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
