|
|
 Re: TRNS: إدارة أوباما تنتهج سياسة خارجية جديدة تهدف لتوطيد العلاقات بين الولايات المتحدة والسو (Re: Frankly)
|
An Open Letter to Barack Obama on Darfur:
February 24, 2009 [planned release date]
The Honorable Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
Given your personal connections to the African continent and promise to bring change to
Washington, your election as President of the United States of America has excited considerable
hope among many African citizens. This optimism is rooted in the desire for dramatic shifts in
U.S. policies towards Africa and deep frustration with the Bush administration. It is in this
context that we write to urge your administration to pursue a new course for U.S. policy towards
Sudan.
You emphasized during the presidential campaign that the conflict in Darfur is a situation
requiring action from Washington, pledging that your administration will pursue “peace and
security for the people of Sudan” with “unstinting resolve.” 1
We are concerned, however, that key figures in your administration have staked out positions
that could actually undermine efforts to secure peace in Darfur. Most notably, VicePresident
Joseph Biden has in the past advocated the “use of American force now” in Darfur. Your
ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, has called for U.S./NATO airstrikes against
Sudan and the imposition of a naval blockade. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has, like you,
advocated a NATO nofly
zone. 2
These proposals may be welcomed by Americans who have shared our frustration with your
predecessor. Our frustration should not blind us, however, to the dangers implicit in applying a
military approach to Darfur without rigorously pursuing nonmilitary
initiatives of the sort we
propose in this letter. As academic specialists, writers, and researchers on Darfur, we therefore
feel it is vitally important to convey our recommendations and concerns regarding U.S. policy
towards the Darfur conflict.
We call on your administration to implement the following proposals to support the people of
Darfur:
· Recognize that negotiations and not intervention are the key to ending the Darfur conflict.
Accordingly, Washington should devote substantial diplomatic resources towards
1
http://www.savedarfur.org/newsroom/releases/clinton_mcc...and_united_on_sudan/
2
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/08/politics/wash...ce=RSSattr=Politics_
4655883, Sudan Braces For Obama's "Hawks", Washington Post: PresidentElect's
Appointees Signal An
Aggressive Policy Toward Darfur Crisis Under The New Administration, Dec. 8, 2008, (Washingtonpost.com) This
story was written by Stephanie McCrummen and Colum Lynch.
facilitating the unification of the rebel movements in Darfur and the conclusion of a
negotiated settlement to the conflict. A clear U.S. statement on this would help nudge the
Sudanese government and the rebel movements to turn a corner. This process must
involve Darfurian citizens and civil society and be broadly representative of the
population, in stark contrast to the manner in which Washington approached the 2006
Darfur Peace Agreement. Washington’s role in securing the 2005 Comprehensive Peace
Agreement between North and South Sudan is a more useful model.
· End threats of a unilateral humanitarian intervention (that is, an invasion) in Sudan and
drop talk of implementing a nofly
zone over Darfur. Such threats, even if not acted on,
embolden hardliners within both the Sudanese government and rebel groups, who as a
result steer their constituencies further away from compromise. This would represent a
sharp break from past statements by figures in your administration, such as your 2005
comment that "The U.S. must ensure humanitarian intervention with or without the
Sudanese government's permission." Such military action would likely derail the CPA
and renew a civil war that took some two million civilian lives, and jeopardize the
massive and generally successful humanitarian aid operations that are feeding millions.
The U.S. should not behave as a 'rogue state' pursuing the overthrow of foreign
governments.
· Support for the Comprehensive Peace Agreement must be revitalized. Darfur does not
exist in a vacuum and if the CPA were to fall apart, the repercussions for Darfur and the
rest of the nation would be grave indeed.
· Provide the full measure of necessary financial and logistical support required by the
UNAMID peacekeeping force to maximize its effectiveness. To take one example, the
U.S. should supply, or find a supplier for, the twodozen
helicopters that the mission has
been seeking since August 2007.
· Adequately support humanitarian operations in the Darfur region. Aid groups working in
Darfur should not be forced to cut badly needed services. For instance, last June the
World Food Program was compelled to reduce the number of aid flights due to funding
shortages from wealthy donor nations such as the U.S. 3 Additionally, U.S. aid must be
provided in the form of currency or as otherwise dictated by the requirements of
supporting, rather than undermining, the Sudanese economy and society. Aid should not
be confused with support for U.S. agribusiness.
· Cut all ties with the National Security and Intelligence Services, the notorious Sudanese
intelligence agency, which has been deeply implicated in the violence in Darfur. The
close ties currently maintained by the CIA with the NSIS tacitly support the architects of
the atrocities in Darfur.
· Appoint a fulltime
special envoy, with a clear mandate and authority, who will work
directly with the State Department’s Sudan Programs Group. Equip this special envoy
with two senior diplomats, one responsible for Darfur and the other for the CPA.
· Negotiate creatively with the Chinese government to apply pressure on Khartoum,
recognizing that stability and social justice are in the interests of the people of both the
U.S. and China.
3 Associated Press, “UN food agency cuts back on Darfur
aid flights,” 10 June 2008, accessed 15 Aug. 2008 <http://news.moneycentral.
msn.com/provider/providerarticle.aspx?feed=AP&date=20080610&id=8
753736>.
· Establish a fair and accessible process by which Darfurians can seek asylum in the United
States; media reports indicate that between 2003 and May 2007, the U.S. had granted
asylum to just three Darfurians. 4
· Close Africom. Formally launched on October 2008, the firstever
military command
devoted exclusively to the African continent represents a threatening drive towards
militarization of Africa. Rather, we call for supporting a strengthening of African peace
and security capacities through the UN’s 10year
capacitybuilding
effort with the
African Union.
· Support indigenous African efforts to establish appropriate industries and agricultural
development. Halt Washington’s practice of demanding acceptance of privatization
schemes, elimination of protective tariffs for infant industries, or measures that encourage
capital flight rather than investment in productive resources and end up impoverishing the
targeted country’s population and further concentrating wealth.
We have observed a history of injustice perpetrated in Africa by a series of foreign powers,
including the U.S. We believe that fundamental changes in Washington’s policies are necessary
to make them genuinely attuned to the people of Darfur and indeed all of Africa. An assertive
multilateral effort led by your administration to bring peace and justice to Darfur would both
showcase a new stance towards Africa and a willingness to engage constructively with Arabs and
Muslims throughout the world.
Thank you for your attention.
Sincerely,
Siddiq Abdelhadi, GATS, Pennsylvania
Judy A. Bernstein, Coauthor
"They Poured Fire On Us From the Sky: True Story of Three Lost
Boys of Sudan"
Stephen Eric Bronner, Distinguished Professor (PII) of Political Science: Rutgers University
Steven Fake, coauthor of “Scramble for Africa: DarfurIntervention
and the USA”
Kevin Funk, coauthor of “Scramble for Africa: DarfurIntervention
and the USA”
Magda Ahmed, Sudanese woman activist, Massachusetts
Mohamed I. Elgadi, Western Massachusetts Darfur Coalition
Tamador Gibreel, Sudanese theater producer and actress, Massachusetts
Mahmood Mamdani, Herbert Lehman Professor of Government, Columbia University, author of
'Saviors and Survivors: Darfur, Politics and the War on Terror”
Nagi Merghani, Group Against Torture in SudanGATS,
Maryland
David Morse, journalist, author of articles on Darfur and South Sudan.
Emira Woods, Foreign Policy In Focus/ Institute for Policy Studies
[partial listing of individuals]
Africa Action
Western Massachusetts Darfur Coalition
[partial listing of organizations]
4 http://www.democracynow.org/2007/5/15/displaced_impriso...ugee_daoud_ibarahaem
From:
http://david-morse.com/docs/openlettertoobama2009022509.pdf
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
Frankly
فيس بوك
تويتر
انستقرام
يوتيوب
بنتيريست