Change inside the Beja Congress

The Beja Congress has relieved Shiba Dhirar from the position of Vice President and Member of the Beja Congress’ Central Committee, reports Al-Akhbar.

Dhirar had issued statements earlier accusing the party leadership of embezzlement.

http://www.unmis.org/english/2009Docs/mmr-mar31.pdf

Ex militants being rehabilitated

In a three month review of the humanitarian situation in Sudan, the UN OCHA noted that many ex-combatants are returning to civilian life. Here's the text of the article.

EX-COMBATANTS RETURN TO CIVILIAN LIFE
 
The Support to Human Security in Eastern Sudan project has
succeeded in collecting some 750 small arms, and demobiliz-
ing 1,700 ex-combatants from the Eastern Sudan Front as of
February 2009. This achievement is part of the Disarmament,
Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) process that included
registration, medical screening, HIV/AIDS counselling of all
disarmed and demobilized persons. Reinsertion packages
such as food, clothing and USD 400 per demobilized ex-
combatant were also provided to each eligible beneficiary as
part of the reintegration support services. 

The UN Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with
North Sudan Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration
Commission (NSDDRC) also trained 1,251 ex-combatants
on veterinary and basic business management skills and pro-
vided a number of goats, sheep and commodities to help
those who are ready to start up small businesses.  The remain-
ing caseload was provided with micro-business start up pack-
ages and vocational training. UNDP also trained NSDDRC staff
in the east, which enabled them to conduct with ex-
combatants the orientation and one-on-one counselling proc-
ess. This demobilization of ex-combatants is part of a larger
DDR in Eastern Sudan that started in June 2007 in contribu-
tion to the implementation of the 2006 Eastern Sudan Peace
Agreement that ended a decade-long conflict between the
Government of Sudan and the Eastern Sudan Front.

In 2007 UNDP launched the Support to Human Security in
Eastern Sudan project in partnership with NSDDRC. Currently
the Food Agriculture Organization and several NGOs are sup-
porting the project as implementing partners, providing partici-
pants with economic reintegration packages and training.  

Plans for the demobilisation of an additional 2,254 ex-
combatants from Sudan Armed Forces and Popular Defence
Forces and other armed groups are underway.

http://ochaonline.un.org/OchaLinkClick.aspx?link=ocha&docId=1109903

Aid Agencies expelled from Sudan

Services to poor people disrupted
The decision by the federal government to revoke the registrations of 13 NGOs in March 2009 caused major breaks in service to the marginalized in Darfur. About 6,500 aid workers had to leave, about 40% of the total. Agency offices were stripped of computers and supplies, vehicles were impounded, bank accounts were confiscated.

Reasons for this action
On March 5, 2009, from Europe, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for the arrest of the President of Sudan, for his alleged responsibility for crimes against humanity and for war crimes committed in Darfur. Some of the evidence leading to the warrant included information collected by aid agencies. This included children's drawings of bombs falling from planes and men with guns who killed people.

The ICC said they did not use aid agencies as sources of information, but the Sudan government acted anyway to expel some agencies. They ended up increasing the pressure on themselves to care for citizens in Darfur.

At the time, Darfur was the largest humanitarian emergency in the world. There were over 2,600,000 internally displaced people (IDP) living in camps and dependent on aid from various agencies. The United Nations, along with partnering governments and aid agencies, had established a budget of $2.2 billion for 2009 for relief and development in Sudan. Almost half of that was for relief and early recovery in Darfur.

Agency List
The agencies that were expelled included:
    Solidarité
    Save the Children -UK
    Save the Children -USA
    Care International
    Oxfam -Great Britain
    Mercy Corps
    International Rescue Committee
    Medecins Sans Frontieres-Netherlands
    Medecins Sans Frontieres-France

Port Sudan worker's union troubled

Sea Ports Trade Union rejects privatization

(The Sudan Vision) Sea Ports Trade Union's Central Committee announced its rejection to any form of partial or complete privatization of Port Sudan Harbour. The Union issued a statement yesterday in this concern considering the protection of the workers' interests.

For its part, the Executive Office of Sudan Workers Trade Union announced during its yesterday's meeting its support to Sea Ports Trade Union considering that privatization will lead to dismissal of workers.

- - -
There are thousands of Beja workers in Port Sudan Harbour. In the past few years, there have been various modernization efforts at the harbour. China invested $79 million [US?] to deepen the channels and install a container handling facility. This put thousands of stevedores out of work. Most labouring gangs of dockworkers who would unload ships are from Beja tribes.

The pic is probably from mid 1990's



.

Fishermen attacked

The report does not state that the fisherman were Beja, or, perhaps Beni Amer. There are not many Beja fishermen, but there are some. Beja may hold that bad spirits are in the water, and generally avoid seagoing activities.

AFP, Khartoum -- At least 25 people were injured when around five fishing boats were attacked
by unknown assailants in the Red Sea off Sudan on Friday, a security official said. The fishing
craft came under attack in Sudanese waters in the Red Sea from assailants whose identity and
method of operation have yet to be established, the official told AFP. The injured were taken to
hospital in Port Sudan, the main coastal town, north of where the attacks took place. Ten of the
fishermen were seriously wounded, an official at a local hospital said, noting that six are
Eritreans.

http://www.unmis.org/english/2009Docs/mmr-jan18.pdf

Eastern Desert academic conference

A conference takes place in Cairo: the main lecture is titled "The History of the Peoples in the Eastern Deserts of Egypt and Sudan."

The region between the Red Sea and the Nile Valley in Egypt and Sudan is referred to as the Eastern Desert. The desertification of this region started with the end of the Holocene pluvial period and continues until today. The mobile hunter-herder-gatherers that left the region to settle in the Nile Valley are regarded as one of the driving forces behind the advent of Pharaonic civilization. Despite environmental degradation and scholarly neglect, the Eastern Desert has native inhabitants and a history of its own.

The mineral wealth in the Eastern Desert has attracted outsiders from early times onward, who in turn have been the focus of the attention of historians and archaeologists. The same is true for the trade routes that connected the Nile Valley with sub-Saharan Africa, Arabia Felix, India and the enigmatic Land of Punt. The study of the Eastern Desert is also hampered by the limitations of the historical sources, by the low archaeological visibility of the remains of the desert dwellers, and by ambiguous ethnographic parallels.

A conference organized by the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology (University of California, Los Angeles) at the NVIC aims to address the problems and possibilities of the study of the dwellers of the Eastern Desert, as well as to provide an overview of the current state of our knowledge. The preliminary conclusions of this conference will be presented in this Cleveringa Lecture. The region and its inhabitants, ancient and modern, also bring into focus some ethical issues, especially appropriate as this lecture was instituted to commemorate the courageous moral stance taken by Professor Cleveringa during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands.

Leading cause of death in east Sudan

Top UN official appeals for over $2 billion to fund humanitarian projects
(UN News Service), 20/11/08: The top United Nations relief official on Thursday called for more than $2 billion for humanitarian projects next year in Sudan, with almost half of the funds being earmarked for the war-torn region of Darfur, where violence has uprooted nearly half the 6 million-strong population.

Speaking in Geneva Thursday, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes said that while a quarter of the needs for Sudan have been met, over $1.5 billion is still needed for the vast nation in 2009.
"The extent of the appeal to donors is even more ambitious given the global economic environment and the parallel needs swelling in the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Somalia, Ethiopia and elsewhere,"he said at the launch of the fifth annual Sudan Work Plan.

Humanitarian efforts in Sudan must not slacken or be reduced, stressed Mr. Holmes, who also serves as UN Emergency Relief Coordinator.

"More than ever, the international community and the governments concerned need to pull
together to ensure that millions of people are afforded access to relief and recovery assistance," he added. "Otherwise, we risk undermining achievements to date or jeopardizing critical events ahead."

In the past four years, the UN and its partners have endeavoured to deliver food, water, shelter and and other basic services to many parts of the country and have also built clinics and schools.

In some regions of the country, more than half of the population still has no access to clean water, with even fewer able to access proper sanitation, the Coordinator said, adding that diarrhea remains a leading cause of death in parts of Sudan's east.

Former Eastern Front Soldiers - what's happening?

According to Akhir Lahza newspaper, NSDDRC embarked on preparations to reintegrate a group of 2900 of the remaining demobilized Eastern Front’s elements by the end of the current year. Eastern Front’s forces have been integrated into the SAF and NISS. Director of the DRR Suaad Abul Raziq told SMC that authorities concerned have actually began integrating 1700 of the Eastern Front’s combatants in addition to 1200 SAF and PDF. The process is funded by various sources including UN. She said so far 1060 combatants have been integrated and the remaining target is 640. The second stage will target 1200 SAF and PDF elements.

Some soldiers have been assigned jobs as drivers in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj.

UNMIS - November 9, 2008.

Former soldiers finally being assisted

Beja militants of the Beja Congress joined with militants from the Rashaida tribe back in early 2005, and acted as the Eastern Front. They put small scale armed pressure against federal forces. Political members negotiated with the federal government to try to get assistance to the poorly serviced parts of Eastern Sudan. Eventually a peace agreement was signed in November 2006, and the militants were to be assimilated into either the police force or the national army.
That integration was to begin in June or July of 2007. Today's article - reprinted below - states that the demobilization of 2900 soldiers in Eastern Sudan has begun, 14 months late.

Al-Ahdath stated that the Northern Sudan DDR Commission began integrating 2900 of demobilized soldiers of the Eastern Front, SAF and PDF in eastern Sudan. The chairman of the Commission Sulaf Al-Din Saleh has apologized for the delay of integration in Eastern Sudan adding that the process was enjoying the support of the state’s highest political levels. He also pointed out the contribution of UNDP towards the process.

Representative of the Defence Minister Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim Abdul Faraj said 76 projects have been provided for reintegration purposes and 500 additional projects would be provided to the demobilized soldiers during this month as well as 750 jobs.

source
http://www.unmis.org/english/2008Docs/mmr-sept03.pdf

Additional information is found in a Sudan Vision article
http://tinyurl.com/5v3dxa

How much oil does Sudan have?

In an August 30 Sudan Vision article, the Sudanese Minister of Energy and Mining said that the oil reserves in Sudan amount to 6 billion barrels. Current extraction is about 475-500,000 barrels per day.

At that rate, the oil in Sudan will last about 34 years before it gets depleted.

A 28 inch pipe brings oil from south central Sudan to the coast of the Red Sea, where a specalized shipping port, storage facilities and a small refinery have been built. Most oil exported by ship goes to China.
.

Beja Congress seek to resolve international disputes

Al-Sahafa reported that participants at a general convention of the Beja Congress have demanded arbitration for Halaib to address the dispute between Sudan and Egypt over the Triangle. The convention revealed that Egyptian authorities have detained several Sudanese nationals in the Triangle. The convention which was concluded yesterday [August 17, 2008], renewed confidence in the chairmanship of Musa Mohamed Ahmed.

source
http://www.unmis.org/english/2008Docs/mmr-aug18.pdf

Background Material by BJ
The Halaib triangle was created in 1906 [?] by the British administration as they were determining the demarkation between Egypt and Soudan. The line gave more land to Sudan, I think because access was easier from Sudan than from Egypt. As well, the line more accurately marked boundaries between two tribes, [the Bisharin to the south and the Ababda to the north.] I believe the points of the line itself mark various hill tops- [ease in surveying I guess]. Separate from this news is the recent plan to drill for oil in the area [if oil is found, taxes can be levied]. This has made national sovereignty over the land important, and Egypt has taken steps to assert her authority in the area.

UPDATE:
August 19, 2008. Key Beja Congress leaders removed.
A further report from the second Beja Congress’ general convention as published by Al-Sahafa says that the convention decided to relieve Presidential Advisor Amna Dirar, Deputy Governor of Gedaref State Idriss Nour and MP Saleh Hassaballah from their posts.
The convention also and called for appointment of special prosecutor for Port Sudan incidents. [Presumably the events which occurred in January 2005 - 27 Beja residents of Port Sudan were killed by government security forces.]
http://www.unmis.org/english/2008Docs/mmr-aug19.pdf

Additional article available at [August 24, 2008]
http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/16216.html

Is the ESPA not working?

A recent Reuters article is titled: "Sudan's east risks war if soldiers not paid - official"

In the article a [former] Beja Congress leader warns that the peace agreement signed between the Eastern Front and the national government is not working. Promised development funds have not been paid, and promises made to soldiers have not been kept.

Source:
http://www.unmis.org/english/2008Docs/mmr-aug11.pdf
Read the original article here

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSMCD048226

Mousa and Amna Dirar

[date and location of photo not known]
Sourced from files of Dr. Osman Seidi

 Text of original article:

Sudan's east risks war if soldiers not paid - official

Sudan's eastern fighters may return to war if they do not receive money and training to rejoin society as required under an eastern peace deal, a presidential advisor warned on Sunday. Amna Dirar, one of the leaders of the Eastern Front which fought Khartoum for years before they joined a coalition government after a peace deal in 2006, also said only a fifth of the cash promised for developing the impoverished east had emerged in 2008.

"Whenever people are expecting to get their jobs and they feel...no justice from previous experience in Sudan and eastern Sudan that means people can take again their weapons and can fight again," she said in an interview. "That is what we are afraid of," she added, claiming that almost 2,000 soldiers have been waiting in camps in the east to be disarmed, demobilised and reintegrated into society, a process called DDR. Another 1,200 have already joined Sudan's police or armed forces.

The east is one of the poorest parts of Sudan with rural malnutrition rates as high as in other conflict areas in Africa's largest country. The population is often afflicted by drought. The east contains much of Sudan's gold reserves, has its only seaport and it is where the oil pipelines also export crude from.

Ms. Dirar said the government should fund projects for the demobilised fighters like training them for farming or giving them cash to open private businesses. However, no money had yet been allocated by the ministry of finance and the fighters were becoming frustrated, she added.

Developing the region was a key reason the Eastern Front took up arms like rebels in Sudan's more famous western Darfur region and the north-south conflict which was Africa's longest civil war. The deal specified $600 million to be paid over four years with $125 million due in 2008. But Dirar said the $25 million so far paid this year for development was not enough. "We are the (most) marginalised of the marginalised," she said. "The $25 million itself cannot solve any kind of problem."

She said the government was struggling to find the cash for all the peace deals it had signed and urged all those who had joined the government to unite efforts to implement the accords rather than all fighting separate battles. "Although we have stopped fighting with weapons still we are fighting ...by words and by committees and meetings to ensure that the peace agreement will be implemented," she said.

Dirar also said many in the east claimed they had not been counted in a national census this year and that the results should be revised so people would accept them.

The census results are due towards the end of the year and are sensitive as they will help decide development quotas and constituencies ahead of Sudan's first democratic elections in 23 years due in 2009.

Dirar said she was not very optimistic the elections would happen on time because the Darfur conflict was still unresolved and that the west had to be included for any vote to be acceptable.

She said her party was open to electoral alliances but may decide to field its own presidential candidate.

So far the former southern rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement are the only party to declare they will compete with President Omar Hassan al-Bashir.

YouTube video website blocked in Sudan

The BBC reports that since July 22, the internet video site, YouTube, has been unavailable inside Sudan.

The blocking of the site is being coordinated by the National Telecommunication Corporation. Some videos have been uploaded that show tough police action. Various human rights and journalists groups have denounced the banning of the site.

News story:
http://www.sudan.net/news/posted/16165.html

Videos about the Beja people

There are many videos about the Beja people on You Tube. Here's a link to about 70 of them, some have been viewed over 15,000 times.

"http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=beja+sudan"

Giant Dust Storm- early July

The photo was taken by a NASA satellite, and captures a dust storm that may have started about 1000 kilometers to the west.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natural
Hazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=14930