International drumming event held for Sudan peace

January 11, 2010 (WASHINGTON) – American activists and Sudanese exiles on Saturday held a drumming event in the US capital, and demonstrated at the White House. The rally, timed to take place on the fifth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), was part of a “global effort” in 15 countries to host drum circles for peace in Sudan.

Organizers said the day was meant to drum up support for the CPA, which will expire on January 9, 2011. The peace agreement ended the 23 year civil war between rebels and the government.

Activists held drum circles in a number of cities around the world, including at least four in the United States, one in London, one in Vancouver and one in Belfast, among other places.

The event was organized by a coalition of activist groups who launched a campaign called Sudan365. These include Amnesty International, the Enough Project at the Center for American Progress, Human Rights Watch, Save Darfur Coalition, FIDH, Refugees International, Darfur Consortium and Arab Coalition for Darfur.

“Of course the danger is simple, it’s that people could go back to war, and then that will be a responsibility to everybody, to the international community and to the people of Sudan,” said Daniel Deng, Episcopal Archbishop of Sudan, in a video of the London rally posted on the Sudan365 website.

Some popular musicians, drummers in particular, were recruited to take part in the campaign. They made musical contributions for a campaign video and led some of the drum circles. “This campaign is unprecedented. It’s incredibly exciting,” said the musician Jamie Catto. “Thousands of drummers from some of the most famous drummers in the world – Radiohead, Pink Floyd, Snow Patrol, Elbow – to community groups across 5 continents coming together to create a global beat for peace in Sudan. The next 365 days will be critical for the people of Sudan.”

“And this global drumbeat is a cry for positive action from world leaders to prevent conflict from returning,” said Catto.

In the capital of the United States, the activists gathered at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, near the White House. They then marched to Lafayette Park, the small public space in front of the President’s residence.

“We don’t want people to die, because have seen the bitterness of the war,” said Archbishop Deng, “we don’t want the bitterness of the war again.”

(ST)