Intimidation, torture, and violence. Hundreds of activists, opposition party leaders and journalists arrested and beaten.

Welcome to election season in Omar al-Bashir’s Sudan.

Sudan’s first multi-party elections in 24 years are scheduled for April 2010. The elections were intended to serve as a capstone to the democratic transformation of Sudan promised in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that was signed by North and South Sudan in 2005.

Instead, none of the conditions for truly free and fair elections are in place.

Bashir’s regime has failed to: ensure freedom of association, movement, assembly and speech; limit the broad powers of arbitrary arrest, detention, search and seizure; end press censorship; allow equal access for all political parties to media; implement mechanisms to prevent election related violence; and allow unrestricted access for both domestic and international observation teams.

Not only are brave Sudanese who call for greater freedom being violently suppressed, the current conditions in Darfur make credible elections there inconceivable. Random attacks on civilians continue, movement of UN peacekeepers is restricted, and millions of Darfuris who live in displacement camps worry that participation in the election will lead to denial of their right to return to their homes. Any national election that does not include Darfur cannot be viewed as legitimate.

So what is the benefit of elections for Bashir’s genocidal regime? They are a means to give it a veneer of legitimacy.

And without scrutiny by the Obama administration and the international community, the elections will deliver the sort of legitimization that Bashir desires.

This is why it is critical for the U.S. government to shine a spotlight on the fact that the political freedom necessary for free and fair elections in Sudan does not exist. We need President Obama and our elected leaders to send a message to the world that they will not recognize the results of an illegitimate electoral process, and will not permit a fugitive of the International Criminal Court to legitimize his brutal dictatorship.

Over the coming months we will need your help to make sure that our leaders do not let the upcoming elections provide legitimacy to Bashir’s government. We will be collecting signatures, organizing lobby days and local events, blogging, and raising awareness through the media and social networks.

The people of Sudan need our support. Spread the word to your friends and family and encourage them to learn more.

Sincerely,

Mark Lotwis
Save Darfur Coalition

The situation in Darfur is crippling. Knowing how to help is difficult, but a good place to start is education. If you’d like more information about the Sudanese election, be sure to read this.

I hope that you will learn more and share the information with your friends and family. And I ask for prayers for the people of Sudan – though I’m not sure for what one should pray exactly.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 4:12pm June 26
Todd I cannot believe you are attacking what I am saying without having gone to Darfur yourself. I have to say that I am extremely disappointed that you aren’t giving me the benefit of the doubt that I have done a LOT of reserach here and met with a number of academics who have ben studying Darfur for YEARS! since I know you to be a very inquisitive person I HIGHLY recommend that you read “Saviors and Survivors” by Mahmood Mamdani. He is a NOBEL PRIZE winner who is saying EXACTLY the same things that I am. He was recently featured on NPR. I would welcome you to read it, then you and I need to have a meeting to discuss. Why would you not trust me to be telling you the truth? Please take the chance to learn about the other side before you blog again. Please have an open mind about this. I am NOT saying NO ONE IS DYING… because they ARE. But it is not GENOCIDE. I have a copy of the book I am more than willing to lend you. I am NOT supporting the government in any way, shape or form.

It’s true, we’ve never been to Darfur. But we have formed our opinions on the situation there based on the reporting of individuals and organizations who have been there for an extended period of time, in some cases years. As for giving her the benefit of the doubt, we don’t question if she has done research, we just believe that the contradictions to her findings are more compelling and better documented.

Concerning Saviors and Survivors, we had read about Mamdani’s book prior to her mentioning it, but had decided against investing time in reading it due to the vast criticisms of his explanation of the crisis. These critics, who all had very similar problems with the book, were not simply disagreeing with author’s conclusions but casting serious doubt on his entire research process and lack of due diligence regarding his sources. (Sidenote: We were unable to locate the year or category of his Nobel Prize from nobelprize.org.) And, based on the blogs and websites we routinely read, we feel as though we already have a basic understanding of “the other side.”

The impression Scott’s movie gives is that there is a small contingent of people fighting and that the casualty rate is very low. We only saw the movie once, and will watch it again once it’s posted online, but from our recollection, she did not discuss the 300,000 deaths from the fighting. Again, we’re not scholars, but we know that people much smarter than we have determined that what has happened in Darfur is genocide. But regardless of whether we call it genocide or not, it needs to end.

And while it’s unfair to accuse Scott of supporting the Sudanese government, the film certainly felt pro-government.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 4:14pm June 26
By the wya, MILLIONS of people have NOT died there. Even the WHO estimates (not that I am downplying this. death is TRAGIC) between 200,00 and 300,000 people have died there. Compare that to 4 MILLION in the Congo and it begs the question of why “save Darfur” isn’t more worried about the Congo…

We didn’t say millions had died, we said millions have suffered and died, which is true. The exact number of casualties is hard to determine, but more than 2,000,000 people have been displaced, and estimates vary between 250,000 and 500,000 deaths. We never want to minimize the suffering in the Congo, which we know is disgusting and tragic, but the film was about Darfur, so that is what we’re addressing.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 4:23pm June 26
I was in Washington to take part in PEACE NEGOCIATIONS between the Sudanese Government and SPLA. I met with US envoy Scott Gration who was part of those talks as well. AGAIN I am NOT saying people aren’t dying, because sadly THEY ARE. Please Todd, before you write again, read “Saviors and Survivors”. It’s a lot more indepth than I was in my documentary because this COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR is a lot more learned than I am on this subject. I challenge you to listen to the “other side” which hasn’t gotten much attention yet. I promise you it will.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 4:26pm June 26
By the way I have been “invited back” to go to South and West Darfur to do a more “com0plete story” Even the Sudanese Ambassador said he wanted ALL sides to be features to give the story more credibility. So I WILL be going back. I will tell you that many leaders of NGO’s were there and told me they totally agreed with my assessment. I will be featuring their interviews soon.

We are curious to know who invited her to go south and west Darfur and we look forward to seeing her report after she visits those places. We’d also be interested in knowing which NGOs she’s speaking to.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 4:42pm June 26
There are a “few” fact errors I want to correct. 1) Most of the interview on the “Darfur” part of my documentary was from a University Professor and DARFURIAN expert. Even during the interview he said he DOES NOT support the currrent government however he wants to help end the conflict. 2) I did NOT compare Abraham Lincoln to Omar Al Bashir!!!!! I said the comflict was between NORTH and SOUTH just like our civil war. 3) I did NOT minimize the deaths. I think war is TRAGIC!!!! Again I said over and over in the documentary that there ARE people dying. 4) I did NOT CHOOSE not to go to Southern Darfur I ran out of time to go, and as I said I will be going back. The Ambasador even said he wanted me to show the country WARTS and ALL so people can decide. Only with all information available can the truth be known.

1) We apologize that we didn’t see the distinction between the parts of the documentary regarding Darfur and the rest of the documentary. 2) What we remember is Scott saying that not more than 150 years ago our country went through a civil war in which the government-backed north fought against the south. This sounded like a comparison to us. 3) We don’t remember hearing about the deaths over and over, but again, we’ve only seen the movie once. We also do not mean to imply that Scott does not care about people dying, but in our opinion, it just seemed that her failure to discuss the deaths at any length did, in fact, minimize them. 4) Scott did choose not to go to Southern Darfur because she chose to go to somewhere else.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 4:45pm June 26
By the way just because a LOT of people “believe something” does NOT make it true!!!! Just a few years back scientists and doctors all agreed that it wasn’t physically possible for someone to run a 4 minute mile. Which was true.… until someone did it. Why because I am saying something that’s NOT BEEN heard much in the media does that automatically make upi assume I am “wrong”?

We’re not disagreeing just for the sake of disagreement, and we don’t believe something simply because the majority does. But in this case, we think the evidence of the majority significantly outweighs the evidence of the minority in both quantity and quality.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 10:00pm June 26
Looking back I can only say [not going to Southern Darfur] was a “bad decision” made on my part. I chose instead to go to Geziera to see the farm lands. If I had it to do over again I would choose differently. That’s why I am so excited at the opportunity to go back again. However I met with representatives from the SPLA in Washington and did hear what they had to say. Todd. PLEASE before you write again, PLEASE read “Saviors and Survivors”.… I am not trying to CHANGE your mind, but I really do want you to understand the “other side”. I will say again I DO NOT support the government. I am trying very hard not to get political at all. I am fighting for the people and I want to make it possible for them to achieve peace. I am VERY SINCERE when I say I fell in love with the ordinary people there. They are the most incredible human beings I have ever come across.

We also want peace, and that’s why we think it’s so important to highlight the issues we had with her film.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 10:29pm June 26
Better yet, would you agree to meet with my Sudanese-American interpreter? I LOVE great debate and obviously you are a well read and well informed person. I would LOVE to set up a lunch where we can all discuss this face to face. The sad thing about writing back and forth through a computer is that you can’t hear someone’s inflection, nor their tone of voice. So what’s “said” can sometimes be misinterpreted. I would LOVE to hear what you have to say.… it can only make my ability to write the next story better. I am not too proud to change my mind if there is evidence that I should. I have done a lot of research but you could bring something to my attention that I have not seen and I would welcome that.

Sierra Patricia Scott at 12:35am June 27
I have to say your phrase “She chose not to tell the whole story” is not only a personal attack on my “intentions”, but is totally misleading. Without really knowing me, and I am a person who would NEVER intentionally mislead anyone. EVER. You can ask just about anyone who knows me and they will tell you that I always tell the truth to the very best of my ability. I may have made a “judgment error” in not going to Southern Sudan, but I can assure you that error in judgment was NOT INTENTIONAL nor was it made with any agenda in mind. I guess saying or implying “bad things” about someone is easier to do over the computer because you don’t have to see the hurt in their faces when you write it, but I can assure you those allegations hurt. In my heart of hearts I am only trying to help.

We do not doubt that Scott was trying to help, and there is nothing in this or the original post that we would not say to her in person. We did not mean for it to be a personal attack, and we’re a little surprised that Scott seems not have expected this type of reaction to her movie. She knew she was creating something controversial, and even stated as much in one of the opening lines of her film.

We’re incredibly interested in continuing this dialog face-to-face. If you have any questions you’d like for us ask, leave a comment a below. 

If you’re interested in seeing our sources, check out our Darfur Delicious page.

Todd and Hayley

Two Sundays ago, Hayley and I went to see “Destination Darfur,” a documentary created by Sierra P. Scott. Scott traveled to Sudan to uncover the “true” story of what’s happening there and to uncover the mistruths that the media is propagating about the conflict.

The documentary started with a line that said, “What if I told you everything you knew about Darfur was wrong?” She then proceeded to show through interviews and footage that there isn’t any genocide or fighting – or, at the least, that the reports from the media around the world are greatly exaggerated.

Unfortunately, she primarily spoke to current or former government officials, only visited two displacement camps and never visited southern Darfur at all – the area most heavily traumatized by the conflict. She even said that she had been given full access to go wherever and speak with whomever she wanted. Which means, if that’s true, she chose not to tell the whole story.

The documentary ended up feeling like a propaganda piece for the Sudanese government. Just to highlight this, at one point, she compared the Darfuri conflict to our own Civil War, drawing parallels between Omar Al-Bashir (Sudan’s president) and Abraham Lincoln.

In no way could I be considered an expert on Darfur. But I’m not a fool. The fact that she has been become a spokesperson for the Sudanese government is disturbing and frightening and her statements and documentary minimize the deaths and suffering of millions of people there.

If you want some more information about the Darfur crisis, I encourage you to visit Enough Project or Amnesty International’s Eyes on Darfur. Also, check out the Social Science Research Center’s “Making Sense of Darfur” blog – particularly this post. And then I encourage you to watch Scott’s film for yourself. Apparently it will be added to DarfurStory.com soon. As soon as it’s live, I’ll be sure to link to it and include further critique here.

If you’ve had the chance to see it, what did you think?