Articles and Analysies
The Massacre of Port Sudan By Dr. Abu Amna
By [unknown placeholder $article.art_field1$]
Jun 26, 2008 - 9:03:45 AM

The Massacre of Port Sudan

By   Dr. Abu Amna

In a few days the Ingaz is going to celebrate its annual anniversary and boast its achievements. One of the most outstanding of these is by far the massacre of Port Sudan, which was in Port Sudan in January 2005, where 22 beja citizens were immediately shot dead, and more than 400 injured, including women and children. This amounts to a crime against humanity, racial cleansing, mass murder.

The Ingaz can be proud of this achievement!

This happened when the Beja citizens of Port Sudan organized a peaceful demonstration demanding peace, federal rule, end of marginalization, development to their region and   democracy.

The unlawful attitude of the Sudan security forces towards the peaceful demonstrators, including the brutal and exaggerated response by using direct   firearms targeting vital parties of the body, led to dismay and disgust in the whole country and in international community.

Under high local and worldwide pressure the government was compelled to form an investigation committee. But the committee has not up to this moment publish results.

It is obvious that the massacre has been committed by direct orders by the ministry of interior, the commissioner of police, and the chief police officers in the city of Port Sudan in gross violation of international law and the Sudan criminal procedure.

The Beja tribes live in north east of Sudan, and constitute 15% of the total population of the country. They have their own cushitic language, there own culture and their own history. They form as such a completely different ethnic group. They have been so far completely marginalized in spite of the fact that they were fierce fighters for the Independence of the country and that they have sacrificed a lot for this purpose.

Their region did not witness any development and remained as backward as 1000 years ago. They were exempted from ministerial posts, from the diplomatic services, from high ranking Civil posts. The governors of the region, and all civil servants are imported from the centre of the country.

In the demonstration of January 2005 they demanded share of power and wealth. Their demands were met brutally by the security forces shooting down 22 and injuring several hundred. The governor of the Red Sea admitted later that the dead were innocent people. The crimes committed in Darfur and eastern Sudan are of the same nature, This crime   has been committed in the centre of a big town by the dreadful death squad known as the special security forces, brought to the town by plane. Red handed they were flown back to Khartoum, after terrorizing the peaceful town for several days.

Instead of questioning the criminals, the authorities detained 17 Beja leaders and sent them to a remote prison called Dabak, more than 1000km away from their home town in violation to the international law. They remained there for several months.

The criminals are still free, never seriously questioned and sit in their high posts comfortably. The relatives of the victims demanded a proper, transparent deal with the wrong-doers by independent judiciary in accordance with the law, regardless of any political or administrative status. But there was no response from the authorities.

Actually   their trial in Sudan proved to be impossible. The international community is requested to take action and bring these criminals to the international court, as has been done with Darfur criminals.

Responding to the demands of the Beja people in development, democracy, equality and end of marginalization would contribute to establish permanent peace in the country.