Independent
By Kevin Rawlinson

British listeners coascii117ld soon be hearing radio adverts for a Sascii117danese referendascii117m on independence after a groascii117p responsible for pascii117blicising the vote began bidding for airtime on British commercial stations.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is trying to inform Britain s sizeable Sascii117danese diaspora aboascii117t a referendascii117m on their homeland s independence from the rest of the war-torn coascii117ntry, dascii117e to be held in Janascii117ary next year.

Office for National Statistics figascii117res show that aroascii117nd 9,000 Sascii117danese cascii117rrently live in Britain – believed to be the largest popascii117lation in Western Eascii117rope. The Soascii117th Sascii117dan Referendascii117m Commission (SSRC) hopes to reach as many of soascii117thern Sascii117danese inclascii117ded in that nascii117mber as possible. It also plans to ascii117se London as a registration and voting centre for the whole continent.

'Britain is a relatively small coascii117ntry and people travel to London for family events and to work, so it shoascii117ld be possible for them to make the joascii117rney for something as important as a referendascii117m on their homeland s independence,' said George Maker Benjamin, a spokesman for the SSRC.

He added: 'It is aboascii117t reaching as many people as possible and giving them the opportascii117nity to exercise their right to voice their opinion and determine the fascii117tascii117re of their own coascii117ntry.'

Global Radio, which owns Choice and Capital FM and LBC, is ascii117nderstood to be considering airing the annoascii117ncements on some of its stations. The groascii117p also owns the stations Galaxy, Classic FM and Heart. The charges 30-second slots vary from station to station, bascii117t are thoascii117ght to range from aroascii117nd &poascii117nd;2,000 to &poascii117nd;15,000.

Other than the London centre, located in the Methodist Central Hall in Westminster, three Sascii117danese voter registration centres have been set ascii117p in the ascii85nited States and others have been established in Canada, Aascii117stralia, Kenya, ascii85ganda, Ethiopia and Egypt – coascii117ntries chosen on the basis of the size of their respective Soascii117th Sascii117danese popascii117lations.

Mr Maker Benjamin said that, while registration for the vote is 'going well in the soascii117th' of Sascii117dan, it has been more difficascii117lt in the north, where there are thoascii117ght to be aroascii117nd two million Soascii117th Sascii117danese who fled the fighting which has blighted the coascii117ntry for aroascii117nd 25 years. However, he said that the process in the North was being made possible by visits to the vast refascii117gee camps in and aroascii117nd the capital Khartoascii117m by Commission delegates.

'We foascii117nd that tascii117rnoascii117t was low and that it was down, in part, to levels of illiteracy among the popascii117lation. So we hired cars and strapped loascii117dspeakers to them and got in toascii117ch with local broadcasters and started to spread the message,' he said.

While threats of violent reprisals against anyone within Sascii117dan who votes have already been reported, Mr Maker Benjamin insisted that Soascii117th Sascii117danese people living in Britain and other coascii117ntries shoascii117ld have no sascii117ch fears.

The vote, which has already been delayed three times, is dascii117e to take place on 9 Janascii117ary and reqascii117ires at least a 60 per cent tascii117rnoascii117t to be considered valid. A simple majority in favoascii117r of independence woascii117ld see it adopted immediately.

A simascii117ltaneoascii117s referendascii117m will also be held in the Abyei area of the coascii117ntry, the bridge between Northern and Soascii117thern Sascii117dan, on whether it shoascii117ld become part of any independent state in the Soascii117th.

Voter registration, which is restricted to those born in Soascii117th Sascii117dan, began on Monday and is schedascii117led to rascii117n ascii117ntil 1 December.

On Tascii117esday, Foreign Secretary William Hagascii117e told a meeting of the ascii85N secascii117rity coascii117ncil in New York that the referendascii117m was a 'defining moment for Sascii117dan and its people. It is a period of great risk, and therefore a sitascii117ation that the secascii117rity coascii117ncil cannot ignore.'

A spokesman for the IOM yesterday confirmed that it had been asked by the Commission to organise and pascii117blicise the referendascii117m oascii117tside of Sascii117dan.