Sudanese activists demand ‘White Nile Sugar case’ reopened
Activists in White Nile state have commemorated the 10th anniversary of the deadly incidents in El Guteina locality on social media. They “just wanted to remind the authorities of their promises to compensate the people who were displaced by the White Nile Sugar Project”.
Activists in White Nile state have commemorated the 10th anniversary of the deadly incidents at El Aawaj village in El Guteina locality on social media.
On 28 July 2008, displaced villagers in El Guteina gathered in El Aawaj to demand compensation for the losses they suffered when they were forced to leave their homes because of the establishment of the White Nile Sugar Company (WNSC) in the area.
Four villagers were killed and 23 others wounded when the police used live ammunition to disperse the peaceful demonstrators.
Activist Asim Bahar El Abyad told Radio Dabanga that “We just wanted to remind the authorities of their promises to compensate the people who were displaced by the project”.
El Abyad holds President Omar Al Bashir, the then Assistant to the President Nafee Ali Nafee, Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid, the state governor and other local officials responsible for “the massacre”.
He strongly condemns the state government for refusing to lift the immunity of the police officers who shot the protesters, and demanded “a fair trial” against them.
‘Forgotten case’
The activist called for the acceleration of “this forgotten case. The legal and judicial files of the case have to be dealt with, in addition to other files the government rejected, such as the settlements concerning the land plots that were expropriated in favour of the project.”
He as well urged the authorities to respond to the demands of the affected people by providing services and employment in the area, and allocate agricultural land and provide irrigation to the displaced farmers
“The violence against innocent people at the White Nile Sugar Project area is still ongoing,” he said.
“Recently a number of herders were killed by policemen in separate incidents. They were shot because they were trespassing the company's land.
“On the other hand, the waste disposed by the sugar company has caused spread of cancers among the people in the area,” he added.
2007
The WNSC, about 150 km south of Khartoum, was established in 2007 with a capital of about $470 million. It began commercial production in 2012, and aims to produce 450,000 tonnes of sugar annually.
The project consists of a sugar refinery, an ethanol plant, a feed plant, and a cane farm, covering an area of 125,000 feddan (525 km²).
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