Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 2 June 2005 — Page 45
The Muncie Times • Jun; 2, 2005 • Page 45
AFRICAN BRIEFS
continued from page 44 approach to aid. Its Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is more grant-based, but tied to commitments from receiving
required and why the world community must examine the provision of resources," he told the House of Commons. The official positions seem
envoy Jan Pronk has condemned the "smear campaign" in Sudanese newspapers against aid workers, accusing them of fabricating
nations towards "good gover- ^present stand taken by differnance, rooting out corruption. ent governments. The only upholding human rights, and debate that could bring a shift adherence to the rule of law.” in positions is now expected The MCA stresses aid that at Gleneagles itself,
promotes health and educa-
te be hardening around the reports of rape. ' ' "MSF Holland and all the
other MSF have saved many lives of Sudanese people," he
pared to go to silence criticism and deny its own responsibility for massive
atrocities in Darfur."
MSF says it has a significant presence in Darfur, with some 180 international staff and 3,000 local staff treating some one million patients. The UN says that about
tion, and economic policies that fffster ‘‘entoqpdse and entrepreneurship. That means among othel things more open markets, while good governance means in effect support for the U.S.-led war on terron The MCA is also
less Africa-centric.
U.S. President George W. Bush announced in 2002 that the Urited States will increase its core assistance to developing countries by 50 percent over the next 3 years,
Second Sudan aid worker arrested
The state crime prosecutor 180,000 people have died in said Mr Foreman had failed to the two-year conflict in
hand over evidence on which the report on rape was based. Mr Foreman said "medical
Some two million people privilege" and patient confi-
resulting in a $5 billion annu- charged
have fled their homes in
Darfur.
An aid official has been detained in Sudan's Darfur region, a day after his director was charged with spying and spreading false information. Vince Hoedt, Darfur coordinator for the Dutch section of Medecins Sans Frontieres has not yet been
al increase over 2002 levels by financial year 2006. The U. S. aid program ties in closely with its political and economic interests, and there is no sign it is letting go of its plans ahead of the G8 sum-
mit.
The different approaches have added up to another trans-Atlantic divide, though divisions remain also within Europe. There is no certainty just how much cash France and Germany would raise through government bonds to fund the IFF. European Union Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson has proposed a European initiative over the IFF in the face of the failure of attempts so far to win U.S. support. But only Britain and France have made a commitment so far to move towards setting up 0.7 percent of their gross national income for development aid. European support for the IFF may not therefore amount to anything near the needed cash. Gordon Brown has been pressing home the moral argument. "If present rates of progress were to continue in sub-Saharan Africa, we would not meet the goal of primary education for all by 2015 — we would meet it in 2150, 135 years late — which is why additional finance is
MSF Sudan director Paul Foreman was arrested on Monday and later released on bail, over a report on rape. BBC Africa analyst Martin Plaut says the charges are partof a drive by Sudan to end
dentiality prevented him from handing over documents requested by the authorities. MSF Holland spokesman Geoff Prescott said another reason for respecting the information, was because women "made pregnant as a result of rape outside wedlock can be arrested by the authorities" in Sudan, which operates strict Islamic sharia law. He told the BBC’s Focus on Africa programme that the charity stood by its report, which he described as "accu-
rate and truthful".
Sudan's state crime prosecutor said he had come to
western criticism. conclusion that the report was
The Sudanese authorities false.
deny accusations that they back the Arab Janjaweed militias alleged to have committed widespread atrocities, such as mass killings and mass rape. They also deny that the scale of the violence is as severe as reported by aid agencies. Jail term The BBC's Martin Plaut, who recently travelled to Darfur, says that many Sudanese believe western aid workers have given information on alleged human rights abuses in Darfur to the United Nations, which has passed a sealed list of 51 war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court. Foreman was arrested on Monday. Our correspondent says that in March, aid workers were threatened over their reports of mass rape. Mr Hoedt was arrested in Darfur and flown to the capital, Khartoum, under police
escort.
United Nations Sudan
Medical assistance Mr Foreman could face up to three years in prison if found guilty of falsifying the
report.
It is lot yet known when he will appear in court. How many deaths in
Darfur?
Darfur, and more than two million driven from their homes. British Aid Chief Charged over Darfur Rapes Claim
.
Sudanese authorities have charged a British aid chief with spreading false information in reports by the aid agency about alleged rape cases in Darfur. Paul Foreman, head of the Dutch branch of Medicins Sans Frontieres, was detained and questioned before being released. Prosecution lawyer Mohamed Fareed said in a statement that a case had been filed against Foreman and he was asked not to leave the country until interrogations were complete. The Sudanese government was angered by the MSF report, published in March, 1 that said its doctors working in Darfur had collected medical evidence of 500 rapes over four and a half months. The report said more than
"We would like to reiterate 80% of the victims reported that we think it's the people that their attackers were sol-
diers or members of govern-ment-allied militia. The government denied the report. “Upon interrogation, (Foreman) was not able to substantiate the claims nor
docuFareed
could he provide any ments to this effect.”
who perpetrate rape in Darfur w ho should be in court, not the people who are trying to bring medical assistance to the victims," Mr Prescott said. The report - The Crushing Burden of Rape: Sexual
Violence in Darfur - which ji
came out in March, was based said, complaining that the on the treatment of 500 allegations were published on women over a four-and-a-half the group’s website and quot-
month perioenn Darfur. ed by the United Nations. It details nearly 300 of Fareed slid if such crimes
these cases, witi several writ- had really happened the culten up as witness statements, prits would be punished by
Mr Foreman said, prison and fines. Human Rights Watch Geoffrey Prescott, a
Africa director Peter spokesman for the Dutch Takirambudde said Mr branch of MSF, said Foreman
Foreman's arrest was "a perfect illustration of how far the Sudanese government is pre-
was questioned for several hours about the rape report and charged with crimes
against the state and asked to report back to police today. “We are intrigued by the fact that they are charging us, an agency investing millions in the saving of lives, rather than the people responsible for the rape,’ Prescott said in Amsterdam. “It’s also interesting that they took the report so personally, when we don’t even name them as being responsible.” He said the incident had not impaired the work of about 80 MSF employees wo'king in the country for the Dutch mission. UN UndersecretaryGeneral for Humam arian Affairs Jan Egeland sa A he was “very concerned” ; bout Foreman’s arrest and i ged the Sudanese authorities to drop all charges against trim immediately. In a statement released ai UN headquarters in New York, Egeland said MSFHolland’s record “in treating victims of rape and sexual violence, and “speaking out about the terrible crimes being committed has been exemplary”. “It is an incontestable fact Hat rape and sexual violence are rampant in the ongoing crisis in Darfur,” Egeland said. He added that efforts by the Sudanese government, the UN and non-governmental organisations “must continue to ensure that all victims of sexual violence receive assistance and protection”. The Darfur conflict erupted when rebels in the western region took up arms against what they saw as years of state neglect and discrimination against Sudanese of African origin. The government is accused of responding with a counteruprising campaign in which government-backed Arab militiamen known as Janjaweed committed widescale abuses - including killings, rape and arson - against the African population. More than two years of conflict in Darfur has killed at least 180,000 people, many from war-induced hunger.