U.S. and European media

November 9, 2022

Al Jazeera: Al-Bashir cancels Turkey OIC trip.  The president of Sudan has cancelled a visit to Turkey amid an EU push to arrest him for war crimes charges.  The cancellation came after the European Union put pressure on host Turkey to either stop al-Bashir from attending the economic summit or arrest him upon arrival.  Turkey, which has long sought to join the EU, has pointed out it is not a signatory to the treaty which set up the ICC, and that al-Bashir was invited to the meeting by the OIC and not Ankara.

The Christian Science Monitor: Darfur groups press US to get tough with Turkey over Bashir trip.  Turkey's plans to host Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir--who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes in Darfur--at an Islamic conference is intensifying the critical light already shining on Turkey and Sudan. Human rights and Darfur advocacy groups in the United States are pressing the Obama administration to encourage Turkey, a US ally in NATO, to arrest Bashir if he carries through with his trip. Turkey "should align itself with its European friends" and those in other parts of the world "and dissuade Bashir from coming," says Jerry Fowler, president of the Save Darfur Coalition. "If he insists on coming, Turkey should arrest him.  President Bashir's trip to Turkey tests the administration's resolve on Sudan," says Mr. Fowler of Save Darfur. "If top officials do nothing, Khartoum will get the message that the US is not serious about multilateral leadership."

Earth Times: 800+ Students March on Capitol Hill and Make History.  Today, over 800 student activists converged on Capitol Hill for the largest lobby day to prevent genocide in history. The event was the culmination of the Pledge2Protect conference (convened by STAND, the student-led division of Genocide Intervention Network, the Save Darfur Coalition and Enough Project), which brought together students from all over the nation for training and education on the situations in Sudan, Burma and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The central advocacy goal of today's lobby day is to push Congress to implement the recommendations of the Genocide Prevention Task Force (GPTF) report, released nearly one year ago. Jerry Fowler, the President of the Save Darfur Coalition said, "Less than a month after the Obama administration unveiled the Sudan policy review, hundreds of activists are coming to Washington to ensure that Sudan is a priority for President Obama. The advocates came from across the United States to tell President Obama that they want him to lead for peace in Sudan."

Reuters: Darfur rebels threaten Sudan election workers.  Rebels from Sudan's Darfur region on Monday threatened to attack any election officials that came into their territory, underlining the challenges facing the country's first multi-party poll in 24 years.  The insurgent Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) gave its warning as teams of officials started fanning out across Darfur and other parts of the oil-producing country to register voters for the delayed national elections, now due in April 2010.  "If any of them come into our territory we will target them as soldiers," senior SLA official Ibrahim al-Helwu told Reuters, speaking by phone from France.  "These officials are security men in the clothes of civilians," said Helwu, part of the faction loyal to SLA founder Abdel Wahed Mohamed Ahmed al-Nur, who is based in Paris.

AP: Chinese premier pledges funds, aid to Africa.  China's premier on Sunday pledged $10 billion in new low interest loans to African nations over three years, offering the beleaguered continent sorely needed cash while dismissing criticism that Beijing's motives in Africa are far from altruistic.  "The Chinese people cherish sincere friendship toward the African people, and China's support to Africa's development is concrete and real," Wen said at a forum that attracted leaders such as Sudan's Omar al-Bashir--who faces an international arrest warrant--and Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe. As part of an eight-point plan, he said China would also forgive government debts of the poorest African nations that have relations with Beijing and would build 100 new clean energy projects for the continent. But China's inroads into Africa have drawn accusations by some in the West that the Asian powerhouse has ignored Africa's needs and the dismal rights records of some nations while looking only to sap the continent of the resources it needs to fuel its bustling economy.  China has, for example, been a key force in developing Sudan's vital oil sector even as the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum is accused of atrocities in the Darfur region.

AP: Turkey to admit Sudan leader despite Darfur charge.  Turkey said Sunday it will welcome Sudan's leader even though he has been indicted for orchestrating crimes against humanity in Darfur. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is free to join an Istanbul summit of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. Erdogan said Turkey respects human rights and would not hesitate to challenge al-Bashir if it believed he had committed atrocities. But Erdogan said he doesn't believe that Sudanese paramilitary forces committed acts of genocide against African residents of Darfur.  Turkey does not recognize the International Criminal Court, the Netherlands-based body that in March issued an arrest warrant for al-Bashir. "If there were such a thing in Darfur, we would be chasing this to the end," Erdogan said.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].