August 25, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudanese government has announced the presence of armed opposition leader and ex-first vice president, Riek Machar, in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, but said it would not affect the relations between the two countries because Sudanese authorities were acting out of humanitarian ground.
Presidential advisor on security affairs, Tut Kew Gatluak, told reporters on Wednesday after briefing President Salva Kiir on a visit to the Sudanese capital, Juba, with the new first vice president, Taban Deng Gai, that the government has been informed of the presence of Machar in Khartoum.
Gatluak, flanked by the minister in the office of the president Mayiik Ayii Deng, who spoke before him and oil minister, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, said the government has received reports of the presence of Machar in Khartoum by the Sudanese authorities without objection.
“Yes, we have received reports of the presence of Riek Machar in Khartoum. We have been informed about and we know he is there on humanitarian ground. This will not affect our relations. We understand”, said Gatluak in a statement broadcast by South Sudan broadcasting corporation.
The Deputy Minister of Information, Akol Paul Kordit, also announced the same government owned broadcaster that first vice president Taban Deng Gai was informed of the ex-FVP's presence in Khartoum.
He added that the government calls upon Riek to denounce violence and disassociate himself ‘from all the activities that are likely to undermine the implementation of the peace agreement.' Kordit said ‘peace is a collective responsibility for unity government and the IGAD member states.
The official revealed that IGAD (Intergovernmental Authority on Development) member countries as well as neigbouring African countries in the region and the entire region have been asked to not give Machar any conducive environment that he would use to undermine the stability of South Sudan and the implementation of the peace agreement.
The armed opposition leader and ex-FVP Riek Machar arrived in Khartoum for medical treatment on 'humanitarian grounds', according to Sudan's Minister of Information, Ahmed Bilal Osman.
In a statement by the Sudan News Agency, Osman announced that Sudan had recently received Riek Machar ''for he needs for urgent medical attention for purely humanitarian reasons.''
The statement adds that Riek's condition is now stable, and he will stay in the country under full medical supervision until he leaves the country for a destination of his choice to complete his medical treatment. South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth claimed in a separate interview that Riek was suffering from a chest infection.
He did not elaborate on his claims. Machar's arrival to Khartoum comes after the United Nations announced last week that he and 10 others were airlifted from South Sudan- Congo border for their safety.
(ST)
August 25, 2016 (JUBA)- South Sudan has claimed it reached a consensus with the US and the region to be given a time, during which it would expedite the implementation of the peace agreement while discussions about the deployment of a regional protection force in the country continues.
Information and broadcasting Minister Michael Makuei Lueth, who led the government delegation to the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, where the US secretary of state had visited recently, announced that the outcome of the recent meeting between a delegation from Juba and the US Secretary of State approved the deployment of the force approved by the UN Security Council after conclusion of discussions.
The government, according to Minister Lueth, who speaks on its behalf, has been given conditions to expedite the implementation process and cease hostilities.
“We would be given time provided that we moved very fast, provided that we silence the guns, provided that we talked to the IDPs so that they move out of the displacement camps so that they go back to their respective homes, and then we continue to negotiate with the region on the idea of the protection force,” said Lueth. He said regional protection force will not be deployed immediately as expected.
“They are not coming soon and we are to negotiate, because there is no way an intervention force or a foreign force can enter any nation without the consent of that country.
But Lueth claimed the forces will not be deployed immediately to the country as expected, US secretary of John Kerry said the deployment of a protection force will guarantee safety of the civilians and enable investors to return to the country.
The US secretary of state confirmed that 4,000 troops from the region would complement efforts of the unity government by providing security to civilians in Juba.
(ST)
August 25, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - A new report by the United States-based Enough Project said the severe economic crisis has become the greatest vulnerability for the Sudanese regime and allowed the US government to spearhead efforts to support an inclusive peace deal in the country.
The report “Khartoum's Economic Achilles ' heel : The intersection of war, profit, and greed”, explains how the economic crisis in Sudan was exacerbated by the sanctions imposed on the country since 1997.
“This economic vulnerability has caused sanctions relief to replace debt relief as the regime's primary preoccupation, giving the U.S. government powerful leverage to support an inclusive peace deal in Sudan that leads to a transition to democracy” said the report
It adds that the understanding of the economic weaknesses of the government would make policymakers better deal with the Sudanese officials who according to the report “orchestrate large-scale atrocity crimes and theft in Sudan”.
“In a situation where grand corruption and mismanagement of mineral resources are among the key drivers of deadly conflicts in Sudan, understanding the Sudanese regime's economic vulnerabilities in greater detail can equip policymakers to better tailor their financial pressure measures to target top Sudanese leaders and their enablers” the report read.
The report mentions how the regime and its supporters dominated the Sudanese economy since they came to power in 1989, saying the country's public corporations and private sector were undercut.
“The regime and its supporters began to dominate and extract wealth for themselves from the economy's key strategic and high-value sectors, including the oil, transportation, communications, and construction industries” it said
“The regime privatized state corporations, giving over the control of these corporations to regime-affiliated businesses and charities—on a non-competitive basis and for low prices. The regime-affiliated economic networks of hundreds of commercial companies, which dominate what might otherwise be a productive and independent private sector, constitute what many Sudanese people call a “gray economy” the report added
The report explains that the Sudanese government became highly vulnerable as a result of the economic practices created and sustained by the regime itself.
“State-enshrined grand corruption, combined with economic mismanagement and short-sighted, opportunistic over- spending of finite public money on unproductive pursuits, have left the regime heavily indebted” read the report
It also explains how the economic sanctions imposed on Iran have affected the Sudanese economy and the government officials.
“Tighter enforcement of sanctions on Iran has prompted global financial institutions to de-risk and stop doing business with risky clients, including Sudan” read the report
According to the report, the Sudanese economic crisis gives Washington and the international community a good opportunity to develop a new strategy aiming at pressing the regime to engage in a comprehensive national process that allows peaceful transition to democracy.
“In particular, the financial pressure that Sudanese leaders feel now can be tightened and eased by U.S. policymakers in strategic ways as part of a system of coercion and incentives that is one part of a broader enhanced comprehensive U.S. strategy with Sudan” the report said
The Enough Project, an atrocity prevention policy group, says it seeks to build leverage for peace and justice in Africa by helping to create real consequences for the perpetrators and facilitators of genocide and other mass atrocities.
The organization says it aims to “counter rights-abusing armed groups and violent kleptocratic regimes that are fuelled by grand corruption, transnational crime and terror, and the pillaging and trafficking of minerals, ivory, diamonds, and other natural resources.”
It has been conducting field researches in conflict zones, developing and advocating for policy recommendations and support social movements in affected countries as well as mobilize public campaigns.
(ST)
The French shipbuilder was the victim of a massive leak of confidential technical information about the Scorpene submarines. Countries customers affected by this scandal, are Malaysia and Chile, each with two submarines, India and Brazil who chose technology transfer for six and four submarines.
Newspaper The Australian has published on its website excerpts of 22400 pages of various documents collected. The three documents would be sensitive but unclassified and would cover the period 2010-2011. The texts include strategic information such as technical manuals and models of underwater antennae. They describe the probes of the vessels, communication systems, navigation. In addition, 500 pages are devoted exclusively to torpedo system.
Informations were revealed about :
- data on sonar capabilities
- noise generated by submarines
- magnetic, electromagnetic and infra-red datas
- details of the combat system
The data seen by The Australian includes 4457 pages on the submarine’s underwater sensors, 4209 pages on its above-water sensors, 4301 pages on its combat management system, 493 pages on its torpedo launch system and specifications, 6841 pages on the sub’s communications system and 2138 on its navigation systems.
The data could have been blown away outside France in 2011 by a former French naval officer who at the time was a DCNS subcontractor. The documents could have been sold to Southeast Asian companies before being sent to Australia. The fact that leaks occur in Australia is not a coincidence. In fact it can affect the contract 34.3 billion awarded in April by Canberra to the French manufacturer, for the next generation of submarines, while negotiations are underway to distribute manufacturing sites between the two countries. Australia has chosen another model derived from the French oceanic submarine Barracuda, two times bigger than the Scorpene.
The competition was fierce to win the largest defense program in the history opposing the French DCNS to German TKMS and the consortium formed by Japanese Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Shipbuilding Corporation. The French therefore provide twelve Shortfin Barracuda buildings conventionally powered and non-nuclear. Sign of the strategic importance of this program, the procedure was punctuated by multiple cyberattacks. According to Australian media, Russians and Chinese would have tried to get hold of the plans of the future submarine.
However you must know that the submarine that Australians are building with the French is called Barracuda, and it is totally different from the Scorpene designed for the Indian navy. The submarine is French, but the combat system is provided by the Americans. Recently, in the Indian Ocean, French Navy became the most important naval ally of Washington, before the British Navy.
Document 1
Document 2
Document 3
(Source : Le Monde, 25/08/2016)
Tag: BarracudaScorpèneIndian NavyAustralian NavyLa Représentante spéciale du Secrétaire général sur les enfants et les conflits armés, Leila Zerrougui, a dénoncé le 24 août dernier dans son rapport annuel l’échec collectif à prévenir et à mettre fin aux conflits dans lesquels les enfants paient un lourd tribut.
Dans ce rapport à l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, Mme Zerrougui met en évidence l’impact dévastateur sur les enfants de conflits de plus en plus complexes, en dépit des efforts concertés et des progrès importants réalisés au cours de l’année écoulée.
Selon elle, cette situation découle directement de l’érosion du respect du droit international humanitaire et des droits humains par les parties en conflit.
Le rapport, qui couvre la période allant d’août 2015 à juillet 2016, note que la prolifération des acteurs impliqués dans un conflit armé et des opérations aériennes transfrontalières a créé des environnements très complexes pour la protection des garçons et des filles.
En 2015 et pendant la première moitié de 2016, l’Afghanistan a enregistré le plus grand nombre de décès et de blessés parmi les enfants depuis que l’ONU a commencé en 2009 à documenter systématiquement les victimes civiles. En outre, en Syrie et en Iraq, la violence a continué sans relâche.
Et au Soudan du Sud, après une année au cours de laquelle les enfants ont été victimes de violations brutales, les espoirs d’amélioration se sont complètement évaporés avec la reprise du conflit le mois dernier. Au Yémen, l’escalade du conflit a continué avec des niveaux alarmants d’enfants morts, d’enfants mutilés, d’enfants recrutés et d’attaques contre des écoles et des hôpitaux.
Le rapport marque le vingtième anniversaire du mandat « Enfants dans les conflits armés » et fait le point sur les réalisations accomplies depuis la publication par Graça Machel d’un rapport historique, intitulé « Impact des conflits armés sur les enfants », qui a conduit à la création du mandat du Représentant spécial par l’Assemblée générale. Elle dénonçait alors le fait que au cours des dix dernières années 2 millions d’enfants étaient morts dans les conflits. Ce qu’un enfant endure un adulte ne pourrait le supporter. Le prochain passage de ce dernier rapport devant le Conseil des droits de l’homme et devant l’assemblée générale ne devrait pas passer inaperçu et rester sans réaction ;
Pour en savoir plus : principales sources d’informations
-. Conseil des droits de l’homme : Leila Zerrougi présente son rapport annuel 2015 sur les enfants dans la guerre.
-. Bureau du représentant spécial du Secrétaire général pour les enfants et les conflits armés https://childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/fr/
-. Texte du rapport (20 avril 2016) http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/70/836&Lang=F&Area=UNDOC
François Hollande a évoqué « l’avenir de l’Europe » après avoir reçu une dizaine de dirigeants sociaux-démocrates européens au château de La Celle-Saint-Cloud, jeudi 25 août. Il a très rapidement évoqué la polémique sur le « burkini » en fin de discours.