tagged w/ Sudan news
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After Tunisia and Egypt, most Mideastern strongmen worry that social media will help their subjects dislodge them from power. One of them wants it to help him hang in there.
Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, isn’t known for being a technophile. He’s more famous for being an indicted war criminal, owing to his role in the Darfur genocide. But like his northern neighbor Hosni Mubarak, he’s endured two weeks of protests by youths banding together through social networks and text messages. So now Bashir wants to beat them at their own game.
According to the official Sudanese news agency, Bashir today instructed his government to expand rural electrification efforts “so that the younger citizens can use computers and Internet to combat opposition through social networking sites such as Facebook.” (Hat tip: The Awl.)
Where Bashir’s legion of Facebook warriors will come from is something of a mystery. But if Hosni Mubarak’s friends can troll anti-regime Facebook pages, then maybe Bashir’s onto something. This up-with-Sudan Facebook page hosts Bashir’s image, for instance.
Except his connectivity efforts will have to happen rapidly. Only about 10 percent of Sudan’s 41 million people have Internet access. The protests Bashir faces aren’t as massive as those in Egypt, and his goons have arrested opposition figures after texting them anonymously to lure them into traps.
Bashir isn’t the only dictator to embrace social media so it doesn’t strangle him. Today, Syria’s Bashir al-Assad reversed a four-year ban on Facebook and YouTube. These might be hollow efforts to show online activists that they’re not fearful of losing power, but they’ll still have the effect of expanding access to technologies that regional reformers are using to stir unrest.
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/02/sudan-dictator-ill-use-facebook-to-crush-opposition/After Tunisia and Egypt, most Mideastern strongmen worry that social media will help... more
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The referendum is known as 'The Final Walk to Freedom' - a symbolic journey for those who fought in decades of war, for villagers whose homes were bombed, and for orphans who ended up in U.S. communities as the Lost Boys of Sudan...
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/ap/International/78008The referendum is known as 'The Final Walk to Freedom' - a symbolic journey... more
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Almost 4 million southern Sudanese, or roughly half the souths population, have registered to take part in an independence referendum next week that is likely to split Africas largest country in two, officials said on Monday.
http://www.indiareport.com/India-usa-uk-news/reuters/International/75254Almost 4 million southern Sudanese, or roughly half the souths population, have... more
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A satellite surveillance project spearheaded by actor George Clooney’s organization will monitor violence in Sudan during a January vote that could split the country into two.A satellite surveillance project spearheaded by actor George Clooney’s... more
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Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent months. The United Nations says that nearly 600 people were killed in the region in May, making it the bloodiest month in Darfur in nearly two years.Violence has been increasing in Darfur in recent months. The United Nations says that... more
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Amnesty International is accusing Sudan’s government of running a brutal campaign of torture and intimidation against dissenting voices in the country.Amnesty International is accusing Sudan’s government of running a brutal... more
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Activist groups are calling on the Obama administration to hold the Sudanese government accountable for what the White House itself called serious irregularities in carrying out the past week's elections.Activist groups are calling on the Obama administration to hold the Sudanese... more
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Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has warned foreign election observers that his government "will cut off their fingers and put them under our shoes" if they urge the country to delay next month's elections.Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, has warned foreign election observers that his... more
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British detectives investigating the murder of a respected human rights lawyer are looking into whether there are links between his work helping torture victims in Sudan and his killing.British detectives investigating the murder of a respected human rights lawyer are... more
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Human Rights Watch is accusing authorities in Sudan of committing abuses ahead of a general election scheduled for April.
The group’s Georgette Gagnon says in a new report that "violations of civil and political rights by Sudanese security forces throughout the country are seriously undermining prospects for free, fair, and credible elections…. The Khartoum government is still using its security forces to harass and abuse those who speak out against the ruling National Congress Party. That is no environment for holding free, fair, and transparent elections."Human Rights Watch is accusing authorities in Sudan of committing abuses ahead of a... more
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A former top U.N. investigator is accusing the Obama administration of failing to enforce a five-year-old arms embargo in Darfur, Sudan, and says weapons continue to flow into the region.A former top U.N. investigator is accusing the Obama administration of failing to... more
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