Dr. Abu Amna
Beja Human Rights Activist
In December 2011 the President of the Republic of sudan, Omer Albashir,
has laid down the foundation stone for a new town at Magarsam Island in the Red
Sea State, which would be funded by Saudi investors.
In April 2013 the inhabitants of the island prevented the construction of
the planned town and the workers employed by the Saudi investors were
prevented from approaching the island. The Sudanese government threatened
to shoot them down, but in spite of that the inhabitants stood firm, the
workers were withdrawn temporarily.
Magarsam is a marine protected island with its well known and exceptionally highly varied coral reefs, which are are among the most diverse and spectacular of the entire Red Sea. The reefs contain many fishes, with perhaps unprecedented large variations.
The government of Sudan joined the Aden Agreement for the protection of marine life in Red
Sea<http://www.persga.org/Files//Common/MPA/3_MPAnetwork_MasterPlan.pdf>and
declared in 2005 the Island of Magarsam and Dungnab Bay north of Port Sudan as marine protected areas. This fact is known to PERSGA, the Regional Organization for
theConservation of the Environment of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which is an intergovernmental body dedicated to the conservation of the coastal and marine environments found in the Red Sea.
Reports from several sources confirm that international and regional
surveyors were unanimously of the opinion that the diving at the offshore
reefs is among the best in the world. The beauty, fragility and importance
of the Dungonab Bay Magarsam area offers a magnet for tourists attraction.
But it is the Sudanese government who is threatening the environment and
the beauty of nature at Magarsam Island. It intends to build high sky
creepers. This is a threat to the protected island and to the health and
biodiversity of the whole area. This assault must be prevented.
You, as a marine protection organization, are requested to put the
government of Sudan under pressure to stop the destruction of the Magarsam
island. Only international pressure can stop the assault on the marine
protected island of Magarasam.
Please act now and contact the President of the Republic of Sudan to stop
the damage of Magarsam.
Address:
President HE Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir, Office of the President, Peoples
Palace, PO Box 281, Khartoum, Sudan, Email*:* info@sudan.gov.sd
Dr. Abu Amna
Beja Human Rights Activist
BEJA CONGRESS