Plan B for Darfur

October 15, 2006 — At a time of heightening crisis in Darfur, when its peoples and cultures
face the violent diminution that most call genocide, two of Cornell
University’s most active anti-genocide and humanitarian groups invite you
to a unique conference entitled “Plan B for Darfur/Option B pour
Darfour/Opcija B za Darfur”.

Plan A, the sum total of international efforts to stop the destruction of
life, property, and culture in the western Sudan, has clearly failed. The
recent refusal of the Sudanese regime to allow the intervention of a
suitably equipped and mandated United Nations force tasked with
protecting civilians and establishing an atmosphere of security
permitting victims to return to the sites of their homes is only the
latest case of such blockage of “Plan A” rescue policies.

The conference project will have two phases:

1. Phase One: An international internet/fax/postal exchange of commentary
on the public version of a Three-Part Plan that has been developed over
the past year in dialogues with 26 civilian and military experts from 9
countries. The current version of this plan, upon which you will be asked
to comment, with a single sentence or extended essay, is available at the
following websites: www.weaversofthewind.org (available now) or
www.darfurinternationalaction.com (coming soon). This Three-Part Plan is
also printed in the fourth section of a booklet, DARFUR: THE FINAL
SOLUTION —-AND HOW TO STOP IT, which is currently being distributed in
its English version in North America and Europe and in its English/Arabic
version in Sudan, Egypt, and other countries.

Phase One has already begun and will continue through 13 November, the
date of the International Citizens Tribunal on Sudan, planned for New
York City. An earlier, shortened version of the Tribunal’s Indictment is
printed in the booklet mentioned above. Complete information about this
latest move in the struggle against the crimes of the Bashir-Taha-Gosh
regime can be found at www.judgementongenocide.org.

2. Phase Two: Simultaneous on-site conferences at Victoria, British
Columbia, Canada and Tuzla, Bosnia, 27-29 October. Each of these on-site
conferences, which will examine the full range of commentary produced in
Phase One up to that time, is designed to accommodate up to two dozen
participants.

By means of this two-phase conference we hope to focus the expertise,
imaginations, and experience of those whom the organizers have judged to
be the individuals best equipped to shape a strategy that allows the most
rapid and thorough recovery from the Darfur disaster. The implementation
of this strategy will place Darfuris themselves in control of their own
destiny for the first time since the nineteenth century. We wish to
neglect no one who might contribute to this project, however, so we
solicit your suggestions for other possible participants in Phase One or
Phase Two.

In order to modify the behavior of the Sudanese regime as quickly as
possible, it is important that every means be used to alert them to the
existence of this Plan B project and to provide them with details about
its progress. We thus would most appreciate your supplying us with a
brief set of biographical data that will establish your ability to
contribute to the discussion of Plan B. If the Khartoum regime did not
know who you were, the impact of your participation upon them would be
diminished, unnecessarily delayed, until they read the public part of
your comments posted on the website. Some examples:

The Victoria on-site conference will be chaired by David Kilgour,
longtime Secretary of State for Africa and Asia in the Canadian
Government, member of the Canadian House of Commons for 27 years, and
generally considered one of the most effective human rights activists in
the world. Kilgour will also be a member of the prosecution team at the
International Citizens Tribunal that concludes Phase One of the Plan B
project.

Walter Slocombe, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy during the time of
the intervention in Kosovo in which, acting without UN authorization, a
coalition of Europeans and North American forces successfully stopped a
genocide-in-the-making, will participate in Phase One.
Mohamed Hassan Haroun, President of the Darfur Association of Canada, who
was forced to leave Sudan after being arrested and tortured for his
opposition to the policies of the Khartoum regime, has already
contributed comments and suggestions to our Plan B data base.
Lieutenant General (now Senator) Romeo Dallaire, commander of UN forces
in Rwanda at the time of the genocide there and currently a leader of the
Canadian movement to save Darfur, agreed to participate in Phase One
during a scheduled debate about Darfur in the Canadian House of Commons
on 3 October.

This two-phase conference can make far better use of detailed critical
comments or constructive suggestions for implementation than it can of
blanket endorsements or dismissive condemnations. We offer, moreover, a
Research Service to help you locate sources you may wish to incorporate
into your criticisms.

We must also address the matter of non-public comments. We will examine
all contributions intended to be posted or sent to participants in Phase
One to insure that they do not contain details that might compromise the
safety of individuals. At the same time, we are currently searching for
secure ways for you to discuss some of the more sensitive Plan B
subjects.

For further information, please contact:

John H. Weiss
Associate Professor of History
Founder, Darfur Action Group-Cornell
[email protected]

Mark M. Persaud, LL.B., LL.M
President and Chief Executive Officer
Canadian International Peace Project
1027 Finch Avenue West
P.O. Box 30088
Toronto, Ontario
M3J 3L6
Canada.
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.canadianipp.org

The Canadian International Peace Project ( CIPP) is a novel and unique non-partisan organisation that has brought together diverse groups and individuals to work on issues and projects relating to local, national and international peace, security and development . Through partnership on events and projects, the CIPP fosters mutual respect and sustainable relationships among diverse groups including those in conflict with each other.