Sudan warns humanitarian organizations of facing expulsion
August 29, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government warned today that it is prepared to kick out any humanitarian organization “if they exceed their mandate”.
“Any organization that does not adhere to its mandate will face accountability measures and any that refuses to sign an agreement must leave” Gosh said at a forum organized by the ministry of humanitarian affairs.
“The governments wants aid and not for these organizations to play around” he added.
The Spy chief remarks come less than a week after a raid by Sudanese soldiers and security officers on Kalma IDP camp in South Darfur that killed at least 30 people and injured many more.
Sudanese officials have been actively seeking a way to get disband the IDP camps, observers say as it had become a “media nightmare”.
Last year Gosh along with Defense minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein and former Interior Minister Zubeir Bashir Taha and Intelligence rushed to Kalma to supervise a security operation.
The operation was met by IDP’s fierce resistance forcing security officers to back off.
Sudan’s presidential assistant Nafi Ali Nafi who spoke at the forum said that they don’t want the aid organizations to “be used by other parties for creating problems”.
Aid organizations in Darfur consistently complain of bureaucratic obstacles and red tape imposed by Khartoum as well lack of security in the region.
The Sudanese government has also gone as far as ousting foreign aid officials out of the country.
Last year Sudan and the UN reached a new agreement designed to ease humanitarian groups’ access to refugees in troubled Darfur in Sudan.
The deterioration of security situation in Darfur come a month after the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed charges against Sudan president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.
Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder and accused Al-Bashir of masterminding a campaign to get rid of the African tribes in Darfur; Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.
Most of the Kalma camp residents are from the Fur tribe.
The ICC prosecutor told Sudan Tribune in an interview that the Sudanese government is carrying out a “massive rape campaign” against women in the camps and hindering the delivery of aid to the displaced who are mostly from the African tribes of the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa groups. This he said falls under the definition of genocide.
“The issue for me is to show clearly that what is happening in the camps today is a crime because without humanitarian assistance they will die. Not only is Al-Bashir not providing them with humanitarian assistance but also trying to block and hinder the work of these humanitarian organizations. This is the most compelling issue now and we have to stop it” the ICC prosecutor said.
International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.
(ST)
tokwaro okeny okello
Sudan warns humanitarian organizations of facing expulsion
The statement of the Minister of Humunitarian Affairs that it is prepared to kick out any humanitarian organization “if they exceed their mandate”. According to me has come as a reaction to the ICC indictment.
Infact I partly side with him, You cannot understand what some NGOs are doing, most of them have the same objective, Mission and Goal yet they bears diffferent names, for instance
SAVE THE CHILDREN UK, SAVE THE CHILDREN HOLLAND OR MEDICINE SAN FRONTIRE BEGUIM, MEDICINE SAN FRONTIER HOLLAND ETC, just to mention a few, some of their staff are not capable of delivering adequate services to the people. you find them bussy, with what one cannot understand. The local staff are over exploited and they are less paid compared to the International staff.
Nonetheless, I would like us to appreciate the tireless effort most of the NGOs has done in saving the life of our people, they risk their live and made known the pligth of our voiceless sudanese.
on the other hand, GOSS through SSRRC should also scrutunize some NGOs in south sudan, otherwise DO NOTHING NGOs MUST QUITE, let them not invest in the name of the needy.
The statement spoken by the minister should be treated with concern, otherwise most of our needy will suffer.
De Okeny
Juba. South Sudan