Africa Review - Protest against Sudan dam enters third week

(For background on Merowe Dam see http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/node/350)

--------------------------------------------------
Protest against Sudan dam enters third week

By REEM ABBAS in Khartoum

Posted Tuesday, December 6 2011 at 17:51

http://www.africareview.com/News/Protest+against+Sudan+dam+enters+third+week/-/979180/1285136/-/tyjapf/-/
A sit-in by the Manasir community in Al Damar, the capital of Sudan's
River Nile State, has entered its third week.

The Manasir who come from Merowe in northern Sudan, are one of the
ethnic groups claiming to have been disadvantaged by the multi-billion
dollar Merowe Hydropower Dam project.

Hundreds of ethnic Manasir have been camping at the Tahrir Square in
Al Damer and many more are joining the protests from other states.

International Rivers, a global organisation that has been reporting on
the ecological and human cost of the Merowe Dam, estimates that at
least 70,000 people were displaced as a result of the project.

In 2008, 22 villages inhabited by the Manasir were flooded, forcing
people out of their homes.

In a statement by the committee responsible for organising the
protests and subsequent sit-in since November 20, the Manasir demanded
compensation for the ignored deal between them and the government.

Mr Al Rashed Al Affendi, the spokesperson of the Manasir executive
committee, stated that they would not stop protesting just because the
government promised to resolve their problems, insisting they wanted
to see proof.

The State minister for Finance in River Nile State has admitted that
there had been a delay in solving the Manasir case that had led to
complications, but he criticised the protest.

National parties have asked the government to meet the demands of the
protestors and look into the killings of protestors in Kajbar and
Amri, where the Kajbar and Dal dams are set to be built.
________________________________________________

You received this message as a subscriber on the list: africa@list.internationalrivers.org

To be removed from the list, please visit:
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2486/unsubscribe.jsp