ROME, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- The Rome-based World Food Programme said that there are nearly four million hungry people in southern Sudan since last August due to the drought that hit the region and internal conflicts, the Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
The coordinator of the WFP Leo Van Der Velden said that the rise in the number of hungry people came shortly before the rainy season, which leads to difficulty in delivering food aid to the population centres.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry said that the internal conflict and attacking the so-called IRA, Uganda and the drought that hit the region had led to the suffering of almost half the population in the south and to the scarcity of food.
The conflict in southern Sudan between the northern and southern tribes has resulted in the killing last year of 2500 people and to displacing about 350 people.
The news agency, citing a broadcast on Radio London, reported that the total population in need of food aid in Sudan amounted to some 11 million people.
In a statement, United Nations said that they are trying to ensure that Sudanese people have enough food aid until next season to harvest in October.
Source:bernama.com/
Sudan Twitter,South Sudan
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Kenya PM backs Sudan referendum
In a statement, the PM said it was imperative that the international community support the referendum as it was part of the issues agreed upon in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in Nairobi in 2005.
He emphasised that Kenya was fully committed to and would respect the outcome of a free and fair referendum, whether it favours a continuation of the union or creation of an independent state.
Mr Odinga said: “I strongly urge the entire international community to pursue a similar course and offer maximum assistance in implementing the referendum’s outcome, whatever it might be.”
Saying the CPA had made unprecedented advances in promoting democracy in the Sudan, Mr Odinga expressed concern that senior most officials in the United Nations and the African Union opposed the referendum’s option of creating a sovereign nation in the South.
He said such a stand would undermine the principle of peaceful resolution of disputes of which the CPA is an outstanding example globally. “Having done so much to advance this historic process of self-determination, it is preposterous that anyone would seek a pre-determined outcome in the referendum,” he added.
Mr Odinga pointed out that by the agreement coming to its current conclusive stage it was a tribute to the African Union which courageously broke with precedent and recognised that in the Sudan peace and development would not be divisive but actually strengthened if people of the south could exercise their right to self-determination.
He noted that the United Nations had also supported this historic initiative and will oversee the elections and the referendum.
The Premier however acknowledged that major challenges need to be resolved in order for the referendum to be completely free, fair and transparent, saying critical issues such as border demarcation and population census process need to be addressed.
He urged the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) which was the convener and overseer of the peace talks in Nairobi to ensure that these outstanding issues are resolved in a manner that creates confidence in the ultimate referendum outcome.
“Unresolved they pose a serious danger to the holding of a peaceful and credible referendum,” he said. And added, “If the people are allowed to participate in a free and fair referendum , Sudan as one or two countries- will be stronger for it and this in turn will promote peace, democracy and stability in the entire region and globally.”
Source:capitalfm.co.ke/
UN insists not taking sides in Sudan referendum
UN spokesman Martin Nesirky sought to clarify remarks UN chief Ban Ki-moon made in an interview in Addis Ababa Saturday in which he said the world body "will work toward (Sudan's) national unity."
He said in a statement that Ban "made clear that the UNITED NATIONS would work to support the parties in their efforts to 'make unity attractive' as well as the exercise by the people of southern Sudan of their right to self-determination in a referendum."
"In this connection, he made clear that the United Nations would work to avoid any potential negative consequences (conflict) following next year's referendum," Nesirky added.
"Any suggestion that the United Nations may have taken a position that may prejudge the outcome of such a referendum is incorrect."
A referendum on independence for southern Sudan is to be held in January 2011, and Ban said in the interview it was important for the United Nations and the African Union (AU) to be prepared, whatever the result.
"Now whatever the outcome may be, the United Nations has a very important obligation, responsibility, together with the African Union that there needs to be a peace maintained," Ban said.
"The United Nations position is that we will work toward the national unity, basically, but that depends upon how the people of south Sudan will decide through this referendum," the UN chief said.
Ban's reference to national unity in the interview was meant to signal support for a clause of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between Sudan's Muslim north and largely Christian south that ended a 21-year civil war.
"We need to ensure that this referendum should be taken in accordance with the CPA," the UN boss said.
The agreement stated that "the successful implementation of the CPA shall provide a model for good governance in the Sudan that will help create a solid basis to preserve peace and make unity attractive."
It allowed the creation of a semi-autonomous government for the south and paved the way for April's presidential, parliamentary and regional elections, as well as next year's referendum.
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir said last week that Khartoum would recognize the independence of southern Sudan if it chose to secede in the referendum.
North and south are due to draw the 2,100 kilometre (1,300 mile) border between the two regions this year -- a delicate issue because of the significant oil reserves in the area.
Ban said it was vital that the elections and the referendum were carried out in a credible, transparent way.
"There are many fundamentally important issues like border demarcation, sharing wealth, citizenship. All these fundamentally important issues should be resolved so that the referendum can be held and so that we can ensure that the situation will be peaceful," he said.
Source:AFP
Sudan referendum must go ahead
Only a year is left before southern Sudan is due to hold a referendum on independence – a key provision of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended a decades-long civil war that left two million dead. Since then, the tragedy in Darfur has overshadowed the tension in the south. Now Sudan and the world have no time to lose in acting to save the peace.
It was never certain that a referendum would take place at all. Such predictability is precluded by the violent regime of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir – who was indicted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court last year – and the fact that a vote will probably favour secession.
But any attempt to prevent the referendum or pre-empt its outcome would immediately reignite the civil war. It must go ahead, even if a vote for secession will challenge both Sudan and the outside world. The best that can be hoped for is an orderly transition should secession indeed be the outcome. Managing such a transition must now be the aim of Sudanese politicians and the international community.
The conflict is made worse by the presence of oil in the south, which raises the stakes in whether the south is controlled from Khartoum or Juba.
Another wild card is Mr Bashir’s indictment. The Sudanese army’s crimes in Darfur amply justified the ICC’s warrant. But justice does not always provide the luxury of also creating good political incentives. Mr Bashir may want to undermine the referendum unless he can exact a price in the form of regained international legitimacy.
And yet, the peace treaty is working, however imperfectly. There has been no shortage of clashes and tensions, but mechanisms for resolving them peacefully have grown in strength. Last July, the permanent court of arbitration in the Hague ruled to split the disputed Abiey province, an oil-producing region claimed by both the north and the south. Promisingly, both said they would accept the ruling. And in December, a deal was reached that the south could secede if a simple majority of a 60 per cent turnout agreed.
The world must help Sudan steer through this process – without taking advantage of it. Above all, this applies to China, which is deeply embroiled in its oil sector. Preparations for the legal mess of an eventual secession cannot wait.
For the sake of their people and the credibility of future peace treaties Sudanese leaders must stick to the CPA’s terms. On this war-torn continent, its success is vital.
Source:ft.com/
It was never certain that a referendum would take place at all. Such predictability is precluded by the violent regime of Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir – who was indicted on genocide charges by the International Criminal Court last year – and the fact that a vote will probably favour secession.
But any attempt to prevent the referendum or pre-empt its outcome would immediately reignite the civil war. It must go ahead, even if a vote for secession will challenge both Sudan and the outside world. The best that can be hoped for is an orderly transition should secession indeed be the outcome. Managing such a transition must now be the aim of Sudanese politicians and the international community.
The conflict is made worse by the presence of oil in the south, which raises the stakes in whether the south is controlled from Khartoum or Juba.
Another wild card is Mr Bashir’s indictment. The Sudanese army’s crimes in Darfur amply justified the ICC’s warrant. But justice does not always provide the luxury of also creating good political incentives. Mr Bashir may want to undermine the referendum unless he can exact a price in the form of regained international legitimacy.
And yet, the peace treaty is working, however imperfectly. There has been no shortage of clashes and tensions, but mechanisms for resolving them peacefully have grown in strength. Last July, the permanent court of arbitration in the Hague ruled to split the disputed Abiey province, an oil-producing region claimed by both the north and the south. Promisingly, both said they would accept the ruling. And in December, a deal was reached that the south could secede if a simple majority of a 60 per cent turnout agreed.
The world must help Sudan steer through this process – without taking advantage of it. Above all, this applies to China, which is deeply embroiled in its oil sector. Preparations for the legal mess of an eventual secession cannot wait.
For the sake of their people and the credibility of future peace treaties Sudanese leaders must stick to the CPA’s terms. On this war-torn continent, its success is vital.
Source:ft.com/
Chad's Deby says will visit Sudan next week
The two countries signed an agreement last month to set up a joint force on their border, which effectively means that Chad would have to stop supporting Darfur rebels and Sudan would cease backing Chadian rebels.
"I am going to Khartoum on 8th of February to have talks with President al-Beshir," Deby said in a speech to a conference of parliamentarians from around 20 Francophone countries in Chad.
"At the time I am talking to you, he has not yet been informed, so I'm giving you this scoop. He will be informed at the end of this meeting."
"I am a man of dialogue and openness. War has never settled things and I know what I'm talking about, dear parliamentarians. Chad wants to live in perfect harmony with all its neighbours."
Source:AFP
Sudan Tops Foreign Policy Concerns in Obama YouTube Appearance
Washington DC — While President Obama was delivering his first State of the Union address January 27, thousands of Americans went online and submitted their own questions via the popular video Web site YouTube.
People could also vote on the 11,000 questions that were sent in, and on February 1, Obama — who had not seen them in advance — responded to the questions with the highest approval ratings. His responses streamed live from the White House.
Some of the questions Obama dealt with in the first-ever presidential YouTube interview were addressed in his State of the Union speech as well: health care, jobs, the financial crisis, terrorism and Afghanistan. But the top vote-getter in terms of the percentage who thought it a good question — more than 90 percent — had to do with Sudan, a topic not addressed in his speech.
U.S. WORKING FOR LASTING PEACE AGREEMENT IN SUDAN
Asked what he would do to ensure that widespread violence does not occur in Sudan this year, the president replied, “The situation in Sudan has been heartbreaking but also extremely difficult.”
He said he began working from the day he came into office to ensure that people in refugee camps in Darfur had access to water, food and other necessities of life and that nongovernmental assistance organizations could return.
“The next step in the challenge is to broker a lasting peace agreement between rebels who are still in the Darfur region and [the Sudanese] government,” Obama explained, noting that his special envoy on Sudan, Scott Gration, was trying to bring together the international community “to get that deal brokered.”
The aim, Obama said, is “a series of agreements that would stabilize the country, and then allow the refugees who are in Darfur to start moving back to their historic lands.”
“Sadly, because of the genocide that took place earlier, a lot of those villages are now destroyed. And so thinking about how to resettle these populations in places that are viable economically, that have the resources to support populations, is a long-term development challenge that the international community is going to have to support.”
The United States continues “to put pressure on the Sudanese government,” Obama said. ”If they are not cooperative in these efforts, then it is going to be appropriate for us to conclude that engagement doesn’t work, and we’re going to have to apply additional pressure on Sudan in order to achieve our objectives.”
“WE ARE AT WAR AGAINST A VERY SPECIFIC GROUP”
Asked about his plans for the “war on terror” and the threat of terrorism, Obama began by re-defining who the enemy is: not an abstraction like “terror” but “a very specific group — al-Qaida and its extremist allies that have metastasized around the globe, that would attack us, attack our allies, attack bases and embassies around the world, and most sadly, attack innocent people regardless of their backgrounds, regardless of their religions.”
“We have to fight them in very concrete ways in Afghanistan and along the border regions of Pakistan where they are still holed up,” Obama said. “They have spread to places like Yemen and Somalia, and we are working internationally with partners to try to limit their scope of operations and dismantle them in those regions.”
“But we also have to battle them with ideas,” Obama continued. “We have to … work with the overwhelming majority of Muslims who reject senseless violence of this sort, and to work to provide different pathways and different alternatives for people expressing whatever policy differences that they may have. And I think we haven’t done as good of a job on that front.”
Obama also spoke of the need to help countries such as Yemen and Pakistan economically, “to make sure that young people there have opportunity.”
Plans to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay have met “a lot of political resistance,” Obama said. “It’s been one of those things that’s been subject to a lot of, in some cases, pretty rank politics.”
Noting that Congress can constrain his ability to move the prisoners held at Guantánamo by refusing to allocate funds for new facilities, Obama said, “This is something that we’ve got to work through … in Congress, but also with public opinion so that people understand that ultimately this is the right thing to do.”
On energy, the president repeated his support for solar, wind and other alternative energy sources, but added that those sources could not meet the nation’s energy needs. He urged Americans to look at the successful nuclear power programs in Japan and France. “We’re mindful of the concerns about storage, of spent fuel, and concerns about security, but we still think [nuclear energy is] the right thing to do if we’re serious about dealing with climate change.”
He also called for research into clean-coal technology because countries like China and India are not going to stop using coal and the world will need the technology to deal with its use in an environmentally responsible way.
At the end of the session, Obama expressed enthusiasm for the Internet as a way of hearing from and talking with the public. “This was terrific,” he said. “I hope we get a chance to do this on a more regular basis because it gives me great access to all the people out there with wonderful ideas.”
The full text of the interview is available on America.gov. The video is available on the White House Web site
Source:media-newswire.com
People could also vote on the 11,000 questions that were sent in, and on February 1, Obama — who had not seen them in advance — responded to the questions with the highest approval ratings. His responses streamed live from the White House.
Some of the questions Obama dealt with in the first-ever presidential YouTube interview were addressed in his State of the Union speech as well: health care, jobs, the financial crisis, terrorism and Afghanistan. But the top vote-getter in terms of the percentage who thought it a good question — more than 90 percent — had to do with Sudan, a topic not addressed in his speech.
U.S. WORKING FOR LASTING PEACE AGREEMENT IN SUDAN
Asked what he would do to ensure that widespread violence does not occur in Sudan this year, the president replied, “The situation in Sudan has been heartbreaking but also extremely difficult.”
He said he began working from the day he came into office to ensure that people in refugee camps in Darfur had access to water, food and other necessities of life and that nongovernmental assistance organizations could return.
“The next step in the challenge is to broker a lasting peace agreement between rebels who are still in the Darfur region and [the Sudanese] government,” Obama explained, noting that his special envoy on Sudan, Scott Gration, was trying to bring together the international community “to get that deal brokered.”
The aim, Obama said, is “a series of agreements that would stabilize the country, and then allow the refugees who are in Darfur to start moving back to their historic lands.”
“Sadly, because of the genocide that took place earlier, a lot of those villages are now destroyed. And so thinking about how to resettle these populations in places that are viable economically, that have the resources to support populations, is a long-term development challenge that the international community is going to have to support.”
The United States continues “to put pressure on the Sudanese government,” Obama said. ”If they are not cooperative in these efforts, then it is going to be appropriate for us to conclude that engagement doesn’t work, and we’re going to have to apply additional pressure on Sudan in order to achieve our objectives.”
“WE ARE AT WAR AGAINST A VERY SPECIFIC GROUP”
Asked about his plans for the “war on terror” and the threat of terrorism, Obama began by re-defining who the enemy is: not an abstraction like “terror” but “a very specific group — al-Qaida and its extremist allies that have metastasized around the globe, that would attack us, attack our allies, attack bases and embassies around the world, and most sadly, attack innocent people regardless of their backgrounds, regardless of their religions.”
“We have to fight them in very concrete ways in Afghanistan and along the border regions of Pakistan where they are still holed up,” Obama said. “They have spread to places like Yemen and Somalia, and we are working internationally with partners to try to limit their scope of operations and dismantle them in those regions.”
“But we also have to battle them with ideas,” Obama continued. “We have to … work with the overwhelming majority of Muslims who reject senseless violence of this sort, and to work to provide different pathways and different alternatives for people expressing whatever policy differences that they may have. And I think we haven’t done as good of a job on that front.”
Obama also spoke of the need to help countries such as Yemen and Pakistan economically, “to make sure that young people there have opportunity.”
Plans to close the detention facility at Guantánamo Bay have met “a lot of political resistance,” Obama said. “It’s been one of those things that’s been subject to a lot of, in some cases, pretty rank politics.”
Noting that Congress can constrain his ability to move the prisoners held at Guantánamo by refusing to allocate funds for new facilities, Obama said, “This is something that we’ve got to work through … in Congress, but also with public opinion so that people understand that ultimately this is the right thing to do.”
On energy, the president repeated his support for solar, wind and other alternative energy sources, but added that those sources could not meet the nation’s energy needs. He urged Americans to look at the successful nuclear power programs in Japan and France. “We’re mindful of the concerns about storage, of spent fuel, and concerns about security, but we still think [nuclear energy is] the right thing to do if we’re serious about dealing with climate change.”
He also called for research into clean-coal technology because countries like China and India are not going to stop using coal and the world will need the technology to deal with its use in an environmentally responsible way.
At the end of the session, Obama expressed enthusiasm for the Internet as a way of hearing from and talking with the public. “This was terrific,” he said. “I hope we get a chance to do this on a more regular basis because it gives me great access to all the people out there with wonderful ideas.”
The full text of the interview is available on America.gov. The video is available on the White House Web site
Source:media-newswire.com
SUDAN: Universal access still a long way off in the south
There are no national-level statistics on HIV prevalence or incidence, further hampering the fight against the pandemic, but a 2007 site-specific antenatal surveillance by the US Centres for Disease control found prevalence levels ranging from as low as 0.8 percent in Leer, Unity State, to as high as 11.5 percent in Tambura, Western Equatoria State.
"We use an estimate of 3.1 percent for the south, and we know that the epidemic is more concentrated in big towns and areas near the border with our neighbours who have higher prevalence, such as Kenya and Uganda, but so far we have not conducted a survey of HIV indicators," Bellario Ahoy Ngong, chairman of the South Sudan AIDS Commission (SSAC) told IRIN/PlusNews.
Ngong said HIV was spread mainly through heterosexual transmission, and was worse in the areas where trading opportunities had expanded since the Comprehensive peace Agreement with the north was signed in 2005.
"There has been a lot of movement of people since we attained peace, and in the big towns like Juba, Yei and Yambio, sex work has increased along with trade," he said. "Unfortunately, our people have very low knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention, so they are very vulnerable."
Health system reconstruction
Dr Samson Baba, director-general of the Ministry of Health's directorate of external assistance and coordination, said the plan would give 85 percent to 90 percent of people access to "acceptable levels of healthcare" within 10 years.
"Through the Multi-Donor Trust Fund [a World Bank mechanism to coordinate the reconstruction and development of Sudan], we are creating a basic healthcare package that stipulates the minimum standard of care that should be available at all health centres within the country," he told IRIN/PlusNews.
"We are also embarking on an ambitious training programme for health workers ... using NGOs to train local staff, sending locals abroad for training, and developing our own training institutions," he said. "At current training levels, it would take us 66 years to satisfy our midwife gap, but with our accelerated plan it should take 10 years."
The government intends scaling up its ART sites to at least 20 by the end of 2011, with at least one in each of the south's 10 states, and to double the number of people on ART.
"Achieving universal access will be a slow process because of all the difficulties," said WHO's Busulwa, "but there is strong political commitment and the government does want to take ownership of the programmes, so it will eventually happen."
Source:plusnews.org/
Sudan starts oil exploration in Red Sea
Sudanese minister of Energy and Mining Al-Zubair Ahmed Al-Hassan and Governor of the Red Sea Province Mohamed Taher have attended the launching ceremony of the drilling operations on Monday February 1.
The well falls in Area 15 under the franchise of the Red Sea Petroleum Operating Co., a consortium of five firms including the CNPC, Malaysia’s state oil firm Petronas, Sudan’s state oil firm Sudapet, Nigeria’s Express Petroleum and Sudanese firm High Tech Group.
Petronas and CNPC each have a 35 percent interest in the block 15.
The Sudanese minister said results are positive from prospecting for oil and gas in the Red Sea.
Tokar-1 is one of two exploration wells in Block 15, located some 130 kilometers southeast of Port Sudan. The CNPC and its partners plan to complete drilling in six months.
The wells have a designed drilling depth of 3,700 meters, and water depths of 38 meters and 52 meters respectively.
Sudan started producing oil in 1998 with an initial daily output of 150,000 barrels which rose to the current 500,000 barrels. Most of the current production is from oil wells in southern Sudan. The government plans to launch this year exploration and production of oil and gas in southern Darfur and Sennar states, besides another block (10) in eastern Sudan.
Source:sudantribune.com/
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