Africa

June 10, 2015 (NAIROBI) – Kenyan former president, Daniel Arap Moi, has urged Dinka and Nuer elders of the rival major communities in South Sudan to put aside their tribal differences and take the lead in the typical African elders' role to end the ongoing deadly war in the young country.

Former Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi (Reuters)

“What are the elders from all sides advising the South Sudan leadership or have you taken sides,” former president Moi told the Dinka and Nuer elders.

“In your African culture, elders are the pillars of the society and we believe that where there are elders things do not go wrong,” he said in a statement which copy Sudan Tribune has obtained.

Moi made the remarks during a joint meeting with rival elders from the Nuer and Dinka communities whom he invited to his house in Nairobi last Wednesday for consultations on a new initiative on role the elders should play to end the war.

He told the elders of his support to the initiative, saying there was need to address the root causes of the conflict which erupted in mid-December 2013 and plunged the country into civil war.

The former Kenyan president also challenged the South Sudanese leadership to be “brave enough” to let go power ambitions in order to save the country from collapse.

Moi, who was instrumental in bringing to an end the 21 years of war between Sudan and South Sudan, said he felt pain seeing the country he helped created yet to go back into deadly violence and not development.

He pledged to facilitate the rivals elders in their joint efforts to mobilize for peace in the country and urged them to do it by forging a joint platform with one united voice for peace, pursue the way of dialogue instead of fighting, establish the root causes of the conflict and how they can be addressed as well as mobilize respective communities to support peace and initiate a process of healing and reconciliation.

“Mine shall be to facilitate you in achieving these objectives, and any that you may consider critical,” he assured the elders of his support to the initiative.

“The future generations will judge you harshly if you let your country collapse because of your own failures to maintain peace. You cannot run away from the responsibility of making peace and promoting national integration,” he told the elders.

He also advised them to include elders from other communities in South Sudan in the initiative for peace mobilization across the war-ravaged country.

President Salva Kiir's community, the Dinka, had formed what they called Jieng [Dinka] Council of Elders which many critics said were anti-peace and responsible for many negative actions the president might have executed per their advice.

The Nuer community, from which the opposition leader Riek Machar hails, also reciprocated and formed the Nuer Council of Elders which significance and influence on the rebel leadership is not yet measured.

War erupted on 15 December 2013 when internal political debates on reforms within the ruling SPLM leadership turned violent. The fighting pitted rival Dinka and Nuer communities when president Kiir's guards and ethnic Dinka militia groups turned against Nuer civilians in the capital, Juba, reportedly killing thousands of their members in cold blood.

(ST)

By John Young

The recent two part Al-Jazeera series on the establishment of South Sudan has re-ignited a cat fight among the ‘experts' about what went wrong in the country, why the peace process is failing, and who is responsible. Alex de Waal's criticisms of the self-named ‘Friends of South Sudan' - Eric Reeves, John Prendergast, Ted Dagne, Roger Winters, and Brian D'Silva – has led to Reeve's response, ‘Alex de Waal and Sudan: A brief history of one man's destructive misrepresentations' in the Sudan Tribune. There is a danger, however, that the differences between these and other experts is understood as the expression of two highly divergent camps and approaches to peace-making when in fact they have more in common philosophically and ideologically than they care to acknowledge. As a result, the various debates underway among peace-makers do not help to understand why decades of peace-making in Sudan and South Sudan have failed. The starting point to appreciating why there is no peace in Sudan and South Sudan is to critically examine the model that all the various organizations and actors have employed.

Much of the focus of the conflict between de Waal and the Friends relates to their differing perceptions of the SPLA, and not the peace process, with de Waal arguing that the SPLA leadership was deeply flawed and not the liberators they claimed to be. Meanwhile, Reeves and his crowd lionized SPLA leader John Garang and want to ensure their hero is not tarnished by the corruption and mal-administration of the SPLA in government and the recent war, and that the Friends are absolved of guilt because they warned Salva Kiir about the destructive path his government was on.

But Reeves' argument doesn't wash: the SPLA did not suddenly go off the rails after Garang died; under him the party was militarist, murderous, confused, and had no program to mobilize the people. Garang was, however, remarkably skilled at charming naïve Westerners. If the SPLA had met the needs of the people instead of terrorizing many of them it would have defeated the Khartoum government and not needed the boosterism of the Friends and other Western lobby groups to achieve their ends. Indeed, within the region Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Ugandan revolutionaries overthrew their regimes without international assistance.

The Sudanese Armed Forces did terrible things in South Sudan as Reeves argues in his article, but many South Sudanese looked upon the SPLA as an army of occupation and preferred SAF – a terrible indictment of the movement. The formation of militias in Equatoria and even among the Dinka, as well as the Nuer led South Sudan Defence Forces, in response to SPLA encroachments in their areas makes clear that many southern Sudanese did not shared the Friends' simplistic views of the movement. The systematic misrepresentations over many years by the Friends about John Garang and the SPLA cannot be air-brushed away and are part of the well-known legacy of this group. Unfortunately the US Government and its Western allies believed the distortions of the Friends and their fellow travellers in the Enough Project, based a peace process on them, and turned over South Sudan to the SPLA. The results have been disastrous.

De Waal did not get taken in by Garang and his colleagues and his research contributions to the region are second to none, unlike Reeves who specializes in mud-slinging, feigned moral outrage, and believes the US Government can solve all the conflicts of Sudan and South Sudan – as long as it follows the advice of the Friends. But de Waal was a guarded supporter of the Navaisha peace process, the inspiration for the failed Darfur peace process in which he was also a key negotiator, and an advisor to Thabo Mbeki's AU mediation. As a result, he is part of the mainstream peace movement and not the rebel critic that AJ made him out to be.

The quarrel between de Waal and the Friends bears comparison with the less public quarrels between General Lazrous Sumbeiywo, another ‘African hero' for his role in the flawed Naivasha peace process and his co-chair of the IGAD South Sudan process, former Ethiopian foreign minister, Seyoum Mesfin. There are also on-going quarrels between Ethiopia and Kenya over which country should lead the peace process, a dispute that has become more intense in the wake of the failures of the process. Meanwhile, the AU has added more countries to the IGAD mediation, but not changed the approach utilized. The Friends, Enough, and disgruntled diplomats are now arguing for sanctions in South Sudan, as if sanctions have proven to be a great success in Sudan. As frustration grows there are debates in both Sudan and South Sudan about whether the AU, IGAD, or the UN should conduct the various peace processes. All these disputes are about quests for power and finger pointing, but do not help us understand why peace-making has failed because all these parties share the same fundamental assumptions.

What links the peace-making efforts of all these countries, institutions, and individuals is acceptance of the precepts of liberal peace making. Liberal peace-making took form in the wake of the collapse of the Soviet bloc in the 1990s and reflects Western triumphalism. Like the arrogance of earlier modernization theories it favours Western economic and political processes, institutions, outcomes, and values, and their transfer to frequently radically different environments than from which they originally developed. Typically liberal peace making professes to be concerned about the ‘root causes' of conflicts, although there was no sign of that in IGAD I (Naivasha) and it was quickly dispensed with in IGAD II (Addis Ababa). This term, however, is highly contentious because the West rejects the notion that capitalism or economic or political dependency could be root causes of conflicts. While ruling out economic democracy the West insists that free enterprise – which in practice means opening underdeveloped economies to powerful multinational corporations and accepting the dictates of the International Monetary Fund – is integral to the definition of democracy.

Adherents of liberal peace-making further compromise any genuine commitment to democracy by contending that if there is conflict between participatory politics and the threat of armed conflict, the latter must be given priority. This contradiction was evident in the 2010 Sudan national elections which were known to be deeply compromised, but given a pass to ensure that the peace process was not disrupted. Support for democracy is restricted to the rhetorical level, human rights are given short-shrift, and liberal peace-making is primarily concerned with stopping the fighting, returning to the pre-war status quo – a less than desirable outcome in either South Sudan or Sudan – and integrating the combatants into a Western dominated international state system.

The Nicaraguan critic, Alejandro Bendana, who analyzed many failed peace-building efforts in Central America similar to those in Sudan and South Sudan concluded that liberal peace-making is ‘top down, externally and supply driven, elitist and interventionist,' (Bendana, 2002). Indeed, liberal peace making negotiations are led by Western officials, or ideally their trusted agents to give an appearance of authenticity and local ownership, but Western string pulling is always present. In the case of the Naivasha peace process the West operated through its own creation – IGAD - and a favoured dictator in the region, Kenyan President Daniel Arap Moi. Moi then turned over the IGAD Peace Secretariat to General Sumbeiywo who was trusted by Moi because he had kept him in power against the wishes of the Kenyan people for many years as his chief of defense staff and by the US which had worked closely with him on security matters.

Liberal peace making negotiations usually takes place in the seclusion of five star hotels because the elites must be pampered and secrecy is a major concern. There may be token efforts to ‘consult' selected groups, although this is viewed with suspicion because these groups may become ‘spoilers'. It will be recalled that IGAD rejected demands that the people of Sudan get to vote on the CPA and contended that the elections would serve to gain their assent. But the elections were fraudulent and assemblies in Khartoum and Juba passed legislation precluding any parties from participating in the elections unless they endorsed the CPA. It is elite accommodation, and not popular consultation or democratization that is at the core of liberal peace making and as a result it is a deeply conservative exercise.

The highlight of the Naivasha peace process in the minds of the international peace brigade was when John Garang and Vice-President Ali Osman Taha cooked up a deal on their own in total secrecy. But the joy of the internationals was tempered when Garang died and Ali Osman was marginalized by Bashir who - contrary to the assessment of the diplomats - was the real power wielder in Khartoum. Nonetheless, the peace process went forward, southerners voted for a jalaba, Yassir Arman, for national president even after he had withdrawn from the election, and then voted for secession in the 2011 referendum. But ignored was the fact that the CPA failed to achieve any of its stated objectives of a united Sudan, democratic transformation, and sustainable peace, or the later addition of Thabo Mbeki's AU mediation, of viable successor states after South Sudanese opted for independence.

Meanwhile, the US wanted to have it both ways - claiming that the peace process and the secession of South Sudan represented a major foreign policy success, something it was still doing only months before the outbreak of the December 2013 civil war, and at the same time praising the local institutions, actors, and the peace process that it endorsed. But Sudanese and South Sudanese understand that the creation of an independent South Sudan was dependent on the US since the SPLA never controlled more than a fraction of the country and the US opposed self-determination for other groups internationally just or more worthy than the southern Sudanese.

The official post-CPA narrative claimed that the SPLA had always fought for the independence of the south and Reeves apparently subscribes to that view, despite its name which suggested otherwise, successive party programs, and northern party membership which opposed secession. Meanwhile, the Salva-led SPLA did an about face with the support of the internationals who believed that secession would bring peace to Sudan and South Sudan and set the stage for the resolution of the other conflicts afflicting Sudan. But in this too the international peace brigade was mistaken. Under the guidance of the internationals the SPLA constructed a state in the image of the West, but it was only about appearances and virtually nothing functioned except the systemic looting of state coffers by its leaders.

While the Friends were singing the praises of the new country and congratulating themselves on their success in achieving it, many long term observers of the SPLA were expecting an implosion and they did not have long to wait. When the war began in December 2013 after the killing of Nuer in Juba by Salva's Presidential Guard the response of the international peace brigade was to dreg up IGAD, the Troika, and General Sumbeiywo, and employ the same failed model of peace-building. After failing miserably the first time around the peace makers went on to reward themselves with new roles. In March 2015 the IGAD peace process had collapsed and the AU announced ‘IGAD Plus', using the same stale actors as IGAD, plus the AU, EU, China, and the IGAD Partners Forum, but maintaining the same approach. Can it surprise any right thinking person that a model based on the failures and personnel of the past is again not working?

After twenty-six years of failed international peace-making in S/Sudan – that is, since the NIF carried out a coup on 30 June 1989 to stop the National Assembly approving the internally generated Koka Dam Agreement - there is a need to analyze the fundamental flaws of the model utilized. In these twenty-six years Sudanese and South Sudanese have witnessed peace-making efforts by President Jimmy Carter, Egypt, Libya, Nigeria, Eritrea, the AU, IGAD I and II, and the recent Addis Ababa IGAD efforts, and they have all failed. These processes did not fail because of technical inadequacies, but because they were conceptually flawed, utilized a broken model of peace-making, and deliberately focused on the elites and marginalized the people. Despite this record of failure, the peace makers have never demonstrated any humility for their role in the on-going tragedy, much less conducted a critical audit of the many failed peace processes, or seriously considered alternative approaches. The leaked draft submission of Professor Mahmood Mamdani to the AU Commission of Inquiry on South Sudan called the CPA a failure, held that IGAD members should not play any role in the provision of security for South Sudan, and that the country's administration be turned over to the AU and UN. It can be assumed that Mahmood did not reach these conclusions easily, but as a result of exasperation at the failures of peace-making by IGAD I which were then repeated by IGAD II.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, despite the sound and fury the quarrels between the various peace-makers and would-be peace-makers is essentially an in-house affair among people that share the same commitment to liberal peace-making and thus they are largely much ado about nothing. What is desperately needed is a critique and rejection of the liberal peace-making model and for efforts to be directed at constructing an alternative approach. Such an approach would embrace the people instead of fearing and marginalizing them, place democratic and state transformation at the forefront, and not reward failures. Short of such a fundamental change in approach, or the kind of conclusive military victories that occurred in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Uganda, there is reason to fear that in another twenty-six years we may still be witnessing endemic wars and continuing ineffectual peace processes.

John Young, is author of ‘The Fate of Sudan: Origins and Consequences of a Flawed Peace Process' which now available in Arabic.

June 10, 2015 (JUBA) - Authorities in South Sudan's Western Equatoria state have appealed to the local populations to fully extend their cooperation to the government agents over increasing insecurity in the state in order to get information and provide adequate security and protection to the citizens.

Arrow Boys seen here in May 2010, patrol a village in south Sudan in an attempt to defend themselves from attacks LRA rebels (AFP)

Maridi county commissioner, Wilson Thomas Yanga, told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that the frequency in attacks carried out by “unknown gunmen” in the area is due to lack of cooperation and trust between the security forces and the local populations.

He said the Sunday night attack on a cattle camp about half kilometer away from Maridi town along the Rumbek road, which resulted in the killing of at least 10 people and 7 cows, could have been averted.

The county commissioner explained how the fighting started, saying he received reports from security personnel in the area that unknown gunmen carried out attack on the cattle camp when the cattle owners were not at the camp. They started shooting at the cattle killing seven and injuring six before running away without taking any cattle.

He said one suspect in the Sunday's cattle camp attack was arrested the same night and taken to Maridi police station for investigation. But he further added that on Monday morning security agents went to the scene for investigation and after they left the camp shooting erupted again, killing one cattle owner.

The cattle owners then carried out revenge attack, killing at least 9 people from the local communities in Maridi, which resulted to displacement of the population in the area as people ran away from the town to take refuge elsewhere, forcing markets and schools to also close.

South Sudan parliament in response on Wednesday announced to form a committee to investigate the cause of the fighting and the resultant death toll which they put at 9 dead.

The Monday's shootings involved cattle owners from neighbouring states, particularly from Dinka ethnic group of Lakes state, who have been asked in the past to leave Western Equatoria state and were accused of allegedly terrorizing citizens.

Last month president Salva Kiir issued a presidential order to evacuate all the cattle camps from the state.

There are however two different rebel groups in addition to local armed youth or ‘arrow boys' claiming to have been operating in the area, but the state government said the attack was carried out by unknown gunmen.

South Sudan defence minister Kuol Manyang Juuk last week briefed the parliament on the situation in Western Equatoria state and told the lawmakers that a rebellion was emerging in the state and that action must be taken to nib it in the bud.

But the state government in Yambio said they had no information that a rebellion was emerging and instead criticized the national army for indiscipline in the area.

(ST)

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The Kenyan government should stop harassing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country’s coastal area.

(Nairobi) – The Kenyan government should stop harassing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the country’s coastal area, Humans Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Civil Society Organizations Reference Group, and National Civil Society Congress said in a statement today.

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June 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki will embark on an official visit to Sudan on Thursday that would last several days during which he will hold talks with his counterpart president Omer Hassan al-Bashir on bilateral ties along with the latest developments in the region, state media reported today.

Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki (Reuters)

Sudan's ambassador to Eritrea Magid Yusuf, told Sudan's official news agency (SUNA) that consultations have been ongoing between the leaderships of the two countries on matters of mutual concern.

Afewerki was notably absent from Bashir's swearing-in ceremony last week despite confirmation by Sudanese officials that he would be attending which raised speculations about a silent rift between the two countries.

Tripartite summit in Sharm El-Sheikh

In a separate issue, the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan held a summit in Sharm El-Sheikh on the sidelines of the African Economic Blocs.

Bashir proposed the establishment of a supreme joint committee between the three countries at the leadership level from which smaller subcommittees would emerge that specialize in political, economic, cultural and social fields with the goal of strengthening the relationships between them.

The leaders of Egypt and Ethiopia welcomed the proposal and agreed to have their foreign ministers pursue its implementation.

The three leaders also stressed their commitment to the principle of not harming the interests of each party and achieve mutual gain for all in line with the aspirations of the peoples of the three countries, who are looking to translate the principles of the Renaissance dam framework agreement signed in Khartoum last March and to address any concerns about the dam and its potential impacts.

They also discussed the follow up on the ongoing work of the Tripartite Commission and technical steps, on the dam that will be conducted by the consultancy offices who were selected for the preparation of technical studies on the dam.

They stressed the importance of adhering to the timelines included in the framework agreement.

(ST)

June 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir will delegate his 1st VP Bakri Hassan Saleh to attend the African Union (AU) summit in South Africa.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir greets his South African counterpart, Jacob Zuma (L), at the presidential palace in Khartoum 1 February 2015 (Photo: Reuters/ Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The anonymous AU source who made this revelation to Turkey-based al-Anadolu agency did not give a specific reason for the expected absence of Bashir.

This week a Sudanese foreign ministry official told Sudan Tribune that Bashir was unlikely to go but that a final decision has not been made.

South Africa has warned several times in the past that it will arrest Bashir should he visit in compliance with an arrest warrant issued for him by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on ten counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide he allegedly masterminded in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

This was despite AU resolutions instructing its members not to cooperate with the ICC in apprehending Bashir.

In August 2009 the South African Department of Foreign Affairs issued a detailed statement outlining its position on the AU resolution regarding Bashir from a legal and political perspective.

“An international arrest warrant for President El Bashir has been received and endorsed by a magistrate. This means that if President El Bashir arrives on South African territory, he will be liable for arrest” the statement said.

Bashir has not visited South Africa since the issuance of the arrest warrant but in May 2009 he asserted in an interview with the BBC ‘Hardtalk' program that he could visit if he wanted to.

(ST)

June 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The government of Germany has contributed €1 million (about $1 million) to the 2015 Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund (CHF) to help address growing humanitarian needs in Sudan.

Germany is a first time donor to the Sudan CHF but has long-been a committed donor to the Sudan since 2000.

The Sudan CHF is a multi-donor pooled fund that assists the timely allocation and disbursement of funds to Sudan's most critical humanitarian needs.

In 2015, the Sudan CHF has received $22 million granted that will be allocated to international and national NGOs and United Nations agencies to enable them to implement urgent and life-saving projects.

The German ambassador to Khartoum, Rolf Welberts, said given the high numbers of vulnerable people in many parts of Sudan, timely and uncomplicated responses are very critical.

“With Germany's first contribution to the Common Humanitarian Fund in Sudan we are giving the humanitarian community the opportunity to fill critical gaps and the flexibility to intervene where the greatest needs are.” he added

Some 5.4 million people are targeted for the humanitarian aid across Sudan. For 2015, the Sudan CHF has prioritized activities that provide immediate life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable people– women and children.

Humanitarian partners in Sudan are driven by the principle of humanity to protect life and health and ensure respect for human beings.

El-Mostafa Benlamlih, the humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, for his part said with donor commitments to recent regional crises, humanitarian funding to Sudan is limited.

“Germany's contribution to the Sudan CHF reinforces the commitment of the donor community to the people of the Sudan, and supports humanitarian partners in sustaining immediate life-saving assistance to people in need.” He pointed out

To date, the Sudan CHF has received and granted over one billion dollars to aid organizations in Sudan.

Last year, the fund received support from Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom (UK) and allocated more than $55 million for humanitarian action across Sudan.

(ST)

June 10, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's opposition alliance of the National Consensus Forces (NCF) has harshly attacked the first presidential assistant and head of the organizational sector at the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), al-Hassan al-Merghani for belittling the opposition.

Mohamed al-Hassan al-Mirghani

The Sudan Media Center (SMC), which has close links to the Sudan's security services, on Tuesday, quoted al-Merghani as saying there is nothing left from the opposition alliance “but the name".

The son of the DUP's leader also criticized the external moves of the NCF leaders, describing it as “desperate attempts”.

NCF spokesperson, Abu Bakr Youssef, said in a press release Wednesday that al-Merghani, by virtue of his position as presidential assistant, should have dealt with the opposition as statesman, noting he must be brave enough to recognize the other opinion.

“But he [al-Merghani] has chosen to identify with the exclusionary approach and authoritarian mentality of the regime which doesn't only respect the other opinion but also denies its existence,” he said.

He described al-Merghani's statements as an attempt to appease the regime for allowing his party to win some parliamentary seats “in the recent elections play” besides giving them few executive and sovereign posts.

Youssef stressed that the NCF was born from the suffering of the people, saying it emerged from the peoples' reality and holds their hopes to achieve freedom and dignified life.

“He [al-Merghani] must know that the NCF is an umbrella organization with a collective leadership and there is no place within its ranks for those who seek to achieve an individual leadership by heredity,” he added.

The spokesperson further stressed the NCF did not budge from its deep conviction that change would be achieved at the hands of the Sudanese people, saying they would continue to fight for freedom and dignity.

He added that al-Merghani should direct his advices to the government of which he is a member, saying the regime was responsible for opening the door wide for the internationalization of the national decision.

The DUP left opposition ranks and joined the “broad-based” government of the NCP in December 2011, citing the “need to save the country” in the words of al-Mirghani himself.

The decision of one of Sudan's biggest opposition parties to join the government has created a great deal of internal dissent that saw many members quitting in protest.

The DUP participated in the recent general elections and won 25 seats in the national parliament. It was also granted three ministries in the federal cabinet.

(ST)

June 10, 2016 (RUMBEK) - A caucus of meeting of South Sudan ruling party (SPLM) held Wednesday resolved that the speaker of the state assembly, Baipiath Majuec resigns.

Majuec is accused of allegedly failing to unite lawmakers since he was elected in 2014.

Yar Ater, a member of the assembly, confirmed the caucus's decision on the speaker's fate, which he said would happen on 18 June. The ruling party caucus reportedly also agreed that the specialised standing committees of parliament be dissolved.

"Yes speaker will resign and the specialise committees will be dissolved immediately", the lawmaker told Sudan Tribune, but did not elaborate further on the matter.

MPs accused the embattled speaker of being unfair to those who skip assembly sessions.

Yar could not be reached for a comment, despite repeated attempts from Sudan Tribune.

(ST)

Amid “very encouraging signs” in the United Nations-facilitated Libyan political dialogue, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative on the North African nation today said that “time has come to make an agreement” and if possible, before or at the beginning of Ramadan, which begins on 17 June.

June 10 (JUBA) - South Sudan's national legislative assembly on Wednesday announced formation of a high level parliamentary committee to travel to Maridi county in Western Equatoria state to investigate the cause of recent fighting which resulted the death of at least nine people.

South Sudanese MPs stand during a parliamentary session in Juba on August 31, 2011 (AFP)

Fighting occurred in the town on Monday between armed Dinka pastoralists and suspected local youth in the area.

Several others, mostly armed civilians have also sustained injuries resulting from the clashes, forcing people to flee their homes into the bush in search of safety. The violence also affected commercial activities as markets and schools ceased to operate in fear of being caught up in the skirmishes.

The speaker of the national legislative assembly, Magok Rundial announced that the house had formed a committee to travel to the state to take peace message from the leadership of the house to the citizens and called upon all the aggrieved parties to restraint from pursuing violent behaviours as a means to drawing attention of the authorities to any matter of concern.

“The parliament has formed a committee to travel to Maridi and meet with the people there. The members of the committee will be taking to the citizens and those involved in what caused this situation the message of peace and harmony from the leadership of the assembly,” speaker Rundial said.

“On behalf of the assembly, I appeal to our people in Western Equatoria, particularly people of Maridi to remain calm and desist from violent behaviours and work together with the government to bring peace and stability,” he said.

Head of parliamentary caucus in Western Equatoria, Pasquale Clement Batali, told media that several people with no connections to the incident have been arrested by security personnel.

“Some people who have no connections have been arrested. We are talking to their families and relatives to remain claim and show restraint,” Batali said.

“We are also talking to the security personnel in the county to see into [it] that these people are not mishandled. We want the issue to be addressed peacefully so that the situation returns to normal,” he said.

He added that the state authorities did not want the situation to go out of control.

(ST)

June 10, 2015 (WAU) - The governor of South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state, Zakariah Rizik Hassan has ordered members of the special forces to shoot night robbers.

Rizik Zachariah Hassan, Governor of Western Bahr el Ghazal State (UN photo)

Addressing these forces at the police headquarter on Wednesday, Hassan told the night patrollers to shoot and kill criminals who break into shops and attack residents at night.

He warned the forces against carrying rifles while out of their respective duty stations.

"Western Bahr el Ghazal is facing two sources of insecurity, one is the issue of rebellion which the state witnessed it first of rebel's attack last month in Bazia payam and the issue of night armed robbery which remain eminent in town," said governor Hassan.

The governor also partitioned blame on negligent police officers who encourage crime.

Western Bahr el Ghazal reportedy comprises of about 3000 trained police personnel.

The governor warned the officers to desist from tribalism, which he said was lacking in the military. He further cautioned them against involving in rebel-related activities.

(ST).

Despite considerable advances made in the global response to the AIDS epidemic over the last several decades, young women and adolescent girls in Africa “are still being left behind,” according to a new joint report from the United Nations and the African Union.

The security situation in Darfur is a very serious one, marked by a “deeply concerning” increase in violent attacks by armed assailants against United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian personnel, the Assistant Secretary-General for UN peacekeeping operations told the Security Council today.

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International gold refiners who use gold from Ghana may be benefitting from hazardous child labor in unlicensed mines.

(Accra) – International gold refiners who use gold from Ghana may be benefitting from hazardous child labor in unlicensed mines, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today on the eve of World Day Against Child Labor, June 12, 2015. The refiners should take immediate steps to eliminate child labor in their supply chains. 

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June 9, 2015 (STRASBOURG) - The Sudanese opposition forces called on the European Union (EU) Parliament to support the establishment of a new process for peace and democratic reforms in Sudan.

EU MP Marie-Christine Vergiat and former PM Sadiq al-Mahdi (C) surrounded by Malik Agar and Gribil Ibrahim from the right, Abdel Wahid al-Nur and al-Tom Hajo during the press conference at the European Parliament on 9 June 2015 (ST photo)

An important delegation of the Sudanese opposition groups led by the former prime minister and leader of the National Umma Party (NUP) Sadiq al-Mahdi, and the chairman of the rebel umbrella Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) Malik Agar was received at the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

In a parliamentary hearing entitled "Sudan recent elections and peace perspectives", the opposition leaders briefed the EU legislators on the humanitarian and human rights situations but focused their interventions on what the European legislators can do in support of the African Union-led efforts for peace and democratic transition in Sudan.

Mahdi and Agar who spoke on behalf of the opposition Sudan Call forces said the national dialogue process launched in January 2014 was not seriously prepared and was used by the government to buy time before to organize single-party elections aiming to maintaining the current status quo.

The former prime minister stressed that "Sudan now is a failed state". He pointed to the armed conflicts, displacements of civilians and the popular rejection of the regime illustrated by the boycott of April elections. He further referred to the government involvement in the conflicts in Central African Republic, South Sudan, Libya and its links with the terrorist group of Daesh saying that Khartoum regime is a factor of regional instability.

"We want the EU parliament to support the people of Sudan who has suffered for 26 years and to back our initiative for comprehensive and just peace and democratization. We hope to get a response to this appeal and the EU parliament issue a strong resolution in support of the people of Sudan in their search for (peace and democracy)," he further said.

Speaking after al-Mahdi, the SRF leader went in his speech to provide further details about the resolution they hope to see the EU lawmakers adopted in support of a new "meaningful peace process".

Agar pointed to the need to protect civilians through stopping war and guaranteeing humanitarian access to the needy in the war affected areas. Also, he underscored the need to create a conducive environment and guarantee basic freedoms before the national dialogue.

"Sudan's peace process and national dialogue will need a new, clear mandate for the mediation. The new mandate will need to include specific goals, a timeframe for moving the process forward in a meaningful manner and preventing the Government's attempts to delay the process, and benchmarks for a truly comprehensive national dialogue process," he further said.

After the rejection of the Sudanese government to participate in a national dialogue preparatory meeting called by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) on 30-31 March, the Sudan Call forces requested the African Union to create a new mechanism involving the UN and main international partners.

Agar called for "smart sanctions" on the Sudanese government and to stipulate some conditions related to the humanitarian access, peace and democratic reforms before increasing engagement with Sudan, providing debt relief, and funding as it is pledged by the EU governments in the Khartoum Process on combating human trafficking , or training Sudanese military and police.

SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR & UNAMID

In a press conference at the EU parliament, SFR vice-president for foreign affairs and leader of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Gibril Ibrahim called to re-establish a Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Sudan to monitor the human rights situation in Sudan.

In his speech, Agar also mentioned this request.

Ibrahim who briefing reporters on behalf of the opposition groups, further said the EU should exert efforts to maintain the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID), as the Sudanese government demands as exit strategy for the joint operation which is dedicated to protect civilians in Darfur.

"Despite its shortcomings, UNAMID protects the civilian population in Darfur from the ongoing government and government-sponsored militia attacks," said Agar who included the matter in his speech before the EU lawmakers.

The hearing was organised by the French Marie-Christine Vergiat, Ana Gomes of Portugal and the Slovenian Ivo Vajgl. Also intervened in the meeting the German Joachim Zeller, the Italian Elena VALENCIANO, the Swedish Bodil Ceballos and the French Barbara SPINELLI.

Vergiat who chairs the EU MPs group on Sudan welcomed the Sudanese guests and regretted the travel ban imposed on the leader of the opposition alliance Farouk Abu Issa, and human rights prominent activist Amin Mekki Mandani.

She further mentioned the absence of the NUP deputy-president Merriam al-Mahdi who was also prevented from travelling to Paris by the Sudanese security agents.

The French MP who is a member of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) further vowed to support the ongoing efforts to bring peace and stability in Sudan and the neighbouring countries.

Several EU MPs congratulated the opposition for achieving unity and encouraged them to have a unified stance on issues of peace and democracy in Sudan.

European lawmakers organized dinner for the visiting delegation which included some representatives of civil society groups who succeeded to reach Strasbourg despite the travel ban.

This is the third time that the EU legislators receive the Sudanese opposition groups. The two previous meetings took place in November 2013 and July 2014.

(ST)

June 9. 2015 (MARIDI) - A spokesperson for the Revolutionary Movement for National Salvation (REMNASA), a South Sudanese rebel group, claimed their forces on Tuesday destroyed a production unit belonging to government troops loyal to president, Salva Kiir.

Soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) jump from a vehicle while on patrol in the capital, Juba (Photo: Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Col. John Sunday Martin said the unit, known as Capt Makuei Chanroduction under the Directorate of Military Corporation, was allegedly destroyed in an ambush that occured four kilometres from Maridi town in South Sudan's Western Equatoria state.

"The two platoons were heading to Maridi from their base suited six kilometers on Rumbek road. They were on foots to Maridi to reinforce, where they fall in our ambush," the rebel movement claimed in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

"Our patriotic forces killed 5 andwounded serious others; as well captured 6 rifles including a Rocket-Propelled Grenade (RBG), with several rounds of ammunitions, and scattered them in the jungle", it added.

According to the rebel official, the confrontation happened after their forces stationed in a nearby area were informed of the situation in Maridi and were heading to rescue civilians from the SPLA, as the two platoons of the army headed to reinforce their colleagues.

"Thus our valiant forces of REMNASA ambushed them after received earlier information about their mission to Maridi, as they left their base," the rebespokespersonon said.

He also accused the national army of allgedly committing several atrocities against residents of Maridi, citing killings, burning of houses and looting of civilians' properties.

These allegations could, however, not be independently verified by the Sudan Tribune.

The chaos, the rebel official claims, started after a youth from Maridi had misunderstanding with a Dinka tribesman whose cattle encroached to his farm, destroying the farm.

"Instead of apologizing for the damage his cattle caused to the young man's field; he (Dinka tribesman) resorted to fight him in the presence of dozens of his Dinka tribesmen," the rebel official said.

He added, "On top, they (Dinka triesbmen) called on their brothers within the ranks and structures of the security forces, who came and arrested this local young man. Thus, the local youths reacted and used sticks to beat the cows whichresulted chaos in Maridi on tribal lines – between the locals, and Dinka tribesmen."

The Dinka youth were allegely supported by their tribesmen within the ranks and structures of SPLA and National Security started reportedly shot at the local youths where they killed at least one, while the latter retaliated by killing several cows.

"As the Dinka tribesmen were overpowered by the local youths, they ran to the SPLA headquarters (military garrison) and reported that they are being attacked by rebels," the group's spokesperson further claimed.

"Thus, the SPLA were dispatched from the Garrison, instead of calming the situation, they resorted to destroy houses and to kill civilians randomly - from Line Zira to Dar tick - Hai Soura", he alleged.

"The worst scenario was a woman and her children, together with her husband was burnt to death in their house by the SPLA," added the official.

The rebel group cautioned the general populations to refrain from tribal politics, which they claimed was dangerous for national unity and coexistence in the young nation.

(ST).

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Eritrea should implement the recommendations of a year-long United Nations Commission of Inquiry that concluded that serious human rights violations in Eritrea may amount to crimes against humanity. The commission released its 484-page report on June 8, 2015.

(Nairobi) - Eritrea should implement the recommendations of a year-long United Nations Commission of Inquiry that concluded that serious human rights violations in Eritrea may amount to crimes against humanity.

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June 9, 2015 (JUBA) - South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has directed government representatives at the preparatory consultative meeting with armed opposition representatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to engage in frank discussions to remove obstacles when the next round of peace talks resume.

Negotiators at South Sudan peace talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, review a draft cessation of hostilities agreement on 13 January 2014 (Photo courtesy of Larco Lomayat)

The three opposition factions including representatives of the government and armed opposition faction of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) as well as former detainees have been consulting in Addis Ababa for the last two days under the auspices of the East African regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The joint consultations were meant to set an agenda for the next round of talks as well as fix a date for the resumption of negotiations.

President Kiir, according to the lead negotiator of the government, Nhial Deng Nhial, has expressed commitment to bring peace to the country and urged opposition leadership and the other stakeholders invited by IGAD to the consultation to realise that it was time for people to unite instead of pulling down the country for “self-serving purposes.”

“The president has given us a go ahead to engage the SPLM-IO and the other stakeholders in frank and honest consultations so that we set the agenda of negotiations”, Nhial told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

Nhial said consultations have started and hoped to come out with the consensus on the way forward.

South Sudanese armed opposition leader's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, also said the rebel leadership was always committed to the peace process and hoped the government would this time realise that military solution was “too unrealistic” to be achieved, adding it was therefore time to resort to serious and frank negotiations on critical issues.

“We are always serious and clear about issues that the country should tackle in order to achieve good governance and sustainable peace and development,” Dak told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

“Our chairman and commander-in-chief, Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, has already left his headquarters in South Sudan and moved to the venue in Addis Ababa in show of the serious commitment to the peace process,” he said.

He however expressed doubt over government's seriousness to negotiate in good faith, saying it was executing “full scale offensive” on positions held by the rebels in violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement the two sides signed since 23 January 2014.

Dak also challenged IGAD to ensure its mediated ceasefire agreement was implemented by reigning on Uganda to withdraw from South Sudan its troops per the agreement. Uganda, he said, is an IGAD member state which forces have directly interfered and taken side in the war by supporting president Kiir's government.

Ugandan troops have been deployed in Central Equatoria and Jonglei states to help defend the national capital, Juba and Jonglei state's capital, Bor, while allegedly providing air cover for government troops in other states in the country.

Rebels said this was affecting the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement and encouraging the government to continue with the war.

Talks collapsed on 6 March when the two factional principal leaders could not agree on almost all the outstanding issues on governance, security arrangements, leadership structure, power sharing, reforms and accountability and reconciliation.

IGAD has been developing a new mediation mechanism that will include representatives of member states of the African Union (AU), Troika countries (United States, United Kingdom and Norway), China, European Union (EU) and the United Nations (UN).

A date for resumption of the next round of talks is expected to be announced after concluding the ongoing consultations in Addis Ababa.

(ST)