Taha to Lead Sudanese delegation to UN General Assembly Meeting in NY Today
(SV)
Vice President, Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, is to lead to-day Monday the Sudanese delegation to participate in the UN General Assembly Meetings. Sudan's representative to the UN, Ambassador Dafaala El Haj Ali, said the meeting would discuss issues relating to addressing food crisis in the light of increasing world population growth.
The meeting will also address problems relating to environment and climate change. Another topic to be discussed will be the level of the execution of the millennium objectives for development that was agreed upon in 2000. It is to be recalled that these objectives center on fighting and alleviating poverty and increasing sustainable development rates. "The Vice President will participate in the high- level meeting called for by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in coordination with Sudanese government this coming Friday," said the ambassador. He added that the meeting, which will coincide with the UN General Assembly meeting, will review development of the peace process in Sudan and the referendum to be conducted this coming January.”
In the same context, Al Sharq Al Awsat newspaper reported that the Sudan embassy in Washington has distributed statements attributed to the Vice President in which he said, Quote: "The government of President Omer Al Bashir was the first Sudanese government that officially recognized the right of Southerners to self-determination". Unquote. He added, Quote: "When we agreed to that (in the nineties), we had set a new rule for Africa whose states respected the borders they had inherited from colonialization". Unquote. He added, Quote:  "We said that the war must be ended by adopting a different method and such method should allow for voluntary unity or voluntary secession.” Unquote. The Vice President then added, Quote: "Thanks to one man for all this and that man is Al Bashir. He was a military man and managed to convince his aides to conclude the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that endorsed the referendum. Al Bashir did this in a way that had not been done by any civilian Sudanese president before him." Unquote. The Vice-president continued, Quote: "Al Bashir's government is keen not to go back to war whatever the outcome of the referendum is and this is why it focuses on the ten intermingling states along the borders between the North and the South, Quote: "It is there where one third of Sudan’s population live and where a tremendous wealth exists.” Unquote. The Vice President referred to two clauses of the CPA, firstly, Quote: "Both sides shall work for making unity attractive”, Unquote, and secondly, Quote: " The referendum shall be under international supervision”, Unquote.
Taha called on USA officials to take into consideration that the CPA focused on unity more than on secession. It is, Quote: "A moral and official responsibility not only for the two signatory parties but also for the parties who participated in signing it, the USA is one of them." Unquote. Taha called on USA officials to ensure that the referendum would be free and fair. He added, Quote: “This is an important precondition for accepting its result." Unquote.
The Vice President went on to say that Washington wanted the Sudan to solve the Darfur issue, conduct the referendum in the South and face, Quote: "And handling complex economic, social and political situation that would result if the South were to separate." Unquote. In the same time, Quote: "Washington does not want to ask itself how can we do all that? Washington conducts a policy aiming at weakening our country and weakening our country's president who has in his hand the decision of final peace and war." Unquote. He added, Quote: "The problem is not the Sudan only but the entire region which would be affected if the Sudan is split and this is because of the fierce campaign that aims at distorting our country's image and weakening it through sanctions and isolation." Unquote.





Government Downplays Demonstrations Human Rights Groups Plan to Stage
(SMC)
The Sudan government has downplayed the significance of demonstrations that four organizations active in human rights are planning to stage in a bid to mount pressure on the government.
"These organizations have never been concerned about Sudan's issues," said the spokesperson of Sudan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muawia Osman Khalid. "They have not been in touch with peace achievement in Sudan," he added.


Muawia accused the organizations of increasing tension in some regions of Sudan and asked them to reconsider their objectives and seriously consider supporting peace and stability in Sudan rather than directing baseless criticism and inciting the public opinion against the incumbent government.
However, the foreign affairs spokesperson has welcome any efforts to support peace, pointing out that Sudan is entering historic, crucial and critical stage with regard to holding south Sudan referendum.


NCP rejects ICC's participation in UN discussions on Sudan
(Mirayafm)
The National Congress Party has rejected any participation of the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, in the United Nations' General Assembly's special meeting on Sudan. The meeting is scheduled to be held on 24 September 2010 in New York. Speaking to Radio Miraya, NCP leading member, Rabie Abel-Atti, said that the government's stance is unchanging, rejecting any representation of the ICC in any international meeting, attended by the government.
Reports affirmed earlier, that ICC chief prosecutor will participate in the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting on Sudan.
Meanwhile, Rabie Abel-Atti also denounced the report of the Independent Human Rights Rapporteur on Sudan, Mohamed Chande, in which he said that human rights violations are ongoing in the country.
Abel-Atti described the report as unrealistic and inaccurate. He said Sudan adheres to all international conventions on human rights, and is committed to basic freedoms and democratic transformation.
Earlier, the Independent Human Rights Rapporteur on Sudan, Muhammad Chande, said that Sudan has arrested political opposition leaders, journalists and students ahead of the 2011 referendum process. Osman said that many detainees have alleged that they were tortured or denied the right to challenge their custody in courts. Addressing the UN Human Rights Assembly in Geneva, Osman said that these developments represent a serious setback and are of particular concern as the country prepares for the referendum process.

South Sudan disposes of substantial number of expired goods
(ST)
The Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) on Sunday said it has disposed of a significant number of expired goods, including beer. This came following the combustion of 500 crates and a significant number of cartons full of alcoholic and non-alcoholic expired goods belonging to an Eritrean wholesale supplier.
The supplier, Muse AF Company, is one of the biggest foreign agencies operating in the regional capital of Juba, which also imports beverages from Germany and Dubai via Port Mombassa, Kenya.
On Friday 500 crates and cartons were incinerated at Lagun dumping site on the Juba-Yei road.
While witnessing the disposal exercise, the Director General of Standards and Meteorology in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, GoSS, Mary Gordon Muortat, stated that her department is having a great deal of difficulty in dealing with expired consumer goods in the market, as traders do not show up voluntarily to dispose them.
Muortat said the discovery of expired food items is very common in Juba. Whenever they find expired good they compel the owners to dispose of the; the majority of people still do not believe that canned food and soft drinks expire.
She lauded the initiative taken by the Eritrean traders who voluntarily reported their expired stock and appealed to the rest of trader community in possesion of what she described as “potentially-harmful commodities”, to report them to the Ministry of Commerce so that they can be disposed of.
Muortat explained that food items and drugs can get damaged while in stores, as most of these commodities are manufactured in different climatic zones and temperatures. When these products are stored in climates like southern Sudan’s, coupled with the poor storage facilities in Juba, they expire before their stated “use-by” dates.
She also pointed out that her department still lacks the laboratories requried to conduct independent investigations into food safety and pharmacuticals. However, the department is able to work in collaboration with the Uganda Bureau of Standards to check the quality of consumer goods imported to southern Sudan. The department in charge of overseeing the condition of drugs and restaurants in Juba in the Ministry of Health is still not well established.


Minister of Finance Announces Measures to Reduce Imports and Rational Consumption
(SUNA)
The Minister of Finance, Ali Mahmoud Abdul-Rasoul, has issued a number of measures and arrangements with the aim to organize the importation and rationalize the consumption. At a meeting he held Sunday at the Ministry of Finance, the minister said that the new decisions are intended to prevent the unimportant commodities, providing foreign currency, stressing that the new measures do not include the capital goods, the necessary consumder goods, the food materials and wheat and sugar. The minister indicated that the importation bill during the period from January till May, 2010 amounted to four billion dollars and expected to reach 11 billion dollars by the end of the current year, adding that the new measures will reduce the importation by 15% or 20%. He said that the new measures include banning importation of old and second hand vehicles, increasing the customs fees on the important cemen from 25% to 40%. The minister announced that the new measures include reducing the fees on building materials to boost the urban development, building of houses. He said that the new measures include increasing the feed on the imported cosmetics and ready made clothese toward saving hard currency. He said that the increase of fees does not include the important commodities such as equipment, machinery, the production inputs, wheat, sugar and food materials. The minister announced the reduction of the fees on the locally produced cement from 20% to 05%, indicating that the customs fees on imported choclate and ceramic will be increased from 15% to 25% toward boosting the national production of all commodities and products and reducing the importation of the commodities that are not important. He said that the capital goods, production inputs and medicines are exempted from the development tax. The Minister of Finance pointed out that pointed to the long-term programme of the state to boost the imports, increase the production and wheat productivity, enhance the non petroleum exports such as agriculture and livestock. He said that 84% of the consumer goods are exempted from incease of the customs fees, referring to measures that would be adopted by the Central Bank of Sudan for decreasing the exports. Governor of the Central Bank of Sudan, Dr. Sabir Mohamed Al-Hassan has explained that the procedures taken by the Ministry of Finance and National Economy aims at the control of the import process and replacement of the imports
Dr. Al-Hassan called for coordination and cooperation with the parties concerned with the importation including the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Investment and the Central bank of Sudan for the procedures to be fruitful
Chairman of the Sudanese Businessmen Union Saud Al-Berair welcomed the step and described it as to lead to the support of the national industry and stimulus to the support of exports
He added that the union support the policies and procedures which target exchange rate stability, pointing out that the meeting included all the sectors and chambers of the Sudanese Businessmen Union

Yes for Supporting Unity .. No for Crying over Secession
(Opinion)
According to news articles, the First Vice President of Sudan and the President of GoSS Salva Kiir suggested that maintaining the unity of the country is increasingly appearing to be an unrealistic outcome after the 2011 referendum.
"At the moment all signs point to the fact that on January 9, 2011 Southern Sudanese people will vote overwhelmingly for their own independence," Kiir told an audience at the Washington Convention Center in the US capital.
Kiir expressed concern over calls that the South must concede some of the oil it is producing to the North for it to gain its independence.
"There are rising calls that the South must make accommodations and compromises if it expects the North to accept its independence," Kiir said, adding that he was troubled by the notion that the South would have to "buy its freedom" by surrendering its oil rights.
On the other hand, GoSS Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar said that China should be prepared for secession adding that the relation between south Sudan and China need to be improved.
For his part, GoSS Minister of Youth urged the southerners living in the north to go southwards where they can find freedoms.
However, we repeatedly said that we are with the self-determination right and that our brothers in the south have every right to choose their fate being in a united country or to separate their region to form an independent state.
It is their right as stipulated in the CPA and the interim institution.
There is no way for criticizing the secession supporters but we say it loudly that we are supporting and calling for maintaining a united Sudan considering that the north and the south will both be the losers in case of secession.
Afar from accusation that we belong to the north we say to the separatists that they are more discriminative on the northerners when they assume that northerners are rushing for unity because they are puffing and greedy to steal their oil and resources as if there are no wealth or oil or considerable main infrastructure in the north.
It is obvious that the SPLM determined to opt for secession as shown from the statements of its leaders; but this stance does not coincide with what is stipulated in the CPA which says that the two partners should work together to make unity option attractive.
The question that poses itself is does the SPLM represent south Sudan or does the NCP and the Islamic movement represent Sudan?
We believe that the majority of the silent southerners are with maintaining unity; but the current indicators are in favour of secession.
It is unfortunate that secession might occur, whereupon the history will not forgive the governors and the opposition in the north or the south that we splintered our nation into two states!