Africa

August 30, 2015 (JUBA) - A group of defected rebel officials in South Sudan conflict have rejected a recently signed peace deal between the government of President Salva Kiir and the rebel faction under former vice president, Riek Machar, demanding that peace renegotiations between warring parties should take place inclusive of their group.

Gabriel Changson Chang (ST Photo)

The group calling itself Federal Democratic Party (FDP) with it military wing South Sudan Armed Forces (SSAF), an army pending name they borrowed from the South Sudan's transitional constitution is led by former national minister of youth, culture and sports, Gabriel Changson Chang.

The group called upon the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to adopt a new strategy in the peace negotiation.

“We in the federal democratic [party] and South Sudan armed forces believe that the IGAD must adopt a new strategy in the peace negotiation. We believe that in order to bring a lasting peace to South Sudan, all parties and stakeholders in the conflict must be included in the peace talks so that any agreement reached by [parties] must [be] owned by South Sudanese,” the statement dated August 29, 2015 reads in part.

The statement criticized IGAD, an east African bloc, which mediated the end to more than 20 months conflict in the country, for allegedly restricting negotiations “to a few favoured clients are contrary to the spirit of peace.”

IGAD, according to the statement, must allow open discussion of the root causes that triggered the conflict. It expressed doubt whether president Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar will be able to work together after “failing to gain trust despite working for eight years in the same government.”

“Both president and Dr. Riek Machar worked with each other for eight years and could not trust each other. It is doubtful whether these leaders will invent or generate any trust between them in the short period of transitional period,” he Changson said.

“Due to this mistrust between the two leaders, it remains to be seen whether the Juba massacre will not repeat itself,” he further predicted.

He claimed that the peace agreement between Kiir and Machar failed to recognize the Juba massacre and this “is very disappointing to the Nuer ethnic group in general and the families of the massacred people in particular.”

However, the peace agreement provided for compensation and reparation of the victims of the massacre in Juba and in other areas. A report by the African Union's Peace and Security Council also addressed the Juba massacre and to hold those responsible to account once it is released during the implementation of the peace deal.

But Changson further predicted that rivalry between the two major communities of Dinka and Nuer may continue.

“This shows lack of respect for the dead and this can heighten the sentiments that can threaten reconciliation and healing between the Nuer and the Dinka ethnic groups,” he argued.

The statement further added that imposed peace hardly changes the attitude and behaviours of people involved in the conflict, thus demanding the need to involve all the stakeholders in negotiations.

“In condemning this agreement, we are aware and convinced that this imposed peace will not alleviate the suffering of our people. We have learnt from the history that imposed agreement do not change attitude and behaviours of people previously in conflict. It is only when agreement and reconciliation are concluded through free wills of the people that commitment and respect for those agreement is upheld,” he added.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – President Yowerei Museveni of Uganda has held unexpected high profile meeting with a high level delegation from the South Sudan's armed opposition faction under the leadership of former vice president, Riek Machar, days after a peace deal was signed by two warring parties in South Sudan.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni chairs a meeting with SPLM-IO delegation (R) in Kampala, August 29, 2015 (Photo ST)

The SPLM-IO said the meeting took place in the Ugandan capital, Kampala, on Saturday following an invitation extended to the former rebel group after signing of a final peace agreement with president Salva Kiir, which was brokered by the East African regional bloc, IGAD, and its international partners.

“Our Chairman and Commander-in-Chief, Comrade Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, dispatched a high level delegation to Kampala and met with President Yoweri Museveni,” Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

“They met President Museveni on Saturday and the meeting was cordial,” Dak said, but declined to provide details of the outcome of the meeting.

He however said the high profile interaction discussed a wide range of issues on implementation of the peace agreement and relations between Kampala and the opposition group.

South Sudan's opposition has since last year opened an office in the Ugandan capital and dispatched a representative based in Kampala to deal with humanitarian issues and build on mending relations between the two.

The 10-member opposition delegation was led by the deputy chairman and deputy commander-in-chief of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army in opposition, General Alfred Ladu Gore.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (RUMBEK) – A renowned youth activists have been killed in Rumbek East county of South Sudan's Lakes state, relatives and officials told Sudan Tribune.

Map detail showing South Sudan's Lakes state in red

Makuer Bol was reportedly killed last Saturday night in Cueicok payam.

A Criminal Investigation Department said a team was dispatched to probe the incident

“Although Makuer was the most influential youth member, he never took sides in all cycles of revenge occurring in Lakes state,” the officer, who preferred anonymity, said.

Meanwhile, unknown gunmen reportedly killed a primary eight pupil along with his father in Mabui village near Rumbek airstrip on Friday night.

Dut Makat's father, Makat Moon was a soldier in the army's division six headquarters.

The state government has intensified the search for the suspected gunmen believed to be from Rup section of Rumbek Central county.

Lakes state has experienced waves of violence following the unsolved murder of paramount chief Apareer Chut Dhuol, an elder brother of the embattled caretaker governor, Matur Chut Dhoul.

There have been growing demands among Lakes state residents for Dhuol's removal, but President Salva Kiir has overlooked these calls.

Local police say state authorities have become increasingly isolated, with the public refusing to share information with law enforcement officers, making it difficult to maintain law and order in the region.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 30, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese musicians in Ethiopia stage a concert in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa to celebrate the final peace agreement signed by the two warring factions in the world's youngest nation.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir (seated) signs a peace agreement in Juba, August 26, 2015. (Photo Reuters/Jok Solomu)

South Sudan peace ambassador, Gatwech Koak Nyuon, who chief guest, opened the concert held on Saturday at Gerji community hall in Addis Ababa.

Gatwech made presentations on truth, reconciliation and healing and also awarded top artists.

The Chairperson for South Sudan Artists Association in Ethiopia (SSAAE), Khor Deng Jang, welcomed the signed peace accord to end 20 months long conflict in South Sudan.

"I welcome the peace signed by the president [Salva Kiir] and Dr. [Riek] Machar" Jang elaborated at the closed ceremony.

Khor urged the IGAD-Plus and the international community to help implement the peace process.

In a joint communiqué, the South Sudanese called on IGAD-Plus, the international community as well as on all South Sudanese in the diasporas and at home to keep working together and help the leaders of the parties on implementation process.

They also urged leaders of the two South Sudanese warring factions to quickly establish truth, healing and reconciliation commission as it was done in South Africa.

The musicians further stressed a need for the religious communities to preach for peace and love to bring all South Sudanese communities together as one united family.

The South Sudanese artists planned to compose new songs which are noble to peace so that war affected South Sudanese hurt in this ongoing crisis are healed from trauma.

Over 800 people attended the concert organised by South Sudanese artists in Ethiopia.

Although the two rivals inked a final peace deal which brought hope for permanent ceasefire, some South Sudanese in Addis Ababa, however, still doubt on its implementation citing at least seven ceasefire agreements which were broken quickly.

But thousands of South Sudanese residing at refugee camps in Ethiopia are still hoping to return back home soon to rejoin their families. Since conflict in South Sudan erupted in December 2013, over 200,000 South Sudanese crossed borders into Ethiopia.

The international community has threatened to impose tougher measures on any party that fails to implement the peace agreement initiated by the IGAD-Plus mediators.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) -Sudan's president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has officially rejected the call of the African Union (AU) to hold a pre-dialogue meeting in Addis Ababa, saying he wants the dialogue to be an exclusive Sudanese process.

Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir (TIKSA NEGERI/REUTERS)

Last week, the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) reiterated its call for an urgent pre-national dialogue meeting of all Sudan's relevant parties, at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, to discuss and agree on procedural matters relating to the dialogue.

Bashir, who addressed the army officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers at the Wadi Siedna military compound on Sunday, said his government refuses to hold the dialogue abroad, stressing that the AU, United Nations and the United States can't force the Sudanese government to hold the national dialogue abroad.

He said that doors are open for all parties to discuss ways for resolving Sudan's problems without foreign tutelage, warning rebels groups against insistence on resorting to arms to resolve outstanding issues.

Bashir said the coming year would be the year for achieving a decisive peace, pointing they offer the full opportunity for all parties to engage in the dialogue.

“We are authorized to wage war against those who refuse to engage in the dialogue,” he added.

In the same context, Sudan's foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, told the Swedish ambassador to Khartoum, Mette Sunnergren, that his government would not accept to hold any dialogue conference abroad.

In a meeting held on Sunday, Ghandour informed the Swedish diplomat that his government wants the dialogue to be "an exclusive Sudanese process", pointing that Sudan coordinates with the AUPSC and the AU High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) only as partners who offer opinion and efforts to ensure the success of the process.

In September 2014, the peace and security body endorsed a roadmap aiming to facilitate the national dialogue. It provides to hold a national dialogue preparatory meeting in Addis to agree on issues related to the process.

But before they have to negotiate a cessation of hostilities immediately followed by security arrangements.

Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative more than a year and a half ago in which he urged opposition parties and rebels alike to join the dialogue table to discuss all the pressing issues.

But the initiative faced serious setbacks in wake of the government's refusal to create suitable atmosphere in the country leading several major participants to pull out.

OPPOSITION CONDEMNS GOVERNMENT STANCE

RNM leader Ghazi Salah Eddin Attabani speaks in a press conference held in Khartoum on 30 August 2015 (Photo ST)

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition Reform Now Movement (RNM), Ghazi al-Attabani, described the government refusal to participate in the pre-dialogue meeting as “irrational and unsustainable”.

Attabani, who spoke in a press conference held by the Alliance of National Forces (ANF) including the political forces which withdrew from the government-led dialogue on Sunday, said the government would be forced to change its position sooner or later, wondering why it drags its feet on accepting the pre-dialogue meeting while it engages in external negotiations on its entire affairs.

He called on the Sudanese government to stop political manoeuvring on the issue of holding the dialogue inside Sudan, accusing it of trying to portray the opposition forces as seeking to hold the dialogue abroad.

“On the contrary, all political forces are committed to hold an exclusive Sudanese dialogue inside the Sudan”, he added.

RNM leader pointed that some opposition forces agreed to initiate the dialogue by holding a preparatory meeting abroad, describing the AUPSC call for the dialogue as “historic and unprecedented”.

He said the government will be the losing party if it insists on rejecting the AUPSC call for holding the pre-dialogue meeting, warning against underestimating the African support for Sudan.

Attabani further pointed if Africa withdrew its support for Sudan, the government would be exposed to international pressures and would be forced to engage in the dialogue at a higher cost than any genuine dialogue among the sons of Sudan.

He pointed that the recent AUPSC communiqué shows that the regional body was visibly irritated by the procrastination of the Sudanese government in taking the right steps to conduct a genuine and comprehensive dialogue.

“[The AUPSC] is standing one step away from declaring that the ongoing dialogue is worthless because it doesn't meet the minimum standards of political dialogue that have been implemented in similar experiences,” he said.

Attabani demanded the government to immediately respond to calls made by the “Sudan Call” forces for stopping the war, urging it to engage in serious talks to achieve a cessation of hostilities that leads to a comprehensive ceasefire.

“It would be futile to talk about political reform or national dialogue or to address Sudan's economic or regional and international relations crises while the war is ongoing,” he added.

ANF spokesperson, Taha Abdallah Yassin, for his part, said that failure of the government to put the dialogue in the right track would force them to resort the alternative dialogue project which they had agreed to launch with the rebel umbrella Sudan Revolutionary Forces (SRF).

He added the alternative dialogue will be based on the consensus of the entire Sudanese people, saying its outcome would form the basis of the national constitution.

NFC CALLS FOR UPRISING

In a related development, the opposition alliance National Consensus Forces (NCF) issued a statement saying that past and current developments prove they prove right their long-standing position that the government is not serious in its call for a negotiated solution for the country's issues.

"As the regime has rejected all the requirements and objective conditions for dialogue, the choice of the National Consensus Forces (...) is to overthrow the regime through a popular uprising, political strike and civil disobedience, and total rejection of any settlement aiming to maintain this system," the alliance of the left forces said.

The statement underscored that in line with Berlin Declaration, the opposition forces have to stop seeking a negotiated solution and to work altogether in a popular uprising to topple down the regime of President Omer al-Bashir.

RNM DENIES CONTACTS

RNM deputy chairman Hassan Rizq denied they were being contacted by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to resume participation in the ongoing dialogue, accusing NCP leaders of turning a deaf ear to other political forces.

It is worth mentioning that the RNM pulled out of the dialogue last year blaming the NCP for its refusal to implement a number of confidence building measures aimed at creating a conducive environment before the start of the process.

Rizq called on the Sudanese government to listen to the voice of reason and avoid any confrontation with the AUPSC in order not to prevent transfer of the dossier to the UN Security Council.

“It is the duty of the wise men (within the government) to rein in those who seek to drag Sudan to this confrontation (with the AUPSC) ,” he added.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - At the end of a five-day visit to Khartoum, the United States Special Envoy to Sudan and South Sudan, Donald E. Booth, has expressed regret for not being able to visit Darfur, saying he hopes to visit the restive region soon.

Sudan's FM Ibrahim Ghandour (R- center) meets with the visiting U.S. special envoy Donald Booth in Khartoum on 26 August 2015 (Photo ST)

“I was regrettably unable to make my planned visit to Darfur, but look forward to re-scheduling that visit soon”, Booth said in a statement released on Sunday at the conclusion of his first visit to Sudan since nearly two years ago.

“Instead we engaged with leaders of the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), humanitarian actors, and other Darfuri officials on issues of security, inter-communal conflict, and crime, as well as delivery of life-saving assistance, and reconciliation efforts”, he added.

The American envoy didn't mention the reasons that have prevented him from visiting Darfur and whether the Sudanese authorities refused to allow him to visit the region which has been the scene of a deadly conflict between the government and rebel groups since 2003.

Following his arrival in Khartoum on Tuesday, Booth held talks with Sudan's foreign minister, Ibrahim Ghandour, on Saturday but a wall of secrecy has been dropped around it.

The American envoy welcomed the government of Sudan's stated intent to implement a two-month cessation of hostilities and encouraged it “to extend the timeframe and couple it with a negotiated and mutually acceptable mechanism for humanitarian access in order to develop confidence in, and an environment conducive to, an inclusive political dialogue process”.

He further said they will likewise engage opposition actors on these critical issues.

The US envoy pointed they engaged the government of Sudan on the full range of issues that frame the bilateral relationship , adding that the visit also included constructive discussions with civil society representatives, business leaders, political parties, humanitarian actors, and other Sudanese citizens.

He said that discussions with the Sudanese government addressed the need for an open national political dialogue to address the root causes of Sudan's persistent internal conflicts, and to realize more inclusive governance arrangements.

“We exchanged views on security concerns, protection of civilians, and improving humanitarian access to conflict-affected populations,” he added.

Booth pointed out that discussions also covered economic issues such as Sudan's outstanding debt, sanctions, and ways of utilizing the important sanctions exemptions that have been granted for the benefit of the Sudanese people.

The American envoy expressed hope to return to Sudan to advance dialogue on issues of mutual interest and concern.

Sudan has been on the U.S. list of states that sponsor terrorism since 1993, even though the two countries have strengthened their counter-terrorism cooperation since the September 2001 attacks on Washington and New York.

Washington also imposed economic and trade sanctions on Sudan in 1997 in response to its alleged connection to terror networks and human rights abuses. In 2007, it strengthened the embargo, citing abuses in Darfur which it says constitutes genocide.

The resumption of dialogue between the two countries come after an agreement reached last February with the then presidential assistant Ibrahim Ghandour on the framework of discussion over normalisation of bilateral relations.

Khartoum in the past said talks should be based on mutual interests and refused Washington's approach linking between the resolution of internal conflicts and lift of sanctions.

DISCUSSIONS WITH BUSINESSPERSON ON SANCTIONS' EFFECTS

One of the events that marked the visit was a meeting held on Thursday 27 August by an American technical team accompanying the U.S. special envoy with Sudanese business community to discuss the negative impact of sanctions on the goods exempted from sanctions.

The vice-president of Sudanese Businessmen and Employers Federation (SBEF) Youssef Ahmed Youssef who took part in the workshop told reporters that the meeting comes in line with the dialogue that Sudanese private sector engaged since several years with American embassy to consider ways to relieve them from the impact of the embargo.

"The workshop discussed the complexities inherent to financial and banking transactions in the sectors exempted from the American sanctions, which now impact the banking dealings with Asian and European banks that were dealing with Sudan," he said.

Sudanese businessmen say that international banks systematically block their transactions because they fear to be prohibited by trade embargoes and sanctions rules. They add that the foreign and even American banks ignore the list of exemptions granted by the OFAC during the past years.

The members of the visiting technical team vowed to exert the necessary efforts to facilitate the implementation of exemptions decided for the benefit of Sudanese people.

In 1997 when the American Administration decide to punish the Sudanese regime for its support of terrorism. The original bill terminated all commercial activities with Sudan but it exempted only one product, Gum Arabic as result of pressures exerted by American industrial groups who wanted to secure their access to this natural product .

Ten years later in 2007 , Washington strengthened the embargo, citing abuses in Darfur which it labelled as genocide. However to ease its negative impact on the ordinary people, the United States Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) since 2010 amended the bill several times and added more exemptions to the list, including agriculture equipment, educational exchange programs and scholarships, personal communications hardware and software including smart phones and laptops.

August 30, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese opposition faction of the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) said their leader, Riek Machar, who is a designated first vice president in accordance with peace deal with president Salva Kiir, will have bodyguards in the capital, Juba, contrary to what some media outlets said to the contrary.

Riek Machar gestures as he speaks to rebel General Peter Gatdet Yaka (not seen) in a rebel controlled territory in Jonglei on February 1, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Goran Tomasevic)

Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, said what was reported in the media was a misinterpretation of Article 5 of the Transitional Security Arrangements in the accord which the two leaders signed on 17 and 26 August 2015, to end the 20-month long civil war in the country.

“That is a misinterpretation of Article 5.1.1. of the Peace Agreement. Presidential guards which are provided for in the Transitional Security Arrangement means guards for top leaders of the two parties,” he told Sudan Tribune on Sunday.

Article 5 of the Transitional Security Arrangements stipulates that forces shall be redeployed by a radius of 25km outside Juba, but with exception of presidential guards and forces to protect military barracks, bases and warehouses as well as joint integrated police drawn from the two sides.

This was a revision from the first IGAD Plus peace compromise proposal of 25 July which gave president Kiir 265 bodyguards and Machar with 195 bodyguards in the capital.

But Dak explained that Article 5.1.1. which provides for presidential guards in the capital meant the combined guards for the two rival leaders and not exclusively for president Kiir.

He further said the IGAD Plus compromise agreement removed the proposed size and composition of the presidential guards for the two leaders and left it to the two parties to determine it in a workshop that will be organized in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in September in implementation of the security arrangements.

He also said the two parties will determine the size and composition of military forces that will remain in Juba to protect military barracks, bases and warehouses as well as joint integrated police to be deployed in Juba, Malakal, Bor and Bentiu in addition to other unspecified areas.

(ST)

August 30, 2015 (JUBA) - Rival forces in South Sudan conflict have issued statements counter-accusing each other of violations of the permanent ceasefire hours after it came into effect on Saturday midnight as declared by president Salva Kiir and armed opposition leader, Riek Machar.

Soldiers from the South Sudan army (SPLA) patrol the streets in the Upper Nile state capital, Malakal, on 21 January 2014 (Photo: AFP/Charles Lomodong)

The spokesperson of the government forces, Colonel Phillip Aguer, issued a series of statements on Saturday evening and again on Sunday, accusing forces loyal to the former vice president, Riek Machar, to have carried out attack on positions held by forces allied to president Kiir in Malakal town.

The intention of the rebels attack on the government forces, according to Aguer, was to gain more territories which they were seeking to use as assembling points in the event peace deal is implemented.

“Their intention is to gain more territories. This is the purpose of these attacks. That was why they attacked the positions of our forces in Malakal yesterday (Saturday) and again today (Sunday),” said Aguer.

“For us, our forces will not attack them but they have the right for self-defense,” he added.

However, the military officer revealed that the government had dispatched troops using river transports for delivery of military supplies to Malakal town, capital of the remaining oil producing Upper Nile state.

Spokesman of the leader of the armed opposition leader, Machar, on Saturday and Sunday said government forces moving with barges and gunboats from Juba to Malakal along the river Nile have been attacking their bases.

“Government forces have been attacking our bases along the river Nile. They attacked Tayer port on 26 August, the day President Kiir signed the peace Agreement. They attacked our base at Adok port on Friday as they continue to move northwards towards Malakal. Government forces in Malakal also shelled our base on the west bank,” said Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak.

Government spokesman, Philip Aguer, admitted that government forces were moving along the river Nile through territories controlled by the rebels, warning that they will fire back in self-defense should they come under attack from the rebel forces.

Peter Adwok Nyaba, one of the leading figures in the armed opposition faction led by Machar confirmed separately that government forces on Sunday shot at one of their speed boats while traveling between Wau Shilluk and Watbajwok around Malakal, wounding one passenger.

“The information we have is that the government forces continued shelling Ditang, Bukieny, Obuwa and Lelo. Our forces did not return fire respecting the orders of the commander-in-chief Dr. Riek Machar to cease fire,” said Nyaba.

Dak also said their forces came under separate attacks on Sunday morning in their bases in Koch, Leer and Mayiandit counties, just hours after the ceasefire went into force.

NEW ACTING SPOKESMAN FOR SPLA-IO

Machar's spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, who has been handling both political and military issues as spokesman after defection of military spokesman, Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, to government, said there is now an acting military spokesman to handle military issues.

“I want to take this opportunity to introduce to you my colleague, Colonel William Gatjiath Deng, who has become our acting military spokesperson,” Dak said on Sunday while distributing to the media Colonel Deng's first press statement on the military situation after violation of the permanent ceasefire.

Brigadier General Lul Ruai Koang, who was military spokesperson for the rebels' military defected to the government this year. His deputy, Colonel James L. Thichot Ngundeng, who became the acting military spokesperson also defected from Machar with the group of Major General Peter Gatdet Yak and Major General Gathoth Gatkuoth.

Dak urged journalists to also establish contacts with the acting military spokesman, Deng, as he may be dealing mainly with political issues.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - The Speaker of the National Assembly and his parliamentary delegation have got their visas for the United States to attend the Fourth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament from next Monday.

The Conference will be held from Monday 31 August to Wednesday, 2 September 2015 at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It is convened by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).

A member of the Sudanese parliament from the ruling National Congress Party Mohamed al-Hassan al-Amin, on Friday complained that there was a delay in their visa, pointing that the U.S embassy in Khartoum told them that their application was under process in Washington.

However the head of external relations committee at the National Assembly Mohamed Mustafa al-Daw confirmed on Saturday that the eight members of the Sudanese delegation have obtained their visas denying reports that Washington declined to issue it.

Daw said the U.S. embassy in Khartoum attributed the delay in the visa issuance to the complicated procedures used by the American authorities. He said there is a positive change in the bilateral relations and ruled out that there was a political decision to deny them the visa.

The parliamentary official was alluding to the presence since last Tuesday of the U.S. special envoy Donald Booth in Khartoum where he is conducting discussions with the Sudanese officials on bilateral relations.

He said that the Sudanese Parliamentary delegation will leave for the United States on Saturday evening.

The delegation is headed by the speaker Ibrahim Ahmed Omer, and includes former speaker Ahmed Ibrahim al-Taher, deputy speaker of the State Council Ibrahim Habani, three other MPs and administrative staff members.

The world speakers conference will be will be opened by UN chief Ban Ki-moon and Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) president Saber Chowdhury.

The three-day conference is expected to adopt a draft declaration, titled "Placing democracy at the service of peace and sustainable development: Building the world the people want".

The conference will call to deploy greater efforts "in solving conflicts through political dialogue and negotiations, with full respect for international law"

SST)

August 29, 2015 (JUBA) - An alleged threat by the former governor of South Sudan's Warrap state, Nyandeng Malek against a local political commentator has drawn lots of criticisms from opponents and those opposed to the latter's leadership capabilities.

Ex-Warrap state governor Nyandeng Malek addresing SPLM members in Kwajok April 15, 2013 (ST)

Simon Yel Yel, currently a columnist with MordernGhana, an Accra-based website, told Sudan Tribune Malek threatened him through a phone call and demanded that he should prepare evidences of all corruption allegations labelled against her.

“She [Malek] called me on phone at 12:44 pm today and said be ready for me. I am normal citizen like you. I am no longer a governor. You will bring your papers to proof that corruption you claimed in investigations. You have been writing a lot of bad things about me in print and online media but this time I am no longer a governor and hence be ready for me. I was ignoring your article because I was a governor Nyandeng Malek," he said.

Yel said the former governor's action constituted a clear case of intimidation and threat to his life, stressing that she would be held responsible in case anything happen to him.

“To me, this is a threat because I don't know what she will do to me next. I don't apprehend what she really meant by saying be ready for me. This is act of intimidation".

The commentator said he didn't mean that Malek had stolen money in Warrap, but that his article was entirely about how local politicians in Warrap viewed the border state.

"I don't know why she is sensitive to hear corruption? I am ready if she wants to take me to court. My article was purely advice to caretaker governor of Warrap state and challenges ahead of him. If there is anything that happened to me then Nyandeng Malek will be responsible because being killed by unknown gunmen has become culture of smart killing in Juba now”, he said.

Yel, in a letter to the caretaker governor of Warrap, Akech Tong Aleu, claimed Malek had “arguably created a great gap of distrust between government, Warrap populations, state assembly and the SPLM party in the state. There is no link and trust between them at all".

"They see themselves as enemies and each work against the other”, he says in his letter.

“Mr. Governor, it is now your task to reunite the government with the SPLM party, state assembly and Warrap populations and build trust and teamwork among them once more”, it adds.

Yel further claimed many politicians in Warrap have totally misunderstood the meaning of Warrap and reasons why General Konggor Arop gave that name to the border state.

"Our local politicians have different version of Warrap state as they wrongly assume that Warrap state is War(pond or river) that is full of rap anyanjang(grain) where every constitutional post holder can fill his or her basket (gac) with rap anyanjang(grain) and goes away with it without being hold to account. They have got it totally wrong”, said Yel.

He also suggested, in his letter, that the present name of the border state be changed from Warrap to War alel in order to lessen rapid robbery of public funds because local politicians will not eat aleel(stones) again like the way they are eating rap now.

“Hon, don't bring us local politicians that see Warrap state as “ War rap” where they can fill their bellies and gaac (baskets) and go away without doing their constitutional obligations to the citizens. We need some things tangible to be done in Warrap in these three years”, emphasised Yel in his letter to the caretaker governor.

He said the former governor and her supporters simply misunderstood his writing to mean she corrupted the state government, leading to eventual failure to deliver services to the people thus contributing to her removal from the governorship, earlier this month.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Yemeni President Abd-Rabbuh Mansour Hadi began a two-day visit to Khartoum on Saturday for talks with his Sudanese counterpart Omer Hassan al-Bashir on the latest developments in Yemen and ways by which Khartoum can provide humanitarian assistance to the conflict-wrecked nation.

Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi interacts with Sudan's President Omer Hassan al-Bashir (R) at Khartoum August 29, 2015 (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Bashir underscored his government's support for Yemen in all fields "so that it can overcome this critical stage…and in order to bring security and peace for Yemenis".

At a joint news conference following their talks, Bashir said that Hadi "assured us on the status legitimacy in Yemen and their control over many areas and their steady advances".

For his part, Hadi said that the Yemeni people will not accept the transfer of Iranian Shiite rule to Yemen.

"The Yemeni people patiently endured 50 years of failed governments and Houthis want to import the failed experience of Iran,” he said.

“I already informed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi [their leader] that this cannot happen in Yemen," Hadi said before stressing that that Houthis are supported by only 10% of the population.

The Yemeni president said that his forces are progressing to regain control over all Yemeni provinces and will not allow the country to end up like Iraq, Syria, and Libya.

He said that he came to Sudan to thanks its leadership on being a "supporter of the constitutional legitimacy in Yemen".

Sudan is a member of the Saudi-led military coalition dubbed as “Operation Firmness Storm” against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The operation which started last March aims to reinstate Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia, as president and flush rebels from main cities in Yemen.

After an apparent stalemate on the battlefield since the start of the military campaign, supporters of the Hadi managed to eject Houthi rebels from strategic city of Aden and four other southern provinces.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir will begin a visit to China on Monday to participate in celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II and hold talks with officials there on economic cooperation.

Sudan's President Omer Hassan al-Bashir reviews the Chinese military honor guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China Wednesday, June 29, 2011. (AP)

A senior government source told Sudan Tribune that all preparations for Bashir's Beijing trip have been finalized.

Bashir was subject to an embarrassing situation in June 2011 when Turkmenistan and Tajikistan refused to give permission to Bashir's plane in order to reach China where he was set to start a state visit. As a result he was forced to return to Tehran where he was attending a summit there in order to decide on a new route to reach Beijing.

He eventually arrived a day later than scheduled and it remains unclear why his plane was blocked.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes committed in Darfur.

China is not an ICC member and has made it clear in the past that it does not approve of the warrant even though it chose not to veto the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) 2005 resolution empowering the Hague-based court to investigate crimes in Sudan's western region.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a note sent via email that Bashir “should be in The Hague facing justice, not an honored guest anywhere”.

“China has made headlines recently for President Xi Jinping's initiative to compel the return of Chinese nationals abroad who are facing charges of corruption. Yet hosting a war crimes suspect doesn't seem to be problem,” HRW said.

“One of the lessons of World War II is that leaders can go to prison for their wartime atrocities. If China is going to disregard the warrants by inviting Bashir to its commemoration, perhaps he will at least be reminded of this”.

The Sudanese ambassador in Beijing Omar Issa said that a meeting for Sudanese businessmen will be held on September 2nd in the Chinese capital in conjunction with the president's visit which he said confirms the strong relations between the two countries.

Issa said in a statement carried by Sudan News Agency (SUNA) that a bilateral summit will take place between Bashir and Jinping. He added that Bashir will also hold a meeting with Sudanese Diaspora there.

It is expected that the Sudanese president will witness the signing of a number of MoU's and agreements between the two countries related to economic cooperation and investments.

China is the largest foreign investor in Sudan and used to be the biggest oil importer from there before South Sudan's secession in 2011.

Senior diplomatic sources told Sudan Tribune that Bashir will discuss with Chinese officials the possibility of settling Khartoum's $10 billion debt or change its terms given Sudan's difficult economic situation.

The Sudanese minister of Transport and Roads Makkawi Mohammed Ahmed disclosed that they signed a contract with a Chinese company to build a new 1000-kms railway line in eastern Sudan that would link the cities of Haya, Kassala, Gedaref, Sennar and Damazin adding that it will be operated electronically using optical fibers in the stations.

He further said that they will sign an agreement for the purchase of two A320 Airbus aircrafts through rent-to-buy arrangement that will be used by the beleaguered Sudan Airways.

Ahmed said they will also lease 3 MA-16 Chinese-made planes each with the capacity of 60 passengers.

Another framework agreement on the manufacture of ships used in maritime transport will be signed during the trip, he added.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (JUBA) - The new governor of South Sudan's Warrap state has pledged to unite the ranks and files of the legislative and executive arms of the government, while underscoring the importance of cooperation between the various institutions in the state.

Map of South Sudan showing Warrap state in red

Akec Tong Aleu vowed not allow interference in the work of each institution.

The newly-appointed governor was speaking Friday at a reception rally held in the state capital, Kuacjok, upon returning from Juba to assume his new position.

Aleu was one the four state governors appointed by South Sudanese leader, Salva Kiir through a presidential decree early this month. He succeeded Nyandeng Malek.

“I will work hard to invite the assembly and the executive to work together. I will not encourage interference in the work. We should encourage the independence of our institutions and try to work together. If there is anything, we should try to resolve this outside instead of interfering with administrative processes and law”, the new caretaker governor told a joint session of the state cabinet and parliament in the border state.

Aleu said he would not pursue personal interest, but instead deliver service to the people.

Meanwhile, Ariech Mayar Ariech, the deputy chairperson of parliamentary committee for information and public relations told Sudan Tribune on Saturday that the newly-appointed governor was welcomed by a huge crowd on arrival in Kuacjok town.

He said various community leaders and high profile politicians gave speeches calling for unity and reconciliation as many urge Aleu to put the interest of the people above individual ambitions in order to be able to deliver basic services to the people in the area.

“The governor was received by a huge crowd. There was a long line of vehicles from the state secretariat to the airport. There were a lot of vehicles. We counted 250 vehicles full of people”, said Ariech, a renowned critic of former governor Malek.

Many in the state say they expect Ariech and other opponents of the former governor to be confidants and key political allies of her successor in parliament and executive organ.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM)'s secretary-general Yasir Arman said that the Sudanese government will not accept to implement the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) in favour of peace and democratic reforms without more internal and external pressures.

Members of the national dialogue general assembly and President Omer al-Bashir attend the third session of the internal process in Khartoum on August 20, 2015 (Photo AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

On Monday 24 August 2015, the AUSPC held a hearing meeting for first time with the Sudanese opposition groups. On the day after, it issued a decision reiterating its call for a national dialogue preparatory conference the government has previously rejected.

In written statements he extended to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, Arman welcomed the AUPSC's decision, adding that it does not contradict with the opposition's agenda for popular uprising and armed struggle to achieve political change in Sudan.

"If the regime does not feel the uprising is knocking its doors and that military action is shaking its forts, it would not accept a comprehensive peaceful solution or a constitutional national dialogue," he said.

Arman said further that issues including calls to stop war, humanitarian access to affected civilians, comprehensive solution and the constitutional conference should serve for political mobilization and to attract all those who are interested by change even the Islamist seeking for new agenda based on the recognition of the other.

"We will not accept partial solutions and will not give up the demands of our people for change. Also we do not reject any new opportunity leading to national constitutional dialogue providing that it should be a balanced process and not controlled by the National Congress Party (NCP)," he stressed.

Sudanese government last March refused to participate in a two-day pre-dialogue meeting to discuss and agree on procedural matters relating to the dialogue process which should be held inside the country.

At the time, the government said hold the meeting two weeks before the elections will send a negative message to the voters and vowed to take part in such meeting after the elections.

However, President Omer al-Bashir told the chief mediator Thabo Mbeki who is tasked with the facilitation of the national dialogue that the government can resume talks with the rebel groups before they join the constitutional process.

In a meeting held on 3 August, Bashir further said that the holdout opposition political parties can join the process stressing that his government would not concede to their demands for a conducive environment and will not wait them.

National Umma Party leader Sadiq al-Mahdi on Friday said the opposition Sudan Call forces are willing to participate in the internal process but stressed they the dialogue should not be controlled by the ruling NCP as it is the case now and also insisted on the need to implement a conducive environment before.

Arman called to involve regional bodies like IGAD, and countries including Chad, Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), permanent members of the Security Council, Germany and Norway.

He added that the international participants will recommend after the process to normalize Sudan relations ending the current isolation of the country.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (JUBA/TORIT) - A South Sudanese journalist has gone missing nearly month after he was allegedly arrested and detained by security operatives in Eastern Equatoria state, his relatives and community members told Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

Clement Lochio Lormonana (Facebook photo)

Clement Lochio Lormonana, formerly a reporter with Gurtong Trust, was arrested on 6 August in Eastern Equatoria's Budi county, the Haula community, an association of the Didinga and Buya communities in Canada and the United States, said in a statement.

“[We are] writing to express urgent concerns […]to circumstance of South Sudanese journalist missing after being detained by South Sudan security forces on August 6,” partly reads the statement signed by the Haula diaspora group.

“Clement Lochio Lormonana was arrested in Chukudum, Budi County, with two friends when government security agents showed up in their hut in the middle of the night, rounded them up, and took them to the military barracks,” added the statement.

Eastern Equatoria governor, Louis Lobong Lojore, declined last week to answer queries regarding the arrest of three individuals in the capital, Juba. He instead said any suspect arrested by security forces would be investigated and then released if found innocent.

South Sudanese journalists operate in an extremely insecure environment and the recent killing of a reporter in Juba by unknown gunmen has increased more fear. The death of Peter Julius Moi brings to seven the numbers of scribes killed in South Sudan this year.

According to the Huala group, Lormonana and his brothers Amin Venansio and Nailo Venansio, were immediately placed in solitary confinement and tortured after their arrest.

“Even after Clement's arm was broken and Nailo started coughing blood, abusive interrogation went on uninterrupted,” the group further claimed in their statement.

Relatives said Lormonana and his brother were last seen being loaded onto a military vehicle.

“Nothing has been heard of them ever since. All attempts by the community to secure their release while still in Budi County failed", the community said in their release.

According to the Huala community, in the months leading to Lormonana's arrest, the journalist had shared his worries with his family members and friends because he allegedly received death threats and was reportedly being followed in Juba by stalkers.

"He found it necessary to leave his family and journalism work and go into hiding in Uganda and Kenya. The family abroad helped with his living expenses. He returned this month to Chukudum his home town hoping it would be a safe haven,” the group said.

Authorities in Eastern Equatoria are yet to comment on Lormonana's alleged arrest or whereabouts.

Front Line Defenders, a Dublin-based international human rights body, has asked the South Sudanese authorities to "unconditionally" release the renowned human rights defender.

(ST)

August 29, 2015 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudanese armed opposition faction of SPLM-IO has condemned government forces for allegedly continuing with military offensive against their bases in violation of the peace agreement signed by the opposition leader, Riek Machar and president Salva Kiir on 17 and 26 August, respectively.

Soldiers from the South Sudanese army (SPLA) on guard in Bentiu, the capital of South Sudan's Unity state on 12 January 2014 (Photo: Reuters)

“SPLM/SPLA condemns in the strongest possible terms the continued military offensive by forces of the regime in Juba against bases of SPLM/SPLA in Unity and Upper Nile states. Government forces on Friday shelled our bases in the west bank of the River Nile near Malakal, Upper Nile state's capital,” said James Gatdet Dak, spokesperson of the opposition's leadership, in a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Saturday.

“This is a serious violation of the terms of the peace Agreement signed on 17th and 26th August 2015 by the principals of the two warring parties and declaration of Permanent Ceasefire which shall come into effect at midnight of 29th August 2015,” he said.

Dak said three ferries and six boats carrying troops and mounted with heavy weaponry have been shelling their defence positions along the river in Unity state as they proceeded to Malakal.

“We suspect that their plan is to launch a full scale offensive against our bases around Malakal,” he added.

He called on the international community to exert pressure on the government to stop the war and abide by the declared ceasefire.

Government officials however denied the accusations and blamed the fighting around Malakal on the opposition fighters.

The two warring parties have declared permanent ceasefire to come into force by Saturday midnight, but it remains unclear if this will be respected.

(ST)

Welcoming the recent signature by President Salva Kiir, SPLM/SPLA-IO Chairman Riek Machar and others of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, the Security Council today called on all the parties, with the help of the United Nations, to implement the accord and adhere to the permanent ceasefire.

A group of independent United Nations human rights experts have voiced alarm after a female Sudanese student was sentenced to public flogging and a heavy fine for charges of “indecent dressing,” while another received a hefty fine for the same charges, and urged that the convictions be overturned immediately.

With Guinea-Bissau facing political turbulence barely a year after the re-establishment of constitutional order, the top United Nations official there expressed hope today that political leaders would rise to their “historic responsibility” to preserve the gains made so far in the interest of the country and people.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced today that 163 children have been released by an armed group in the Central African Republic, where thousands of other boys and girls are still serving as combatants, cooks and messengers for the country’s militant factions.