Africa

December 9, 2020 (KHARTOUM) – Two key Democratic senators defended their positions on a proposed bill that would restore sovereign immunity for Sudan and said they are prepared to work with the Trump administration to reach an agreement on the legislation to pass this month.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, left, and Sen. Robert Menendez, right (Getty Images)

The Sudanese government signed a bilateral claims agreement with the United States last month that stipulated removing Sudan from the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and passing the ‘legal peace' bill in return for paying $335 million to settle claims with the victims of terror attacks.

The deal covers the 1998 bombing of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the attack against the USS Cole off the port of Aden in 2000 as well as the 2008 killing of USAID employee in Khartoum.

But the Senate Democratic minority leader Chuck Schumer and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee objected to the settlement saying it discriminates against African embassy employees who later became US citizens and extinguishes potential claims by 9/11 families.

This week ABC News reported that the state department offered to beef up payment to 1998 victims by $150 million out of its own funds. However, the sticking point remains the 9/11 issue and talks with the state department which brokered the settlement deal appeared to have stalled.

Schumer and Menendez issued a joint statement today saying that their offices “drafted not one, but two legislative options for restoring Sudan's sovereign immunity, preserving and protecting the claims of 9/11 families, and resolving the embassy bombing and other international terrorism-related claims against Sudan”.

“We offered two versions in the spirit of cooperation and compromise, both of which overcome severe problems with the deal the State Department cut with Sudan that have tragically pitted different groups of victims of terrorism against one another” the statement reads.

Sources say that the 9/11 families want to go after Sudan in courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) rather than the Justice Against Sponsors of Terror Act (JASTA) which the Trump administration advocates.

Sudan became exposed to individual lawsuits because FISA stripped it of immunity due to its inclusion in the terror blacklist since 1993. The East African nation will officially get off this list in the coming days.

The two senators said their proposed versions of the bill enjoy the support of key house and senate democrats and are prepared to pass either one before the end of the year.

“We strongly support a successful transition to democracy in Sudan; making this deal work for victims of terrorism should not be in conflict with that goal. As negotiations with the Trump administration continue, we call on Senate Republicans and the State Department to step up to the plate and work with us to make it a reality.”

Sudan itself has its own reservations on the bills, officials say and believe the differences have a 50-50 chance of being resolved this year given the unsuccessful rounds of negotiations.

But a new factor came into play which is the normalization deal between Sudan and Israel last October which was driven by intense pressure from the US. Last week, the New York Times reported that chairman of Sudan sovereign council Abdel-Fatah al-Burhan warned US Secretary of state Mike Pompeo that the peace deal is in jeopardy unless the bill is passed.

The US-based Axios news site reported on Monday that Israel is lobbying senators and members of Congress to approve the bill at the request of Khartoum.

“Since Sudan decided to normalize relations with Israel, Israel obviously has an interest to help resolve Sudan's problems in Washington. This can encourage other countries to normalize relations with Israel too," a senior Israeli official told Axios.

The Israeli officials said they got assurances from the Trump administration and from senior senators and members of Congress that the issue of the immunity bill will be solved.

The Congress is also under pressure from the victims' families who would only get paid the $335 million in compensation if the bill is passed.

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December 8, 2020 (UNITED NATIONS) - UN senior official on Wednesday called on the international community to support the fragile democratic transition in Sudan saying it can be derailed by the huge challenges the country has been facing.

Rosemary DiCarlo (UN Photo)

Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo briefed the Security Council on the situation in Sudan and the activities of UNITAMS which preparing to begin its activities to support the democratic transition on the 1st of January 2021

Speaking in a virtual meeting of the 15-member body attended by the Sudanese ambassador to the United Nations, DiCarlo spoke about the difficult economic situation in Sudan coupled with the health crisis due to the COVID-19.

"Given Sudan's arrears, the country has been unable to avail of debt relief. The increased spending on emergency health programmes, coupled with a decline in public revenues, has led to a budget deficit of approximately USD 250 million per month," she said.

The US diplomat also highlighted the political fragmentation of the ruling coalition and their recent dispute with the military component over the formation of the partnership body to coordinate the transition and peace implementation process.

"Sudan is at a critical juncture. It can move forward decisively in its transition, but that process can still be derailed by the many challenges it faces," said DiCarlo.

"It is incumbent on all of us to support Sudan in its efforts to achieve democratic governance, economic prosperity and an inclusive society for all Sudanese," she further stressed.

UNITAMS deployment

Speaking about the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), she said the mission has already begun to deploy to Khartoum since October.

"The mission will focus on the four objectives outlined in Resolution 2524: assist the political transition; support peace processes; assist peacebuilding, civilian protection and the rule of law; and support the mobilization of economic, development and humanitarian assistance," said the international diplomat.

Further, she added that the political mission will provide good offices, technical support and capacity building, and will leverage the work of the United Nations country team.

While the UNITAMS's headquarter will be in Khartoum, the mission will establish field offices in Darfur, the Two Areas and eastern Sudan.

(ST)

December 8, 2020 (KHARTOUM) - Senior Sudanese officials and the visiting Saudi Arabia's foreign minister discussed the security of the countries bordering the Red Sea and the need for joint cooperation.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was in Khartoum on Tuesday in the first visit to Sudan after the collapse of the former regime.

During his one-day, he met with the head of the Sovereign Council and the Prime Minister to discuss bilateral relations and ways to activate bilateral cooperation agreements between the two countries.

The Sovereign Council and the cabinet office issued separate statements following their meetings with the visiting Saudi top diplomat saying that he discussed the Red Sea security with them.

"The Saudi Foreign Minister praised Sudan's position and its participation in the Decisive Storm campaign (in Yemen), noting that the two sides agreed to jointly cooperate with regard to the security of the Red Sea," reads a statement by the Sovereign Council quoting Al Saud.

For its part, the cabinet said the meeting dealt with the "importance of the security of the countries bordering the Red Sea, in light of the conflict that broke out in the Tigray region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia".

In January 2020, Sudan joint a Saudi initiative to establish a regional alliance between the countries bordering the Red Sea including Egypt, Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen and Jordan. Eritrea did not take part in the agreement demanding to include Ethiopia which has no access to the Red Sea.

However, despite the regime change in Sudan, Khartoum moved on and signed a deal with Russia negotiated by the former president to establish a navy base on the Red Sea in eastern Sudan, off the Saudi coast.

The prime minister said the meeting discussed regional conflicts in Yemen, Syria and Libya and it was agreed on the need to resolve these conflicts peacefully without foreign intervention.

On the ongoing discussions about the filing of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, the Saudi minister backed Sudan's position on the need to reach a binding agreement for the three parties.

(ST)

December 8, 2020 (JUBA) – South Sudan has reached a health cooperation agreement with China for the next five-year period.

The deal, which was signed last week, allows China to deploy its medical teams in South Sudan over the period from 2021 to 2026.

This move, Xinhua reported, paves way for strengthened cooperation between China's Anhui Medical University and South Sudan's Juba Teaching Hospital through knowledge sharing and capacity reinforcement.

"We have always placed health care at the top of the agenda for cooperation between South Sudan and China," the Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, Hua Ning explained.

He added, “We also hope that with the support of China and other members of the international community, the health sector here will continue to develop and benefit the people”.

China has, since South Sudan's independence from Sudan in July 2011, become one of its main partners in health, a sector that is greatly affected by the security and economic challenges facing Africa's youngest state.

(ST)

December 8, 2020 (TORIT) – The leadership of the opposition National Salvation Front (NAS) has announced the alleged defection of the armed opposition faction (SPLA-IO) forces in South Sudan's Eastern Equatoria State into the hold-out group.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirilo Swaka, the ex-SPLA deputy chief of general staff for training (youtube photo)

NAS, in a statement extended to the Sudan Tribune said the Tafeng Division taskforce of the SPLA- 10 under Brig Gen. Kennedy Ongie Odong defected with forces under his command on December 5.

“The leadership of NAS and its members view this development as historical and nationalistic move. NAS encourages all other forces in the country who are dissatisfied with the dictatorial regime of Salva Kiir, including the SSPDF who feel exploited to emulate the example shown by Brig Gen. Odong and his colleagues,” partly reads the statement issued by the spokesperson, Suba Samuel Manase.

It further added, “The leadership of NAS appeals to all freedom fighters in the country to join hands together with NAS in its struggle to restore our people's lost dignity, justice, equality and freedom”.

Sudan Tribune could not independently verify claims from the hold-out group, which comes barely a week after the SPLA-IO held its 6th national conference in South Sudan's capital, Juba from December 1-5.

The conference, attended by the armed opposition top leadership, discussed the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, formation of the national and statement government, the vision and mission of the SPLA-IO in the transitional period, among others.

As part of resolution from the conference, the armed opposition movement agitated for reconstituting of the national legislature, recommitted itself to the Rome initiative and re-affirmed its commitment to the implementation of the revitalised peace deal.

(ST)

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