By Faversham House Websites, 17/11/2009.

Sudanese people are drinking water heavily polluted with oil, according to a charity group operating in the country.

German charity Sign of Hope is claiming an oil company in southern Sudan is contaminating drinking water.

The group is warning of a potential 'ecological catastrophe' in one of the world's largest swamplands.

Charity workers first took samples at the site in February 2008 and this month carried out a week visit to monitor the site.

Sign of Hope's tests revealed water, vital to the lives of an estimated 300,000 people, is either undrinkable or at best, less polluted than other areas.

Vice chairman of the group, Klaus Stieglitz, said: "In many villages around the oil facilities, locals are not able to drink the water.

"Locals who drink this kind of water can get diarrhea and the subsequent dehydration of the body, which might lead to death in those areas if left untreated."

The White Nile Petroleum Operating Company consortium runs production in two oil fields, Mala and Thar Jath. The Malaysian company Petronas is the largest shareholder in the consortium, but Swedish, Indian, and state-owned petroleum companies also hold significant stakes.

A company spokesman said: "We are a forward looking company using innovative technology with a competent workforce, in a safe, healthy and environmentally friendly manner, contributing to the development of the nation."

By Murlescrewed, 15 August 2009 07:59,

Let Sudan continue developing its military:

SNAF? What a pathetic ploy to try to label a terrorist army as a national army? If it were a national army, it would not be engaged in murdering women, children, and the elderly in Darfur. Only a terrorist regime would resort to such tactics.

SPLA is a renowned formidable as an opponent that engaged the so-called jihadists and sent them to their early graves to meet their prophet in hell. In operations after operations, the SPLA was not only able to repel the fanatics coming to wage "holy war" in the South, but was also able to capture and keep vast areas of South. Your fanatical army was reduced to keeping a handful of towns and were lucky to have survived the sieges.

You never took a chance to address the fact that your so-called military industry is engaged in propaganda campaign trying to convince the naive northerners that it is self-sufficient in terms of weaponry production. Nothing could be better than telling the truth and what you are claiming is a lie you know it.

For your information, SPLA was labelled a communist-inspired rebel group due to its reliance of Menghistu’s government. For that reason, it was not supported by the Americans. That began to change when your fanatical Islamic terrorist regime started preaching that the war in the South as a holy war against non-believers. For that reason, Christian groups in the US began to lobby on our behalf. Even then, we relied on African countries like Namibia for their surplus weaponry. We kept SPLA in the fight and that was how we fought the war. We never had any superior or modern weapons.

You mentioned Paulino Matip. Now that is a classic case of Jallaba betrayal. Matip and Riek thought they could win the war and South’s independence by joining hands with the enemy. They were rudely shocked to realize that you can’t trust a terrorist group like the NIF/NCP. That is why in the end, they returned to their people and fought on the right side of the equation.

We are willing to allow investors from all over the world to come and do business in South Sudan. Even those from Arab countries are welcome. We have nothing against them because they are proud of who they are. They are not trying to win acceptance by kissing anybody’s ass. Only you northerners with conflicting ideas of your identity would try to win acceptance in the Arab world. Take a pride in yourself for once in your life. A South African brewery was allowed to do business in the South just to send you a message that there is not a damn thing you can do about it.

By Murlescrewed , 15 August 2009 06:49,

Even if Sudan continues to develop its military:

Dear o.s.h.ay,

The NCP military is a failure and will never win any war. It has never done so and will never do so. Without the use of the ill-trained militia, the North would have lost war. In fact, the SAF admitted in 1990s that if the war was exclusively between the Northern army and Southern army, it would not have a chance.

Now they are trying to assemble weapons that are manufactured in China. Why don’t they show originality and manufacture weapons using metals and parts produced locally? Even a dog can assemble any weapon if you provide spare parts and teach it how to follow a manual.

The NCP is trying to hoodwink poor northerners that their security is assured by reassembling weapons from China instead of using that money to help millions of people across North who are trying to scratch a living on the desert land. What a pathetic attempt.

Sooner or later, the northerners are going to wake up from the self-induced indifference and confront the corrupt regime of the fat Bashir. He is already a world-class criminal. Even Nimeiry will have a better legacy than he is.

SPLM has achieved what no other rebel group managed to achieve anywhere in the world. Win a dignified peace. It is more than willing to allow investors of all kinds to come and do business in South. Allowing investors to carry out their brewery business in South is a spat in the face of those who thought they could spread Islam and sharia. Now who got the last laugh? Lick the sole of your shoes you lackey.

By Oshay, 15 August 2009 06:33

Sudan will continue developing its military

This is excellent and another proud achievement of the NCP for the nation at large. At least they also invest in infrastructure, building bridges, rehabilitating railways, constructing highways. The only thing the SPLM has achieved is building a beer factory.

It’s not the NCP military it’s the Sudanese National Armed Forces. It defeated the SPLA. The SPLA conducted hit and run tactics, something similar to what the Taliban is doing in Afghanistan. However unlike the war in Afghanistan and the US, Sudan was under enormous economic pressure, had out of date weapons and international isolation. The SPLM on the other had financial and political support from regional countries and the West. Yet what is astounding is that the SPLA never ONCE made an incursion in to the North, why is that? How could a dilapidated military counter cowardly giurella tactics and still decimate its forces.

Secondly Khartoum never admitted that without external militas it wouldn’t of stood a chance, all the Southerners betrayed their country by joining the SPLA, North Sudan had no other alliance except for the great General Paulino Matip but even his force were minimal.

Thirdly, the living conditions in the North are much better than the South. People in the North are more educated, have higher life rates, lower mortality rates and generally are not known as beggars (unlike some people). The weapons are produced locally in Sudanese factories, where the metal comes from is irrelevant, it all depends on the expertise and the man power that makes these weapons which are Sudanese.

The SPLM has achieved nothing, time and time again it has been swept underneath the NCP foot, and every agreement is either on the NCP’s terms or to the NCP’s favour, Abyei being the latest example. The Tamil Tiger were much more successful than the deranged primitive bush fighters called the SPLA. Again I repeat the only thing the SPLM has managed to build is a beer factory, it has sold great strays of land to American business owners and an area the size of Denmark in Jonglei to an Arab businessman. All these businessmen will fool the SPLM because they know they’re a bunch of primitive money hungry warlords.

The South faces a famine, its populace still eats out of rubbish sites and their living conditions are squalid. Every commentator predicts that if the South secedes it will be the newest member to join the club of failed states from the outset.

What’s the "dignified peace" you speak of? In case you forgot last week the Nuer and your tribe have been slaughtering each other using savage primitive techniques. There is no peace in the South, sooner or later all the tribes will turn on each other and the Rwandan genocide will look like a paper cut compared to what will happen in the South.

Like it or not President Bashir is more popular than he ever was due to the ICC, the North is modernizing and developing every day while the Southerners remain killing each other over cows.

By Abdalla Yusuf Naser, 20/07/09.

Wouldn't it be good if we spend more time educating and informing ourselves as Sudanese about the processes and intricacies of governing our country, the Sudan?

Instead what I see is that whenever any clear minded person levels a honest and constructive criticism on our governments including those at the regional levels like GoSS, he/she is immediately seen as a bad person who likes to spread unfounded rumours.

I'm afraid such attitude will not take us far. In Sudan as a whole right now, corruption and bad governance is taking root at unprecedented pace. This is even more worrying for a place like South Sudan that's supposed to use the interim period to develop itself in all spheres.

So instead of you worshiping your GoSS and claiming that it is now being subjected to unfair criticisms from left and right, you'd better join forces with those have the information and remind your regional government time and time again to correct itself and use the available resources at its disposal on developing the region and its people.

South Sudan receives almost US$ 70 m monthly without any failure. Where does all these money go? That is what you'd be asking yourselves, fellow compatriots.

Don't preach empty unity while behind the scenes you're engaged in doing the most discriminative, divisive, selfish, corrupt, and destabilizing things to the Sudan.

Just hold GoSS accountable and demand all the corrupt and bad leaders to step down. That's what we'd do all over Sudan. We'd press for Bashir ‘s resignation since he's now an illegal president as per CPA provisions.

It has come to my knowledge that Oyai and his colleagues, his deputies like Hoth, etc, have allegedly done real serious mismanagements. If people of South Sudan could establish facts about their conduct we'd urge them to account for their wrong doings. Essentially, we'd fire them all from their current positions. That's the craft of good governance. It is by being vigilant and able to take robust action to achieve a common good.

But hey, it's your choice to continue praising so and so for abusing your resources, stealing your public money, and selling your precious land to Arabs from the Gulf.

Please, start thinking more strategically. Stop these empty slogans of unity, peace, development, and independence of South Sudan.

What do you want independence for and from whom? South Sudan has failed to show reason for its quest to separate over the past four years despite enough money and other resources including outside support it has or received.

Shame on you! Foolish Southern Sudanese. Your education and existence in the Western world has made most of you more stupid. You don't even know how the world operates. You want to destroy yourselves in the name of something you clearly don't understand. What do you really want as mortal human beings apart from making unnecessary noise?

Yes, you suffered at the hands of Arabs. But remember only a small Arab family or clan is controlling Sudan currently. Most Arab-Sudanese are suffering like you. Hopefully, you'll learn and start acting responsibly.