CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE
 
Date of Publication: 25 November 2002

 

ANOTHER CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE SUDAN FIASCO


In September 2000, 'The Sunday Telegraph' newspaper in Britain published an article written by Christian Lamb alleging that Mr Abdel Mahmoud al-Koronky, a senior Sudanese diplomat who had served as Sudan's Charge d'Affaires in London between September 1998 and April 2000, had kept a "slave girl" in his house. (1) The "slave girl", Zeinab Nazer, was said to have alleged that she had been "enslaved" following a raid on her village in the Nuba mountains. The newspaper had received the "story" from Baroness Cox's Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Sudanese opposition members. Mr al-Koronky initiated legal action against 'The Sunday Telegraph'. It should also be noted that 'The Sunday Telegraph' has long been hostile to Sudan, and defended the case.

After a vigorous twenty-one month investigation of the claims, the

newspaper admitted the article was untrue (See Appendix). Every one of Ms Nazer's claims have been proven to be false. Far from being a "slave girl", Ms Nazer had been employed as an au pair within the al-Koronky household for three months. A vigorous British judicial examination concluded with a public legal statement that:

"All the defamatory claims...were totally and utterly untrue and should never have been published. Ms Nadir was about 30 in 2000, not in her early 20's, and had worked in Sudan between 1986 and about 1996 as a maid and then for about 4 years as a tea seller in a market in Khartoum. At no time during this period, or any other period of her life, was Ms Nadir a slave or kept as a slave by any member of the Claimant's family.

Ms Nadir was then employed by the Claimant in London from 13 June to 8 September 2000, as domestic help to his wife. At no time during this short period of employment was Ms Nadir kept as a slave or in any way treated badly or improperly by the Claimant or his wife. Ms Nadir also did not "escape" from the Claimant's home. In fact, from 30 July to 8 September, the Claimant and his family were in Sudan and Ms Nadir stayed with another family. She then left the Claimant's home on 11 September."

Needless to say, this was an incredibly embarrassing and very expensive fiasco for 'The Sunday Telegraph', which apologised unreservedly and paid Mr al-Koronky "a very substantial sum in compensation".

Christian Solidarity Worldwide's involvement in this fiasco became clear in the course of the legal case. In a 1 October 2000 letter to 'The Sunday Telegraph', Baroness Cox baldly stated that "Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has had no involvement with the case". This statement was clearly untrue as revealed by Christina Lamb. On 13 August 2001, in her sworn witness statement relating to the legal case, for example, Christina Lamb stated: "I was first notified of the story on Monday 11 September 2000 by Stuart Windsor of Christian Solidarity Worldwide". Stuart Windsor is the National Director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide: CSW could not have been more involved. Lamb stated that Windsor, together with a Sudanese opposition member in London, "informed me that they had a really interesting story and asked whether I would be

around that week."

Having in effect led 'The Sunday Telegraph' into a libel, Christian Solidarity Worldwide was noticeably coy about the issue in the wake of the legal action. When subsequently asked to comment on Ms Nazer's claims, for example, CSW President Baroness Cox said: "I can't comment on exactly what she experienced in the UK because I didn't witness this when she was working for the diplomat."(2)  She was remarkably careful not to repeat the claims originally presented as a "really interesting story". It has however not stopped Baroness Cox continuing to repeat questionable propaganda claims about Sudan.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide's involvement in 'The Sunday Telegraph' "Slave Girl" story fiasco fits into a pattern of questionable claims about Sudan by the organisation and its president. CSW President Baroness Cox's claims with regard to Sudan have long been questioned. (3)  She has been described as "overeager or misinformed" by reputable human rights activist and past director of African Rights Alex de Waal, with regard to her previous claims about slavery in Sudan. (4 ) Her claims that Sudan was involved in chemical weapons have been denied by the United Nations, the British government and UNSCOM. (5) Cox's claims about genocide in Sudan were dismissed by the British government. (6) As a general view on Baroness Cox's reliability on Sudan, it is worth nothing that in Andrew Boyd's sympathetic biography of her Dr

Christopher Besse, of Medical Emergency Relief International (Merlin), a humanitarian aid organisation with which Cox is closely associated (Dr Besse and Baroness Cox are both trustees of Merlin), is quoted as saying:

"She's not the most popular person in Sudan among the humanitarian aid people. She has her enemies, and some of them feel she is not well- enough informed. She recognizes a bit of the picture, but not all that's going on. " (7)

For someone who is even said by her friends to only recognise "a bit of the picture, but not all that's going on" to be making the sort of claims she has made on Sudan is regrettable.

The claims made by Baroness Cox and Christian Solidarity Worldwide to have "redeemed" tens of thousands of Sudanese "slaves", for example, were sharply called into question earlier this year. In February 2002, in an unprecedented international focus, 'The Irish Times', London's 'Independent on Sunday', 'The Washington Post' and 'International Herald

Tribune', chose to publish, or republish, articles exposing the gullibility, fraud and corruption at the heart of claims of "slave redemption" in Sudan. (8) The 'Washington Post' reported that in numerous documented instances "the slaves weren't slaves at all, but people gathered locally and instructed to pretend they were returning from bondage". (9) The 'Independent on Sunday' reported that it was able to "reveal that 'redemption' has often been a carefully orchestrated

fraud". (10)  The 'Irish Times' reported  that: "According to aid workers, missionaries, and even the rebel movement that facilitates it, slave redemption in Sudan is often an elaborate scam." The 'Irish Times' article also stated that in many cases "the process is nothing more than a careful deceit, stage-managed by corrupt officials". Baroness Cox's naiveté was once again there for all to see.

Conclusion

The Zeinab Nazer case is an important one. It provides a telling, and carefully documented insight into the propaganda campaign against Sudan that is undoubtedly prolonging the war in that country. It also clearly illustrates the active involvement of Christian fundamentalist groups such as Christian Solidarity Worldwide in pushing claims about Sudan

subsequently seen to be "totally and utterly untrue". This ill-becomes people presenting themselves as following Christian values. Baroness Cox and CSW appear to be ignoring such basic Christian teachings as "seek and you will find" (Mathew 7:7) and "the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).

Please Contact Baroness Cox and Christian Solidarity Worldwide

If you are concerned about truth, reconciliation and peace in Sudan, please contact Baroness Cox and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. Ask them why they provided 'The Sunday Telegraph' with such an untrue story about Sudan, and why they have such a regrettable track record of misrepresentation on Sudanese affairs. You may also wish to ask why they are not focusing on reconciliation rather than adding to the propaganda war that has so distorted the image of Sudan.

* Write to Baroness Cox at: P. O. Box 99, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 3YF, Britain 

* Email Christian Solidarity Worldwide at admin@csw.org.uk 

* Telephone Christian Solidarity Worldwide at 020 8942 8810

APPENDIX

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE

Queen's Bench Division

Case No. HQ006869

BETWEEN ABDEL MAHMOUD AL-KORONKY, Claimant and

(1) DOMINIC LAWSON, (2) CHRISTINA LAMB (3) THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH LIMITED, Defendants

STATEMENT IN OPEN COURT

My Lord, I appear on behalf of the Claimant, Abdel Mahmoud Al-Koronky, a Sudanese national living and working in London. He is and was at all material times employed as a Press Councillor by the government of the Republic of the Sudan, working at the Sudanese Embassy, and was the Charge d'Affaires in London between September 1998 and April 2000. My friend appears on behalf of the Defendants, Dominic Lawson, the editor of 'The Sunday Telegraph', Christina Lamb, the author of the article that is the subject of these proceedings and 'The Sunday Telegraph Limited', the publisher of 'The Sunday Telegraph'.

On 17 September 2000 the Defendants published an article under the heading "Sudan diplomat 'kept slave girl in London home'". The article was also published on the Defendant's web site. In the article, the Defendants claimed that Zainab Nadir, said to be in the early 20's, was in hiding in London receiving medical treatment as a result of her

treatment by the Claimant and his family, having "escaped" from the Claimant's house to seek political asylum. They also reported Ms Nadir's claim to have been kept as a slave by the Claimant's family since the age of 12.

All the defamatory claims in the article about which the Claimant complained were totally and utterly untrue and should never have been published. Ms Nadir was about 30 in 2000, not in her early 20's, and had worked in Sudan between 1986 and about 1996 as a maid and then for about 4 years as a tea seller in a market in Khartoum. At no time during this period, or any other period of her life, was Ms Nadir a slave or kept as a slave by any member of the Claimant's family.

Ms Nadir was then employed by the Claimant in London from 13 June to 8 September 2000, as domestic help to his wife. At no time during this short period of employment was Ms Nadir kept as a slave or in any way treated badly or improperly by the Claimant or his wife. Ms Nadir also did not "escape" from the Claimant's home. In fact, from 30 July to 8 September, the Claimant and his family were in Sudan and Ms Nadir stayed with another family. She then left the Claimant's home on 11 September.

It was also false that, after Ms Nadir left the Claimant's home, she received any medical treatment or was in hiding as a result of anything done by the Claimant or his family.

The Claimant felt wounded to the heart by the Defendants allegations. He has an established political and intellectual record of fighting for freedom and justice. From his days at Khartoum University in Sudan and, thereafter throughout his career as a journalist and diplomat, he has written extensively and spoken out at demonstrations, lectures and in

press interviews for political and civil liberties. Many of his articles have been published in the national press and elsewhere in Sudan. The Claimant has also appeared many times on Sudanese national television, on Arab television and BBC broadcasts to promote human rights.

The Defendants now acknowledge that they have greatly wronged the Claimant. They unreservedly withdraw the allegations complained of and sincerely apologise to the Claimant for the distress and gross hurt he has suffered as a result of the article. They also apologise to him for the additional distress their attempts to defend these proceedings have caused.

In addition to joining in this statement, as part of the terms of settlement the Defendants have undertaken not again to repeat the allegations complained of or any similar allegations of the Claimant, agreed to pay the Claimant a very substantial sum in compensation and his legal costs. With this, the Claimant feels that his reputation is vindicated by these proceedings in so far as possible, and he is prepared to bring them to an end.

Solicitor for the Defendants

My Lord, I confirm what my friend has said. The Defendants sincerely and unequivocally apologise to the Claimant for the publication of the article and for the distress and gross hurt it caused him. They also similarly apologise for the subsequent distress they have caused him through their attempts to defend this action.

Solicitor for the Claimant

My Lord, it only remains for me to ask for leave for the record to be withdrawn.

4 July 2002.

Notes

1 "Sudan Diplomat 'Kept Slave Girl in London Home'", 'The Sunday Telegraph' (London), 17 September 2000. The story was also carried internationally. See, for example, "Sudan Diplomat Kept Servant Girl as Slave in London Home: Report", News Article by Agence France Presse, 17 September 2000.

2 Interview with BBC Radio 4 - PM Programme, 18 October 2002.

3 See, for example, 'Baroness Cox and Sudan: How Reliable a Witness? ', The British-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, London, 1999, available at www.espac.org.

4 De Waal is a director of the human rights group, Justice Africa. He was formerly a co-director of African Rights, and has worked for the Inter-Africa Group. He has written several books on Africa. He is an acknowledged expert on Sudan.

5 House of Lords Official Report, 19 March 1998, cols. 818-820.

6 House of Lords Official Report, 10 December 1998, column 103.

7 Andrew Boyd, 'Baroness Cox: A Voice for the Voiceless', Lion Publishing, Oxford, 1998,  p.324.

8 "The Great Slave Scam", 'The Irish Times', 23 February 2002; "Scam in Sudan - An Elaborate Hoax Involving Fake African Slaves and Less-than-Honest Interpreters is Duping Concerned Westerners", 'The Independent on Sunday', 24 February 2002; "Ripping Off Slave 'Redeemers': Rebels Exploit Westerners' Efforts to Buy Emancipation for Sudanese", 'The Washington Post', 26 February 2002; "Sudan Rip-Offs Over Phony Slaves", 'International Herald Tribune', 27 February 2002. "Slave Redemption" has also been extensively questioned. See, for example, 'The Reality of Slave Redemption', European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, London, March 2001; 'The Use of Intertribal Raiding as 'Slavery' Propaganda in Sudan: A Statement of Concern to Mrs Mary Robinson, The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights', European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, London, March 200, all available at http://www.espac.org. Christian Solidarity International's Sudan activities have long been seriously questioned. See, for example, 'Time to Speak out on Christian Solidarity International and Sudan: An Open Letter to Anti-Slavery International', European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, London, June 2001; 'Prejudiced and Discredited: Christian Solidarity International and Sudan', European-Sudanese Public Affairs Council, London, 2000, available at http://www.espac.org; David Hoile, 'Sudan, Propaganda and Distortion: Allegations of Slavery and Slavery-Related Practices', The Sudan Foundation, London, March 1997.

9 "Ripping Off Slave 'Redeemers': Rebels Exploit Westerners' Efforts to Buy Emancipation for Sudanese", 'The Washington Post', 26 February 2002.

10 "Scam in Sudan - An Elaborate Hoax Involving Fake African Slaves and Less-than-Honest Interpreters is Duping Concerned Westerners", 'The Independent on Sunday', 24 February 2002
 

Espac Published by The European - Sudanese Public Affairs Council Copyright © David Hoile 2005
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