My problem(s) with Higleig

Last week, the South Sudanese army entered Higleig, an area in Sudan's South Kordofan state and took total control of it and still controls it as we speak even though Sudan's army claims to be "20 km" and " a few hours" away from "liberating Higleig".

Surely, every Sudanese person was quick to condemn the SPLM for occupying Higleig and they have the right to, since Higleig , as far as we know, is part of Sudan (even though if the citizens of South Kordofan were given the right to hold a self-determination referendum, they would gladly want to become part of South Sudan).

I think before we quickly decide to side with the Sudanese government and the national army for their attempts at taking back a piece of our territory, we should try to understand why this happened in the first place.

-For weeks, the Sudanese air forces bombed Bentiu, the capital of Unity state in South Sudan. As much as they deny it, there is solid proof that they did. hmmmmm....Why would they do that? I think they were just trying to provoke the SPLM. If this is the case, then lets try to understand why.

-As the SPLM was moving towards Higleig, the army forces stationed there were communicating with the leadership of the army and updating them on the situation. The leadership in Khartoum refused to give the forces in Higleig the green light to take action. So, they just sat there and did nothing , until they clashed with the SPLM. I'm not saying that the forces there were powerful enough to stop the advancing SPLM forces, but why were they stopped from taking action?

Jihad Comes to Town

The call for Jihad is everywhere in Khartoum and it is sickening. In newspapers, you see the adverts and you also see posters around the city. Students affiliated with the ruling party are even beating students at universities into submission to... Jihad. (side note: Shouldn't one actually want to go to Jihad? When did Jihad become by force?)

The GOS knows very well that Sudan can not afford this war. The country is drained and it turns out that after South Sudan seceded with 80% of Sudan's oil revenues, the government doesn't have a Plan B. Just ask them about agriculture and they wouldn't even know what to say.

But the point is, the GOS has one aim in life- to stay in power- and it it would do anything to remain in power and this is where it all starts to make sense.

When you are losing popularity and your people can't stand you and are blaming you for everything ( increasing prices/ expensive houses etc), you need to get them on your side. If you can't get them on your side, why not use the "patriotism" card?
And it is working on some level. In the sense that we are all condemning it and supporting the government in their attempts at reclaiming back our "occupied lands" !!!!

On another note, I don't remember South Sudan ever making noise about "Higleig" being part of South Sudan before…why now? Abyei was always contested between the two countries, but Higleig was not. The two countries even went to court over Abyei.
The thing is, South Sudan is pissed off. They shut down their oil production to piss off Sudan because they can not agree on oil transit fees and they will never agree as long as Sudan is asking for so much money.

Higleig is where most of Sudan's oil comes from , so why should Sudan have a stable oil supply while South Sudan can not?

I have so many questions *sigh*

Khartoum panics over fuel shortage fears

Published @ http://bit.ly/IimoIl


The impact of current hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan are becoming manifest in Khartoum with residents panicking over possible fuel crisis.

Vehicle owners and operators formed a bee line at petrol stations Friday, to replenish their supplies ahead of envisaged shortage.

However, the government said that Sudan had enough oil to cover its needs for months to come, adding that there were functioning oil fields inside the country other than Heglig, which South Sudan had taken control of.

The oilfields of Heglig produce about half of Sudan's total supply.

The Ministry of Petroleum said that Sudan had 10,000 tones of gasoline in storage and had taken all measures to cope with a war scenario.

Similarly, the Governor of Khartoum State, Mr Abdel-Rahman Al-Khider, has asked mosque officials (imams) to use Friday sermons to reassure civilians that their welfare would be guaranteed despite the conflict.

Meanwhile, Sudan Government has accused the opposition parties and movements of masterminding the long lines at petrol stations to create panic, by urging their members to queue at the retail outlets.

Vice-President Al-Haj Adam told the opposition parties that" they will always find petroleum available even if they want to drink it or use it to burn themselves".

South Sudan announced Thursday that it had shut down oil production in Heglig, while Khartoum said it had sufficient oil supplies for its citizens.

Random Though- Why don't we chip in?

The UN announced that it will need nearly $2 billion dollars to fund it's humanitarian,development and peace projects in Darfur. I read somewhere that America will pay for 25% of this money.
America donating money to Darfur? Why? Really, why?
Rumour has it that Sudan makes about 9 billion dollars a year from oil exports. Since our government is not investing this money in useful things such as development projects/better health care facilities or even better education systems ...Why don't they fund the UN peacekeeping forces in Darfur? After all, they are in their country trying to protect their own civilians (from them?).
The United States will pull out of Iraq soon and they will need the money to rebuild the country...at least I believe that instead of pouring money into Darfur, they should use this money to restore stability and rebuild Iraq.

Hello development, care to stay?

Picture 1- AL Fateh Tower

Picture 2-Al Sunut project

I'm assuming many of you heard about El Fateh Tower/Burj al Fateh. (see picture 1)

El Fateh Tower- A massive Libyan-financed five-star hotel, shaped like a boat's sail, has already changed the city's low-rise skyline and work is well underway to transform parts of the sleepy city centre into a bustling, gleaming 24-hour metropolis.

For me, El Fateh tower is not only a shopping mall and a hotel, it is also a clear sign of development and of Sudan gracefully entering the 21st century. Almost.

Thankfully, we have oil! Both a blessing and a curse. In the case of Sudan it was both. Literally. Oil was a key cause of the second sudanese war and other conflicts. However, it is also a blessing seeing that in less than a decade, my beloved Sudan became Africa's third largest oil-producing country.

ok, many sudanese didn't see any "oil" yet but in some parts of Khartoum, oil could be seen ( not actual oil, I'm talking about the oil money).

Recently, the International Monetary Fund has praised Sudan's reforms and expects the economy to grow by 11% this year - one of the highest rates in Africa.

Another important project taking place in Sudan now is "Al-Sunut"- a vast building site consisting of 10 hotels, shopping malls and a huge residential area located in Al-Mugrun.

People like to refer to it as Africa's Dubai or mabye even New York City. All I know and all I'm sure of is that it will be amazing.

Amir Diglal, from the al-Sunut company behind the project, says the first of several international banks is due to open its doors later this year, with the entire project to be completed by 2014. (see picture 2)

Although many superpowers imposed severe sanctions on Sudan (such as Britain's largest ex-colony), many Arab, African and even South-Asian businessmen are investing their money in the Sudan.

Amir Diglal added that ""The Americans will miss a great opportunity in Sudan," .

Will El-Sunut affect the culture as well?

Here is the interesting part...

Mr Diglal hopes the project will do more than just provide an economic boost.

"The challenge is not money or engineering but changing the culture."

He paints a picture of, no-doubt wealthy, Sudanese people strolling along the banks of the Nile from a top class restaurant to a cinema showing the latest releases.

Some go even further.

"One day, we might even have nightclubs," says one of those involved in the project. ( keep in mind: this person wanted to remain annoymous because he doesn't want problems with the authorities).

Surprisingly, unlike many African and ehm ehm "Arab" countries, alchohol is banned in Sudan. In other words, it is not served anywhere unlike the good old days! Before our very own Islamic revolution ( we did have an Islamic revolution in Sudan although it wasn't a revolution and a shah wasn't involved if you know what I mean!) alcohol was served in places and till this day, you can see the empty bars in the Khartoum hotels.

Sources:

1-http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6573527.stm

2-My mind