KHARTOUM (AFP) — Kidnappers of nine Chinese oil workers seized near a disputed oil district in Sudan want Chinese oil firms to leave the area in return for the hostages’ release, a pan-Arab newspaper reported on Friday.
“We don’t have any material demands. We want Chinese companies to leave the region immediately because they work with the government,” the daily Asharq Al-Awsat quoted the alleged leader of the group as saying.
The Saudi-owned newspaper identified the man as Abu Humaid Ahmad Dannay, and said he commands the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in Kordofan.
Three Chinese engineers and and six other workers employed by the China National Petroleum Corporation in South Kordofan, a state which includes the disputed oil district of Abyei, were kidnapped on October 18.
Dannay, who Asharq Al-Awsat said belongs to the Arab Messeria tribe, said the hostages were in good health and were being well treated.
“We treat them according to the ethics of Muslims and serve them despite the language barrier. I can affirm that they are in good health now,” he was quoted as saying.
The Sudanese government accuses JEM, the Darfur rebel group that attacked Khartoum last May, of orchestrating the kidnapping.
“From the first day we knew that JEM were responsible,” said Ali Yousuf, director of protocol at the foreign ministry.
“Sudanese security forces are still looking for the Chinese in cooperation with the Chinese embassy in Khartoum. We want to free them safely,” he said.
The Chinese workers were snatched in Heglig, adjacent to the flashpoint Abyei area, according to a diplomatic source in Khartoum.
Heglig lies near the line separating the former warring north and south, in the Muglad Basin where most of Sudan’s proven oil reserves are found.
The Messeria were also blamed for the kidnapping of four Indian oil workers and their Sudanese driver in the same area in May. All five managed to escape or were released unharmed.
Neither the Chinese embassy nor the Sudanese government have released further information on the whereabouts of the oil workers or whether contact has been made with the kidnappers.
Diplomatic officials have said privately that they do not expect a speedy resolution to the hostage crisis.
In the past, Darfur rebels have kidnapped foreign oil workers from Sudanese oilfields, often targeting Chinese companies because of their strong ties with Khartoum, although all of those abducted eventually emerged unscathed.
In October 2007, Darfur rebels from JEM attacked an oilfield run by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, a consortium involving China’s CNPC.
Asharq Al-Awsat said a high-ranking JEM source neither confirmed nor denied that the kidnappers belong to the movement.
The newspaper quoted Dannay as admitting that the abduction was aimed at drawing attention to the lack of development in the region and the failure of oil companies operating there to help provide services or jobs for natives.
Abyei and surrounding areas are prey to sporadic violence between tribes aligned either with the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum or with the administration in the south despite a 2005 peace deal that ended the civil war.
Tsehai Publishers’ Elias Wondimu Among 2008 Honorees of “Who’s Who in Black Los Angeles”
Elias Wondimu, the publisher and editorial director of the Tsehai Publishers and Marymount Institute Press, is profiled in the inaugural edition of Who’s Who In Black Los Angeles.
The book was released by Who’s Who Publishing Company, the nation’s largest annual directory publisher targeting the African-American market, on Thursday October 23, 2008 at STAPLES Center, the downtown Los Angeles sports and entertainment arena, on center court.
Dr. Anthony Samad, associate publisher for Who’s Who In Black Los Angeles, exclaims, “We are proud that Who’s Who Publishing has come to Los Angeles, and provided us the opportunity to spotlight and highlight the wealth of talent and resources in the nation’s second largest city. African Americans helped found Los Angeles, helped grow Los Angeles, and are still a vital part of it being a world-class model city for diversity and prosperity. Showcasing African Americans in this market can only enhance the city’s image and encourage businesses to increase their dealings in the black community.”
The coffee-table quality publication recognizes more than 400 prestigious African Americans and offers readers inspirational stories and mini profiles that feature corporate executives, entrepreneurs, media professionals, entertainers, academic professionals, government and community leaders, as well as Loyola Marymount University’s Elias Wondimu. The new book also chronicles prominent individuals, such as Jim Brown, Reverend Cecil Murray, Dr. Maulana Karenga, Kobe Bryant and more, as well as Interesting Personalities, including Senator Mark Ridley-Thomas, Speaker Karen Bass, Tavis Smiley, Isaiah Washington, Ayuko Babu and Mablean Ephriam, to name a few. A Special Tribute is made to the legendary Stevie Wonder, among others. Wondimu says he is humbled and honored to be included in this inaugural edition. “We are grateful for all who sacrificed before us, he added “this tribute is a sign for the promise that the future holds for our society internationally.”
Who’s Who Publishing Company founder and CEO C. Sunny Martin shares, “It is exhilarating for Who’s Who Publishing to be in Los Angeles. We are very honored to showcase the talented and successful individuals in our inaugural edition.”
Who’s Who Publishing Company began in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1989, and currently publishes similar directories in 22 cities.
Stick in ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
Just a quick one, two days. Two intense ones, though. So many people, so much car exhaust…you gotta like your daily dose of CO2 if you want to spend time there (what’s this ridiculous EU-commission obsession with lowering emissions all about anyway? It’s pointless once you’ve seen this.). The land of Haile Selassie, great coffee, 60s-70s architecture, beautiful faces and lots of others interesting things. Love the blue cabs. Pictures and the above ‘no comment’ type of short clip, with a landing from the cockpit in Khartum on the way back.
Zany Umbrella Circus in conjunction with the One Love Theater from Ethiopia presents:
Circus Party for Ethiopia
Icehouse Artists’ Studios in Lawrenceville
100 43rd St, Pittsburgh PA 15201 USA
Sunday, October 26, 6:30PM
Proceeds will promote youth activities in Ethiopia.
Suggested donation: $5.
ALSO that weekend, master dancer, Tesfay Tekalu from Ethiopia will present an African Dance Seminar, Saturday, October 25 from 10 AM to noon also at the Icehouse (100 43rd St, Pittsburgh, PA 15201.)
Workshop fee: $20. All levels welcome.
COTONOU, BENNIN – Ethiopian prime minister dictator announces Mauritania’s suspension from African Peer Review Mechanism.
Mauritania has been suspended from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), Ethiopian Prime Minister dictator Meles Zenawi, announced Saturday at the opening of the ARPM summit in Cotonou, Benin’s capital.
“In pursuance of the African Union’s decision to suspend Mauritania, we have also decided to suspend the country’s participation in the African Peer Review Mechanism”, Zenawi said.
The Ethiopian dictator — who stole the 2005 elections in Ethiopia and illegally invaded neighboring Somalia causing the displacement of 2 million people, among other atrocities he is commiting — chairs the forum of the continental institution.
Several heads of state and government thieves and murderers arrived Saturday in Bennin to participate at the summit.
Mauritania’s first democratically elected president was ousted on August 6 hours after he issued a decree firing the military’s top brass, including junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
Since the coup, the junta has taken over the powers of the president and formed a new government with the support of a majority of the deputies in parliament.
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – The U.N. Security Council is considering stepping up the pressure on Eritrea to avoid a renewal of fighting in the Horn of Africa between Asmara and its neighbor Djibouti, diplomats said on Friday.
Djibouti accused neighboring Eritrea of moving troops across the border in June, triggering several days of fighting that killed a dozen Djiboutian troops and wounded dozens. Eritrea denies making any incursions.
Djibouti, a key U.S. and French ally, also accuses Eritrea of seizing what it says is its territory along the Red Sea.
The president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, told the 15-nation council on Thursday that there could be war if it did not get involved and help resolve its dispute with Eritrea.
Inaction by the council “would not only encourage but would actually reward the attitude of Eritrea,” he said. “This gives my country only one option — the option of war.”
Last month the U.N. Security Council rebuked Eritrea for refusing to cooperate with a U.N. investigation of the June clashes with Djibouti.
Eritrea’s U.N. Ambassador Araya Desta repeated his country’s denials of making any incursion in June and accused Djibouti of launching an unprovoked attacked on Eritrea.
Several diplomats said the council should ask U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to immediately send a high-level envoy to mediate in the crisis, as recommended in a report on the U.N. probe of the June clashes.
The council would most likely make this request in a strongly worded statement aimed at ratcheting up the pressure on Eritrea to accept international mediation to resolve the crisis, diplomats said.
If Eritrea refuses to accept mediation and conflict breaks out again in the Horn of Africa, then the council could consider imposing sanctions against Asmara, they said.
Djibouti hosts French and U.S. military bases and is the main route to the sea for Eritrea’s arch foe and Washington’s top regional ally, Ethiopia.
The United Nations withdrew a peacekeeping force from the volatile Eritrean-Ethiopian border earlier this year after Asmara cut off fuel supplies to the U.N. troops and personnel. The force had been in place since 2000 after a two-year war between the the two countries that killed some 70,000 people.
Elias Wondimu, the publisher and editorial director of the Tsehai Publishers and Marymount Institute Press, is profiled in the inaugural edition of Who’s Who In Black Los Angeles.