The government army attacked the village of Shoba 7 kilometers
South
Kabkabyia, North Darfur. The inhabitants of Shoba are from the Fur
ethnic group. The attack started early morning Friday 25.7.2003 and
continued this Saturday. Shoba village is divided into two parts,
Shoba east and Shoba west. The soldiers sealed both parts of the
village and started killing the villagers of Shoba east Friday. Today
Saturday the killing is continuing in Shoba West. No person was
allowed out of the village, the injured can not reach Kabkabyia. The
following were killed in Shoba east Friday. Many of the deaths are
among the elders:
1. Ismail Adam Tarra
2. Mohamed Adam Tarra
3. Ishag Abkr Haroon
4. Ali Adam Suleiman
5. Noreldin Siddig Adam Suleiman
6. Mohammed Idris Adam Suleiman
7. Mohammed Ishag Ateem
8. Yahia Mohammed Salami
9. Siddig Adam Suleiman
10. Mohammed Eid
11. Abdalla Beldi
12. Mohammed Ahmed Bukhari
13. Musa Da'wood
14. Adam Mohammed Musa
Those injured are:
1. Khatir salih Mohammed
2. Haleema Abdalla Ahmed
3. Adam Mohammed Ahmed Shogar
The Government soldiers arrested 3 persons and transferred them to
Kabkabyia. The detainees are:
1. Abu Gasim Musa Eltahir 23yrs
2. Mohammed Mohammed Tahir 37yrs
3. Suleiman Tahir Abdalla 50yrs (Shiekh = Native
Administrator of the village)
There is a great fear their lives are at risk.
Reported deaths on Saturday 26.7.2007
1. Abdo Ahmed Sheikh
2. Ahmed Adam Hussein
3. Ahmed Seif
4. Adam Bilal Al Nour
5. Suleiman Bilal Al Nour
6. Ali Abkr
7. Adam Ibrahim Abu Asha
8. Halima Abkr Sharshar
9. Salih Adam Osman
10. Gamal Younis Abdalla Gumma'
11. Adam Abdalla Idris
12. Abdalla Yahia Ahmed
13. Abdel Razig Abdel Karim
14. Mohammed Adam Ahmed
15. Mubark Khalil Ishag
16. Younis Abdalla Gumma'
17. Halima Sharshar
18. Mohammed Musa Tahir
19. Mekki Ahmed Adam
20. Adam Adam Suleiman
21. Hassan Abdalla Sunga
Injured:
1. Younis Adam Abkr
2. Kaltoum Ishag Mohammed
3. Ahmed Taha Abdel Salam
4. Mohammed Abdel Rasoul Osman
5. Adam Mohammed Adam
Eric Reeves
July 20, 2003
As if the Machakos peace process for Sudan were not sufficiently
endangered by recent destructive comments from US special envoy John
Danforth, and by a Khartoum regime that is expediently working to
make a just peace agreement impossible, Egypt has chosen this critical
moment to intrude forcefully its own narrowly self-interested view of
Sudan's conflict.Read More....
BY JOSHUA EISENMAN and JOSHUA ROGIN
FOR THE STRAITS TIMES
AMERICAN policy towards Africa received a long-overdue check-up this
month when United States President George W. Bush's whirlwind tour of
Africa and tales of Iraqi designs on Niger's uranium attracted the
Washington spotlight.
More overdue, however, is an examination of China's role as an
emerging power in this volatile, yet resource-rich, region.
Beijing is restlessly searching abroad for resources to meet its
citizens' thirst for modernity. Despite its vast land mass, the
People's Republic of China has just 2.3 per cent of the world's known
oil reserves and 1 per cent of natural gas deposits.
Chinese foreign policy is thus largely focused on the development of
fuel resources to power the economy, and one continent it has long
looked to is Africa.
Here, Sudan ranks high on China's collaboration list. Sino-Sudanese
cooperation dates back to the 1970s. Since then, China has provided
roughly US$780 million (S$1.4 billion) in economic aid to Sudan,
building more than 30 projects.
In 2000, according to recently declassified State Department
documents, China agreed to finance and build a 212-megawatt gas-fired
power station and an electrical power generation station, provide a
grant agreement worth US$2.5 million for 'any project' deemed worthy
by Sudanese officials, and promised diplomatic support to remove
international sanctions.
Beijing has used economic, diplomatic and military influence to secure
Sudan's rich oil reserves.
China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a state-run company,
holds the largest share - 40 per cent - in the Greater Nile Petroleum
Operating Company (GNPOC). GNPOC is Sudan's largest oil production
project and was founded with Petronas of Malaysia, Arakis Energy of
Canada, and local company Sudapet.
According to Sudanese figures, the total production of the three oil
fields that CNPC has interests in is expected to increase to 400,000
barrels per day (bpd) next year and 500,000 bpd in 2005.
Under the agreement that established GNPOC, 80 per cent of oil profits
(after exploration and construction costs have been recouped) go
directly into the coffers of the Sudanese government.
In March this year, Sudan's only Western financier, Talisman Energy,
sold its interest in GNPOC. The Canadian firm, which had purchased
Arakis' 25 per cent stake in 1998, came under pressure from the US
legal system, human rights groups and investors for its role in
promoting violence in Sudan.
Talisman is now facing class-action litigation based on the provisions
of the Alien Tort Claims Act. Popular with activists and victims
groups, this 200-year-old statute has been used since 1983 to sue
foreign nationals and corporations in American federal courts. Through
this legislation, foreign firms are forced to accept responsibility
for their host countries' actions.
Talisman is being called to task for its role in a Sudan that, say
plaintiffs, engages in ethnic cleansing and has 'annihilated villages
by helicopter gunships to clear the way for oil exploration'.
American jurisdiction over foreign firms can only be enforced when a
company has significant presence in the US marketplace. As a result,
Western companies that own American subsidiaries or have raised money
on Wall Street now must choose between cheap oil deals with oppressive
governments and continued access to US markets.
Although Chinese oil companies are listed on the New York Stock
Exchange, their lack of any tangible presence in the US keeps them
insulated from this still controversial law.
As Western oil firms reluctantly sell their positions in Sudan, they
leave a void which less scrupulous companies from the developing world
are waiting to fill. For example, Talisman sold its stake in GNPOC to
ONGC Videsh, an Indian company.
According to the US Department of Energy, oil production has become
the primary source of income for the government of Sudan, accounting
for around 70 per cent of Sudan's total export earnings. If trends
continue, this will mean more oil for China, more guns for Sudan's
military and more terror for non-Arabs in the disputed areas.
MORE VIOLENCE SEEN
THE latest round of peace talks between the Sudan regime and the
Southern People's Liberation Movement failed this month. Last Monday,
government spokesman Sayyed al-Khateib stated in the official Al Anbaa
newspaper that the peace process 'may get protracted and therefore we
cannot say that August or September will be the final date'.
Delegates on both sides cite autonomous control of the rebel areas and
the application of Islamic syariah law in the capital city of Khartoum
as the contentious issues. Negotiations have given Khartoum and the
rebels valuable time to regroup and rearm, and it seems certain that
bullets will fly again on the southern plains this autumn.
The world business community has welcomed China into its ranks, but if
international laws and norms cannot be enforced, then the playing
field is uneven. Either through their own compliance or the
strengthening of international law, Chinese companies must adhere to
global standards. If they do not, standards will slip even further as
other nations' companies, in an attempt to cut corners and remain
competitive, adopt Chinese methods. The consequences of these methods
can be seen on the battlefields of southern Sudan.
 Joshua Eisenman is a fellow at the New America Foundation, a
centrist public policy think-tank in Washington DC. Joshua Rogin is a
research analyst for the law firm representing the people of southern
Sudan against Talisman Energy and the government of Sudan
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press Writer
294 words
16 July 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - The House has passed a resolution condemning
slavery in
Sudan and asking the Bush administration to push for sanctions
against that
country.
The resolution, which passed days after President George W. Bush
returned from
Africa, says the United States should encourage the United Nations
to require
annual investigations of abuses in Sudan.
In April, the U.N. Commission on Human Rights voted to drop
requirements for
annual reports on human rights violations in Sudan and make the
country
eligible for financial funding.
The House resolution, which passed unanimously Wednesday, asked that
the
requirements be reinstated.
"This is unacceptable and the United States Congress should be on
record
condemning the Sudanese regime and the inaction of the UNCHR," said
Rep.
Michael Capuano, who sponsored the resolution.
Capuano took up the issue at the request of the Boston-based American
Anti-Slavery Group. "We wanted Congress to continue pushing the
administration
to make slavery in Sudan a human rights priority," said the group's
spokeswoman, Laura Barrett.
During his five-day tour through Africa last week, Bush participated
in
discussions on efforts to help end bloodshed in Sudan.
Last year, he signed a get-tough-on-Sudan resolution meant to prod
the
government of Africa's largest nation toward ending its 20-year-old
war.
Since 1983, some 2 million people have died in Sudan's civil war
between the
Muslim-dominated government and rebels seeking greater autonomy for
the
south.
From the outside, the conflict is often viewed as a religious war,
but
competition for oil, land and other resources also fuel it.
Terrorist leader
Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan for years.
The Chairman of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Commander
in Chief of Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA) Dr. John Garang de Mabior
met US Special Envoy on the Sudan Senator John Danforth yesterday July 17th
2003 in Nairobi, Kenya. Senator Danforth is visiting the Region and had discussions
in Cairo and Khartoum with President Mubarak and General El Beshir on the Peace
Process in the Sudan.
The meeting between the SPLM Chairman and Senator Danforth was candid and frank. Senator Danforth delivered a message from President Bush to Dr. Garang in which the President expressed his intense personal involvement and commitment to a just, fair and lasting peace in the Sudan. The Chairman appreciated the continuous personal commitment of President Bush in the search for peaceful settlement of the conflict in the Sudan. He urged the American Administration and the Troika (Norway, UK and USA) to bring pressure to bear on the GOS so that they return to the peace talks which have been scheduled by IGAD Secretariat to take place on 23rd July 2003.
The SPLM Chairman reiterated the Movement’s commitment and confidence in the IGAD Mediation under the Chairmanship of the Republic of Kenya and the Region as the only viable and credible forum that has taken us nearer to achieving peace in the Sudan. In this regards the SPLM/SPLA Chairman Dr. Garang reaffirmed SPLM acceptance of the Draft Framework for the resolution of the Outstanding Issues in the peace process as the basis of negotiations with the Government of Sudan (GOS). The Draft Framework that contained the sticky issues in the peace process was presented to the two parties by the IGAD mediators in the last session that took place in the Rift Valley town of Nakuru.
Although the Draft Framework does not address all the concerns nor satisfies the perspective of the SPLM/SPLA on some important and critical issues of the conflict nevertheless, the Movement recognizes that the Document contains some elements for a just and lasting peace and was therefore prepared to use it for negotiations with the other side.
Unfortunately, the GOS came unprepared for the talks and torpedoed the Draft Framework despite the regime’s empty and false promises to the Sudanese people that peace was at the corner. The National Islamic Front (NIF) did not only shoot down the Framework and virtually walked out of the talks but attacked and abused the IGAD Secretariat, the Envoys and Observers as well as the Resource Persons by using uncivilized and crude language which is typical of ideological zealots. The international community has invested their time, efforts and resources in the Sudan peace process and therefore deserves gratitude and appreciation instead of unnecessary tirades.
Finally, the SPLM/SPLA assures the Sudanese people in particular and the international community in general that the Movement will return to the table on July 23rd 2003 as requested by the mediators and will be ready to discuss the Draft Framework as a basis to engage the GOS directly so as to resolved the outstanding issues therein in a holistic manner inorder to bring the war in our country to a final end.
SIGNED:
Dr. Samson L. Kwaje
Commissioner for Information and
Official Spokesman SPLM/LA
For the last 17 years, parts of northern Uganda, predominantly
those
inhabited by the Acholi ethnic community within Gulu, Kitgum, and Pader
districts, have been caught up in a devastating rebellion fought between
the so-called Lords Resistance Army (LRA) - led by former Catholic
catechist Joseph Kony - and the Museveni government and the Ugandan army
(the Ugandan People's Defence Force or UPDF). The extent of this unrest
can be measured by the fact that up to 800,000 people have been
displaced by rebel activity or forcibly relocated by the Ugandan army.
Gulu hosts the bulk of these internally displaced persons (IDPs),
estimated at about 400,000, and in Kitgum camps have spontaneously
emerged to accommodate some 100,000 IDPs.READ
MORE...
KHARTOUM, July 14 (AFP) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir
defended
Islamic law and told Kenyan-based mediators they can "go to hell"
if
they insist on pushing a draft peace settlement rejected by his
negotiators.
Beshir was giving his first reaction to a draft that mediators
from
the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) presented at
the latest round of negotiations with southern rebels in Kenya that
ended Saturday.
During a speech to farmers south of here, Beshir told the mediators
to "come up with a reasonable alternative, otherwise they have to
dissolve the document in water and drink it", state-run Omdurman Radio
reported.
If the mediators insisted on the draft, "let IGAD and those
behind it
go to hell", Beshir said.
It was not clear if Beshir was using such strong language to
counter
possible pressure from Islamists in his government, appeal to
constituents, or improve Khartoum's stance when peace talks resume
later this month.
His speech at Nur al-Dinn, about 150 kilometers (90 miles) south
of
here, was laced with references to Islamic (Sharia) law and how
Sudanese government troops had fought a 20-year war to defend Islam.
The president stressed that his government "is committed
to peace but
not to surrender", according to the radio.
One of the bones of contention at the Kenya talks has been the
government's refusal to suspend Islamic law in the capital Khartoum
during the transition period when mediators had proposed that the city
serve as the joint capital.
The government also rejected a proposal to carve out an area
of
Khartoum and designate it the joint capital, according to the rebel
Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
Islamic law applies in all government-controlled regions of Sudan.
The spokesman for Sudan's negotiating team, Sayyed al-Khateib,
told
the official Al-Anbaa newspaper that the status of Khartoum and other
issues were the main stumbling-blocks.
Khateib said the draft settlement his delegation rejected on
Saturday
contradicted the so-called Machakos Protocol signed a year ago in
Kenya that provided for a united Sudan during a six-year transition
period.
The IGAD draft "played down this unity and appeared to
almost remove
any link between the south and the federal government (in Khartoum)",
he said.
He said the draft made the south "a monopoly of the (rebel)
movement,
excluding other southern political forces from power".
Khateib said this and a proposed formation of a council of
ministers "will make the south almost a separate entity without any
relationship with the federal government".
Though he conceded the word "secularism" was not mentioned
in the
text, "what was proposed in it about the national capital renders the
Machakos Protocol meaningless", he said.
Asked whether a date could be set for signing a peace agreement,
Khateib replied: "The negotiation is a process that may get protracted
and therefore we cannot say that August or September will be the final
date."
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the chief Kenyan mediator General
Lazaro Sumbeiywo and Beshir have all previously expressed hope a
settlement could be struck by August.
Talks with the SPLA are scheduled to resume in the western Kenyan
town
of Nakuru on July 23.
Meanwhile, Riak Quai, vice president of Sudan's ruling National
Congress party, asked Arab League chief Amr Mussa to urge IGAD to
withdraw its draft peace accord.
IGAD, which is backed by the United States, has long overshadowed
any
Arab attempts to mediate an end to the war in Sudan.
The SPLA has been fighting since 1983 to end domination of the
mainly
Christian and animist south by the Arab Muslim government in Khartoum.
The conflict in Africa's largest country has cost an estimated
1.5
million lives and displaced about four million people.
is gravely concerned
for the repressive steps the Sudan Government deliberately planned for
and did finally execute with court decision via the National Press
Council and the State Security Department to silence the Khartoum
Monitor as an independent newspaper.
SHRO-Cairo has repeatedly condemned the unlawful determination,
planning, and haunting measures of the government's censorial body to
stop the Monitor from publication. The Sudan Government must not
censor the freedom of expression that the editorial board of the
Monitor has been legally pursuing, in accordance with the law and
freedom of the press.
The active engagement of Sudan Government in acts of terrorism,
enslavement, and genocide of the Sudanese indigenous population of the
South, especially the Bahr al-Ghazal region, has been thoroughly
investigated and strongly condemned since the early 1990s. The heinous
crimes committed by the government's controlled-militias and the
People's Defense Forces (PDF) are not any secretive acts or classified
state security issues: terrorism, application of the Jihad religious
wars to justify enslavement and other transgression of the people's
genuine freedoms and fundamental rights are heinous crimes against
humanity.
The United Nations Human Rights Commission, regular reports
by the
United Nations Special Reporter on the Situation of Human Rights in
the Sudan, as well as authenticated reports by national and
international human rights organizations and democracy groups have
been widely published with firm condemnation of the government's
criminal part in this scourge. The Organization further notes that the
Sudan Government has been strongly urged by the Commission and the UN
Reporters, in particular, to eradicate the scourge of enslavement
through the legal effort of the security forces, the Judiciary, the
Minister of Justice, and the other relevant departments in close
collaboration with the concerned families and indigenous communities,
as well as civil society groups in and outside the country.
The government's short-lived announcements in this respect were
met,
despite their insufficiency, with encouraging remarks from the
international human rights community that firmly asked the government
to increase the effort with all parties concerned, especially the
families of the victims, as well as the Sudanese and the non-Sudanese
human rights organizations and democracy groups to find the victims,
compensate them, and deal with the wrong-doers in accordance with the
law. The Commission, the International Community, and the People of
Sudan have continuously urged the government to put a final stop on
this scourge, which is a most shameful crime against humanity.
The government's shameless unwillingness, doctrinal manipulation,
and
deliberate failure to eradicate the enslavement of the innocent
citizens of Bahr al-Ghazal and other regions, especially the children
and the women victimized by the government-controlled PDFS and
militias, is extra-crimes against humanity: not only that the Sudan
Government failed to take the required measures in this concern. The
government persecuted the human rights groups that investigated with
authenticated reports the ongoing slavery in the country, including
SHRO-Cairo, and has harshly dealt with the independent writers who
exposed the scourge to the public.
The Khartoum Monitor's publications in these issues are regular
journalism for which the newspaper or any of its editors should be
protected by law from the illegal planning or the non-intellectual
raids of the government-controlled press council, security
departments, and security-incited court decision.
* SHRO-Cairo asks the Sudan Government to take all necessary
measures
to eradicate slavery in the Sudan, according to the international
norms and the specific recommendations of the UN Commission and
Special Reporters to the government in this matter.
The government must immediately:
* Allow the Khartoum Monitor, as well as the other independent
newspapers, to perform journalist work without censor.
* Free the Press from state censor in accordance with international
human rights norms.
* Abrogate the Act of the Press, which provides for the repressive
functioning of the National Press Council as a censorial, non-
intellectual, Security Council.
* The Sudan Government must act with responsibility towards
the needs
of the country at this critical stage of the peace process, which
needs the full assurance of public freedoms to help create the climate
conducive for the just and permanent peace.
SOAT Press Release: 7 July 2003
One Man Dead and Another in a Coma
SOAT has received confirmed information that Mr. Jum'a Omer
Alnur, 31,
who was arrested on 19 May in Dongola, Northern Sudan, by the National
Security Agency, is in a critical condition in hospital. He was
arrested along with 4 other people; all of them belong to the Nuba
ethnic group. Mr. Jum'a, who is a tailor by trade and a political
activist, is reported to have been severely tortured and currently he
is in a coma in the Intensive Care Unit of Khartoum Teaching Hospital.
He was admitted to the hospital after his ealth severely deteriorated
due to the torture inflicted on him by ten NSA's agents
Anther man who was arrested with him, Mr. Awad Ibrahim Gamar,
a
graduate and a restaurant employee, was also severely tortured. It
was reported that Mr. Awad has died after 24 hours in custody
according to Amnesty International. For more detail see AI urgent
action of 17 June 2003 UA 172/03 - "AI index:AFR 54/043/2003 "
SOAT has received confirmation that NSA officers participated
in the
torture of Mr. Jum'a using instruments such as a water pipe, an
electric wire and a stick. Acid was also thrown onto his body. He was
subsequently transferred to the Kidney Unit of Khartoum Hospital on 23
June after his health deteriorated and to the Abdominal Unit on 26
June. Later on the same day, Mr. Jum'a fell into a coma and was taken
to Intensive Care.
Background:
Mr. Awad and Mr. Jum'a were arrested along with 3 other men:
Abu Nagi
Al Amin Alnur, Jum'a Mahmoud and Ramadan Ismail on may 19 while they
were attending a meeting at Mr. Omar's house . The men have
reportedly been accused of being traitors and attempting to incite the
people of the Nuba against the Sudanese government.
Mr. Awad's body was sent to his family and received by the tribal
leaders. There was no medical assessment or a post mortem examination.
Abu Nagi Al Amin Alnur, Jum'a Mahmoud and Ramadan Ismail continue
to
be held in detention without access to family or lawyers. SOAT is
gravely concerned that they are also being subjected to torture and
maltreatment.
SOAT urges the Sudanese government to:
1) Take all necessary measures to ensure the physical and
psychological integrity of Abu Nagi Al Amin Alnur, Jum'a Mahmoud and
Ramadan Ismail
2) Immediately disclose the whereabouts of Jum'a Mahmoud and
Ramadan Ismail and to allow their families access to visit them
3) Order their immediate release in the absence of valid legal
charges, or if legitimate charges exist, bring them before an
impartial tribunal and guarantee procedural rights at all times.
4) Ensure that the three men have access to legal advice
5) Guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms
throughout Sudan in accordance with national laws and international
human rights standards.
The above recommendations should be sent in appeals to the following
addresses:
His Excellency Lieutenant General Omar Hassan al-Bashir
President of the Republic of Sudan
President's Palace
PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 24911 783223
Mr Ali Mohamed Osman Yassin
Minister of Justice and Attorney General
Ministry of Justice
Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 24911 788941
Mr Mustafa Osman Ismail
Minister of Foreign Affairs
PO Box 873, Khartoum, Sudan
Fax: + 24911 779383
Dr Yasir Sid Ahmed
Advisory Council for Human Rights
PO Box 302
Khartoum, Sudan
Sudan
Fax: + 24911 770883
His Excellency Ambassador Mr. Ibrahim Mirghani Ibrahim,
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Sudan to the United Nations in
Geneva,
PO Box 335,
1211 Geneva,
Switzerland,
Fax: +4122 731 26 56,
E-mail: mission.sudan@ties.itu.int.
SOAT is international human rights organisation established
in the UK
in 1993. If you have any questions about this or any other SOAT
WASHINGTON-- The United States Commission on International Religious
Freedom (USCIRF), an independent and bipartisan federal agency, has
written to President Bush urging him to raise with Nigerian President
Olusegun Obasanjo the need to take action to end recent Muslim-
Christian
violence that threatens one of the most strategically important
nations
in Africa and to underscore with African leaders the importance of
actively supporting a just peace in Sudan.
"In Nigeria, recent Muslim-Christian violence that has
killed thousands
since 1999 and threatens to divide the country," said USCIRF Chair
Felice D. Gaer. In its letter, the USCIRF states that the expansion
of
Islamic law (Sharia) into the criminal codes of several northern states
in Nigeria has sparked much of the recent violence. "Some specific
steps that President Bush could urge Nigerian President Obasanjo to
take
to reduce such violence include publicly condemning religious
intolerance and bringing those responsible for communal violence to
justice," said Ms. Gaer.
In Sudan, African governments should use their influence with
both
parties to the conflict to urge compliance with commitments made as
part
of the ongoing peace negotiations. Earlier this year the USCIRF called
for both Sudan and Nigeria to be placed on the U.S. list of "countries
of particular
concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. The
Administration has placed Sudan on that list and the President signaled
that peace is a major priority.
The text of the letter follows:
Dear Mr. President,
On behalf of the U.S. Commission on International Religious
Freedom, I
am writing to urge you to raise with Nigerian President Olusegun
Obasanjo the need to advance religious freedom in his country. We also
urge that you raise with African leaders the importance of actively
supporting a
just peace in Sudan. In your recent speech to the Corporate Council of
Africa, you said the United States will be "fully engaged in a broad,
concerted effort to help Africans find peace, to fight disease, to
build
prosperity, and to improve their own lives." We wholeheartedly agree
with these goals, but we also hope you will engage African leaders
about
the importance of protecting internationally recognized human rights,
including religious freedom. These are critical foundations for
securing
real peace, stability, and democracy in Africa.
In Nigeria, recent Muslim-Christian violence that has killed
thousands
since 1999 threatens to divide the country and undermine one of the
most
strategically important nations in Africa. The expansion of Islamic law
(Sharia) into the criminal codes of several northern states has sparked
much of the recent violence and places at risk the rights of both
Muslims and non-Muslims. Presently, a woman
convicted of adultery faces a sentence of death by stoning. A ban on
alcohol sales, and gender segregation on public transportation, shows
that at least some aspects of the new Sharia codes can be imposed on
non-Muslims.
In northern Nigeria, Christians report that they are hindered
by local
Muslim-controlled governments from building or repairing houses of
worship and face official or officially sanctioned discrimination in
the
media, education, and participation in government. Muslim leaders in
southern Nigeria, where Muslims are a minority, voice many of the same
complaints.
The Commission recommends that you urge Nigerian President Obasanjo
to
take the following steps to protect religious freedom and to reduce
religious violence:
1) Publicly and vigorously condemn religious intolerance and
discrimination.
2) Bring those responsible for communal violence to justice.
3) Ensure that the recent expansion of Sharia-based criminal law
does
not apply to non-Muslims and respects the human rights, including
religious freedom, of all individual Nigerians.
4) Prevent law enforcement activities in northern states by any
quasi-official or private corps of Sharia enforcers; and,
5) Counter religiously-based discrimination by
-- investigating and removing legal obstacles to repairing places
of worship;
--providing religious instruction that does not compel any student
with a religious objection to attend;
--granting equal access to state-run radio and other government
media sources for all religious groups.
With regard to Sudan, the Commission urges you to encourage
the African
leaders with whom you meet to support the current Sudan peace process.
Your Administration-- through your appointment in September 2001 of
former Senator John Danforth as Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan and
your
signing in October 2002 of the Sudan Peace Act-- has signaled that
peace
in Sudan is a major priority for U.S. policy in Africa. African
governments should use their influence with both parties to the
conflict, the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement/Army, to urge
compliance with commitments made as part of the ongoing peace
negotiations. The human rights of all Sudanese must be protected from
the horrific abuses that have characterized this conflict, including
the
Sudanese government's aerial bombardment of civilians and of
humanitarian facilities, deliberate denial of international
humanitarian
assistance, abduction of women and children into conditions of slavery,
and the forcible displacement of populations from oil-producing areas.
Since Khartoum's effort to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim Sudanese
has
been a major factor in the conflict, African leaders should urge the
Government of Sudan to accept the right to freedom of religion and
belief of all Sudanese.
We earnestly hope that your trip to Africa is successful.
Sincerely,
Felice D. Gaer
Chair
Sudan: Curbing press freedom is utterly unacceptable
Amnesty International today condemned the confiscation of the 28
June edition and parts of the 29 June edition of the Sudanese
independent daily Al-Sahafa by the country's security forces.
"The Sudanese government and the National Security Agency
must put
an end to the confiscation or suspension of local newspapers. The
intimidation and harassment of journalists with the attempt of
restricting the freedom of the press must end," Amnesty
International said.READ MORE....
U.S. President George W. Bush will be traveling to Africa from
July
7-12, visiting Senegal, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda, and Nigeria.
This packet from Human Rights Watch includes material for each
stop along the way. It also includes a new report on violence in
northeastern Congo; the report is embargoed for newspapers appearing
on July 8, 2003.
NAIROBI, 27 June (IRIN) - The United Nations on Friday launched
the
first database of available socio-economic information on Sudan, with a
view to assisting the humanitarian effort in the country.
The UN Sudan Transition and Recovery Database, known as Starbase,
contains information on demography, agro-ecological zones, administrative
bodies,security, displacement and operational agencies and programmes. The
sectors included are food security, education, health, water and
infrastructure. "I hope that Starbase will be useful to all of us in our
shared
endeavour to bring effective and well-targeted assistance to the people of the
Sudan," said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Mukesh
Kapila,in a statement.
In southern Sudan the information is presented at county level,
while in northern Sudan, it is at state level. So far, 11 reports are
available.
Kapila said the database would act as a central depository of
information, intended to aid planning and monitoring, as well as identify gaps
and help judge the impact of humanitarian and development interventions.
"There's lots of fragmented information around," commented
Ben
Parker, spokesman for Kapila. "It's a chance for everyone to have the same
starting point with information that has the same format, is properly edited,
sourced and clearly presented."
"We hope it will avoid waste and duplication," he added.
Justice Africa
27 June 2003
As President Omer al Bashir celebrates fourteen years in power,
and
Dr John Garang marks twenty years since the release of the (first) SPLM
Manifesto, the mediators and external actors hope that a full peace
agreement can be reached on 14 August or thereabouts, following final
rounds of talks in Kenya. They are banking on a Draft Framework
Agreement, put together by the IGAD Secretariat with the full
involvement and support of the U.S., Britain, Norway and other key
international backers, which can be finalised after the forthcoming
talks in July. The chances of success in this enterprise are relatively
good: a Framework Agreement for Peace in Sudan may well be signed in
August or early September.
READ MORE......
Assessing the current IGAD peace process
Dr. Lam was very optimistic about the outcome of the peace process
in
his
meeting with ISS, although he followed Special Sudan Envoy General
Lazarus Sumbeiywo and others who expect that negotiations will extend
beyond the end of June which had been the anticipated completion date.
While acknowledging that both the SPLM/A and GoS were highly
apprehensive about the process and outcome, Dr. Lam said that
circumstances dictate a final peace agreement. He said the parties `do
not have the freedom to indefinitely delay the outcome'. The Sudanese
people,whether in the north or the south, want an agreement and the mediators,
and in particular the US, which plays a critical role in the
negotiations,understand this very well and this provides them with considerable
leverage. The Sudanese will `cling to the agreement. It will be an
agreement of all the Sudanese and not just the parties in the negotiations'.
They said members of the security services arrived at Suleiman's
home and informed the family that he was being taken to Kober central
prison.
The arrest took place two hours before a press conference to be held
by northern opposition parties at the offices of Suleiman, who heads
the Democratic Forces Front group and the Sudanese Human Rights Group.
The conference was called to unveil the "Khartoum Declaration", a
document supporting the peace process between Khartoum and southern
rebels and which backs an end to one-party rule in Sudan.
Suleiman has said the text "supports and explains" a statement known
as the "Cairo Declaration" issued after talks held in Egypt's capital
in May by leaders of the northern and southern opposition.
The declaration called for Khartoum to be a national "secular"
capital in the event of a peace deal between the Arab Muslim
government and the Christian and animist southern rebels.
On June 19, more than 40 representatives of Sudanese opposition
parties and independent opponents of the Islamic government were
briefly detained in a police swoop on Suleiman's home.
The human rights group Amnesty International urged the Sudan
government last month to stop arresting the country's northern
opposition at a time of crucial peace talks to end 20 years of civil
war in the south.
"The continuing repression of freedoms of assembly and expression
and the harassment of civil society activists and political opponents
are clear signs that the Sudanese government is intent on denying the
northern civil society the right to prepare for a sustainable peace,"
the rights group said.
The laws are:-
1. The Advocacy Act.
2. The Central Bank of New Sudan Act.
3. The Civil Procedure Act.
4. The Co-operative Societies Act.
5. The Code of Criminal Procedure
6. The Companies Act.
7. The Evidence Act.
8. The Financial Institutions Act
9. The Forestry Commission Act.
10. The High Judicial Council Act.
11. The IDEAS Act.
12. The Insurance Act.
13. The Interpretation of Laws and General Provisions Act.
14. The Judiciary Act.
15. The SPLA Act.
16. The Nationality Act.
17. The NGOs Act.
18. The Passports and Immigration Act.
19. The Penal Code
20. The Police Act
21. The Prisons Act.
22. The New Sudan Public Corporation Act
23. The Timber Management and Utilization Act
24. The Traffic Act
25. The Wildlife Conversation and National Parks Act
26. The Wildlife Force Act.
The Commissioner for Legal Affairs and Constitutional Development Justice Michael Makuei extends his appreciation on behalf of the SPLM/SPLA for the assistance rendered by Christian Aid, USAID, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) and SPLM Commission for Economy. This marks the beginning of the new era for the New Sudan.