Middle East Online reports on the views of ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo who states that the elections planned for April 11 through 13, 2010 in the Sudan are similar to a “monitoring a Hitler election.” Middle East Online also reports that ICC prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told them ” it was the duty of the Sudanese government in the first place to arrest” President Omar al-Bashir.
Middle East Online reports:
— “The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo on Tuesday likened Sudanese elections scheduled for next month to ‘a Hitler election.'”
— “The comment came the day after Sudan threatened to expel foreign observers after rejecting their call to delay the country’s first multi-party polls in 24 years over concerns about the way they are being organised.”
— “President Omar al-Beshir issued the warning in an address to supporters in the eastern city of Port Sudan on Monday after the electoral commission decided to press ahead and stage the elections next month as planned.”
— “The EU’s observers on the ground are facing ‘a big challenge,’ Moreno-Ocampo told a press conference in Brussels.”
— “‘It’s like monitoring a Hitler election,’ he added.”
— “The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president on five counts of crimes against humanity, including genocide, and two of war crimes committed in Darfur — its first-ever warrant for a sitting head of state.”
— “Moreno-Ocampo said it was the duty of the Sudanese government in the first place to arrest Beshir.”
— “An ICC appeals chamber last month ordered a review of Beshir’s arrest warrant for alleged atrocities in the war-torn western Sudanese province of Darfur.”
— “It directed judges to reconsider their decision to omit genocide from the warrant issued in March last year, saying they had made ‘an error in law.'”
— “The Sudanese legislative, regional and presidential elections, is scheduled for April 11-13.”
As the International Criminal Court ruled that Sudan President Omar al-Bashir may be charged with genocide, Damanga, Sudan human rights activists, and their supporters rallied in Washington DC at the Capitol and the White House on February 3, 2010. The Sudan human rights activists supporters called for the U.S. Congress, President Obama, and Vice President Biden to do more to end the genocide in Darfur and Sudan. Activists at the rallies came from around the country, including some from San Francisco, California.
Sudan and Human Rights Activists Rally in Washington DC - February 3, 2010
The human rights rally began in the morning at the Capitol building on the Capitol West Lawn, where activists turned up despite a late night snow that brought 3-5 inches on snow on the roads.
Sudan Human Rights Activists Rally Outside Capitol to Stop the Genocide in Darfur and Support Human Rights for All
At the Capitol, Damanga’s Mohamed Yahya spoke about the current situation in Darfur and why every day mattered, calling for U.S. Congressional representatives to take action on Darfur.
Major issues addressed by Damanga at the Capitol rally included topics such as urging the U.S. government and Obama adminstration to:
* STOP ICC-indicted President Omar Al-Bashir’s bid for re-election
* STOP sentence issuance for Darfuri Opposition Leaders without guaranteeing them rights to a fair trial
* STOP unfair elections & promote free and legitimate FUTURE elections including a freed Darfur.
* CANCEL the Doha Negotiotians for Peace that lack proper Darfuri representation
* IMPLEMENT UNSC Res.1769 that calls for 26,000 UN troops to be deployed to Darfur.
* REMOVE Arab Janjaweed and their families out of Darfuri land.
* GUARANTEE PROTECTION and compensation for Darfuri villagers wanting to return to their homes.
* ALLOW expelled humanitarian organizations back in Darfur to help genocide victims
* CLARIFY the US policy towards Darfur.
Damanga's Mohamed Yahya Speaks into Megaphone at Capitol Rally
In addition, Ibrahim Tahir, President, Beja Congress organization from East Sudan spoke and called for urgent action by the world community on the Darfur situation.
Ibrahim Tahir Speaks in Support of Sudan Human Rights at Capitol
Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.)‘s Jeffrey Imm called upon the American people to realize that we cannot tolerate another day of genocide in the Sudan, and that stopping genocide is the responsibility of every human being as part of our shared responsibility for equality and liberty for each other, stating that in the face of genocidal conflict, “we are all Darfurians.”
Damanga's Mohamed Yahya, R.E.A.L's Jeffrey Imm, and Other Activists at Capitol
After the Capitol rally, many of the activists then marched to the White House, where the rally continued.
At the White House, Ms. Niemat Ahmadai with the Darfur Women Action Group spoke out in support calling for action to protect the Sudanese people and calling for an end to the Genocide in Darfur. Mr. Khalid Graise, Director, Nubia Forum of North Sudan, also spoke calling for the the international community to support the ICC’s warrant against Sudanese President Al-Bashir. Damanga’s Mohamed Yahya had a message for President Barack Obama asking him not to forget his campaign promises to take action in Darfur.
The Obama campaign had stated that: “As president, Obama will take immediate steps to end the genocide in Darfur by increasing pressure on the Sudanese and pressure the government to halt the killing and stop impeding the deployment of a robust international force.”
Ms. Niemat Ahmadai, Darfur Women Action Group, Speaks in Support of Darfur Human Rights at White House
After the rally, Damanga’s Mohamed Yahya sought to present a letter to U.S. President Obama at the White House to address Damanga and other Darfur human rights activists concerns on Darfur and Sudan. The U.S. Secret Service could not accept the physical letter at the gate, and Mohamed Yahya agreed to fax the letter to President Obama.
Mr. Yahya thanked the activists for coming out in the winter weather for the Capitol and White House rallies, and appreciated their friendship. He also thanked American people and people around the world, including the Jewish and Christian communities, that have come out to support the Sudanese people on the issue of human rights in Darfur. Mr. Yahya hoped that the in the future, rather than future rallies, we could get together to celebrate the end of Al-Bashir’s crimes against the Darfur and Sudanese people and that we could celebrate freedom and human rights for all in the Sudan.
=========================================
February 2 Letter from Mohamed Yahya to Supporters:
Dear Friends and Darfur Supporters,
We would like to let you know that what we have anticipated was happening now. THE SNOW. We have encouraged by many of you who
decided to come out to the rally this morning despite the bad weather. Challenging the snow and deliver the letter the president. We know that
the Congressmen and Women who wanted to attend might not able to make it. However, We are trying to do our best and take this challenge for the Victims living in Hell in Darfur. Thank you for those coming from outside the area, Philadelphia, Virginia , Maryland and New Jersey. We are so proud of you even if you are not able to make it for the weather for cast changes. Your spirits will be with us.
Thank you for the media, Specially PBS and other TV Chanel’s who wanted to come.
Please stay in touch and let’s to have some fun together if this snow will witness to write a new victory for those suffering in Darfur, Specially while we observing the ICC announcement this morning regarding genocide in Darfur.
Please check your letter that you all signed to be delivered to President Obama. The letter attached here also as a witness and evidence for your enormous support. Also find the list of the confirmed speakers below:
1- Mr. Mohamed A. Yahya, Founder/ Executive director,
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.
2- Mr. Andrew Eiva, Director of Freedom 4 Sudan.
3- Ms. Niemat Ahmadai, Liaison Officer, Save Darfur Coalition,
4- Mr. Ibrahim Tahir, President, Beja Congress organization from East Sudan,
5- Mr. Garelnabi Abusikin, Out reach Director,
Darfur Human Rights of the USA, Philadelphia,
6- Mr. Khalid Graise, Director, Nubia Forum of North Sudan,
7- Ms. Faith McDonnell, Director of the Religious Liberty Program.
8- Mr. Nouredin Mannan, Nubian Community Organization- MD.
9- Mr. Hayder Abdalla, Charlottesville Darfur Community.
10- Mr. Jeffrey Imm, Director of R.E.A.L. Responsible for Equality and Liberty.
We, the Undersigned people from Darfur, along with our fellow Sudanese brothers and sisters and American activists working in solidarity, would like to thank you and the people of America for your voiced commitment and action to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur in an effort to bring about needed change for all of Sudan. During the election campaign, you insisted that the “Darfur problem is a stain on our souls and we need to stop it.” We are still counting on you and your leadership to act on this statement. A year has passed since this initial statement, but little has changed in Darfur. Despite news reports that consider the situation in Darfur improving, Sudanese airplane attacks, Janjaweed raids on Darfuri civilians, and fighting between rebel and government forces has continued leading up to the Doha, Qatar talks scheduled for later this month, the April 2010 elections, and the 2011 South Sudan referendum decision.
Mr. President, Our gravest concerns are the followings:
1. Your administration is currently supporting superficial Doha peace negotiations that lack Darfuri representation. NCP representatives that support the current regime are replacing Darfuri victims’ representation at the negotiations. The major faction groups within Darfur, as well as NGOs from the region, also lack representation. The Doha Forum is thus fully dominated by NCP, the Arab League, and the African Union, not to mention that Qatar itself is partial to the regime. Darfuri’s simple demand, “give justice a chance first,” will continue to be left unanswered in Qatar. No concrete or lasting peace can be achieved in such conditions, reinforced by the fact that indicted war criminals Ahmad Horoun and Salih Kusheeb remain at large. Peace cannot be formulated without this important restoration of justice.
2. The undemocratic election process in Sudan is allowing indicted Al-Bashir and his NCP party to run for presidency in April 2010. In the months leading up to the election, the NCP government has forced protesting Darfuris to register for the election (people of Darfur stated clearly that they will never accept or register for unfair elections that do not respect their right to restore justice, peace, and democracy) and have further arrested, beaten, and killed individuals that have voiced public opposition or have demonstrated for free and fair elections. Without taking action regarding this gross violation of human rights and failing to enforce the ICC indictments, the U.S. is sending a strong political and moral message to both Sudan and the rest of the world that a government indicted for crimes against humanity is a legitimate, justified administration of a modern day country. Al-Bashir must be rightfully arrested and charged for his crimes against humanity and prevented from using intimidation tactics and fraudulent methods to win the April 2010 elections.
3. Since 2007, the implementation of special resolution UNSC 1769 that would send a powerful and robust force of western peacekeepers to Darfur has not been fulfilled. We ask that the full mandate of this resolution be implemented.
4. On January 21, Al-Bashir government has revoked the licenses of 26 humanitarian organizations working in Darfur, accusing them of “breaking the law” without any further specification. Furthermore, the government sent warnings to other 13 charitable organizations, that they must comply with the country’s laws through 30 days or face the same consequences. This action follows his previous expulsion of 13 NGOs in March 2009 following the announcement of his indictment. Little (if any) help is left for Darfuris as Al-Bashir continues expelling NGOs and harassing peacekeepers and poisoning Darfuri water resources. We thus urge you to implement the following: form an international committee co-directed by the US & the UN to stop expulsion of NGOs from the region (and return those that have been expelled), and free all Darfuri and Sudanese detainees and grant them free and fair trials.
5. We need to see a clear and well-defined US policy towards Sudan and its current government. Since The Secretary of States, Ms. Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice and General Scott Gration announced your administration’s policy towards Sudan last year, we have never witnessed a palpable implementation or effective execution of these policies towards Darfur.
6. The Janjaweed and their families that have resettled on land that belongs to the people of Darfur must be removed immediately. After this initial evacuation, subsequent protection and compensation should be granted to Darfuris planning on returning to this land where their villages once existed.
7. Mr. President, The best solution for Sudan is to be united as one country, with respect to the CPA agreement that gives South Sudan rights for self-determination and a vote to secede under the 2011 referendum. It is imperative to realize that the South’s desire to secede arises from a foundation of complaints similar to the people of Darfur: unfair (and lack of) adequate representation in the Sudanese government, infringements on basic human rights at the will of the regime, and continual violence and destruction of their homeland. We can thus use the situation in South Sudan as a form of political leverage to restore justice, peace, and democracy for all of Sudan and thus create a harmonious, unified state.
Finally, Mr. President, we want to reiterate that we fully understand the difficult challenges facing all of our nations at this critical time in history. However, this is not an excuse to distract us from restoring justice for the people in Darfur. We want to remind you of the commitment you made when the whole world was watching: “Darfur will be my priority when I take office”. Mr. President Obama, we urge you to live up to your promises.
You are not only the leader of America, but you are the leader of the world as the face of America. Please do not let us, the citizens of America, the people of Sudan, and the citizens of the world, down.
Thank you.
1- Ms. Janette Lane Bradbury, California
2- Mr. Mohamed A. Yahya, Founder / Executive Director, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
http://www.damanga.org
Falls Church –VA
3- Ms. Mastora Bakheit, Director, Darfur Women for Peace and Development, Indiana.
4 – Ms. Munira Mohamed, Director, Miram Dar organization, Minnesota.
5-Mr. Andrew Eiva, Director, Freedom 4 Sudan, Washington DC.
6-Ms. Supriya A.Desai, Darfur Activist, New Jersey
7-Mr. Daowd Salih, President, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, New Jersey.
8- Dr. Adam Gaiser, Professor of Religions Studies and Islamic Research, University of Florida State.
“Mohammed Adam Yahya is a refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan and is the founder and Executive Director of Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy. From 1995 to 2005, he was Chairman and spokesman of the Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile, which was the first human rights group to alert the international community to human rights abuses in western Sudan. Mr. Yahya was born in a small village east of Al-Geneina, the capital of Darmassaleit (West Darfur state). Both as a child and adult, he experienced the brutal racism that permeates Sudanese society. In 1993, his village witnessed the first attacks of the Sudanese government’s Arab militia raiders, known as janjaweed. Yahya’s home was completely decimated and most of his relatives and neighbors were shot, raped, or burned alive in their huts. Yahya was studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo at the time his village was destroyed. He received word that his parents were safe, but he lost 21 other family members. Yahya and other Sudanese students living in Cairo sought to alert the international community to the humanitarian crisis that had begun to unfold. In 1995, they formed the Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile (RMCE). The RMCE’s founding members came from many different ethnic Sudanese backgrounds including the Massaleit, Fur, Dajo, Zagawa, Bargo, Gimir, Tama, Berty, Barno, and Meme, in addition to people from the Nuba Mountains, southern Sudan and elsewhere. The RMCE began this work by writing reports and circulating them on foot to all the international embassies in Cairo. Their first major open letter to the international community, “The Hidden Slaughter and Ethnic Cleansing in Western Sudan,” was distributed in 1999. Over the next couple of years it was widely referenced by the United Nations General Assembly and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, along with organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Between 1999 and 2003, working in Cairo with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Yahya and the RMCE were also able to sponsor more than 20,000 refugees from various parts of Sudan. They helped ensure that nearly 95% of the people fleeing Sudan received political asylum and resettlement in Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States. In 2002, fearing reprisal from the Sudanese government for his humanitarian and advocacy work, Yahya sought political asylum in the United States. After his relocation to Charlottesville, Virginia, Yahya founded Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, in order to continue and expand on the work of the RMCE.”
The pro-freedom Damanga group is planning a rally and march to the White House on Wednesday, February 3, 2010 in Washington DC. The Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy is led by Mr. Mohamed Yahya, whose Damanga group was founded by leaders of the Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile (RMCE), whose cause is to seek human rights for the Darfur and Sudanese people. They oppose the ongoing genocide in Sudan. They seek to provide a letter to President Barack Obama on their concerns regarding Darfur and the Sudanese people at the White House.
Damanga “promotes the human rights of the people of Darfur, Sudan and elsewhere in the world. We educate the people of the region, the United States of America and beyond about their rights to freedom, equality and participation in government. Damanga seeks to aid the disempowered, including the victims of the Darfur conflict, through charitable work supporting education and livelihoods, so these people can work for the preservation of their communities.”
Rally from West Capitol Hill from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon.
March to the White House at 12:00 Noon
Urge the Obama Administration to…
* STOP ICC-indicted President Omar Al-Bashir’s bid for re-election
* STOP sentence issuance for Darfuri Opposition Leaders without guaranteeing them rights to a fair trial
* STOP unfair elections & promote free and legitimate FUTURE elections including a freed Darfur.
* CANCEL the Doha Negotiotians for Peace that lack proper Darfuri representation
* IMPLEMENT UNSC Res.1769 that calls for 26,000 UN troops to be deployed to Darfur.
* REMOVE Arab Janjaweed and their families out of Darfuri land.
* GUARANTEE PROTECTION and compensation for Darfuri villagers wanting to return to their homes.
* ALLOW expelled humanitarian organizations back in Darfur to help genocide victims
* CLARIFY the US policy towards Darfur.
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.
—
Mohamed Yahya
Mohamed Yahya, Executive Director of Damanga
Founder/ Executive Director:
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy,
T-703-310-4424.
F-703-888-3364
E-mail: mohamed.yahya@damanga.org
=========================================
February 2 Letter from Mohamed Yahya to Supporters:
Dear Friends and Darfur Supporters,
We would like to let you know that what we have anticipated was happening now. THE SNOW. We have encouraged by many of you who
decided to come out to the rally this morning despite the bad weather. Challenging the snow and deliver the letter the president. We know that
the Congressmen and Women who wanted to attend might not able to make it. However, We are trying to do our best and take this challenge for the Victims living in Hell in Darfur. Thank you for those coming from outside the area, Philadelphia, Virginia , Maryland and New Jersey. We are so proud of you even if you are not able to make it for the weather for cast changes. Your spirits will be with us.
Thank you for the media, Specially PBS and other TV Chanel’s who wanted to come.
Please stay in touch and let’s to have some fun together if this snow will witness to write a new victory for those suffering in Darfur, Specially while we observing the ICC announcement this morning regarding genocide in Darfur.
Please check your letter that you all signed to be delivered to President Obama. The letter attached here also as a witness and evidence for your enormous support. Also find the list of the confirmed speakers below:
1- Mr. Mohamed A. Yahya, Founder/ Executive director,
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.
2- Mr. Andrew Eiva, Director of Freedom 4 Sudan.
3- Ms. Niemat Ahmadai, Liaison Officer, Save Darfur Coalition,
4- Mr. Ibrahim Tahir, President, Beja Congress organization from East Sudan,
5- Mr. Garelnabi Abusikin, Out reach Director,
Darfur Human Rights of the USA, Philadelphia,
6- Mr. Khalid Graise, Director, Nubia Forum of North Sudan,
7- Ms. Faith McDonnell, Director of the Religious Liberty Program.
8- Mr. Nouredin Mannan, Nubian Community Organization- MD.
9- Mr. Hayder Abdalla, Charlottesville Darfur Community.
10- Mr. Jeffrey Imm, Director of R.E.A.L. Rights for Equality and Liberty.
We, the Undersigned people from Darfur, along with our fellow Sudanese brothers and sisters and American activists working in solidarity, would like to thank you and the people of America for your voiced commitment and action to stop the ongoing genocide in Darfur in an effort to bring about needed change for all of Sudan. During the election campaign, you insisted that the “Darfur problem is a stain on our souls and we need to stop it.” We are still counting on you and your leadership to act on this statement. A year has passed since this initial statement, but little has changed in Darfur. Despite news reports that consider the situation in Darfur improving, Sudanese airplane attacks, Janjaweed raids on Darfuri civilians, and fighting between rebel and government forces has continued leading up to the Doha, Qatar talks scheduled for later this month, the April 2010 elections, and the 2011 South Sudan referendum decision.
Mr. President, Our gravest concerns are the followings:
1. Your administration is currently supporting superficial Doha peace negotiations that lack Darfuri representation. NCP representatives that support the current regime are replacing Darfuri victims’ representation at the negotiations. The major faction groups within Darfur, as well as NGOs from the region, also lack representation. The Doha Forum is thus fully dominated by NCP, the Arab League, and the African Union, not to mention that Qatar itself is partial to the regime. Darfuri’s simple demand, “give justice a chance first,” will continue to be left unanswered in Qatar. No concrete or lasting peace can be achieved in such conditions, reinforced by the fact that indicted war criminals Ahmad Horoun and Salih Kusheeb remain at large. Peace cannot be formulated without this important restoration of justice.
2. The undemocratic election process in Sudan is allowing indicted Al-Bashir and his NCP party to run for presidency in April 2010. In the months leading up to the election, the NCP government has forced protesting Darfuris to register for the election (people of Darfur stated clearly that they will never accept or register for unfair elections that do not respect their right to restore justice, peace, and democracy) and have further arrested, beaten, and killed individuals that have voiced public opposition or have demonstrated for free and fair elections. Without taking action regarding this gross violation of human rights and failing to enforce the ICC indictments, the U.S. is sending a strong political and moral message to both Sudan and the rest of the world that a government indicted for crimes against humanity is a legitimate, justified administration of a modern day country. Al-Bashir must be rightfully arrested and charged for his crimes against humanity and prevented from using intimidation tactics and fraudulent methods to win the April 2010 elections.
3. Since 2007, the implementation of special resolution UNSC 1769 that would send a powerful and robust force of western peacekeepers to Darfur has not been fulfilled. We ask that the full mandate of this resolution be implemented.
4. On January 21, Al-Bashir government has revoked the licenses of 26 humanitarian organizations working in Darfur, accusing them of “breaking the law” without any further specification. Furthermore, the government sent warnings to other 13 charitable organizations, that they must comply with the country’s laws through 30 days or face the same consequences. This action follows his previous expulsion of 13 NGOs in March 2009 following the announcement of his indictment. Little (if any) help is left for Darfuris as Al-Bashir continues expelling NGOs and harassing peacekeepers and poisoning Darfuri water resources. We thus urge you to implement the following: form an international committee co-directed by the US & the UN to stop expulsion of NGOs from the region (and return those that have been expelled), and free all Darfuri and Sudanese detainees and grant them free and fair trials.
5. We need to see a clear and well-defined US policy towards Sudan and its current government. Since The Secretary of States, Ms. Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Susan Rice and General Scott Gration announced your administration’s policy towards Sudan last year, we have never witnessed a palpable implementation or effective execution of these policies towards Darfur.
6. The Janjaweed and their families that have resettled on land that belongs to the people of Darfur must be removed immediately. After this initial evacuation, subsequent protection and compensation should be granted to Darfuris planning on returning to this land where their villages once existed.
7. Mr. President, The best solution for Sudan is to be united as one country, with respect to the CPA agreement that gives South Sudan rights for self-determination and a vote to secede under the 2011 referendum. It is imperative to realize that the South’s desire to secede arises from a foundation of complaints similar to the people of Darfur: unfair (and lack of) adequate representation in the Sudanese government, infringements on basic human rights at the will of the regime, and continual violence and destruction of their homeland. We can thus use the situation in South Sudan as a form of political leverage to restore justice, peace, and democracy for all of Sudan and thus create a harmonious, unified state.
Finally, Mr. President, we want to reiterate that we fully understand the difficult challenges facing all of our nations at this critical time in history. However, this is not an excuse to distract us from restoring justice for the people in Darfur. We want to remind you of the commitment you made when the whole world was watching: “Darfur will be my priority when I take office”. Mr. President Obama, we urge you to live up to your promises.
You are not only the leader of America, but you are the leader of the world as the face of America. Please do not let us, the citizens of America, the people of Sudan, and the citizens of the world, down.
Thank you.
1- Ms. Janette Lane Bradbury,
10817 Kling Street Toluka Lake,
CA 91602
2- Mr. Mohamed A. Yahya,
Founder / Executive Director,
Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy
www.damanga.org.
Falls Church –VA
3- Ms. Mastora Bakheit,
Director, Darfur Women for Peace and Development,
Indiana.
4-Ms. Munira Mohamed,
Director, Miram Dar organization
Minnesota.
5-Mr. Andrew Eiva,
Director, Freedom 4 Sudan.
Washington DC.
6-Ms. Supriya A.Desai,
Darfur Activist, New Jersey,
7-Mr. Daowd Salih,
President, Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.
Tell- 908-727-0128
New Jersey.
8- Dr. Adam Gaiser,
Professor of religions Studies and Islamic research,
University of Florida State.
13- Ms. Katie Scott, Director of Community Programming,
Stop Genocide Now. California.
14- Ms. Tragi Mustafa, Darfuri Activist,
Canada.
15- Ms. Nell Okie, Darfur Activist,
Connecticut Coalition to Save Darfur.
Tel-203-415-0465
16- Dr. Howard Chudler, Darfur Activist,
17- Mr. Bakheit A. Shata,
Founder/ Executive Director,
Darfur Community Organization
1117 N 48 St. # 19 Omaha, NE 68132
Tel- 402-934-2617. www.darfur Community.org
18- Dr. Jerry Ehrlich
USA.
19- Mr. Yahya Osman, President,
Darfur Rehabilitation Project,
New Jersey.
20- Mr. Gafar O. Kangam,
Director of Public Relations.
Voices for Sudan, Virginia.
21- Mr. Ablelkarim Bacher,
Darfuri Activist, San Francisco- CA.
22- Mr. Abdulrahman Siddig Abdulla,
Darfuri Activist, Europe.
23- Mr. Garelnabi Abu Sikin,
Out Reach Director,
Darfur Human Rights Organization,
Philadelphia.
24- Mr. Hayder Abdalla,
Darfuri Activist, Charlottesville, VA.
25- Mr. Ibrahim Tahir, President,
Beja Congress of East Sudan,
Virginia.
26- Mr. Noureldin Mannan, Activist,
Nubia People of North Sudan,
Maryland.
27- Mr. Alghali Shigifat,
Sudanese Journalist and Darfuri Activist.
Philadelphia.
28- Mr. Ibrahim Ali,
Darfuri Activist, West Virginia.
29- Dr. Abdulgabar Adam, President,
Darfur Human Rights Organization,
Philadelphia.
“Mohammed Adam Yahya is a refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan and is the founder and Executive Director of Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy. From 1995 to 2005, he was Chairman and spokesman of the Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile, which was the first human rights group to alert the international community to human rights abuses in western Sudan. Mr. Yahya was born in a small village east of Al-Geneina, the capital of Darmassaleit (West Darfur state). Both as a child and adult, he experienced the brutal racism that permeates Sudanese society. In 1993, his village witnessed the first attacks of the Sudanese government’s Arab militia raiders, known as janjaweed. Yahya’s home was completely decimated and most of his relatives and neighbors were shot, raped, or burned alive in their huts. Yahya was studying at Al-Azhar University in Cairo at the time his village was destroyed. He received word that his parents were safe, but he lost 21 other family members. Yahya and other Sudanese students living in Cairo sought to alert the international community to the humanitarian crisis that had begun to unfold. In 1995, they formed the Representatives of the Massaleit Community in Exile (RMCE). The RMCE’s founding members came from many different ethnic Sudanese backgrounds including the Massaleit, Fur, Dajo, Zagawa, Bargo, Gimir, Tama, Berty, Barno, and Meme, in addition to people from the Nuba Mountains, southern Sudan and elsewhere. The RMCE began this work by writing reports and circulating them on foot to all the international embassies in Cairo. Their first major open letter to the international community, “The Hidden Slaughter and Ethnic Cleansing in Western Sudan,” was distributed in 1999. Over the next couple of years it was widely referenced by the United Nations General Assembly and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, along with organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. Between 1999 and 2003, working in Cairo with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Yahya and the RMCE were also able to sponsor more than 20,000 refugees from various parts of Sudan. They helped ensure that nearly 95% of the people fleeing Sudan received political asylum and resettlement in Europe, Canada, Australia and the United States. In 2002, fearing reprisal from the Sudanese government for his humanitarian and advocacy work, Yahya sought political asylum in the United States. After his relocation to Charlottesville, Virginia, Yahya founded Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy, in order to continue and expand on the work of the RMCE.”
Travelers to Washington DC events frequently find parking to be either expensive or at a premium; many find that the most efficient way to get there is via the subway. The Washington DC subway is fast and efficient, and you will be able to park at a stop in Maryland and Virginia to come into the city. This weblink provides a map of Washington subway system. You can plan your trip from the Washington DC subway web site. While the DC subway is usually a reliable form of transportation, it makes good sense to double-check on any possible service disruptions before heading out to events, in terms of allowing sufficient travel time.
— CNN reports: ” Judges at the International Criminal Court ruled Wednesday that Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir may be charged with genocide for his role in a five-year campaign of violence in western Sudan’s Darfur region.”
— “Al-Bashir, who remains in office, has already been charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo had the genocide charge on his original arrest warrant for al-Bashir, but the pre-trial judges left off the charge when they approved the warrant last March.”
— “The appeals judges said the pre-trial chamber had applied an ‘erroneous standard of proof’ to the genocide charge.”
— “The judges said they were not ruling on whether al-Bashir should be charged with genocide — only whether the charge could be added to the arrest warrant. They said it will be up to the pre-trial chamber to determine whether to add the charge to the warrant, which could take several weeks.”
— “The International Criminal Court at The Hague, Netherlands, is a permanent, treaty-based tribunal dealing with the most serious crimes against humanity.”
Sudanese Candidate Al-Mahdi Wouldn’t Hand Over Bashir to ICC
— Bloomberg reports: “Sudan’s last elected leader, Sadig al-Mahdi, says he won’t hand President Umar al-Bashir to the International Criminal Court if he wins the presidency in April in the country’s first multiparty elections in 24 years.”
— “Bashir, who overthrew then-prime minister al-Mahdi in a 1989 military coup, is wanted by the Hague-based ICC on charges of being responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the seven-year-old conflict in the western region of Darfur. ”
Pew Global Poll Results – Worst Nations for Religious Freedom
Pew Poll – Very High
Top 5% of scores Saudi Arabia – OIC Nation
Iran – OIC Nation
Uzbekistan – OIC Nation
China – Communist
Egypt – OIC Nation
Burma (Myanmar)
Maldives – OIC Nation
Eritrea
Malaysia – OIC Nation
Brunei – OIC Nation
Pew Poll – High
Next 15% of scores Indonesia – OIC Nation
Mauritania – OIC Nation
Pakistan – OIC Nation
Turkey – OIC Nation
Vietnam – Communist Nation
Algeria – OIC Nation
Belarus
Russia
Turkmenistan – OIC Nation
Libya – OIC Nation
Sudan – OIC Nation
Tajikistan – OIC Nation
Jordan – OIC Nation
Afghanistan – OIC Nation
Morocco – OIC Nation
Laos – Communist
Syria – OIC Nation
India
Tunisia – OIC Nation
Azerbaijan – OIC Nation
Kuwait – OIC Nation
Kazakhstan – OIC Nation
Yemen – OIC Nation
Iraq – OIC Nation
Western Sahara
Bulgaria
Singapore
Moldova
Greece
Israel
Cuba – Communist Nation
Oman – OIC Nation
Somalia* – OIC Nation
Out of 43 Nations Ranked “Very High” and “High” in Terms of Deny Religious Freedom – 30 were OIC nations — 70 percent of the Very High and High Nations Ranked is denying religious freedom – being OIC nations
“Native of Khartoum lives in seclusion in Egypt as brother, ex-husband hunt for her”
“A Sudanese woman who fled to Egypt after converting from Islam to Christianity is living in secluded isolation as her angry family members try to track her down.”
“Howida Ali’s Muslim brother and her ex-husband began searching for her in Cairo earlier this year after a relative there reported her whereabouts to them. While there, her brother and ex-husband tried to seize her 10-year-old son from school.”
” ‘I’m afraid of my brother finding us,’ said the 38-year-old Ali, who has moved to another area. ‘Their aim is to take us back to Sudan, and there they will force us to return to the Islamic faith or sentence us to death according to Islamic law.’ ”
“Ali said she divorced her husband, Esam El deen Ali, because of his drug addiction in 2001, before she converted to Christianity. She was living with her parents in Khartoum when she began seeing visions of Christ, she said.”
“Fearing that relatives might discover she was a Christian, in 2007 she escaped with her then-8-year-old son. Previously the family had tried to stop her from leaving on grounds that she should not travel unescorted by an adult male relative, and because they disapproved of her divorce.”
” ‘They destroyed my passport, but through the assistance of a Christian friend, I acquired a new passport and secretly left,’ she told Compass by e-mail.”
“Her peace in Egypt was short-lived; earlier this year, while Ali secretly attended church as she stayed with a Muslim relative in Cairo, the relative found out about her conversion to Christianity and notified her brother and ex-husband in Sudan.”
“They arrived in Cairo in July. She had found lodging at All Saints’ Cathedral, an Episcopal church in Cairo that houses a refugee ministry, but as it became clear that her brother and ex-husband were searching for her, refugee ministry officials moved her and her son to an apartment.”
“Ali said her brother and ex-husband sought to kill her for apostasy, or leaving Islam – with the support of relatives back in Sudan and others in the community, members of the Shaingia tribe who practice a strict form of Islam.”
” ‘Life became very difficult for me,’ she said.”
“The Rev. Emmanuel S. Bennsion of All Saints’ Cathedral confirmed that Ali’s ex-husband and brother were acting on a tip from one of Ali’s relatives when they came searching for her in Cairo. They went to her son’s school to take him back to Sudan. It was a Christian school, and the director refused to hand the boy over to them, Bennsion said.”
” ‘Since that time, she has started hiding and become afraid,’ Bennsion told Compass.”
“Ali had received financial support from family in Sudan through the relative in Cairo who notified her family of her conversion; that support has since vanished.”
“Fearing forcible repatriation to Sudan, Ali tried to go to Israel; Egyptian authorities arrested her at the border and jailed her for two months. During that time, she said, her son was put in an Islamic children’s home. A Muslim family had adopted him, but she was able to win back custody after leaving jail in October.”
” ‘We have stopped going out of the apartment or even going to church,’ she said. ‘My son can no longer go to school daily as before. We cannot live our lives as before. I cannot now participate in the Bible study or fellowships – I’m now depending only on myself for growing spiritually, and for prayer and Bible study.’ ”
“She said her only hope for living her faith openly in Christian community is to secure asylum to another country that guarantees religious freedom.”
December 10, 1948 was an important date in the history of humanity. On that day, the nations of the world came together amidst the global crimes against humanity during World War II, and were determined to create an international declaration of our most basic rights as human beings to be respected by the nations of the world – universally. Their efforts became known as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
In many ways, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the world’s way of saying “Never Again.” Those who would stand defiant against the forces of apathy, hate, and hopelessness to defend humanity’s most basic rights as human beings took courage in this international declaration. As the years went by, other declarations of human courage continued around the world.
“Never Again” was followed by “Ich bin ein Berliner,” then “I Have A Dream,” then “There is No Such Thing as Part Freedom.” From person to person, from city to city, from nation to nation, there has been a continuing march for human freedom. In every step, the advocates for human equality and liberty share a common message to those who would deny such human rights – “We Shall Overcome.”
The true context of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is not just about the times in which it was created, but by the human beings that have dared to stand for it.
They are the human beings who recognize the truths that we hold self-evident that all men and women are created equal and that all deserve the inalienable human rights of equality and liberty. They are the human beings that understand that we are one race… the human race. They understand there is truly one omni-culture of shared humanity. They understand there is just one home that we all share – where our universal human rights extend to every part of that home – of our planet Earth.
December 10 was designated as “Human Rights Day” by the United Nations in remembrance of the December 10, 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But not only do we recognize our declaration in support of such universal human rights, but also we remember those who have denied them, including the totalitarian and supremacist nations and ideologies of the world that seek to continue to deny such universal human rights today.
But in challenging those who would deny our universal human rights we do not offer an upraised fist, but instead we offer an outstretched hand from the family of humanity. Our human rights are their human rights. We urge those would use their hatred of others to justify denying their human rights, to drop the burden of hate from their hearts, and join their brothers and sisters in humanity.
We believe that…
Love Wins.
Our Goal to be Responsible for Equality and Liberty
Too many hearts are hardened and numb by the endless stream of human tragedy that is broadcast around the world on a daily basis. Too many ears have been shut to the cries of anguish of our suffering fellow human beings, and have been focused instead on our differences and our quarrels, rather than on what brings us together as a single and as a singular human race. Too many minds have become closed to the infinite possibilities of peace, dignity, and human co-existence grounded on a consistent approach to defending our universal human rights.
We come here today to rise above such numbness, such indifference and divisions, and such inflexibility on this December 10, “Human Rights Day,” to join the chorus of past declarations of courage and declare our support for our Universal Human Rights for all of humanity.
Our volunteer group, Responsible for Equality And Liberty (R.E.A.L.), seeks to reach out to the public to rebuild a culture where our universal human rights are a priority, not an afterthought. We believe that our standard of living as human beings — begins with our standard of human rights for one another.
In a world where compromise has become a way of life, R.E.A.L.’s mission is to focus on consistency in human rights, and to offer a consistent vision on the largest threats to human equality and liberty. While we celebrate our diversity as individual human beings, we must recognize that a culture of co-existence is dependent on our shared universal human rights around the world.
Among the nations that did not adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on December 10, 1948 were the Communist bloc nations and the Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Communist leaders who took control of China in 1949 led to the creation of one of the world’s worst human rights abusers in Communist China, with 1.3 billion human beings whose liberty and human rights are routinely denied today. Communist China is a nation with over 1,000 forced labor camps. Saudi Arabia set the standard for rejecting universal human rights among “Islamic” nations, which led to a rejection of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights among such nations, replaced by a Sharia-based Cairo Declaration of Human Rights, under which all human rights are solely dependent on Islamic Sharia law. The Sharia-based Cairo Declaration was formed by the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), which continues to refuse to accept unqualified universal human rights for women, children, non-Muslims, and even other Muslims.
But the challenge to our human rights does not only extend to those nations that have rejected the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or the spirit of such universal human rights. It has extended as well to too many of those nations that adopted the UDHR as well. That is why we have seen the continuing global threat of misogyny, the global threat of child abuse, the global problem of racial supremacism, and the global issue of anti-freedom ideologies based on hate.
In the Congo, 1,100 rapes of women are reported every month, and in Uganda, Sudan, Liberia and other parts of the world – hate crimes against women continue to rise. But it is not just the misogynist violence of rape or “honor killings” that remain the only threat to women’s human rights. Even in the United States, women still are waiting for Constitutional equality. If we ever hope to be consistent on human rights, we must be determined to end the human rights abuses of women – representing half of humanity – whether they are in Communist China, Saudi Arabia, the Congo, or even the United States. This must be a consistent priority to restore a standard of human rights to our world. We must recognize that misogyny – hate against women – is a global human rights abuse.
Our children are our future. But in Communist China, 400 million children are never born, through abusive and coercive measures against women that have included forced abortions. Communist China claims to be proud of its role as a signatory to the November 20, 1989 UN Convention on Children’s Rights, while it ignores horrific practices in promoting the death of infants. Many of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) nations also claim to be signatories to the November 20, 1989 Convention on Children’s Rights, which is dependent on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that such OIC nations reject. Not surprisingly, these OIC nations also have numerous “reservations” on the Convention of Children’s Rights as well, based on Sharia law. We have seen the growing problem of child marriages, arranged marriages, and “honor killing” violence in many of these nations that claim to be advocates of children’s human rights. One of the OIC nations that is not a signatory to the Convention on Children’s Rights is Somalia. Somalia is a nation where a 13 year old girl has been publicly stoned to death as punishment by an Islamic Sharia “court” for being the victim of gang rape. But an epidemic of violence against children is also found in many other OIC nations. The other country that is not a signatory to the Convention on Children’s Rights is the United States. We take this opportunity on Human Rights Day to demand that the American government end the international disgrace in not being a signatory to the UN Convention on Children’s Rights.
We cannot begin to build a culture of human rights without an international prohibition on human slavery. But too many are part of the global slave trade that continues around the world today, including children and women, with significant abuses in Africa, in Communist China and other Communist nations, and in many of the OIC nations. The next time you buy a product “Made in China,” shouldn’t you ask yourself when it is time to be responsible for calling for an end to Communist China’s forced labor camps? In the June 2009 U.S. State Department report on human trafficking, 17 of the OIC nations are among the nations on the State Department’s watch list as not meeting the Trafficking Victim Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards. They are: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mauritania, Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Afghanistan, Jordan, and Turkey. In some nations, such human trafficking is linked to religious extremism and abuse toward religious minorities. In the Sudan and Egypt, religious minorities are kidnapped and often forcibly converted to Islam. In Egypt, such kidnapping of girls and young women is part of a larger abuse toward Coptic Christian religious minorities. In Pakistan, a recent news report describes how de facto slavery was continuing in Pakistan, and rights activists have urged the Pakistan government to acknowledge “internal human trafficking” as a crime in Pakistan. Ending slavery must be a priority in defending our universal human rights.
But such slavery — physical, spiritual, and mental — flourishes in those areas where human rights are not viewed as either unqualified or universal. We are here today on this Human Rights Day to defy those who would view our brothers and sisters as something less than human beings, having something less than human rights. But in challenging such ideologies of hate, we must recognize the pervasive nature of such hate against human rights.
Even in America, we see a growing intolerance against individuals of other races, ethnicities, genders, and religions. When America has over 900 racial hate groups, we know that hate remains a pervasive problem. When churches, mosques, and synagogues are attacked in America, we know that intolerance remains a pervasive problem. We must challenge this by denying the view that there is “the other” that is used to justify hate in America and around the world. There is no “other” – there is only us – our brothers and sisters in humanity – anywhere and everywhere in the world. Human rights are our rights, and it is our obligation to be Responsible for Equality And Liberty.
The Supremacist Challenge to Human Rights
Being responsible for our inalienable human rights begins within each of us as individuals. If we can’t be responsible for human rights, how can we expect our governments, our nations, and other nations to be responsible? The change we seek comes first from within. The change we seek comes from our friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. The change we seek comes from members of our identity group – whether it is our race, our religion, our ethnicity, our gender, or even our political party.
America offers a historic lesson on the need for personal responsibility in confronting the supremacist challenge to human rights. America was once home to the largest known terrorist organization – the Ku Klux Klan. At one point, the Ku Klux Klan boasted 4 million members. But in the 1950s and 1960s, Americans came to realize that something had to change. We came to realize that we cannot have liberty without equality. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged Americans to take personal responsibility for confronting the ideology that he called “white supremacy.”
Dr. King did not attack or condemn all white Americans, but he did challenge all Americans to recognize that we had a white supremacist challenge to human rights in America that we needed to put behind us to live in support of the truths that we hold self-evident. While we still have a problem with racial supremacism in America today, in 40 years there has been a sea-change of thought, action, and policy in this country. We have a black president in a nation where black Americans once were denied the right to vote. That is what taking personal responsibility for equality and liberty can do.
The ideology of supremacism is dependent on the lie that some identity groups are inherently superior to others and therefore deserve preferential treatment and preferential rights. On Human Rights Day, and every day, we must defy the supremacist challenge to our universal human rights. We believe in equal rights for every man and every woman.
We face a complex problem in the world today where religious freedom is under attack by religious extremists. Certainly, every religion views that its perspective is right, and even directed by a higher being. But when individuals, groups, and nations use their religious views to rationalize denying the universal human rights and freedom of conscience of others, then we are faced with a challenge of religious extremism. We don’t like to talk about this issue today, any more than in the 1960s many Americans wanted to talk about white supremacism. But we really need a human rights dialogue on the challenges of religious extremist threats to our universal human rights.
In its 1990 creation of the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights to replace the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that we celebrate today, the Organization of Islamic Conference made a conscious decision to deny our unqualified universal human rights, other than those rights allowed by interpretations of Islamic Sharia law. We continue to see the consequences of this decision by those with an extremist view around the world daily, with untold acts of violence, abuse of women, abuse of children, denial of human rights, and denial of freedom of religion — all rationalized by extremist claims.
Like Dr. King addressed “white supremacy” without attacking or condemning all white Americans, we do not attack or condemn Islam or all Muslims, but we do challenge all human beings to recognize that we face an extremist challenge to human rights in the world today. We cannot continue to ignore this global threat to our universal human rights and simply wish that it would go away. We cannot be consistent in our defense of universal human rights and ignore such global issues.
Thousands of women are murdered around the world in so-called “honor killings,” where many of its perpetrators rationalize their actions based on extremism. We see such atrocities on a regular basis, which happen even in the United States, with the November 2009 “honor killing” in Arizona of a young girl named Noor Almaleki. Such extremist rejection of universal human rights has become a global phenomenon, and this is much more than isolated incidents of criminals and “extremists.” On August 13, 2009, the Pew Global Research organization conducted a poll in Pakistan which showed that 78 percent believed in the death penalty for those who chose freedom of religion to leave Islam. (Pakistan has a population of 170 million.) But widespread rejection of the universal human right of religious freedom and freedom of conscience is not just limited to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, or others. In the United States on July 2009, I stood in a conference with 700 others in Chicago at a Hizb ut-Tahrir event, where extremist Hizb ut-Tahrir leaders denounced democracy and distributed pamphlets supporting the “death penalty” for “traitors” who leave Islam. The challenge of extremism is truly a global threat to human rights.
But the challenge of extremism does not justify hate or discrimination against Muslims, any more than white supremacism justified acts of violence against white Americans by black separatists in the 1960s. Two wrongs do not make a right. If we are in support of religious freedom and challenging religious extremism, then we must be consistent in our support of human rights for all people. Those who would harass, intimidate, and discriminate against Muslims make the same mistake as those who believe that extremism would justify denying our universal human rights.
Furthermore, I implore the religious communities of the world to recognize that religious extremism is not limited to extremism. In the Christian churches of the world, there must be condemnation of those who would rationalize hate and denial of our universal human rights based on Christian extremism. In Uganda, there is an ongoing problem with a group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) that rationalizes its violence, hate, and terrorism based on its Christian extremist views, while killing other Christians. In New York, the Westboro Baptist Church conducted hate rallies in front of Jewish synagogues in September. In Texas, renegade Mormon leaders have been convicted for child abuse, as has another anti-Catholic “evangelist” in Arkansas. In California and Arizona, Christian pastors have called for the death of President Barack Obama.
So I urge the Christian community to be vigilant and active in challenging those who justify hate based on their religion as well. Christians cannot ask Muslims to challenge extremists, if they are not willing to challenge those who would use Christian extremism to rationalize defying our universal human rights. Our commitment to our universal human rights must be demonstrated by our actions and example.
I have first-hand experience with such Christian extremist hate in Ohio. Five years ago, as a former Presbyterian Christian, I was stunned to discover that a group affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA held a meeting at Wooster College where the anti-Semitic screed of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion was presented as a fact. This was the result of individuals who allowed their challenges with policies in Israel to rationalize hate against Jews. Once again, this demonstrates the pervasiveness of hate. Along with leaders from the Simon Wiesenthal Foundation, I went to Wooster College to ask such leaders to reject such hate. Five years later, I have yet to see a well-publicized apology from the Presbyterian Church USA on this issue. One response I did get was from a pastor, who asked why I was so concerned, and if I was Jew-lover.
I can answer that here without reservation. Yes, I love Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, whites, blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and people of all religions, races and nationalities. They are my brothers and sisters in humanity. It is because I love my fellow human beings that I cannot deny my responsibility to defend their universal human rights.
On this Human Rights Day, I ask my fellow human beings to have confidence that “Love Wins.”
AP reports:
— “A 16-year-old Christian girl from southern Sudan said Friday she was lashed 50 times for wearing a skirt deemed indecent by the authorities in the north who enforce a strict version of Islamic law. The girl, Silva Kashif, said she was arrested by a plainclothes police officer in a Khartoum market last week for wearing a skirt that fell below her knees. She was convicted of offending public morality and received 50 lashes in the courtroom. Ms. Kashif’s ordeal follows the high-profile case of Lubna Hussein, a female journalist who was sentenced to 40 lashes for wearing trousers deemed indecent.”
Translated report from Al-Arabiya:
— “Lawyer said a girl from southern Sudan and her family, Friday, 27/11/2009, said the girl whipped with 50 lashes because they wore a skirt a judge ruled it obscene, and in the latest issue highlights the application of Islamic law in Sudan.”
— “…the girl’s mother detector Silva, aged 16 years, it intends to sue the police who arrested her daughter and the judge who issued the verdict, adding that her daughter, a minor and a Christian.”
— “The Douro, which her family hails from the town of Yambio, southern Sudan, said her daughter was arrested while on the way to the market near her home in the suburb of Kalakla in Khartoum last week.”
— “She added that her little girl but the policeman pulled in the market as if it were a criminal and that this is true, and pointed out that Silva was taken to court where Kalakla convicted and punished by the police before a judge.”
