---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2011 18:29:58 +0300 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fwd: SPLM-N Press Release on ban and arrests To: Group <[email protected]>
1. SPLM/N Press Release (also attached) National Congress bans SPLM/N, arrests many members and leaders and confiscates properties and documents all over Northern Sudan In a significant development, the National Congress Party has banned the SPLM/North and arrested many of its members and leaders in addition to confiscating properties and documents across the Northern Sudan. Over the last 24 hours, the following violations have been reported:- 1-Western Darfur State: In Al Geneina, the capital of Western Darfur State, the security agencies yesterday conducted a predawn raid in a number of SPLM offices and residents of the SPLM members, resulting in the arrest of Madam Salwa Adam Bineiya, the Chairperson of the SPLM in Gadaref State. She was spending the Eid holiday with her relatives in Geneina. Madam Salwa is also a former SPLM candidate for the post of the governor of Gadaref. Five other members of the SPLM in Darfur have also been arrested. Several SPLM vehicles and documents have been confiscated after offices had been vandalized and shut down. 2-Al Gezira State: SPLM offices in the entire counties and districts of the state have been shut down and members arrested, among them the secretary general of the SPLM in the state and a well-known activist in Wed Medani city, Ustaz Abdullah Abaker. It is to be recalled that the Governor of Al Gezira, Zubeir Bashir Taha attempted to close down the SPLM offices in many times in the last three months, even before the war could start in the two areas. Taha is well-known Islamic fundamentalist and anti-SPLM/N campaigner. 3-Northern Kordofan State: SPLM offices in the state have been closed down. The SPLM Secretary General, the Secretary for Information and the Chairperson of Ghibesh District have been arrested by the security forces. Furniture and documents of the main office in Al Obaid town have been confiscated. 4-Khartoum State: In the capital Khartoum, the security forces closed down the General Headquarters of the SPLM/N. The office of the Secretary General at Arkuwait has been vandalized, using a force consisting of four vehicles carrying heavily armed soldiers. 5-Nile State: In this state SPLM offices have been shut down and vehicles and documents have been commandeered. 6-Sennar State: Offices of the SPLM have been shut down and many members rounded up from their houses and detained. It is worth mentioning that Sennar is a neighboring state to Blue Nile. 7-Northern Darfur All SPLM offices in Northern Darfur have been shut down, particularly offices in Al Fasher, the capital of the state. It is worth mentioning that all those who are arrested are civilians and have nothing to do with the on going war. They are citizens who are exercising their constitutional rights through peaceful means. We call upon human organizations and activists to bring pressure to bear on Al Bashir government to stop this witch-hunt against the SPLM/N membership. The general public in the Sudan, the region and the international community at large will be updated as we receive more information. Conclusion: The plan to eradicate the SPLM/N has been designed long time ago by the National Congress who fears the role of the SPLM/N as a democratic force in the transformation of the North. The leadership of the SPLM/N has been a target of a semi-Nazi campaign during the six year interim period. It is evidently clear to the National Congress that the SPLM/N is a formidable force, thus the delusional attempts to uproot it! The National Congress, by depriving the SPLM/N of any political space, and by disowning the Addis Ababa Framework Agreement which was the only viable track, has deliberately chosen war as the only mechanism to eradicate the SPLM/N. The NCP will live to regret this choice as the SPLM is there to stay and to lead. Rather, it is the dictatorship of the NCP that will sooner or later be assigned to history’s dustbin. Yasir Arman SPLM/N Secretary General September 4th,2011 END1 2. Sudan says south-aligned group must end operations Sun Sep 4, 2011 1:54pm GMT By Khalid Abdelaziz and Hereward Holland KHARTOUM/JUBA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Sudan demanded on Sunday that the southern-aligned Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) cease operations in the country, stoking tensions with the newly independent south after fighting flared in border areas. The SPLM, the south's dominant party, said this amounted to banning the group. "There is no party that is called the SPLM in Sudan and it has no right to carry out political work because it is illegal," Rabia Abdelati, adviser to the information ministry, told Reuters in Khartoum. "Carrying out any activity is considered a crime punishable by the law." SPLM's northern wing, SPLM-N, fought with the south before a peace deal in 2005 that led to South Sudan's independence in July. It has supporters in Sudan, particularly in areas along the border. Khartoum blames the south and the SPLM for violence in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states as well as other areas along the boundary where fighting since Thursday has killed more than 20 and driven many from their homes. SPLM officials say Khartoum is to blame. Security officials told SPLM members the government was banning its political activities, according to a senior SPLM official in Khartoum late on Saturday. He said security forces had taken control of the SPLM's main Khartoum office. On Sunday, SPLM-N Secretary-General Yasir Arman said Sudan's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) "has banned the SPLM as a political party and arrested many civilian leaders of the SPLM." "They closed down my office as SPLM secretary general in Khartoum," he said, adding that five members were arrested in Darfur -- another region that has risen up against Khartoum -- and that other senior officials were arrested in other regions. "Their main objective is to destroy the SPLM in the North. They see us as a threat," Arman said. "The SPLM has no more political space left. It is under attack in South Kordofan and Blue Nile so the NCP is sending a message that the only option is war." Analysts say Sudan's government in Khartoum is trying to strike against the rebels in South Kordofan and Blue Nile before they become a serious political and military threat. The fighting risks drawing South Sudan into a proxy war. The Sudanese government declared a state of emergency in Blue Nile state on Friday, sacked the governor who was a member of the SPLM-North and appointed a military ruler in the area. Peter de Clercq, a spokesman for the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), said a UNHCR team estimated that more than 20,000 people had crossed into Ethiopia from Kurmuk, one area of Blue Nile state where fighting has flared. "From al-Damazin (Blue Nile state capital) we understand that significant numbers of people are leaving, trying to head north to Khartoum," he said, without giving numbers. (Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Karolina Tagaris) http://af.reuters.com/article/sudanNews/idAFL5E7K40EG20110904?sp=true END2 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
PR day 3.docx
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