Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Countdown to the Southern Referendum


NAIROBI, 23 November 2010 (IRIN)
The people of Southern Sudan regard January's referendum as their first genuine opportunity to exert their right to self-determination, as enshrined in the 1945 UN Charter and underlined in the 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war between North and South.

Below are some key milestones on the road to this referendum:

Pre-1946: The British and Egyptian governments administer South and North Sudan as separate and distinct regions.

1946: The South and North are merged into one administrative region by the British government. The Southerners are not consulted about the decision and have concerns about being subsumed by the larger and more powerful North.

1954: Southern Sudanese politicians formally call for a greater role in their own governance, failing which they reserve the right to self-determination.

August 1955: Months before independence, there is a mutiny in the Southern town of Torit. By the early 1960s this develops into a full-scale rebellion and what became known as Sudan's first civil war, Anyanya I.

1 January 1956: Sudan gains its independence from Egypt and Britain.

1962: Civil war intensifies in the mainly Christian region of the South.

27 February 1972: An agreement is signed in Addis Ababa to end the war and grant self-governance to the South.

1978: Oil is discovered in Bentiu, Southern Sudan. This becomes a significant factor in relations between North and South.

1983: Sharia Islamic law is introduced by President Jaafar Nimeiri. Tensions in the South lead to the creation of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Civil war resumes (as Anyanya II) in the South between government forces and the SPLA, led by John Garang.

30 June 1989: Lt. General Omar al-Bashir leads a bloodless military coup and the Revolution of National Salvation takes power. Bashir subsequently cracks down on the rebellion in the South.

1993: Al-Bashir appoints himself president of Sudan and the Revolution Command Council is dissolved.

1999: Sudan starts exporting oil.

December 2000: Al-Bashir is re-elected president. All the main opposition parties boycott the elections.

20 July 2002: The Machakos Protocol is signed by the Sudanese government and the SPLM/A, outlining the general terms of a peace settlement.

27 July 2002: Al-Bashir and Garang meet for the first time since the war started.

October 2002: A landmark ceasefire agreement is reached between the government and the SPLA, but hostilities continue.

9 January 2005: Signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which includes a permanent ceasefire and stipulations on wealth- and power-sharing as well as a provision for the South to hold a self-determination referendum and for the region of Abyei to vote on whether to join the South or retain a special status in the North.

9 July 2005: A new constitution is introduced. Al-Bashir is sworn in as president with Garang as vice-president.

30 July 2005: Garang is killed in a plane crash. Salva Kiir replaces him. Violence erupts in the capital between Southerners and Northerners.

September 2005: Khartoum forms a power-sharing government.

October 2005: The South forms an autonomous government as per the peace agreement. Former rebels dominate the new administration.

April 2008: A national census is conducted in preparation for the upcoming national elections.

October 2009: The Northern and Southern governments agree that turnout for the upcoming referendum will need to be 60 percent for the vote to be accepted. If less, a second referendum will be held within 60 days.

December 2009: Leaders in the North and South say they have agreed the terms of the self-determination referendum in Southern Sudan.

January 2010: Al-Bashir says he will accept the outcome of the referendum even if the South votes for secession.

April 2010: Al-Bashir is elected for a new term as president and Kiir becomes the first elected president of the South.

24 September 2010: World leaders meet at the UN to discuss the possibility of a break-up of Sudan. The UN Security Council asks all sides to ensure a peaceful referendum.

October 2010: A timetable is set for the referendum, due to take place on 9 January 2011.

14 November 2010: The voter registration process begins.

1 December 2010: Voter registration to end.

6 December 2010: The preliminary voter register to be published.

4 January 2010: The final register to be published.

9 January 2011: The Southern Sudan referendum to take place.

Source: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?Reportid=91166

Monday, November 22, 2010

Egypt 2010

"What's Next..?"

A quick visit to Cairo was enough to blacken my memories about the city that witnessed most of my early 30 years.. Being grateful for both attchement or lessons I had learned there; was not enough to replace my realization with the common anesthesia spreading all over the country and the nation..
A friend of mine welcomed me saying: welcome to the zoo..!!
Another stated that there is no will to bring quality or reliability to any aspect of the Egyptian life..!!

Browsing TV and newspapers was enough to feel the mightiness of the Media Community that flips all realities and turns all false into confirmed state that the people unconsciously recite.. It is a phenomenon that started once the State-Media was developed at Nasser’s times, and got enhanced by the outspoken Sadat, and then evolved into an unbeatable monster with the ailing yet holding Mubarak..

Corporate-Egypt masters all the keys for wealth and powers, with strong alliance with the Media Community.. Hunting wealth and exercising all applications for such a goal or benefiting from it; is all legitimate in the street culture.. Everything becomes a commodity for trading, regardless whatsoever value it includes.. Religion is reduced from path of salvation into another for facilitation.. Science is no more a way-finding towards development and welfare, but a route for the inevitably smart ones to earn more dollars and recognition.. A PhD Researcher once described to me the magic of the letter “D” in front of any name..!! Bottom-line, all vocabularies, concepts and theories are subject to timely and continuously modified definitions.. It is a state of organized anarchy run by a JV includes Corporate-Egypt, Egyptian Politicians and their Media Community..

In today’s Egypt; gated-communities are syndromes, as well as headscarf with sexy- tight jeans..!!
In today's Cairo; an outstanding urban chaos that set loose by public servants..!!



This was Egypt as promoted by the mighty community of Egyptian media; yet below is the concurrent true Egypt as a unique state of cultural anarchy and unmatched national chaos that puts down all sincere efforts of reconciliation or reform..!!


I feel lots of pitty for the Egyptian people... Not because I do share portions of their blood, but because they were and still a magnifying mirror of the world...!!
They represent the histories, the struggles, the morals and the fallen ethics of our global civilization..

This is what had given them leading position.. yet would denounce it from them..!!
Maybe it is already done..!!

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Ethnic Seizure..




The wonders of our legacy; as an intelligent talking species; is mostly carried out by two qualities: migration and tolerance. This is how most of the ethnic races been developed, how the ideas been exchanged and how the progress been defined. Throughout the centuries, armed conflicts, wars and invasions were influential tools in developing the global identity; while science and culture venues were decorative catalyst celebrations to promote the associated political will and psychological determination.


Looking into the topography, merging it with the historical events, you may have most of the answers on the serious and confusing questions of humane interactivity and relationships. Afghan's mountainous region had always separated Europe from Asia. Crossing it with Islam had dated the mythical split within the religion. Balkan mountainous chains were both clashing and melting pots between Europe and Eurasia, and still do. The Mediterranean was once divided from Africa by the Great Sahara, yet also separated from the Nordic and Anglo-Saxons by the Albs. Ancient Arabs of Adnan had been culturally developed apart from their cousins of Qahtan by the lifeless mountains of Assir. The ancient magical China is just an island separated from the world by massive deserts, mountains or politically-driven cousins of theirs on the coast of their famous sea. So on, the endless reading of the topography that cooked our known civilization and motivations. It applies not only among continents and nations, but also among clans, tribes and minority groups within any territories.


The great invaders were celebrated not because how they managed to seize other nations, but for how they concurred topographic barriers, and maintained logistic and supply chains for unbelievable distances. This core Syllabus stills the same in all military and strategy schools. Crossing the barriers of ethnic divide is the most critical element of humane globalization. This was generally carried out by either the intolerant force; through invasion, rape and slavery; or by the temptation force represented by patriarchy, sacrifice or run-away..!! End result; mixed blood generations, which had and keep changing the cultural landscape of Man-kind. Simply, two thirds of the world population is ethnically mixed despite denial and misunderstanding. This is the power of globalization, if addressed righteously and correctly. This is our present and future savor, not the patriotic or narrow-sighted concepts of national, cultural or religious identity. Minorities worldwide are escaping the ethnic seizure by voluntary love and marriage with other minorities or majorities. Only Gypsy stills a hard case of rejecting the others..!!


I do believe that future will only give a ruling space for the mixed races rather than wasting time and efforts in challenging the deep rooted and rotten ethnic divide..!


This was inspired by watching the horse-riding adventure named “On the Trails of Genghis Khan” on Asia Channel of Singapore.. and by the wonderful Malaysian scene of a loving couple: a Chinese girl and an Indian boy..!!