الى المدعو : علي تاج الدين علي... تحدّث معي عندما تتخلى عن حصانتك (اللجوء السياسي)

Quote: US Embargo : is it a new Faschism ? While we are welcoming the new millennium, thinking that it will be an era for human rights within a universal and huminatarian world in which all people are equal without any racial or religious or cultural or national discrimination, we are deeply chocked when we came to know that , we , as Sudanese, are not allowed to make use of the technology that is a human heritage, and that the technology will be confined to certain priviledged nations in the world. We are punished for a guilt which we didn't contribute in it. We are doing our best to be a part of the global culture through acquiring technology and scientific knowledge, but now, we are isolated from going on in the world. Really, it is shameful to punish young ambitious people according to their governments policies and not to treat them according to their personal merits. We strongly condemn any kind of discrimination and we think that we have vested rights in reaching information and knowledge, and this is stated in the human rights declaration, which all the countries in the UN signed and adopted. This will be a double standard when USA and Europe call for the respect of human rights in other countries, while they -themselves- violate our rights. Since the Clinton era, Sudan has been suffering the severe consequences of US sanctions imposed on the IT sector. The sanctions prohibit all companies that are subject to the U.S. Export Administration Laws and Regulations from exporting software and hardware to Sudan. These restrictions apply to most of the major software and hardware producers such as Adobe, Apple, Corel, IBM, Intel, Macromedia, Microsoft, Oracle and SUN Microsystems. By these regulations, Sudanese citizens are barred from purchasing, downloading, and importing essential computer software in use in offices all around the world, such as all Microsoft office products (Word, Excel, Access, etc), Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, Freehand, Corel Draw, Oracle database software, and many many more. The sanctions extend to companies and learning centers offering IT courses and certificate programs. Learning centers such as New Horizons or Prometric are not allowed to include Sudanese citizens in any of their training programs, which include most of the familiar certificates like all the Microsoft certifications (MCP, MCSA, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, MOUS), Oracle Certified Professional (OCP) or Certified Lotus Professional (CLP). By these two types of restrictions, Sudanese citizens and with them the country of the Sudan as a whole are hindered from technological progress. These sanctions supposed to be directed to Sudan government seems to be hurting the people of Sudan, and never the government.