June 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The vice-president Hassabo Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, discussed on Wednesday with the outgoing chief of UN Mission South Sudan (UNMISS) Hilde Johnson the transit of humanitarian assistance through Sudanese territory.

The head of the UN mission in South Sudan Hilde Johnson (Getty/File)

Sudan's official news agency (SUNA) quoted Johnson as saying following the meeting that the UN relies heavily on Sudan to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of South Sudan, besides contributing to resolving the ongoing conflict in the newborn state.

The UNMISS head added the armed conflict in South Sudan led to the suffering of many people due to violence and chaos, pointing that 1.3 million people have been displaced outside of their areas.

We rely heavily on Sudan to deliver humanitarian assistance to the affected population through land, river, and air transport, she said.

The UN official further noted that she paid several visits to South Sudan neighbouring countries in this regard, considering Sudan the most important country to South Sudan.

She pointed that her meeting with the vice president discussed the humanitarian assistance and the need for establishing airlift and other channels between Sudan and South Sudan to deliver aid to the needy.

UN officials say with the upcoming rainy season, the delivery of humanitarian aid via road and river is no longer reliable option, stressing that the new country has a very poor transportation infrastructure.

The war affected states in South Sudan are : Unity, Upper Nile, and Jonglei states. All can easily be reached from the northern neighbour.
Johnson also praised Sudanese government role in the IGAD led mediation between warring parties in South Sudan, saying it can play a significant role in the search for a solution to the six-month crisis.

Johnson underscored that the vice-president expressed Sudan's commitment to facilitate her mission, expressing hope that Sudan plays major role in helping its newborn neighbouring country.

The humanitarian situation in South Sudan has deteriorated drastically as result of the violence that erupted in the country since 15 December 2013.

UN agencies estimate that, over 1,3 million people have been affected by the conflict and are in need of assistance.

According to a recent report issued by the World Food Program (WFP) on the regional impact of South Sudan crisis, more than 86,000 South Sudanese have arrived in Sudan since mid-December.

The WFP report noted that relocation of South Sudanese refugees to the three sites in White Nile State is complete, warning these sites may not be sufficient if the situation deteriorates further and the influx continues.

It added that Sudanese authorities are in the process of identifying two additional sites to resettle new arrivals, projecting that 165,000 new refugees from South Sudan will have arrived by the end of 2014.

Sudanese government reports also mention that some 22,700 people are in Khartoum state. The newcomers join their relatives who stay in open areas in the Sudanese capital, as well other areas on the city outskirts.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (JUBA) – The governor of South Sudan's border state of Western Bahr El Ghazal says it has laid off 305 employees from active public service, some of whom were found to be ghost names.

Rizik Zachariah Hassan said the state's public service ministry had managed to identify 162 ghost workers, with a further 143 employees at retirement age also laid off.

According to a statement obtained by Sudan Tribune on Wednesday, the majority of the workers had been employed in the health and education ministries.

The names of the ghost workers had appeared on the payroll but failed to physically appear for any assignment, with the ministries also unable to trace their files.

Governor Hassan clarified that those on the pension list would receive their salaries for a further three months after which their names would be removed from the pay roll.

Classified civil servants without any academic documents in their files would also be dismissed.

In 2012, more than 500 employees – the majority of them teachers – were terminated from the public service without benefits.

A national pension scheme and commission have yet to be established in South Sudan and it remains unclear how the government will handle the issue of pension for those who have reached retirement age.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (JUBA) – Leaders from South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) in Warrap state have called for the promotion of peaceful coexistence, unity, security, love and reconciliation among the civil population in the border region and its adjacent communities.

South Sudan's Warrap state highlighted in red

Achol Chier Rehan, head of the ruling party's branch office in Gogrial county, said unity was paramount, if development was to be attained in the region.

Rehan, a former minister of parliamentary affairs in Warrap, told Sudan Tribune a mobilisation campaign was underway to foster unity and reconciliation for peaceful co-existence.

“Our key message was simple, very simple. We urged our people to embrace peace and unity for the good of our country, because there is no reason for us to fight ourselves, after all we are one people, one country. This is our slogan. We did not fight the war of liberation struggle as tribes or regions but as South Sudanese", Rehan said Wednesday.

"Our diversity was our strength. This was the message we told them", she added.

Rehan explained that membership registration starts with those who are 18 years and above, provided they have shown interest to become members the country's governing party.

Ariech Mayar Ariech, a state lawmaker, described the function as "friendlier", saying it was attended by the state minister of information, Paul Dhel Gum and his physical infrastructure counterpart, Mayar Deng Mayar. Also in attendance were the Gogrial West county commissioner and all secretaries in various Payams under the territorial jurisdiction of the area.

“Our messages were unified. We told our people that we are for peace and the growth of the SPLM because SPLM is the only party which had managed to achieve the dream of the people of South Sudan", Ariech told Sudan Tribune.

"So instead of dividing ourselves as members of the SPLM, we should live in peace as one people in unity, support each other and share our ideas and grievances, especially our political leaders in the state and in the country at large for us to attain development," he added.

The legislator, however, stressed that leaders should foster unity, team work and reconciliation in order to promote peace, development and social harmony in society.

"The unity of our people is paramount because unity, team work and reconciliation are the only ways to make peace and make us succeed in all the development challenges and other efforts”, he said.

At the occasion, however, several speakers reportedly called for peace and unity among not only the local people, but also within the ruling party leadership at all levels of the country.

(ST)

June 24, 2014 (KAMPALA) – Calls for federalism in South Sudan continues gaining momentum with Unity state students' union members in Uganda backing the proposed system of governance.

A resolution in support of federalism was on Saturday passed by up to 150 students from Unity state's nine counties during a meeting held at Kampala International University (KIU), Uganda.

William Malek Bol, the chairman of the students' union said federalism was the only choice for South Sudanese.

“Federal governance [system] would improve the country's development”, he said.
Bol described South Sudan's current transitional constitution as a “mess” stressing that federalism would strengthen the country's 10 states through proper constitutional amendments.

"We came out with [the] resolution that what every South Sudanese is needed is a federal system, and we added our voice to the people of Equatoria, youth of Equatoria and other youths of South Sudan who are calling for a federal system", said Bol.

“South Sudan is composing of more than 64 tribes, but with current system of centralised power, others are denied good infrastructure due to one tribe dominating power”, added Bol.

The students' union chairperson, however, believes that endorsing a federal system in the new nation would give other minority tribes the voice for representation in the national government.

He also criticised the current transitional constitution, which he said give the president too much powers, including removal of state governor who are directly-elected by the citizens.

"Our voters have been disappointed. In Unity state, we voted for somebody and granted him to go for up to 2015. It is the president himself who removed our governor, including the governor of Lake state. Now if we ask him [president] to leave his position, he says he was elected. Why is he removing elected people”? asked Bol.

Meanwhile, the secretary general of the students' union decried what he referred to as one man's rule, which did not reflect the will of all South Sudanese.

"Federalism is one of the means to solve tribalism in South Sudan. If you go back to the constitution currently governing the South Sudan, it is not being followed. They are just people working on their own minds, leaving aside the constitutions,” Tut Jock Chuat told Sudan Tribune o Saturday.

“I believe federalism will remove tribalism in South Sudan", added Chuat.
Samuel Majang Mut, a member of Unity state students union wondered why President Salva Kiir recently criticised the greater Equatoria people for openly supporting a federal system in South Sudan.

"As a leader, he was quoted [saying] that federalism will not be imposed on the people, but South Sudanese will decide. Now we have decided that federal system is the best form of governance for the people of South Sudan”, he said.

Mut further observed that federalism in South Sudan will ensure equitable resource distribution in all states.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir has conducted a cabinet reshuffle in which former chief-of-staff Colonel General Esmat Abdel-Rahman was appointed as the interior minister.

Sudan's former chief of staff Colonel General Esmat Abdel-Rahman (SUNA)

Abdel-Rahman succeeds Abdul-Wahid Yousif who was now tapped as the minister of the newly established Roads and Bridges ministry.

The decree appointed Ahmed Abu-Zaid Ahmed as state minister at the ministry of justice, Siraj al-Din Ali Hamed as state minister at the ministry of transport and Oshek Mohamed Tahir as state minister at the ministry of mining.

Sudan news agency (SUNA) said the appointed ministers will be sworn in on Thursday.

(ST)

June 26, 14 (BOR) – The commissioner of Jonglei state's Uror county, Mabior Bol, has lashed out at rebel fighters for blocking humanitarian aid to conflict-affected areas.

He said the blockade is affecting over 100,000 people suffering acute food shortages in Lou Nuer areas.

Bol accused the armed opposition of deliberately blocking aid to people in rebel-controlled areas.

“The government wants civilians to get food, education, health, all that [is] needed, but in the places where rebels are [the] government will not reach because the rebels don't want,” he said in comments to the media in Jonglei's capital, Bor, on Thursday.

The state's acting director of South Sudan's Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC), Jok Alier, said the commissioner had arranged to supply humanitarian aid to northern rebel-held areas, but ongoing insecurity in the region had made it increasingly difficult to do so.

“Relief activities are supposed to go ahead in those places control[led] by rebels, and we are coordinating this with humanitarian partners in Bor to facilitate this,” said Alier.

Thousand of people in Nyirol, Uror, Ayod and Akobo counties were said to have
either sought refuge in Ethiopia's northern region of Gambela or were camped in hard to reach places behind rebel positions, making delivery of relief supplies almost impossible.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese authorities this week ordered the closure of a women rights centre in Khartoum without any explanation, said a statement by the Confederation of Sudanese Civil Society Organisations (CSCSO) on Wednesday.

“On 24 June 2014 the director of Salmmah Women's Resource Centre, Ms Fahima Hashim, was presented with a decree signed and stamped by the Sudanese ministry of justice, issuing an order for the cancellation of the registration licence of the company and its immediate liquidation,” said the statement

The justice ministry also appointed a five-person committee to oversee the Salmmah centre's dissolution process, but its decision did not explain the reason behind the closure.

The group was established in 1997 by a number of women's rights activists as a non-profit civil society organisation to support women's organisations and women's issues, with special devotion to the combat of violence against women and to the acquisition of human rights.

It was registered as a non-profit company in accordance with the Sudanese Companies Act.

“Whilst the decision to revoke the licence of the company may be within the law and jurisdiction of the ministry of justice, nonetheless, the execution of the order has not followed the due legal process and procedures,” the statement added.

The CSCSO further condemned the government's decision to close the centre, saying it comes as “a continuation of an undeclared policy, which seeks to harass and obstruct the work of (independent) civil society organisations”.

Civil society groups also underlined that the crackdown comes at a time when the government is calling to hold a national dialogue in the country and issued decisions to ensure a conducive environment for this comprehensive process which also includes rights groups.

In December 2012, Sudanese authorities closed three civil society groups: Sudanese Studies Centre (SSC), Al-Khatim Adlan Centre for Enlightenment and Human Development (KACE), the Organisation for Human Rights and Development (ARRY). The Cultural Forum for Literary Criticism, a literary forum, was also closed.

Weeks before the closure of these groups, government officials had accused the organisations of being linked to the opposition and working to topple the regime.

Last March, Sudan's security service banned for the first time a celebration of Women's Day organised by the Salmmah Women's Resource Centre and other groups.

(ST)

By Ijoo Bosco

June 25, 2014 (TORIT) – Plan International has launched an advocacy campaign targeting girls' education in Eastern Equatoria's Magwi county.

Plan International's state coordinator, Graham Juma, speaks at the launch of an advocacy campaign targeting girls' education in Eastern Equatoria's Magwi county (ST)

The campaign was launched in order to boost public awareness and encourage better access for girls to education and skills training.

Plan's state coordinator Graham Juma said the campaign aims to improve opportunities for vulnerable girls to move beyond poverty and realise their true potential.

Advocacy efforts will seek to target prevailing cultural attitudes that undervalue girls by promoting investment in their future through education.

The campaign also aims to eliminate factors that affect access to education for girl children and contribute to mass dropout rates.

The gender advisor for Plan International, Angelina Alaa, said the organisation's efforts would be geared towards assistance to cover school fees for vulnerable girls, as well as the provision of food and sanitary products for female students.

She called on parents and education stakeholders to help support girls' education in Eastern Equatoria state

“Our young girls do enroll in great numbers from class one to five and [then] they start dropping in huge number, only for you to realise five or less might have reached standard eight. Is this not a challenge for us parents?” said Alaa.

Among the major contributing factors to high dropout rates among girls is parental neglect, bad cultural practices, financial difficulties and lack of adequate sanitary care.
Many female pupils said their education had also been affected by their parents' alcohol addiction.

Achiro Regina, a pupil in level four in Magwi primary school, said she often struggled to find the money to buy sanitary products, and that financial difficulty was one of the major stumbling blocks to her pursuit of education and a future career.

Head teacher of Magwi Central primary school Loboi Aldo said there are several challenges in preventing early dropout rates for girls.

He said there was a need for trained female teachers, as well as proper shelter and space that specifically catered for girls.

He has also called for collective efforts among parents, supporting organisation and schools across Eastern Equatoria to help boost education access for girls in the state.

(ST)

By Amir Idris

June 27, 2014 - The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediating the peace talks for South Sudan adjourned indefinitely the recent round of negotiations on July 23, 2014. The two parties, Government of South Sudan and the SPLM in Opposition, have met several times in the last five months in Addis Ababa to discuss possible peace agreement to end the political conflict and the humanitarian crisis which began in December last year. The IGAD in its statement blamed the opposition for the failure of the peace talks by boycotting it. The SPLM in Opposition denied the IGAD claims and instead it argued that the IGAD failed to abide by the inclusivity of the process.

This was an unfortunate political development indeed. South Sudan is in dire need of an inclusive political settlement that addresses the underlying causes of the crisis and sets up a new inclusive political order. Unfortunately, South Sudan has inherited political leaders without a sense of history. Their political vision and practices are reproducing all the horrors of the past. Hence, the new state of South Sudan has turned into a great disappointment and a defeat for the people. While its various political leaders are bickering over procedural issues, the people of South Sudan are facing daunting existential challenges and a very gloomy future in their newly independent state. Recent reports estimate that tens of thousands of South Sudanese people have lost their lives, more than one million people have been displaced over the past five months, 100, 000 people are currently sheltering at United Nations bases, and 300, 000 people have fled to neighboring countries. In addition, nearly half the population of South Sudan needs humanitarian aid.

The damages that are being inflicted on the social fabric of the society, the absence of trust in government, as well as the growing feeling of revenge and counter revenge call upon the political leaders of South Sudan to rise above their personal ambitions of retaining their political offices. The cries of innocent children and the plight of elderly men and women who have been languishing in IDP camps around the country should have awakened the conscience of their political leaders. Sadly, the current political leadership is more interested in treating the peace talks as an opportunity to settle their personal grievances and to secure their political careers. Their intention is to define and control the outcome of the proposed discussions on an interim government. Ironically, they see themselves as ‘saviors' and future leaders of the proposed government. They have forgotten that they are part of the problem which led to the political crisis and most of the violence in the first place.

The truth is South Sudan has become an ungovernable place because of their failure to provide an inclusive vision that could have taken the country on a prosperous journey after independence. Instead, the political leaders saw independence as an opportunity to steal public funds, to practice nepotism, to undermine law and order, and to sow ethnic divisions at the expense of national ideals of their own people. Their political vision was solely imprisoned by their personal and ethnic vested interests. They did not foresee the danger of their political actions and behavior. Therefore, nothing worth entertaining can be expected from such political leaders. South Sudan urgently needs a new cadre of political leaders equipped with a promising transformative vision of equality, justice, and citizenship that can replace despair with hope, and war with peace.

South Sudan has no chance of peaceful political transformation unless the edifice of the current political leadership, which includes the leaders in the current government, the SPLM in Opposition, and the Former Detainees, is brought down and excluded from the proposed interim government. In other words, the objective must be complete regime change as well as leadership change. This goal is immensely popular not only in South Sudan but also among South Sudanese in the diaspora. Once this objective is accepted by the IGAD, the African Union, and the United Nations, a number of steps must be taken:

First, in consultation with the IGAD mediators, the ongoing peace process should be strengthened by including the AU Peace and Security Council, the UN Security Council, and the Troika countries (Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Credible measures of sanctions should be adopted and imposed by the regional and the international actors if the warring factions fail to commit themselves to political negotiation.

Second, the regional and international community must help the people of South Sudan set up an interim government. The interim government is a prelude to a new era of great expectations. The composition of the interim government should exclude all political leaders who constituted the old political establishment since 2005. To form an interim government, South Sudanese opposition groups, civil society and other stakeholders must agree on its composition and program. The interim government should be tasked with ending the war, restoring law and order, returning the displaced, outlining an economic plan, reforming the security and the army, and writing a new constitution. The interim government could be composed of leaders drawn from the following major groups: technocrats, academics, civil society, professional South Sudanese in diaspora, and personalities with national inclinations. These five groups can be supported by international experts who could provide technical expertise in specific areas such as governance, rule of law, and economic planning. Those international experts should be chosen by the leadership of the constituted interim government in consultation with the United Nations, the African Union, and the Troika countries.

Third, once an interim government is constituted, the international community could recognize it as the legitimate government of South Sudan. That would enable the international community and the interim government to raise the needed resources and carry out its mandate successfully.

Fourth, South Sudan's oil revenues should be put in an escrow account to be accessed by the interim government once it is constituted.

Fifth, the African Union, the UN, and the Troika countries should persuade President Salva Kiir and the former Vice President, Riek Machar to accept the new interim government and immediately cease their military confrontations. The UN Security Council, in consultation with the AU Peace and Security Council, could authorize additional peace-keeping forces with a strong mandate to protect civilians and restore law and order.

Sixth, the African Union and the UN Security Council should identify those who committed crime against humanity and hold them accountable. The focus should be on naming the political leaders who were involved in committing these crimes.

If the above-mentioned regional and the international actors intervene to impose such measures, South Sudan and its people would be able to end the cycle of violence and embark on a prosperous journey towards healing the wounds inflicted in society and restoring the much needed trust in their government.

The author is professor of African History and Politics and Chair of Department of African and African American Studies at Fordham University, New York City. He can be reached at idris@fordham.edu

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

June 26, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The humanitarian wing of South Sudan's rebel SPLM/A in Opposition has refuted allegations the group was blocking aid distribution.

South Sudanese refugee Nyarout Chuol with her children at a UNHCR-run refugee camp in Gambella, Ethiopia (Photo: William Davison)

The commissioner of Jonglei state's Uror County, Mabior Bol, claimed on Wednesday that rebels were blocking aid to conflict-affected people in areas under their control.

Bol said the blockade was affecting over 100,000 people who are suffering of acute food shortages in Lou Nuer areas.
However, the South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Agency (SSRRA) said on Thursday the commissioner's allegations were fabricated.

The group, headed by former vice-president Riek Machar, accused the government of a “calculated move” to enter rebel-held areas for the purposes of espionage under the guise of delivering aid.

SSRRA public relations officer Puoch Riek Deng said the rebel group remained committed to facilitating unhindered humanitarian assistance to affected populations as per the terms of an ceasefire agreement signed between the two warring faction in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 23 January.

According to Deng, the group has successfully facilitated the distribution of food items airdropped by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) to people in rebel-controlled areas in March and April.

He said the delivery was carried out with the full coordination between SSRRA, WFP and other UN relief agencies.

“The UN agencies and other relief and humanitarian agencies are in direct contact with the SSRRA offices in Addis Ababa and in Nairobi,” he said.

“Any relief and humanitarian assistance are always done with direct coordination with SSRRA offices,” he added.

Security concerns and ongoing food shortages has forced tens of thousands of South Sudanese to flee to neighbouring Ethiopia.

On average 1,200 refugees, mostly women and children, enter Ethiopia daily to escape ongoing violence in South Sudan, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said.

Ethiopia currently hosts 181,000 South Sudanese, of whom 147,000 have arrived since conflict broke out in mid-December last year amid escalating political tensions within the ruling SPLM.

South Sudanese refugees are currently being sheltered at camps in the Gambela region, which borders South Sudan.

Over the past few months Ethiopia has been forced to open three new camps to cope up the increasing influx of refugees from the world's youngest nation.

Fighting in South Sudan has pitted government troops loyal to president Salva Kiir against rebels aligned with Machar, largely comprising of dissident soldiers and ethnic militia.

Thousands have died over the past six months, with more than 1.3 million people displaced by the violence.

(ST)

June 25, 2014 (KAMPALA) – The main opposition leaders in Uganda have warned president Yoweri Museveni not to continue to rely on the army to intimidate his political opponents and entrench his rule in the run up to the next presidential elections, saying they are now capable of using the same army against him.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni (Photo: Carl Court/AP)

The president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, General Mugisha Muntu, who is a retired general in the Ugandan army, issued the stern warning on Sunday while addressing a public rally in Mukuno, Ugandan media outlets reported.

“Museveni must stop thinking that the army will help him in 2016 because we can as well use this army he calls his to get help,” he said, adding that “time was running out for the head of state.”

Uganda opposition factions have in the past accused president Museveni of allegedly deploying security forces during elections to intimidate their supporters and also participate in electoral malpractices, resulting to rigged elections.

General Muntu, however, vowed that this time would be different, saying the opponents have the ability to use similar drastic measures to remove the president should situation dictate it.

“We have the potential of using gunfire but we are not going to do it,” he told thousands of his supporters who cheered the remarks.

“We want to beat Museveni psychologically and turn him into a ‘second phase NRA'. We are going to send him away through the same route that brought him,”Chimpreports quoted him as saying.

The ‘free and fair elections' rally was also addressed by Kizza Besigye, another leading opposition rival who in the past lost heated presidential contests against president Museveni.

In his statements in the rally, Besigye vowed that the opposition would possibly use military language against Museveni.

“Generals will deal with General Museveni,” he told the crowd.

“We want to first show Museveni that we can do away with his corrupt electoral commission psychologically before we deal with him as Generals,” he warned, saying Museveni understands only two languages - "the gun and people's power."

Majority of the leaders who addressed the public event portrayed Museveni as a leader in crisis who was losing control of his centre of power – the army.

However, army spokesperson, Lt. Col Paddy Ankunda said “the army will stand with a President who is elected by the people.”

He further warned the opposition forces against attempts to grab power by force, saying the Uganda Peoples Defense Forces (UPDF) would crush such schemes.

Also, the presidency minister, Frank Tumwebaze, further warned the opposition parties not to imitate the recent uprising in the Egyptian Tahrir Square.

“They fail to understand that by spending so much time only dreaming of a Tahrir Square uprising in Kampala and struggling to lure youth to engage in street protests, only serves them to capture short lived media headlines,” he said, downplaying the opposition threats.

Another former presidential aspirant and leader of the Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), Olive Betty Kamya, criticised the opposition for putting their efforts towards removing president Yoweri Museveni, saying "he is not Uganda's problem".

“Our colleagues in the opposition are focusing so much on removing President Museveni, yet he is not the problem,” Uganda's Daily Monitor, quoted Kamya as saying on Tuesday.

“If you single out Museveni as the problem, he will go away but Uganda's problems will not,” she further stressed while addressing a media briefing at UFA's headquarters in Rubaga, Kampala.

The opposition leader also cautioned that targeting electoral reforms will not do much as it will leave Museveni with over 200 institutions to do whatever he wishes with the country.

“For me the most important institution is Bank of Uganda because that is where the President gets the money he splashes around, and therefore fighting the EC [Electoral Commission] is [like] trying to hit a tiny end of the snake and leaving out the larger part,” Kamya said.

The tough warnings by the opposition parties come days after a commander of the presidential unit in charge of protecting president Museveni defected along with 16 other officers, allegedly to join a new rebellion to overthrow the president.

Ugandan senior defence officials confirmed what they said was “serious” growing indiscipline and discontent among the army as “countless” soldiers are believed to have died in South Sudan's mission against anti-Salva Kiir rebels as well as in other places, coupled with low pay in salaries and poor systems for promotions.

Many Ugandan MPs have also been agitating for withdrawal of the Ugandan army from South Sudan.

(ST)

June 26, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan's parliamentary speaker, Magok Rundial, has denied receiving orders from the presidency, instructing him to make changes to parliamentary procedures.

South Sudan's president, Salva Kiir, gestures during a news conference in the capital, Juba, on 18 December 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

Rundial last week reshuffled the heads of specialised parliamentary committees, generating mixed reactions from MPs, some of whom had hoped to be appointed.
The decision came after weeks of internal wrangling within the ruling Sudan people's Liberation Movement (SPLM).

“I did not receive an order from the presidency. The changes made in the parliament for the heads of specialised committees is constitutional,” he told Sudan Tribune on Thursday, adding that the changes were “in line with parliamentary code of conduct” signed off by the House requiring committee heads to be reshuffled every two years.

Rundial said reports that he had received instructions from the presidency were fabrications by people whom described as enemies of peace.

The newly appointed committee heads are widely seen as staunch supporters of president Salva Kiir.

The move was protested by many leading members of the SPLM, as well as opposition figures, some of whom threatened to boycott all parliamentary sessions unless the decision was reversed.

Several MPs who spoke to Sudan Tribune on condition of anonymity claimed the changes were made without wider consultation so as to exclude legislators who had come out publicly in support for a federal system of government.

“You know how things are done in this country. There are certain people who do not want others to say what they see right. There are people who see the issue of federalism as becoming another headache to the government, especially if there are members known to have a desire for a fully established federal government in the country,” one MP told Sudan Tribune on Thursday.

The legislator called on the government to allow open debate on a federal style of governance.

“We know very well some of our colleagues were removed from being heads of the specialised committees because they have expressed their views in support of [a] federal system. Others have [been] denied appointment because of the same thing. They expressed their views in favour of federalism,” he said. “We will stand against this appointment,” he added.

Meanwhile, the main opposition party, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) rejected the changes, claiming it did not reflect the regional balance of power sharing.

Kiir dissolved his entire cabinet last July, as well as cutting the number of national ministers, in a move he claimed was in response to public demands for a leaner, more cost-effective government.

However, critics argued his true intention was to get rid of his rivals within the government.

Observers say it is likely the party's executive also played a role in the new appointments given the president's previous intolerance towards those that criticise his government.

In 2013, he said anyone publicly criticising the government should leave, asserting that a person cannot criticise the same government in which the person serves and expect to be a part of it at the same time.

(ST)

June 26, 2014 (JUNE) – South Sudan upper house of parliament rectified Thursday the peace agreement signed between government and the Jonglei state-based rebel leader David Yau Yau, saying it was the best way to address grim development failures in Pibor county.

The South Sudan government delegation and their SSDM/A Cobra faction counterparts after sigining a final peace deal in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 9 May 2014 (ST)

Members of Parliament at the Council of States approved the peace agreement, dubbed “The Bill on the agreement on the resolution of the conflict in Jonglei state between the Government of the Republic of South Sudan and The South Sudan Democratic Movement/South Sudan defense army.”

“The establishment of Greater Pibor Administrative Area (GPAA) [will] be done purely on administrative rationale is a healthier measure to address quite amicably the grim development failures that have endured the area,” party reads the resolution unanimously adopted by the MPs.

The MPs, during an ordinary session, also urged both the government and Yau Yau's group to “expedite full implementation” of the agreement.

President Salva Kiir told MPs on June 18 to quickly rectify the agreement to avoid further conflict in Pibor.

Yau Yau launched military campaigns in Pibor after losing elections for Jonglei state assembly's seat in 2010, accusing the ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) of rigging the polls. He rejoined government in 2011, but rebelled again a year later.

GPAA encompasses Pibor and Pochalla counties in eastern Jonglei state. Four tribes, Murle, Jie, Anyauk and Kachipo inhabit the area. The Jie community, however, expressed reservations to the agreement when it was signed last month.

The MPs, during their Thursday session, also acknowledged the community's reservation and called for wide consultation to ensure effective implementations.

“The Jie people [should] be duly, promptly and popularly consulted and the [peace] agreement with focus to establish their opinion on they choose to be inhabitants prior to the final demarcation of the GPAA", the lawmakers argued.

Part of the Jie community live in Eastern Kapeota county of Eastern Equatoria state and others in Pibor. Recently, Eastern Equatoria lawmakers adopted a resolution calling on the central government to return Jie to Kapoeta, a proposal rejected by their counterparts from Jonglei.

(ST)

June 26, 2014 (JUBA) – South Sudan has been named the world's “most fragile” state, ending Somalia's six-years atop the Fragile State Index, a new report says.

The report, issued by the United States-based Fund for Peace (FFP), blames chronic instability, fractured leadership and growing ethnic conflict for South Sudan's poor ranking.

Having attained independence in July 2011, the new nation featured in the then Failed States Index (FSI) a year later and was ranked fourth. It retained this ranking in 2013, but with worsened scores.

“The country's independence, while initially giving cause for celebration, is now giving only cause for concern as its politics and leadership grows increasingly fractious, and mass killings – especially targeting specific ethnic groups – gains momentum,” partly reads the report.

South Sudan has been experiencing violent conflict, which has killed thousands and displaced over a million both internally and into neighboring nations.

The top six countries on the index are all in sub-Saharan Africa, with Afghanistan listed seventh most fragile state followed by Yemen, Haiti and Pakistan. The report, however, cited Iran, Serbia, Zimbabwe and Cuba as the most improved countries in this year's rankings.

Annually produced by FFP, the report mainly highlights global political, economic and social pressures experienced by states and is widely considered a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of failure.

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June 26, 2014 (JUBA) – The United Nations secretary-general met on Thursday with South Sudanese president Salva Kiir and urged the latter to resume talks with opposition leader, Riek Machar, in the context of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)-led process.

UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon (L) and South Sudanese president Salva Kiir address reporters in the capital, Juba, on 6 May 2014 (Photo: Isaac Alebe/UNMISS)

Ban Ki-Moon, his spokesperson said in a statement, also told president Kiir to ensure the full implementation of the 9 June agreement signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia by both warring parties.

“The secretary-general informed the President [Kiir] that he had conveyed a similar message to Mr. Riek Machar, and called on the two parties to rapidly agree on the composition of the transitional government,” partly reads the statement.

Ki-moon and president Kiir met at the African Union summit in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea and discussed the South Sudan situation.

The IGAD mediators announced on Monday in Addis Ababa that they had adjourned the peace talks indefinitely over inclusivity crisis of the other stakeholders who were to join the negotiations.

The mediation team would also travel to New York to recommend to the UN Security Council (UNSC) an action to take against the two parties, possibly targeted sanctions.

Machar reportedly wrote to the UN secretary-general explaining his position over stalled IGAD-mediated peace talks with Kiir's government. He however expressed his delegation's readiness for direct talks with their government counterparts as required by the mediators.

Meanwhile, Ki-moon called on the president Kiir to continue fighting impunity and ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in South Sudan.

He reportedly informed the South Sudanese leader of the steps taken by the world body to beef up the capacities of its mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), consistent with the relevant Security Council resolution, to enhance the protection of civilians and support the verification mechanism set up to monitor the implementation of the 9 June Agreement.

In late April and May, French and United States diplomats at the UNSC were reportedly considering a resolution to impose sanctions on the South Sudanese leaders.

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June 27, 32014 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan's president, Omer Hassan al-Bashir, has warned opposition parties against any rapprochement with the rebel alliance Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF), saying it is a red line in a process of democratisation he initiated in January.

Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir addresses a session of parliament on 1 April 2013 in Khartoum (Photo: Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty Images)

In a speech before the members of the Shoura (consultation) Council of the National Congress Party (NCP) on Thursday night, Bashir asserted that he will not allow the opposition parties to conduct any contacts with the SRF groups which he described as “agents and traitors”.

The president made his remarks six days after statements by the leader of the opposition National Umma Party, Sadiq al-Mahdi who following his release expressed his intention last Friday to coordinate with the rebels in order to achieve a comprehensive peace in the country.

Bashir said he is committed to ensure political freedom for the activities of the opposition parties stressing “we will not allow the existence of an ally to rebel groups within the areas controlled by the government forces”.

“Whoever wants to deal or sign agreements with the rebels has to know that the SRF has some areas in South Kordofan, Blue Nile, Darfur, Israel and Kampala. We will not accept that some speak (with them) in Khartoum and our sons are fighting and die in South Kordofan”.

Bashir further accused political parties of misusing political freedoms and pointed that some “crossed the red line”.

He asserted to not allow such abuses, noting that some political forces undermine the morale of the Sudanese people.

At the end of January, Bashir launched the national dialogue initiative aiming to hold an comprehensive conference on a new constitution and ways to end the armed conflicts in the Two Areas and Darfur. He also issued a number of presidential decrees to ensure freedom of expression, press freedom and create a conducive environment for this political process.

However, the security service last May arrested al-Mahdi for criticising a government militia, the Rapid Support Forces, and accusing it of committing war crimes in Darfur and South Kordofan. After his release the ministry of justice said the party of the former prime minister apologised and announced his support to the army and government forces.

NO DELAY FOR 2015 ELECTIONS

The president who has just resumed his activities after a chirurgical operation on his right knee, said next year general election will be held as scheduled without delay.

He further slammed NCP officials who evoked a possible postponement of the electoral process in case a political agreement is reached with the opposition forces in the context of the national dialogue.

The opposition parties call to form a national government during a two-year interim period to implement a number of reforms agreed in the national dialogue before to hold the general elections.

The Sudanese president also pointed to the tribal clashes in Darfur region hinting to hidden hands that igniting the fighting between the pastoral tribes every time they settle a conflict.

Recently, Central Darfur governor sacked the leaders of Misseriya and Salamat tribes from the leadership of the native administration and threatened to take tough action against the responsible of any new clashes.

The two groups despite several reconciliation deals brokered by the government continue to attack each other over issues of cattle raiding.

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June 26, 14 (BOR) – The minister of agriculture and forestry in South Sudan's Jonglei state has urged youth to make use of the tractors the state government and its partners provided for projects aimed at boosting food production.

Jonglei's minister of agriculture and forestry, Mayen Ngor, pictured with a number of tractors which have been supplied as part of a youth farming initiative (ST)

Speaking to the press in the capital, Bor, Mayen Ngor said it was important for youth to have greater involvement in the state's agricultural sector.

A number of tractors received from the UN Development Programme (UNDP) two years ago have been provided by the state for youth projects in Jonglei's 11 counties for use on group and individual farms.

“They (local youth) were given these tractors purposely so that they produce food,” said Ngor.

He said encouraging participation in the agricultural sector was a way to engage youth so that they refrain from criminal activities such as cattle raiding, child abduction and tribal attacks.

It's hoped the initiative would also mitigate some of the conflict that arises when youth go out looking for food.

“We were targeting youth to make them produce enough food, and when they produce enough, they will be responsible,” the minister said.

South Sudan is currently experiencing acute food shortages since conflict broke out in mid-December last year amid escalating political tensions, with ongoing violence severely disrupting crop planting across the country.

One youth in Bor said the project would create job opportunities for unemployed young people.

“It [will] create more opportunities to those who are redundant; they will be engaged,” he said.

Ongoing insecurity in South Sudan means very few people returned to their farms this season to cultivate their land, with many villages left virtually deserted.

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June 27, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM in Opposition) has revealed signs of deciding moments by members of the SPLM former detainees to join either side of the six-month old political conflict in South Sudan.

South Sudan political detainees (left to right) Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, Majak d'Agoot, Pagan Amum and Oyai Deng Ajak at a trial hearing in Juba on 11 March 2014 (Photo: AFP/Andrei Pungovschi)

On Friday the rebels deputy spokesperson, Mabior Garang de Mabior, announced there would be a press conference on Monday in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, during which at least one member will “take a stand” in signs suggesting that the former detainees or g-11 begin to dismantle and trickle in.

While Mabior did not name the politician or those willing to join the rebel group, there are similar speculations that others may also decide to join the government, citing recent meetings conducted between president Kiir and some of these leaders on the sidelines of the IGAD summit last week in Addis Ababa.

The former detainees have previously preferred to stay neutral or participate in the talks as the third bloc, despite the fact that they were politically allied to the former vice president, Riek Machar, in which they together held the 6 December press conference, accusing President Salva Kiir of “dictatorial tendencies.”

The group includes former SPLM secretary general, Pagan Amum, national ministers: Deng Alor, John Luk, Kosti Manibe, Gier Chuang, Majak Agot, Madut Biar, Oyai Deng, Cirino Hiteng; former Lakes state governor, Chol Tong and Ezekiel Lol, former South Sudanese diplomat to US.

After the 15 December violence, which they all alleged was started by president Kiir, they were all arrested, counter-allegedly for attempting a coup with Machar. The rebel leader demanded their release as a precondition for further negotiations with the government to end the crisis.

They were however subsequently released in two groups of 7 and 4; the latter due to lack of evidence presented in court.

Upon gaining their freedom, the group has been trying to participate in the negotiations as a neutral body, but with insignificant impact as their role is being reduced to consultations with either party or the mediation in order to sell their views.

In the course of their neutrality position the group also earned criticisms by South Sudanese rebels and some Kenyan MPs who described them as “opportunists” and “selfish.”

Machar's supporters accuse the g-11 of betrayal over their reluctance to join the war “imposed on them.” They in particular accused the SPLM former secretary general, Pagan Amum, of allegedly uttering that the killing of the thousands of the Nuer civilians in Juba did not deserve a war, a remark Amum dismissed immediately.

Amum in a statement released last May explained their decisions to not joint the rebels simply means they refuse to be part of the war.

He said that being members of the third bloc does not equate to being neutral in the current conflict, stressing they are part of the peace talks and part of any future government that would bring about political reform within the country.

“Both the government and armed rebels prefer a military solution but we in the third bloc fully support the IGAD peace process as the best alternative to the war in our country,” wrote Amum, adding “This makes us more than neutral bystanders: we are not part of the bloodshed, but of the sustainable solution”.

However Amum and his group were accused of playing the “good guys”, and plan to lead the proposed interim government with the support of the international community.

On 19 June, Salva Kiir rejected any such plans saying that he would not accept any government without him, the elected president, and accused unnamed countries of intending to dismantle the newly independent South Sudan and the ruling SPLM.

“They intend to constitute a transitional government without me as the elected President. They want to bring somebody of their choice to be the president of that transitional government. That is a red line,” said Kiir.

The expected declaration by the group members to take sides between the rebels and government, if it happens, is seen as the beginning of their melt down.

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June 27, 2014 (JUBA) – Political parties in South Sudan said they have rejected drawing of “red lines” by the warring parties in the stalled peace negotiations in Addis Ababa in order to end the six-month old political crisis in the country.

On Thursday leaders and representatives of the association of 21 political parties, including the main opposition leader, Lam Akol, held a press conference in Juba in which they urged president Salva Kiir and opposition leader, Riek Machar, to get their delegations back to direct negotiations to reach a political solution and form an interim government.

President Salva Kiir this week while addressing the national parliament said removing him from his job as demanded by the rebels in the proposed interim government was a “red line” that should not be crossed. He argued that he was elected by the people and should remain the president till next elections.

He also told parliamentarians to fight for their jobs, warning that the call by the rebels to restructure the state on the basis of a federal system would also dissolve the current membership in parliament.

However, South Sudanese political parties, many of whom are in government, said in negotiations there was need for flexibility and compromises, warning it was harmful to draw red lines.

“We the people of South Sudan must rise above our individual group and party interests and put the interests of our country above any other considerations,” partly reads the press release.

“Until now they have not even agreed on the agenda of the negotiations,” charged Lam Akol, chairman of SPLM-DC and member of the government delegation to the negotiations representing the other political parties.

“In addition to what was said by Dr. Lam, we as political parties we cannot agree with red lines. There is no red line. This is a negotiation,” announced Garang Thuch Garang, PURE party chairman.

The parties reigned on the two rival factions to resume the talks without any delay, calling on them to expedite the process and end the bloodshed in the new country.

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June 27, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi has departed Khartoum on Friday following a short visit to meet with his Sudanese counterpart Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir (L) gestures to Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) as Sisi departs Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum June 27, 2014 (REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)

Al-Sisi flew to Khartoum from Equatorial Guinea's capital Malabo where attended the 23rd Ordinary African Union (AU) summit, Egypt's first after the suspension of its membership in the AU was lifted last week.

Sudan's official News Agency (SUNA) reported that the Egyptian president was “on a short visit to hold talks with president Al-Bashir”.

Sudanese diplomatic sources said the meeting discussed bilateral relations particularly the issue of the Ethiopian renaissance dam which led to deterioration in relations between Cairo and Khartoum.

The Sudanese president, in a joint press conference at Khartoum airport following the talks, expressed appreciation for al-Sisi's visit, saying the latter insisted on visiting Khartoum despite his busy schedule.

He pointed that they discussed many bilateral and regional issues, saying the two peoples would benefit from these discussions.

“This visit will push Cairo-Khartoum relations forward along the right direction,” Bashir said.

The Sudanese president added that ties between the two countries are deeply rooted not only by virtue of geographical proximity but also for the historical, cultural, religious and ethnic ties.

Bashir also pointed to convergence of views on containing conflicts in the region and promoting regional relationships to the benefit of the peoples of the region.

Al-Sisi for his part underscored there are many issues that the two sides can work on, pointing to the need for coordinating positions on regional issues.

“We agreed to coordinate our positions on regional issues and we are looking forward to president Bashir's visit to Egypt”, he added.

The Sudanese ambassador to Egypt, Abdul-Mahmoud Abdul-Halim was quoted by SUNA as saying that the neighboring countries are on the verge of new phase in their relations, noting the existence of political will by the two sides to bolster them.

He further said that al-Sisi emphasized the importance of reactivating bilateral relations and mechanisms of joint cooperation.

Relations between Cairo and Khartoum have taken a downward spiral, particularly after Sudan announced its strong support of the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

Al-Sisi met on Thursday with Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn on the sidelines of the AU summit in Malabo.

The two countries' foreign ministers issued a joint statement afterwards saying that they will form a joint committee in the upcoming three months to enhance bilateral relations.

They also agreed to resume work of the tripartite technical committee on the dam project.

In June 2012, a panel of international experts tasked with studying the impacts of the Ethiopian dam on lower riparian countries, including Sudan and Egypt, found that the dam project will not cause significant harm to either country.

Cairo remains unconvinced and has sought further studies and consultation with Khartoum and Addis Ababa.

Egypt fears that the $4.6 billion hydropower plant will diminish its share of the river's water flows, arguing its historic water rights must be maintained in line with the 1929 and 1959 colonial agreements.

Sudanese officials accuse Egyptian media of seeking to provoke their government against Khartoum in light of this position.

Many Egyptian politicians and observers have expressed fury over Sudan's stance with some going as far as calling Khartoum an "ingrate" and "treacherous".

Some commentators have speculated that Khartoum wants to use the dam issue as a bargaining chip to claim back Halayeb which has been under Egyptian control since the 1990s.

The genesis of the disputes over Halayeb dates back to as early as 1958 after Sudan gained independence from being ruled jointly by Britain and Egypt. The wrangle is a result of a discrepancy in the demarcation of political boundaries set by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium and the ones set earlier by the British in 1902.

Egypt brushed aside Sudan's repeated calls for referring the dispute to international arbitration.

Khartoum is also accused by Egyptian media of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood movement which has been pushed off Egypt's political scene after the toppling of president Mohamed Morsi last year by then army chief al-Sisi in response to mass anti-Morsi demonstrations in the country.

The Islamist government in Sudan has appeared uncomfortable with the ouster of Morsi given the common ideology they shared with him and the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) which brought him to power.

Unlike most Arab leaders, the Sudanese president did not congratulate interim Egyptian president Adli Mansour on his new role.

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