Through the voices of the peoples of Africa and the global South, Pambazuka Press and Pambazuka News disseminate analysis and debate on the struggle for freedom and justice.
Land & land rights
Sudan: Merowe Dam: Attempted assassination of community leaders
2007-02-16, Issue 291
http://pambazuka.org/en/category/land/39852
Printer friendly version
Two prominent leaders of the Manasir, one of three groups being displaced by the Merowe Dam in Sudan, have narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by security personnel employed by the Merowe Dam Implementation Unit on 10th February 2007.
The Merowe Dam, funded by the China Ex-Im Bank, is currently under construction on the River Nile, 350 kilometres north of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
MEROWE DAM: ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF COMMUNITY LEADERS
Leaders of the affected community escape assassination attempt by the security unit at China Ex-Im funded dam.
LOHAP, 14 February 2007 - Two prominent leaders of the Manasir, one of three groups being displaced by the Merowe Dam in Sudan, have narrowly escaped an assassination attempt by security personnel employed by the Merowe Dam Implementation Unit on 10th February 2007.
The Merowe Dam, funded by the China Ex-Im Bank, is currently under construction on the River Nile, 350 kilometres north of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
The attempted killings took place in Abu Hamad town in Nile State.
Husain Ali Zaidan (a member of the Executive Committee of the Manasir) and Gasim Allha Abadallah Zaidan (Head of Manasir Association, Khartoum North) were taking part in a peaceful protest during the visit of the Chief Executive of the Dam Implementation Unit to the town when shots were fired at them by dam security personnel.
According to eye-witness accounts, Colonel Adil Awad, head of the dam security unit, repeatedly fired at the two Manasir leaders, whom the dam authorities apparently targeted in the belief that they had organized the protest.
The two leaders were not hurt. However, following the incident, scuffles broke out and at least one car belonging to the National Conference Party was set alight.
The Manasir are the largest tribal group affected by the Merowe project, which will displace a minimum of 55,000 people: the two other affected groups are the Hamadab and the Amri.
The dam authorities plan to resettle the Manasir at Al Fidha, some 45 kilometres from the River Nile in the Nubian Desert. The Manasir, however, have repeatedly stated that they will not move from their lands. In June 2006, the Governor of Nile State, responding to concerns over the plight of the affected communities, reached an agreement with the Manasir, under which the Manasir would not be moved to Al Fidha but would be allowed to continue living on their land around the proposed reservoir. The agreement was backed by a series of Presidential Decrees.
Despite the June Agreement, the dam authorities have pressed ahead with construction work at Al Fidha. The Chief Executive of the Dam Implementation Unit was visiting Abu Hamad to inaugurate the resettlement project. The Manasir were holding a peaceful protest to express their opposition to being forcibly displaced to the desert .
The protesters demanded that the Government of Nile State honour its commitments under the June 2006 agreement with the Manasir. According to the leaders of the affected communities, the agreement stipulates that no work in Al Fidah project should start before the completion of the local resettlement projects around the dam's reservoir. The protesters maintained that the inauguration of Al Fidah represented a blatant violation of the June agreement.
The Merowe Dam project has been marred by gross human rights violations. Since its start in 2003, a number of community leaders have been repeatedly subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. In September 2003, dam security forces used live bullets to disperse a peaceful protest organized by the Hamadab people. In April 2006, the dam security forces fired without warning on a peaceful gathering of Amri affected communities in school courtyard, killing three and injuring 47 others.
Merowe dam on the fourth cataracts of the River Nile is being implemented by Chinese and European contractors. Major contracts have been awarded to three European companies: Germany's Lahmeyer International (project management), France's Alstom (hydroelectric equipment), and Switzerland's ABB (transmission). The Lahmeyer contract is worth $34 million, Alstom's $300 million and ABB's $60 million.
Report by LOHAP, bertait@fareah.fslife.co.uk