The Sudanese Guardian

Sudan Youth for Change, Protest for Social Justice

2011-06-15T11:16:00.001-07:00

The Sudanese Youth group “the Spark” has started a new initiative which i believe is a wonderful way to encourage the youth to voice there opinion and empower themselves. i posted a few photos from there facebook group and encourage people to visit it and see for yourself if you want to learn more about the group http://www.facebook.com/sharat.30, you can also visit one of my article at GV at this link http://globalvoicesonline.org/2011/03/26/sudan-because-i-am-a-free-sudanese-i-will-go-out-and-say-no/

with this i would like to encourage all Sudanese who want to voice there opinion online to work together on making a new hashtag, just a while ago we wore working with the hashtag #sudan4change at twitter and we wore able to point out things we want to change about Sudan in general, i will post about the topics we talked about in my next blog post, for now lets meet at twitter!!.

“No 4 corruption","yes for job opportunity" ,"it is better to be unemployed then to be a thief

“yes for job opportunity"

“No 4 corruption","yes for job opportunity" ,"it is better to be unemployed then to be a thief

if you have anything you want to change about our Sudan, i think a lot of people would want to hear it, so feel free to voice your opinion and thought.

Sub-Saharan Africa & fiber-optic and the Digital Divide

2011-05-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

Fiber optic is a wonderful innovation and no one would disagrees with this statement, the internet has empowered citizen from all around the world to voice there opinion and have connected everyone into this virtual world of the internet. now a days in a second we are able to send information and receive information that has never been witnessed by the human race before in the history of our existence. we all know that with this powerful tool comes great responsibility and hence the need to understand how this powerful tool can be of help to the world other half the Have-Nots is one of these responsibilities, hence one of the responsibility of the people who have access to this wonderful tool that is making the world smaller and easy to connect to day by day is to finds ways in which we can be able to increase it usage in many of the world places that lack connectivity and accessibility to the world of the internet. but it gives me great sadness when i hear lots of people and most of them are those who have access to the internet and use it on daily basis point out that the internet would change many things if Africa in this case (sub-Saharan Africa ) is connected to it, i would like to point here that i don't disagree with this point but i would like to point out that we need to take a look at the overall picture in many of this sub-Saharan African states and understand these states situation from the overall social-economical perspective then and only then we can be able to understand how the internet can be able to change many thing in Africa for the betterment of it citizens. As a Sudanese, it gives me great happiness to hear that many sub-Saharan African states are being connected to the world of the internet due to the increase in fiber-optic connectivity in these states but i also know that there are other factors that need to be considered for Africa to stand up on its feet in term of internet usage. such issues as the design of policy and regulation are one of the most important factors in increasing connectivity and providing incentives for the simple citizen in Africa to use the internet, policy that lower the prices of PC, and internet connection, increases awareness of the advantages of the internet and even how to use it are of crucial importance in this early stage of development. these policy play a important roll in increasing the usage of internet in many of these newly connected sub-saharan African states. even basic infrastructure such as electricity and the price of electricity has it is effect on the usage of the internet. a simple cartoon is shown below, that give a glimpseof the problem that infrastructure might bring in many of these states that are being introduced to the internet.

hence this bring me to an important cross point in this blog post, what issues do we need to consider when we want to bridge the digital divide, and how we can be able to do so. As a we all know the usage of the internet requires computer, the internet connection itself, users who know how to use the internet and most important of all the basic infrastructure that this whole system is build upon. therefore when thinking about the internet we need to consider many of these issues. some of these issues are

the cost of internet connection or do people use cybercafé, can a normal mid level income citizen pay for it?
the cost of computers, can people be able to spend the money they need to spend in buying a computer? is it expensive, is it cheap, is it affordable (as simple as this question might be it is of the out most important and policy makers should understand that it is important to provide affordable computer equipment and education for there citizen to increase a nation overall usage of ICT.)
the level of awareness of the important of the internet for the citizen him or herself. are they aware of what can the internet and ICT in general bring them in benefit?
Human development (capacity building) is also important in increasing the usage of the internet and ICT in general. as we know many of sub-Saharan Africa states are suffering from large illiteracy rate which hinders the country economy and it development in general.
the most important issues in all of the listed issue above is the issue of infrastructure, although many of these sub-Saharan Africa states are leapfrogging in term of using wireless network more the wired one, it is important to know that even if they leapfrog into the wireless world they cannot leapfrog electricity (not that i have known or maybe we could say solar power but the important point is that these basic infrastructure needs are important to develop and increase the usage of ICT in any state ) hence the importance of simple issues such as the price of electricity and it availability are going to be the driving force in term of the diffusion of this innovation in sub-Saharan African.

Although my interest lies a lot in ICT4D,e-government and bridging the digital divide , i think that without these basic infrastructure many of the future project that could be of great help in empowering citizen such as the usage of ICT in education, and the usage of ICT for government (e-government) would be hard to introduce, let alone spread.

The future of the internet in Africa

The future of internet usage and ICT in general is bright for many sub-Saharan African states with the recent introduction of new undersea cables in many of these sub-Saharan states, but only if we have strong and well written regulation and policy could we be able to grasp the benefits that the internet and connectivity in general bring to our countries, homes and families. i know that this is not a dream, i know it could be true, i know that Africa has the people to make Africa a more connected, more aware of the global network that is connecting us all and more aware of the challenges that are facing us in Africa and how we can overcome them.

Africa undersea cables

after all if you look at the many other states that didn't have the internet several year ago and now they have it, you can notice that they are empowering themselves with this tool and we for sure can do so also. but you can also notice that they are also tracking issues that deal with good governance, and how to improve the transparency of states institutes and there relationship with there citizens. as once before i stated in a blog post last year titled empowering the middle class i have stated that it is important to empower the middle class and give it its unalienable rights. i believe that if a state empower it middle class to a degree that allows two-way channel of participation between the state and it citizen then the state would have a strong ally in term of fighting corruption, embezzlement and bribery. all of this comes with a wise leadership and a strong rule of law and i believe we can have this in Africa if we hold accountable our leaders for there actions and our public and private entities for there work no matter what the cost is. this can only be achieve if a system is set to hold accountable those who are responsible and award those who protect the law and abide by it. the world has great examples of states that have develop at a rapid speed due to strong and transparent leadership and we all know that this could happen in Africa if its people demand there right and it leaders know there responsibilities. which leads me to my final point here, Africa is not going to change unless we the people change it, as recent event unfold in many north African states we know that Africa can change it self, it can hold accountable it leader for there misconduct, but Africa can do that only if we want it to change and work toward a transparent rule of law and justice for its people. there are some bright projects out there such as mo ibrahim foundation for good governance in Africa http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en. if you want to see the index for African state in term of Good Governance you can find it here http://www.moibrahimfoundation.org/en/section/the-ibrahim-index

the question i would like to ask now do you think Mo Ibrahim could do it by himself?

Radio + mobile phone(SMS) = increase in E-participation

2011-05-16T05:26:00.000-07:00

the increase in mobile phone usage in Africa has never been witnessed by any other technology in africa, mobile phones have spread at a very fast speed and have entered into the life and fabric of many of Africans today. we are faced with an important question, can we be able to use this technology accelerate development and good governance in Africa? can we be able to encourage e-participation from citizens, can this help in connecting people and bridge the digital divide. mobile telephony, which by now there are evident that state that it is going to grow even more in the upcoming years in Africa is a tool that could be a powerful tool for Africa to be able to connect and benefit from the advantage that mobile telephony brings into a society.

Source: blycroft

as we have witnessed lately some of there usage in recent event such as those witnessed in Tunis, Egypt and now in Yemen and Syria.

© 201q Zapiro (All rights reserved)
Printed with permission from www.zapiro.com
For more Zapiro cartoons visit www.zapiro.com

some perspective even stated that such technology as mobile and the internet even changed the perspective of many young people in how they can voice there opinion with out violent means, such as the usage of peaceful protest Vs. the usage of violent act. we also know that they are becoming a important channel for many citizen who want to transfer money to there friends, families and loved ones. even now the usage of radio + SMS is empowering citizen to voice there opinion on social and political issues and increase Dialogue on governance issues in Africa. as we all know that the number of smart phone in Africa are not that high compared to none smart phone devices, so the usage of such simple thing as SMS could help bridge the gap between connectivity and affordability interim of allowing citizen to voice there opinion online. a good example of how SMS services are playing a role in connecting government with citizen (mobile governance or M-governance) is a software that is called FrontlineSMS:Radio is a software that is programmed to help listener of radio to interact with radio station via SMS. article that talks about FrontlineSMS and Governance can be read here http://radio.frontlinesms.com/2011/05/facilitating-dialogue-on-governance-in-africa/ the article also talk about Mo ibrahim one of the most famous telecommunication entrepreneur in Africa, and the founder of Mo ibrahim foundation for good governance. from the emergence of software such as the one stated above there seems to be a growing number of initiatives to increase citizen awareness of such tools and the internet and mobile phone so that they are able to empower themselves to voice there opinion online and collaborate in producing the services that they at the end themselves need. after all governments are meant to serve the people need not the other way around. as we are entering this stage of collaboration in some African states, i hope that many of these African state government official see these new tools as an opportunity to interact with citizen of there respected states not as a threat that should be remove. these tools can help a lot in developing a system where people can interact with each other and work together on projects and task that benefit the country they live in.

citizen and government interaction in the social media era

2011-04-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

After the world have witnessed several online e-participation/collaboration and digital activism from citizen in states such as Egypt and Tunis and what we are witnessing now in Yemen,Syria and even in Sudan from time to time (which is by the way not covered a lot in the media). a question we could ask ourselves is how can we use these tools that have empowered grassroots movement such as the ones we have seen all around the middle east to empower citizen to voice there opinion online and exchange idea, thoughts or even solution to problem that there governments are facing.People of these states are starting to know that they can voice there opinion online and participate in changing their government and holding accountable those who though that they would never be held accountable for anything before and now they are questioned and even jailed. The question that comes to my mind in this point is the prospect of using these powerful tools that are emerging in the middle east for government to better understand the need of there citizen, knowing that only by interacting with there citizen and understanding their needs they would better serve them and there needs. in other word governments need to see this development/increase in the usage of social media in there states as potential to interact with there citizen in ways that they could not interact with them before and not as a threat that should be removed or a disease that should be cured as some might say.

the empowerment of citizen to voice there thoughts and concern would lead to creating a system of interaction between the state and it citizen which would help government in increasing transparency and reducing corruptions by allowing citizen to be able to voice there concern in term of corruption or ways for there government to better serve them, in here i don't link the word service in term of government providing services to it citizen because the part that government plays in interacting with it citizen should be view more then merely an act of service, it should be viewed as an act that changes everything in the ways citizen live and interact with there governments, therefore it is important not to just think of it as a service but more then a service.

government should know that by initiating project that increase e-participation they are not providing a mere service to there citizen but a new way for interacting with there citizen to empower them. these large scale online grassroots movement should be view as a potential for empowering people to voice there opinion online and not as a threat. last but not least i would like to share a short but yet powerful quote for those government that think that this is a fade, that social media is a fade, they are for sure mistaken, the internet was considered a fade and now look what it came to be. the quote which is stated by President John F Kennedy in his speech at the white house in 1962

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -John F Kennedy-

The arab world and Climate for change in statistic perspective :)

2011-03-31T05:07:00.000-07:00

As the Arab world witness changes all around it, people wonder what are the underlining factors behind these changes. a statistical research done by the economist dose show some of the important factors that might have been the reason behind this long long loooong awaited public uprising.

Egypt we congratulate you and salute you for inspiring us

2011-02-13T03:40:00.000-08:00

Source: Getty Images

Egypt and the Sudan have always been known as the lower and upper Nile valley states that have so much in common. Sudanese that live in Egypt feel that they are living in their own country, this also apply for Egyptian in the Sudan. What happened in Egypt this Friday is not a victory for the people of Egypt alone but a victory for the whole Middle East and Africa. Egypt has set the stage for more to come and in doing so inspire a new generation of young people to voice their opinion online and offline where ever they are. Many people around the Middle East went out to congratulate the Egyptian people for their victory. As a Sudanese I would like to say, Egypt thank you for wakening up the youth and inspiring us for a better tomorrow, a tomorrow that we can shape and create.

Thank you Egypt for a wonderful 18 day of inspiration, resistance, and overall the smell of freedom in the air.

Tunisia then Egypt what is next…. Could it be Sudan

2011-01-29T11:59:00.001-08:00

will Sudan witness a public uprising such as the one it has witnessed when it uprooted the late president Gafar Nimary in 1985 by a public uprising, it seems that the tension are on high alert in many middle eastern and African state, i am even sensing a large masses of twitters and facebook updates and writing about young Sudanese people preparing for a peaceful protest today.it would be called Sudan protest day, the protest did not start yet but it is expected to start today. as the below photos state “for The Sudanese youth a word (To keep or say) , many are expecting Sudan to be the next to get hit by this wave of protest fever that is sweeping across the middle east and Africa.

Facebook groups such as شبــاب لأجـل الـتـغيـــر·.»شـــرارة which translate to youth for change: the Spark, and tweets bearing the hashtag #sudan state a lot of this upcoming event. some twitters and facebook group go far as to teach ways to overcome the blocking of sites such as facebook or twitter by proxy servers. o well i guess i will soon update this post, very soon. keep clicking and feel free to comment.

Egypt Internet blackout continuous amidst fierce demonstration

2011-01-29T00:03:00.001-08:00

on January 28, Egypt one of the middle east largest populated country witnessed a full blackout of internet access from all ISP in Egypt. some say this step was made to lower the chance for demonstrators to communicate with each other on social sites such as facebook or twitter. some say it is the result of censoring information,photos and clips from being posted on video shearing or blogs around the net such as youtube or bloggers. but all of these opinion agree that the internet had played a vital role in starting the first spark to what is happening in Egypt today. we have to remember that as Tunisian wore out in the street protesting, there fellow country men wore on the net protesting and updating the world with photos, clips and information that have tweeted or blogged information about the protest to the world even faster and more consistent then some of the world most famous news channels. this is what is happening in Egypt today. lets wait and see what will happened next!!!!

source: http://asert.arbornetworks.com/2011/01/egypt-loses-the-internet/

More info and sites

http://www.cpj.org/internet/2011/01/watching-egypt-disappear-from-the-internet.php

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/28/this-is-what-egypts-cutoff-from-the-net-looks-like_n_815335.html

Will Egypt make another Yasmine Revolution in Africa

2011-01-28T04:31:00.000-08:00

for the past several days, Egypt have witness demonstration in many part of Cairo which lead to internet censorship and internet blackout . in my post about two weeks ago, titled Tunisia and the African-middle east dilemma, where i have mentioned that Africa might be entering a new year that will bring many new surprises, interesting as it might sound, Egypt is witnessing the second biggest day of protesting in it recent history, lets hope this what is happening in Egypt today will teach many of the other regimes that are around the middle east and Africa that this generation will not keep silent, that this generation will speak up for change and i think change is coming. The question now is will what is happening in eygpt right now produce or give birth to a new Yasmine Revolution that rivals that which happened in Tunisia at the beginning of this year. well i guess time will tell it all.

i would like to end my post with this tweet that i found on twitter while tracking the demonstration news

“"Egyptian Christians said they will guard the Muslims from the police while they on Friday Pray." Amazing solidarity. #Egypt #Jan25”

Today is friday,, it seems Egyptian from both religion Muslim and Christian are in unity as always to march during this demonstration. Egypt's always will surprise you. what a wonderful land and what a wonderful and peaceful people.

Tunisia and the Middle East Plane Rescue Scheme

2011-01-21T08:39:00.000-08:00

life has it own way of dealing with deferent people and teaching other people to learn from other people mistake!!. i guess the smartest of us are those who learn from there mistake but also learn from other people mistake before it is too late. i guess many authoritarian regime in the middle east and africa have been feeling a pinch lately after the incident of the toppleing of president bin ali of Tunisia. i hoped to shear this clip with everyone, enjoy and tell me what you think!!

NOTE: an english subtitle is shown in the bottom of the screen(look carefully) enjoy !!!

Tunisia and the African-MiddleEast dilemma!!

2011-01-15T09:32:00.000-08:00

For a month Tunisia has been witnessing a public uprising that has witness events such as riots, demonstration and even young people suiciding, it seems as if it is a new call for the people of Africa and the middle east in the beginning of this year 2011. the question that should be asked is, could this riot in Tunisia that has lead to the uprooting of a 23 years ruling president Bu Ali and lead him to fle the country help instigate the same action by other people in other countries in the middle east and Africa. i believe it can, after all many of these countries did have public uprising by the people to overthrow regime that wore oppressive and had nothing to do with respecting human rights. i guess this years is a year that Africa is receiving its first and foremost valuable gift of speaking up against oppression wherever it is and of calling out for a new era, an era where people lives are respected and there dignity is secure. the fact that is in the beginning of the years gives it a holiday mood i guess :) oh well happy new year Africa!!!! ......

links about this news

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Tunisian-President-Dismisses-Government-Amid-Protests-113607609.html

Rebel Attacks even before the Referendum starts

2011-01-09T01:48:00.000-08:00

Reading the news today, i was hoping everything would go smoothly, but it seems that thing are not going the way everyone wants them to. rebels from the South started attacking the current SPLM army in the south the in the eve of the referendum and several people got killed. i hope this violence ends here and is not cared on to spark an internal war within the south or even another civil war between the south and the north. the South has been witnessing a lot of internal conflict ever since the 2005 peace agreement and this has cost a lot of lives. hopefully this would not grow up to a full flagged internal civil war. as a person from the north, i also believe that even if the south choice to establish there own state, it would be better for both states not to have any internal conflict because that would lead to even greater trouble for the north and the south. lets hope things are settling down for now and not many conflict starts within the upcoming days. check out the below link for more info.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/New-Country-Likely-to-Emerge-from-Sudans-Referendum-113129764.html

5 days left for Sudan's Referendum and everyone is waiting!

2011-01-03T11:07:00.000-08:00

on January 9, South Sudan Citizen will go out to the polls to vote for the choice of unity or separation. as i read many of the Diaspora comment on the net and there thoughts and talked to some of my friend back home. everyone is wondering about the results. some are saying separation is for sure and some do have hope for a united Sudan. i think the question is not united or separated sudan. the question that should be ask is will everyone accepts the results. that is the key to this referendum. the result would be either separation of unity but Sudanese from the north and south need to work together to accepts the result and not lead the country into another civil war that for sure this time would be even more catastrophic then the one before. both side are ready and waiting for the final day lets hope that we as Sudanese could work together to accepts the result no matter what it is and prevent the country from going into a civil war that would take back the country backward in history more then it is......

Happy New Years for all

2010-12-31T11:22:00.000-08:00

hello everyone, Happy New Year

it has been a long time since i last blogged, i was a bit busy with issues that hindered me from blogging but i hope from time to time i would be able to post my thought and shear my experience here. i hope also that you would feel free to comment on your thought and opinion, feel free to do so. for now Happy New Year and i hope this year bring peace and happiness to everyone around the world and especially to my country the Sudan which is in great need of it.

Sudan Oil Minster: Support Sudan Unity

2010-08-31T01:14:00.000-07:00

in an article that i have read lately, the new Minster of oil in sudan stated some key point he believes in and pointed out some important issues that are part of the SPL Movement in the Sudan. he talked about the memories he had with the late founder of the 2005 CPA of the sudan, John Garang de Mabior who many believed was a big supporter of a united Sudan. Sudan’s oil minister criticizes secessionist voices, supports unity. stated some key point to all the Sudanese from the north and the from the south who support secessionist to rethink there thoughts again and consider the risk that might come from a divided Sudan. some of the well written point are

"I’m a unionist in the footsteps of a unitary leader [late SPLM leader] John Garang de Mabior. We studied for PhD together at the University of Iowa. But I consider myself his disciple. The reason for this was that I was, initially, a separatist. But Garang convinced me on the virtues of one Sudan," Deng said in an interview with the London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper during his private visit to Washington.

"He [Garang] used to say to me; look at the Americans they have whites, blacks, browns and yellows. They fought a civil war, and faced many problems but they insisted on the unity of the United States. Today, they have a great model for all the world in pluralism, racial and religious tolerance," he added.

other point

"I used to be a separatist, but I grew up and learned and I am convinced that unity is better than separation for the North, and for the South. I hope the same thing [change in views] for young Southerners in America who want to secede. I tell them do not sit here [in America], and issue verdicts from over there. I tell them, please, do not open doors to a new war. I ask them, are you going to Sudan to fight, if war broke out again or sit here under air conditioners in America?" he asked.

and a finally pointing to the number of Southerner who are working in the national unity government,

The Southern figure said that the people of South are already ruling their own with a substantial presence in the federal government with opportunities not even available for Northerners.

"What do we [Southerners] want more than that?" Deng asked.

now a clear point should be stated here, i think that even thought there are many participating political parties in the national unity government, that dose not mean that everything is working out well or for the best, some of these ministries either held by the NCP or the other political parties don't have that much direct effect on the well being of the people of the Sudan when they should have the most direct effect on the lives of the people to make the sudan a better place for all.

Carter Center Helps Eradicate Guinea Worm in Sudan

2010-05-04T13:42:00.001-07:00

The carter center have been helping in eradicating the Guiena work in Sudan, on behalf of many Sudanese people we thank you for that, it shows that the carter center is not in Sudan only to monitor the election it has many other support organization for the benefit and the development of the Sudan as a whole.

here is the link

http://www.ajc.com/health/carter-eradication-of-guinea-315426.html

Frost over the World in Sudan

2010-04-26T09:58:00.000-07:00

Updated: on may-5-2010

an interesting debate and a good comparison between Congo election and the Sudanese election by Jendayi Frazer. Thank you Sir David Frost and i hope you make more of these debate on Aljazeera. I wish Jendayi Frazer had to chance to talk more about the Congo election’s. while watching the clip i just hoped that Sir David would give her more time to talk more about the election interim of African being able to execute a legitimate election when the tools and mechanism are supported and used. The excuse that this election was done in a country that had not had an election for 24 years is not strong, Congo election is an example, she point out that in this clip too. The excuse that Sudanese people don't know about democracy or democratic change by the Sudanese debater is not strong either. lets just be clear before this government and the one before it that rule for 16 year under a dictatorship rule of numari with his inhumane communist ideas, Sudan was implementing democratic policies at a good speed. Sudan had election in the past, and that election to a large extent was a free and fair election although they wore not covering the all of Sudan which by the way this one also doesn't they served as a mechanism to educate the Sudanese people about the right to vote, the right to voice their opinion and the right to choice their leader, they also helped steer Sudan into democratic change and that intern helped the economy in what we Sudanese people know as the democratic times or party ruling time. which wore unfortunately not for a long. Well I let you watch the clip and tell me what you think.

please feel free to comment on your thoughts and opinions.

Folks it is official, YouTube blocked in Sudan Again.

2010-04-25T06:59:00.001-07:00

well it is official, the news has been circulating around the net for a while. it is official. what would you expect from the NTC after the fallowing clip has been shown in YouTube?, this is not the first time they blocked YouTube, they blocked it before in 2008. it is normal in state such as Iran, China, Sudan to control there media heavily and that is what we would always expect from such states. when Iran had its long demonstration revolt last year due to it’s election, it was interesting to see how twitter played a major roll as a communication tool between Iranian people themselves and the outside world. but then Iran blocked the website and stop any one from accessing it in Iran. an interesting cartoon that has been circulated on the net is shown below, it is about the usage of twitter in the post Iranian election demonstration and how technology is now empowering people to speak up.

He’s twittering, (who is reading, The world is reading)

the question i would like to ask is Sudan a step ahead of Iran and want to block all these social media sites before announcing the winner of this election?, that could be possible. but that wouldn't stop this clip or even other clip from spreading on the net, these government should know that blocking these social media sites would not stop people from viewing clip on the net or stop them from voicing the thought about it. the video could be circulated even now throughout the net by email or even in Sudan by Bluetooth enabled devices and much, much more. the fact is technology is changing the way we communicate with each other and on the other hand it is empowering people everywhere to speak up against injustice acts around the world and to voice there opinion loud and clear for the world to hear (read).

the news article stated that this action by the NTC is due to the leaking of a clips showing stuffing of electoral ballots, in what the opposition party say a clear evident of how the current election has been rigged. the clip shows electoral ballots being stuffed with ballots forums in what seems to be a polling site located in the red sea state of eastern Sudan.

here are the sources.

Sudan reportedly blocks YouTube over electoral fraud video

Sudan opposition claims video shows election fraud

Sudan: Empowering the Middle Class

2010-04-25T03:09:00.001-07:00

Image Source: Washington Post

while surfing the net, a Friend of mine from GV send me this article posts titled The Ugly Election, it was interesting reading it and for sure it was well informative for me and my studies on the current election in the Sudan. i like the part where the blogger states

Our voters fall into two main categories. Category A is those who have, of necessity or opportunism, joined the loyalty parade. This includes almost all rural voters whose services and livelihoods require government beneficence. It includes anyone who may need a license to trade. These voters will vote NCP, and the uglier the candidate, the more likely they will vote him in, because the ugliest representative is likely to be the one seated closest to the president and his minions.
Category B is those who have neither material interest nor personal proclivity for this kind of politics. Most of them did not register and most of those who registered did not vote. Observing the trickle of voters at the polling stations last week I would guess that the male population under the age of thirty belongs in its near entirety to category B.

Abd Alwahab (bloggers name) point out an important factor in this election, that is who control the income of more then half of the Sudanese population that live on rural areas, who sometimes pumps water to them so that they can farm, who has a sole monopoly over seeds distribution so they can be able to farm the next season, who has the money to buys there product so that they can live another day, who at the end tax them when they finish farming so that they are allowed to farm the next season and finally who can stop all of these necessary commodities needed by them and has the power to do it. it is very interesting and sad how these basic needs link a person opinion to his country future and his family as a whole. that Maslow's hierarchy of needs for you right there!!!.

this Reminds me of Thomas Jefferson quotes when he said

"When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty."

-Thomas Jefferson-

feel free to comment.

Power to People + Information Revolution = better future for all ?

2010-04-22T23:41:00.001-07:00

can more information and people to access it change the way we live our lives today, if government are held accountable for every penny they spend, and where they spend it, would that lead to a better for all. i guess so. so far i can see many government through the middle east that if they wore to be questioned to where the budget spending is spend at, they would have trouble answering.so far the internet is giving power to citizen journalist around the world to voice there opinion on many topics including those topic that are viewed controversial or tabooed in there own country. David Cameron point out that behavioral economics can help us recycle martial and save electricity through comparing our consumption of electricity with our neighbors consumption and the overall average consumption. Transparency, Choice, Accountability are three methods he mentions to increase the wellbeing of a country citizen and to empower them to change there environment for the betterment of all citizen.

in this ever changing world of IT and interconnect information technology devices we as citizen are becoming expose to information that none of our grandparent or even parent did. we are empower with tools that enable us to voice our opinions on the net for the whole world to hear, we are empower to voice our opinion and to debate them in a way that has never been given to any of our pervious generation. the question is can we act on these information and point out the wrongdoer or do we keep silent and live another day with the torment of not being the whistle blower who we could have been. at the end it is those who speak out that are remembers not those who keep silent in the midst of oppression, ternary and coercion. feel free to comment and tell me what you think

Gran Torino: i just finished watching the movie. just inspirational.

2010-04-21T07:11:00.001-07:00

The movie is very inspirational. it has many perspective interim of culture exchange and how people view each other culture. interesting movie that has an interesting twist to it and the end. hope you get the chance to watch it.

Rattansi & Ridley interviews Hassan al-Turabi and Ibrahim Ghandour

2010-04-17T12:12:00.001-07:00

an interview between Rattansi & Ridley and Hassan al-Turabi and Ibrahim Ghandour on there perspective on the election. just an updated about the current opinion of the opposition parties and the national congress party on the election.

feel free to comment.

My First Post in Global voices online, a start for many to come

2010-04-16T06:49:00.001-07:00

yesterday i was able to post my first post in Global voices online website, it is by far the best site to read from about deferent people opinion and perspective and i am very honored to be part of the citizen journalism revolution that GV is leading. here is the link to the post “First GV post my Mahid (Sudanese Guardian)” i would like to thanks all the Sudanese blogger for blogging about the election and letting us read there thought and comments. thank you a lot. thank you blackkush and Sudanese thinkers for your post and for shearing it on the net.

Sudan: Polling period extended for two days

2010-04-13T08:32:00.001-07:00

after much confusion and disarray in the polling process, the NEC has decided to extend the election period for 2 days, i am sure that would not help fix the problems that the election is facing but it might help those waiting in line to vote and give them more time to do so. for sure this would not help mitigate any of the opposition party compliant and problems.

in the clip in 2:05 Mr. Hafz point out an important issue and that is when those opposition party that withdraw from the election have with draw themselves they didn't tell there support what they should do from now on, they just keep silent, which makes it really frustrating to see, they the opposition parties should at least arrange a peaceful demonstration calling on and demanding change and asking for a more fair and free election and the postponing of the election time. even if the election was to start tomorrow, they should have done something at least. 2 day tell the end of this so called election, lets wait and see what the result could be..

feel free to comment on you thought or give some suggestion.

Sudan election: the First day of election in 24 years.

2010-04-11T23:41:00.001-07:00

The Sudanese election has started yesterday the 11 of April, after 24 years of totalitarianism government ruling. the Sudanese youth are for there first time in 24 years experiencing an election, lets just not forget that it is not a fully free and fair election. but with all of this comes lots of complexities, poll ballot not arriving on time, poll areas not opening on time and much, much confusion and disarray in the air, lets not forget the illiteracy rate that is in Sudan 40% of the population and poll ballots being confuse as they are , i have even heard it took an educated average adult 20 minute to understand the process. with all of this an important issue immerges, less then half of the population have registered to vote for this election the other half might be located in war torn areas such as darfur or areas out of reach of the ballots polls. these 16 million register voter they must vote for atleast 8 vote ballots.

“Sudanese voters each have to cast at least eight votes on different ballots. The Southern voters each have 12 votes to fill in on separate ballot papers. So the 12 million Northern voters will potentially fill in 104 million ballots. The 4 million Southerners will have to tick another 50 million votes on separate forms to be put in separate ballot boxes. Potentially, there could be up to 150 million votes to count. It will be the first elections for Southern Sudan since 1953. Altogether there are 17,000 candidates running for office. None of them are permitted to contest for two positions simultaneously.”

source: http://radiodabanga.org/?p=12143

with all of these problems facing this election the NEC is pushing to make this election as legitimate as possible or that what they say they want.!!!

there has also been problems facing people, such as taking long time to understand the process or even understand the process in the specified time of 3 min for every voter.

with the second day starting, we will see more of news emerging about the process of election in Sudan, i hope that they continue concentrating on the legitimacy of this election tell the end of the election period. feel free to comment or tell me what you think of the process and how it is going.

Anniversary of March/April 1985 Uprising: Jafar Numari Rule overthrown by a public uprising in The Sudan

2010-04-06T11:11:00.001-07:00

there was an uprising opposing to the regime of the late Dictator Jafar Nimire who was overthrown by a public uprising in the 1985 which is called the March/April public uprising. After this public uprising in the Sudan which is the second uprising against military rule, In that moment a the starting of the peace agreement has started and has accomplish a basic understanding of the peace agreement between the south and the north in Ethiopia between the Democratic Unionist Party (which by the way the party that founded and brought the independent of Sudan) under the leadership of Al-Sayyid Muhammad Othman Al-Mirghani and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement of the South under the leadership of late Dr john Garang. Shortly afterward there was another coup d'état by this current regime. As Sudan is facing election in April, i think it is As if history is talking to us in these days telling us don't forget what they have fought for, don't forget a free Sudan under a democratic system, don't forget your past and get stronger through it in this election.

Riz Khan Ignoring Sudan- interviewing General Scott Gration

2010-04-06T10:45:00.001-07:00

an interesting interview with Scott Gration Special Envoy to Sudan and michael gaouette head of sudan team at UN HQ . the interview take on a interesting curve especial in 3:45 to 6:05 and in 7:30 to 8:30 so for sure justice is guaranteed to be served it just matter of time and democratic changes :)

feel free to comment and tell me what you think.

Modern Sudan through the eyes of the economist

2010-04-04T07:23:00.001-07:00

a well-rounded clip that explains Sudan in may aspects

enjoy

feel free to comment

Sudan election in its road for a inevitable disaster with the withdraw of opposition parities candidates.

2010-04-01T22:23:00.001-07:00

well he is finally out, as if i had known he would be out. to be honest there has been rumor here and there and everywhere in Sudan about this candidate withdrawing from the election in a secret deal with the current ruling party the NCP. But after all is this true?. some might say it is, because when he withdraw from the his position as an election candidate he clears the field for the current NCP party to compete with the rest of the opposition parties which haven’t withdraw from the election but they said that they would boycott it (I guess that the same as withdraw) but not all do take this action for granted. Maybe by the end of next week we will see them all withdrawing from this election. Leaving the whole election field for the NCP. So I am guessing here are the scenarios, if all parities withdraw from this election then this might lead or would lead to having an illegitimate election in the Sudan which in turn leads to postponing the election to another time. Also we might think that this is a way for the SPLM to pressure the NCP demanding a more fair and free election, O well let’s see what the news says about all of this.

"On the level of the candidates of the Presidency of the Republic, most of them (Sudan's opposition groups) decided to withdraw," said Mohamed Zaki, head of office for Sadeq al-Mahdi, leader of the opposition Umma party.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6302UM20100401

“Veteran Islamist leader Hassan al-Turabi confirmed that candidates from his Popular Congress Party would contest the poll, to be held 11-13 April.”

“But the Umma party of former Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi, the Democratic Unionist Party and the Communist party have all said they will no longer participate.”

“The opposition parties and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) - which serves in a coalition at national level with President Omar al-Bashir - all believe the electoral process has been rigged in favour of his National Congress Party.”

“They say the registration process has been flawed, and their access to state media and rights to hold rallies restricted.”

“SPLM presidential candidate Yassir Arman announced on Wednesday that he was pulling out of the election.”

“He also cited a lack of preparedness for the election in the Darfur region, where a rebellion has been taking place since 2003.”

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8599567.stm

it is wonderful and i am thankful for all the news agency for laying out all and everyone opinion out to read, well i guess we will see more of then in the fallowing days.

NCP tries to blackmail the SPLM in public by election = referendum formula

2010-04-01T07:53:00.001-07:00

The NCP has declare that if SPLM withdraw itself from this election or try to call for a postponing of the election that it would not agree on the 2011 CPA referendum for South Sudan. I guess this remained me of the elementary school scenario which goes like this, if you don’t let me play with your toy I would not let you play with my toy and for sure the way this election is going it is clear that it is one person toy only, one party, i will let you guess that. on the other hand this blackmailing is sure to make the SPLM outraged because the referendum is an agreement under the CPA done between the NCP and the SPLM with the mentoring of the UN. Wavering it out like that makes it a simple agreement in the eyes of the NCP to breach the agreement and jeopardizing the agreement to even returning to square number one.

here are some statement stated by the NCP current ruling party.

"If the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) refuses to hold elections then we will refuse to hold the referendum," he said during a campaign speech in Khartoum.

"We will not accept a delay to the elections not even for one day,"

"There was no agreement on the agenda to be raised to the presidency," Abdallah Masar, an advisor to Bashir, told Reuters late on Monday.
"There are differences over the elections -- the NCP says the elections must happen on time," he added.

source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKLDE62S28Y._CH_.2420

feel free to post any comment or question.

A message to All Sudanese Bloggers

2010-03-30T08:22:00.001-07:00

hello there, it is nice to get to meet many Sudanese bloggers from the net and through my blog here and it is even nicer to read there blog and hear about there opinion I am for sure grateful for that, I hope all of you are enjoy the enormous flow of information that we are getting on the net about the election of our home country the Sudan, with this overflow of information and articles comes a great responsibility that lies heavily our shoulders (Sudanese bloggers), we as Sudanese have our voice to explain to the world what we think about this upcoming election, if we keep silent and only blog about our personal experience and our thought of the world around us and ignore an event so important for the future of the sudan such as the election in the Sudan we are miss out on the action a lot. I would like to invite all Sudanese blogger to blog about the election and about their opinion or even about their dislike in how this election is going or the direction in which it is leading the Sudan to, please shear your thought and opinion with the world because I am sure the world want to hear you. i know i do :)

I hope that we could set a date that we all could blog about the election on so if you think this idea is a good one please post a comment and tell me what you think and when do you think the day should be in.

Wishing you all the best on your blogging and May you have wonderful and a good blog post soon. Hopefully about election in sudan.

Why would you threaten to expel international poll monitors in the sudan?!!!

2010-03-24T14:22:00.001-07:00

The translation to English in the poster is ( lets go and register our names for election, where and when)

Now Mr. Pres. why would you want to expel international poll monitors they are one of the main factors that will make this election legitimate for the CPA agreement. It is so interesting to see how this goes, if I'm not mistaken the Carter Institute is not meant there to help only the NEC is also there to give advice as to how the election is to be done. It is also there for other political party to communicate and discuss with the Carter Institute for election affair and the process of legitimate election. I don't think that they are wrong in telling you that the environment that the Sudan is having right now is not the time to have the election in. that if it is delayed that would help.

I don't know what's the big deal in delaying the election for several months. It has already been delayed before, all international factors plus internal factors such as political parties other than the NCP and the SPLM have agreed that this election should be delayed. Now this is itself is a democratized process. No I do not know other reason that would affect the election if it was postponed for several months. Also I would like to restate the final sentence in more detail, now we know that many of the main internal political party of sudan have issued a statement demanding the postponed the election

March 21, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The leaders of the major opposition parties in Sudan has pushed a memo to the presidency requesting that April elections be postponed until next November in order to allow for major reforms in a number of laws primarily relating national security and media.

also, the Carter Institute which is one of the main Institute that monitors this election has also stated that the election process is at risk

March 19, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Carter Center issued a preliminary statement on the final stages of Sudan’s electoral process saying the process "remains at risk on multiple fronts including the ability of candidates to campaign freely" and the potentially negative impact from delayed logistical preparations.

"Logistical preparations are straining the limited capacity of the NEC," the US-based observer mission said in a public statement. "With a series of delays and changes in polling procedures, a minor delay in polling for operational purposes may be required."

In a dramatic statement, the Carter Center said "it is increasingly unclear if the NEC can deliver a successful election on time," citing limited NEC and UN transportation capacity, the massive volume of materials to be deployed, the re-packaging of materials necessitated by changes in the planned number of polling stations, voters per polling station, and delays in ballots production.

even Eritrea felt the need to say that this election should be postponed, and many different Institute have stated that this election is either not ready, could not be legitimate, or even the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Luis Moreno-Ocampo had a say on this upcoming election stating that it is a 'Hitler election'.

The EU's observers on the ground are facing "a big challenge," Moreno-Ocampo told a press conference in Brussels.

"It's like monitoring a Hitler election," he added.

all of that aside and i Also do not know if there is another definition for the following statement stated by the Sudanese president:

"We wanted them to see the free and fair elections, but if they interfere in our affairs, we will cut their fingers off, put them under our shoes, and throw them out," he said.

The only thing that I could say about this statement is no comment, it is funny and sad to see such statements broadcast it throughout the world as if we are threatening the world and we ourselves have more problems in our country then we could solve. And now we are threatening to cut their finger off that's just ridiculous. o well i will stop here for now, feel free to comment

France:We Invite Sudan but not the president of Sudan.

2010-03-23T04:38:00.000-07:00

France just started sending out letter of invitation for it Franco-African summit which is expected to be held may. France has also invited sudan for the summit but it clearly stated that it expects somebody other than Pres. Omar Hassan AlBashir to come to the summit. The interesting thing is that the summit has originally been stated to be held in Egypt but due to the fact that Egypt might allow the president of Sudan to visit the summit, news article say that the summit has been moved to Nice,France. I guess the French do make it clear to everyone their opinion on the situation that the Sudan is facing today. I guess many European Union states will follow the same action that Pres. Nicolas Sarkozy made to tighten the grip on the Sudanese president.

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has asked Sudan to take part in a Franco-African summit in May, but has made clear that Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir should not attend, the Elysee said on Monday.

Sarkozy's office said Bashir would not be welcome.

"The president has indeed sent a letter to Omar Hassan al-Bashir to ask him to nominate the person who will represent Sudan at the Franco-African summit," said an official, making clear that the Sudanese leader himself could not come.

The summit had originally been set to take place in Egypt but France was concerned that Cairo would invite Bashir in person so reached a deal to switch the meeting to the French Riviera city of Nice, leaving Paris in charge of invitations.

Sudan's state news agency SUNA said that in his letter to Bashir, Sarkozy had also expressed France's gratitude for the recent release of French hostages in the region.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62L2B720100322

Invictus: truly an inspirational movie, With a message to Africa

2010-03-23T02:03:00.001-07:00

I don't know about you guys

but if you haven't watched the movie I highly recommend you to do so, I just watched the movie invictus and while watching it for a while I thought if only we had more of him, if only we had more of him in Africa. Once a while ago I was talking to a friend of mine and he was pointing out that Africa as a whole doesn't have great leaders, he was insisting that we need an inspirational leader in Africa for the youth of Africa to following in his path. I always thought that he was wrong,that Africa does have great leaders. Nelson mandela, is truly an inspirational leader that has moved his country from being divided due to apartheids to being united under one rugby Stadium.

I do not know if I'm right or wrong but I definitely believe that I'm closer to being right then being wrong, what happened in South Africa is similar to what Sudan is witnessing today. The difference between South Africa's case and Sudan case is that Sudan and the Sudanese people have to decide on independence in 2011. In South Africa's case they didn't even get to the point of deciding to have a two state solution. I am pro-unionist who believe that Sudan should be one state where freedom of religion is respected and honored and opportunities are giving equally to everyone no matter their race, sex or color. So to all the Sudanese people out there that’s the remember how we would all use to study at the same school and we all used to play in the same play ground and eat from the same restaurant and go out partying together, tell me what happened. today Sudan is not the Sudan that we grow up in. It's not about South or North it's about us.

Let's not let what happened in the past 20 years and affect that some ignorant leaders of our country have made in the society and the fabric of the society itself erase the memory of us of we of a one sudan, let's not forget who we are, a society that does not judge a person by its color or race or religion.

let's try to understand and respect the gift that God has given us in having us to be from a country which has a different diverse group. Remember, remember we are all one.

Famous quotes

Nelson Mandela: Brothers and sisters, this is the time to build our nation!

Francois Pienaar: I was thinking how a man could spend thirty years in prison, and come out and forgive the men who did it to him...

Jason Tshabalala: According to the experts, we'll reach the quarter-finals, and no further.
Nelson Mandela: According to the experts, you and I should still be dead.

Brenda Mazibuko: This rugby, as a political calculation...
Nelson Mandela: It is a HUMAN calculation!

Nelson Mandela: I thank whatever gods may be /

For my unconquerable soul. /

I am the master of my fate /

I am the captain of my soul.

Happy Mothers day to Supermoms everywhere!!

2010-03-21T05:40:00.001-07:00

happy mothers day mom, by the way everyone in the middle east mother day in on the 21 of march :).

M - O - T - H - E - R
"M" is for the million things she gave me,
"O" means only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her heart of purest gold;
"E" is for her eyes, with love-light shining,
"R" means right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell
"MOTHER,"
A word that means the world to me.
Howard Johnson (c. 1915)

here is an interesting story, i read it and now it is made in to a clip check it out please

again happy mothers day to all the moms out there. :)

In Memory of Endurance Idahor

2010-03-20T10:01:00.001-07:00

in march 8 and in a shocking scene Almarekh player endurance idahor just fell down in the middle of the game and pass away several minutes after, he was born in 1984 and one of Almarekh best player. He is survived by his wife and two children. i just found this clip in his memory while surfing on youtube.

Sudan opposition seek poll delay.

2010-03-19T15:43:00.001-07:00

delaying the election is still a debatable issue, it is going to be an interesting year.

Please take the moment to participate in the poll found on your right side bar.

Carter Center says Sudan elections process at risk

2010-03-19T15:20:00.001-07:00

hello everyone, here we go

March 19, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Carter Center issued a preliminary statement on the final stages of Sudan’s electoral process saying the process "remains at risk on multiple fronts including the ability of candidates to campaign freely" and the potentially negative impact from delayed logistical preparations.

i kind of sense that this election would be postponed, now that all of these news article are showing up, like the one above i think that might be an inevitable choice for the Sudanese people.

also

In a dramatic statement, the Carter Center said "it is increasingly unclear if the NEC can deliver a successful election on time," citing limited NEC and UN transportation capacity, the massive volume of materials to be deployed, the re-packaging of materials necessitated by changes in the planned number of polling stations, voters per polling station, and delays in ballots production.

now this tells me that thing are not going well and postponing the election is going to be for a big change in the NEC commission.

also don't forget this article Sudan opposition want elections moved to November, slams UNMIS official

which state

March 13, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — A number of presidential candidates in Sudan has jointly called on the April elections to be postponed by seven months till next November and submitted a proposed formation for the National elections committee (NEC).

The Umma Party runner for president Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi hosted a meeting at his residence in Omdurman agreed on steps that need to be taken for achieving democratic transformation and establishing an "impartial" board to monitor the work of the NEC in terms of administration and finances, creating a body consisting of presidential nominees with rotating head, rescheduling elections to resolve a number outstanding issues.

just when i thought thing are getting on track it seems it is not, after talking to some Sudanese friend of mine i also got the same impression that this election is not going to be in april, but i guess that just people opinion that fact has not been yet state clearly.

but as always there are others who think differently

lets wait and see.

Salam :)

Hello everyone, it's wonderful to blog once again.

2010-02-28T02:58:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone

it's nice to be back and blogging once again, would like to say thank you all for your e-mails and your comments and thank you again for visiting this blog from from time to time. For those people who have e-mailed me with topics to talk and discuss about in the blog thank you very much for your support and suggestions and I assure you that I am always welcoming new topics. Once again thank you for your support and encouragement. Looking forward to reading your comments and suggestions.

China in Africa and it effect on the Sudan.

2010-01-19T22:47:00.000-08:00

China has become Sudan largest trade partner for the last past years, it is starting many project in Africa targeting natural resources such as oil. here is a view about China involvement in the Sudan. China is involved in many countries in Africa, such as Sudan, Zambia, Algeria and Nigeria. they are for sure dumping defected products in the Sudan as i have been there and seen the level of product they are providing for the Sudanese people, it is by far low price with a guaranteed of usage of 1 time only. At the end the sudanese goverment should have standard to prevent china from dumping these defected product in the sudan, we need to have a standard to quality mangment the same we had 20 year ago not the one we have now. Rizkhan from Aljazeera has a wonderful debate about this issue.

Feel free to comment and tell me what you think, if you are from Africa tell me what china is doing in your country.

China-Sudan relationship, an interesting cartoon

2009-10-16T23:13:00.000-07:00

while surfing the net i found this cartoon, interesting one also some aspects are true. well i will let you be the judge.

There is more to Sudan then what we see in TV

2009-09-02T02:13:00.000-07:00

the other side of Sudan, the side that we long for many times. i cannot wait to go there.

Can We Find Answers to Africa’s Poverty in Statistics?!!

2009-08-12T09:05:00.000-07:00

There are some of us when we hear or read the word statistics we immediately hear the words such as standard deviation and variance. Some of us even hear there professor telling them how they could have used statistics when playing card games with there friends the night before examination day!!!. But to some such as Researcher and Doctor Hans Rosling its a whole new story, he shows us how some countries are pulling themselves out of the poverty and into better economies and better livening slandered using Statistics. i know i want to see how, do you?

Feel free to comment or even point our some issues you wish to discuss.

Technorati Tags: Africa, Poverty, Economics, Inspiration

Upcoming Sudanese election and The Compressive peace agreement Past, Present and the Future expectation

2009-07-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

a debate between SPLM and the NCP ruling parties of the Sudan has been broadcasted in Aljazeera channel Inside story, both are main partner in the CPA Compressive peace agreement. Both agreed to stay in power for the years from 2005 to the upcoming election year in 2010, this in which there would be a democratic election to elect the new government. the debate talks about the result of the census, electoral law and the CPA agreement. i have posted a post about the census previously because i think this might cause a problem in the future because there is no full agreement as to the legitimacy of the census from the SPLM side. keeping in mind that the census effect the future distribution of power and wealth distribution. hence the argument of it legitimacy from the SPLM party.

the debate touches on key points in the CPA agreement but the main point i think is that the need to include other parties that are part of the National alliance to try to resolve the situation for the upcoming next year election. it is clear that both side is trying to get the best of the CPA agreement but there is an important point that is overshadowed by this agreement which is the absent of other political parties in Sudan and the Darfur conflict that is still in need to be resolved.these upcoming month are crucial times for the peace process and for the upcoming election in 2010.

PS: feel free to comment.

Sudan,CPA and the Visit to Washington

2009-06-28T10:22:00.001-07:00

There are many article about the visit, a lot of them have deferent perspective but many of them point at the topics such as census, elections, border demarcation, democratic transformation and self-determination.

here are some article about the visit

http://allafrica.com/stories/200212170134.html

http://www.sudanvisiondaily.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=46646

The wireless camel,telecommunication in Sudan.

2009-06-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

The wireless camel. an interesting documentary about Sudan growing telecommunication market. when i was there almost everyone owned a mobile, they are popular and at good range of price to all level of income. there are even machines that would recharge your cell phone with a 1 Sudanese pound of credited which is equivalent to 50cent. the market is there and it would grow as the economy grows.

An insider look at the Darfur Struggles

2009-06-27T04:35:00.001-07:00

i has been long since my last post. but i have been busy watching documentaries and debates about Sudan and other countries in the area. some of these debate are very much on the point about Sudan but some of them seems to be out of bound and are not talking about the Sudan that we Sudanese know. there is an interesting debate from The BBC hardtalk show and i wish to shear it here. feel free to comment on the show, and hope to read your thoughts

the hardtalk show is with Tadjadine Bashir Niam the Secretary of External Affairs for the United Resistance Front. it gives an insider perspective in the Darfur struggle in Sudan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/hardtalk/8077553.stm

Iran 2009 He is twittering !?

2009-06-17T08:42:00.000-07:00

twitter and it effect on the current crisis in Iran is huge, after all a huge percentage of Iran population is under 25 and are well aware of the effect of technology on the netcitizen of the web. in China Tiananmen Square uprising, he was alone,now he has the whole world watching and reading what he wants to say. truly we in a bounder-less world. please feel free to comment and tell me what he is twittering about

Sudan presses new Press Law, What dose it means for journalist

2009-06-14T00:04:00.001-07:00

Finally the Sudanese national Assembly passed Sudan new press law on Monday June 8. but the question is what is the deference between the first draft and the final draft of this press law. is there still remain some restriction to the right of journalist or not in this new press law.I have posted a blog post about this law when it was in the bill stage (proposed Law stage) in a blog post titled STOP Censorship: Sudan Government tries to issue law on journalism. the bill has finally became a law and it has been passed. nonetheless as i asked previously what is the deference from the first draft and the final draft of this law. to answer this question lets just go back in time and see what had happened inside Sudan National Assembly Parliament that led to this law bill to change for lesser restriction against journalist. when the bill was suggested in the National Assembly many members of the parliament have abandoned there seat to exit the building in a strong retributive reaction toward the bill. in this post i would like to state what was the restriction that the bill imposed and what wore the reaction of some parliament members toward this law.

for example a spoke personal from the national alliance stated

Parliamentary member Farouk Abu-Issa, head of the National Democratic Alliance,
who calls the bill “unjust, repressive and vague”, says that he and other independent deputies presented a “good democratic draft of [a] press law”, but this was ignored by parliament.

and also for example an editor-in chief of a news paper

Murtada al-Ghali, editor-in chief of the Freedom Bells newspaper, described the draft law as the most “restrictive” media legislation to emerge in Sudan.

“The law insists… on punishment,” he said, “[and] it is aggressive punishment.”

Some of the most controversial issues that circled around this bill was the finical punishment and banning/suspension punishment toward the newspaper or the Author. The financial punishment toward the newspaper or the author could reach up to 50,000 Sudanese Pounds or 21,000 US dollar which is a huge sum of money in a developing country such as Sudan for a journalist. in case of the banning/suspension of the newspaper of the journalist articles the duration is to be decided by the court. the new change in the bill from it first draft is that the payment of 21,000 US has been removed but the court can assign a payment penalty to a journalist or the newspaper. in the banning/suspension case it is still under the court jurisdiction to decide the time and the duration of the suspension. of course what i have just discussed in this post is just the tip of the iceberg in the criteria and requirement that comes with the passing of this law on journalist and newspaper. Nevertheless the good news is that the change toward more freedom of expression and less restriction and punishment has been felt in the final draft of this article more this it first draft. as one of the newpaper editor in chief state that the change to the final version from the first version is almost 80%. this of course after many protest toward the law from outside(by journalist) and and inside the parliament(by parliament Members).

As for my reaction lets just say no comment!!!!!!!. but here is what i can say there still hopes in changing this law and i hope for those parliament members to push more for lesser restriction before the upcoming election in 2010. as for you dear reader i know i cant request you to shear your thought in this case(sorry for the no comment statement) , but wishes that if you have any comment or an issues you wish to state please feel free to do so.

article related to this law

Reuters: Sudan gets new press law but restrictions remain

All Africa: Sudan: Press Law Storm

Sudan Tribune: Sudanese parliament pass new press law

Technorati Tags: Africa, Sudan, Press, Mass Media, Newspaper

Way to go South Africa, i want to go there for the world Cup.

2009-06-11T11:12:00.001-07:00

I want to go there!!!. One year left to the world cup in the South Africa. next year in the same date as today June 11 the world cup will kickoff it first match in South Africa.With all of the economic recession felt around the world South Africa is on the track for hosting the first world cup in the history of the African continent.

i believe constructive criticism is the key, i didn't like the way this person criticized the system without finding an answer to mitigate the problems that that system had. i hope everything work out for the best for this upcoming world cup with all of these global event happening now a days it is hard wait and see what will happen to the world most watch sporting event, lets just hope and pray for the best.

Technorati Tags: Africa,World Cup,Economics,South Africa

Finding Nemo in Sudan by the Red Sea!!!

2009-06-09T12:08:00.001-07:00

PortSudan is the main port of Sudan. There in the red sea you can go scuba diving,sightsee the wonderful scenery, or even do some fishing. The red sea is known for many things but I didn't know that Nemo lives there. Yes Nemo. I guess that why there was a shark in finding nemo Animation movie, by the way the red sea is known to have sharks too, now this I know, I know it had sharks but not Nemo. After all Sudan is part of Nemo’s home. I think they first nickname the anemone fish aka clownfish Nemo in Finding Nemo animation movie, it seems maybe the name Nemo comes from anemone where a,n and one e is removed and the rest is rearranged to Nemo but after all that just my guess. I have added a clip that I saw about anemone blow.

Special thank to the person who uploaded the clip to YouTube. Thank you

Amazing facts about Anemone fish aka Clown fish aka Nemo. from here by referred to by Nemo

Anemone is the name of a sea polyp where Nemo and his family can live safely and happily from other fish EXCEPT FROM THE EVIL HUMANS.

Nemo fish has what might be called symbiosis relation with sea Anemone in the sea by which

1. Nemo lives in the Sea Anemone and has immunity against the Anemone poisonous tentacles.

2. Nemo fish usually venture around the sea Anemone and bring back food in forum of predator so that Anemone use it poisonous tentacles to attach it and then eat it.

3. It is said that if a Nemo is lost in sea or doesn’t find his sea Anemone(home) he has high chance of dying.

Technorati Tags: Africa,Sudan,Red Sea

Do you know who was President Obama talking to in Egypt?

2009-06-05T14:11:00.001-07:00

assalaamu alaykum ( peace be Upon you) is how president Obama speech started. a greetings of peace in a region that for long has been and is a region of many conflicts from the Palestine-Israeli conflict to the Darfur crisis. President Obama speech was broadcasted in many channels, it was debated in many online social network sites, it was broadcasted live through the Internet, and it was even send to cell phone users by SMS in four different languages to all of the world. I guess after all we truly live in a ubiquitous world. President Obama speech was magnificent, it was inspiring, uplifting and above all it was for a new start.

To whom was President Obama directing his speech to? Was this speech to the middle east only, and last but not least, What were the reactions of Arabs in the Middle East toward his speech? I will try to answer these questions but first let's understand the environment of which this speech was giving at. President Obama message to the Middle East wasn't just about peace and democracy in the Middle East . It was more like starting a new chapter between the between the US and the Middle East,i was more like starting a new page and in that speech president Obama stated common grounds that all people from any religion who are in the middle east can understand and related to . his speech was for a fresh start and a new beginning. he pointed out many issues that have been for long tackled and debated in the hearts and minds of people in the middle east and today he opens a dialogue to help and promote new ideas to fix these issue and debate them.I did notice that most of the issues that President Obama was lecturing on was targeting the youth of the Middle East, the young generation that is growing with new ideas of democracy, development and the mutual understanding between the East and the West. In a sense president Obama speech was not only directed to the Middle East it was also directed to the Muslim world. Pointing out issues such as extremism, Palestinian Israeli conflict, democracy, and women right to education are all common shared issues founded in the Muslim world. I really was amazed at his knowledge of the Holy Koran when he pointed out this in his speech

“They have killed in many countries. They have killed people of different faiths - more than any other, they have killed Muslims. Their actions are irreconcilable with the rights of human beings, the progress of nations, and with Islam. The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind. The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few. Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism - it is an important part of promoting peace.” President Obama

"The enduring faith of over a billion people is so much bigger than the narrow hatred of a few," President Obama said. "Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism, it is an important part of promoting peace." President Obama said.

I as a Middle Eastern and as Muslim person know that the issue of extremism does not only encompasses the Middle East but it also expands outward to many parts of the Muslim world I also believe that Islam does not preach extremism but there are some people who believe in violence and they don't represent Islam nor does Islam need to be represented by them. i don't agree with the concepts that the end justify the means nor do i agree that violence solves conflicts.I believe President Obama's message for the youth of the Middle East and the Muslim world to know that we are with you, that together we can combat ignorance, prejudice, poverty and most of all hatreds toward one another.

i underlined what i am going to talk about in the next paragraph.

“Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.”President Obama

Way to go on this one president Obama, i always say that we need to not blame other for our shortcoming, to not look outward for our mistakes.we need not to blame the world for our short coming, we need to blame ourselves and only in that we can stop blaming the world and start getting in control of our world, our own development and most of all ending the seemingly everlasting conflict that raging all around us. looking inward for solutions to our problems and outward for way to mitigate them.we need to not look at problems that are crucial for our development such as improvement of standards of education,human right violation and violent extremism. most of all the straight to accepts constructive criticism even if it is towards a nation’s core system.

As to the final question that I have stated in the beginning of this post, there have been lots of comments and news interviews about president Obama speech, some of them were optimistic and some of the pessimistic and some of them leaned to the aspect of let’s-wait-and-see what will happen in the upcoming days, months or even years of his presidency. And of course they are those who just want action and by doing so they withhold any comment for the time being. And then I need to not forget the extremist who did not believe anything of what he said,O well that the Middle East.

I would like to end this post with a wise and a wonderful joke that I have read in one of THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN New York Times Op-Ed Columnist titled Obama On Obama. I have quoted the joke of his article and here it is.

“There is this very pious Jew named Goldberg who always dreamed of winning the lottery. Every Sabbath, he’d go to synagogue and pray: “God, I have been such a pious Jew all my life. What would be so bad if I won the lottery?” But the lottery would come and Goldberg wouldn’t win. Week after week, Goldberg would pray to win the lottery, but the lottery would come and Goldberg wouldn’t win. Finally, one Sabbath, Goldberg wails to the heavens and says: “God, I have been so pious for so long, what do I have to do to win the lottery?”

And the heavens parted and the voice of God came down: “Goldberg, give me a chance! Buy a ticket!””

From Obama On Obama article by the Famous THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

I highly recommend reading this article Obama on Obama by THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN. After reading it I hope to ask you a question, are you willing to buy the ticket, are you will to give him President Obama a chance.

Finally, I would like to thank you very much for reading this blog post and hope to see some of your comments and thoughts about this post, the speech, or anything you wish to point out. Please feel free to do so and please don't forget to till me if you are going to buy the ticket.

Side Note: Issues Addressed by President Obama in Egypt.

violent extremism in all of its forms.
the situation between Israelis, Palestinians and the Arab world.
The third source of tension is our shared interest in the rights and responsibilities of nations on nuclear weapons.
democracy.
religious freedom.
women's rights.
economic development and opportunity

Technorati Tags: Middle East, Politics Obama Obama Speech

We all can be a role model for the middle east, Can we ?!!

2009-06-01T12:03:00.001-07:00

Yes we all can!!!. I believe that the Middle East is in need of new faces,of new role models and of new ideas. These new role models need to not give up the prospect of changing the Middle East, changing the way we view the world, changing the way we think about the future, changing who we blame for our shortcomings, for not being on the forefront of innovation and development, changing the prospect of remembering the past but also not holding tight to it, changing the prospect of looking at the future and not assuming that it is too late for change. we still have a generation that believes in the past, that believes in all the glories and civilizations and innovations that the Middle East had.

I believe that one of the problems that we have in the Middle East is that we always tend to look to the past, we always talk about the past civilizations, about how the Middle East contributed to science and innovation. We always talk about how algebra origins comes from Middle Eastern. We always talk about our contributions to science in the past, but all of this stops when we want to talk about the present, when we want to talk about the future when we want to talk about change. Yes we were, yes we were in the past .

Now we are not, now we are not at the forefront of innovation, now we are not at the forefront of science & education and definitely now we are not at the forefront of civilization. We need to start looking at facts, we need to start looking at the present, and in fact the present draws an ugly picture of itself for the middle east. In the present some countries in the Middle East have some of the highest illiteracy rates around the world. We have some countries in the Middle East who have some of the lowest GDP and income per capita. we have some countries with the a very low educational level.We have some of the highest number of conflict zone in the world or i guess we are holding the title of having the highest number of conflict zone in the world. from Palestine and Israel conflict, to the current conflict in Darfur, Sudan and the list goes on. But that's not all of it, that's just the tip of the iceberg. Yes we need role models in the Middle East but we need them to look at the present not the past we need them to accept that there is this ugly picture of the Middle East that requires new perspective, new ideas, and foremost new mindset. We need them to look for our similarities and accept our differences.that requires us to accepts it and work with it and to find solution to mitigate it. Because it seems that whenever we look at the middle east, we always look for our differences.Tell me what you think, do we really need new role models or do we already have them???

here are some opinions please shear yours by a comment.

what are you waiting for till me what you think!!!! :)

Technorati Tags: Middle East, Politics

Ex-Sudanese Sudanese President Nimeri dies

2009-05-30T13:22:00.001-07:00

While surfing the net and reading news, my eyes wore caught By the a news RSS feed reader titled Sudanese President dies, it was Ex-Sudanese Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeri, he passed away at the age of 79. Gaafer Nimeri was most famous for being the first Sudanese president to implement the Islamic sharia law in Sudan, on the other hand he was also known to have ordered the execution of Mahmoud Mohamed Taha Co-founder of the Sudanese Republican Party. I will update this post with more information and thoughts about what he did and what were the consequences of what he did. For now I wish for the people who are interested in this post to read more about his history on the links below.

for now here are some links

BBC World

Reuters

Washington post

Microsoft decided no more MSN Messenger for Sudan. Why?!

2009-05-27T11:40:00.001-07:00

Microsoft Corporation has decided to turn off it MSN messenger services in Sudan. this move could lead to lots of Sudanese resident not being able to talk to there relatives abroad. MSN massager is popular in Sudan and lots of Sudanese people rely on it to communicate between there families and friends. To be honest I was shocked by this news but most of all I was very sad, why because this move is no different than what the Sudanese government does when it wants to censorship some sites or a program. Sudan is a country that has been ravaged by war for over 25 years this led to so many Sudanese people living abroad, these so-called Diaspora leaving abroad have many ways to communicate with each other, but as new generation of Sudanese people started to use the Internet they started to communicate using the Internet, so lots of these Diaspora are communicating with their loved ones and families and friends using Microsoft messenger. Now as far as I know this move was done by Microsoft because of the sanctions that are imposed on sudan. I have several questions concerning this decision. dose Microsoft things that the Sudanese government is secretly using Microsoft messenger to attack Sudanese citizens in Darfur (i am being sarcastic here). I am a big fan of Microsoft , I love most of their products and i use a lot of them but this action is just out of context , this sort of action is done by regimes that do want to censorship site and program from their citizens such as Sudan and china and this list goes on but not Microsoft.

I hope that Microsoft knows that Most of the people who use Microsoft messenger are just Ordinary Sudanese People Who love Microsoft messenger And therefore use it. Now I don't know what will happen next maybe Yahoo messenger will stop it service or maybe other messengers will also stop their service or maybe the next time we will see Hotmail stopping its service because after all Hotmail belongs to Microsoft. I believe we are in an age where information technology is democratizing the world. Lots of Sudanese people learn about the outside world through channels and the Internet they don't learn about the outside world through the Sudanese national television.

Speaking of the Sudanese national television there is a joke about it, a famous joke about it, a joke that while I'm typing this I cannot stop laughing when I'm thinking about it.This joke is popular in the Middle East.so many people know about it, in fact you might have heard about it.

The joke is

If a wife is somehow angered by her husband she would lock him inside a room and inside the room she would put one thing, that would be a television and she will open the television to one channel that channel would be the Sudanese national channel. i guess you would know why. if you do not know why i recommend you to asking a Sudanese person what he thinks of the national television

Hint: People in Sudan don't watch the Sudanese national television

people in Sudan learn about the outside world by watching channels such as alarabia or Al Jazeera or BBC but they also learn about the outside world through websites that shows them that the outside world really knows about what is happening inside Sudan. This I believe can create a bond of understanding between the Sudanese people and outside world, now I don't want to picture this as Sudan being a country in another planet but some of the news channels that are in Sudan do not portray what is really the opinion of the World About what is happening in Darfur or what is happening in Sudan as a whole. As for this move I hope that Microsoft would reconsider its banning of its service in Sudan because after all I really want to talk to my friends back home.

Article in the same topic: Sudan tribune

Sudan: 17 parties calls on a New Government

2009-05-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

The National Alliance which is lead by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Umma Party had lead a group of 17 Sudanese political parties, under the banner of The national alliance demanding the Sudanese government to step down and calling for the establishment of a transitional government that would lead the country to the next phase of the Compressive peace Agreement, which is the election phase in the agreement.The demand is for the government to completely step down of its current position and the reestablishing of a national transitional government that would take in charge of the nation until the next election dated February 2010.

Sudan National Assembly Parliament

The national Democratic Alliance also known as National Alliance was formed in 1989 with the objective to oppose the present led government of National Congress party. Ever since it establishment the national Democratic alliance has been pushing for more reforms in Sudan in terms of Human right,democratization of press and the fair distribution of Wealth and power in Sudan. I believe that the The National alliance action led by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the Umma party requesting the government to step down preparing for the election in 2010, would not only put more pressure on the current government to reconsider it position and it policy toward the current situation in Sudan, but it will also straighten the national alliance position in the national assembly hall concerning the new law on journalism that i have written about in my blog (click here to read about it). i hope this put more pressure on the law maker not to release the law and more pressure on the current government to reconsider it policy.I firmly believe in Sudan and it potential and i know it takes time, time that we need to use in building a better and bright future for Sudan and for our generation and the next generation. feel free to shear you thoughts and comments on this article or this issue.

News article in the same topic: Sudan Tribune

Technorati Tags: Sudan,Election

Old meets New Sudan: Did these Sudanese know Sudan would come to this point in history.

2009-05-26T03:42:00.001-07:00

i wonder did they thought this would happen to Sudan, a civil war that outlasted many civil wars in Africa. A Darfur crisis that is raging day after day. what more.!!

STOP Censorship: Sudan Government tries to issue law on journalism

2009-05-24T08:26:00.001-07:00

The Sudanese Government started a move last week to issue a law on journalist to require them to register themselves with the government media regulator so that the government would monitor them if they misuse there power as journalist. if this law was to be passed it would grant the government the power to deny licenses and invoke strong regulation as to what journalist can write.this news was broadcasted last week on Sudan national tv after the law was being discussed in the national congress hall in Sudan.

Article on the Law from All Africa

The Sudanese press has been subject to restrictions since the National Islamic Front gained power in 1989, with officials arguing that censorship was necessary for national security.

However, controls were tightened after February 2008, when some journalists accused Khartoum of supporting Chadian rebels that attacked the Chad capital, Ndjamena.

a government that dose not accepts criticism from it own citizen is a government that should not exist.

one of the news commentator on Sudan tv stated that a journalist time shouldn't be commuting from court to court but to write news that interest the people. this gives you a inside view as to what happens to some journalist who step on the red line.

In November, more than 70 Sudanese journalists protested against these curbs imposed by the country’s security service. Police detained 63 protesters, releasing them the same day. In response, 11 Khartoum newspapers suspended publication for 24 hours.

There is still people inside of sudan fighting this new law but they also have limits to what they can do

Parliamentary member Farouk Abu-Issa, head of the National Democratic Alliance,
who calls the bill “unjust, repressive and vague”, says that he and other independent deputies presented a “good democratic draft of [a] press law”, but this was ignored by parliament.

After all this new law should be rethought about and reconsider because of it power to Censorship journalist and there right to state there opinion and thought. this law is coming in a time which Sudan need journalist who speak the truth and state what is right without any strict regulation. Sudan is entering a new phase in the peace process and that phase is the election phase and the need for journalist stating news without restriction is crucial.please feel free to shear you thoughts and correction on this article or this issue. if you have any suggestion as to what we can do to protect there right and our right feel free to comment

STOP Censorship: Iran blocks facebook site.

2009-05-24T05:50:00.001-07:00

Iran blocks face book site preparing for election!!!!. facebook official reply by stating

"We are disappointed to learn of reports that users in Iran may not have access to Facebook," the company said in a statement.

As a person from Sudan i was really outrages at the blocking of YouTube site in Sudan before, and i am really angry at the prospect of them blocking facebook in Sudan.i was outrage when i hear a Sudanese comment on facebook stating to not to put any content or comments against the government of Sudan on facebook because he is afraid that facebook would be blocked by the Sudanese government in Sudan. Government should be afraid of it citizen not the other way around. on this i say one thing when a government block sites that are like YouTube or facebook it send a signal that they are a weak government that is afraid of it people opinion and the prospects that they might have.

but why am i saying this here where the title is Iran blocking facebook in iran. well the story goes back to over 10 years ago when the current Sudanese government start pointing out at people to wear the hijab even thought the Sudanese national dress would cover a woman who wish to cover herself to the fullest. because of this move lots of Sudanese ladies start to stop wearing Sudan national dress and wear the hijab even thought the Sudanese national dress cover a lady from head to toe and it is beautiful . so BYE BYE Sudanese culture, have you hear of a government that destroy the interest in it people to wear there own national dress.

(Image Source)

please do note that Iran also has the same concepts that is used in Sudan, the way they wore the hijab is similar of that to Sudan, i don't disagree on wearing the hijab, i only wish to point out that the tob is also a mean to cover a woman body and it is our national dress. after all it is part of the culture.the so called current government pointed out Iran way of wearing the hijab as an example, now they might even point out Iran blocking of facebook and fallow the same processes in blocking site and the communities in these sites.even one of my friend told me that she was denied entering her university campus because she wasn't wearing the hijab. i wonder if a Sudanese lady who was wearing the tob (Sudanese national dress would be allowed to enter her university campus by any chance. The concepts that many of these government have is that when they block a specific site such as youtube or facebook it would not let people inside there state to know about what going on outside in the world, what a preposterous way of looking at things. many of these government think that we still live in an age where they can lie to the public and the public doesn't have any source of information but them and there media stations. with all of this globalization of information,transportation and finance the prospect of blocking everything from outside will not bear fruitful result but even fire back. in today's world a person who lives in a country such as Sudan could be wearing a shirt from Egypt, using a cell phone from Finland, riding a car from the Japan and wearing a jeans from the state. i wish that these government start to think of the similarities that we have with other countries accept the deference's that we have. the world is one we all live in it.please feel free to shear you thoughts and correction on this article or this issue.

REACH an inspiration but i feel it is not complete!!!

2009-05-23T07:19:00.001-07:00

Is there part 2 !!!

Sudan Population census decided but dose everyone agree!!!!

2009-05-22T09:20:00.001-07:00

Here we go again with the debates!!!!!

(Source)

Recently Sudan population census has been decided to be around 39,154,490 but it seems that there is a lot of controversial issues arising from this census.

a very informative Article From Sudan Tribune states

The total of Sudan’s population is 39,154,490, with 8,260,490 living in the south, 21 percent of the national population, Central Bureau of Statistics head Yassin Al-Haj Abdin announced today in a press conference.

Khartoum’s population is estimated at 5,074,321 followed by South Darfur state at 4,039,594; Al Jazeera state is in the third place with 3,575,280 followed by North Kordofan with 2,920,992.

According to the announced census result, some 520,000 southern Sudanese are living in the north.

It was said that alot of sudanese political activist are rejecting this census and pointed out that it is not reliable. Sudan First Vice President Salva Kiir stated that he was “unhappy and unsatisfied with the census results”.

The National Congress Party (NCP) official Ibrahim Ghandour responded quickly to Kiir saying that the election law has determined that constituencies will be based on population.

this debate seams to continue while other political parties such as the Umma party or the Democratic Unionist Party are on the observation seat. of course this is not the first time the NCP and the SPLM are in the arena for the other parties to watch the ferrous debate. now what really made my head spin is that the news of this population census is not widely found on the net, even not talked about in Sudan national TV as if it was meant to be that way. i am really grateful to Sudantribune for there articles and it is wonderful to at least find reliable information on the net. but the main job should be for the Sudan national TV to talk about these issues not to just over pass it and forget about it and not mention anything about it expect on the news broadcast. of course the census can lead to lots of changes in the compressive peace agreement because it is a key factor in the distribution of power and wealth according to population.

As the debate continues on this issue there is an important factor this is surfacing up in the news and that is there is a need for trust between parties in Sudan. this trust doesn't come easily and i know that, but i believe in order to enforce this trust the two side that are playing the major roll in this CPA should work together more constructively not assuming that each party is an entity by it self. i believe the first step to having this trust is including the Sudanese people in the debate by the means of media sources that normal Sudanese citizen receive there information from. i guess Sudan TV has to rethink again about what they need to broadcast about to us not what they want to broadcast about to us. so here i end it,please feel free to shear you thoughts and correction on this article or this issue.