Celebrations were held May 5 at the Gereida displaced persons camp in Darfur, to mark the one-year anniversary of the signing of the "Darfur Peace Agreement" (DPA). Significantly, the camp is controlled by the Minni Menawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA), the only rebel group to sign the DPA. The faction's leadership had much to celebrate. Menawi was made an adviser to Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir and moved into a plush Khartoum residence next door to the British Embassy. At the time of the signing last year, diplomats were also celebrating. The UK's international development secretary Hilary Benn heralded the deal as a "very significant agreement which means that the process of bringing peace to Darfur can now begin." But instead, the security situation across Darfur has worsened and the conflict has broadened.

From the Iraq Freedom Congress (IFC) and US Labor Against the War (USLAW):

Joint Report to the IFC and USLAW
on the 2007 Manila International Peace Conference, April 27-29
The 2007 International Peace conference was held in Manila from April 27-29. It was hosted by the Japanese National Assembly for Peace and Democracy (ZENKO) and Parents and Children Against War and Violence in the Philippines (MALAPAD KA). Over 100 delegates from 5 countries: the Philippines, Iraq, Japan, the U.S., and Indonesia attended; the largest delegation was from Japan.

The National Rifle Association is urging the Bush administration to withdraw its support of a bill that would prohibit people on terrorism watch lists from buying firearms. In a letter to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, NRA director Chris Cox said the bill "would allow arbitrary denial of Second Amendment rights based on mere 'suspicions' of a terrorist threat." Current law already denies sales to "illegal" immigrants—and the NRA has no problem with that. (AP, May 4) Meanwhile, the right-wing militia terror networks appear to be rearming—and planing attacks on immigrants. From AP May 1:

The Section 22 teachers union in Oaxaca called its one-day work stoppage and direct action campaign a "success" to press demands for a resolution to the crisis in the conflicted southern Mexican state. At least 48 state government offices were blockaded, including four municipal palaces (Oaxaca City, Tlaxiaco, Nochixtlán, Juxtlahuaca and Huajuapam). A group of local workers from the national social security institute, ISSSTE, blocked highways at various points around Oaxaca. (APRO, May 2) Section 7 teachers went on strike in solidarity and blocked roads in Chiapas state. (APRO, May 4) Meanwhile, the Federal Institute of Access to Information (IFAI), in response to a petition by the civil coalition APPO, ordered the Federal Preventative Police to release all records concerning the repression in Oaxaca last October, including the names of those who were in command. (La Jornada, May 3)

One year after the confrontations between inhabitants and Mexico state police at the village of San Salvador Atenco, 174 of the 204 originally detained still face charges, mostly of "attack on the means of communication" (road blocks), and 25 on charges of "kidnapping" (detaining police agents accused of rights violations). None have been sentenced. 28 remain behind bars at the top-security prisons of Altiplano, Santiaguito and Molino de Flores. Another three are fugitives, including América del Valle, daughter the director of the People's Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT), Ignacio del Valle. (El Universal, May 3) Amnesty International marked the anniversary by releasing a statement protesting the lack of progress in probes of rights abuses by the state and federal police, saying that impunity remained "rampant." (El Universal, May 3)

The May 3 attempted hijacking at the Havana airport by two conscripts who killed an officer they had taken hostage may have been a CIA-sponsored adventure, or merely evidence of desperation to get out of Cuba. (A month earlier, three men who tried to hijack a boat with passengers were condemned and summarily executed.) (DPA, BBC, May 4) But given that Luis Posada Carriles was a CIA asset when he carried out his terror campaigns against Cuba (and Nicaragua), its is pretty funny to hear these Capitol Hill anti-Fidelistas accuse Cuba of being a "state sponsor of terrorism." How do they keep a straight face? From UPI May 4:

We've noted speculation that the paramilitary scandal in Colombia will do in Bogotá's prospects for a free trade deal with Washington. When Uribe was in Washington yesterday to petition for the deal (and continued economic and military aid), he was dressed down by Democratic lawmakers. But note the implicit promise of capitulation in the final line of this May 3 Reuters report:

Sudan and Chad are to co-operate with the African Union (AU) and UN in an effort to stabilize the troubled Darfur region. As part of the agreement signed in Saudi Arabia, a joint border force is to be created and observers assigned to the region, while both parties have also pledged not to aid one another's dissident movements. [BBC, May 4]