January 31, 2010

Port Sudan Massacre - BC Press Release



This photo not part of the press release [below.] Photo portrays a man in a hospital [morgue?] on January 29, 2005.


 


Contents of press release.

 The Beja Congress demands the trial of the Port Sudan massacre and Condemns the violation of Human rights in Sudan

In a demonstration before the Sudanese Embassy in Washington DC

Today Friday Jan. 29th   2010  the Baja people of Eastern Sudan, from the United States and Canada ,  joined by Sudanese human right activist from all parts of Sudan in the US to demonstrate and commemorate the Port Sudan Massacre against Baja people and demand Justice and accountability  
We, members of the Beja congress, the political party of the Beja people of north eastern Sudan , appeal to the international community and to all human rights organizations to support all efforts to bring the Port Sudan massacre criminals to the international court.
On the 29th January 2005 the Beja people organized a peaceful demonstration carrying a petition demanding the end of their marginalization, democracy, development, and an end to the armed confrontation at the eastern border through peaceful negotiations. Instead of accepting the petition the government forces came and shot down 21, injured several hundred and arrested many of the demonstrators. This is the first time in the history of Sudan that such a brutality occurred to peaceful demonstrators. The killing of the ethnic Beja youth was their target.
We consider this reaction a grave violation to the basic human rights and an act of racial discrimination. The criminals have never been questioned. They hold top posts in the government in Khartoum . We strongly demand the arrest of the criminals and their trial by the international criminal court. As it is evident in Darfur war crimes, there is no possibility to process such cases in Sudan . The international community is requested to help to bring the criminals to justice. They should not go unpunished.
Further, we condemns the recent arrest of political opposition leaders in Port Sudan and in other parts of our country and demand freedom of expression and demonstration to all political parties and the carrying out of free elections by implementing the rules of democracy and recognition of the basic human rights.
Beja Congress , USA & Canada Chapter
For more information please contact
Mr. Ibrahim T.  Ahmed,   Email: -     adrob215@yahoo.com
Sourced from  sudaneseonline.com


UPDATE: Feb 1, 2010. Report by an eyewitness describes the demonstration outside the Sudanese Embassy in Washington DC.
http://blogfordarfur.org/archives/2879

January 23, 2010

Gold discovered in the Nubian Desert

 The Jordanian paper Al Rai reported in October, 2009 that a local company had discovered gold in commercial quantities in the Nubian Desert.

Brinsley Enterprises said it has has explored more than 15 sites that contain gold and precious metals on its 15,000 square kilometers in its concession area in Sudan. Brinsley has discovered 7.5 tons of gold in one site in the early exploration stage.

A follow-up report by Reuters, compiled from Sudanese news sources on January 19, 2010  states that commercial production will begin in the middle of 2011. Other sites may provide a further 10-15 tonnes of gold.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1048813



A December report by Al Jazeera includes a video clip describing gold mining done by hand by prospectors.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/2009121514441113917.html
 Also on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj97GAVQ9VU
.

January 18, 2010

Fed government seeks United Nations aid

Sudan Government has called on the UNHCR to assist in confronting the challenge of growing number of refugees who continue to pour into eastern Sudan from Eritrea and Somalia, local dailies report. Reportedly, refugees’ camps in eastern Sudan have encountered an acute shortage of food and deterioration of health situation due to the failure of donors to honour their pledges.

UNMIS Media Monitoring Report. January 17, 2010.

January 11, 2010

Donor Conference set for March 2010

A conference based in Kuwait has been scheduled for March 2010. It is for the reconstruction of East Sudan, and donors are expected to attend. A donor conference was envisioned by Eastern Front negotiators like Amna Dirar, even before the ESPA was signed in November 2006.

Abu Obeida Duj is the Secretary General of the Fund for Support to Rehabilitation in East Sudan. He said that intensive diplomatic work will be required over the next two months so as to receive the contributions of the donor countries.

http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article33734

COMMENT. The 2006 ESPA stipulated that funds of $100 million per year were to be appropriated for reconstruction in east Sudan among the Beja and Rashaida tribes. This money from the central government has not been paid out... Yet here we have a conference seeking fundings.

Sadly, the Sudan Tribune article does not make key details clear: Is the "Fund for Support to Rehabilitation in East Sudan" an initiative of the Beja Congress or Rashaida Free Lions? Who are the donors [donor countries?] - they are already identified to someone, since they claim Kuwait is a "friendly" country. Does that imply that some donors and recipients think Sudan is not a "friendly" country? Have projects been identified that the money will be spent on?

We await positive developments, since any project that serves to make Beja life better is a good thing.

UPDATE January 18, 2010. Comments by Ibrahim Ahmed on this article at the Sudan Tribune point out that Kuwait is an Arab state, and the federal government in Sudan has an Arab power base, and that there is a plan of Arabization for the East of Sudan. Thus, money from Arab states will serve to further marginalize the Beja people by creating a region that is beholden to Arab funders. The Rashaida tribe, which is Arab in origin, can be readily supported with these funds.

Read the comments here.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article33734#forum73048

January 8, 2010

Beja Congress leader unhappy with UN sanctions





On December 23 2009, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions against Eritrea because of its support for armed groups which are destabilizing Somalia. The resolution was introduced by the United States. Voting was 13 for, one against and one abstention.

Weapons sales to and from Eritrea were banned. Travel restrictions on the country's political and military leadership were imposed and and their assets were frozen.

A UN radio article about the sanction is here
http://www.unmultimedia.org/radio/english/detail/88025.html

About two weeks later, a joint meeting between the Eritrean Community in Sudan and the Eritrean-Sudanese Friendship Association was held. They denounced the sanction, proclaiming it unjust and without substance. A number of prominent politicians including Beja Congress leader Mussa Ahmed Mussa and Minister of Tourism in the Sudanese Red Sea Zone, Mr. Abdalla Kona said the resolution should be rejected.

The report of the meeting is here at the Eritrean Ministry of Information web site www.shabait.com
http://bit.ly/6jwA6O

British House of Lords speak about Sudan

On January 7, 2010, the British House of Lords (the upper house) listened to various members for two hours on a debate initiated by Baroness Cox, who has a longstanding interest in the well being of Sudan. The debate served to get on record the latest information about the situation in Sudan; one of the government ministers is going to visit Sudan.

Our interest here at Adroub.net is to note that they briefly mentioned the plight of the Beja people.

Baroness Cox said,
Other marginalised peoples continue to suffer humanitarian crises. For example, the plight of the Beja people in eastern Sudan remains so serious that the southern Sudanese, whose own predicament is dire, undertook an investigation and claimed that the Beja people's plight is even worse than their own. Can the Minister say whether EU and DfID funding therefore includes appropriate weighting to provide essential assistance to those all too often forgotten people in the marginalised areas?

On the eve of the anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Treaty, the speakers reviewed many issues facing the south, the coming election, the need for roads and development and education, the impact of the Lords Resistance Army, the role of the church and the referendum of 2011.

This debate can provide you with an active understanding of what is going on in Sudan now. It's fairly long, but an excellent backgrounder.

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/lords/?id=2010-01-07a.212.0

January 5, 2010

National Elections - List of political parties



NCP - National Congress Party
The leading party in the current national government which is called the Government of National Unity. [GNU], led by President Omer Al-Bashir.
Presidential Candidate for April 2010 elections: President Omer Al-Bashir

DUP - Democratic Unionist party
Led by Mohamed Osman Al-Mirghani
Presidential Candidate for April 2010 elections: Hatem Al-Sir, a party spokesman. Some early reports had suggested that this party would endorse Al-Bashir.

SPLM - Sudan People Liberation Movement
led by Salva Kiir Mayardit, currently First Vice President in the GNU. He is also the President of the regional Government of South Sudan [GoSS]. He will be running for this role again.
This party is made of southerners.
Presidential Candidate for April 2010 elections:  Yassir Saeed Arman is a northerner, married to a Dinka woman, former law student, former member of National Democratic Front, and frequent spokesman for the SPLM, and later the NDA.

PCP - Popular Congress Party
led by Hassan Al-Turabi (Islamic cleric)
Presidential Candidate for April 2010 elections:  Abdulla Deng Nhial
   Abdulla Deng Nhial is from the Dinka tribe, the largest tribe in the south. He was a professor at Juba University in the 1980s. After the 1989 coup when Bashir gained power, Nhial was a minister for peace and reconstruction, and Governor of White Nile State from 1994 -1999[?]. He is currently the Party Deputy for the PCP. This is an Islamist party.

Umma Party  [URRP]- Umma Reform and Renewal Party
led by: former Prime Minister (1986-89) Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi
Presidential Candidate for April 2010 elections: Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi
  Candidate Al-Mahdi is described as party leader.

Other minority parties...
Sudanese Communist party
Umma National Party

UPDATE. Feb 1, complete list from  Sudan Tribune website 30/1/10
The official presidential runners include Omer Hassan Al-Bashir (National Congress Party); Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi (Umma Party); Hatem Al-Sir (Democratic Unionist Party); Yasir Arman (Sudan People Liberation Movement); Abdullah Deng Nhial (Popular Congress Party); Mohamed Ibrahim Nugud (Sudanese Communist Party); Mubarak Al-Fadil (Umma Reform and Renewal Party); Abdel-Aziz Khalid (Sudan Alliance Forces); Kamil Al-Tayib Idriss (Independent); Ahmed Goha (Independent).

However, the commission rejected three presidential candidates including a female saying they did not meet the statutorily requirements such as gathering a specific number of signatures in a certain number of states.

Munir Sheik Al-Deen (The New National Democratic Party); Fatima Abdel-Mahmood (The Socialist Democratic Union); Abdullah Aki Ibrahim (Independent) were disqualified.

= = = = = =
SOUTH  Sudan elections
Two parties are contesting the leadership and governance of South Sudan. If South Sudan votes in the 2011 referendum to separate or become semi-autonomous, then the party and leader will become the defacto rulers of South Sudan.

1. SPLM. Currently the existing governing party is South Sudan.
Candidate for president of GoSS: Salva Kiir Mayardit, currently First Vice President in the GNU. He is also currently the President of the regional Government of South Sudan [GoSS] ie. the incumbent. Eligibility is at risk because he remains an officer in the SPLA, though recent legislation forbids soldiers from also being politicians.

2. SPLM-DC. newly formed breakaway southern group- (resistance to its creation Jan 2010)
Candidate for president of GoSS: Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin

UPDATED on January 18, and January 25.