Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in the Joint Forces with Chad will finalize relocation to Abeshe town on Thursday in Chad in the second phase of deployment.

By Mabior Philip

Parliament - Juba, Sudan (Borglobe)....Legislators in the Juba-based Southern Sudan regional parliament are setting on for a secession campaign ahead of a vote that will split an already volatile Sudan in to two nations.

Southern Sudan, a region most ravaged by two decades-long civil war, but currently dependent on revenues from oil, is to hold a sensitive vote in January next year, to either confirm the unity of the Sudan as set in a 2005 peace deal or opt for secession from the dominantly Islamic north to establish her own independent nation.

Legislators yesterday convened an unusual sitting to strategize on how to prevent the embattled north from rigging the results of the vote.

Speaker of the parliament, James Wani Igga, said the legislators should go to their own constituencies, tell the electorates why separation is the favorable choice, defuse tension, sensitize on how to vote, and to monitor irregularities in the vote.

The legislators noted with worries that a mistake was made in allowing southerners outside the south to vote for they will not be under monitoring of the regional government.

They said the north will let all the northerners and Arab communities outside Sudan register and vote for unity, which may not be the choice of southerners.  “If those outside vote unity then it shall be final”, said Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Micheal Makuei Lueth.

The number of Southerners in the north was estimated at half a million in the 2008 census, but the northern officials said they had already registered 4.5 million, which the legislators said was the beginning of rigging.

“The north will encourage the registration of as many as possible and later discourages voting of as many others so that the 60% is not attained”, Wani Igga said

By Deng Riak Khoryoam, South Sudan

September 8, 2010 (SSNA) -- As the referendum for the South is at glimpse and with only three months to go; there are a lot of issues pending, which need immediate attention, if we are to take the best and avoid the worse out of this crucial event in our country’s history. One of the pending issues is the IDPs who are living in the north Sudan and who may be caught up in this difficult situation since they may find themselves there illegally and shall then be deemed as citizens of nowhere should the south secedes come 2011. I know all these other issues (the border demarcation and other post referendum issues) are crucial to the success of referendum and are equally important but for now, this particular issue or area calls for immediate attention.

I heard the regional authorities in the south singing the song about the repatriation of those internally displaced persons living in camps and slums in Khartoum and other Northern states, a process that needs to start sooner rather than later if they really meant what they said because it’s something that needs to happen now if we want them to be part of referendum; it could take months if there is no sign of seriousness. They need to really speed the process. We need them to be part of history making and its their inalienable rights to participate at the referendum. I don’t know whose docket it does fall into to spearhead the process, whether it’s the ministry of humanitarian affairs and disasters management in the government of southern Sudan or any other ministry, all we want is to see that this happens before December.

I heard the minister of humanitarian affairs talking about it (the repatriation) some weeks ago, so presumably it falls under his docket; fine but then we need some kind of seriousness this time round. What happened during the elections in April could also repeat itself this time with the referendum but one can only hope that it doesn’t because the result shall be a return to war. NCP has already planned to use the Southerners living in the North as IDPs to rig the referendum results in favor of their desired fake unity, which Southerners do not want, and they will multiply that 1.6 million and something Southerners who are eligible to vote tenth times. If you ever hear them urging SPLM to accept the outcome then it’s because they know, at the back of their right minds that they have pre-rigged the outcome. That is typical of NCP and there is nothing new or special about it!

Why am I so much concerned about this repatriation? It’s simple, just as some of you understand it. It’s because our northern brothers, the Arabs already have that evil plan of manipulating the results which will have serious ramifications for the whole Country. They have already done their calculation long o’clock and are delighted at their cleverness to have managed to keep these southerners as tools to achieve their unrealistic dream of fake unity in the country. They think they are more clever than anybody else on earth, and one thing I know for sure is that they are really good at deceiving people because they are masters of deception! The treacherous comment made by Sudan’s national parliament speaker Mr. Ibrahim Al Tahir when he lashed at south Sudan government for planning to repatriate the southerners in the north ahead of crucial vote on independence is more than a statement and it leaves a lot to be desired. I quote “there is no clause or article in the referendum law indicating the move or transfer of southerners residing in Khartoum to the south so that they can vote in the referendum” Al Tahir said. The question is whether there is any provision or clause/article that says southerners who are residing in Khartoum are not allowed or not supposed to move or be transferred to south to vote in the referendum?

What is the inference implied here? I think those blessed with analytical skills understand this statement very well, because you know what, it’s fishy. He further continued cautioning that the move is against the referendum law and it’s a plan by southern government to “obstruct and hinder” the referendum in a non-transparent manner by overstepping the law. All they want is simply try all means possible to ensure that the 60% turnout of registered voters and the 51% yes vote for the South to be declared independent is difficult to reach or achieve. What a treacherous plan!

Please be wary of these masters of deceits because the referendum body is managed and controlled by them; these Islamic fundamentalists have already done their home work because for them it’s a matter of calculating it well and playing it cool. Through covert, they will declare the opposite! Remember trickery is deeply entrenched into their blood systems. They do not want to let go of southerners, which is why you see them now in the state of panic because our going away is imminent and inevitable but their plan is conspicuous. I penned off herein but I urge the government of Southern Sudan and the international NGOs dealing with IDPs or returnees to redouble efforts and really speed up the process otherwise it will not be possible to have them vote here in the south if we just keep talking without a plan of action.

The Author of this article lives in South Sudan and can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

By Jessica Anderson and Maureen Vaught, Rotary International News

A literacy project sponsored by U.S. Rotarians in conjunction with the International Reading Association (IRA) is helping Sudanese refugees rebuild their communities by equipping them to teach future generations. 

The Southern Sudan Teacher Training Initiative provides refugees of the country's decades-long civil war, who are known as the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan, with teacher training materials, guidance, and support to help them teach students in kindergarten through eighth grade. 

"People returning from refugee camps to rebuild their lives in Duk County are hungry for books and school supplies," says John Dau, a Lost Boy, humanitarian, and founder of the John Dau Foundation. 

The first phase of the project began in August 2009 when members of the Rotary Club of Ellensburg Morning, Washington, and IRA members met with two lead teachers from Sudan and sponsored their participation in the IRA’s Pan-African Reading for All Conference. 

"The Sudanese educators benefited from the experience by becoming aware of what is possible and learning what is happening on their continent in the field of literacy," says IRA member and Ellensburg Morning club president Judy Backlund.  

The second phase in late 2009 provided literacy assessment tools and basic teaching strategies via Flip Video™ camcorders.  

Teacher training will begin in early 2011, when 10 teachers are taught literacy teaching strategies, which they will then share with other teachers. The third phase will include evaluation, follow-up, and support.  

The project aims to benefit more than 3,000 students living in Duk County. 

Since 2002, Rotary International and the IRA have worked together to promote literacy in communities around the world. Rotary clubs and districts have collaborated with IRA councils at both the community and international levels to create literacy centers in Pakistan, provide books to new parents in the United States, and build schools in Ecuador.  

To celebrate International Literacy Day, 8 September, Rotary clubs are encouraged to develop a relationship with their local IRA council.  

Clubs can invite IRA members to present at a club meeting, or club members can offer to make a presentation to a local IRA council about Rotary’s Avenues of Service. Learn more about the IRA or find a council serving your area. 

As part of its celebration of International Literacy Day, the IRA hosted a one-hour webinar focusing on the role of literacy in improving the lives of women and girls. "Building Support for Effective Reading Instruction" featured Backlund; Richard Carson, Rotary representative to the Organization of American States; and Patricia Edwards, IRA president.

The IRA also planned a panel discussion 8 September in Washington, D.C., with Edwards and USAID Director of Education David Barth on the subject of early literacy instruction and teacher preparation globally

- Source: Ghanaian Chronicle

IOM Press Briefing Notes

IOM and the UK Embassy in Sudan have signed an agreement to kick-start a project that will support effective migration management in Africa's largest country.  The agreement, signed by British Ambassador, Nicholas Hays, and IOM Chief of Mission in Sudan Jill Helke, is aimed at strengthening Sudan's capacity to manage its borders with Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda.
With the programme to be run in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior, Major General Ahmad Atta Allaman, General Director of Migration and Passport, attended the signing.

IOM and the UK have already worked together on migration management programmes in various countries around the world. The £300,000 (USD 462,000) British-funded programme will strengthen and develop border and migration management skills of Sudanese officials. This will be done through training and the provision of essential equipment such as the Personal Identification and Registration System (PIRS) and fraudulent document detection material at key border points.

The year-long project represents a new area of work for IOM in Sudan, where work has traditionally focused on emergency and post-emergency response.

Source: International Office of Migration (IOM)

Maggie Fick, South Sudan Watch Security

JUBA, Sudan—The sun was setting at the standard Equatorial time of just after 7pm, and I was bumping along a potholed road with my trusted motorcycle taxi.  Another day in Juba beginning to draw to a close. Then, my driver Issa said to me over his shoulder, “Do you have any good news from today?” This is not the first time in the 11 months that I have known Issa that he has said something to me that has struck me as powerful, insightful, or simply startling in its honesty. Since I changed jobs last month and became a journalist, Issa has begun asking me about my reporting almost every day. He’s curious about the status of the high-level political negotiations that will partly dictate the future of Sudan and relations between the country’s north and south. He’s worried about insecurity along the north-south border because he heard things were getting tense in the Abyei region; he knows the people of Abyei are worried they are not going to get their referendum. He wonders why the army has deployed more security resources to the bridge in Juba across the Nile. When he hears something on BBC or from his fellow boda driver friends, he often asks me if I’ve heard the same things. So it wasn’t very unusual for Issa to ask me about the news on that recent evening, but something about the way he said it made me realize that I had very little good news to report to him.

Post-referendum negotiations between the National Congress Party in Khartoum and the South’s ruling SPLM are moving forward quietly on some fronts, while the most contentious aspects of these discussions—related to post-referendum wealth-sharing and citizenship rights—aren’t likely to see progress any time soon, given that both sides will need to cede ground they aren’t willing to give up in order to reach agreements. Meanwhile, with the southern and Abyei referenda just over four months away, voter registration is not yet in sight given the delays in appoint the secretary-general of the southern referendum commission. 

The commission for the separate Abyei vote has not yet been formed due to political deadlock between the parties. I could go on, but these are just a few of the challenges plaguing the holding of a peaceful and credible referendum in January. I have no qualms in saying that it seems likely that one of the two parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement is responsible for mounting the bulk of the obstacles currently blocking progress toward holding the two referenda votes. This party has historical, existential, political, and strategic reasons for seeing these votes obstructed. Referring to the political dispute over the north-south border, the latest International Crisis Groups report notes that “strategic motives have…been behind NCP delays past and present” in demarcating this contested border. This is arguably the most contested outstanding element of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement aside from the southern referendum itself.  

I hope that the record will show that lack of political will, and good will in general, of one of these two parties has stymied implementation of the peace accord since it was signed in 2005. Moreover, this lack of will could hinder the ability of the Southern Sudanese to exercise their internationally-recognized right to determine their political destiny on January 9, 2011.