DOCUMENT: NUBA2.TXT N U B A M O U N T A I N S C R I S I S Tens of thousands of Nuba people, caught in the cross-fire of a bitter civil war, are being subjected to systematic "ethnic cleansing" by the Sudan government, as reports from AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL, AFRICA WATCH, AFRICAN RIGHTS and SURVIVAL INTERNATIONAL confirm. Their thousand- year-old civilisation, once made famous by photographs of their distinctive body painting and wrestling, is being wiped out. CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE: The Nuba Mountains, home to over a million Nuba, are sealed off from the outside world while their villages are devastated by helicopter gunships, bomber aircraft and armed militias. Survivors are forced into "resettlement" camps in the desert where hunger and disease are rampant. International aid agencies are forbidden to bring relief to the area. Women in the camps are raped, and children subjected to indoctrination to strip them of their cultural identity. Nuba farmers have been robbed of their land. It is sold to businessmen for giant mechanised farming schemes, for which they provide a pool of cheap labour. Educated Nuba have been arrested and murdered by the security forces. The `African' identity of the Nuba contrasts with neighbouring `Arab' nomads. Both are suffering from drought and the expansion of the mechanised farms, which bring desertification in their wake. By arming the `Arab' tribes, the Sudan government has set one marginalised group against another for its own benefit, while claiming that it is fighting insurgents from the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The government calls this a `holy war', yet equal numbers of Nuba are Muslim, Christian, or follow traditional religions. This is an ethnic and ecological war, driven by greed for land and a hatred of cultural diversity. STOP THIS GENOCIDE! The Nuba Mountains must be opened to international human rights observers and relief agencies. Please lend your voice to this appeal. HOW YOU CAN HELP: Ask your MP to support measures in Parliament to put pressure on the Sudan government to open up the Nuba Mountains. NUBA MOUNTAINS SOLIDARITY ABROAD P.O. BOX 196 HAYES, MIDDX UB3 3QG -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: -= THE FOURTH WORLD DOCUMENTATION PROJECT =- :: :: A service provided by :: :: The Center For World Indigenous Studies :: :: www.cwis.org :: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: Originating at the Center for World Indigenous Studies, Olympia, Washington USA www.cwis.org © 1999 Center for World Indigenous Studies (All Rights Reserved. References up to 500 words must be referenced to the Center for World Indigenous Studies and/or the Author Copyright Policy Material appearing in the Fourth World Documentation Project Archive is accepted on the basis that the material is the original, unoccupied work of the author or authors. Authors agree to indemnify the Center for World Indigenous Studies, and DayKeeper Press for all damages, fines and costs associated with a finding of copyright infringement by the author or by the Center for World Indigenous Studies Fourth World Documentation Project Archive in disseminating the author(s) material. In almost all cases material appearing in the Fourth World Documentation Project Archive will attract copyright protection under the laws of the United States of America and the laws of countries which are member states of the Berne Convention, Universal Copyright Convention or have bi-lateral copyright agreements with the United States of America. Ownership of such copyright will vest by operation of law in the authors and/or The Center for World Indigenous Studies, Fourth World Journal or DayKeeper Press. The Fourth World Documentation Project Archive and its authors grant a license to those accessing the Fourth World Documentation Project Archive to render copyright materials on their computer screens and to print out a single copy for their personal non-commercial use subject to proper attribution of the Center for World Indigenous Studies Fourth World Documentation Project Archive and/or the authors. Questions may be referred to: Director of Research Center for World Indigenous Studies PMB 214 1001 Cooper Point RD SW Suite 140 Olympia, Washington 98502-1107 USA 360-754-1990 www.cwis.org usaoffice@cwis.org OCR Software provided by Caere Corporation