Gambari repeats his mistakes of Burma in Sudan
By Abdellatif Abdelrahman
In past three weeks, I have been very closely following the dispute over Kalma IDP camp between the United Nation African Union forces in Darfur known as UNAMID and the Islamist regime in Khartoum. In this bizarre story, Khartoum asked UNAMID to handover six local leaders (five men and one woman) who have sought safe haven at the UNAMID’s Community Policing Centre when violence broke out in Kalma, July 29. The Sudanese government have accused the six camp leaders have been accused of starting the violence.
On August 1 in a statement published on Sudan Tribune, Ibrahim Gambari who heads UNAMID told the government of Sudan that if they wished to persist in their attempts to arrest the suspects then they should communicate directly with the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban-Ki Moon, through Sudan’s Foreign Ministry. He added that, the UN should make sure that the six camp leaders wanted by Khartoum would have fair treatment and trial.
This position did not last long. Gambari later revealed that his real intentions where in fact common with Khartoum and threatened to hand the IDPs to the Sudanese authorities if the camp leaders did not agree to the IDP camp being controlled jointly by UNAMID and Khartoum police units that are partly composed of the Janjaweed.
In my opinion piece published on Sudan Tribune last week – ‘Bashir’s last part of genocide plan’ – I said that the people who would implement the Islamist government’s new plan to dismantle the IDP camps were; presidential assistant Minni Minnawi, presidential assistant Ghazi Salah Eddin Al-Attabani and the three governors of Darfur. But it seems that Gambari has been approached by the regime to become one of its tools. I wonder who else will appear next on the disgraceful list of openly siding with genocide perpetrators?
On UN radio, Miraya FM, Gambari said that the cause of the tension in the camps was the existence of extremist elements within the IDPs. These extremist elements receive rumors from Diaspora communities, especially spoilers of the peace process, he said. UNAMID is working closely with the Organization of the Arab League (OAL), the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) and with Qatari Government to reorganize social services and provide security so that the IDPs can return to their areas, Gambari concluded.
From the above mentioned statements it is clear that Gambari has become part of the regime’s latest push on the throats of genocide victims – the so-called ‘internal peace’ engineered by Gahazi Salah Elddin – when they recently discovered that the Doha talks was just loosing money and energy without concrete results on the ground. It must also be a worry for the victims of the genocide in Darfur to listen to Gambari mentioning Organization of Islamic Conference and Organization of Arab League who are not organs of Gambari’s organization UNAMID. These organizations have openly supported the genocidal regime in Khartoum.
Hence, Gambari is implementing the agenda of Khartoum regime, in one way or another, by agreeing to the forcible removal of the IDPs against their consent and in total absence of conditions for safe and voluntary return. This plan is aimed to subjugate the returnees to the brutal killing of the regime and their Janjaweed militias.
Furthermore Gambari knows that, the tension in Kalma and Hamidiyya IDP camp was caused by the Khartoum regime, after it totally failed to make the Doha peace talks a reality. The Islamist regime in Khartoum has resorted to cowardly tactics and has distributed weapons to their agents inside the Kalma. The intention being to let the IDPs fight among themselves to give the government the excuse to intervene by claiming they are protecting of one side.
Throughout the history of Sudan, this is a method used by Sudan’s Jallabas [derogatory word for Arab] for fighting their enemies. They do not directly engage themselves in wars but use proxies to fight for them. The war that lasted 22 years in south Sudan and other areas was prolonged by such ideology. In north Sudan they say “Dug Al Abd Bil Abd”, which means hit a slave with a slave. Even the use of Janjweed who belong to Darfur to fight people of Darfur are part of that plan.
I remember one day Bashir appeared on Sudan TV and said that the people of Darfur are the ones killing each other – despite people from Darfur accusing the government in Khartoum of killing them. In the same statement he said that in Upper Nile state in south Sudan, people were killing each other due to tribalism and for this reason it would be very difficult for them to have their own country. In fact it was his militia killing innocent people. If the people in south Sudan under such conditions chose independence then their tribal conflicts will affect northern Sudan, he said.
Gambari’s report of the incident in Kalma IDP camp is misleading and intended to criminalize the victims and establish grounds for the regime to make their demands. The scenario becomes clear when we read in the media that Ibrahim Gambari held a series of talks in Khartoum, where he pledged to cooperate with local authorities to clear the camp of weapons and to ease the tension there. In addition the Sudanese daily Al-Sahafah reported on August 12 that Gambari had reassured Sudanese officials during a meeting with the deputy governor of South Darfur State Abdel Karim Mousa saying that he will hand over the six IDPs leaders. It was just a matter of time, Gambari said.
When France proposed a draft resolution for the UNSC to create special impartial panel of investigators to report on the atrocities in Kalma, China and Russia, Khartoum’s main arm suppliers, rejected the proposal. Such acts prove beyond doubt that the six innocent IDPs who sought refuge at UNAMID are victims of a well orchestrated international game of vested interests.
The question that needs answering is why Gambari who receives big salary from the UN in addition to other allowances would humiliate himself to stand against the victims? Why does Gambari, who is supposed to maintain total neutrality, wishes to expose innocent IDPs to their killers? If Gambari is acting for the UN Secretary General, where is the credibility of the UNAMID in preventing impunity against the voiceless, innocent civilians of Darfur?
I have every reason to believe that Gambari has pocketed his price and now working with the regime to neutralize any threat to the Doha peace process within the IDP camps. He can no longer be trusted by the IDPs, especially when he explicitly told IDP representatives that he is not there to protect them but to promote efforts to achieve peace in the region.
So it would be true to say that Gambari, who blessed the abuses and human rights violations of the military junta in Burma, today is repeating his unpardonable mistakes in Burma with the IDPs of Darfur.
When Gambari was sent to Sudan, Burma activists declared him a failure. “He has no sort of success that he can show”, said Jennifer Quigley of the U.S Campaign for Burma – adding that things went from bad to worse during his tenure.
According to the Campaign for Burma UK, in the first two years of Gambari’s mission, the number of political prisoners in Burma almost doubled and more than 130,000 people were forced from their homes in an ethnic cleansing campaign. Gambari was never able to start talks between the Burmese regime and the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Quigley has vehemently criticized Gambari, saying that he does not have a degree of realism or honesty. He would just keep saying that his mission, while slow-moving, was progressing. When Cyclone Nagris slammed Burma in May 2008 and Burma junta blocked international aid Gambari was nowhere to be seen.
This is typical of his actions in Darfur today. The genocide regime of Khartoum is starving the IDPs to death, while Gambari is immersed on the trivial issue of innocent IDPs instead of taking a tougher stand against the regime in order to break the humanitarian blockade.
Gambari, who is entrusted by AU and UN to mediate in the case of Darfur, was once quoted saying during his ignominious role in Abacha’s regime that, “Nigerians don’t need democracy because democracy is not food. It’s not their priority now”.
The president of the Save the Darfur Coalition, Jerry Fowler, said about Gambari:
“My main concern is that his focus would be on accommodation of the regime, and that would leave perpetuation of an unacceptable and unstable status quo”.
Today the prophecy expressed by Fowler over Gambari has been fulfilled. He has become a collaborator and tool of Khartoum’s genocidal regime. He is not just perpetuating the status quo but going the extra mile to implement the last phase of the regime’s genocidal plans against the very people he has a responsibility to protect.
Nigeria may have the biggest peacekeeping mission within the UN forces in Africa as well as on the ground in Darfur but they should not reward biased individuals who destroy the reputation of their country by not adhering to the ethics of their profession.
Also I do not see a reason why the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is putting conditions to the genocide regime to hand over innocent civilians who took refuge at UNAMID offices seeking protection from their killers. Who drove those victims out of their quite villages to the miserable concentrations camps? Is it not the same regime?
Its ridiculous that the fugitive President whose case was referred to the ICC by the UNSC is moving freely, adamantly refusing to hand himself and other two alleged war criminals to the court. The UNSC instead of providing the necessary assistance to the ICC to arrest Bashir is shamefully giving conditions to hand innocent victims to the regime.
Yes for justice, no for impunity.
The writer is based in Kampala, Uganda and can be reached at [email protected]
DASODIKO
Gambari repeats his mistakes of Burma in Sudan
Professor Ibrahim Gambari and June 12: The “un-disgraced” collaborator
Omoyele Sowore /Sahara Reporters
If the Abacha repressive regime were a soccer team, Professor Ibrahim Gambari would be one of the “1st eleven players” or at least a quarter back on the reserve bench in the government squad. Though Abacha didn’t play soccer, he certainly sat on a killer squad that faced down members of the opposition-all lovers of democracy, and ordinary Nigerians in and out of Nigeria-while his bestial reign lasted, in addition to Abacha Professor Gambari has served almost all the dictators that has scorched the piece of earth known as Nigeria.
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, who some people claim is an intelligent man, used his ‘intelligence’ to defend the draconian policies of the Abacha regime while he was Nigeria’s Permanent Representative at the United Nations. He was one of Abacha’s equivalents of the “goebel” representing the infamous dictator with vigor and a propensity that could only be found in fascist Italy of old. He was once quoted as saying, “Nigerians don’t need democracy because democracy is not food. It is not their priority now.” As more pressure mounted on the Abacha regime from all corners of the world, Professor Gambari became more notorious and ruthless in defending and deflecting attacks against the Abacha dictatorship.
I remember his many appearances on cable news channels, especially after Abacha murdered environmentalist and author, Ken Saro-Wiwa following what can be described as a kangaroo trial. Professor Gambari stoically denied that the Abacha regime had committed a crime; he labeled Saro-Wiwa a “common criminal” who had engaged in the murder of some Ogoni elders. It was Gambari and Tom Ikimi who went all over the world to convince and blackmail governments of nations opposed to the killing of Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni 8. They tried in vain to convince the governments of some countries, but it was also clear that they might have succeeded in blackmailing some countries into silence or acquiescence. There are claims that Professor Ibrahim Gambari had access to the Nigerian treasury; he had limitless resources to do what ever he wanted in the name of protecting the Abacha regime, no wonder he was able to pay for the juicy properties sold by the Federal government in Ikoyi recntly.
After the demise of Abacha, his other co-dictators and collaborators were put in their place: Call it the Nigerian Hall of Shame. Professor Ibrahim Gambari has not been touched; he has not been called to account. Unlike the Usenis, Mustapha, and Gwarzo, he did not appear before the hapless “Oputa Panel” to explain his ignominious role. Instead he was elevated by Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General, to the position of Under-Secretary and Special Adviser on Africa at the UN. The reasons are not far-fetched. Kofi Annan wasn’t too keen on democratization efforts in Nigeria; he was already in cahoots with the Abacha regime through his son, Kodjo, who was involved in the oil business in Nigeria. Kodjo lives a life of opulence in Lagos. There had been rumors Gambari was the link between Abacha, Annan and their businesses.
Even after the death of Abacha, Kofi Annan’s visits to Nigeria were primarily to prevail on Chief M.K.O Abiola to forget about his June 12 mandate. He didn’t care about Abiola’s freedom so he quietly went to meet him in jail and asked him to ‘fuggetabutit.’ It is a known fact that Prof. Gambari had already briefed Annan adequately about the “real deal” and shortly after Kofi visited Abiola, Chief Anyaoku followed, then the Brits and then the Americans and the rest is now painful history.
It is intriguing that Professor Gambari has now become a darling of so many Nigerian organizations. Honors are pouring in from everywhere and he is getting awards and making speeches all over the place. Recently a group named “World Congress of Afenifere” invited people to come toNewark, New Jersey to listen to a Gambari lecture. I didn’t know what to think, except the reminder that even the leader of the Yoruba race, Chief Abraham Adesanya, was in the company of General Abubakar when he came to commission the now defunct “AbubakarA. Abdusalami Lecture Series” at the Chicago State University in 2001. For this program General Abubakar had committed a lot of money described by the Chicago State University President, Dr. Elnora Daniel as”largesse”, this he gave from his ill-gotten wealth. Shortly after the Chicago imbroglio, Dr. Conteh, who was the brain behind the lecture series was relieved of his plum job at CSU and the “Abubakar Lecture Series” died a natural death. I am proud to say I was there at CSU with Lanre Banjo, Pete Sophie, Kayode Oladele, members of Amnesty International, USA, and many more Nigerians from all over the United States to protest the “beautification” of Abubakar. In the milieu that ensued Abubakar was served a court summons that accused him of human rights violations, and ever since he has not been seen parading US universities in search of a dubious legacy and undeserved honors. The case against Gen. Abubakar has advanced tremendously at the U.S. Appeals Court, Circuit Seven. The court reached a decision on the case between Abubakar, Enahoro, and others (case #03-3089 on May 23, 2005). The 31-page decision of the appellate court presided by Justices Cudahy, Kannes, and Evans concluded that the Abubakar case should be referred to trial.
For Professor Ibrahim Gambari, he seems to have escaped justice both locally and internationally. He can always claim that he was just a diplomat doing his job. But, since the days of the Nuremberg trials such arguments no longer hold water.
Professor Gambari is getting bolder by the day, and as such on June 12, 2005, Professor Gambari, according to sources at the UN, is going to make a speech at a weeklong event tagged “Medgar Week” being organized by the Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York according to the . It is not clear why the college has not put the information on its website as at press time. They know all too well that Professor Gambari is to Nigerians here in the US, the equivalent of what David Duke (a white supremacist) would mean to African Americans.
It has become clear that the day, “June 12” has some sanctity to Nigerians everywhere in the world. I have no doubt that Medgar Wiley Evers a committed civil rights leader will be turning in his grave right now, certainly Abiola must be boiling with rage wherever he is and definitely the date “June 12” should never be the party day for shenanigans and collaborators.