How did Obama win the peace prize?

Warmest congratulations to US President Barack Obama on being awarded a Nobel Peace Peace Prize.  Here's hoping that Save Darfur.org and other Sudan activists will feel greatly inspired by the award and all pull together to work for peace in Sudan and the rest of the world.  

My heroes the late great Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and John Lennon were all murdered but only King received a Nobel Peace Prize.  I would love President Obama to share his peace prize money equally between the estates of Gandhi and Lennon and ask the world to pull together to stage a global concert calling for world peace and safe drinking water for all.

Taking a break. Back soon. Love and peace.  Here are some must-reads:

The poor are not the problem but the solution

What's Missing in the Darfur Sudan Debate: Addressing Property Rights Could Help Bring Peace

Water Is The New Gold

[P.S. This posting has been updated with a link to show that Martin Luther King was the recipient of The Nobel Peace Prize 1964. At the age of thirty-five, he was the youngest man to have received the Nobel Peace Prize. When notified of his selection, he announced that he would turn over the prize money of $54,123 to the furtherance of the civil rights movement.]
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New UNAMID Force Commander, General Patrick Nyambumba 




Photo: US Special Envoy to Sudan Gration meets with UNAMID's Deputy Joint Special Representative (Center) and new UNAMID Force Commander, General Patrick Nyambumba (Right)  September 2009 UNAMID HQ

Here is a snippet from a Snowmail (Channel 4 News UK) authored by Krishnan on Friday, 9 October 2009:

SEARCHING FOR THE REASON BEHIND OBAMA’S NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

It is one of those things that has everyone scratching their heads. Obama has just said he is surprised and deeply humbled. His supporters look a little embarrassed. His detractors are foaming at the mouth. Whatever way you look at it giving the Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama seems a tad premature. Is it an award for beating George Bush? An award for being black? The Nobel committee say he has given hope to the world and made great moves on nuclear disarmament. And there is no doubt Obama has changed the game in many ways. But substantive achievements are thin on the ground. He's likely to send more troops to Afghanistan, while his forces kill Afghan civilians by mistake month in month out. Even liberal America thinks it is strange - we'll be talking to Joe Klein of Time magazine and the head of Oslo's International Peace Institute.

Barack Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize: http://bit.ly/1MJJ3l
How did Obama win the peace prize?: http://bit.ly/TWWMB

How did Obama win the peace prize?
09 October 2009
By Channel 4 News

Barack Obama was "humbled" - and others taken aback - by the award to the US president of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize. So how is the winner chosen?

According to the will of Alfred Nobel, the prize should be given to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses".

The Norwegian Nobel committee said they had chosen Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples".

But much of the selection process takes place in secret.

The Norwegian Nobel committee writes to various people around the world each year asking them to submit their nominations.

The names of the nominees are only revealed 50 years later, but the prize committee announces the number of nominees each year and Obama was one of 205 people put forward in 2009.

Past winners have included Al Gore, Jimmy Carter, Kofi Annan, John Hume, David Trimble, Nelson Mandela, FW de Klerk, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, and Aung San Suu Kyi.

Mahatma Gandhi was nominated in 1937, 1938, 1939, 1947 and 1948. He was assassinated in January 1948 and the rules of the prize state that it cannot be awarded posthumously unless the winner's name has already been announced before their death.

But the prize was not awarded that year because the committee decided "there was no suitable living candidate".

Joseph Stalin was nominated for the peace prize in 1945 and 1948 for his efforts to end the second world war but he was not chosen as the winner.

Adolf Hitler was nominated in 1939 by EGC Brandt, a member of parliament in Sweden, but Brandt later withdrew the nomination.

Winston Churchill was nominated for the peace prize but never won. He did win the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

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From BBC Friday, 9 October 2009 - Nobel prize win 'humbles' Obama

ANALYSIS

By Paul Reynolds
BBC News, London
The award is certainly unexpected and might be regarded as more of an encouragement for intentions than a reward for achievements.

After all, the president has been in office for a little over eight months and he might hope to serve eight years. His ambition for a world free of nuclear weapons is one that is easier to declare than to achieve and a climate control agreement has yet to be reached.

Indeed, the citation indicates that it is President Obama's world view that attracted the Nobel committee - that diplomacy should be founded "on the basis of values and attitudes that are shared by the majority of the world's population".
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By Mark Mardell
BBC North America editor
There was already a huge weight of responsibility on Obama's shoulders, and this medal hung round his neck has just made it a little heavier.

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Nobel prize win 'humbles' Obama Barack Obama says he is "humbled and deeply surprised" to win the Nobel Peace Prize just 10 months into his presidency. "Surprised and humbled" US media on Obama award In pictures: Nobel prize rows Mardell: Heavy responsibility Head-to-head: Obama's prize Obama rewarded for world view World reaction to Obama win Should Obama have won?

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From Gulf Times, Saturday, 10 October 2009L
Nobel for Obama seen as premature honour
By Sarmad Qazi and Ramesh Mathew

Qatar residents yesterday expressed their surprise at the news of US President Barack Obama winning the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize, attributing his selection “more to his intentions rather than achievements.”

A majority of those surveyed by Gulf Times said that while the first-ever African-American president of the United States may be strongly committed to bridging differences in the world, it was too early to confer the prestigious award on him.

The Nobel Committee said Obama won the prize for “his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and co-operation between peoples” while highlighting his efforts to support international bodies and promote nuclear disarmament.
Following are the comments of some of the respondents.

Garry Friend (Australia)
I was surprised to hear that President Obama won the award. Somebody of his stature winning the Nobel Peace Prize in such a short time… it’s a good cause.
I must point out that a lot of his “efforts” appears to be talk, but it’s good that somebody in his position can in future have some input in really making a difference to this region in particular and all over the world.
The award to him is also a good thing if it pushes him to achieve global harmony.

Ibrahim Saleh al-Naimi (Qatari)
I wish him the best of luck. I am not qualified to judge him but if he has won it I think it was to support his good efforts.
He has not done anything concrete yet in the Middle East, although we all appreciated his landmark speech in Cairo.
The Nobel Peace Prize is too early for Obama and I hope this gives him a real incentive to push for peace. People are fed up with wars and there lies a real opportunity for Obama in the White House.

Abbas Moussa (Lebanon)
I think it is a compliment to Obama because he has got such a coveted prize in such a short period, but the selection has opened doubts that Nobel Prizes are politicised.
It would have been better for the Nobel committee to have waited for a couple of years and then see if he really deserved it. But coming this early, the award might tend to lose its prestige.
We know Obama is trying, especially to bring peace to the Middle East but there’s nothing on the ground. Some of the other world leaders have actually done so much more for global peace. Without exaggeration, take the example of HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani’s contributions in Lebanon, in Sudan, in relief efforts for Katrina victims and in quake-hit Kashmir.

Ashraf Siddiqui (Pakistan)
The deadline for nomination of the Nobel Peace Prize was February 1 when President Obama had been in office for only two weeks. According to the Nobel Committee, Obama’s outreach to the Muslim world and attempts to curb nuclear proliferation became the basis of his selection. It is a great surprise for me and I’m sure for most others as well.
I would say Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari has played a much bigger role in the fight against terrorism by providing unconditional support, amidst strong opposition from the people of his own country. I, therefore, hope the Nobel Committee reconsiders its decision or President Obama comes up with a suggestion to share the award with President Zardari for supporting him.

Anthony Tallant (UK)
I am really surprised at the news. How could a person sending armies to volatile territories one after another be chosen for the award? Be it in Afghanistan or in Pakistan, results are still a far cry.

Lennie Crammer (Sri Lanka)
It is too early to comment on Obama’s performance and the situation in most war-hit countries like Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan has not changed much after Obama assumed office. Even while appreciating the efforts that the US president has been making for long-lasting peace in such countries, I very much feel it was too early to confer on him a top honour as the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ali Mostafa (Indonesia)
How could a president’s performance be evaluated in such a short a period as nine months? Being an Indonesian I should have been proud of this achievement as the US president had done his elementary schooling in Menteng on the outskirts of Jakarta. However, I feel it was too early to honour Obama with the Nobel Peace Prize without understanding his real achievements. Like many others, I’m also a little bit surprised at the Nobel committee’s choice.

Simon D’Silva (India)
It is too premature to talk about Obama’s achievements in just about nine months that he has been in office. Needless to say, the Nobel honour to him at this juncture has surprised me. Before the committee reached such a decision, they should have waited a little more and evaluated the results of his peace missions to such countries as Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq. He still has major challenges to overcome as Al Qaeda and many other such elements are active. For achieving real global peace, the US president has miles to go.

Habib (Afghanistan)
When I first heard that Obama won the prestigious award, I thought that it was a joke and it took me a few minutes to realise it was true.
Most of my compatriots also could not comprehend this choice of Obama for the prize because he has hardly completed one year in the White House. All we got from Obama were promises and nothing else and he should be the winner of “promises award” and not peace.
The Middle East peace process is at a standstill, thanks to his failure to pressurise Israel to stop building settlements. We heard in the media about his intentions to increase the number of US troops in Afghanistan and this is not the behaviour of a peacemaker.
My only explanation is that the Nobel Prize committee had no real candidates to choose from. It was better if they announced that there was no winner for this year, instead of denigrating themselves by selecting Obama.

Abyei: Misseriya tribe fears losing traditional grazing rights

The Misseriya tribe fears losing traditional grazing rights in the area because it believes Abyei will vote to join Southern Sudan when it decides in a 2011 referendum to secede from Sudan, said tribal leader Mukhtar Babu El-Nimer.

“It will be a border of a whole different country to cross into with our cattle,” El-Nimer said in a phone interview from the state of South Kordofan. The Misseriya decided to reject the ruling at a conference that ended on Oct. 5, he said.

El-Nimer said his tribe will appeal the decision in The Hague or in Sudanese courts and will resort to violence only “if we are forced to.” The Misseriya will also try to bolster its presence in the area, he said.

Source:  Bloomberg by Maram Mazen in Khartoum, Sudan, October 9, 2009 -
Sudan Arab Tribe Rejects Ruling on Oil-Producing Abyei Region

The leader of the main Arab tribe in Sudan’s disputed oil-producing region of Abyei says he rejects an international court ruling that set new boundaries, raising concern about the possibility of renewed violence in the area.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in July set borders that gave the Ngok Dinka ethnic group control over Abyei. The Misseriya tribe fears losing traditional grazing rights in the area because it believes Abyei will vote to join Southern Sudan when it decides in a 2011 referendum to secede from Sudan, said tribal leader Mukhtar Babu El-Nimer.

“It will be a border of a whole different country to cross into with our cattle,” El-Nimer said in a phone interview from the state of South Kordofan. The Misseriya decided to reject the ruling at a conference that ended on Oct. 5, he said.

Clashes over control of Abyei between the Misseriya and the Ngok Dinka last year killed 89 people and displaced 90,000 more, according to the United Nations. The Misseriya fought with the north during the two-decade civil war against southern rebels that ended in 2005.

President Umar al-Bashir’s government in Khartoum, the administration in the semi-autonomous region of Southern Sudan, and the Ngok Dinka leadership have accepted the court ruling.

El-Nimer said his tribe will appeal the decision in The Hague or in Sudanese courts and will resort to violence only “if we are forced to.” The Misseriya will also try to bolster its presence in the area, he said.

“We will bring in more people so that we keep the same life our grandparents had,” he said.

Armed Groups

Fouad Hikmat, a Sudan expert at the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, called the Misseriya statements rejecting the court ruling at their conference “very serious.”

“The people who made those statements are leaders of armed groups within the Misseriya,” he said in a telephone interview from Nairobi, Kenya.

The Misseriya are pastoralists who move from South Kordofan state with their cattle each year during the dry season into Abyei, where the Ngok Dinka reside. They want Abyei to be run as a “joint land” with the Ngok Dinka, El-Nemir said.

Bashir’s government was pleased that the court ruling left the Bamboo and Heglig oil fields outside of Abyei, effectively allowing the authorities in Khartoum to retain control, while southerners applauded the decision to award the area to nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms.

Oil Production

Oil production around Abyei accounted for about 8 percent of Sudan’s total output in 2007, according to the International Crisis Group. Sudan pumps about 500,000 barrels per day and most of its reserves are in the south.

Arop Madut Arop, a representative for Abyei in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly, said the Bashir government may be pressuring the Misseriya to reject the ruling.

“The Misseriya must be pressured by someone else, maybe the government,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday from Juba, the capital of Southern Sudan. “The government must be asked why they are silent about the Misseriya’s statements.”

Officials at Bashir’s ruling National Congress Party didn’t immediately respond to telephone calls seeking comment.

Hikmat of the Crisis Group believes the Southern Sudan authorities may hold the key to assuaging Misseriya fears over their future grazing rights.

“They have to meet directly to discuss ways of coexistence and to have a kind of understanding and build trust between them,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maram Mazen in Khartoum via Cairo newsroom mmazen@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 9, 2009 05:20 EDT

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Sudan JEM: Mbeki offers African Union solutions to Darfur conflict

From the website of Darfur rebel group JEM, Friday, 9th, October 2009:
Sudan: Thabo Mbeki offers African Union solutions to Darfur conflict

Former South African President Thabo Mbeki has inquired and proposed a report that would expectedly balance the need for justice, peace and reconciliation in Darfur, reports claim. The reports would be presented to the African Union for implementation.

Experts say the Mbeki report is likely to recommend a local tribunal, backed by the AU, Sudan and possibly the Arab League; to deal with the abuses committed in Darfur. But critics of the African Union say the organization is using the commission only to find a way of avoiding the International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant for Mr. Bashir’s arrest. The AU has already refused to honor the warrant and Mr. Bashir has rejected the charges against him, accusing the ICC of colonialism.

However the rest of the African community is waiting to see whether the AU will accept and implement Mbeki’s recommendations that has come after the UN’s outgoing commander in Darfur in August declared that the region was no longer in a state of war, but rather faced low-level conflict and criminality.

The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when black African rebel groups took up arms against the government in Khartoum, complaining of discrimination and neglect. In response, pro-government Arab militias then started a campaign of violence, targeting the black African population.

Legitimacy of Genocide

Some Human Rights activist described the conflict as genocide, following reports that the Arab-led Sudanese government helped organize the militia attacks against the black communities. The ICC’s prosecutors claimed that al-Bashir masterminded and implemented a plan to destroy in substantial part of three tribal groups in Darfur because of their ethnicity but admitted to the lack of sufficient evidence.

On 31 January 2005, the UN released a 176-page report saying that while there were mass murders and rapes of Darfur civilians, they could not label the atrocities as genocide because genocidal intent appears to be missing. Many activists, however, refer to the crisis in Darfur as genocide, including the Save Darfur Coalition and the Genocide Intervention Network. These organizations point to statements by former United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, referring to the conflict as genocide. Other activist organizations, such as Amnesty International, while calling for international intervention, avoid the use of the term genocide.

In May 2006 the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army, signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government. The other faction of the SLM refrained from signing the agreement. On 31 August 2006, the United Nations Security Council approved Resolution 1706 which called for a new 26,000-troop UN peacekeeping force called UNAMID to supplant or supplement a poorly funded and ill-equipped 7,000-troop African Union Mission in Sudan peacekeeping force.

Sudan strongly objected to the resolution and said that it would see the UN forces in the region as foreign invaders. The following day, the Sudanese military launched a major offensive in the region.

In March 2007 the UN mission accused Sudan’s government of orchestrating and taking part in gross violations in Darfur and called for urgent international action to protect civilians there. But the ICC rejected a request to charge Mr. Bashir with genocide. However Mr. Bashir has been charged by the ICC with two counts of war crimes - intentionally directing attacks against civilians and pillaging. He is also accused of five crimes against humanity - murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. In February 2009, Darfur’s UNAMID tried to persuade the rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudanese government to sign a peace agreement [end of report]

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From Sudan Tribune, October 8, 2009 (WASHINGTON) – excerpt:
AU panel submits report on Darfur but kept confidential

The African Union (AU) panel on Darfur (AUPD) headed by the former South African president Thabo Mbeki has officially submitted its report to the Pan-African body but its content will not be released until a special AU summit later this month.

At a ceremony at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa Mbeki handed the lengthy report to the Chairperson of the AU Commission Jean Ping, eight month after its establishment.



Photo: Former South African President Thabo Mbeki (R) hands to the chairperson of African Union Commission Jean Ping, the report compiled by the high level panel on the Darfur crisis, at the African Union (AU) headquarters in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, October 8, 2009 (Reuters)

Click on label here below for previous reports and latest upates.

ICC Haskanita Darfur Sudan: Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda 19 October 2009

Photo: URF rebel group commander Bahar Idriss Abu Garda. (David Charter, Europe Correspondent/Sudan Watch archives)

Note that during Mr Garda's last appearance at the ICC, he gave his profession as “commander of a resistance movement” and thanked the court’s registry for facilitating his arrival to the Hague.

Here is a copy of a report from EMAILWIRE.COM, Oct. 09, 2009 by Press Release Distribution Staff:
Confirmation of charges hearing 19 October, 2009 -
Darfur, Sudan; Case: The Prosecutor v. Bahr Idriss Abu Garda

The confirmation of charges hearing in the case of The Prosecutor v. Abu Garda is scheduled to start on Monday, 19 October, 2009, at 09:30 until 16:30. According to the provisional agenda the confirmation hearing sessions are expected to last until 30 October, 2009.

The confirmation hearing is held to ensure that no case goes to trial unless there is sufficient evidence to establish substantial grounds to believe that the person committed the crime with which he has been charged. The suspect has the right to attend the hearing or in his absence be represented by counsel.

On 18 May this year Abu Garda, a member of the Zaghawa tribe of Sudan, appeared for the first time before the Court, in compliance with a summons issued under seal by Pre-Trial Chamber I on 7 May, and unsealed on 17 May.

During his initial appearance before the Court he was informed of his rights under the Rome Statute and the crimes which he is alleged to have committed. He is charged with three war crimes (violence to life, in the form of murder, whether committed or attempted; intentionally directing attacks against personnel, installations, materials, units, and vehicles involved in a peacekeeping mission; and pillaging) allegedly committed during an attack carried out on 29 September, 2007, against the African Union Mission in Sudan (“AMIS”), a peace-keeping mission stationed at the Haskanita Military Group Site, in the locality of Umm Kadada, North Darfur. It is alleged that the attackers killed twelve and severely wounded eight soldiers, destroyed communication facilities and other materials and appropriated property belonging to AMIS.

This case is the third in the Darfur situation after the cases of The Prosecutor v. Ahmad Muhammad Harun (“Ahmad Harun”) and Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman (“Ali Kushayb”), and The Prosecutor v. Omar Hassan Ahmad Al Bashir. The three suspects (Al Bashir, Harun and Kushayb) remain at large.

The Office of the Prosecutor has also submitted an application on 20 November, 2008, for the issuance of warrants of arrest or, alternatively, summonses to appear for two other individuals who allegedly participated in the attack on Haskanita MGS.

Practical information for the media

All media representatives with ICC accreditation wishing to attend are requested to bring a press valid identification card. No previous confirmation of attendance is required.

Audio and visual summaries

The Public Information and Documentation Section will provide video summaries of the proceedings for download in mpeg 4 format with stereo audio:

Channel 1 - floor (original language from the courtroom)

Channel 2 - English


Audio summaries will be available in mpeg 3 format:

Channel 1 - floor (original language from the courtroom)

Channel 2 - English.

Rushes will be available for download on the following dates: 19 October, 20 October, 23 October, 27 October, 29 October and 30 October.

The “News from the Court” programme (ready for broadcast) containing summaries of the proceedings in Arabic will be available on: 23 October, 27 October, 29 October and 30 October.

If you would like to receive information on these downloads (links for download) please send an email to: PublicAffairs.Unit@icc-cpi.int stating your name, organisation, contacts and which product you are interested to receive.

Video-streaming

The courtroom proceedings can also be followed on the ICC website at:

Courtroom I:

- English: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc1.asx
- French: http://livestream.xs4all.nl/icc2.asx

Please note that there will be a 30-minute delay in transmission of the public hearing. All hours noted refer to local time in The Hague.

Media Centre

For media representatives wishing to use the Court’s media facilities, the media centre will open from 08:30 until one hour after the end of the proceedings, from Monday to Friday.

The area can seat up to 64 people and includes: plasma TV screens; a Wi-Fi internet service; cards (plug + play) for those without Wi-Fi installation in their PC or laptop; 6 computers with internet access; 7 telephones for internal calls only, are free of charge. For external use, journalists are advised to purchase beforehand 0800 pre-paid phone cards available at newsagents and train stations. Please note that phone cards cannot be obtained in the vicinity of, or at the ICC.

Parking facilities

Parking facilities are available for media representatives at the Wegastraat car-park. Journalists attending are kindly invited to use the public entrance located on Regulusweg.

Contacts:

For media centre services: Ms Kerry Pickett Public Information Assistant at +31 (0)70 515 9130 or at Kerry.Pickett@icc-cpi.int

For AV services: Ms Violeta Willemsen-Curcic Video and Audio Producer at +31 (0)70 5158422 or at Violeta.WillemsenCurcic@icc-cpi.int

For interviews: Ms Sonia Robla, Head of Public Information and Documentation Section at +31 (0)70 515-8089 or +31 (0) 646448726 or at Sonia.Robla@icc-cpi.int

Contact Information:
The International Criminal Court (ICC)
Ms Kerry Pickett
Tel: +31 (0)70 515 9130

Click on Haskanita label here below for some related reports.



Photo: An African Union Mission in the Sudan (AMIS) peacekeeper stands in front of the coffins of his killed colleagues during a funeral ceremony at the Mission's forward headquarters in El Fasher, North Darfur province October 4, 2007. Seven Nigerian peacekeepers and three military observers from Mali, Senegal and Botswana were killed during an attack by rebel militia on their base in Haskanita during the night of 29 September 2007. (Reuters/Stuart Price/AMIS/Sudan Watch archives)

Sudanese delegation visits Switzerland in a mission to learn about federalism

A 17-member official Sudanese delegation was visiting Switzerland, in a mission to learn about federalism.

"We are learning how the system works and whether it can help us in Sudan with out diversities as well," said John Ukec Lueth Ukec, Sudan's ambassador to Switzerland.

Switzerland, with four language groups, religious divides and other difference between regions, has prided itself on its strong decentralized system of allocating much power to the cantons to ensure stability.

The Sudanese were also in Europe seeking help from the international community, for development and humanitarian assistance.

Source:  Earth Times by DPA Friday, 09 Oct 2009.  Copy:
Sudan denies destabilizing neigbouring Chad: ambassador

(Geneva) - Sudan is seeking good relations with its neighbours, particularly Chad, its ambassador to Switzerland said Friday - adding he hoped for an end to the internal conflicts in Sudan too. "We do not want to have any problems with Chad ... we want peaceful relations with Chad," said John Ukec Lueth Ukec, Sudan's ambassador to Switzerland. "Currently, we have good relations," the diplomat added.

He said allegations that Khartoum was working to destabilize its neighbor were false and noted that the two countries recently exchanged ambassadors.

"Chad has lots of potential to be destabilized by its own rebels," Ukec told reporters in Geneva.

The countries have had fraught relations, in part relating to rebel groups in each country reportedly getting support from the governments in Khartoum and N'Djamena, and cross-border attacks.

Meanwhile, the ambassador and Ali Mahmoud, the governor of South Darfur state, said the fighting in the troubled western province of the country was over, and that remaining insecurity was due to criminal elements.

"The only problem in Southern Darfur is robberies. These are (carried out by) criminals, the factions of previous rebel groups," insisted Mahmoud.

"In south Darfur, there is no fighting between army and rebel groups for one year," he said, adding that there were still "tribal conflicts."

There has been some sporadic fighting since the outgoing commander of the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) said in August he considered the war in the western province over.

Meanwhile, Ukec was quick to reject growing concerns in the international community that the north and south of Sudan could again become entangled in a civil war.

"The leaderships of north and south tell the people that we are not going back to war," the ambassador said, acknowledging that the two regions have been in combat for much of the country's modern history.

The decades of fighting left many issues unresolved, Ukec said, allowing for disputes over land and other basic resources to linger.

A 17-member official Sudanese delegation was visiting Switzerland, in a mission to learn about federalism.

"We are learning how the system works and whether it can help us in Sudan with out diversities as well," said Ukec.

Switzerland, with four language groups, religious divides and other difference between regions, has prided itself on its strong decentralized system of allocating much power to the cantons to ensure stability.

The Sudanese were also in Europe seeking help from the international community, for development and humanitarian assistance.

Commenting on a decision earlier this year by Khartoum to expel 13 non-governmental aid groups who were offering assistance, Ukec said "our national security is number one."

He claimed the NGOs were engaged in politics and were looking to cause divisions within Sudan.

The aid groups at the time objected to the expulsion, which was connected to a decision by the International Criminal Court to issue warrants for the country's leadership, including the president, in relation to events in Darfur. The groups were accused of working with the ICC.

"We still need help, but not help from an enemy who doesn't want Sudan to be stable," Ukec said about the aid workers.

China National Petroleum and Chadian gov't sign MOU on financing for N'Djamena Refinery

On August 21, 2009 China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) President Jiang Jiemin and Chad's oil and mineral resources minister Mahamat Hassan Nasser signed a memorandum of understanding on appling for preferential export buyer's credit for the Sino-Chadian joint venture N'Djamena Refinery. Representatives of the two parties also signed a supplementary agreement of the joint-venture agreement and a loan agreement for the joint-venture refinery.



Source: CNPC website, August 25, 2009 - CNPC and Chadian government sign MOU on financing for N'Djamena Refinery

Block 6: CPECC, a subsidiary of PetroChina's parent CNPC, wins 7 engineering and construction contracts in Sudan

Last month, China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation (CPECC) - a subsidiary of PetroChina's parent China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) - was awarded $260 million of engineering and construction contracts for an area known as Block 6, China’s largest oil and gas producer said on its website today.

The contracts in Sudan include the expansion of a power plant and construction of two crude oil tanks with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters each, CNPC said.

Sudan had 5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January, the fifth-biggest in Africa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The majority of the reserves are located in the Muglad and Melut basins in the south. China is the country’s largest investor.

China’s oil consumption doubled in the last decade to 8 million barrels a day in 2008, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review. It imported about 3.6 million barrels of oil a day last year, meeting about 45 percent of its needs.

Source: Report by Bloomberg News, Friday, October 9, 2009.  Copy:
PetroChina Parent Wins Engineering Contracts in Sudan (Update2)

China National Petroleum Corp. said it beat 13 bidders from countries including India to win seven engineering contracts in Sudan, holder of Africa’s fifth-largest crude oil reserves.

A unit of China National Petroleum was awarded $260 million of engineering and construction contracts for an area known as Block 6 in September, China’s largest oil and gas producer said on its Web site today.

China National Petroleum, the parent of Hong Kong-listed PetroChina Co., said last month it had received a $30 billion loan to fund overseas expansion as the world’s third-largest economy stepped up its hunt for energy resources overseas. China National Petroleum led the development of the first oilfield in Sudan where President Umar al-Bashir is accused by the International Criminal Court of committing war crimes in Darfur.

“Given the good bilateral ties between China and Africa, Chinese companies have the advantage with infrastructure engineering contracts,” Wang Jing, chief oil analyst with Orient Securities Ltd., said by telephone in Shanghai.

The contracts in Sudan include the expansion of a power plant and construction of two crude oil tanks with a capacity of 50,000 cubic meters each, China National Petroleum said.

Sudan had 5 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January, the fifth-biggest in Africa, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The majority of the reserves are located in the Muglad and Melut basins in the south. China is the country’s largest investor.

Clashes in Darfur

In western region of Darfur, clashes between pro-government forces and rebels, along with tribal fighting, banditry and disease, have killed about 300,000 people, according to United Nations estimates. The rebels took up arms against the government in 2003 accusing it of neglecting the area. The government puts the death toll at about 10,000.

China’s oil consumption doubled in the last decade to 8 million barrels a day in 2008, according to BP Plc’s Statistical Review. It imported about 3.6 million barrels of oil a day last year, meeting about 45 percent of its needs.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ying Wang in Beijing at ywang30@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 9, 2009 03:28 EDT

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Oct. 9, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) --
CPECC wins seven EPC projects in Sudan

BEIJING, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) 锝– China Petroleum Engineering Construction Corporation (CPECC), a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), won 260-million-dollar contract for seven Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) projects located in Sudan's Oil Block 6.

The seven projects include FNE flow station, Jake flow station, CPF station expansion project, power station expansion, power grid system installation, oil well development and construction of two oil storage tanks with stockpiling capacity of 50,000 cubic meters each.

It was learnt that CPECC has started design and raw material purchasing for the EPC projects.

CPECC is a major oil and gas engineering company in Sudan. It is a full-owned subsidiary of CNPC.

CNPC is the parent company (OOTC:KIDSQ) of PetroChina (PTR.NYSE, 601857.SH).

(Source: iStockAnalyst)

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Sudan oil fields map 2008



Graphic map of Sudan showing its oil fields and the international consortium involved. (AFP/Graphic/Anibal Maizcaceres/Sudan Watch archives 29 Oct 2008)

Darfur doctors fired by State for striking to improve food and working conditions

Report from Sudan Radio Service, 5 October 2009:
Striking Darfur Doctors Fired By State

(Khartoum) - Authorities in South Darfur state have sacked doctors who went on strike last week.

Over 30 doctors went on strike on Thursday after the state ministry failed to pay them their three-month allowances. They also complained about poor working conditions.

Speaking to Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum on Saturday, the Health Minister in South Darfur state, Mohamed Harun, said the doctors were sacked for participating in an illegal strike.

[Mohamed Harun]: “This strike is illegal; if you didn’t get your salary for August does that mean you want two months salary for August and September? we told them to form a committee so that we can work with them. They formed a committee and I met them on Sunday and we agreed. After two days, we paid them their allowances. Then on Wednesday, they wrote another letter saying that they are going on strike on October 1. And because of that we decided to dismiss them.”

One of the doctors who went on strike, Dr Mohamed Omar, told Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum that they took industrial action to pressure the government into improving doctors’ working conditions.

[Mohamed Omar]: “Our aim is to get our incentives. If I say that I don’t have food or even a meal does that mean that I want additional pay? Our problem is food and working conditions. So if the minister said that they have other doctors, then let those doctors come and work.”

Dr Mohamed Omar was speaking to Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum.

Darfur peace talks in Doha by end of this month?

Qatar's Minister of State attends a conference on Sudan
Source: Government of Qatar 
Date: 06 Oct 2009 (via ReliefWeb)

Moscow/(QNA)/06 October 2009/ Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs H.E. Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud took part in the practical- scientific conference concerned with sudan's problems which began here earlier Tuesday and runs for two days.

Addressing the opening session, H.E. Al Mahmoud tackled the peaceful anticipations of darfur settlement within the qatar-led initiative and the UN/AU joint mediator. he also highly evaluated russia's support to the initiative led by qatar and the UN/AU joint mediator.

H.E. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud said in his adddress, I would like to thank the Government of the Russian Federation and, in particular, our friend Mikhail Margelov, the Special Envoy of the Russian Federation President to Sudan for his kind invitation to attend the aforesaid conference to talk about expectations of the peaceful settlement of the Darfur issue within the context of the initiative led by the State of Qatar and the joint mediator of the African Union and the United Nations.

He further said ,''As you know, the issue of Darfur has remained a concern haunting the local, regional and international conscience in view of the casualties and loss in properties such unfortunate conflict has produced.

The qatari state minister for foreign affairs went on to say that the State of Qatar''s efforts in the context of the Arab-African Ministerial Committee and from the very beginning were heading to seeking a comprehensive and urgent solution to the conflict in cooperation and full coordination with all sectors of the international community to spare the peoples and the region further scourge of that conflict.

H.E. Al Mahmoud added that such a ministerial committee held a meeting recently in New York on September 24, 2009, and issued a statement expressing its support for the efforts exerted on part of the UN/AU joint mediator and the Government of the State of Qatar to start peace talks in Doha, by the end of October 2009 which main objective is to reach a final and comprehensive agreement on Darfur.

H.E. Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, went on to say, we have acted in this context, in full coordination with Djibril Bassole, the joint mediator of the African Union (au) and the United Nations (un) and knocked are still knocking on all doors to reach the sublime goal represented in achieving a comprehensive peace settlement to the conflict to ensure the rights and heal wounds and open the door wide for development and prosperity in Darfur in particular and in Sudan in general.

He further said, We appreciate and value the support of Russia to the initiative led by the State of Qatar and the joint mediator of the African Union and the United Nations. He also made clear that the efforts Qatar made in coordination with the joint mediator has given fruits which reflected in:

1 - the signing of a memorandum of understanding (mou) between the government and one of the armed movements in February this year, as per of which focus was made on the importance of the peaceful course and making it an approach to solve the issue.

2 - Most of, if not all, the armed movements showcase a clear desire to engage in the political process and renounce violence as a means to settle disputes after the peace process was limited to a few number of these movements.

3 - It is true that the split of the movements and their large number in Darfurian arena poses a real challenge to us and for the peace process, but there are encouraging signs which emerged in Tripoli and Addis Ababa, indicating that these movements have felt the need to consolidate and unify the negotiating positions and visions in order to facilitate and accelerate negotiations to reach a comprehensive solution.

4 - several sectors of the civil society have showed due concrn in order to participate in the peace process and has indicated their willingness to play a greater role both either inside the Darfurian community or with the movements.

5 - The support of the international community for the peace process remained so strong and shoulder its responsibilities in this concern.

6 - As a result of what we have mentioned, some signs appeared indicating to a decline in violence cycle and the rate of military operations in Darfur according to testimonies of some of the international officials who have worked in Darfur, the matter which contribute to easing and calming the thoughts of people and create a culture of peace and the acceptance of dialogue as a sole approach for solution.

H.e. Abdullah Al Mahmoud also said that our expectations for a peaceful settlement in Darfur stemmed from key foundations based on equation of the four principles namely unity, negotiations, peace and development, are summarized in:

The importance of reconciliation between the rebel movements and the consolidation of these movements on a common political agenda and work to make these parties more flexible since honesty and seriousness in peace makes it imperative on everyone to offer concessions.

_ Seeking to expand the participation and representation in the peace process to include, in addition to the rebel movements, other stakeholder groups in Darfur, namely the various civil society groups so that they feel they are part of the process and that any peace agreement to be reached would yield benefit to them and they will contribute actively in its implementation.

_ Coordination with the regional partners, as per principles of transparency and openness and that this partnership should be constructive.

_ The importance that the international community should allocate sufficient resources and set up clear goals that build the desired effect to reach the desired peace.

_ The necessity of maintaining relations stable between Sudan and Chad and this is an important element in the current diplomatic efforts and this is what the State of Qatar currently undertakes in coordination with the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

He the minister of state for foreign affairs further said .''It is true that the peace process in Darfur faces many challenges, the most important of which are divisions between movements and how to persuade them to Standardize their negotiating positions, as well as the absence of an effective agreement for a cease-fire to provide protection for civilians. in view of what has been achieved, promise of peace has become evident and that atmosphere was now more appropriate than ever before to reach a just and comprehensive peace in Darfur, h.e. al mahmoud said.

He said that we in Qatar are very much relying on the support of the international community and especially the most influential countries as well as the neighbouring countries and international organizations plus parties concerned with the conflict which are represented in the Sudanese government and rebel movements to each in turn to play their respective roles for supporting mediation and enable them to overcome some difficulties and challenges that slow the march of the peace process and that in turn will evenetually provide the appropriate environment for fair and overall elections in the country next year.

Concluding h.e. Al Mahmoud said, we would like to assure you that our part of the State of Qatar is committed to moving its efforts forward to contribute to the development of a clear vision for peace in Darfur, in full coordination with Bassol and help of the international partners and cooperation of the Government, the movements and the civil society.

Special Envoys for Sudan of China, EU, France, Russia, UK, US (the E6) met in Moscow 6 October 2009

The E6 received an update on efforts by the UN/AU Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole to engage with rebel factions and Darfuri civil society, as part of a broader effort to restart peace talks in Doha by the end of October. They strongly supported this objective. They called on the Government of Sudan to do everything possible to facilitate such efforts, and for all Darfuri leaders to engage urgently in the peace talks, including those based elsewhere in the region and in Europe. Any further delay would be unacceptable.

Source: US Department of State
Moscow E6 Statement
Washington, DC
October 6, 2009

The Special Envoys for Sudan of China, the European Union, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States (the E6) met in Moscow on 6 October 2009, under the chairmanship of Mikhail Margelov, Special Envoy for Sudan of the President of the Russian Federation.

The E6 reviewed developments in Sudan since their first meeting in Doha in May. They welcomed signs of progress, including over Abyei and towards full deployment of UNAMID, but noted the fundamental challenges remaining. They underlined the need for further efforts and stronger political commitment by all parties in Sudan to build lasting peace, stability and prosperity, and confirmed their readiness to support these efforts, and called on all regional and international partners to do the same.

The E6 particularly underlined the urgency of progress to further efforts for the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. They welcomed the work undertaken with the parties in this regard by US Special Envoy Scott Gration, the Assessment and Evaluation Commission and the United Nations, and between the parties themselves. They urged the parties to reach agreement as soon as possible on arrangements for free and fair national elections in 2010 and the 2011 referendum, as well as on a work-plan to address issues of shared interest that will arise after 2011.

The E6 expressed their strong concern over current security and humanitarian challenges in South Sudan, and their readiness to support efforts by the authorities there to tackle these.

The E6 received an update on efforts by the UN/AU Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole to engage with rebel factions and Darfuri civil society, as part of a broader effort to restart peace talks in Doha by the end of October. They strongly supported this objective. They called on the Government of Sudan to do everything possible to facilitate such efforts, and for all Darfuri leaders to engage urgently in the peace talks, including those based elsewhere in the region and in Europe. Any further delay would be unacceptable. They strongly supported the renewed efforts by all sides to ensure peaceful, cooperative relations across the region, particularly between Sudan and Chad, and to improve levels of humanitarian access and reduce insecurity. In this regard they welcomed the expansion of the High-level Committee on Darfur to allow participation by interested countries, the Arab League and the African Union.

The E6 looked forward to forthcoming report on Peace, Justice and Reconciliation in Darfur by the AU High-Level Panel led by former President Mbeki. They expressed their common hope that its recommendations, and follow-up action by all concerned in Sudan, could contribute positively to resolution of the complex challenges facing Darfur, Sudan as a whole and the region.

The E6 underlined the essential role of the United Nations and African Union, as well as other regional organizations and neighboring states, in supporting the parties to work through the urgent remaining challenges to peace. They called for particular attention in forthcoming international appointments to ensuring full coherence and coordination in UN/AU efforts, and for stronger and more concerted leadership at all levels.

The E6 resolved to meet again as necessary to exchange views on the situation in Sudan, and how they could work together and with others to support the parties to build peace.

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From Nam News Network
SUDANESE PRESIDENTIAL ENVOYS HOLDS MEETINGS IN DOHA AHEAD OF DOHA TALKS

MOSCOW, Oct 7 (NNN-SUNA) -- Sudanese Presidential Adviser Dr. Ghazi Salahuddin has held a number of meetings here with delegations participating in the Scientific Symposium on Sudan.

In a statement to SUNA Tuesday, Sudan's Ambassador to Russia, Suraj-Eddin Hamid, said Dr. Salahuddin met the joint envoy of the United Nations and the African Union (AU) on Dafur, Djibril Bassole, and the Chinese envoy and reviewed the preparations for the coming session of negotiation in Doha.

Ambassador Hamid said that the group of envoys was engaged in formulation of a statement including the major views reflected in the symposium, adding that the symposium would review on Wednesday issues of Sudan through three working groups on the economic and social situation, the political situation and the situation in Darfur.

He added that Dr. Salahuddin would continue his meetings on the sidelines of the symposium and was due to meet with the American and the Dutch envoys.

A number of Russian and international mass media and press have interviewed members of Sudan's delegation to the symposium which is headed by Dr. Salahuddin.

Addressing the symporsium Tuesday, Dr. Salahuddin, affirmed the Sudanese government's seriousness to implement the remaining items in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the war between northern and southern Sudan and led to the southern Sudan-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SOLM) to participate in the national government.

He also urged the international community to live up to its commitments for supporting the implementation of the CPA.

Turning to Dafur, Dr. Salahuddin referred to the government's efforts to reach a peaceful solution to the Darfur issue and the current situation concerning negotiations for solving the Darfur issue, while expressing appreciation for the role of the Arab ministerial committee in this regard.

He called on the international community to boost the efforts for achieving stability and peace in Darfur by urging the armed movements in Dafur to participate in the Doha negotiations.

Dr. Salahuddin affirmed the government's keenness to work for holding elections within the fixed time.

Meanwhile, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister affirmed the commitment of his country to support the peace, stability and unity of Sudan. The symposium was also addressed by Dr. Mutrif Siddiq, Osman Khalid Mudawi, Ghazi Suleiman, Dr. Lam Akol, the special envoy of the Russian President for Sudan, the Qatari State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed bin Abdalla Al-Mahmoud, the representatives of China, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, France, Finland, the UN envoy for Sudan, Asharf Qazi, Djibril Bassole and the representative of the Russian Contemporary Development Institute which is sponsoring the symposium. -- NNN SUNA

Russia has temporarily overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer

Report by KBC Market Research Desk, KBC Bank, Tue, Oct 6 2009:
Weaker dollar pushes gold higher above 1000$/oz

On Monday Brent was little changed at below 70$, pausing from the previous session's losses, as concerns about a halting U.S. economic recovery and sluggish energy demand continued to weight on crude prices. However, better than expected U.S. ISM in services sector and speculations that Gulf Arab states were in secret talks with Russia, China, Japan and France to replace greenback with a basket of currencies in oil trading strengthened WTI.

Today, oil prices stayed flat, as investors waited for more definitive signs of demand recovery and weighed the impact of a report that Gulf Arab states were in secret talks to replace the U.S. dollar with a basket of currencies in oil trading.

Russia's president Dmitry Medvedev said that his country was not interested in oil prices going too high saying that a fair oil price should be at around 80- 90$/b.

Supply from the 11 OPEC members bound by output targets rose to 26.40 mln.b/d from 26.2 mln.b/d in August, according to the survey of oil firms, OPEC officials and analysts.

Russia’s oil production reached 10.01mln.b/d in September, a record, and breaching the 10mln.b/d mark for the first time. OPEC output cuts mean Russia has temporarily overtaken Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer.

Deutsche Bank increased its 2010 oil price forecast by 10$ to 65$/b on Monday, still below consensus even as it priced in improved economic prospects and a weaker U.S. dollar, while it maintained a more bullish view for 2011.

South Sudan's semi-autonomous government has approved plans to build a 2 bln.$ oil refinery, the southern energy minister said on Sunday, a step toward boosting its oil infrastructure ahead of a referendum on secession. Sudan, emerging from decades of north-south civil war, produces more than 500kb/d of crude from fields mostly in the landlocked south. But the refineries and pipelines are in the north, giving Khartoum control of the precious commodity

A world economic upturn risks support speculation that could dent the recovery, French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said. She expected tougher control and regulation of the commodities market was needed and oil trading was a particular concern.

U.S. gasoline demand peaked in 2007 and will decline into the future as efficiency and the development of biofuels and high-tech cars like hybrids speed up, Exxon Mobil Corp's top executive said.

Iraq is expected to put off passing its long-delayed oil and gas legislation until after national polls in January, the head of the Iraqi parliament's oil and gas committee said.

The amount of crude oil held at sea on tankers is likely to fall as consumption grows in the fourth quarter, the chief executive of the world's biggest independent oil tanker group Frontline said.

Seems like Africa will soon switch to netbooks big time...

Tweet by Erik Hersman:

RT @wanjiku: Seems like Africa will soon switch to netbooks big time...
7:26 AM Oct 2nd from Seesmic

whiteafrican
Erik Hersman

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Web definitions for Netbook
A netbook is a small portable laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netbook

Sudanese President Bashir tells parliament "I invite all the parties to a dialogue"

In a report published last week, Geneva-based Small Arms Survey said that north and south Sudan have been engaged in an arms race for the past four years.

"With ongoing violence in southern Sudan and Darfur, and mounting tensions between northern and southern governments, persisting arms flows should be a cause for great concern in the international community," said Eric Berman, Small Arms Survey Managing Director.

The president confirmed this weekend that he will stand in the April elections.

"We wish to have general elections without violence. I invite all the parties to a dialogue... in order to reach a positive climate to hold elections," Bashir told parliament.

Source: Report from Khartoum by Guillaume Lavallee (AFP), 5 October 2009:
Sudan's Beshir invites opposition for dialogue

Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Monday invited the country's opposition for talks aimed at avoiding clashes in next year's general election, a week after they threatened to boycott it.

"We wish to have general elections without violence. I invite all the parties to a dialogue... in order to reach a positive climate to hold elections," Beshir told parliament.

Africa's largest country is to hold presidential, parliamentary and local elections in April 2010, its first general election since 1986.

After Beshir's coup in 1989, subsequent votes were slammed as a sham by the country's opposition.

Southern former rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), who now share a unity government with Beshir's National Congress Party, joined other opposition parties last week in threatening to boycott elections if the laws guaranteeing basic freedoms are not passed by November 30.

After its decades-long north-south civil war, Sudan adopted an interim constitution guaranteeing freedoms but the text clashed with old laws that remain in place.

"We will receive the laws and harmonise them with the constitution," Beshir said, adding that a new national commission for human rights will also be formed.

"This parliamentary session comes at a crucial moment," said Beshir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity in the war-torn western region of Darfur.

The president confirmed this weekend that he will stand in the April elections.

Analysts say the SPLM and opposition parties are considering fielding a candidate jointly but no announcement has yet been made.

Insecurity in Darfur and increasing violence in south Sudan where 2,000 people have died in ethnic clashes since the beginning of the year, could also threaten the elections, analysts say.

Southern leaders have accused Beshir of arming ethnic militias in order to destabilise the south ahead of elections and a key referendum scheduled for 2011 on independence for the resource-rich but impoverished region.

"We want to find a solution to tensions in the south and we are prepared to help create an appropriate climate for the elections and the referendum," Beshir said.

In a report published last week, Geneva-based Small Arms Survey said that north and south Sudan have been engaged in an arms race for the past four years.

"With ongoing violence in southern Sudan and Darfur, and mounting tensions between northern and southern governments, persisting arms flows should be a cause for great concern in the international community," said Eric Berman, Small Arms Survey Managing Director.

British Ambassador visit UNAMID HQ in Al-Fasher, Darfur, western Sudan

From Embassy of the Republic of the Sudan, Washington D.C., 5 Oct. 2009:
British Ambassador Visit UNAMID Headquarters in Al-Fasher

Al-Fasher, Oct. 4, 2009 (SUNA) - The Ambassador of Britain to Sudan Sunday visited in Al-Fasher the headquarters of the joint UN and African Union Mission (UNAMID) and met with its acting chairman and the commander of UNAMID and got informed on the latest developments concerning the deployment of the mission's forces, the security situation in Darfur and the challenges facing the UNAMID and the priorities of its work.

In a press statement, the Ambassador said that Britain is giving top priority to the aspired success of the peace process in Darfur, and success of the UNAMID mission and its role in the coming elections and the voluntary return of the displaced people and refugees to their home areas.

The UNAMID commander told the British Ambassador that 70% of the UNAMID forces are now deployed, stressing that his forces will work for boosting the realization of peace in Darfur.

He said that the security situation in Darfur has improved greatly, referring to activities being done by the joint mission in the fields of capacity building and supporting the social reconciliations in Darfur.

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Her Majesty's Ambassador to Sudan, Dr Rosalind Marsden CMG



Photo: Her Majesty's Ambassador to Sudan, Dr Rosalind Marsden CMG (Consul General, Basra 2006 - 2007) attended the launch of the Southern Sudan Demobilisation, Disarmament and Reintegration programme in Juba on 10 June 2009. (Source: fco.gov.uk)

Sudan plans to more than triple sugar production, Kenana Says

Quote of the Day
“Sudan has an important role to play, with the potentials we have in land, water, climate, to come in and fill in the world gap in sugar production” - Mohamed El Mardi, Managing Director, Kenana Sugar Co. (September 2009)

Raw-sugar prices in New York rose 98 percent this year while refined sugar advanced 77 percent in London.

Source: Bloomberg report by Maram Mazen and Alaa Shahine, Sept. 11 2009:
Sudan Plans to More Than Triple Sugar Production, Kenana Says

Sudan plans to more than triple sugar output within three years after prices for the sweetener rose to a record, according to Kenana Sugar Co., the country’s biggest producer.

Plants under construction will take output to more than 3 million metric tons from 900,000 tons now, Managing Director Mohamed El Mardi said in an interview in Khartoum on Sept. 8. Kenana will lift its refined supply by about 40 percent to more than 600,000 tons in the crop year ending April 2010, he said.

Prices have gained on speculation that India, the biggest consumer, will boost imports and as rains delay the harvest in Brazil, the biggest grower. Demand will outpace supply for a second consecutive year in 2009-10, with a likely shortfall of 9 million tons, London-based Czarnikow Group Ltd. said this month.

“Sudan has an important role to play, with the potentials we have in land, water, climate, to come in and fill in the world gap in sugar production,” El Mardi said.

Raw-sugar prices in New York rose 98 percent this year while refined sugar advanced 77 percent in London.

Kenana, established in 1982, is based about 150 miles south of Khartoum on the eastern bank of the White Nile. It is 34 percent-owned by the Sudanese government, with the Kuwait Investment Authority holding 30 percent and the Saudi Arabian government 12 percent, according to El Mardi.

Kenana and Beltone Private Equity of Egypt in August agreed to start an agricultural company investing as much as $1 billion in the Middle East and North Africa.

The new company will seek investors from next month and “we expect to start the first project in six months,” El Mardi said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maram Mazen in Khartoum via Cairo newsroom mmazen@bloomberg.net. Alaa Shahine in Cairo atasalha@bloomberg.net

Oct. 3-5 - At least 23 people killed, 21 injured in cattle raids between Mundari and Dinka Bor in two Central Equatoria State villages near Juba

Dinka and Mundari tribesmen clashed throughout the weekend in two Central Equatoria State villages near the southern capital of Juba, Hussein Mar.  At least 23 people were killed,  including six civilians and four soldiers, 21 injured and more than a thousand fled their homes.

More than 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in inter-tribal violence across the south since January, according to the United Nations, with the rate of violent deaths now exceeding that of war-torn Darfur in west Sudan.

The remote and marshy Jonglei state, where French oil giant Total (TOTF.PA) holds a massive, mainly unexplored concession, has been particularly hard hit by cattle raiding and related killings that have fractured communities along ethnic lines.

Source:  Report from Cairo, Egypt (AFP) ‎Oct 3, 2009
South Sudan tribal clashes leave 23 dead

At least 23 people were killed and more than a thousand fled their homes in ethnic clashes in volatile south Sudan over the weekend, a Sudanese official said on Monday.

Dinka and Mundari tribesmen clashed throughout the weekend in two Central Equatoria State villages near the southern capital of Juba, Hussein Mar, deputy governor of neighbouring Jonglei state, told AFP.

"The violence killed at least 23 people, including six civilians and four soldiers," he said, adding that 1,700 had been displaced in the fighting.

Parts of the Christian and animist south have been rocked by ethnic violence over the past year.

More than 2,000 people have died and 250,000 been displaced in inter-tribal violence across the south since January, according to the United Nations, with the rate of violent deaths now exceeding that of war-torn Darfur in west Sudan.

Clashes between rival ethnic groups in southern Sudan erupt frequently -- often sparked by cattle rustling and disputes over natural resources, while others are in retaliation for previous attacks.

However, a wave of recent raids has shocked many, with an apparent sharp rise in attacks on women and children and the targeting of homesteads.

Sixteen people were killed on Saturday in clashes between forces loyal to an ex-warlord and the governor's guards in oil-rich Unity State.

Last month, more than 100 people were killed in several days of clashes in the troubled Jonglei state.

Southern officials have accused Khartoum of arming some ethnic groups, an accusation Sudan's government denies.

North-south tensions remain high, with the country still divided by the religious, ethnic and ideological differences that fuelled a 22-year civil war which ended in a 2005 peace deal.

Under that deal, the south has a six-year transitional period of regional autonomy and takes part in a unity government until a 2011 referendum on self-determination.

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TIMELINE-Violence spirals in south Sudan

Oct 5, 2009 (Reuters) - South Sudan's president has blamed the military in the north for an escalation in violence in his semi-autonomous region emerging from decades of civil war, a southern official said on Monday.

More than 1,200 people have been killed by ethnic fighting this year, fuelled by a huge supply of weapons left over from over two decades of north-south war that ended with a 2005 peace deal, now faltering. Khartoum denies any involvement in the escalation in violence.

The north armed proxy militias in south Sudan during the war to intensify divisions.

The remote and marshy Jonglei state, where French oil giant Total (TOTF.PA) holds a massive, mainly unexplored concession, has been particularly hard hit by cattle raiding and related killings that have fractured communities along ethnic lines.

Here are details of some of the worst fighting:

MARCH 5-13 - At least 453 people, mainly women and children, are killed in attacks by the Lou Nuer tribe on at least 17 villages of the rival Murle ethnic group in Jonglei. The Lou Nuer say the incidents were retaliation for large-scale cattle raiding and attacks on Lou Nuer villages in January.

APRIL 18-19 - At least 177 people are killed in attacks on 16 villages of the Lou Nuer tribe by Murle fighters. Women and children are targeted in what are widely seen as revenge attacks for the March violence.

JUNE 12 - Jikany Nuer, like the Lou a sub-group of the large Nuer tribe, attack barges carrying U.N. food aid on the Sobat River to Lou Nuer areas in Jonglei. At least 40 southern soldiers and boat crew are killed.

AUG. 2 - Murle attack a Lou Nuer fishing settlement near Akobo town in Jonglei State, killing 185 people. Southern soldiers guarding the camp are also killed.

AUG. 28 - Around 800 Lou Nuer attack Wernyol, a Dinka Bor village in Jonglei State, killing 38 and wounding 76. The south's army said this was the work of a Lou Nuer militia, adding that a Murle militia also exists.

SEPT. 20 - A large group of fighters from the Lou Nuer ethnic group attack Duk Padiet village, inhabited by the Dinka Hol tribe, in Jonglei. More than 100 people are killed.

OCT. 3-5 - At least 23 people are killed and 21 injured in tit-for-tat cattle raids between the Mundari and Dinka Bor tribes, the deputy governor of Jonglei state says.

Mundari – Bor clashes kill scores, enter third day

Sudan Tribune - ‎5 October 2009:

October 4, 2009 (MAGALA, Central Equatoria) — Initial casualties of Mundari and Dinka Bor fierce clashes left scores of people dead on both sides and ...

Sudanese president pardons children involved in JEM raid on Omdurman

President Omar Al-Bashir issued a decree yesterday granting amnesty to the ten minors still being held by authorities in connection to the JEM raid on Omdurman, Al-Rai Al-Aam reports. Sources say that the President has ordered their immediate release. Source: [find link and date]

Related report
July 16, 2009 Sudan Watch - S.O.S. to Sudanese President Al-Bashir, Red Cross & Save the Children: 12 unpardoned Sudanese child soldiers being held in appalling conditions

South Sudan to build its first oil refinery in Akon in north-western Gogrial area of Warrap state

Most of Sudan’s oil is produced from the oil fields located in southern Sudan while the current country’s refineries are all located in northern Sudan.  

98% of southern Sudan’s overall revenues that constitute the annual budgets for the region come from the 50% share of the oil produced in its Upper Nile and Unity states.  

In a meeting on Friday chaired by Vice President Riek Machar Teny, South Sudan's Council of Ministers passed a resolution on a project for building an oil refinery in southern Sudan that will be located in a place called Akon in North-western Gogrial area of Warrap state.  Reportedly, the crude oil that is targeted for refinery will be extracted from Block 5A oilfield in Unity state.

The Council of Ministers also directed the Minister of Energy and Mining to discuss the possibility of building refineries at the sites of the oilfields in Upper Nile and Unity states with any major oil companies that may be interested.

Source: Sudan Tribune, Sunday, 4 October 2009, by James Gatdet Dak.  Copy:
South Sudan to build its first oil refinery in Warrap state

October 2, 2009 (JUBA) – The semi-autonomous region of Southern Sudan has embarked on building its first ever oil refinery in Warrap state for its huge oil reserves as the clock ticks towards referendum on secession in January 2011.

Sudan currently produces more than 600,000 barrels of crude oil per day which bring tens of millions of US dollars on daily basis from the international market.

Most of the Sudan’s oil is produced from the oilfields located in Southern Sudan while the current country’s refineries are all located in Northern Sudan.

98% of Southern Sudan’s overall revenues that constitute the annual budgets for the region come from the 50% share of the oil produced in Upper Nile and Unity states in accordance with the 2005’s peace deal between North and South.

In its Friday meeting chaired by the Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny, the Council of Ministers passed a resolution on the project for building the oil refinery in Southern Sudan that will be located in a place called Akon in North-western Gogrial area of Warrap state.

The project was initiated and presented to the cabinet meeting by the Minister of Energy and Mining, John Luk Jok.

The huge refinery project which is expected to take about three years to complete from the date it kicks off at the construction site will begin by establishing a Joint Venture Company (JVC) with any oil companies interested to partner with the government, finding financiers to fund the project and then JVC finally signing a contract with a national or international company that will implement the project on the ground.

According to a press statement by the official spokesperson and Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Paul Mayom Akech, the crude oil that is targeted for refinery will be extracted from Block 5A oilfield in Unity state.

To transport the crude oil to Akon refinery site, Minister Mayom explained that the Company will also construct a pipeline of some hundreds of kilometers long from the Unity state oilfield.

Mayom said the Government of Southern Sudan will have the biggest share in the $10 million worth JVC ownership body and the share will be represented by the Southern Sudan indigenous Nilepet oil company.

After formation of the JVC and securing of funds, the Company would then advertise the project to any interested national and international companies that would be subjected to competitive bidding process and out of which a winner will sign a contract with the JVC to technically implement the project on the ground.

Tens of thousands of indigenous people of Southern Sudan are expected to benefit from the project as they will be employed to do most of the labor work at the construction sites.

The cost for implementing such an expensive single project is not yet known, but may run into billions of dollars.

The Council of Ministers also directed the Minister of Energy and Mining to discuss the possibility of building refineries at the sites of the oilfields in Upper Nile and Unity states with any major oil companies that may be interested.

The semi-autonomous region earlier resolved to also embark on a separate project to build an alternative pipeline from Southern Sudan to Port Mombassa in Kenya for transporting the crude oil to the international markets.

Currently the crude oil from Southern Sudan is being transported to the international market via Port Sudan in the far North-eastern part of the country through the thousands of kilometers long Chinese-constructed pipeline.

Mayom said the Government stressed the importance of indigenizing the operations of the oil sector so that “Southern Sudan is not caught up” in case it chooses secession in 2011.

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Message to South Sudan's Director General of Education Peter Dak Galuak: All of the East African teachers want to go home but must be paid first

Copy of two emails received today in response to yesterday's report at Sudan Watch entitled South Sudan: State Director for Education denies that 200 unpaid East African teachers in Bentiu want to go home

Dear Jones,

We have read your article from sudanwatch website and the reporting. Now I want to tell you the full story of East African teachers. Since the beginning of this year, paying our salaries has been a problem. We have been paid only four months this year and every time we are paid it is after a serious demonstration. Actually, now it is worse and we are tired of the job because of non payment and intimidation every time we request to be paid. And now all of us want to go home but we have to be paid first.

We are suprised by the statements of the Director General of Education that few people want to go home. They want to politicise an issue that is obvious. In fact, they have never told teachers who want to go home to write down their names and they refused.

The issue is let the government of Unity State pay East African Teachers and let them go home. It's like we are held hostage here. We cannot move without money because we cannot move to Uganda or Kenya on foot.

Please help us to highlight this issue and if you want any more information please email us on eastafricanteachers@yahoo.com

Thanks.

Yours

East African Teachers Representative.
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I also agree with the east africans because on recieving money in August they first demonstrate and when it came to september there are demonstrating again for their five months pay and when i talked to one of them he said that if the government can no longer afford them, then let it lay them off as they suggest. On being paid 2 months they say that its now two weeks ever since the speaker of parliament gave them this promise and the education Minister no longer wants to see them neither does he talk/communicate to them on what is going on. And now there more scared of the security cause some say better they pay them two months with an Air ticket back to their countries.