East Sudan promo video

This video was shown to all the participants at the Donor and Investment Conference in Kuwait. It offers a general tour of East Sudan.

Libyians express support for the east

Sudanese Minister of the Environment met recently with Libyan officials who announced pleasure with the Kuwait Conference in December, and then stated their own support for efforts at developing the east.

Additionally, the Libyans said they would help with development in the north of Sudan.

Sudan spokeman mention that half of the $600 million to be given for development in the east [as stated in the Easst Sudan Peace Agreement], half of the money has already been spent. No description is given for what the money purchased though...

http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com//modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=66712

Khartoum pressure in the east?

In an unsubstantiated report, an American Beja Congress representative said that the Bashir regime was applying more pressure in the east, just before the southern referendum, to control the region.

Ibrahim Taher, told al Qanat in Washington DC that the Bashir regime is setting up training camps in the Port Sudan area in order to prepare for launching extremists into action. Taher said the Iranians are pressuring the regime to maintain full control over the region which is very close to the southern borders of Egypt. The Beja leader fears the regime will use the time when the world is focusing on the south to strike in the East.

English translation: [original Arabic below]

Representative of the Beja warns of serious risks ahead of a referendum in the South 

The representative of the tribes of the Beja stationed in the east of Sudan warned of the serious dangers threatening the presence of majority ethnic group, the Beja of eastern Sudan and adjacent to the Egyptian border and Eritrea. The central authority in Khartoum seeks to control the region and its resources in Port Sudan, where in the east of the country it is the only outlet to the central authority of the Red Sea. and especially before the referendum on the south.
 
Ibrahim Al-Tahir, the representative of the National Conference of Beja in Washington, said in a rare interview to the reporter, that the escalation of repression by the authority of the Bashir regime came before the referendum in the south, which aims to arbitration control of the eastern Sudan. 

Tahir stressed that the Iranian regime put pressure on Khartoum to expand the pillars along the shore of the Sudanese Red Sea, and provide more facilities to the military presence of Iran's growing, aiming initially to sprawl to the east of Sudan and in particular to the port of Port Sudan, and to areas near the Egyptian border. 

The National Conference of Beja, I object to the relevant community, the presence of training bases for terrorist groups in eastern Sudan, are supervised by Sudanese intelligence. 

ممثل البيجا يحذر من مخاطر جسيمة قبل استفتاء الجنوب
حذر ممثل قبائل البيجا المتمركزة شرق السودان، من مخاطر جسيمة تهدد الوجود الاتني للأكثرية البيجية شرق السودان والملاصقة للحدود المصرية والاريترية, وذلك من قبل السلطة المركزية في الخرطوم, التي تسعى إلى السيطرة على المنطقة ومواردها في بور سودان, وخاصة قبل الاستفتاء على الجنوب, حيث أن شرق البلاد يعتبر المنفذ الوحيد للسلطة المركزية للبحر الأحمر.
وأضاف إبراهيم الطاهر, ممثل المؤتمر الوطني للبيجا بواشنطن في حديث نادر لمراسل , أن تصاعد عمليات القمع من قبل سلطة نظام البشير جاء قبل الاستفتاء في الجنوب, والذي يهدف إلى تحكيم السيطرة على شرق السودان.
وشدد الطاهر على أن النظام الإيراني يضغط على الخرطوم من أجل توسيع دعائمه على طول الشاطئ السوداني للبحر الأحمر, ومنح المزيد من التسهيلات العسكرية للوجود الإيراني المتنامي والهادف أصلا إلى الامتداد نحو شرق السودان وبالذات إلى منفذ بور سودان, وإلى المناطق القريبة من الحدود المصرية.
وقال إن المؤتمر الوطني للبيجا, أعترض لدي الأوساط ذات الشأن, على تواجد قواعد تدريب لمجموعات إرهابية في شرق السودان, تشرف عليها أجهزة الاستخبارات السودانية.

http://freesouthsudanmediacenter.com/2011/01/08/125/

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Kuwait signs agreements with Sudan

As a follow-up to the recent Donor and Investment Conference, government officials met in Khartoum on Tuesday December 21, 2010, and 11 agreements were signed between Kuwait and Sudan.

The Kuwaiti deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs launched the Joint Sudanese Kuwaiti Ministerial Committee when they met with Sudanese President Bashir, and the Sudan foreign minister, Ali Karti.

Agreements included an $80 million contribution toward the construction of the Atbara Sitate River Dam. Additional agreements were signed in areas of youth and sport, culture and arts, investment, education, security, mutual accreditation of national maritime certificates, commercial cooperation, animal and fish resources, information  and agricultural cooperation.>

Here's the article.
http://www.borglobe.com/25.html?m7:post=us-80-m-loan-from-kuwait-to-sudan-for-the-construction-of-dam-at-atbara-river

also located here
http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=65540

UPDATE: Dec 24. Comments by Ali Karti noted:
http://allafrica.com/stories/201012240578.html 

UPDATE: April 30, 2011 Agreement approved by Sudan government for $175 million
"The cabinet also approved a 175 million dollars agreement to fund the establishment of Upper Atbara and Setite Dams.

Sharia law in the north?

President Bashir was reported by the BBC as planning to increase the Islamic role in society in Northern Sudan, should the south choose to separate in the upcoming referendum.

"Mr Bashir said the constitution would then be changed, making Islam the only religion, Sharia the only law and Arabic the only official language."

Read the whole article.

Beja style sticks

A discussion active on a weapons forum looks at various Beja sticks.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=13061

Smuggling people through Beja territory

In this interesting article, the author outlines a disturbing story. Young women are kidnapped in Eritrea and perhaps Ethiopia, transported north through Sudan, to Egypt, and across the Sinai peninsula to Suadi Arabia where they are sold for $2000 to work as housemaids.

The Rashaida tribe are implicated as the perpetrators of these activities. A number of links provide circumstantial evidence.

http://awate.com/wikileaks-rashaida-and-egypt/

US Envoy Scott Gration interviewed

"A greater share of the pie."

The United States of America has a Department of State, responsible for international affairs. One of the people assigned to Sudan is a special envoy, Mr. Scott Gration. He is currently visiting Sudan, and he held a press conference over the telephone, the transcript of the questions and answers is on the internet. (The photo above is from another event.)

Mr Gration answered a question about possible future of Sudan. If the south separates, perhaps the east and the west will also separate?

MR. GRATION: "We are working hard with other members of the international community to ensure that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is implemented fully. And when that happens, it gives the people of the South an opportunity to choose their future, whether they’ll be united with the North or a separate country. There is no other process in Sudan that would – that I know of that would result in separate countries or a federalized system.

"The fact is I believe that the Sudanese Government here in Khartoum needs to work very hard to ensure that the people of Darfur are integrated fully into the North and that the Beja people and the people of Port Sudan in that region, the eastern peaks of Sudan, are integrated fully. And this is why the negotiations in Darfur – I mean, and in Doha are so important, because they lay out a future that includes power sharing, that includes well sharing, so that these regions get a greater share of the pie, and they include other issues that will actually unite the north in a way that listens to the needs of the people and does what a responsible government should do, which is to provide those public sector services, build infrastructure, and that will allow people to continue their lives with prosperity and dignity and human rights."

No mention was made in this interview of the recent Donors and Investment Conference in Kuwait.

Joint oversight commission formed

On December 21, officials from Kuwait and Sudan will sign agreements at the first joint technical ministerial commission meeting. Deals in investment on land transport, fine arts, culture and information, animal resources and trade will be signed, as a follow-up to the Donor and Investment Conference.

http://smc.sd/eng/news-details.html?rsnpid=30787

UPDATE: President Bashir gets on board with this coordinating effort after a briefing by his assistant, the (former?) Beja Congress leader Musa Mohamed Ahmed.

More reviews of the conference

News sources are picking up the story, but the articles are mostly reprints...

Yahoo

The Daily Star in Lebanon.

International development news agency Devex .

The cabinet is briefed on the conference

President Bashir calls Kuwait to say thank you for hosting the conference, reported in SudanVision.

A journalist based in Saudi Arabia uses a Koranic verse to encourage the giving of thanks. He then expresses gratitude to two of the key donors at the conference.

A Sudanese site reporting government activities describes the conference results.

BUT the United Nations Development Programme has a good press release worth reading for a full picture.

Presidential assistant and conference organizer Dr. Mustafa Osman Ismail likes Germany.

The Arab Times identifies various amounts of pledges.

Egypt's leading newspaper Al-Ahram is now on the internet - from November 26, 2010. Ahram Online published a review of the conference.

Qatar Tribune

Christians pray for Sudan on December 5

From around the world, thousands of Christians will be praying for Sudan on Sunday. December 5 has been designated the "International Day of Prayer for Sudan." It's oriented toward praying for the referendum coming up in January.
Read the short prayer promotional page.

Also, south Sudan leaders have called for 40 days of prayer beginning on December 1. This will lead up and end on the day of voting on January 9, 2011.
President Kiir attended the opening session. Read more about the "season of prayer".

More conference reviews

Sudan's presidential assistant Musa Mohammad Ahmed addresses the opening session of the international donors and investors meeting for the development of east Sudan, in Kuwait City, on December 1, 2010.

 In Kuwait, an article covers the main points. Worth reading, since it's longer than most of the others linked below.

A few notes about the content of Musa Ahmed's speech to the conference.

A cynical review by a Beja man on his blog.  The English looks like an automatic translation from Arabic.

From China. They say they attach importance to the traditional friendship with Sudan, but the reality is often that they don't bother to hire local labour to help them with their projects.

From England. The BBC writes up an article full of generalities, and short on facts.

The excellent review article by James Calderwood, published in the National, out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Just three sentences from Bikyamasr, based in Egypt. And the developing online paper [it's in beta testing], the Daily News Egypt dot com has a bigger write up.

KippReport is an online Middle East business magazine. They had a little item.

In Sudan, the United Nations Mission in Sudan [UNMIS] noted Kuwait's $500 million gift on their media source /www.mirayafm.org/

MORE: Qatar media offers a wrap-up, with a view on expected returns on investment.

Iran news had a lead-up article.

An Iranian students news service notes that additional political connections were enhanced at the conference, in this case, between Iran and Syria. Tunisia connected with Kuwait.

Sudan Vision posts a review online on Saturday, December 4. And an editorial that is gushy in its happy review.

The United Nations has an Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The OCHA has a news website. A small article was written at Relief Web; the site is worth exploring for information on aid efforts after worldwide disasters and such.

The United Arab Emirates News Service published a bulletin.

Haris Silajdzic, the outgoing chairman of the presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina offers Bosnian help to Kuwait for their work in east Sudan.

Reuters Africa. The Voice of America.  Bloomberg News.

Google News references 24 articles.

Excellent review of conference

Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah (L) and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki (R) sit together during the opening session of the international donors and investors meeting for the development of east Sudan, in Kuwait City, on December 1, 2010, as reported in the IndiaTimes.


A conference in Kuwait aimed at raising money for the impoverished region of East Sudan secured more than US$3.5 billion (Dh12.9bn) in pledges, officials said yesterday, while some [Beja] participants raised concerns that the money would be misspent.

James Calderwood captures the main themes of the conference in this short article.

WHAT USAID said

Good morning

Mr Chairman, excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Like others I would like to congratulate the government of Kuwait and the Government of Sudan for organizing this very important conference.

As this conference has highlighted, eastern Sudan has high potential but is a neglected area with extremely poor   development indicators.

Regional development will enhance the livelihoods of the local population, diversify and increase the national economy, and strengthen regional trade.

USAID has provided almost $10 million annually for the east through the UN international organizations as well as Sudanese NGOs, providing food security, water, sanitation and also demining assistance.

Agriculture is clearly a key driver for development in the east.

Once Sudan's granary, much of the east has strong potential to improve subsistence agriculture and
export oriented agriculture.

We believe that agriculture in the east could serve as one of the most important foundations for building sustainable livelihoods especially for women, for the region and potentially providing substantial agricultural
exports destined for east african and middle eastern markets.

In the 1980s USAID was the largest donor in Sudan providing assistance for the agriculture sector.

Given the right circumstances, we would look to again expand our assistance in agriculture again including in the east.

Like others we are encouraged by the recent announcement from the government lifting travel restrictions in the east and we look forward to getting out there as quickly as we can.

In conclusion USAID is pleased and honoured to be able participate with all of you in this important conference
and to hear from the many interested public- and private-sector partners especially those from the arab world.

The United States encourages Arab partners to play a leading role in assisting all parts of Sudan - including the east, in the post-CPA period.

The USA charges d'affair in Sudan visited eastern Sudan just a few weeks ago, as we heard from his Canadian colleague, and USAid plans to send technical teams soon with our government colleagues.

Like others we would  encourage the government of Sudan to organize an ongoing coordinating form in Khartoum  for recovery and development programs in the east as follow up to this important conference.

We look forward to engaging in this process to the fullest extent possible

Thank you.

Closing Session - Part 1. Starting 4:30 mark.