SAAF Update 2-2010

January 13, 2010

Breaking News
 
January 14, 2010 (Sudan Tribune, KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has nominated Yasir Arman to run for the presidency of the country in the first free and fair election since the coup d'etat that brought General Al Bashir to power on June 30, 1989.  The nominee is a senior figure in the party, serving as Deputy Secretary General for Northern Sudan and the head of the SPLM bloc in the National Assembly. He will face Al Bashir, who on Monday stepped down from his role as army commander-in-chief to vie for the votes that would legitimize his 20-year rule through the National Islamic Front, now called the National Congress Party.
 
For more information see: http://www.newsudanvision.com/
 
January 15, 2010 (Sudan Tribune, Juba) Salva Kiir formally nominated for presidency in South Sudan - The Political Bureau of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) has announced the incumbent chairman of the party, General Salva Kiir Mayardit, as the candidate for South Sudan presidency..... The next step is for the SPLM to submit the names of the candidates to the National Elections Commission (NEC) in Khartoum who will finally endorse or reject the candidates based on their qualifications and requirements.

In this issue:

• Sudan adopts law for southern independence vote
• Sudan parliament adopts Abyei referendum law
• UN brings Sudanese tribes together for historic peace talks
• TIAA-CREF is first fund firm to divest over Sudan
• Joint statement on 5^th anniversary of CPA
• Drummers raise awareness about Sudan
• Sudan's Bashir retires as army chief
• South Sudan minister says public cooperation reduced crime in Juba

Breaking News

January 14, 2010 (Sudan Tribune, KHARTOUM) — The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has nominated Yasir Arman to run for the presidency of the

country in the first free and fair election since the coup d’état that brought General Al Bashir to power on June 30, 1989.  The nominee is a senior figure in the party, serving as Deputy Secretary General for Northern Sudan and the head of the SPLM bloc in the National Assembly. He will face Al Bashir, who on Monday stepped down from his role as army commander-in-chief to vie for the votes that would legitimize his 20-year rule through the National Islamic Front, now called the National Congress Party.

For more information see: http://www.newsudanvision.com 

January 15, 2010 (Sudan Tribune, Juba) Salva Kiir formally nominated for presidency in South Sudan - The Political Bureau of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has announced the incumbent chairman of the party, General Salva Kiir Mayardit, as the candidate for South Sudan presidency..... The next step is for the SPLM to submit the names of the candidates to the National Elections Commission (NEC) in Khartoum who will finally endorse or reject the candidates based on their qualifications and

requirements.

Sudan adopts law for southern independence vote.  Sudan's parliament adopted a key law on December 29, setting up a planned referendum on southern independence after northern and southern leaders overcame a dispute that had threatened a 2005 peace deal.

The new article states that south Sudanese living outside the south and born before January 1, 1956, the date of Sudan's independence, must vote in the south.  But south Sudanese living outside the south and born after January 1, 1956 would be able to vote in their place of residence, whether in the north or abroad.  There are about 520,000 south Sudanese -- mostly Christian -- living in the Muslim north, according to a northern government census. The southern government says the figure is much higher.  The ruling northern National Congress Party (NCP) had deleted the provision in a previous version of the law adopted last week, allowing for absentee votes. But the move had prompted a walkout from parliament by MPs from the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM), the ruling party in the south, and other southern parties.  The United States had said it was "deeply concerned" that the earlier text had been stripped of the wording previously agreed with southern politicians.

 (AFP, 12/29/09)

Sudan parliament adopts Abyei referendum law.  Sudan's parliament passed a law on December 30 governing the oil-producing Abyei region's right to join the country's southern region if it secedes, or to remain part of the north.  But lawmakers said problems remained about who in Abyei would be allowed to vote on the question in a ballot that will coincide with a referendum in the south in a little over a year on whether southern Sudan should go its own way.  The law allows for the people of Abyei, in central Sudan, to choose whether to remain in the north or join the south.  It gives the Ngok Dinka tribe and other Sudanese who reside in Abyei the right to vote. A simple majority will decide the region's future.  Prominent lawmakers from the nomadic Missiriya tribe, who graze cattle a few months a year in Abyei, walked out of parliament, saying they wanted the same status as the Ngok Dinka.  The tribe has previously threatened military action if its demands are not met.

Parliament's deputy speaker said some details on who was eligible to vote had yet to be finalised.  Abyei, whose people are among the poorest in Sudan, lies along the north-south border which is still not demarcated. Its potential as a flashpoint is increased by the fact that many of Sudan's oil fields traverse the contested north-south boundary.  Parliament also passed a law on "popular consultations" for the states of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. (Reuters, 12/30/09)

UN brings Sudanese tribes together for historic peace talks.  The United Nations has paved the way for historic talks between clashing tribes, the Missiriya and Dinka Ngok tribes, to bolster the fragile peace in the disputed oil-rich area of Abyei, UN officials said December 29.  In July, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague shifted some of the borders of Abyei, leaving control of the Heglig oil field with the national Government in Khartoum.  Although that ruling was welcomed by both the National Congress Party (NCP) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the relationship between the Missiriya and Dinka Ngok tribes has been marked by clashes and inflamed tensions.  Recognizing the need for dialogue at this critical juncture, the UN Development Program (UNDP), the UN peacekeeping mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and the Abyei Area Administration joined forces to bring the leaders of the two tribes together for the first time in the conflict's history.  During the Dec. 14 meeting, over 2,000 people from both tribes attended talks to accelerate reconciliation.  The dialogue was also the first in the history of peacebuilding in the Abyei area in which women took an active part in the talks.  UNDP stressed in a press release that "only through the support to community reconciliation dialogues in Sudan that bring together women groups, youth and traditional leaders will the region be able to ensure its hard-won peace." (UN, 12/29/09)

TIAA-CREF is first fund firm to divest over Sudan.  TIAA-CREF has become the first large U.S. fund complex to sell stakes in a group of Asian energy companies over human rights concerns in Sudan.  The sales of shares of China's PetroChina Co Ltd., CNPC Hong Kong, Sinopec, and Oil and Natural Gas Corp. of New Delhi totaled $42.7 million, TIAA-CREF said on January 4.  The move by TIAA-CREF, which provides financial services to nonprofits like hospitals and universities, also marks a milestone for rights activists who have tried for years to line up the influential fund industry behind its social agenda. "We hope this could send a strong message to the companies," said Hye-Won Choi, TIAA-CREF's head of corporate governance. She said her firm had sold the shares only after talks with the energy companies went nowhere.  The companies are among those whose royalty payments activists blame for propping up Sudan's government. The International Criminal Court has charged the nation's president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, with crimes against humanity and war crimes stemming from the ongoing conflict in the country's western Darfur region. (Reuters, 01/04/2010)

Joint statement on 5^th anniversary of CPA.  U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, and United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Miliband on the 5^th anniversary of the Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement congratulated the people of Sudan and called on all sides to intensify efforts to implement the remaining provisions to keep the CPA on track. They welcomed the progress in addressing critical and complex challenges over arrangements for the 2011 referendum on self-determination, the Abyei referendum, and popular consultations in Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan. They noted, however, that many other major challenges remain in the year ahead, including elections in April and demarcation of the Abyei Area boundary and the North/South border. They emphasized that the conduct of credible elections is vital to the process of democratic transformation, and that the parties must also begin discussions and negotiations on long-term issues that will arise irrespective of the referendum outcome—oil revenue-sharing, security arrangements, citizenship issues and many others. They appealed to all parties in Sudan to come together to work intensely to address the challenges facing their people because, ultimately, issues concerning Sudan’s future must be resolved by the Sudanese themselves. Further, they pledged their governments’ active commitment to support efforts for peace and stability in Sudan, promising to work with all interested international partners, including the United Nations, the African Union, regional organizations, and neighboring countries to support the initiatives of the people of Sudan to build a peaceful and prosperous future. (edited, www.state.gov, 01/08/10)

Drummers raise awareness about Sudan. A number of human rights and humanitarian groups have launched a campaign to raise awareness about Sudan with what they call a global drumbeat. One launch event was held in London, Making noise in pursuit of peace. This is the London Launch of Sudan 365 - a global campaign to raise awareness about Sudan in a critical year, says one of the organizers, James Smith of the Aegis trust.  The dangers are many, a five-year-old peace agreement has largely stopped the fighting in Sudan but many issues remain unresolved, such as allocation of oil revenue and how the country will run its first elections in 24 years, expected this April. The global beat isn't just happening in London - it's taking place in more than a dozen cities. The beat for peace campaign is supported on video by some of the world's most famous drummers from around the world.  Campaign organizers hope in the coming year governments will provide diplomatic support for Sudan as it tries to work through unresolved elements of the peace deal. The United States, Norway and Britain have already pledged their support. (VOANews.com, 01/11/2010)

Sudan's Bashir retires as army chief. Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir retired as commander-in-chief of the army, state media said January 11, in what sources said was a procedural move before the first multi-party elections in 24 years. No replacement was mentioned. The deputy head of Sudan's elections commission said there was no requirement in the election law for Bashir to resign his military post. Opposition Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi belittled the move: "He has already pretty much delegated this job to his defense minister," he told Reuters. The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Bashir last year for war crimes in Sudan's western region of Darfur. The National Congress Party (NCP), which rejects any cooperation with the ICC, is desperate to win the presidential vote to legitimize Bashir and his government. (Reuters, 01/11/2010)