Press Statement  

The Nuba demands presented by the Nuba Political and Civil Society Leaders and Intellectuals to IGAD, the Negotiating Parties and the Troika  

The on-going Sudan's peace process in Kenya has now reached a crucial and a critical stage after the parties had signed two agreements on Security Arrangements and Wealth-Sharing on 25th September 2003 and7th January 2004 respectively. However, there remain two contentious issues to be resolved: the Power-Sharing and the issue of the three central marginalized areas of Nuba Mountains , Southern Blue Nile and Abyei.  

While the issue of the three marginalized central areas remains unresolved and difficult to settle, however, information had leak out and from reliable sources that the negotiating parties in Kenya had reached an agreement over the issue of the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile but it has not yet been signed. It revealed that the negotiating parties had agreed on the following: “We have agreed on self-rule during the six years, autonomy and popular consultation for the two areas”, said a rebel source at peace talks taking place in Naivasha , Kenya . The two areas will have limited self-rule and there will be no self-determination for these two regions. The negotiating parties had agreed that the two regions will remain part of the Northern state during the interim period. Abyei issue is still under discussion.  

Having studied carefully the two agreements signed so far by the two negotiation parties and also what had already been leak out into the media form Naivasha peace talks, we the under signed Nuba leaders of political parties, civil society organisations and intellectuals are extremely concerned and would like  to draw your attention and the attention of the two negotiating parties as well as the Troika to the following Nuba’s demands:  

1.         The people of the Nuba Mountains have been consistently demanding the right of self-determination and a strong self-rule for the Nuba, which will give them the right to set their own legislation, govern themselves and freely chose their Governor without any interference from the central government or from the Presidency Office.         

2.         We demand that the negotiating parties should commit themselves to the definition of the Nuba Mountains region as stipulated in the Nuba Cease-Fire Agreement of Burgenstock singed on 19th January 2002 with the objective of promoting a just, peaceful and comprehensive settlement of the conflict (Article 11 and clause no.4). The Nuba Mountains is a historical name for the region. It has known boundaries set during the British Rule which was administered under “Closed District Ordinance”. We demand that the name Nuba Mountains remains as defined in the 1956 Province Act, including  Lagawa, Sunut, Haidrat, Jibel al-Dair, that had been recently annexed and given to the newly formed Western Kordofan state. We demand that the Nuba Mountains Region should not be subjected to any new drawing of boundaries or splitting or even cutting an inch of its land in the on-going peace process in Kenya .  

3.         The ‘Popular Consultations’ agreed by the negotiating parties must  be binding 

            and should  not rule out  the options, including the followings:

                 (a)   Join a Northern state with guarantees of a strong self-rule for  the  

             Nuba;

           (b)   Join a Southern state with the same guarantees;

     (c)   Become an independent state.  

4.         The joint integrated military units from the Government and the SPLA forces should not be deployed in the Nuba Mountains . We demand that United Nations Peace Keeping Forces to be deployed instead in the Nuba Mountains.  

5.         Since the land is the major issue which is one of the reasons of this long conflict in Nuba Mountains, as many Nuba lands had been confiscated by the authority and converted into large mechanised farming and the landlords were convicted and driven out of their lands which they depend on, we demand that Nuba Mountains region should have its land commission, with strong power to set land policies and investigate and make recommendations on:  

(a)    The incorporation of customary land law into land status;

(b)    Review of post-1989 rural land registration with a view to  

         identify which are Legitimate and which are not.

(c).   The redistribution of land seized illegitimately during the post

         1989.

(d)    A policy on pastoral land rights; and

(e)    Gender equality in land rights.  

6.         Self-rule to the Nuba Mountains must be inclusive, transparent and based on 

            rule of law, democracy, fair election and human rights.  

7.         The international human right monitors must be deployed in the Nuba 

            Mountains during the interim period.  

8.         The Nuba self-rule government should have clear percentage of both wealth

            and power sharing stipulated in the peace agreement  

9.        The peace agreement should contain comprehensive economic recovery plan

           that will deal with rehabilitation, resettlement, reconstruction and development  

           in the Nuba Mountains , and a special Trust fund for Nuba Mountains must be 

           established for the development of the area during the interim period.  

10.     The implementation mechanism for the self-rule must be robust and clear with

           international guarantees.  

11.      The Sudan interim constitution should contain the right of self-determination  

     for all Sudanese nationalities.

Signatories:  

(1)   United Sudan National Party ( Sudan ) : Mohmed Hamad  Kuwa - Deputy Chairman-

(2)   SARRD ( Sudan ) : Prof. Elamin Hamoda, Chairman of SAARD Board,

(3)   Nuba Survival Foundation ( UK ):  Suleiman M Rahhal (FIBMLS), Director

(4)   Ru’ya Association ( Sudan ) : Zeinab Blendia, Chairwoman

(5)   NMIAD ( Sudan ) :Mohamoud Salih Tia, Chairman

(6)  NMIDRF ( USA ) : El-Sir T. Kafi Abu-Rass, Chairman

(7)  Nuba Intellectual-male ( Sudan ) : Abdalla Tom Emam

(8)  Nuba Intellectual -female ( Canada ): Nour Tawer Kafi

 

Copy to:  

USA Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan., Senator  John Danforth

British Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan , Alan Goulty

Norwegian Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan , Hilde Johnson

Italian, Special Envoy for Peace in Sudan , Domonico Pollony

G o S Peace Delegation

SPLM/A Peace Delegation

Cdr. Abdel-Aziz AdamEel-Heilo, Governor of Southern Kordofan  

 

Contact Address: 

 

Nuba Survival Foundation, Suite 38 , Windmill Place , 2Windmill Lane, Hanwell, Middlesex UB2 4NJ , UK       

 

Tel./Fax no: 44+ 20  8893 5809     E-Mail: nubasurvival38@aol.com