Our desire is to introduce this more sustainable system to refugee communities in Jaac and other locations like Yida near the north/south boundary.

The development of Community Water Reservoirs sustained by solar powered submersible pumps means greater access to Safe Water for more refugees.

Using submersible pumps powered by solar energy can increase production of one well to more than five times the capacity of the standard hand pump. Of course, each reservoir system costs much more than a standard hand pump, but the increased number of people benefitting from the upgrade makes it actually much cheaper and sustainable in the long run.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of this important campaign!

Specifically, Natsios recommends the U.S. provide anti-aircraft weapons to South Sudan so it can defend itself against the daily bombings of civilian targets. Such action would force North Sudan back to the negotiating table. Recall that Samaritan’s Purse’s Franklin Graham recently called for U.S. airstrikes against the air bases in the north to send the message that Khartoum’s war crimes are not going unnoticed.

Our hope is that this continued pressure will force the Obama Administration to take seriously its responsibility in working towards a peaceful settlement in Sudan.

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To stop the war on South Sudan, the U.S. should send weapons

By Andrew S. Natsios, Published: May 11, 2012

North and South Sudan are at war. The reasons for the conflict are complex, but the solution is not: To stop the killing, the international community must arm South Sudan. Unlike interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq, the United States need not fire any shots. Just as we have provided weapons to support Israel but never put our own troops at risk, we can help bring peace to this region. We need only make sure that, for the North, attacking the South is a little bit harder than shooting fish in a barrel.

South Sudan is less than a year old. Its war with the North is the result of an imbalance of military power that has encouraged military adventurism. Omar al-Bashir, president of the North and a possible coup target, believes he can secure his future by bombing the South into submission instead of negotiating. For this reason, he has undertaken extensive bombing in South Sudanese civilian areas since January, killing hundreds — an act of war.

Although the South has a large, well-motivated ground army, it has no air force or antiaircraft weapons to defend its people. Southern leaders believe Bashir and his generals plan to invade, occupy oil fields and install a puppet government that will give them control over oil revenue lost when the South became independent.

The only way to end the North’s bullying and foster peace talks is to give the South the right tools: American antiaircraft weapons. If the United States provides the materiel, the South can end the North’s bombing campaign. Most Northern air force pilots are mercenaries — if they start taking heavy losses, they will leave Sudan quickly.

To read the rest of the article, please click here.

Now at war again.

There are many facets to this conflict which must be probed to fully understand the current situation and what it means for the future of the region.

The first thing to know is that the international community and much of the mainstream press do not fully grasp what is happening right now in Sudan. For instance, when we read articles about the present conflict, we are told that South Sudan has “invaded” its northern neighbor. This is simply not true.

In this article, we will seek to address several key points that will hopefully give you the big picture of the current crisis and then let you know how you can get involved to help.

This 9-year old boy received a quarter-sized shrapnel wound to the head when 7 Antinovs dropped 10 bombs on the village of Kauda in Southern Kordofan.

The CPA

In 2005, the war between the National Islamic Front (NIF) government in Khartoum and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) came to an official end with the signing of a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). This agreement was, in part, brokered by the US, which became a custodian of the agreement to make sure each party kept their end of the bargain.

The CPA gave southern Sudan virtual autonomy with the option for secession in 2011. The agreement also called for border demarcation between the two sections of Sudan. Finally, the agreement put in place measures to give marginalized groups in the north, including Southern Kordofan (the Nuba Mountains) and the Blue Nile regions, more representation and influence in Khartoum.

From the very outset, the NIF government (now renamed the National Congress Party– NCP) violated terms of the CPA. Border demarcation was never seriously addressed. In fact, the NCP proceeded to “grab” land that was traditionally part of the south. One of the areas “claimed” by the NCP was a place call Heglig — more on that later.

Sudan dictator, Omar al-Bashir, is head of the National Congress Party and an indicted war criminal.

It became obvious early on during the “peace” that the terrorists in Khartoum were engaging in one of their old tricks. They were simply using diplomacy to distract the world from their real focus and priorities at the time. In 2005, that focus was Darfur — a large area left out of the CPA. While Sudan Dictator Omar al Bashir smiled and shook hands in Naivasha, Kenya during the CPA negotiations, his butcher, Ahmed Haroun, was busy slaughtering the people of Darfur by the hundreds of thousands.

The War in the North

In early 2011, the NCP regime was waking up to the realization that the party would soon be over. In January, the south voted overwhelmingly to secede from the north. Official independence was set for July 9th, and South Sudan would take more than 80 percent of the oil reserves in Sudan with it.

A rising national debt, coupled with the inevitable demise of most oil revenues sent the Sudanese Pound into a nosedive. Shortages were everywhere, and protests broke out in the streets of Khartoum. It looked like the “Arab Spring” was headed to Sudan. Meanwhile, the Darfur genocide had earned the NCP several indictments by the International Criminal Court, including the dictator Bashir himself– indicted for war crimes and crimes against humanity. And to make matters worse, elections in the northern state of Southern Kordofan were scheduled for May, and it was looking bad for the NCP candidate.

Southern Kordofan comprises the largest border with South Sudan, and is home to the Nuba Mountains, an area long allied to the South. But Bashir had problems in all the border areas. Long marginalized, the regions of Abyei, Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile State were not only sympathetic to South Sudan, they contained the rest of the North’s precious oil reserves.

This man suffered severe burns over most of his body as a result of a bombing in his village in the Nuba Mountains.

With the border demarcation and oil sharing arrangements with South Sudan still not resolved, and the clock ticking to southern independence, Bashir had to act fast.

In May 2011, Bashir sent his army into the oil rich Abyei region. In an international arbitration ruling, the NCP won the rights to retain Abyei as part of northern territory. But Bashir didn’t want just legal concessions. He wanted to remove the southern-sympathizing population out of the entire region. So he sent in the army and swept the region clear of its black population. The UN estimated that 100,000 people were cleared out of Abyei in a matter of weeks.

The attack on Abyei corresponded with the elections in Southern Kordofan, which were a recognized fraud to any serious observers. The “winning” NCP candidate was none other than Ahmed Haroun, indicted war criminal and butcher of Darfur.

Haroun ordered the Nuba people to disarm and anyone affiliated with the SPLA to leave the state. This order was another violation of the CPA, which specified that SPLA troops could remain in the marginalized areas like the Nuba Mountains through August of 2011. When the leadership of the SPLA refused to comply, Haroun used this as a pretext to invade the capitol city of Kadugli. Accounts from Kadugli told of a mass slaughter of anyone who was ethnically Nuban or Christian.

Women and children avoid the daily bombings by hiding in the mountains.

Bashir intentionally instigated this new military campaign in the north prior to the independence of South Sudan, because he knew the Southerners would not interfere or do anything to endanger their own peaceful secession. 

On July 9th, South Sudan seceded amidst great celebration and world attention. Meanwhile, their old allies in the north were fighting for their lives.

Blue Nile State Governor Malek Agar

In August, the war spread as Bashir sent his forces to attack the Blue Nile State. The Governor of Blue Nile, Malek Agar, was also the chairman of the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N), the largest political opposition to the NCP in the north. With the South official gone, Bashir’s party decided to eliminate all opposition and become effectively a one-party state.

Bashir’s purpose in attacking these border areas was clearly to drive out the indigenous black populations which Bashir sees as a threat to his autocratic reign. Ethnic cleansing is not new in Sudan, but has been an integral part of the “Arabization” and “Islamization” policy of Bashir’s party for more than 20 years.

All humanitarian access to the conflict zones was prohibited by Bashir. The excuse was that Bashir’s forces did not want humanitarian assistance to go to the rebels. But the reality is Bashir wants to empty the land of “undesirables.” He even told his soldiers to “take out the garbage” in the Nuba Mountains.

Adding Insult to Injury

After launching his attacks in the border regions, Bashir ordered cross-border incursions into South Sudan using his air force to bomb fleeing civilians from the conflict zones. The Sudan Air Force did not focus on SPLA targets, but rather chose civilian areas to spread terror and to support his policy of ethnic cleansing.

These multiple border violations were greeted with criticism by the international community. But since the US and UN’s official stance on the Sudan crisis is that they do not support regime change, the terrorist government in Khartoum is still treated as a legitimate government even though it has killed more than 3 million of its own citizens and may represent 10 percent of the population.

Even though its sovereignty was being regularly violated in the closing months of 2011, the government of South Sudan was playing it cool. This changed with the new year, when it was discovered that Bashir’s government had stolen $ billions worth of oil from the pipeline running through its territory.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir responded by ordering an immediate shutdown of every oil well in South Sudan. This extraordinary action coincided with another significant event in the conflict zone that represented a “game changer” in Sudan.

The Sudan Revolutionary Front

Opposition to the NCP government in Khartoum traditionally has come from several organizations and movements that represent various marginalized groups in Sudan. The largest opposition is the SPLM. But there are many other “alphabet soup” groups that oppose the autocratic policies of Bashir, including the DUP, SLA-Minni, SLA-Nur, Umma, PCP, SCP, the Beja Congress, etc.

Most of these groups have been chiefly concerned about their own grievances and never took up offense for other marginalized groups. This changed on November 12, 2011, when most of the marginalized organizations joined forces to create the Sudan Revolutionary Front. The SRF represents a united front in North Sudan against Bashir’s government. The very existence of this coalition, which is made up of extremely diverse groups, many of whom were previous enemies, shows how fragile Bashir’s grip on power has become. Bashir has been a master of “divide and conquer.” But now his enemies are united around one overriding goal– regime change.

The Heglig “Invasion”

The formation of the Sudan Revolutionary Front coincided with many victories on the ground by rebel forces. Bashir’s response was to fight more in the area where he is challenged the least: the skies. Bashir’s “rain of terror” from the sky completely closed the airspace to humanitarian flights. Moreover, Bashir not only ordered more air strikes in South Sudan, he even sent his army across the border to attack SPLA troops he claims are fighting in the north.

Finally, South Sudan had enough. In April, 2012, President Kiir ordered his troops to take the disputed area of Heglig. Bashir went ballistic. His government immediately called upon the intentional community to condemn the “invasion.” Sadly, the US and UN complied, demanding that Kiir withdraw his forces.

There’s just one problem with the allegations of invasion — they are completely false. The Heglig region is traditionally part of South Sudan. In fact, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed in 2005, used the borders defined in 1956 at the time of Sudan’s independence. This map shows Heglig in South Sudan.

PPF’s Brad Phillips has personally visited the Heglig region several times. Ten years ago, when Bashir’s forces were sweeping through the region to clear it of people so that oil firms could come in and begin exploiting the reserves, he conducted several outreaches to the refugees with PPF partner, The Voice of the Martyrs. Heglig at that time was known as Panthou in Panrieng County in the Western Upper Nile region of South Sudan.

It was Bashir’s troops, in contrast, who invaded Heglig during the Interim Period of peace following the signing of the CPA. Even though this area was populated with South Sudanese and had been traditionally part of the South, Bashir did not want to give up wells that pumped more than $10 million worth of oil per day from the area.

But few people in the mainstream media know this history, and fewer bureaucrats in the US State Department and the UN seem to care.

Conclusion

After 7 years of relative peace, north and south Sudan are now at war again. For those of us who know the history of this conflict and the politics of the region, it is obvious what needs to happen in the international community. The die has been cast. The South has decided to defend its young sovereignty. The marginalized groups in Sudan have united and are engaged with South Sudan in a bloody struggle against a monstrous regime which the intentional community continues to coddle.

Why are the US and UN refusing to support regime change and begin serious meetings with the leadership of the marginalized groups in northern Sudan, as well as with policy makers in South Sudan, to discuss the inevitable collapse of Bashir and his thugs in Khartoum? Transition from one regime to another can be messy if not planned ahead of time. And many experts on the Sudan crisis believe the US is blowing an opportunity to help establish a free government in Khartoum by continuing to deal with violent, tyrannical, yet undeniably terminal leaders in Khartoum. The international community must proactively plan for the New Sudan.

But PPF is not a political organization. We focus on helping people, not framing policy. Brad Phillips recently returned from Juba where he met with ministry partners who are working together to bring relief and encouragement to the refugees of this new war.

PPF will continue to do its part in helping the suffering and persecuted, but we need your help in this work. Please share this article with your friends, family, church groups, and anyone you know who cares about the persecuted church in Sudan. Please encourage them to visit www.savethenuba.com or www.persecutionproject.org, to learn how they can engage in active compassion with us. PPF is your bridge to bring love and encouragement to the persecuted. We encourage you to continue using this bridge for God’s glory and in love for our brothers and sisters in Africa.

After a recent trip to the Nuba mountains, Franklin concludes that the appropriate course of action for the US to take would be to destroy the airbases in El Obeid which are being used to wage an aerial terror campaign against innocent women and children of the Nuba.

Read the Washington Times Story here. 

I commend Franklin Graham for taking this bold stand, and I pray that everyone who wants to stop the current genocide in Sudan will join Franklin in pressing the Obama Administration to take this action to protect innocent lives in Sudan.     

Please visit savethenuba.com to learn more about how you can stay informed and get active for the persecuted. 

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GRAHAM: Bombing Sudan’s air bases only way to protect innocents

By Franklin Graham 

Photo courtesy of Samaritan's Purse

I have seen what happens when the world turns its back and looks the other way. For 20 years I have worked in Sudan, helping its people struggle through the horrors of starvation and murderous attacks. During Sudan’s civil war, the people in the south were being butchered. Shockingly, it took the deaths of more than 2 million before the world finally called it genocide.

When President George W. Bush came to office, he didn’t look the other way. Instead, he engaged all parties and forced them to sit down to negotiate what we hoped would be an end to the violence. Those discussions resulted in the agreement that led to the independence of South Sudan.

To read the rest of Franklin Graham’s article, please click here. 

Please forward this article to your friends and family and encourage them to visit savethenuba.com to find out how they can get involved to help the victims of genocide and religious persecution.  

Sudan, the UN and the concept of “Illegality”

By Anne Bartlett

A curious thing has happened on the diplomatic road to resolving the crisis over Heglig: the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, finally discovered his voice and declared the occupation of the border zone by the South Sudan as “illegal” and an infringement of sovereignty. I say “curious” because Mr. Ban has been rather less forthcoming about all manner of other “illegalities” the length and breadth of Sudan: bombing; extra-judicial killing; torture; mass graves; the displacement of people from their land; the movement of illegal populations from other countries onto land owned by Sudanese citizens; election fraud and demographic re-engineering; the cutting off of humanitarian aid and starvation of whole sectors of the population. The list is of course endless, but I think this shortened version makes the point.

(Continue reading by clicking here)

Dr. Anne Bartlett is Professor of Sociology and Director of the International Studies program at the University of San Francisco. She is also a Director of the Darfur Reconciliation and Development Organization (www.drdoafrica.org). She may be reached at: albartlett@usfca.edu

Scandalous International Hypocrisy on Sudan

By Eric Reeves

April 23, 2012 – The stench of hypocrisy and expediency is in the air wherever one turns in assessing international responses to recent events in Sudan. The deeply imbalanced reactions to the seizure of Heglig by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) give us our starkest picture to date of how selective and tendentious the world is prepared to be in creating a narrative for the present multiple crisis that threaten war in Sudan and South Sudan. And in their attempts to achieve a factitious “even-handedness,” various actors—including the UN, the U.S., the AU, and the EU—have encouraged Khartoum to believe that it has somehow gained the diplomatic, even moral upper hand. It is difficult to imagine a more dangerous response to have encouraged, and the currently ongoing offensive military actions against South Sudan by the regime’s Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) stand as stark confirmation.

Notably, international reaction has worked to encourage the most vehemently bellicose language on the part of Field Marshall and President Omar al-Bashir, who has very recently declared that (northern) Sudan is now essentially at war with South Sudan, and that Khartoum’s military ambition is to destroy the “insect” government in Juba. We have heard such language of racial contempt many times from al-Bashir’s regime; in this instance it is difficult not to recall the infamously ubiquitous calls in Rwanda in 1994 for the destruction of the Tutsi “cockroaches.”

To read the rest of Reeves’ article, please click here.

Introduction:

What had happened this week for the church in Sudan has shaken us as church community in the Sudan. Some of the information in the media were not correct as it was reported to be Anglican church or Catholic Church in Khartoum, but the correct information is a very old Bible School in Gerief West in Khartoum belonging to Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. Within the Bible School Compound, there is a Church and a number of housing for students.

This was not the first incident, St. John Parish Church in Haj-Yousif, Episcopal Church of the Sudan received a warning letter giving 72 hours for church leadership to demolish the church or else legal and any other means will be used to demolish this building as it is in a illegal plot of land and also South Sudanese have gone to South Sudan. The leaders of the Church wrote the Ministry concern to intervene. The church is still standing after more than 72 hours, but nobody knows how long will it stand?!

Brief history on recent incident of Presbyterian Evangelical Church:

On Friday the 20th April: Imams were heard from two nearby Mosques saying they are informing all the people in the area to mobilize themselves to take over the Church because that the land belong to them. The relevant authorities were informed. The Police were brought in to guard the place.

On Saturday 21^st:  Around 2pm the group of people as many as over 500 came into the Bible School and began to destroy the buildings, burning down books including Bibles and uprooting trees! The most amazing thing was that the policemen were around but did nothing to prevent this happening!

Photo courtesy of Sudan Change Now

On Sunday 22:  Christians gathered in the compound to pray and to encourage one another over the incident. All the Christian denominations attended the prayer [as well as] Muslims, political parties, women groups, and the neighbors. All the speakers condemned the incident that this is not Sudanese behavior nor is it Islamic behavior. Some of the Muslims apologized on behalf of the other Muslims because this evil act was done in the name of Islam which does not represent the spirit of true Islam.

Representative of the government said that this behavior is not acceptable because no civilized person could do such barbaric act. He promised that the ministry will investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, the members of the Church have had a meeting with the Commissioner of the area in his office who had the time had not yet visited the vandalized Church and the School, promised that he was going to form an investigation Committee to deal with the matter, that anyone who is found to have been involved, will be brought justice, that he was going to come to see the place with his own yeas,  that all the cost of the church and the school will be paid for by the government and that the police will be responsible in guarding the area until the matter is resolved fully.

Monday 23^rd:  Heads of Churches in Sudan… to strategize how they would handle this tragic situation of the church in the Sudan. They agreed that they must come out with a clear statement on the issue and hold a press conference to inform the public and the world of what the church in Sudan is facing. In this meeting Dr. Faroug al Bushra, Secretary General of Sudan Inter Religious Council joined the meeting and he offered sympathy to the Church and SCC over what had happened and again, he said that this act does not reflect the spirit of true Islam.

While the meeting was going on we received a phone call from SCC Nyala in Darfur that the security has taken over the premises of SCC and Sudan Aid in Nyala. That they came in the morning as usual but found that the place was occupied by others and were told to hand over the keys of all the vehicles and motor bikes. 5 vehicles and 3 bikes were removed from the compound of SCC office Nyala. Offices of Sudan Aid and SCC Nyala are closed by Security.

Having formed a drafting committee for SCC Statement, we then moved to the Ministry of Religious Guidance and Endowments were meeting was going on over the issue with members of Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church. The meeting was being chaired by the State Minister. The Minister having listened to full story of what had happened.  The Minister expressed his sadness and grieve of what took place for the Church and its property and that such evil things can be done in the name of Islam. He assured that church leaders that his Ministry will do all it can to see that justice is done to the church and that those responsible will be brought to justice.

He formed a committee consisting of members from both the Ministry and the Church to handle the issue.

The church on her part has open legal cases against those who destroyed and burned down the church. It has been estimated SDG 5,000,000 value of property which got destroyed and it be more than this.

Conclusion:

I would like to thank many of you, friends around the world who have been praying for the church in Sudan. We very appreciate these efforts. It seems that there is a plan to stop the work of the Church or threaten Church leaders in Sudan to stop preaching after the independence of Sudan. What I know, the church will remain and will continue to operate though there will continue to be challenges on the way. The history tells us so. It happened in the past, but the church continued to this day.

However, sometime we feel have been forgotten even by our close friends. Because it seems no one cares about us here in Sudan after independence of South Sudan. Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile areas people are in a terrible situation and it seems no one cares. We are called insects!

I believe that the good Lord will protect the church in Sudan and whatever happens, there will be way out.

Tom White, Executive Director for The Voice of the Martyrs, died suddenly on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at VOM’s headquarters in Bartlesville, OK. The Voice of the Martyrs has been a long-time ministry partner with Persecution Project Foundation, and Tom’s leadership will be greatly missed.

The Voice of the Martyrs issued the following statement on their website:

It is with great sadness that The Voice of the Martyrs announces the death of our Executive Director, Tom White.

Tom led The Voice of the Martyrs for more than 20 years, including years of incredible growth in the ministry’s reach to support and work with persecuted Christians and to share their stories with the American Church. Prior to taking leadership of the ministry he worked alongside VOM’s founders, Richard and Sabina Wurmbrand.

All of our hearts are heavy at this loss, and most of all heavy for Ofelia, Tom’s loyal help-mate through years of ministry, including 17 months he spent in a Cuban prison, and for his children and grandchildren.

During the last six weeks the profile of Sudan in the international media has been raised  as the North-South conflict escalates.  It is some comfort for those whose lives are at stake to know that their plight and suffering is not going unnoticed by the world. Even more encouraging is the knowledge that Christians the world over have been mobilized to pray.  Heightened awareness aided by technology to put a real-time spotlight on the evil events as they are unfolding in Sudan.  This has forced the U.S. and other governments to go on record and react. The heat is being turned up on Khartoum.

Bashir: "If anyone lifts a finger against Sudan, we will cut it off."

In response to the tougher rhetoric coming out of Washington against the terrorist-led government in Khartoum, the regime is responding with rage on both military and diplomatic fronts. The government of Sudan promised to seal off the border with South Sudan and even the Minister of “International Cooperation” threatened to expel the American consulate in Khartoum if the US continued to warn of a developing famine in Southern Kordofan State. For good measure, Khartoum launched more air strikes across the border into South Sudan, targeting refugees from the Nuba Mountains and the Blue Nile State who have fled the violence.

At a recent rally with his troops, Sudan Dictator, Omar al Bashir, proudly mocked the US and said he did not fear the Americans. “We’ve been tested by the Americans for 20 years,”  boasted Bashir. Bashir then defended Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, his Minister of Defense, who recently joined Bashir on the ICC’s list of indicted war criminals. “If anyone raises a finger against Sudan, we will cut it off!” shouted Bashir. “If anyone raises his eyes towards Sudan, we will pluck them out.”

This aggressive and violent response by Bashir doesn’t make him any more friends in the international community, and actually highlights the arrogance and irrational behavior of a leader whose days are numbered.

But the reality is that Bashir’s comments have more truth in them than I would like to acknowledge. Despite the warnings of the escalating humanitarian crisis in the Nuba Mountains by U.S. Permanent Ambassador to the UN, Dr. Susan Rice, as well as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the official U.S. position continues to be one of indecision and ambiguity. 

In mid-March, celebrity activist George Clooney passionately appealed for action as he testified before a U.S. Senate hearing on the humanitarian crisis in the Nuba Mountains and warned that the Nuba was becoming like Darfur. Clooney was later arrested (along with his father) for protesting outside the Sudan Embassy in Washington.

Clooney’s testimony came in the wake of a flurry of new media interest in Sudan. The New York Times, NBC, and Al Jazeera English have all published fresh stories on the issue. With all this renewed attention, one could conclude it is becoming easier and easier for the politicians in Washington to do the right thing in Sudan.

Enter Princeton Lyman. The lead U.S. diplomat representing the Obama Administration on all things Sudan.

Ambassador Lyman, also spoke before the U.S. Senate the same day as George Clooney. But sadly, the testimony of Ambassador Lyman seemed to reassure the indicted in Khartoum that the U.S. posture toward Sudan will remain essentially toothless… that we currently have no intention of following through on recent threats to take unilateral action to open a humanitarian corridor in the Nuba Mountains.

A few days prior to his testimony, Amb. Lyman traveled to Addis Ababa to meet with Sudanese leaders of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) which is the alliance of marginalized groups in northern Sudan that includes the SPLM-N.  He traveled to personally and publicly let them know that the U.S. would not support them in their goal of regime change. It seems the U.S. is still hoping to reform the National Congress Party believing a “carrot and stick” approach will win the day and transform indicted war criminals into democrats.

Huh?

I am reminded of the words of the late Dr John Garang who said, “The National Congress Party is too deformed to be reformed.” Quite right.  But, somehow there are still some “experts” in government who fear regime change in Sudan. They argue that if Bashir goes someone really bad might replace him.

Apparently all the tough talk by Lyman, Rice and Clinton were empty threats.  All it took was an angry Bashir for the U.S. to tuck tail and run.

Unfortunately, it is this kind of diplomacy which sends the NCP the message that the U.S. is not serious. The NCP regime in Khartoum, which has killed more than 3 million people since 1989, only responds to strength. It will continue to use food as a weapon and specifically target groups for destruction based on their race and religion until it is removed from power.

Meanwhile the SRF SPLM-N, the primary rebel group fighting Khartoum in northern Sudan, continues to score major victories in the ground war. Most of Southern Kordofan is firmly controlled by the rebels. And Khartoum is sinking more and more of its already limited resources on military equipment to replace the arsenal that the SPLM-N has destroyed or “liberated.”

Commander Abdelaziz is leading the SPLM-N to many victories against the attacking northern troops.

Commander Abdelaziz Adam Al-Hilu, who leads the rebel alliance in the northern Sudan continues to make only one plea to the U.S. and international community: support a “No-Fly Zone” to protect civilians in Sudan from the daily bombings and open a corridor for humanitarian access. Abdelaziz and his allies have consistently said they don’t need or want military support from the West. He is leading a genuine ‘popular uprising.’ But he also points out that Bashir’s tactic is to target innocent civilians.  Bashir’s aim is to drive out or kill the Africans in the Nuba and Blue Nile.

Children are living in the rocks in the Nuba Mountains.

If we want to stop the genocide, now is the time to turn up the heat on Washington and let our representatives know we expect them to stand with the victims of genocide and take action before its too late. Appeasement has never saved lives. 

If you haven’t done so already, please visit savethenuba.com and find out what you can do to Get Active and help save lives in the Nuba.

After you do this, please forward the link to your friends or post it on Facebook to spread the word.

Thanks for your prayers and support for the persecuted in Sudan. I’ll keep you posted on developments.

In February my son Joshua and I were at the National Religious Broadcasters’ (NRB) Convention in Nashville informing people about the ongoing genocide in Southern Kordofan. For many, this was the first time they had heard about these atrocities. I told them they would be hearing about the Nuba Mountains more and more in the days and months ahead… and not just from PPF but also from the mainstream media, as the story continues to grow.

PPF's Director of Ministry Advancement, Ed Lyons, with his son Joshua in front of their booth at the National Religious Broadcasters' Convention.

Sure enough, that is exactly what has happened. U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) traveled to Yida to see and hear for himself what PPF had informed him about in August, 2011. Congressman Wolf  held a press conference when he returned to report on the ethnic cleansing, mass murder and rape carried out by uniformed soldiers of the Khartoum government. Shortly thereafter, NBC’s Ann Curry reported on the crisis as well.

Since the NRB, the word is spreading. 

Contemporary Christian music artists like Mark Shultz and Jason Gray are wearing PPF’s Save The Nuba t-shirts. Radio stations and personalities like Janet Parshall (In the Marketplace), Chris Rohloff (99.3 FM KTIA), Robby Dillmore (Christian Car Guy), Russ Jones (for American Family Radio), World Magazine Radio, and Melody Scalley (103.3 FM WESR) have called requesting interviews. Our web banners and links have been placed on http://apostles.org by Dr. Michael Youssef and www.movieguide.org by Dr. Ted Baehr.

The Voice of the Martyrs has twittered about our Save the Nuba Campaign, and the Senior Vice-President of the Family Research Council (Rob Schwarzwalder) has blogged about it. Salem Communications and the Truth Broadcasting Network are running our public service announcements.

As I watch the speed at which our Save the Nuba Campaign is gaining attention, I am simply thankful to all of you who have supported us in one way or another. Whether it’s by “liking” PPF on Facebook, or signing our online petition, or sending us a donation to support our efforts, we appreciate you.

Together, our voices are being raised for the voiceless in Sudan. There are three options for Christians to take regarding the Nuba situation: ignorance, apathy or action. Thank you for choosing to get active for the persecuted!