Africa

August 23, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese main opposition faction in South Sudan has welcomed comments by United States Secretary of State, John Kerry, on the need to deploy a third party force to Juba to secure the capital before any return of the “legitimate” First Vice President, Riek Machar.

John Kerry chairman of Foreign Relations in US Senate meets with Riek Machar GoSS Vice-President Juba on October 23, 2011 (ST)

The opposition faction however criticized the US official, Kerry, for approving an “illegal” action by President Salva Kiir that chased away from Juba an important peace partner, Machar, in order to scrap provisions of the August 2015 peace deal in South Sudan which the US helped in brokering.

Speaking to reporters after meeting five foreign ministers of Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Somalia in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Monday, Kerry was quoted in the media to have said a regional force should be deployed and that the replacement of Machar was consistent with the provisions of the Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (ARCISS).

“With respect to Machar, it's not up to the United States; it's up to the leaders of South Sudan and the people of South Sudan and the political parties and the political process, and their neighbors, to weigh in on what is best or not best with respect to Machar,” said Kerry when asked by a reporter to comment on the controversial replacement of the armed opposition leader and former South Sudanese First Vice President, Riek Machar.

He said the process leading to Machar's replacement with Gai has not broken any law.

“I think it's quite clear that legally, under the agreement, there is allowance for the replacement in a transition of personnel, and that has been effected with the appointment of a new vice president. And what they decide to do is going to be dependent on them in the context of the implementation of the peace agreement,” he added.

Kerry's comments contradicted the IGAD resolutions which called on Gai to step down and Machar to be reinstated as First Vice President. It also contradicted the resolution of the United Nations Security Council which criticized the replacement as “inconsistent” with the peace agreement.

The comments attracted criticism from the SPLM-IO officials under Machar's leadership, with his spokesman, James Gatdet Dak, describing Kerry's comment as an “unfortunate contradiction” to the success of the implementation of the peace deal.

“I hope he [Kerry] was misquoted in the media. Otherwise it was an unfortunate comment of double standard and contradiction to the implementation of the August 2015 peace agreement in South Sudan. If he thought it was a good idea to chase away from Juba the important peace partner, Dr. Riek Machar and his officials and army, and to illegally bring in a defector and President Salva Kiir's partner in conspiracy to scrap provisions of the peace deal, then he is wrong. How will the agreement be implemented in such away which clearly violates it?” Dak inquired.

Dak said the article 6.5 of the agreement has been violated by the illegal replacement of Machar. He also dismissed the claim that the replacement was an internal process of the SPLM-IO.

“First, the illegal replacement has clearly violated the Article 6.5 of the peace agreement which deals with the temporary absence of the First Vice President. Second, it was never an internal legal process within the SPLM/SPLA (IO) party. This was a conspiracy between President Kiir and Taban Deng Gai, a defector to Kiir, to remove Machar in order to compromise or scrap vital provisions in the peace deal. How could the replacement process be done by five officials in the absence of more than 20 members of the SPLM-IO's Political Bureau (PB), or in the absence of hundreds of members of the National Liberation Council (NLC) of the party? There was no quorum and Taban Deng was already dismissed from the membership of the SPLM/SPLA (IO). Even in the United States a party leader cannot be removed in such an illegal action,” he said.

He added that either Kerry was misled, or not well informed or simply did not bother to investigate what actually transpired in the illegal procedure or action to replace Machar.

He said the US official should have respected the resolutions of IGAD and the United Nations Security Council who “properly studied the situation” with participation of representatives of the US government.

Dak also said Machar is in full control of the SPLM-IO and its army, adding that Gai had no grass root support in the party.

He said the action by President Kiir to try to divide the SPLM-IO's leadership was a clear indication that he was looking for a way to destroy the peace deal.

(ST)

August 23, 2016 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) - Sudan and South Sudan appear to be on the verge of bringing their relations to a new level following the current visit of First-Vice President Taban Deng Gai to Khartoum which Juba hopes would normalize ties between the two nations particularly as it faces mounting international pressures.

South Sudan President Salva Kiir (R) and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir look on during a photo opportunity at the state house in capital Juba January 6, 2014 (Reuters/James Akena)

On the one side, Gai and his senior economic and military delegation who arrived in the Sudanese capital on Sunday, have discussed outstanding issues between the two countries including security, border and oil issues.

However, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit seems to have sought to gain support of the Sudanese government in the face of the heavy international pressure that he encountered following the escape of his former First Vice-President Riek Machar which exacerbated the humanitarian and security situation in the newborn state.

Kiir had written a special letter to his Sudanese counterpart Omer al-Bashir expressing full commitment to implement all cooperation agreement signed between the two countries in 2012 before asking Khartoum to deal the same way with his government.

He also underscored his personal commitment to work to achieve a homegrown solution to stopping the war that brought his country to the brink of economic collapse.

“Let me be clear my brother, Omer al-Bashir and members of your government that we are not opposed to the regional support. We need support of the region, particularly countries like Sudan but this support should be supplementary. It should be a supplementary to our own so it is not rejected by the people. The region also needs to know that imported solutions aren't the answer. We have many examples where external intervention had been short lived in other countries. Only a domestic solution realised from understanding people's needs and aspirations that can be permanent”, Kiir explained in the special letter addressed to al-Bashir, copy of which Sudan Tribune obtained.

The South Sudanese government has declined to respond to a UN Security Council Resolution 2304 that authorized sending extra 4,000 troops to boost UN peacekeepers in country with a mandate to fight rival forces considering the move a violation to its sovereignty.

Washington is standing behind the resolution to send extra troops to South Sudan, saying it would participate to the protection of civilians in the country.

“It is absolutely indisputable that we need to push for the deployment of the regional force which has been approved by the UN Security Council” said US Secretary of State John Kerry during his meeting with five Foreign Ministers from the regional bloc IGAD on Monday in Nairobi.

“With respect to the protection force, let me make it clear: The protection force is limited by definition, not a response to the overall crisis within the country as a whole, because clearly, there are many people with weapons in many parts of the country, and a protection force of 4,000 people will not have the capacity to cover all those bases,” the top U.S. diplomat said.

“But the hope is that with a transitional government that is now committed to the full implementation of the peace agreement and that has already begun to implement that peace agreement, that a force with a presence in Juba itself, which is where most of the violence took place during the last round, will be able to guarantee access for everybody, and that includes people trying to prevent the violence,” he added.

Earlier this month Sudan declined a proposal by some international partners to conduct a solo mediation between the warring parties in South Sudan and also refused to send troops within the regional force, saying it doesn't want to create any sensitivities with the conflicting parties.

“Sudan is sticking to its role within the IGAD only,” Foreign Ministry Spokesperson, Garib Allah Khidir, told reporters on August 2.

In his special letter, Kiir further projected the future of South Sudan to be brighter, saying the country was now moving forward after the appointment of Gai as his new first deputy in unity government in place of armed opposition leader, his main political rival for top office in the country, Riek Machar.

"We are moving towards a brighter future and the international community should support and not weaken us, the letter adds in part. It further added that South Sudan doesn't need lessons on human rights from the international community. “Respecting human rights is enshrined in our culture, heritage and it is part of our values system. We are more respectful of human rights in terms of commitment and action,” it added.

It was apparent from Kiir's letter that Juba seeks to win the trust of Khartoum by sending clear signals to assure the latter that it intends to open a new chapter in relations.

Also, these signals were sent by Gai when he directly addressed Khartoum's major concern about the security file between the two countries and particularly with regard to Juba's support for the Sudanese rebels saying his country is keen to resolve the outstanding security issues within three weeks.

On Monday, Gai also sent amessage from Khartoum to the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLM-N) demanding the rebel group to resort to the peaceful settlement with the Sudanese government.

He stressed that his country wouldn't serve as a launching pad for any Sudanese who wants to continue the war against Khartoum, adding “we hope that Sudan wouldn't serve as a launching pad for Machar”.

South Sudan's First Vice President Gai also on Tuesday denied that Darfur movements and SPLM-N are currently present in South Sudan's territory, saying mutual accusations between the two countries “would continue until we agree on a verification mechanism”.

“We would go to Addis Ababa and all places where these [rebel] movements have presence and tell them that appropriate time has come to achieve peace and we would render the necessary support and advise them in a kind manner” he said.

“We advise them [SPLM-N] that wartime is over, and we say to them that your brothers in South Sudan shouldn't suffer because of you, for even if the South didn't support you Sudan is making use of that [pretext]” he added.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan on July 9th 2011 following a referendum on whether the semi-autonomous region should remain a part of the country or become independent. 99% of the southern Sudanese voters chose independence.

Relations between the two nations soured after South Sudan's independence following a series of disputes over a number of issues.

(ST)

August 23, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese government has welcomed remarks attributed to United States' secretary of states, John Kerry, in which he referred to replacement of armed opposition leader and the first vice president in the transitional unity government, Riek Machar as “legal” and in accordance with provisions of the peace deal.

US secretary of state John Kerry (L) meets with South Sudanese president Salva Kiir in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 26 May 2013 (Photo: Reuters)

A presidential source said as long as the replacement came from the opposition faction of the SPLM-IO, there was nothing wrong with it.

“The president made the appointment in accordance with the provision of the resolution of the conflict in the republic of South Sudan which states that the position of the first vice president who is the nominee of the SPLM-IO must be filled in the event of being absent from his duties. And this position must be filled by a nominee of the SPLM-IO. The work of the president is to confirm and approve the nomination. It would be considered to be a violation of peace agreement if the new nominee was from other political forces or stakeholder,” said presidential advisor on security affairs, Tut Kew Gatluak,

Gatluak said the government was now committed to the full implementation of the agreement and called on the international community, especially the government of the United States to stand with President Salva Kiir's government in the implementation of the agreement and in provision of basic services to the people.

SPLM-IO however criticized Kerry for his comment, saying it was against Article 6.5 of the agreement as well as against resolutions of IGAD and United Nations Security Council.

(ST)

August 23, 2016 (JUBA) – South Sudanese journalists have accused security agents of undermining freedom of press and expression by dictating on the content of the newspapers and removing articles at printing facilities.

A vendor sells newspapers in South Sudanese capital Juba (Photo: Al-Jazeera)

The Association of Media Development in South Sudan (ADMISS) said officers from the country's national security service are deployed at printing facilities in the capital Juba to physical remove news and opinion articles critical of President Salva Kiir's government.

“Removal of articles constitutes censorship and repression of the work of media in South Sudan,” said Alfred Taban, the chairperson of AMDISS in a public statement on Tuesday.

Taban, also the editor of the Juba Monitor, said six articles have been removed from his paper and Nation Mirror in the last thirty days.

“It amounts to undermining freedom of expression and media that have been enshrined in the transitional constitution of South Sudan and the South Sudan Media Act 2013,” he added.

The Nation Mirror said an article on reappearance of former first vice president Riek Machar in DR. Congo was removed last week before publication, forcing the paper to shelved Friday's issue.

(ST)

August 23, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government on Tuesday revealed that the former First Vice-President of South Sudan and armed opposition leader Riek Machar is in Khartoum saying Juba was notified that he has been received for pure humanitarian reasons.

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir Mayardit sacked Machar from his post as vice president after a renewal last month of fighting between forces loyal to the long-time rivals that forced tens of thousands of people to flee.

The Kenyan Standard news website on Thursday reported that the Sudanese government had sent an aircraft to evacuate the former first vice president from a hideout in a remote town in the DRC where he crossed into after 40 days in the bushes.

However, an SPLM-IO official told Sudan Tribune that the report published by the Kenyan website was “unfounded.”

In a statement to the official news agency (SUNA) on Tuesday, Sudan's Minister of Information Ahmed Belal Osman said Sudan has recently received Machar for medical treatment, pointing he arrived in a critical health condition and needed immediate care.

However, Osman didn't mention when Machr has arrived in Khartoum.

“Machar's health is stable currently and he will remain in the country under comprehensive healthcare until he leaves to a destination of his choice to complete his treatment," he added.

The United Nations had earlier announced that Machar was received by one of the neighboring countries for the medical reasons.

The Sudanese minister further stressed that South Sudan's government has been notified of Machar's presence in Khartoum for pure humanitarian reasons.Machar's presence in Khartoum coincides with the visit of Taban Deng Gai who replaced him as First Vice President of South Sudan.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

August 23, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopia and neighbouring Sudan have drafted a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration and cooperation on cross-border animal health and livestock trade programmes.

The cross-border meeting, which was held last week in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, was organised by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Centre for Pastoral Areas and Livestock Development (ICPALD).

Reinforcing Veterinary Governance in Africa" (VETGOV) programme and the Standard Methods and Procedures in Animal Health (SMP-AH) projects supported the program.

Funded by the European Union and the United States aid arm (USAID), the joint projects are implemented in partnership with the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), a specialized technical office of the African Union.

The main aim of the cross-border meeting was to initiate development of binding agreements between Ethiopia, and Sudan on Animal Health to facilitate service delivery along the shared territory.

It also provides a framework for stronger cooperation and collaboration along their bilateral border in order to address disease surveillance, disease control and timely sharing of animal health and trade information.

The MoU develops an agenda that address the common challenges and guides implementation that lays the foundation to facilitate prevention and control of various trans-boundary animal diseases across border.

Participants said widespread disease outbreaks in the region was the major challenge that need a collective prevention measures within the IGAD states to enhance trade.

Speaking on behalf of ICPALD, Joseph Magona said the IGAD region had immense livestock resources that are severely affected by trans-boundary animal diseases.

“ICPALD therefore supports the improvement of livestock health and production especially in pastoral and dry land within the region” Joseph said.

“This necessitates strong cross-border collaboration and cooperation between countries”, he added.

The meeting was attended by 30 participants from Sudan, Ethiopia, IGAD and AU-IBAR.

SMP-AH project aims to stabilise livelihoods of livestock-dependent communities by enhancing capacities of all livestock value chain actors to effectively control trans-boundary animal diseases in a coordinated manner.

The project has supported large numbers of vulnerable livestock-keeping communities across the East African region residing along borders who are vulnerable to drought.

Drought conditions force animals move across borders in search of pasture and water.

It is widely believed that such movement for either pasture or trade facilitates spread of trans-boundary animal diseases and the project thus provides support for communities in cross-border areas to collaborate, coordinate and harmonise diseases control.

VETGOV which also is an implementing partner intends to bring about institution strengthening of veterinary services in Africa towards the establishment of adequate veterinary services at the national and regional level.

The program also seeks to strengthen regional institutions to play their roles of coordination, harmonisation, integration and support to countries with the aim to stimulate a more conducive environment for public and private investments in the livestock sector.

(ST)

August 23, 2016 (BOR) - About 280 people were killed in the fighting which occurred in Duk county of South Sudan's Jonglei state last week, an official told Sudan Tribune.

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

Among those killed were 10 civilians, 23 government soldiers and 250 rebels, according to official figures released by the office of the state governor, Phillip Aguer.

The incident has reportedly forced hundreds of civilians to flee from Pajut to Poktap towards Twic East county.

“People had been forced to run away and retreated back to Poktap. Second is the looting of their properties by the attackers and the killing of innocent civilians”, said Aguer

“Among the dead, who were killed in Pajut, there are women, there are children and the number in total is 33. 23 are soldiers and 10 are civilians that include business people, include women and that is the bad side of the war”, he added.

The governor said he expects the numbers of rebels killed to rise by the time the search ends.

“The SPLA [Sudan People's Liberation Army] has defeated the attackers, and they [rebels] lost heavily. Unfortunately those who are dying are sons and daughters of South Sudan on both sides. The forces of Riek Machar had left 250 dead, and the number may be more, search has not been completed”, Aguer told Sudan Tribune.

Calm has reportedly returned to the area, despite the fighting that occurred on 19 August, amidst calls by authorities for civilians to return home and resume their normal activities.

Meanwhile, five other people were reportedly killed between Panyagoor and Poktap, by suspected Lou Nuer fighters who allegedly came on a mission to loot cattle on 20 August.

(ST)

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August 23, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - South Sudan First Vice President, Taban Deng Gai said that his country has asked Khartoum to provide technical assistance to restart oil production from oil fields in Unity area.

Unity oil fields have been shut down since 2014 due to the fighting between the government and SPLM-IO troops. The lack of oil revenue affected the fragile economy of the new state as it depends entirely on crude exports.

South Sudan Petroleum Minister, Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth on 18 August discussed the resumption of oil production with the Chinese ambassador in Juba and the return of Chinese oil worker to South Sudan.

Following his meeting with President Omer al-Bashir on Monday; Gai told reporters that the two countries to cooperate together in the oil production and Sudan will provide assistance to increase the production of Upper Nile fields and the resumption of oil production in the Unity region.

The South Sudanese first vice-president announced the outcome of a meeting the South Sudanese Oil Minister Gatkuoth held on Monday with his Sudanese counterpart Mohamed Zayed Awad.

The two ministers discussed the oil agreement between the two countries - as the two countries had previously agreed to review oil transit fees - the increase of oil production in Upper Nile area and the resumption of oil production in Unity area.

In statements after the meeting, Awad announced the commitment of the Sudanese government to support and assist the South Sudan to increase oil production, to resume oil production from Unity wells and to review the oil transit fee agreement.

Following the fall of oil prices, Juba asked for the revision of an agreement reached in September 2012 . The deal provides to pay to Khartoum $9.10 for the oil produced in Upper Nile state and $11 for that of Unity state which produces some 20% of South Sudan's oil.

In January 2016, Sudan gave its agreement in principle to reduce it; but technical teams didn't reach an agreement due to the delay in their works. Also, Khartoum resumed accusation against Juba of support to Sudanese rebel groups.

Minister Gatkuoth said he was satisfied with the outcome of the meeting, and appreciated Sudan's readiness to cooperate with his country in oil industry and production.

"We are here to open a new page of cooperation and bring a shift in the oil production for the benefit of the two peoples," he said.