Wednesday, October 7, 2009

URGI Minutes 10/6/09

HIGHLIGHTS
- This SUNDAY Night 10/11 at 8pm MEET IN HIRST to help flier for newsletters
- This FRIDAY 10/09 from 12-2pm in Douglass, come sign petition for divestment from companies investing in DR Congo


Rochester Refugee Women’s Network
- Halloween party 4-5pm 10/31 at Lake Ave. Baptist Church, play games/ give out candy and hygiene products ( purell, Kleenex, toothbrushes, toothpaste) email BRINDA If interested in attending or helping out!

October Event
- Name? URGI’s Big Show! (Students support Sri Lanka as subheading)
- 6:30 pm tomorrow Sub-committee Meeting outside of Starbucks- delegating responsibilities and forms that need to be filled out

STANDfast Week
- Start off the week with a party! DU?
- Make t-shirts (glow in the d! ark paint)- skip line into party!
- Activities at the party ( games- corn bag toss, Kan Jam)
- Food at the party to sell ($1 a slice)
- Can collecting
- Education day ( art student?- making a movie about refugees in Rochester- whats in the community and whats going on right now)
- Visual representation (something that grows that makes a point- ribbons on a tree, chalk marks on the Wilson Common wall, numbers on white wall in Pit)
- Sports tournament ( D’lions/RAs/freshman halls involved)
- Danforth- get ethnic food night/performance/awareness night (performance by local community members such as Burmese dancers) , collaboration with PASA (MARIUS!)
- Documentary/ Speaker

Can Collection Idea
- Once a month- designate one fraternity to donate cans from a! party weekend directly to us. Anyone willing to head up this project? email ELENA!(webmaster)

Newsletters
- Fliering party? Go to designated place and flier the bathrooms
- Sunday Night? 8pm MEET IN HIRST! (flag room in Wilson commons)

Douglass Tabling Events
- Oct 9th- companies to divest from Congo ( minerals that go into electronic products- profits go to rebel groups, violence, etc.) – get people to sign petition in Douglass
- THIS FRIDAY 12-2pm. BRING COMPUTERS!
o 12pm-1pm Megan Rucker and Ruth Lindemann
o 1pm-2pm Adrienne Hloderwski and Haley Wynne

Pledge to Protect conference
- funding to allow 4 people to go. If you sign up in the next 2 day cost of going is $100 minus $25 = $75.
- held on Capitol Hill in D.C- stay at Hyatt Regency, November 6th-9th. !
- Conference has workshops, seminars on DR Congo, Burma, social mediating, activism skills, Networking events- share practices and ideas. HUGE lobbying day.
- speakers: Susan Rice, Hilary Clinton, members of Congress.
- email JOE!!! If you are interested!
o Luke, Suresh, Marius, Joseph, Cassie

Toop co-sponsorship
-The opposite of people-theater performance group. Presenting a play on dawning of Holocaust. Want URGI to host/ co-sponsor and getting involved when they talk about NOV 18th-22nd
- URGI willing to co-sponsor and lead a discussion? YES!

FASA’s drive
Do what you can to help those affected by natural disasters in the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and the Samaon Islands. Donate the following goods in residence halls or designated collection areas around campus (Corner Store, Common Connection, Hirst Lounge):

Food items! : Rice, noodles, canned goods, sugar, iodized salt, cooking oil, monggo beans and portable water.

Medicines: Paracetamol, antibiotics, analgesic, oral rehydration salts, multivitamins and medications to treat diarrheal diseases.

Non-food items: Bath soaps, face towels, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans/water containers, water purification tablets, plastic sheetings, and Laundry soap.

Ongoing Projects
- Volunteering- Adrienne Hloderwski and Joseph Gardella
- Kenya school building- Suresh (suresh@math.rochester.edu)
- Banaa Project- Joseph Gardella
- Family Refugee Pairing- Adrienne Hloderwski
- Author of Memoirs of a Child Soldier to UR

URGI Minutes 9/29/09

HIGHLIGHTS:
-Douglass Advocacy Event: Oct. 9th ***EMAIL BHANGRA
-flyering: see attached file for regulations!
-Potluck and letter writing: Oct. 10th

Volunteering Updates
- Ramp for Iraqi family – Adge
- Tutoring: no more Wednesdays/Thursdays afternoons but other locations → Pair up with Sig Ep? – Eamonn, providing rides, 5-10 brothers to help tutor each week. (will know by Sunday)
→ Other options: school #15 during school hours (no people limit) off Eastman bus ( going with Refugee Student Alliance)
→ in the future it will be decision between these two!
→Refugee Student Alliance individual family pairing (EMAIL ADRIENNE!)
Times? Individual basis? Nature of tutoring?
&r! arr; Be the Change Day – Oct. 2nd 2-3pm Friday in Hirst, Gandhi’s Bday!
- Volunteering through Aditi 3:30– 8pm,
- email TONIGHT if you want to ( urchange@gmail.com)
- South Ave Recreation center, gardening/ playing with kids

October Event
- Oct. 24th (Sat) 8pm-10pm in Strong
-Names? Big Benefit Show/ THE BIG BENEFIT/Students Support Sri Lanka
→ Emergency Relief for Sri Lanka (basic food, blankets, etc. on demand)
→ Club responses? No from Jugglers and Bhangra (Brinda will talk to them!)
Yes- from vocal point ( 2 songs), Roc the Raas, BPG, D’motions, MCs? In between the lines (ADGE-Aleeza Wachs, Derek Crowe)
→ Start talking to event support to figure out what we need to do (Adge)
→Amnesty cant provide $ but will he! lp flyer, Emergency wants to talk about it, talk to Fraternity/Sororities (LUKE!) Families Across Borders, Hillel, AEP(JOSH!)

STAND Fast
-First meeting for subcommittee- Monday 10/05 8pm in Douglass
* Subcommittee/ head person volunteers?
**Morgan Anastasio, Lizzie, Jessica Bagley, Brinda, Danielle, Reema, Lalita Movva, Elena, Beth, Mike, Julia, Luke, Cassie
→Can collection, fraternity garbage cans in basements
→ Start off with selling T-shirts/party on Friday night!
→ speaker/movie night/book sale throughout the week
→ theme day- ex. if women affected, co-sponsor with Women’s caucus
→ how many people die/are affected- something that grows everyday ( outside/sticks for every 100 people)- something shocking that draws attention.


Newsletters
- biweekly, highlighting issues around the world/ what we are doing/advocacy- (CASSIE /LIZZY/ MIKE!)
- Have one ready by Monday (send to URGI account)- stick to cork boards/bulletin boards, NOTHING ON GLASS WINDOWS, Don’t flyer Wilson Commons, Sue B is strict, bathrooms are good ( shhh!) SEE ATTACHED FILE FOR FLYERING REGULATIONS!!!!!
→ Luke work to get the $$ -- want 400 copies

Next Events:
-Potluck and letter writing: Oct. 10th – make it a party! Bridge Lounge?
-Douglass Advocacy Event: Oct. 9th – charge companies to divest f! rom Congo (http://www2.americanprogress.org/t/1647/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=135)
→12-2pm! RUTH/MEGAN/LUKE!
→ cell phones, computers, electronics all have minerals ( tin, nickel, etc) in them, the places these corporations get them are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the money gained from individual private companies indirectly fund atrocities (slave labor conditions, rebel groups) SO, our govt. petitioning for companies to divest from these specific areas in the DRC.
-Can collecting – Elena

Ongoing Projects:
* Refugee Student Alliance- at Med School/Undergrad. Every year med school holds coat drive, sweaters, mittens, hats boys clothes! from this Friday of October-November. Co-sponsor. ( Adge)
* Amnesty International’s book drive- children’s books! Monday through Wednesday of next week in Wilson Commons & flex machine.
* Kenya school building &nd! ash; Suresh (suresh@math.rochester.edu)
* Banaa Project – Joseph Gardella
* Family Refugee Pairing – Adrienne Hloderwski
* Get author of Memoirs of a Child Soldier to UR
* ( CAS 230 Dynamics of Conflict Resolution- JOIN THE CLASS!!!) starts 10/9 Friday 1-2:30pm- 2 credits,ends first week of December SIGN UP ONLINE REGISTRATION TONIGHT IS THE LAST NIGHT TO SIGN UP!!! ADD/DROP!!! Or email JOE!!!

URGI Minutes 9/22/09

HIGHLIGHTS
→Adrienne/Adge’s email: ahloderw@u.rochester.edu
→Weekly meetings : Tues. at 9pm- WC 121
→Douglass Petitioning Friday 09/25- BRING COMPUTERS IF YOU CAN!
12-12:30 Sunny
12:30-1 Brinda and Reema
1-1:30- Michael
1:30-2- Nate and Michael

Fliers!!
Phase- Reema
Towers-Haley
Sue B.-Lalita
Gilbert and Hoeing- Morgan and Lizzy
Tiernan and Lovejoy-Michelle and Jess
Crosby and Burton- Danielle
Latimore and Morey, B&L, Dewey, Hoyt-Luke
Hutch-Suresh
Hylan-Suresh
Carlson-Elena
Goergen Hall-Julia
Athletic Center-Brinda

Money from Mardi Gras party
$700+ going to:
Congo- shelter for tents
Darfur-protection/community service to victims of violence
→Big show money for Sri Lanka

Movie– Nate
Sept. 24th 7pm in Hoyt
Documentary-All About Darfur

Volunteering Updates
*Ramp for Iraqi family – Adge, go to Lumber 84 about wood this week.
Volunteers to help Adge? (Mike) Email her!!! She needs more people! (ahloderw@u.rochester.edu)
-Kelli’s Ukrainian friends will help build

**Tutoring for refugee students– Adge and Joe
-two locations in South Wedge- can get there by walking/public transportation. ONLY meet on Wednesdays and Thursday evenings 4:45pm-6pm,
-don’t need that many volunteers but need people that can come consistently! EMAIL JOE/KELLI!
-Thursday-Greek Church (S.clinton and Linton)
-Wednesday- St. Bonaventure Church( Gregory St. )
-Third option- Family pairing through Refugee Student Alliance. Student volunteers in groups of 5 and matched with a family, go to house- tutor kids, help parents with paperwork, constant interaction with refugees from Rochester. More flexible times, email KELLI!
-Other options- School #15 off Ea! stman bus- volunteers needed during school hours but no constraints on # of people. helping with homework. Need mentors/role models.

Ideas
Ghost of Rwanda documentary- PBS Frontline- on aftermath of Rwanda.
Book/speaker- A long way gone-Ishmael Beah

Banaa Project-
- next step, talking with Dean of Admissions. Meeting is next week. Email Joe if interested about project! Through Gandhi Institute. EMAIL JOE!
o Luke, Brinda and Mike

October Event
+ Big showcase- student groups on campus doing a performance show.
- Sub committee: Adge, Cassie, Luke, Sunshine, Suresh, Morgan Anastasio, Lizzie Huberlie, Haley, Elena, Danielle Abrams
* Time and Location? October 24th!!! Saturday, 8pm-10pm Strong Auditorium
* Start planning and figuring out details: e-mail clubs,! talk to event support, etc

Douglass Advocacy Event

- Savedarfur.org: Sign our petition urging President Obama to remember the people of Sudan.

STAND Fast week-
-can drive, fundraising, December 4th-9th. Friday-Wednesday.
-Subcommittee/ head person volunteers? Morgan Anastasio, Lizzie, Jessica Bagley, Brinda, Danielle, Reema, Lalita Movva, Elena, Beth, Mike, Julia, Luke Mike, Julia, morgan anastasio, Lizzy

Other Notes
→ email Suresh if you are interested in a trip to Kenya working with Jim Nowak to build schools. (suresh@math.rochester.edu)
→ email Adrienne if you are interested in attending a conference at Geneseo, the “ I heart Africa”, in November, open to anyone. (ahloderw@u.rochester.edu)

Monday, September 21, 2009

URGI Minutes 9/14/09

HIGHLIGHTS

1) Next week’s meeting is Tuesday 09/22 at 9pm in WC 507
2) Movie/Speaker 09/24 at 7pm in Hoyt
3) Advocacy Event 09/25 in Douglass from 12pm-2pm

How did the General Interest Meeting go?
- with powerpoint: expand on fundraising events- amount collected, details on what we did
- more emphasis on where the money goes , who we’re helping
- more short clips from youtube about current conflicts

• Next weeks meeting (and there after): Tues. at 9pm
- Next week: WC 507
- Following weeks: WC 121

• Movie and Speaker Night

– 9/24 at 7pm in Hoyt Auditorium
- God Grew Tired of Us
- Nate spoke with Natasha who knows some Sudanese refugees who can speak – perhaps about their personal experience and how they adjusted to a new life (approx. 20 minutes) then short question and answer session, then movie
- Create a flyer (Nate!)
- Pass out flyers at next weeks meeting
- Find out if author is a motivational speaker/ maybe he’ll waive or lower price or we can get supplemental funding from the school (Luke!)

•Volunteering

- Ramp for Iranian refugee family – Adge, Michael!
- Tutoring for refugee students, GOAL: to get as many students as possible to volunteer and unify all main organizations on campus to make sure everyone is behind this idea. Most likely school will be in South Wedge– Adge and Joe!
- Banaa Project Volunteers (bringing the Sudanese student to Rochester). Joe needs a few people to give presentations. Contact Joe through email! (jgardell@u.rochester.edu)
- EXPRESS any ideas you may have!!

•October Event

- 10/23 at 8pm BIG showcase OR…Frat Party Fundraiser- 10/17 at 10pm, perhaps with ΣAM?

- Adrienne put in request for Strong reservation for performance groups sell tickets to raise money for fundraiser. Volunteers? Sandeep!

- Sub committee: Adge, Cassie, Luke -start planning and figuring out details


•Douglass Advocacy Event?

- Savedarfur.org: Sign our petition urging President Obama to remember the people of Sudan.
- 09/25 12pm-2pm in Douglass- Luke and Sunshine!
- check out: www.sudandivestment.org

•STAND fast

- subcommittee/ head person volunteers?

Monday, September 14, 2009

URGI Minutes 9/7/09

URGI Minutes 09/07/09

General Interest Meeting
-7pm Monday 9/14 Gowen Room
-show powerpoint- on what we do, contact info, show short video clip (Meet the Janjaweed?), events we did last year and questions at the end
- Start flyer-ing this week!- Time, date, place, SA funded should be on poster (Nate)
-Provide Pizza from Domino’s-3 cheese, 2 pepperoni, 1 veggie (Luke)

Volunteering
- Community work in the future-Monthly Mini Projects (first one-ramp for handicapped Iraqi veteran?-Adrienne will head this project)
- accept more ideas/suggestions from other members
- Tutoring refugee students with skills we have (ex. English to help integrate) NOT just our group, organize and work with other groups. (The Saint’s Place, School # 15, Maplewood) Look into schools with ESL classes and after school programs (middle schools/high schools)

Events
- September-event the week after General interest meeting (documentary Thursday 09/24 in Hoyt 7pm - The Human Experience, God Grew Tired of Us- hour and a half, maybe author as a speaker after?!!)
- October- potluck/letter writing drive, Big Benefit Party or another party w/ fraternity
- November- STAND conference, STANDfast week- speakers, dinner/show ( Burmese dancers)
- Eastman collaboration-perhaps a Benefit concert?

Future Meeting Format
- discussion session at the end
- quick blurb in the beginning of the meeting, facebook messages or emails with current updates

One on One Meetings w/ Kelli and Joe
-15 min with E-board members next Thursday 09/10. Sign up times on sheet.

Party!
-Friday 09/11 at 7pm at Kelli and Joe’s place in Valentine. Bring food, games, anything fun.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Lousie Slaughter Sent a Letter to Obama!

Hi all!

Thanks so much for your emails to Representative Louise Slaughter, encouraging her to write the President about the situation in Darfur.

She sent a letter to Obama today, urging him to act on the current humanitarian crisis in Darfur. It can be seen on her website at: http://www.louise.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1128&Itemid=1.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

DARFUR (JEM) REBELS SENTENCED TO DEATH

A Sudanese court has sentenced 11 Darfur rebels to death for an attack on Khartoum in 2008.

The members of the Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) were found guilty of involvement in the unprecedented assault on the Sudanese capital.

Some 80 Jem members have already been sentenced to death for the attack, which left more than 200 people dead.

The Jem fighters drove across the desert to reach Khartoum and were only stopped near the presidential palace.

On Sunday, Judge Hafez Ahmed at the court in Khartoum found the 11 rebels guilty of terrorism and illegal possession of weapons, the AFP news agency reported.

"For their actions in terrorising the people, and threatening the foundation of the state... aggressive sentences are required," the judge told the courtroom.

Eight other men were acquitted.

The attack in May 2008 was the closest the rebels have ever been to Khartoum.

Local residents said the fighting lasted several hours.

Jem is currently the most significant fighting rebel force in Darfur.

In February, Jem signed a "declaration of intent" for a peaceful settlement of the war during talks with Sudan's government in Doha, Qatar.

But Jem is now refusing to return to the peace talks, accusing Khartoum of not honouring confidence-building accords.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Sri Lanka Piece in NYTimes

Two Sri Lankas Struggle to Tell Their Tales

INSERT DESCRIPTIONEranga Jayawardena/Associated Press Protesters outside the Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday demanded the expulsion of Norway’s diplomats. The protesters fault Norway for failing to prevent an attack on the Sri Lankan Embassy in Oslo last week by Tamil demonstrators.

As the world waits to find out what exactly is happening in the battle between Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil separatists now trapped on a narrow strip of land in the country’s northeast, supporters of both sides in the 25-year conflict continue to fight a global propaganda war on many fronts.

International reporters are still barred by Sri Lanka’s government from the war zone, so The Times, like the BBC and other news organizations, is forced to rely on the conflicting statements of spokesmen from the country’s ministry of defense and for the rebel force, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or L.T.T.E. on what is happening there. My colleagues Mark McDonald and Sharon Otterman report on Tuesday “the embattled rebels’ last remaining sanctuary,” is “a dwindling patch of lagoons, coconut groves and beachfront,” where “an estimated 60,000 civilians remain trapped,” along with what is left of the rebel force.

....

To read more, visit: http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/21/two-sri-lankas-struggle-to-tell-their-tales/?hp

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Source Materials

Hi All,

Just thought I'd post some good websites to learn more about the conflicts that we talk about, especially with regard to Darfur. Make sure to check out ReliefWeb...it's an awesome source for many countries/regions!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Must-Read Article on Sri Lanka

Follows is a link that Brinda provided to a very informative article about the conflict in Sri Lanka. Bringing to light the difficulties with media coverage, it discusses the history of the conflict in Sri Lanka, its impact upon civilians, and discusses its categorization as a genocide.

Turn Out The Lights

While civil war has disrupted peace in Sri Lanka, a media blackout prevents much of the outside world from understanding or intervening in the alleged human rights violations.


As the quality of life for many Americans is quickly deteriorating with the failing national and world economies, it becomes even more difficult to look beyond our own endeavors to the even greater struggles that other countries face. Many Americans do not see exactly what is happening in other parts of the world, and that is partially because American media sources, and others are not receiving the story as a whole.

In recent news, the American media has finally begun to unfold the events of the past two and a half decades in Sri Lanka. Unfortunately, this information is not complete. The Sri Lankan government issued a media blackout, which allows the government to sift through information before it is released to national or international agencies. The world is only privy to the information that the government wants to share. Senior finance major Milan Kanagathayalan believes that “the international community should try to solve this problem as an international issue because Tamil people [of Sri Lanka] are living in almost every county in the world as refugees of the war.”


















...

To read more, visit: http://www.subboard.com/generation/articles/12391322778740.asp

Monday, April 13, 2009

News Update 4/13/09

U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan Major General Gration has made his first visit to Sudan, during which he met extensively with the government and visited a few refugee camps. He expressed the United States's interest in establishing friendly and cooperative relations with the Sudanese government, which was very well received. He did, however, express concern with the humanitarian aid situation, which he considers on the brink of crisis.
To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/04/sudans-bashir-hails-obamas-overture-to.html.

UNAMID Report from April 13, 2009 stated that during the past 72 hours, activity in Darfur has been realtively calm. The second regular meeting of Darfur Human Rights Forum will be held in West Darfur, brining together government officials from local and national groups, emmbers of the advisory council on human rights, the African Union, UNAMID and UNMIS officials, and the Darfur State Committees on Violence Against Women. The goal of the Forum is to provide "transparent and constructive dialouge on human rights issues between the Sudanese government and UNAMID."
To read more, visit: http://appablog.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/darfur-unamid-daily-media-brief-15/

A two-day cease fire has been declared in Sri Lanka to allow emergency humanitarian aid to catch up to the ongoing conflict. Officials estimate that between 150,000 and 190,000 civilians unrelated to the government and the LTTE are currently stuck in a northern region called the Vanni Pocket. The Vanni Pocket is approximately the size of Manhattan.
To read more, visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/RMOI-7R2L25?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P

Friday, April 10, 2009

News Update 4/10/09

US Envoy has "constructive" talks with Sudanese Foreign Minister

KHARTOUM, April 8 (Xinhua) -- The special envoy of the U.S. president to Sudan Scott Gration said on Wednesday that he held "constructive" talks with Sudanese Foreign Minister Deng Alor on the situations in the western Sudanese region of Darfur and southern Sudan.

The U.S. envoy told reporters at the end of the meeting that he briefed the Sudanese foreign minister on the results of his visits to Darfur and Juba, the capital of southern Sudan, as well as Abyei, a disputed area between northern and southern Sudan.

He said that he found the situation in some areas in Darfur much better than what he had expected in particular with regard to the food, while the situation in some other areas was worse especially in the areas of water and health care.

He added that a coordination between all parties concerned was necessary to improve the situation of displaced persons in Darfur and improve their poor nutrition condition.

Gration noted that the priorities for the next phase would focus on addressing the emergency situation in Darfur in the humanitarian and security fields and reach a ceasefire between the conflicting parties.

The Sudanese foreign minister, on his part, expressed his confidence that the visit of the U.S. envoy to Sudan would help the new U.S. administration to deal with Sudan in the coming period.

He disclosed that senator John Kerry, the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations in the U.S. Senate, would visit Sudan in the next week, adding that Kerry's visit would be an extension of the U.S. envoy's visit that would contribute to the development of the U.S. strategy for dealing with Sudan in the next phase.

Gration, a former U.S. Air Force major general, arrived in Sudan last Thursday on his first visit to the African country since he was appointed the special envoy by U.S. President Barack Obama.

Article citation: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/09/content_11152761.htm

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Let them decide: Civilians trapped with Tamil Tiger fighters must be offered an exit before a bloodbath ensues


by John Holmes, first published by The Guardian

As London witnesses Tamil protests, a bloodbath on the beaches of northern Sri Lanka seems an increasingly real possibility. The Sri Lankan military has pushed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam into an area so small that any shooting or shelling inevitably causes casualties among the 150,000 to 190,000 civilians trapped in the same zone. There have been many hundreds of civilian deaths caused by firing from both sides, though exact numbers and who fired what and when are impossible to verify. It is clear that the LTTE is refusing to let people flee, though many are managing to escape somehow, and I fear the combatants may be gearing up for a final confrontation. This is a very grave situation.

As a full-scale, long-term ceasefire is unlikely to be agreed now, the only way to get the civilians out of harm's way is a temporary humanitarian lull, during which aid workers and relief supplies must be allowed into the conflict zone, and those who want to leave must be given the chance to do so.

Both sides have a duty to bring this about. The LTTE's leadership claims the civilians in the conflict zone do not want to leave because they accompanied the LTTE voluntarily in the first place and are afraid of government reprisals. Yet there are continuing reports that the group's fighters are shooting at fleeing civilians, limiting fishing and sabotaging boats that might be used to escape, and forcing people to fight against their will. Civilians trapped by the fighting must be allowed a free choice of whether to leave or stay, as we have made clear to the LTTE. If the LTTE truly has the best interests of the Tamil people at heart, they should contribute to ending this unnecessary civilian suffering.

....

To read more, visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/EDIS-7QWKT5?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P


------------------------------------------------------------------

Over 180 Civilians Killed, Most by Rwandan Rebels
April 8, 2009

The United Nations Security Council will discuss on April 9 the latest report by the UN secretary-general on the peacekeeping force in Congo. Human Rights Watch called on the UN Security Council to press the Congolese government to remove human rights abusers from its armed forces and end rights violations, including attacks against women and girls.

....

To read more, visit: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/04/08/dr-congo-brutal-rapes-rebels-and-army

Monday, April 6, 2009

Thank you!

Thanks to all who helped to send letters to Louise Slaughter in Douglass on Friday!!

During lunchtime, we sent 76 letters to Louise Slaughter encouraging her to put pressure on Obama to continue the comprehensive policy analysis on Darfur so that the US can make policy decisions about Darfur soon.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Sri Lanka News

UN official says Sri Lanka situation "grim"
Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
Date: 04 Mar 2009

Geneva_(dpa) _ The humanitarian situation in north-eastern Sri Lanka has become "extremely grim," a senior United Nations official in the Asian country said Wednesday.

Gordon Wiess, the spokesman for the UN's operations in Sri Lanka warned that some 70,000 to 200,000 were trapped in a tiny enclave between a lagoon and the sea front, desperate for food, shelter and drinking water.

He said it was "unacceptable" that civilians were cut off from aid. "There is virtually no humanitarian access to the enclave. Nothing like what is needed to sustain the population inside there," Wiess said in a telephone interview.

...

To read more, visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/ASAZ-7PTEGB?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P

ARREST WARRANT ISSUED FOR BASHIR

Warrant issued for Sudan's Bashir

Sudan's president has denied committing war crimes
The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Sudan's president on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
However, the court stopped short of accusing Omar al-Bashir, who denies the charges, of committing genocide.
Reports say Sudan's capital, Khartoum, was tense as people awaited the decision, with fears of unrest.
The UN estimates some 300,000 people have died and millions been displaced in six years of conflict in the region.
The spokeswoman for the court in The Hague, Laurence Blairon, said Mr Bashir was suspected of being criminally responsible for "murdering, exterminating, raping, torturing and forcibly transferring large numbers of civilians and pillaging their property".
She said the violence in Darfur was the result of a common plan organised at the highest level of the Sudanese government, but there was no evidence of genocide.
The court would transmit as soon as possible to the government of Sudan a request for his arrest and surrender, she added.
It is the ICC's first ever warrant issued against a sitting head of state.
ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had requested that the court issue a warrant for Mr Bashir's arrest in July 2008.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7923102.stm

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

News Update 3/3/09 - Bashir's Indictment Ruling Tomorrow

With word about Bashir's indictment expected from the International Criminal Court tomorrow, things are heating up:

Sudan president tells court to ''eat'' expected warrant:

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir was defiant towards the International Criminal Court Tuesday, telling it to "eat" an expected warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes in Darfur.

"They will issue their decision tomorrow ... this coming decision, they can prepare right now: they can eat it (the warrant)," Bashir told a crowd of cheering supporters who lit and stamped on an effigy of ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo.

Bashir's comments were made at the opening of a hydroelectric dam in Merowe, northern Sudan, a day before ICC judges were due to respond to a request by Ocampo for an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of war crimes in the Darfur region of western Sundan.

....

The opening of the dam, billed by Bashir as "the beginning of the end of poverty in Sudan," was attended by dignitaries from Arab states, as well as Chinese officials, and executives from European and Chinese companies involved in the project.

Bashir used the occasion to announce cuts in electricity prices, for the poor and for industry and agriculture, ranging between 25-30 percent.

Tensions have risen in Sudan as it awaits the decision by the ICC, which China, the African Union and the Arab League have warned could destabilise the region, worsen the Darfur conflict and threaten an already troubled peace deal between north Sudan and the semi-autonomous south.

....
Sudan president

Photo: Sudanese President Omar Hassan al- Bachir addresses an assembly of politicians, religious leaders, artists and students from Sudan's eastern provinces in Khartoum, March 1, 2009. (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)
To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/sudan-president-tells-court-to-eat.html.

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Eritrea rejects ICC issue and stands alongside the Sudanese people

Source: The State of Eritrea's Ministry of Information at shabait.com (hat tip AllAfrica) by Staff March 2, 2009:

President Isaias [of Eritrea] assured the delegation that as the move being taken by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir not only targets the Sudanese leader and the Sudan itself but also the entire countries of the region, Eritrea would not accept it and would stand alongside the Sudanese people.

Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie on his part lauded the firm stance of President Isaias, as well as the people and Government of Eritrea in rejecting the ICC issue and the efforts they are exerting towards promoting a comprehensive peace and justice in the Sudan. In this respect, he described such a stance as “correct and courageous.”

Stating that the interference of the International Criminal Court would only aggravate the Sudanese issue in general and that of Darfur in particular rather than bring about solution, Dr. Nafie underlined that the ICC issue would undermine regional peace and prompt neo-colonialism in Africa.

To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/eritrea-rejects-icc-issue-and-stands.html.

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Opinion Piece by Desmond Tutu, featured in the NYTimes

Will Africa Let Sudan Off the Hook?

(Cape Town) The expected issuance of an arrest warrant for President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan by the International Criminal Court tomorrow presents a stark choice for African leaders — are they on the side of justice or on the side of injustice? Are they on the side of the victim or the oppressor? The choice is clear but the answer so far from many African leaders has been shameful.

Because the victims in Sudan are African, African leaders should be the staunchest supporters of efforts to see perpetrators brought to account. Yet rather than stand by those who have suffered in Darfur, African leaders have so far rallied behind the man responsible for turning that corner of Africa into a graveyard.
....

To read more, visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/03/opinion/03tutu.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss.

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Peacekeepers will stay in Darfur even if Sudanese President indicted – UN official

Speaking to the press at UN Headquarters in New York, Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Alan Le Roy, said that he is assured that peacekeepers in Darfur will not come under threat should the ICC indict President Al-Bashir.

"The Government would assume its full duty of protecting UN missions in Sudan against any negative impact that may result from ICC possible decision against the Sudanese political leadership," Mr. Le Roy told journalists in a wide-ranging briefing on the work of the 18 UN peacekeeping missions around the world.

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To read more, visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/MSAO-7PS4VQ?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P.

Monday, March 2, 2009

Weekly News Update 3/2/09

DARFUR
1. Genocide Intervention Network recently released an analysis of fatalities due to violence in Darfur from January 1 - September 8, 2008. The persons included do not include those who have died due to hunger and disease (up to 80% of Darfurian deaths) and other sources of violence, including sexual violence. According to GI-Net's statistics, approximately 150 people have died due to violence per months.
To see more, please see Alex de Waal's critique at: http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/darfur/2009/02/26/data-for-deaths-in-darfur/

2. Recently, the Chairman of the African Union has blamed foreign forces for conflicts in Africa. Specifically, he has referenced the recent meetings between Darfurian rebel leaders opening offices in Tel Aviv and holding military meetings there. Ha'aretz, a major Israeli newspaper, published an article stating that a leader of one of the rebel groups in Sudan's Darfur region recently visited Israel to discuss with a senior Israeli official the situation in the Sudan. Currently, Israel houses upwards of 600 refugees, whom Olmert's regime granted asylum and work permits.
To see more, please see http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/02/au-chairman-hard-evidence-proves-israel.html

3. Columbia University's Professor Mamdani, a native Ugandan and the Chair of the Council for Development of Social Science Research in Africa, says that defining the Darfur conflict as the West traditionally has as Arab vs. African is misconstrued. He states, "When the Save Darfur movement claims that this violence is African versus Arab its explanation is not historical or political. Its explanation basically is that the Arabs are "race-intoxicated" and they are just trying to wipe out the Africans. The Save Darfur movement does not educate the people they mobilize about the history of Darfur. It does not educate them about what issues drive the conflict. So they know nothing about the politics of Darfur, the history of Darfur, the history of the conflict. All they know is that Darfur is a place where "Arabs" are trying to eliminate "Africans". That's all. Darfur is a place where "evil lives", so they have completely "moralized" the conflict and presented it as a struggle against evil. This evil is thus portrayed as ahistorical, or trans-historical, living outside of history — except that evil is said to live in this place called Darfur and Sudan."
To see more, please visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/02/defining-darfur-conflict-as-arab.html.

4. 5000 rebels are congregating on the Sudanese side of the Sudanese-Chadian border, awaiting the world on the ICC's indictment of Bashir. The international community fears that should Bashir be indicted, the rebels will act. JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim has vowed to topple Bashir, stating "we are not going to ask to control Darfur and Kordofan through peace talks if they [the government] are not going to give it - we'll take it."
To see more, please visit: http://www.google.com/reader/view/#search/congregating/1.


SRI LANKA
1. The LTTE does not want to agree to peace talks with the government. Thousands have fled from the North in the Vanni pocket, on the run from fighting in the North, including shelling. Those fleeing are often separated from their families and have no idea of their villages' fates. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns of health epidemics, should the current health issues continue to deteriorate as they are.
To see more, please visit: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/TUJA-7P47XH?OpenDocument&RSS20=18-P.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

NY Times Today

Here's a short op-ed piece, written by Nicholas Kristof, who just returned from the Sudan-Chad border and speaks about his recent experience in Darfur. It's written for those who don't know too much about the conflict, but it's still interesting.

Trailing George Clooney


I was going to begin this column with a 13-year-old Chadian boy crippled by a bullet in his left knee, but my hunch is that you might be more interested in hearing about another person on the river bank beside the boy: George Clooney.

Mr. Clooney flew in with me to the little town of Dogdoré, along the border with Darfur, Sudan, to see how the region is faring six years after the Darfur genocide began. Mr. Clooney figured that since cameras follow him everywhere, he might as well redirect some of that spotlight to people who need it more.

.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/19/opinion/19kristof.html?th&emc=th

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Interesting Article

The following article, from the NY Times today, discusses an upcoming NBC program that seeks to hunt down war criminals in the US. Contraversy exists regarding the ethicality of the lead journalist and the program is currently being criticized by leading human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch. Interesting article...read below:

On Trail of War Criminals, NBC News Is Criticized
By BRIAN STELTER
Published: February 10, 2009

NBC News, which teamed up with local police officers to trap sex offenders for its successful but scandalous “To Catch a Predator” series, is now using similar tactics to hunt bigger game: war criminals.

But one of the first efforts, an investigation of a Maryland college professor on genocide charges, is already attracting criticism from federal officials months before the program would be broadcast.

.... http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/11/business/media/11network.html?hp

Monday, February 2, 2009

Leading Darfur Scholar on Bashir's Possible Indictment

This link connects to the recent Public Action Critique of the possible arrest warrant for President Bashir by the International Criminal Court. Written by Alex de Waal, a leading Darfur scholar and professor at Harvard University, the critique is dense, but addresses a great deal of very interesting issues surrounding the possible arrest of President Bashir.

If you're at all interested, check out the link: http://www.ssrc.org/blogs/darfur/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/bashir-public-application-critique-d6-250109.pdf

It gets more exciting after the first couple of pages!

Saturday, January 31, 2009

News Update 1/31/09

African Union against indicting Sudan's Bashir

Associated Press
January 31, 2009

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia -- The African Union urged the International Criminal Court on Friday to suspend its indictment of Sudan's president on genocide charges, saying it could jeopardize any peace process in Darfur.

......

For the remainder of the article, please visit: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-sudan31-2009jan31,0,5070523.story

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Russia calls for an international conference on Darfur

Friday 30 January 2009 05:56.

January 29, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — A visiting Russian official announced today that his government is proposing an international conference on Darfur to be held in Moscow later this year.

JPEG - 8.3 kb
Russian envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov (L) speaks to Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir January 29, 2009

The Russian special envoy to Sudan Mikhail Margelov told reporters following his meeting with president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir that the conference would include experts and political figures as well as all interested parties.

“We think such a summit would be a good mechanism to those who want to participate in the reviewing the positive developments in Darfur” Margelov was quoted by the Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying.

The Russian official said that his country is “actively engaged on Sudan issues and wants to play an active role in UN Security Council (UNSC), Africa and in world affairs”.

....

For more information, visit: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article30012

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Thursday, January 22, 2009

???

hey so I was just wondering if there is anything on this blog?
things we should read...updates?
am I missing something or is it just blank?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

News Update 1/21/09

Protection Urgently Needed as Killings Continue
January 17, 2009

The LRA went in intending to kill and they left few survivors. The similar tactics and the near-simultaneous attacks indicate this was a planned operation meant to slaughter and terrorize as many civilians as possible.

Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch

(New York) - Combatants of the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) brutally massacred at least 620 civilians and abducted more than 160 children between December 24 and January 13 in northern Democratic Republic of Congo, said Human Rights Watch and Justice Plus, a Congolese human rights organization. Many of the victims were killed or abducted in three simultaneous attacks on December 24 and 25, 2008.

In a two-week mission to the region, Human Rights Watch and Justice Plus researchers collected detailed information, including lists of persons killed or abducted in and around Doruma, Faradje and Duru, in Haute Uele territory. At several sites where the killings took place, researchers found fresh graves, pools of dried blood, cords used to tie up prisoners and blood-stained bats and axes used to kill the victims.

"The LRA went in intending to kill and they left few survivors," said Anneke Van Woudenberg, senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The similar tactics and the near-simultaneous attacks indicate this was a planned operation meant to slaughter and terrorize as many civilians as possible."


To read more, visit: http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/01/17/dr-congo-lra-slaughters-620-christmas-massacres

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

News Update 1/20/09

SUDAN: UN warns of humanitarian catastrophe if Darfur fighting continues

Photo: Derk Segaar/IRIN
Armed men from the Sudan Liberation Movement Army (SLM/A) in south Darfur in a file photo: Fighting between a faction of the SLA and the Justice and Equality Movement rebels has led to the displacement of thousands
KHARTOUM, 19 January 2009 (IRIN) - The UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan's western Darfur region has expressed "grave concern" for the lives and safety of tens of thousands of civilians in a Darfur town recently affected by "fierce fighting" between rebels and ex-rebels.

"Continued fighting between the two Darfurian movements could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian situation for the 30,000 residents and displaced civilians there," the joint UN-African Union Mission (UNAMID) said in a statement on 18 January. According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 46,000 people already displaced by the conflict had come to the town of Muhajiriya, 80km east of Nyala, capital of South Darfur State, in search of safety.

Fighting erupted near the town on 15 January between rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the only major rebel group to have signed a peace deal with the government, the faction of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minni Minnawi.

Both groups said they were attacked by the other, though international observers support claims by Minnawi’s forces that JEM entered their territory and refused to leave.

....

In the battle on 15 January, civilians rushed on to the UNAMID base for protection, spokesperson Noureddine Mezni said. The residential compound of an aid agency was burned to the ground, and all non-local staff from two NGOs, Solidarité and Médecins sans Frontières-Holland, were temporarily relocated. Their programmes – food distribution, water and sanitation services, and healthcare, respectively – continue to be run by local staff, though "at low speed with difficulties", one aid worker said.

...


Photo: Heba Aly/IRIN
A UNAMID (joint UN-African Union Mission) peacekeeper stands guard during a patrol through Dali village in North Darfur in this file photo: UNAMID has warned that fighting between two Darfurian movements could lead to a catastrophic humanitarian situation
The UN did not specify any numbers, but said it was "deeply concerned" about the humanitarian situation and "deplored the loss of life and injury to civilians".

"The hostilities must stop so that aid agencies can get back to the town to continue their life-saving work," acting UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Kenro Oshidari, said in a statement. He said the town had never seen such levels of violence.

...

To read the rest of the article, visit:
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=82448


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South Sudan's leader Salva Kiir warns of return to civil war

Sudan's Vice President Salva Kiir said that if an ICC arrest warrant is issued for Sudanese President Al-Bashir, Sudan's ruling party will likely abandon the 2005 peace deal that ended the country's north-south civil war, leading to a constitutional crisis and a return to civil war.

Source: Voice of America News 15 January 2009

To read more, visit: http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2009/01/south-sudans-leader-salva-kiir-warns-of.html

For anyone who does not know:
"ICC" stands for International Criminal Court, an institution that was founded in 1998 through an international treaty signed by 108 nations across the globe. Currently, the United States is not a signatory; although the US did sign the treaty in 1998, President George W. Bush's administration chose to nullify the signature on the treaty during his term. Although the United States currently plays no significant role in the system, future administrations can remove this signature nullification and reinstate the United States as a signatory. The statute "entered into force" in 2002, and since the Court has developed to a functional level.

States party to the treaty or members of the UN Security Council can recommend investigation into a crime under the jurisdiction of the court; additionally, ICC prosecutors can investigate crimes under jurisdiction without external recommendation. Since 2002, four investigations have been recommended: Darfur, Uganda, DR Congo, and the Central African Republic. Currently, the Prosecutor has issued warrants for arrest for two leaders in Sudan. To read his initial press release regarding the situation, visit: http://www.icc-cpi.int/pressrelease_details&id=228&l=en.html

To learn more about the International Criminal Court system, visit: http://www.icc-cpi.int/home.html

Thursday, January 8, 2009

SPRING 2009

Check out what we have going for SPRING 2009:
(ideas are tentative as of January 8)

o Party with Sig Chi? Theme: Undecided
o Concert? With Flogging Molly
o Possible discounted school supply donation to refugees in the Rochester Community - Dr. Bennett, Saint’s Place (Distribution center of goods for Refugees), Catholic Resettlement Center (Only resettlement agency in Rochester),
o Movie, Documentary Nights. Co-sponsorship with UR Cinema
o Flex machine Donations:
o Begin Merchandise? – WE NEED CLOTHES.
o Community Service – Volunteer at local elementary schools or at Community center for adults. Program co-sponsorship with other organizations. ICLC?
o Dorm Wars/ Inner dorm competitions…
o Write our representatives
o Speakers? – Burman Refugees – Bethany and Ti Gay
o Informational Flyer/ monthly/ weekly paper thing… possibly in bathroom stalls – people will read them. Purpose: Awareness
o Permanent donation box
o Comedy Show

and of course if I missed any ideas or if you want to add please feel free to bring them up at the meetings and post them on the blog.

Some other items for our agenda:
- Winter Activities Fair - January 16th
- Turn in Money to Stand from Stand Fast week
- Executive Board Elections in February
- Become an official SA Funded organization
- Recruit more members
- Advertise and Flyer

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Advocacy

Hey everyone,
Just wondering, are we planning any advocacy events for the spring semester? Hope break is going well.
Luke