African Media Coverage

March 1-15, 2010

Featured articles:

Tanzania- The Citizen
Africa presidents pressure Sudan
10 March 2010

Seven Heads of State and Government on Tuesday pressurised Sudan to ensure free and fair elections during its first democratic polls in 25 years, scheduled for next month.

President Kibaki led his counterparts from the Inter-Governmental Authority and Development in also calling on President Omar Bashir’s administration to fast track and fully implement the peace deal that ended 21 years of war in the country.

The Igad leaders were joined by former President Moi, Burundi’s former President Pierre Buyoya, South Africa’s Foreign Minister Ms Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, the African Union and the Arab League in restating that the polls were crucial in Sudan’s democratic transformation and peace and stability in the region.

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Kenya- The East African
How US envoy enabled a new level of diplomacy in war- ravaged Darfur
8 March 2010

In April last year, just two weeks after President Barack Obama appointed him the US Special Envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration arrived in the country for his maiden tour in that capacity.

But Gration was already laying down the broad lines of what would, months later, become Obama’s official policy document on Sudan.

The objective of the trip, Gration said, was to look, listen and learn.

“I come here with no illusions, with no preconceived ideas and no solutions,” the envoy said after a meeting with Sudan officials.

“And I come here with my hands open; it will be up to the Sudanese government to determine how they want to continue with that relationship; hopefully it will be with a hand of friendship, a hand of co-operation and one that will help us move ahead, because like all my American colleagues, ana ahib Sudan (I love Sudan).”

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Nairobi- CISA
Invitation to Al-Bashir an Affront to Poll Violence Victims
9 March 2010

One year after 13 international aid agencies were expelled from Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, thousands of people survive on assistance distributed by Sudanese groups as a humanitarian catastrophe was averted.

This was due to an arrest warrant directed at President Omar al-Beshir in March 4 last year issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

UN agencies have hired Sudanese employees from the expelled NGOs, set up partnerships with local aid groups and have also given more responsibility to those still in the region, as well as boosting ties with the Khartoum government to confront the expected humanitarian crisis.

"We were very, very worried," said UN humanitarian coordinator for Darfur Toby Lanzer.

"We thought, now we don't have partners to distribute food to 1.1 million people, we don't have UN partners to carry on healthcare programmes for 1.6 million people or to maintain access to clean drinking water for over a million others,” he said.

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