FRIDAY, 6 AUGUST 2004
401 Byliner: Secretary of State Colin Powell on Darfur
(Op-ed by the Secretary of State) (870)
402 International Group Welcomes Renewed Nigerian Polio
Immunizations
(Kano state effort may bring new momentum to global campaign, U.N. says) (600)
403 Fulbright Teachers Prepare for International Exchange
(300 teachers to participate in 2004-2005 Fulbright program) (930)
*AEF401 08/05/2004
Byliner: Secretary of State Colin Powell on Darfur
(Op-ed by the Secretary of State) (870)
(This column by Colin L. Powell, who is secretary of state, was published in the Wall Street Journal August 5 and is in the public domain. There are no republication restrictions.)
(begin byliner)
Darfur
By Colin L. Powell
Violence and atrocities on a wide scale continue to be committed against the civilian population in Darfur, a vast region in western Sudan. Tens of thousands of men, women and children already have died and hundreds of thousands more remain at risk and in need.
Well before the humanitarian crisis made the front pages, the U.S. began to mobilize the world community to address the unfolding catastrophe in Darfur, even as we worked to advance the north-south peace process to end the longstanding civil war between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement. President Bush was the first world leader to call upon the government of Sudan to stop the violence. We then helped to broker a cease-fire agreement between the government and the armed opposition groups in Darfur, and at our urging, the African Union assumed the task of monitoring the cease-fire.
When I visited Sudan at the end of June I delivered a clear message from President Bush to President Bashir that Sudan had to take decisive steps to resolve the crisis in Darfur. Specifically, the Sudanese government needed to stop the violence being perpetrated by Arab Janjaweed militias, facilitate unrestricted humanitarian access by international relief workers, cooperate with African Union monitoring, and enter into political discussions with the Darfur rebel groups.
In all, the government of Sudan was given a list of 14 specific actions to take in order to resolve the crisis. At the same time, we emphasized that the rebel groups also must respect the cease-fire and engage in negotiations. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan personally delivered a similar, clear message.
To date, the government of Sudan has removed many obstacles to humanitarian access, cooperated with the African Union cease-fire monitors, and agreed to participate in political talks. It has not, however, taken decisive steps to end the violence.
Therefore, last week, the U.S. and six co-sponsors introduced and won overwhelming support for a U.N. Security Council Resolution. We, the United Nations, the Europeans, the African Union, Egypt, the Arab League and many others are coordinating closely to get the government of Sudan to do what it must do. U.N. Resolution 1556 calls for measures to be considered against Sudan, including possible sanctions, by the end of August if Khartoum has not taken the necessary steps on Darfur.
All of us hope that the Sudanese government will use the time provided in the resolution to bring the Janjaweed militias under control. In the meantime, the African Union, with millions of dollars of support from the U.S., the U.K., the Netherlands and the European Union, has deployed to Darfur more than 100 international cease-fire monitors. In the coming days, the African Union will deploy 300 troops to protect them. The international community welcomes the request of the African Union Peace and Security Council that the Africa Union commission chairman submit a plan on how to enhance the African Union cease-fire monitoring mission, including the possibility of transforming it into a peacekeeping mission to protect civilians.
Security is critical. The lack of security is the greatest obstacle to delivering essential aid to those who remain in their villages in Darfur as well as to those in camps for the internally displaced. Without any assurance of safety, the displaced will not return home and we likely will see a rise in the death toll in the camps from disease, despite the international community's valiant humanitarian efforts.
Resources also are essential. The U.S. has already contributed $144.2 million for Darfur relief and others have been generous, but the requirements are extensive and much more will be needed.
International pressure will continue to increase until Khartoum moves decisively against the Janjaweed. While we and the international community are not ruling out any options, only the government of Sudan can end the violence in the short term. The Sudanese government bears the responsibility to face up to the crisis, end human-rights abuses and save the lives of its own citizens.
A U.S. team is on the ground in Chad interviewing Sudanese refugees from Darfur in order to gather information that will help our government make a determination as to whether the violence and atrocities in Darfur constitute genocide under the International Convention for the Prevention of Genocide. This is important work, but regardless of the words used to describe what is happening in Darfur, we are acting with the utmost sense of urgency.
We want to see a united, prosperous, democratic Sudan, and we are ready to work with the government of Sudan. We look forward to a comprehensive peace agreement between the north and south, resolution of the Darfur crisis and normalization of our relations. There is no alternative to peace on all fronts. Far too many innocent lives have been lost already.
(Mr. Powell is secretary of state.)
(end byliner)
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of
State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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*AEF402 08/05/2004
International Group Welcomes Renewed Nigerian Polio Immunizations
(Kano state effort may bring new momentum to global campaign, U.N. says) (600)
By M. Charlene Porter
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- International health officials associated with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are welcoming renewed polio immunization efforts in Nigeria's Kano state after an almost yearlong hiatus.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) extended its commitment to support Kano state and Nigeria as a whole in efforts to stop the transmission of naturally occurring poliovirus in a statement issued August 3.
The initiative -- comprising the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the service organization Rotary International -- said that the renewed campaign is necessary to stop the international transmission of the disease.
Kano state held a four-day immunization campaign July 31-August 3, attempting to reach 4 million children, that is, all of Kano's children under the age of five. Immunization had been suspended in this northern state since August 2003 because of local fears that the vaccine was unsafe. Since then, the number of cases in the region has grown almost five-fold. More than 480 cases have occurred this year as contrasted with only 95 during the same period in 2003, according to the GPEI statement.
Proving once again that viruses have no regard for geographic boundaries, the disease has reappeared in 10 nations of the region that were previously thought to have become polio-free through intensive immunization efforts. They are Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Sudan and Togo.
In late June, WHO warned travelers to make sure their polio vaccinations are up to date when entering northern Nigeria.
The rapid re-emergence of wildly occurring poliovirus in these months when immunization was suspended in just one region proves, "you can't take your eye off the ball," according to Melissa Corkum, speaking from the WHO in Geneva. The very fact that Kano officials have withdrawn their reservations about the safety of the vaccine and agreed to participate in the campaign is "a significant event," she says, and may help to restore the region's momentum in the effort to eradicate the crippling childhood disease.
GPEI has aggressive plans for Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, and the broader region in the months ahead to regain lost ground in the fight against polio. In less than a month, September 4, a national immunization day will be held in Nigeria, which will attempt to immunize every child under age five. In October and November, National Immunization Days will be held in 22 nations of West and Central Africa and thousands of volunteers will mobilize in an attempt to make sure 74 million children in the region are protected.
"CDC will be providing technical assistance and support" for the upcoming National Immunization Days, just as it has for previous events that have helped bring the goal of eradication within reach in the 16-year campaign, said Steven Stewart, a CDC spokesman in Atlanta.
The poliovirus is wildly occurring in only six nations today, down from 125 when GPEI was launched in 1988. They are Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Niger, Nigeria and Pakistan. Nigeria has by far the most cases -- 430 this year alone -- and, for that reason, is considered the greatest threat to the GPEI goal to rid the world of poliovirus by the end of 2004. India, with millions more in population, has had only 28 cases since the beginning of 2004, according to a global case count issued by the GPEI August 5.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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*AEF403 08/05/2004
Fulbright Teachers Prepare for International Exchange
(300 teachers to participate in 2004-2005 Fulbright program) (930)
By Todd Bullock
Washington File Staff Writer
Volkan Oguz, an English literature teacher from Turkey, is enthusiastic about his new teaching position in Hawaii.
"I am looking forward to teaching my new students about Turkish culture and language and enhancing their knowledge about Turkish society," he said.
In a recent interview with the Washington File, Oguz said he also looked forward to his new job as an "opportunity to gain more knowledge on the United States and its culture from my students."
Oguz is teaching in the United States as part of the State Department's Fulbright
Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program. The program is conducting its annual
orientation for incoming and outgoing U.S. and international Fulbright teachers for the
2004-2005 year August 4-5 in Alexandria, Virginia. The orientation offers sessions on
cross-cultural issues and comparative educational systems.
Angela Kahn, who recently returned to the U.S. after teaching English for a year at a
school in Dakar, Senegal, will expand her U.S. students' knowledge and understanding about
Africa.
"Most of my students only know Africa as a place on the map they hear about in the news, but through my experience in Senegal, they will be able to learn about the dynamic and thriving West African culture that is not covered in the news," Kahn said.
As an alumna of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program, Kahn is helping with workshops for the 2004 Fulbright teachers before they depart the United States and for international teachers coming to the United States.
"One of the most important things the teachers should do is to meet people, not just in the school, but throughout their community," Kahn said. "This is an excellent chance for the teachers to immerse themselves in the local culture and gain experience about a country that they can share with their students when they return."
Since 1946, the program has provided opportunities for teachers, and administrators to participate in direct exchanges with colleagues from other countries. Foreign teachers teach in schools throughout the United States for a year, while their American counterparts travel abroad to teach. The program is sponsored by the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
"Our Fulbright teachers and administrators establish relationships in their exchange host communities that form the foundation of strong, mutually beneficial partnerships in the years ahead," said Patricia S. Harrison, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. "Their efforts are critical to the future of communities, countries and the world, and I am confident that each will use his or her Fulbright experience to make a positive difference."
According to Jennifer Gibson, chief of ECA's Teacher Exchange Branch, there are 300 participants in the 2004 program. This includes 140 international teachers who will teach in 42 U.S. states and 160 U.S. educators teaching in 24 foreign countries.
"This exchange is an opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge of another culture, expand your professional knowledge as educators, and help others learn about your country and its traditions and values," Marianne Craven, ECA's managing director of academic programs said at the orientation reception to honor the 2004-2005 Fulbright teachers.
Craven also noted ECA's recent effort to bring three groups of women teachers who defied the Taliban to teach Afghan girls in unofficial schools to the University of Nebraska for teachers training. She said in 2005 ECA also plans to bring a group of teachers from Iraq to the United States and launch a joint teacher exchange with India and Pakistan.
Mary Mellor, the U.S. 2004 National Teacher of the Year, delivered the keynote address at the orientation session, saying, "Curiosity, respect of others, and a desire to teach and learn, those are the foundations of the Fulbright program."
Mellor also advocated the expansion of teacher exchange programs into the Middle East and South Asia.
"I am looking forward to experiencing the culture and diversity of the United States and learning more about the rich Hispanic culture in California," said Eija Partanen-Kivinen, a physical education teacher from Finland.
Partanen-Kivinen spoke about her plans to share aspects of Finland's Nordic culture with her American students by introducing unique sporting events. She also discussed how she planned to teach her students in Finland about U.S. culture when she returns.
"I keep in touch with people from every continent. Fulbright is about the people and the tremendous value gained from exchange of cultures and ideas," said Marilyn Turner, the recipient of the 2004 Fulbright Teacher and Administrator Exchange Program Alumni Award.
Turner participated in a Fulbright exchange in 1978 to the United Kingdom and in 1979 to Australia. She helped found the Colorado International Teachers' Exchange League (CITEL) in 1985 to provide support for international teacher exchanges in Colorado and assists with international outreach for the Fulbright program.
James Murphy, an English teacher from Vermont going to Hungary, said, "I wanted a chance to immerse myself in another country and to help eliminate false stereotypes about the United States by showing the cultural and intellectual diversity of the United States."
Murphy said that he viewed his upcoming position as an important opportunity for a U.S. teacher to gain meaningful international experience that can be shared with his American students to help them learn more about the world and other cultures.
More information about the Fulbright Program is available on the World Wide Web at:
http://exchanges.state.gov/education/fulbright
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs,
U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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