U.S. and European media

October 28, 2022

Department of State: U.S. Special Envoy Gration to Travel to Turkey, Nigeria, and Sudan from October 27 to November 2.  Special Envoy Gration will travel to Istanbul, Turkey, to attend a meeting of the Elders, to discuss the current situation in Sudan with the Elders and update them on U.S. efforts to support peace and stability in Darfur and fully implement the CPA. Special Envoy Gration will attend the opening session of the African Union's (AU) Peace and Security Council in Abuja, Nigeria and will be present for the release of the report of the African Union High-Level Panel on Darfur by former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa. On the margins of the AU meeting, the Special Envoy will also hold bilateral discussions with several of the African heads of state present in Abuja for the AU Peace and Security Council meeting. Special Envoy Gration will additionally participate in a meeting of the E6, comprising the envoys to Sudan from China, the European Union, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.  Special Envoy Gration will then travel to Khartoum and Juba, Sudan, where he will continue bilateral discussions with the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on resolving the outstanding issues of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) implementation.

Reuters: Darfur rebel group rejects AU panel report. A major rebel group on Tuesday rejected an African Union report on solving the six-year conflict in Darfur. The report by a panel of African "wise men", headed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, recommended the establishment of a special court, including foreign judges, to try those charged with atrocities in Darfur.  The Justice and Equality Movement, the most powerful rebel group in Darfur, said serious crimes committed there should be tried by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

The Washington Post: Lobbyist charged with violating Sudan sanctions.  A Washington lobbyist is charged with violating U.S. economic sanctions against the outlaw regime in Sudan and using multiple passports, an offshore bank account and other tactics to hide his activities, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday. Robert J. Cabelly, 61, was registered as a foreign agent for Sudan from August 2005 to February 2006, when he dropped formal ties amid a public outcry. The indictment alleges that Cabelly, a State Department official in the 1980s and 1990s, engaged in prohibited commercial activities before, during and after the time he was registered to work for Sudan. The indictment says Cabelly entered into illegal contracts with the Sudanese oil industry; acted as an intermediary between Sudan and a French oil company; and provided sensitive information to Khartoum about the U.S. government.

VOA News: Fragile Sudan Peace Deal Enters Critical Final Phase.  A parliamentary boycott and the ongoing dispute over the southern independence referendum highlight the fragile nature of North and South Sudan's peace agreement as it enters its critical final phase. Analysts worry that time is running out for the two sides to resolve their differences over the deal.  The Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005 between the North and South put an end to a civil war that had left nearly two million dead since 1983.  But the document, which some analysts argue is better described as a conditional "ceasefire" than an actual peace agreement, is mostly silent on the details as to what happens after January 2011, when a southern independence referendum is to give the South the option to split from the North.

Reuters: Obama Extends Sanctions on Sudan.  U.S. President Barack Obama formally renewed U.S. sanctions on Sudan on Tuesday under his new strategy of keeping up pressure while offering incentives to the Khartoum government.  The one-year extension, which Obama made official in a notice to the U.S. Congress, followed his announcement earlier this month of a new carrot-and-stick policy aimed at ending violence in Sudan's Darfur region and the semi-autonomous south.  Obama, who during last year's U.S. presidential campaign urged a tougher line on Khartoum, has justified the shift as necessary to prevent the oil-rich African giant from falling further into chaos.

CNN: Don Cheadle's poker playing has benefits. "Hotel Rwanda" star Don Cheadle got a first-hand view of horror when he traveled to the devastated Darfur region of Sudan in 2005.  He saw what it's like in an area in which tens of thousands have died and many more have been rendered homeless.  He came back inspired to try to help. And this Thursday, he'll return to one of the efforts that has had the most impact. Playing poker. Cheadle, poker champ Annie Duke and their friend Norman Epstein founded Ante Up For Africa in 2006, hoping to raise money and awareness of issues in Sudan and help bring peace to the region. The first day's take for their new charity: $700,000.

The Darfur Daily News is a service of the Save Darfur Coalition. To subscribe to the Daily News, please email [email protected]. For media inquiries, please contact Ashley Roberts at (202) 478-6181, or [email protected].