http://ga6.org/campaign/un_resolution/forward

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=13310

While I believe non-proliferation treaties are nonsense, the link above speaks to the defenseless condition of the continent.

I think I addressed the problem of an all-AU protection force. The reality is it’s simply not tenable. Given my druthers, I’d prefer an all-AU force, but the West is simply NOT going to write a blank check to an indigenous African force and leave it to take care of the situation — and that’s not an altogether unreasonable stance. As I said, there are pros and cons to either situation. We must deal in realities, and that’s just fact.

Given a choice of an impotent, understaffed and ineffectual AU force and properly equipped and well trained hybrid UN-AU force, I’ll take the latter — because it offers the better chance of protecting and preserving innocent human life. I’m far more comfortable with the notion of maintaining vigilance over an armed, hybrid peacekeeping force than waiting and watching impotently over some remote village in Darfur via satellite for the Janjaweed and Sudanese government forces to kill.

So we can do what? Blog about it?

And, yes. I am also involved in the Congo issue, and I’m aware of the terrible situation there as well. Those who point out the contradictions in U.S. policy and public awareness/sentiment are dead on point — but that should not keep those of us who are cognizant of both situations from doing whatever we can to end the killing in Darfur and the Congo. It’s not an either/or proposition. And people like Hodari Ali and Akbar Muhammad seemingly would have us sit on our hands in BOTH situations.

After all, what have they offered by way of solutions? Not a damned thing, just finger pointing, excuses, obfuscation and outright lies.

Do you recall which college station you heard Hodari Ali on? I’d be interested in knowing, because I’m trying to get a handle on just how widespread the disinformation campaign directed at the African-American community is.

About the U.S. conspiracy against Sudan? I’m crunching deadlines right now, so I’ll be brief and provide links that make my point for me: I seriously don’t buy the flimsy contention that the U.S. is trying to undermine the Sudanese government at all. I believe they’re doing just enough to appease the Zionist lobby — and no more — while keeping things all warm and fuzzy with Khartoum over GWOT and intelligence on al-Qaeda. This administraiton dosn’t give a damn about black life anywhere — and certainly not when weighed against perceived long-term strategic foreign policy objectives.

Just google “CIA Sudan,” and you come up with all kinds of information about how the U.S. is in bed with Sudan. It’s doing the same garbage in Africa it’s always done, as in Somalia and Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia: cozying up with tyrants/fascists and corrupt, oppressive, often murderous regimes in what it perceives as its own national interest. Check out these links for starters:

1. http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/37/11283
2. http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/06/01/1440259
3. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4627075

The fact is there IS no U.S. conspiracy against Sudan. Bush’s Plan B is a farce. They left off several of the worst offenders on the sanctions list, and they know that unilateral sanctions will have little to no effect, because Sudan doesn’t do U.S. dollars anymore. It’s all posturing.

Not only that. If the Bush administration were serious about Darfur, why would it appoint as special envoy a man who returned from Sudan and declared at a major address at George Washington University that there was no longer a genocide occurring, a man who has openly excoriated the Save Darfur coalition and Darfur advocates, falling just short of calling them a real pain in the ass and complaining that they were “impossible” to satisfy? http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/05/30/1551/

Andrew Natsios has done all these things. The man isn’t a friend to the Darfur advocacy movement; he’s a distraction, a palliative to complaints, a Band-aid on a tumor.

What the Bush administration has been doing is placating the moneyed, politically powerful Zionist lobby in this country in a run-up to an election year. Jews still believe in this country, and they think they’re getting an audience, when what they’re really getting is a genial smile face-up — and a behind-the-back, okey-doke rope-a-dope and a big, fat finger from Dubya. Still, they’re so accustomed to being pandered to and so sure of their political clout, believe.

“Click the heels of your ruby slippers together three times, and the people of Darfur will be safe.” “Say ‘I believe,’ children, and save Tinkerbell.”

Yeah, right. It’s probably not terribly PC to say this, but it’s that same blind belief in “their” government that lulled many Jews into a false sense of security — before the camps and the ovens claimed them.

Somebody needs to pull their coat: they ain’t in Kansas no mo’, and patriotism’s a b*tch.

Now, of course the apologist shills for Sudan and Bashir don’t discuss any of this. The best they can do is cry “wolf” about some nonexistent U.S. plot to destroy and occupy Sudan. I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how insanely asinine such talk is! The sad thing is black folks actually BELIEVE such garbage.

News flash: abysmal ignorance/gullibility ‘s a b*tch, too.

Ya bettah recognize.

I’ve seen video clips of Akbar Muhammad speaking on the situation on Darfur, and as much as I wanted to believe him, but much of what he said rang hollow. Louis Farrakhan also sounded deliberately vague when he spoke of the armed conflict between the Government of Sudan and the people of Darfur.

When I first joined this discussion, I supported the NOI’s position on Darfur, but I’ve since changed my position. And yes, I still believe that Louis Farrakhan and the NOI present a strong voice for Black America as they advocate for black self-empowerment and black unity.

I also heard Hodari Ali’s speech on a college radio station as he expounded on Sudan being the ‘breadbasket’ of Africa and the plots of the West against the government of Sudan. While we can doubt what he says concerning the role of the Sudan government in Darfur, he did make a valid point concerning the efforts on the part of the West to destabilize the Sudan government. Some of the major rebel groups are receiving aid from, and answer directly to, the United States and they have contributed to the blood of innocents. However, al-Bashir’s government is also guilty of the killing of innocents as well.

As for the UN, I have to ask myself the question: Why couldn’t they supply money and logistics to the African Union? Why they kept insisting that relatively large contingent of UN troops be placed in Sudan? And why has the media constantly characterized this as genocide when the situation in Sudan pales in comparison to the situation in the Congo where 4-5 million have died in the scramble for its resources? Where was the help for Congo? I think in Sudan 200,000 have died by comparison, and over 650,000 in Iraq. When one places the reality of these statistics beside the hysteria of the ‘Save Darfur’ movement it becomes that this all part of the new scramble for Africa on the part of the west. At least, China is offering development in as it goes on a scramble for its share of Africa’s resources.

Frankly, I would welcome the removal of al-Bashir’s government, but I’m of the opinion that the UN has no place in Africa, and that it cannot solve Africa’s problems without a strong AU presence or perhaps the presence of another geo-political player like China.

As far as I can tell, the UN’s presence in Haiti is not a liberating one. Why should Sudan be any different? This is in addition to accusations that the US and Canada are running sweat shops in Haiti, that Haitian gangs do as they please with impunity, and that there have been rapes of girls as young as 14 by UN soldiers (although, it seems they usually they just pay the girls with small amounts of money, food or clothing for sexual favours).

Have a look at this disturbing article about the how the UN troopes acted against innocent Haitians after the ouster of Aristide (which was engineered by the US, Canada and France):

http://www.haitiaction.net/News/HIP/2_15_7/2_15_7.html

I just believe that Pan-African groups should have pressed the UN to give money & logistical support to the AU instead of having a weak, underpaid AU contingent and a strong, well-equipped UN force. These are the same people who stood aside and watched while countless people died in Rwanda. The African Diaspora can, through Pan-African groups and like-minded organizations, lobby in unison to affect changes in Darfur. And furthermore, the Diaspora needs an independent voice with regards to Africa affairs. Let’s no longer look to the West to solve our problems. Africa will do well without more of their….. ‘solutions’.

On the subject of the African Union, it is unrealistic to think AU troops can handle the situation. Bashir tolerates them in Darfur because all they can do is observe and report, and they are underpaid (subject to bribes), undermanned and ill-equipped.

I support a hybrid UN-AU force. Why? Because it’s the only way to get the necessary personnel and materiel where they are needed. The fact is, owing to any number of factors, an “African solution” isn’t entirely viable. There’s a limit to the number of troops some African nations are willing to train and send to Darfur. Africa, unfortunately, is a mess, rife with long-standing inter-ethnic tensions and outright hostilities. Governments don’t want to send companies of men to Darfur and then have to worry about what the hell to do with them when they return. The task of assimilating large numbers of returning, well-trained warriors back into societies with limited employment/economic opportunity and ethnic/tribal tensions is one many African heads of state would rather not face down the road. Spectres of the Rwanda genocide and the kind of organized and deadly gang/criminal violence and political corruption besetting Nigeria are situations no one wants.

Furthermore, let’s face it. The kind of $, training, weapons and command-and-control technology that would make a force on the ground (and air) in Darfur truly effective are not the kinds of things the imperialist West wants to just give up outright to an exclusively African force. It ain’t gonna happen. And with so many governments on the continent in a precarious condition politically, economically and/or socially, I hate to say it, but perhaps that’s a good thing! After all, machetes were the weapon of choice in Rwanda. Like other Africans, I’m not certain I want to see another ethnic conflict supercharged with more efficiently trained killers and state-of-the-art weaponry, likely siphoned from a Darfur police action and sold on the black market.

The UN needs to enforce the provisions of Resolution 1706, and we need a no-fly zone to stop the GoS from bombing Darfuri villages. We need a hybrid force UN-AU force on the ground with the authority to engage the enemy and helicopter gunships in the air.

We need these things now.

Oh Yeah… I appreciate your apology! [;o)

This behavior even extends to excusing clown/bafoonish and murderous behavior on the parts of black folks towards other black folks and I too have noticed the nation of islams bullshit and hypocrisy on this issue.

When I originally read this article and all of the excusing going towards the Sudaneese goverment I was so freaking mad, I couldnt believe some of the utter BS and non sense.

I understand if folks dont like white people, or the goverment or the system or what the system is doing to black people but for god sake we need to stop enabling and excusing clown behavior on the part of black people in america but also clowns like Mugabe and Brashir.

In my oppinion it is way past time for black folks to start loving themselves more than they hate the system or white people. The time for excuses by black people for retarted behavior needs to go the way of the dinosaurs.

We should not let our suspicion of U.S. foreign policy objectives and of the zionist lobby decide for us who our friends are.

I just attended a meeting here in D.C. sponsored by the UNIA where Hodari Ali spoke. He contends that there’s a plot to keep Sudan from becoming the breadbasket of Africa, and that is behind the Darfur “hype.” While he acknowledged that the people of the South have “legitimate complaints” with the Sudanese government — an understatement if ever I heard one — he argued for the unity of Sudan.

The literature he provided to try to bolster his argument was a collection of propaganda put together to accompany a satellite feed of an address by Bashir on June 30, which was piped into various locations across the U.S. — sponsored by by an outfit calling itself the African Middle East Literacy Foundation — what appears to be merely a front for a pro-Bashir lobbying effort/campaign headed by the Nation of Islam’s Akbar Muhammad. Among the disinformation distributed was speech by the Sudanese ambassador to the U.S. and some absolute garbage provided IMO, someone needs to investigate this outfit and the Nation of Islam and find out how much of its financial support can be traced to GoS sources, and if Muhammad (and possibly Farrakhan) is officially registered as an agent of a foreign government (Sudan) in the U.S.

The literature contained such unmitigated garbage as “Sudan has proven to be honest in actions and deeds in pursuit of peace — Note the CPA’s current effects.” Anyone with half a brain knows that the Government of Sudan has reneged time and time again on promises with regard to efforts to bring peace and stability to Darfur, and that it has utterly failed to live up to the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement with the South.

Never once did Ali mention the GoS’s appalling human rights record vis-a-vis the marginalized peoples of Sudan — meaning those Sudanese who do not self-identify as “Arab.”

Ali’s presentation was utter bull. More than a dozen expatriate Nubian, Sudanese and Oromo attended the meeting, and they promptly began to debunk this silly, flimsy argument. But I believe Ali hasn’t changed his position. He’s seemingly deeply entrenched in a perspective that is dictated not by the reality of the situation and of world opinion (not just U.S. or “Zionist” “propaganda”), but by a perverse, hidebound pan-Africanist ideological perspective that seemingly demands he argue for the unity of the Sudanese nation at all costs.

I am a pan-Africanist anti-zionist as well. But as I pointed out in the meeting, those of us who demonstrate in the streets on this or that issue, chanting “No justice, no peace,” cannot expect, in this instance, peace in Sudan, or Sudanese unity, without justice and equanimity. If Ali wants Sudanese unity, then he should be demonstrating with the rest of us in front of the Sudanese embassy, demanding that Bashir respect the civil and human rights of the marginalized peoples of his own nation, rather than continuing a brutal and immoral campaign to Arabize, dislocate, disenfranchise and exterminate them — instead of making excuses for or ignoring altogether the brutality and depravity of the Bashir regime.

As the Sudanese/Nubian brothers at the meeting articulated, Bashir must go.

THAT is the price for Sudanese unity. That is the price of peace in Sudan.

Perhaps it might have been better if Cheadle had teamed up with some noteworthy person from Sudan and launched his campaign with financial aid and organization from the black and international community. Maybe he should have spent some time campaigning against the destruction of the black community in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Personally, I would like to see a campaign organized and financed by African people from around the world. I believe, in my humble opinion, that that’s the only way that we, the African people, are ever going to get our problems solved. Everything else is a media circus where individuals and corporations rake in the profits and African people get nothing of value in return.

http://mondediplo.com/2005/05/11chinafrica

In addition to huge amounts of trade and developmental aid, China has helped Nigeria launch its very first space satellite, opened its universities to African students, and have pledged to train 10, 000 Africans in China in various disciplines over the next couple of years.

They are also, however, flooding local markets with cheap goods, extracting minerals and lumber out of Africa and reselling them to the Africans as manufactured goods, and creating much subcontractor work for Chinese companies and workers for work done in Africa, cutting out local companies and workers.

If the African leaders manage their respective opportunities and foster development, it could really help pull millions of Africans out of poverty. Presenting themselves as a united trade bloc or association of nations will give them more clout and the ability to negotiate better terms. Despite some negative aspects, this could be a positive chance for Africa to find true development, but I believe that a Pan-African path is the one that will bear the most fruit in terms of trade with China and the West.

“The poor really have no voice or no power , so the powerful control them , it’s the poor thinking , they need the jobs being provided by the wealthy or they can’t live . It’s not if we don’t work for you , you can’t get wealthy ”

Yeah. It’s not socialism anymore really. I know what you mean. I really hate the gaps between the rich and poor. We have a huge gap btw the rich and the poor in my country!
I see it everyday here in Cairo too.

“think it is just the culture the essence of who the country is , the timing . China for most of thier history , really had no outside colonizing force ( not as most countries starting from 1600’s to present). ”
This could be a reason but I really think that the population size and their economic reform program really helped.

” think china working with africa is great ! But africa should be thinking strategically . Africa never healed after the colonizers , they rode her back into a freedom that was always theirs, and even though there have been many good phillosphies and systems implemented by African leaders since that painful period. I still do not think Africa has healed from the shock of the last couple of centuries, what is considered important now , was not always important to the african nation , somehow we need to be in the world but not of it . ”
Many people believe that africa is switching a master for a new master. I hope not!
Here is an article I wrote about China and Africa a while ago…
http://wholeheartedly-sudaniya.blogspot.com/2007/04/arrival-of-asian-dragon-is-china.html

1) Any Country involved in big business is not good for poor people or any people which suffer”
Hasty generalization. It doesn’t happen all the time.

Please give me an example ? Here’s an example from the states , Walmart, is never welcome in any middle / or poor community because it does not payscales , and also unfair hirirng practices . take a look at this article. http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=41&limit=3000&limit2=4000&page=4

2) “It is usually the poor that need to be used as the labor force , and to have a good labor force they need to work hard crazy hours , and have limited education is a must .”
The poor needs be used as the labor force. The need jobs to support themselves and families and become independent. If a Chinese company decided to use their own workers then how is this going to benefit the poor people?”
The poor really have no voice or no power , so the powerful control them , it’s the poor thinking , they need the jobs being provided by the wealthy or they can’t live . It’s not if we don’t work for you , you can’t get wealthy … The poor are afraid of the reprecussions , as am I . Because when the poor stand up usually they get beat down …. Otherwise how can we in the states , justify the usa prison system filled with black people . example mumia , move , drug dealers dealing drugs supplied by the rich .
4) “Also there are a lot of poor people in China”
I know but we have to acknowledge their effective poverty-reduction methods. They lifted 400,000 people from poverty(above the poverty line) in just 3 decades.

I think it is just the culture the essence of who the country is , the timing . China for most of thier history , really had no outside colonizing force ( not as most countries starting from 1600′s to present). For a short time in modern history as the world was changing they had few minor agent provacatuers , but went it alone for a while closed off thier country by refusing to do business or adhere to subjugated policies offered by agent provacatuers. They went it alone and in thier solace found strength. Now the world is coming to depend upon them , they have the strength , it is a whole new playing field , and other countries are finding out …

here is a great article
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15895266/site/newsweek/page/3/

To sum up my position ,

I think china working with africa is great ! But africa should be thinking strategically . Africa never healed after the colonizers , they rode her back into a freedom that was always theirs, and even though there have been many good phillosphies and systems implemented by African leaders since that painful period. I still do not think Africa has healed from the shock of the last couple of centuries, what is considered important now , was not always important to the african nation , somehow we need to be in the world but not of it .

thanks for answering my questions kizzie./pianki, !

“Any Country involved in big business is not good for poor people or any people which suffer”
Hasty generalization. It doesn’t happen all the time.
“If they are in Africa , there is a financial reason and not just to help the poor.”
Who said China is dedicated to help the poor and eradicate poverty in Africa. They are engaging in a mutually-beneficial trade and business relations with African countries. They are giving Africans good investment and trade opportunities. African leaders should use the profits generated to help their own people.
“It is usually the poor that need to be used as the labor force , and to have a good labor force they need to work hard crazy hours , and have limited education is a must .”
The poor needs be used as the labor force. The need jobs to support themselves and families and become independent. If a Chinese company decided to use their own workers then how is this going to benefit the poor people?
“No one or country gives anything for free”
Yes I know what you mean. I agree with you. I’m just saying that the chances China is giving Africa are great. It is up to African leaders to benefit from them and use their relations with China to benefit from China’s experience with development. E.g:- economic reform program and poverty-reduction methods.
“Also there are a lot of poor people in China”
I know but we have to acknowledge their effective poverty-reduction methods. They lifted 400,000 people from poverty(above the poverty line) in just 3 decades.
“Pan africanism all the way …. I think one problem is how to limit the elitist power and set up govenrment that does not always think about “My Turnism ” taught by the colonizers. One has to wonder since africa has got her freedom, what is really holding her back from becoming a world super power ???
Many things are holding her back. Tribalism, dependency, harmful colonial legacy, corrupt governments etc…
I love the diverity of Africa but it created alot of problems. We have to respect our different heritage and our languages but we should think of ourselves as (e.g:- sudanese not Nubian). In other words, nationality comes before tribe. Tribalism created many problems.
“I do believe people are being murdered and killed in dafur , I do believe , it is genocide .”
I don’t believe it is genocide. The fact that I don’t believe darfur is genocide doesn’t mean that I can’t understand the enormity of the situation there or even recognize the suffering of darfurians.
“How much is one barrell of oil in dafur, how can i find out this info .?”
I don’t know I will try to find out for you.
“how easy is it for an african to get a passport ?”
Depends on the country they come from.
“Can african citizens get visas to go to china ?”
Yes, it is not hard at all to get a visa to China.
“how many chinese people are living in dafur ?”
Most Chinese are located in Central Sudan. They are not in Darfur because there is no investment there or anything.

“African countries need to give away more money to the AU because it could help in solving many african problems. They need to take it more seriously.”

Kizzie this is an excellent point. Africa needs to build these institutions like the AU so that it can establish true independence. It will also prevent foreign countries from building military bases on their soil and interfering directly in their affairs. The AU also help to fight ‘rebel groups’ created and funded by Western nations to destabilize African governments.

“Understand the culture of your New Friend . Whats in the face might not be in the heart…. No one or country gives anything for free.”

I agree with this statement Byrdparker, I think Africa needs to be wary of its relationship with China, but it really is incumbent upon the African nations to pick up the ball and use the money to foster true development. They also need to come together as an economic bloc and exact better terms for future trade deals. The Chinese government will also colonize Africa if they present themselves as being weak, divided and unable/unwilling to invest in themselves.

In my opinion, Africans have to connect with their history, which is in keeping with any peoples hoping to establish themselves as a super power, as the Chinese have done. This one issue, in my opinion is a huge stumbling block for the development of Africans on the whole all over the world. It’s a question of defining yourself as opposed to having yourself defined by others. Often, religions given to us by our colonial masters, have clouded us from looking into our history and seeing the achievements of our ancient ancestors. I believe history is extremely to a people who have aspirations, as a people, towards greater things, like building an empire.

African people in general, need to know of the culture of Mapungubwe of South Africa that traded with other African cities, China and India, or the North African of Carthage that defeated Rome in several military encounters including naval battles before falling victim to treachery by fellow Africans, the Numidians who aided Rome in bringing down Carthage down. Egypt is another North country whose ancient history is denied to Africans, yet the ancient Egyptians were an African (black) people.

We need to be made aware of the Nok culture of Nigeria that goes back to back to 500 BC or possibly older, or of the history of ancient cities like Timbuktu and Djenne of West Africa, or of General Ganges of ancient Ethiopia (present day Sudan) who conquered his way to India, and for whom reportedly the River Ganges is named after. We should all know of the Tunisian African queen who fought valiantly on the battlefield with her troops against the Arab armies, as other African queens would later also lead their people against the French and the British.

The Chinese people are quite aware of their ancient culture. Despite various ethnic/provincial differences, knowledge of this history helps to instill a sense of ethic/cultural pride that translates very easily into nationalism. I know to many people, it seems like an abstract thing, but it helps to shape the imagery that we have of ourselves.

If you look at all the leading countries (Japan, England, India, the US, China, Iran etc) in the world, it is the one thing they have in common: a sense of their history and historical heritage. It’s one of the building blocks of any empire. A common African language is another vital need for the continent. Arabic is an Indo-European language, French, English etc are European. Africa needs to adopt a current African language or an ancient one like Nubian, Egyptian, Oromo or Luo as its universal language.

“One has to wonder since africa has got her freedom, what is really holding her back from becoming a world super power ???”

A question for future discussion no doubt.

“I visited the nubian musuem in sudan……I really want to learn the language though! I think that if our generation didnt learn it, its gonna dissapear.”

Kizzie, I think that’s amazing that you’re nubian. Hopefully, one day, I will get a chance to visit the nubian museum of Sudan. If you can, you should learn the language, and keep this historically-rich language alive.