Watching Al Jezeera weather for Africa, the graphic showed rain over Eritrea, and west of Khartoum too. Hopefully not enough to cause floods.
UPDATE September 4: Found a photo of the Gash River at Kassala - very high and fast. Uploaded on August 19.
August 17, 2011
Rain in the Eritrean highlands today
Watching Al Jezeera weather for Africa, the graphic showed rain over Eritrea, and west of Khartoum too. Hopefully not enough to cause floods.
UPDATE September 4: Found a photo of the Gash River at Kassala - very high and fast. Uploaded on August 19.
August 15, 2011
Sudan gets ready for Sharia
Persecution of Christian Churches
President Omer Hassan al-Bashir has declared Sudan would embrace Sharia and Islam as the official state religion after the breakaway. Adroub.net has documented this in a previous post. On 7 August, Qutbi al-Mahdi, the political bureau officer of the ruling National Congress Party told the Sudan Tribune that the decrees would soon be issued.
Churches in the Muslim north are facing pressure from government officials and members of the public who are demanding their closure.
South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July, creating hope for many Christians, especially in the north, where they were never allowed full freedom to operate. But they are now facing increased threats from individual groups, according to Rev. Ramadan Chan, a Baptist.
"The groups have collected names of pastors and are warning them against conducting church services on Sundays or they would be killed," said said Chan, general secretary of the Sudan Council of Churches.
He said that renewal of identity cards and other important documents for the leaders and the south Sudanese were being denied. "The people are not being allowed to take property like refrigerators and cookers. Money is also being taken away by the soldiers at the border points," he said.
Read the whole article.
Persecution of Journalists
In additional news, reporters who have written articles about human rights violations in north Sudan have been detained. Entire newspapers have been closed down because they were partially owned by South Sudanese investors.
River transport has been reduced, and the amount of good flowing into South Sudan from the north has diminished. This traditional route of import is forcing South Sudan to improve the muddy roads from Uganda. Additionally, the oil that is pumped from South Sudan through the 28" pipeline to Port Sudan for export to Malaysia and China is now being subject to excessive transit charges, reducing the profit to South Sudan, which is dependent on oil exports for the vast majority of government revenue.
August 14, 2011
Human trafficking passes through Tokar region
One hundred and ninety seven illegal immigrants drowned in the Red Sea on Tuesday August 9 according to a report published on Sunday, August 14.
A ship was on fire [by accident, or by coast guard attack?], and only 3 people were rescued, though the search was continuing.
The immigrants were traveling to Saudi Arabia on a Cuban registered ship owned by Yemenese businessmen. Passengers were from Chad, Somalia Nigeria and Eritrea.
The ship was still in Sudanese waters when the incident occurred, and authorities believe the planning and loading the ship took place in the Tokar region. Another ship, also in the Tokar region, with 247 migrants was unable to cross the Red Sea because of the action of Sudanese authorities.
There is no operating port in the Tokar region.
Source. http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=79303
A ship was on fire [by accident, or by coast guard attack?], and only 3 people were rescued, though the search was continuing.
The immigrants were traveling to Saudi Arabia on a Cuban registered ship owned by Yemenese businessmen. Passengers were from Chad, Somalia Nigeria and Eritrea.
The ship was still in Sudanese waters when the incident occurred, and authorities believe the planning and loading the ship took place in the Tokar region. Another ship, also in the Tokar region, with 247 migrants was unable to cross the Red Sea because of the action of Sudanese authorities.
There is no operating port in the Tokar region.
Source. http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=79303
August 8, 2011
Nuba Mountain peace demonstration in NYC, USA
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The Sudanese government forces has been fighting in the Nuba Mountains against the civilian population. Fighters from that region have fought back. Many people think this is unacceptable, and are calling on the government forces to cease their atrocities. Many people together in public can create awareness of troubled regions, and gain publicity for their cause.
A crowd of Sudanese activists from a variety of American lobby groups demonstrated outside the Sudanese Consulate in New York City on Friday, August 5, 2011. Speeches were made outside the United Nations site. A petition to the United Nations and the African Union was released.
As they marched, the demonstrators chanted "Bashir must go, Bashir must go," and "We need our freedom."
In the video below, Ibrahim Tahir, the Beja Congress representative based in Washington DC makes a short speech, calling on the United Nations to protect the civilians in the Nuba Mountains, and for people who like freedom to apply pressure on behalf of the people living in the Nuba Mountains.
A series of videos of the speakers at the Sudan Rally by SudanUnlimited is available on youtube. The activists work together, though they have regional interests; the central Sudanese government typically fails to support outlying regions of the country. So the Beja participate in calling President Bashir to account.
A petition signed by over a dozen groups was submitted to the United Nations. It urges "the United Nations to support lasting change in Sudan by pressuring the National Congress Party to step aside." After pointing out the belligerent activities of the Bashir regime, the petition calls for implementation of the International Criminal Court arrest warrants, and the creation of a no-fly zone over the Nuba Mountains to protect the civilian population.
A report of the demonstration was published, in Arabic, on Sudanjem.com It notes that some of the speakers were able to make a presentaiton before the US Council on Foreign Relations the day before the demonstration.
August 4, 2011
August 3, 2011
ESPA - implementation reviewed
Assistant of the President of the Republic and Deputy
chairman of the Higher Committee for implementation of East Sudan Peace
Agreement, Musa Mohamed Ahmed, Tuesday chaired a meeting which reviewed
the implementation of the items of the East Peace agreement.
The meeting included the Presidential Advisor and official of East Sudan File, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, and Chairman of the Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, Dr. Sulaf-Eddin Salih. In a press statement following the meeting at the Republican Palace, Dr. Ismail said that the meeting was aimed to discuss the item on the demobilization of staff of the Eastern Front, after hearing a report of the Commission's Chairman.
He said that after deliberations the meeting decided to submit a report supported by proposals addressing the item of demobilization and reintegration to the Vice-President of the Republic and Chairman of the Higher Committee, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, prior to issuing the required directives for enforcement of the remaining assignments as soon as possible. Sudan News Agency learned that Dr. Ismail will leave for Kuwait on July 14 to discuss progress of implementation of projects by East Sudan Reconstruction Fund.
AllAfrica.
The meeting included the Presidential Advisor and official of East Sudan File, Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail, and Chairman of the Demobilization and Reintegration Commission, Dr. Sulaf-Eddin Salih. In a press statement following the meeting at the Republican Palace, Dr. Ismail said that the meeting was aimed to discuss the item on the demobilization of staff of the Eastern Front, after hearing a report of the Commission's Chairman.
He said that after deliberations the meeting decided to submit a report supported by proposals addressing the item of demobilization and reintegration to the Vice-President of the Republic and Chairman of the Higher Committee, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, prior to issuing the required directives for enforcement of the remaining assignments as soon as possible. Sudan News Agency learned that Dr. Ismail will leave for Kuwait on July 14 to discuss progress of implementation of projects by East Sudan Reconstruction Fund.
AllAfrica.
August 2, 2011
Confusion inside the Beja Congress
An inappropriate release of a policy statement of Beja Congress by a foreign office has caused the central committee in Sudan to review the control of their representatives in other countries.
Representatives of the Beja Congress in England issued a statement calling for a change in the federal regime in Khartoum. A couple of days later, a statement was issued from the Foreign Offices of the Beja Congress that said they condemned the first statement.
The English group is headed by Mrs. Zeinab Issa Kabashi. The English statement was developed after a meeting took place to discuss the situation now that South Sudan had proclaimed independence. The group noted the [north] government was having a constitutional crisis, economic collapse, disturbances in security, and policies design to marginalize eastern Sudan in terms of community structure and economic development. Further reasons were offered, leading to an aggressive call for broad action against the existing government.
The first call for action in the statement called for democratic forces and civil society and the armed movements and the masses of eastern Sudan, and our children in the armed forces and the lovers of peace and democracy to engage in unified action to topple the revolutionary regime. This would allow the restoration of democracy and the independence of the judicial system in [north] Sudan.
The English statement decried the dictatorship and offered ideas for Beja people to accelerate the drop of the system. It closed with two powerful phrases. Long live the struggle of the Beja -
Glory and eternity for the martyrs of democracy.
In turn, the Foreign Office of the Beja Congress issued a statement that condemned the English statement and pointed out that Mrs. Zeinab Kabashi is not a member of the current central leadership. It pointed out that no consultation had occurred between the English group and the Sudan-based group before the English statement was released.
The Foreign Offices called for proper internal procedures for electing Beja Congress leaders and invited members to work together to avoid conflict and maintain security.
The source for the English statement appears to have been removed. Sorry.
The reply from the BC was published on مؤتمر البجا يوضح ويحذر
UPDATE: Turns out the Beja Congress has beenmore upset about internal elections.Here's a statement published on Saturday, August 6.
Beja Congress denies the statement in relation to Zainab Kabashi
In a statement was distributed widely denied that the leaders of the Beja Congress abroad any links to a statement published in some websites announced the appointment of one of the leaders of the National Congress in the Red Sea as secretary-general of the Beja Congress, said in a statement of leadership that it has extensive contacts between them was agreed to condemn the statement which was signed Mrs. Zainab Kabashi, especially with the professor Mr. Aboamna As is known to all is a leading member of the National Congress Party and former state secretary of his youth Red Sea.
The statement also said that Mrs. Zainab Kabashi England as head of the branch office has no authority to appoint members to the central office at home unless the purpose of its statement to form a new organization parallel to the Beja Congress and a pro-authority. Leaders also emphasized that Mr. Syed Aboamna one day a member of the organization of the Beja Congress also confirmed that he is not at all the meeting of the Office of the Beja Congress in England or anywhere else to discuss any of the topics referred to in the statement of Mrs. Zainab Kabashi.
The leaders confirmed that it has contacted all the organizations, movements and forces of the margin and civil society organizations and all the strong opposition and warned of the penetration of elements of power under the name of the Beja Congress and that the President of the Office of the Beja Congress in Britain did not grant authority to an official spokesman for the Beja Congress. Department and call blocs strong margin and democratic organizations under any circumstances as it is not a member of the leadership positions in the central organization.
As expected, the appointment of a member of the ruling party in a leadership position of the Beja Congress has created a wave of anger amid the masses of the organization.
Representatives of the Beja Congress in England issued a statement calling for a change in the federal regime in Khartoum. A couple of days later, a statement was issued from the Foreign Offices of the Beja Congress that said they condemned the first statement.
The English group is headed by Mrs. Zeinab Issa Kabashi. The English statement was developed after a meeting took place to discuss the situation now that South Sudan had proclaimed independence. The group noted the [north] government was having a constitutional crisis, economic collapse, disturbances in security, and policies design to marginalize eastern Sudan in terms of community structure and economic development. Further reasons were offered, leading to an aggressive call for broad action against the existing government.
The first call for action in the statement called for democratic forces and civil society and the armed movements and the masses of eastern Sudan, and our children in the armed forces and the lovers of peace and democracy to engage in unified action to topple the revolutionary regime. This would allow the restoration of democracy and the independence of the judicial system in [north] Sudan.
The English statement decried the dictatorship and offered ideas for Beja people to accelerate the drop of the system. It closed with two powerful phrases. Long live the struggle of the Beja -
Glory and eternity for the martyrs of democracy.
In turn, the Foreign Office of the Beja Congress issued a statement that condemned the English statement and pointed out that Mrs. Zeinab Kabashi is not a member of the current central leadership. It pointed out that no consultation had occurred between the English group and the Sudan-based group before the English statement was released.
The Foreign Offices called for proper internal procedures for electing Beja Congress leaders and invited members to work together to avoid conflict and maintain security.
The source for the English statement appears to have been removed. Sorry.
The reply from the BC was published on مؤتمر البجا يوضح ويحذر
UPDATE: Turns out the Beja Congress has beenmore upset about internal elections.Here's a statement published on Saturday, August 6.
Beja Congress denies the statement in relation to Zainab Kabashi
In a statement was distributed widely denied that the leaders of the Beja Congress abroad any links to a statement published in some websites announced the appointment of one of the leaders of the National Congress in the Red Sea as secretary-general of the Beja Congress, said in a statement of leadership that it has extensive contacts between them was agreed to condemn the statement which was signed Mrs. Zainab Kabashi, especially with the professor Mr. Aboamna As is known to all is a leading member of the National Congress Party and former state secretary of his youth Red Sea.
The statement also said that Mrs. Zainab Kabashi England as head of the branch office has no authority to appoint members to the central office at home unless the purpose of its statement to form a new organization parallel to the Beja Congress and a pro-authority. Leaders also emphasized that Mr. Syed Aboamna one day a member of the organization of the Beja Congress also confirmed that he is not at all the meeting of the Office of the Beja Congress in England or anywhere else to discuss any of the topics referred to in the statement of Mrs. Zainab Kabashi.
The leaders confirmed that it has contacted all the organizations, movements and forces of the margin and civil society organizations and all the strong opposition and warned of the penetration of elements of power under the name of the Beja Congress and that the President of the Office of the Beja Congress in Britain did not grant authority to an official spokesman for the Beja Congress. Department and call blocs strong margin and democratic organizations under any circumstances as it is not a member of the leadership positions in the central organization.
As expected, the appointment of a member of the ruling party in a leadership position of the Beja Congress has created a wave of anger amid the masses of the organization.
July 25, 2011
Analysis: Bashir wisely let the south go
The flags have been waved, the anthem has been sung, and the new
currency will be in circulation this week: the Republic of South Sudan
has been launched, and is off to who knows where? Perdition, probably,
for it is a "pre-failed state", condemned by its extreme poverty, 15
percent literacy and bitter ethnic rivalries to more decades of violence
and misery. But what about the country it leaves behind?
It's telling that there is a South Sudan, but no North Sudan. What's left is still just Sudan. It's still the second-biggest country in Africa, and it still has four-fifths of the people it had before the south broke away. But it has lost a big chunk of its income: almost three-quarters of the old united country's oil was in the south. It's also an Arab country run by a dictator who has been in power for 22 years. So we know what comes next, don't we?
The dictator, President Omar al-Bashir, is unquestionably a Bad Man. He seized power in a military coup in 1989, and he is the first serving head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court. In 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in his conduct of the war in the rebellious province of Darfur. It added three counts of genocide last year. But he's not all bad.
He inherited a much bigger war, between the predominantly Muslim north of the country and what is now South Sudan. It was a squalid, dreadful affair that killed about two million southerners and drove another four million - about half the southern population - from their homes. Bashir has a lot of blood on his hands. But he eventually realised that the south could not be held by force, and he had the wisdom and courage to act on his insight.
In 2005 he ended the fighting by agreeing that the two parts of the country would be run by separate governments for six years, after which the south would hold a referendum on independence. He knew that the south would say "yes" overwhelmingly - in the end, 98.83 percent of southern Sudanese voted to have their own country - yet he never reneged on the deal.
"President Bashir and (his) National Congress Party deserve a reward," said Salva Kiir, now the president of South Sudan, after the votes were counted in February. And Bashir said: "We will come and congratulate and celebrate with you...We will not hold a mourning tent." His decision made him very vulnerable politically in the north, but he stuck to it for all these years, and as a result many tens of thousands of people who would have died are still alive.
That doesn't necessarily mean that north-south relations will be smooth after the South's independence. Most of the oil is in South Sudan, but the new country is landlocked: the oil can only be exported through pipelines that cross Sudan proper to reach the Red Sea. Yet there is not a deal on revenue-sharing yet, nor even on the border between the two countries.
Bashir's immediate problem is economic. The deal to split the oil revenue equally between north and south lapsed with South Sudan's independence, and he is bringing in harsh austerity measures and a new currency as part of a three-year "emergency programme" to stabilise the economy. But the price of food is already soaring in Khartoum as confidence in the Sudanese pound collapses.
Unaffordable food was a major factor in the popular revolts against oppressive Arab regimes in recent months, and Bashir is trying to insulate himself against that by promising stricter enforcement of Islamic law in Sudan. That may win him some support among the Muslim, Arabic-speaking majority, but by the same token it will further alienate the north's remaining religious and ethnic minorities. So more rebellions in the outlying regions.
On top of all that, Bashir will forever be seen, however unfairly, as the man who "lost" the south. His status as an indicted war criminal does him no harm with the majority population at home; his failure to crush the southerners by force is what really undermines him. So he may soon have to go abroad and live with his money.
He did one good thing in his life, and no good deed goes unpunished.
Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201107250194.html
It's telling that there is a South Sudan, but no North Sudan. What's left is still just Sudan. It's still the second-biggest country in Africa, and it still has four-fifths of the people it had before the south broke away. But it has lost a big chunk of its income: almost three-quarters of the old united country's oil was in the south. It's also an Arab country run by a dictator who has been in power for 22 years. So we know what comes next, don't we?
The dictator, President Omar al-Bashir, is unquestionably a Bad Man. He seized power in a military coup in 1989, and he is the first serving head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court. In 2009, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in his conduct of the war in the rebellious province of Darfur. It added three counts of genocide last year. But he's not all bad.
By promising stricter enforcement of Islamic law,
Bashir will alienate the north's remaining
religious and ethnic minorities.
He inherited a much bigger war, between the predominantly Muslim north of the country and what is now South Sudan. It was a squalid, dreadful affair that killed about two million southerners and drove another four million - about half the southern population - from their homes. Bashir has a lot of blood on his hands. But he eventually realised that the south could not be held by force, and he had the wisdom and courage to act on his insight.
In 2005 he ended the fighting by agreeing that the two parts of the country would be run by separate governments for six years, after which the south would hold a referendum on independence. He knew that the south would say "yes" overwhelmingly - in the end, 98.83 percent of southern Sudanese voted to have their own country - yet he never reneged on the deal.
"President Bashir and (his) National Congress Party deserve a reward," said Salva Kiir, now the president of South Sudan, after the votes were counted in February. And Bashir said: "We will come and congratulate and celebrate with you...We will not hold a mourning tent." His decision made him very vulnerable politically in the north, but he stuck to it for all these years, and as a result many tens of thousands of people who would have died are still alive.
That doesn't necessarily mean that north-south relations will be smooth after the South's independence. Most of the oil is in South Sudan, but the new country is landlocked: the oil can only be exported through pipelines that cross Sudan proper to reach the Red Sea. Yet there is not a deal on revenue-sharing yet, nor even on the border between the two countries.
Bashir's immediate problem is economic. The deal to split the oil revenue equally between north and south lapsed with South Sudan's independence, and he is bringing in harsh austerity measures and a new currency as part of a three-year "emergency programme" to stabilise the economy. But the price of food is already soaring in Khartoum as confidence in the Sudanese pound collapses.
Unaffordable food was a major factor in the popular revolts against oppressive Arab regimes in recent months, and Bashir is trying to insulate himself against that by promising stricter enforcement of Islamic law in Sudan. That may win him some support among the Muslim, Arabic-speaking majority, but by the same token it will further alienate the north's remaining religious and ethnic minorities. So more rebellions in the outlying regions.
On top of all that, Bashir will forever be seen, however unfairly, as the man who "lost" the south. His status as an indicted war criminal does him no harm with the majority population at home; his failure to crush the southerners by force is what really undermines him. So he may soon have to go abroad and live with his money.
He did one good thing in his life, and no good deed goes unpunished.
Gwynne Dyer is a London-based independent journalist whose articles are published in 45 countries.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201107250194.html
July 18, 2011
Christians are praying for Sudan
July 17, 2011
Rally against central government
On Saturday July 16, the Beja Congress held a rally against the authorities in Khartoum in Port Sudan.
Salah Barquin, a Beja Congress spokesman, warned the regime that a revolution of the hungry in Eastern Sudan will spread to all states in Sudan. He said that the people of the East are willing to rise against the rulers in Khartoum, adding that they were running out of patience.
Barquin said that they demand the restoration of occupied Halayeb (by Egypt) Alvagasha (by Ethiopia). They also call for the prosecution of those responsible for the killing of 23 Beja victims, who got killed by government troops in 2008 [sic].
[Editor's comment: probably they are referring to an event in 2005, see story from 2006, 2010.] .
This story was sourced from borglobe and Radio Dabanga
July 14, 2011
Kiir's speech at the SS celebration
photo from Gurtong
President Kiir addressed President Bashir of north Sudan, and Mr Moon, of the United Nations.First couple of paragraphs.
Your Excellency, Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir, President of the Republic of the Sudan, Your Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, Your Excellency Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguma, Mba- sogo, Chairperson of the African Union and President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Your Excellencies Heads of States and Governments, Your excellencies heads of delegations, Your Excellencies Sudanese political party leaders and leaders of the three branches of our Government, Distinguished members of the diplomatic corps and invited guests, the friends of South Sudan, and most importantly the people of South Sudan,
I welcome you all to this historic event in the name of Almighty God and in the name of the glorious revolution of the people of South Sudan.
Before I proceed with my address, may we rise up to observe a minute of silence in honor of our fallen heroes and heroines who paid the ultimate price for our freedom and dignity.Download a pdf copy.
Original at Sudan Vision
July 12, 2011
Website offers Beja language primer
Brian Morrow photo
The Beja Cultural Studies Center has opened up a website that features an entire language primer online. Readers can develop their vocabulary of the Bedawiet tribal language. Some audio samples are included that go with various words and phrases.
In addition, about 10 academic articles about the language are available, in English and French. This is a great resource for the Beja people. Make sure you visit the site today!
The Beja
Cultural Studies Center is located on the campus of Red Sea
University, in downtown Port Sudan, just a few blocks from the corniche
and the harbour.
July 11, 2011
South Sudan a new nation state
See a photo essay of the celebrations on Saturday July 9, 2011, at TIME magazine.
The Big Picture at Boston.com features 36 pics, going back to the referendum in January, 2011.
Al Jezeera reports. 1 minute 35 seconds.
July 4, 2011
Beja Congress calls for regime change
An unsubstantiated report?, press release?, news item?, calls for political change in Sudan.
auto-translate.
As the Beja Congress and as the "Front of Sudan to change" I call on the masses of the East, and all the nationalists, and the Democrats, and lovers of freedom, peace and organize themselves and engage in the national program to overthrow the ruling regime, which develops solutions to address the crises of Sudan in all directions, especially in the east, and west, and the Nuba Mountains, Kordofan and stop the bleeding, because the solutions and partial agreements has proven its failure and futility.
My loyal fans of the Sudanese people:
The exit from the crisis of Sudan (Eastern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Kordofan, Darfur), the treatment is not only dropping the regime to bring democracy and freedom.
Lived free, independent of the Sudanese people the glory and immortality to the martyrs of democracy and freedom
Zeinab Issa Kabashi
President of the Beja Congress, England
Arabic.
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