On May 2, 2010, multiplenewsmediareportsaddressed the targeted attack on Christian students in Iraq on buses traveling to Mosul University with multiple bombs. The bombings wounded at least 80 and killed at least one person who was a Christian shop keeper.
On May 2, 2010, Radio Free Europe reported: — “Police say a Christian shop owner was killed when a car bomb and a roadside bomb exploded near buses transporting students from the predominantly Christian town of Hamdaniya, some 40 kilometers east of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.”
— “Hamdaniya mayor Nissan Karoumi says everyone in bus was Christian, and they were traveling to the University of Mosul.”
On May 2, 2010, the Voice of America reported that:
— “Two separate bombs exploded along the road leading into the northern Iraqi city of Mosul Sunday killing at least one person and wounding at least 80 others. The bombs exploded near buses carrying Christian students who were traveling to Mosul University. Violence targeting the large Christian community in and around the city continues to anger and worry residents.”
— “The students were travelling by bus from Hamdaniya into Mosul when back to back bombs exploded with at least one blast tearing through the side of one of the buses, injuring dozens. Eyewitnesses say that shrapnel and shattered glass left many students dazed and bloodied, while a nearby shop-owner died from the force of the blast.”
— “A young man whose head was bandaged, face puffy and swollen, explained what happened from his hospital bed. He said that after his bus reached a clearing in the road the explosion took place about 100 meters further on. He goes on to say that he wasn’t paying attention when the blast occurred, but that he believes that two cars exploded.”
— “Another student described the situation on the bus after the explosions as ‘chaotic,’ with students screaming and blood all over. ‘I won’t forget (this day) for the rest of my life,’ he said.”
— “Christians in the violence-wracked northern city of Mosul have repeatedly been victimized by terrorist attacks in recent weeks and months. Some Sunni fundamentalists consider Christians to be infidels and supporters of the Shiite-led government in Iraq.”
On May 2, 2010, the New York Times reported that:
— “‘We were going for our education and they presented us with bombs,’ said Jamil Salahuddin Jamil, 25, a sophomore geography major, who was on board the lead bus. ‘I still do not know what they want from Christians.'”
— “The convoy of about 20 buses was taking students from Christian towns and villages in the Nineveh Plain, between Mosul and the semiautonomous Kurdistan region, back to classes at the University of Mosul.”
Fragments of a Blood-Stained Notebook After Targeted Bus Bomb Attack on Christians (Photo: AP)A wounded Iraqi woman receives medical care at a hospital in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, after a double bomb attack targeting buses carrying Christian students and university workers near Mosul in killed a shopkeeper and wounded 80 other people, 02 May 2010 (Photo: AFP)
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) seeks to recognize the NYC street vendors who alerted police to the Times Square car bomb, which included a Muslim vendor Aliou Niasse and his brother Mohamate Niasse, and Duane Jackson and Lance Orton. (ThinkProgress reports on Niasse’s religion.) If anyone has any photos of the Niasse brothers, please email and let us know, so that we can update this posting.
NYC Hero Duane Jackson (Photo: Reuters/Chip East)Hero Lance Orton (Photo: NY Daily News/Giancarli)
— Reuters May 2, 2010 reports: — “Vendor Lance Orton, a Vietnam veteran, is being credited by local authorities and media with tipping mounted policeman Wayne Rhatigan about a suspicious Nissan sport utility vehicle on West 45th Street near Broadway on Saturday evening.”
— “Several other vendors on that street corner also spotted the car and said they scrambled to tell the police.”
— “‘My brother told me this car has had smoke in it for a long time. Call 911,’ said Mohamate Niasse, 52, where was back in his stall in Times Square after the incident, alongside his brother Ali, selling pictures of the city.”
— “Niasse, who lives in Harlem and has sold his wares in the busy midtown Manhattan district for six years, said Orton then told them he had already sent someone to alert the police.”
— “Duane Jackson, another Vietnam vet who said he helped alert police, was back selling handbags and T-shirts across the road from where the vehicle carrying the bomb had been parked.”
— “‘There are a bunch of us disabled vets selling here, and we’re used to being vigilant because we all know that freedom isn’t free,’ Jackson, 58, told The New York Times. ‘All of us vets here are the eyes and ears for the cops.'”
— London Times May 2, 2010 reports:
— “Aliou Niasse, a street vendor selling framed photographs of New York, said that he was the first to spot the car containing the bomb, which pulled up right in front of his cart on the corner of 45th street and Broadway next to the Marriott hotel.”
— “‘I didn’t see the car pull up or notice the driver because I was busy with customers. But when I looked up I saw that smoke appeared to be coming from the car. This would have been around 6.30pm.'”
— “‘I thought I should call 911, but my English is not very good and I had no credit left on my phone, so I walked over to Lance, who has the T-shirt stall next to mine, and told him. He said we shouldn’t call 911. Immediately he alerted a police officer near by,” said Mr Niasse, who is originally from Senegal and who has been a vendor in Times Square for about eight years.
— “Duane Jackson, a 58-year-old handbag vendor, said that he noticed the car at around 6.30pm and wondered who had left it there.”
— “He said that he alerted a passing mounted police officer. “That’s when the smoke started coming out and then we heard the little pop pop pop like firecrackers going out and that’s when everybody scattered and ran back,’ he said.”
On April 30, 2010 in Washington DC, human rights activists and members of the Sudanese diaspora held demonstrations and a protest march to condemn the ongoing genocide and violence in Darfur, and the fraudulent elections that led to the “re-election” of Omar Al-Bashir. Al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war criminal charges. Damanga had publicized this event as “Say No to Sudan’s Stolen Election.” Damanga’s Executive Director Mohamed Yahya also provided an article on this subject to the Salem News, entitled “First African American president to Promote Injustice in African Country.”
The event was to allow Sudanese from all over the United States to come to Washington D.C. to demonstrate their rejection of Sudan’s fraudulent, rigged election and to call upon the US administration not to legitimize the regime led by the indicted war criminal Al-Bashir. Sudanese traveled from across the East Coast from Boston to Richmond to congregate in Washington DC to express their views on April 30, 2010.
— Mohamed Yahya, Damanga
— Jimmy Mulla, Voices for Sudan
— Fakiri Taha, Nubia Project
— William Bol Gai Deng, Southern Sudan Project
— Nuraddin A. Abdulmannan, Nubia Project
— Adam M. Ahmed Yahya, member of the FUR Solidarity
— Mohamed Altayib, Member of the Sudanna organization
— Muhammad Al-Hassan, a candidate in this year’s election
— Nasredin Hajam
— Niemat Ahmadi, Darfur Women’s Action Group (DWAG)
— Gloria White-Hammond, My Sister’s Keepers
— Meryl Zordanki, Africa Action
— Shaza Abdulla
— Faith McDonnell, Institute for Religion & Democracy
— Terry Nickelson, Our Humanity in the Balance
— Jeffrey Imm, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)
Damanga’s Executive Director Mohamed Yahya expressed the concerns and voice of many, speaking of his disappointment and sense of betrayal by the Obama administration on the issue of Darfur and Southern Sudan. At Lafayette Park near the White House, Mohamed Yahya asked how President Obama could allow his representatives to preside over what has been repeatedly reported as a fraudulent election, with a candidate indicted by the ICC for war crimes. Mohamed Yahya voiced his concerns also in an article published by the Salem News, entitled “First African American president to Promote Injustice in African Country.”
At Lafayette Park, Mr. Muhammad Al-Hassan, one of the candidates who ran for office in the recent Sudanese elections spoke. Mr. Al-Hassan confirmed the frequent reports of election fraud that had occurred in the recent Sudanese “elections.”
Other Sudanese speakers echoed his concerns, with stories and narratives of their own. “William” Bol Gai Deng of the Southern Sudan Project came from Richmond, Virginia and spoke about his struggles working as an African slave in Sudan, and the struggles of Sudanese people to receive equal dignity and human rights throughout Sudan. He spoke of how those who would get “paid” were sometimes promised a “cow” for each year’s wages, equivalent to 50 U.S. dollars, and even then such “wages” were withheld from them. Mr. Deng also stated how he sought equality and liberty fairly for all Sudanese people, with laws that were not dependent on any single religious views, but treated all people equally.
He and other Sudanese speakers spoke of the ongoing violence, genocide, and killings in Darfur. They expressed their concerns about the expectations that Sudan will soon be divided into two countries, and what that would mean for their people, and they hoped that someday Sudan would be a united nation with human rights, justice, and dignity for all people. Nuraddin A. Abdulmannan expressed concern that a divided Sudan would lead to a northern Sudan that could host extremists that could become a new haven for terrorism to threaten not only Africa, but also the world.
Meryl Zordanki and Faith McDonnell spoke of their commitment to human rights for the people of Darfur and Sudan, and their own experiences and disappointments with the latest widely reported fraudulent election results. Terry Nickelson spoke of the need for people to come together and take responsibility for human right atrocities in the world and not be dependent on the predictable disappointments of governments willing to compromise on basic human rights.
While marching from the White House to the U.S. State Department, the protesters carried signs stating “Freedom for Darfur,” “Stand with People of Sudan,” “Justice and Human Rights for Darfur,” and “Peace Begins with Justice in Sudan.” They chanted “Al-Bashir to the ICC,” “We Reject Rigged Elections,” and “Justice, Justice for Darfur,” as they marched to the U.S. State Department headquarters.
At the front of the U.S. State Department headquarters, the group requested that a representative of the U.S. State Department accept their statement. Mohamed Yahya, Jimmy Mulla, Niemat Ahmadai, Rev. Gloria White-Hammond, and Jeffrey Imm spoke.
Mohamed Yahya urged State Department Secretary Hillary Clinton to hear their concerns about Darfur and Sudan, and he led the protesters in protest chants at the U.S. State Department.
Gloria White-Hammond traveled from Boston to speak in front of the U.S. State Department with the Sudanese diaspora and human rights protesters. Reverence White-Hammond spoke of her own travels to Darfur and the need for Americans to recognize the essential human rights challenge that Darfur genocide and the latest “elections” represented to peace and human dignity.
Jeffrey Imm spoke to the law enforcement and security officers that surrounded the U.S. State Department headquarters entrance, and urged them to realize that the crisis in Darfur is both a human rights and a law enforcement crisis, comparing the situation in Sudan with the election of Al-Bashir to the election of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. Imm also stated that having an indicted war criminal leading a nation that was continuing genocide was also an international law enforcement issue as well.
Niemat Amadi spoke of the need to remember the continuing crisis of women in Darfur and the abuses that women continue to suffer every day in Sudan.
Jimmy Mulla thanked all those who traveled from different areas to represent the “voices” of the Sudanese diaspora and others that seek freedom and our universal human rights for Darfur and for all of Sudan.
Photographs:
Voices for Sudan Jimmy Mulla Organizes White House ProtestApril 30, 2010 - Protesters at White House / Lafayette Park - Image 1April 30, 2010 - Protesters at White House / Lafayette Park - Image 2April 30, 2010 - Protesters at White House / Lafayette Park - Image 3Mohamed Yahya Speaks of Disappointment in U.S. Obama Administration in Front of White House in Lafayette ParkFormer Candidate Muhammad Al-Hassan Speaks of Fraud in Sudan "Election"Meryl Zordanki of Action Africa Speaks on Reports of Fraudulent Election in SudanWilliam Deng Speaks of Slavery and Violence in SudanApril 30, 2010: Sudanese Diaspora and Human Rights Activists Protest Outside U.S. State Department in Washington DCU.S. State Department: Mohamed Yahya and Others Lead Protest Chants Challenging Fraudulent Elections in SudanResponsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)'s Jeffrey Imm Stands with Protesters for Sudan and Darfur Human Rights
To the US Secretary of the State, Madame Clinton
U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
Dear Madame Secretary:
As concerned members of the Sudanese community and its civil society, we are writing to express our grave concern about the recent Sudanese national elections. We come together today as diverse Sudanese leaders from all over the world to say we reject the rigged and fraudulent election and urge the U.S. government not to legitimize the victory and rule of the indicted war criminal Omar al-Bashir over our people in Sudan.
We welcome the recent statement by the U.S. State Department spokesperson that these elections will not bring the Government of Sudan redemption or legitimacy, as well as statements that Sudan’s elections did not meet international standards. However, we urge you to ensure that these declarations are committed to and applied by leaders at all levels of the U.S. government. U.S. policy toward Sudan must be based on a commitment to human rights and justice for all the people of Sudan. The lack of serious measures from the international community and the US in particular have emboldened al-Bashir’s government to continue its manipulative tactics in oppressing the people of Sudan.
We appreciate the United States’ efforts to help resolve Sudan’s multiple crises. Sudan’s national elections were one of the important milestones laid out in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005 with U.S. support. As Sudanese, we all hoped that a free and fair election could transform the country to a democratic nation, if all Sudanese people could participate in a secure environment free from oppression, fear and intimidation. However, these elections fell far short of fulfilling this dream. Instead, the elections were characterized by political repression and countless irregularities both before and during the election process that made the elections in both North and South Sudan far from free and fair or credible.
Sudan’s leading National Congress Party (NCP) manipulated the process, using all state organs and the state capacity to provide unfair advantage to its campaigns. Security blocked other political parties’ attempts at campaigning, organizing, and accessing the media. As a result, most other political parties boycotted the presidential contest and many other races.
It was also impossible for the Darfuri people to participate in the election process in any meaningful way. As stated by the European Union observer team, which withdrew from the region, the security situation was not conducive for elections to take place in Darfur. The lands of many Darfuri victims have also been occupied by Arab nomad settlers who were introduced to the area by the government of Sudan in exchange for taking part in the fighting and destruction in Darfur. This, combined with the fraudulent census and registration process, allowed for the intentional exclusion of countless Darfuris from the voting process.
With many of our families still on the ground, we are well aware that the security situation in our home region Darfur remains tense and volatile for the nearly three million displaced persons and refugees who have been driven from their homes and are still facing constant threats to their survival. Humanitarian access also remains blocked in many areas of Darfur, such as in the region of eastern Jebel Marra where aid groups that were forced to withdraw in February have
not been able to return. Attacks on civilians including rape and various forms of sexual violence against girls and women remain frequent and unaddressed. The abduction of aid workers and peacekeepers presents a huge challenge for the protection of civilians and provision of life-saving aid. The grave situation of committing heinous atrocities, forcibly displacing and replacing the original inhabitants of Darfur by Arab nomads from other countries for resettlement, combined with fraudulent census, will unequivocally jeopardize any endeavor of future peace process.
It is also important to note that, while many in the international community are well acquainted with difficulties in the implementation of Sudan’s CPA and the ongoing conflict in Darfur, residents of the Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan and Nubia regions also face grave threats to life and liberty. The fate of popular consultations in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile remains unknown and the non-implementation of the Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) leaves the grievances of the people unresolved and creates a potential for conflict. We recognize the challenges of dealing with al-Bashir’s regime, which has long specialized in divide-and-rule tactics and benefitted from intermittent focus by the international community on North-South issues and on Darfur. However, addressing the urgent situation in Darfur and the implementation of the CPA simultaneously is critical for the future of the entire country. The international community must recognize the urgency and hold the government of Sudan accountable for its actions in both regions.
Given the critical situation in the South with the referendum quickly approaching, we urge the U.S. to take serious measures to ensure that the oppression and irregularities of this election process are not repeated during the referendum. The people of the South must be able to exercise the right to decide their future.
The U.S. must also work with other U.N. Security Council member states to ensure better protection of civilians in Darfur by a more effective UNAMID peacekeeping force. It must also continue to push for an inclusive and genuine peace process that will address the root causes of the crises in Darfur and other areas of Sudan such Nuba Mountains, Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan, and Nubia Region. The United States must proactively support justice for victims of the
genocide in Darfur and continue to urge the execution of ICC arrest warrants for all those wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.
Madam Secretary, we call for your leadership in ensuring the U.S. takes serious and concrete steps to hold the Sudanese government accountable for respecting the human rights and democratic will of the people of Sudan. This begins with recognizing and working hard with international partners to address the abuses and irregularities that denied the Sudanese people free and fair elections.
Cc: President Obama
Sincerely,
The undersigned Civil Society and Community Leaders:
Mohmed Ahmed Eisa, Darfuri Activist/ Human Rights laureate, Boston. MA
Jimmy Mulla, President, Voices for Sudan, DC
Fakir Taha Jaweesh, Nubia Project, VA
Niemat Ahmadi, Darfur Women Action Group, DC
Nasma Abdalla Mohamed, Darfuri Activist, Washington, DC
Nagi Idris, Activist, VA
Nuraddin A. Manan, President Nubia Project, VA
Adam Yahya, President, Fur Solidarity of North America, Richmond VA
Parake Madout, Southern Sudanese Activist, Washington DC
Mahmed Daoud, Kush Movement, KM
Salah Abu Gabar Elhaj
Chair, Sudanese Democratic Alliance, VA
Mohaned Alhassan M H, Presidential Candidate /National Reform Party TX
Izzelddin Hohamed Alhassan, National; Reform Party TX
Nagi Iddris Nubia Project
Khalid Grase, Nubia Project, MD
Amal Allagabo, General Secretary, Darfur Women Action Group, VA
William Deng, President South Sudan Project, Richmond VA
Mohamed Mahmoud, Chair, Sudana, VA
Dr. Mahmoud Braima, Darfur Association of North America, Louisiana
Ahmed Adam Ali, President Darfur Association of Colorado, Denver
Mahdi Elkhalifa, Umma Party, VA
Page 4
Darfur Association of Dallas, TX
Darfur Association of Houston, TX
Darfur Association of Arizona
Darfur Association of Nebraska
Mr. Mansour Ahmed-, F Secretary-General- Fur Cultural Revival (Portland, ME)
Mr. Mohmmed Yahya, Director -Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
Adam Abakar, Darfurian Association of Utah,
Mr. Bakheit Shata, Darfur Community Organization (Omaha, Nebraska)
Mohamed E. Suleiman, Darfur’ Self Reliance Education, San Francisco Bay Area
Abdeljabar Seddik, Western Sudan Aid Relief in the USA Inc TX
. Darfurian Urgent Action of USA
. Care Unit for Unity and Development, Atlanta, GA
Activists
1. Dr. Adam Omer Lincoln, NE
2. Kamaldine Fort Wayne IN
3. Khalid Hanhdal Houston TX
4. Abdelrahim Khamis Houston TX
6. Adam Babiker Houston TX
7. Taragi Mustafa Ontario Canada
8. Basmat Ahmed Stone Mountain GA
9. Ezeldin Yahiya Dallas TX
10. Ismail Omer Dallas TX
11. Mohamed Hassan Omaha NE
12. El Gouzuli Sheruf Manhattan NY
13. Nusaiba Abbas Houston TX
14. Ahmed Yahya Stone Mountain GA
15. Hawa Ahmed Stone Mountain GA
16. Adam Abdullah Tucson AZ
17. Yahya Harun Dallas TX
19. Abdel Jabbar Seddik Dallas TX
20. Bakri Jumaa NJ
21. Abdo Ashoor Des Moines IA
22. Elsadiq Ashoor Des Moines IA
23. Mansour Ishaaq
24. Makki Makki Houston TX
25. Mohamed Haroon Dallas TX
26. Sulieman Awadallah Houston TX
28. Ibrahim Abdelrahman Houston TX
29. Elsadiq Jibril Houston TX
30. Abdel-Raziq Ibrahim Houston TX
31. Adam Mohamed Houston TX
32. Dr. Ismail Abdlla Baltimore MD
33. Jumaa Haree Manhattan NY
34. Alm Eldeen Adam Manhattan NY
35. Hassneen Sluman Fort Wayne IN
36. Ibrhim Adam Phoenix AZ
37. Salah Noreen AZ
38. Ahmed Elshikh Dallas TX
39. Elkhalee Shegfat Ph PA
European Diaspora
Mohammadain Mohamad Ishag, President -Darfur Culture Organization, Belgium
Ahamad Omar Ishag -Darfur Community Belgium
Mustafa A. Ali Dinar
Darfur Union, the Netherlands
Ahmed M.
White separatists holding an event were onceagain violently attacked, this time in San Francisco, reportedly by individuals using mace and brass knuckles according to the San Francisco Weekly, with a related report by KGO-TV. Such continuing mob political violence has also been seen recently in Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Such mob violence is becoming a despicable and growing trend in American demonstrations.
The latest reports on violence at a San Francisco protest center on a self described white “racial separatist” group called the “Bay Area National Anarchists” or “BANA” that was reportedly attacked during a protest event on Saturday, May 1, 2010 regarding immigration laws.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has previously reported on the white separatist “Bay Area National Anarchists” or “BANA” as “California racists” that “advocate racial separatism and white racial purity” and who “envision a future race war leading to neo-tribal, whites-only enclaves to be called ‘National Autonomous Zones.'” According to the SPLC report, BANA co-founder Andrew Yeoman told SPLC that “We are racial separatists for a number of reasons, such as our desire to maintain our cultural continuity, the principle of voluntary association, and as a self-defensive measure to protect each other from being victimized by crime from other races.”
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) does and will continue to challenge those promoting racial supremacist views in defiance of our universal human rights of equality and liberty, but we also uncategorically and unreservedly also condemn those who use violence and threats against those whose views we disagree with and condemn.
Reported Image of BANA's Yeoman after Violence (Photo: Facebook)
— “He said he saw that two of the men had brass knuckles, yet it was a woman who started the attack by macing Yeoman in the face. He says his sunglasses kept it from getting in his eyes. He remembers that two men pushed to then got him to the ground and kicked him, causing welts on his head. He alleges that they hit BANA member Parker Wilson in the back, and pushed a female member.”
— “Yeoman says a plainclothes cop rushed up to the fight and pulled his gun on him. ‘I thought the police was one of them at first, and I thought I was going to get killed.’ Yeoman and the attackers were all told to lay on their stomachs and were handcuffed and questioned.”
KGO-TV also reported: — “Three people were attacked and at least two others were arrested. The people assaulted were part of the Minutemen demonstration, a group in favor of Arizona’s new immigration law. They said a large group of immigrants’ rights supporters followed them to the BART station on Market Street and started punching and kicking them, and calling them names.”
— “Those arrested will likely be charged with felony assault and robbery.”
While Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) rejects the racial hate that is regularly associated with “white separatism” or “white nationalism” ideologies and their practitioners, this continuing trend of street violence against those that people disagree with is also absolutely criminal and wrong. We urge that those who engage in such violence, whatever their ideological beliefs, are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We have also reported on and condemned such criminal mob violence on April 17 in Los Angeles and on April 27 in Philadelphia. Such mob violence is a disgrace for all of America.
We will never demonstrate the courage of our convictions on ideologies that would deny our universal human rights by resorting to the cowardice of violence and threats. If we believe in something other than ideologies of hate, then it is essential that we consistently and unreservedly show that we mean what we say. Hate will never defeat hate.
Criminals and cowards will do nothing to further the cause of universal human rights. Our real courage for such universal human rights calls for challenging ideologies of hate and even violence with love and peace. That is the real courage anyone who believes in humanity’s inalienable rights must find.
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.) supports our unqualified, universal human rights for all. We urge white supremacists, white separatists, and supporters of any ideology of racial or supremacist hate to drop the burden of the hate of from their hearts. We also urge those who believe that ideologies of hate justify criminal violent acts to also drop their burden of hate and violence from their hearts as well, and to learn that violence is never the answer.
Pakistan: Christians protest occupation of church
— Pakistan Daily Times: “People belonging to the Christian community held a protest demonstration here on Sunday against Member Provincial Assembly (MPA) Malik Iftikhar belonging to PML-N for occupying a church with the help of armed hooligans.”
