DARFUR HERO: John Weiss, Cornell U.

We have written of John before. Why again? Because like a hero, John continues his antiviolent fight for Darfur day after day, like "Never Again."

This site believes that Darfur is Dying for Heroes, not for more policy and plans. So, why a post that is about policy? The policy is the subtext. It may be a valid, necessary attempt. Tut the text is John and those working tirelessly with him, out of Love for family Darfur. jay.
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Plan B for Darfur, Sudan Times
Monday 16 October 2006 23:28.
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Canadian International Peace Project
Plan B for Darfur
October 15, 2006 — At a time of heightening crisis in Darfur, when its peoples and cultures face the violent diminution that most call genocide, two of Cornell University’s most active anti-genocide and humanitarian groups invite you to a unique conference entitled "Plan B for Darfur/Option B pour Darfour/Opcija B za Darfur".
Plan A, the sum total of international efforts to stop the destruction of life, property, and culture in the western Sudan, has clearly failed. The recent refusal of the Sudanese regime to allow the intervention of a suitably equipped and mandated United Nations force tasked with protecting civilians and establishing an atmosphere of security permitting victims to return to the sites of their homes is only the latest case of such blockage of "Plan A" rescue policies.
The conference project will have two phases:
1. Phase One: An international internet/fax/postal exchange of commentary on the public version of a Three-Part Plan that has been developed over the past year in dialogues with 26 civilian and military experts from 9 countries. The current version of this plan, upon which you will be asked to comment, with a single sentence or extended essay, is available at the following websites: www.weaversofthewind.org (available now) or www.darfurinternationalaction.com (coming soon). This Three-Part Plan is also printed in the fourth section of a booklet, DARFUR: THE FINAL SOLUTION ----AND HOW TO STOP IT, which is currently being distributed in its English version in North America and Europe and in its English/Arabic version in Sudan, Egypt, and other countries.
Phase One has already begun and will continue through 13 November, the date of the International Citizens Tribunal on Sudan, planned for New York City. An earlier, shortened version of the Tribunal’s Indictment is printed in the booklet mentioned above. Complete information about this latest move in the struggle against the crimes of the Bashir-Taha-Gosh regime can be found at www.judgementongenocide.org.
2. Phase Two: Simultaneous on-site conferences at Victoria, British Columbia, Canada and Tuzla, Bosnia, 27-29 October. Each of these on-site conferences, which will examine the full range of commentary produced in Phase One up to that time, is designed to accommodate up to two dozen participants.
By means of this two-phase conference we hope to focus the expertise, imaginations, and experience of those whom the organizers have judged to be the individuals best equipped to shape a strategy that allows the most rapid and thorough recovery from the Darfur disaster. The implementation of this strategy will place Darfuris themselves in control of their own destiny for the first time since the nineteenth century. We wish to neglect no one who might contribute to this project, however, so we solicit your suggestions for other possible participants in Phase One or Phase Two.
In order to modify the behavior of the Sudanese regime as quickly as possible, it is important that every means be used to alert them to the existence of this Plan B project and to provide them with details about its progress. We thus would most appreciate your supplying us with a brief set of biographical data that will establish your ability to contribute to the discussion of Plan B. If the Khartoum regime did not know who you were, the impact of your participation upon them would be diminished, unnecessarily delayed, until they read the public part of your comments posted on the website. Some examples:
The Victoria on-site conference will be chaired by David Kilgour, longtime Secretary of State for Africa and Asia in the Canadian Government, member of the Canadian House of Commons for 27 years, and generally considered one of the most effective human rights activists in the world. Kilgour will also be a member of the prosecution team at the International Citizens Tribunal that concludes Phase One of the Plan B project.
Walter Slocombe, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy during the time of the intervention in Kosovo in which, acting without UN authorization, a coalition of Europeans and North American forces successfully stopped a genocide-in-the-making, will participate in Phase One. Mohamed Hassan Haroun, President of the Darfur Association of Canada, who was forced to leave Sudan after being arrested and tortured for his opposition to the policies of the Khartoum regime, has already contributed comments and suggestions to our Plan B data base. Lieutenant General (now Senator) Romeo Dallaire, commander of UN forces in Rwanda at the time of the genocide there and currently a leader of the Canadian movement to save Darfur, agreed to participate in Phase One during a scheduled debate about Darfur in the Canadian House of Commons on 3 October.
This two-phase conference can make far better use of detailed critical comments or constructive suggestions for implementation than it can of blanket endorsements or dismissive condemnations. We offer, moreover, a Research Service to help you locate sources you may wish to incorporate into your criticisms.
We must also address the matter of non-public comments. We will examine all contributions intended to be posted or sent to participants in Phase One to insure that they do not contain details that might compromise the safety of individuals. At the same time, we are currently searching for secure ways for you to discuss some of the more sensitive Plan B subjects.
For further information, please contact:
John H. Weiss Associate Professor of History Founder, Darfur Action Group-Cornell jhw4@cornell.edu
Mark M. Persaud, LL.B., LL.M President and Chief Executive Officer Canadian International Peace Project 1027 Finch Avenue West P.O. Box 30088 Toronto, Ontario M3J 3L6 Canada. E-mail: ceo@canadianipp.org Website: www.canadianipp.org
The Canadian International Peace Project ( CIPP) is a novel and unique non-partisan organisation that has brought together diverse groups and individuals to work on issues and projects relating to local, national and international peace, security and development . Through partnership on events and projects, the CIPP fosters mutual respect and sustainable relationships among diverse groups including those in conflict with each other.