Sudan Tribune

June 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - A Sudanese court Tuesday overturned a death sentence against a young woman convicted of killing her husband in self-defence as he tried to rape her, giving her five years in prison instead.

Noura Hussein (Photo Amnesty International)

On 10 May, a court in Omdurman sentenced Noura Hussein, 19 years, to death after her husband's family refused to accept a financial compensation requesting the capital punishment.

However, an appeal court in Khartoum decided to commute the verdict to five years beginning from the date of her arrest on 3 May 2017 and the payment of the blood money, 337,500 Sudanese pounds.

The decision comes after an international campaign carried out by Sudanese activist to draw the attention over women rights and the abolition of the death sentence in Sudan.

Amnesty International welcomed the quashing of the death sentence and called for a legal review in the Islamic penal code in line with the international standards of human rights which prohibit this cruel punishment.

“The Sudanese authorities must take this opportunity to start reforming the laws around child marriage, forced marriage and marital rape so that victims are not the ones who are penalized,” said Seif Magango, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes.

Noura had been married against her will three years ago. But, the marriage ceremony took place last year in April 2017. It was reported that the husband brothers and a cousin helped him to rape her for the first time.

Sudanese activist call to raise the minimum age for marriage to 18. The law authorizes to marry children over the age of 10 years.

(ST)

June 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Ministry said the fourth meeting of the consular committee between Sudan and Egypt would kick off on Wednesday in Cairo.

In press statements on Tuesday, Foreign Ministry Under-Secretary Abdel-Ghani al-Nai'im said the meeting will review the implementation of previous meeting's decisions regarding facilitation of movement and residence of citizens of both nations in the other country besides a number of other related issues.

He pointed out that the Sudanese delegation would include representatives from the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Education alongside other bodies.

According to al-Nai'im, the meeting comes in preparation for the meeting of the Egyptian-Sudanese Higher Committee (ESHC) chaired by President Omer al-Bashir and President Abdel-Fatah al-Sisi which will be held in October in Khartoum.

On 18 January 2004, Sudan and Egypt signed the Four Freedom Agreement. It was signed in Cairo by former president Hosni Mubarak and Sudanese president al-Bashir.

The agreement guarantees to citizens from the two countries freedom of movement and residence, right to work and own property.

Egypt under Mubarak feared a massive influx of refugees or even terrorists from Sudan if the accord was implemented.

However, the opening of the Eshkait-Qustul border crossing between the two countries in 2014 was seen as proof for the ability of the two nations to overcome all obstacles to develop bilateral cooperation.

The tumultuous relations between Sudan and Egypt experienced last December a new crisis over media attacks against al-Bashir after a visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Sudan. Also, Sudan accused Egypt and Eritrea of supporting rebel groups to attack Kassala state on the eastern border.

But the main differences remain the dispute over the border triangle area of Halayeb and the construction of Ethiopian Grand Renaissance Dam that Sudan backs.

(ST)

June 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Vice Chair of U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Sandra Jolley and her accompanying delegation on Monday visited North Darfur State to learn about the situation of religious freedom and conditions of displaced persons.

Sandra Jolley (Photo USCIRF)

Jolly who is a leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or (the Mormon Church) has worked for decades in Nevada advocating for women rights and families.

Following her meeting with the acting governor of North Darfur State Mohamed Biraima, Jolley expressed keenness to promote freedom of belief, religions and relations among peoples within the framework of world peace.

For his part, Biraima stressed North Darfur enjoys peace and stability, pointing to their respect for all religions and religious minorities.

According to Ashorooq TV, Biraima reviewed his government efforts to address effects of war, collect illicit arms and secure voluntary return of displaced persons as well as efforts to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

He called on the U.S. and the European Union to support Sudan's efforts to combat negative phenomena, urging the former to lift his country's name from the terror list.

Last January, the U.S Department of State named Sudan among “Countries of Particular Concern” for severe religious freedom violations. This group comprises nations that violate religious freedom in a “systematic, ongoing, egregious” manner.

In October 2017, Washington decided to lift economic sanctions on Sudan in line with a five-track framework reached by the two countries in December 2016. Khartoum, accordingly, authorized humanitarian access to civilians in Darfur and unilaterally declared a cessation of hostilities in Darfur, the Blue Nile and South Kordofan states.

The two countries agreed to resume talks on the normalization of bilateral talks and the lift of remaining sanctions particularly Sudan's designation as a state sponsor of terrorist groups. The measure is crucial to get a debt relief and allow Sudan to get international aid to build its economic infrastructure.

In November 2017, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, John Sullivan, was in Khartoum to launch the second phase of the normalization process and pointed to the need for reforms on human rights and religious freedom. Also, the two countries agreed to engage in written exchanges for Sudan's removal from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

(ST)

June 26, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - South Sudan rival parties have achieved some progress in Khartoum peace talks as they are expected to sign a framework agreement for a detailed deal to be signed at the end of the talks within two weeks.

President Salva Kiir and SPLM-Io leader Riek Machar pledged in a closed-door meeting Monday with Presidents Omer al-Bashir and Yoweri Museveni to make the needed concession for the sake of peace in the war-ravaged country.

Sources close to the process said discussions have resumed today on a draft framework agreement proposed by the Sudanese facilitators including three points, the first for a comprehensive ceasefire and the deployment of IGAD and African Union monitors.

The second point provides to have three capital cities in the country during the transitional period (Juba- Malakal-Wau) so that the government organs work from the three cities.

The third point provides that Sudan in coordination with South Sudan would take in charge security and repair of oil wells in South Sudan.

The Sudanese foreign minister al-Dirdeiry Ahmed said the parties have reached an agreement dubbed "Khartoum Political Declaration" that will be announced Wednesday.

Speaking at the Higher Academy for Strategic and Security Studies in the Khartoum suburb of Suba where the talks are taking place he added: "this political declaration paves the way for a final agreement to achieve security and stability in South Sudan".

For his part, Machar said that Khartoum Political Declaration is based on the principles agreed in the meeting with Ugandan President Museveni, President Kiir and President al-Bashir.

OPENING BORDER

Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir announced the opening of the border with South Sudan saying it would facilitate the movement of citizens and the flow of trade between the two countries.

He further stressed Sudan's readiness to provide anything that contributes to the achievement of peace in South Sudan.

"If peace is achieved during the two weeks, you will find us in everywhere with you in support of the South Sudanese citizens," he said.

President Kiir said he looks forward to reaching a peace deal to end the suffering of the South Sudanese people.

He further praised the efforts of President al-Bashir to end the four and half year conflict in South Sudan.

OIL DEAL

In parallel to the peace talks, Sudanese and South Sudanese petroleum ministers signed an agreement to resume oil production in South Sudan.

According to the deal, Khartoum will provide the oil workers and gears needed to repair and pump the oil from the fields.

The parties agreed to operate all the oil fields in Block 5A in the central part of Unity region.

In line with the signed deal, Khartoum will transfer to Juba all the information related to oil exploration in South Sudan.

(ST)

June 25, 2018 (WAU) – The leader of the People's Liberal Party (PLP), a South Sudanese political entity, has welcomed the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's decision to host South Sudan rival leaders.

PLP chairman Peter Mayen Majongdit speaks in a fourm held in Accra on 12 March 2018 (Photo Majongdit's Facebook page)

South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his main political rival, Riek Machar are in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum for talks aimed at ending the civil war that has displaced more than 2 million people.

The PLP, in a statement issued Monday, commended the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the other international partners involved in the peace process for their continued efforts to end the suffering of the people of South Sudan.

“We the PLP are encouraged by the recent decisions and announcements resulting from the IGAD Heads of States Summit in Addis Ababa, engaging South Sudan's primary drivers of violence personified in Kiir from one hand side, and Machar from the other, to sign the revitalized agreement based on IGAD's bridging proposal,” partly reads the opposition entity's statement.

It added, “We also welcome the targeted punitive measures endorsed by the IGAD Council of Ministers during its 62nd extra-ordinary session”.

The conflict in South Sudan, now in its fifth year, has killed thousands.

According to the PLP, any approach to achieve peace in South Sudan must be non-violent and opposing views must be tolerated.

“We will work with our partners in Sudan and elsewhere to promote the ideals that bring us together and make us more secure – championing trade, diplomacy as well as military co-operation to prevent violent conflict,” the statement further stressed.

Direct talks between South Sudan's government and the main opposition group led by Machar begun Sunday in Khartoum amid large diplomatic and regional presence.

Ahead of the talks on Sunday, however, President Kiir and Machar held a face-to-face meeting under the auspices of President Bashir in the presence of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. But the details of the meeting haven't been disclosed.

In his remarks before the opening session, Museveni said he came to Khartoum to support the efforts to reach a peaceful settlement for South Sudan's crises, expressing hope that the talks manage to achieve positive results.

He added that the face-to-face the meeting between Machar and Kiir has reached some agreements that will allow people of South Sudan to enjoy peace.

Bashir, on his part, vowed to exert every possible effort to assist South Sudan's conflicting parties to reach a settlement to end the civil war in the country.

(ST)

June 25, 2018 (BOR) – At least 53 police officers have been dismissed for neglecting duties in Jonglei state, the police commissioner said.

Police officers on parade in Jonglei state capital Bor (ST)

Those dismissed allegedly declined to report to their Bor South county stations.

The officers had reportedly been deployed to provide security to civilians after fighting took place between Panwel and Anuet clans early this year.

According to Major General Chol Atem, the dismissal of the officers came after a series of warnings were sent to them. He official accused the officers for showing up at work only to receive salaries.

“Whenever there is receiving of salaries, they come but when there are no salaries, they don't, so the police Commissioner forward it to council of ministers and Security Committee and the outcome was punishment which was dismissal,” he told Eye Radio.

According to Atem, orders to dismiss the police officers were given by the state Council of Ministers and the state security committee.

They were charged with disobedience and neglecting their stations.

Bior Bior Makuei, one of the dismissed officers, rejected these claims.

“Such a case happened. 53 were dismissed, but we don't know the reason why we were dismissed,” he told Eye Radio in an interview.

According to Makuei, the dismissal of the police officers was not procedural at all.

“According to normal procedure, if an officer has made a mistake, he or she is first warned and advised before dismissal, but the Commissioner never did that,” he said.

(ST)

By Beny Gideon

"A lion once said to the victim who was wounded the previous night by a lion that it is us who break a human bone in the night and fix the same in the morning" Unknown

The continuation of the face-to-face peace talk between President Salva Kiir Mayardit on behalf of the government delegation on one hand and armed opposition groups led by the leader of the SPLM-IO Dr Riek Machar and associated leaders of South Sudan Opposition Alliance on the other is due to take place in Khartoum, Sudan on 25 June 2018. The Intergovernmental Authority on Development IGAD-led peace process will continue until the end of 14 days grace period to achieve peace in South Sudan as timed by the IGAD member states and the international community. However, different sessions and shuttle diplomacy shall continue in different locations as agreed upon in the communiqué of the 32nd extra-ordinary summit of IGAD Assembly of Heads of State and Government held on 21 June 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

In the last meeting, both political and military leaders of South Sudan across the divide in presence of the IGAD Council of Ministers and Heads of State and Government summit once more squandered an opportunity to bring about the long-awaited peace agreement. The opposition groups rejected the peace agreement on a claim of structural formality of the peace process while the government also rejected on the aspect of the practical functionality of the would-be government of national unity with Dr Riek Machar as a partaker. With these two parallel outcomes, vulnerable South Sudanese children, women and the elderly are dying of senseless war, diseases and hunger every day.

This poses questions of what miracle is to bring peace in South Sudan? What is different in this round with Sudanese President than the previous IGAD Special Envoys? In response, one fundamental difference with this round of talk is that it is finally blessed to be under the auspices of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed al Bashir for the first time. President Bashir is a man popularly suspected by South Sudanese and friends of South Sudan to be a key-holder for peace in his right hand and the other key for political violence at the left hand. He has been a referee of both games for the last 29 years since he came into power in 1989. Notwithstanding the fact that Sudan has no records of mediation expertise and peacebuilding, this particular case in question is going to be a successful story for many reasons not necessary to be discussed at this stage. Above all, the economic viability of both countries depends on the prevalence of peace and security of two countries and the wider region.

By and large, history is clear on the wall that before and after hard-won independence of South Sudan, the successive regimes in Khartoum including current National Congress Party NCP-led government has been major sponsor of the allied-militias groups in South Sudan that have been backstabbing the just cause for freedom of South Sudanese, some of which are still National Congress Party babysitters until date. It is now upon President Bashir, for South Sudanese to accept him as a credible peace broker to disengage allied militia groups and use the right key for peace as he did twice in the past in favour for South Sudanese. In 2005, he signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement CPA in 2005 and accepts the outcome of referendum results on self-determination that led to the creation of an independent Republic of South Sudan. In conclusion, President al-Bashir and Khartoum administration must ensure that he carefully deal with people he knows best than any, to bring about peace while on the other hand urge all South Sudanese leaders, stakeholders and members of the international community to insubordinate your interests and prioritize the call for peace now and time is now to act.

Beny Gideon is an Attorney and South Sudan Human Rights Commissioner. Views are solely that of the author. He is reachable via benygmabor@gmail.com

June 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) The price of the US dollar has increased on the black market in Khartoum on Sunday, settling at 40,5 Sudanese pounds.

U.S. Dollar bill

Traders speaking to Sudan Tribune Sunday in central Khartoum said selling price of the US dollar settled at 42 pounds while purchase price reached 40,5 pounds compared to 39,2 last week.

They attributed price rise to the scarce supply and the growing demand for the dollar, expecting the US dollar price to continue to rise during the next few days.

Following an unprecedented increase in dollar price, the Sudanese authorities in November 2017 introduced new measures allowing for10-year prison term for anyone caught trading on foreign currency outside the banking system or approved institutions.

In February, the dollar price hit an all-time high on the black market as the Sudanese pound (SDG) declined to 42.00 per dollar. However, the dollar price declined after the crackdown on the Forex traders and stood at 32.00 for several weeks.

The Sudanese pound has lost more than 100% of its value since South Sudan's secession in 2011, pushing inflation rates to record levels given that the East African nation imports most of its food.

The most recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) report indicated that Sudan's gross international reserves remained very low in 2017 ($1.1 billion, 1¾ months of imports).

(ST)

June 25, 2018 (JUBA) - The SPLM-IO on Monday accused the South Sudanese government forces of carrying out a series of attack on its positions in Wau State and called on the ceasefire body to investigate into the claims.

The SPLA-IO forces during their arrival at Masana Biira in Wau on 07, August 2017 (ST)

SPLM-IO deputy spokesperson, Lam Paul Gabriel said the army since two days ago attacked several rebel positions in Wau state including Omboro, Bagari, Engo halima and Baslia, adding they have inflicted heavy casualties on the assailants.

On Monday morning "at about 6:00AM as the face-to-face (meeting) is to resume in Khartoum, the regime send a heavy force of SPLA IG combined with JEM militias on one Woral truck and seven Land cruisers; escorted by four (Armoured Personnel Carriers)APCs to attack the SPLA IO defensive position in Omboro in Wau," said Gabriel.

He said they destroyed one APC and three Land Cruisers.

The IGAD head of states and governments last Thursday condemned the repeated violations of the cessation of hostilities agreement.

Also, they decided that Sudan Kenya shall further investigate the violation reports submitted by CTSAMM and JMEC and "report to the next Summit the appropriate targeted punitive measures to be taken".

The rebel official further said that last Saturday 23 June, the South Sudanese army attacked the SPLA IO Positions in Bagari, Engo halima and Baslia in Wau State resulting in the displacement of civilians.

He said their fighters withdrew tactically before to counterattack the government forces on Sunday 24 June and retook their positions. he claimed they killed 76 soldiers and lost 18 fighters.

The spokesperson further went to say that Juba plans to launch further attacks on their forces in Pageri, Magwi and Torit in order to prevent them from "establishing cantonment centres in Imotong State".

The South Sudanese army didn't issue a statement on these clashes also the SPLA spokesperson was not reachable for comment.

(ST)

June 25, 2018 (KHARTOUM) Direct talks between South Sudan's government and the main opposition group led by Riek Machar have begun on Sunday in Khartoum amid large diplomatic and regional presence.

Ahead of the talks on Sunday, President Salva Kiir and Machar held a face-to-face meeting under the auspices of President Omer al-Bashir in the presence of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. But the details of the meeting haven't been disclosed.

In his remarks before the opening session, Museveni said he came to Khartoum to support the efforts to reach a peaceful settlement for South Sudan's crises, expressing hope that the talks manage to achieve positive results.

He pointed out that the face-to-face meeting between Machar and Kiir has reached some agreements that would allow people of South Sudan to enjoy peace.

For his part, al-Bashir vowed to exert every possible effort to assist South Sudan's conflicting parties to reach a settlement to end the civil war in the country.

He pointed out that Sudan has felt the impact of South Sudan's crisis when two million refugees arrived in its territory, saying his country strongly opposed the international community's warning to impose sanctions on South Sudan after the intensification of the crisis.

“We opposed the sanctions because we believe it doesn't produce solutions and the solution lies in the dialogue among the warring parties,” he stressed.

Al-Bashir urged South Sudan's warring factions to rise above personal agendas and put the people's interest ahead of their own interest.

He praised efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and its partners to calm the situation in South Sudan, pledging not to make any move without coordinating with the regional bloc.

For his part, President Kiir said he came to the current round of negotiations to reach solutions to the outstanding issues with an open mind to achieve peace in South Sudan and to stop the "unjustified war".

He expressed his hope that "my brother Dr Rick Machar" also came with an open heart to lead the country to safety and security away from internal differences and enable the people of South Sudan to enjoy peace, stability and prosperity, as he said.

Machar and Kiir held a first face-to-face discussion under the auspices of the IGAD chairperson, Abiy Ahmed on 20 June.

IGAD mandated President al-Bashir to facilitate a second round of discussions between President Kiir and Machar for two weeks to build on the Addis Ababa talks.

President Museveni returned to Kampala after the end of the first day of talks.

The IGAD leaders decided that President Uhuru Kenyatta will facilitate a third round of face-to-face discussions between President Kiir and Machar in Nairobi after the end of Khartoum talks.

Kenyatta will brief the upcoming meeting of the IGAD heads of state and government about the outcome and way forward.

The IGAD leaders directed that the South Sudan special envoy finalize the IGAD bridging proposal on the sideline of the 33rd African Union Summit to be held in Nouakchott, Mauritania on 1 and 2 July.

(ST)

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

The double standards of the international community and its unlimited support for the National Congress Party (NCP) regime at the expense of the rebels have contributed into prolonging the crisis and the suffering of the Sudanese people in the Darfur region.

The Nation Congress Party (NCP) and its former ancestor the National Islamic Front (NIF) are unworthy of their nomenclature as experience has shown the people of Sudan in general and those Sudanese in the Darfur region in particular. Moreover, the people of Sudan thought the putschist regime would reform itself but "essential reforms were not achieved “and will never change its Hippocratic style and so far all calls for change to the better went unheeded. Thus, snakes never change their inherent venomous poisons, so to speak.

The NCP ruling regime continued to lure and penetrate the ranks of the civil and armed political opposition through its twenty-nine-year rule by Saturday, June 30, 2018. Nevertheless, the leaders of the Darfur rebels clung to the Darfur revolution which began in 2003, they remained steadfast in their determination to the principles of the popular revolution of confronting the enemy head-on despite the criminal characteristics and machinations of the enemy, who possessed all the potentials of the Sudan from the gold revenues and to the oil funds and a large army of tribal militias and mercenaries imported from the neighboring African countries and settled them in the land of the Native population in the Darfur region in an attempt to change the demography.

This article comes against the backdrop of the claims of the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) that the recent crimes committed against the citizens in Jebel Marra regions have been caused by the SLM forces under the leadership of Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed Al-Nour. Without reservation, any humane person will currently find the degree of disappearance of the radar used emanating from the International Community on supporting the rights of the people of Sudan in Darfur and unfortunately today supporting the crimes of genocide committed by the War Criminal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. The leader of the Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A) SLA-AW, Abdul Wahid Al-Nour refuses to reconcile with the ruling regime of the National Islamic Front (NIF) and the National Congress Party (NCP) regime since the Abuja Agreement in Nigeria –aka The Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) - in 2006 because that agreement did not address the issues of the people of Sudan in Darfur and also refused to participate in the peace negotiations which did not bring peace to Darfur in Doha, Qatar, which resulted in the Doha Document for Darfur Peace (DDPD) which was born dead because it was then confirmed to him that it is a job document and nothing to do with the rights of the people of Sudan in the Darfur region.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued on Friday 23 June 2018 that the "fraudulent" acts have been carried out by the Abdel Wahid Movement and that the international bodies were needed to quickly issue statements about the occurrence of military confrontations and new displacements in Darfur. Furthermore, on 23 June 2018, the Sudanese Government (GoS) accused the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) - the leadership of Abdel Wahid Nour - of carrying out "provocative" attacks in the Jebel Marra area of Darfur to push the armed forces to respond militarily and to abort a unilateral ceasefire. Some political analysts responded to the foregoing accusation satirically and said: (This is akin to the Phenomenon in the Sudanese folk proverbs that says he hit me, cried and then preceded me complained!). Thus, goes the daily wailing and ranting of the NCP regime to ask its masters of grace in the Troika to impose sanctions against the Darfur Armed Movements that have been defending their people since 2003. Moreover, there are the ongoing airstrikes by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Worse is the inter-communal violence, exacerbated by the government of Sudan (SAF) actions of “Divide to Rule Doctrine” continued unabated destroying the social fabric.

It is ironic that the international community today threatens to impose sanctions on Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed El Nour and forgetting that the US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick threatened Abdel Wahid and Dr Khalil Ibrahim in Abuja in 2006 when they refused to sign the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) at the time. https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/darfur-peace-process-chronology-24-july-2013

The ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) and its predecessor the National Islamic Front imposed on the people of Sudan in Darfur the policy of scorched earth and killed more than half a million civilian citizens and displaced more than three million in the displacement camps and displaced thousands of civilians to neighboring African countries as well as thousands of citizens In the diaspora, while the head of the regime Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir fleeing international justice and pursued by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity and the genocide, and is still a war of extortion is used by the militias Janjawid cloned pro-Chak Sudan, which is called the non-stop rapid support forces, is being waged in the land of Darfur by destruction and corruption. Unfortunately, the troika formed of the United Kingdom, Norway and the United States of America continues to support the ruling regime in return for its cooperation in stopping the migration from the Horn of Africa to Europe and the American support for the regime by lifting the economic sanctions imposed on Sudan since in the year 1997 by the former 42nd President of the United States, William Jefferson Clinton or Bill Clinton, for short, in lieu of curbing international terrorism of the fundamentalist Islamism groups that include the Islamic State in Iraq Syria (ISIS)- IKA Daesh which has a foothold in Khartoum since the start of its first strike and so far, and spread to the neighboring countries, especially to the failed state of Libya.

It should be noted that the Troika countries (Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States), condemned the clashes in the Jebel Marra area between Sudanese Armed forces (SAF) and the Sudan Liberation Army/Movement of Abdul Wahid (SLA/M-AW), and criticized for both parties, calling the international community to punish the spoilers of peace.

It is strange that the NCP ruling regime saying that it is still committed to ensuring freedom of movement and access to UNAMID and to all the humanitarian organizations, and calls upon the international community in general and the UN Security Council (UNSC) and international partners in particular to take decisive action against the leadership of the anti-peace group Abdel-Wahid Mohamed Nour, who has been looting livestock, burning villages and terrorizing and displacing innocent civilians. This is said while Omer al-Bashir continues to bomb the Jebel Marra areas in southern and central Darfur states with aerial bombings and the use of chemical weapons, but the international community remained silent about the atrocious crimes being committed by National Congress Party (NCP) army and militia (RSF) by adopting double standards by condemning Bashar al-Asad of Syria in the strongest terms while remaining silent on the use of chemical weapons in Jebel Marra by Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. Can we call the position taken by the International Community as a kind of collusion or what? Moreover, how do you judge? This is the battle of what is referred to satirically as “To Blame Somebody Else, abbreviated to BSE Phenomenon.; BSE originally refers to the Cows Disease, known as the Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; now in humans! In other words, it is the process of blaming the innocent individual unjustifiably wrong.

As part of the Sudanese Presidency's plan, a group of Janjawid militia forces known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), supported by the government police forces, launched a new attack on the Aradeiba camp for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Garsila in the Central Darfur State immediately killing three Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and injuring 12 others.
https://www.alhamish.com/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%AD%D9%88%D9%84-%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B2%D8%AD%D9%8A%D9%86-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%B3%D9%83%D8%B1-%D8%A3%D8%B1%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A8%D8%A9-%D8%A8/

Moreover, on May 21, 2018, the Rapid Support Force (RSF) Militias allies to the (NCP) regime attacked the Khamsa Dagayig (translated five-minutes) Camp in Zalingei, the capital of central Darfur state, and fired shots that claimed the life and led to the martyrdom of the displaced woman, 22-year-old named Magbula and wounding more than eight others according to the latest statistics. http://sudanvoices.com/?p=53023

And let us not forget the repeated attempts by the government of Sudan(GoS) to remove and evacuate the Kalma camp for the Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) in Nyala using force.
As well as the crimes of the Government of Khartoum through the militias of Rapid Support Force (RSF) in the State of West Darfur, which killed a number of civilians during the practice of cultivating their lands on the outskirts of the City of El Geneina in Dar Masalit. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%D8%AC%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A6%D9%85+%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AE%D8%B1%D8%B7%D9%88%D9%85+%D8%B9%D8%A8%D8%B1+%D9%85%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AA+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B9%D9%85+%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%B9+%D9%81%D9%89+%D9%88%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%8A%D8%A9+%D8%BA%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A8+%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B1&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=TmlsC8QV1EAzNM%253A%252C3y8AzxPhsfJ88M%252C_&usg=__TybUVuILnbZP8DLNQC6t_lCsxMI%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiws_3U6-nbAhWiDMAKHdo4BF4Q9QEILzAC#imgrc=TmlsC8QV1EAzNM:

At this juncture, it is timely and appropriate to refer to the Letter from Abdelwahid El-Nour to the Troika in response to the statement by the United States, United Kingdom & Kingdom of Norway on Cessation of Violence in Darfur. It was the letter the Leader of the SLA-AW, Abdel Wahid Mohammed Ahmed al-Nour addressed to President Donald Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May and Prime Minister Erna Solberg. Abdul Wahid al-Nur, Chairman Sudan Liberation Movement & Commander in Chief Sudan Liberation Arm in concluding his message to the Troika said: “The Sudanese regime is also composed of fascists, militarists, butchers and ideological zealots and do not ask us to do what you would not do yourselves faced with the same circumstances.”
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article65689
http://sudanjem.com/2018/06/letter-from-abdelwahid-elnour-to-the-troika/

The SLA Commander Abdel Wahid Mohamed Ahmed El Nour has been struggling for the rights of the people of Sudan in Darfur since the outbreak of the Revolution of the marginalized disenfranchised people deprived of wealth and power during the period of more than a decade and half without tirelessness and remaining adhered to his principles despite the threats of sanctions against him. Thus, the Leader Abdelwahid continues steadfast and tirelessly struggling for the cause of the people he cares for.

The Enlightenment leader Francois-Marie Arouet, known as Voltaire, who was born in Paris and Jesuit-educated, and began writing clever verses by the age of 12 and launched a lifelong, successful playwriting career in 1718, interrupted by imprisonment in the Bastille has been quoted as said: “It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/double-standard

Commander Abdel Wahid, you have filled our hearts with joy and tried hard to remove some of the irk arising from the fifteen-year-long injustice of the (NCP) regime with your speech addressed to the Troika, said the people of Sudan in the Darfur region Chanting these slogans!

Rosa Luxemburg the Polish Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist, anti-war activist, and revolutionary socialist who became a naturalized German citizen at the age of 28. She was, successively, a member of the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania), Independent Social Democratic Party (USPD), and the Communist Party of Germany (KPD) has been quoted as saying: “Social democracy seeks and finds the ways, and particular slogans, of the workers' struggle only in the course of the development of this struggle, and gains directions for the way forward through this struggle alone. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Luxemburg
https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/slogans
Thomas Paine the English-born American political activist, philosopher, political theorist and revolutionary has been quoted as saying: “I love the man that can smile in trouble that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.' This is the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/steadfastness

Justice is superior to injustice no matter how long Actus Reus lasts!
Desmond Mpilo Tutu the South African Anglican cleric and theologian who was known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist has been quoted as saying: “ If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality”
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/injustice

The last words at this juncture are there must be accountability of the Perpetrators and it is necessary the return of Democracy no Matter how Long the travel to it will take!! Democracy is light and fire and he who wanted to enjoy the light of it has to resort to struggle for the sake of!

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

June 20, 2018 (ADDIS ABABA) – The diplomatic corps of South Sudan's armed opposition faction (SPLM-IO) have lauded the Ethiopian government and the regional bloc (IGAD) for organizing face-to-face talks between Riek Machar and President Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

South Sudan's rebel leader Riek Machar addresses a news conference in Uganda's capital Kampala January 26, 2016 (Reuters photo)

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiye Ahmed attended Wednesday's meeting, which saw the two rival leaders meet for the first time after nearly two years.

The meeting between Kiir and Machar was to discuss all outstanding issues in the power-sharing chapter within the peace agreement.

“By allowing the principals of the warring parties to sit and sift through their differences to address the root-causes and stop the war, IGAD has correctly diagnosed the problem and has set the negotiations on the right course,” the SPLM-IO said in a statement.

It further added, “We would, therefore, like to express our gratitude to Prime Minister Abiye for his wise leadership and timely decision.”

The armed opposition extended its appreciation to the regional countries and the Troika nations for their positive roles in efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to the civil war in South Sudan.

The South Sudanese civil war is an ongoing conflict in South Sudan between forces of the government and opposition forces. In mid-December 2013, President Kiir accused his former deputy Machar and 10 others of attempting a coup d'état.

The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over two million.

(ST)

June 20, 2018 (JUBA) – Indian peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have been praised for helping restore peace and security in a remote town, ravaged by fighting that forced civilians to flee and devastated the economy.

UNMISS troops from India patrol the perimeters of a compound in South Sudan's capital, Juba (AP)

Indian peacekeepers, UNMISS said in a statement, operate a temporary base set up in February this year in the Jonglei region town of Akobo in the north-east of the war-torn East African nation.

Previously, however, UN peacekeepers were stationed in Akobo, but their base was closed down after being targeted by an unprovoked attack in December 2013, in which two Indian peacekeepers and 30 civilians who had sought refuge within the UN premises were killed.

David Shearer, the UNMISS chief, said there was need for UN's presence in the area to as to reach communities in need in all parts of the country, regardless of their ethnic or political background.

Consequently, UNMISS said, the temporary base operated by the Indian battalion was established in February 2018 to help protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable people, making it the first UN peacekeeping presence in a rebel-held territory of the war-torn country.

"The results are visible. When we arrived here in February there was nothing in and around this TOB (Temporary Operating Base)," said Lt. Colonel Singh Negi, the Indian battalion commanding officer.

"Now you can see the construction boom; many settlements have come up. This is a clear indication that the people are feeling safer since UNMISS came,” he added.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced by the conflict in South Sudan.

(ST)

June 20, 2018 (ADDIS ABABA) - Eritrean President, Isaias Afwerki, Wednesday said he would send a delegation to discuss with the Ethiopian government ways to implement Algeria peace agreement over their disputed border.

President Isaias Afwerki (Photo Shabait)

The move comes two weeks after the announcement made by the Ethiopian government providing its full acceptance of the outcome of 2002 border commission ruling which awarded disputed area, including the town of Badme, to Eritrea.

This decision has been welcomed by the regional and international community as it paves the way to end a dispute that sparked in 1998, and negatively impacted the region.

Speaking on the occasion of Martyrs' Day, President Afwerki pointed to the “positive signals issued in these past days” saying it reflects the popular choice in the two brotherly countries that share common history and interests.

“For this reason, and outside myopic considerations of public relations stunts and advantages, we will send a delegation to Addis Ababa to gauge current developments directly and in depth as well as to chart out a plan for continuous future action,” he said.

Asmara's reaction has been awaited in Addis Ababa since the 5th of June as many analysts cast doubt on the willingness of President Afwerki to negotiate an end of the border conflict which led to the isolation of his country.

The Eritrean leader warned against what de called the “TPLF clique, and other vultures” saying they would seek to obstruct any positive change in the relations between the two countries.

“This is best illustrated by their ambivalent public pronouncements of “yes…but” in these past days. This is designed to prevent a durable solution to the senseless border conflict that they unleashed in the first place without any justification. But their principal preoccupation and ill-will is to avert and frustrate any positive change in Ethiopia”.

President Afwerki was referring to statements by some leading members of the ruling party, EPRDF, who are ethnic Tigrayans living in the border disputed area and opposition to Abiy decision to hand Badme over to Eritrea.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a war from 1998 to 2000 over their border dispute, which left about 80,000 people dead.

Abiy welcomes Afwerki's response

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed welcomed the "constructive response" of President Isaias Afwerki of Eretria saying it "is essential for the mutual benefit of both countries".

The Premier pointed to the face to face meeting between President Salva Kiir and SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar and expressed his optimism that the coming years will offer the spirit of unity and respect among the East African countries.

Addis Ababa in the past several times asked for negotiation before to implement the ruling of the arbitration commission but Asmara demanded to withdraw Ethiopian troops first from Badme before talks.

The decision of President Afwerki could allow the new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to consolidate his power and implement economic and social reforms in the country.

(ST)

June 20, 2018 (ADDIS ABABA) - Ethiopian Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu Wednesday met with the SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar ahead of a meeting with his rival President Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa.

Machar arrived in the early morning to Addis Ababa where he was received by Mrs Hirut Zemene, Ethiopia's State Minister of Foreign Affairs.

In a statement released this afternoon, the foreign ministry said Minister Gebeyehu held talks with Machar on the IGAD's efforts to revitalize the peace process in South Sudan.

"Workneh added, albeit the slow progress of the High-Level Revitalization Process, “We are, to a great extent, encouraged by the progress we have witnessed over the past one year,” said the statement.

Kiir and Machar are expected to discuss the outstanding issues in the implementation of the power-sharing in the 2015 peace agreement especially the cabinet composition, the parliament and the state governments.

The regional body is keen to narrow the gaps between the two mains parties to the revitalization process saying the outcome of the face-to-face meeting should be the driving force towards the end of the war and the peace implementation process.

According to the statement, Machar expressed his own and his party's keenness to bring about peace in the country.

"I am ready to bestow what is expected from me," said Machar.

The outcome of the face-to-face meeting will be discussed Thursday by the IGAD Council of Ministers that Gebeyehu chairs, following what the IGAD heads of states and governments will meet to endorse what the conclusions submitted by the Council of Ministers.

(ST)

June 20, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Ministry of Oil and Gas on Wednesday said a delegation from South Sudan would arrive in Khartoum at the end of this month to discuss ways to scale up oil production.

A worker at the power plant of an oil processing facility in South Sudan's Unity state on 22 April 2012 (Photo: Reuters)

Sudan's State Minister of Oil and Gas Saad al-Din Al-Bushra told the semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) that the visit comes in implementation of bilateral agreements to increase production of South Sudan's oil fields.

Earlier this month, a Sudanese delegation visited Juba to discuss economic issues between the two countries. During the visit, Sudan and South Sudan ministers of petroleum discussed oil cooperation and resumption of production in South Sudan's oil fields.

Sudan lost 75% of its oil reserves after the southern part of the country became an independent nation in July 2011, denying the north billions of dollars in revenues. Oil revenue constituted more than half of Sudan's revenue and 90% of its exports.

Sudan currently produces 72,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). The country's production is stationed mainly in the Heglig area and its surroundings, as well as western Kordofan.

Chinese companies control 75 per cent of foreign investment in Sudan's oil sector.

(ST)

June 20, 2018 (KHARTOUM) - The hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on Wednesday said hundreds of displaced persons fleeing the fighting in Jebel Marra have gathered around the Mission's newly established base in Golo area.

Since last March, government forces and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW) led by Abdel-Wahid al-Nur fighters resumed clashes in different parts of Jebel Marra.

“In the evening of 15 June 2018, displaced persons started gathering outside UNAMID's newly established Temporary Operating Base (TOB) in the Golo locality, of the Jebel Marra area, Central Darfur,” said the Mission in a statement on Wednesday.

“By the next day, 16 June, 305 IDPs, including 200 children and 85 women, were outside the TOB and had started erecting temporary shelters” added the Mission

According to the statement, UNAMID staff “provided protection and water to the displaced as well as first aid to an IDP woman who gave birth near the base”.

It pointed out that the displaced people “informed UNAMID that they were fleeing from villages in Jebel Marra where fighting has been reported, including Gubbo, Gur Lumbung, Kawara, Saboon El Fag, Abuloto, Ujongole, Kara, Jari, Buju Buju and Wira”.

UNAMID added it is coordinating with UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and local authorities to address the humanitarian needs of the displaced.

On Tuesday, Troika countries including United States, United Kingdom and Norway denounced the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the SLM-AW in Jebel Marra saying this “unnecessary violence” affects only the civilians.

In a report covering the security situation in Darfur for the period from 16 February to 15 April 2018, the hybrid peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reported low-scale skirmishes in Jebel Marra area between the government forces and the SLM-AW fighters.

On 12 April 2017, the Sudanese army declared Darfur a region free of rebellion following the capture of Srounq area, the last SLM-AW stronghold in Jebel Marra. However, the army continued for several months to carry out attacks on rebel's pockets in the mountainous area.

Jebel Marra, which spans over three states including North, Central and South Darfur, is located in a water-rich area that is characterised by a mild climate.

Last year, the UN Security Council decided to reduce the UNAMID, admitting that the security situation has improved but it decided to reinforce its presence in Jebel Marra because there is no cessation of hostilities as the SLM-AW refuses to declare it unilaterally or to engage in peace negotiations.

The Sudanese army has been fighting armed groups in Darfur since 2003. UN agencies estimate that over 300,000 people were killed in the conflict, and over 2.5 million were displaced.

(ST)

June 20, 23018 (ADDIS ABABA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir and SPLM-IO leader Riek Machar Wednesday have finally met on Wednesday in a meeting attended by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The meeting was announced in a twit released by the Director of Ethiopian Prime Minister's Office Fitsum Arega without details about the outcome of the encounter.

"HE PM Abiy Ahmed hosted a private dinner to President Salva Kiir and Dr Rieck Machar together. The two met for the first time in two years," said Arega.

"Faced with the continued suffering in South Sudan, Ethiopia simply can't stand by. With more work, a peaceful future is possible in S. Sudan," he further said.

Different sources reached in Addis Ababa said the face-to-face meeting only gathered the two rival leaders and the Ethiopian premier.

The first meeting between Kiir and Machar since July 2016, was supposed to discuss only the outstanding issues in the power-sharing chapter of the peace agreement.

South Sudanese officials under the cover of anonymity told Sudan Tribune that the meeting was not successful and the two leaders didn't agree on anything.

"If the meeting was positive, at least, Abiy would be happy to issue a statement about its outcome, but this was not the case," an official said.

Machar, in a meeting with the civil society and opposition groups, pledged to defend their points of view in the meeting.

The IGAD Council of Ministers will discuss the outcome of the intensive consultations and then will submit its conclusions for considerations to the summit of IGAD head of states and government in the evening.

President Kiir is scheduled to return to Juba on Friday but it is not clear if another meeting will take place between him and Machar.

Upon his arrival to Addis Ababa, Kiir held a separate meeting with Abiy. President Kiir was accompanied by Minister of Cabinet affairs Martin Elia Lomuro, Ambassador Ezekiel Lul the Minister of Petroleum, Michael Makuei Lueth the Minister of Information and Awud Deng Achuil the Minister of Gender, and Social Welfare.

The meeting with Kiir, which began at 08:00 pm (local time), discussed the outcome of the Intensive Interlink Consultations and ways to move forward, according to a statement released by the information ministry.

(ST)

By Santino Ayual Bol

IGAD which has been facilitating and mediating the slow-heel Agreement to Resolve the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan shortly abbreviated as ARCISS has unilaterally cogitated and scheduled a face to face meeting between the President of the Republic of South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit and rebel chief Dr.Riek Machar on Wednesday, the 20th June 2018 in Addis Ababa. The ARCISS due to difficulties being encountered in the process seems now to be metamorphosing into slightly something else both in name, contents, and approaches which will be elucidated a little bit more the next paragraphs. However, in this first opening paragraph, it is imperative upon the writer to category state the position of the war affected -downtrodden common citizens of the Republic of South Sudan as follows:

We the common citizens of the Republic of South Sudan welcome anybody and any chance that will bring meaningful, total, and lasting peace tranquillity, and normalcy in the Republic of South Sudan forever. The current political quagmires in the country caught all South Sudanese people of good will by surprise. Nobody in his or her right mind who participated in the agitation for fundamental changes in the then one Sudan whether through nonviolent political resistance in government-controlled towns, or the clandestine support with logistics, intelligence, foodstuffs to the movement, or the diplomatic campaigns waged bravely and intellectually by our compatriots of the diaspora, or the direct active participation and self-sacrifice in the armed liberation struggle in the fields of combats or frontlines had foreseen the current debacles. All of us were fighting in one way or another for true comprehensive freedom, total peace of mind and body from Arab-Islamic daily menace, belittling, arbitrary arrest and killings, enslavement, exploitation, discrimination, the list is long, against African people of South Sudan. In short, we were aspiring for a happy, free, corruption free, nontribal, progressive, and democratic country of our own under the sun. A country where our leaders would treat us the common citizens as the custodians Number One of power and not pawns and gunpowder. No one ever dreamed the current state of affairs was what was awaiting the current long-suffering folks of South Sudan. Make no mistake about it, I'm not regretting our legitimate and correct decision taken during the referendum in 2011 to be free and manage our own affairs in our own homeland called the Republic of South Sudan. No, I'm not regretting. What I absolutely abhor and this is what underlies the above statement is the mindless spilling of blood and taking away of lives of innocent fellow countrymen and women whether in government-controlled areas or rebel territories and mindless vandalism of scanty properties of fellow folks in the cities and countryside. “I hate to hate a man” as correctly remarked by one of our freedom fighters during the SPLA/SPLM 21 year liberation struggle period. To hate a man is bad and above all worst still if he/she is a fellow countryman/woman.

This wanton killing and war madness that has perverted the country must stop. Our leaders from all the political divides (government, rebels, and non-violent opposition parties) should take it upon themselves as a matter of urgency and top priority and bring total long lasting peace in the country. Let the suffering of innocent little kids, orphans, women, widows, disabled and elderly stop through the good intention and decisions that our leaders should take soon while negotiating peace in Addis Ababa. Our esteemed people have become the laughing stocks for humanitarians and foreigners in POCs across the country and refugee camps in neighbouring. This fact alone if our leaders listen and care about the people and the country called South Sudan in the core of their hearts should voluntarily convince them to bring sincere lasting peace and not foreign coercion and threat of sanctions. We desire to celebrate the forthcoming Christmas in total peace and love for one another from Renk to Nimule, Kapoeta to Raja, Aweil to Yambio, Wau to Malakal, Akobo to Rumbek, Abiei to Bor, Ruweng to Torit, Fashoda to Juba, Nasir to Warap, Pibor to Yirol, etc. We want sincere patriotic love to replace tribal hatred and diabolic negative labelling of ourselves.

I would like to conclude this piece of opinion that the longer the war and anarchy last in South Sudan the deeper the suffering entrenches itself in the midst of our people. The longer the war lasts, the more likely that many generations of innocent children will be lost to illiteracy, malnutrition, six killer diseases, poverty, and other preventable maladies. The longer the current war lasts, the more likelihood of South Sudan's backward lagging in development gap widens and exacerbates itself. Nowadays the suffering of South Sudanese people has become the carcass of humanitarian vultures who have swarmed the country and the region from far and wide. UNMISS seems to be another emerging form of MONUC (La Mission des Nations Unis Au Congo) which arrived in DR Congo in the 1960s and has since then not left the same country and UNMISS like MONUC may not leave under the pretext that there is constant war and anarchy in the country with flimsy no cogent argument that the government is failing to protect its citizens as well as not being able to deliver basic services as is required of any government.

Foreign bullying of South Sudan by some neighbouring countries through encroachment into our borders and support of armed elements as well as arms and economic embargoes and sanctions by some bullying superpowers will continue to be invoked under the pretexts of the civil war in the country.

Hence, it is incumbent upon our leaders who will converge in Addis Ababa for the next few days to make needed compromises and bring peace on their own without being coerced to do so for the patriotic sake of saving the country and its people from the war itself and from unnecessary foreign interference, insults, and bullying.

The same patriotic spirit and zeal that drove during Anyanya One and for 21 years during the SPLA/SPLM struggle both President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Dr.Riek and their comrades to bravely fight for the liberation of South Sudan from Khartoum belittling and insults and which again guarded them wisely during the interim period from 2005 – 2011 and referendum campaign should make them come to their true senses again to save the country from the current unfathomable abyss it has descended into. It is not too late to help the country out of this shame. No South Sudanese in his/her right mind is at the present moment happy about what is happening in the country whether in government-controlled towns, in rebels territories in the countryside, in neighbouring countries, or overseas. Let this mindless war stop through the compromises we faithfully urge our national figures to undertake in the course of this coming week in Addis Ababa.

Response by the Sudan Liberation Movement to statement by the United States, United Kingdom & Kingdom Of Norway on cessation of violence in Darfur

By Abdul Wahid al-Nur

Dear President Trump, Prime Minister May and Prime Minister Solberg:

Abdel Wahid Al-Nur (ST)

The leadership of the SLM appreciates the concern voiced by the US, UK and Norway over the desperate plight of the civilian population of Darfur enduring continued, genocidal violence and state terror by the military and paramilitary forces of the Sudanese dictatorship. We further embrace your call for Khartoum to end the embargo on sorely needed humanitarian aid reaching the region, and to cease impeding access to the combined AU and UN peacekeepers in UNAMID. We have long called for both and not merely urged such measures but begged the international community to intervene decisively to lift the humanitarian blockade long used as a tool of subjugation and to strengthen the UNAMID mission, thus reforming its weak and severely constricted operational posture that barely qualifies as peacekeeping, while repeatedly appealing for the adoption of a more appropriate and muscular peace enforcement mandate that better corresponds to reality.

However, our sharply divergent understanding of what this reality constitutes, far away from the opulence of the White House, No.10 Downing Street and Inkognitogata 18, as we endure the horrors you are not witnessing to nor could ever imagine occurring on a daily basis in Washington, London and Oslo despite your own experience of terror, determines that we equally reject and decry the false equivalency in culpability for the most recent upsurge in bloodletting posited in your joint communique of June 19th.

In particular, we take exception to your assertion that the SLM's refusal to participate in the so-called peace process is the key obstruction to the resolution of the crisis in Darfur and that we are antagonists responsible for callously prolonging the suffering of the civilian population. On the contrary, despite our limited means and isolation, where we fight with little more than our will to resist annihilation and dispossession, the refusal of the Sudan Liberation Army to capitulate, forms the only line of defense protecting the civilian population from the regime's well established policy of extermination and ethnic cleansing that now includes the proven use of chemical weaponry, a subject you remain entirely mute towards, while condemning chemical warfare in Syria. SLA held liberated territory is the only sanctuary available to civilians in Darfur, imperfect as it is in the face of overwhelming government firepower that subjects non-combatants and combatants alike to routine artillery and aerial bombardments, gas attacks and as prevalent large scale incursions by government ground troops and the routine raiding, abductions, summary executions, gang rapes, torture sessions and razing of villages, that give weight to the charges brought by the International Criminal Court against President Omar al Bashir, as you are well aware, the sole sitting head of state indicted for War Crimes, Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity.

But then the Sudanese tyrant enjoys a process of rehabilitation overseen by the US, UK and the European Union, while the Arab League, African Union and Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as the UN itself dithers, also avert their eyes and ignore his crimes against his own people. But they remain visible to us, as we are his victims. Your passive complicity is deeply painful to us when anchoring our liberation struggle is a desire to free not only Darfur but the whole of Sudan. The crushing irony is that the dream we die for is to forge a pluralist and secular democracy in your own example.

When we are as committed as you are to confront Islamist extremism, we are incredulous you embrace a hardline Islamist dictatorship as a credible ally, that has not stopped fostering Salafist terror nor ceased its own state terror. In light of Russia's aggressive stance towards the whole of the West, efforts to undermine both American and European democracy, clear menace to NATO, and key role in Syria antithetical to Western aims in the Middle East, it is as bewildering to witness your nations whitewash Khartoum when al Bashir is deepening his military ties to the Kremlin and Russian mercenaries now have a presence in Sudan.

Western democracy is failing the people of Darfur and Sudan as a whole and betraying its own values and strategic aims in so doing. It neither gives us much cause for optimism that the United States has walked away from the UN Human Rights Council and earlier the US State Department closed its War Crimes Office, just as the UN Security Council has not seen fit to reverse the decision to dramatically reduce the size of an already understrength and under-resourced UNAMID mission, against all logic.

Your selective criteria ignore that we are defending our ancestral lands from expropriation and that those of us that have taken up arms come from the very same families subject to slaughter and starvation. The people are the SLM and the SLM is the people. To equate our actions with those of the regime is akin to labelling the Jewish partisans in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 as morally equivalent to the Nazi SS storm troopers sent to liquidate them. We will not acquiesce to being compared to genocidaires, especially when the US has eased sanctions on the regime, the UK is quietly training members of the security services and the EU is funnelling hundreds of millions of Euros to active genocidaires. We remain as baffled that you insist we join a patently false and purely cosmetic peace process, where we find ourselves unable to register egregious human rights violations, a deliberately created humanitarian crisis and a scorched earth policy as good faith measures to foster constructive dialogue.

We urge all of you to better acknowledge that you are backing the wrong partner and the tide of history is against you. The Sudanese regime is in a state of growing collapse, the coherence of its institutions, like its social fabric, ruinous economy, dysfunctional government and even restive elements in the armed forces and ruling party all point to a looming failed state. The ferocity of the regime in Darfur and widespread repression across the country, seeking to quash the anger of a citizenry that has not seen the light of freedom since 1989, is not a display of strength but instead desperation, in the twilight of a doomed dictator seeking to avoid his Gaddafi moment.

We are not your enemy. We long instead for peace, prosperity and a free society to flourish, where with your aid in achieving this goal, you would find in us a lucid and faithful ally and partner in securing stability in Sub-Saharan Africa and the greater region. But browbeating us into submission and asking us to willingly go to our own execution, this betrayal of our own people, when we have buried more than half a million of them, though the UN inexplicably stopped counting the dead in 2008, is not something we will ever countenance.

In closing all we may offer in good conscience is for SLA troops to observe a ceasefire and return to their bases, if indeed international pressure will be brought to bear to concretely allow UNAMID to effectively protect civilians, patrol and uphold a clear demarcation line between ourselves and government forces and for unhindered humanitarian aid to flow into affected areas, displaced civilians having the right of return without fear of reprisal, the proposed dismantling of IDP camps be abrogated and all of Darfur opened to unfettered access to international media and human rights investigators. We have nothing to hide and would welcome such steps. But unless such conditions can be met, we will adhere to our God-given right of self-defence if attacked and government aggression against us or the civilian population will not go unanswered militarily nor see us lay down our arms.

We sincerely doubt were it 1941 that the United States would have readily surrendered to Imperial Japan after Pearl Harbor, nor that Britain would have capitulated during the Blitz in 1940 when it stood alone against Nazi Germany after the defeat of the British Expeditionary Force and the fall of France or that the Free Norwegian Forces and resistance members would have ever given up their struggle against occupation after the valiant sacrifice of the Royal Norwegian Armed Forces against the same Nazi juggernaut. The Sudanese regime is also composed of fascists, militarists, butchers and ideological zealots, do not ask us to do what you would not do yourselves faced with the same circumstances.

* The author is the Chairman Sudan Liberation Movement & Commander in Chief Sudan Liberation Army