Day: February 24, 2023

The Delgo Mining Company is pressing charges against five protesters in Sudan’s Northern State for ‘causing the suspension of a gold mining plant’, which uses the highly toxic cyanide. In response, activists from Abusara in Delgo locality accused the company of not complying with the agreement signed between the local community, the local authorities, and the company itself, which stipulates that the plant should be relocated to a ‘safe distance’.

The sit-in by residents of Abusara continued for the sixth week yesterday and they threaten to close the Sheryan El Shimal (northern artery road), an important road for Sudan that connects Egypt with Sudan, if the Delgo Mining Company does not comply with the agreement to relocate the mining plant.

Hatem Hassan, a fisherman and participant in the sit-in in Abusara, told Radio Dabanga that the security department of the Qatari- and Turkish-owned Delgo Mining Company pressed charges against five people for causing the plant to shut down temporarily. The company demands substantial financial compensation.

He explained that local residents, at the same time, reported to the Delgo Police Department that the company is failing to comply with a previous agreement that stipulates the relocation of mining waste treatment basins and cyanide storage to ‘safe legal dimension’, likely away from villages and important environmental sites or agriculture.

Hatem explained that the company has not implemented the agreement, despite 60 days having passed since the agreed deadline in December 2022. The agreement was signed by the company with the Ministry of Energy and Mining and the local community.

Delgo Mining Company reportedly explained that the Sudanese Mineral Resources Company issued a decision to cancel the agreement. This decision, however, is rejected by the residents of the region who explain that a decision by the Mineral Resources Company cannot cancel a decision by the Ministry of Energy and Mining.

The local community stressed their adherence to their request to relocate the plant and to defend any protesters handed over to the police.

Plants that treat gold mining waste (called karta in Sudan), often through using cyanide in open basins, are not only unwelcome in Sudan’s Northern State. Red Sea state has recently seen an increase of protests against such a plant operated by the Sudanese Army.

Sudan has been witnessing various protests against the behaviour of gold mining companies, especially against the environmental and health risks posed by the use of highly toxic chemicals such as cyanide and mercury. Protests are also taking place in Red Sea State, Kordofan, and Darfur.

Environmental and health risks

Environmentalists have been warning of the health and environmental hazards of using toxic mercury and cyanide to extract gold from ore for years. Five years ago, a Sudanese environmental protection expert already warned that the pollution caused by the use of cyanide and mercury in gold mining “constitutes the largest and most dangerous threat to the country’s environment”.

A recent report on mercury poisoning in Sudan points out that “years of indiscriminate use of dangerous chemicals such as mercury, cyanide, and thiourea without protective measures for miners or local populations has exposed millions of citizens across Sudan to lethal risks”.

Throughout the years, there have been plenty of reports of livestock, birds, and fish dying and medical issues amongst humans, such as miscarriages and kidney failure, as a result of environmental pollution caused by gold mining activities.

In 2018, Northern State education authorities had to close the Sawarda school complex after students suffered from coughing, vomiting, and shortness of breath. The situation was attributed to activities of the International Company for Mining, which spread mining waste and dust in the area.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Two brothers were killed in an armed robbery in Saraf Omra, North Darfur, yesterday. Local residents have complained about the increase in security breaches in the area for months. In Beleil, South Darfur, two fires destroyed 145 homes within 10 days.

The two brothers that were killed in the armed robbery in Saraf Omra yesterday were Mahmoud Mohamed Mahmoud (23 years old) and Marwan (19 years old).

Relatives told Radio Dabanga that two gunmen on a motorbike intercepted the brothers, who were on their way home from their farm, in the Karkali area in Saraf Omar area. They were shot dead and then robbed of their money and mobile phones

The gunmen fled the scene.

Radio Dabanga recently reported on the deteriorating security situation in West and North Darfur, specifically in Saraf Omra.

Especially displaced people live in a state of terror and fear due to repeated security breaches and sexual violence.

South Darfur fires

Fires that broke out in the Hijer Tongo area of Beleil locality in South Darfur destroyed 145 houses within 10 days.

Abdelmonim Ibrahim Ahmed, a representative of the Change and Services Committee in Hijer Tongo area, said that the fire that broke out on Wednesday destroyed 90 houses and another fire that broke out on February 12 destroyed 55 houses.

He called on the state government to intervene urgently and provide shelter and aid for those affected.

In January, South Darfur also witnessed two extensive fires that destroyed large quantities of crops. Last year, two children died in a fire in Katila in the state.

Last week, Radio Dabanga reported that the wali (governor) of North Darfur decided to send a specialised team to investigate the currently unknown causes behind frequent fires in the state. It is expected these fires, which date back to 2014, may have geological causes, such as the rocks and soil quality, thermal emission of phosphorous and methane gases, or old environmental waste and pollution.

In a feature on climate change in Sudan, Radio Dabanga reported that wildfires are becoming more common in areas with excessive tree logging or overgrazing.

Source: Radio Dabanga

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North under the leadership of Abdelaziz El Hilu (SPLM-N El Hilu) and the Forces for Freedom and Change-Democratic Block (FFC-DB) signed a joint political declaration on the formation of a transitional government yesterday in Juba.

El Hilu and Jaafar El Mirghan, representative of the FFC-DB and Vice-President of the mainstream Democratic Unionist Party, signed the declaration that asks for national consensus, reconciliation, and political accommodation to ensure the formation of a transitional government in Sudan.

The declaration addresses the political crisis and stressed the need to rebuild the Sudanese state on a ‘new basis’ that leans on principles of secularism (the separation of religion and state), a decentralised government system, and social justice.

The declaration affirmed that the transitional period should be a platform for restructuring and building the Sudanese state on new foundations and for drafting a permanent constitution based on the above-mentioned principles.

“The two parties thoroughly discussed the current political situation and agreed on the need for national consensus paving the way towards the formation of a civilian government that contributes positively to advancing the peace process and ensuring its sustainability by addressing the root causes of the Sudanese crisis,” the declaration reads.

The integration of the Rapid Support Forces and armed rebel movements into a unified Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), according to a specified timetable, is also addressed in the declaration.

Both parties have previously refused to sign the Framework Agreement.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Citizens across the country have lauded the decision by President Salva Kiir and First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar to remove the powers of the National Security Service (NSS) to arrest a suspect without a warrant.

The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization (CEPO) congratulated Kiir and Machar for what they described as a remarkable decision and an act of embracing democratic practices.

“This is a long waited decision and CEPO is hoping that this spirit will be applied in the reforms of the other legislations like the Non-governmental Organization Act, 2015,” a CEPO statement read.

CEPO’s executive director, Edmund Yakani, said the president and his deputy agreeing to scrap the NSS’ powers to arrest without a warrant was a demonstration of commitment to embracing democratic practices.

“It is good that the president and first vice president responded positively to our advocacy and the legal opinion on the National Security Service by our Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs,” he said.

Adhel Kuel in Aweil said it was a good and timely decision and that other laws have to be reviewed to ensure that the interests of the South Sudanese are respected.

“This is a good step and I wish the presidency gets an opportunity to review all South Sudanese laws carefully because there are some provisions which are against the people and are for the interests of persons in power,” she said.

Another Aweil resident, Reec Mayar Deng, welcomed the decision but said arrested suspects must be presented in court immediately.

“I am saying that the decision the president and first vice president is proper because this is the way legal procedures are done and a warrant of arrest must be issued to arrest any suspect and they should be brought before a court,” said Mayar. “If the NSS arrests a person without a warrant of arrest that is wrong and illegal.”

Meanwhile, David Marko Ajuheri in Torit says the NSS was violating the law by arbitrarily arresting citizens without arrest warrants. He said the NSS is supposed to collect intelligence which they should then hand over to the police for action.

“They do not have powers to arrest except if there are crimes against the country then they should arrest but through the public prosecutor who then will allow detention for 24 hours before the suspect is taken to court according to the constitution,” he said. “This decision is good but the problem will be in implementation because if you make a decision and you do not implement it, then the decision will have no use. It is important to educate law enforcement agencies about the decision. It will help citizens. For example, journalists, like the ones of SSBC, have been arrested at will without arrest warrants and have not been arraigned in court.”

“The penal code clearly says that suspects committing a crime like breaking into a shop can be arrested without a warrant,” he added.

On his part, an advocate, Beda Khasmiro Anthony, said the law which gave the NSS powers to arrest without a warrant was enacted at the wrong time and likely to stifle freedoms.

“I celebrate the decision of the presidency to remove that law that entitled the NSS to arrest without a warrant. That law allowing NSS personnel to arrest without a warrant was enacted at a bad time that brought about criticism that it was meant to suppress people, suppress the freedom of expression and other fundamental freedoms but thank God, I congratulate the two leaders for having done this,” he said. “This will make this country go forward in terms of rule of law. There is the Police Act 2008 which gives the power to arrest without a warrant. There are always crimes in the law that you do not need to wait to process a warrant like when a criminal is escaping.”

“The NSS can arrest a suspected person when there is a public security risk,” he added.

Source: Radio Tamazuj