Sudan Tribune: Plural news and views on Sudan

Sudan's parliament reiterates refusal for privatization of Sugar factories

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-25T04:50:12Z

May 24, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Assembly has renewed its rejection for selling some sugar factories as part of a government policy aiming at reducing financial and economic burden through privatising public enterprises.

The sale is part of government's plans to increase agricultural production including sugar in order to compensate for its oil loss after the secession of South Sudan taking with it about 75% of the country's oil output.

The Sudanese authroities plans to sell 70 % of its shares in four sugar factories including Aljunied, Halfa Al-Gadida, Asalaya, and Sinnar to the private sector and retains the remaining 30% of the capital.

The head of the parliamentary subcommittee on Energy, Mining and Industry, Omer Adam Rahma, warned of the negative results of privatisation, saying that it leads to workers' layoffs as well as undermining the current efforts to solve the problems of the sugar sector.

In a statement released on Friday, Rahama stressed his committee' rejection of the move, adding that sugar factories belong to the Sudanese people and should be dealt with in a way that preserves the rights of the people.

Rahama further said that lack of funding is the major problem facing sugar factories, calling upon the government to provide funds in local and foreign currencies.

Once hoped to be the breadbasket of the Arab world, Sudan's agricultural sector has continued to deteriorate over the years mainly as a result of negligence, drought, mismanagement and the overall economic climate.

Sudan's minister of industry Abd Al-Wahab Osman, had earlier said that the main motive for privatization is increasing efficiency and improving workers conditions.

He denied that privatization would lead to workers layoffs, saying, instead, it will increase their numbers and skills through training.

Some sugar experts in Khartoum say however it is better to renovate the four factories instead of planning to construct three new factories, adding the privatisation may also destroy the social fabric and the towns that emerged around it.

(ST)

South Sudan's animal wealth institution to establish rangelands

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-25T04:27:54Z

May 24, 2013 (JUBA) – The institution responsible for livestock sector in South Sudan has announced to identify and establish rangelands in an effort to develop the animal wealth potential in the country.

The region has over 30 million heads of cattle, sheep and goats but which currently do not contribute to the economic development of the new state, according to the ministry of animal resource and fisheries.

The majority of people use the animals for prestige and marriages while importing meat for food from the neighbouring countries.

The ministry on Friday presented proposed projects to the cabinet which will see the development of this sector, including reviving dairy farms in the region.

The ministry however said it could not succeed with the plan unless it has been provided with additional 30 million South Sudanese pounds and secure more funds through loans to implement the projects.

The information minister and spokesperson of the government, Barnaba Marial, has on Friday confirmed that the cabinet had approved the requested amount by the ministry.

In order to resolve the problem of collateral for loans from financial institutions, the ministry will have to identify, gazette and register rangelands in the ten states and make policy recommendations for the country.

It also wants to create windows in both the Agricultural Bank and the Cooperative Banks of South Sudan to ensure availability of loans for investment in the livestock sector.

The institution further asks donors to assist with the provision of collaterals or guarantees to the two banks to secure loans for investment in the sector.

(ST)

Africa celebrates 50th years of unity

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-25T04:24:50Z

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

May 24, 2013 (ADDIS ABABA) - African countries are marking the 50th anniversary of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) with was replaced by the African Union (AU) in 2002.

Leaders from different of African countries and others have arrived in Addis Ababa, on Friday to attend the anniversary of the continental bloc.

At the AU summit, African leaders will celebrate past achievements and will discuss how to bringing socio-economic and political transformation over the next half century.

The African Union Commission chairwoman, Dlamini-Zuma, underscored that the aim of the celebrations is to energise and galvanise Africans toward an African renaissance.

Addressing the opening of the 23rd Ordinary Session of the AU Executive Council, Dlamini-Zuma stressed that Africa's leadership should ensure rapid and sustainable change further urging a need of concerted efforts to realise the dream of uniting Africa.

At the AU summit, African leaders are set to adopt a series of proclamations including a resolution that frames continent's key objectives for the next 50 years.

According to Zuma, African identity and renaissance, integration, social and economic development, democracy, good governance peace and security are areas the draft proclamation of the continental body emphasises.

“We will reclaim the African narrative as we reflect on the past, assess our present state and plan for our future” she said.

Another agenda set is a draft proposal aimed to urge international crimes against humanity trials for Kenya's leaders to be referred back to their country.

The AU summit of head of states will decide on the draft proposal which was agreed by African foreign ministers on Friday.

Established on May 25, 1963 in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the OAU played a leading role in efforts to decolonising African countries and liberating them from South Africa from apartheid.

Currently the organisation is largely engaged in pan African movement and in promoting unity and solidarity of African States.

The AU's 50th anniversary is being commemorated on the theme: “'Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance”.

Conferences, workshops and many other events are underway in connection with the anniversary.

As part of the celebrations there will be a football match between Sudan and Ethiopian national teams on Saturday afternoon in Addis Ababa stadium.

The Sudanese national team arrived in Addis Ababa on Friday. Sudan is one of the founding member States of the Organization of African Unity.

Ahead of the event Sudan has claimed that the AU may adopt a resolution endorsing an collective withdrawal from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which has indicted President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir for alleged genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur.

The Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia Sir al-Khitm Khalifa said this week that Uganda and Kenya have made a last minute push to include the ICC issue on the AU summit agenda.

The Kenyan government has recently been attempting to terminate the ICC's case against its new president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto for their alleged role in violence following disputed elections at the end of 2007.

Eighty heads of state are said to attend the golden jubilee celebrations.

UN chief Ban ki-Moon, United States secretary of state John Kerry, and leaders from Russia, Sweden, France, Iran, Brazil, Cuba, Jamaica, Ireland and Haiti are among others, who are attending the founding anniversary of the Organization of the African Unity.

(ST)

South Sudan vows to continue austerity measures after oil flows

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-25T04:23:40Z

May 24, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan's finance ministry said on Friday that the administration will continue to impose austerity measures even if the country generates enough funds to support the budget from the resumption of oil production.


South Sudan Finance Minister Kosti Manibe, May, 29, 2011 (ST)

“The government will continue to impose austerity measures even if we generate funds from the oil flow, because the key objective is to reduce dependence on oil. We need to diversify our economy and adhere to [the] principles of [a] people-led economy”, finance minister Kosti Manibe said.

A former journalist turned politician, who became a leading member of the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) during the 1980s at the height of the decades-long north-South conflict, Manibe said steering the country's economy in the right direction was no easy task.

“Putting the economy in the right [direction] anywhere [the] world over is never easy; It is always painful and our people should understand the situation in which we are. They should be the ones to come with suggestions to reform the economy instead of being resistant”, Manibe told reporters on Friday.

The South struck a deal with Khartoum in April, allowing for the resumption of oil production.

However, Manibe said stringent checks on government wages and other spending will remain in place in order to improve the country's financial security in the longer term.

Following its split with neighbouring Sudan in July 2011, South Sudan took with it the bulk of the former united country's oil wealth, but still needs to use Sudanese infrastructure to pump its oil north to export markets.

Last January, South Sudan took the dramatic step of shutting down its oil production – accounting for 98 per cent of government revenues – after failing to resolve a dispute with Khartoum over transit fees.

Under harsh new measures introduced by the government last February following the shutdown, non-salary spending was slashed by 50% and unconditional grants to state governments were eliminated. Civil servants also faced job cuts, while their incentive schemes were frozen and housing allowances trimmed by 50%.

Aid agencies warned at the time that the government's tough austerity measures could have serious implications on the humanitarian situation in South Sudan, where many people already live below the poverty line.

(ST)

Human rights groups call for justice over Wau killings

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-25T04:22:59Z

May 24, 2013 (LONDON) - Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch launched a joint statement on Friday calling on South Sudan to properly investigate the deaths of eight protesters in Wau, one of the country's largest towns, in December last year.


Human Rights Watch Director for Africa Division Daniel Bekele (ST)

The protests on December 9 were triggered the by the decision to move the administrative centre of Wau county outside of the Western Bahr el Ghazal state capital.

The peaceful marchers were shot at by armed men believed to be members of South Sudan's security forces.

Six people died at the scene, while two more protesters died later in hospital. The previous evening two men died between when violence broke out between youth and security forces.

Netsanet Belay, Africa Director at Amnesty International said: “The security forces have a duty to protect lives and uphold the rule of law. It is therefore completely unacceptable for them to use live ammunition against peaceful protesters.”

While Human Rights Watch's Africa Director, Daniel Bekele, pointed out that: “Eight peaceful protesters are dead in South Sudan at the hands of security forces and apparently no one has been charged or prosecuted five months later.”

“This sets a bad precedent for a new country and undermines freedom of expression and peaceful assembly across South Sudan”, he further said.

The global human rights groups have both visited Wau this year.

Western Bahr el Ghazal's governor, Rizik Zachariah Hassan, told Human Rights Watch in May that police shot the protesters while defending a nearby bank against people he described as “rioters”.

However, eyewitnesses say that the protesters marched peacefully past the bank. This version of events has been corroborated by video footage obtained by Al Jazeera.

“They started shooting as soon as they saw us,” an 18-year-old man, shot in both legs during the protest, told Human Rights Watch.

“All the young men were at the front. I saw three of them fall dead to the ground.”

A doctor who saw the bodies after the protest told the human rights groups that the eight people killed were all shot in the head or in the chest. The identities of the forces responsible for the killings remain unclear.

"Authorities should ensure full, effective and impartial investigations leading to the prosecution of those responsible for these killings more than five months ago and for a number of other deaths during the civil unrest in Wau", Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said.

Peaceful assembly, as well as the freedoms of association and expression are protected by South Sudan's transitional constitution.

The human rights groups urged South Sudan's armed forces to "as far as possible, apply non-violent means" and only use firearms "as a last resort – when strictly necessary in self-defence or defence of others against the imminent threat of death or serious injury, and the intentional lethal use of firearms is only permissible when strictly unavoidable in order to protect life."

According to accounts gathered by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, "the security forces made no efforts to control or disperse the crowds with non-violent or less then lethal means before opening fire at the protesters. They gave no warnings of their intention to use firearms, and they made no attempts to prevent or minimize death or injury."

The joint report said that the incident has not yet being investigated adequately and the responsible for the killing remains unclear.

"Under international standards, every use of lethal force in law enforcement operations, including those that are allegedly accidental, must be subject to an independent and impartial investigation", concluded the two rights groups.

(ST)

Upper Nile minister inspects textbooks in Juba

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-25T04:05:54Z

May 24, 2013 (JUBA) - Approximately 720,000 textbooks and teacher guides destined for primary schools and learning centres located across Upper Nile state have arrived in South Sudan's capital, Juba.


Daniel Wuor Joak, Upper Nile states minister of education, science and technology inspecting continers of texts books in Juba, May 24, 2013 (photo Charles Kendall Partners)

The books are part of the national textbook distribution which began in December 2012, aims to provide educational materials to roundabout 4,600 schools in South Sudan.

Daniel Wuor Joak, Upper Nile state's minister of education, science and technology, on Friday inspected around 30 containers of reading materials that are waiting to be transported to Malakal.

The books are funded by United Kingdom's department for international development (DFID) and are an initiative of South Sudan's ministry of general education and instruction.

A joint meeting was conducted on Friday with representatives of DFID, officials of Charles Kendal and Partners, the company tasked to distribute the reading materials and the managers of Speeding, the logistics company responsible for the transportation of the materials.

“Many of our schools don't have suitable books and are in urgent need of the teaching materials”, minister Joak said at the meeting on Friday.

South Sudan has some of the worst literacy levels in the world, with the education system still recovering from years of civil war and neglect.

Many people accuse senior South Sudanese officials of sending their children abroad to study rather than focusing on improving the young country's own education system.

Joak told officials from DFID and Charles Kendal and Partners that his ministry will restructure education in South Sudan, which became independent in July 2011.

In the future, he said, his ministry will focus on teacher training programmes and creating adequate facilities for schools.

The minister said he admired the quality of the books but warned that seasonal rains would make distributing the books difficult.

Minister Joak said his ministry will offer an assistance to keep the books safely in the state capital of Malakal before their transfer to the counties and payams [districts].

The minister took the opportunity to lobby DFID for assistance with teacher training programmes and the construction and renovation of school buildings in Upper Nile.

The textbooks are the first to have been written and designed by South Sudanese educationalists for South Sudanese children under the current national curriculum. A total of around 9.6 million books will be distributed across South Sudan.

(ST)

300,000 displaced in Darfur conflict, UN says

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T09:23:44Z

May 23, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Fighting in Sudan's western Darfur region has resulted into the displacement of 300,000 people in the last five months of this year, the United Nations estimates.


Valerie Amos speaks at a press conference during her recent visit to Sudan (UN photo)

This number "is more than the total number of people displaced in the last two years put together" said Valerie Amos, the UN Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs in a press conference held in Khartoum on Thursday.

Amos who visited Zamzam camp for the internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) near the North Darfur capital said she was sorry to realise that people are still suffer from a lack of adequate basic services since ten years ago when the conflict started.

"I was particularly shocked when we visited some of the new arrivals in ZamZam camp. I saw people who had recently fled fighting in South Darfur sheltering under small pieces of tarpaulin in the hot desert sun, in desperate conditions", she further stressed.

Amos, who also doubles as the agency's Emergency Relief Coordinator, was on a three-day visit to Sudan to assess the humanitarian operations in the North African country.

The top UN official, during her visit, also met the Sudanese president, Omer Al-Bashir and other senior government officials in Khartoum and Darfur, as well as partners from UN member states, non-governmental organisations and other UN agencies.

“In all my meetings I have stressed the desire of the international community to assist in meeting the needs of war-affected people in Sudan,” Valerie said.

Sudan faces lots of humanitarian challenges worsened by the ongoing fighting in Darfur, unresolved conflicts in South Kordofan and Blue Nile and recent rebel attacks that have spread recently to North Kordofan.

The situation, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator said, has resulted into a “massive” displacement crisis, and high levels of malnutrition in many parts of the country, including Eastern Sudan, where some of the highest malnutrition rates have been recorded.

She also expressed concerns about the decreasing funding levels for humanitarian assistance in Sudan, citing the ongoing conflicts, competing needs in other countries, and a difficult global economic environment.

“We have a serious funding crisis in Sudan. We need to attract more funds from our traditional donors, but we also need to expand our partnerships and attract funding from other Governments in the region and elsewhere,” Valerie said.

Amos also accused rebel movements of being responsible for the crimes committed on civilians in following their recent attacks in North and South Kordofan states.

“I was shocked to hear detailed reports of the recent attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure by the Sudan Revolutionary Front in Northern Kordofan and parts of South Kordofan. I condemn these attacks on civilians in the strongest terms,” she said.

Meanwhile, the senior UN official welcomed the Darfur donors' conference, which she described as a more sustainable ways of supporting about 1.4 million displaced people who have no other option, but to remain in the camps.

Up to US$ 3.6 billion in pledges for Darfur, including a commitment of US$ 2.6 billion from the Government of Sudan, was raised at the conference held in Qatar last April.

(ST)

Sudan demanded Kiir to close business offices held by rebel groups - official

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T08:47:56Z

May 23, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan dismissed on Thursday statements by president Salav Kiir saying that Khartoum had asked him to expel all the Sudanese traders working in Juba.

On 17 May, Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti flaked by the director of intelligence and security services Mohamed Atta met president Kiir in Juba to hand him a message from his counterpart Omer Al-Bashir.

On Monday, the South Sudanese president said Khartoum asked him to expel all the Sudanese traders working in Juba. He pointed out that there is no progress in the normalization process with Sudan ,adding that the latter continues to hold Juba responsible of its internal conflicts.

The Undersecretary of the Sudanese foreign ministry Rahmatallah Mohamed Osman on Thursday told foreign ambassadors in Khartoum that Karti asked only to close the business offices held by rebel groups in Juba.

He further said this offices import vehicles and supplies for the rebels, stressing they operate with the knowledge of the South Sudanese authorities.

"The minister demanded to not allow these offices to provide the rebels with vehicles they use to attack Sudanese towns and villages", Osman stressed..

A joint political and security mechanism agreed recently to discuss complaints related to rebel issues.

In Khartoum the defence minster Abdel-Rahim Hussein on Thursday told the council of ministers that the rebel groups received recently important foreign support to use it in their recent attacks in South and North Kordofan.

He added that rebel attacks aim to consolidate their presence in Kordofan and Darfur and and to work from these regions to weaken the Sudanese army before to bring down the regime.

(ST)

South Sudan's Kiir backs Kenya's Uhuru against ICC charges

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T07:23:27Z

May 23, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir said on Thursday he will strongly support his Kenyan counterpart, Uhuru Kenyatta in his bid to overcome the crimes against humanity charges he faces at the International Criminal Court (ICC).


South Sudan President Salva Kiir (L) meets his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, who is on his first visit to the region as head of state, in Juba May 23, 2013. (Reuters)

Kenyatta, Kenya's fourth president since independence currently faces ICC charges for alleged involvement in the country's 2007 post-election violence, where an estimated 1000 people reportedly died.

However, Kiir said his country remains opposed to joining the Hague-based court, which he said, only targets African leaders in its prosecution role.

“The ICC seems appears like it was meant for African leaders and that they have to be humiliated,” said the South Sudan leader, who was flanked by his Kenyan counterpart.

“We will never accept it [ICC],” he stressed.

Kiir, who hosted the Kenyan leader in the capital, Juba on Thursday, further said the entire South Sudanese citizens will work together with their brother and sisters in Kenya to overcome the ICC issue.

Kenya and South Sudan, in August last year, signed a memorandum of understanding to develop and expand a framework of cooperation and partnership between the two states on the principle of equality, mutual benefit, mutual understanding, respect and trust.

The areas of cooperation included the development of a crude oil pipeline between the oil fields of South Sudan and the port of Lamu in Kenya.

Meanwhile, Kenyatta assured his South Sudan counterpart of Kenya's commitment to implement a memorandum of understanding the two nations signed last year to build an oil pipeline between the two neighbours.

A halt in South Sudan's oil production, early last year, prompted the land locked country to devise alternative ways of managing its oil resources, which account for nearly 98% of the country's annual budget.

(ST)

Africa and the ICC: a dynamic relationship

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T07:19:39Z

By Tiina Intelmann

May 23, 2013 - The relationship between Africa and the International Criminal Court (ICC) is remarkable in its history, and dynamic.

Africa and the ICC share the fundamental value of fighting impunity for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community. Africa was one of the key players in the inception of the Court. African States participated at the Rome Conference in July 1998, where the Rome Statute, the founding treaty for the ICC, was drafted. Forty-seven African states were present; many of these countries were members of the Like-Minded Group that pushed for adoption of the final Statute. In the historic vote that was taken at the end of the Rome Conference, the vast majority of the 47 African countries involved in drafting the Statute voted in favor of adopting the Rome Statute and establishing the ICC. In a matter of months, Senegal became the first country to ratify the Statute, followed by a steady flow of other African countries. This contributed to reaching, in a rather short period, the required number of ratifications for the entry into force of the Statute on July 1st, 2002.

Today, the Rome Statute has 122 States Parties, 34 of which are African, thus constituting the largest regional group.

Almost eleven years into its existence, the International Criminal Court is increasingly busy. It is dealing with eight active situations which have largely come to the Court's attention through requests by the States concerned that the ICC get involved and start investigations because the domestic options to investigate crimes could not be used. Indeed, the ICC was created as a court of last resort, to become active when everything else fails. The referrals by States of their own situations constitute a practical vote of confidence in the Court and they have emanated from Africa. Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic referred their own situations within less than three years after the Court started functioning. Yet another African State, Mali, referred its situation to the Court last year, and a few days ago Prosecutor Bensouda received a request from Comoros to start an ICC investigation. It is also good to know that Côte d'Ivoire, which became a State Party very recently, made several declarations accepting the jurisdiction of the Court before that, allowing the ICC to start investigations on its territory.

In all the situations described above, the ICC, the institution created by us collectively in Rome, is rendering service to States Parties.

Unfortunately, the perceived Africa-only focus of the ICC has created resentment in Africa and difficulties in African States' relationship with the ICC.

Let us not forget, however, that the current focus on African situations also means a focus on African victims. Significant voluntary international contributions have been used through the Trust Fund for Victims, established under the Rome Statute, to assist more than 80 000 victims of atrocity crimes, including victims of sexual violence. It is fair to assume that without the activities of that Fund, all those African victims would have received little or no assistance at all.

I sincerely hope that the recent voluntary surrender of Bosco Ntaganda to the ICC will serve as an example for other persons who are sought by the Court and are trying to evade justice.

More generally, ICC decisions – like those of ad hoc international criminal tribunals – will have a much wider significance than simply punishing those persons that have been found guilty of committing international crimes. It is telling that the former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomaraswamy, stated the following when the Thomas Lubanga guilty verdict was delivered by the ICC: “In this age of global media, today's verdict will reach warlords and commanders across the world and serves as a strong deterrent.”

What is important is the universality of the message that those who commit the most serious crimes under international law will be punished, that we are working towards establishing the rule of law on national and international level, that we are addressing the urgent need to build solid national institutions to end impunity.

We should not forget that the ultimate goal is to prevent crimes from happening, to end large-scale violence against the most vulnerable. The historic decision of 1998 to establish the ICC should also be viewed in this context.

Ambassador Tiina Intelmann is the President of the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court. She can be followed on Twitter @Tintelmann

Sudan regrets Juba statements as Kiir reaffirms his top priority to Kenyan pipeline

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T07:16:43Z

May 23, 2013 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) - Sudan's foreign ministry regretted statements issued by South Sudanese officials claiming that oil flow was deliberately blocked for political reasons, while in Juba president Salva Kiir reaffirmed that an alternative pipeline through Kenya remains his top priority.


South Sudan President Salva Kiir waits for the arrival of his Kenyan counterpart Uhuru Kenyatta, who is on his first visit to the region as head of state, in Juba May 23, 2013. (Reuters)

Khartoum and Juba agreed since last March to resume oil production and its exportation though a Sudanese pipeline after more than a year since the shutdown of oil production in December 2011.

Earlier this week South Sudanese official said that Khartoum blocked the oil flow after recent allegations that Juba continues its support to the rebel groups in Darfur and South Kordofan.

President Kiir on Monday said they may be forced to shutdown oil production again if the Sudanese government "continue to use playing tactics and denials". He was alluding to statements from Khartoum that there was a temporary cut off for technical reasons.

The Undersecretary of the Sudanese foreign ministry Rahmatallah Mohamed Osman on Thursday said that his government was surprised by the accusations launched by South Sudanese officials "even at the highest level".

"These accusations are not limited to statements only but the government of South Sudan reported it to several parties in the international community", he said adding "it is unfortunate" and "there was no reason to justify it".

Osman who was speaking in a briefing to foreign diplomats in Khartoum further disclosed that the oil was blocked at the Jebelain station, where oil is purified from water, because the percentage of water mixed with the crude reached 40% while international standards require that its maximum can reach 10%.

The Sudanese official further said that oil was temporary cut off also because of the disruption of network communication system due to long shutdown of the pipeline and the difficulties that Sudanese maintenance teams find to enter in South Sudan.

Since Wednesday South Sudanese oil minister made statements aiming to calm down the situation and announced his travel to Khartoum to meet his Sudanese counterpart Awad Al-Jaz to discuss ways to coordinate efforts to address these technical problems.

In a joint press conference held in the Sudanese capital on Thursday, the two ministers reiterated the commitment of their countries to the implementation of the cooperation agreement as it was defined last March.

However, Al-Jaz expressed hopes that Juba makes the necessary steps in the implementation of security agreements, in a clear reference the alleged support to the Sudanese rebel groups.

The two ministers also failed to give a date for the resumption of oil exportation from Port Sudan on the Red Sea.

JUBA MAKES KENYAN PIPELINE ITS TOP PRIORITY

President Salva Kiir Mayardit said Thursday that his government gives top priority to the construction of an alternative pipeline to neighbouring Kenya, apparently to avoid being dependent on the Sudanese pipeline.

"The construction of the pipeline is our top priority. We have agreed with President Uhuru Kenyatta to do one thing at a time", Kirr said in a joint press conference with the with the new Kenyan president who visited Juba on Thursday for the first time since his election.

He disclosed that his administration has taken advanced steps on Lamu port project.

"I know there is need to construct a road to link us with Kenya but we cannot do all these together at once. They are very expensive. So we have agreed to first of all put our joint efforts on the construction of the pipeline", Kiir further told reporters Thursday.

Meanwhile Kenyatta said he agreed with president Kiir to implement a memorandum of understanding signed last year to build an oil pipeline from South Sudan to Lamu port.

“We have agreed on an area where need to jointly fund and undertake the construction of the pipeline. We have agreed to work to jointly work together as South Sudan-Kenya project, president Kenyatta said without giving additional information.

(ST)

Sudan says AU to agree on mass withdrawal from ICC

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T06:09:10Z

May 23, 2013 (WASHINGTON) – The African Union summit in Addis Ababa will adopt a resolution endorsing an en masse withdrawal of its members from the International Criminal Court (ICC), a senior Sudanese official said today.


Sudan's President Al-Bashir, wearing a southern traditional dress, attends a protest with southern Sudanese against the ICC arrest warrant for him, in Khartoum March 7, 2009. (Reuters)

“We expect the African summit taking place in the coming days to endorse a decision to withdraw from it [the ICC],” presidential assistant Nafie Ali Nafie was quoted by Sudan official news agency (SUNA).

Nafie said that the ICC practices “proved beyond reasonable doubt that it is a court to serve European international goals….making it a pressure tool on Africa”.

This week the Sudanese ambassador to Ethiopia Sir al-Khitm Khalifa said that Uganda and Kenya made a last minute push to include the ICC issue on the AU summit agenda.

The Kenyan government has been recently on the offensive with the AU and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seeking to terminate the ICC case against its president Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto.

Both men face charges of masterminding post-election violence (PEV) in 2007-2008 that drew regional and international outcry.

The Kenyan parliament failed twice to agree on establishing a local tribunal to investigate PEV and pushed for ICC intervention.

However after the ICC produced list of suspects which included six figures, Nairobi sought to have the cases deferred by lobbying the AU and UNSC for invoking Article 16 of the Rome Statute which is the founding text of the ICC.

But the UNSC brushed aside the joint requests submitted by the AU and Kenya.

Following the ascension of Kenyatta and Ruto into office through last month's elections, the Kenyan government renewed its efforts to have the case dropped arguing that it has the potential of throwing the country into new turmoil.

After his election, Kenyatta said that his country will honor its international obligations as long as they respect his country's sovereignty which was seen as a sign by some observers that he may not cooperate with the ICC.

The draft text submitted to African foreign ministers at the AU summit in Ethiopia said the ICC trials risked destabilising Kenya when it was undertaking deep reforms to avoid a repeat of the post-election violence five years ago that killed more than 1,200 people.

"We request the countries of the African Union and all friendly nations to ... urge the ICC to terminate the case or refer it [to Kenya] in view of the changes to Kenya's judiciary and constitutional framework," said the paper seen by Reuters.

Ramtane Lamamra, AU commissioner for peace and security, said that while the continent wanted justice, there was a need to balance this with national reconciliation.

"We'll reach a solution that will be very close to the document submitted by the region and Kenya," Lamamra told Reuters. "The termination of the case before the court, that will be the best option ... which the parties are working on currently.

Kenya found support from South Sudan's president Salva Kiir who lashed at the ICC in an unprecedented manner and vowed that his country will never to join the Hague-based court saying it appears to have been established to “only humiliate African leaders”.

"It seems that this thing has been meant for African leaders, that they have to be humiliated...we never accept it…We will sit together with our brothers and sisters in Kenya," Kiir said at a press conference with his Kenyan counterpart in Juba.

South Sudan has taken a neutral stance to the ICC In the past though some of its officials said they are considering joining the court which indicted Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir.

A foreign minister said some countries were calling for all African signatories to withdraw their ICC membership.

"But they won't carry the day," the minister, who also asked to remain anonymous, told Reuters.

The ICC has opened investigations into eight cases, all of which are in Africa including Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Central African Republic (CAR), Darfur, Kenya, Libya, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.

Five of the eight cases were referred voluntarily by the African governments in question; two through a UNSC resolution supported by the bulk of African members in the council at the time and one was opened at the ICC prosecutor's request.

But the AU has insisted that the court is unfairly targeting African nations and sought to introduce changes to the Rome Statute that would change the mechanisms of ICC case deferrals. It also pushed for the appointment of an African prosecutor which came to light with the election of Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda into this post last year.

(ST)

SPLA advancing in search of David Yau Yau

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T06:05:57Z

May 23, 2013 (BOR) - South Sudan's armed forces - the SPLA - say that after retaking Boma town from rebels in recent days they are advancing in search of the David Yauyau leader of the rebellion in Jonglei's Pibor county.


Jonglei governor Kuol Manyang Juuk at Bor airport, 23 May, 2013 (ST)

In a visit made by South Sudanese officials from the ministry of defense, the army and Jonglei state government officials, confirmed to the press in Bor that the army is now started hunt down for Yauyau and his followers “wherever they have ran to”.

On Wednesday, South Sudan minster of defense, John Koang Nyuon, army officials and Jonglei governor, Kuol Manyang Juuk, made a short visit to Boma town.

A source who used the same flight to Boma and back to Bor, confirmed the presence of South Sudan's deputy defense minster, Majak Agoot, and the SPLA's chief of staff, James Hoth Mai, in Boma town to inspect offensive operation against the renegade.

It is not clear how long stayed in Boma, which has strategic and historical importance as the first town to be taken by the SPLA after it was formed in May 1983. After decades of civil war South Sudan became independent in 2011 with the SPLA becoming the national army.

A rebel group in Unity state recently accepted the offer of an amnesty by South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, but Yauyau's South Sudan Democratic Movement (SSDM) have rejected the offer.

Jonglei's governor Kuol Manyang Juuk, who briefed the press on his return from Boma, said the SPLA had also retaken control of Marua town, which is located in a national park from Yauau's forces on Wednesday morning.

The “SPLA has liberated the town from the forces of David Yau Yau”, he said, adding that “the town was ransacked by the rebels”.

“Maruo is now under firm control of our forces, the SPLA, and David Yauyau and his forces have fled”, governor Manyang explained at Bor airport on Thursday.

According to the governor the SSDM are not a proper fighting force, claiming that they were just civilians who David Yauyau had given ammunition to, adding that Yauyau was "making them to fight his own war".

The number of dead and wounded from the fighting in Maruo is not yet know, but eyewitnesses, who travelled with the governor said they counted the 30 dead bodies on the side of the rebels.

The governor said that houses that belong to civilians had been looted and burned. Stores where food was stored in by NGOs had also been looted, he said.

Yauyau has called for a new state in South Sudan for marginalised ethnic groups such as his own Murle community as well as the Anuak, Jie and Kachipo. After an armed group, suspected to have been linked to Yauyau attacked a convoy consisting of the Anuak King this month senior members of that community strongly denied that they wanted anything to do with the SSDM's demands.

Following his trip governor Manyang said that Yauyau's claims to be recruiting from outside his own Murle tribe were a "total lie" saying that he met local chiefs in Boma, who assured him that they did not want any part in Yauyau's rebellion or his demands.

The Jie and Kachipo chiefs and members of the the army in Boma “are now calling the people to come back homes, the civilians ran to the mountain when the rebel took the town”, said the governor.

Addressing the members of the Murle community who had joined the rebellion, the governor urged them to "settle, send their children to schools" and concentrate on agriculture.

He admitted that Boma itself had been neglected during colonial rule, while governed by Khartoum and even since South Sudan gained self rule in 2005.

"We are calling upon politicians from Murle community to appeal for the Murle people, especially civilians to disassociate themselves from Yauyau. We know they are civilians, they should not fight the war of Yau Yau, Let them go back after their cattle and be peaceful."

Yauyau rebelled against South Sudan's ruling party - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) after elections - in April 2010 when, as an independent candidate, he lost his campaign to represent the Gumuruk–Boma constituency in Pibor County at the Jonglei State Assembly.

(ST)

N. Bahr el Ghazal MPs reject interrogation over calls for dissolution

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T06:00:17Z

May 22, 2013 (JUBA) - Four members of Northern Bahr el Ghazal's parliament said on Wednesday that they have rejected attempts to be investigated for allegedly making statements in which they called for the dissolution of the state assembly after some members had passed a resolution rejecting directives of South Sudan's president to reinstate the former speaker and six other members.

One the MPs, Benson O. Malo, told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that he and three others had declined to meet with a committee constituted by the state government's chief whip, Daniel Akol Diing, to investigate them for making a statements calling for the dissolution of the house and dismissal of the state governor Paul Malong Awan.

The legislator said the other MPs who rejected meeting the committee were Santino Mayuat, William Wel, Isaac Makau Ayok.

Malo said the committee was being led by a Deng Ayom Ayom, who was being assisted by Majang Ngor Kuany, a former speaker and a current head of information and public relations committee of the state parliament. Other members include Nyibol Achor, Bul Bul Dor and Jok Lual, he said.

The MP said the committee is formed by those who should actually have been the ones to be investigated, if there was a system that checks violations and deviations from existing rules.

"We did not want to be part of the resolution and walked out because we do not have powers to discuss directives of the president. And because we walked out, some people feel we did not do what they wanted even though there was no basis. Now they have decided to form a committee for us to be investigated because we talked to the media. I don't who gave them this authority", Malo asked in an interview with Sudan Tribune from Aweil town, the state capital.

Malo was one of the nine members of parliament who walked out of the house in rejection of the decision which some members had wanted to impose to reject presidential directive to reinstate speaker Aguer Wol Aguer and six other members who were dismissed on allegations that they were collaborating with other political parties in the house against South Sudan's ruling Sudan people's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

“If people are to be investigated, Akol Diing should be the first to be investigated because he himself insulted the president. He said if the president wants to reinstate Honourable Aguer Wol Aguer as the speaker of the house then he (president) should come to be the member of the house in which Aguer will be the speaker. Was this not an insult to the president? And if people are to be investigated for speaking to the media, will he not be the first to be investigated if indeed there is a system”, Malo asked saying he had refused completely to be investigated.

(ST)

South Sudan says Amnesty International report “not objective”

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-24T05:59:55Z

May 23, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan's justice minister on Thursday expressed disappointment with Amnesty International's annual human rights report, arguing that it does not reflect the correct picture of governance in the world's youngest country.

Describing critical reports as lacking objectivity has been a common response from the SPLM-led government since South Sudan's independence in 2011.

The main finding of Amnesty's 2013 report was that the "Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA, South Sudan's armed forces) and the South Sudan Police Service (SSPS) continued to commit human rights violations with relative impunity."

In terms of press freedom Amnesty said that the "environment for national and international media workers remained challenging. Security forces harassed national and international media workers, arbitrarily detained journalists and radio presenters, and confiscated equipment."

Amnesty also said that abuses "during the Jonglei state-wide civilian disarmament campaign Operation Restore Peace, launched in March [2012], remained largely unaddressed by the government." The army, police and security service were accused of harassing, arresting and torturing United Nations and NGO staff.

However, minister John Luk Jok said the report was fraught with “factual errors and inaccuracies”.

“Looking at the report you could see clearly that a number of allegations are either unsubstantiated or not supported by any empirical evidence at all. The sources are only known to the authors of the report and hence unverifiable in respect of their authenticity and or reliability," Jok told reporters on Thursday.

The report says there were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.

But minister Jok said that the report provided details of only two such incidents and failed to provide the source of its information.

"Out of population of more than 8 million, how can few isolated incidents based on unsubstantiated facts constitute the assertion that there were several reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings?" he asked.

On the report's reference to the killing of protestors in December 2012 in Wau, Jok observed that the report conveniently omitted to mention the fact that 26 innocent civilians who had not connection with the dispute over the administrative transfer of Wau country headquarters were killed in Farrajallah.

“This report is packed with allegations, rumours, oral narrations which are always made to draw attention and sympathies. You find that it has only cited the protest but failed to mention the killing of the 26 civilians in Farrajallah. These were civilians who had no connection with the dispute over the transfer of the administrative headquarters of the county”, he said.

He said while it was true that there were no politically motivated disappearances in South Sudan, the report contradicted itself later by alleging that in some places were people disappeared carried with the government's knowledge.

On torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, he observed that the report only cited unverified examples, devoid of any other details of the alleged victims beyond their names or the officers involved in such alleged acts of their respective police stations.

On the report's reference to the Judiciary as being inefficient and hence contributing to the prison congestion as a result of holding a large number of pretrial detainees for long periods of time, he observed that this was the same judiciary that the many foreign governments had from time to time paid glowing tribute as being functional and independent.

(ST)


Amnesty International's annual review of South Sudan's human rights

FAO expands support for national food security information systems for decision makers

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T22:41:30Z

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
FAO expands support for national food security information systems for decision makers

They say information is power; in South Sudan, information is life.

Today, FAO launched a $9 million project on information for decision making for food and nutrition security. This initiative will assist the Government of the Republic of South Sudan (RSS) achieve its goal of ensuring food security for all.

The Agriculture and Food Information System (AFIS), a three year project (2013-2015) implemented by FAO and funded by the European Union, will support the institutionalization of robust food security information systems at both national and state levels. This capacity development initiative will enhance and broaden systems to provide decision makers with food and nutrition security information and data, key building blocks in the foundation of South Sudan's agricultural development.

AFIS builds on the FAO-implemented Food Security Information for Action (SIFSIA) project (2007-2012), also funded by the EU, which built capacity for information collection and analysis for food security. Under strong government leadership, it facilitated the establishment of the Food Security Council and the Food Security Technical Secretariat, two key institutions designed to provide decision makers with timely and reliable food security information. Information systems on crop and livestock monitoring and forecasting, crop and livestock markets, and natural resources were also established. AFIS will expand the scope and representativeness of food security data, while increasing the performance, reliability and timeliness of systems of food security information at the state level.

FAO is the lead UN agency for agriculture, livestock, fisheries, forestry and rural development. The Organization has a proven capacity in developing food and nutrition security systems, and enhancing national capacity to utilise this information for more effective anti-hunger policies and programmes.

FAO has a distinguished history of partnering with the Government of the Republic of South Sudan. Through the Sudan Productive Capacity Recovery Programme (SPCRP), FAO assisted the RSS to develop the human, organizational and physical capacities of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Cooperatives and Rural Development, and the Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries in Warrap, Western and Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Lakes and Western Equatoria States.

FAO has assisted in the rehabilitation of seed laboratories and was instrumental in supporting the RSS to develop key policies and strategic frameworks, including the National Agriculture and Livestock Extension Policy (NALEP), the Agriculture Sector Policy and accompanying sub-sector policies, and the economic pillar of the South Sudan Development Plan (SSDP). FAO's close relationship with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Cooperatives and Rural Development and the Ministry of Animal Resources and Fisheries has assisted in the successful implementation and institutionalization of a number of initiatives including the ongoing country-wide promotion of Conservation Agriculture, Farmer Field Schools and Climate Change Adaptation.

***

Amnesty International's annual review of Sudan and South Sudan's human rights

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T14:53:34Z

Annual Report 2013
The state of the world's human rights

Human rights know no borders. But Amnesty International's 2013 report shows governments are using the excuse of 'internal affairs' in shameful attempts to block concerted international action to resolve human rights emergencies.

Download country reports for Sudan and South Sudan here:


Amnesty International's annual review of South Sudan's human rights


Amnesty International's annual review of Sudan's human rights

N. Bahr el Ghazal governor denies rift with Warrap counterpart

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T06:39:14Z

May 22, 2013 (JUBA) - The Governor of South Sudan's Northern Bahr el Ghazal state has disputed media reports alleging he was at odds with his Warrap counterpart over which candidate to support for the country's presidency.


General Paul Malong Awan, Governor of South Sudan's State of Northern Bahr el Ghazal (Source: paulmalongforgovernor.org)

The alleged differences between the two reportedly emerged during a recent visit by the Northern Bahr el Ghazal governor, Paul Malong Awan to witness the inauguration of a Roman Catholic Church building in Warrap state's Akon county.

Analysts say the inauguration event, which took the Warrap governor, Nyandeng Malek by surprise, highlights the internal differences within the south-ruling party (SPLM), in the run up to the 2015 general elections.

However, a statement issued from Awan's office indicates the occasion was “joyous” and “harmonious”, adding there was no disagreements between the two governors, contrary to media reports.

“It should be made clear that the two Governors, Paul Malong Awan and Nyandeng Malek, are in good terms and continue to serve the nation as Governors in their respective States,” the statement reads in part.

As such, any report of them being at odd with each other is fabricated with aim of undermining their joint efforts to ensuring prosperity among the South Sudanese citizens far beyond the boundaries of the two states, it added.

A minister in Warrap state government also dismissed the report as a “fabrication” of the media, saying the governors of the two neighbouring states were in harmony with each other.

“Am surprised to see such reports claiming over governor and her Northern Bahr el Ghazal counterpart are at odds. This is ridiculous and totally untrue,” said Paul Dhel Gum, the state minister for animal resources and fisheries.

No official statement has, however, been released from the office of the Warrap state governor.

(ST)

NCP Parliament Speaker will not negotiate with those who carry arms

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T06:09:52Z

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

May 22, 2013 - This article comes on the backdrop of the war drums beating campaign orchestrated by the National Congress Party (NCP) regime Parliament Speaker, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir in Dongola. Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir is quoted by the News Media as saying that the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) have the ability to resolve the situation militarily and the liberation of all the occupied territories. Al-Tahir added indicating that the Northern State announced the formation of a battalion of the political parties to be supportive and a shield for the army. Furthermore, Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir said that he will not negotiate with those who take up arms and kill innocent people in the area of Abu Kershola and city of Um Rawaba. Moreover, he said at a mass meeting in the capital of the northern state of Dongola that victory is underway. He thanked the alleged steadfastness of the Sudanese people and the Mujahideen behind the armed forces that fought before in the darkest circumstances. He praised the political parties, whom he did not name, which confirmed their alignment to the homeland and offered support to the armed forces! It is clear that stormy whirlwind is in reference to the successful quantum military operation carried out by the alliance of the armed movements under the umbrella of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) against the forces of the NCP government and its militias in North and south Kordofan.

Political analysts hinted that while Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir, speaker of the (NCP) parliament dares and declares he would not negotiate with anyone carrying arms, he might have forgotten that he might be challenging the master of his grace, Omer Hassan al-Bashir in Dongola away from Abukarshawla! Al-Tahir was, at the time, behaving like a swollen cat simulating the Charge of the Lion! This member of the NCP gang seems to have forgotten the statement made by his master of grace Omer al-Bashir Hassan Ahmed in early2003. Al-Bashir said addressing his audience that he would not negotiate with anyone who did not carry arms, in defiance to the Darfuri rebels, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement/ Army (SLA) who were asking the legitimate rights for their people. The response to that statement was an unprecedented joint military operation carried out, on 25 April 2003, by the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) entered al-Fasher and attacked the government air base destroying seven Antonov bombers and helicopter gunships on the ground. Seventy-five soldiers, pilots and technicians killed and 32 captured, including the commander of the air base, Major General Pilot Ibrahim Bushra. Thus, the armed movements are forced to take up arms and accepted to challenge the NCP regime and counter-force by force against force in the face of denial of legitimate citizenship rights.

Political observers say it was more appropriate for Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Tahir to have gone instead to his constituency to meet the desert tribal groups of Majaneen and others in the locality of al-Mazroub in North Kordofan. His voters (constituents) suffer from lack of basic public services, poverty, hunger, thirsty and disease. They deserve to be offered their legitimate rights as citizens of this country blighted by racism and corruption. Instead of going to Dongola, the capital of the Northern Riverain state at this time, al-Tahir could have done a better job. But he forgets his people in lieu of the fleeting grace and the downtrodden wealth he enjoys now during the era of the NCP Sudan. He forgot the voters who carried him on their shoulders and brought him to the prestigious position that he has assumed.

The putschists in the NCP regime abandoned the Sudanese moral code and got addicted to lying and have become geniuses of lying par excellence. It is a tragedy that formal religiosity that claimed by the NCP hypocrites has plagued our country. In the same context, the Vice President of the NCP for party affairs, foul-mouthed insulting crab poured his filthy disrespect; Dr. Nafie Ali Nafie, lashed out at the opposition political parties and challenged them if they alert in the way of Almighty Allah to fight. Furthermore, Nafie Ali Nafie stated that the rows are clearly differentiated between jihad, pride and dignity versus betrayal and agents for foreigners. The leading architect of the notorious ‘Ghost Houses “and the Génocidaire in Sudan, Nafie Ali Nafie talked about what he called the “fifth column and foreign agents in Khartoum will have neither a place nor a say among the people of Sudan.” And that they are digging their graves and sacrificing with their parties and political future”. These are the stereotypical phrases used by the NCP gang elements over the past 24 lean years of their hateful reign. Whenever the noose is tightened around them and the direction for exit is narrowed as a result of the evil actions they have been committing, they resort to profanity insults. The parable goes: “every vase exudes its contents when it is opened”!

Allied armed movements under the Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) are now seeking to topple the NCP regime. The latter option is resorted to after the failure of all peace agreements concluded with the government of Omar al-Bashir. The SRF aims for a complete change in the structure of governance in Sudan and to lay the foundations of justice and equality for all the components of the Sudanese people of various colours, languages, cultures, race and beliefs. This will be followed by the establishment of the rule of law and good governance, where prevail the foundations of democracy and freedoms and a decent life for the peoples of Sudan without discrimination.

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is the Deputy Chairman of the General Congress for Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). He can be reached at mahmoud.abaker@gmail.com

At the Mercy of the Sky, South Sudanese professionals

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T06:02:35Z

By Suzanne Jambo

May 22, 2013 - "I have nothing to hide and I walk away with my head high. There was absolutely no board meeting to discuss my issue. The reason given were unilateral spending (whatever that means)." Said Mr. Evertt Minga in an email dated 22nd April 2013 widely shared among South Sudanese Diaspora which made me boil, fume and upset; what's the meaning of nation-building after decades of liberation struggle if such an extremely competent, professional, 'one of a kind....' South Sudanese professional is fired under such clouded circumstances!!! YES, on 16th April this year one Evertt Minga was fired from his job as President of SPECS Engineering. He was fired by the Managing Director of Nilepet with apparently some approval from the South Sudanese government Minister of Petroleum. However, not to exonerate the minister, it is worth noting no official communication from the said minister on the matter. At no point in time was Mr. Minga given a warning verbally or in writing. There were no administrative procedures taken to inform him about his performance whatsoever. He was, in what appears to be, summarily dismissed without due process like a gorilla soldier wrongly accused and immediately fired-squad. Was the dismissal of Evertt Minga a normal procedure and did the company directors follow the norm? THE ANSWER IS ABOLUTELY NOT! Normally, dismissal based on e.g. poor job performance for CEOs comes after a board of directors have done job performance review and they determine that he/she did not meet the minimum standard requirement(s) etc. The Board of directors would be then under an obligation to approach the CEO based on the areas that needs improvement. After they gave him/her few attempts to improve his/her performance and he/she fails then that is when they are obligated to dismiss him/her following a progressive discipline process. Terminating someone on the spot in such a high management level is appropriate only when he/she is involved in a serious behavioural issue that undoubtedly violate company policies. Mr. Minga insists that he was summarily dismissed!

I am writing here so at least, we demand for an independent professional investigation into the summary dismissal of Mr. Minga is conducted and the good minister to explain why, how and when. As well, consequently, this should act as both a deterrent and precedent that stops any other similar dismissal taking place in the RSS in similar fashion again!

This brings me to; what rights do we as RSS citizens' employees enjoy in the newly established Republic, regardless if we are manual workers or professionals? Notably, the 'invasion' of internationals in the new nation; private sector, NGOs, UN and multi nationals pose a serious challenge for the new government to ensure the safe guarding of national employees and their protection from exploitation. With my background, prior to the SPLM secretariat for external relations, I worked extensively with South Sudanese indigenous NGOs; New Sudanese Indigenous NGOs Network, NESI. The Network founded in 2000, drew a membership of up to 77 indigenous NGOs from the initial founders of 6 NGOs only. We initiated NESI as an empowerment network of national NGOs in the face of huge influxes of international NGOs and the United Nations into South Sudan in the late 1980s. Admittedly and thankfully so, the internationals may have both saved lives and drew international humanitarian attention to South Sudan. However, then, almost all we knew of was mainly UNICEF's Operation Lifeline Sudan, OLS. And if you were pro-indigenous, local empowerment and sustainable development, you were at the 'mercy of the sky'. As national NGOs and community based organizations, we had to join hands, network and share information in addition to building our capacity to enable us provide qualitative services in the then war-torn areas of South Sudan. That was our prime way of survival; sustainable indigenous communities' empowerment and the professionals of South Sudan. Needless to add, there was hardly any existence of any private sector, so to speak.

Today, many dynamics have emerged since then. The RSS is an independent country, has its own government, legislature, the judiciary etc. So the question is, why is it, that even after our independence, an highly professional as Mr. Minga has fallen a victim of the 'rule of the jungle'; summary dismissal? Can he pursue a channel where he could seek justice? And will our system defend or protect Mr. Minga or any other South Sudanese of similar situation? My fear is what we already seem to have; deeply rooted ill employment practices, regulations & policies, weak economy and loopholes both in the labour market and our national economy. The absence of clear and easily understood labour laws, including how both the public and the private sectors should recruit and fire employees is what is greatly discouraging South Sudanese, especially from among the professionals and the Diaspora to join hands, return home and help build the nation; this is perhaps, silently and significantly contributing to the slow death of professionals and manual workers' zeal to actively participate in nation-building.

So, are South Sudanese as well other African neighbouring countries' professionals and manual labourers working today in either private or public sectors, including in the government, the UN, international NGOs in RSS some of the most exploited groups of labourers in the world? Likewise, in the public sector; how much employment-friendly regulations and mechanisms exist? Would one say this possibly seem like modern day slavery thriving under extreme corruption, nepotism, tribalism, racially-motivated greed from our own government perpetuated by some senior officials, foreign groups and influential business individuals alike? What are our so called liberation leaders sitting behind public desks doing to address this? And the judicial system, do we have any way how we can seek justice? Should one even mention our parliament. I seem to be pessimistic in how our direction of protecting our people's rights, how I wish to be proven wrong and very soon.

It is also worth noting that the range of 'racially-motivated-cum-economic exploitation' employment conditions in RSS is not only on ill dismissal practices but also, and more so felt in the disparity of wages between the so-called “locals” and “expats”. Hiring/recruitment should be done on the basis of one's academic, technical and professional ability as opposed to his/her nationality, passport or skin colour for that matter.

Relevant too, similarly, consumers and the public alike are also left at the mercy of the varied exploitative forces of the market, which are if unguarded always manipulative, in terms of price tags, especially when supply drops while demand skyrockets – a situation we have always been in since 2005 and it got worse from February 2012 when the oil pipelines were switched off. As to quality of products and services, well, "beggars aren't choosers" so goes the saying; we in the RSS and in the absence of goods, produce, markets etc policies and regulations, we are forced to buy any commodity and at any price. Many a time, prices change within the same day and severally, who regulates such prices and who decides? Consumers' rights & standards of goods...?!?!

Another extremely burning question at this juncture, Is our government failing us to regulate and control employment conditions, protection of the work force including how its managing our economic development? The high level of influx of "expatriates" include internationals and regionals alike; ranging from as far as the USA, China or neighbouring Ethiopia! Plenty of jobs ranging from washing dishes to accounting etc which any South Sudanese could be trained (if a skilled ones not available) and employed instead of an "expat". This level of degrading ourselves is reaching horrid levels that high level of resentment is simmering and soon someone is bound to take the law into own hands. This, surely will backfire in the face of a new emerging nation as RSS. Our government and judiciary have the inherent role to protect and defend nationals' right to access training, decent employment and wages. I don't want even want to begin on the national economic empowerment of our indigenous private sector, my God, small-medium enterprises, SMEs are under no mercy, sky or otherwise! Where would they get capital, any capital?!? One can't help but ask, when will we start an ALL RSS pro-poor economic policies? When will our own begin to flourish economically so we no longer have to be awarded 'tribalistic/nepotistic' and international/regional crooks non-delivery dubious 'ghost' contracts? or business empowerment endeavours?

Almost two years to our independence, why hasn't the Ministry of Labour & Public Services come up with the much-needed policies, guidelines and framework for sound and just employment of South Sudanese nationals and their protection? Similar questions are also posed to the ministry of finance and economic development, when there be any meaningful indigenous economic empowerment, access to loans for small-medium scale, SMEs businesses? How about the protection of our economic rights too? financial regulations to be levied on financial institutions including foreign banks alike, particularly favouring South Sudanese as normally enjoyed by citizens globally?

Suzanne Jambo is a South Sudanese lawyer, communities & human rights activist and is the current SPLM Secretary for External Relations and can be reached via email: suzannejambo@yahoo.com

23 killed in tribal clashes in South Darfur

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T05:54:09Z

May 22, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - At least 23 people were killed and 51 others injured yesterday in tribal clashes between Al- Gimir and Bani Halba tribes in Sudan's South Darfur state.


File picture shows a woman stands in the ruins of a village destroyed in fighting near West Darfur's capital el-Geneina, on February 22, 2008 (Reuters)

The confrontations between the two tribes also led to burning of Katela town and fleeing of its 20.000 residents to the southern neighbouring locality of Tulus.

Fires and columns of smoke were seen in provinces more than 50 kilometres away.

A spokesperson for Al-Gimir tribe, Abakar Al-Tom, lashed at the government of South Darfur state, accusing it of colluding with the Bani Halba tribe.

Al-Tom told reporters that government forces withdrew minutes before the start of the offensive, leaving the area and its residents to around 1.000 Bani Halba fighters on Land cruiser vehicles as well as on horsebacks and camels.

According to Al-Tom, the attack led to the displacement of all Katela residents, including the mayor of the locality, Abakar Hamid.

Al-Gimir tribe has submitted a protest note to the governor and the state legislature and sent a delegation to make a complaint to the African Union United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

A security source, who preferred to stay anonymous, said that two policemen were killed while defending the police headquarters before the attackers were able to burn it.

The same source said that 11 people from the Bani Halba were injured and two of them died later after they were transferred to Id Al-Firsan locality.

Officials in the government of Southern Darfur declined to comment on accusations made by Al-Gimir tribe of their collusion with Bani Halba.

Last January, seven people were killed and four others injured in similar clashes between the two tribes.

Tribal violence has mounted in Sudan's Darfur region during the past months which pushed the UNAMID to urge the conflicting parties to avoid whatever may threaten the peace in the restive region.

(ST)

Rumbek police seize beer from home of senior official

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T05:37:46Z

May 22, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudanese security forces in Rumbek, the capital of Lakes state have seized more then 417 crates of beers that were store in the house, Elijah Malok Aleng, the former Governor of Central Bank of South Sudan on Wednesday.

Alcohol is legal in South Sudan but Lakes state's caretaker military governor has banned drinking in a bid to improve security and stop cattle raids and related violence that have blighted the state in recent months.

The law of banning alcoholic is not in South Sudan constitution or constitution of the state.

A family member in Aleng's house told Sudan Tribune that the security officers who entered the house did not show respect to those staying in the house.

“We were being harassed, intimated and threatened not to speak to anybody in security related matters” said family member who requested anonymity.

On Tuesday a large number of beer sellers were arrested by Rumbek police, accused for having broken marshal law imposed by military caretaker Governor Maj-Gen Matur Chut Dhuol.

Businessman say that traders arrested for selling alcohol are not being taken to court but just have their goods destroyed without compensation.

Among people arrested on Tuesday were 12 foreign national who sell beer in Rumbek central market.

On Wednesday, the Lakes state government decided to release all those detained in Tuesday's beer search but the foreign salesmen are reported to have refused to leave the prison, demanding compensation from government.

“Government is disturbing us a lot. Our business is collapsing”, said one businessman who requested anonymity.

In January Lakes state's new military caretaker governor, Maj. Gen. Matur Chut Dhuol, introduced a set of tough reforms to quell insecurity in the state. Under the plans, commissioners of all eight counties have been directed to confront cattle raiders and bring them to justice.

Failure to do so will result in their immediate dismissal. He also warned members of Lakes state's legislative assembly to stop debating politics in parliament, saying he will shut down parliament if political topics continue.

Politics is Lakes state were thrown in turmoil earlier this year when elected governor, Chol Tong Mayay was sacked and replaced by Dhuol.

Many citizens have complained about Dhuol's tough stance on security issues, accusing him of implementing martial law and holding young men without charge in secret military prisons without access to lawyers or their families.

Dhuol's critics have also pointed out that under South Sudan's interim constitution an election should have been held 60 days after the caretaker governor appointed. This deadline passed on 21 March and no plans have been announced to hold an election before the 2015 national elections to the disappointment of some activists.

Lakes state's deputy governor has threatened to "crucify" critical journalists and activists who continue to criticise the government.

(ST)

South Sudan resumes oil flow via Sudan after "temporary blockage"

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T05:23:08Z

May 22, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan's oil minister said late on Wednesday that it had resumed oil production and flow to the international markets through the territory of neigbouring Sudan after a temporary blockage at Jebellen.


South Sudan oil minister Stephen Dhieu Dau celebrates on May 5, 2013 with local dancers in an oil production facility in Paloch in Upper Nile state, the resumption of oil production after a 16-month hiatus (Getty)

Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau did not provide any reason for the blockage, which sparked uncertainty in the country whose budget relies heavily on oil revenue due to the neglect of agriculture and the problems in establishing a reliable taxation system.

The minister assured commitment of his government to fully implement the cooperation agreement which Juba signed with the government of Sudan in September 2012.

Early this week Juba accused Khartoum of instructing oil companies to stop production from some oil fields, although this has been denied by the Sudanese government, who have described fall in oil flow as a technical issue.

South Sudan's foreign minister, Nhial Deng Nhial, said Wednesday that the government had "received information that these technical problems apparently are being addressed and the pumping station number two apparently is going to open sometime in the course of today."

Minister Dhieu told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday from Sudanese capital Khartoum that the implementation of cooperation agreement "will build trust and confidence between the countries. The implementation of oil agreement will be a catalyst to the other agreements.”

Dhieu said he was invited to Khartoum by his Sudanese counterpart Awad Ahmed Al-jaz for a discussion on the way the two ministers could work together to ensure that a similar incident is avoided from occurring in the future.

In Juba, South Sudanese Minister of information and broadcasting service Barnaba Marial Benjamin said the oil will resume at its previous capacity of 200 barrels per day.

"The oil will flow again this afternoon today. There was a temporary blockage at station number two (2) at Jebellen and it has been resolved", Marial told reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

He said the visit of the minister to Khartoum will clear the air and resumption of normal operation of the oil workers in the area but also did not give a reason for the blockage.

Wednesday's cabinet meeting, chaired by president Salva Kiir Mayardit, was dedicated to the oil shutdown, with the minister of petroleum and mining submitting a report on the visit of the technical committee which was dispatched to the site on Monday.

KIIR'S SHUTDOWN WARNING

President Salva Kiir had warned on Monday that South Sudan could once again be forced to shut down the flow of oil to the international markets through Sudanese territory.

President Kiir made the remark at a police graduation ceremony in Juba on Monday during which he called on the public to continue tightening their belts and help his government to address post-secession disputes with the government of neigbouring Sudan with which they have been unable to settle sticking issues.

“There could be oil shutdown again if [the Sudanese government] continue to use playing tactics and denials. We are still working with them [Sudan] in a diplomatic way. We want to see that they are the ones who have started it so that we are not blamed again by their friends”, Kiir Monday.

Kiir's comments are presumed to have prompted the ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation to summon the Chinese and Sudanese ambassadors over issue.

Officials at the country's petroleum and mining ministry say the stoppage began on Saturday when security operatives “tied nuts” and chased away oil workers from the Tharjath oil field in Unity state.

The White Nile Petroleum Operating Company, which runs the oil field has declined to make a comment.

The Sudanese ambassador to Juba, Mutrif Sadiq, said his government did not authorise the closure but said there may have been a misunderstanding which he thinks was not brought to the attention of the leadership.

Sadiq said he has been in contact with Khartoum over the issue and they were making necessary efforts to find out what actually happened; adding that he hopes it will be resolved soon.

The Sudanese diplomat made the remark after he was summoned by the South Sudanese ministry of foreign affairs and international cooperation on Tuesday after Chinese ambassador pledged his country would make some contacts with Sudan to issue is addressed promptly.

Oil production resumed last month after Juba stopped exports through Sudan in January 2012 due a transit fee dispute.

REACTIONS TO THE FEARS OF OIL CLOSURE

South Sudanese minister of information, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, on Monday told Sudan Tribune he was not aware of the closure but later accepted there was “a technical matter” which the government was investigating.

The undersecretary at the ministry of petroleum and mining, Machar Aciek Ader, declined to give any comment when by Sudan Tribune contacted him on Monday and Tuesday.

Ader was one of the senior government officials dispatched to the site to investigate the incident.

Officials at the ministry claimed he had forwarded the report to the minister confirming initial reports indicating that the flow of oil had been restricted by Sudanese security operatives who had interfered in the technical activities of the oil workers.

A senior government official at the ministry parliamentary affairs told Sudan Tribune on Wednesday that South Sudan's 2011 independence was incomplete if it continues to rely on Sudan for oil exports.

“I never felt in life that Sudan would not one day honour any agreement to our satisfaction. There are numerous examples I can cite. The most recent example is the implementation matrix. Our forces withdrew but what did they do, they refused and the international community is quiet”, he said, referring to the September cooperation agreement in which both sides agreed to pull their troops back from the tense and disputed border.

The official who did not want to be identified said the government abandon the idea of relying on the Sudanese pipeline and concentrate efforts in the construction of the alternative pipeline to the East Africa coast.

Jok Dut, resident of Juba from Upper Nile State says Khartoum does not understand diplomacy and said South Sudan should pursue the possibility of an alternative pipeline to Kenya, through Uganda to Kenya, or to Djibouti through Ethiopia.

(ST)

UN official calls for increasing humanitarian efforts in Darfur

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T05:14:25Z

May 22, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The UN under secretary general for humanitarian affairs, Valerie Amos, stressed readiness of UN bodies to cooperate with the government in order to provide support to those affected by the recent surge of violence in Darfur.


UN Humanitarian chief Valerie Amos talks with a displaced woman during her visit to Zam Zam camp for IDPs in North Darfur state on May 21, 2013 (photo by Albert González Farran UNAMID)

Amos visited Zam Zam camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) outside North Darfur state capital Al-Fasher in on Wednesday where she was accompanied by the Sudan humanitarian commissioner Abdel Rahman Suleiman.

She said that her visit was intended to follow up on the humanitarian situation of the affected civilians, adding that she had noticed during her tour at Zam Zam camp that the situation of the newly displaced persons who are mainly women and children was not satisfactory.

Last Sunday the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a report saying that 60.000 people have been displaced from areas of Muhajiriya and Labado in East Darfur since April's clashes between the Sudanese army and rebels.

The report mentioned that an unidentified armed group killed 4 people on May 9 in the town of Bangoul and looted 3000 head of cattle, adding that due to the tense security situation, an African Union - United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) convoy escort could not get clearance from government security authorities.

The undersecretary further stressed the need to bring together efforts of all partners including aid groups and the government authorities in order to provide assistance for those affected.

She disclosed that they have distributed food for the newly displaced persons and pointed out that lack of funding represents a real challenge for aid groups, saying that the current situation requires more efforts and cooperation to meet the needs of those affected by the recent events.

OCHA reported that thousands of civilians from Labado and Muhajeria moved also to IDPs camps in El Neem camp near East Darfur State capital, Ed Daein, and Dereige and Otash IDP camp in South Darfur.

The governor of North Darfur state, Osman Mohamed Yousif Kibir, strongly denied that armed clashes have taken place within his state during the past two weeks leading to new waves of displacement to Zam Zam camp.

During a meeting with the visiting UN humanitarian official, Kibir pointed out that the newly IDPs who arrived at Zam Zam came from Labado area in East Darfur following recent armed clashes.

The governor further claimed that Zam Zam camp represents a serious threat to security in the state, saying that it is a major source of fuel to rebel groups as well as a transit station.

Last month, the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement led by Minni Minnawai (SLM-MM), captured towns of Labado and Muhajiriya in East Darfur before Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) reclaimed the two areas later.

(ST)

Calls for investigation into Darfur student shootings

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T04:22:51Z

May 22, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – There are calls for Sudanese authorities to launch an immediate and independent investigation into the Monday shooting of nine students at Darfur's El Fasher University by a student militia group, police and security forces.

According to a statement issued on Wednesday by the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), the incident occurred as students attended a public forum on the main campus to discuss the recent disconnection of water and electricity supplies to the university and student residences.

The meeting was disrupted when at about 3pm, when an estimated 70 student militia members, armed with Kalashnikov rifles and reportedly wearing Sudanese army (SAF) uniforms, stormed the campus to garner student support for a government-led “mobilisation” campaign against rebel groups operating in the country.

ACJPS said militia members, who are aligned with the ruling National Congress Party (NCP), called on students to join their jihad (holy war) against the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), a coalition of armed opposition groups fighting the government in the states of South and North Kordofan, Blue Nile and Darfur.

SHOTS FIRED

After students rejected the group's calls for mobilisation, ACJPS says the militia group surrounded them, shouting abuse and accusing them of supporting the opposition movement. When students reportedly responded by throwing stones, the militia group fired shots into the air, with one female student sustaining a gunshot wound to her hand.

Its statement said a further eight students were wounded while attempting to flee the campus after joint armed forces of the police and the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), sealed off the main gate and fired live ammunition into the crowd.

All nine gunshot victims were admitted to El-Fasher Hospital and are reportedly in a stable condition.

The victims – which included four women and five men – sustained gunshot wounds to the head, hands and ear.

ACJPS has urged the Sudanese government to order a prompt and impartial investigation into the incident, as well as ensure those responsible are held accountable.

It has also called on authorities to disarm student militia groups operating in Darfur and elsewhere in the country and put in place effective measures to protect civilians on university campuses from violence.

It said the government had a duty to protect the victims of these recent incidents from further violence or reprisals and ensure they have access to appropriate medical services.

“The government of Sudan has repeatedly failed to effectively investigate or publish the findings of committees of inquiry established to investigate similar excessive use of force by government forces and government-aligned militias against civilians, including on university campuses”, ACJPS said in its statement.

MOBILISING SUPPORT

In late April, the Sudanese government publicly launched a national “mobilisation” campaign to garner public support for the SAF fighting against armed opposition groups in the country.

According to the statement from ACJPS, on 20 May, Sudan's upper house reportedly decided to suspend its sessions in order to enable members of parliament to return to their constituencies and lead a “mobilisation” campaign against the Darfur rebel group

Fighting between the SRF and government forces had been previously concentrated in South Kordofan, but spread to neighbouring North Kordofan in late April after rebels attacked Um Ruwaba town, in what was considered one of their boldest military offensives in years

ACJPS said that prior to the attack on students at El Fasher University, the militia group had attended a meeting convened on the same day by members of the NCP in North Darfur to discuss strategies for mobilising popular support for the ruling party and defeating armed opposition groups.

The shooting victims were: Mohamed Ahmed Omar, (m), Mahadia Mohamed Ali, (f), Resala Omer, (f), Yasir Saeed Ali, (m), Wafa Mohamed Haroun, (f), Alrashied Yahia Abakar, (m), Tandur Bakhit, (f), Humida Mohamed Youseff, (m) and Abdulrahman Abdalla Shatta, (m).

(ST)

South Sudan denies targeting individuals over fight against corruption

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T04:22:16Z

May 22, 2013 (JUBA) - South Sudan said on Wednesday it does not target specific individuals in the fight against corruption, dispelling criticism that the government was targeting some people from specific ethnic groups for their alleged involvement in a 2008 scandal in which 3.6 million South Sudanese pounds went missing.

The country's minister of Justice, John Luk Jok, whose ministry had set up a team to conduct an investigation into the "Dura saga," accused some politicians of politicising the process to “kill the justice”.

“I want to state clearly that the government is not targeting individuals as it is being alleged. What the ministry is doing is to ensure justice is applied fairly, uphold government policy on transparency and accountability. It is the government policy to fight corruption and I want to state here very categorically that we do not target individuals. All we are doing is that the system allows itself to go out to whoever is wanting and will be answerable,” Juk clarified in an exclusive interview with Sudan Tribune Wednesday.

Minister Juk said the ministry had formed a highly skilled committee to conduct a thorough investigation, specifically identifying those who received funds without delivering grains. The investigation team is headed by South Sudan's Prosecutor General, Filberto Mayuot Mareng. Other members were drawn from the justice and interior ministries.

He explained that the government was to buy the grain, locally known as Dura with the intention to sell it to the poor at cheaper prices and the money paid to the ministry of finance. However, many individuals secured the contracts with fake documents, claiming to be companies and ended up getting away with hundreds of millions of dollars without any grain delivered to the states.

In an attempt to ensure justice is done the parliamentary committee on public accounts last year summoned the former ministers, Michael Makuei Lueth, Kuol Athian and David Deng Athorbei over the issue.

Athian, who was the minister of finance at the time, defended himself, saying the companies he contracted were legally registered by the former ministry of legal affairs and constitutional development under Michael Makuei Lueth.

The former minster said he paid the companies who brought certificates of acknowledgement from the states that they had actually delivered the Dura to the states in accordance with the contracts signed, a revelation contrary to what the people on the ground said.

Officials in the states said the Dura never reached the states or the intended destinations.

In his attempt to distance the government from misappropriating the public funds, justice minister said “some scandalous people used the opportunity to make what we can call now, or what has been alleged now, to be false claims or fraudulent claims on the government which involved huge sums of money".

The World Bank auditors invited by South Sudan to review the case in February found that 290 companies were paid without ever having signed contracts and another 151 were vastly overpaid.

PUBLIC REACTIONS

Sabit Alfred a resident of Juba from Central Equatoria State said he understands why justice is taking so long because it is complicated by the involvement of senior government officials.

“This issue is very complicated. This is why it took such a long time. It is complicated to the extent I feel judiciary cannot do anything about it because our people think that this judiciary is not independent. I also don't think about the president can do anything because it is really very complicated issue. It is not clear. The state governments are the ones to clear this issue not anyone”, Alfred explained.

Mawien Bol, a resident of Juba from Northern Bahr el Ghazal State described the whole story “as a big mess, linking it to a story about a crane and a frog.

“This Dura saga is a big mess. It is exactly like a story crane and frog story if you ever read it. The crane and frog is very funny and I think this is what is happening. The crane wants to eat the frog but the frog was already on its neck. The crane struggles to swallow a frog but it could not because the frog had firmly grabbed it by the neck and refused to leave making swallowing impossible.

"This is exactly what happened. The government wants to prosecute some contractors but they seem to be forgetting that it is the same government whose members were part of the deal through either their friends or relatives. So it is always difficult to try such a case. I think it should just be left and take it as one of the lesson learned”, he said

Deng Garang, a student at Juba University, said he does not understand why it is taking the government such a long time to end this Dura story.

"This story keeps coming up and nothing is done about it. It seems the government is facing some internal difficulties. May be there are senior and powerful government officials”, he said.

(ST)

Civil society groups urge AU to adopt comprehensive peace approach for Sudan

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T04:20:49Z

May 22, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - A coalition of more than 120 civil society organisations from across Africa and the Middle East on Wednesday issued a stark warning about the conflict in Sudan, calling on the African Union (AU) to “make history” by supporting a new comprehensive approach to peace.

The comments come as African leaders will gather in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on Saturday 25 May to mark the 50th anniversary of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and the 10th anniversary of the African Union (AU).

The celebrations of the Golden Jubilee will be followed by the 21st ordinary summit of the AU on Sunday. It will be held under the theme, ‘Pan-Africanism and African Renaissance'.

Some 75 heads of state and government and 450 journalists from Africa and beyond are believed to be attending the summit.

"This week our leaders will gather to celebrate 50 years of African unity and we celebrate with them in recognising the significance and success so far of pan-Africanism. However, whilst we mark such progress, the situation in Sudan is deteriorating at an alarming rate", the statement said.

"We call on the AU to use this anniversary not just to mark but to make history by supporting a new, bolder and comprehensive approach to Sudan's conflicts", it added.

A comprehensive peace process to end the ongoing conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile has so far been rejected by the Sudanese government, AU and the international community.

“We need to tackle the fundamental drivers of the country's multiple conflicts and acknowledge that the many groups taking up arms against the government share common grievances that demand a common approach”, the coalition said in a statement.

Albaqir Mukhtar, director of the Al Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE), said although the AU has had a number of successes in its advocacy work on African issues over the past 10 years, a lasting solution for instability in Sudan has remained elusive.

“African leaders must meet this challenge by stepping up and being resolute in efforts to achieve a comprehensive political solution for peace”, he said.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), some 4.4 million people in Sudan are affected by conflict, with the situation deteriorating at an alarming rate as violence escalates in Darfur, Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile.

In recent weeks, the conflict has edged closer to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, with Darfur rebels attacking a major town in North Kordofan in the context of an increasing alliance between rebel movements.

UN agencies say millions of people have been displaced by the conflicts and are dependent on food aid or living in ‘temporary' camps.

Coalition signatories also say the recent assassination of Dinka Ngok tribal Kuol Deng Kuol in the disputed territory of Abyei could potentially shatter the fragile peace between Sudan and South Sudan.

In Darfur, where major armed conflict erupted 10 years ago, hundreds of thousands of people continue to live in a cycle of war, displacement and poverty.

Haggag Nayel, secretary-general of the Arab Coalition for Darfur, says some 100,000 people were displaced by fighting in the six weeks up to 5 May, adding that he situation is as bad as 2007 when the conflict was thought to be at its height.

"Far from ending, the violence in this region is increasing and fuelling further insecurity across the country", he said.

Meanwhile, co-chair of the Sudan Consortium, Dismas Nkunda, said the horrors of Darfur are increasingly being replicated in South Kordofan and Blue Nile, with aerial bombardments and ground fighting severely affecting over one million people, of which 700,000 are blocked from receiving international aid.

"The AU must do all it can to halt this terrible crisis and adopt a unified approach to prevent the country's conflicts from worsening further," she said.

The OAU was founded on May 25, 1963 in Addis Ababa as a way to promote the unity and solidarity of African states. It was later transmuted into the AU in July 2000.

(ST)

Lakes and Unity MPs vowe to return raided cattle

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T04:19:04Z

May 22, 2013 (BENTIU) - Parliamentarians from Lakes and Unity States have assured each other in a face to face meeting last week in Unity states capital, Bentiu, to ensure that cattle raided from both states will be returned to their owners.

Cattle raiding have been a constant re-occurrence along the borders of Unity, Warrap and Lakes states both before and after the end of decades of civil war in 2005. The cross borders raids have continued since South Sudan's independence in 2011.

In April a teleconference was organized by United Nations department of civil affairs bring together member of parliament from the three states to discuss challenges and ways forward to end the raids and deadly reprisal attacks.

The MPs repeated their promise to address cattle raiding along their borders, which have hampered cross-border relationships and trade.

The announcement came after a delegation of MPs from Lakes state met with their counterparts in Unity State.

Peter Dak Khan, an MP from Unity state, says the two states are willing to steadfastly promote peace to the neighbouring states which have suffered from continued threats of insecurity caused by cattle rustling and inter-clan fighting.

“Both sides have agreed in last week's meeting that we will be working toward returning the stolen cattle or cows to their rightfully owners and should be implemented by both states government”, Khan said in an interview with Sudan Tribune on Tuesday.

Khan says, he urged officials from Lake state to immediately implement the commitment from both state government's in order for return of stolen cows. He gave the example of when the commissioner of Payinjiar county recovered 105 cattle that had been stolen from from Yirol East in April.

He added, if authorities from both states applied same spirit everything would have improved in terms of bringing an end the cattle rustling along borders.

Last week youth, alleged to have come from Unity state's Mayiandit and Payinjiar counties attacked neighbouring Rumbek North county according to Lake state authorities.

Mayiandit county commissioner, Gideon Gatpan Thoar, confirmed last week that raiders clashes with security personnel at Madol payam [district] while they attempted to return from Lake state.

The commissioner accused their ring leader Gatluak Kuekuek who was allegedly comes from neighbouring Mayom county of masterminding on Maper county in Lake state. This has been denied by the commissioner.

Cattle raiding along both sides of the state border have resulted into more deaths and looting the properties of traders trying to move between Unity and Lake state.

Officials from both states have spoken of the need to bring an end to cattle rustling but have failed due to poor infrastructure between the states, which have made it difficult for police forces to patrol the borders and respond to attacks in remote areas.

Eight police officers were killed in Koch county of Unity state last week when they tried to intervene in fighting between the Jageay Nuer and Bul Nuer communities.

(ST)

Red Cross awards volunteers and journalist, governor donates 10% of salary

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-23T03:57:20Z

May 22, 2013 (BOR) - Earlier this month the South Sudan Red Cross Society in awarded five volunteers and Radio Miraya journalist Manyang Mayom Meen certificates acknowledging their work in the crisis hit Jonglei state, where the government is fighting an armed insurgency.


South Sudan Red Cross demonstrating in Bor how they evacuate victims from conflict in Jonglei state, May 6, 2013 (ST)

The volunteers who received the award were Edward Panther Nhial, Majur, Ayor Kuchcai, Moses Leek Garang, Gop Yuang Jol.

Radio Miraya journalist, Manyang Mayom, was also awarded for his coverage of difficult events. The Director of the South Sudan Red Cross in Jonglei, David Gai
Deer, said that Mayom's reports had helped them identify areas that need a humanitarian response.

Mayom thanked the South Sudan Red Cross for recognising his work and vowed to work harder.

Describing his reporting, he said: "I was not a judge and I was putting whatever available for those who make decision to learn from what is happening from the ground without acceleration”.

Jonglei governor pledges one tenth of income to S.Sudan Red Cross

The state governor of Jonglei state, Kuol Manyang Juuk, committed a tenth of his monthly salary to South Sudan Red Cross, as his memberships fee, urging others to contribute to strengthened Red Cross preparedness for the ongoing [mostly man made disaster] disaster management in the state.

While celebrating the International Red Cross and Red Crescent day in Bor on May 6, Manyang acknowledged the important contributions made by Red Cross and International Committee of the Red Cross during the war time between South Sudan and Sudan, helping the then Southern Sudanese minors all the way from South Sudan to Ethiopia and finally to Kenya in 1992.

Most of these minors were later on called 'Lost Boys', after seeking resettlement in United States and Australia among other countries in the world.

“Without assistance from these important agencies, majority of the then boys, that have now excelled would have not made it”, said Manyang.

Formed on July 9, 2011 together with South Sudan Independence, South Sudan Red Cross helped lots of people in affected by both natural and man-made catastrophes in Jonglei state in particular and his hope, including the wounded people in Pibor and Akobo and others displaced by flood in the state.

It has helped in distribution of food, blankets, and nets among others to people identified families in the state.

He said his government would consider the Red Cross in annual budget of the state to keep the new organization active in the state.

Kuol pledged his personal contribution:

“You have to register me as an individual Kuol Manyang, I will be paying one tenth of my income every month”, he said.

(ST)

Rebel leader claims Sudan planning to use chemical weapons against his forces

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-22T07:43:52Z

May 21, 2013 (WASHINGTON) – The Sudanese government is getting ready to deploy chemical weapons to use against insurgents in the ongoing battles in North Kordofan, a rebel leader said.


Minni Minnawi (file/ AFP)

Minni Minnawi, leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement faction (SLM-MM) claimed in a statement today conveyed through one of his aides that the Sudanese army wants to resort to this lethal method as it has failed to flush out rebel forces in Jebel al-Dayer area.

He said that due to the geographical nature of the area, Sudanese ground troops are unable to effectively mount an attack against his forces and that even the use of fighter jets have proved ineffective.

This month the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) of which SLM-MM is a member claimed to have taken control of Jebel al-Dayer. This was the latest in a string of attacks launched by the rebels since late April in north and south Kordofan states.

Khartoum has declared a general state of mobilization to “crush” the rebels for good and expel them from areas they captured including Abu-Kershola in South Kordofan.

Around the same time, SRF briefly occupied North Kordofan's second largest town of Um Rawaba which causing an alarm within government ranks as this is considered a new territory in the rebels' reach which in the past has been confined to Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan.

SRF has vowed to continue its offensive until it reached Khartoum to unseat the government of president Omer Hassan al-Bashir who has been in power since 1989.

However, few expect the rebels to have the ability to follow through on its threat.

The Sudanese government accused Juba of backing the recent rebel offensive and dispatched two senior officials last week for talks with South Sudan leader Salva Kiir on this issue.

The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti told reporters afterwards said he received assurances that SRF would receive no support from Juba.

(ST)

Sudan and SPLM-N at odds over children vaccination

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-22T07:41:35Z

May 21, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government and Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) are at odds over a polio vaccination campaign UN agencies intend to carry out in the rebel controlled areas in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.


Girls sit in front of their shelter in Bram village in the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan April 28, 2012. (photo Goran Tomasevic Reuters)

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed to the warring parties to hold a one week moratorium on fighting in the two states to enable aid workers to carry out a polio vaccination and Vitamin A distribution campaign for about 150,000 children under the age of five years.

However, the SPLM-N asked the United Nations agencies to conduct this campaign from Ethiopian and Kenya, while the Sudanese government said this operation should be carried out from the Sudanese territory.

Speaking in a teleconference with activists in the United States on Monday, Yasir Arman said they demand that the vaccination campaign be carried out from Ethiopia and Kenya because "we do not have an agreement with the Sudanese government".

He added that Khartoum has "the idea to bring its security agents into our areas and in any case we do not trust them".

In the Sudanese capital the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos is conducting a series of meetings with the government official on the humanitarian situation in Darfur and the Two Areas.

Following a meeting with Amos on Tuesday, Sudan's Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, Suleiman Abdel Rahman stated that they agreed that the vaccination campaign should be carried out from inside the Sudan.

Suleiman said they share views to not deliver humanitarian assistance or conduct the vaccination campaign from outside the Sudan.

The UN OCHA said this campaign targets children and newborn babies who have not been vaccinated as a result of war that has been going on in South Kordofan and Blue Nile since 2011.

Sudan has recently been declared to be polio free.

"Any new cases in Sudan would be a serious setback not only for Sudan, but for global efforts to eradicate polio", OCHA pointed out.

(ST).

Khartoum denies blocking South Sudan oil flow

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-22T05:35:53Z

May 21, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese oil minister Awad Al-Jaz on Tuesday denied reports that his government hampered the exportation of South Sudan crude through the Heglig pipeline, stressing it functions normally.


South Sudan's Petroleum and Mining Minister Stephen Dhieu Dau (3rd R) applauds as he restarts oil production in the main oil field in Palouge, after a 16-month shutdown on May 5, 2013 (Reuters)

In statements to the official news agency, SUNA, Al-Jaz said South Sudan's oil is flowing normally on Sudanese soil to the export ports.

“South Sudan's oil is flowing normally on Sudanese soil to the export ports,” the Sudanese minister said.

The oil minister added that the work between Sudan and South Sudan is continuing according to the matrix of the joint cooperation signed by the two countries.

Mutrif Sadiq, the Sudanese ambassador to South Sudan said Tuesday that his government did not authorize closure of the oil flow and was making necessary efforts to find out what actually happened in the field.

The diplomat, who was summoned by the foreign affairs ministry, also distanced his government of any involvement in the oil matter.

A South Sudanese official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Sudan Tribune on Monday that Khartoum had shut down the pipeline transporting oil produced from Unity state's Tharjath oil fields through Heglig.

An official from the South Sudanese petroleum and mining ministry went to say that Sudanese security agents shut down the pipeline and chased the workers.

The foreign affairs ministry on Monday summoned the Chinese ambassador over the alleged blockage of the oil flow by the Sudanese government.

Mawien Makol Arik, the spokesperson for the ministry confirmed this, but said the summons had nothing to do oil blockage, but a “sudden” decline in South Sudan oil production.

“The foreign affairs ministry did summon the Chinese ambassador to explain why there was a sudden decline in oil output, yet no explanations had been given,” Arik told Sudan Tribune Tuesday.

He said the country's oil production, in recent days, fell to just 105,000 barrels per day, from the 200,000 previously produced daily.

“We suspected there was something wrong and that's why we asked the Chinese envoy to meet us over the matter. Discussions are still in progress,” ministry spokesperson said.

Chinese companies dominate the South Sudanese oil industry having been welcomed into Sudan before the South seceded from the north in 2011 taking with 75% of the country's 350,000 barrels per day of oil production.

South Sudanese oil production was halted in January 2012 due to a dispute between Khartoum and Juba over transit fees but, as part of a cooperation deal, production resumed last month.

President Salva Kiir is scheduled to join his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir in to witness the first Southern crude to be exported from Port Sudan on the Red Sea for almost a year and a half.

(ST)

Uganda can help peace in Darfur by stopping support to rebels, Sudan says

SudanTribube.com — 2013-05-22T05:33:45Z

May 21, 2013 (KHARTOUM) - A high ranking Sudanese official said Uganda has to stop its support to the rebel groups in Darfur, if it wants to help to bring peace in the troubled region.


Ugandan Prime minister Amama Mbabazi (file/ AFP)

The source, the state new agency (SUNA) reported on Tuesday, was reacting to statements by the Ugandan prime minister Amama Mbabazi who met on Monday with the head of the African Union United Nations Mission for Darfur (UNAMID) Mohammed Ibn Chambas.

Mbabazi, according to Uganda's New Vision newspaper, told Chambas that Kampala is ready to help in bringing an end to the conflict in Darfur.

He added that Ugandan army would pursue the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels "if they meted terror on Darfur".

"The Real assistance that Uganda can provide to bring peace in Darfur is to commit itself to the resolution of the summit of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) held in December 2011", the source said.

The regional body, at that conference, designated Darfur holdout rebel groups groups as negative forces that should be combated.

The ICGLR adopted this decision after the refusal of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the factions of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) to sign the Doha Document for peace in Darfur (DDPD) in July 2011.

The Sudanese official said they understand that Chambas who is also the joint chief mediator seeks to persuade the rebel groups to join the peace process.

"But what we do not understand is the insistence of the Ugandan government to harbour and to support the rebel groups", he further said.

The Sudanese official further said that Ugandan government did not condemn the killing earlier this month of Mohamed Bashar, a former JEM rebel commander who signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government last April.

This incident was condemned by the international community and described by the African Union as a "cowardly act, aimed at dissuading the hold out groups in Darfur from joining the peace process", he added.

Observers say that Ugandan authorities are now subjected to international pressures over their support to the Sudanese rebel groups.

Ugandan security services, until recently, tried to restrict the visibility of Darfur rebel groups and their activities in Kampala.

Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni in May 2012 warned Sudan against support Kony's group. Kampala, in the past, accused Khartoum of supporting LRA rebels saying they were hidden in Darfur region. Sudan however dismissed the accusation.

Chambas reportedly met with the rebel groups in Kampala to discuss their positions from the Doha process.

The rebel groups demand an inclusive process to discuss a comprehensive solution for the political conflicts in the country and reject the separate negotiations in different venues.

(ST)

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