The Nuba Mountains could become the Next Darfur

The Nuba Mountains could become the Next Darfur

The Nuba Mountains, a disputed region in central Sudan, was given a special status under the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in Kenya in 2005 between Northern Sudan and Southern Sudan. According to the CPA, the Nuba Mountains has been ruled through a joint force of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), representing the South, and the National Congress Party (NCP), representing the North. Since the CPA was signed, the United Nations International Mission in Sudan (UNIMIS) has managed to maintain peace between the two sides, but with the prospect of Southern Sudan becoming its own country on July 9^th, the situation has changed.

The NCP government, ruled by Omar Al Bashir, promised to recognize the independence of the South. However, as the secession date approaches, things have gotten out of control and tensions are running high, particularly after the Government of Northern Sudan took control of the Abyei area, another disputed border region, in clear violation of the peace accord. The international community has asked that the government of Sudan withdraw its forces from Abyei, but they have so far refused to do so.

Following this same tactic, the government is now attacking the populated areas of the Nuba Mountains from the air in an attempt to disarm the SPLA forces in the region. President Al Bashir said that he intends to cleanse the region of Nuba SPLA supporters, mountain-by-mountain, home-by-home. According to an account from one of my relatives in the area, government security personnel have been going door-to-door, arresting and killing opponents. In the last few weeks, the conflict has led to an exodus of Nuba people fleeing their homes, and some have already taken refuge in mountain caves. Most are internally displaced, but nowhere in the North is safe, because Nubians are targeted as potential SPLA supporters. As of now, the North and the South are at a critical juncture with a possibility of a full-scale war breaking out.

In fact, if the international community does not act quickly to protect civilians attacked and displaced, the Nuba Mountains could quickly become the next Darfur. In the past few days, reports indicate that government forces have indiscriminately targeted women and children and paid militias. This is not the first time that the Nuba people have found themselves caught between Northern and Southern forces. The first genocide in the Nuba Mountains took place between 1980-1990, leading to mass displacement and death, although it was not well recognized by the international community.

Immediate action must be taken to head off a major humanitarian disaster. First, I urge the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to provide UNIMIS forces in the region with a clear mandate to protect civilians. Second, the UNSC should use article seven of the UN charter to protect civilians in the region. Moreover, the United States government should intervene through brokering a ceasefire agreement and bringing an end to hostilities between the fighting parties. Additionally, international organizations and other NGOs should provide humanitarian assistance to families most affected by the conflict, particularly women and children. I urge my fellow American citizens to take to the streets in protest of these gross human rights violations and urge President Obama to keep his promise of to protect civilians in Sudan. Finally, friends of the Nuba people the world over must provide immediate humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations must take a strong stand to protect lives and prevent another genocide in this region, which is very vital in the North-South CPA accord. A decisive move by the international community, particularly by the African Union, the United Nations, United States Government, and European Union can mitigate this conflict before it escalates. If nothing is done, the outcome will be catastrophic and will be yet another stain on the world’s conscience.

The Demise of the "Last Pharoah"

Congratulations to the Egyptians for gaining their deserved freedom from the tyrant, Hosni Mubarak "the last Pharaoh" and finally liberating the state from the authoritarian regime. What a spectacular way for them to end this authoritarian regime. This demonstrates the great power that existed within the Egyptian society in taking things into their own hands. Who would have thought that tools like Facebook, Twitter, and the Internet in general could be such a catalyst in mobilizing the Egyptian people for bringing an end to tyranny in their land, from the heart of Liberation Square (Tahrir Square).

There are numerous lessons that humanity can learn from these peaceful protests in Egypt, which brought an end to the three decades of authoritarian rule. Three points come to mind about this historic January 25 revolution in the land of pyramids. The first lesson is that there is nothing that ordinary people cannot do when they come together to bring about real change even if this means facing the tanks and the brutality of the state police.

The second lesson is that the actions of authoritarian regimes against their own people are unacceptable, the world over, and no matter how long these systems exist they will end. The Egyptian regime, in attempting to stay in power as long as it could, utilized all the state mechanisms to suppress its people, jailing all dissidents and increasing the police in the streets to keep things under control. Since these actions were not built on the will of the people (the governed), they failed miserably. The most important thing in the twenty first century is accountability to your own people as a state, and since the Egyptian government has never been in touch with the poor people and never answered their demands, the result was that the very people it tried to suppress brought it down. Therefore, it meant injustice might last for a while, but not forever. The events in Egypt have shown the world that nothing is impossible if people try hard enough to gain their freedom and civil rights. No matter how long they stay in power, their citizens would always find ways of expressing their opinions.

This leads me to my third point, which is the issue of legitimacy, accountability, and the social contract between the people and the state or in other words the relationship between a government and the governed. According to John Locke, the great social scientist, people in a social contract give up their rights to the state willingly on the condition that the state protects their lives, assets, and organizes their day-to-day affairs. What has become clear from watching the protests in Egypt over the past three weeks is that this contract between the government and the people has not been respected by the authoritarian regime, which over the course of thirty years of existence committed many human rights violations, and crimes against its own people. Once this trust between the government and the governed elapsed, it became impossible for the Egyptians to live under this regime and hence they took to the streets to demand their rights.
A clear message has been sent to authoritarian rulers the world over that they can no longer do business as usual with their citizens.

Long live the power of the people.

Last two weeks of work

In my last two weeks, I worked on editing the multimedia audio, and media monitoring. I also had the opportunity to staff the last conference for the summer with Jon Brennan, the White House Expert Assistant to President Obama for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, which was hosted on August 6. At this event, Brennan talked about the administration’s new strategy for the war on terror, which includes not longer calling it the “War on Terror.” I also attended an event titled "Harnessing the Spirit of L'Aquila: Improving Agricultural Productivity in Africa." Following the announcement at the G-8 Summit in Italy of a major commitment to global food security, CSIS hosted Dr. Monty Jones from the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa to discuss FARA's work and reforms in African agricultural practice. In describing emerging opportunities for international collaboration in African agricultural development, Dr. Jones emphasized priority areas for win-win U.S.-Africa partnerships.I met with the CSIS CEO, John Hamre, just two days before my last day. He introduced himself and after we talked he told me that he emailed Colin Powell and bragged about me! It felt good to know that he had a good impression of me and the Colin Powell fellows in general. My boss, Andrew Schwartz, was also really impressed and they all seemed to want me to come back and work there after I graduate. On my last day, I worked hard to finish my project, but when I met with my boss he luckily he told me that I did not have to finish it immediately. I met with him for the last time before I left CSIS to begin my fall semester at CCNY, and he had so much praise and good words to say about me. I invited him when he comes to Harlem to come and visit the Colin Powell Center and meet the other Colin Powell fellows. On my last day, I also managed to meet with Roy Levy for coffee. Mr. Levy is one of the Colin Powell alumni who was just recently hired as consultant by the CSIS. I also visited the Brookings Institution, where I listened to panelists speak about Obama’s first six months as president. The panelists talked about whether the stimulus package worked or not. Some thought that it worked, but others thought that it needed more time. There was also the notion that maybe there needs to be a second stimulus package.I returned back to New York on Wednesday, and I am now ready for the fall semester to begin.

Spending Time on Capitol Hill

As I mentioned in the last post, my tasks at CSIS were expanded into a bigger project, and I am now working on two projects concerning Obama’s speeches in Ghana and Cairo. Regarding Obama’s speech in Ghana, I am looking into the issue of governance in Africa. I am interested in learning more about the ramifications of Obama’s speech on Africa and its leaders. Right now, I am researching different publications to see the scholarly and expert analysis of the speech. Part of my research seeks to explore what the real policies towards the continent will be under President Obama when it comes to the issue of governance, which Obama made into the centerpiece of his speech. The second section of the report is to do research on Obama's speech in Cairo, which was aimed at the Muslim World. Similar to the Ghana speech, I am attempting to have a look at Obama’s policies towards the Middle East and the Muslim world, and in particular to the problem of Palestinian and Israel as well as the U.S.-Iran relationship.

This week I also had the opportunity to go to the Senate for a hearing on Sudan, where I saw some many Senators such as John Kerry and Richard Lugar. Testifiers spoke on the current situation on Sudan and the genocide in the Darfur region. What this hearing revealed to me is that, when you look at a conflict like Sudan, and try to develop a policy for it, one must examine it in terms of the bigger picture. It also taught me how the testifiers and experts can shape the opinion of policymakers and the American public.
After I finished listening to the hearing, I walked over to Capitol Hill to meet with congressman Sam Farr from California, the same congressman who helped me get my visa to come join my wife in America after waiting for a year and a half. Congressman Farr took me under his wing, and we walked from his office to Capitol Hill to the main floor, where the voting takes place. There, my host took me on a little tour, explaining to me briefly how the floor works. It was important to see how policymakers debate and work on the floor. It was very complicated and I was able to see that I still have a lot to learn!
I also had the privilege of meeting with John Lewis, the Congressman from Georgia, with whom I had abrief chat. As many of you know, Mr. Lewis is a well known civil rights icon who marched with MLK.

This last Friday, I also had the opportunity to attend a graduation ceremony of preparatory law school students at the Georgetown Law School along with my Swedish friend Daniel who introduced me to many of the professors and students. There I had a lot of fun schmoozing and thinking about the possibility of law school for the future. This graduation ceremony offered me a unique opportunity to have a taste of what law school is all about. In addition to that, I managed to network with other successful professionals who graduated from the program.

Sotomayor & More

The past two weeks I have had numerous great experiences. First, I had the great privilege of attending to Sonia Sotomayor’s confirmation hearing. I had to get up very early and wait in line for about two hours, but I felt that it was very important to attend in person. I really enjoyed the experience, and it was exciting seeing her in person being questioned by the senators. Even more exciting is the historical significance of watching a first Hispanic nominee to the Supreme Court! At first, I thought I might not be able to make it inside because the line was really long, but eventually I ended up in the hearing room and listened for about 20 minutes, as the policy was to let each group of twenty go in and watch the hearing for twenty minutes. It was also interesting to walk inside the senate chambers.

Back at CSIS, the leadership program organized its weekly luncheon, and the main organizer asked me to be a group leader. Each group was given a position and prepared a resolution concerning a free nuclear world. My group and I were assigned to debate on the negative side, and I was tasked with presenting the arguments for the group in front of the interns in the room. Luckily, we had two interns in my group who were from the international security program and really understood the arguments very well, so they made my job relatively easy -- all that I had to do was present it.

Last week, we all had the privilege of having breakfast with the president of CSIS, who talked to us about the American political system. He gave us a quick overview of the past 80 years of the system, and talked about how President Obama is doing so far. It was a really informative breakfast, and I understood a lot more about the system just in the nutshell that he presented to us.

I concluded this past week by getting a new assignment from my boss, Andrew. This project involves looking at Obama’s policies in the Middle East and Africa, particularly governance issues. I will have more to say once I start actually working on it next week.

Week Four

My fourth week went really well. I worked mostly on media monitoring and note taking at two events (one on Climate Change, and another on Global Health). I also took photos to be put on the CSIS website. I would say that the highlight of the week was staffing at Admiral Michael Mullen’s event that we hosted at the center. Admiral Mullen, the speaker, is the chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff. He spoke briefly about the Middle East and then took questions. The room was packed, including many members of the media. Additionally, I worked with congressional lists, putting them into a spreadsheet for the purpose of future events at the Center. This gave me some extra skill on how to work with excel. After I finished the congressional list project, my supervisor at the center assigned me to another project, which has to do with editing the multimedia audio. This assignment was to edit the audio and write captions for the CSIS website.

Overall, I would say that my knowledge was most expanded by the climate change event, at which the panelists spoke passionately about the bill that recently passed through the House of the Representatives and is making its way through the senate. They spoke in depth about Obama’s stance on this bill and his what his position will be when he goes to Copenhagen. On the other hand, at the global health event, which was the last event before the weekend, the speaker highlighted the fact that university campuses are becoming more interested in global health. He added that global health as policy must be supported because it would help boost global security.

Week Three!

My second and third weeks went extremely well, and I must say once again that it has been very educational. My responsibilities during this week ranged from assisting with the news crews who come pretty often to the Center to interview the Scholars, to attending a hearing on Capital Hill. I attended a hearing at the House of Representatives about the U.S-Japan relationship. The event was really informative, and there were many guests in the room. I went to the Hill three times consecutively during the week. Whenever I went there, I enjoyed the experience because it presented me with a great opportunity to see the daily routine of the work force there, including seeing where the offices of each congress-person is located. This opportunity is one of the many chances that CSIS provides interns like me with, and this is done through the director of congressional relations at the Center. Moreover, my job also entails monitoring the media. In this role I log data into a spreadsheet. I am glad to enhance my skill of working with spreadsheets, which I never had a real reason to utilize as much as I do now. Furthermore, I have also been doing research for a project that the director of communications and marketing has assigned to me, so now I am learning something about marketing and communication.
As I am headed into my fourth week, I am getting more and more projects to work on, so I am definitely getting the hands-on experience that I was looking for. I have also been attending more events both at the center and outside the center. A few days ago, I went to the Woodrow Wilson Center to see an event on Iran’s election, which was broadcast on C-Span. The speakers were great, with in-depth knowledge about Washington, DC and the world. I also attended leadership events that all the interns have to attend once a week. The speakers are very talented. I am trying to absorb and cram in as much knowledge as possible, and so far I think I'm succeeding!