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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Apr 26 2011 - 11:02:20 EDT
S.Sudan to adopt new constitution, claims Abyei
Tue Apr 26, 2011 1:04pm GMT
* Opposition wary of changes to charter
* Constitution claims contested Abyei
* No limit to president's terms in office
By Jeremy Clarke
JUBA, Sudan, April 26 (Reuters) - South Sudan's new draft constitution, to
be adopted when the region becomes independent on July 9, grants President
Salva Kiir another four years in power, a draft version showed, infuriating
political opposition.
The draft charter also lays claim to Abyei, a fiercely contested
oil-producing area straddling north and south Sudan, the disputed ownership
of which is seen by analysts as having the potential to lead the country
back to civil war.
North and south Sudan fought each other for all but a few years since 1955
over differences in ethnicity, ideology, religion and oil. The conflict
claimed at least 2 million lives and destabilised much of the region.
Southern Sudanese voted in January to separate from the north and form a new
nation, a referendum promised to them as part of a 2005 peace deal which
ended decades of civil war.
Seen by Reuters on Tuesday, the draft, which calls itself the "Transitional
Constitution", is set to be ratified by parliament and will form a temporary
charter from independence until a permanent constitution is drafted.
But it outlines steps which opposition leaders say amount to a betrayal.
"They were supposed to be making only minor changes to the Interim
Constitution but they have written a new constitution ... (inserting detail)
that was meant to be decided (later) in the constitutional conference," said
opposition leader Lam Akol, referring to an inclusive process promised by
the south's dominant SPLM party to draft a post-independence constitution.
"They said they would just be removing redundant language that reflects a
regional constitution becoming a national one, but they have set the
president's term without mentioning limits," Akol added.
Similar fears are shared by more radical opposition.
At least seven rebel militia are fighting to overthrow the semi-autonomous
southern government which they say only serves its own interests, ignoring
minority tribes and rural communities in the highly underdeveloped region.
"There will be no review process that will change anything, opposition and
civil society won't be able to make changes (to the constitution)," said Bol
Gatkouth, a spokesman for one of the rebel groups.
The government says the permanent constitution will be fairly debated at a
conference which the draft said must include opposition parties and civil
society among others.
The national interim constitution drafted after the 2005 peace deal set the
president's term at five years with a two- term limit, and Kiir won a new
mandate in elections last April.
The new South Sudan draft grants a four year tenure "commencing from July 9,
2011" but specifies no limit to how many terms the president can serve.
ABYEI
An Abyei referendum on whether to joint the north or south was meant to run
parallel to the January vote, but it did not take place. Talks on Abyei's
future have stalled.
Both the north and south have been building up forces in the area and arming
them with weapons such as rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns,
according to satellite images and the United Nations.
The northern ruling NCP said the claim to Abyei in the constitution was
meaningless and the south would not be able to implement it on the ground.
"The Abyei problem is not resolved yet," said senior NCP official Rabie
Abdelati. "I think this provision will not be respected or considered by our
government."
The Transitional Constitution draft said Juba would remain the capital city
and the establishment of a central bank which would oversee the adoption of
a new currency.
The Sudanese pound in Juba has steadily weakened on the black market since
the January vote, on Tuesday reaching 3.3 to the dollar as many fear it may
not be redeemable after July. (Editing and additional reporting by Opheera
McDoom in Khartoum)
C Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved
*************************************************************************
China says foreign aid about friendship, not resources
Tue Apr 26, 2011 7:54am GMT
By Ben Blanchard
BEIJING, April 26 (Reuters) - China's foreign aid programme is selfless and
about helping countries abandoned by a cruel West in a hurry to dump their
old colonies, a senior official said on Tuesday, dismissing suggestions
Beijing's primary aim was accessing raw materials.
China has provided 256.29 billion yuan ($39.26 billion) in aid over the last
six decades, with almost half going to Africa. Government figures do not
include a state-by-state or yearly breakdown, though Beijing says aid has
risen substantially since 2004.
By comparison, since 2001 the U.S. Congress has approved about $20 billion
for Pakistan alone in direct aid and military reimbursements, the
Congressional Research Service says. [ID:nN21278335]
Some Chinese projects, particularly in countries affected by Western
sanctions such as Myanmar and Zimbabwe, have attracted attention for China's
support of governments with poor human rights records and lack of
transparency.
But Vice Commerce Minister Fu Ziying, who oversees Beijing's aid programme,
said China was in fact the responsible one, especially in nations that were
once colonies of Western powers.
"All the colonialists left behind were governors' houses," Fu told a news
conference. "Many developing countries lack hospitals, schools, cultural
centres, bridges, roads. Our aid is concentrated on sectors where they need
it most."
In the post-colonial period in Africa, when China was facing its own
development problems, the Chinese stepped in to provide selfless help, he
added, describing a visit to a cemetery in Tanzania for those who died
building a railway.
"The youngest was just 22. I could not help but shed tears," Fu said. "Just
as Western countries abandoned newly independent Africa, the Chinese came.
Sixty-nine sacrificed their lives and thousands laboured with the Tanzanian
and Zambian people. Why? For friendship.
Some in Africa say many Chinese projects benefit local people little, with
materials and even labour imported directly from China. Dam schemes have
proven divisive too. [ID:nL3E7FK0IA]
China's close links with oil-rich African states, including Sudan and
Angola, have fuelled criticism as well that Beijing only cultivates
relations to secure access to energy and raw materials to power its surging
economy.
Not so, Fu insisted.
China helped countries with no discernable natural resources, like Mali, he
said, adding that less than 30 percent of African oil exports went to China.
"I've just come back from Guinea, with its iron ore mines. Who is the
biggest owner of those mines? It's not the Chinese. It's those Western
countries who once colonised Africa."
($1 = 6.528 yuan) (Editing by Ken Wills)
C Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved
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