South Sudan and Sudan; news roundup about the complex, intertwined situation

In 2012, I wrote about Al-Bashir: Sudan: divide and rule, the winning strategy. A year before that, as South Sudan celebrated its independence, I was carefully optimistic in South Sudan: Render unto southern Sudanese that which is theirs. And in December last year, on the beginning of the South Sudan civil war, I paraphrased an article by Daniel Howden ... More

South Sudan: how we all fell for the ‘big lie’

The title paraphrases an article by Daniel Howden published on The Guardian: How Hollywood cloaked South Sudan in celebrity and fell for the ‘big lie’. Since the  crisis in South Sudan started two weeks ago, I’ve read a lot of things on the whys and hows of the situation. And, unsurprisingly, I’ve read a lot of ineptness, ... More

Abyei Referendum: Sudan wants is oil, South Sudan wants its people

These are the words of Taban Abel Aguek, a Member of State Parliament in Rumbek, Lakes State published on SouthSudanNation.com yesterday. “It is clear what Sudan wants in Abyei is oil, but South Sudan wants its people“. Very clear indeed but the situation can be more complicated than it appears. Abyei is a one million square miles region, it has ... More

Nick Kristof, Sheryl Sandberg about Women

I like when things look simple. When you can sum it up in one sentence. But in reality, things look quite different and may need a more balanced approach and not a somewhat oversimplified vision with on one side (quoting Sheryl Sandberg in Nick Kristof‘s article: She’s (Rarely) the Boss) ‘women who don’t aggressively pursue ... More

Martin Luther King Jr. and Obama’s election: Free at last? (2)

President Barack Obama wins a second term. Barack Obama had been re-elected and his re-election has been celebrated around the world. Even in France, Tom McGrath, president of Republicans Abroad France, says: “It’s clear that if they could vote, Europe would vote 80 per cent for Obama.” Four more years. Whether this is a good or a bad news ... More

The revolution in Sudan and the ‘villains’

Why is the Sudan revolution being ignored? I’ve been asking the question for a while now and we have to face the facts: recent protests in Sudan have received little to no attention from the media. Since 1989 and the first article I wrote on Sudan, I have seen and heard many things. Or maybe I haven’t seen and heard enough to say the truth. In ... More

Sudan: divide and rule, the winning strategy

Sudan is back on the front pages. Since the past few days, I can hear, here and there, people saying: ‘Amazing, George Clooney has been arrested!‘ or ‘George Clooney was in handcuffs in Washington today!‘. Then I asked: ‘Do you know why he has been arrested?‘ The replies were: ‘It was at a protest outside some ... More

In Sudan, Seeing Echoes of Darfur. And still waiting for diplomacy…

Sudan’s ongoing military campaign in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states is a reality but not one you can see. One you guess from satellite imagery, one you read from witnesses’ stories. Now we have something more, a report by Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner. Kristof has just reported ... More

Syria: against mass killings, but business comes first. Always.

Russia and China vetoed on Saturday a UN resolution aimed at stopping the ongoing violence in Syria. Why shouldn’t we be surprised? It has been a long time since we accepted the ostrich policy, it is a shame we accept to put economic and political interests before human rights. In fact, Russia and China joining forces in a double veto to knock down a ... More

South Sudan: Render unto southern Sudanese that which is theirs

South Sudan has gained its independence from Sudan. Eventually. I just got off the phone with a (now officially) southern Sudanese friend who fled his country twenty years ago. For him, the independence is something he is proud of, it is some sort of freedom and for the first time in years, he will go visit his family who stayed near Juba, the capital of ... More