothing good about war.
>however, ALL the actions that
>happen during war cannot be
>universalized as evil. some, but
>not all. an then, that
>depends on whether or not
>"x,y,z" is really happening or
>not and why.
>
>have you noticed that i havent
>said anything personally myself about
>the sudanese war. why? b/c
>i dont know. it would
>be silly for me, in
>fact even sinful, to tell
>someone something about it and
>not really know.
>
>as far as the war is
>concerned, i personally trust the
>muslims to report it. as
>they have no reason to
>lie w/ their reports. they
>are not going to gain
>any more outside support than
>they already have. in fact,
>they are constantly gaining enemies
>in the world, who wishh
>only to sit on their
>asses, and let biased reports
>be the main staple of
>their diet of hatred for
>the sudan govt. so what
>would be the purpose about
>lying about what is going
>on?
>
>
>The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6,
>Al-An'am:
>
>75. So also did We show
>Abraham the power and the
>laws of the heavens and
>the earth, that he might
>(with understanding) have certitude.
>76. When the night covered him
>over, He saw a star:
>He said: "This is my
>Lord." But when it set,
>He said: "I love not
>those that set."
>77. When he saw the moon
>rising in splendour, he said:
>"This is my Lord." But
>when the moon set, He
>said: "unless my Lord guide
>me, I shall surely be
>among those who go astray."
>
>78. When he saw the sun
>rising in splendour, he said:
>"This is my Lord; this
>is the greatest (of all)."
>But when the sun set,
>he said: "O my people!
>I am indeed free from
>your (guilt) of giving partners
>to Allah.
>79. "For me, I have set
>my face, firmly and truly,
>towards Him Who created the
>heavens and the earth, and
>never shall I give partners
>to Allah."
>
>
>the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
>
>http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/
>
>subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh
>Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise
>You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa
>anta (I bear witness that
>none has the right to
>be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka
>(I seek Your forgiveness), wa
>attuubu ilaika (and I turn
>to You in Repentance).

ABDUHU SAID:
how is the gov't evil? for tryin to an islamic state?

RESPONSE:
im sorry aki, but nothing islamic can come from murder.

salaam

_____sig___________

"the most important time in history is now, the present" - talib kweli

From www.iviews.com By Ismail Royer

The war in Sudan is by nature an emotional issue. It is made more so by a few vocal advocacy groups who seem to have latched on to it as a means of
promoting their religious or political causes.

With the help of high-powered public relations firms, several influential newspaper columnists, and connections in Congress, these advocacy groups have
managed to dominate public discourse on the Sudan war and impose their narrow view on a largely ignorant American public-Muslims included.

The conventional wisdom is that the Arab-Islamic Government of Sudan is waging a jihad to enslave and forcibly convert the black Christians of the South.
"Sudan: The Cross vs. The Crescent," reads the title of one publication by a "human rights" group.

The lines appear to be clearly drawn, and American Muslims are expected to join one camp or the other. They must either endorse a campaign whose rhetoric
tends to degenerate into Muslim-baiting, or be accused of supporting a "slaving Arab regime."

But in reality, American Muslims have been presented with a false dilemma.

Although religion plays a role, the war in Sudan is not fundamentally religious. Large numbers of rebels fighting the central government are themselves
Muslims, and many fighters allied with the government are Christian or practice traditional African religions. Contrary to the account of some advocacy
groups, most Southern Sudanese are not Christian, but animist. Large parts of rebellious Sudanese regions are Muslim, including about half of the
inhabitants of the Nuba Mountains.

Groups like Christian Solidarity International (CSI) and the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) distort their core issue, slavery in Sudan, to fit their
"Islam vs. Christianity" scenario. "Slave raids, together with conventional warfare, are among the means used by the Government of Sudan to carry out its
policy of Islamization," reads a CSI publication.

But the Sudan Human Rights Organization, a Cairo-based group of Arabs that opposes the Khartoum government, reports: "There is no reliable evidence
that the purpose of enslavement is Islamization or Arabization."

"I strongly believe that if there was no war in Sudan, there would be no cases of slavery," said Charles Omandi, an official with the Sudan Catholic
Information Office of the Diocese of Rumbek, Sudan. "Incidents of abductions are equally rampant and sometimes pit African tribes against each other.these
mostly involve women who are forced into concubinage, say when the Dinka raid the Nuer and vice versa."

Those bent on painting the war as a religious conflict have embraced the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the main rebel group fighting
Khartoum. In March of this year, the United Nations stripped CSI of its UN accreditation after the group invited SPLA commander John Garang to
represent it in a meeting before the UN Commission on Human Rights.

Charles Jacobs of the American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) calls the SPLA an "African defense force."

But in this year's Human Rights Report, the State Department said SPLA leaders were "responsible for extrajudicial killings, beatings, arbitrary detention,
forced conscription, slavery."

John Prendergast, former Director of African Affairs for the US National Security Council, wrote: "Perhaps one of the most telling signs of SPLA
treatment of civilians resulted from an exercise in which children in U.N. High Commission for Refugees' (UNHCR) camps in Uganda were asked to draw
pictures depicting life in a refugee camp for International Refugee Day 1993. Most of the children drew harrowing pictures of pre-rape scenes, killings and
lootings, with `SPLA' written on top of many of the pictures."

This month, iviews.com revealed that the two most prominent groups promoting an "Islam vs. Christianity" perspective of the war harbor extremist
agendas. The American Anti-Slavery Group (AASG) grew out of a lobbying group of pro-Israel extremists and evangelical Christians whose program, in
the words of founder Charles Jacobs, was to counter a "propaganda war" over Israel's public image run by "Arab-Americans and their friends." Although
Jacobs claims to promote human rights, one pro-Israel group that he represents has published articles by a former leader of an anti-Arab group Israel
outlawed and classifies as "terrorist."

The evangelical zeal of AASG's close ally, Christian Solidarity International (CSI), led them to an alliance with a former leader of a militant missionary
organization linked to apartheid South Africa's security forces.

Painting the war as a religious and racial struggle serves a purpose, says Dr. John Voll, a professor of Islamic History at Georgetown University.

"The people for whom this is most importantly a religious war are people from the outside," said Voll. "CSI are not in Sudan to ensure a reaffirmation of
Southern Sudanese identity; they have as the key of their mission statement that they want the world to be Christian...they are there because they want to
convert the South to Christianity."

Jacobs' alliance with CSI on this issue is a natural outgrowth of his past work with fundamentalist Christian pro-Israel groups like the International
Christian Embassy.

"The right wing ultra-Zionists demonize Islam and Arabs from a kind of racialized perspective, and the evangelical Christian forces demonize Islam from a
religious perspective, but it's a commonality," said Chip Berlet, a senior analyst at Political Research Associates, an independent, nonprofit research center
that tracks the US political right. "There is a shared interest."

The problem is that the narrow shared interests of CSI, AASG, and the South African militant missionaries are not necessarily the interests of the victims
of Sudan's war-in fact, their interests are mutually exclusive. Moderate Christian relief groups delivering aid to South Sudan report that the religiously
polarizing approach of militant Christian missionaries is causing strife among the population and disrupting their operations.

Now it seems that the narrow shared interests of the vocal fringe are overlapping with the interests of hawkish elements within the State Department. The
Clinton administration is debating whether to send food aid to the SPLA, an ill-conceived plan roundly denounced by parties as diverse as World Vision,
CARE International, Human Rights Watch, and former president Jimmy Carter.

SPLA commander John Garang has said that American food aid will enhance his ability to fight the civil war. What it will not do is to give him the ability
to win it, thus guaranteeing a continuation of suffering.

"Providing food to armies and strengthening the hard-liners.will prolong a brutal war that has terrorized the people of Sudan for far too long," wrote
Peter D. Bell, president of CARE USA, in a Washington Post editorial last week.

Meanwhile, groups like AASG are lobbying vigorously for the aid to flow.

"Having as a hero fits into their broader global agenda," said Voll. "Even if Garang has many objectionable qualities, he has one favorable quality
for them, and that is, he is not Muslim."

"The biggest obstacle is US government policy," former president Carter said recently a Boston Globe interview. "The US is committed to
overthrowing the government in Khartoum. Any sort of peace effort is aborted, basically by the policies of the US."

Those policies are strongly influenced by the incessant lobbying of groups like CSI and AASG, whose polarizing language and support for the human
rights-abusing SPLA only promote conflict.

"The way you bring an end to the vicious slave trade and the suffering of the Sudanese people is to bring an end to the war," said Voll. "The way you bring an
end to the war is not by providing support to one of the warring parties."

American Muslims do not need to defend the actions of the government of Sudan. Nor do they need to join the disingenuous CSI/AASG campaign. For them,
for the American public, and for US policy, the way out of the false dilemma imposed by the fringe is to demand respect for human rights from both of the
warring parties, and above all, an end to the senseless war.

Ismail Royer is the iviews.com Washington Bureau Chief

>and above all, an end
>to the senseless war.

Those last 5 words are what people should care about above all.

THE REPUBLIC OF THE SUDAN

MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS

KHARTOUM - 10.10.1999

STATEMENT

SUDAN REJECTS U.S.A. ALLEGATIONS OF RELIGOUS INTOLERANCE IN SUDAN

1.In one of the series of the unfounded allegations against Sudan the United States Administration, based on a report fabricated by one of its
ambassador's who had never visited Sudan and seems to know nothing about Sudanese society, accused Sudan of practising religious intolerance
and suppression of religious freedom .

2.It is to be noted that before presenting such a report, the US diplomat should have done his homework by consulting all concerned parties and
visited Sudan to investigate the situation and to meet Sudanese people as well as officials from different religious sects. Sudan' s doors are
always open for different missions on human rights.

3.The US report reflects naivity, hatred and ignorance of the real situation in Sudan and how the Sudanese People: Muslims, Christians pagans and
animists live together in a peaceful coexistence and harmony in this land for centuries. Being a multi-religious and a multi-ethnic country, Sudan's
Constitution of 1998 and Legal codes as well as its inherited moral and social values respect and protect religious freedom for all citizens and
inhabitants irrespect of their belief or ethnic backround..

Recent reports by missions on human rights which visited parts of Sudan including Nuba mountains and the southern part of Sudan have favourably
reported on the satisfactory situation regarding protection and promotion of human rights in Sudan.

4.However, to put the record straight the following facts are to be mentioned to refute the USA allegations:

A.The Vice-President of The Republic of Sudan is a Christian.

B.The Assistant of the President and Chairman of Southern States Co-ordination Council is a Christian.

C.The Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (parliament) is a Christian.

D.The only woman assuming a federal ministerial post is a Christian.

E.The State Minister for the External Relations is not only a Christian but holding the Title of a Bishop .

F.Many other senior personalities in the legislative and Judiciary as well as State Walis (governors) , Federal
Ministers, State Ministers, Senior Army and Police Officers, Ambassadors, professors, journalists ... are
Christians.

Ironically enough, in comparison with the present USA administration, there is not a single Muslim in the Congress nor in any senior legislative or
executive post despite the fact that Islam is the second religion in the USA!!.

5.The latest accusations of religious intolerance in Sudan are similar to all unfounded allegations of slavery and servitude by USA against Sudan .
Everywhere in Sudan mosques and churches exist side by side where Muslims and Non-Muslims live together practising their religions and
propagating their faith in absolute freedom protected by law and constitution. Thus, all these actions have being taken by USA on basis of totally
false and unfounded allegations and accusations. The USA administration has never been able to produce any piece of evidence to prove those
allegations.

6.Most of the population of Sudan are adherents to Islam and Christianity. As such it has a rich legacy of tolerance and coexistence between
religions and cultures. Christianity, the religion of Jesus Christ (Peace be upon him) is the example of fraternity, tolerance and assistance of the
weak. Islam, the last of the Revealed Religions, has brought an integrated way of life that upholds the value of freedom of thought. It also
consecrates the principle of coexistence between religions and cultures. The Holy Quran states: ( Invite (all) to the Way Of thy Lord with wisdom
And beautiful preaching And argue with them In ways that are best and most gracious..).

i hope some of y'all sitting on the fence realise that the dinkas have been proven to be the original nubians.
i will go to the library and dig up facts if the need. there is a lot in the language and culture of the dinkas that will truly reveal to us the true nature of the relationship between nubia and egypt. and also the people of west africa have been traced to have migrated from sudan.
what is going on right now is a simple case of "destroying the evidence".
abduhu, jihad is outdated. for the reasons while christians don't go on crusades and kill people in the name of christ.
the muslims in sudan are simply hiding under the pretense of jihad. this war is economic and ethnic.
i know you are a muslim and you feel the need to defend some of their action but sometimes you have to look beyond the "brotherhood" veil. why? alot of the northern sudanis you rush to defend, will not consider you a brother if you go to sudan today. not even in the name of Allah. i respect what you have to say on these boards but realise that islam as much as christianity has been used to justify alot of bullshit in history.

sudani, you are obviously from the north 'cause i don't see a southerner undermining the war as much as you did. perhaps the ant-muslim media is in full effect but what i see on TV is people in chains and white Americans christians paying off an arab slave holder for the freedom of the slaves. are you suggesting that CNN pays local Sudanis to stage war plays?
those would be some damn good actors...except that i have friends from both the north and the south who left Sudan as a result of the war. for all their disagreements they agree that the north is the agressor and the south is just the reactionary acting in self defence...

it is a sad situation don't make light of it. whether it is genocide or war, it still has to be stopped.
SIGNATURE STARTS YONDER
"I'm not looking...forward to seeing
him"- Snoop on Suge's release.
understatement of the year
**************************
NE LOVE/ LOVE
(THE HICE IS URS)
**************************
The emoticon as 'O' symbol is a
registered trademark of dafriquan.
No biting without written permission.
*************************

RIP JDILLA
THE ILLEST THAT EVER DID IT

by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D
> On May 10, representatives from both the Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress blasted Sudan's Islamic regime. They are accusing the Muslims of 'genocide' and of
unprecedented crimes against humanity. Even Iraq has not been accused of crimes of such proportion by American officials.
> Sudan has been under severe American sanctions, supported by all of America's allies, for several years. Today it is difficult to transfer a few dollars, even in personal transactions, to
Sudan through U.S. banks.
> HOW DID THIS SITUATION COME ABOUT?
> PREPARING THE GROUND: In 1996 a Jewish-run liberal newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland, called The Baltimore Sun sent two journalists to southern Sudan. They entered the
country without permission with the help of a Christian missionary group working out of Geneva, Switzerland. In Sudan they claimed to have seen children held as slaves by "Arab
merchants" and they said they had paid $50 per slave to free them from slavery. The pictures of the boys thus "freed" were published in the Baltimore Sun. (These were very healthy children
and did not look at all like slaves. As one critic put it, anyone in a poor country will pretend to be a 'slave' if you can give him or his father $50.)
> As soon as the Baltimore Sun published the "Slavery in Sudan" story, it was picked up and distributed far-and-wide by Zionists in the U.S. media. In Baltimore itself, a special radio
program on "slavery in Sudan" was broadcast by a Jewish radioman, Mark Steiner, on WJHU (Johns Hopkins University radio).
> UNDERSTAND THE MOVE: The U.S. government knows that any moves against Africa's biggest country would be resented by the African-American communities in USA which are
now well-organized and vocal. Readers might remember that these communities had been successful in dismantling the Apartheid system in South Africa.The move against Sudan was very
successful because it used the one issue which is most important for African-Americans: the issue of slavery.
> Thus the African-Americans, instead of supporting the African nation of Sudan, supported the American moves against Sudan!
> HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S NOT TRUE?
> The stories being distributed by the Sun and WJHU were opposed by my organization called Jamaat al-Muslimeen International. We were successfully able to rebut the Zionist
propaganda in Baltimore because:
> 1.Our Jamaat's Secretary General Sis. Ashira Na'im, herself an African-American, had lived in Sudan for about a year around the same time when the "slavery in Sudan" story was being
concocted. She did not see any signs of slavery although she moved both in the richest and the poorest sections of society. In fact she saw Christians from the South taking protection in the
Islamic city of Khartoum to seek refuge from the conflict.
> 2. Another African-American sister who is a physician, Dr. Sapphire Ahmed, who has lived in Sudan for almost two years has refuted the "slavery in Sudan" propaganda in detail.
> 3. The Zionists claimed that a section of the Sudanese population called NUBIANS who were not "Arab" had been decimated by the Islamic regime. We published, in our paper New Trend,
an interview with an activist in the Nubian community, Dr. Shaheen who refuted the zionist story as absolute lies.
> 4. A British group carried out an investigation of the "slavery" reports and published THE MCNAIR REPORT which carries an area-by-area coverage of Sudan and debunks the "slavery"
story. (The key points in this report are available in our paper New Trend, POB 356, Kingsville, MD 21087.)
> 5. A Christian group called WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS has also investigated the Sudan and found the slavery and mass killings ('genocide') stories without any basis in truth. In fact the
group noted that if the propaganda against Sudan were accepted as truth, it would mean that the entire Christian population of Sudan has been wiped out TWICE OVER. (The HOLD THESE
TRUTHS report has also been published in New Trend.)
> 6. The Pennsylvania Black Caucus visited Sudan and rejected the slavery story.
> INSPITE OF ALL THESE PROOFS, the Zionists are pressing forward with their campaign. They go into the South and meet children whom the missionaries tell them are "slaves" and pay
money to their "masters" to free them. Some of these Sudanese children have now been brought to USA and will be taken around the country as proof of "Slavery in Sudan."
> The New York Times (run by Jews) and Nat Hentoff (another Jew) in the Village Voice of New York have joined the campaign in a big way. They have also made headway in the Black
community. They first got support from BET (Black Entertainment Network) and then from Kwezi Mfume, leader of the NAACP. An effective new voice, that of radioman Madison of
1450 AM in Washington, has stirred up the campaign against Sudan. In fact Mr. Madison has been extremely active and has joined hands with Mr. Jacobs (another Jew) of the Anti-Slavery
grouping. Several congessmen, including Virginia's Mr. Wolf, are urging President Bush to take action against Sudan. Finally the Jewish Holocaust Memorial in Washington has now given
some space in its 'exhibits' to the 'genocide' in southern Sudan including the slavery story.
> WHY THIS CONCERNS EVERY MUSLIM IN AMERICA?
> 1. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America. To stop this growth, our enemies are trying to convince African-Americans (the largest source for the growth of Islam in America)
that Islam actually condones and supports slavery, the biggest evil the world has ever known .
> 2. Africa is the continent where America and Europe are looking for mineral wealth and the spread of Christianity. If the largest African country loses its independence or is greatly
weakened by sanctions, Africa at large will have no rallying force to unite it and give it direction.
> 3. The Zionists want to drive a wedge between Africans and Arabs. They are very concerned that an African-American leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, visited Arab countries (including
Sudan) and was given a rousing welcome. The Zionists are portraying Muslim Sudanese as "Arabs" and then accusing them of carrying out systematic slavery against "Black" Sudanese!
> (This point number 3 is very important in the Zionist propaganda and many people are fooled by it. )
> FACT SHEET ABOUT SUDAN:
>i. All the people of Sudan are BLACK. The great majority are Muslim and speak Arabic. The Islamic leaders, like Dr. Hassan Turabi and President Bashir (now wrangling with each other)
are as Black as any other African. So the story of ARABS killing Blacks is absurd.
>ii. The Christians are a minority even in the deep South. The majority there are Animists, not Christians.
>iii. The rebellion in the South was started by an army officer named Garang. He was part of the Dinka tribe who are Christians. However he did not have even the support of majority of the
Christians.
>iv. To gain the 'support' of Christians, Garang has used terrorism against his own people and has killed more Christians and Animists than Muslims.
>v. ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES have been covertly and overtly helping Garang through the pro-US government in Uganda.
>vi. In raids and counter-raids between tribes supporting the Islamic government and Garang's SPLA organization, both sides take captives which they then try to exchange. Sometimes
outsiders can think these are slaves.
>vi. Under Islamic law in Sudan SLAVERY IS FORBIDDEN.
>vii. Sudan is not a perfect Islamic country. It has many problems and is finding it difficult to solve them owing to the war in the South.
>viii. Islam can be a big force for African unity and Islam because of its religious vitality. Students, men and women, from all over African and other continents come to study in Sudan.
>ix. Sudan did not support the war against Iraq and Sudanese regularly visit Iraq and receive visitors from Iraq. This is very irksome for the US and Israel.
>x. Sudan has taken every possible step to stop use of its territory by Osama Bin Laden and Egyptian dissidents but the U.S. still continues to insist that Sudan supports 'terrorism'.
>xi. Women, under the Islamic influence of Dr. Hassan Turabi, are regaining many of their rights. Women are elected to be members of Parliament and even as governors and officials of
provinces. FGM (female genital mutilation) prevalent in many tribal societies is forbidden in Sudan under Islamic law (though still carried out surreptitiously by hardcore tribals).
>--------------------------------------------------------
>The author can be contacted at: ksidd37398@aol.com

I agree with some of the stuff said. But due to some outright lies and twisted fact in this report, i don't know if this is not just as much propaganda.



>>i. All the people of Sudan are BLACK. The great majority are Muslim and speak Arabic. The Islamic leaders, like Dr. Hassan Turabi and President Bashir (now wrangling with each other)
>are as Black as any other
>African.
I had to laugh when I read this. I should email to this to my friend. I don't think she would like being painted black so non-chalantly.
anyway here's some info that spells it out:
The population of Sudan is composed principally of Arabs in the north and black Africans in the south; many Arabs are of mixed ancestry(As you once said yourself AZ, Arab is not a race. so they must be referring to those who are "culturally" Arab. hence the mixed ancestry thing.)
source:encarta.com

>So the story of
>ARABS killing Blacks is absurd.
A little blown up perhaps but not absurd. ARABS killing indigenous Africans is more accurate.
>>ii. The Christians are a minority even in the deep South. The

majority there are Animists, not Christians.
agreed. but most in-depth reports i've read has never failed to point this out.
>>iii. The rebellion in the South was started by an army officer named Garang. He was part of the Dinka tribe who are Christians. However he did not have even the support of majority of the
>Christians.
>>iv. To gain the 'support' of Christians, Garang has used terrorism against his own people and has killed more Christians and Animists than Muslims.
>>v. ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES have been covertly and overtly helping Garang through the pro-US government in Uganda.
>>vi. In raids and counter-raids between tribes supporting the Islamic government and Garang's SPLA organization, both sides take captives which they then try to exchange. Sometimes
>outsiders can think these are slaves.
once prisoners of war are sold for money, it is slavery.

>>viii. Islam can be a big force for African unity and Islam because of its religious vitality.
Purest piece of propaganda i've read in a while How can you unite Africa under one religion knowing very well that there are other religions within? That's just asking for war...which is precisely what they are getting.

>>ix. Sudan did not support the war against Iraq and Sudanese regularly visit Iraq and receive visitors from Iraq. This is very irksome for the US and Israel.
good point.
>>x. Sudan has taken every possible step to stop use of its territory by Osama Bin Laden and Egyptian dissidents but the U.S. still continues to insist that Sudan supports 'terrorism'.
>>xi. Women, under the Islamic influence of Dr. Hassan Turabi, are regaining many of their rights. Women are elected to be members of Parliament and even as governors and officials of
>provinces. FGM (female genital mutilation) prevalent
>in many tribal societies is
>forbidden in Sudan under Islamic
>law (though still carried out
>surreptitiously by hardcore tribals).
This is kinda ironic. Islamic law has been used to justify FGM in North Africa. Just goes to show you that religion can be molded to suit any situation.
Anyway again this last point is also pure propaganda. Basically he is giving reasons why Sudan SHOULD be an islamic state. this of course betrays his bias.as long as there are sizable non-muslim populations in Sudan, it can't be an Islamic state.
Islam gets a bad rap in the media all the time. An alien from outer-space going by the coverage of Islam in wester medie, would think it was a cult or something.
But in this case, if they are using "jihad" as an excuse to kill people, it's pretty pathetic. i really doubt this is really a jihad anyway. are they holding guns to people's heads and telling them to convert?
Instead of trying to cast blame, they should be trying to decide how to end this bloody war.




SIGNATURE STARTS YONDER
"I'm not looking...forward to seeing
him"- Snoop on Suge's release.
understatement of the year
**************************
NE LOVE/ LOVE
(THE HICE IS URS)
**************************
The emoticon as 'O' symbol is a
registered trademark of dafriquan.
No biting without written permission.
*************************

RIP JDILLA
THE ILLEST THAT EVER DID IT

>by Kaukab Siddique, Ph.D
>> On May 10, representatives from both the Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Congress blasted Sudan's Islamic regime. They are accusing the Muslims of 'genocide' and of
>unprecedented crimes against humanity. Even Iraq
>has not been accused of
>crimes of such proportion by
>American officials.
>> Sudan has been under severe American sanctions, supported by all of America's allies, for several years. Today it is difficult to transfer a few dollars, even in personal transactions, to
>Sudan through U.S. banks.
>> HOW DID THIS SITUATION COME ABOUT?
>> PREPARING THE GROUND: In 1996 a Jewish-run liberal newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland, called The Baltimore Sun sent two journalists to southern Sudan. They entered the
>country without permission with the help
>of a Christian missionary group
>working out of Geneva, Switzerland.
>In Sudan they claimed to
>have seen children held as
>slaves by "Arab
>merchants" and they said they had
>paid $50 per slave to
>free them from slavery. The
>pictures of the boys thus
>"freed" were published in the
>Baltimore Sun. (These were very
>healthy children
>and did not look at all
>like slaves. As one critic
>put it, anyone in a
>poor country will pretend to
>be a 'slave' if you
>can give him or his
>father $50.)
>> As soon as the Baltimore Sun published the "Slavery in Sudan" story, it was picked up and distributed far-and-wide by Zionists in the U.S. media. In Baltimore itself, a special radio
>program on "slavery in Sudan" was
>broadcast by a Jewish radioman,
>Mark Steiner, on WJHU (Johns
>Hopkins University radio).
>> UNDERSTAND THE MOVE: The U.S. government knows that any moves against Africa's biggest country would be resented by the African-American communities in USA which are
>now well-organized and vocal. Readers might
>remember that these communities had
>been successful in dismantling the
>Apartheid system in South Africa.The
>move against Sudan was very
>
>successful because it used the one
>issue which is most important
>for African-Americans: the issue of
>slavery.
>> Thus the African-Americans, instead of supporting the African nation of Sudan, supported the American moves against Sudan!
>> HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S NOT TRUE?
>> The stories being distributed by the Sun and WJHU were opposed by my organization called Jamaat al-Muslimeen International. We were successfully able to rebut the Zionist
>propaganda in Baltimore because:
>> 1.Our Jamaat's Secretary General Sis. Ashira Na'im, herself an African-American, had lived in Sudan for about a year around the same time when the "slavery in Sudan" story was being
>concocted. She did not see any
>signs of slavery although she
>moved both in the richest
>and the poorest sections of
>society. In fact she saw
>Christians from the South taking
>protection in the
>Islamic city of Khartoum to seek
>refuge from the conflict.
>> 2. Another African-American sister who is a physician, Dr. Sapphire Ahmed, who has lived in Sudan for almost two years has refuted the "slavery in Sudan" propaganda in detail.
>> 3. The Zionists claimed that a section of the Sudanese population called NUBIANS who were not "Arab" had been decimated by the Islamic regime. We published, in our paper New Trend,
>an interview with an activist in
>the Nubian community, Dr. Shaheen
>who refuted the zionist story
>as absolute lies.
>> 4. A British group carried out an investigation of the "slavery" reports and published THE MCNAIR REPORT which carries an area-by-area coverage of Sudan and debunks the "slavery"
>story. (The key points in this
>report are available in our
>paper New Trend, POB 356,
>Kingsville, MD 21087.)
>> 5. A Christian group called WE HOLD THESE TRUTHS has also investigated the Sudan and found the slavery and mass killings ('genocide') stories without any basis in truth. In fact the
>group noted that if the propaganda
>against Sudan were accepted as
>truth, it would mean that
>the entire Christian population of
>Sudan has been wiped out
>TWICE OVER. (The HOLD THESE
>
>TRUTHS report has also been published
>in New Trend.)
>> 6. The Pennsylvania Black Caucus visited Sudan and rejected the slavery story.
>> INSPITE OF ALL THESE PROOFS, the Zionists are pressing forward with their campaign. They go into the South and meet children whom the missionaries tell them are "slaves" and pay
>money to their "masters" to free
>them. Some of these Sudanese
>children have now been brought
>to USA and will be
>taken around the country as
>proof of "Slavery in Sudan."
>
>> The New York Times (run by Jews) and Nat Hentoff (another Jew) in the Village Voice of New York have joined the campaign in a big way. They have also made headway in the Black
>community. They first got support from
>BET (Black Entertainment Network) and
>then from Kwezi Mfume, leader
>of the NAACP. An effective
>new voice, that of radioman
>Madison of
>1450 AM in Washington, has stirred
>up the campaign against Sudan.
>In fact Mr. Madison has
>been extremely active and has
>joined hands with Mr. Jacobs
>(another Jew) of the Anti-Slavery
>
>grouping. Several congessmen, including Virginia's Mr.
>Wolf, are urging President Bush
>to take action against Sudan.
>Finally the Jewish Holocaust Memorial
>in Washington has now given
>
>some space in its 'exhibits' to
>the 'genocide' in southern Sudan
>including the slavery story.
>> WHY THIS CONCERNS EVERY MUSLIM IN AMERICA?
>> 1. Islam is the fastest growing religion in America. To stop this growth, our enemies are trying to convince African-Americans (the largest source for the growth of Islam in America)
>that Islam actually condones and supports
>slavery, the biggest evil the
>world has ever known .
>
>> 2. Africa is the continent where America and Europe are looking for mineral wealth and the spread of Christianity. If the largest African country loses its independence or is greatly
>weakened by sanctions, Africa at large
>will have no rallying force
>to unite it and give
>it direction.
>> 3. The Zionists want to drive a wedge between Africans and Arabs. They are very concerned that an African-American leader, Minister Louis Farrakhan, visited Arab countries (including
>Sudan) and was given a rousing
>welcome. The Zionists are portraying
>Muslim Sudanese as "Arabs" and
>then accusing them of carrying
>out systematic slavery against "Black"
>Sudanese!
>> (This point number 3 is very important in the Zionist propaganda and many people are fooled by it. )
>> FACT SHEET ABOUT SUDAN:
>>i. All the people of Sudan are BLACK. The great majority are Muslim and speak Arabic. The Islamic leaders, like Dr. Hassan Turabi and President Bashir (now wrangling with each other)
>are as Black as any other
>African. So the story of
>ARABS killing Blacks is absurd.
>
>>ii. The Christians are a minority even in the deep South. The majority there are Animists, not Christians.
>>iii. The rebellion in the South was started by an army officer named Garang. He was part of the Dinka tribe who are Christians. However he did not have even the support of majority of the
>Christians.
>>iv. To gain the 'support' of Christians, Garang has used terrorism against his own people and has killed more Christians and Animists than Muslims.
>>v. ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES have been covertly and overtly helping Garang through the pro-US government in Uganda.
>>vi. In raids and counter-raids between tribes supporting the Islamic government and Garang's SPLA organization, both sides take captives which they then try to exchange. Sometimes
>outsiders can think these are slaves.
>
>>vi. Under Islamic law in Sudan SLAVERY IS FORBIDDEN.
>>vii. Sudan is not a perfect Islamic country. It has many problems and is finding it difficult to solve them owing to the war in the South.
>>viii. Islam can be a big force for African unity and Islam because of its religious vitality. Students, men and women, from all over African and other continents come to study in Sudan.
>>ix. Sudan did not support the war against Iraq and Sudanese regularly visit Iraq and receive visitors from Iraq. This is very irksome for the US and Israel.
>>x. Sudan has taken every possible step to stop use of its territory by Osama Bin Laden and Egyptian dissidents but the U.S. still continues to insist that Sudan supports 'terrorism'.
>>xi. Women, under the Islamic influence of Dr. Hassan Turabi, are regaining many of their rights. Women are elected to be members of Parliament and even as governors and officials of
>provinces. FGM (female genital mutilation) prevalent
>in many tribal societies is
>forbidden in Sudan under Islamic
>law (though still carried out
>surreptitiously by hardcore tribals).
>>--------------------------------------------------------
>>The author can be contacted at: ksidd37398@aol.com

>> HOW DID THIS SITUATION COME ABOUT?
>> PREPARING THE GROUND: In 1996 a Jewish-run liberal newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland, called The Baltimore Sun sent two journalists to southern Sudan. They entered the
>country without permission with the help
>of a Christian missionary group
>working out of Geneva, Switzerland.
>In Sudan they claimed to
>have seen children held as
>slaves by "Arab
>merchants" and they said they had
>paid $50 per slave to
>free them from slavery. The
>pictures of the boys thus
>"freed" were published in the
>Baltimore Sun. (These were very
>healthy children
>and did not look at all
>like slaves. As one critic
>put it, anyone in a
>poor country will pretend to
>be a 'slave' if you
>can give him or his
>father $50.)

1. The Baltimore Sun is a Jewish-run liberal newspaper? Nonsense.

2. The two reporters who went to Sudan were Gregory Kane, a conservative black man, and Gilbert Lewthwaite, a white, non-Jewish man. I guess these two were in on the whole Zionist-conspiracty to pit the Arabs vs. the Africans. And the articles they wrote won the Pulitzer prize. I guess the prize committee is part of this vast Zionist conspiracy also.

3. The Christian missionary group must be in on this Zionist plot as well.

>> As soon as the Baltimore Sun published the "Slavery in Sudan" story, it was picked up and distributed far-and-wide by Zionists in the U.S. media. In Baltimore itself, a special radio
>program on "slavery in Sudan" was
>broadcast by a Jewish radioman,
>Mark Steiner, on WJHU (Johns
>Hopkins University radio).

Mark Steiner broadcasts all kinds of programs. Since he's Jewish, he must be part of this conspiracy as well. And the fact that its a well-written article about a vastly underreported (especially in 1996) topic had nothing to do with it being picked up by other news agencies, its just another plot by the Zionists. This is such crap.

>> Thus the African-Americans, instead of supporting the African nation of Sudan, supported the American moves against Sudan!
>> HOW DO WE KNOW IT'S NOT TRUE?
>> The stories being distributed by the Sun and WJHU were opposed by my organization called Jamaat al-Muslimeen International. We were successfully able to rebut the Zionist
>propaganda in Baltimore because:
>> 1.Our Jamaat's Secretary General Sis. Ashira Na'im, herself an African-American, had lived in Sudan for about a year around the same time when the "slavery in Sudan" story was being
>concocted. She did not see any
>signs of slavery although she
>moved both in the richest
>and the poorest sections of
>society. In fact she saw
>Christians from the South taking
>protection in the
>Islamic city of Khartoum to seek
>refuge from the conflict.

Its very easy to not see something if you don't want to see it.

>> The New York Times (run by Jews) and Nat Hentoff (another Jew) in the Village Voice of New York have joined the campaign in a big way. They have also made headway in the Black
>community. They first got support from
>BET (Black Entertainment Network) and
>then from Kwezi Mfume, leader
>of the NAACP. An effective
>new voice, that of radioman
>Madison of
>1450 AM in Washington, has stirred
>up the campaign against Sudan.
>In fact Mr. Madison has
>been extremely active and has
>joined hands with Mr. Jacobs
>(another Jew) of the Anti-Slavery
>grouping. Several congessmen, including Virginia's Mr.
>Wolf, are urging President Bush
>to take action against Sudan.
>Finally the Jewish Holocaust Memorial
>in Washington has now given
>some space in its 'exhibits' to
>the 'genocide' in southern Sudan
>including the slavery story.

Yes, yes, blame it on the Jews. Ooh, I'll add to the conspiracy theory. Kweisi Mfume is originally from Baltimore. He's actually an undercover Jew and a vital cog in the Zionist conspiracy.

>> 2. Africa is the continent where America and Europe are looking for mineral wealth and the spread of Christianity. If the largest African country loses its independence or is greatly
>weakened by sanctions, Africa at large
>will have no rallying force
>to unite it and give
>it direction.

Since when is Sudan rallying for Africa to unite?

>> (This point number 3 is very important in the Zionist propaganda and many people are fooled by it. )
>> FACT SHEET ABOUT SUDAN:
>>i. All the people of Sudan are BLACK. The great majority are Muslim and speak Arabic. The Islamic leaders, like Dr. Hassan Turabi and President Bashir (now wrangling with each other)
>are as Black as any other
>African. So the story of
>ARABS killing Blacks is absurd.
>

So its blacks killing and enslaving blacks. What's the difference? Its still a tragedy.

>>v. ISRAEL and the UNITED STATES have been covertly and overtly helping Garang through the pro-US government in Uganda.

Please give some proof. Any proof. Nonsense throwaway statements like this are just weak.

>>viii. Islam can be a big force for African unity and Islam because of its religious vitality. Students, men and women, from all over African and other continents come to study in Sudan.

What, by forcibly converting all non-Muslims?



Diverting the issue from slavery in Sudan to a vast imaginary Zionist conspiracy is a weak tactic. You might as well just start quoting 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' as your proof.

Here's an article describing how a Harvard student and a group of Boston-area black ministers liberated over 6,700 slaves recently: http://www.iabolish.com/news/global/2001/hammond-bell07-13-01.htm

Lord McNair
The House of Lords
Westminster
London
SW1A OPW

Date of Publication: 17 November 1997

Introduction

I have recently returned from a working visit to Sudan, from 4 - 11 October, 1997. This visit was the culmination of an examination of slavery allegations made against the government of Sudan, and took me to the states of South and North Kordofan.

My first trip to Sudan was in September 1994. Before this first visit to Sudan, I had read several negative press reports of abuses on the part of the government against political opponents and against Christians in the south of the country. My overall impression was that there was something contrived about some of these reports which suggested to me the possibility of a deliberate campaign from some quarters to discredit the government. I spent one week in Sudan in September 1994 and visited Khartoum, Juba and Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan. My feeling that the Sudanese government was being unfairly portrayed was confirmed to a degree. In February 1996 I received an invitation to observe the parliamentary and presidential elections due to take place in March. I discovered that the entire electoral process was being shunned by all
the countries of the "North".

Between these two visits a new issue had emerged. Serious allegations of government involvement in slavery and slavery-related practices had been made by groups such as Christian Solidarity International, and its president, Baroness Cox, a deputy speaker of the British House of Lords. Understandably, the allegations attracted the attention of the media, of other members of parliament, and of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Any allegations that slavery is being inspired or endorsed to any degree by any government is a very grave matter indeed. My initial scepticism about the accuracy of these allegations increased in the face of the earnest good intentions I had noticed in the government officials I had met in 1994. I was, however, new to Africa and the Sudan and I decided to withhold judgment on this issue until I had a better understanding
of the situation. I followed the allegations as they appeared until my most recent visit in October 1997.

My October 1997 Visit

On the occasion of this visit I accepted the invitation of the Human Rights Committee of the Sudanese Parliament to investigate the allegations of slavery. As an integral part of this investigation I visited the states of Northern and Southern Kordofan, the site of many of the allegations. I was accompanied by the vice-chairman of the Human Rights Committee, the Reverend Adi Ambrose, and the Member of Parliament for Kadugli East, Emir Hamid Harim, who is a traditional leader from the Nuba mountains.

We travelled first to El Obeid in North Kordofan and then to Dellinge and Kadugli in South Kordofan. We had a number of different meetings in locations in both states. Two themes emerged. Firstly we could find no evidence of slavery. Secondly, the main concerns of the community leaders we met was for the hundreds, if not thousands, of Nuba and Arab children who had been abducted by the forces of John Garang. They appealed to us for help in having the children returned, and various ideas for achieving this were discussed.

Indeed, it would appear to me that the abduction by the SPLA of upwards of ten thousand mainly southern Sudanese children over the past decade or more is a far more tangible manifestation of slavery or slavery-like practices than anything alleged by Christian Solidarity International. As early as 1991, the American state department had reported the forcible conscription of "at least 10 000 male minors" (1). The plight of these children has been well documented by Human Rights Watch/Africa,
the Children's Rights Project and others. Many of these children have died in the course of the war, either through being forced into combat by the SPLA, or through the squalid conditions in which they were kept. There is no doubt that the abduction of these boys was a deliberate act of SPLA policy. It is a matter of record that these boys have been isolated in camps far away from the public gaze. They are held in preparation for forced labour or forced military service. From my understanding of what Human Rights Watch/Africa calls slavery, these children would appear to be living in conditions qualifying as slavery.
It is puzzling to find CSI supporting the SPLA for whom such practices are deliberate policy.

I hope that CSI will use its close association with the SPLA to persuade John Garang to release those children whom he is holding. It is well documented that the ICRC has for a number of years sought the release of these children. This has not been possible because of the intransigence of John Garang and the SPLA.

I have, as I mentioned, followed the issue of slavery allegations for some time. This visit, together with my other research, has led me to the conclusion that there is no slavery, certainly within North and South Kordofan which have been the focus of many of the allegations. Having reviewed the literature over the past three years, and having visited the areas in question on two occasions, I note that these allegations may have arisen out of inter-tribal conflict over water and
pastures, a regrettable but nonetheless ever present source of
difficulty between settled and nomadic peoples in those parts of Sudan.

A Review of Allegations of Slavery in Sudan

Allegations of slavery and slavery-related practices began to emerge from Sudan in the mid-to-late 1980s. The backdrop to these allegations was the Sudanese civil war. This conflict has essentially been fought intermittently between the central government and sections of southern Sudan's political opposition since before Sudanese independence in 1956. The 1972 Addis Ababa agreement between the government of Sudan and the then southern rebel leadership resulted in an end to conflict, and this lasted until 1983. In that year, the present Sudanese civil war started
between the government in Khartoum and the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA), which came to be led by Colonel John Garang. It is clear that the civil war has been a viciously fought conflict, and has caused enormous suffering to the civilian populations in the areas affected by
the war.

Allegations of slavery specifically emerged in the wake of a policy decision by each of the belligerents. In the mid-1980s the SPLA deliberately chose to bring the civil war to the hitherto uninvolved states of Darfur, Kordofan and into the Nuba mountains. SPLA units attacked an Arab village in southern Kordofan, killing sixty tribesmen and wounding over eighty others. Following this the government of the day armed large numbers of Baggara tribesmen and used them as tribal militias. The SPLA also similarly armed tribal militias sympathetic to
them.

Overnight, what had hitherto been limited inter-tribal disputes over water and pastures, between nomadic Arabised tribes such as the Rizeigat and their Dinka neighbours, suddenly escalated and was made all the more lethal by the introduction of sophisticated weaponry. The Sadiq al-Mahdi government came to power in 1986 and vigorously continued with the policy of arming tribal militias with all the consequences that brought with it. The tribal militias were encouraged to take the war to Dinka
communities suspected of supporting the SPLA. There is also no doubt that these militias were undisciplined and out of control. This indiscipline led in part to the infamous El Diein massacre in March 1987 when one thousand Dinka men, women and children were killed in actions which the Sadiq al-Mahdi government attempted to cover up.

In the past, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the official United States government publication on human rights world-wide, has stated that any slavery-like practices that did exist were the result of the civil war in western Sudan, that they were concentrated in areas in which government administration was weak or non-existent, and that the arming of militias was a factor. In 1990, for example, the entry on Sudan stated that:

"Slavery reportedly exists in those remote areas where government control is weak and where displaced persons fleeing the war zones come into contact with armed groups...The revival of slavery is often blamed on economic pressure and the civil war, especially the practice of arming tribal militias". (2)

The present government of Sudan has had to deal with the legacy of this policy of the Sadiq al-Mahdi government. It is clear that most of the questionable practices and unacceptable patterns of behaviour occurred under the Sadiq al-Mahdi government

Responses of the Government of Sudan to Allegations of Slavery

I am satisfied that the present Government of Sudan is deeply concerned about allegations of slavery within its borders. I have reached this conclusion after a number of discussions with senior Sudanese government ministers and with the governors of several of the states concerned as well as open-air discussions with tribal elders in the Nuba mountains.

I note that Sudan is a signatory to several of the conventions on the abolition of slavery, slavery-like practices and institutions, and the slave trade. These include the 1926 Slavery Convention, as amended by the 1953 New York protocol, and the Supplementary Convention, ratified in 1956 and 1957. I further note that Sudanese law is clear in unambiguously criminalising any of the practices, such as kidnapping,
abduction, unlawful detention, forced labour and unlawful confinement, that could be construed as slavery, crimes punishable by imprisonment. It is also noteworthy that in its 1992 official government publication, the Sudan Yearbook, the government stated that:

"The issue of the slave trade ... has been, and will continue to be for ever, the most atrocious practice ever known in history".

It is also clear, and a matter of record, that the Government of Sudan has from its earliest days in power been responsive to instances of abduction and kidnapping brought to its attention. Indeed, Anti-Slavery International clearly documents the fact that in November 1989 the Governor of Darfur, Abu al-Gasim Ibrahim, acted decisively when made aware of the concerns of Dinka communities that Rezeigat tribesmen had captured Dinka children in the course of inter-tribal fighting. These
concerns had been brought to the attention of the government by a Dinka "retrireview committee".

The Governor of Darfur brought representatives of the Dinka community to his state guest house, and provided them with accommodation, while he organised an inter-tribal conference for the return of the children. This conference was held in mid-December 1989, and resulted in the return of 103 children. Anti-Slavery International records that the work of the Dinka retrireview committee has continued to this day:

"when it collects information about the slaves, it presents it to the government of south Darfur. If the evidence is accepted, its representatives are given a police escort to confront the captors, and the children are then taken back without any money changing hands".

The Dinka retrireview committee has also been active in the neighbouring southern state of Bahr al-Ghazal, where "the committee was able to bring cases of abducted children to the attention of the Bahr al-Ghazal authorities". The committee has continued to recover abducted children from both Darfur and Bahr al-Ghazal states.

Anti-Slavery International also records that the Dinka community have brought cases of abduction to trial in al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state. In mid-1994, for example, two Dinka leaders went to court in connection with a number of children abducted in 1987, during the administration of Sadiq al-Mahdi. The court ordered the release of the children in question (3).

It is also of note that in its 1994 publication, Civilian Devastation: Abuses by All Parties in the War in Southern Sudan, Human Rights Watch/Africa cites a United States State Department cable reporting that government authorities in Wau and Aweil had freed kidnapped women and children held by tribal militias (4).

I also note that in Human Rights Watch/Africa's 1996 study, Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan, for example, numerous further instances of direct Sudanese government intervention to secure the release of various numbers of illegally held people are recorded. Human Rights Watch/Africa stated, for example, that in 1995 government authorities in Aweil freed 500 captured women and children who had been
taken prisoner during fighting between tribal militias.

In Nyala, two young Dinka women were freed after their relatives
brought the case before a court. Government authorities in El Diein also ordered the release of "dozens of Dinka children brought to El Diein and surrounding villages by raiders who had captured them from the area around Aweil in Bahr El Ghazal in early 1996". The government then handed the children over to the Dinka community in El Diein. Human Rights Watch/Africa also provided the example of an orphaned Dinka boy, kidnapped in 1986 under the Sadiq al-Mahdi government. The boy's uncle found him and sought the help of the Sudanese police: "The police
issued a warrant for the release of the boy to the uncle" (5). Thus, on both a macro and micro level, the evidence clearly exists, as presented by reputable human rights organisations, that the present Sudanese government has, in its many components, intervened to free victims of inter-tribal raiding and violence - many of them illegally held since the days of the Sadiq al-Mahdi government.

The Sudanese government has made a further point which is that, in definitions of slavery, there must be an intention to permanently deprive people of their liberties. The government has argued that in inter-tribal clashes captives are taken and that they are usually returned following a resolution of the particular problems, be they water or pastures, that led to the conflict. It has also been documented that traditional inter-tribal conferences have attempted to settle what has been a regrettable feature of inter-tribal life in western and
west-central Sudan. Human Rights Watch/Africa's 1996 report, Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan, describes what can only be seen as an inter-tribal conference for the settling of issues and exchange of prisoners:

"In late 1995, meetings reportedly were held between representatives of the Dinka and the Rizeigat (Arabized western tribes, originally nomads in Darfur), a subgroup of the Baggara. In exchange for access to the fresh pasture land and water controlled by the SPLA, the Rizeigat agreed to release Dinka "prisoners" captured during their raids. They reportedly brought with them to a meeting a list of 674 children
already identified and whose release has been promised. They were given Ls. 250,000 (US $473) for the immediate transport and clothing of twenty children said to have been gathered in Nyala in Southern Darfur" (6).

In the light of this and other evidence, I find that there is no
foundation for the allegations of slavery levelled at the government of Sudan. I also note that several international human rights organisations and activists have also found little evidence for such allegations. Alex de Waal, co-director of African Rights, for example, has stated:

"there is no evidence for centrally-organized, government-directed slave raiding or slave trade". (7)

Anti-Slavery International has also stated that

"the charge that government troops engage in raids for the purpose of seizing slaves in not backed by the evidence". (8)

It is also worth recording that the 1992 entry on Sudan in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices clearly states:

"Sudanese law prohibits forced or compulsory labor and there was no evidence of organised or officially sanctioned slavery". (9)

It is my conclusion that what was true in 1992 as far as the United States Department of State was concerned holds true for Sudan at the time of my writing this report.

Because of this conclusion, I have also attempted to trace the origin and inspiration for many of these allegations of slavery. I am sad to place on record that the single most prominent vehicle for these allegations has been Christian Solidarity International. I find that their allegations are unsubstantiated. I must also place on record my deep concern at their sensationalist claims, and those of others they have brought to Sudan, to have "bought slaves" . I am personally
unconvinced that these people were "slaves" in any accepted sense of the word. Both African Rights and Anti-Slavery International have also been critical of such claims on this issue. Alex de Waal, for example, has stated:

"It is most probable that they were in fact paying a ransom to a go- between in a scheme whereby families pay, through a middleman, for their hostage children to be redeemed. They were not in a slave market".

I feel the interventions by CSI and its President, Baroness Cox, on this issue have been inflammatory and irresponsible. They have deliberately sought publicity and, in so doing, have endangered what is at best a delicate process.

The Baltimore Sun Expedition

Perhaps the incident which received the most attention in respect of allegations of slavery was the claim by the Baltimore Sun newspaper to have "bought" two slaves in Sudan. It is this incident that both African Rights and Anti-Slavery International have referred to in the above paragraph on the ransoming of hostages. The Baltimore Sun sent two journalists to investigate claims by Christian Solidarity International that slaves were available for purchase. Indeed, the trip was arranged by Christian Solidarity International. The newspaper claimed that this proved slavery in Sudan.

It is clear to me, however, that the journalists from the Baltimore Sun were in no way "buying slaves". What they were taking part in was a corrupted example of the way some Sudanese families are forced to redeem children or other relatives who have been abducted in the course of the inter-tribal raiding and conflict that has spiralled in Sudan because of the continuing civil war. The man they paid money to for the two children was not a slave trader, and the venue was not a slave market. The views of African Rights and Anti-Slavery International are cited
above.

This type of journalism concerns me for several reasons. First of all it is media sensationalism at its very worst. The claim that such coverage proves slavery is obviously false, it proves no such thing. What it does do, however, is fuel the propaganda and mythology that has blighted Sudan over the past few years. Secondly, such Western intervention clearly inflates the price that is being paid in such hostage-exchange situations, pricing ordinary Sudanese families out of the market. This is a clear concern to those hostage-retrireview committees that exist in
local communities in Sudan. Anti-Slavery International, for example, quotes from "a source close to the Dinka retrireview committee":

"Such outside intervention with big sums of money may make matters worse and can encourage others to capture and "facilitate" the retrireview of more children for economic motives". (10)

Thirdly, and perhaps more worrying is that such sensationalist efforts could in themselves fuel the process whereby children and others are abducted to provide "slaves for sale" to naïve Western journalists or publicity hunters.

Fourthly, this sort of coverage concerns me because it fuels already distorted international images of Sudan, sometimes even within Sudan itself. The absurdity of this situation was manifested in the course of my fact-finding visit to North Kordofan. Our delegation visited the impressive Roman Catholic church in El-Obeid. We met and talked with Father Tombe, a widely-respected Sudanese Catholic priest. Father Tombe
had previously spent several years in Kadugli building up a flourishing congregation and had also served as a priest in Darfur state. We asked him whether he had any evidence for the allegations of slavery. He said no, he had heard reports, and had read or heard about them in the media, presumably the international media.

We were thus confronted with the absurd situation that a veteran Roman Catholic priest with several years of service in the Nuba mountains, other parts of Kordofan, and Darfur, had seen no evidence whatsoever that substantiated allegations of slavery. He did say that he had heard about the allegations in the international media. If the allegations had been true, his congregation, as Christians, would presumably have been the target of any such slaving activities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I found that after several years of interest in this issue, which has included visits to Kordofan, the allegations of slavery made against the government of Sudan are unfounded. It is additionally clear that there has been something of an international campaign to isolate Sudan by means of these allegations. I echo the concerns of several international human rights organisations which have condemned
the inflammatory nature of these allegations and I question the
motivation behind them.

It is my sincere hope that the British government will look at the reality of the situation in Sudan as distinct from the view put forward by Christian Solidarity International and I hope also that CSI will distance itself from those with a political axe to grind who have compromised its good intentions.

Notes

1. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1991, US Department of
State, Washington, DC, 1992, p. 382

2. Ibid, p. 397

3. Peter Verney, Slavery in Sudan, Sudan Update and Anti-Slavery
International, London, 1997, pp. 16, 17

4. US Embassy, Khartoum, Sudan, cable released 12 May 1994, in
Washington, DC

5. Behind the Red Line: Political Repression in Sudan, Human Rights
Watch/Africa, Washington, DC, 1996, p. 309

6. Ibid, p. 309

7. Alex de Waal, "Sudan: Social Engineering, Slavery and War", Covert
ACTION Quarterly, Washington, DC, Spring 1997, p. 63

8. Verney, Slavery in Sudan, op cit, p. 20

9. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 1992, op cit, p. 262

10. Verney, Slavery in Sudan, op cit, p. 20

part 1.

THE BBC, SUDAN AND BARONESS COX:
IRRESPONSIBLE JOURNALISM
Date of Publication: April 2001
The European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council
1 Northumberland Avenue
London
WC2N 5BW
England
Tel: 020 7872 5434
Fax: 020 7753 2848
Email: director@espac.org

On 29 January 2001, the British Broadcasting Corporation Television screened Everyman: The Dangerous Adventures of Baroness Cox. This programme followed Baroness Cox, President of Christian Solidarity Worldwide (formerly Christian Solidarity International or CSI), on one of her controversial visits to southern Sudan. She was filmed there claiming to have "redeemed" several hundred Sudanese "slaves". In dealing with what is a very controversial issue, the BBC chose to give those questioning the claims made by Baroness Cox 60 seconds in a
programme that was one hour in length. In so doing, the BBC
demonstrated not just poor journalism, but also in effect allowed the unchallenged articulation of deeply questionable claims. The BBC is also in danger of having fuelled undeserved prejudice against Arabs and Muslims. The programme clearly ignored the BBC's own guidelines with regard to impartiality, accuracy and its handling of people and cultures.
Civil war has raged in Sudan off and on since 1955 between the Sudanese government and rebels in southern Sudan. Since 1983 the war in the south has been fought by the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). (1) The essence of the claims made by Baroness Cox is that as a consequence of this war there is a flourishing "slave trade" in Sudan. She claims that Sudanese government and its northern forces raid southern villages and
"enslave" Dinka tribesmen, women and children and that the people
involved in the "slave trade" are northern Arab "slave traders" and "militiamen". Baroness Cox further claims that on visits to parts of southern Sudan she has bought back or "redeemed" thousands of slaves, often several hundred at a time. Leaving aside the issue of whether she is actually buying "slaves" or people kidnapped for ransom, what Baroness Cox claims to be doing has been heavily criticised by groups such as UNICEF, whose executive director has stated that "the practice has encouraged more trafficking and criminality " (2), Anti-Slavery
International and the Save the Children fund.

"Slavery" and "Slave Redemption" versus Kidnapping, Abduction or Fraud?
The unchallenged claims of large scale "slave redemption" made by Baroness Cox in the course the BBC programme can be clearly assessed against more objective sources. One of these is the report by the Canadian government's special envoy to Sudan, John Harker, into human rights abuses in Sudan, a report commissioned by the Canadian government. The Harker report, Human Security in Sudan: The Report of a Canadian Assessment Mission, was published in February 2000. One of the two missions with which John Harker was tasked was to:
"independently investigate human rights violations, specifically in reference to allegations of slavery and slavery-like practices in Sudan." (3)
While Harker was critical of many human rights abuses in Sudan, he clearly questioned claims of large scale "slave redemption". He specifically touched on the credibility of such claims:
"eports, especially from CSI, about very large numbers were
questioned, and frankly not accepted. Mention was also made to us of evidence that the SPLA were involved in "recycling" abductees...
Serious anti-abduction activists...cannot relate the claimed redemptions to what they know of the reality. For example we were told that it would be hard not to notice how passive these "slave" children are when they are liberated or to realize how implausible it is to gather together so many people from so many locations so quickly - and there were always just the right number to match redemption funds available!"
The Harker Report also detailed how fraudulent "slave redemptions" were being used to raise money for the SPLA, money which he stated is used to purchase arms and ammunition:
"Several informants reported various scenarios involving staged
redemptions. In some cases, SPLM officials are allegedly involved in arranging these exchanges, dressing up as Arab slave traders, with profits being used to support the SPLM/A, buy weapons and ammunition..."
The Harker Report documented the deliberately fraudulent nature of many "slave redemptions":
"Sometimes a "redeeming group" may be innocently misled, but other groups may be actively committed to fundraising for the SPLM/A & deliberately use "slave redemption" as a successful tactic for attracting Western donors.
We did speak with an eyewitness who can confirm observing a staged redemption and this testimony conformed with other reports we had from a variety of credible sources. The "redeeming group" knew they were buying back children who had not been abducted or enslaved. The exchange was conducted in the presence of armed SPLA guards. The "Arab" middle man/trader delivering the children for "redemption" was recognized as a
member of the local community even though he was dressed up in
traditional Arab costume for the event." (4)
It is not just the Canadian government that has questioned the sort of process to which Baroness Cox was an all too willing party, and which was so unquestioningly recorded by the BBC. The respected human rights expert, and Sudan specialist, Alex de Waal, while co-director of the human rights group African Rights, has stated with regard to claims made by Baroness Cox that:
"(O)vereager or misinformed human rights advocates in Europe and the US have played upon lazy assumptions to raise public outrage. Christian Solidarity International, for instance, claims that "Government troops and Government-backed Arab militias regularly raid black African communities for slaves and other forms of booty". The organization repeatedly uses the term "slave raids", implying that taking captives is the aim of government policy. This despite the fact that there is no evidence for centrally-organized, government-directed slave raiding or slave trade." (5)
In a July 1999 article entitled 'The False Promise of Slave Redemption', published by The Atlantic Monthly, American journalist Richard Miniter provided unambiguous first hand evidence that there was fraud and corruption in the process of "slave redemption" in Sudan, whereby southern Sudanese tribesmen, women and children were supposedly "bought back" from northern Sudanese tribesmen said to have abducted them during
raids on southern villages. (6)
Miniter documented that SPLA officials are involved in fraud with regard to "slave redemption":
" set themselves up as bankers and insist that redeemers exchange their dollars for Sudanese pounds, a nearly worthless currency...The officials arrange by radio to have some villages play slaves and some play slave-sellers, and when the redeemers arrive, the Sudanese pounds are used to free the slaves. When the redeemers are gone, the pounds are turned back over to the corrupt officials, who hand out a few dollars in return. Most of the dollars stay with the officials, who now also have the Sudanese pounds with which to play banker again."
This was not the first time that an American journalist has questioned rebel involvement in the whole issue of "slavery" and "slavery redemption". William Finnegan, in his article 'The Invisible War', which appeared in The New Yorker in January 1999, tells of having himself come across a "slave trader" at Nyamlell similar to the one spoken of by Miniter:

"To me, perhaps the most disturbing aspect of the mystery surrounding Nyamlell's slaver rescuer was his relationship with the S.P.L.A. If he was in fact a double-dealer, running a nefarious business, could the local rebels be in league with his operation? They certainly seemed to endorse his work." (7)
Miniter was accompanied during a visit to southern Sudan by James
Jacobson, the president of Christian Freedom International. Jacobson, a former Reagan Administration official, had previously served as Christian Solidarity International's Washington representative. In 1998, the American branch of Christian Solidarity International USA went its own way as Christian Freedom International, with Jacobson at its head.
He was an enthusiastic supporter of "slave redemption" until he actually visited southern Sudan to see the "slave redemption" situation for himself. Jacobson subsequently publicly disowned "slave redemption" because the financial incentives involved encouraged both the taking of captives as well as fraud and corruption.
Interviewed after his visit to Nyamlell, James Jacobson told the Denver Post of his clear reservations about "redemption": "I just felt everything was not as it appeared to be. You don't know if after several days these groups of people get reabducted." The Denver Post reported that the leaders of major human-rights organizations were stating that abductions are "not only...increasing but that the increases almost certainly are related to the sudden availability of Western money for buybacks":
"It's like paying hostage takers ransom, they say, arguing that any payment lends credibility to the notion of buying and selling human beings. They say the money encourages scams..." (8)
A Reuters report in July 1999 confirmed the "massive corruption"
reported by Jacobson:
"Local aid workers...say that they have seen children who they have known for months passed off as slaves...And Reuters interviewed one boy in Yargot who told a completely implausible story of life in the north, a story which he changed in every respect when translators were swapped." (9)
In May 1999, the Christian Science Monitor also clearly stated:
"There are increasingly numerous reports that significant numbers of those 'redeemed' were never slaves in the first place. Rather, they were simply elements of the local populations, often children, available to be herded together when cash-bearing redeemers appeared." (10)
Perhaps the final word on the "redemption" of abductees should be given to those closest to the issue. Anti-Slavery International cited a source close to the Dinka retrieval committee, the Dinka community's own grouping which exists in the affected areas to secure the return of abductees, as saying that they were concerned that: "Such outside intervention with big sums of money may make matters worse and can encourage others to capture and "facilitate" the retrieval of more children for economic motives." (11)
The BBC programme did not deal with the issue of whether the people said to have been "slaves" were "slaves" or rather people kidnapped or abducted for ransoming to Westerners with large amounts of cash. The programme also did not deal with the issue of whether or not "slave redemption" actually encouraged further kidnapping and abduction specifically for that market. Nor did the programme even touch upon let alone discuss the well-documented issue of simple misrepresentation or fraud within the "slave redemption" issue. The BBC's inability to adequately present the issues they claimed to document in this program
is clear. It is clear that "overeager and misinformed" also applies to BBC personnel and their unquestioning acceptance of terms such as "slavery" and "slave redemption" in the Sudan. This is all the more surprising given that the programme makers were provided on request by the European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council with a wealth of materials detailing public concerns about this very issues.

Has the BBC Encouraged Racial Prejudice?
What is perhaps equally disturbing about this BBC programme is that it may have encouraged prejudice against Arabs and Muslims. The sort of claims given free rein in the BBC programme have disturbed groups such as Anti-Slavery International, the world's oldest human rights organisation. In a submission to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, Anti-Slavery International stated:
"There is a danger that wrangling over slavery can distract us from abuses which are actually part of government policy - which we do not believe slavery to be. Unless accurately reported, the issue can become a tool for indiscriminate and wholly undeserved prejudice against Arabs and Muslims. are worried that some media reports of "slave markets", stocked by Arab slave traders - which consider distort reality - fuel such prejudice." (12) (emphasis added)
Anti-Slavery International would seem to believe that talk of "Arab slave traders", as unreservedly echoed by the BBC, distort reality and fuel prejudice against Arabs and Muslims. In Everyman: The Dangerous Adventures of Baroness Cox, there are fifteen specific references to Arabs. These appear in statements such as "Arab slave traders", "Arab raiders", "Arab traders", "Arab militia" and "Arab militiamen".

The BBC, Baroness Cox and Credibility
The BBC programme makers showed an amazingly lackadaisical approach to Baroness Cox's credibility regarding Sudanese affairs. On issue after issue her accuracy has previously been found to be wanting, and her claims are or have been contradicted by the British and American governments, UNSCOM and human rights groups such as African Rights and Anti-Slavery International. Even more caution should have been exercised
given the fact that, as the program itself states, she was "going off to help the rebels" and that she herself admits that there is "a one- sidedness" in her work. Even The Times newspaper review of the programme described her as looking "ever so slightly unhinged". (13)
It is not just Baroness Cox's judgement that has been called into
question. The veteran southern Sudanese politician Bona Malwal directly challenged claims made by Baroness Cox to have "redeemed slaves". In a letter to her Malwal stated that:
"On at least three different occasions, you have come into Twic County without the permission of the local leadership, using Messrs Stephen Wondu and Martin Okeruk as your license to do so. You then say each time that your mission was to redeem slaves and that indeed you have done so, when in each instance this had not been the case. The latest episode was in October when you landed at Mayen Abun without even the courtesy of informing the local area representative....
I know that you have put out for propaganda, and maybe for fundraising purposes as well, that you redeemed slaves at Mayen Abun in October when nothing of the sort happened. I sincerely hope that this type of game stops...I sincerely hope that you do see the harm that could be caused and that you will refrain from this activity in the future." (14)
Malwal's standing within the southern Sudanese community is
unassailable. Malwal is the publisher of the Sudan Democratic Gazette. He is a former Minister of Information and Culture and was the editor of the Sudan Times, the largest English-language newspaper in Sudan before 1989. He went into exile when the present government in Sudan came to power a decade ago, and teaches international affairs at Oxford University. Baroness Cox has herself previously described him as "one of the well-respected elders of the Dinka tribe". (15) The implications of
Bona Malwal's letter to Baroness Cox are clear and it is for the reader to draw his or her own conclusions.
Why then did the BBC allow Baroness Cox what was to all intents and purposes an unchallenged opportunity to make controversial and deeply questionable claims? Was the BBC not aware of Bona Malwal's challenging of Cox's claims? Surely the BBC had a professional duty to be even more careful in dealing with such very delicate and controversial issues. No such caution or professionalism was evident.
Leaving aside the clear criticisms of Baroness Cox with regard to her claims about "slavery" in Sudan, her track record of making other unreliable claims concerning Sudan is a clear one. On 17 February 1998, in the British Parliament, for example, Baroness Cox claimed that four hundred Scud missiles (including support vehicles well over one thousand vehicles) had been secretly transferred to Sudan from Iraq since the Gulf War in the face of unprecedented satellite, electronic and physical
surveillance of that country by the United States, the United Nations and other concerned members of the international community. It is a matter of record that Reuters reported that on the same day that Baroness Cox made this claim, the White House clearly stated: "We have no credible evidence that Iraq has exported weapons of mass destruction technology to other countries since the (1991) Gulf War." The British government stated in relation to these claims that: "We are monitoring
the evidence closely, but to date we have no evidence to substantiate these claims.... Moreover, we know that some of the claims are untrue...". (16) The British Government Minister also cited UNSCOM, stating that: "Nor has the United Nations Special Commission reported any evidence of such transfers since the Gulf War conflict and the imposition of sanctions in 1991." (17)
In May 1998 Baroness Cox claimed that genocide was taking place in the Bahr al-Ghazal region of southern Sudan. She was commenting on inter- tribal fighting. (18) When the British government was asked in Parliament if they had any evidence to verify Baroness Cox's claims of genocide in Bahr al-Ghazal the government replied: "The situation was very complicated and the picture unclear, making it difficult to verify facts...these killings should be seen in the context of a long history of tribal conflicts. It would appear from the information available to us that no one side was entirely to blame." (19)

continued.........................

The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).

In October 1999, Baroness Cox stated that Sudanese Government forces had used chemical weapons in locations in southern Sudan in July 1999. On 17 October the United Nations revealed that tests conducted by the laboratories of the Centre for Disease Control in Atlanta on medical samples taken by Operation Lifeline Sudan members in the areas cited by Baroness Cox "indicated no evidence of exposure to chemicals". (20)
Baroness Cox supplied further samples which she claimed proved her case. In June 2000, the British government revealed the results of the "very careful analysis" of the samples provided by Baroness Cox and all other evidence. The samples had been tested by the British Defence Ministry's world-renowned chemical and biological weapons establishment at Porton Down (CBD). The results showed that the samples provided "bore no evidence of the CW agents for which they had been
tested". The British government also pointed out that in addition to the American tests, further samples had been tested by the Finnish institute responsible for chemical weapons verification. These too had been negative. The Government commented on the "consistency of results from these three independent sets of analysis". (21)
In October 1999, Baroness Cox claimed that the Sudanese Government had been involved in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre in New York. (22) Any Sudanese involvement was unambiguously denied in 1996 by Ambassador Philip C. Wilcox Jr., the Department of State's Coordinator for Counterterrorism when he stated: "We have looked very, very carefully and pursued all possible clues that there might be some state sponsorship behind the World Trade Centre bombing. We have found no such evidence, in spite of an exhaustive search, that any state was responsible for that crime. Our information indicates that Ramzi Ahmed
Yousef and his gang... did not rely on support from any state." (23)
As a general view on Baroness Cox's reliability, it is worth nothing that in Andrew Boyd's sympathetic biography of her, Baroness Cox: A Voice for the Voiceless, Dr Christopher Besse of Medical Emergency Relief International, a humanitarian aid organisation with which Cox is closely associated (Dr Besse and Baroness Cox are both trustees of Merlin), is quoted as saying:
"She's not the most popular person in Sudan among the humanitarian aid people. She has her enemies, and some of them feel she is not well- enough informed. She recognizes a bit of the picture, but not all that's going on." (24)
It must be emphasised that Dr Besse was referring specifically to the "humanitarian aid people". That the BBC chose to rely upon claims made by Baroness Cox, of whom even her friends say that she only "recognizes a bit of the picture" with regard to Sudan is disturbing.
It is not just Baroness Cox's credibility as a commentator that is deeply questionable. She is a self-evident partisan for one side of the Sudanese conflict. Even, the BBC stated that she was off to "help the rebels". It should be noted that The Economist has summed up the general image of the SPLA rebels in question:
" has...been little more than an armed gang of
Dinkas...killing, looting and raping. Its indifference, almost
animosity, towards the people it was supposed to be "liberating" was all too clear." (25)
The New York Times, a vigorous critic of the Sudanese government, states that the SPLA: "ave behaved like an occupying army, killing, raping and pillaging." (26) It also described the SPLA leader John Garang as one of Sudan's "pre-eminent war criminals". (27)

Why No Regard for the BBC Code of Ethics?
The BBC has a clear code of ethics for programme makers. This is the Producers' Guidelines and it advises on issues such as fairness and impartiality. (28) It is worth outlining what these guidelines are in order for Everyman: The Dangerous Adventures of Baroness Cox to be
assessed with them in mind. With regard to "impartiality", they declare
that:
"Due impartiality lies at the heart of the BBC. All BBC programmes and services should be open minded, fair and show a respect for truth. No significant strand of thought should go unreflected or under represented on the BBC."
The Producers' Guidelines state that:
"The Agreement accompanying the BBC's Charter specifies that the
Corporation should treat controversial subjects with due acuracy and impartiality both in news programmes and other programmes that deal with matters of public policy or of political or industrial controversy."
With regard to "accuracy" the Producers' Guidelines state:
"We must be accurate and must be prepared to check, cross-check and seek advice to ensure this. Wherever possible we should gather information first-hand by being there ourselves or, where that is not possible, by talking to those who were. But accuracy is often more that a question of getting the facts right. All relevant information should be weighed to get at the truth of what is reported or described."
With regard to "Giving a Full and Fair View of People and Cultures", the Producers' Guidelines state that "When portraying social groups, stereotypes should be avoided".
In what could at best be described as lacklustre reporting on a
intensely sensitive subject, is for the reader to decide whether the producers of Everyman: The Dangerous Adventures of Baroness Cox followed the Producers' Guidelines or exercised anything like the requisite caution necessary in making this programme. There are a number of questions that need to be answered:
* Why was the clear issue of exactly what constitutes "slavery" not examined?
* Why were clearly articulated international concerns about the possibly fraudulent nature of precisely the sort of "slave redemption" claimed in the programme not discussed?
* Were the BBC aware of the public challenging of Baroness Cox's claims by southern Sudanese politician and Dinka elder Bona Malwal? If not, why not?
* Why were those who held legitimate opposing views to Baroness Cox only given 60 seconds of air-time in an hour-long programme? Does this constitute "due accuracy and impartiality" as outlined in the Producers' Guidelines?
* Can the BBC categorically state the "slave redemption" it claimed to have been party to was not one of the "staged redemptions" as outlined in the Harker Report?
* Can the BBC categorically state that thousands of dollars it filmed being passed to "traders" for "slave redemption" was not simply a kidnapping for ransom scheme or part of a deeper fraud?
* Could it be that the BBC was "misled" in believing that they were witnessing a "slave redemption"?
* Was the BBC not concerned that it was fuelling undeserved prejudice against Arabs and Muslims in its stereotyped portrayal of "Arab slave traders"?
* Was the BBC not concerned that Baroness Cox had repeatedly made
unsubstantiated or untrue claims with regard to Sudan? She has made very serious claims about Sudan and the Sudanese government which have been dismissed by sources that cannot be described as being supportive of the Sudanese government.
* Given that they may have self-evidently been "overeager or
misinformed" in accepting questionable claims about Sudan and that they may have been guilty of "lazy assumptions" with regard to the country, how does the BBC intend to address this issue?
* Does the BBC really think that such unquestioning acceptance of claims described as being rooted in "lazy assumptions" is really the best way of covering events in Sudan?

NB: This paper was originally published in printed form as "The BBC and
Sudan: A Case Study in Prejudice and Poor Reporting"

Notes
1 The SPLA is sometimes also referred to as the SPLM/A, a
reference to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
2 'Buying Slaves Is Wrong', International Herald Tribune, May 13,
1999.
3 John Harker, Human Security in Sudan: The Report of a Canadian
Assessment Mission, Prepared for the Minister of Foreign Affairs,
Ottawa, January 2000, available at http://www.dfait-maeci.gc-foreignp-
3110186-e.pdf, p. 1.
4 Ibid., pp.39-40.
5 Alex de Waal, 'Sudan: Social Engineering, Slavery and War', in
Covert Action Quarterly, Spring 1997.
6 The article was published in two parts in The Atlantic Monthly
and is also available online in two parts. Part one is available at
http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jul/9907sudanslaves.htm and part two
at http://www.theatlantic.com/issues/99jul/9907sudanslaves2.htm.
Miniter's work has previously appeared in The New York Times, The Wall
Street Journal and Reader's Digest.
7 William Finnegan, 'The Invisible War', The New Yorker, 25
January 1999.
8 'Rescue of slaves backfiring', The Denver Post, August 22,
1999.
9 'Aid group tries to break Sudan slavery chain', News Article by
Reuters on July 11, 1999 at 23:40:58.
10 "Slave 'Redemption' Won't Save Sudan", Christian Science
Monitor, 26 May 1999.
11 Peter Verney, Slavery in Sudan, Sudan Update and Anti-Slavery
International, London, May 1997, p.20.
12 The reference number of this submission to the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights is TS/S/4/97, and is available to view on the
Anti-Slavery International web-site at http://www.charitynet.org/asi/sub
mit5.htm
13 The Times, (London), 30 January 2001, p.27.
14 Letter from Bona Malwal to Baroness Cox, 23 January 2000 posted
on South Sudan Net (http://southsudanet.net/baroness_caroline_cox_1_arne
llan.htm).
15 'A Response to the Sudan Foundation' s "Questions" and
Criticisms of CSI's Work in Sudan', CSI Magazine, Issue 90, December
1997 available at http://home.clara.co.uk/csiuk/90page4.html.
16 House of Lords Official Report, 19th March 1998, cols. 818-820.
17 House of Lords Official Report, 19th March 1998, cols. 818-820.
18 Daily Telegraph, (London), 26 May 1998.
19 House of Lords, Official Report, 10 December 1998, written
answers, column 103.
20 Note by the Spokesman of the United Nations Secretary-General
handed to the Sudanese Ministry of External Relations by the UN Resident
Coordinator in Sudan, Philippe Borel.
21 Letter from Baroness Symons, Minister of State for Defence
Procurement, to Baroness Cox, (Reference D/MIN(DP)/ECS/13/3/3), 5 June
2000.
22 In correspondence with Lord McNair, 14 October 1999.
23 Patterns of Global Terrorism: 1996 Briefing, Press briefing by
Ambassador Philip C. Wilcox Jr, Washington-DC, 30 April 1996 on US
Government Home Page, at http://www.state.gov/www/global/terrorism/96043
0.html
24 Andrew Boyd, Baroness Cox: A Voice for the Voiceless, Lion
Publishing, Oxford, 1998, p.324.
25 The Economist, March 1998.
26 'Misguided Relief to Sudan', Editorial, New York Times,
6
December, 1999.
27 Ibid.
28 See 'Producers' Guidelines', BBC Online, at http://www.bbc.co.u
k/info/editorial/prodgl/


end quote.

The Glorious Qur'an - Surah 6, Al-An'am:

75. So also did We show Abraham the power and the laws of the heavens and the earth, that he might (with understanding) have certitude.
76. When the night covered him over, He saw a star: He said: "This is my Lord." But when it set, He said: "I love not those that set."
77. When he saw the moon rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord." But when the moon set, He said: "unless my Lord guide me, I shall surely be among those who go astray."
78. When he saw the sun rising in splendour, he said: "This is my Lord; this is the greatest (of all)." But when the sun set, he said: "O my people! I am indeed free from your (guilt) of giving partners to Allah.
79. "For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to Allah."


the biography of Prophet Muhammad (saws):
http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/

subhaanakallahumma (Glory be to you, Oh Allah), wabihamdika (and I praise You). ashhadu anla ilaha illa anta (I bear witness that none has the right to be worshipped except You). astaghfiruka (I seek Your forgiveness), wa attuubu ilaika (and I turn to You in Repentance).