حركة تحرير السودان تحذر حركة العدل و المساواة

حركة تحرير السودان تحذر حركة العدل و المساواة

تحذر حركة تحرير السودان ، حركة العدل و المساواة من التدخل فى الشئون الداخلية لحركة تحرير السودان،لان هنالك تباين فى اشياء كثيرة . حركة تحريرالسودان قامت من اجل انتزاع حقوق الشعب و ليس لاختلاف مع النظام من اجل الوظائف، حركة تحرير السودان لم تكن جزء من انقلاب 30 يونيو 1989 المشئوم، حركة تحرير السودان تفصل السياسة عن الدين و لا تستخدم الدين مطية من اجل الوصول الى السلطة، حركة تحرير السودان مؤيدة تاييداً واضحاً لدخول القوات الدولية الى اقليم دارفور ، حركة تحرير السودان مطالبة بالعدالة الدولية من خلال محكمة الجنايات الدولية بلاهاى للذين ارتكبوا جرائم ابادة فى اقليم دارفورو مستعدة لتقديم اى متهم من منسوبيها حتى لو كان رئيسها عبد الواحد النور الى لاهاى وعليه.1- تحذر حركة تحرير السودان حركة العدل و المساواة من التدخل فى الشئون الداخلية لحركة تحرير السودان ممثلة فى التصريحات التهديدية الصادرة من خليل ابراهيم رئيس العدل و المساواة بصحيفة اخبار اليوم بانه يمهل حركة تحرير السودان فترة 45 يوماً للتفاوض ومرت منها عشرة ايام .2- حركة تحرير السودان لديها رؤيتها الخاصة للتفاوض من خلال ايجاد البيئة الصالحة للتفاوض و كذالك اجراءت بناء الثقة .3- حركة تحرير السودان عندما فضت التنسيق فى ابوجا تم ذالك بقناعة حركة تحرير السودان وعندما تذهب للتفاوض تذهب بقناعتها.4- حركة تحرير السودان ليست جزء من التحالفات الصورية تارة ما يسمى التحالف الثورى لغرب السودان، وما يسمى جبهة الخلاص و اخيراً وليس اخراً (عدل شهامة). 5- حركة تحرير السودان تناضل من اجل حقوق الشعب و ليست متلهفة الى و ظيفة او جاه و لا تستخدم الشعب مطية للوصول الى الوظيفة و الجاه.
6- التفاوض بين نظام الخرطوم و حركة العدل و المساواة لم يتوقف اصلاً لا زال مستمراً منذ ابوجا تارة فى تشاد و تارة فى اريتريا و تارة فى ليبيا و تارة فى القاهرة على مستوى الرؤساء و القيادات العليا لحركة العدل و المساواة و نظام الخرطوم.7- اذا ضاقت السبل بحركة العدل و المساواة ممثلة فى خليل ابراهيم رئيسها خوفاً من سياط العقوبات فليذهب يوقع مع نظام الخرطوم ويلحق بركب اللذين سبقوه من قبل من اجل الوظائف وهذا ليس بجديد. فحذرا ذالك ليس عن طريق التهديد بفترة زمنية للتفاوض من قبل خليل ابراهيم رئيس العدل و المساواة لحركة تحرير السودان.8- حركة تحرير السودان موحدة قيادة و شعباً ، تحت رئيسها عبد الواحد النور واجبرت النظام على اتفاقية وقف اطلاق النار فى انجمينا، و اتفاقية تسهيل العمل الانسانى باديس ابابا، و اتفاقية اعلان المبادىء بابوجا و جولات ابوجا السبعة التفاوضية، فالاخرون عبارة عن افراد من صناعة نظام الخرطوم اللذى برع فى سياسة شراء الذمم من اجل الوظيفة و هذا ليس بجديد على مستوى كل القوى السياسية السودانية، او افراد من صناعة دول اخرى فى شكل صفقات لححلة مشاكل تلك الدول مع نظام الخرطوم.9- حركة تحرير السودان لن تسمح لتلك الأصوات بالتدخل فى شؤنها الداخلية وتحذر من التمادى فى مثل تلك التصريحات الصادرة من خليل ابراهيم رئيس العدل و المساواة او غيره ونرجوا من حركة العدل و المساواة عدم التدخل فى الشئون الداخلية لحركة تحرير السودان.10- حركة تحرير السودان تؤكد ان العدو هو نظام الخرطوم و هى تحترم حركة العدل و المساوة و لكن فى ظل الاحترام المتبادل و عدم التدخل فى شئون الاخر.

اصدر فى لندن بتاريخ 20 يونيو 2007يحي بولاد الناطق الرسمى لحركة تحرير السودانTel: + 00 44 79 616 08 397 Email: yhbashir@yahoo.co.ukWeb: www.sudanslm.net

SLM statement on the perspectives of Darfur peace talks

SLM statement on the perspectives of Darfur peace talks

June 18, 2007 (LONDON) — Below a statement by the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement on the prespectives of peace talks with the government:
SLM Statement on the Perspectives Negotiations

Alrabae adam ezaldeen
DARFUR crisis is complex, it embedded in deep rooted causes and larger issues, perhaps, require a profound level of attention before scuttling toward any political negotiations. To make it simple, the crux of the Darfur catastrophe divided into two interconnected and overlapping parts. First and the most alarming one is the current human security. There are an immense human destruction such as murder, rape, torture and massive displacement. Second, the problem of citizenship rights, which in principle, is the core source of the human turmoil in Darfur and elsewhere in the Sudan. In respect, there are few political elites holding an obnoxious racial and religious ethos against the majority of citizens. To solve such difficult dilemma, we should deal with the two parts of this disaster respectfully.
In deed, peaceful political resolution instate of conflict means is our vital end. Certainly,we are searching for durable solutions that overcome the suffering of our people and transform our country into a peaceful democratic state that respect our differences and endorse the value of equal citizenship rights. However, before pursuing any negotiations with the Khartoum regime, we should consider some crucial factors. Khartoum regime is rouge, despotic and brutal regime. The recent history and experience proves its cruelness and dishonest behavior.
On this view, the rational of this fact is, this tyrannical regime regularly committing genocide against its own people in Darfur and in various parts of the Sudan, conducting unwarranted provocation against its neighboring countries and the world; violating international standards of acceptable behavior by failing to implement a single UN Security Council Resolutions on Darfur or live up other national and international treaties. Such behavior seems quite implausible. As in adequate consideration, most of the world are, somewhat doubt and even more cynical about such strange attitudes. As a result, we are very anxious, however, any political negotiations with such creepy behavior will be ineffective, and might even cause further outbreaks of violence, crime against humanity and genocide. Therefore, it is necessary to state that any genuine perspective political negotiations with Khartoum brutal-rouge regime, obviously, will requires a conducive environment, and that should concentrate in practical implementation of the following:
Immediate and unconditional cease fire all over Darfur region. Immediate humanitarian intervention to stop the ongoing atrocities, prevent undesirable outcome of more human destructions and implementation of all UN Security Council Resolutions on Darfur, especially Resolution 1706, the deployment of UN troops in Darfur, and Resolution 1591, the disarmament of the Janjaweed and all other Khartoum government militias. Open humanitarian corridors in all Darfur region without any preconditions. Enforce arms embargo and a non-fly zone all over Darfur region. Declare Oil- for -Food Programme, to use oil revenues in exchange for food, medicine and other humanitarian needs as well as compensations for the victims of genocide and reconstruction of their region. Remove all new settlers from the Darfuri-indigenous lands (Hawakeir). Withdrew all Khartoum troops and allied militias from all SLM/A areas and move back to their areas prior to N’Djamena cease-fire agreement in April 2004. Release all political prisoners whom their cases are related to Darfur conflict.
These are extremely vital requirements. It is necessary at this point to state that we reiterate our commitment to N'Djamena cease-fire agreement and all UN Security Council resolutions on Darfur. At the same time we are acting in our people's interest and we are vigilant about their security and prosperity. As intuitively, inherited in our core and indisputable moral merit, we will not let them die or being killed. They should be safe from any harm, and be able to live in a decent and dignified life. This is not only our duty; in fact, it is a duty of the international community, states and peace loving individuals. Thus, it is necessary to put an end to the ongoing genocide, reflect a holistic concern about the security of people and then we can embark on constructive political negotiations and reach into perpetual peace that we judge to be just and beneficial.
We conclude with a caveat. Peace will occur precisely with the immense attentions to security of the people and the resolution of the root causes of the current genocide, punishment of the perpetrators, readdress the injustice of the past, reconstruct positive relations among the people, and create new political order that admire the attraction of our differences, respect human dignity as equal citizens. To make it short, without genuine commitment, no conclusion of any peace settlement with the Khartoum regime will consider valid, but it will reserve the material for future conflict and human distraction.

Abdulwhaid Mohamed Ahmed Alnur SLM, Chairman

Darfur IDPs reject Juba Conference

Darfur IDPs reject Juba Conference

June 14, 2007 (NYALA, South Darfur) — Darfur’s displaced rejected invitation by the leader of the SPLM to participate in Juba conference to unify the positions of the Darfur non-signatories rebels before the peace talks with Khartoum.
21 IDPs’ chiefs said they would refuse to participate in the Juba conference. They also called upon the First Vice-president and SPLM leader, Lt Gen Salva Kiir Mayardit, to visit the camps and assess the situation on the ground.
The IDPs chiefs further said they didn’t send any body to represent them in this meeting. The also said that they have one representative who is Abdelwhaid Al-Nur
Hussein Abu Sharty, the spokesperson of the IDPs chiefs, said in a press statement that the IDPs representatives wanted to tell Kiir that the SPLM was a friend of the people in Darfur but now it is part of the Government of National Unity.
He said that the SPLM knew that the government was bombing and killing civilians in the camps adding that they had not heard Government of Southern Sudan condemning this hideous action.
The IDPs representatives also called upon Salva Kiir, to visit the camps and assess the situation on the ground.
Abu Sharty said if Salva Kiir wants to resolve the Darfur crisis he should act to disarm the Janjaweed militia.
The chiefs of the IDPs camps also urged Salva Kiir to persuade its political partner the National Congress Party (NCP) to end military operations and the killing of IDPs and refugees in the camps.
They also called for a UN peacekeeping force, and for the restoration of the individual or group rights of the IDPs and refugees.

Never too late, Arab pop stars raise funds for Darfur

Never too late, Arab pop stars raise funds for Darfur
June 7, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Arab pop stars descended on Khartoum this week to perform concerts to aid war-torn Darfur, in a rare show of solidarity with the millions of Muslims caught in the conflict in western Sudan.

A Sudanese woman cries during a screening of a film featuring victims’ testimony from Darfur at an exhibition for Global Day for Darfur in Cairo, April 29, 2007. (Reuters)
Most of the billions of dollars in aid to fund the world’s largest humanitarian operation in Darfur has come from the West. And Arab leaders have been politically more sympathetic with Khartoum, sparking criticism from U.N. officials.
While Hollywood stars have been lobbying for years on Darfur, this was the most high-profile attempt by Arab artists to help those suffering more than four years of conflict between Darfuri rebels and the central government, which has forced 2.5 people million from their homes.
Sudan, under a strict version of Islamic sharia law, rarely enjoys visits from pop artists, and some Islamic scholars protested the week-long set of concerts by stars like Sherine, Hani Shakir, Mounira Hamdi and Mohammad Mounir.
The concerts, organised by the Moroccan-based National Council for Arab Culture (NCAC), hope to raise enough funds to build 10 schools, 10 hospitals and 50 wells in Darfur.
"We want to send the message that we Arabs and Africans can help ourselves," organiser Bushra Mahdi told Reuters.
The idea, he explained, was to "encourage Arabs and Africans to contribute in alleviating the suffering of the people of Darfur."
"FORGIVE US"
Egyptian artist Hani Shakir apologised for not having done more earlier. "We have been very late as Arab artists. Forgive us," he told reporters before his show.
But despite the charity’s good intentions, some Islamic scholars in Sudan said the concerts were sinful.
"We view this as a way to corrupt this country, its people, its values and morals," the Sudanese Islamic Scholar’s Society said in a statement posted on an Islamist Web site.
"We urge ... the president of the republic, to intervene, stop this and protect this society and its religion and values."
This opposition was enough to persuade Sudanese telecoms company Sudani to withdraw as the main sponsor of the event, the organisers said.
The same Islamist Web site carried a statement from Sudani’s mother company saying it was never a sponsor, despite posters plastered throughout the city naming Sudani as the main sponsor.
"We will proceed with our initiative, with or without Sudani," Mahdi said.
The campaign, which will continue in other Arab and African countries, kicked off on June 3 with Mohammed Mounir.
The final performance in Khartoum is on Friday with Egyptian songstress Sherine, whose tight clothes may be of concern to Khartoum’s Islamists.
Tunisian Hamdi opted for the more conservative traditional Sudanese "toub" for her performance — the first time she’d worn the long cloth which loosely covers the whole body, she said.
Hundreds of people turned up for Mounir’s concert, despite the price for the tickets: 100 Sudanese pounds ($50). The artists agreed to be paid a lower rate for the concerts.
"Let us consider it a contribution; part of our zakat (alms-giving) as Arabs and Muslims," Shakir said.
Nearly 1,000 showed up for Shakir’s show and even more crowds were expected for Sherine’s appearance.

BREAKING NEWS

G8 reach climate-change breakthroughBREAKING NEWS

Psted by Alrabae Adam EzaldeenBy Shada Islam, dpaEds: running series of epa photos from G8 venue available Heiligendamm, Germany (dpa) - Leaders of the world's key industrialized nations have agreed a breakthrough deal on combating climate change, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday. "We have a great success...a major step forward," said Merkel after leaders at a Group of Eight (G8) summit in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, agreed to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels. The German leader, who is hosting the G8 gathering, said there was agreement that temperature rise this century would be limited to between 1.5-2 degrees Celsius. No further details of the agreement were available but Merkel said discussions would continue at a key United Nations meeting in Bali in December this year. The German leader said leaders agreed that the UN provided the correct framework for further talks on climate change. The agreement is a major victory for Merkel. US President George W Bush came to the G8 summit refusing to agree to specific targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions. G8 members include Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia. The European Commission is also a participant. Earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters G8 leaders were nearing agreement on a "substantial deal" to combat global warming. "I think there is a real desire to come together," said Blair, adding that all G8 members - including the US - wanted to be part of a new international agreement on fighting climate change after the 2012 expiry of the current Kyoto Protocol. Such an agreement would have to include all major polluters, including China and India, he said. US National Security Advisor Steve Hadley also said he expected the summit to agree to "a goal and a process" for fighting climate change. But no specific targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions would be agreed. He added that a recent proposal by the US for climate change talks with leading polluters, including China and India, would be "a contribution to the broader United Nations effort" to tackle climate change. Merkel came to the summit demanding that G8 members commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels. She also wanted them to increase fuel efficiency by 20 per cent and limit the world's temperature rise this century to 2 degrees Celsius. Separately, Bush, who is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of the G8 told reporters the dispute with Moscow over US plans to station elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic was not something "we ought to be hyperventilating about." The US leader insisted that the US missile defence system was aimed at so-called "rogue states" like Iran and North Korea. "Russia is not an enemy of the US," he underlined. US-Russia relations have deteriorated rapidly since Putin denounced US "unilateralism" in February this year. Since then the Russian leader has vented his anger over the US missile defence plan and threatened to withdraw from a key European security pact. Washington and Moscow also disagree over a United Nations plan for internationally-supervised independence for the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo. But Merkel said Bush and Putin had conducted themselves in a "constructive manner" at the G8 meeting. The summit will also discuss the future status of the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo, the situation in the Middle East and international efforts to convince Iran to suspend uranium enrichment. Separately, G8 leaders agreed to open an "intensive" and regular dialogue with new economic powerhouses, including China and India. Bush called for tougher action to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. "I'm frustrated that international organizations cannot move quickly enough," said the US President. "If the UN won't act, we need to take action ourselves... Enough is enough in Darfur," said Bush. Security remains tight in Heiligendamm but on Thursday morning Greenpeace protesters in several inflatable boats forced their way into a marine exclusion zone around the summit venue. High-speed police patrol boats and inflatables gave chase for 10 minutes. One of the protest boats capsized. A Greenpeace spokesman said the group had intended to land on the beach outside the luxury summit hotel and hand a petition to Western leaders demanding action on climate change. On land, police allowed protesters to assemble peacefully for a second day at a fence two kilometres from the G8 summit venue. The G8 meeting continues on Friday when some of the sessions will be attended by the leaders of South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and Senegal.

Leaders Make “Beakthrough” On Climate Change At G8

Leaders Make “Beakthrough” On Climate Change At G8

Posted by Alrabae Adam Ezaldeen

Posted by admin in Environment (Thursday June 7, 2007 at 8:18 am)
Heiligendamm, Germany - Leaders of the world’s key industrialized nations have agreed a breakthrough deal on combating climate change, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday.
“We have a great success…a major step forward,” said Merkel after leaders at a Group of Eight (G8) summit in the Baltic resort of Heiligendamm, agreed to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050, compared to 1990 levels.
The German leader, who is hosting the G8 gathering, said there was agreement that temperature rise this century would be limited to between 1.5-2 degrees Celsius.
No further details of the agreement were available but Merkel said discussions would continue at a key United Nations meeting in Bali in December this year.
The German leader said leaders agreed that the UN provided the correct framework for further talks on climate change.
The agreement is a major victory for Merkel. US President George W Bush came to the G8 summit refusing to agree to specific targets for slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
G8 members include Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Japan, the United States, Canada and Russia. The European Commission is also a participant.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told reporters G8 leaders were nearing agreement on a “substantial deal” to combat global warming.
“I think there is a real desire to come together,” said Blair, adding that all G8 members - including the US - wanted to be part of a new international agreement on fighting climate change after the 2012 expiry of the current Kyoto Protocol.
Such an agreement would have to include all major polluters, including China and India, he said.
US National Security Advisor Steve Hadley also said he expected the summit to agree to “a goal and a process” for fighting climate change. But no specific targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions would be agreed.
He added that a recent proposal by the US for climate change talks with leading polluters, including China and India, would be “a contribution to the broader United Nations effort” to tackle climate change.
Merkel came to the summit demanding that G8 members commit to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels.
She also wanted them to increase fuel efficiency by 20 per cent and limit the world’s temperature rise this century to 2 degrees Celsius.
Separately, Bush, who is meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin on the margins of the G8 told reporters the dispute with Moscow over US plans to station elements of a missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic was not something “we ought to be hyperventilating about.”
The US leader insisted that the US missile defence system was aimed at so-called “rogue states” like Iran and North Korea. “Russia is not an enemy of the US,” he underlined.
US-Russia relations have deteriorated rapidly since Putin denounced US “unilateralism” in February this year.
Since then the Russian leader has vented his anger over the US missile defence plan and threatened to withdraw from a key European security pact.
Washington and Moscow also disagree over a United Nations plan for internationally-supervised independence for the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo.
But Merkel said Bush and Putin had conducted themselves in a “constructive manner” at the G8 meeting.
The summit will also discuss the future status of the breakaway Serb province of Kosovo, the situation in the Middle East and international efforts to convince Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.
Separately, G8 leaders agreed to open an “intensive” and regular dialogue with new economic powerhouses, including China and India.
Bush called for tougher action to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. “I’m frustrated that international organizations cannot move quickly enough,” said the US President.
“If the UN won’t act, we need to take action ourselves… Enough is enough in Darfur,” said Bush.
Security remains tight in Heiligendamm but on Thursday morning Greenpeace protesters in several inflatable boats forced their way into a marine exclusion zone around the summit venue.
High-speed police patrol boats and inflatables gave chase for 10 minutes. One of the protest boats capsized.
A Greenpeace spokesman said the group had intended to land on the beach outside the luxury summit hotel and hand a petition to Western leaders demanding action on climate change.
On land, police allowed protesters to assemble peacefully for a second day at a fence two kilometres from the G8 summit venue.
The G8 meeting continues on Friday when some of the sessions will be attended by the leaders of South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Algeria, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria and

Readying for when Darfur victims get day in court

Readying for when Darfur victims get day in court

psted by Alrabae adam Ezaldeen
LONDON: Amid rising international horror at the bloodshed in Darfur, Sudanese lawyers are anticipating the day when victims of mass rape and torture could face the alleged perpetrators in tribunals like the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The court issued arrest warrants in April for two Sudanese men who are charged with planning and participating in alleged war crimes related to the unrest in Darfur, where more than 200,000 people have died and more than two million have been displaced by fighting between government-backed forces and rebels.
Sudan, dismissing the charges as politically motivated, has refused to turn over the suspects, one of whom, Ahmad Muhammad Harun, is Sudan's humanitarian affairs minister.
But participants in an unusual training program in London this week that brought together Sudanese lawyers and American and European legal experts, called on the International Criminal Court, the ICC, to step up its activities, saying it could provide hope to Sudanese people who no longer trust their government or its legal system to deliver justice.
"The situation in Darfur is absolutely appalling," said Hyat Musa Suliman, a lawyer and human rights advocate who counsels rape victims and others in refugee camps in northern Darfur. Speaking through an interpreter, she added, "I hope the procedures and trials of the ICC will bring back the confidence of the people in the justice system."
She is one of nine Sudanese lawyers who have traveled to London to take part in the weeklong training program, organized by the litigation section of the American Bar Association. Experts from the association, from nongovernmental organizations and from the International Criminal Court itself are explaining the complexities of the court.
Brad Brian, a Los Angeles lawyer who organized the course for the bar association, said the assistance was needed because the Sudanese had little experience with international legal affairs, let alone war crimes trials, which can be long and messy. In one of the highest-profile cases in international courts, Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Yugoslavia, died last year, before his four-year trial could be concluded.
Brian said the program was the first of its kind for the bar association, showing the extent to which concern about the situation in Darfur has permeated American society, even though the United States, like Sudan, has not joined the International Criminal Court.
"In war crimes cases, it's important to give victims a voice," said Brian, a partner at the firm of Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles.
Brian's involvement began in 2005, when he met Salih Mahmoud Osman, a Sudanese lawyer and human rights advocate. Brian's teenage daughter, Leslie, had taken an interest in Darfur, and went to hear Osman speak in Pasadena, California, where the Brians live.
Brian invited Osman to lunch, and asked him whether there was anything the bar association could do to help. The training program, financed largely with a $183,000 grant from the MacArthur Foundation, was the result.
The faculty for the program consists of 13 legal professionals, including Terree Bowers, a former U.S. attorney in Los Angeles who worked with the prosecution at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in the 1990s; JoAnne Epps, a law professor and associate dean for academic affairs at Temple University; and a federal judge, Bernice Donald, of the U.S. District Court in western Tennessee.
The group has brought in outside speakers like Paolina Massidda, principal counsel in the office of public counsel for victims at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
Massidda explained some of the nuances of that tribunal, noting that victims of crimes typically are allowed greater participation there than in other courts, where they often are permitted only to appear as witnesses. At the international court, victims can call for experts, witnesses or evidence, and can question the accused.
That means the Sudanese lawyers could play a significant role if Darfur-related cases make their way to The Hague, Brian said. While they are unlikely to serve as prosecutors at the court, they might represent victims of alleged crimes during any proceedings.
The Sudanese lawyers might also be called on to make the case for the International Criminal Court to hear any cases in the first place. One prerequisite for the court to take on a case is that national courts must be ruled out as a suitable venue first.
Osman said that in Sudan, this is all but obvious. He said he had been detained three times by Sudanese security forces, including once, in 2004, when he was held for seven months without charges, for working on behalf of victims of government persecution.