Author: Enough Team

This post originally appeared on the Political Intelligence blog at the Boston Globe. The Bush State Department declared the horrific violence in Darfur a genocide. President Obama, as a candidate, pledged to do more. But US policy toward Sudan seems to be in wait-and-see mode, so activists are going public today with their disappointment, trying to light a fire under the president. A coalition of anti-genocide advocacy organizations launched a campaign called "Sudan Now: Keep the Promise" to challenge the Obama administration to live up to promises by taking strong and immediate action to help end the crisis in Sudan, ...

This post by Chris Good originally appeared on Marc Ambinder's blog at The Atlantic. Violence in Darfur was a hot topic of discussion during the 2008 campaign, one which all three major candidates--President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John McCain--labeled as genocide, and pledges of action and toughness were met with applause. Now, a coalition of Sudan peace groups is ramping up pressure on the Obama administration to keep its promises to ramp up efforts for peace, launching a campaign of newspaper and online ads highlighting statements made by Obama, Clinton, and Vice President Biden on the pressing need for action ...

An interesting article making the rounds among Darfuri activists and others today seems to highlight why exactly we need a campaign like Sudan Now. In a Khartoum newspaper that is seen as having good sources within the ruling party, an article argues that the Sudanese Government is increasingly frustrated with American Special Envoy Scott Gration and may go so far as to suspend dialogue with him, (likely an empty threat.) The bone of contention: the ruling party feels that Gration is backtracking on alleged promises to move forward with lifting sanction on Sudan. Of course, one has to take what ...

This post by Matt Zeitlin, a staff writer with Campus Progress and a sophomore at Northwestern University, originally appeared on CampusProgress.org. John Prendergast, co-founder of the anti-genocide advocacy group the Enough Project, seemed irritated on a recent public coalition conference call in late June. Enough made its mission to “build a permanent constituency to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity,” but Prendergast was “fed up” with people in the Darfur activist movement “not doing their homework.” This accusation was in response to one person’s question of whether the situation in Darfur could still be classified as genocide. Prendergast went on ...

On August 13th, a misleading full page "article," sponsored by the Government of Sudan, or GoS, was published in the Washington Times. The piece proclaimed the Sudanese government’s willingness to “constructively” engage with the United States. The misinformation featured an interview with Dr. Ghazi Salah Eddin Al Atabani, an advisor to Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, which cited GoS positions and out-of-context quotes from U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration. The picture painted in the Times is one of a cooperative GoS, ready to engage in all peace talks and advocating for the lifting of sanctions. Here are two gems, ...

President Obama's August 18 meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is an opportunity for these two leaders to find common ground on an issue of great mutual importance: how to achieve a comprehensive and durable peace in Sudan ...

In the second installment of a four-part series on the nuts, bolts, and key questions on US sanctions toward Sudan, this post outlines the process of granting sanctions exemptions in order to export certain products—tractors, desks for schools, equipment to build roads—to southern Sudan, one of the most underdeveloped regions in the world. Just to recap: During the question and answer portion of Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration’s much-discussed testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 30, Special Envoy Gration suggested that US sanctions were preventing the US “from doing the development we absolutely need to do,” ...

Here at Enough, we often swap emails with interesting articles and feature stories that we come across in our favorite publications and on our favorite websites. We wanted to share some of these stories with you as part of our effort to keep you up to date on what you need to know in the world of anti-genocide and crimes against humanity work. No one knows more about the crisis in Congo than Anneke Van Woudenberg, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. In a segment for NPR's "All Things Considered" this week, Van Woudenberg discussed the crisis in eastern ...

The Associated Press is reporting that Salah Gosh, the head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services, and an influential longtime member of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party has been dismissed by Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. No reason has been given for this action, but we will keep you updated on this space. Update (8/14): Reuters is reporting that Gosh has been appointed by Bashir as a presidential advisor and that Gosh's former deputy, Mohammed Atta al-Moula, has taken over the National Intelligence and Security Services. (h/t to Michelle at Change.org) ...

More fallout from Special Envoy Gration’s hearings in a Time Magazine interview with President Bashir: Sam Dealey, Time correspondent: On the issue of Darfur, in testimony last week before the Senate, the United States Special Envoy Scott Gration said he no longer believed that genocide is taking place in Darfur. Do you feel vindicated? Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's president: First, we appreciate General Gration's courage. We know that these facts are rejected by influential centers of power. We stress the fact that the situation in Darfur proves that there is no genocide or ethnic cleansing. The evidence is that displaced citizens ...