Sudan Tribune

July 3, 2016 (JUBA) - A top South Sudanese religious leader has criticized the hate speech employed by high ranking officials and their supporters to polarize the country, calling for solidarity among those victimized by the “smear campaign.”

Bishop Edward Hiboro (ST file photo)

Bishop Edward Hiboro of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura based in Yambio said one of the triggers of violence in the country is the manner in which people chose the language and words to communicate their messages.

“Language is doing much more violence, sometimes even much more harm than the gun,” said Bishop Edward while speaking to a United Nations sponsored Miraya FM radio on Thursday.

The religious leader appealed to South Sudanese to avoid “harsh and divisive” language and instead develop a language that can build the country.”

“Take off too much negativity, take out provocative language, the anger needs to give way to the language of peaceful communication, non-violent communication to help the country wake up from the current situation,” he further advised.

He said there is need to develop a new language and a conscience to prevent crime and consolidate the country's peace process.

His remarks come amid growing concerns about the growing insecurity in Wau. He said the violence in Wau, while regrettable, stems from lack of dialogue, adding “when dialogue is missing immediately people resort to violence and fighting.”

“South Sudanese need to learn to talk. It is talking that brought us South Sudan. It is not cowardice to speak to your brother and sister and say look we have gone wrong here, how do we go about this.”

While acknowledging the problems in the country, he said there is huge mistrust, and people are afraid to speak to each other. Instruments such as the church, civil society, international NGOs, he added, have the power to engage in Dialogue.

“But how can they do it?” he asked. He stressed that every leader, individual and family in South Sudan should find time for a retreat and use this time to reflect on the kind of South Sudan they want.

He urged the government to find ways to reach people “with the power and closeness of peace.

“If there could be a general ceasefire, no more shooting, no more fighting, the rest of things would fall in place. We prepare people in the church, we pacify them, we need the government to step in and reinforce the messages spread by the church to pave way for a peaceful stable nation,” he added.

(ST)

July 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan and Brazil have on Sunday agreed to develop and promote bilateral relations in the various fields especially trade and investment.

Brazilian Ambassador to Khartoum José Mauro da Fonseca Costa (ST Photo)

Brazilian Ambassador to Khartoum José Mauro da Fonseca Costa on Sunday has discussed with Sudan's Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdel-Ghani Al-Naem the bilateral ties and ways to enhance joint cooperation between the two nations.

During the meeting, Costa briefed the Sudanese diplomat on joint private sector investments and ways to promote them, stressing his government's desire to develop economic relations with Sudan.

He pointed to the importance to embark on arrangements for the next meeting of the joint political consultations committee between the two nations which would be held in Brazil.

The Brazilian envoy added that he would exert every possible effort to coordinate with officials in both nations to promote bilateral ties in all domains particularly trade exchange and investment.

For his part, Al-Naem briefed Costa on the recent economic and political developments including the national dialogue besides President Omer al-Bashir's declaration of a four-month ceasefire in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and the Roadmap Agreement for peace and dialogue brokered by the African Union.

He also pointed to Sudan's efforts to enhance regional security and stability especially in Libya, South Sudan and Yemen, calling for the need to speed up actions to move bilateral ties to more advanced stages particularly in areas of trade, agriculture, investment and technical cooperation.

The Sudanese diplomat further underscored the need to resolve all problems facing the flow of investment between the two nations.

(ST)

June 2, 2016 (WAU) – The International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) in South Sudan has reached 70,000 displaced persons in Wau with relief aid, its head of delegation, Jurg Eglin said.

Eglin, who visited Wau in the aftermath of the recent violence, said ICRC had to respond to the humanitarian needs of people in Wau.

“No what happened last week, there was a violence, there was an attacks, there was looting and killing, people had fled their homes and more than 10,000 people had fled their homes from the town to the western part, people are really in desperate under the trees looking for support,” Eglin told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

The displaced, he added, were provided with food, shelter, medicines and water, in addition to uniting lost children with their families.

Currently, ICRC is reportedly accommodating 5,000 displaced people at its compound in Wau town, its delegation head said.

“The conditions at the compound are quite difficult as sanitation facilities are not enough, including lack of space,” Eglin said, but stressed that ICRC was doing its best to address the situation.

(ST)

July 3, 2016 (BOR) - The quality of fish may not be of high standard due to the lack of refrigerators for preserving the huge catch, but local fishermen in South Sudan's Jonglei state still earn good cash from their fish daily, which has improved their living standards.

Fishermen in Mayen village loading boats for distribution, December 17, 2015 (ST)

Currently, there are hundreds of fishermen who go fishing along the River Nile and some open water bodies' rich in different varieties of fish species.

James Achiek Dengic, a 39 year-old man from Jarwong in Malualchat of Bor told Sudan Tribune that he has, for now 20 years, been fishing for business. Although he never revealed how much he had saved in his traditional saving “hole” as referred to it, Achiek said he was able to buy an engine-powered boat, which ferries people to Lakes state.

The fishing business, he said, was one that does not require licensing from government. His father, for instance, never had any major economic activity other than fishing.

Acheik was born and raised up by parents who all belonged to the fishing community.

In his community, fishing sites are managed by local laws and orders passed and implemented by chiefs. The sites are open all times for anyone belonging to the community.

“Fishing is easy and free business each member of a community can do. It is quick rewarding with minimal loses all year round”, Achiek told Sudan Tribune.

Life style in the fishing camps has also proved to be better than that in the cattle camp.

South Sudan is a cattle-dominated economy, but this is changing slowly. Many cattle keepers are now changing their lifestyle by abandoning cattle keeping for fishing.

Akech Bol, a fisherman in Bor, said he abandoned cattle keeping for the fishing industry.

“With cattle, you go out every day to look after them in the grassing field. They, while there, you can be killed by people who come to steal or raid your cattle. Or you kill somebody who comes around. This way, our population get reduced day by day. That is the common problem we have in Jonglei,” said Akech.

"If you don't want to be in the cattle camp, you cattle will not be taken care of by someone else properly, which is still another problem. This forced me to sale my few heads of cattle I had in 2010 and started fishing as my main economic activity. Today, I am a happy man with my eight children and two wives”, he added.

The fishermen live in small camps along the Nile River bank, some cultivate maize on the islands not commonly prone to flooding. They use various fishing tools, including gill nets, traps and in rear cases cast nets. Hooks and long lines are used in shallow tributaries.

Each morning, fishermen jump into their rowboats and sail to the siting site not always far from their residential place, and return before lunch with their catch.

The most common types of fish caught include, Cat fish, Gymnarchus, Heterotis, Tilapia, Distichodus and Citharinus.

Each day he goes out, Akech says, he sells his fish to fish vendors who come to the docking site near his village. He doesn't have to sail or walk or pay transport cost to Bor town for marketing. But his profit margin isn't good compared to his labour cost.

For the last five years he had been fishing, he managed to pay school fees for his children in Uganda, and use the rest of the money to feed his dependents at home. He spends any amount of money that remains to buy goats, which he said are easy to manage.

Currently, he has more than 20 goats he keeps at home, a good sign of his pride as a man.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported them with fishing nets and gears, and boats, and technical ways of fish preservation, through Catholic Relief Service (CRS), Oxfarm, HDC among others.

The preservative plating of the fish is used then sun dried. One plated thread contains five to 10 fish, depending on the type and size of each constituent. Such a thread is prized upto 250 South Sudanese pounds ($6 at the current rate) in the local market.

(ST)

July 3, 2016 (KHARTOUM) -The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) denied that a date has been fixed to resume the Two Areas talks with the Sudanese government.

Sudan government and SPLM-N delegations on the meeting room with the mediator before to engage in discussions in Addis Ababa on 21 November 2015 (ST Photo)

South Kordofan and neighbouring Blue Nile state have been the scene of violent conflict between the SPLM-N and Sudanese army since 2011.

Last December, negotiations between Khartoum and the SPLM-N stalled after the government delegation insisted that the objective of talks is to settle the conflict in the Two Areas, while the SPLM-N team has called for a holistic approach to resolve ongoing conflicts across Sudan.

On Saturday, member of the government negotiating team Hussein Karshoom revealed that his team will meet with the chief African mediator Thabo Mbeki after Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking) to discuss the latest developments on the Roadmap Agreement.

He expressed readiness to meet with the Sudan Call forces if they sign the Roadmap in order to arrange for the cessation of hostilities and agree on the security and humanitarian issues besides completing the framework agreement which they had previously agreed on 90% of its items.

Last March, the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) proposed a roadmap agreement to the Sudanese government and four opposition groups from the Sudan Call forces.

However, only Khartoum government signed the framework text while the four groups declined the text, saying the Roadmap would reproduce the regime.

The opposition groups handed over a supplemental document to Mbeki and vowed to reconsider their rejection of the Roadmap if he accepts it to ensure that the Roadmap becomes a gateway to an equal, serious and fruitful dialogue.

The Sudanese government declined to accept the opposition supplemental document on the Roadmap, saying the peace plan is definitive and cannot be modified.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Sunday, SPLM-N peace file spokesperson Mubarak Ardol said his movement isn't making any arrangements to meet with the government.

He pointed that Karshoom's statements come within the framework of a “feverish campaign targeting the unity of the opposition”.

“Any claims that the opposition would sign the Roadmap without responding to the Sudan Call demands is nothing but pure fantasy and reflects the [depth of the] regime's crisis and its dire need for the opposition forces”.

Ardol further said if the government is in hurry to meet the SPLM-N and the Sudan Call forces it “should respond to the demands to hold an equal dialogue”.

“Without [responding to the opposition demands], no peace talks or dialogue will commence after this Eid or the next Eid,” he said.
The opposition calls to hold a preparatory meeting for the national dialogue; ensuring political and press freedoms, release of political detainees and to set up a transitional government to implement the outcome of the national dialogue.

(ST)

July 3, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese security forces have stepped up security measures in and around the capital, Juba, after gunmen, reportedly to be members of the Military Intelligence (MI), killed an officer and a guard of top military commander of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO).

South Sudanese soldiers sit on a truck at the airport in Juba on 12 June 2014 (Photo: AFP/Samir Bol)

Lt. Colonel George Gismala, eye witnesses said, was shot while seated and smoking shisha at a tea place in Kator residential area at around 11:20am.

A government military source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed in statements to Sudan Tribune that Colonel Gismala was killed by members of the MI. It was not clear why the officer was targeted.

The incident sparked panic and uncertainty among residents, some of whom said had witnessed the shootings.

Exact circumstances under which Colonel Gismala was shot dead remain unclear. Neither the SPLA nor SPLA-IO military spokespersons have come out to make a public statement on what transpired and the measures being put in place to diffuse tension.

Also, residents in the area told Sudan Tribune they witnessed the shooting but did not know what sparked it. The body of the dead was later on seen being carried onto a vehicle of those who shot him and took it away.

Late George, a relative to General Martin Kenyi who is a senior military commander of the SPLA-IO, defected from President Salva Kiir's government two years ago and was promoted to the rank of Lt. Colonel by the armed opposition faction. He previously served as Military Intelligence (MI) officer in the government at the rank of Captain before his defection to the SPLA-IO.

Some Eye witnesses claimed the deceased was shot dead after engaging in a discussion with members of national security at a tea place over the issue of the delay of the establishment of cantonment sites as well as the continued presence of additional government soldiers and security personnel inside Juba, despite transitional security arrangements recommending a limited number of joint force to be in the town.

Bodyguards of General Martin Kenyi, another high ranking armed opposition figure, were also shot at, resulting in injury, one of whom remains in critical condition.

Attackers were not yet identified by names and no arrest was made, although the body of the deceased was reportedly carried to a military base in Juba.

In an attempt to control the situation, government soldiers and plain cloth security personnel were seen patrolling key streets in the town in what residents described as efforts to impose security measures to avoid another flare up.

Police spokesperson told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that a tighter partnership between police, defence and security forces and the population would ensure “the best possible intelligence can be put to use.”

“There is nothing. People should not panic. The presence of the security forces on the street is to strengthen the human and material resources of all our defence and security forces to adapt to new challenges. We are living in an unprecedented situation, which requires us to be civil-minded and much more vigilant,” said Brigadier General Daniel Justin Boulo, when reached to comment on the development.

He called on residents to notify police authorities and security officers of the presence of unknown people in their neighbourhoods, especially those in unusual and suspicious activities.

This comes after a similar incident occurred last month when members of national security opened fire at the bodyguards of the armed opposition leader, Riek Machar, in Juba.

Also unknown gunmen fired guns near the resident of Machar at Jebel Kujur on Saturday night, but his forces did not return fire.

The series of incidents have received mixed reactions from the citizens, with some asserting that the incidents were politically motivated to send out a message to the people that anti-peace elements in the government are not ready for peace and are therefore working everything possible to trigger a return to war.

Juba residents say there are fears of growing insecurity situation in the capital.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

July 3, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Sudan has congratulated Ethiopia on its election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council to serve two year term commencing as of January 2017.

The UN Security Council votes unanimously to impose sanctions on those blocking peace in South Sudan (Photo: UN/Devra Berkowitz)

Khartoum extended the official congratulatory message through its foreign affairs minister Kemal Seid Ismael who arrived in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Friday where he met his Ethiopian counterpart Tedros Adhanom.

“Ethiopia's membership to the United Nations Security Council is important not only to Sudan but also the whole of Africa” said Ismael.

He extended his gratitude to the Republic of Sudan and the whole of Africa for the full support they displayed for Ethiopia to secure a seat in the world's powerful organ.

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday elected Ethiopia for membership during an election Session for five non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.

Ethiopia secured an overwhelming support from 185 countries out of the 193 UN member states.

The Ethiopian and Sudanese foreign ministers further confer on a range of issues including on ways of further bolstering their bilateral relations.

The Sudanese minister noted that the High-level Joint Commission has started to bear positive development, particularly in the economic domain.

Tedros to his side noted that the ties between the two neighbours are showing advances in political economic, social and cultural frontiers.

Tedros particularly noted the boost in the trade volume and investment flow between Ethiopia and the Republic of Sudan.

The Minister further expressed his hopes that the upcoming High-level Joint Commission meeting between the two neighbouring countries would further strengthen the bilateral ties.

Mean while Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Dessalegn, who is in an official state visit in Mozambique said Ethiopia as member of the UNSC will stand firm in safeguarding the interests of Africa.

Speaking at a state dinner hosted by President Filipe Jacinto Nyusi of Mozambique, the premier commended the country and African countries in general for their support during its election campaign.

Hailemariam said climate change, poverty, unemployment, peace and stability, terrorism and illegal migration will be among areas Ethiopia will focus to be addressed during its two years long third term in UN Security council.

Addis Ababa has further vow to boost roles of African countries in the global decision making process which had been dominated by western powers.

(ST)

July 2, 2016 (ED DAEIN) - Governor of East Darfur State Anas Omer has issued a general amnesty for the outlaws and those who are wanted by justice authorities for committing crimes in his state.

East Darfur governor Anas Omer (Photo Ashorooq TV)

Addressing a social activity organized by the ruling National Congress Party at El Firdous locality on Friday, the governor said the greatness of Ramadan provides an opportunity for forgiveness, and to grant a general amnesty for the outlaws who committed a crime in the past months, especially those who have been officially wanted by the justice and legal authorities in East Darfur.

The governor has also stressed the importance of opening a new chapter to achieve development projects in the state, pointing to need to stabilize the security situation in the state.

The governor went on to say that “the government cannot continue antagonizing any person as long as it is responsible for protecting the citizens”.

The governor also has called for forgiveness, citing a verse from the Holy Quran that calls for forgiveness. “Those who showed forgiveness will be rewarded by Allah”, he pointed out.

On 18 April, suspected tribal gunmen fired R.P.G. shells targeting East Darfur governor's house. Six of the governor's guards have been killed in the attack.

The shells, which fell on a nearby house, have also killed two women and wounded a child as well as four students.

The attack, which burned down the house of the governor, is said to be carried out by Rezeigat Savanna Militia members to protest against the death of a leading member of a Rezeigat militia.

It was also preceded by clashes between the Rezeigat and gunmen belonging to their arch-rival Maalia tribe, where 12 people were killed over stolen camels in Yassin county in East Darfur.

(ST)

July 2, 2016 (JUBA)- The newly appointed Governor of Wau state, Andrea Mayar Achor, has unveiled his plans to restore stability in a region, which experienced violent onflict in whereby over 40 people were killed, according to the national government spokesperson.

South Sudan's information and broadcasting minister, Michael Makuei Lueth told reporters last week that government had formed a high level committee led by the minister of health, Riek Gai Kok to visit Wau town to establish the circumstances behind the violence, which forced out hundreds of civilians from their homes into churches and premises of the United Nations in search of security as well a protection.

He said the bodies of 39 civilians, including two Sudanese traders and four police personnel, who were allegedly killed while guarding and protecting properties of civilians who fled their homes, were discovered.

The official did not elaborate on the circumstance in which police personnel were killed.

Speaking exclusively to Sudan Tribune from Wau town on Saturday, Governor Achor said the investigation committee from Juba had arrived and started their work in town.

“The committee has come and they have started their work,” Achor told Sudan Tribune.

Achor said the security situation had returned to normal and people in town have resumed their normal activities after giving directive to security forces to lift restriction on movement of humanitarian workers and the people to provide and access services.

“After consultations with the heads of all the security organs, our SPLA commanders and representatives of the different communities in Wau, I gave out directives to security organs to lift restriction on the movement of the people in town so that people are able to provide and access services. Now the security situation has improved. All the checkpoints have been removed and clear directives have been issued by the security committee to the army not to prevent any citizens from moving”, he explained.

The governor said that he had informed all the humanitarian organizations in the state to move freely at any time during the day and night to help citizens, explaining these directives have been communicated to the public to know through microphones and letters in the case of other governmental institutions.

"The first priority now is to stabilize the security situation and the second phase is to talk to the people to come together and say what happened so that a way forward is found. Talking to people is very important because our values are stronger than hatred, killings and destruction”, he explained.

The third phase, he added, is to open up for reconciliation, forgiveness and accept one another in order to live in peace and harmony as one family again as it was before.

(ST)

July 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Ministry of International Cooperation on Saturday said it would review the national strategy on foreign aid in order to allocate it in an optimal way.

International cooperation minister Kamaleldin Hassan (SUNA photo)

On Saturday, the Minister of International Cooperation Kamal al-Din Hassan Ali held a meeting with the members of the commission in charge of reviewing the national strategy on foreign aid including representatives from the relevant ministries and the Central Bank of Sudan (CBoS) in the presence of the State Minister of Finance Magdi Hassn Yassin.

He told reporters following the meeting, that they began consultations to develop a precise vision to review the national strategy on foreign aid according to the new realities which require controlling the foreign aid and using it in an optimal way and to better define the relationship between Sudan and the donors.

Ali further said that the strategy seeks to define the aid and how it could be used, pointing the review would focus on the international principles included in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (PDAE).

In February 2005, international community came together at the Paris High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. At the Paris meeting, more than 100 signatories—from donor and developing-country governments, multilateral donor agencies, regional development banks and international agencies—endorsed the PDAE.

The PDAE is a roadmap to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development. It gives a series of specific implementation measures and establishes a monitoring system to assess progress and ensure that donors and recipients hold each other accountable for their commitments.

(ST)

July 2, 2016 (NYALA) - Darfur's internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees association has welcomed the United Nations Security Council's (UNSC) resolution to extend the mandate of the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) for additional year.

Peacekeepers from the hybrid African Union-United Nations operation in Darfur (UNAMID) patrol the damaged and empty Labado village in South Darfur on 10 December 2013 (Photo: Reuters/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

On Wednesday, the UNSC unanimously decided to extend UNAMID's mandate until 30 June 2017, stressing that the situation in the western Sudan region continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security.

Deputy Chairman of the IDPs and refugees association Adam Abdalla Idris told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the resolution has aborted a “government conspiracy” to exit the mission before ending the tragedy of the IDPs and refugees.

He stressed that the humanitarian situation of the IDPs and refugees has not yet improved, pointing to the decline in food rations provided by the World Food Programme (WFP).

Idris also pointed to the growing numbers of IDPs particularly in areas around Jebel Marra, saying any attempts to exit the UNAMID would again endanger civilians' lives.

He underscored the need to mandate the mission's troops to protect the IDPs against armed militias, pointing that UNAMID failed to defend the IDPs who grow crops and collect firewood from around the camps against the continued attacks by those militias.

UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in Darfur conflict since 2003, and over 2.5 million were displaced.

UNAMID has been deployed in Darfur since 2007 with a mandate to stem violence against civilians in the restive 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)

July 2, 2016 (JUBA) - Lecturers of the five public universities in South Sudan have announced halting a strike after receiving assurances from the government their demands would be met in due course.

Philip Finish Apollo, Chairperson of the Teaching Staff at the University of Juba and the spokesperson of the coalition of lecturers from the five public universities told reporters on Saturday that the decision was made at the general assembly meeting held on Thursday to review progress made on demands.

Apollo acknowledged the receipt of the salaries for two months and promised to pay the remaining allowances in instalments. He however said they would resume should the government renege.

“It was decided in the general assembly meeting held on Thursday to halt the strike temporary", said Apollo.

"They (officials from ministries of finance and higher education) promised that they will pay us in instalments. So the general assembly agreed to lift the strike from today up to the end of September,” he further said.

Apollo called on all students of the five public universities to attend lectures and asked the administration of the affected higher learning institutions in the country to adjust their calendars and timetables to cover the time lost due to strike.

The decision to call off the strike followed a call by the heads of schools from the University of Juba, the lead university in the country, on lecturers to end the strike, saying it was no longer justifiable after salaries for the months of March, April and May were paid.

(ST)

July 1, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudan government has announced plans to amend the Mining Act to reduce area given to companies and relax preliminary requirements for exploration.

Gold panners in Nanakanak, Eastern Equatoria state, South Sudan. (Source: Hannah McNeish/IRIN)

The proposal, an official said, was presented to the council of ministers, which approved it.

“The minister mining is instructed to coordinate with the minister of justice [Paulino Wanawilla] to make necessary legislation to amend the mining act and present to parliament,” information minister, Michael Makuei told reporters on Friday last week.

The Mining Act 2012, he said, gives exploration companies, large areas for exploration and place many procedures that “actual mining activities.” Makuei did not mention the size land given to mining companies or the specific procedures that impede exploration.

The mining minister, Taban Deng Gai on Thursday met President Salva Kiir on the proposed amendment to the country's Mining Act.

“We discussed the need to invest in minerals exploration [beside oil] to booster our revenues,” Taban told state-owned SSBC after meeting the president.

However, the information minister said on Friday that the minister of finance David Deng Athorbei has been instructed to fund necessary steps required by mining ministry to expedite the amendment process. The finance docket has also been asked to facilitate farming efforts presented by the Agriculture Minister Lam Akol Ajawin on Friday.

South Sudan, which relies on oil revenue for more than 90% of national income, is diversifying its economy in the light of lowering global oil prices.

Amending the country's Mining Act would require justice ministry to table amendment bill in parliament. But the National Legislative Assembly, which is supposed to be expanded to 400 from the current 335 MPs in accordance to the peace agreement, is not yet constituted due to disagreement over selection of the speaker for Transitional National Legislative Assembly (TNLA).

(ST)

July 2, 2016 (JUBA) –The United Nation's Children Funds (UNICEF) said it needs upto $3 million to respond to the recent crisis in South Sudan's town of Wau where it intends to immunize 13,000 children against measles.

UNICEF says children continue experience extreme suffering as a result of conflict in South Sudan and remain vulnerable to disease outbreaks (Photo: F. Noy/UNHCR)

"UNICEF is launching today an urgent measles immunization campaign to protect 13,000 children displaced by fighting in the city of Wau, in South Sudan,” the agency said in a statement.

“UNICEF's funding requirement for the Wau response is US$ 3 million of which just half is available,” it added.

Over 40 people, most of them civilians, were killed in last week's fighting in Wau town with the South Sudanese government blaming the attack on “criminals and bandits”.

Thousands of civilians fled Wau town and others have taken refuge at the UN compound.

UNICEF said its three-day campaign is focused on children aged six months to 14 years, “who have been living in makeshift settlements in the city since the conflict erupted last Friday.”

“In such overcrowded sites, health risks for communities increase considerably,” it added.

“Measles spreads rapidly and one case can very quickly become an outbreak,” said the UNICEF's Representative in South Sudan, Mahimbo Mdoe.

“It's crucial that children living in these crowded conditions are protected from what can be a life-threatening disease,” Mdoe added.

UNICEF is one of the UN agencies working in the displacement sites to reunite children who were separated from their families while running from the fighting. Children are being provided with primary health care and treatment for malnutrition.

Safe water supplies and latrines have also been installed to minimize the spread of disease, while child-friendly spaces have been created so that even in the midst of upheaval children are able to play and learn.

In addition to the support in Wau, teams from UNICEF and partner agencies on Friday reached the remote village of Mboro, to the south, which until recently had been inaccessible due to insecurity. More than two thousand people were given access to health care and 500 children were screened for malnutrition. Those diagnosed as malnourished were provided with therapeutic food supplements.

Residents said they were living in the bush without shelter for fear of further violence. They also said they were surviving on whatever food they could forage.

Given the high insecurity in Wau, UNICEF said it was particularly concerned about the well-being of displaced women and girls in and around the temporary sites. Conflict and population movements traditionally hit women and girls the hardest, as they become exposed to sexual violence and exploitation.

“When conflict and violence hit communities and people are forced to flee, support networks become weaker and the first to feel the impact are the most vulnerable,” said Mdoe. ”UNICEF is working around the clock with partners on the ground to ensure that medical and support services are available and that safe spaces are created so that women and girls can speak freely and seek help if they need it.”

(ST)

July 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - A member of the government negotiating team on the conflict in the Two Areas Saturday said his team would meet with the chief African mediator Thabo Mbeki following the Eid al-Fitr (the Festival of Fast-Breaking) to discuss the latest developments on the Roadmap Agreement.

Sudan's Presidential aide Ibrahim Moahmoud Hamid and AUHIP chair sign the Roadmap Agreement in Addis Ababa on 21 March 2016 (courtesy photo of AUHIP )

Last March, the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) proposed a roadmap agreement to the Sudanese government and four opposition groups from the Sudan Call forces.

However, only Khartoum government signed the framework text while the four groups declined the text, saying the Roadmap would reproduce the regime.

The opposition groups handed over a supplemental document to Mbeki and vowed to reconsider their rejection of the Roadmap if he accepts it to ensure that the Roadmap becomes a gateway to an equal, serious and fruitful dialogue.

In his reply to the opposition, the chief mediator said in his quality as facilitator he cannot hold such negotiations with any of the Sudanese parties, pointing that he forwarded the proposal to the Sudanese government and requested its response.

On Wednesday, the Sudanese government told the U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald Booth, that it sticks to the Roadmap and refuses the supplemental agreement proposed by the opposition.

Member of the government negotiating team on the conflict in the Two Areas Hussein Karshoom revealed that his team will meet with Mbeki after Eid al-Fitr to discuss the latest developments on the Roadmap, saying the government has furnished the mediation with some clarifications on the peace plan.

He told the semi-government Sudan Media Center (SMC) that his team will meet with the Sudan Call if they sign the Roadmap in order to arrange for the cessation of hostilities and agree on the security and humanitarian issues besides completing the framework agreement which they had previously agreed on 90% of its items.

South Kordofan and neighbouring Blue Nile state have been the scene of violent conflict between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) and Sudanese army since 2011.

Last December, negotiations between Khartoum and the SPLM-N stalled after the government delegation insisted that the objective of talks is to settle the conflict in the Two Areas, while the SPLM-N team has called for a holistic approach to resolve ongoing conflicts across Sudan.

Karshoom stressed government readiness to continue the talks if the opposition signs the Roadmap as a general framework that paves the way for holding the national dialogue with the participation of the holdout groups.

The opposition calls to hold a preparatory meeting for the national dialogue; ensuring political and press freedoms, release of political detainees and to set up a transitional government to implement the outcome of the national dialogue.

Karshoom further renewed the government rejection to any supplemental documents to the Roadmap, saying the peace plan has received large support.

The Sudanese government has received widespread international and regional support for the signing of the Roadmap. The UN chief, African Union chairperson, the United Kingdom and the United States have also urged the opposition groups to join the peace plan.

(ST)

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

The twenty-seventh anniversary of the ill-fated coup of the misnomer National Salvation Revolution (NSR), Ingaz for short landed on Thursday 30 June 2016 Gregorian Calendar, 25th of the Holy Month of Ramadan 1437 Hijri Calendar.

Thursday 30, June 2016 marked the 27th Anniversary for the fateful coming through a military Coup d'état of the National Islamic Front (NIF), the International Muslim Brotherhood Movement (MBM) branch in Sudan.

The (NIF), as soon as rested assured on the helm, considered the people of Sudan in the Southern Sudan, region of Darfur and the marginalised territories as its prime enemies and declared Jihad warfare against the citizens. They classified Sudanese people according to the concept of either with us or against us. In their quest for empowerment, (NIF) hard liners adopted a policy of dismissal of government employees allegedly thought potentially disloyal under the pretext of the so-called 'Public Good/Interest'. Thus, hundreds of worker and officials in the Civil Service have been dismissed and replaced by inept unqualified individuals affiliated to the (NIF). The (NIF) Putschists gave the nickname of (Dismissal for Pubic Good) that phenomenologically farcical process.

Furthermore, they portrayed the war against the Southern Sudan, Sudan People's Liberation Movement Army (SPLM/A) Rebels as a Jihad employing the regular Sudan Armed Force (SAF) and the militia Popular Defence Forces (PDF) which they portrayed as Mujahideen. The Majority of the (PDF) were conscripts from amongst high school, college and university students. Regular TV programme calling for jihad against the infidels known as (In the backyards of redemption) accompanied. NIF described their dead as martyrs and described the other dead in southern Sudan war as (Matt Fetaiz) , the phrase means that others slain by their army as Rotten Fetid Corpses- according to their own words and phraseology. On the political front, the putschist regime dissolved the parliament, political parties and their representatives, who were members of it and imposed emergency laws all over the Sudan, and seized the banks and they by virtue of a deterrent decreed penalty included lunching for every person who owned hard foreign currencies such as the US dollar, British Pound after the forfeiture and the confiscation of the amount. Moreover, they claimed that they came with what they called as Civilisational Project and Apostolic Orientation for the Islamisation of Sudan and the people of the country. Furthermore, they claimed that they will fight America and Russia which their Torment has approached they have met what hurts them, so to speak! However, hypocrisy is lanyard as the popular saying goes, and very soon the putschists agreed secretly with the US intelligence agency (CIA) to provide intelligence on the movements of Islamic jihadist terrorists that had taken Khartoum as a safe haven refuge.

The putschist entity of (NIF) had committed a heinous crime against their companions in the Sudan Armed Force (SAF), which included non-commissioned officers and officers of more than thirty on the pretext that they were involved in an alleged military coup attempt against them. The Execution of those 28 military officers took place on the Holy Month of Ramadan, which coincided April 23, 1990 in an ugly image representing treachery and betrayal. Thus, began the first step towards dismantling the Sudanese army in favour of the lords of the National Islamic Front (NIF) until the armed forces have become a monopoly; but later replaced by the Janjaweed militias and mercenaries that waged proxy civil wars on behalf of Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir and his entourage against the Sudanese unarmed noncombatant civilian citizens in Darfur where crimes of genocide have been systematically committed, 27 years on to date.

Darfur Forced to Take up to Arms
Moreover, when the people of Darfur who have suffered from systematic marginalisation by the successive governments led by the political elites, the majority of whom were descendants from the Northern Region since the Independence of Sudan in January 1956 from British colonialists rule. The then Brigadier Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, virtually the leader of the regime, said publicly that he would not negotiate with anyone who did not carry weapons. Bashir's statement forced the young men of the Region to take up to arms on February 2003 in quest for the legitimate rights of citizenship which include wealth sharing and power sharing and removal of systematic marginalisation and chronic deprivation which they and their people suffered and rights have been denied for so long. Moreover, they included those grievances in the Black Book imbalance of power and wealth in Sudan written around the end of the year 1999 by intellectuals from the Darfur region, a group led by Martyr Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Muhammad, Allah forgive him and bless his soul.

The Janjaweed unleashed to run havoc
When army and Janjaweed militias of the regime subjected to defeats at the hands of gallant Darfur armed movements rebel forces in all locations and battle fields, the Khartoum government has decided to take revenge on civilians rather than confronting the rebels. It unleashed the Janjaweed militias to wreak havoc and corruption on earth, burning villages and looting property of citizens and killing women, kids and the elderly. Based on the war crimes perpetrated in the form of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide, the international Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant to apprehend the head of the regime Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. Furthermore, the (ICC) issued arrest warrants of the former defence Minister Abdelrahim Mohammed Hussein and Ahmed Mohamed Haroun, former state minister of interior, and Ali Abdelrahman Kushayb, leader of the Janjaweed militias, all of whom remain fugitives from international justice. Moreover, the NCP regime in order to be capable to carry out further atrocious crimes against the people of Sudan in Darfur, worked relentlessly for getting rid of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). However, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) continued extending the period of the (UNAMID) Force yearly. Accordingly, the UN Security Council and the Peace and Security Council of the African Union have considered extending the Mandate of (UNAMID) for 12 months, until 30 June 2017, without modifying its priorities or adjusting its authorized troop and police ceiling. http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=S/2016/510.

NCP regime waging War on Citizens while swathes of Sudan's land occupied by Foreigners
The (NCP) regime has been waging futile warfare against fellow citizens while swathes of the soil of Sudan remain under the occupation by foreign neighbouring countries. These are the Sudanese territories occupied by the Egyptian army in Halayeb and Shalateen In addition to an area of 600 thousand in Fashaga occupied by Ethiopia. The (NCP) regime behaves, as the popular proverb says, he behaves as a lion on unarmed noncombatant civilian citizens of Sudan in Darfur though just an Ostrich in wars with who attacked and seized a vast swathes of areas of the dear homeland!

Inciting Intertribal Warfare
Furthermore, in the Darfur region, the regime of the NCP sought in addition to the crimes of genocide to fragment the eternal social fabric of the citizens by dividing the region into five states based on the tribal lines. As expected, that led into tribal strife and intertribal warfare. Worse, the regime held a bogus referendum for the revocation of the region so as the word and opinion of the people of Darfur fragmented and divided toward their vital issues. Thus, the NCP regime vehemently opposed to Darfur remaining as one region and opted for dismantling it into warring tribal cantons with fragmentation of the social fabric.

Systematic Government Corruption Widespread
The epidemic of government corruption remained widely spread in the decadence era of the (NIF). They looted the country's oil and gold revenues to foreign banks under the names of relatives of influential people in the regime of the National Congress Party accounts. Furthermore, the putschists as well as sold the major productive state institutions such as the Gezira irrigated agriculture project, Sudan Airways, Sudan Shipping Lines, Sudan railway corporation and privatization of education and health services and so on! Moreover, they sold the famous Sudan House in the Knight Bridge neighborhood in London cheaply to a crony investor of the (NCP) regime as well selling the airstrip of the Sudan Airways (Sudan air) at Heathrow Airport. For the legalization of corruption, the Islamism regime of the (NCP) decided to urge the religious Sheikhs affiliated to it introducing the so-called (Tahalul), meaning biodegradable decomposition and disintegration, which according to their Religious Fatwa removes “Haram” and make it Halal! Still the worse is on the way. The racist supremacist elements in the regime made the unity in Sudan unattractive to the citizens of Southern Sudan through racism by making them take the option of secession and formation of their own nascent state, South Sudan, in 2011. There are plenty of calamities brought about by the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) to the disenfranchised people of Sudan, but the space does not accommodate the entire reminder.

The genocidal criminal Omar al-Bashir and his Islamism claiming entourage will remain held responsible for the heinous crimes they perpetrated in the rights of the Sudanese people over the 27 lean years of oppressive putschist regime. Thus, autocracy and reign of terror continued for past 27 years despite the fact that the people of Sudan used in the past staunch advocates of fighting for freedom, October 21, 1964 and April 1985 Revolutions as examples.

Unlimited support the genocidal criminal Omar al-Bashir from the African Union
Omar al-Bashir and his regime took proxy civil wars of attrition safe haven to protect him from the International Court of Court's (ICC) grip, which has been pursuing him since 2009. This is in addition to the support he receives from the Dictators Club called the African Union (AU) based in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa. Most of the members of the forum there are afraid of the spin of the circle upon them and fall under the accountability of the international Tribunal. Majority of the Club Members practiced systemic repression and continued committing atrocities against the people of their countries.

Support from Some members in the International Community
The (NCP) regime receives political support provided by some permanent members of the UN Security Council. That support is in lieu of the intersecting interests in the form of intelligence on terrorism by the Islamic Jihadi groups from Egypt, Libya and other neighboring countries, which take Khartoum as refuge on their belief that the Islamist regime of the National Congress Party would give them protection.

EU –Sudan agreement to Curb Migration exodus to Europe
It is not so exciting or surprising if we look at what the European Union (EU) recently trying to strike a deal with Khartoum. (EU) planned for reaching an agreement with the ruling regime in Sudan for reducing migrants coming from the Horn of Africa countries to Europe through Libya. Germany is to provide an amount of one hundred million euros to Sudan, in addition to the establishment of camps in Eastern Sudan for refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia, and Somalia. Moreover, there is other additional package of facilities for the training of Sudanese police in Germany to carry out the task of reducing immigration to Europe. They ignored and flouted all the crimes committed by the head of the ruling regime of the NCP, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir against humanity against the people of Sudan in Darfur, and fugitive from international justice and indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Machiavellian doctrine of end justify the means continues in operation.

Edmund Burke the British-Irish Politician, Author, Orator, Political theorist, and Philosopher has been quoted as saying: (All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent).
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/e/edmundburk136431.html?src=t_tyrannyAll

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

June 17, 2015 (RAJA) – The governor of the newly created Lol state [Western Bahr el Ghazal], Rizik Zachariah Hassan, on Friday accused forces of the opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) of allegedly carrying out the recent deadly attack on his state capital, Raja, which led to the brief fall of the administrative headquarters.

Western Bahr el Ghazal governor Rizik Zachariah Hassan (FILE)

Governor Hassan said the forces that captured the state capital on Wednesday were members of the SPLA-IO under the leadership of the First Vice President, Riek Machar, adding that their motive behind the attack was to gain recognition of presence in Bahr el Ghazal region.

“Their motive is to prove to the international community that they are around in Bahr el-Ghazal that is their only strategic motive,” Governor Hassan, who narrowly escaped, told Sudan Tribune on Friday in his first public statement since he deserted the state capital on Wednesday.

He said several officers and soldiers, including some of his personal bodyguards were killed during the attack.

“From my personal bodyguards, I lost seven of them that is what happened. We withdrew and we managed to take hold and liberate the town after one hour right now we have taken full control of Raja town,” said Hassan.

Meanwhile Raja county commissioner, Alamin Janga, said another motive of the attackers was a protest against the establishment of Lol state which put together people of Dinka Aweil and non-Dinka tribes of Raja under one state.

“The motive of this group is that they do not want Lol state, they want a separate state of Raja alone,” he said.

Commissioner Janga said the group voluntarily withdrew from the town after looting most of the town's valuable including 30 million South Sudanese pounds from bank, contradicting governor's statement and that of the army's spokesperson, Brig Lul Ruai Koang, that they liberated the town by repulsing the attackers.

Raja county commissioner also said the attackers have gone away with 75 prisoners after they broke into Raja prison and released them, adding some of the inmates were serving a sentence of up to 20 years.

Till now, he added, it is not safe for civilians to return to Raja town, saying “all humanitarian workers have yesterday been evacuated from Raja to Awiel.”

On Thursday, the SPLM-O's undersecretary for information and public relations national committee, William Ezekiel, condemned the attack, but said their forces were not involved.

Ezekiel denied the SPLA-IO forces have carried out the attack and called on the parties to establish cantonment of the forces to control what he called “unknown gunmen” from destabilizing the peace implementation process.

(ST)

June 17, 2016 (JUBA) - The governor of Lol state, one of the newly created controversial 28 states in South Sudan through a presidential decree against the constitutional 10 states, has relocated to Nyamellel town in Aweil West area.

Rizik Zachariah Hassan, Governor of Lol state (UN photo)

The move for the relocation of governor Rizik Zechariah Hassan, followed the attack in which armed men overran Raja town, the administrative headquarters of the new state, after it came under heavy gunfire on Wednesday, forcing him and his cabinet members to flee in disarray.

The state capital fell under the control of the unknown gunmen, which the government described as “bandits” and “criminals” before they withdrew in the evening of Wednesday.

In statements to Sudan Tribune, Governor Hassan, who confirmed fleeing to Khor Shamam, an area which the Sudanese rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement have been allegedly been using as one of their bases near Raja, later returned to Raja town where he met government forces who eventually assisted him to leave the area again in the same evening of Wednesday.

He was given military escorts to accompany him pass through a thick forest, following the route passing through Deimzuber and Awada areas, before crossing to Aroyo town, the administrative headquarters of Aweil south area which falls under the administrative jurisdiction of the newly created neighbouring Aweil state.

Raja, which is the state capital, according to officials accompanying the governor, was not yet safe, citing that the unknown gunmen could return any time.

Hassan reached Aweil town on Thursday where he was received by members of his government who had fled the attack earlier on Wednesday and walked to Nyamellel town which is under the jurisdiction of Raja state.

Officials close to him as well as some of his cabinet members were keen to underline that he wanted to stay in a territory under his administrative jurisdiction where he would initiate contacts with the president and other high ranking government officials and military officers in the country.

Governor Hassan, according to several of his aides, who were accompanying him, described him as having been “visibly tired and exhausted.”

Speaking in an exclusive interview on Friday, governor Hassan confirmed to Sudan Tribune that he was in Nyamellel town preparing to brief communities in the area about what transpired in Raja.

He said security situation in Raja was now calm and under control of the government forces following a military takeover of the town.

The governor described the armed men who carried out the attack in which government officials were targeted as an act of anti-government and peace. He said armed men had looted the town and displaced many civilians but were now returning to their homes after assurances from the government forces.

“The security situation is now under control. The attack which took place on Wednesday was carried out by anti-government forces but they have been repulsed. The town is now under the control of our forces. The civilians are now returning to their homes and everything will be okay. Yes, they have looted the town and broke the banks,” he said.

(ST)

June 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM)- The Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir declared on Friday a four-month unilateral cessation of hostilities in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir listen to the National anthem during opening session of Sudan National Dialogue conference October 10, 2015 (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

The Sudanese government has been fighting the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North rebels in the Two Areas since June 2011.

The ceasefire, which will take effect at one minute past midnight on Saturday, “comes as goodwill gesture to give an opportunity for the rebel movements that did not sign the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur to lay down arms and to join the peace process in Sudan," further said the official Sudan News Agency (SUNA).

Also, the truce renews the call of the President of the Republic for all the political forces and armed movements to join the national dialogue process before the general assembly of the national dialogue which will be held on the 6th of August, SUNA stressed.

The unilateral cessation of hostilities intervenes as the armed groups and their allied political forces are holding a meeting in Addis Ababa to discuss the way forward after their rejection of the Roadmap Agreement last March.

On 28 April 2016, Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) declared a six- month unilateral cessation of hostilities, and urged African Union mediators to organize a meeting with the government to make it effective .

Last September before the national dialogue general assembly of 10 October 2015, the Sudanese president issued a republican decree declaring a truce for two months in the two areas and Darfur region and granted general amnesty for the armed movements that would join in the national dialogue conference.

(ST)

June 17, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - A consultative meeting of the opposition alliance of the Sudan Call forces that was scheduled to be held on Thursday in Addis Ababa has been delayed due to the late arrival of two rebel leaders to the Ethiopian capital.

Sudan Call leders pose outside the AUPSC building in Addis Ababa on 24 August - (Photo ST)

Reliable sources told Sudan Tribune that leaders of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) Minni Minnawi and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) Gibril Ibrahim have arrived in Addis Ababa on Friday, saying the delay was caused by visa problems.

Leaders of the National Umma Party (NUP) al-Sadiq al-Mahdi and the Sudanese Congress Party (SoCP) Omer el-Digair had arrived in Addis Ababa on Thursday to take part in the meeting.

The meeting is expected to tackle organizational issues pertaining to the alliance's structures besides a proposed meeting with the chief African mediator Thabo Mbeki to discus reservations of the Sudan Call forces on the Roadmap Agreement.

Sudan Call leaders will also meet with the international envoys upon an invitation from the US envoy to Sudan and South Sudan Donald Booth to discuss the peace plan.

Three armed groups including the JEM, SLM-MM, Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the NUP last March refused a Roadmap Agreement for peace brokered by Mbeki, saying it would reproduce the regime.

The international community continues to exert efforts in a bid to bridge the gaps and bring them to ink the Roadmap Agreement, considering it represents a good opportunity to end war in Sudan and to open humanitarian access to the needy in the war affected areas.

The holdout groups say they reject the roadmap because, among others, it excludes their allies in the opposition and because they want an inclusive process. Nonetheless, they accept to continue discussions over the peace plan with the African mediation and the international facilitators.

However, their allies of the left parties, gathered in the National Consensus Forces (NCF) declined to participate in such meetings over the peace negotiations, saying they are not concerned by the dialogue with the regime.

(ST)