Pro-Nuba demonstration in UK against fighting in South Kordofan Article Comments (0) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Toby Collins June 19, 2011 (LONDON) – A group of demonstrators from various political parties and community associations congregated outside Downing Street – the home of the British Prime Minister - on Saturday to express their solidarity with the people of the Nuba Mountains in the face of North Sudan’s military aggression. Approximately 150 people met and displayed placards including “PDF [Popular Defense Force] told to sweep away Nuba like rubbish – will UK stand back and do nothing?” and "Nuba rebels can operate a no-fly zone themselves with the right equipment”. The PDF is a government paramilitary force active in Darfur and South Kordofan. As North Sudan’s military aggression is stepped up in the borderlands with South Sudan, fears of deterioration into a state of war have been renewed. There are reports that North Sudan has been bombing South Kordofan. The Nuba people fought with the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), the former rebels who are now the official army of South Sudan during Sudan’s second civil war (1983-2005). The political wing of the SPLA governs South Sudan, which will become independent on July 9. After partition South Kordofan will remain part of North Sudan governed by Khartoum leaving around 30,000 well-led and armed fighters who are not aligned to the Northern army in North Sudan. Nuba nationalism triggered by oppression by various Khartoum governments sparked an uprising the 1980’s which aligned itself with the SPLA, whose stated aim at the time was to change the regime in Khartoum. However, in the 2005 peace deal South Sudan was granted the right to secede but South Kordofan - and Blue Nile another northern state that fought with the SPLA - was not granted self-rule but consultations to assess the peace deal and the relationship with Sudan’s central government in Khartoum. The UK’s Guardian newspaper has reported that the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the region estimates that 400,000-500,000 have been displaced due to the fighting. The UN have put the figure of those displaced at around 60,000. There are reports that 3,000 people are missing. The Northern army and the PDF have been accused of conducting house to house searches in Kadugali, the main town, looking for SPLM sympathisers. The SPLM lost gubernatorial and parliamentary elections to Sudan’s ruling party - the National Congress Party - in May. Observers endorsed the result, which the SPLM said was rigged in favour of the NCP. (ST) -- 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.
