Dear Baby Mogo in Upper Nile State, S. Sudan: Will you live to your 5th birthday?

Copied here below is a must-read short story from Sudan Watch archives November 14, 2005. The story was written by a friend of Rob Haarsager, Richard Reesor, who had just returned from a visit to a small village in Upper Nile, Southern Sudan (photo also courtesy of Richard - sorry, hyperlink to Sudan Man blog has broken).

Dear baby Mogo, I often think of you, hoping you are alive and feeling well, wondering what your eyes are seeing now.  God bless the children of Sudan and pray for US sanctions on Sudan to be lifted.  Here is the photo and story by Richard Reesor c. November 2005, followed by another of my favourites from Sudan Watch archives, November 27, 2004:   A prayer for the janjaweed rape babies.

Baby Mogo, what will your eyes see?
You were born 5 months ago, the first baby born in your village after the signing of the peace treaty ending 22 years of war. Will you know a life of peace, or will the prospects of peace in your land only be a cruel mirage that evaporates in your eyes before your 5th birthday?

Will you live to your 5th birthday?
Or, will you succumb to the threats of malaria, malnutrition and unsafe drinking water because your village lacks access to a medical clinic. As your village chief warns, "Disease does not wait until morning and the 10 hour walk to the nearest clinic!"

Will you attend school?
Will your mind learn to recognize the letters and words your eyes see so you can read and write, so you can explore through books, the sciences, history, learn to reason and learn about other cultures and their understanding of God?

How will you earn your living?
Will you learn from a teacher about mysteries and vocations unknown to your village or will you learn only from your elders knowledge past down through the generations teaching you how to subsist by keeping livestock, fishing, cultivation, gathering wild foods and herbs and making petitions to the mysterious god NGO?

Will you marry?
Will you find a way to accumulate the bride price of 10 cows and 24 goats? Will you learn about other models of marital relationships or will you learn that your masculinity divines you the right to the family assets, including your wife, who will be responsible for providing food, water, firewood and comfort for you and your children?

Will you learn how to be a peacemaker?
Or, will you learn from your elders that your enemies are the Dinka, the Nuer and the Jalaaba and that your responsibility is to avenge the wrongs done to your ancestors when your eyes see the opportunity?

Baby Mogo, what will your eyes see?

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A prayer for the janjaweed rape babies



Click here to read:  A prayer for the janjaweed rape babies (from Sudan Watch archives, November 27, 2004)

Darfur Sudan activists' reactions to US Gration's statements (Enough Project, Jerry Fowler, Eric Reeves)

Surely US Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration should not be criticised for acting boldly, wisely and positively while suggesting that US sanctions on Sudan ought to be lifted. How many more years do the Darfur rebels and activists expect the poor people of Sudan to endure living in concentration camps and being dependent on hand-outs, I wonder.  If the rebels and activists get their way, and manage to stop US sanctions on Sudan from being lifted, imagine what future is in store for the Baby Mogo's of Sudan who were born around the same time as Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement, almost five years ago.

Ruthless rebel group leaders spinning the media to discredit Mr Gration in an attempt to stop US sanctions on Sudan being lifted shows how much they genuinely do not care about the defenceless women and children of Sudan.  But what is in the mindset of American humanitarians such as Save Darfur Coalition's president, Jerry Fowler and John Prendergasts' Enough Project and Boston based activist Eric Reeves, is beyond my comprehension.   Their hearts seem to be in the right place with respect to humanitarian issues but confusingly (to me anyway) when it comes to the lifting of US sanctions on Sudan, they all start singing from the same hymn sheet as JEM and all the other self serving mercenary gun toting rebel groups in Sudan.

Considering the privileged background and education of the people leading the Darfur activist groups, they must know that their statements embolden the rebels and contribute towards holding the whole of Sudan to ransom and marginalising poor people in Sudan who are in need of drinking water, food, healthcare, shelter, education, jobs and independent living.

For the record, here below is a link to Jerry Fowler's recent statement on YouTube followed by a copy of recently published commentary from Enough Project and Eric Reeves.

Jerry Fowler's meeting with US Special Envoy to Sudan Scott Gration

From Save Darfur Coalition's Blog for Darfur:
My Meeting With The Special Envoy
By SDC President, Jerry Fowler, Friday 07 August 2009

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to meet with U.S. Special Envoy Scott Gration. We discussed his recent testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the United States’ role in promoting peace in Sudan. Here is a quick video about the meeting:

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From John Prendergast's Enough Project:
Gration's "Phony Optimism on Darfur"
By Laura Heaton, Friday 07 August 2009

Marking one week since Sudan Special Envoy Gration’s testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sudan scholar Eric Reeves wrote an excellent op-ed for the Boston Globe that summed up well the sentiments of many Sudan watchers who fear that the direction of the Obama administration’s Sudan policy is misguided. In particular, Reeves describes strong concern about the administration’s apparent reliance on incentives to negotiate with Khartoum, rather than a clear set of consequences for Khartoum’s continued intransigence. Reeves, like other activists and experts, thinks that the starting point for negotiations with Khartoum should be to prepare for a continuation of Khartoum’s pattern of stalling and reneging, rather than approach Bashir and his allies with the expectation of a sea change in behavior. Reeves suggests that perhaps the Sudan special envoy doesn’t fully understand the calculus that drives Khartoum’s actions.

“[L]ike many [diplomats] before him, [Gration] is convinced that the National Islamic Front is controlled by men who can be reasoned with, cajoled, rewarded, made to do ‘the right thing.’’ He ignores the basic truth about these men: during their 20 years in power they have never abided by any agreement with any Sudanese party.”

Reeves is particularly frustrated by the “excessively optimistic” tone Gration takes when discussing resolution of Darfur conflict and the emphasis the special envoy places on the return of displaced people, a point that others have also recently picked up on. Reeves writes:

The notorious Janjaweed have not been disarmed and pose a constant threat. Even in the camps themselves, security is tenuous; women still face rape, men are tortured and murdered, and looting is commonplace. In the past, it has been Khartoum that has pushed for returns under these conditions; now, perversely, it is the US special envoy.

Expect to hear Reeves’ arguments and noticeable frustration echoed and amplified by Sudan watchers as the Obama administration finalizes its strategy for engaging Sudan. With all that is on the line in Sudan today – including the integrity of the country, on which the southern Sudanese will vote in 2011 and the well-being of the 2.7 million Darfuris who cannot return home – the Obama administration can’t afford to get this strategy wrong.

Technorati Tags: Advocacy Darfur and Southern Sudan Genocide Protection

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From Boston Globe's opinion section
The phony optimism on Darfur
By Eric Reeves, August 6, 2009:

IN SENATE testimony last week, the US special presidential envoy for Sudan offered a peculiarly upbeat assessment of the crisis in Darfur and the prospects for peace throughout Sudan. Envoy Scott Gration argued that the United States should move toward normalizing relations with the regime in Khartoum, including lifting sanctions and removing Sudan from the State Department list of terrorist-sponsoring nations. This would be a grave mistake - and would reward a regime comprising the very men who orchestrated genocide in Darfur and continue to renege on key elements of the 2005 north/south peace agreement.

There was little policy detail in Gration’s testimony because debate within the Obama administration continues to be intense. But Gration is close to Obama and seems determined to set the tone and establish the substance of US Sudan policy. He clearly went a step too far in June when he declared that genocide had ended in Darfur, and that there were only “remnants of genocide,’’ a characterization disowned by the State Department, the US ambassador to the United Nations, and President Obama, who used the word “genocide’’ in the present tense during recent speeches in Germany and Ghana.

More troubling, Gration has said too little about the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and the consequences of Khartoum’s March 4 expulsion of 13 key international humanitarian organizations; he has demonstrated little appreciation for what was lost, and the difficulty in generating new capacity. Stop-gap measures are beginning to fail at the height of the rainy season, and a number of camps report grave health and sanitation crises.

Gration also appears excessively optimistic about the moribund Darfur peace process. He repeatedly declared to Darfuris and humanitarians during a recent trip to the region that peace in Darfur would be achieved by the end of this year. But any meaningful peace agreement will first require an effective cease-fire, with robust monitoring of a sort that cannot be provided by the current UN/African Union peacekeeping force, which is badly underequipped, undermanned, and has lost the confidence of most Darfuris.

Humanitarians were dismayed at Gration’s insistent talk about the “voluntary’’ return of some 2.7 million displaced persons languishing in camps throughout Darfur. There is no humanitarian capacity to oversee such returns and ensure their voluntary nature; Khartoum refuses to provide security in areas it controls; and Darfuris in the camps complain bitterly that they are being asked to return to lands without protection, and which have oftentimes been taken over by Arab tribal groups. The notorious Janjaweed have not been disarmed and pose a constant threat. Even in the camps themselves, security is tenuous; women still face rape, men are tortured and murdered, and looting is commonplace. In the past, it has been Khartoum that has pushed for returns under these conditions; now, perversely, it is the US special envoy.

In his Senate testimony, Gration suggests that his travels to Cairo and Beijing enabled him to meet “leaders who share our common concern and want to work together toward shared objectives.’’ This ignores the long and resolutely obstructionist role both Egypt and China have played in Sudan over many years. Shortly after Gration’s testimony, a senior Egyptian official described Darfur as an “artificial’’ crisis directed against the people of Sudan. Beijing’s continued shipment of advanced weaponry to Khartoum; its opposition to the role of the International Criminal Court in pursuing atrocity crimes in Darfur; and its relentless support of Khartoum at the Security Council leave one wondering what Gration means by “common concern.’’

Most disturbing, Gration gives no evidence in any of his public comments of understanding the ruthless nature of the security cabal that rules Sudan and is determined to retain its stranglehold on national wealth and power; like many before him, he is convinced that the National Islamic Front is controlled by men who can be reasoned with, cajoled, rewarded, made to do “the right thing.’’ He ignores the basic truth about these men: during their 20 years in power they have never abided by any agreement with any Sudanese party. Any rapprochement that is not preceded by clear and irreversible actions to establish unimpeded humanitarian access, create freedom of movement and deployment for peacekeepers, and meet the critical benchmarks of the north/south peace agreement is doomed to fail.

Eric Reeves, a Smith College professor, is author of “A Long Day’s Dying: Critical Moments in the Darfur Genocide.

JEM's Ibrahim says his rebels and the Darfur population advise US President Obama to dismiss his envoy to Sudan Scott Gration

One would be hard pressed to find evidence of JEM and its leader Khalil Ibrahim genuinely caring about the women and children of Sudan. All they seem to care about is saving their own faces and deluded power crazy ideas. 

Babies born six years ago in Sudan are still facing a very bleak future all because of a handful of opportunistic criminals such as Khalil Ibrahim terrorising and draining millions of people's lives, time and energy.  Why isn't the ICC charging Ibrahim and his gang of terrorists, I wonder.  

Surely, US special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration is wise to suggest that US sanctions on Sudan ought to be lifted.  As stated here many times before, I reckon they should have been lifted years ago in order to help war torn Sudan get back on its feet and out of debt. Despite all the odds against it, Sudan has not become a failed state and deserves all the help it can get from China and Russia and other supporters that I hope includes the UK.

Click on label here below to read the memorable story of Baby Mogo who (if still alive) should by now be approaching his fifth birthday. When I first read and published the story here at Sudan Watch almost four years ago, I never imagined for one moment that four years later, Darfur rebels and activists would be working together to stop US sanctions on Sudan from being lifted. 

How can southern and western Sudan develop infrastructure and create jobs while US sanctions are blocking Sudan from developing?  See next blog post here at Sudan Watch: Darfur Sudan activists' reactions to US Gration's statements (Enough Project, Jerry Fowler, Eric Reeves).

From Asharq Al-Awsat by Mustapha Sirri, Thursay 06 August 2009:
Sudan: JEM Leader Blasts U.S. Envoy Over Report

(Amsterdam, Asharq Al-Awsat) - Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement [JEM] in Darfur, launched a scathing verbal attack on Scott Gretion, US Special Envoy to Sudan, over the report that he presented to the US Congress's Foreign Relations Committee last week. Ibrahim described Gretion as naive and said that he works as the foreign minister of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. Ibrahim threatened to discontinue cooperation with Gretion if the latter continues his policies, which, he said, are supportive of Khartoum against the Darfur population.

Ibrahim called on Washington to change its envoy and appoint a more competent one in his place. On the other hand, he called on the displaced people and refugees to organize demonstrations to express their rejection of Gretion's statements.

Speaking with Asharq Al-Awsat from Darfur by telephone, Ibrahim said that his movement and the Darfur population are unhappy with Gretion's report to the US Congress's Foreign Relations Committee last week in which he called for easing the sanctions on Khartoum. Ibrahim added that Gretion's report harms the sidelined ones, the Sudan issue in Darfur, and the peace agreement in the south.

He said: "He is a naive man, and he is in a hurry to reach conclusions. He takes his information from one party, the government of Al-Bashir. After presenting this report, he is now considered the foreign minister of Al-Bashir, not a representative of US President Barack Obama."

Ibrahim said Gretion's statement that there is no intelligence evidence of Sudan's connection with terrorism is false. He added that the Khartoum government attempted to bring in terrorists by way of tribes that refused this move. He continued: "Khartoum currently gives weapons to the terrorists in Somalia, and this is a known fact."

Ibrahim threatened to stop cooperation and communication with Gretion. He said: "If Gretion continues his policies against the sidelined ones and the Darfur population, we will not cooperate with him. We will not meet with him in the future if he continues to be biased toward Khartoum."

Ibrahim said that Gretion implements the Sudanese Government's plans, not his country's policies. He added that Gretion lacks a policy and works to destroy the Darfur issue by inviting the persons whom he considers movements.

Ibrahim said: "From our observation of the man, he works to liquidate the Darfur issue in favor of Al-Bashir and the criminals in Khartoum because he began his initiatives with the regime's proposal for a cease-fire. He announced it before meeting with us."

Ibrahim said the US envoy does not seek peace but wants to consolidate Al-Bashir's rule through forged elections in the absence of the JEM and the Darfur population. He added that the US envoy attempts to move Al-Bashir away from the International Criminal Court. He noted that Gretion failed to pressure the Sudanese Government to implement the Doha agreement, which it signed with the JEM in February.

Ibrahim said that Gretion contradicts Obama regarding the genocide in Darfur. He added that Obama openly spoke about the existence of genocide in his speech before the Ghanaian Parliament in May, but Gretion defends the Al-Bashir regime and explicitly contradicts Obama's statement.

Ibrahim said that his movement and the Darfur population advise US President Barack Obama to dismiss his envoy, Scott Gretion, and appoint a more competent one who is familiar with the nature of the issue.

Why Sudanese and Chadian rebel group leaders such as JEM's Khalil Ibrahim are free to talk to all and sundry, while travelling here there and everywhere without fear of arrest, while holding Sudan and millions of Sudanese people to ransom, is beyond my comprehension.

IDPs might opt for staying in their new settlements over a return to their place of origin in Darfur, W. Sudan

According to the following article from the Washington Post, a UN relief coordination team in Darfur known as the Inter-Agency Management Group concluded that there are not enough funds or resources to deliver assistance to the villages in Darfur people had fled or even to oversee the administrative work of ensuring that those who return are doing so voluntarily.

"In addition," the briefing note states, "it is important to keep in mind that a large part of the IDPS [internally displaced people] might opt for staying in their new settlements over a return to their place of origin."

Full story from the Washington Post:
Too Soon To Return Home, Say Darfurians - Displaced Question U.S. Envoy's Advice
By Colum Lynch
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, August 6, 2009

NEW YORK, Aug. 5 -- The Obama administration's Sudan envoy is facing growing resistance to a suggestion he made recently to civilians displaced from Darfur that they should start planning to go back to their villages. Darfurian civilians and U.N. relief agencies say it is still too dangerous to return to the region where a six-year-long conflict has led to the deaths of more than 300,000 people.

In the latest sign of tension, Sheik al-Tahir, a leader at Kalma, one of Darfur's largest camps for displaced people, said Tuesday that homeless civilians would protest retired Air Force Maj. Gen. J. Scott Gration's strategy for resolving the conflict and his assertion in June that genocide in Darfur has ended. Tahir and other camp leaders have accused Gration of taking the side of the Sudanese government, which has been seeking to dismantle the camps.

Gration denied this week that he is seeking to send Darfur's displaced into harm's way, saying he was simply urging Darfurians and the United Nations to begin preparations for return.

"I am not pushing for anybody to go back right now, because I don't think the situation is secure enough," he said in an interview Tuesday. "I don't want to get into a position where people are trying to return because there is peace and some modicum of security, and then we haven't done the planning to ensure they can move back."

The latest round of violence in Darfur began in February 2003, when two rebel movements took up arms against the Islamic government in Khartoum. In response, the government, backed by local Arab militiamen known as Janjaweed, launched a bloody counterinsurgency operation that the Bush and Obama administrations have termed genocidal.

A recent State Department analysis showed that more than 3,300 villages have been severely damaged or destroyed in the violence. Most of the survivors have either fled to neighboring Chad or crammed into a network of camps in Darfur.

Gration's effort to prod the displaced communities into preparing for a return has been complicated by the loyalty many still profess to an exiled rebel leader, Abdul Wahid al-Nur, who lives in Paris and has refused for years to participate in talks with the Khartoum government.

Gration met recently with leaders of the Kalma camp, which houses more than 100,000 displaced Darfurians. He told them that the violence was easing in Darfur and that he was confident he could negotiate a political settlement by the end of the year, according to notes of the encounter by a U.N. relief coordination team in Darfur known as the Inter-Agency Management Group.

Gration also urged camp leaders to select envoys to represent their interests at ongoing U.S.-backed talks in Doha, Qatar, suggesting that Wahid's boycott would deny them a voice in the process. Your "future is in his hands, and his hands are in Paris," Gration said, according to the briefing notes. "You need someone who is working for you."

Some of the camp leaders, according to the account, said they were unhappy with Gration's assertion that genocide was no longer occurring in Darfur, insisting that government forces and allied militias continue to commit atrocities against residents of Kalma. They said that they would never return to their villages unless the Janjaweed were disarmed.

The U.N. interagency group also expressed concern about Gration's assurance that "peace will prevail in Darfur by the end of the year, and returns have to happen," and described the conditions in Darfur as too dangerous to ensure civilians' safe return. It voiced concern that Gration was linking the fate of Darfurian civilians to political goals.

The U.N. group concluded that there are not enough funds or resources to deliver assistance to the villages people had fled or even to oversee the administrative work of ensuring that those who return are doing so voluntarily.

"In addition," the briefing note states, "it is important to keep in mind that a large part of the IDPS [internally displaced people] might opt for staying in their new settlements over a return to their place of origin."

Note yesterday's blog post here at Sudan Watch, asking what is so great about dusty old dry Darfur where trees and firewood are disappearing: Minni Arko Minnawi says if refugees and IDPs are not repatriated to Darfur, W. Sudan, elections may not be conducted successfully in the region

Minni Arko Minnawi says if refugees and IDPs are not repatriated to Darfur, W. Sudan, elections may not be conducted successfully in the region

Note that the figure for the population of Darfur, as used by USAID in 2004, is approximately 6.5 million. Regarding the following report from Sudan Radio Service, I wonder how Mr Minnawi arrived at the figure of 3 million refugees and IDPS being three-quarters of Darfur. Also, I wonder why three million people want, or are being encouraged, to return to dusty dry deserts of Darfur where, according to Julie Flint's latest commentary at Making Sense of Darfur, reports of oil are exaggerated.  What is so great about Darfur, and what future does it hold for its people, I wonder.  See photos here below and note the one from MSF about disappearing trees and firewood.



Photo (by Lynsey Addario/For The Times): Muhajeria, in south Darfur, was razed in internecine rebel rivalry, one example of the complexities in the region. Critics of the genocide label says it inflames the situation and that the Khartoum government’s counterinsurgency, though brutal, didn’t intend to wipe out the Darfur tribes, but subdue them. Source: Los Angeles Times - Is the Darfur bloodshed genocide? Opinions differ - by Edmund Sanders, 04 May 2009.

From Sudan Radio Service, Friday 07 August 2009:
Minawi Warns that Darfur May Compromise Elections

(Khartoum) – Senior Presidential Assistant, Mini Arko Minawi says the Darfur problem remains a major obstacle that may compromise elections which are scheduled for April next year.

Addressing a forum on current political developments in the country organized by the Sudan Liberation Movement at Omdurman Ahlia University on Thursday, Minawi said if refugees and internally displaced persons are not repatriated to Darfur, elections may not be conducted successfully in the region.

[Mini Minawi]: “If you count the number of refugees and IDPs it will come to something like 3 million people and this means something like three-quarters of Darfur are refugees and as such, this problem must be solved. Political problems in Darfur should be solved and after that people should embark on solving the refugees and IDPs’ problems. There is a need to support the return exercise so that people return and settle. If people don’t give antibiotics by now, the infection will swell up and it may claim people’s lives”.

Minawi who is also the Chairman of SLM, cautioned that if the Abyei boundary is not peacefully implemented, problems will still arise between southern Sudan and northern Sudan that may consequently impact on the elections.

[Mini Minawi]: “As we said, there is an infection. The Abyei boundary was drawn by GPS but it was not clearly stated that the northern border of Abyei was like this and that, it passes through this point and that point and it was not drawn and people are still haggling about it over cups of tea, now that there is the issue of the oilfield at Heglig. All these issues will be solved by practical demarcation of the boundary on the ground. If the committee smoothly draws the Abyei boundary on the ground and there is no problem, for sure this is finished and we can say the problem of southern Sudan is over and it only remains for us to wait for the referendum so that the people of southern Sudan choose unity or go. But if there is any disagreement over the drawing of the boundary, there will still be a problem regarding southern Sudan’s fate and for sure this is going to be one of the sensitive threats that will impede the holding of elections in Sudan."

That was the Senior Presidential Assistant and SLM Chairman, Mini Arko Minawi addressing a political rally at Omdurman Ahlia University in Khartoum on Thursday [06 August 2009].

Photo/caption via Soldier of Africa: An AMIS outpost in Darfur. There are more than 25 of these bases scattered over 8 sectors. [Photo taken in 2006. From Sudan Watch archives 01 March 2007]



Photo: An African Union peacekeeper patrols Shok Shok village after an attack by a rebel faction in Sudan's northern Darfur province, May 14, 2006. A rebel leader from Sudan's Darfur region has rebuffed the latest proposals from African Union (AU) mediators for him to join a peace deal despite intense pressure by diplomats desperate to gain wider support for the accord. (Reuters/Candace Feit/Sudan Watch archives)



Photo: A rebel of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) is seen in the northern part of the Darfur region in July 2004. (AFP July 29, 2006/Desirey Minkoh/Sudan Watch archives)



Photo: Displaced Sudanese women queue at a water point 21 May 2006 in Abu Shouk camp, close to Al-Fasher, the capital of the war-torn Sudanese northern Darfur region. (AFP/File/Ramzi Haidar)



Photo: Donkey Carcass near Geneina [the capital of West Darfur state in Sudan]. Donkeys are essential to the livelihoods of the people of Darfur. Many donkeys are dying due to lack of fodder or abandonment during civilians' flight to safety. (Photo and caption courtesy USAID Photo Gallery/From Sudan Watch archives 2006)



Photo and caption from MSF: Nyala, Kalma camp, South Darfur - March 2007. Trees are not safe around one of the world’s biggest IDP (internal displaced people) camps in South Darfur. People cut the last remaining trees to be used as fire wood for cooking and, as a result, the environment surrounding the IDP camps is changing rapidly. People cannot travel far to collect wood or food for their animals due to insecurity in the deserted areas around the main towns and refugee camps. Photo by Sven Torfinn/MSF Photo Blog

Kenya Commercial Bank plans to increase the number of outlets in Southern Sudan to nine from five

Kenya Commercial Bank Ltd. (KNCB KN), the East African nation’s biggest lender by assets and outlets, climbed 3.6 percent, the most in six weeks, to 21.75 shillings.

The lender said July 30 first-half net income declined two percent to 2.41 billion shillings as expansion costs rose.

“Demand is coming from high net-worth individuals and institutional investors,” Snehal Shah, head of research at Nairobi-based Kestrel Capital East Africa Ltd. said in a phone interview. “They are discounting these results and looking ahead at future growth.”

The lender, which has 156 outlets in Kenya and 26 in four neighboring nations, plans to increase the number of outlets in Southern Sudan to nine from five and seven in Rwanda from one currently, it said July 30.

Source: Bloomberg, Friday 07 August 2009: Kenyan Stocks Climb: Kenya Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered

US Congressman Keith Ellison met with Taha, Nafi, Eddin, Ismail re CPA, Abyei, Darfur, shaky bilateral relations & lifting of US sanctions on Sudan

From Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan, Washington D.C., Friday 07 Aug. 2009 - US Congressman discusses Sudan peace implementation and Darfur process (ST):

The visiting US Congressman Keith Ellison today held talks with the Sudanese officials on the implementation of 2005 peace agreement and the ongoing efforts to settle Darfur crisis.

Ellison, who is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, met on Wednesday with the Vice President Ali Osman Taha, Presidential Assistant Nafi Ali Nafi and Presidential Adviser, Ghazi Salah Eddin who is in charge of US relations and Darfur file.

During a meeting with Vice President Taha, the Congressman discussed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the recent Abyei arbitration ruling. They also discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the visiting lawmaker was briefed by Mr. Nafi on efforts conducted by the government since Abuja peace agreement to end the armed conflict in Darfur. The meeting was also attended by the Presidential Adviser Mustafa Osman Ismail.

Before his departure, Ellison said he would discuss the humanitarian situation in Darfur. He had been arrested last April in a protest in front of the Sudanese Embassy in Washington against the expulsion of 13 aid groups from Sudan last March.

With, Mr. Ghazi Salah Eddin, the talks where focused on the shaky bilateral relations and the lift of US economic sanctions.

(Hat tip: ISRIA)



Photo: Sudan’s VP Ali Osman Taha meets with US Congressman Keith Ellison in Khartoum, on August 5, 2009 (photo SUNA) Source: Sudan Tribune, 06 August 2009 - US Congressman discusses Sudan peace implementation and Darfur process
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From Sudan Tribune, Friday 07 August 2009 04:10:
Lawmaker reaffirms US commitment to end Darfur crisis

August 6, 2009 (KHARTOUM) — US Congressman Keith Ellison paid a one-day visit to North Darfur state on Thursday where he reiterated United States determination to support efforts to end the six year conflict in the war ravaged region.

Ellison met today with the state deputy governor, the head of Darfur peacekeeping mission, representatives of humanitarian agencies and visited Zam Zam Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp, about 14 kilometers south of El-Fasher.

In El Fasher where are the headquarters of the UNAMID, the Joint Special Representative, Union Rodolphe Adada briefed the visiting US lawmaker on progress made with regard to the mission’s deployment, as well as the political, humanitarian, human rights and security situation in Darfur.

During the meeting with UNAMID officials, the U.S. congressman pointed out that the issue of Darfur was one with which the U.S. Congress was very concerned and in which it continued to be engaged, adding that his visit was an attempt to assess the situation on the ground in Darfur.

The visit of the Democrat Congressman is seen by Khartoum as an opportunity to convince more US legislators that Khartoum is exerting the needed efforts to settle the conflict and protect the IDPs as well as to encourage their voluntary return.

Sudan seeks to normalize ties with Washington and to end the economic sanctions imposed since 1993.

Adada in his remarks outlined the overall role of the UNAMIS in the ongoing peace process. "UNAMID has been growing to become the authoritative voice of peace in Darfur," he said, adding that the presence of the mission had been, "acting as a deterrent from violence."

There had been a noticeable decrease in the number of people killed over the past month, "but one life lost is too many," Adada further said.

The meeting also discussed the next year elections and its effects in Darfur, including challenges to the voter registration exercise scheduled for November.

Speaking in a meeting with deputy governor, Idriss Abdallah Hassan, Ellison praised the cooperation between Sudanese government and the joint mission adding it led to the stabilization of the IDPs communities

"I convey the commitment of the U.S. administration and its efforts to develop relations with Sudan, through mutual respect, as stated by President Obama.

Furthermore, he used the opportunity to visit Zam Zam internally-displaced-persons (IDP) camp about 14 kilometers south of El Fasher.

Ellison, who is also a member of the house committee for foreign relations, arrived in Khartoum on Tuesday evening for a visit in the African country to get updated with the situation in Darfur and the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement between northern and southern Sudan.

He will also inquire into the progress being made towards the CPA implementation durng talks he should hold with the southern Sudan semi-autonomous government in Juba.

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Democracy cartoon: Obama comes to Africa



Source: Friday, July 10, 2009, Patrick Gathara, www.afrika.no
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US secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s tour of seven African nations ends on 13 August 2009 after visits to Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the DRC, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde

From Sudan Radio Service, Friday 07 August 2009:
Clinton Highlights Africa's Potential but Warns Against Corruption

(Nairobi) – During her visit to Kenya earlier this week, the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton described Africa as having the potential and the resources to compete in the world economy.

In a speech from the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Clinton urged African countries to create markets with each other rather than focus on trading with first world countries.

[Hillary Clinton]: “Africa is capable and is making economic progress. In fact, one doesn’t have to look far to see that Africa is ripe with opportunities. The single biggest opportunity that you have right now is to open up trade with each other. The market of the United States is 3 hundred million people; the market of Africa is 7 hundred million plus people. Nations of Africa trade the least with each other than any region of the world. That makes it very difficult to compete effectively.”

However, Hillary Clinton has attributed the lack of economic progress in Africa to the failure by various governments to attract investors through stability.

[Hillary Clinton]: “It's not just about good governance, this is about good business. Investors will be attracted to states that do this and they will not be attracted to states with failed or weak leadership, or crime and civil unrest, or corruption that taints every transaction and decision.”

Clinton called on African states to reform their countries by ending bad governance, corruption and impunity. She encouraged government to ensure that the private sector and civil society organizations abiding by the rule of law.

Clinton’s tour of seven African nations ends on August 13th after visits to Kenya, South Africa, Angola, the DRC, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde.

Situation in Darfur stabilising - New UNAMID Force Commander Rwandan Lt Gen Nyamvumba

General Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria, who is stepping down as commander of the joint UN-AU force (UNAMID) at the end of the month, is to be succeeded by Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba, currently chief of logistics of the Rwandan Defense Forces.



Photo: Lt Gen Nyamvumba's tour of duty will be from 1 September 2009 for a period of one year. Three generals competed for the post in an interview that was conducted in New York on 5 May 2009. (MOD, Rwanda)

From AFP by Gerard Aziakou, 06 August 2009:
Situation in Darfur stabilizing: outgoing UN-AU force chief

UNITED NATIONS — The situation in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region is stabilizing with UN-African Union peacekeepers able to provide improved security but still in need of crucial air mobility, their outgoing commander said here Thursday.

"We have been able to stabilize the situation in Darfur. But there are still a lot of challenges," said General Martin Luther Agwai of Nigeria, who is stepping down as commander of the joint UN-AU force (UNAMID) at the end of the month.

He told a press conference that more and more Darfurians were venturing out of internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps to cultivate their lands in their villages and some were even voluntarily returning to their homes.

"That means there's more security," he noted, while conceding that UNAMID's current strength did not allow it to provide security to all the IDPs camps.

Only the bigger camps housing up to 100,000 people had 24/7 security, said Agwai, adding that the situation should improve when an estimated 92 percent of the force's mandated strength of 26,000 is expected to be deployed by the end of the year.

Agwai, a former Nigerian armed forces chief of staff, noted that there were now 100 to 150 deaths a month in Darfur, down from hundreds or thousands in the past. The number of rape and assault cases has also dropped, he added.

But he made it clear that UNAMID still faced major challenges, chief among the lack of transport helicopters to provide crucial air mobility in the vast, arid territory.

He said that while five attack helicopters provided by Ethiopia would soon be deployed in Darfur, "nobody in the world has pledged" any of the 18 transport helicopters which UN chief Ban Ki-moon has requested.

"They are a real necessity," he pleaded.

He also cited the stalled peace process between Khartoum and the fragmented Darfur insurgency as another major impediment.

But Agwai welcomed warming ties between Washington and Khartoum, including the role played by US special envoy for Sudan Scott Gration, whose conciliatory comments were likely to encourage Khartoum to be more cooperative.

"The US has a big role to play in peace in Darfur," Agwai said.

Khartoum has welcomed a statement by Gration, President Barack Obama's hand-picked Sudan troubleshooter, that there was "no evidence" to support keeping it on a US terrorism blacklist that triggers punishing economic sanctions.

Gration, a retired general, said such measures, aimed at punishing the Khartoum government, were "actually hurting the very development" needed to keep a fragile peace in Sudan and give hope to people driven from their homes.

The soft-spoken Agwai, who was appointed UNAMID force commander in May 2007 is to be succeeded by Lieutenant General Patrick Nyamvumba, currently chief of logistics of the Rwandan Defense Forces.

On July 30, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to keep the joint UN-African Union force (UNAMID) in Darfur region for another year until July 31 2010 to ensure the protection of civilians an densure "safe, timely and unhindered humanitarian access."

It adopted a resolution calling on the government and rebels in Darfur to remove all obstacles to the UNAMID mission, and explicitly demanding that the Sudanese government provide visas and flight clearances for UNAMID personnel.

Lubna's trial alarms Tunisians - French President Sarkozy vows to help Sudan trouser woman

Many Tunisians are voicing concerns that Sudan's prosecution of journalist Lubna Ahmed Hussein for wearing trousers could mark a shift away from women's rights and towards religious extremism in the Maghreb.

"There is no doubt that the trial of the journalist, Lubna, is the case of every Arab woman," journalist Manal Abdi told Magharebia in a statement. "The case speaks volumes about the extremists and reactionaries in Sudan who don't respect women’s rights or standing."

Full story: Trial of Sudanese journalist alarms Tunisians by Jamel Arfaoui for Magharebia in Tunisia, 06 August 2009.



Photo: The trial of Sudanese journalist Lubna Ahmed Hussein is causing anger and concern among many Tunisians. (Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)

Sarkozy vows to help Sudan trouser woman

AFP - ‎5 hours ago‎

PARIS — President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed Thursday that France would continue to support a "courageous" Sudanese woman who faces 40 lashes for wearing ...

Sudan's dress-code row A martyr to her trousers

Economist - ‎4 hours ago‎

IN SOME settings, light-green slacks would be merely a fashion crime. In Sudan they may actually be against the law. Lubna Hussein faces 40 lashes and an ...

Women's groups worldwide must unite to help Lubna Hussein stop men from killing and lashing women and children in Sudan
Sudan Watch - 05 Aug 2009

Click on label here below to view previous reports, photos and latest updates.

Sudan: Microfinancing - Launch of new Mobile Money Transfer Directory will focus on Sub-Sahara Africa

A new Mobile Money Transfer Directory at http://creditsms.org launches in 2 wks focus on Sub-Saharan Africa (by @CreditSMS)

Source: White African Erik Hersman via Twitter 04 Aug. 2009
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Snippets from CreditSMS website:

In December 2009, CreditSMS will launch several pilots throughout Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Additional pilot requests have been submitted for Kenya, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. Uganda and DRC have 87% and 66% rural populations respectively, constituting a nascent market of as many as 76 million potential clients and consumers. By enabling MFIs [microfinance institutions] to reach and meet the demands of this market, CreditSMS will facilitate a form of 'bubble up' development whereby the income of microloan recipients will increase and the price of newly-available goods and services will trend toward market equilibrium. All pilot results will be made free and accessible via CreditSMS.org as they become available.
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The Beginning...
By Ben Lyon
Published: July 14, 2009

Formal banks were hesitant to give "the bottom billion" loans because they didn't have collateral. Today, microfinance institutions (MFIs) fill that void by providing collateral-free loans to micro-entrepreneurs. In order to compete with traditional moneylenders, however, those MFIs had to charge exorbitant interest rates, mostly to absorb the high transport cost of making weekly visits to rural areas to collect loan repayments. With teledensity penetration and mobile commerce growing faster by the day, one has to wonder: why are loan officers still making the trip? Read More...
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Increasing revenue and impact through technology
By Ben Lyon
Published: July 22, 2009
[article written for Project Diaspora]

Aaron Ewedafe wakes up every morning at least one hour before the sun rises. Donning his satchel full of client records and repayment schedules, he hails the nearest okada driver and races into the surrounding countryside to begin a long day of loan group meetings. The trip from headquarters in Oshogbo to the village of Ojudo and back can take all day. Aaron rarely makes it home before nightfall. Altogether, Aaron spends 112 hours and 5,000 naira a week to manage 350 microloan recipients. His profit is negligible. Read More...
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The 'Phone as Cow' Model
By Ben Lyon
Published: August 1, 2009

Mobile phones are quickly becoming the hottest topic in development. Everyday, waves of new innovations are rolled out to connect 'bottom of the pyramid' (BOP) entrepreneurs to markets and information. But many advocates and implementers seem to neglect a fundamental question: What good are mobile innovations if BOP entrepreneurs can't afford handsets? According to Iqbal Quadir of Grameenphone, the answer is to issue the handset as the first microloan. Read More...

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Follow Credit SMS on Twitter

Check out Mobile Money Africa - Africa's leading online resource for mobile financial inclusion: mobilemoneyafrica.com

Jonglei, S. Sudan: Mostly Lou-Nuer women and children killed in Akobo massacre by group of Murle from the east

Survivors of south Sudan massacre short of food-UN
Thu Aug 6, 2009 10:53am EDT
By Andrew Heavens

KHARTOUM, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Survivors of a tribal massacre that killed 185 people in southern Sudan are desperately short of food, a senior U.N. officer said on Thursday.

Mostly women and children were killed in the raid by heavily armed members of the Murle tribe on a fishing camp in Sudan's swampy Jonglei state on Sunday, in what is thought to be a revenge attack for earlier fighting.

The killings, near the town of Akobo, were the latest in a string of ethnic clashes in Sudan's oil-producing south, many of them attacks and counter attacks provoked by cattle rustling.

Traditional disputes have been exacerbated by a ready supply of arms left over from more than two decades of a north-south civil war that ended in a fragile 2005 peace accord.

The head of the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) in the south, who has just returned from the Akobo area, said she saw piles of bodies and signs of food shortages.

"I saw dozens and dozens of dead bodies. The stench and the vultures gave us a clue to the magnitude," Michelle Iseminger said in a statement. "Clearly women and children were the majority of victims.

"People said that a group of Murle from the east attacked them and pushed them into the river, and, using machine guns, spears and other arms, continued killing them," Iseminger said.

Jonglei officials said most of the victims were from the Lou Nuer group, locked in a tribal war with the Murle that has already claimed more than 700 lives this year.

They estimated 185 people, including a small unit of southern soldiers protecting the camp, were killed in the raid which was later condemned by the U.N. Security Council.

Iseminger said dried fish was the only food she could see for sale in Akobo markets and that some 350 children, suffering from earlier food shortages, were being treated for severe malnutrition in the town's hospital.

"Food assistance is the number one humanitarian need in Akobo, besides protection," said Iseminger.

Emergency food supplies in the area started running low after members of the Jikany Nuer tribe, who have also been fighting the Lou Nuer, attacked a convoy of barges carrying U.N. aid long the Sobat river, close to the border with Ethiopia, towards Akobo in June.

Since then, the United Nations has had to use aircraft and helicopters to fly in smaller loads of food at greater expense.

The 2005 peace accord that ended Sudan's civil war promised national elections, due in April next year, and a referendum on southern secession in 2011. But many in the south are frustrated by the continuing lack of development and economic stagnation. (Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

Bring all Jonglei attackers to justice

Sudan Tribune - Zechariah Manyok Biar - ‎13 hours ago‎

August 5, 2009 — On July 29, 2009 armed youth from Uror County of Jonglei State attacked Twich East County of the same State, ...

UNSC deplores deadly attacks in Sudan

Hindu - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

The killings took place on Sunday in Akobo in Jonglei state and the victims reportedly include more than 100 women and children. At least 60 people from the ...

Tribal clashes death toll reaches 185 in Akobo County

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

The Deputy Governor of Jonglei State, Hussein Mar Nyot, confirmed on Monday that State authorities have deployed reinforcements from the Sudan People's ...

Akobo County appeals for immediate humanitarian aid

ReliefWeb (press release) - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Roads leading to Akobo County in Jonglei State have been blocked following the recent tribal clashes in the area. Commissioner of Akobo, Goi Jooyul Yol, ...

Analysis: Hurdles on the road to Sudan peace

IRINnews.org - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Southern leaders have started to blame the north over related inter-communal clashes in Jonglei State, between the Murle and the Lou sub-section of the Nuer ...

Click on Jonglei label here below for related reports and updates.

Sudan Football Association boss publicly shreds letter from Nigeria Football Federation

Kamal Shaddad has poured more salt into injury in the row between the Sudan FA and their Nigerian counterparts...

From Goal.com by Samm Audu, Thursday 06 August 2009:
Sudan FA Boss Publicly Shreds Letter From Nigerian Counterparts

The raging war between Sudan Football Association (SFA) and their Nigerian counterparts is not about to ease after SFA president, Kamal Shaddad, further showed his total disrespect for the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) by publicly shredding a letter sent to his association in respect of disputed loan transfers by Sudanese club Al Hilal.

According to Wednesday's Sudanese sports newspaper, Al Sadda, Shaddad made a public display of putting into the shredder a letter signed by NFF secretary-general, Bolaji Ojo-Oba, in which the NFF dismissed as forgeries two request letters for the International Transfer Certificates of Ajibade Omolade and a Brazilian, Quarresma.

The newspaper quoted Shaddad as saying that he does not receive official correspondences by courier, but rather via email.

However, the newspaper questioned Shaddad's position, revealing that several emails from the NFF to the Sudan FA on this transfer disappeared from the system.

Shaddad had earlier dismissed the NFF as "not a credible organisation".

In their own reaction, the NFF told the Sudan FA boss to take care of his "dubious agents in Sudan". A formal protest letter to Shaddad was also fired to Sudan.

Local rivals El Merriekh have already protested against Al Hilal for parading DR Congo's Tshubi Kabundi and Edward Sadomba from Zimbabwe in their CAF Champions League Group A clash last month.

El Merriekh argue that these two players were registered for the competition after Al Hilal illegally got rid of Omolade and Quarresma.

Officials of Kano Pillars are set to protest against Al Hilal, should they use Sadomba in their Champions League match-up on August 14 in Khartoum. The Zimbabwean featured for Al Hilal in Wednesday's league match.

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Africa: Sudan FA is Fraudulent - NFF

AllAfrica.com - ‎Aug 4, 2009‎

The Nigeria Football Federation has lambasted the Sudan Football Association for its claims over a transfer scam involving Sudanese top club, Al Hilal FC. ...

Sudanese FA accuses NFF of dishonesty over Omolade's transfer

The Guardian - Nigeria - ‎Jul 31, 2009‎

... President of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Kamal Shaddad, has lashed out at the NFF, accusing it of dishonesty. The Sudanese FA is blaming the ...

Sudan FA Blast Nigerian Counterparts As 'Not Credible'

Goal.com - ‎Jul 30, 2009‎

The president of the Sudan Football Association (SFA), Kamal Shaddad, has lashed out at the NigeriaFootball Federation (NFF) over the on-going transfer ...

Sudanese FA accuses NFF of dishonesty over Omolade's transfer The Guardian - Nigeria

all 6 news articles »

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NFF Bristles over Sudan FA Falsehood

THISDAY - ‎Aug 2, 2009‎

The Nigeria Football Federation has lambasted the Sudan Football Association for its claims over a transfer scam involving Sudanese top club, Al Hilal FC. ...

Sudanese gov't calls for concrete US action

From Sudan Radio Service, Thursday 06 August 2009:
GONU Calls for Concrete US Action in Sudan

(Khartoum) – The Government of Sudan has requested that the United States government lay down a timetable for the implementation of what it describes as a "new policy" towards Sudan.

Presidential advisor Mustafa Osman Ismail made the point during a meeting organized by the government media office in the Republican Palace in Khartoum.

[Mustafa Osman Ismail]: “We are demanding that the American administration lay out its timetable to implement the issues we have been discussing. They keep sending envoys, then after a while, when they find out that the envoy is useless, they get rid of him. They bring in another envoy, who tells us good and nice words. Bush sent us four or five envoys; each of them came with good words, and they left with bad words. This time we are demanding that there should be a timetable, as a commitment from both parties, in which it will be shown what should be achieved in a specific period of time - what is required from us, and what is required from the American administration. Their intentions are good, but the manner by which they manipulate issues is different from Bush. Now we would like to translate these discussions into concrete action.”

Mustafa Osman Ismail said that President Barack Obama should show more interest in creating a meaningful and serious dialogue with Sudan.

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Secretary Clinton Urged to Address Darfur

Voice of America - Joe De Capua - ‎Aug 5, 2009‎

Human rights activists are urging Secretary of State Clinton, during her African trip, to call for strong action to end the Darfur crisis. ...

Women's groups worldwide must unite to help Lubna Hussein stop men from killing and lashing women and children in Sudan

Quote of the Day
“There is a lot of violation of women rights in Sudan, and we consider this as a violation of human rights and it is also a violation of women's security in Sudan. These violations have been there for so long but now it has taken on a new dimension.” - Nahid Jabrallah

From Sudan Radio Service today, Wednesday 05 August 2009:
Women's Groups in Khartoum Back Lubna Hussein

(Khartoum) – Following Lubna Hussein's court appearance on Tuesday, Sudanese women's activists are calling on the government to focus on issues affecting Sudanese women rather than concentrating on their dress-codes.

At a demonstration in front of the Khartoum North court where Hussein’s case was being heard, the SPLM Chairperson for the northern sector, Ikram Awad, told Sudan Radio Service that the government was losing sight of its primary responsibilities.

[Ikram Awad]: “Instead of focusing on women’s clothes, let the government focus on the problems facing women. We women have a lot of problems. We urged the government to solve all our problems and not the problems of how we dress. Because today, Lubna or anyone can be arrested for dressing in tight clothes but at the same time there are other women who are homeless, living under bridges and even walking naked and nobody is arresting them - because they are poor! Why is the government focusing on the way some women dress? We women in the SPLM say that the issue of clothing is up to the individual.”

Nahid Jabrallah, a Communist party activist, complained of the restrictions on women which prevent them from exercising their rights in Sudan.

[Nahid Jabrallah]: “There is a lot of violation of women rights in Sudan, and we consider this as a violation of human rights and it is also a violation of women's security in Sudan. These violations have been there for so long but now it has taken on a new dimension.”

Lubna Ahmed Hussein’s case has attracted international attention.

Right on, Nahid Jabrallah!  For starters, what about all the women recently killed by men in Jonglei State, South Sudan? Note this excerpt of a report filed here at Sudan Watch yesterday:

The Commissioner of Akobo County, Goi Jooyul Yol, told Miraya FM that the recent death toll from the clash in Akobo, Jonglei State, southern Sudan has risen to 185 including twelve soldiers.

Jooyul said that bodies are being retrieved from the river for burial, adding that most of the dead are women and children. Further details here below.

Repeat. The clashes claimed the lives of more than 180 people, mostly women and children.

Here's hoping that women of the world unite in support of Team Lubna to help stop men from lashing and killing women and children in Sudan (and Chad, and Uganda, and DR Congo, and ...)  

Click on label 'Sudan women 'lashed for trousers' (here below) to see related reports and how one can support Ms Hussein's campaign on Facebook to help change archaic laws in Sudan that discriminate against females.



Photo: Lubna Hussein (C), a former journalist and U.N. press officer, gestures outside the court after her trial in Sudan's capital Khartoum August 4, 2009. Dozens of protesters rallied outside a Khartoum court on Tuesday in support of Hussein, who faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public, in a case that has become a public test of Sudan's indecency laws. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallh (SUDAN CRIME LAW SOCIETY IMAGES OF THE DAY) (Hat tip: Reuters' correspondent Andrew Heavens in Khartoum: "Re widespread Sudan trouser woman coverage - I didn't see police beating anyone - tear-gassing, shoving yes, beating no". - Twitter/AndrewHeavens 5/8/09)

USSP on GoSS: Insecurity in S. Sudan is due to the LRA, men on horseback from N. Sudan, armed groups and individuals

From Sudan Radio Service, Wednesday 05 August 2009:
USSP Official Criticizes GOSS Security Policy

(London) – The deputy leader of the United South Sudan Party, Brian Badi, is calling on the Government of southern Sudan to contain insecurity and prepare southern Sudanese for the next elections and the referendum.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service by phone from London on Wednesday, Badi described the situation as he saw it in southern Sudan.

[Brian Badi]: “As far as security is concerned, I think I would categorize the causes of insecurity in southern Sudan into five categories, 

A, is the LRA, the Ugandan rebels. 

B, is the Ambororo, the Janjaweed or people on horseback who come from the north. 

C, is the armed groups or militias in the south. 

D, I would say are the individuals who possess illegal arms or weapons, individuals roaming about in southern Sudan with illegal weapon in their hands. 

E, is the soldiers who take the law into their own hands and use their guns to commit crimes.

Because, one, they misunderstand their own national role and their obligation to the citizens and the civil population.   Two, because they are not paid salaries and of course if you don’t pay people salaries, you don’t give them their dues, how do you expect them to live and how do expect their families to survive? These make them take the law into their own hands and of course they go about robbing people in the villages, looting and raping etc.”

Badi said the Government of southern Sudan should start asking itself what it has achieved in the last four years.

[Brian Badi]: “The Government of southern Sudan has been in power for four years, four years is a long period. It is actually the full length of the government and if a government has not performed in four years then it can ask itself - or the citizens have a right to ask - what have they been doing? 

They have always been giving lame excuses that south Sudan has just come out of war. The war ended a long, long time ago and they have been in power for four years. That is a long enough period for them to have made substantial improvements.”

The deputy leader of the United South Sudan Party, Brian Badi, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from London on Wednesday.

No lashings for Lubna as she had UN immunity when arrested but what about those without UN immunity?

The defence lawyer for Lubna Hussein says he thinks the court will drop the case, because at the time she committed the alleged action, Lubna was working with the UN and she was enjoying the UN’s immunity, and the immunity was not revoked at that time.  

The new date for the trial, 7 September, falls in the middle of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month when Muslims are supposed to renounce violence and refrain from all intolerant behaviour, dedicating the fast to peaceful contemplation.

From Sudan Radio Service, Tuesday, 04 August 2009:
Khartoum Trouser Trial Adjourned

(Khartoum) – Lubna Ahmed Hussein, the Sudanese journalist who has been accused by a court in Khartoum of dressing indecently, has had her case adjourned for a month.

Hussein spoke to Sudan Radio Service after the hearing. She explained why she chose to have her UN immunity lifted so that she could appear before the court.

[Lubna Hussein]: “The judge told me to choose between continuing the case and insisting on having UN immunity. I told him that I respect the agreement between the Sudan government and the UN, and because of that I will resign from the UN, so I don’t violate the agreement and that’s what happened. I have resigned from the UN because I belong to this nation, and because there are ten of thousands of women who are being lashed every day and the have no immunity and don’t work for the UN.”

The defense lawyer of the accused journalist, Nabil Adib, spoke to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum immediately after the court appearance on Tuesday.

[Nabil Adib]:”What happened is that when the court started the session, the judge said that after he checked the documents, he decided that the court should not continue the case before checking with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs whether or not Lubna had UN immunity when she was arrested. The case was adjourned for one month so the judge can contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify this issue.”

Adib said that he expects that the case might be dropped.

[Nabil Adib]: “I think the court will not continue with this case, because we know that at the time she committed the alleged action, Lubna was working with the UN and she was enjoying the UN’s immunity, and the immunity was not revoked at that time, so this is the response we are expecting from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. If the ministry confirms this, the court will drop the case.”

Lubna Hussein’s defense lawyer, Nabil Adib, was speaking to Sudan Radio Service from Khartoum.

So, it looks like good news, no lashings for Lubna as she had UN immunity when arrested. But what about all the Sudanese women and girls without UN immunity? Are they to be lashed by men for wearing trousers?

Click on label 'Sudan women 'lashed for trousers' (here below) to see related reports and how one can support Ms Hussein's campaign on Facebook to help change an archaic dress code law in Sudan that discriminates against females.

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From the Guardian, today - Lubna Hussein: justice deferred - excerpt:

The new date for the trial, 7 September, falls in the middle of Ramadan. This will work in Hussein's favour. Ramadan is a month when Muslims are supposed to renounce violence and refrain from all intolerant behaviour, dedicating the fast to peaceful contemplation.

S. Sudan: Junior competition 4-8 Aug kicks off at Juba Football Stadium

A football tournament involving junior teams from all the ten states of Southern Sudan kicked off on Tuesday at Juba Football Stadium, South Sudan.

The final winning team will represent Southern Sudan in the East African secondary school sports competitions due to start at the end of this month in Uganda.

Another tournament for under 17's, where about 14 African countries will participate, is expected to begin on 19 August 2009 in Juba.



Photo: A team of young girls football players parading at Juba Football Stadium shortly before the matches began, August 4, 2009 (James G. Dak/ST)

Source: Sudan Tribune, Wednesday 5 August 2009 02:30 am, by James Gatdet Dak - South Sudan prepares for East African sports competitions:

August 4, 2009 (JUBA) – A football tournament involving teams from all the ten states of Southern Sudan kicked off on Tuesday in the semi-autonomous region’s capital, Juba.

The participants comprising boys and girls teams were drawn from various secondary schools in the region.

The Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Professor Job Dhuruai, said the final winning team would represent Southern Sudan in the East African secondary school sports competitions due to start at the end of this month in Uganda.

The four-day competitions from 4th to 8th August were opened by the Vice President Dr. Riek Machar who lit the torch, marking the beginning of the tournament.

It will be for the first time that Southern Sudan participates in the Kampala tournament that will witness participation of many countries in East Africa.

Another tournament for teenaged boys and girls under 17 years old, where about 14 African countries will participate, is also expected to begin on 19th August in Juba.

Sudan’s national capital, Khartoum and Wad Medani town in Northern Sudan are also selected to host a number of teams’ competitions.

The Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Gabriel Changson Chang, has requested for an amount of 400,000 Sudanese pounds, which the cabinet has approved, to make necessary preparations for the Juba tournament.

Government of Southern Sudan has embarked on developing and promoting sports and cultural activities which it views as sectors of potential excellence for the region internationally.