Sudan Tribune

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

June 7, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Senior military officials from Ethiopia and Sudan on Monday began holding security talks in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

The secretive Red Sea nation, bordering Sudan and Ethiopia, has been dubbed the North Korea of Africa (HRW)

The two East African nations are consulting on ways of how to combat regional security threats, ensure peace and safeguard their common border.

Among others, terrorism, extremism, human trafficking, uncontrolled migration, cross-border crime, and illicit trade are issues being discussed.

It was disclosed at the meeting that the strategic relations between the two neighbors particularly in military cooperation has boosted border peace and security.

In 2014, Ethiopia and Sudan reached an agreement establish a joint military force which would operate under the same command. The joint military cooperation also aims to jointly defend external aggression and terrorist attacks.

The military leaders are consulting on much better ways to reinforce the existing security cooperation aimed on curbing border insecurity and on safeguarding the sovereignty of the shared border.

Similar security talks were also held in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum last year.

Ethiopia and Sudan have a number of cooperation agreements, including on security, trade, transport and investment.

PORT SUDAN

Ethiopia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sudan for the better utilization of Port Sudan, the state-run Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation reported.

The MOU was signed last week after both sides discussed ways of boosting bilateral trade and investment partnership. It was signed between Debretsion Gebremichael, Ethiopia's Finance and economic cluster and communication and information technology minister and Sudan's vice president Hasabu Mohamed Abdelrahman.

Gebremichael said the MOU is meant to develop Port Sudan for the mutual benefit of both countries.

The agreement will allow Ethiopia to better utilize Port Sudan for its import-export trade.

Sudan's vice president to his part stressed a need from the two sides to translate the political will in to economic advantage.

The two nations have agreed to work in order to enhance their economic cooperation.

(ST)

June 8, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese rival leaders have issued two separate statements approving and disowning an opinion article purporting to have been written by President Salva Kiir and his First Deputy in government, Riek Machar, in which they allegedly called for global support for reconciliation at the expense of justice.

Riek Machar, left, first vice president of the Republic of South Sudan, and Salva Kiir, the president, at the first meeting of the new transitional coalition government in Juba, South Sudan, in April, 2016 (Jason Patinkin/AP)

Presidential spokesperson, Ateny Wek Ateny, confirmed the authenticity of the article co-authored by the two leaders, asserting that the duo wanted to inform the leaders of working together to implement the peace and to build trust between them in order to move the nation forward.

“The intention is that President and the First Vice President wanted to inform the international community that you know they have now come back to cooperation and they are listening to each other. You know they have actually built mutual trust between themselves and they are now for full implementation of the peace agreement on the resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and they are appealing to the international community to help in building the nation and reconcile the people of South Sudan in as much as they can,” said Ateny on Wednesday.

But while Ateny confirmed the veracity of the article, Machar's spokesperson, James Gatdet Dak, dismissed as untrue that neither his boss nor the leadership of the armed opposition of SPLM-IO had knowledge or approval of the document.

"The article published by New York Times alleging that First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, had agreed with President, Salva Kiir, to avoid justice or trials for those responsible for the atrocities committed in the war is not true. Somebody must have written it without the knowledge and agreement of the SPLM-IO leadership. We dismiss this allegation as false,” Dak wrote on his Facebook page.

Reacting to the report, Peter Gatdet Yak, one of rebel commanders who defected from Machar's SPLM-IO faction said he was not surprised the two leaders were only after their interest and careless about the victims of the war they caused.

“Have you not seen how selfish they have become? They caused the war to kill innocent people in fulfilment of their ambitions and interests and now they are saying accountability can be compromised because they have gotten what they want. Kiir has retained his position and Riek returned to his position. South Sudan does not belong to them and the children of the people they have killed do not belong to them. The people have now seen what they [Kiir and Riek] have become,” said General Yak when reached to comment on the report on Wednesday.

The two leaders, according to the report by the New York Times, declared commitment to ensuring that the country never again goes through a civil war. They said they have come together after a peace agreement signed in August 2015 as brothers once more in government and determined to reconcile communities and create unity.

“We intend to create a national truth and reconciliation commission modelled on those of South Africa and Northern Ireland. This commission would have wide-ranging powers to investigate and interview the people of South Sudan — from the poorest farmer to the most powerful politician — to compile a true account of events during the war. Those who tell the truth about what they saw or did would be granted amnesty from prosecution — even if they did not express remorse,” the article published on Tuesday carrying the names of president Kiir and Machar reads in part.

In Northern Ireland, according to the piece, a peace process brought bitter enemies to the negotiating table under a pledge of legal amnesty, and then into high office.

“Now, the country has guaranteed peace. “The same is possible in South Sudan,” it argued.

The leaders allegedly further argued that they did not wish to forget what happened during the civil conflict but that it should serve as opportunity and a lesson to avoid a repeat of similar incident in future.

“The recollection of the catastrophe unleashed during those terrible months must remain in our memories as a warning. Neither side won our war. But both sides, together, must now win the peace. That is all that matters. In that quest, it is why anything that might divide our nation is against our people's best interests,” the alleged opinion article further stressed.

However, opposition faction of the SPLM-IO said the document was falsified and were not aware of it.

(ST)

June 8, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese first vice president, Riek Machar, who also leads the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), has dismissed the allegation that he and President Salva Kiir had launched a joint appeal to scrap justice and accountability mechanism from the August 2015 peace agreement.

SPLM (IO) Chairman, Riek Machar, addressing the 2nd National Liberation Council (NLC) meeting in Pagak, November 5, 2015 (ST Photo)

In a letter published by The New York Times on Tuesday as well as later by other international media houses including the Guardian, the document allegedly authored by both President Kiir and his first deputy, Machar, called on the international community to avoid establishment of a tribunal court for the crimes committed during the war.

The two leaders, in the document, allegedly instead asked for support in supporting truth and reconciliation mechanisms, citing pursuit of justice and accountability as problematic.

“In contrast to reconciliation, disciplinary justice — even if delivered under international law — would destabilize efforts to unite our nation by keeping alive anger and hatred among the people of South Sudan,” partly reads the alleged joint appeal published by US-based The New York Times on Tuesday, bearing names of President Kiir and First Vice President, Machar.

The two top rival leaders in the country allegedly called on the international community to consider the current state of South Sudan, arguing that years of war have left South Sudan with one of the highest levels of military spending by gross domestic product in the world.

“That is why we call on the international community, and the United States and Britain in particular, to reconsider one element of the peace agreement to which they are cosignatories: support for a planned international tribunal, the Hybrid Court for South Sudan. We call on them instead to commit to global backing for a mediated peace, truth and reconciliation process,” they said.

The army and its former opponents, the document argued, now need to be integrated and this would involve tens of thousands of soldiers who must be decommissioned and introduced into civilian life.

“We fear that this task could be put in jeopardy if members of once opposing forces — from officers to privates — find themselves targeted with legal action. It is easy to see how some people, having known nothing but war, may prefer to return to the battlefield than stand trial in a foreign country.”

However, in response to the allegation, Machar's press secretary, James Gatdet Dak, said the SPLM-IO's leader had never authored the alleged document, saying the opposition's leadership is committed to justice and accountability.

“The alleged joint appeal to drop the justice and accountability mechanism in the August 2015 peace agreement is untrue. His Excellency Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon has never authored that article,” Dak told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday.

Dak said Machar and the SPLM-IO leadership is committed to both justice and accountability on one hand and reconciliation and reconciliation on the other.

“SPLM/SPLA (IO) leadership is committed to justice and accountability as it is also committed to truth, reconciliation and healing. These two mechanisms are stipulated in the peace agreement,” he said.

Dak said it is up to The New York Times to reveal its source of the false document, saying the SPLM-IO leader, Machar, is not aware of the document.

When asked whether President Kiir was aware of the document, Dak replied that he could not speak for the president's office.

“Well, I don't speak on behalf of the President's office. I don't know if they knew about the alleged appeal to drop justice and accountability mechanism or what they thought about it,” he added.

“As for the First Vice President, he has nothing to do with the alleged document. I did consult with him and he was surprised to learn about the document being circulated in the media. The document is falsified,” Dak added.

He said the document could have been written by those who attempted to dodge justice and accountability for gross crimes they committed during the 21 months of the civil war.

(ST)

June 8, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - 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.

This handout picture released by the Italian police on June 8, 2016 shows Medhanie Yehdego Mered, 35, an Eritrean suspected of controlling a migrant trafficking network, escorted by policemen upon his extradition from Sudan to Italy late on June 6, 2016. (AFP Photo)

In a joint statement Wednesday, the Sudanese Ministry of Interior, the British Embassy and the Italian Embassy in Khartoum said that “Mered Yehdego Medhanie, a 35 year old Eritrean national, was extradited from Sudan to Italy yesterday after being arrested in Khartoum on 24 May”.

“The arrest was only possible thanks to intense international cooperation between the Sudanese National Police and the United Kingdom National Crime Agency together with the Palermo Prosecutors, the Italian Police, the Sudanese and Italian Ministries of Justice and Interior,” read the statement.

According to the statement “Medhanie is accused of masterminding one of the major criminal groups operating in central Africa and Libya, smuggling migrants across the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean Sea”.

It pointed that the charges against Medhanie show that “he was moving hundreds of people a month across the Mediterranean”, saying he has been involved in this activity since 2013.

The statement said that an investigation conducted by the Italian authorities has led to the issuance of 24 arrest warrants on 24 April, 2015.

“Italian telephone interceptions showed that users of monitored mobile phones were constantly on the move, between Libya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the UAE and a number of European countries, highlighting the transnational dimension of the criminal activity,” added the statement.

The Italian investigation confirmed Medhanie's frequent involvement in organising ‘journeys' across the Mediterranean towards the Sicilian shores.

“Medhanie remained at large for several months before becoming the subject of an international arrest warrant requested by Palermo judicial authority in Italy” said the statement.

According to Reuters, Medhanie is suspected of working with an Ethiopian, Ghermay Ermias, who is still at large, prosecutors said. He is reportedly still in the lawless Libya.

On Wednesday, the United Nations said that the number of people who have died crossing the Mediterranean in an attempt to reach Europe has topped 10,000 since 2014, pointing that this year has seen a sharp uptick in deaths, with more than 2,800 people drowning since January alone.

It is worth to mentions that Sudan has forged a strategic partnership with several European countries and the European Union (EU) to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

Sudan has been under EU sanctions since the 1989 coup d'état and didn't receive any development aid from Europe.

However, the European body reconsidered its position following the weaves of illegal migrants from Syria, Iraq, and Horn of Africa countries. Sudan is identified as a source of migrants to Europe and a transit country for migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

Last April the EU officially allocated Sudan 100 million Euro to improve the living conditions for refugees, help Sudanese returnees to reintegrate back into society, and to improve security at the border.

In addition to this support, Sudan benefits from additional funding under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, in particular from a €40 million programme to better manage migration in the region.

Also, the German government has earmarked €12 million for projects aimed at stemming illegal immigration of Africans across Sudan to Europe.

In January 2014, the Sudanese parliament approved an anti-human trafficking law which punishes those involved with human trafficking with up to 20 years imprisonment.

Also, in 2014, Khartoum hosted a conference on human trafficking in the Horn of Africa, organised by the African Union (AU), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Sudanese government.

Fifteen countries and EU representatives attended the meeting, during which a joint strategy and action plan to combat human trafficking was adopted.

(ST)

June 8, 2016 (BOR) – At least four people, including an elderly lady, were injured in an attack that occurred in Twic East county of Jonglei state on Tuesday, an official said.

Twic East county commissioner Dau Akoi speaks in Panyagoor town on July 9, 2012 (ST/File)

The county commissioner, Dau Akoi Jurkuch, said it was a coordinated attack involving over 30 armed men suspected to be from Murle tribe.

“Although Twic had experienced frequent raiding and child abduction, but an attack of this kind had never occurred in Twic East county. The previous attacks occurred because the attackers aimed at cattle or children, but this one was planned just to kill people, no child abducted or any single head of cattle stolen,” said Akoi.

“It was also a well-coordinated attack that supervised the people”, he added, accusing the youth of Gumuruk county of allegedly carrying out the coordinated attack in Twic East.

“The police and army together with the youth followed the attackers and returned after more than 24 hours. They had gone to the direction of Gumuruk”, Akoi told Sudan Tribune.

The commissioner of Gumuruk, Joseph Oleyo could not be reached for a comment.

Since January 2016, Twic East county has suffered loses, including 10 cases of children abducted. 23 people have reportedly been killed and over 20 injured in the same period.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The chairman of the National Umma Party, al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, Monday said the outcome of the government sponsored National Dialogue Conference (NDC) has encouraged the opposition Sudan Call forces to stick to its demands for just peace and democratic reforms .

Malik Agar, SRF leader (L) and Sadiq al-Mahdi NUP president shake hands after the signing of Paris Declaration on 8 August 2014 (ST Photo)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the leader of the opposition National Umma Party (NUP) disclosed he got a copy of the recommendations that the conference has reached and stressed they are surprisingly identical with so many agendas that the opposition forces are calling for.

“Since several days I read the recommendations of the (NDC) six committees, and the recommendations of the social dialogue. And I was struck that these recommendations coincided with the desired (opposition) agenda in many (dispositions),” al-Mahdi said.

He further said that the Sudan Call forces will stick to its platform and work for a popular peaceful mobilization to achieve its legitimate demands or holding a national dialogue process leading towards the same goals.

Mahdi in his four-page statement enumerated several disposition included in the NDC recommendations such as the immediate cessation of hostilities and talks for a permanent ceasefire agreement, release of political detainees and prisoners, return of IDPs to their areas of origin after ensuring their security, release of public freedoms.

He stressed that other Sudanese forces are now advocating for similar or alike legitimate demands, which are now "achievable even outside the framework of the African Union sponsored dialogue process".

The opposition leader last week met with the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki and proposed him to meet the Sudanese Revolutionary Forces (SRF) again, pointing that the proposed Framework Agreement responds partially to the demand of the opposition groups for an equal dialogue.

The statement of the NUP leader also mentioned a memo labelled ''the National Initiative for Peace and Reform'' handed over by 52 national figures to the Sudanese presidency calling on al-Bashir to establish a transitional government to address the national crises and make structural change in the system of governance.

In January 2014, Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir announced in a televised address to the nation a four-point plan for constitutional reforms "to stop the war and bring peace, political freedoms, fight against poverty and revitalise national identity".

In October 2015, the national dialogue conference started amid calls to boycott it by the main opposition forces and armed groups in the country.

The National Dialogue Higher Committee said it would hold its next general assembly in October in order to adopt formally the recommendations
.
(ST)

June 06, 2016 (JUBA) - The teaching staff in South Sudan's five public universities have defied orders by the higher education minister to end strikes over unpaid wages.

South Sudan minister of higher education Peter Adwok Nyaba (2nd Right) is welcome by South Sudan students' leader Abraham Thon (R) as South Sudan deputy head of mission in Kampala Ador Akok (2nd Left) looks on. September 17, 2011. Kampala, Uganda. (Photo: ST/Philip Thon Aleu)

During a meeting convened at Juba University Monday, the teaching staff urged minister Peter Adwok Nyaba to withdraw his “threatening letter or resign.”

“We are going to write a very strong letter in response to this letter of the minister. He has to apologise or else we call for his resignation,” Philip Apollo, the spokesman for South Sudan Public Universities Staffs' Association told reporters Monday.

The lecturers claim the vice chancellors were "becoming a thorn” within the teaching staffs.

“We want to include our VC [Vice Chancellor] because he is becoming a thorn to us. He is also to be notified in the letter that if he continue intimidating, we will also call for his removal,” further stressed the spokesperson for the staff association.

Minister Adwok, in a letter dated 2 June 2016, ordered the lecturers to end with immediate effect their strike or “face punitively consequences” for continued striking.

Most of the lecturers, who are earn between SSP 10,000 ($250) and SSP 17,000 ($450) say these “meagre wages” were usually not paid on time. They now say failure by the government to pay their salaries and the threats to have them dismissed from the university clearly indicates government's insensitivity to the teaching staff welfare.

The education minister, however, denied accusations labelled by the staff against him.

“The delay is because of the current economic situation in the country. Once there is money, they will be paid and this is what I said,” Adwok told Sudan Tribune Monday.

“As for their arrears, they will be paid when the country is in position to pay people,” he added, but did not elaborate further on the matter.

South Sudan's economy is in a crisis after conflict led to closure of oilfields and lower global oil prices. Oil revenues account for more than 98% of the country's annual budget.

The state-owned universities of Juba, John Garang Memorial University, Rumbek, Upper Nile and Western Bahr El-Ghazal have not paid staffs for three months. The teaching lecturers have reportedly not received transport, housing and medical allowances for 10 months, prompting them to lay down their tools two weeks ago.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (NAIROBI) – Protests against the membership of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) have continued into the second month throughout Kenya, including in the capital, Nairobi.

A Kenyan riot policeman repeatedly kicks a protester as he lies in the street after tripping over while trying to flee from them, during a protest in downtown Nairobi, Kenya Monday, May 16, 2016 (Photo AP/Ben Curtis)

IEBC, a body appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, is tasked to organize the upcoming Kenya elections in August 2017, about 15 months from now.

However, the main rival parties, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), a coalition of multiple political parties, under the overall leadership of Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Moses Wetangula, has organized the protest, accusing appointed members of IEBC of corruption and lack of integrity.

As reported by the Kenya's Citizen TV, Monday's protest in Nairobi city center was different from what has been experienced in the past weeks, with CORD leaders and their supporters marching from Uhuru Park through Kenyatta Avenue and Moi Avenue to Anniversary Towers then back to Uhuru Park without making stops or public addresses.

Previous attempts to march through the city center were thwarted by the police who prevented CORD supporters from assembling and protesting.

CORD leaders have demanded that the current membership of the electoral body be dissolved and another membership reconstituted, putting into consideration the concerns of other political parties in the country.

Talks between President Kenyatta, who leads Jubilee group, and CORD chairman, Odinga, could not bring a breakthrough although the President expressed interest to resolve the matter mutually.

CORD leader, Odinga, has revealed that officials of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission visited him on Sunday evening to try and persuade him to hold talks with them over the ongoing impasse.

Odinga however said that he turned down the request saying the time for dialogue with the commissioners had ended and that the only way out for them now was to vacate office.

He commended CORD supporters for remaining peaceful throughout the protests saying they would hold the protests twice every week if Jubilee does not heed their call for dialogue.

Unlike in the past where police stopped the protesters from going near Anniversary Towers, on Monday police officers stayed away from CORD's path, owing to the intervention of the court which allowed CORD supporters to protest.

A court ruling issued earlier had allowed CORD to hold their anti-IEBC protest but prohibited them from storming the IEBC offices or forcefully evicting the commissioners from office.

Kenya's elections in 2008 witnessed deadly violence that left over 1,000 people dead. There are fears that the situation may repeat itself in the upcoming 2017 presidential elections where both President Kenyatta and CORD leader, Odinga, will contest again.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese Higher Council for Mining on Monday urged gold companies to remove difficulties and start the production stage as soon as possible.

Sudanese gold miners arrive at Khartoum airport on January 15, 2016 (Photo Ashorooq TV)

Sudan's gold production is expected to reach 100 tons this year, which will move Sudan second in Africa and the ninth worldwide in terms of production.

Revenues from gold will fill the gap of oil loss after South Sudan's secession in 2011.

The meeting of the Sudanese Higher Council for Mining, which is considered as the first, was chaired over by President Omer al-Bashir, in the presence of a number of ministers and state governors.

Speaking to journalists, the Sudanese Minister of Minerals, Mohamed Sadiq al-Karouri, said the meeting further recommended that gold companies shall work to facilitate all difficulties and speed up reaching production phase as soon as possible.

The meeting has also recommended paying attention to the other minerals such as iron and chrome, especially with regard to production and exportation, said al-Karouri.

Al-Korari stated that the meeting gave directives to the central bank to buy the gold production at remunerative prices to reduce smuggling of precious minerals, pointing out that 22.3 tons of gold was produced in all sectors of mining in the first quarter of this year.

He affirmed that his ministry will work in collaboration with the ministry of finance and the central bank to have the gold in the economic cycle.

The minister revealed that the meeting listened to two reports; the first one tackling the process of legalising the traditional mining.

In this respect, al-Korari revealed that they managed to legalize this sector by 85%, with the help of the relevant parties.

The second report was about the establishment of the new supervisory apparatus represented in the Sudanese company for minerals that tasked with monitoring all four production sectors that include companies of concession, small mining, mining service and tradition mining, he stated.

He also said that this apparatus will carry out the administrative, technical, environmental, social and financial supervisions.

He added that the apparatus managed to impose special supervision particularly in the financial sector a matter that helped collection all revenues from mining companies by 95% of the required production in accordance with the signed contracts, besides the start of collection from the traditional mining.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Government of Turkey has expressed support to Sudan's efforts to be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, center, reviews the Turkish military guards of honor, at the Cankaya Palace, Ankara, Turkey, Monday, Jan. 21, 2008 (AP)

On Monday, the Turkish Ambassador to Khartoum, Kamal el-Dain Abdn, met in Khartoum with Sudan Vice President, Hasabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman. The two parties discussed joint cooperation agreements between Sudan and Turkey and ways to cement further the bilateral relations.

“Turkey reconfirmed its official and public support to Sudan,” the Turkish Ambassador to Khartoum, Kamal el-Dain Abdn told media after the meeting.

He said that Ankara is supporting Khartoum in the international forums to end ''Western injustice and hypocrisy towards Sudan".

“Sudan has cooperated with the western countries in the war against terrorism, illegal migration, organized crime and other international concerns,” said Abdn, stressing that Turkey is committed to develop bilateral relations with Sudan to serve the mutual interests of the two countries.

The Turkish diplomat further said that he discussed with the vice president ways to end challenges facing Turkish investments in Sudan.

Concerning the International Criminal Court, the Turkish diplomat said that his country is supporting Sudan's stance towards ICC.

“Some non-signatory parties to ICC statute use the court to undermine the relation between the two countries and misuse the international court to halt development in Sudan,” he said.

The ICC issued two arrest warrants against al-Bashir in 2009 and 2010 for alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide committed in Darfur.

Bashir is the first sitting head of state charged by the Hague based court since its inception in 2002.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has referred the Darfur case to the ICC under a Chapter VII resolution in 2005, since Sudan is not a state party to the court.

Several African governments and the African Union have voiced concerns over the ICC's fairness, and accused it of targeting African leaders.

(ST)

June 06, 2016 (WAU) – An official in South Sudan's Wau state, has appealed to United Nations agencies operating in the region to assess the humanitarian situation in Busshere and provide assistance to the needy people in the state.

Houses burnt by rival forces during fighting in Momoi along Bussehere road June 3, 2016 (ST)

Taban John Ngu, a state advisor, visited Busshere Friday. Hundreds of people fled the town due to violence between government and the armed opposition forces.

“And I want to tell all organisations leaving in Wau to come and make an assessment in Busshere. I also want to tell all politicians who are in South Sudan to come and see Busshere if Busshere is the same to the Busshere of 70s, 80s, 1960s or a different Busshere,” Ngu told reporters Monday.

“We have come today, after the incident and we went to Wau. I want to tell the people of Busshere that the area is now secure, people have to return to look after their gardens and if they have gardens, they have to start cultivating. The government of Wau state is ready to transport the people back to Busshere,” he added.

Bussehere sub-chief, Agustino Abdalla also urged those who fled to return to homes since their areas were now calm. Similar appeals for people to return home were also made by army officers in charge of the security in Bussehere area.

Bussehere and Momoi areas were the most affected areas during the conflict that broke out in mid-December 2013.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) - Ethiopian officials on Monday said that most of the Ethiopian Nuer children kidnapped by a South Sudan's Murle militia group have been rescued and have returned home safely.

On April 15, 2016, thousands of members of a South Sudan's militia group armed with machine guns, crossed into Ethiopia raided 13 villages in Nuer and Anyuak zones of Ethiopia's Gambela region where they killed over 200 people and snatched over 100 children.

The tribal fighters further carried off with over 2,000 livestock during the cross-border raid. According to Gambela regional officials, more children have been recovered on Tuesday, raising the total number of children released to 88.

The children are being transported to Ethiopia's Gambela region from South Sudan's Boma state by Ethiopia Air force helicopters.

Minister of federal ministry of women and children affairs, Alemitu Ubong, said the success achieved so far in safely returning the kidnapped children is an indication of Ethiopia's sound foreign policy.

She said Ethiopia has vowed to hunt down the gunmen but the Ethiopian forces which remain deployed inside South Sudan haven't yet carried out military action in a bid to give chance for the ongoing negotiations with kidnappers.

The negotiations have been directly between the President of Gambella region of Ethiopia, Gatluak Tut, and the governor of Boma state of South Sudan, Medan Baba, who promised the Ethiopian authorities to peacefully recover the kids from his Murle abductors.

Officials told Sudan Tribune that regional administrators and clan leaders have continued with the negotiations with the abductors and the remaining children are expected to arrive home in one or two weeks' time.

It is not yet clear on whether kidnappers are trading the children for ransom, or simply threatened to face action if they will not cooperate.

Ethiopian military officials also said returning the 2,000 looted livestock will be the next step after all the abducted children are recovered.

Addis Ababa said the Murle militia groups have no links with the South Sudanese government under President Salva Kiir or the opposition forces under the leadership of current First Vice President, Riek Machar.

The international community, including the African Union, the United States and the European Union, has condemned the massacre of over 200 Nuer villagers and the abduction of the children.

Although cattle rustling and violence involving Murle tribesmen from South Sudan's Jonglei and Upper Nile regions is common in the remote region, the scale of the latest attack is unprecedented.

Gambella region is a shelter for more than 280,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled to Ethiopia to escape the conflict in their home country that broke out in December 2013.

(ST)

By Amir Idris

South Sudan is experiencing an “economic crisis,” according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Inflation is approaching 300 percent, the value of the South Sudanese pound has plummeted by 90 percent in the past six months, and if current trends continue, the country's 2016-17 budget deficit could constitute $1.1 billion, or 25 percent of GDP.

According to South Sudan's political leaders, the solution to this problem is for the IMF to give them more money. The transitional government in South Sudan has appealed for budgetary support to help rebuild the economy.

The answer from Western donors, at present, is a definitive “No.” And they have a convincing argument not to cough up: South Sudan's leaders have failed their country by spending more than two years entangled in an unjustified and brutal war driven by their own vested economic and political interests.

When South Sudan formally declared its independence from Sudan on July 9, 2011 , it marked the culmination of a long struggle for freedom lasting more than two decades. Unfortunately, within a very short period of time, the country's post-independence government exhibited symptoms of institutionalized autocracy and corruption, as well as a total disregard for human lives. The crisis of governance turned into an internal political conflict between President Salva Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar and consequently escalated into the outbreak of civil war in December 2013 . The war has led to the killing of tens of thousands of civilians, widespread raping of women, displacement of over 2 million people, and the breakdown of a fragile economy.

The peace agreement signed in August 2015 is designed to end the war; create a power-sharing government for three years; demilitarize the capital, Juba; establish a hybrid court to hold perpetrators of crimes against civilians accountable; reconstitute the national legislative assembly; and prepare a new transitional constitution, among other things. None of these provisions of the peace agreement have been implemented.

Instead, reports of gruesome acts of killings, harassment and rape against civilians continue to surface, in spite of the formation of the transitional government on April 29. Human Rights Watch reported in May that members of the Fertit ethnic group have been targeted by security forces in villages and neighbourhoods around Wau in northwestern South Sudan. The return of Machar to Juba on April 26—despite a week-long delay due to a dispute over how many weapons and soldiers he could bring with him— and the formation of the new government seem to have made no difference yet in the lives of the people. Disappointingly, some members of the new cabinet are believed to be either suspected of committing crimes against humanity or accused of being involved in corruption. The new cabinet can be labelled as dysfunctional at best.

With the economy collapsing and the government unable to discharge basic services to the people, including not paying salaries to civil servants for months, President Kiir is calling for a bailout from Western donors to support the government and to rebuild the country after being one of the instigators of an unprovoked, devastating civil war in the first place. Ironically, Kiir blamed the international community for not being forthcoming in availing the needed funds at the first cabinet meeting held on April 29.

Recently, an IMF delegation visited Juba and met with the leaders of the new government to discuss the worsening economic conditions in the country. The IMF called upon the new government to embark on initiating monetary and fiscal reforms to attract assistance from international donors. Most importantly, the international community expects the government to curb corruption and end unnecessary spending on defence and security.

The former government allocated $850 million to fight the war against the rebels between January and July 2014, while the international community spent billions of dollars on humanitarian assistance to save lives and protect civilians from their own government. It is morally and politically understandable that the international community is utterly opposed to a bailout of the new government without seeing meaningful reforms in the economic and financial sectors and holding those who mismanaged the resources and committed crimes against humanity accountable.

From 2005 until the renewal of conflict in December 2013, the international community spent billions of dollars in development aid to provide critical services to civilians and build the capacity of the government in South Sudan. Sadly, some of these Western-funded development projects such as schools and health clinics were destroyed during the war or occupied by soldiers. This reality poses questions about the genuineness of South Sudanese leaders continuing to appeal for Western aid. It does not seem that those in charge in Juba accept the call for taking responsibility for what they have destroyed in the last two years, let alone the suggestion of using what resources they have to address the country's economic problems.

No doubt, the gateway to South Sudan's recovery rests in the hands of its new government. It can be accomplished through honest self-criticism, full implementation of the peace agreement—in particular the formation of a hybrid court—and monetary and fiscal reforms. Only South Sudan, even with its limited resources, can achieve these goals—not the Western taxpayers.

Amir Idris is professor and chair of the Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University, New York City

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir has made intensive contacts with a number of his African counterparts to rally support for Sudan's candidates to several African Union Commission's (AUC) positions, said Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour.

African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa (ST Photo)

In press statements on Monday, Ghandour disclosed that his ministry has formed a committee to garner support for Sudan's candidates within various regional and international organizations and institutions.

According to Ghandour, Sudan has nominated former Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Rahamt Allah Mohamed Osman for the AUC's Political Affairs commissioner post besides nominating former Minister of Social Welfare Amira al-Fadil for the Social Affairs commissioner position.

The Sudanese top diplomat pointed that he also made contacts with several of his African counterparts to support Sudan's candidates.

The member states of the African Union are divided into five geographic regions of the African Union including the North, West, East, Southern and Central regions. Sudan falls into the Eastern region.

Thirty four candidates from the various African regions would compete for the AUC's posts including the Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and eight commissioners next month.

Last April, Ghandour called for the need to distribute the posts of the top AU offices equally among the regions and countries, pointing that some founding members of the African Unity Organization didn't get the opportunity to be represented in the top AU executive and leadership offices.

It is noteworthy that the Horn countries are underrepresented at the AU institutions due to wars in Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia besides the sanctions imposed on Sudan while the North African countries have shown asceticism to assume AU positions.

The AUC acts as the executive/administrative branch or secretariat of the AU. It consists of Chairperson, Deputy Chairperson and eight commissioners dealing with different areas of policy.

On the other hand, West and Central African countries, who are engaged in an economic integration, dominate all the AU organs.

The commissioners are elected by the AU Executive Council and appointed by the Assembly.

Under article 6 of the Commission Statutes, the region from which the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson are appointed is entitled to one commissioner each. All other regions shall be entitled to two commissioners. At least one commissioner from each region shall be a woman.

The Commission is head-quartered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

June 06, 2016 (YEI) - Authorities in Yei municipality have started demolition campaign against “immoral and destructive” lodges as well as illegal occupants of school lands in the town.

Yei River state governor David Lokonga (L) and deputy Abraham Wana March 9, 2016 (ST)

In May, Yei women activists demanded that the municipality closed down lodges and hotels used as “prostitution grounds” against teenage girls in Yei municipality. The women activists raised the concern following high rate of school drop-out due to commercial business in the area.

Two substandard lodges “Anika and Safari lodges” close to Jigomoni Primary school inside the town have been demolished on Saturday. Houses and business premises constructed at the school land were among the list to be demolished by the government as well.

Yei town Mayor, Cosmas Bidali Wori-Kojo, told journalists that the exercise will continue to other areas within the municipality.

“We have started with Jigomoni and we are going to the remaining schools and this is a message to the rest of the people that any person with a house or a shop in a school land should evacuate because we are still going on with this move,” he said.

Mayor Bidali however added that the government will not be responsible for compensation of any property destroyed during the exercise.

“We have informed them earlier enough and secondly it's not lawful for you to stay in a school land. We want the school lands to be safe to provide a good learning environment to the learners and even the teachers,” said Bidali.

Meanwhile, Richard Towongo, an owner of Anika lodge whose building was brought down in the demolition exercise expressed disappointment to the reporters.

“What the Government has done is like am not a citizen of this country. We are in economic crisis why can't the Government wait up to November or December for us to relocate. We got the money under difficult conditions and today it's being destroyed in just one day,” said Towongo.

He explained that the business he had been surviving on for a long time since 2003 will drastically affect his family.

“Where can I feed my family? Lodges can be controlled by the government. If there is under-age or prostitution in the lodge it is not my responsibility, it's the responsibility of the government to tackle the issue. All my buildings including iron sheets have been demolished and now I am senseless with no alternative to start another business,” he added.

An area resident who prefers not to be named said she welcomed the move taken by the government to destroy lodges and residents operating and occupying public lands.

“I really need to thank the Mayor for the step they have taken to destroy all illegal and immoral shelters affecting our children. If we don't take care of the children then there is no future tomorrow. Am really very happy I have been around this area and today I believe this place will be safe for both the children and the area residents,” she added.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese defence minister, Kuol Manyang Juuk, has described as “cordial and fruitful” bilateral meetings for which he led a high level government delegation from his country to neighbouring Sudan on Saturday which resulted to activating common border buffer zones between the two countries.

South Sudan's defence minister Kuol Manyang Juuk (L) presents Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir with a letter in Khartoum on19 March 2014 (Photo: AFP/Ebrahim Hamid)

Minister Juuk in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune on Monday said the two countries have decided to open a new page and to cooperate on a wide range of issues, including strengthening the relationship between the two countries to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

The two countries in September 2012 signed a number of agreements, duped as Cooperation Agreements, as a roadmap for relations between them after their 2011 split.

The cooperation agreements could not be implemented for over years since signing and the two countries continued to accuse each other of supporting rebels hostile to the either.

But Juuk said the different level of meetings involving the two parties had reached the consensus during their extensive talks in Khartoum on Sunday to concentrate on how to build and strengthen the relationship by identifying areas of concerns and to try as quickly as possible to address issues through joint political and security mechanisms.

During the talks in Khartoum officials from both sides hailed their efforts and regarded them as efforts of “brothers sharing wealth and woe as well as becoming good friends supporting each other and good partners pursuing common development.”

The top defence official said neither Sudan nor South Sudan would live without the support of the other, explaining that the two countries share a lot in common.

“South Sudan stands ready to deepen and expand friendly and reciprocal cooperation with Sudan in various areas within the framework of the cooperation agreement to better benefit the people of the two countries,” said Juuk.

“South Sudan will never cease to be a neighbour to Sudan and the same for Sudan. Apart from being neighbours, we also share a lot in common. Our history was one and still we have other common heritage, including some cultures, languages and marriage,” he explained.

During the latest meeting the two countries at the level of foreign affairs and defence agreed to enhance cooperation not only on security matters and trade but also on agricultural modernization and strengthen infrastructure.

“All our meetings at various levels went well and were successful. We agreed to continue to plan and advance bilateral ties from a strategic and long-term perspective, and understand and support each other on issues involving our core interests and major concerns,” he said, calling for closer interactions between governmental organs, ruling parties, legislatures, and armed forces of the two countries.

According to a joint statement on establishing the partnership, the two countries agreed to not provide any kind of support, including hosting, providing of training camps and other military and political support to any hostile group operating with an ambition to destabilize and try to remove from the power through unconstitutional means government of either of the two countries.

They agreed to firmly enhance efforts aimed at safeguarding national security and stability as well as resist interference from outside.

The two countries also agreed to push to improve their national defence and ability to maintain stability.

Sudanese authorities have agreed to support all of the South Sudanese government's efforts to realize peaceful development of cross border relations and peaceful coexistence between communities.

The Sunday decision to activate the security clause in the September 2012 cooperation agreements came two days after the South Sudanese Presidency reaffirmed the need to implement the cooperation agreements.

In their Friday's meeting with participation of President Salva Kiir, First Vice President, Riek Machar and Vice President, James Wani, the Presidency decided to put the office of the First Vice President, Machar, in charge of the file for the cooperation agreements with Sudan.

The responsibility of the First Vice President involves giving directives and supervision to the various committees and officials tasked with the implementation of the agreements.

(ST)

June 5, 2016 (El-FASHER) – A committee representing dozens of former Sudanese staff of hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has protested on Sunday in front of the mission's premises in North Darfur capital, El-Fasher for non-payment of financial dues owed to the former staff members affected by the ongoing streamlining process.

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

The Chairman of the Dismissed Staff Committee, Hafiz Abiad, told Sudan Tribune that his committee represents 262 Sudanese staff who were dismissed in Nayla, Zalngei , El-Geniena and El-Fasher.

“The protesting staff demanded to be paid their pensions' entitlements which was agreed on with UNAMID in March and to receive their dues in US dollars,” said Abiad adding that the mission did not pay their benefits at the beginning of June as previously pledged and promised to pay the staff entitlements after three months, which was rejected by staff.

“After four hours of peaceful protests, UNAMID agreed to negotiate with us on Tuesday in the presence of a government mediation team” he said

In February, former local staff of UNAMID in North and Central Darfur states organized peaceful protests in El-Fasher and Zalingei to demand financial dues, which the mission refused to recognize.

In March, UNAMID dismissed media reports that the mission deliberately refused to pay the financial dues of Sudanese staff whose jobs were cancelled to cut expenses.

“In meetings between UNAMID's Human Resources Section and concerned staff members, prior to their separation from the mission, the issue of compensation for overtime services performed was discussed thoroughly,” explained UNAMID in statement issued in March.

The mission's statement further noted that since most of the concerned staff members had performed overtime work and had not availed of compensatory leave due to them, “the mission's management decided that they would receive cash remuneration for their overtime hours in lieu of compensatory time off,”

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

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

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese military intelligence officers collaborating with the national security service have snatched and detained at least two students at Juba University and drove them to unknown location, raising concerns for their safety since Friday, relatives and student union said Monday.

University of Juba (File photo )

Chan Deng Maror and Peter Angui Bol, according to the students' union and relatives, were picked up by the military intelligence officers on Friday morning upon arrival to the university from their hostel.

The motive of the arrest remains largely unclear and no official statement has been released by the administration of the university to clarify circumstances under which the arrest was permitted within the premises of the higher learning institution.

Juba University has been one of the places within Juba where people with critical opinion about the performance of the government have been kidnapped at gunpoint by either security personnel driving tainted cars or military intelligence officers during broad day light and taken to unknown locations, where some ended up being tortured and sometimes badly beaten unconscious after being blindfolded.

Some are often held for more than a month. Others are held in locations that the government has not revealed, without access to lawyers or contact with family, putting them at increased risk of torture.

South Sudanese government under President Salva Kiir has repeatedly and violently targeted critical activists, including political opponents as a way to intimidate and suppress.

Authorities have arbitrarily detained, tortured, and otherwise ill-treated detained suspects.

(ST)

June 6, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) Minni Minnawi said they sought to get an answer from the Qatari mediation during recent talks on the possibility of opening the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) for negotiation, pointing the question still awaits an answer.

Flanked by SPLM-N SG Yasir Arman and JEM chief negotiator Ahmed Tugud, SLM Minni Minnawi (C) speaks at the opening session of the AUHIP brokered session for comprehsnive cessation of hostilities in Sudan, in Addis Ababa on 19 November 2015 (ST Photo)

On 30-31 May, the Qatari Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed bin Abdalla al-Mahmoud and the Joint Chief Mediator Martin Uhomoibhi discussed in Doha with a joint delegation from the SLM-MM and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) ways to join the DDPD.

Following the meeting, al-Mahmoud said they discussed some procedural matters that need to be conveyed to the Sudanese government, pointing the two sides agreed to allow some time to discuss these matters with the Sudanese government in order to achieve the desired result.

The head of the international mechanism for Peace in Darfur added that the joint rebels' delegation expressed desire to continue the discussions, hoping that all parties take another step forward down this path.

However, Minnawi told Sudan Tribune that since the Paris meeting with al-Mahmoud last January “we pointed out that we only seek to get answers on procedural requirements including whether the DDPD could be re-opened for negotiations or not? And could the Doha forum become a part of the African mediation?”

He added that the participation of the Qatari's in the peace talks would mean that the DDPD becomes one of the basic documents for the Darfur peace but not the only reference for the process.

“We want to develop a new document [for peace] during our negotiations with the Sudanese government” he said

The Sudanese government had earlier rejected the JEM and SLM-MM proposal to merge the Qatari and African imitative on Darfur peace process and described it as “an attempt to circumvent the (AU-proposed) roadmap which was not signed by the two armed movements”.

Also, during the African Union-sponsored talks of Addis Ababa, Khartoum government refused JEM and SLM-MM endeavours to renegotiate on a number of issues already discussed in the DDPD.

When asked about the resumption of consultations with al-Mahmoud, Minnawi said the, the “ball is now in the court of the Sudanese government and the [Qatari] mediation”, stressing they would neither sign the DDPD nor consider it as a basis for negotiations.

“If they [Sudanese government and Qatari mediation] don't have a new stance, then there would be no need for the continuation of these consultations,” he said.

Following the Doha meeting, the Joint Chief Mediator Martin Uhomoibhi called on JEM and SLM-MM to sign the Roadmap Agreement brokered by the African mediation and urged them to accept the DDPD as a basis for the Darfur peace.

The Doha brokered the Darfur peace negotiations resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011. JEM which had initiated the process rejected the deal.

The two groups have engaged in peace talks with the government under the auspices of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP). However, several rounds of talks between the two groups and the government in Addis Ababa have stalled and no progress on the pending issues was made.

JEM and SLM-MM call for opening the DDPD for negotiations, saying some issues were ignored or not fairly treated, but Khartoum rejects such request.

(ST)

June 5, 2016 (JUBA) – A movement of populations from the people Ngok Dinka of Abyei into from South Sudan into Sudan or to Khartoum in particular has been reported by the IOM this month.

Soldiers on patrol in the contested area of Abyei, which is claimed by both Sudan and South Sudan (Photo: Reuters)

Thousands of people from Abyei and other tribes from Warrap state of South Sudan have already crossed into Sudan, following inter-community peace agreement between the Dinka Ngok and Misseriya.

“Since the beginning of May 2016, there has been an increased movement of people from Abyei into Sudan. This freedom of movement is a result of a recent inter-community peace agreement between the Dinka Ngok and Misseriya, which has improved relation between the two communities and allowed cross border trade to resume,” IOM report suggested.

“IOM has set up a flow monitoring system at the departure point in Noong Market to monitor, track and record daily movements of people to and from Sudan. Since April 30, 977 households have left to Sudan. The majority of the population is from the Dinka Ngok community from Abyei and Twic with a small number from Warrap and Mayom county in Unity State,” the report said.

The majority of the population, it added, is going to Khartoum, reportedly to visit family, seek medical care, or better educational opportunities for their children, in addition to search for food.

Over 52,000 South Sudanese have crossed the border to Sudan since the beginning of 2016, mainly going into East Darfur state.

Food insecurity is reportedly the main factor for the movements of tens of thousands of populations from South Sudan's Bahr el Ghazal region into Sudan.

(ST)