We are see watches Sudan says it is committed to independence vote

Sudan says it is committed to independence vote


KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) - Sudan's foreign minister assured the U.N. Security Council Saturday that the government is committed to holding a referendum on southern independence on time - a vote that is widely expected to split the country in two.

Addressing Security Council members wrapping up a fact-finding trip to Sudan and Uganda, Ali Karti said the government's sole condition was no outside interference in the referendum.

"We are fully committed to holding the referendum on time," Karti told the visiting members of the Council, the U.N.'s most powerful arm. "We want it on time, but it must be arranged properly. ... We do not want any interference in the referendum, this is the only condition."

The referendum is required by a 2005 peace agreement that ended the 21-year civil war between Sudan's predominantly Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the largely Christian-animist south.

Preparations for the Jan. 9 vote have proceeded haltingly amid political and logistical obstacles, and the southerners have accused the northerners of stalling, warning of violence if the referendum is delayed.

Underlining the tensions surrounding the vote, clashes erupted between southern pro-secession demonstrators and pro-unity northerners staging a rally in Khartoum.

Some 70 southerners were arrested, and at least five people were wounded, according to the witnesses.

Police armed with sticks quickly dispersed the protesters, some of whom were toting posters reading, "No No Unity."

The vote on secession is open to all southerners whether they live in the north or the south, but determining who is eligible to vote and citizenship after the referendum have fueled tensions.

North Sudan officials are wary of losing the oil-rich south, while southerners say the Islamist-controlled government in Khartoum is not living up to its commitments of sharing wealth and respecting freedom of expression and religion.
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Watches U.N. delegation underscores support for Sudan election

U.N. delegation underscores support for Sudan election

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice speaks with UNAMID Joint Special Rep. Ibrahim Gambari in North Darfur Thursday.

(CNN) -- Members of the U.N. Security Council Thursday wrapped up their visit to southern Sudan, underscoring support for the January referendum vote that could lead to the region's independence.
According to a Security Council diplomat, the 15 members are making the trip at a critical juncture.
U.S. President Barack Obama recently implored Sudanese officials to fully implement a 2005 peace agreement and move forward with the referendum. He called the stakes "enormous."
A U.N. meeting last month called on the international community to respect the outcome of the vote in southern Sudan and Abyei if they meet stipulated criteria. Abyei is a disputed oil-rich city in the region.
"We are here to reinforce that message and the determination of the council to support you and all parties to the CPA [comprehensive peace agreement] in that process," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said Thursday, according to the U.N. mission in Sudan.
The delegation traveled to Juba in Southern Sudan to see an academy that will train police to safeguard the election, which could result in Sudan being split into two nations.
The peace agreement ended two decades of violence between the north and the south. The conflict led to the deaths of 2 million people, many from starvation.
The agreement would allow the autonomous southern region -- which holds a majority of the nation's oil -- to secede from the north. Fears that the process would cause more instability in the war-torn nation have sparked concerns among the international community.
The aid organization Oxfam said the situation in Darfur remains desperate. The international peacekeeping force is approaching full strength, it said, but troops are still unable to reach civilians needing protection.
"As the referendum draws near, the world will be watching Sudan," the agency said in a statement from Northern Sudan. "The UNSC needs to take this moment and focus not only on the issues affecting the southern referendum, but to support effective civilian protection in Darfur, promote the rights of the displaced, and to support an inclusive peace process in Darfur."
coppied by 2010 Cable News Network.

Sudan plans to build nuclear plant

Watch Sudan plans to build nuclear plant

Sudanese president al-Bashir was offered nuclear technology by Iran earlier this year

Sudan is planning to build a nuclear reactor and its first nuclear power plant by 2020, the state news agency SUNA has said.

Mohamed Ahmed Hassan el-Tayeb, director-general of the Sudanese Atomic Energy Agency, said on Sunday that his government had begun the plan for the development of the nuclear reactor at the beginning of this year.

"The Ministry of Electricity and Dams has already started preparing for the project to produce power from nuclear energy in cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and is expected to build the first nuclear power plant in the year 2020," Tayeb said.

Tayeb said an IAEA delegation would visit Sudan to discuss the project this week.

Sanctions

Sudan has been an IAEA member since 1958 and can develop a peaceful nuclear energy programme with IAEA assistance.

Sudan's economy has suffered under US sanctions since 1997 and from decades of warfare.

The African country has close economic and political ties with Iran, which is locked in a dispute with the US and some of its allies over its nuclear programme.

In defiance of the sanctions, Sudan has managed to hike oil production to 470,000 barrels per day, boosting growth.

It has also built dams along the Blue and White Niles, which merge in Sudan, to generate power, however, large swathes of the country remain without regular electricity.

Alternative sources

The Khartoum government announced in March that Sudan needed to look for new energy sources, not excluding nuclear power.

According to calculations by the government, Sudan may experience an acute lack of power in about 25 years if other power sources are not developed.

Earlier this year, Iran offered to transfer nuclear technology to Sudan.

"Iran is prepared to transfer the experience, knowledge and technology of its scientists," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranian leader, told visiting Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in March.
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