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Gold/Mining/Energy : ARAKIS: HIGH RISK OIL PLAY (AKSEF) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Edward M. Zettlemoyer who wrote (7503)	12/28/1997 11:08:00 AM
From: g.w. barnard	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9164

ed, may be quite on the war front but not on the pow front. now it appears as if kartoum has paraded some pows on tv and will likely execute them provoking people like doug to stir up the "kartoums vicious human rights violations" i am suprised ole doug hasn't copied the story here . gw osted by Altes on December 26, 1997 at 21:32:07: The person posted this is: AAlibob The news transpiring form the Sudan during the past four weeks have been indeed very alarming. The military-NIF regime has been launching one assault after another against its opponents. The latest of its blatant challenge to the universally accepted human rights convenants, came to light last week as five POWs from the UMMA armed legions fighting under the umbrella of the NDA were first paraded in the most degrading manner on the goverment-run Sudan-TV. A couple of days later, the governor of Kassala Province announced that the five POWs would be tried for 'Banditory', an offence defined in article 167 of 1991 Sudan (Shariaa" Penal Code as 'haraba' which means armed highway robbery. The prescribed punishment for the 'haraba' is cross ampuation (right arm & left foot), crucifiction or long-term imprisonment. From first-hand experience in the past four weeks, the four POWs are going to be put on trial to facte the NIF so-called 'swift justice' which is nothing more and nothing less than miscarraiage of justice. The Sudan Human Rights Organization understated in a press release on Dec. 22, 1997 the need to pin down the NIF-military government to its obligations uder article (3) of the Geneva Convention pertaining to the treatment of prisoners of war. The five UMMA-Party fighters are not common criminals. They are part and parcel of the armed Sudanese National Democratic Alliance fighting for the restoration of democracy, peace and the rule of law in the Sudan. The NIF- military goverment should be put on notice, that the world is not going to sit back and watch their unbrideled assault against its own citizens with immpunity. The Sudan government has a horrondeous track in dealing with POWs. It is common practice with government troops to execute POWs cold-bloodedly on the spot. Until this date, there is no definitive worl from the NIF- military government with regard to the nummber and/or fate of hundreds of POWs who had been captured by government troops. Eyewitnesses who survived torture in the so-called 'Ghost Houses' have reported seeing POWs belonging to the main-stream SPLA being humilated, tortured beyond recognition and dumped to death. On the other hand, and contrary to this practice, the NDA and the SPLA in particular have been holding hundreds if not thousands of their POWs at least alive and under conditions comparable to the wardens. Last summer, an international youth delegation combining Sudanese and non-Sudanese from different walks of life, was invited by Dr. John Garang, to visit a camp where well over three hundred POWs were held. One of the eyewitnesses, told us that the wardens were ordered to withdraw so as to give the youth delegation free access to meet and chat in confidence with POWs. Needless to say that life in captivity is not less preferable to many people than the finality of death. But, to the credit of the SPLM, the POWs didn't complain about degrading treatment let alone arbirary trials or summary execution. The POWs were being trained in self-sufficency projects such as carpentary to help raise much needed funds to provide for their maintenance. The common demand, raised by the POWs was to be allowed to receive freqent mail from their loved ones. After the visit, members of the youth Peace Caravan met with Col. Garang. The commeded the SPLM efforts to comply with the letter and spirit of the Geneva Convention on the rights of POWs. In addition to that, they appealed to him to release the sick, the elderly and those who have been in captivity for a prolonged time since the renewed upsurge of civil-war in 1983. The Colonel accepted the humanitarian petition and promised to take positive action after consulting with his commanders. Unfortunately we lost track of what became of those who needed urgent care among the POWs in SPLM camps. One only wonders how much the NIF-military goverment would care to treat their opponents POWs the same way they would like 'their' fighters to be treated. Deep in my mind, there is not a fleck of doubt, the NIF rulers don't have the least regard to those who were forcibly pushed into the inferno of a senseless civil-war. On a final note, one could not wish for more than to see the five UMMA-Party combatants be accorded nothing more and nothing less than what the government of the day in (1971) uncharacteristically accorded to the notorious Roudolf Steier. It constituted a legal court in almost perfect compliance with the requirements of justice, allowed a team of bone fide defence lawyers and the glare of international journalists camers to watch what was then described as the 'Trial of the Century'. The notorious German mercenary, Roudolf Steiner, who had fought in Biafra, Vietnam before drifting to the Southern Sudan, had a rare glimpse into the waning traditions of the Sudanese legal system. During the trial he felt so secured to object to being labled as a 'mecenary'. He demanded to be described as a 'freedom fighter'. The mercenary was sentenced to 20 in prison. Needless to say he didn't spend one third of his prison sentence before he was able to write a 'Best Seller'. In the past four weeks human rights activists have been been overstreched, issuing one urgent appeal after another to draw attention to the disasterous human rights situation in the Sudan. In some instances the hands of the NIF- military government were swiftly tied beofre inflicting another crime on their political opponents. The need to rush to saving the lives of five UMMA- Party-NDA fighters is a moral duty to you and me and who- ever cherishes the precious gift of freedom and life. Please, let's act collectively to keep the NIF assault on human rights in check! >>