SITREP 21 & 22

04 MAR 05 · GENERAL SITUATION:

We are still awaiting the signing of the UN Security Council Resolution that will start the actual peace implementation process. Status quo.

For those interested in hearing from someone who has recently completed a five month tour as a monitor in Darfur, I recommend

watching Public Affairs with Tina Brown on Sunday,

06 MAR 05 on CNNC. My friend and erstwhile colleague (the one who got me this position, actually), Brian Steidle, will be interviewed.

SITREP readers should recall my mentioning Brian and his work in the Darfur area. He was unable to communicate from that AO while there,

but I believe that he has been very frank and forthcoming about the situation since his return to the United States. If you want

“the rest of the story” I strongly suggest that you tune in. Check your local listings, etc.

SECTOR 3 OPERATIONS:

Due to a requirement for someone to fill in temporarily as the Sector Commander in another Sector for five days, I have been away and

somewhat out of the loop here. Therefore this segment will be a bit truncated this week.

Preparations are underway for a ceremony to mark the re-opening of the Al Reika-Frandalla-Talodi Road. While I am sure that the

average citizens along the route will readily and happily adjust to the interactions occasioned by the re-opening, the officials have their

public images to maintain. This has caused Rainer Baudendistel, the Sector 3 Commander, to call upon all the diplomatic skills acquired in a

lifetime devoted to such work to put together a ceremony acceptable to both factions. As I have suggested in past SITREPs , if this peace

doesn’t hold it will probably be because of the leadership and not the people.

We are being presented with a growing number of land ownership disputes. Although this speaks well of JMC’s reputation as a fair and

impartial arbiter, it is really none of our business unless it threatens the peace and/or involves members of of either faction using their

official positions to cause problems. This is a growing problem as more returnees arrive from IDP locations, or from service in one of the

forces,

to find people on what they claim is their land.

We are forced to tell people that they must wait for the proper agency for resolution of such matters to be formed under the new government,

or to come to an amicable resolution of their own. The latter is obviously the better solution. There is no doubt that this will be major

problem area for the new government, and the way in which it is handled will certainly affect the government’s prospects for viability.

The new member of the Sector 3 International Monitor team, Andrew Bell, is settling in quite well. I am sure that he will prove to be a

valuable asset in the months to come. · MICHAEL’S WORLD:

After my five day absence from Sector 3, I did not quite get down and kiss the

Um Serdiba soil, but it was certainly great to get back.

As I will be required to be back in the Sudan by the end of May, I have had to move my leave dates forward to 13-29 May 05.

This is because PAE, the actual employer of all the American International Monitors in JMC, wants all its people here prior to the

earliest possible project closure date. So I look forward to seeing some of you then. And that will do it for another week here in the Sudan.

Cheers all, Michael · SITREP 22 11 MAR 05

GENERAL SITUATION:

Probably the most interesting development this week has been the stir generated by the disclosures of Brian Steidle in regards to the

realities of the situation in the Darfur AO. He has been testifying before Congressional committees and is receiving some air time as well.

I think his exposure of the atrocities occurring on a daily basis in that area is long overdue, but I would hate to find that the atrocities

committed by the other side go unmentioned. There is ample blame to go around here, and the only edge that the GOS may have lies in

superior ordinance and technology. Many of the people in the refugee camps only came there because of the actions of the Sudanese

Liberation Movement (SLM) and other anti government forces.

While I still disagree with Brian position that these atrocities rise to the defined level of genocide, they certainly do constitute mass murder.

It will be interesting to see what, if any, action is taken by the West, the UN or any other powers to terminate these horrors. My personal

opinion is that the issue will receive its fifteen minutes of fame, the world will move on to its next crisis du jour , and the killing will end as

and when the GOS forces have achieved their strategic and tactical goals.

SECTOR 3 OPERATIONS:

The Al Reika-Frandalla-Talodi road was reopened on Monday with a quiet ceremony in Frandalla (SPLM) and the full monte in Salamat (GOS),

to include a military brass band and a chorus of singing, dancing and ululating ladies. The one sour note was that the SPLM authorities

refused to have a joint celebration or to meet with the GOS officials. The good news is that shortly after the conclusion of the ceremonies the

GOS District Commissioner was able to drive the length of the road on his way to Kadugli. As yet we have not received any reports of his

detention so we are presuming that he passed through the SPLM area unscathed.

Although yesterday’s Cross Line Police Meeting went well, it may be the last time this valuable gathering will convene. (The term “faction”

was deemed a bit strong, thus the redubbing. A rose called by any other name, etc.) The unfortunate decision by the SPLM authorities, which

will hopefully be rescinded, to no longer allow their Police Chiefs to participate in these meetings is the worst decision that could have been taken.

One of the critical areas of government which have been neglected or avoided throughout the CFA and CPA processes is the planning for,

and implementation of, a Joint Integrated Police Force. To see this example of grass roots initiative (CLPM) stymied by incompetent SPLM

bureaucrats is extremely frustrating. These bureaucrats should be trying to figure out what their subordinates are doing right and attempting

to emulate or replicate it. Instead, they are trying to ensure that their own incompetence and inertia are not revealed by the superior performance

of their subordinates by stifling the initiatives of the subordinates.

The courage shown by these Police Chiefs in attending this meeting to explain their situation despite their instructions to the contrary is

to be commended. Also to be commended is the decision by the local SPLA battalion commander to tell them to at least attend this meeting to

explain their position. This support can be considered necessary in this case.

We were visited last Saturday by the UN Force Commander designate, a major general from the Army of Bangladesh. He and the personnel

who accompanied him seemed to be grasping the fact that their mission, when they replace us, will be severely compromised by trying to operate

from a reduced number of bases as was initially contemplated by the UN planners. There is little chance of receiving word of problems if the

people must walk more than one hundred kilometers to bring it. He seemed to agree that maintaining forward operational bases (FOBs) such as

Sector 3 made far more sense, but whether the concept will ultimately prevail remains to be seen. I do not look for good sense or effectiveness

to prevail in any UN decision or endeavor.

Our friend and colleague MAJ Lorenzo Guani is back with us for a short visit. His family, and his children’s schools, have raised a combined

US $2,800.00 for supplies for several of the local schools in the Um Serdiba-Tangal area. He has devoted his last leave prior to his End of Mission

(EOM) to organize and distribute these supplies, rather than go on a holiday to Italy. I believe I have mentioned in past SITREPs that he is a

pretty good fellow whose presence will be missed when he returns to his duties in Italy. This is just another example of why I formed the opinion

of him that I did. · MICHAEL’S WORLD:

I volunteered to take on the duties of camp commandant (site admin, logistics and maintenance) in addition to my monitoring duties rather than

put up with the problems that seem to occur and recur when this function is handled from Tillo HQ. Our esteemed, but unfortunately departed, colleague Paul Hughes undertook these duties in addition to his duties as site medic, but his successor has not chosen to do so. It just made

sense for someone on site to do the job, and I felt that I could find the time. The PAE logistics team in Tillo provide guidance and backup

as required. I am therefore staying out of mischief almost entirely.

Once again leave in the States looms on the horizon, finally and definitively set for

13-29 MAY 05. I am looking forward to seeing as many of you as possible then. Michael