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"The Elders" take a roadtrip
To the Eldermobile!!!
EL FASHER, Sudan - A group of elder statesmen, including usual suspects former President Carter and Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, urged all sides in Darfur's bloodshed to reach a peace deal as they began touring the region Tuesday.
...and there'll be cake and ice cream for everybody! And pony rides too!
| Nothin' like a bunch of elders to show up to bring peace, prosperity and pony rides to a region ... |
The delegation of prominent in their minds international personalities is trying to use their influence at a crucial time, with peace talks due to start in Libya and a U.N-African Union peacekeeping force to begin deploying later this month. The visit also comes days after a stunning attack in which rebels overran an African peacekeepers base in northern Darfur, killing 10 the deadliest attack on the force since it arrived in the region three years ago.
Speak up Nobel Peace Prize winners. We can't hear you over the gunfire.
"We are not here on a sightseeing tour. We hope we can do something that will make a significant difference ... and bring peace," Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his fight against apartheid in South Africa, told reporters after the delegation arrived in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province.
And I wanna win the lottery. And I will. Someday. Soon. I hope. Maybe.
Earlier, the North Darfur governor, Youssouf Kabir, told the delegation the security situation in the province is "stable and good."
Everything's great. So I guess you guys can go home now. Thanks for coming...
| And if you can't believe the governor, who can you believe? |
Government forces have been waging a fierce offensive against rebels in North Darfur for the past two weeks. On Saturday night, amid the fighting, a force of 1,000 rebels overran a base of U.N. peacekeepers at Haskanita in North Darfur. In a battle that lasted into the early hours Sunday, the rebels killed 10 peacekeepers, looted the base then escaped when Sudanese troops moved in.
Hmmmmmm. Sounds like the rebels might be waging a fierce offensive of their own...
| Send in the mighty Uruguayans! |
The largely symbolic visit by the delegation led by Carter and Tutu is intended to push all sides to make peace in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million driven out of their homes in four years of violence.
Make peace. C'mon, make peace. Tell 'em, Desmond.
Yeah. Listen to the crazy old white man, will ya? Where's Branson? I got a good deal on a watch and I need his credit card...
... C'mon people now ..
... smile on your brother ...
... everybody come together ...
... gotta love somebody right now ... |
The group visited a U.N. aid compound located next to the sprawling Abu-Shok and Es-Sallam camps where 150,000 refugees who fled Darfur's violence are living. "We hope that you can contribute to put an end to this crazy way," said a nazer, a traditional leader among about 30 men and women who came from the refugee camps to meet the delegation.
Hey, buddy. This is a "symbolic visit". And a "largely symbolic" one at that. Whaddya want, everything?
"We certainly hope that everybody will continue to talk to each other, including the rebels," Carter told a group of Darfur civil society workers.
Getting to know you
Getting to know all about you...
The delegation called "the elders" also includes billionaire Richard Branson; Graca Michel, wife of former South African Nelson Mandela; and several prominent former statesmen from Africa.
I guess Branson's there to pick up all the checks?
Posted by: tu3031 2007-10-02 |
