including burning Nuba alive, dumping them in mass graves, and the assassination of Nuba UN staff in front of the UN mission in Kadugli.

Transcription

1 A Petition from Nuba Mountains Civil Society Organizations and their Friends across the Globe On the 5 th Anniversary of the Second Genocide and the Heiban Massacre June 6, 2016 To the UN Secretary General, President of the United States, US Administration, European Union, UN Security Council, African Union, and the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, Norway, and Canada: The undersigned representatives of the Nuba Mountains civil society organizations across the globe, our Sudanese partners, and peace loving friends worldwide write on this 5 th anniversary of the second Khartoum-perpetrated genocide in Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan of Sudan to share the grievance of the Nuba peoples. In the last three decades, the National Congress Party (NCP) regime of Khartoum has committed multiple genocides in different parts of Sudan including South Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Eastern, and Darfur. As you are well aware, since 2011 the regime has been perpetrating genocide again in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile State through the present. The regime continues its systematic planned policy of genocide, destroying the entire infrastructure including school, hospitals, markets and churches in the Nuba Mountains, Darfur and Blue Nile. And in one most recent horrific attack, on May 1, 2016 the Sudan regime sent a jet fighter into Nuba Mountains to kill more civilians. This time, six children died in Heiban town, four from one family. This attack was nothing new. Since June 6, 2011, the people living in the Nuba Mountains have been forced to hide in caves and foxholes to escape bombs sent by the government of Sudan. For five years, since the war broke out in Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile over 4000 bombs, including cluster bombs, have been dropped on civilians. The UNHCR last year recorded the movement of 500 refugees on a daily basis from Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile to South Sudan, with some 85,000 persons from Nuba Mountains presently in the Yida Refugee Camp in Unity State. The UNHCR 2014 statistic revealed 2 million people are seriously affected by war. Collectively in 3 decades, the crimes of the NCP regime in Khartoum have resulted in the displacement of over 5 million people and the deaths of nearly 3 million people, the largest statesponsored ethnic cleansing and genocide since WWII. The NCP deliberately prevents food, water, medical supplies and school supplies from reaching civilians, exacerbated by the expulsion of the UN and other international organizations. They use denial of food as a weapon against civilians in all the war-affected areas of Sudan. On July 9, 2011, just one month after the war broke out in Nuba Mountains and two months before the attacks began on Blue Nile State, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon met a delegation of eye witnesses and escapees from the genocidal war in Nuba Mountains in Juba. This delegation explained to the Secretary General the deliberate targeting of the Nuba people

2 including burning Nuba alive, dumping them in mass graves, and the assassination of Nuba UN staff in front of the UN mission in Kadugli. Reports verifying these atrocities have come from the UN and many other international organizations such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, satellite images, and ground visits by U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf [R-V10, ], Greta Van Susteren, former UN representative to Sudan Mukesh Kapila, The Baroness Cox, actor George Clooney, Brad Phillips and the Persecution Project Foundation, Samaritan s Purse, Operation Broken Silence, and many other human rights organizations, broadcasts, radios, famous channels including Fox News and BBC activists, writers and film makers. We therefore urgently ask the United States, United Nations, European Union, and African Union promptly to take the following actions: 1. Reconsider and reform the policy of pressuring victims of Sudan s aggression to make deals with that oppressive dictatorship. Negotiations with the NCP even under a regional body i.e. African Union High-Level Implementation Panel should be in a location away from the African continent, such as in the United States, to avoid any tactics and delay by the NCP and any kind of pressure that might put the oppressed and oppressors on the same level, or might pressure the victims themselves. The negotiations should include the government of Nuba Mountains Liberated Area, SPLA-North leaders from the ground, and Nuba civil society groups representatives across the globe as observers and advisors. Decades of "peace negotiations" with Khartoum have led only to weak resolutions descending repeatedly into broken commitments, numerous unresolved issues, and further deadly conflicts. 2. Prevent aerial attacks on civilians either by imposition of a no-fly zone, destruction of the NCP aerial assets, or by other means, such as support to those who are fighting to protect civilians and promote freedom and democracy. We do appreciate the statement of the Troika on May 27, 2016 condemning the NCP that said: The members of Troika (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States) are appalled by the Sudanese government s aerial bombardment of civilians in Kauda and Heiban area of South Kordofan, including the bombing of St Vincent Elementary School on 25 May. The Sudanese government has a responsibility to protect all its citizens. We urge all parties end the violence and allow immediate humanitarian access to those in need. But we urge the Troika to end any expression of moral equivalence between the Sudan regime and those who, we repeat, are fighting to protect civilians and promote freedom and democracy. 3. Retain sanctions against the NCP, as well as the listing of Sudan as a country harboring and supporting terrorism. Any fines for sanction violations should go to people affected by the genocide i.e. Nuba Mountains, Darfur and Blue Nile. 4. Work with the UN Security Council and Department for Peacekeeping to create, monitor and deliver sufficient humanitarian aid to all civilians in need. 2

3 5. Use all available, necessary means to persuade and pressure the Sudan government to do the following: a. Permit immediate and unconditional access for international humanitarian aid, including both personnel and supplies to vulnerable and displaced populations. b. Comply with civil rights norms under the regional and international conventions, particularly those of freedom of assembly, association, press, religion and speech, and those prohibiting and preventing violence against children, women and girls. c. Recognize Sudan's cultural diversity and establish institutions to assure separation of religion and State, and to respect the rights of Christians and churches in Sudan. d. Acknowledge the right to equal citizenship and establish it through a real constitution. e. Withdraw all NCP forces, militias, and foreign terrorist and jihadist mercenaries from the region. f. Come to new political, wealth sharing and security arrangements that meet the expectations of the people of the Nuba Mountains who comprise over 7 million of the total population of Sudan. These procedures should be monitored and observed by the international community under Chapter 7 mandate. g. Release all detainees, war prisoners, and those who have been indiscriminately arrested because of their ethnicity, opinions, religion, or political affiliations. Fulfill obligations to the ICC by surrendering to the court those subject to arrest warrants, including Al-Bashir, imposed governor and war criminal Ahmed Haroun, and other suspects. If the international and/or regional community presses for peace talks that do not encompass a fundamental change and a transition to democracy, restructuring the state in a new, fair basis with affirmative action to marginalized regions in general and to Nuba Mountains in particular, and including making a real change and modification of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel Roadmap to meet the aspirations of the oppressed people in Sudan, then the marginalized people particularly the Nuba people have the right to choose the alternative of demanding the right of self-determination. They cannot accept living in their own county as second-class citizens under an enslavement and discrimination status. And they cannot compromise in a fake peace agreement that will cause them to lose their lives, identity, and resources. The right of self-determination is a prerequisite for the people of the region, and the Nuba case under this genocidal war meets all the UN requirements. It is compatible with the provisions of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the UNESCO conference of Nov. 22, 1978, and the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous People of Dec. 13, 2007, adopted by the United Nations, regional organizations, and countries. Self-determination is a fair and just solution for the conflict in the region and Sudan. The people of Nuba Mountains, that continue to face genocide and oppression from the central government in Khartoum, agreed in the All-Nuba conference in Kauda that took place on December 2002 that exercising the right of self-determination must be the fair and just solution to the conflict. Exercising the right to self-determination has been approved by the top SPLM/A 3

4 leaders including the late Dr. John Garang, and Nuba politicians including the late Archbishop Philip Gaboush, as well as civil society organizations across the globe. They will continue to demand this right as long as the government of Sudan is one that kills civilians, steals their resources, destroys their property, fails to provide any infrastructure, and attempts to perform ethnic and cultural cleansing, rather than a government that protects civilians and develops their society. The people of Nuba Mountains across the world call upon you to stand up for the rights of the Nuba Mountains. Together we publicly condemn the government of Sudan for its fifth year of the second genocide against its own civilians, the people in the Nuba Mountains/South Kordofan. We appreciate your commitment to end the suffering of the Sudanese people and to bring a lasting peace and end to the suffering of the marginalized people of Sudan in particular and all Sudanese in general. Sincerely, 1. Act for Sudan USA 2. ACIVE- Spain 3. African Freedom Coalition, Al Sutton M.D., President, New York, NY USA 4. Brooklyn Coalition for Darfur & Marginalized Sudan, Laura Limuli, Coordinator, NY - USA 5. Christian Solidarity International, Rev. Heidi McGinness, Dir.of Outreach, Denver, CO - USA 6. Church Alliance for a New Sudan, Washington DC USA 7. Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, Daowd Salih, Co-Founder & Board President 8. Darfur and Beyond, Cory Williams, Co-founder, Phoenix, AZ USA 9. Darfur Interfaith Network, Martha Boshnick, Co-chair,Washington, DC USA 10. Darfur People's Association of New York, Motasim Adam, Sec. General, Brooklyn, NY - USA 11. Dr. E. Aronson, Boston, MA USA 12. Dr. Mukesh Kapila, former United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan 13. Elsa-Gopa Trust, Nell Okie, Director, Madison, CT USA 14. Genocide No More--Save Darfur, Marv Steinberg, Coordinator Redding, CA - USA 15. Genocide Watch, Dr. Gregory H. Stanton, Founding President USA 16. Humanity Is Us, Kimberly Hollingsworth, Founder and President, New York, NY - USA 17. International Justice Project, Monica Feltz, Executive Director, Newark, NJ USA 18. Investors Against Genocide, Eric Cohen, Chairperson, Boston, MA USA 19. Jews Against Genocide, Sharon Silber, Co-Director, USA 20. Joining Our Voices, Slater Armstrong- founder/director, Baton Rouge, LA USA 21. Massachusetts Coalition for Darfur, William Rosenfeld, Director, Boston, MA - USA 22. Never Again Coalition, Diane Koosed, co-chair, Portland, OR USA 23. Nuba Mountains Media Abroad 24. Nuba Mountains Advocacy Group, Amin Ismail Gogadi Chair/Founder, OH USA 4

5 25. Nuba Mountains Association - Israel 26. Nuba Mountains Association Abroad 27. Nuba Mountains Center for Planning and Strategic Dialogue UK, Kamal Kambal, President -UK 28. Nuba Mountains Civil Cociety Organizations UK 29. Nuba Mountains Civil Society Organizations Coalition- Sudan 30. Nuba Mountains Civil Society Organizations Alliance Africa 31. Nuba Mountains Coalition Vision USA 32. Nuba Mountains Global Network 33. Nuba Mountains International Association - Australia 34. Nuba Mountains International Association - Canada 35. Nuba Mountains International Association Egypt 36. Nuba Mountains International Association - Lebanon 37. Nuba Mountains International Association, Komi Elaiaiser, President, VA USA 38. Nuba Mountains People's Foundation UK 39. Nuba Mountains Rural Development Association France 40. Nuba Mountains Solidarity Abroad - UK 41. Nuba Mountains US and UK co-ordination Activities, Dr. Yasir Hamouda, Co-ordinator - UK 42. Nubia Project, Nuraddin Abdulmannan, President USA 43. NY Coalition for Sudan, Eileen Weiss, Co-Founder, New York, NY USA 44. People4Sudan, Valerie Delacretaz, Global Coordinator, Geneva Switzerland 45. Prof. David Livingstone Smith, ME USA 46. Prof. Eric Reeves USA 47. Stop Genocide Now, Katie-Jay Scott USA 48. Sudan Advocacy Action Forum, Dr. Eleanor Wright, Moderator, Birmingham, AL - USA 49. Sudanese Marginalzed Forum, Magid Kabashi, President USA 50. The Baroness Cox, House of Lords and President, Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) - UK 51. The Institute on Religion and Democracy, Faith J. H. McDonnell, Dir., Washington, DC - USA 52. Unite for Darfur Organization, Bahar Arabie, CEO, MD USA 53. Voice for Nyala, Elena Ghizzo, Coordinator, London UK Contact: 1- Amin Z. Ismail "Gogadi" amindab@hotmail.com gogadiamoga@gmail.com 2- Komi Elaiaiser Kelaiaiser@yahoo.com 5