http://burningbillboard.org A mobile journal of video, audio and written ruminations Fri, 03 Sep 2010 19:03:18 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Copyright © 2010 BurningBillboard.org info@burningbillboard.org (BurningBillboard.org) info@burningbillboard.org (BurningBillboard.org) mobile journalism 1440 http://burningbillboard.org/wp-content/podpress_temp/muralsm.gif http://burningbillboard.org 144 144 a non-mercantile and mobile journal of video, audio and written reportage a non-mercantile and mobile journal of video, audio and written reportage Sudan, travel, media, documentary, refugee BurningBillboard.org BurningBillboard.org info@burningbillboard.org no no http://burningbillboard.org/2009/07/permanent-court-of-arbitration-makes-ruling-on-abyei-border/ http://burningbillboard.org/2009/07/permanent-court-of-arbitration-makes-ruling-on-abyei-border/#comments Wed, 22 Jul 2009 15:22:11 +0000 widge http://burningbillboard.org/?p=1196 http://burningbillboard.org/2009/07/permanent-court-of-arbitration-makes-ruling-on-abyei-border/feed/ 0 00:01:01 [Montréal, Québec, Canada  20°C] At 8:00 am GMT, the five-member Abyei Arbitration Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague began ceremonies to ... [Montréal, Québec, Canada  20°C] At 8:00 am GMT, the five-member Abyei Arbitration Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague began ceremonies to render its final decision regarding the delimitation of the Abyei boundaries, which have been a source of tension and conflict between Sudan's ruling National Congress Party and the Government of Southern Sudan. The arbitration agreement between the Government of Sudan and the southern Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) was received by the Permanent Court of Arbitration on July 11, 2008 with both parties agreeing to a "final and binding" decision by the tribunal. On July 14, 2004, the Abyei Boundaries Commission published its report that outlined Abyei's boundaries to an area that was much larger than Sudan's ruling National Congress Party previously claimed. They subsequently rejected the commission's report, stating that the Commission exceeded its mandate. The case was then referred to the Tribunal. [caption id="attachment_1219" align="aligncenter" width="514" caption="Arbitration Award Map (source: Permanent Court of Arbitration, July 22, 2009)"][/caption] _____ _____ The Tribunal's mandate was to determine whether the Abyei Boundaries Commission exceeded its mandate "to define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka cheifdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905." The Tribunal determined the excess of mandate by reviewing the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC)'s interpretation and implementation of their mandate. The Tribunal's press release reads, "The Tribunal therefore finds that the ABC Experts DID NOT EXCEED their mandate in interpreting their mandate..." The Tribunal concludes however "that the ABC Experts EXCEEDED their mandate in certain areas of its implementation." The ABC's mandate was exceeded for the drawing of the northernmost border of the "Ngok Dinka and Misseriya's 'shared rights' area at latitude 10°35'N [...] because they did not provide sufficient reasoning." The Tribunal found that "there was NOT an excess of mandate" regarding the ABC's drawing of the northern limit of Ngok Dinka's area of permanent habitation transferred in 1905. However, the eastern and western boundaries chosen by the ABC was determined to be "in excess of mandate for failure to state sufficient reasoning." [caption id="attachment_1202" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Abyei's former market area (April 2009)"][/caption] Abyei Arbitration Tribunal of the Permanent Court of Arbitration thus delimited a new boundary (see above map) that is somewhat smaller than the one represented in mauve by the Abyei Boundaries Commission. According to a report by Miraya FM, the head of Sudan's ruling National Congress Party, Al Dirdiri Mohamed Ahmed, stated that "the [Tribunal's] decision supports NCP's vision regarding the [border's] demarcation." Minister of Foreign Affairs and member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, Deng Alor, "welcomed the Court's decision and assured the movement's commitment of the ruling." Mohamed Ali Alansari, a leader from the Misseriya tribe stated that they are "studying the judgement to determine a final position." [caption id="attachment_1203" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Central Abyei street scene (April 2009)"][/caption] Abyei is an important oil-producing region of Sudan, which in 2003 provided approximately 25% of Sudan's total oil production. Defined within the Abyei Protocol (Chapter IV of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement), Abyei is "the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905." Residents of Abyei are define as "Members of the Ngok Dinka community and other Sudanese residing in the area." The Arab Misseriya pastoralists are not specifically mentioned as residents of the area and their grazing rights in this pasture-rich region—as prescribed in the Abyei Protocol—are a source of conflict. [caption id="attachment_1204... Sudan, audio, photography BurningBillboard.org no no http://burningbillboard.org/2009/03/icc-arrest-warrant-repurcussions-on-southern-sudan/ http://burningbillboard.org/2009/03/icc-arrest-warrant-repurcussions-on-southern-sudan/#comments Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:14 +0000 widge http://burningbillboard.org/?p=864 http://burningbillboard.org/2009/03/icc-arrest-warrant-repurcussions-on-southern-sudan/feed/ 0 5:41 [Warrap Town, Southern Sudan 45°C] Below is a podcast that was aired on Wednesday, March 25 on Amandla, a weekly Africa news and issues radio ... [Warrap Town, Southern Sudan 45°C] Below is a podcast that was aired on Wednesday, March 25 on Amandla, a weekly Africa news and issues radio show on Montréal's CKUT 90.3 FM. Here is the transcript of the audio report with a few added photos: Exactly three weeks ago, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for the President of Sudan, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir, for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur. Like many people in Sudan, I was glued to the television set to view the announcement. It was 4 p.m. An anonymous blogger who worked for an international aid agency in Darfur wrote on AlertNet, that one hour after the announcement was made, his agency received a phone call. “The Government had revoked our licence and we must close all our programmes. No further explanation. First thing the next day we were told all international staff had to leave Darfur by 4 p.m.” They had to be out of the area exactly 24 hours after the ICC announcement. According the the UN's Organization for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, 13 International Agencies were expelled: - Action contre la faim - Solidarité - Save the Children (UK & US) - Medecins Sans Frontières (NL & FR) - CARE International - Oxfam (GB) - Mercy Corps - International Rescue Committee - Norwegian Refugee Council - CHF International - PADCO - And three Sudanese relief agencies were also closed. The International Herald Tribune reported on March 21, that armed men looted Oxfam's Darfur Warehouse, “stealing all of its contents.” While in Malual Kon, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State where Mercy Corps has a compound, I learned that all of their equipment from their Darfur and Khartoum operations were seized since their expulsion: computers, communication radios, everything. Since their communication system was centred in Khartoum, they have had to reorganize their communication strategy for their activities in Southern Sudan. Internews—which is an International NGO affiliated with Mercy Corps—coordinates Nhomlaau FM in Malual Kon. It has three other community radio stations in Southern Sudan. One of these is located in  Kurmuk, Blue Nile State, which is within the North/South transitional area. The radio station there was nearly closed along with Mercy Corps, but they managed to continue broadcasting by arguing their independence of the US-based NGO. I've been travelling throughout Southern Sudan for the past four weeks and was recently in Northern Bahr el-Ghazal state, which shares its northern border with Southern Darfur. According to the IRIN News Network, Northern Bahr el-Ghazal is expecting an influx of Internally Displaced People (or IDPs) from Southern Darfur as conditions are expected to deteriorate as a result of the expulsion of the 16 NGOs. Although the report suggests that the UN and the Southern Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission are “are preparing for potential inflows of Darfuris,”  their arrival will certainly put a strain on the area's already scarce infrastructure. [caption id="attachment_868" align="aligncenter" width="350" caption="IDPs returning to Northern Bahr el_Ghazal in 2007 (courtesy IOM)"][/caption] Since 2007, there has been a coordinated transport of hundreds of thousands of IDP returnees to Northern Bahr el-Ghazal from Southern Darfur and Khartoum. These people are returning to their homeland after being displaced during Sudan's other civil war that ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005. Many are returning to rural locations without access to sanitation, safe drinking water, clinics or schools. According to the International Organization for Migration (or IOM), many villages in the area have had a rate of IDP Returnees as high as 80-90% of their pre-2007 population. 2007 is the year when organized returns of Internally displaced people began in earnest with the help of IOM and the government of... Sudan, audio, maps, podcasts, travel BurningBillboard.org no no http://burningbillboard.org/2009/02/in-nairobi-preparing-for-juba/ http://burningbillboard.org/2009/02/in-nairobi-preparing-for-juba/#comments Wed, 25 Feb 2009 16:22:01 +0000 widge http://burningbillboard.org/?p=616 http://burningbillboard.org/2009/02/in-nairobi-preparing-for-juba/feed/ 1 7:35 [Nairobi, Kenya 28°C] The Nairobi heat rarely gathers on the brow long enough to bead. It evaporates long before it has a chance to trickle ... [Nairobi, Kenya 28°C] The Nairobi heat rarely gathers on the brow long enough to bead. It evaporates long before it has a chance to trickle then drip. Kenya will prepare you for the heat of Sudan, everyone tells me as I reach for my water bottle, still thirsty. It's not just the heat of Southern Sudan I'm preparing for, it's the place itself. It's hold on a tenuous peace, as mandated by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed on Januray 9, 2005 between the Khartoum-based Government of Sudan and the, then-rebel group, Sudan People's Liberation Army. [caption id="attachment_620" align="alignleft" width="320" caption="In the offices of Sudan Radio Service in Nairobi, Kenya. (February 2009)"][/caption] While in Nairobi, I made contact with Southern Sudan as it expresses itself in exile, taking refuge from the past while building for the future. One of the first visits was to the offices of the Sudan Radio Service (SRS). This organisation is Southern Sudan's first independent broadcast provider of news and information about Southern Sudan. It is broadcast on various FM and shortwave signals. Their first broadcast was made on July 30, 2003, 1 1/2 years before the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the Khartoum-based Government of Sudan and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). SRS broadcasts in English, Arabic and eight Sudanese ethnic languages, and focuses exclusively on Issues and events in Sudan. I met with John Tanza, the radio station's Deputy Chief of Party (a title that reflects the primary funder of SRS: USAID). We discussed possible collaborations between me and SRS correspondents based in Southern Sudan. We decided that I should meet with SRS journalists that work from areas I visit to collaborate on stories of common interest. [caption id="attachment_626" align="alignright" width="196" caption="Dan Eiffe in his Sudan Mirror office in Nairobi, Kenya. (February 2009)"][/caption] In fact, we have planned that I hook up with Martin Siba, the SRS Wau Bureau Producer. I will be going to Wau after Juba on Wednesday, March 4 for a few days before continuing onward to Aweil, Warrap and Abyei. Another place I went to visit are the Sudan Mirror. The paper's publisher and founder, Dan Eiffe (photo) invited me into his office and told me stories of when he was a young Irish priest in South Africa and later in Southern Sudan. He told me that in June 1998 he stood in the US Congress and said to the congressmen and women during his testimony, "Southern Sudan is apartheid at its worst. Apartheid is a tea party in comparison to what happens in Southern Sudan." Below is an audio interview I did with Dan Eiffe in February 2009. [caption id="attachment_643" align="alignleft" width="373" caption="Outside the modest grounds of Sud Academy in Nairobi, Kenya (February 2009)"][/caption] Southern Sudanese refugees left Sudan during the civil war in numbers of about one million. This does not include the internally displaced people (IDPs) that rang from 4.5 to 5 million people. Many refugees ended up in Kenya and among these are the students of Sud Academy, a primary / secondary school based in a poor neighbourhood of Nairobi. Partial funding for Sud Academy comes from Canadian Aid for South Sudan (CASS), through which I learnt of the school and who gave me contact with, Kellee Jacobs a Canadian volunteer who bfought me to the school. She wrote The Right to Education - Sud Academy’s Case Study. I've posted more photos from the school here. Sudan, audio, podcasts, travel BurningBillboard.org no no