Africa

November 28, 2016 (JUBA) - The outgoing head of United Nations Mission In South Sudan (UNMISS) said the peacekeeping mission is not "finished" and lamented lack of peace in the war torn country.

Speaking to reporters for her last press conference before leaving South Sudan, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Ellen Margrethe Loej, urged South Sudanese leaders across political divide to put their nation first.

"We have not yet finished our job, we don't have peace in South Sudan, we don't have prosperity in South Sudan, but I think we all have to work for that," said Loej on Monday.

The resumption of violence in Juba in July aborted the implementation of a fragile peace agreement signed in August 2015 by President Salva Kiir and armed opposition group, the SPLM in Opposition leader and former Vice President Riek Machar.

Machar fled the country and was replaced in controversial procedures by Taban Deng Gai. Following what, the fighting has escalated in the Equatoria Region which remained peaceful at the onset of conflict in December 2013. In other areas, sporadic clashes are reported also.

Loej who took over the leadership of the peacekeeping mission one year after the start of the conflict in 2014 expressed her hope for peaceful South Sudan and applauded the resilience of its people. She regretted that the hopes at independence in 2011 have not been fulfilled.

"I am extremely depressed that their hopes and aspiration at the time of independence has not yet been fulfilled, the conflict that erupted in December 2013 continues to make many South Sudanese homeless, internally displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries and I am also worried about the threat to their security wherever they are and not least by the economic hardship they have to endure," she said.

More than a million South Sudanese have taken refuge in neighbouring countries, over 200,000 others sought protection at six UNMISS camps accords the country and millions others are internally displaced across the country.

Loej said the rival leaders must end the war.

"I urge all South Sudanese and especially the leaders of South Sudan to put the well-being of their people, including the the boys and girls [first]," she said.

The conflict has increased food insecurity and nearly half the country's 11 million people need help from humanitarian organizations.

Loej expressed hopes that with peace South Sudanese take care of their families, develop their country, and that South Sudan becomes a prosper country.

"It is possible because South Sudan is such a rich country in terms of resources and fertile land and when I am flying up country I am always surprised to see all that fertile land and there is not anything, it's not being harvested, that you are not growing your own food," she said.

Loej met President Kiir in Juba on Monday to bid him farewell. She announced her intention to quit the job in October at the end of November.

Initially, she had planned to leave South Sudan at the end of her contract last August, but the July crisis forced her to extend her mandate until the end of November.

(ST)

November 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – The trial of a Czech journalist and two Christian pastors charged with espionage, waging war against the state and inciting hatred against religious congregations, has continued in Khartoum on Monday.

police stands outside the courthouse in Khartoum 2007

Last December, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) arrested Czech missionary and filmmaker Petr Jasek four days after he entered Sudan carrying two bags containing a laptop, a mobile phone, a video camera besides other documents.

Jasek reportedly confessed that he received the documents and the video from a colleague by the name of Grad Phelps in South Kordofan in 2012.

In the trial which resumed in the Sudanese capital Monday, the prosecutor told the court that Jasek has entered Sudan to carry intelligence activities.

The Persecutor told the court NISS had expelled several foreigners from Sudan for carrying hostile activities against the state, jeopardizing national security, waging tribalism, documenting for the claimed human rights violations and incite waging war against the state.

“The Czech defendant has met the other two defendants during their participation in an intelligence linked conference in Addis Ababa,” claimed the persecutor, adding that the defendants have documented for alleged human rights violations and they have incited waging war against the state.

He went to say that a conference in Addis Ababa was organized to provide support to rebel groups, saying that the Czech defendant has documented for alleged students torture and use of chemical substances against Darfur students.

The trial of the Czech journalist and the two Christian pastors started last August.

Sudan has been designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department since 1999, due to its treatment of Christians and other human rights violations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom recommended the country remain on the list in its 2016 report.

(ST)

November 28, 2016 (BOR) – Jonglei's government dismissed the ex-secretary general's claimed of nepotism and corruption in the state.

Jonglei state governor, Phillip Aguer speaks during the independence occassion July 9, 2016 (ST)

The ex-secretary general Mawut Achiek, who resigned on 25 November, claimed the state was heavily indebted to 17.9 million pounds, making it difficult to make incentive payments to about 200 of the governor's guards; majority of who belong to the latter's clan.

Achiek said he been forced by some officials, who to include names of people already in public service into the pay roll, or replace some existing staff in higher salary grades, with people from the governor's clan.

But in reaction to statements from the ex-secretary general, the minister of information Akech Deng said government had never had any new appointments since the new Jonglei state was created.

“Since the appointment of Aguer Panyang no single new appointment was made, in all the ministries because we inherited all staff of former Jonglei whom we found operating. If you want, go to finance and check all the staff there name by name, to see if there is any cashier who belongs to the governor”s clan”, he said.

“The governor never authorized any one to appoint cashier”, he added.

About-unpaid incentives for the guards since April, the minister said it was the responsibility of secretary and finance ministry to pay them.

But the secretary general said he was not able to get money to pay.

“It is not the governor to pay his guards, it is the secretary general and finance who do those duties”, Akech added.

Although the information minister declined to disclose the state financial position, whether debts of 17.9 million SSP were untrue, and why it was difficult for the secretary to meet money to pay the guards, he later on highlighted that the state had financial deficit.

“If there is something like debts or deficits, talk to the finance minister,” said Akech.

“There is overstaffing in the state, and the governor has formed a ministerial committee to screen the employees, and order the physically count of the working force to address the issue of deficit and this is to show that the governor has not authorized any new appointment since he was appointment”, he added.

The minister said the government does not belong to a particular clan, and that rules of the land do not allow anyone to threaten people.

“If there is anyone who attempted to do so, then the ex-secretary general should have reported this”, he said.

(ST)

November 28, 2016 (LEER) – The armed opposition forces allied to South Sudan ex-First Vice-President, Riek Machar soldiers allied to Machar's successor, Taban Deng Gai of allegedly killing civilians in Daplual and Male villages, northwest of Mayiandit county headquarters.

People wait to fill up their water containers at a camp for internally displaced people in Unity state capital Bentiu (Photo: Matthew Abbott/AP)

The area opposition spokesperson, James Yoach Bideng, claimed soldier, commanded by Lt-Gen. Dor Majur, combined with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and killed dozens of civilians.

He said over 20 civilians were killed and thousands fled their homes as pro-government forces and troops allied to the first Vice President entered the villages and surrounded areas over the weekend.

“For the last two days the pro-government troops and those allied to Taban Deng have been mopping the population there. It is very sad to hear civilians got killed and with their homes being burned and chopped down,” Yoach told Sudan Tribune Monday.

Last week, the official added, armed groups launched major offensives against Machar forces in the area, with an intention to dislodge and regain more territories within the oil-rich Unity state.

Also, clashes were earlier this month reported between forces allied to President Salva Kiir and those loyal to South Sudan's armed opposition leader in Nhialdiu and Jazeera areas of Rubkotna county.

About 20 aid workers were reportedly caught up in the clashes between rival forces, but later released by the rebels in the area.

In the last two year, however, Daplual and Male villages have hosted thousands of civilians who abandoned their homes in Koch, Rubkuay and Leer areas, as a result of the ongoing skirmishes.

It is believed the area was safer for humanitarian agencies assisting those in need, but thousands fled due to recent attacks between the rival factions.

(ST)

Expressing deep concerns over last week&#39s renewed violence in the Central African Republic that has reportedly claimed dozens of lives and displaced more than 11,000 persons &#8211 many civilians &#8211 United Nations Secretary-General has called on the armed groups to immediately and to &#8220genuinely&#8221 commit to peace.

By Amb. Dhano Obongo

Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in Eastern Africa Community was formed in1996 succeed the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) which was formed as far back as 1986.

The objective for the formation of IGADD goes back to 1974 and 1984 when droughts, manmade and natural disasters hit the Eastern Africa countries badly, and as a result the leaders of the Eastern Africa nations came up with the idea of formation of IGADD.

IGAD is composed of eight nations in the Horn of Africa namely, Uganda, Sudan , Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia , Djibouti, South Sudan as well as Eritrea. It is worth mentioning here that, IGAD was mutually formed via the United Nations , and in 1986, the Assembly of Heads of States and Governments was held in Djibouti to sign the Accord which formally launched IGADD with main office based in Djibouti capital.

In 1996 in Nairobi, Kenya the Assembly of Heads of States & Governments amended the IGADD Charter & Agreement and changed and gave it a new name the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

The official language of IGAD is English and IGAD is headed by the Executive Secretary, Amb. Mahaboub Maalim, a Kenyan national. Amb. Maalim's two terms has come to an end and IGAD is looking for a new candidate from two countries namely Somalia and South Sudan. However, it's likely that the position of the Executive Secretary may be taken by a South Sudanese national. Am sure our leadership is doing its homework diligently and will recommend experienced , competent and seasoned candidates.

IGAD rules and regulations that, IGAD request three candidates to be nominated from a country who wants to contest for the position, then a panel goes through each candidate's CV and eventually they select the suitable candidate. The selected candidate would then be appointed by the Assembly of Heads of states and Governments for a tenure of four years renewable once. Furthermore, IGAD has a Committee of Ambassadors of IGAD composes of IGAD member state's residence Ambassadors accredited to the country of head office. These Ambassadors as frequently as the require advise and guide the Executive Secretary.

The purpose of this article is make our political leadership aware that, it would be significant to recommend three candidates as soon as possible, who are well experienced, competent as well as strong personalities. If I were our leadership I would recommend the following candidates for thier rich CV for the position of the Executive Secretary and they are:-
• Dr. Hon. Barnaba Marial Benjamin
• Amb. Emmanuel Lo-Willa
• Dr. Kuel Maluil Jok
From my point of view these three candidates are experienced and competent to compete for the position without any doubt and they can really represent South Sudan.

The current Executive Secretary was elected and appointed on 14th June 2008. I strongly believe that, it's a time for the South Sudan to play and demonstrate an active role in the regional multilateral diplomacy or in other words the conferences diplomacy. Let us not miss this golden opportunity.

Author can be reached via E-mail: dhano01obongo@gmail.com

November 28, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir Monday said he accepted the deployment of the regional protection force because he has received numerous assurances of support and cooperation from the United Nations and regional leaders.

Also, the president disclosed he received assurances from regional leaders that the force would never take unilateral decision.

“Many leaders from the region have been calling and asked me to accept on behalf of the people of South Sudan the deployment of the regional protection force. I told them this is not a personal thing for me to just decide. I said I will consult with the people. And so we did this with the stakeholders," Kiir said.

He added that his first deputy Taban Deng Gai who leads a splinter faction of the SPLM-IO and his team consulted among themselves and they agreed that this should be taken to the cabinet where a formal decision was taken to accept the 4000 strong force on Friday .

The head of state was speaking to some members of the Dinka council of elders who visited him at his residence on Sunday to congratulate him on the acceptance of the deployment of the regional protection force and for a successful foreign trip to Equatorial Guinea for Arab- Africa summit.

President Kiir, according to one of his top aides, also requested the group to help him and to campaign for peace, forgiveness and reconciliation in the country, saying war does not resolve differences. He further declared his personal commitment to end the conflict.

“We have accepted the deployment of the regional protection force because of peace. We need our people to return to their homes and resume their normal lives. If this force will play a positive role, then let them come,” said president Kiir according to one of his top aides.

The South Sudanese government initially rejected the deployment of troops from countries sharing immediate borders with the young nation saying “they have interests in the country.”

But after a visit of the Ethiopian Prime Hailemariam Desalegn, at the end of October 2016, Juba said it accepts the participation of the Ethiopian troops in the regional force and said they signed a security agreement providing to stop hosting armed opposition groups in their respective countries.

(ST)

November 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) on Monday has seized copies of Al-Ayam and Al-Jareeda newspapers from the printing house without stating reasons.

Sudanese men read sports news in the absence of ten political newspapers in Khartoum on November 18, 2008 (AFP)

Journalists working for Al-Jareeda told Sudan Tribune that the newspaper was likely confiscated for publishing reports on the recent civil disobedience act and trials of protesters.

For their part, some journalists at Al-Ayam said the newspaper was seized because it carried a headline saying “Calm reigns in the capital on the first day of civil disobedience”.

It is noteworthy that Sudanese from different walks of life on Sunday have engaged in a three-day civil disobedience to resist recent government decision to lift fuel, electricity and drug price.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese non-governmental Journalists for Human Rights (JHR) network has denounced the seizure of Al-Ayam and Al-Jareeda, saying the NISS was punishing the two newspapers for covering the news of the civil disobedience.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday, JHR said the NISS had also seized copies of the Al-Ayam on Sunday before later allowing its distribution.
The NISS routinely confiscates newspapers either to prevent circulation of certain stories or to punish them retroactively on previous issues.

It uses seizures of print copies of newspapers, not only to censor the media but also to weaken them economically.

On Sunday, Sudanese authorities ordered to close down a TV station on Sunday, as the opposition called for a three day civil disobedience to protest the recent austerity measures and the lack of freedoms.

Also, on 6 November, the NISS confiscated copies of Al-Tayyar, Al-Jareeda and Al-Watan newspapers for publishing news reports criticizing the government decision to raise fuel and electricity price.

(ST)

November 28, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour and the German Envoy to Sudan and the Nile Basin Countries Rolf Welberts Monday have discussed ways to promote bilateral ties between the two nations in the various fields.

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Monday, Sudan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Gharib Allah said Ghandour has briefed the German envoy on Sudan's efforts to achieve peace in South Sudan and to implement cooperation agreements signed between the two countries.

According to the statement, Ghandour also pointed to the ongoing efforts to implement water agreements among Nile basin countries.

For his part, the German envoy praised Sudan's efforts to achieve security and stability in the region, hailing the role played by the Sudanese government to converge views between Egypt and Ethiopia on Nile waters agreements.

It is worth to mention that Germany had signed a strategic partnership agreement with the AU High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) by the end of 2014 allowing it to work with the Sudanese parties to facilitate a process aiming to bring peace and achieve democratic transformation in the east African country.

Also, Sudan and Germany have forged strategic partnership to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

Earlier this year, the German government earmarked €12 million for projects aimed at stemming illegal immigration of Africans across Sudan to Europe.

(ST)

November 28, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese authorities Monday barred a team a ceasefire monitoring team from reaching Yei to assess the security situation in the troubled Central Equatoria region .

SPLA soldiers are seen at the airport in Bor January 19, 2014. (Photo Reuters/Andreea Campeaunu)

In a statement extended to Sudan Tribune, the Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring Mechanism (CTSAMM) said one of its teams was "denied freedom of movement while trying to reach Yei to conduct an assessment of the area and carry out its mandated activities".

The ceasefire monitoring mechanism said they got the green light from all the concerned authorities including the Joint Military Ceasefire Commission since early this month.

"However when the MVT began their journey from Juba this morning they were stopped at a check point on the outskirts of the city and told they would not be allowed pass beyond that point," said the statement.

Since last summer, different reports emerged from the areas speaking about attacks by armed opposition elements in the area who are designed as "terrorists" or ''anti-peace elements'' by the local authorities. Other reports also mention violent counterinsurgency operations by the government army in the area.

On 12 November Adama Dieng, U.N. special adviser on prevention of genocide, called to probe the human rights violations in the state, stressing the gravity of the situation there "merits immediate intervention – a full scale fact-finding investigation and enhanced humanitarian support".

Also, Dieng motioned reports about the expulsion of farmers from their agricultural plots into Yei town. "These farmers have lost their homes and belongings, livestock and land. Property has been looted and villages have been burned," he said.

The ceasefire mechanism called on the Transitional Government of National Unity to intervene in this issue to ensure that its teams can visit Yei.

" The CTSAMM would like to reiterate that it has a legal right to be present in South Sudan as stipulated in Chapter II of the ARCSS, and condemns, in the strongest terms, the denial of freedom of movement for the CTSAMM MVTs," said the statement.

In line with the peace agreement, the CTSAMM tasked with the monitoring of the implementation of the Permanent Ceasefire and Transitional Security Arrangements (PCTSA).

(ST)

A major survey into global football shows that African footballers are often subjected to abuse, poor pay and job insecurity.

(Nairobi) – Ugandan authorities should investigate the conduct of security forces in response to recent clashes in western Uganda, Human Rights Watch said today. Security forces killed dozens of people and arrested at least 139 during violence on November 26 and 27, 2016, in the town of Kasese between Royal Guards of the region’s cultural kingdom, Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu (Bakonzo), and government forces.

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The grave of Anna Kuguma, who was killed in Katumba, Kirumya sub-county in Bundibugyo district, Uganda, around February 27, 2016.

© 2016 Human Rights Watch

Many details of the violence, including the total death toll, remain unclear. Police have stated that 46 Royal Guards were killed and 139 others arrested following attacks on several police stations on November 26, during which at least 14 police officers were killed. The king was also arrested on November 27, and eventually transferred to Nalufenya police post in Jinja, Eastern Uganda, where he is still being held. Police have not yet said what, if any, charges will be brought against him. There is no independent corroboration of affiliation or total number of those killed.

“The events on November 26 and 27 are yet another tragic loss of life in the Rwenzori region, which has already suffered many deaths,” said Maria Burnett, associate Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “The government needs to investigate and put equal effort into prosecuting crimes by both sides, including government security or intelligence forces, and address grievances in the community, or the violence in the region may ignite again.”

Photographs of what appeared to be dead bodies, some of men with their hands tied behind their backs, circulated on social media on November 27. Police have blocked access to the area around the palace in Kasese and families are not being permitted to collect bodies.

Police also arrested a prominent journalist, Joy Doreen Biira, and charged her with “abetting terrorism,” then released her. Police allege she was not permitted to photograph some events during the violence. Journalists should be able to report on events of public interest without fear of arrest or intimidation from state forces, Human Rights Watch said.

The Rwenzori region in western Uganda is the site of past violence. A Human Rights Watch investigation found that between February and April, 2016, members of the Bakonzo and Bamba ethnic groups clashed following contested local elections and political infighting, resulting in at least 30 deaths. During the subsequent law enforcement operations, the Ugandan police and military killed at least 17 people. One police officer and two soldiers were also killed.

For example, on March 10, a group allegedly from the Bakonzo ethnic group attacked soldiers in Hima Town Council, stabbing and injuring four. In response, the soldiers fatally shot two people. The clashes in Hima led to at least four more incidents between the government and Royal Guards, resulting in the deaths of six Royal Guards, three government security forces, and one person not affiliated with either security force. Footage of some of those events was shared widely on social media. Royal Guards are volunteers who provide security to the customary king.

In the wake of the violence earlier this year, Human Rights Watch wrote to the inspector general of police, urging him to order investigations into the killings of at least 50 people, including 17 killed by security forces. The inspector general has not replied.

In July 2014, local media reports suggested that after members of the Bakonzo ethnic group attacked police and army posts, government security forces killed at least 100 people in reprisal killings. Human Rights Watch raised concerns about the possible involvement of government forces in reprisal attacks and torture, and the limited protection for civilians in the following days.

There has been little or no investigation of the conduct of government forces in these violent episodes or into the arrests of hundreds of civilians, some of whom have faced trial before military courts, Human Rights Watch said. Some government officials, including a parliamentary committee on defense and internal affairs, and the Uganda Human Rights Commission, have conducted investigations that are understood to have been completed earlier in 2016, but their reports have not been made public and it is not clear if they will be.

Some leaders from the community said in a letter to President Yoweri Museveni in July 2014, that they have numerous concerns that the government is failing to address, including land conflicts and high unemployment rates among Bakonzo people.

All those arrested should be brought before a court of law within 48 hours or released, and everyone, including government troops and their commanders, should face investigations into their conduct that led to the deaths, Human Rights Watch said. The prosecuting authorities should investigate all instances of lethal use of force by security forces.

The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials require law enforcement officials, including military units responding to national emergencies, to apply nonviolent means before resorting to force, to use force only in proportion to the seriousness of the offense, and to use lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. The principles also provide that governments shall ensure that arbitrary or abusive use of force and firearms by law enforcement officials is punished as a criminal offense under their law.

Less than one month before the December 19 deadline marking the end of President Joseph Kabila’s constitutionally mandated two-term limit, he still has not made any clear commitment on if and when he will step down. All while government repression against pro-democracy activists, the opposition, protesters, and the media has intensified at an alarming rate. The so-called “national dialogue” – which postponed the elections to at least April 2018 – and the appointment of Samy Badibanga from the opposition as prime minister have not succeeded in easing tensions. The Catholic Church is pursuing its mediation efforts to reach a more inclusive political deal – but time is running out.

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From left to right: Gen. Céléstin Kanyama © 2013 Private; Gen. Gabriel Amisi © 2016 Private; Évariste Boshab © 2015 Radio Okapi/Ph. John Bompengo.

If President Kabila stays in power beyond December 19 without a clear public commitment on when he will step down and a broad consensus on organizing the transition period to elections, there is a risk that protests will erupt and security forces respond with excessive force. The country could descend into widespread violence and chaos.

Congo’s regional and international partners should be mobilizing at the highest levels to prevent this scenario. They should apply targeted sanctions against officials implicated in abuses to show there are real consequences for repression and to help deter further violence. 

The targeted sanctions imposed by the US on several officials at the forefront of violence against protesters had a notable deterrent effect and rattled those implicated. But the impact could be much greater if they targeted more senior government and intelligence officials – and if the European Union and United Nations Security Council also took action. 

In October, the EU announced it would “use all means at its disposal” against individuals responsible for serious human rights violations, who promote violence, or who “obstruct a consensual and peaceful solution to the crisis.” The EU should move now from threats to action and impose targeted sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against senior Congolese officials responsible for the violent crackdown.

In a resolution passed on November 15 with strong bipartisan support, the US House of Representatives called on the Obama administration to impose additional sanctions on officials in Congo “who impede progress toward a peaceful democratic transition through credible elections that respect the will of the people.” In a letter on Monday, Human Rights Watch also called upon President Barack Obama to take this step before leaving office.

Our research has found that these people played critical roles in the repression, and should be targeted for sanctions: National Intelligence Agency (ANR) Director Kalev Mutond, Vice Prime Minister and Interior Minister Evariste Boshab, Republican Guard overall commander Gen. Ilunga Kampete, western region army commander Gen. Gabriel Amisi (known as “Tango Four”), and Kinshasa police commissioner Gen. Céléstin Kanyama.

The EU, the United States, and the UN should make clear to Kabila that violating the Congolese people’s rights comes at a high price – before there is more bloodshed and it is too late to change course.

All people in South Sudan, regardless of their ethnic affiliation, must unite towards creating a national identify, the head of the United Nations mission there urged today, underscoring the potential of the resource-rich African country to prosper despite its ongoing challenges.

With nearly half the population in the Central African Republic (CAR) in need of humanitarian assistance, some $400 million is required over the coming year to shore up relief efforts that will be critical “to save the lives of people who are among the poorest and most forgotten on this planet,” a senior United Nations official said today.

A joint assessment by the Office of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP), has revealed that 43 per cent of refugees who have been living in Chad for more than 10 years continue to face a precarious food security situation and require assistance.

ATTN: U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan; Ambassador Donald Booth

by Abdul Wahid al-Nur

Sir,
Your calumnious editorial scapegoating me as the primary obstacle to peace in Darfur is so glaringly devoid of truth, morality or fairness that it becomes a caricature of itself, presenting so false a narrative. It does injury to the eye and history to read your slander but it is most of all blood libel to 600,000 dead Darfuris, the vast bulk of them civilians, killed in a deliberate genocide, under a state policy of ethnic cleansing, scorched earth, criminal neglect, death and torture endured by my people.

I therefore must personally condemn and repudiate your tragi-farcical communique in the harshest possible terms not only for its mendacity but ultimately for what verges on criminal incitement in encouraging the Sudanese regime to perpetrate more atrocities. That you issued your missive when incontrovertible evidence has emerged of Sudanese regime use of chemical weapons in Darfur, and you are silent on this point, eviscerates the honest broker persona you portrayed yourself as and leaves you ethically bereft.

Eight years ago, then presidential hopeful Barak Obama at least paid lip service to ending Darfur's suffering and expressed what seemed at the time, heartfelt empathy, just as George Bush Jr., had earlier first correctly decried the slaughter of my people as genocide but in this the new era of President-elect Trump, it seems the concept of “post-truth” also applies to the US State Department and you too Ambassador Booth in your cynical moral flexibility towards Sudan and Darfur in particular.

Never would I have imagined to see a senior US Diplomat publicly playing apologist for a hardline Islamist dictatorship linked to multiple terror groups, led by the sole sitting president on earth, Omar al Bashir, indicted by the International Criminal Court for Crimes Against Humanity. It is a sinister page turning, Washington softly providing Khartoum carte blanche in an active genocide. You have done nothing less than this, de facto exculpated and legitimized ongoing state terrorism by Sudan against it's own population. Will you thus admit to the true purpose of your visible efforts to rehabilitate the regime, to which the fate of the Darfuri people is readily sacrificed, where we are subordinate and judged expendable to your aims?

Your bid to enlist Khartoum as an ally against Salafist extremism, while ignoring its own brutal authoritarianism, criminal conduct, enduring linkages and sponsorship of Islamist extremism is as myopically doomed to failure as US humanitarian policy on Darfur is self-evidently, a hollow and un-kept promise, now only more flagrant a betrayal of the democratic principles you a vow to defend, you've traded for the expedient Realpolitik you're peddling. You've not only conflated the victim with the victimizer, you have placed us in reverse categories, where those under the bombs are cast as villains and those that drop them are reasonable. The Dystopia is not of our making, it is yours.

You present me as the principal obstacle to peace, as though I were inexplicably and irrationally stubborn in rejecting what are ostensibly, sincere, government peace overtures. You paint me further as someone removed from the struggle of his people, as an aloof figure, suggesting subtly that I have somehow also lost the pulse of my people, as if you knew them better and can more readily speak to their aspirations, heartbreak or indignation than I or the Sudan Liberation Movement can? Shall we walk together in one of the Displaced People's camps or clamber to a cliff top position to visit SLM fighters or speak to those sheltering from the bombs in the caves? I will show you then if my people still recognize me but I doubt they will have kind words for you.

I live and breathe only to deliver my people from the hell they daily endure to grant them a brighter, more just future where they may live in peace and security. To do so there is no aspect of my existence that isn't consecrated to this cause. I was born on the soil of Darfur. I bear wounds borne in battle for defending Darfur. My life belongs to Darfur, if needs be, my death too. How dare you attempt to judge me or my people when you do not inhabit our skin or our condition? Yours is the worst possible, faux paternalism and we discard it as a matter of principle for it has the whiff of neo-colonialism. We do not fight because we relish it. We are weary of war and fight only because we are left with no equitable or palatable alternatives. We fight for sheer survival to save ourselves from extermination. We fight alone, largely unheard, unseen, a forgotten, disposable people.

Please elucidate Ambassador Booth how it is possible to enter into a peace dialogue or negotiations in good faith when the relentless brutalization of my people is unceasing? Disingenuously, you admit at the end of your bizarre missive, that I may have cause to distrust the regime for over a decade of genocidal violence against my people. Better to have presented this key truth at the outset of any discourse concerning myself or the SLM's refusal to engage in the travesty of a peace dialogue with Khartoum, which has never shown itself to be sincere. A priori, my actions and those of the SLM are belligerent, precisely because the regime has to date never abandoned the violent subjugation to my people. We find it distinctly difficult to speak when we are routinely, shot, shelled, bombarded, gassed, tortured or raped.

Even as I write you now, government troops, their partner militias and death squads do their worst in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile State. Negotiations by Khartoum are illusory, they serve only to grant the regime greater leverage in seemingly appearing amenable to dialogue, while the guns continue to speak for the regime, its true language. So long as this remains practice, the SLM will not participate and will continue to boycott any such overtures by Khartoum.

We will happily confine our fighters to their base camps and observe a cessation of hostilities, if the regime withdraws its soldiers and paramilitaries from civilian population centers, if it ceases the practice of extra-judicial summary executions, the use of torture, rape en mass and pledges to never make use of chemical weapons again and submits it's chemical weapons stockpiles to international inspection for disposal.

The notion that the SLM impedes joint AU-UN so called peacekeeping force access to investigate government atrocities is as ludicrous a premise as stating that the SLM blocks access to humanitarian supplies, when the SLM has begged the international community to end the crippling embargo on essential supplies, which the regime uses as a tool of war to better enable disease and hunger.

Just as the SLM will continue to call for free and open access to the media and human rights investigators, it will also demand a new international force to more ably carry out its duty in Darfur, where it is long overdue to accept that the combined peacekeeping mission in Darfur is an abject failure. The people of Darfur would be thrilled if the blue helmets would actually protect them, but when the mission is starved of the necessary manpower, resources, lacking in a sorely needed peace enforcement mandate, decisive leadership and repeatedly shown itself willing to be Khartoum's pawn, our hopes are not high.

What truly beggars belief is that you contradict your own experience. Not long ago you met with civil leaders in three IDPs camps, all relaying their omnipresent fears of being attacked, disappeared, tortured or killed by government backed militias, paramilitaries, soldiers or police. You guaranteed their safety for openly meeting with you. All of them were later arrested and their fates as yet remain unknown and are unlikely to have been kind. How has this slipped your memory? We fight for a secular, free and pluralist, democratic Sudan, where sectarian violence and zealotry of every variety, in particular religious, racial or tribal chauvinism and ideological extremism of every stripe will no longer be state policy. We wish for all Sudanese to live in peaceful coexistence, tolerance and equanimity and we do draw partial inspiration from your Civil Rights Movement, your rule of law, democratic process and the unmatched diversity of your civil society.

Ambassador Booth, the people of Darfur will have Abdul Wahid at the negotiating table, when it is just and reasonable for me to occupy such a seat, with the confidence that the human rights, civil rights and dignity of my people and their right to live will not be casually violated as I do so. Self-defence is our God given right as is freedom from wilful stupidity. We will not sacrifice ourselves needlessly when we already die in droves. When the Sudanese regime has shown itself able only to mete out death and destruction, as it duplicitously spoke of peace, your entirely fictive rendition of the reality of Sudan and Darfur will have no bearing on the actions of the SLM. As it is your manipulative, counter-intuitive and cynical reproach, casts serious doubts about your commitment to the well being of the people of Darfur and your truer intentions. As we refuse to become your unwitting pawns, our understanding of our reality will remain lucid, unlike your distorted and utterly false narrative. Americans do not seem to hold answers for Darfur any longer, not that they ever did.
Sincerely;

*Abdul Wahid Al-Nur, is the Chairman of Sudan Liberation Movement. He is reachable at: tibotoum@gmail.com

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November 27, 2016 (EL-GENEINA) - Unidentified gunmen Sunday abducted three staff members of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur State.

The three workers, a Sudanese national and two foreigners, were kidnapped near the UNHCR office as they had been returning from a mission outside El Geneina.

"The abductees are two foreigners and a Sudanese, they have been kidnapped and transferred from the UN vehicle they used to a four-wheel-vehicle which headed to an unknown destination," said West Darfur Government Spokesperson, and State Minister of Information, Abdallah Mustafa Jarel-Nabi.

In press statements on Sunday, he said the state government took the necessary security measures to follow up the situation and secure the release of the captives as soon as possible.

He stressed that the state government has the capacity to release them, based on its large experience to deal with similar incidents. He further ruled out political motivations saying the armed gangs seek ransom.

An eyewitness said the kidnapping took place at 05:00 pm near El Geneina Grand Mosque in down town and not far from the police headquarters.

He added that the kidnappers were six men who came from Um Shalaya area where is a camp of Chadian refugees and headed towards Aljebel neighbourhood.

Earlier this month, the recently appointed Governor of West Darfur State, Fadl al-Mula al-Haga, vowed to impose the state authority, rule of law and fight against all forms of crime in the state.

(ST)