BS: Sudan

Subject: RE: BS: Sudan
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 11:20 AM

South Sudan's main party pulls out of elections
            
Mohamed Osman, Associated Press Writer – 19 mins ago

KHARTOUM, Sudan – Southern Sudan's main political party withdrew its candidate from the country's upcoming presidential election, a surprise move that erodes the credibility of the nation's first multiparty election in decades.

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement pulled Yassir Arman — widely considered the most serious challenger to President Omar al-Bashir's re-election bid — from the race late Wednesday. The party also announced that it will not field candidates in the volatile Darfur region for local or nationwide parliamentary elections being held at the same time as the presidential vote.

The announcement comes as more than a dozen northern opposition parties and independent candidates also consider a boycott of the April 11 vote amid concerns that alleged government control of the media and biased legislation make a fair vote impossible.

The decision was made as the U.S. envoy to Sudan, Scott Gration, arrived in Khartoum late Wednesday. Gration was holding talks Thursday with political leaders in Khartoum about the upcoming vote, US Embassy spokeswoman Judith Ravin said.

SPLM party spokesman Yien Matthew said party officials plan to meet with Gration for talks Thursday aimed at warding off a crisis 10 days ahead of the country's first multiparty elections in 26 years.

Matthew said the party decided late Wednesday to withdraw Arman from the presidential race and withdraw candidates from the votes in Darfur because of "numerous violations" committed by al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party and "instability and state of emergency in Darfur."

The party will still participate in local and parliamentary elections in the rest of Sudan's regions, he said.

"The SPLM can't put itself in fire with its people and supporters for participating in flawed elections," he said. "We will not reconsider our decision and we may develop it further."

Matthew said the party is in talks with other opposition groups and warned they could decide in unison for a total election boycott within days.

The SPLM is the junior partner in al-Bashir's governing coalition, and the party's boycott throws its relations with the president's party into jeopardy. However, Arman was considered al-Bashir's most serious challenger in the presidential race.

The national and presidential elections are a crucial step in the 2005 north-south peace deal that ended a 21-year civil war and paves the way for a referendum when southerners would decide whether they will opt for secession from the Muslim-dominated north.

Some 2 million people died during the war. It is separate from the Darfur conflict which erupted in 2003 and has left 300,000 people dead. No comprehensive peace deal has been reached for Darfur.

Al-Bashir has already obtusely snubbed his southern partner, warning that the much-coveted 2011 referendum for southern Sudan is in danger if opposition parties press for postponing the elections.

The opposition has accused the president's National Congress Party of using state resources, limiting their access to the media and controlling the independent National election commission, undermining their chances and the fairness of the process.

International observers and rights groups have said all signs point to a flawed process where the National Election Commission is unlikely to deliver a free and fair process and on time.

On Wednesday the United States, Norway and Britain expressed worry about reports of restrictions on political freedoms, saying in a statement that all parties must make sure peaceful and credible elections are held in April.

Subject: RE: BS: Sudan
From: CarolC
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 09:14 AM

I also note that he uses the word "rebel" in this context where I have no doubt he would use the word "terrorist" were the people who were fighting for their independence Arabs instead of "Africans". When did the Washington Post become such a shitty newspaper?

Subject: RE: BS: Sudan
From: CarolC
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 09:05 AM

They're all Africans, even the ones who speak Arabic. What a racist Michael Gerson is.

Subject: RE: BS: Sudan
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 09:05 AM

Latest on Sudan election.

Subject: BS: Sudan
From: beardedbruce
Date: 01 Apr 10 - 09:01 AM

Today's WashPo:

In South Sudan, a crucial election may give birth to a nation


By Michael Gerson
Wednesday, March 31, 2010

MALWAL KOI, SOUTH SUDAN

Landing by cargo plane on a runway of sun-baked mud, close to the border of southern Darfur, I am greeted by an unexpected sight: a political rally. The president of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, will be arriving shortly, campaigning for Paul Malong, the endangered, incumbent governor of the local area. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement -- South Sudan's armed, African rebellion against northern, Arabized rule, now turned ruling political party -- is out in force. Activists in red and white march and chant. Soldiers shoo children with sticks. Local tribal leaders carry spears, symbols of their authority.

This desolate, parched portion of South Sudan (dry at least until the rainy season turns every road into a mud river) was a battlefield during Sudan's 22-year civil war, which claimed 2 million lives before it ended five years ago. Now it is a political battleground. Campaign posters plaster trucks and stalls at the market, some familiarly calling for "Hope and Change." Elections in mid-April will choose national and local leaders and set the stage for South Sudan's independence referendum, scheduled for January of next year. The outcome of these elections may determine if South Sudan becomes the world's newest nation -- or a stillborn state, plunged back into one of history's bloodiest civil wars.

At opposition headquarters in nearby Aweil -- a brick-walled compound, holding an open, thatched meeting room -- Gen. Dau Aturjong predicts victory in his independent bid for governor. Dau fought as a guerrilla, gaining a reputation for honesty and restraint. He complains that the SPLM has conducted a political purge, putting candidate selection in the hands of illiterate party hacks, dominated by the current governor. "The most qualified people are not being employed," Dau says, clearly counting himself in that number. He criticizes SPLM corruption and warns of voter intimidation and outright fraud.

The next day, President Kiir, looking thin and exhausted, is dismissive of independent challenges to his ruling party, accusing them of being funded by the north. "It is the only way they can weaken the SPLM," he says. But Kiir is clearly worried enough to bring most of the SPLM leadership to the region to campaign. Will there be violence from whoever loses the election? "We have been all around telling our people not to be violent. People in the south know what violence is. They know the consequences."

Late in the evening, sitting outside under stars obscured by dust, I meet with an official who has ties to both camps. His face hidden by darkness, he worries that an election not seen as "clean" will spark violence. "When you get down to the tribe and clan level, the politicians are not really in control. The north would say, 'See, South Sudan is not ready for independence.' "

Constructing a new nation out of the material of South Sudan will be difficult under the best of circumstances. In this region, concrete is an almost unknown luxury. Farmers lack not only tractors but also plows; they do nearly all of their cultivation with small hoes. The main sources of economic activity -- direct aid and oil revenue -- encourage more corruption than development.

But it is politics that could destroy South Sudan even before its birth. The SPLM, with its heroic, revolutionary past, is the only national institution in a divided, tribal society. Yet it suffers the same temptations as other revolutionary parties in Africa. Most of South Sudan's budget goes to the creation of government ghost jobs, allowing the SPLM to pressure public employees for support like a big-city political machine. Heavy-handed political tactics by the SPLM elite have encouraged internal division instead of ending it. The wife of South Sudan's vice president, for example, is running as an independent candidate for governor in Unity, one of South Sudan's 10 states. These conflicts provide opportunities for the skilled, brutal rulers of the north to play side against side, as they have done before. The next generation of rebel leaders could already be in the bush with weapons.

To be the successful founders of a new country, SPLM leaders have an interest in accommodating dissent, fighting corruption and ensuring fair elections. As the main sponsor of the SPLM, the United States has an interest in encouraging this kind of democratic legitimacy -- the surest way to avoid a failed state and renewed conflict.

It would be a terrible irony if South Sudan, a land that has survived by exceptional courage, should die by suicide.