بيان من لجان مناهضة السدود (كجبار ودال ) والهيئة النوبية للتنمية

بيان من لجان مناهضة سدى (كجبار ودال , الهيئة النوبية للتنمية ومقاومة سد دال , لجنة مناهضة سد كجبار واللجنة الشبابية لمناهضة السدين )والموزع لضيوف ( المستهدفون أساساً الأجانب المهتمين بقيمة وحضارة المنطقة النوبية ) معرض ( سدود على نيل الحضارات ) بالمتحف القومى بتأريخ 11إبريل 2012م . والذى أقامته وزارتا الكهرباء والسدود ووزارة السياحة لتسويق السدين: They came in their hundreds: men and women, old and young, on foot and in lorries or pickups.. They carried leaflets, placards and cloth banners clearly stating that they will never sell or abandon their ancient land, homes and date-palms again.. All they wanted to do was to make their opposition to the proposed dam heard loud and clear to the government officials who were visiting the new dam site.. They were never consulted or properly briefed on what they considered a new disaster.. they were still suffering the disastrous consequences of the previous four inundations by dams (the last of which was Aswan Dam forty years earlier).. When they arrived at Kidin Takkar river bend, where the narrow road bends with the meanders of the river, oblivious of the danger lurking on top of the hill on the left where sharp shooters were stationed, they marched forward.. Suddenly, they were surrounded with burning palm-trees followed with a hail of live bullets.. Mayhem naturally followed.. People were clumsily carrying the injured demonstrators.. some died before they reached the nearest hospital, the mother of Mohamad Fageer, the youngest martyr, moaned tearfully: “he was my only child.. he was so young and was going to sit for his secondary school certificate next year.. he pleaded for my pardon to allow him to join the demonstration only to meet his death..” END RESULT: four dead, eighteen injured with varied severity. In the aftermath, we left no stone unturned in following the legal route carefully with self control despite our very deep anger and extreme pain. The long road to call the culprits to stand trial is still going on with little success. Ending impunity is essential for the victims of serious crimes under international law and the relatives of those killed, "disappeared" or tortured to come to terms with their loss and to obtain redress; to ensure that the perpetrators of such crimes are put in a position where they can no longer commit such abuses; to signal that such crimes will no longer be tolerated; to avoid the risk that people seek revenge and take justice in their own hands; and to remove the threat that such crimes are repeated in the future.. (Amnesty International report on Sudan) Nubians Struggle for Survival and Comprehensive Development To all visitors on the invitation of the Dams Unit of Sudan This fact sheet is meat to provide a brief to inform you on why we oppose the proposed dams to be built in the Northern State on our ancient land: 1) This region suffered inundation by dams several times the last one of which was the devastation by Aswan Dam that scattered and impoverished thousands of families up to now. 2) The affected people in the region were not properly consulted and never gave their consent to another flooding by dams, but the Dams Unit by fabricating news claiming that a huge majority of Nubians agree to building new dams in the area, thereby adding insult to injury!! 3) The regime promulgated the unprecedented presidential decree that gave the ownership of ALL government land in the Northern State to the Dams Unit..!! This is clearly detrimental to the interests of Nubians, the indigenous people of the region, wherever they live now. 4) The policies followed by the present regime in our region were inimical to our interests: a. Destroyed the admirable education that was the envy of other states, as over 60% of our children went to primary schools of whom a significant proportion continued to secondary schools and then to universities. Lack of school supplies, delay of meagre teacher salaries, neglect of school buildings and furniture drove the teachers away, which in turn led families to emigrate from the region to seek better schools elsewhere. b. The health system, including public health, crumbled as it was starved of funds and medical staff, and even stopped the WHO annual malaria campaign so malaria returned to the area with a vengeance after 26 yrs of being a malaria-free region. c. Scrapped the Northern Province Development Corporation that used to provide irrigation and inputs for agriculture in the area at affordable prices since 1932. Their alternative was offering the monopoly of supplying inputs to their supporters and selling them at exorbitant prices, promulgating new enormous taxes (one third of produce+zakat) and closing the road and stopping the historic river navigation to Egypt, our nearest market. Thus, many abandoned their farms and left. 5) All of these deliberate policies drove people away from the State in search of a better place to earn a living and raise their families. This, naturally, led to a significant reduction of population and tens of villages became completely empty while tens of others were reduced to a handful of occupied houses mostly by women, young and old. Predictably, the total population of area was reduced to about half its former size. This brief is meant to help everybody remember that dams will be harmful to the: 1) local people who have to be relocated against their will, 2) significant archaeological sites which will be flooded, 3) unique Nile environment which will be negatively affected, We have to reiterate that Nubians on both sides of the Egypt\Sudan border suffered inundation by dams several times (1902-1913 -1936 – 1964) paying a heavy price when families were separated by relocation to distant regions in Egypt and Sudan and their distinct culture and heritage was flooded by dams.. That policy earned widespread international condemnation from scholars and organisations well expressed by Professor Timothy Kendall “..why does Sudan not choose the better path: to exploit the limitless solar and wind power potential of its vast uninhabited deserts? This would allow Sudan to become the global leader in clean energy production – and would win the praise of the world!”. Finally, we hope that the above facts will raise some questions in your minds which may include why deliberate secrecy engulfs this huge meeting that does not include those who oppose the dam? DAMS RESISTENCE NUBIAN COMMITTEES April 2012