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Certain towns in Eastern Sudan have recently witnessed massacres committed by the Khartoum's regime's security forces. More than 20 people were killed and many more were injured, in addition to hundreds of arrests, following a peaceful demonstration where people from the Eastern Sudan have demanded their civic rights such as justice, equality, acknowledging diversity and demanding rights for those who have been marginalized and deprived from equal development for a better life standard.
¡ Following these events, a number of freedom fighters from Eastern Sudan have met in London, UK, to discuss what can be done, and a it was agreed that a leadership has to be formed involving a variety of political and social affiliations from Eastern Sudan, in the country and abroad, and offices for this movement shall be established in different parts of the world.
¡ The problem in Eastern Sudan can not be separated from other problem in the rest of the country, as people there have been suffering since the independence of Sudan (1956), as the marginalization resulted in educational, health and social problems, while the majority of people there are suffering from ignorance, poverty, in addition to widespread diseases.
¡ The regime in Khartoum recently signed an agreement ending the long war in the South, acknowledging the ethnic and cultural diversity, and accepting to share wealth and power.
¡ The new movement, which is the National Movement for Eastern Sudan, is calling upon all people from Eastern Sudan to cooperate and stand together, to ask for their legal rights, for it is now the right time to regain these rights from a ruling junta that have dominated the wealth and resources of the country for a long time.
Aims and Objectives:
The National Movement for Eastern Sudan is aiming at:
¡ Strengthening the conception of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity among the peoples of Eastern Sudan, and increasing the awareness of the fact that the wealth and power of people in that part of the country must be shared with the people in Eastern Sudan in order to achieve justice, prosperity, and well being for the Beja and the other tribes and peoples of Eastern Sudan.
¡ Achieving their rights for political participation within a united Sudan, this means, for the Beja and the other tribes and peoples of Eastern Sudan, that they should all have the right to perform an active role in sharing power and wealth, as they represent 30% of the population of Sudan.
¡ Working continuously in order to convince the international community to intervene and help with achieving the hopes and the goals of all of the peoples of Eastern Sudan which involve regaining their rights to live peacefully in a united Sudan, enjoying political and social freedom, the protection of essential human rights, besides sustainable economic and social development.
Strategy:
¡ The strategy of the National Movement for Eastern Sudan is based on the conception of a united Sudan, as Eastern Sudan is considered to be one of the richest parts of the country in terms of natural, economic, social and strategic resources and reserves the whole country of the Sudan.
¡ The National Movement for Eastern Sudan (the NMES) is politically, and socially, struggling for the regaining of the natural rights of the peoples of Eastern Sudan in enjoying better living standards, economic and social development, fulfilling educational system, optimal health and their rightful share of social and political power.
¡ The NMES is demanding giving the Beja and the other peoples of Eastern Sudan a comprehensive chance for self-ruling, participation in public policy's making, as well as the priority for employment in health and educational posts within their region.
Methods:
¡ The NMES believes that the direct dialogue is the best, and more cultured and humane, method of dealing with the Government of the Sudan in order to achieve its objectives which are generally summed up in seeking justice, equality and better living standards for all of the peoples of Eastern Sudan. But this, however, does not contradict, or rule out, the fact that the NMES is ready and prepared to enter into an armed struggle, in some future time, it is effectively- or beyond doubt- proved that there is no other alternative than it in dealing with the historical injustices of the ruling regime in Khartoum. The NMES does, sadly, leave this option open, though it can tragically clearly see that the country can not take another civil war in its stride without severely harmful consequences.
¡ Part of the responsibilities of the NMES is to provide security for its citizens, thus it sends a strong warning to the Government of Khartoum that it will never keep silent, or stop campaigning, against what had happened in Port Sudan and Kassala, considering that the torture, infringing of basic human rights, oppression and deliberate killing which these events involved are serious crimes that were committed against the Beja and the other peoples of Eastern Sudan.
¡ The NMES is calling upon the Government of Sudan and the International Community to bring to justice all of those who were involved in committing such inhumane atrocities against the peoples of Eastern Sudan.
¡ Finally the NMES reiterates its serious warning that it remains ever ready and prepared to fight for the rights of its citizens in Eastern Sudan in order to protect women and children from the fascist regime in Khartoum.
The National Movement for Eastern Sudan London - February 2005
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