.
Eritrea
http://www.dehai.org/
Official government site
http://www.shabait.com/staging/index.html
Sudan
United Nations daily report [pdf file]
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=589
http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/
Egypt
http://www.egyptdailynews.com/
.
September 2, 2009
State Governor commended
In a September 1 editorial, the Governor of the Red Sea State was pointed out as a good example of a politician who is concerned for development in his region.
"The other sample to be commended for the effort it is exerting on development projects is the Red Sea State. Its Governor has launched huge infrastructural projects and is continuously encouraging local and international investors and other economic ventures in the State.
"The Governor, Mohammed Tahir Eilla is stationed in the State capital, Port Sudan and he rarely visits Khartoum and is always staying within his state for further supervision and following up of the execution of the projects. Red Sea State is ideal for investment projects and the Governor and his team have a broad vision in their state and have made allocation of infrastructure projects including roads, electricity and water network.
"The State has constructed 30 model villages equipped with all the basic services. The State Government has also succeeded in establishing 5 hospitals besides noticeable projects within the state. One of the most renowned projects is a regional highway which connects the State with Egypt and this road has reached its final stage of construction and another is the water network and is aimed at connecting the State with River Nile as sustainable source for the State.
"Port Sudan city has witnessed many projects from infrastructure to services, tourism and recreation and now many visitors come to Port Sudan and this suggests that the city is flourishing rapidly thus gaining the pride of the modern cities."
http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=49089
"The other sample to be commended for the effort it is exerting on development projects is the Red Sea State. Its Governor has launched huge infrastructural projects and is continuously encouraging local and international investors and other economic ventures in the State.
"The Governor, Mohammed Tahir Eilla is stationed in the State capital, Port Sudan and he rarely visits Khartoum and is always staying within his state for further supervision and following up of the execution of the projects. Red Sea State is ideal for investment projects and the Governor and his team have a broad vision in their state and have made allocation of infrastructure projects including roads, electricity and water network.
"The State has constructed 30 model villages equipped with all the basic services. The State Government has also succeeded in establishing 5 hospitals besides noticeable projects within the state. One of the most renowned projects is a regional highway which connects the State with Egypt and this road has reached its final stage of construction and another is the water network and is aimed at connecting the State with River Nile as sustainable source for the State.
"Port Sudan city has witnessed many projects from infrastructure to services, tourism and recreation and now many visitors come to Port Sudan and this suggests that the city is flourishing rapidly thus gaining the pride of the modern cities."
http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=49089
August 25, 2009
Coming war over oil in South Sudan?
COMMENTARY: South Sudan faces new war over oil
(Telegraph) The gunmen who raided the cluster of mud huts beside the White Nile struck with
merciless efficiency. By the time they vanished into thenight, hundreds of homes had been
razed, 11 people lay dead and the village's inhabitants faced starvation, having lost all their
precious cattle.
"Everyone is on his own now," said Jamuth Nyading, a 42-year-old Sudanese herdsman, who
gathered his two wives and 12 children and fled to the nearby town of Malakal. "You
cannot cultivate, you cannot herd cattle, and youcannot go fishing in the Nile without risk of being killed. We can't go back, not only because of fear, but also lack of food."
Mr Nyading's ordeal would be grimly familiar had it taken place in Darfur, the region of western Sudan blighted by civil war and awarded the dubious blessing of world attention for the last six years.
Instead, he abandoned his home in southern Sudan, an area supposedlyat peace since a
landmark agreement four years ago ended decades of fighting. Struck in January 2005, this "comprehensive peace agreement" was hailed as a moment of genuine hope. A rapturous signing ceremony brought down the curtain on the longest and bloodiest civil war in African history. The south had bitterly resented Khartoum's rule, claiming the northerners' attitudes had changed little since the days of slavery - when southerners were seen as heathens fit only for serfdom.
Entirely separate from Darfur's troubles, this ethnic and religious faultline inflicted suffering on a scale that almost defies comprehension, claiming two million lives during two spells of conflict, the first of which began a few weeks before Sudan won independence from Britain in 1956. The second round of this war between north and south, lasting from 1983 until 2005, started when an earlier peace deal collapsed.
Today, people in southern Sudan fear that history is repeating itself. The calm that has prevailed since 2005 is breaking down, while the "comprehensive peace agreement" is steadily unravelling.
This year, more people have been forced from their homes in the south - and more have died violently - than in Darfur. Some 214,000 refugees have fled their villages across the 10 southern states, while the death toll probably runs into the thousands. Only a fortnight ago, some 185 people were shot and speared to death in Jonglei State in a single morning.
The central question is why all this fighting has suddenly begun. The south has always suffered tribal skirmishing, generally over cattle and grazing. Mr Nyading is from the Shilluk tribe, while the raiders who destroyed his village in Upper Nile state were from the Dinka people, their traditional rivals. But this time, observers claim to detect a hidden hand, stirring tribal enmity with much bigger stakes in mind. The renewed hostilities may be aimed at sabotaging a referendum set for January 2011 over independence for the south. The region's future has wider importance, for large oil reserves lie beneath its lush plains. Those reserves are coveted
by the north as a resource to sell to China, whose appetite for Sudan's oil has given Khartoum a financial and diplomatic windfall.
During the civil war, when rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) fought President Omar al-Bashir's regime, the north deliberatelyignited ethnic conflict in the south, arming some tribes to fight others. Ministers in the Government of Southern Sudan, which has enjoyed autonomy since the 2005 peace agreement, believe Khartoum is back to its old tricks.
"We suspect with some evidence that our partners in the north are still training, arming and sending to southern Sudan the former militia groups who fought alongside them during the war," said General Oyay Deng Ajak, a former SPLA chief of staff who now serves as the south's regional cooperation minister.
"There is an increase in weapons and supplies coming into southern Sudan from the north. Somebody, somewhere is coordinating this operation and we very much suspect it is our brothers in Khartoum."
Both north and south know the clock is ticking. If the referendum goes ahead in January 2011, as laid down in the peace agreement, few doubt the south will choose to break away and a new country will emerge in the heart of Africa.
But the south has about 75 per cent of Sudan's 6.3 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, giving the north a vital interest in preventing it from seceding. One way would be to stir violence across the south, to the point where the situation is too unstable for the referendum to be held.
"They want to make southern Sudan ungovernable," said Gen Ajak. "They want to discredit us and tell the international community 'these people cannot govern themselves and if they become independent, they will be a failed state'."
China's interests are closely aligned with Mr Bashir's. Beijing has invested heavily in developing Sudan's reserves, which provide beween seven and ten per cent of China's imported oil. The China National Petroleum Corporation, a state energy giant, is exploiting the most productive fields, including those in the south, and Beijing has also built a 900-mile pipeline linking these reserves with Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
To guarantee these supplies, China needs Sudan to stay united. President Hu Jintao has duly sold weapons, including jet fighters, to Sudan's armed forcesand given Mr Bashir consistent diplomatic support.
Either way, the referendum carries huge risks. If the poll is delayed or cancelled, Gen Ajak said that people in the south would feel cheated and another war could start. If, however, the referendum goes ahead and the south chooses independence, the north may launch a war to hold onto the oil.
Some believe the recent violence amounts to the opening shots of this new conflict. The claim of a "hidden hand" behind at least some of the killing is supported by independent evidence.
A ship recently arrived in Malakal having travelled up the Nile from Khartoum. A 30-year-old man, who saw the vessel being searched, told the Sunday Telegraph that it contained Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition, hidden beneath a cargo of food.
Another 20-year-old man said the national army had tried to recruit him for a monthly salary of £200. Those who sought to entice him said they had been ordered to sign up 400 southerners in Malakal alone. These recruits, once in Khartoum's pay, could be used to destabilise their homeland.
The bitter mistrust between the SPLA and their old enemies in Khartoum has already cost lives in Malakal. The town's muddy streets were pounded by heavy artillery and tanks in February when a day of fighting between the two sides left at least 60 dead. A school was bombarded, killing about a dozen children. The United Nations is now digging shelters for its staff in Malakal.
However, there is no conclusive proof of a high-level decision in Khartoum to cause turmoil in the south. The region, which covers an area three times the size of Britain, possesses less than 13 miles of tarred road and is one of the poorest places on earth. Yet the Government of Southern Sudan chooses to spend 30 per cent of its budget on the military - independent estimates say this figure may be nearer to 60 per cent - while health, education and development get only 28 per cent.
These priorities suggest the south is arming for war, leaving foreign aid agencies to conduct development work. But the recent violence has disrupted even the aid workers' efforts. "We're looking to do longer term, more sustainable interventions," said Maya Mailer, a policy adviser for Oxfam. "But when this insecurity takes place and people are displaced as a result, we're pulled back into doing emergency programming."
In Malakal, many fear that another war is inevitable. A local chief, who asked not to be named, said his people were caught between the SPLA and Khartoum. "Every community is being divided by the two governments, so people who are on one side are encouraged to attack the other side," he said.
The chief's own village was raided in December, an incident he blames on Khartoum's allies. "The people are bribed with money and guns to attack their own people. They are our own relatives who attack us," he said.
SOURCE : UN Media Report
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=589&ctl=Details&mid=2681&ItemID=5026
(Telegraph) The gunmen who raided the cluster of mud huts beside the White Nile struck with
merciless efficiency. By the time they vanished into thenight, hundreds of homes had been
razed, 11 people lay dead and the village's inhabitants faced starvation, having lost all their
precious cattle.
"Everyone is on his own now," said Jamuth Nyading, a 42-year-old Sudanese herdsman, who
gathered his two wives and 12 children and fled to the nearby town of Malakal. "You
cannot cultivate, you cannot herd cattle, and youcannot go fishing in the Nile without risk of being killed. We can't go back, not only because of fear, but also lack of food."
Mr Nyading's ordeal would be grimly familiar had it taken place in Darfur, the region of western Sudan blighted by civil war and awarded the dubious blessing of world attention for the last six years.
Instead, he abandoned his home in southern Sudan, an area supposedlyat peace since a
landmark agreement four years ago ended decades of fighting. Struck in January 2005, this "comprehensive peace agreement" was hailed as a moment of genuine hope. A rapturous signing ceremony brought down the curtain on the longest and bloodiest civil war in African history. The south had bitterly resented Khartoum's rule, claiming the northerners' attitudes had changed little since the days of slavery - when southerners were seen as heathens fit only for serfdom.
Entirely separate from Darfur's troubles, this ethnic and religious faultline inflicted suffering on a scale that almost defies comprehension, claiming two million lives during two spells of conflict, the first of which began a few weeks before Sudan won independence from Britain in 1956. The second round of this war between north and south, lasting from 1983 until 2005, started when an earlier peace deal collapsed.
Today, people in southern Sudan fear that history is repeating itself. The calm that has prevailed since 2005 is breaking down, while the "comprehensive peace agreement" is steadily unravelling.
This year, more people have been forced from their homes in the south - and more have died violently - than in Darfur. Some 214,000 refugees have fled their villages across the 10 southern states, while the death toll probably runs into the thousands. Only a fortnight ago, some 185 people were shot and speared to death in Jonglei State in a single morning.
The central question is why all this fighting has suddenly begun. The south has always suffered tribal skirmishing, generally over cattle and grazing. Mr Nyading is from the Shilluk tribe, while the raiders who destroyed his village in Upper Nile state were from the Dinka people, their traditional rivals. But this time, observers claim to detect a hidden hand, stirring tribal enmity with much bigger stakes in mind. The renewed hostilities may be aimed at sabotaging a referendum set for January 2011 over independence for the south. The region's future has wider importance, for large oil reserves lie beneath its lush plains. Those reserves are coveted
by the north as a resource to sell to China, whose appetite for Sudan's oil has given Khartoum a financial and diplomatic windfall.
During the civil war, when rebels from the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) fought President Omar al-Bashir's regime, the north deliberatelyignited ethnic conflict in the south, arming some tribes to fight others. Ministers in the Government of Southern Sudan, which has enjoyed autonomy since the 2005 peace agreement, believe Khartoum is back to its old tricks.
"We suspect with some evidence that our partners in the north are still training, arming and sending to southern Sudan the former militia groups who fought alongside them during the war," said General Oyay Deng Ajak, a former SPLA chief of staff who now serves as the south's regional cooperation minister.
"There is an increase in weapons and supplies coming into southern Sudan from the north. Somebody, somewhere is coordinating this operation and we very much suspect it is our brothers in Khartoum."
Both north and south know the clock is ticking. If the referendum goes ahead in January 2011, as laid down in the peace agreement, few doubt the south will choose to break away and a new country will emerge in the heart of Africa.
But the south has about 75 per cent of Sudan's 6.3 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, giving the north a vital interest in preventing it from seceding. One way would be to stir violence across the south, to the point where the situation is too unstable for the referendum to be held.
"They want to make southern Sudan ungovernable," said Gen Ajak. "They want to discredit us and tell the international community 'these people cannot govern themselves and if they become independent, they will be a failed state'."
China's interests are closely aligned with Mr Bashir's. Beijing has invested heavily in developing Sudan's reserves, which provide beween seven and ten per cent of China's imported oil. The China National Petroleum Corporation, a state energy giant, is exploiting the most productive fields, including those in the south, and Beijing has also built a 900-mile pipeline linking these reserves with Port Sudan on the Red Sea.
To guarantee these supplies, China needs Sudan to stay united. President Hu Jintao has duly sold weapons, including jet fighters, to Sudan's armed forcesand given Mr Bashir consistent diplomatic support.
Either way, the referendum carries huge risks. If the poll is delayed or cancelled, Gen Ajak said that people in the south would feel cheated and another war could start. If, however, the referendum goes ahead and the south chooses independence, the north may launch a war to hold onto the oil.
Some believe the recent violence amounts to the opening shots of this new conflict. The claim of a "hidden hand" behind at least some of the killing is supported by independent evidence.
A ship recently arrived in Malakal having travelled up the Nile from Khartoum. A 30-year-old man, who saw the vessel being searched, told the Sunday Telegraph that it contained Kalashnikov assault rifles and ammunition, hidden beneath a cargo of food.
Another 20-year-old man said the national army had tried to recruit him for a monthly salary of £200. Those who sought to entice him said they had been ordered to sign up 400 southerners in Malakal alone. These recruits, once in Khartoum's pay, could be used to destabilise their homeland.
The bitter mistrust between the SPLA and their old enemies in Khartoum has already cost lives in Malakal. The town's muddy streets were pounded by heavy artillery and tanks in February when a day of fighting between the two sides left at least 60 dead. A school was bombarded, killing about a dozen children. The United Nations is now digging shelters for its staff in Malakal.
However, there is no conclusive proof of a high-level decision in Khartoum to cause turmoil in the south. The region, which covers an area three times the size of Britain, possesses less than 13 miles of tarred road and is one of the poorest places on earth. Yet the Government of Southern Sudan chooses to spend 30 per cent of its budget on the military - independent estimates say this figure may be nearer to 60 per cent - while health, education and development get only 28 per cent.
These priorities suggest the south is arming for war, leaving foreign aid agencies to conduct development work. But the recent violence has disrupted even the aid workers' efforts. "We're looking to do longer term, more sustainable interventions," said Maya Mailer, a policy adviser for Oxfam. "But when this insecurity takes place and people are displaced as a result, we're pulled back into doing emergency programming."
In Malakal, many fear that another war is inevitable. A local chief, who asked not to be named, said his people were caught between the SPLA and Khartoum. "Every community is being divided by the two governments, so people who are on one side are encouraged to attack the other side," he said.
The chief's own village was raided in December, an incident he blames on Khartoum's allies. "The people are bribed with money and guns to attack their own people. They are our own relatives who attack us," he said.
SOURCE : UN Media Report
http://unmis.unmissions.org/Default.aspx?tabid=589&ctl=Details&mid=2681&ItemID=5026
August 24, 2009
Peace Book Published
Norwegian researcher and writer Leif Manger has published a book that reviews the outcome of the 2006 peace agreement between the Eastern Front and the national government. It costs 25 euros.
Peace in Eastern Sudan
Some Important Aspects for Consideration
by Abdel Ghaffar M. Ahmed and Leif Manger 2009
The 2006 peace agreement brought an end to the fighting in Eastern Sudan. However, the process that was meant to follow has been slow to bring tangible results. The situation is complex with unresolved issues related to land use, irrigation schemes, access to the Red Sea, a growing urban population, and refugees from Ethiopia and Eritrea which all affect the political situation.
The book provides insight into the process of regional development that will come in the wake of the current peace agreement. This collection of papers, sponsored by the Norwegian MFA, draws on the competence built up through the Red Sea Area Programme (RESAP) - a research collaboration between institutions in Sudan and Norway.
Order the book here.
http://global.uib.no/home/index.php?module=article&view=99
July 16, 2009
Sorghum harvest expectations
ReliefWeb has published a map that suggests better than average sorghum harvests in East Sudan. Note the colours green and blue in the Red Sea Hills.] Their analysis for the country is less positive. "
In Burundi, Eritrea and Sudan the growing season has been normal to dry and average or slightly below average sorghum/millet yields up to -5% are expected."
This is good news for Beja people, and contrast somewhat with earlier reports that the rains will be late. [see blog entries below]
Drought is occuring in Ethiopia, and reports exist that identify malnutrition rates at higher than 20% for regions there.
.
Source: http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900SID/HHOO-7TXLSR
.
July 6, 2009
Recent Census Results Disputed
Political parties in Red Sea State have rejected the results of the 5th National Population and Housing Census on the grounds the results give inaccurate figures of their population, reports Al-Ahdath. The parties demand that the 1993 census results be used as reference for the forthcoming elections. In a statement issued at a ceremony in Port Sudan yesterday [July 4] to mark the signing of a “Charter for Political Forces and Civil Society Organizations”, representatives of political parties called on the State Elections Commission to coordinate with them in monitoring
and overseeing all stages of the electoral process.
Signatories of the Charter included the SPLM, the Popular Congress Party, the Communist Party of the Sudan, the National Umma Party, the Beja Congress, amongst other parties and that the event was hosted by the Popular Congress Party, Port Sudan Chapter.
Rai Al-Shaab also reports that nine political parties (including the main parties mentioned above) have called on authorities in Red Sea State to lift the state of emergency imposed earlier on the Akeek area in South Tokar.
Source : UNMIS media compilation July 5, 2009
http://www.unmis.org/english/2009Docs/mmr-jul05.pdf
and overseeing all stages of the electoral process.
Signatories of the Charter included the SPLM, the Popular Congress Party, the Communist Party of the Sudan, the National Umma Party, the Beja Congress, amongst other parties and that the event was hosted by the Popular Congress Party, Port Sudan Chapter.
Rai Al-Shaab also reports that nine political parties (including the main parties mentioned above) have called on authorities in Red Sea State to lift the state of emergency imposed earlier on the Akeek area in South Tokar.
Source : UNMIS media compilation July 5, 2009
http://www.unmis.org/english/2009Docs/mmr-jul05.pdf
July 5, 2009
Sudan comes in Third
Research group "The Fund for Peace" has come out with its fifth annual list of failed states. 177 countries are listed, and classified on twelve indicators that attempt to measure success or failure as a nation. Factors for all nations include demographic pressures, complex humanitarian emergencies, uneven economic development, suspension of the rule of law, the intervention of other states, etc etc.
Sudan comes in third worst, just behind of Somalia and Zimbabwe. Eritrea comes in at 36, Egypt at 43. South Africa 122. USA 159. Canada 166. Best state on the 2009 list is Norway.
View all country results here.
http://www.fundforpeace.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=140
View Sudan results!
http://www.fundforpeace.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=383&Itemid=540
.
Sudan comes in third worst, just behind of Somalia and Zimbabwe. Eritrea comes in at 36, Egypt at 43. South Africa 122. USA 159. Canada 166. Best state on the 2009 list is Norway.
View all country results here.
http://www.fundforpeace.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=99&Itemid=140
View Sudan results!
http://www.fundforpeace.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=383&Itemid=540
.
June 29, 2009
Rain delayed in central and north Sudan
The arrival of the rainy season in Sudan is slower this year than in previous years. The centre horizontal line on the map shows the average stage of rains for the past 30 years. This year the rains are further south [red line]. The implication of this is that rains will be shorter and have less volume this year.
Source- ReliefWeb: http://u.nu/4tnf
Further weather info for Africa
.
UPDATE: July 14, 2009.
Another report from Relief Web states that "According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), poor rains had prolonged a severe dry spell across most of Southern Sudan.
"The Famine Early Warning Systems Network, in its June update, warned that below-normal rains in May and mid-June had affected output during the April-July cropping season in areas such as Greater Equatoria.
"Poor rains from May to mid-June could also signal possible planting delays in many of the June-September-November cropping areas in the eastern/western flood plains and in the Nile-Sobat livelihood zones, the network noted.
More here> http://u.nu/43pj
June 6, 2009
Open letter to US president Obama
President Obama was in Egypt to make a speech to the Muslim world on June 4, 2009. In advance of his visit the Beja Congress released this open letter, appealing to Obama to help end the Egyptian occupation of traditional Sudanese land.
An Open Letter to President Obama About the Egyptian Occupation Of The Sudanese Halayeb Triangle
Barack Obama, President of the United States
Dear Mr. President Obama:
We, the Beja people from north-eastern Sudan and inhabitants of Halayeb triangle, would like to appeal to you to help to liberate the triangle from foreign occupation.
Beja people are a separate ethnic group, living throughout North East Africa since thousands of years including the region Halayeb. This part of our country is an integral part of Sudan and belongs to the tribe of the Beja-Bisharien for centuries. The tribal administration of this ethnic group is situated in Baaluk town on the Atbara River far deep in the centre of Sudan.
All old travellers, Europeans and Arabs, who visited this region several centuries back, found this triangle under the the Bisharien-Beja tribal administration and its inhabitants to be mainly Bisharien.
It is an area of
land measuring 20,580 km² located on the Red Sea coast, between the
Egypt and Sudan
The British administration unlawfully annexed this area to Egypt in 1899 treaty in a political deal without the consent of its people, and in 1902 returned the administration to the Sudanese authorities.
Halayeb is considered as an integral part of Sudan and used to take part in all parliamentary elections after independence and used to send its representatives to the Sudanese parliament regularly until very recently. Tribal ownership of the Bisharien-Beja of this area has never been questioned before.
It is undisputable.
But recently the region proved to be rich in mineral resources, especially gold and oil and its attractive sea shores drew the Egyptian attention. So they sent military troops, attacked the Sudanese military unit at Halayeb and occupied the area and kept it under the control of Egypt army since 1992.
Back in 1958 Jamal Abdel Nasser sent Egyptian troops into the region but withdrew them immediately after discovering his grave mistake.
Egypt, pretending to punish the Islamic regime of Khartoum for supporting Egyptian Jihad movement and for the attempt of the assignation of the Egyptian president in 1995 in Ethiopia, occupied our territory. But it punished the Beja people instead.
After the occupation the Egyptian authorities threw the original population out of the triangle and imposed visa regulations in case they want to enter their homes. This is pure racial cleansing, which contradicts the right of the original people to their land.
We consider the military occupation of our land and its forcible annexation to Egypt an act of aggression, which contradicts basic fundamentals of the international law.
We would like to appeal to you to take all necessary steps to help to put an end to this aggression, restore our territory, put an end to the racial cleansing and discrimination to the original inhabitants of Halayeb.
Best regards, Beja Congress
beja_congress@mail.orgThe British administration unlawfully annexed this area to Egypt in 1899 treaty in a political deal without the consent of its people, and in 1902 returned the administration to the Sudanese authorities.
Halayeb is considered as an integral part of Sudan and used to take part in all parliamentary elections after independence and used to send its representatives to the Sudanese parliament regularly until very recently. Tribal ownership of the Bisharien-Beja of this area has never been questioned before.
It is undisputable.
But recently the region proved to be rich in mineral resources, especially gold and oil and its attractive sea shores drew the Egyptian attention. So they sent military troops, attacked the Sudanese military unit at Halayeb and occupied the area and kept it under the control of Egypt army since 1992.
Back in 1958 Jamal Abdel Nasser sent Egyptian troops into the region but withdrew them immediately after discovering his grave mistake.
Egypt, pretending to punish the Islamic regime of Khartoum for supporting Egyptian Jihad movement and for the attempt of the assignation of the Egyptian president in 1995 in Ethiopia, occupied our territory. But it punished the Beja people instead.
After the occupation the Egyptian authorities threw the original population out of the triangle and imposed visa regulations in case they want to enter their homes. This is pure racial cleansing, which contradicts the right of the original people to their land.
We consider the military occupation of our land and its forcible annexation to Egypt an act of aggression, which contradicts basic fundamentals of the international law.
We would like to appeal to you to take all necessary steps to help to put an end to this aggression, restore our territory, put an end to the racial cleansing and discrimination to the original inhabitants of Halayeb.
Best regards, Beja Congress
Source Same source.
.
April 2, 2009
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
Dhirar had issued statements earlier accusing the party leadership of embezzlement.
http://www.unmis.org/english/2009Docs/mmr-mar31.pdf
April 1, 2009
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
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
March 15, 2009
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
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
January 20, 2009
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
.
January 19, 2009
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
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
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