Africa

June 15, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government said the United Nations has retracted from an agreement reached by the tripartite team on an exit strategy for the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

A UNAMID peacekeeper during a routine patrol in Tawila, North Darfur.(Photo UNAMID/Hamid Abdelsalam)

A tripartite committee including the Sudanese government, African Union (AU) and UN has been set up to develop an exit strategy for the UNAMID from Darfur and the parties were expected to sign a agreement last May.

The head of the tripartite team from the Sudanese side, Jamal al-Sheikh, told reporters on Monday they reached an agreement on the report of the exit strategy but he was surprised by the refusal of the UN representative in the team to sign it.

Al-Sheikh said the refusal came as a result of the UN headquarters attempt to impose a specific agreement that has been rejected by the team, noting it doesn't have the legal or procedural right to interfere in the work of the team during the current phase.

In a report to the UN Security Council (UNSC) on 26 May, the UN chief, Ban Ki-moon said that no agreement on the exit strategy of UNAMID has been reached yet by the tripartite team, adding that the team's meetings were suspended and are supposed to resume later this year.

Ki-moon further said that UNAMID suggested during the negotiations to withdraw gradually from West Darfur, and leave from three bases in North and South Darfur, in areas that do not currently necessitate its presence, noting that withdrawal from other areas would only be possible if a ceasefire and protection of displaced are ensured.

Following a meeting of the foreign ministry's undersecretary with ambassadors of the UNSC permanent members in Khartoum, al-Sheikh said that the report of the tripartite team, after it is signed, should be submitted to the three parties, noting that New York's intervention is not legally, ethically and procedurally right at this juncture.

He said the team's meetings were suspended following the UN's refusal to sign the report and denied that the mission of the team has been terminated, adding the move must be decided by agreement of the three parties.

The Sudanese diplomat further said the statements of the UN chief regarding the failure of the team to reach an agreement as “incorrect”, and revealed the refusal of the African Union Security and Peace Council (AUSPC) for a recommendation to extend UNAMID's mandate without modification, for the next 12 months, until 30 June 2016.

For his part, the spokesperson for the foreign ministry, Ali al-Sadiq, said the ambassadors of the UNSC permanent members admitted that UNAMID must eventually exit and that there is no disagreement on the exit strategy.

UNAMID deputy joint special representative Abdul Kamara was summoned by Sudan's foreign ministry last Thursday to inform him of the government discomfort and disappointment of false and erroneous information contained in Ki-moon's report.

Also, the Sudanese deputy ambassador to the UN, Hassan Hamid Hassan, on Wednesday accused the UN secretary-general and the UN peacekeeping department of seeking to provide a distorted picture about the security situation in Darfur. He criticized the assistant secretary-general for peacekeeping operations for attributing the recent displacement of civilians, which is caused by the tribal clashes, to the government military campaign on rebel groups.

The hybrid mission has been deployed in Darfur since December 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the western Sudan's region.

It is the world's second largest international peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.35 billion and almost 20,000 troops.

(ST)

By Eric Reeves

This morning (June 15, 2015) Omer al-Bashir, President of Sudan, was allowed to leave South Africa despite a pending arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court charging him with multiple counts of genocide and massive crimes against humanity. Since South Africa is a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC, the government of South Africa was legally obliged to surrender al-Bashir to the Court's jurisdiction. That agents of the government failed to do so not only violated South Africa's international legal commitments, but its own constitution: the government's decision to allow al-Bashir to fly back to Khartoum defied a court order that would have obliged a legal review of South Africa's treaty obligations in light of al-Bashir's presence in the country. The order, following an application from the Southern Africa Legal Centre, was issued specifically to prevent al-Bashir's departure before a judicial review of the applicant's arguments (the court documents may be found here).

Many around the world—including many who stood by South Africa and the African National Congress of Nelson Mandela during the dark days of apartheid—are shocked and dismayed at the decision by the ANC, as the governing party, to side with an indicted génocidaire over the fully justified claims of international justice. This disgraces Mandela's legacy, reveals the ANC and President Jacob Zuma in particular as falling further into the pit of political corruption and disregard for the rule of law, and tarnishes South Africa's international standing. It should be noted as well that there was strong opposition to al-Bashir's presence in South Africa, coming from many of the country's human rights and civil society organizations, as well as journalists and academics.

This shameful episode also brings into high relief the character of the African Union, whose summit al-Bashir was attending. Over the past thirteen years, an organization nominally representing an effort to do away with the corruption and political high-handedness that defined the old Organization of African Unity has largely reincarnated those very failings. It is little more than another “old boys” dictators' club, with Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as its all too representative president. As many in Africa and outside the continent have observed, the African Union seems much more interested in furthering various political interests (including self-preservation) than human rights and the concerns of ordinary citizens of the 54 countries that make up the AU.

The AU leadership, specifically the African Union Peace and Security Council, has actively encouraged contempt for the ICC, and has declared that ICC jurisdiction does not apply to African countries, even those that have signed the Rome Treaty. There are efforts within the AUPSC to have all African countries withdraw from the Rome Treaty en masse. This increasingly hostile attitude is the primary reason Sudan's president has been able to travel so widely internationally in African countries, several Arab countries, and other countries as well (e.g., China, Iran). Most of those to which al-Bashir has traveled are not party to the Rome Statute, although some—Kenya and South Africa, for example—are.

Understanding this, the South African government reportedly offered al-Bashir “back-door” immunity from ICC arrest, promising him behind the scenes that he would not be seized while in South Africa. Evidently not much thought was given to the prospect of having to engage in unconstitutional acts, including defying the country's judiciary, in order to make good on this promise. But we may also be certain that the leadership of the Africa Union knew full well what was going on behind the scenes, and saw no problem in encouraging any illegal activity that might occur. The AU leadership's growing contempt for the ICC as an institution has become de facto “African policy.”

Such open flouting of constitutional obligations by the ANC government is a terribly destructive consequence of the decision not to arrest al-Bashir. Moreover, we must consider that this destructiveness was understood in advance, and accepted as the price to pay for hosting the 25th African Union summit. Pushback from the court system was immediate, but as of this writing al-Bashir has already landed in Khartoum amidst quickly orchestrated pomp and celebration.

The “Independent On Line” (June 15, 2015, South Africa) gives us a sense of the crisis created by the ANC-led government:

The High Court in Pretoria has demanded an explanation as to why Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir was allowed to leave South Africa on Monday, despite an interim court order barring him from doing so. “We request an affidavit to be filed with the registrar of this court within seven days, disclosing the time when he left, the port of entry or exit that he used,” Judge President Dunstan Mlambo told the government's legal counsel, advocate William Mokhari. “It is of concern to this court that it issues orders and then things just happen in violation of those orders. Be that as it may, that is an order we issue under the circumstances.”

It is difficult to estimate the damage done to the South Africa's traditional respect for the rule of law and the ICC itself with this egregious breech of treaty obligations. Certainly the government of South Africa knew that is was creating problems for itself. Indeed, in a last-ditch and desperate effort to insulate itself from those obligations,

on Friday the South African government … asked the ICC for an exemption from its obligation, on the grounds that Bashir enjoyed immunity from prosecution as he was attending an AU summit, and was therefore in the country as a guest of the AU and not South Africa.

But turned down by the ICC, the ANC—the ruling party in the South African government—wanted it both ways: the ANC National Executive Committee declared yesterday (Sunday, June 14) that the ICC was “no longer useful for the purposes for which it was intended,” and that this justified their refusal to honor treaty obligations. “Ask for an exemption—but don't take no for an answer,” seems to have been the governing thinking.

What would the ANC and the AU put in place of the ICC by way of addressing the need to bring to justice those who commit large-scale atrocity crimes? We got a clear answer last year, at a July 2014 meeting of the AU:

A Pan-African court set up to prosecute the continent's worst criminals will not be allowed to try sitting heads of state or their cronies after they voted to give themselves immunity. The continent's leaders agreed [to] their [own] exemption at a closed-door session of an African Union meeting, and then tried to bury the decision in an obscure paragraph of the post-summit communiqué. The decision was a “backward step in the fight against impunity and a betrayal of victims of serious violations of human rights,” said a spokesman for Amnesty International. More than 40 activist organisations had opposed the move. (New Zealand Herald, 3 July 2014)

So much for the birth of the “African Court for Justice and Human Rights.
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There is an ongoing debate about the merits of retributive, as opposed to “restorative,” justice. The arguments for restorative justice are not simple, and often reflect both pragmatic attitudes about ending violence and traditional methods of achieving justice through reconciliation of victim and victimizer. But the argument seems wholly inappropriate when speaking about someone like Omar al-Bashir, who is of course protected under the new “African Court for Justice and Human Rights.” Here is a man who has presided for 25 years over a regime that has engaged in serial genocide: in the Nuba Mountains in the 1990s, in South Sudan at various points in the long civil war (1983 – 2005), and now again in Darfur (for the past twelve years) and South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

There is no imaginable “restorative” justice that is appropriate for dealing with the massive crimes committed by the tyrannical al-Bashir regime. He has been president of Sudan since the military coup that brought the National Islamic Front (later the National Congress Party) regime to power. Millions of lives have been lost in greater Sudan since the NIF/NCP seized control of all military and political power in Sudan; many millions have been displaced, perhaps 10 million civilians altogether; and the country of Sudan has endured a perpetual struggle between the poor, terribly marginalized regions and the center that is Khartoum and riverine Sudan.

If after twenty-five years of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide retributive justice is not called for, then it never will be. But it is irresponsible fantasy to believe that ruthless dictators and military leaders in Africa, if they feel they are insulated from prosecution, will not see this as a license to kill and engage in the most ruthless schemes of self-enrichment. The evidence for this is simply overwhelming, whether we look to Sudan, Chad, DRC and its neighbors, Eritrea, Libya, Zimbabwe, along with many others.

South Africa's refusal to arrest al-Bashir has moved the continent a step further toward accepting this dangerous fantasy, a fantasy that continues to be assiduously cultivated by the African Union Peace and Security Council for selfish, not principled reasons. This development is inevitably destructive of the ambitions for justice on the part of the ICC, currently led by an African woman, Gambian jurist Fatou Bensouda.

The disgrace, and consequences, of the unconstitutional and treaty-abrogating decision by the ANC government of South Africa will not soon dissipate.

Eric Reeves, a professor at Smith College, has published extensively on Sudan, nationally and internationally, for the past sixteen years. He is author of Compromising with Evil: An archival history of greater Sudan, 2007 – 2012 (September 2012)

By Luk Kuth Dak

See Kiir speaking on the national television in his native language. Watch him clutching arms and kissing the hands of the Ugandan's dictator, Yoweri Museveni, the very hands that are filled with the blood of our beloved leader, Dr. John Garang de Mabior. Witness him says one thing and does the exact opposite.

The debate over Salva Kiir's responsibility in turning the country into a morgue is never-ending. Certainly, there is something drastically wrong about Salva Kiir Mayardit. And it's not the virtual lack of formal education. For example: my father, the late Kuth Dak Mut didn't go to school. But he was armed with a natural Ph.D. in wisdom, vision and common sense. He was an outstanding Judge and a beloved community leader, whose advice on matters life and death was in high demand.

Salva Kiir's problem is: ignorance, arrogance incompetence, character and judgement issues, among other components that clearly aren't presidential. Therefore, no one should ever be taken by surprise as to why he had established one of the most corrupt state the world has ever seen.

We know how difficult it can be to govern, but it takes an honest person who really is willing to serve all of the people, not just a few- with dignity, integrity and respect. In the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., " If you want to be important, that's wonderful. If you want to be great, that's wonderful. But recognize that he who is the greatest among us shall be your servant." Meaning that everybody can be great because everybody can serve. Everybody has the power of greatness because greatness is determined by service.

By contrast, we have a president in South Sudan who has devoted his regime to destroy the nation, committing a massacre against innocent Nuer civilians, and he is increasingly becoming a detour to the nation's health and reconciliation. Today, under this totalitarian dictator, South Sudan is not a country, but a tribally segregated societies. Now, here looms a question: do we really want to continue going through this crooked road, or do we need a straight path that will bring anybody and everybody along?

The danger of following Kiir's path couldn't be clearer. Today, South Sudanese do not live under the same rules. There is one tribe that's controlling the nation in every aspect imaginable. the eventuality is that, all those who are left out will inevitably hit the breaking point, and their voices are only going to get louder and louder each and everyday Kiir continues to be at the helm. More so, it will likely result in the split of the country on tribal lines, something that will not be good for everyone. So, South Sudanese who care about the future of the country have their work cut out for them. They must- in a hurry- make a choice about what they want the country to be be like in the future!! Do you want a country only for one tribe, or a country for all?

In our view, inclusiveness is a necessary ingredient for a truly successful and sustainable country that we can all be proud of, again.

Luk Kuth Dak is an independent columnist. He is reachable at lukedak@hotmail.com

June 15, 2015 (RUMBEK) – A Sudanese trader was on Sunday killed by unknown gunmen in South Sudan's Lakes state capital, Rumbek.

Map detail showing South Sudan's Lakes state in red

The deceased, Salman Ahmed, hailed from Sudan's western region of Darfur.

Moses Achiek, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) officer, confirmed the incident, saying the killers were being searched for.

“Criminal acts are on high increase and it is becoming difficult to get facts from host community because surrounding communities have refused to share with us security-related information,” said Achiek.

“The businessman was killed inside his shop, but till now, we do not know who the real suspects involved in the murder,” he added.

Azuma Mangar, a senior Lakes state police officer, said the businessman could have been killed by gangs looking for money.

“These are gangs who may have killed the businessman after they tried to loot his properties and resistance caused his death,” he said.

Meanwhile, a pastoralist was also killed in a separate incident just next to the state legislative assembly, prompting police to increase night patrols to curb rising crimes.

Moses Ater, an activist, accused state authorities of allegedly failing to protect the population in the wake of the worsening insecurity levels in Lakes state.

“This state government is part of the insecurity and there is no way you can share information with them,” Ater told Sudan Tribune, adding, “If you tell them information [then] they turn against you,”.

Lakes state has been blighted by cattle raiding since South Sudan gained independence from neighbouring Sudan in 2011, and continues to be locked in a cycle of inter-clan clashes and revenge killings.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (JOHANNESBURG/JUBA)– The United Nations will actively contribute to efforts aimed at finding peaceful solutions to the conflict in South Sudan, Jan Eliasson, the deputy secretary general of the world body told the African Union summit on Sunday.

People gather at a makeshift camp for displaced people at a UN compound in South Sudan's capital, Juba, on 22 December 2013 amid fears for further violence (Photo: AFP/Tony Karumba)

"This war, this nightmare, must come to an end," said Eliasson.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced by the conflict, which broke out in the world's youngest nation in mid-December 2013.

The deputy secretary general requested the continental body to take a position necessary for resolving the conflict, which undermines regional and international efforts.

Elisson also stressed the need for peace and national reconciliation ahead of the proposed power-sharing between the South Sudanese government and opposition groups.

African heads of state must find effective interventions to eradicate the scourge of war on the continent, Zimbabwean President and African Union Chairman Robert Mugabe said.

“Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, the prevailing political instability and insecurity in some parts of our continent clearly demonstrates the urgent need to fully operationalise the African Standby Force (ASF),” Mugabe told a gathering of African heads of state at the 25th African Union summit in Johannesburg on Sunday.

“We need to live up to our commitment to operationalise the African Standby Force by December 2015. This will be an important step towards the goal of silencing the guns by 2020, which is our pledge," he added.

Mugabe said peace and security were prerequisites for the achievement of the continental body's developmental targets, including Agenda 2063.

“I am encouraged by the fact that we are making steady progress in this regard. We have to redouble our efforts in dealing with the issue of the unnecessary loss of lives of our young people in the Mediterranean Sea in their desperate need to reach Europe and other places,” said the African Union chairperson.

“This matter requires our collective and urgent retention. Concrete steps have to be taken to deal with this unfolding tragedy, particularly in terms of addressing its root causes such as poverty, war and insecurity, lack of opportunities, perceptions of good and life abroad as well as stamping out human traffickers and smugglers," he stressed.

NO XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS

The AU chairman said African countries must work together to eradicate xenophobic attacks similar to the spate of violence experienced in South Africa in recent months.

“While condemning the recent spate of barbaric violence targeted at foreign nationals…let us be cognisant of the fact that this is a problem that falls upon all of us and we should work together to find a solution. United we will not fail.”

“President [Jacob] Zuma has given us details of the programmes they have embarked upon. The government of South Africa will leave no stone unturned in trying to stem the violence.”

The high-level AU summit is being hosted by South Africa under the theme “2015: Year of Women's Empowerment and Development Towards Africa's Agenda 2063”.

Meanwhile, the African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma told the summit that the recent Ebola outbreak had exposed the weakness of the continent's health systems. She said the people dying on the Mediterranean sea and the victims of xenophobic violence in South Africa were driven by factors beyond their control.

“The lessons from the Ebola virus disease are that with African solidarity and resolve, we can find solutions to our challenges. The disease exposed the weakness of our health systems, especially public health. We must look at training more health workers and build our health systems and infrastructure,” she said.

“Excellencies, again we have been faced with the tragedy of many people dying in the Mediterranean sea and also the incidents of xenophobia. These are the people who leave their countries not out of choice, but out of desperation – to try and make a living elsewhere.”

The AU summit was attended by most African heads of state including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes.

(ST).

June 15, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir has been received by senior government officials and hundreds of supporters upon his return from South Africa on Monday evening where he participated in the 25th African Union summit.

Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir salutes his supporters as he disembarks from the plane, after attending an African Union conference in Johannesburg South Africa, at the airport in the capital Khartoum, Sudan June 15, 2015 (REUTERS)

Bashir left South Africa few hours before judges at the High Court handed down a decision ordering his arrest.

He arrived in Pertoria Saturday, defying two arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against him for war crimes and genocide in Darfur region in March 2009 and July 2010.

Technical problems prevented the Sudanese president from addressing the large crowd who held a casket in which they wrote “taking the International Criminal Court to its final resting place”.

Sudan's foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, said in a press conference at the airport upon Bashir's arrival that Sudan's participation the summit could have taken place normally and without noise were it not for those whom he called “enemies of Africa and Sudan” who sought to turn it into a “drama” to prevent the president from attending the summit.

He said their insistence on Bashir's participation in the summit was due to benefits expected from it, noting they were aware of the uproar which accompanied the president's trip to South Africa.

“We knew it was nothing but media hype, an attempt to block the sunlight”, he said
“Bashir followed this [media hype] with astonishment while he followed the other things [court proceedings] with coolness”, Ghandour added

Ghandour pointed that Bashir's participation in the summit confirmed the fact that he is the “star of Africa's leaders”, saying the way he was received by the African presidents and ministers proves that Africa pays special recognition to him and to Sudan.

He emphasized that Bashir would continue to participate in African Union's summits.

The Sudanese top diplomat said that Sudan would take a firm stand against any country which issues a statement supporting the arrest of Bashir, noting that Sudan is a sovereign nation and Bashir is an elected president.

Ghandour stressed the summit decided to send a delegation comprised of six people to the UN Security Council (UNSC) in order to implement the African Union resolution to cancel the referral of the Sudan and Kenya cases to the ICC.

“The ICC's [powers] has been eliminated following refusal of all African countries to implement its rulings”, he stressed

He described the take off of Bashir's plane from Waterkloof military base in Peritoria as “normal”, saying all planes carrying the African leaders have been transferred to private airports after they landed in Johannesburg airport.

Ghandour praised the stance of the South African government and its president Jackob Zuma who refused to carry out the ICC arrest warrant against Bashir and said he is a dear guest and they are proud of his participation.

He said that South Africa's foreign minister told them they made sure of their legal position 12 days before the commence of the summit, saying they published in their official gazette that all African leaders participating in the summit are under the protection of the state of South Africa.

Meanwhile, the governor of Khartoum, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, said the African leaders have proven that the ICC doesn't mean anything to them, describing as a “fatal blow” to the court which he said was set up to “humiliate the Africans”.

“The Africans have proven that they don't accept any humiliation inflicted on any African president”, he said.

He said that Bashir's participation in the summit was meant to show that the ICC doesn't mean anything to Africa.

It should be recalled that Hussein is also wanted by the ICC on 13 charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Sudan's western region Darfur.

The former vice president, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, said what happened to the president in South Africa shows the authenticity of the Sudanese leadership and the status of Sudan in African.

He added the incident has strengthened cohesion and feelings besides the humanitarian, intellectual and political links among Africans, saying the stance of Sudan and its president represents a symbol for defying attempts to curb Africa's movement towards the future.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The South African government issued a statement on Monday vowing to probe the manner by which Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir left the country despite a local court ruling ordering him to remain in the country until a decision is made on a case pertaining to him.

South Africa Flag

“Government notes the judgment of the North Gauteng High Court on the matter regarding Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir,” reads a brief statement attributed to South Africa's acting cabinet Spokesperson Phumla Williams.

“As indicated in court, government will enquire the circumstances under which President Al Bashir left the country. We will also comply with the court order relating to submission of an affidavit outlining these circumstances”.

As far as the judgment ruling related to Bashir's immunity, Williams said that they will await “written reasons of the judgment” which is expected to come out in a week.

This is the first official comment by Johannesburg since the Bashir row erupted over the weekend.

Earlier today, the High Court judges handed down a decision ordering Bashir's arrest despite government assertions on his immunity.

"The respondents are forthwith compelled to take all reasonable steps to arrest President Bashir ... and detain him pending a formal request for his surrender from the International Criminal Court," presiding Judge Dunstan Mlambo was quoted as saying by local South African media.

But when the decision was being read, Bashir had already left the country. This was communicated to Judge Mlambo by the government attorney right after he read the ruling adopted unanimously by the court.

The government attorney had been telling the court in the first part of the proceedings that he believes that Bashir is still in the country.

Judge Mlambo expressed concern that Bashir was allowed to leave despite the court order and ordered the government to file an affidavit explaining how that happened in what appears a step before determining who will be held in contempt of court.

"It is of concern to us, as a court that an order issued was ignored" he said.

Despite the government suggestion that Bashir 'sneaked out' of the country without their knowledge, it is understood that his outbound flight was facilitated by South African officials who saw him off at the airport and cleared his plane for takeoff at Waterkloof military airport.

Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC), which brought the case against Bashir, expressed satisfaction with the court ruling today despite Bashir being allowed to leave.

“I think we are delighted with the court decision,” Caroline James from SALC told Sudan Tribune by phone from Johannesburg.

James said that while they have yet to see the reasoning behind the court's decision, they believe the judges affirmed that the government had no right to grant immunity to Bashir and overrule constitutional and international obligations.

“This is really really good,” she said before adding that the decision will likely result in a political fallback specially when the government files the affidavit explaining how Bashir managed to leave.

Asked about the next steps, James said that once the affidavit is served, SALC will have its lawyers review it before deciding on whether to pursue contempt charges against government officials.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan's former vice president, Riek Machar, turned leader of the armed opposition faction of the ruling Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), has met the president of the United Republic of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, over the ongoing reunification process of three factions of the ruling party in the young country.

SPLM-IO leader Dr. Riek Machar meets Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete, June 15, 2015, Johannesburg, South Africa (ST photo)

The two leaders met on Monday on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit of heads of state and government in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Rebel leader's spokesman said the meeting centered on how best the Arusha intraparty dialogue on reunification could be complementing the Addis Ababa comprehensive peace process to end the civil war in South Sudan.

“The two leaders discussed how best to approach the Arusha SPLM intraparty dialogue as a complementary to the IGAD comprehensive peace process,” Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune when contacted on Monday.

He said the SPLM-IO leadership was committed to the intraparty dialogue which was addressing the root causes of the current crisis in the country in the context of the ruling party.

“You know the current national crisis started as a political crisis within the SPLM party before it developed national. If the rival party leaders can address those causes and accept SPLM transformation, reforms and leadership succession, I think they can also accept similar reforms on governance at the IGAD process,” he said.

Dak stressed that the Arusha reunification process would address democracy within the disintegrated ruling party including structural, organizational and leadership issues which caused the crisis.

He however said the process was not a substitute to the IGAD peace process and should not be misinterpreted to mean “mere reinstatement” of SPLM leaders previously dismissed “unconstitutionally” by president Salva Kiir following the crisis.

The rebel leader's spokesman commended the Arusha roadmap agreement signed in January this year, describing it as a positive guiding document in resolving outstanding issues within the party.

“Our leadership believes that addressing the root causes of the conflict through the intraparty dialogue would positively reflect on the IGAD peace process,” he said.

But, he added, an intraparty agreement would not be an end in itself, ruling out what he said were misinterpretations by people who thought the rebel leadership would return to Juba if an agreement was struck by the SPLM factions.

Full implementation of a reunification agreement, he further stressed, was dependent on a final peace agreement in Addis Ababa that will resolve on all outstanding issues such as on governance and security arrangements and reforms outside the party's jurisdiction.

President Kikwete's ruling party of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has since last year been mediating between the SPLM in government (SPLM-IG) led by president Salva Kiir, SPLM-IO led by former vice president, Riek Machar and former detainees (FDs) led by former party's secretary general, Pagan Amum in trying to reunify their ranks and file.

Observers say the process is expected to be complementing to the IGAD peace process to end the 18-month long civil war in the country.

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (WASHINGTON/KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir left South Africa few hours before judges at the High Court handed down a decision ordering his arrest and rapping the government for what it described as a violation of the constitution.

"The respondents are forthwith compelled to take all reasonable steps to arrest President Bashir ... and detain him pending a formal request for his surrender from the International Criminal Court," presiding Judge Dunstan Mlambo was quoted as saying by local South African media.

Bashir has left around noon local time as the High Court was listening to arguments from the government attorney and the one representing Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC).

The government attorney asserted to court in the first part of the proceedings that he believes that Bashir is still in the country.

He went on to say that the list of passengers on the Sudanese presidential plane submitted to the control tower at the Waterkloof airbase did not include the name of Bashir.

The arguments were then focused on the issue of immunity for the Sudanese leader who was indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2009 & 2010 over alleged war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity during the Darfur conflict.

But the government underscored that despite South Africa being a state party to the ICC founding statute and having incorporated it into its constitution, Bashir is covered by the Diplomatic Immunity and Privileges Act .

He also said that Bashir as one of the delegations attending the African Union (AU) summit hosted by South Africa has been granted blanket immunity per this act and for the purposes of this regional summit. .

The judge then asked the government attorney whether Bashir would be liable for arrest should he be South Africa for a vacation.

"Yes" was the direct response by the government attorney.

Before the adjournment of the first session the government attorney affirmed his position that Bashir has not left the country.

After the court session resumed, the government attorney said that he received notification from the South African presidency and Department of International Relations and Cooperation that the Sudanese president flew out.

He explained that the government will initiate an inquiry into how Bashir was able to leave the country despite a previous order barring his departure from the country pending a decision into the case.

Mlambo expressed concern that Bashir was allowed to leave despite the court order and ordered the government to file an affidavit explaining how that happened in what appears a step before determining who will be held in contempt of court.

"It is of concern to us, as a court that an order issued was ignored" he said.

BASHIR TO RECEIVE HERO WELCOME IN KHARTOUM

Bashir is expected to arrive at 6:30 PM in the evening and will be met by a crowd of supporters mobilized by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

The Sudanese Minister of State at the Ministry of Information Yasser Youssef confirmed on Monday that President Omar Hassan al-Bashir left Johannesburg.

Sudan News Agency (SUNA) said that the Sudanese Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour will hold a press conference on Monday at Khartoum airport immediately upon the return of President Bashir and his delegation.

Meanwhile, youth organizations and NCP-affiliated entities called for people to come to Khartoum airport on Monday afternoon to receive the president.

CRITICISM OF SOUTH AFRICA

Bashir's arrival and departure from South Africa unhindered has angered NGO's and human rights groups.

“This is a sad day for South Africa and a blow to the rule of law,” said Anton du Plessis, managing director of the Institute for Security Studies, an African think-tank.

“Until now, the country has been a champion of international justice and has done more than most in Africa to make sure victims get justice" he told the Globe and Mail newspaper.

Earlier on Monday, United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon said South Africa must arrest Bashir to fulfill its obligations to the international court.

"The International Criminal Court's warrant for the arrest of President al-Bashir on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes is a matter I take extremely seriously," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters in Geneva.

"The authority of the ICC must be respected and its decision implemented," Ban added.

Elise Keppler, acting director of international justice at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that "by allowing this shameful flight, the South African government has disregarded not only its international obligations, but its own courts".

“When Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir took off from South Africa today, he took with him the hopes of thousands of victims of grave crimes in Darfur who wish at last to see justice done,” she said.

“An opportunity was missed, but a clear message has been sent to Bashir that he is not safe from arrest.”

(ST)

June 15, 2015 (WAU) – A panel of experts from United Nations are in South Sudan's Western Bahr el Ghazal state to probe crimes committed during the conflict.

A woman carries water through a UN camp for internally displaced people in South Sudan's Upper Nile state (Photo: IOM)

The UN team of experts are headed by Vladimir Zhagora from Belarus.

Zhagora told reporters that his delegation has been touring the country to get information on the conflict, which started in 2013.

“We are trying to establish an open professional relationship with everybody in south Sudan whom we meet in states,” he said.

“We had been meeting government officials throughout the states and in Juba on issues of diplomacy,” added Zhagora.

The UN secretary general appointed the five-member panel in April in response to a request from the Security Council's resolution 2206 (2015), adopted on 3 March, 2015.

“The panel is inquiring information on who is obstructing the ongoing peace process on South Sudan in Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa,” said Zhagora.

“We are also inquiring information on who launches attacks on the civilian's population in South Sudan's areas of conflict during this conflict,” he added.

The UN team will also seek information on those said to be blocking movement of humanitarian workers in areas most-affected by the war.

“The security council did not impose any sanction by this resolution,” said Zhagora, adding that council would decide what kind of sanction could be applied to some individuals in South Sudan.

The UNSC is considering a way to impose sanctions against both sides of the South Sudan conflict, which has continued despite several commitments by it warring parties to honour ceasefire deals.

The conflict broke out following disagreements within the ruling party (SPLM), killing tens of thousands of people and displacing nearly two million others since December 2013.

South Sudan strongly opposes calls for sanctions, saying such a decision would generate adversarial relationship and further aggravate the country's ongoing conflict.

(ST)

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has strongly condemned a series of deadly bombings in the Chadian capital of N’Djamena which reportedly killed more than 25 people and injured dozens of others, according to a spokesperson for the United Nations.

The United Nations refugee agency reported today that some 14,000 South Sudanese – mainly women and children – have fled into Sudan over the weekend, describing the situation as “an emergency within an emergency.”

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Congolese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release two activists who were arrested three months ago, on March 15, 2015, during a pro-democracy youth workshop in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a coalition of 14 international and 220 Congolese rights organizations said today. Fred Bauma and Yves Makwambala were arrested at a workshop organized to launch “Filimbi,” a platform to encourage Congolese youth to peacefully and responsibly perform their civic duties.

(Kinshasa) – Congolese authorities should immediately and unconditionally release two activists who were arrested three months ago, on March 15, 2015, during a pro-democracy youth workshop in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a coalition of 14 international and 220 Congolese rights organizations said today.

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The heinous attacks on civilians in Lamu and Tana River area of Kenya’s coast in mid-2014 were followed by abusive security force operations.

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The top United Nations official in Libya has strongly condemned an attack on the Tunisian consulate in the Libyan capital of Tripoli which resulted in the capture of ten consulate staff members.

Citing efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to children in Sudan who are affected by the war in South Sudan, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stressed the huge demand and urgency of receiving more financial support to continue its relief work in the Country.

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