Top UN official warns of increasing Darfur violence

By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer

Wed May 14, 8:35 PM ET

UNITED NATIONS - The U.N. peacekeeping chief warned Wednesday of an alarming increase in violence in Darfur that has spread to the Sudanese capital and could escalate further.
Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno urged all actors — the disparate rebel groups and feuding Sudanese and Chadian governments — to "move away from the brink of going into another cycle of violence" and start negotiations to end the Darfur conflict.
In a briefing to the U.N. Security Council, Guehenno said the surprise rebel attack on Khartoum last weekend, which took place "during an alarming increase of violence in Darfur itself," has implications for the operations of the joint African Union-United Nations peacekeeping force.
The attack by rebels from the Justice and Equality Movement, based hundreds of miles to the west in Darfur, also has implications for the efforts to revitalize political negotiations on Darfur, Chad-Sudan relations, and Sudanese national politics, he said.
"This great deterioration of security ... (is) a major challenge for all of us," Guehenno told reporters afterwards. "Our great concern is that it doesn't lead to further escalation."
Guehenno told the council that the U.N.-AU force has received unconfirmed reports that another Darfur rebel group, SLA-Unity, "is gathering forces with over 40 vehicles near Khor Abeche to attack El Fasher," the capital of North Darfur and headquarters for UNAMID.
"In addition, there have been reports of JEM and Chadian armed elements crossing the border and assembling in West Darfur," he said.
Guehenno said he's urging the peacekeepers to be on high alert.
"Unfortunately there is no place in Darfur that can claim to be safe from possible violence," he said.
He expressed concern that the attack on Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman over the weekend took both peacekeepers and the government by surprise.
"The incident underscores the serious shortfalls in the mission's resources, especially aerial reconnaissance capabilities," he said.
The U.N.-AU force took over peacekeeping duties in Darfur in January from a beleaguered AU force. It only has about 7,500 troops and fewer than 2,000 police on the ground, out of a total of 26,000 that have been authorized.
Guehenno laid out the U.N. plan to get 80 percent of the force into Darfur by the end of the year.
Ethnic Africans in Darfur took up arms against the Arab-dominated government in 2003 to fight discrimination. The U.N. says 2.5 million people have been forced from their homes during the five-year conflict — including 150,000 since the beginning of the year — and the death toll could be as high as 300,000.
The ongoing violence, and the hijacking of 38 commercial trucks with food from the World Food Program, has forced the U.N. agency to halve rations beginning in May, Guehenno said. He added that "malnutrition indicators remain at extremely worrying levels in many areas of the region."

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Red Cross: Up to 128,000 may have died in Myanmar

1 hour, 22 minutes ago

YANGON, Myanmar - The Red Cross estimated Wednesday that the cyclone death toll in Myanmar could be as high as 128,000 — a much larger figure than the government tally. The U.N. warned a second wave of deaths will follow unless the military regime lets in more aid quickly.
The grim forecast came as heavy rains drenched the devastated Irrawaddy River delta, disrupting aid operations already struggling to reach up to 2.5 million people in urgent need of food, water and shelter.
"Another couple of days exposed to those conditions can only lead to worsening health conditions and compound the stress people are living in," said Shantha Bloemen, a spokeswoman for UNICEF.
A tropical depression in the Bay of Bengal added new worries, but late in the day forecasters said it was weakening and unlikely to grow into a cyclone.
Myanmar's government issued a revised casualty toll Wednesday night, saying 38,491 were known dead and 27,838 were missing.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, however, said its estimate put the number of dead between 68,833 and 127,990. The Geneva-based body said the range came from a compilation based on other estimates from 22 different organizations, including the Myanmar Red Cross Society, and on media reports.
Even though the figures seemed precise, spokesman Matthew Cochrane said they were not based on body counts, but were only rough estimates designed to provide Red Cross donors and partner organizations with an idea of the numbers being discussed within the aid community.
U.N. officials have said there could be more than 100,000 dead.
The Red Cross estimated the number of people needing help after cyclone surged over the low-lying delta on May 3 at between 1.64 million and 2.51 million.
But the junta still refused to accept help from foreign aid experts, who have vast experience in handling humanitarian crises.
It insisted Myanmar can handle the disaster on its own — a stance that appeared to stem not from the isolationist regime's ability but from its deep suspicion of most foreigners, who have frequently criticized its human rights abuses and crackdowns on democracy activists.
Meanwhile, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he secured support from Myanmar to increase the flow of relief aid.
"In view of the magnitude of this crisis, much more needs to be done," Ban told reporters after a nearly two-hour meeting in New York with Myanmar, its neighbors and key donors. The "Myanmese ambassador has assured that the Myanmese government will do all to assist."
Ban also said that during the meeting aimed at boosting aid to the stricken nation he was also able to win backing from the groups for a high-level conference to raise funds for disaster aid this month.
Myanmar's prime minister, Lt. Gen. Thein Sein, told visiting Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Wednesday that the government was in control of the situation and didn't need foreign experts.
"They have their own team to cope with the situation," Samak said after returning to Bangkok. He said the junta gave him a "guarantee" that there was no starvation or disease outbreaks among survivors.
But critics say the government is woefully lacking in helicopters, trucks and boats as well as planning expertise needed to distribute aid to survivors, who have jammed into monasteries and relief centers or are camping outside.
U.N. agencies and other voluntary groups have been able to reach only 270,000 of the affected people, said Elisabeth Byrs of r the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs in Geneva.
She said the World Food Program would need 55,000 tons of rice to feed 750,000 people for three months, but the agency had been able to ship in only 361 tons so far.
On Thursday, aid agencies were preparing or moving in a wide-range of relief supplies including material for temporary shelters, rice, drinking water, kitchen utensils and medicines including 2,000 anti-snake bite kits. The U.N. World Health Organization says an increase in snake bites is feared in coming days.
The junta did grant approval Wednesday for a Thai medical team to visit the delta, said Dr. Thawat Sutharacha of Thailand's Public Health Ministry. If the team goes as scheduled Friday, it will be the first foreign aid group to work in the ravaged delta.
Myanmar has limited the few international aid workers in the country to Yangon, the country's biggest city, and used police to keep foreigners from going to the delta.
The U.N. has also expressed concern this week that some of the food and aid donated by international groups isn't making it to the most needy, but is being diverted by officials or the military. And some aid workers and survivors said that in many cases spoiled or poor-quality food was being given to survivors.
Zalmay Khalilzad, the American ambassador to the U.N. has said the U.S. is concerned about the issue and wants to make sure that that aid goes to the people that are intended to be the recipients.
The government gave a little ground to demands that it let in more experts. It announced it would allow in 160 relief workers from neighboring countries — India, China, Bangladesh and Thailand. Except for the Thais, it was not clear whether they would be permitted to go to the delta. The U.N. also said that an emergency rapid assessment team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations was being assembled for movement into Myanmar within the next 24 hours.
In New York, U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes welcomed the junta's move to let in the Asian relief workers. But he said it was not enough and demanded that Myanmar open its borders to foreign relief specialists and let outsiders work in the Irrawaddy delta.
"The relief getting through under the kind of restrictions we're operating under is by no means adequate to the task, and it's hard to see how just continuing with the status quo can ever be sufficient in the current critical time period that we're working in," Holmes said.
While it has kept out all but a few foreign aid workers, the regime has accepted tons of provisions sent by international donors, including the United Nations and the United States.
Five U.S. C-130 military transport planes delivered drinking water, blankets, mosquito nets and plastic sheets Wednesday. Lt. Col. Douglas Powell said 197,080 pounds of provisions had been sent in on eight U.S. flights since Monday.
Adm. Timothy J. Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, said he did not get the junta's formal approval for American aid flights when he met with the Myanmar navy commander Monday in Yangon. But he said Myanmar officials were allowing the planes to fly in.
"In approving our flight plans, they are giving us permission — it is kind of implicit permission," Keating said in an interview with National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" program.
The State Department renewed an appeal for the junta to allow in outside disaster relief experts and more assistance. "This is not a political issue. This really is simply a humanitarian issue," said deputy spokesman Tom Casey.
The European Union's top aid official, Development Commissioner Louis Michel, said he was not opposed to the idea of parachuting aid into Myanmar, but said he did not think it was workable. Others have suggested unilateral air drops to circumvent the junta's restrictions

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My hell - by cleared sex charge man
Exclusive by Lisa Kenyon
9/ 5/2008


A POPULAR village postmaster has spoken of his 18 months of hell after being cleared of sex assaults on a 12-year-old girl and a pregnant woman.
Alan Holden, 60, who has run the Dill Hall Lane Post Office in Church for 18 years, broke down in tears when he won the battle to clear his name after a four-day trial at Burnley Crown Court.
He had denied four charges of indecent assault, said to have occurred between January 1996 and December 1999, and one sexual assault, alleged to have been committed in October 2006.
Mr Holden, who had no previous convictions, told the jury both alleged victims were lying and the jury took just four minutes to return a not guilty verdict.
In an exclusive interview with the Observer, the father-of-two and grandfather of two boys said they were the longest four minutes of his life.
He said: "When the verdict was announced it was such a relief. I felt like I was walking three feet above the ground. It had just been a dark mist until then but now I can look forward to the future.
"Everybody that knows me has been so supportive. That’s what kept me going."
Mr Holden said the 12-year-old girl often came into the shop and helped count pennies and tidy cards before making the shock allegation that he had given her massages, given her money and sweets and talked about taking her to Thailand.
He said: "We had taken her under our wing. She was like the granddaughter my wife Gail and I never had.
"I can’t put into words how I was feeling when she made the complaint. It was devastating. It was like my whole world had collapsed."
The police investigated at the time but no charges were brought.
Then, 18 months ago, Mr Holden said he was invited to feel a 19-year-old customer’s unborn baby kicking in what he described as a totally innocent situation.
But the woman went home and said he had sexually assaulted her.
Mr Holden said: "The woman, who lived next door to the girl who made the initial allegation, told the police that I had pulled her pants down and done something which my barrister proved was impossible.
"The police came and arrested me, which was hugely traumatic. They took my DNA and decided to lump the two incidents together and press charges.
"It has been sheer hell for the past 18 months for me, my wife and my family. It’s been a living nightmare.
"I have always known I was innocent. My family have always known I was innocent. And my friends and customers have known I was innocent. I have received over 100 cards, emails and letters of support and have been totally overwhelmed.
"I have no wish for revenge. I just want to put the whole thing behind me and get my life back to normal."
During the trial Mr Holden, who heard himself described by the prosecution as a sexual predator, told the jury he and his wife were naturists who walked around with nothing on as part and parcel of everyday life.
He added: "That has nothing to do with it. Even the judge said it had no bearing on the case. We have always told the truth about that."
Mr Holden said that throughout the investigation, the families of the "victims" had continued to visit the shop.
He is now looking forward to a short break away with his wife to unwind.
And later this year, they plan to celebrate their ruby wedding anniversary with a trip to New Zealand.
Mr Holden said: "We have a very strong marriage and we have no secrets from each other. This whole ordeal has just proved what a strong family we are."

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