November 16, 2007:
The
government continues to obstruct the the entry into Darfur of UN peacekeepers,
in any way it can. The raiding by pro-government militias in Darfur continues,
as does, apparently, the government plan to eradicate non-Arab Darfuris from
Darfur. The UN cannot call out the government on this plan because of the
support (on the UN security council) Sudan gets from China and Russia.
November 15, 2007: The leader
of South Sudan visited the United States, and the government of Sudan was not
happy. The peace deal with South Sudan allows the rebel region to vote on
independence in 2011, and the government fears the southern region, and some of
the countries oil, will be lost in the process. Meanwhile, the $3 billion in
oil money the south has received in the last two years, has gone mainly to the
tribes and families connected with rebel leaders. This leaves most southerners
as bad off as ever, and feeling rather rebellious.
November 13, 2007: The six
Darfur rebel groups have settled their differences and united, making it
possible to negotiate with the government.
November 11, 2007: The
government has charged 25 opposition politicians, who were arrested four months
ago, with plotting to overthrow the government. Meanwhile, negotiations with
south Sudan rebels over oil money, have deadlocked.
November 8, 2007: For the 11th
time this year, the government expelled a senior UN aid official in Darfur. The
senior UN staff are essential to supervise the local hires, who are
inexperienced and need help. The government knows the aid work is dangerous
(seven aid workers were killed last month) and appears to harasses the aid
officials to keep the UN off balance. In this case, the government expelled the
UN official because the UN would not back the government plan to have people
leave the refugee camps and return to their destroyed villages. For many
refugees this would be a death sentence, and the government knows it. But the
official government position is that the violence against the villagers has
died down. It hasn't.