Sudan Tribune

December 1, 2016 (JUBA) - The command of South Sudan army (SPLA), denied on Thursday a report by United Nations mission in the country presented to it's Security Council that it had facilitated and moved into Greater Equatoria region in support of an anticipated dry season offensive against armed opposition fighters.

South Sudanese SPLA soldiers are pictured in Pageri in Eastern Equatoria state on August 20, 2015 (Photo AFP/Samir Bol)

The United Nations mission in the country, in a Thursday press release said the army's move a ploy to “building a case for a regime change and sanctions".

The SPLA has, however, acknowledged that activities taking place in the region were rotation of soldiers, who have been serving in the area for the two years.

"These are not militias, but SPLA soldiers. They [UNMISS] are twisting this for reasons known to them," partly reads the statement.

It equated the ongoing military activities to regular military changes like the one the United States and other countries in the western world undertake in order to ensure continuity of the operation.

"In America, don't they rotate their troops? Those soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan have they continuously been there since 2001? So what is this fuse? There should not be a panic. The public needs to remain calm and know that there is no building up of troops in the Equatoria region. It is just normal rotation of troops. Even our commanding officers are subject to regular movement. We rotated them last time. We took the one who was in Wau to Renk. And the one in Renk to Bentiu and so forth, this is done to ensure continuity of the command and operations”, it added.

This comes after ceasefire monitors also claimed they were denied access to the restive town of Yei but the SPLA spokesman denied it a deliberate action and explained that the SPLA had not been notified.

Brigadier Gen. Lul Ruai Koang, who speaks for government forces said, in a statement, that "the agreement says, whenever CTSAMM is going for assessment, for verification, they must have on their team representatives from the SPLA and from the SPLA-IO. In this case, none of those parties was present in the team that had wanted to go to Yei".

He further added that CTSAMM will be allowed to go to Yei once they adhere to proper procedures and protocols as per the agreement.

(ST)

December 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth Thursday announced several exchange programmes to strengthen partnerships and collaboration between U.S. and Sudanese universities.

The American diplomat is visiting Sudan nowadays as he discussed with the Sudanese officials ways to resume peace talks in line with a Roadmap agreement to end armed conflicts and achieve democratic reforms in Sudan.

Also, Booth for the first time on Thursday visited Kadugli the capital of South Kordofan where he met the governor and civil society groups to discuss the humanitarian situation and ways to reach the needy in the conflict affected areas.

"After 20 years of programmes suspension, Special Envoy Booth announced the return of the American Fulbright Scholars and American Fulbright Specialists programmes to Sudan," reads a statement extended to Sudan Tribune by the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum.

In line with these scholarship programmes, American experts will work with Sudanese universities in building capacity and strengthening U.S.-Sudan university partnerships

The statement said two American professors from Cornell University and Texas A&M University travelled to Sudan to assist Al Azhari University in medical curriculum and medical technology.

Booth further "announced that the Department of State will also send eleven Sudanese university vice chancellors and the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research to the United States next January to meet with U.S. universities.''

In addition, the statement called on Sudanese youth to apply for three tracks of Young African Leadership Initiative Network (YALI)'s Mandela Washington Fellowship: Business and Entrepreneurship, Civic Leadership, and Public Management.

"We see these as positive developments in our relationship. We remain committed to the Sudanese public; to promoting direct people-to-people connections between our citizens; and to creating opportunities to build trust, encourage partnerships, and empower the next generation of leaders."

Since 1997 Sudan has been under economic sanctions, which include comprehensive trade embargo and blocked the assets of the Government of Sudan. In 2006, President Bush extended the sanctions to target government officials and militia leaders involved in Darfur conflict.

However this year, the American administration praised Sudanese government efforts in the fight against terrorism but excluded the removal of sanctions.

(ST)

December 1, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese government disclosed that consultations were taking place in Addis Ababa to determine the positions of Darfur rebel combatants within the framework of a cessation of hostilities agreement to signed with the armed groups.

State minister Amin Hassan Omer (L) briefs EU diplomats in Khartoum about the Roadmap Agreement and Darfur Administrative Referendum on 20 April 2016 (ST Photo)

Talks between the government and two armed groups in Darfur, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), over a humanitarian cessation of hostilities are deadlocked since last August.

The government demands the armed groups should provide all the details to localise the positions of their fighters on the ground, a matter the rebels refuse before the signing of ceasefire agreement. Khartoum also rejects a demand by the two groups to monitor the humanitarian operations in the region. The release of Prisoners of War (POW) and the Doha framework agreement were also among the outstanding issues.

In press statements after a meeting with the U.S. Special Envoy Donald Booth who is currently in Khartoum, the Head of Darfur Peace Office and Government Chief Negotiator Amin Hassan Omer Wednesday said they are holding discussions with JEM and SLM-MM to determine the positions of their fighters in Darfur.

He said that these consultations would wrap up on Wednesday evening.

"There is an initial agreement that the determination of troop positions will be fixed by the African Union based on established standards for determination of military positions," he said.

According to the Sudanese official, the meeting with Booth discussed the resumption of negotiations on the cessation of hostilities and the humanitarian access.

Omer reiterated the government keenness to achieve peace, stressing that Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) should be considered as the basis of negotiations.

"We briefed the Special Envoy about the outcome of the informal consultations as we reached an agreement on three of the four issues. And now remains a fundamental issue related to the DDPD which is the basis for future negotiations," he said.

The chief negotiator further pointed that JEM recently released prisoners who had been jailed in South Sudan, adding that his government released JEM child soldiers.

"We agreed that the release of POW who are not yet tried can be considered according to the progress of dialogue between the two parties and the resumption of peace process," Omer said.

Before to meet Omer, Booth was received by the Sudanese Presidential Assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid who heads government delegation for peace talks with the SPLM-N over the five-year conflict in Sudan's Two Areas.

The official news agency SUNA reported that the meeting discussed the ongoing efforts to reach a cessation of hostilities agreement within the African Union brokered Roadmap Agreement signed by the government rebel groups and National Umma Party.

Omer announced that the Head of the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki would visit Khartoum within the upcoming days to discuss the resumption of peace talks with the Sudanese officials.

Mbeki's visit had been several times announced in the past months.

(ST)

November 30, 2016 (JUBA) United Nations Official for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said aid workers increasingly face "bureaucratic impediments", and called on South Sudanese authorities to ensure unfettered access to the needy in the affected areas.

The conflict in South Sudan has triggered a humanitarian crisis with 2.3 million people forced from their homes and 4.6 million in need of emergency food (AFP Photo/Tony Karumba)

Eugene Owusu, the Humanitarian Coordinator for South Sudan and deputy head of UN mission in the country, said agencies registered more than cases of blockage to aid work in November.

"They (humanitarian organizations) continue to face obstacles and challenges which hamper their efforts. This must stop," said Owusu in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Such impediments and other bureaucratic constraints, negatively efforts to reach people in need.

Of 91 cases registered between November 1 to November 28, sixty eight were involved violence against humanitarian personnel/assets, while eighteen involved interference in humanitarian action, including interference in administrative matters, illegal or arbitrary taxation expulsion of staff. Humanitarian workers were also denied access to areas outside of Yei, a town witnessing some violence since July, in Central Equatoria and Wau town in Western Bahr El Ghazal, where tens of thousands of people are in need of assistance and protection.

Owusu said steps such President Salva Kiir's establishment of Humanitarian High-Level Oversight Committee are "appreciative" but more should be done.

“These recent events are a major concern and it is vital that we see the commitments made in high-level fora fully translate into real, tangible and immediate improvements in the operating environment for aid workers on the frontlines of humanitarian action," he said.

Humanitarian needs in South Sudan continue to rise as a result of conflict and economic decline, OCHA said. There are three million people displaced since fighting broke out in December 2013, including 1.9 million who are internally displaced and more than 1.1 million who have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees.

OCHA said it has reached some 4.1 million people in 2016 through various humanitarian organizations with assistance and protection across the country, including in some of the most remote areas. Owusu said the government and opposition should also play their role in washing access to needy people.

“I call on all parties to allow free, safe and unhindered humanitarian access so that our colleagues can reach and assist people whose lives have been torn apart by this crisis. Regardless of where they are in the country, civilians in need have a right to receive help," he added.

(ST)

November 30, 2016 (JUBA) - The world's youngest country is on the brink of catastrophe, a three-member United Nations Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan warned at the end of a 10-day visit.

Adama Dieng, UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, addresses a press conference in Juba on Friday 11, 2016 (UNMISS Photo)

“The stage is being set for a repeat of what happened in Rwanda and the international community is under an obligation to prevent it,” the Commission chairperson, Yasmin Sooka warned Wednesday.

The official specifically cited disturbing indicators such as an increase in hate speech, a crackdown on the media and civil society, deepening divisions between the country's 64 tribes, renewed recruitment in a country already awash with guns and the proliferation of armed groups aligned to both sides in armed conflict.

“There is already a steady process of ethnic cleansing underway in several areas of South Sudan using starvation, gang rape and the burning of villages; everywhere we went across this country we heard villagers saying they are ready to shed blood to get their land back,” said Sooka.

“Many told us it's already reached a point of no return”, she added.

Ken Scott, a member of the commission, advocated for the urgency in the need to establish the hybrid court promised for South Sudan.

“Large parts of the country literally have no functioning courts and even the traditional reconciliation methods are now breaking down with the result that it's a free for all”, he stated.

During their 10-day visit, the Commission reportedly met several displaced women in the Juba camp who were allegedly gang raped in the July attacks and have yet to receive adequate medical treatment for resulting complications, four months later.

“The scale of rape of women and girls perpetrated by all armed groups in South Sudan is utterly unacceptable and is frankly mind boggling,” stressed Sooka.

“Aid workers describe gang rape as so prevalent that it's become ‘normal' in this warped environment but what does that say about us that we accept this and thereby condemn these women to this unspeakable fate?” she added.

In Wau town, where ethnic tension remains high, civilians reportedly gave graphic accounts of how their husbands and children were robbed and murdered by soldiers from the army during violence in June in which at least 53 people were killed.

“The impact of this spreading violence is much more widespread and serious than earlier thought,” said Commissioner Godfrey Musila who visited the area.

Meanwhile, the three-member UN Commission of experts suggested a number of steps that is said the international community should take immediately to avert mass bloodshed. Among such measures, it said, is to expedite the immediate arrival of the 4,000 strong Regional Protection Force in South Sudan, ensure the force is not restricted only to the capital, freeze assets, enact targeted sanctions and implement an arms embargo.

(ST)

November 30, 2016 (JUBA) - The IGAD joint ceasefire monitoring mechanism announced the arrival of its team to the troubled Yei town in Central Equatoria were reports mention about insecurity and grave human rights violations.

The South Sudanese army (SPLA) has been attempting to quell a rebellion led by former vice-president Riek Machar since December 2013 (AFP)

Last Monday, South Sudanese security forces prevented a CTSAMM team had been prevented from travelling to Yei to assess the security situation there after reports about clashes between armed groups and the government forces but also attacks on civilians.

At the time, the CTSAMM said the incident took place while had obtained the needed authorisations and informed all the concerned authorities, including the Joint Military Ceasefire Commission.

"The CTSAMM team have now successfully carried out their journey and reached Yei Town today, the 30th November, 2016. The team will now undertake a five day mission in the area," said a short communiqué extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

The monitoring mission added the move came after "after multiple discussions between the CTSAMM leadership and the authorities".

South Sudanese authorities often speak about unilateral decision by officers on the ground, and point it was not a deliberate act.

(ST)

November 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Central Committee of the Sudanese Pharmacists (CCSP) said it would go on a partial strike and organize a protest on Thursday to reject drug price increase and demand release of its detained members.

Earlier in November, Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) announced it will no longer provide US dollar for drug importation at rate of 7,5 Sudanese pounds (SDG) forcing pharmaceutical companies to buy the dollar from the black market at 17,5 pounds.

Following the CBoS's decision, the Sudan Pharmacy Council (SPC) issued a new list showing the drug price has drastically increased by 100 to 300 percent.

The decision stirred a large wave of protests across Sudan. Also, some two hundred private pharmacies in Khartoum went on partial strike and closed their doors from 09:00 am to 05:00 pm last week in protest against the government's move.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, the CCSP said that pharmacies at hospitals and medical insurance pharmacies would continue to provide the service to the needy during the partial strike on Thursday.

The CCSP added that it would organize a peaceful sit-in at the premises of the Pharmacists House at 11:00 am (local time) on Thursday to express refusal for the increase of drug price and demand release of the detained pharmacists.

The statement pointed to the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) continued daily summoning and detention of three CCSP members including Hatim al-Da'ak, Baha al-Din Ahmed al-Hag and Al-Tayeb Bukhari.

“These repeated harassments and detentions wouldn't distract or hold us back from the main goal of rejecting and peacefully resisting the decision to lift subsidies on medicine” read the statement.

The CCSP said it would escalate resistance and continue to go on partial strikes for longer periods of time if its demands were not met, saying the decision to increase drug price has already been implemented.

It described the statements by the Health Minister Bahar Idris Abu Garda about the cancellation of the new drug price list as mere “deception” and “malicious attempt”, saying he didn't announce any decision to reinstate drug subsidy.

In an emergency press conference on Friday, Abu Garda announced that President Omer al-Bashir sacked the secretary general of the SPC and cancelled a new list of drug price he recently issued.

Large segments of the Sudanese people had engaged in a three-day civil disobedience act from 27 to 29 November to protest the recent austerity measures and the lack of freedoms.

(ST)

November 30, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Wednesday has continued its mass confiscations campaign against newspapers and seized copies of five dailies prompting some journalists to go on strike.

Sudanese journalists demonstrate outside Al-Tayyar's building in Khartoum on 20 July 2014 (ST)

Mass confiscation has emerged as a new technique of punishment by the NISS which tend to accuse affected newspapers of disseminating news that adversely impact on national security.

At dawn on Wednesday, the NISS seized print runs of Al-Tayyar, Al-Jareeda, Al-Ayam, Al-Youm Al-Tali and Al-Watan newspapers from the printing house without giving reasons.

It is noteworthy that Al-Jareeda and Al-Ayam have been seized three times during this week while Al-Youm Al-Tali and Al-Tayyar were confiscated twice.

Also, authorities ordered to close down the independent Omdurman TV station on Sunday.

Media sources say the NISS has intensified crackdown on newspapers for publishing news reports and articles on the nationwide civil disobedience act which took place between 27 and 29 November.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese Journalists Network (SJN) on Wednesday went on strike to protest the continued mass confiscations of newspapers.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the unofficial union, which is a pro-democratic group of independent journalists, called on Editors-in-Chiefs and publishers to participate in the strike in order to stop NISS's crackdown on press.

Sudanese newspapers complain of the far reaching powers of the NISS which routinely punishes dailies through confiscation or suspension.

Following the lift of pre-publication censorship, the NISS started punishing newspapers retroactively by seizing copies of newspapers that breach unwritten red lines inflicting financial and moral losses on these media houses.

In February 2015, it seized copies of 14 newspapers from printing press without giving reasons.

Journalists say that NISS uses seizures of print copies of newspapers, not only to censor the media but also to weaken them economically.

(ST)

November 30, 2016 (JUBA) – Representatives of the United States and United Nations warned on Wednesday of possibilities of tension escalating in war-torn South Sudan as well as potentials of violence.

Arms and light weapons have been used by both warring parties in South Sudan to commit abuses (Photo courtesy of SSANSA)

“We have credible information that the South Sudanese government is currently targeting civilians in Central Equatoria and preparing for large-scale attacks in the coming days or weeks,” Keith Harper, the U.S representative at the UN Human Rights Council, said.

A similar warning, Voice of America (VOA) reported, was also made by the U.S ambassador to the world body, Samantha Power.

“We are raising the alarm. We are calling on the government of South Sudan not to move forward with the offensive they have planned,” Power told VOA.

But, in a separate interview with the Associated Press, South Sudan's envoy to the UN, Kuol Alor Kuol Arop denied there was a build-up of forces or plans for offensives.

South Sudan is on the brink of catastrophe, a three-member UN Commission on Human Rights warned at the end of a ten-day visit.

“The stage is being set for a repeat of what happened in Rwanda and the international community is under an obligation to prevent it,” the chairperson of the Commission, Yasmin Sooka announced.

The official, in a statement, cited disturbing indicators such as an increase in hate speech, a crackdown on the media and civil society, deepening divisions between the country's 64 tribes, renewed recruitment in a country already awash with guns and the proliferation of armed groups aligned to both sides in armed conflict.

“There is already a steady process of ethnic cleansing underway in several areas of South Sudan using starvation, gang rape and the burning of villages; everywhere we went across this country we heard villagers saying they are ready to shed blood to get their land back,” said Sooka.

“Many told us it's already reached a point of no return”, she stressed.

The UN team of experts, also outlined a number of steps that the international community should take immediately to avert mass bloodshed, including the expedition of the immediate arrival of the 4,000 strong Regional Protection Force in South Sudan, ensure that the force is not restricted only to the capital, freeze assets, enact targeted sanctions and implement arms embargo on South Sudan.

“It is also urgent to set up the hybrid court promised for South Sudan,” said Ken Scott, a member of the UN Commission.

“Large parts of the country literally have no functioning courts and even the traditional reconciliation methods are now breaking down with the result that it's a free for all”, he added.

The Commission, which is due to report to the Human Rights Council in March, visited Bentiu in oil-rich Unity State where more than a hundred thousand people are sheltering in a UN protected camp.

(ST)

November 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Hours before the end of a three-day civil disobedience in Sudan, a group of activists claimed the responsibility of its organization. They further vowed to continue their nonviolent protest against the government, calling for an open-ended general strike next December.

The three-day protest against the austerity measures was successful in the schools and universities. However Schools reached by Sudan Tribune on Tuesday said 70% of their students were present. Others said they reduced the teaching time and close at 01:00 pm instead of 02:pm. Also, a college student said they didn't study on Tuesday due to the absence of teachers.

In the Sudanese capital life returned to normal on Tuesday as traders resumed their activities and employees went to work. According to a commercial bank employee, work dropped by more than half during the first two days but returned to normal Tuesday.

Also, there was no participation in the general strike among the public sector employees. However activists reported that an employee at the ministry of finance was relieved due to its participation in the protest.

For the first time, a group of activists dubbed KHALAS or 'Deliverance' claimed the responsibility of the organization of the civil disobedience which was entirely organized through the social media.

"(Khalas) Preliminary Committee is working with all the Sudanese people sectors for the continuation of civil disobedience until its success," said a statement extended by the group to Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

Khalas further said it plans to build up the nonviolent revolt against the regime through several preparatory stages to reach an open-ended civil disobedience that will begin on 19 December, the day where Sudanese MPs passed a resolution to declare the independence of Sudan in 1955.

The groups said the open-ended strike would continue until the fall of the regime, hoping "to raise the banner of true independence on the first of January" 2017 as it had been done in 1956.

The group further said they plan to set up local committees of disobedience in every city in Sudan to actively and effectively mobilize for the 19-December general strike.

They called to turn off lights on 29 November from 9:00 to 10:00 pm, and to declare the 6 December a day of national unity to commemorate the Black Sunday events of 6 December 1964 in Khartoum where thirty-eight individuals were killed in political violence after October Revolution.

The electronic campaign to mobilize the Sudanese against the regime is seen successful, as some activist Facebook groups have got large number of followers.

However, government officials continue to minimize its impact on the street, saying the call for the strike was a failure.

Commenting on the three-day civil disobedience, Government spokesperson and Information Minister Ahmed Balal Osman, said "The whole issue is full of rumours .. I mean everyone walks out, takes a picture of the street and says, it was empty and that the protest succeeded. I think this talk is not proper".

Osman in a statement to Alyoum Altali stressed that the civil disobedience was a big failure and people continue to carry out their activities normally.

The head of Darfur peace office and government chief negotiator Amin Hassan Omer denied that the possible internet shutdown to prevent activists from using the social media.

"The people reject any threat to stability and security that the country enjoys and which is an exception to the surrounding Arab and African countries," he stressed.

(ST)

by Suliman Baldo

November 29, 2016

“Because of the nature of the dictatorship we are under, you are forced to embrace the use of social media, . . . It's not secure to try and use the tactics used in the ‘90s — demonstrations openly or on a daily basis — because we can never match the current government when it comes to violence. So we have resorted to a peaceful, constitutional revolution, which we are precipitating through the use of social media.” That was a Zimbabwean activist by the name of Mlambo, speaking to a correspondent of National Public Radio on October 21, 2016.

Mlambo's words could have been uttered by any of the anonymous youth activists in Sudan this last week as they covertly and efficiently organized a campaign of posters and carefully crafted slogans to invite the Sudanese to undertake a three-day civil disobedience campaign starting Sunday, November 27. The call was prompted by dramatic increases in the prices of medicine, fuel, electricity resulting from a new government monetary policy that effectively devalued the national currency by more than 100 percent.

Such was the level of public outrage at the spiraling cost of basic necessities that the anonymous campaign took off immediately when launched on Thursday, November 24. Thousands of Sudanese citizens and the ever-ready and keyboard-committed Sudanese diaspora relayed the message to their networks, even though the identity of the initial organizers remains unknown. The Sudanese public credits the same anonymous activists for mobilizing the public protests in September 2013 against an earlier wave of misguided economic liberalization policies, including discontinued subsidies and austerity measures. The ferocity with which the regime of President Omer Hassan al-Bashir repressed that uprising—including the deployment of militias with instructions to use lethal force against protesters—accounts for this change of tactic urging would-be demonstrators to instead protest by staying at home.

Media reports declared the first and subsequent days of the stay-home shutdown a large success. Watching the grassroots movement take the initiative, established opposition parties scrambled to join the mobilization, and by inviting their followers to participate, they contributed to its success.

Beyond its immediate trigger, the abrupt increase in prices of basic commodities, the civil disobedience campaign in Sudan showed similar deeper political roots to its precedent in Zimbabwe. The longevity of the two autocratic regimes—36 years of rule under Robert Mugabe and 27 under Omer al-Bashir—and the corruption of their elites had brought the economies of both resource rich countries to the brink of collapse. In fact, President al-Bashir said the recent monetary measures were necessary to preempt the collapse of the state. The two regime's trampling of democratic values and practices is notorious and their brutal repression of dissent is well documented.

In addition, generations of youth who grew up under al-Bashir's regime are deeply offended by the hypocritical conduct of its leaders when measured against the Islamic values they proclaim guide their rule. Hundreds of thousands of unemployed youth, and others who cannot earn living wages even when employed, are leaving the country in desperation, many to undertake the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea to southern Europe. The organized among those who stay behind have grown increasingly creative in finding effective means for mobilizing the population for a democratic transition, and hopefully, transparent governance. Chief among their aspirations is to bring about a peaceful end to Sudan's many civil wars.

Theirs is therefore in essence a peaceful, political mobilization for democratic change, and not a mere passing protest against the lifting of subsidies as largely reported in the international media on the first day of the civil disobedience campaign.

This initiative poses serious challenges to the traditional political structures of the opposition and of the ruling regime alike. Allied under different and partially overlapping alliances between the political opposition and armed movements fighting the government for greater recognition of the political, economic, and cultural rights of the Sudanese living in peripheral areas of the country, the opposition was taken by surprise and did well by rallying and relaying the call. However, the success of the initiative should encourage the opposition to undertake serious self-examination for having locked out from its leadership ranks Sudan's rising generations of political activists. Indeed, these activists have proved more adept in reading the mood of the public and earning its trust and following when asked to act. Without the necessary rejuvenation of the opposition rank and file and the modernization of its mobilization tools, the opposition will condemn itself to marginalization and irrelevance.

Sudan's current “leaderless” mobilization also shares several characteristics with neighboring Ethiopia's mass protests in the Oromia and Amhara regions in 2015 and 2016. There, as in Sudan and Zimbabwe, organizers mobilized for protest through social media. While the ruling Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has strived over more than two decades of near total rule to deliver economic prosperity and development gains to the population, levels of rural poverty have remained high and resentment among marginalized groups gained momentum fueled as they were by ethnic tensions. The protests exposed the failure of the EPRDF to earn legitimacy, despite its economic and development successes. Faced with massive protests, but with no recognizable leadership to target, the EPRDF resorted to the declaration of a state of emergency, under which it proceeded to detain 11,000 youth. It also severely restricted access to the Internet since mid-October, curtailing public use and making allowances only for businesses and official use.

The regime in Sudan has failed miserably in delivering economic stability and basic goods and services to the public. Instead, it has further impoverished the country by destroying preexisting institutions and neglecting the traditional sectors of the economy that provide livelihoods for a majority of the Sudanese people: agriculture, livestock and the industrial sector.

Khartoum's regime was overtaken by the speed with which the events of the November protest unfolded from the first call on Thursday November 24 to the actual abiding by millions of Sudanese to take a common stand rejecting the regime's economic policies and challenging its legitimacy. Crucially, the stay-home campaign deprived the much feared National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) and militias operating under its command from their usual tools of interventions: mass detentions, torture of “agitators,” and the use of lethal force against unarmed protesters, as happened in 2013. The regime has invested considerable resources in Cyber Jihadist squads within NISS, precisely to neutralize the risks to its power from online political and human rights activism and to diffuse the exposure of the massive corruption of its leaders. These human and resource investments notwithstanding, democracy, human rights, and transparency advocates have proven that they have broken through to the public and earned its trust.

The disobedience campaign and the buildup that led to it have created their own heroines and heroes. These include doctors who waged a rolling strike for weeks protesting the collapse of the public health system in the proceeding weeks; a mother who broadcast a recorded message inviting revolution against daily humiliations; secondary school girl students and neighborhood women protesters who were the first to take to the streets in rejection of the price hikes. NISS agents detained those it deemed most influential among the organizers of these protests, including leaders of the opposition Sudan Congress Party who have adopted direct public addresses in marketplaces, neighborhoods, and public transportation centers as means of political action. To suppress the coverage of events, NISS agents confiscated the post print editions of Al-Ayam and Al-Jareeda, Al-Tayar and Al-Youm Al-Tali newspapers on November 28. They also ordered a private television channel broadcasting in Omdurman off the air and issued a stern warning to a second broadcaster, Sudan-24.

It is evident that Sudan is at a critical crossroad. The regime has little to no maneuvering room to find sustainable remedies to the severe economic crisis it has inflicted on the Sudanese people after nearly three decades of political misrule and ill-advised economic policies that have undermined the productive sectors of the economy. Given the massive corruption of its leaders and their families and the high cost to the national economy of the patronage system which underpins the regime, no corrective policies of the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Sudan can reign in the galloping inflation and likely collapse of the national currency.

The political opposition has yet to adapt their tools of mobilization and alternative building to the reality that the mishandling of the economy is the government's Achilles Heel, as I argued in a recent Enough Project report. To make up for lost time, the opposition needs to humble itself and learn from the successes of the independent youth movement, including the ongoing civil disobedience campaign.

Last, but not least, the “cyber revolutionaries” and the traditional political opposition should heed the warning from the Arab Springs. There is no tangible evidence today that either would be ready to take over in the event of a sudden collapse of the regime either as a result of the cumulative effects of their war of attrition against it; or under the weight of the economic crisis that's of the regime's own doing; or in the event of a health crisis that would suddenly remove President al-Bashir from effective control. With no clear succession plan for the President that we know of, and given the deep structural damage that 27 years of his regime had inflicted on the country, lack of preparation for an orderly transition would spell further destabilization for Sudan.

Suliman Baldo is a Senior Policy Advisor to the Enough Project. See Khartoum Economic Achilles' Heel, an Enough Project report, here: http://www.enoughproject.org/blogs/new-report-khartoum's-economic-achilles'-heel.

November 29, 2016 (JUBA/ABUJA) - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed concerns over the deteriorating security situation in war-torn South Sudan.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari (Getty image)

Buhari, the Vanguard newspaper reported, made these remarks during a meeting with South Sudan's envoy, Paul Malong Akaro in the capital, Abuja.

"I was a little disappointed with the subsequent developments in your country. I was hoping that we can move forward and develop the great potentials of your country after the peace accord," said Buhari.

"The African Union will continue to hold your leaders to account in implementing the peace process. And the leaders should be able to accommodate one another for the good of your people,'' he added.

South Sudan's peace process, Buhari said, will be more effective if implemented by the country's leaders without external intervention.

South Sudan experienced renewed violence in July this year when forces loyal to President Salva Kiir clashed with those allied to his main political rival and the former First Vice-President, Riek Machar.

Both Kiir and Machar were part of a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) necessitated by the August 2015 peace agreement.

The two rival faction leaders have agreed on several peace deals, but failed to control their troops, hence affecting implementation of the peace deal.

Akaro, however, said South Sudan government was committed to implementing a peace deal signed by warring sides in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Latest estimates from aid agencies say at least 4.6 million people across the country are facing hunger, amid fears food crisis might deepen as the conflict has now spilled into the Equatoria regions.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently accused South Sudan's two warring sides of committing crimes against humanity including killings, rape, torture and the use of child soldiers.

(ST)

November 29, 2016 (JUBA) - The South Sudanese government has unveiled measures aimed at closing gaps created by drops in the production of oil resources.

An oil field in South Sudan's Unity State. (Photo: UN / Tim McKulka)

South Sudan's economy is currently in dire straits as the local currency, South Sudan Pound has fallen by over 50% and revenue generated from oil, the mainstay of foreign earnings, is at its lowest in the past years, leading to macroeconomic spillovers and consequent quest for economic diversification.

Unveiling the strategies seeking to close the gap, the country's deputy finance minister, Mary Jervas Yak, said the government wants to generate non-oil revenues and that revenue collected would be used to fund larger parts of the national budget.

"While oil may be our biggest source of revenue, looking at the current economic situation, it may be wise to explore other options," explained the deputy minister.

Yak, however, said situation in the war-torn nation required her institution to raise the bar by deepening and expanding its tax collection drive through an aggressive tax system, considering the dwindling revenue profile as a result of the drop in oil prices.

"In the meantime, funds looted and stashed in foreign accounts should be recovered by the government. These stolen monies run in billions of dollars, which is enough to sustain an economy for a couple of years," she stressed.

According to the deputy finance minister, President Salva Kiir has written to some western countries asking their involvement to help trace the money and return stolen assets stashed in foreign banks, adding that in order to accrue revenue from non-oil sectors, the government needs to tackle electricity issues throughout the country.

"This will help attract global investments for massive industrialisation, which will subsequently increase our internally generated revenue," explained the official.

The minister said government would revamp and carry out major reforms in education and health care systems so that tertiary institutions will churn out graduates who are employers of labour and not go abroad for better opportunities.

If the health system is revamped, the official emphasized, worthy services will be rendered to the citizens and the productive capacity of human resources will be optimised thus increasing life expectancy.

"Similarly, good road infrastructure should be built and existing ones properly maintained to facilitate inter-state commerce and mobility," she added.

Speaking at the non-oil revenue collection management workshop in progress in Juba, a Japanese official said it was time the government should work hard to improve its tax collection system to generate more non-oil revenues.

Higeru Hamano, a Japan's embassy representative at the workshop on non-oil revenue collection, said tax was a very authentic source of government revenues.

“Revenue is a gift for the government and that is why Japan thinks that South Sudanese Government needs to improve its tax system to help South Sudan build its social infrastructure and deliver various social services,” Hamano said on Monday.

“The Government must be accountable to its citizens and such accountability must be exercised through effective parliamentary control. Every minister at the state level is accountable to parliament.”

The training was organized by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in collaboration with United Nations Development Program and Government of Japan.

The resident representative for the UNDP, Eugene Owusu said they were helping in building a strategic financial management system for government institutions.

He pledged readiness to engage stakeholders from the private sector, development partners and the civil society.

“We'd like to build partnership not only the government and state authorities at the local level, but also seek the engagement of the private sector, civil society organizations and development partners,” said Owusu.

“As UNDP, we will continue to provide strategic policy advisory support to the state Government financial management system, we will support budgeting and development planning if we are to succeed in building a transparent financial management system at the state levels which I insist will lessen South Sudan's reliance financial deficits and South Sudan's dependency on aid and donor support in a step by step progressive manner," he added.

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November 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Tuesday has seized copies of four daily newspapers as civil disobedience enters its last day.

A Sudanese man reads a local Arabic newspaper in Khartoum on April 27, 2009. (Getty)

At dawn on Tuesday, NISS agents confiscated print runs of Al-Tayyar, Al-Jareeda, Al-Youm Al-Tali and Al-Ayam newspapers from the printing house without stating reasons as usual.

However, workers at the four newspapers believe the seizure comes as a punishment for covering the news of the civil disobedience.

Large segments of the Sudanese people have engaged in a three-day civil disobedience from 27 to 29 November to resist recent government austerity measures.

It is noteworthy that NISS on Monday seized copies of Al-Ayam and Al-Jareeda newspapers. Also, authorities ordered to close down the independent Omdurman TV station on Sunday.

On 6 November, the NISS confiscated copies of Al-Tayyar, Al-Jareeda and Al-Watan newspapers for publishing news reports criticizing the government decision to raise fuel, drug and electricity price.

Chief-Editor of Al-Jareeda Ashraf Abdel-Aziz told the non-governmental Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) network that the NISS confiscated his newspaper for the second day in a row without giving reasons.

“The newspaper was most probably seized for publishing a report on the first page on Sunday discussing the calls for civil disobedience and the participation of the opposition in the nationwide strike,” he said.

He pointed to similar confiscation that occurred in 2013 when the government took a decision to scrap fuel subsides, saying the NISS at the time seized copies of Al-Ayam and Al-Jareeda for three consecutive days.

“During that time, the NISS gave the two newspapers the choice either to shut down or continue publication on condition that they publish news conveyed to them by the government authorities only. Al-Ayam and Al-Jareeda bravely chose to stop publication,” he added.

For its part, Al-Ayam's administration told JHR that NISS agents came to the printing house on Monday and Tuesday and told the manager that security orders have been issued to seize the print runs of the newspaper without giving details.

The NISS routinely confiscates newspapers either to prevent circulation of certain stories or to punish them retroactively on previous issues.

It accuses the newspapers of crossing the red lines through publishing reports which adversely impact on national security.

In February 2015, NISS seized entire print runs of 14 newspapers in one day without stating the reasons for its decision.

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November 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir said the civil disobedience act that took place in his country during the past three days was a complete failure.

Large segments of the Sudanese people have engaged in a three-day civil disobedience act from 27 to 29 November to protest the recent austerity measures and the lack of freedoms.

In an interview with the UAE-based Al Khaleej newspaper on Tuesday, al-Bashir said the recent civil disobedience was a “one million percent failure”, pointing that all residents were keen to go to their workplaces.

“Employee attendance rate was high last Sunday,” he said.

However, al-Bashir acknowledged the rising prices of commodities due to recent austerity measures, saying the move was like a “slap in the face” for the Sudanese citizen.

The Sudanese president described the price list of drugs issued by the former secretary general of the Sudan Pharmacy Council (SPC) Mohamed Hassan Imam as an “error by the competent entities”.

Earlier this month, Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) announced it will no longer provide US dollar for drug importation at rate of 7,5 Sudanese pounds (SDG) forcing pharmaceutical companies to buy the dollar from the black market at 17,5 pounds.

Following the CBoS's decision, the SPC issued a new list showing the drug price has drastically increased by 100 to 300 percent.

The decision stirred a large wave of protests across Sudan forcing al-Bashir to sack Imam and cancel the new list of drug price.

Al-Bashir pointed that the economic reform program was necessary especially after the secession of South Sudan, saying the economic situation is improving and the inflation fell to 13% from 60%.

Sudan's economy was hit hard since the southern part of the country declared independence in July 2011, taking with it about 75% of the country's oil output.

Meanwhile, al-Bashir said a new government of national concord will be formed following the approval of the proposed constitutional amendments in the parliament.

TIES WITH WASHINGTON

Regarding Sudan's relations with the United States, al-Bashir said he is “convinced that dealing with President-elect Donald Trump will be a lot easier than dealing with others, because he is a straightforward person”.

“He [Trump] focuses on the interests of the American citizen unlike those who used to speak about transparency, democracy and human rights. He is a businessman who seeks to achieve interests and it would clear and easy to deal with him,” al-Bashir said.

Washington imposed economic and trade sanctions on Sudan in 1997 in response to its alleged connection to terror networks and human rights abuses. In 2007 it strengthened the embargo, citing abuses in Darfur which it labelled as genocide.

Also, Sudan has been on the US list of countries supporting terrorism since 1993, for allegedly providing support and safe haven for terrorist groups.

Sudan says Washington didn't honour its pledges to lift Sudan from the United States list of state sponsors of terrorism after the independence of South Sudan and kept sanctions for political reasons.

But Washington says Khartoum has to end the armed conflict in South Darfur and Blue Nile states and to settle Darfur crisis.

FIGHTING AGAINST ILLEGAL MIGRATION

The Sudanese President further said his country is making significant efforts to combat terrorism and illegal migration on the borders with Libya, pointing they deployed more than 1000 four-wheel drive “Land Cruiser” vehicles along the border to fight against human trafficking.

Sudan is considered as a country of origin and transit for the illegal migration and human trafficking. Thousands of people from Eritrea and Ethiopia are monthly crossing the border into the Sudanese territories on their way to Europe through Libya or Egypt.

The European Union (EU) said it cooperates with the Sudanese government on projects to tackle the root causes of migration, pointing these “ projects contribute to improving livelihoods, stimulating youth employment, and supporting basic services for refugees, the displaced, and host communities”.

Earlier this year, the EU granted a €100m development package to address the root causes of irregular migration in Sudan. The financial support came after pledge by the Sudanese government to cooperate with Brussels to stop human trafficking to Europe.
Also, in June 2014 the US Department of State hailed Sudan's efforts in containing and fighting against human trafficking.

Last June, a joint operation among Sudan, Italy and the United Kingdom has led to the arrest of an Eritrean man suspected of controlling one of the world's four largest criminal migrant trafficking organizations.

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November 29, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan's President, Salva Kiir is on a visit to South Africa, amid reports of his deteriorating health situation.

South Africa's President Jacob Zuma (R) shakes hands with the visiting South Sudanese President Salva Kiir at his office in Pretoria on 24 October 2015 (Photo Moses Lomayat)

But the Minister for the Presidency, Mayiik Ayii Deng, said President Kiir was invited to South African by his counterpart, Jacob Zuma.

“The president of the republic is going for bilateral visit. He is responding to the invitation extended to him by the president of South Africa, his Excellency Jacob Zuma. It is therefore a very important visit. It will focus on bilateral matters and how the relations between the two countries could be strengthened,” stressed Deng.

“You know that South Africa is one of the countries which stood with our people during the war of liberation struggle and now it is playing another very important role in the peace process,” he added.

Despite the minister's explanations, however, some government officials claimed President Kiir is in South Africa for medical reasons.

“The president will off course use the opportunity to go for routine checks. He was due for checks in October but he did not go because of other commitments”, a presidential source told Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

The official, who asked not to be identified, downplayed the severity of the sickness, further saying it was just “a normal check for fitness”.

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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

November 29, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia authorities said they foiled an Eritrean backed terrorist attack, killed as well as detained dozens of Eritrean mercenaries.

Eritrea, which borders Sudan and Ethiopia, has been dubbed the North Korea of Africa (HRW)

Ethiopian Ministry of Defense said the terrorist attack was thwarted after Ginbot 7, an opposition movement branded by Addis Ababa as terrorist entity attempted to deploy dozens of its armed fighters into Ethiopia.

The Ginbot 7 forces were arrested trying to infiltrate into Ethiopia from Eritrea via the northern Tigray region bordering Eritrea.

Military officials on Tuesday told Sudan Tribune that a total of 113 armed members of the banned group have crossed borders into Western Tigray region.

But most of them were killed or captured by the joint efforts of the residents and regional security forces.

Out of the total 113 members of the infiltrating forces, 15 were shot dead in fire exchange while 73 were captured; officials said adding security forces are hunting to detain the remaining who went to disarray.

According to the ministry, several weapons and military equipment were also captured.

The opposition forces crossed into Ethiopia into two rounds led by Major Mesfin Tigabu and by Destaw Tegegn respectively.

Huge number of military weapons, money and other military materials were also captured from the armed men, the Ministry added

Among others 73 rifles, 62 Hand grenades, other RPG weapons and Satellite communication devices were captured.

In addition to the weapons and the military equipment, several Ethiopian birr bills and US dollars were seized, the statement indicated.

The ministry of defense said added that the attempted terrorist plot by Eritrea and the other destructive forces is intended to destabilize and hider development endeavors in the country.

The captured militants were allegedly trained and armed by the regime in Asmara.

Ethiopia repeatedly accuses the Red Sea nation of deploying terrorists to destabilize nation, an allegation Eritrea denies.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war however the two neighbors fought a war during 1998-2000 over territorial disputes which killed over 70,000 people.

As their border dispute never settled the two countries remain at No war - No peace situation. Both countries routinely trade accusations of arming and supporting each others' rebel groups.

Ethiopia has often foiled Eritrea-backed attacks and have captured a number of terrorist groups while trying to sneak into the country.

Previously, Ethiopian forces have penetrated deep into Eritrean territories and attacked several military bases, including those bases used by militants who are given sanctuary by Eritrea to carry out attacks against Ethiopia.

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November 29, 2016 – (WAU) – The Governor of Wau, one of South Sudan's newly-created states, Andrea Mayar Acho has sacked the Bessilia County commissioner, Charles Anthony Barande.

Acho, in a decree issued on 28 November, appointed Francis Ibrahim Patricio as the new commissioner for Bessilia county.

No reason was given for Barande's removal, less than three months after he was appointed to a position, which he declined to take up.

Barande had, in the past years, served as Wau county commissioner.

He, however, said he was willing to work in any post in the state, but not as a county commissioner, a post he considers for young men.

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November 28, 2016 (JUBA) - The outgoing head of United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) said the peacekeeping mission is not "finished" and lamented lack of peace in the war torn country.

Speaking to reporters for her last press conference before leaving South Sudan, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Ellen Margrethe Loej, urged South Sudanese leaders across political divide to put their nation first.

"We have not yet finished our job, we don't have peace in South Sudan, we don't have prosperity in South Sudan, but I think we all have to work for that," said Loej on Monday.

The resumption of violence in Juba in July aborted the implementation of a fragile peace agreement signed in August 2015 by President Salva Kiir and armed opposition group, the SPLM in Opposition leader and former Vice President Riek Machar.

Machar fled the country and was replaced in controversial procedures by Taban Deng Gai. Following what, the fighting has escalated in the Equatoria Region which remained peaceful at the onset of conflict in December 2013. In other areas, sporadic clashes are reported also.

Loej who took over the leadership of the peacekeeping mission one year after the start of the conflict in 2014 expressed her hope for peaceful South Sudan and applauded the resilience of its people. She regretted that the hopes at independence in 2011 have not been fulfilled.

"I am extremely depressed that their hopes and aspiration at the time of independence has not yet been fulfilled, the conflict that erupted in December 2013 continues to make many South Sudanese homeless, internally displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries and I am also worried about the threat to their security wherever they are and not least by the economic hardship they have to endure," she said.

More than a million South Sudanese have taken refuge in neighbouring countries, over 200,000 others sought protection at six UNMISS camps accords the country and millions others are internally displaced across the country.

Loej said the rival leaders must end the war.

"I urge all South Sudanese and especially the leaders of South Sudan to put the well-being of their people, including the the boys and girls [first]," she said.

The conflict has increased food insecurity and nearly half the country's 11 million people need help from humanitarian organizations.

Loej expressed hopes that with peace South Sudanese take care of their families, develop their country, and that South Sudan becomes a prosper country.

"It is possible because South Sudan is such a rich country in terms of resources and fertile land and when I am flying up country I am always surprised to see all that fertile land and there is not anything, it's not being harvested, that you are not growing your own food," she said.

Loej met President Kiir in Juba on Monday to bid him farewell. She announced her intention to quit the job in October at the end of November.

Initially, she had planned to leave South Sudan at the end of her contract last August, but the July crisis forced her to extend her mandate until the end of November.

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November 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The trial of a Czech journalist and two Christian pastors charged with espionage, waging war against the state and inciting hatred against religious congregations, has continued in Khartoum on Monday.

police stands outside the courthouse in Khartoum 2007

Last December, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrested Czech missionary and filmmaker Petr Jasek four days after he entered Sudan carrying two bags containing a laptop, a mobile phone, a video camera besides other documents.

Jasek reportedly confessed that he received the documents and the video from a colleague by the name of Grad Phelps in South Kordofan in 2012.

In the trial which resumed in the Sudanese capital Monday, the prosecutor told the court that Jasek has entered Sudan to carry intelligence activities.

The Persecutor told the court NISS had expelled several foreigners from Sudan for carrying hostile activities against the state, jeopardizing national security, waging tribalism, documenting for the claimed human rights violations and incite waging war against the state.

“The Czech defendant has met the other two defendants during their participation in an intelligence linked conference in Addis Ababa,” claimed the persecutor, adding that the defendants have documented for alleged human rights violations and they have incited waging war against the state.

He went to say that a conference in Addis Ababa was organized to provide support to rebel groups, saying that the Czech defendant has documented for alleged students torture and use of chemical substances against Darfur students.

The trial of the Czech journalist and the two Christian pastors started last August.

Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended the country remain on the list in its 2016 report.

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