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
- Throughout the continuing showdown between the Sri Lanka army and the Tamil Tigers, Human Rights Watch has published regular photo slideshows and updates from local sources that paint a detailed and brutal picture of the horror civilians face at the epicenter of fighting. This week’s update includes satellite photos pinpointing mortar craters speckling the ‘no fire’ zone and narratives from civilians inside the zone.
- As the Sudanese government continues its attempts distract the international community, reports from within Darfur have become increasingly rare as the Sudanese government seeks to more closely monitor the comings and goings of outsiders. But this alJazeera clip is valuable not only for the rare glimpse it gives of the conditions in Zam Zam camp in north Darfur; it also provides a solid overview of more recent challenges – such as dwindling food and medical aid and the constant influx of new arrivals – the residents face as peace remains out of reach.
- A recent post on the Making Sense of Darfur blog makes some interesting speculations about why Khartoum recently decided to shuffle eight of its cabinet ministers, most notably assigning wanted war criminal Ahmed Haroun to the high-profile, high-stakes post of governor of South Kordofan, a state located on the contentious border between northern and southern Sudan.
- In his weekly blog post, scholar Gerard Prunier reports on the recent attempt by Chadian rebels, with the backing of Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, to overthrow Chadian President Idriss Deby. Prunier highlights the history of tribal and political allegiances that has left President Deby fighting off three years of coup attempts. As Prunier explains, this history figured prominently into the thinking that prompted Sudanese President Omar al Bashir to support this most recent coup attempt, despite the fact that Bashir should be on his best behavior for the African Union, which backed him up when the International Criminal Court issued calls for his arrest.
- And, from Foreign Policy this week, a Q&A with Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai on the challenges facing his country, what it’s like to work side-by-side with his avowed enemy, and why foreign governments should support the unity government. A key quote from Prime Minister Tsvangirai: “My beef with all the international community and diplomats is that, look, those of us who are pushing the democratic reform agenda should be supported so that we can sustain this experiment.”
Maggie Fick contributed to this post.