Africa

January 2, 2016 (LEER) - South Sudan's government troops killed about 50 civilians by placing them in a shipping container in Leer county and applying heat to the metallic device in October last year, a report revealed.

A soldier from the South Sudanese army stands in front of a vehicle in South Sudan's Unity State on 12 January 2014 (AP)

The incident, according to the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), which oversees the country's ceasefire, occurred in Unity state.

"About 50 people suffocated in a container on about 22 October. The investigation was protracted. Attribution of responsibility: Government Forces," said JMEC's report.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed and over two million displaced since violence broke out in the world's youngest nation following political wrangles in South Sudan's ruling party (SPLM) in December 2013.

The JMEC report also accused both government troops and rebel forces of rape, murder and looting, allegations both parties have repeatedly denied.

ARMED OPPOSITION RESPONDS

James Yoach, a spokesperson for the armed opposition in Leer county welcomed the JMEC report, which he said confirm earlier claims that pro-government forces were commit crimes against civilians in the country.

He, however, claimed the number of those killed in the incident could be higher than what was officially disclosed in the JMEC's latest report.

“We know these people were in hundreds of numbers,” he said by phone from Leer county.

In October, he added, 50 girls and women were abducted by government and 100 men were rounded up and taken to Leer town from nearby villages when militias allied to government attacked civilian hideouts.

(ST).

By Mahmoud A. Suleiman

The flaws in the NCP decision of carrying out Administrative Referendum in Darfur regardless of the attrition proxy civil wars it continues waging against the unarmed noncombatant citizens will be exposed in this article. With the facts at hand all in detail, time is overdue for action taking; condemnation statements fell on deaf dumb ears and have not taken us forward one iota. The Sudanese opposition components need today before tomorrow to move into action because dwelling in the past and ruminating the pains, licking the wounds and complaining will not help the country's issues and crises of its people, but more damage. The political and armed opposition components need putting their differences aside for the sake of Lifting the country out of the dark abyss after finishing off the putschist authoritarian criminal regime who shops in the name of the Islamic faith which disowns all the hypocrisy of the gang led by the dictator Omer Bashir and his entourage.

The regime of the National Islamic Front (NIF) came to Sudan at the cunning of history and the moment of a wasted time to stifle the breath of the great people of the giant Homeland Sudan in Darfur. Therefore, the failure came walking on feet protected by tanks of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), unfortunately on 30th June 1989 and beyond the Lost Time. Moreover, the regime wasted the entire state budget on its security devices. NIF came chanting deceptive religious slogans that say “we are out for the worship of God and not for the transitory world and it is a Cultural Project with Apostolic Orientation. They aimed at building a police state for the country, pave the way for Omer al-Bashir and his family and NCP to loot, and steal all the bounties of the country and its resources. Furthermore, the economy collapsed because of the corruption of the ruling regime. The indebtedness of Sudan to the global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and other financial institutions amounted to $ 45 billion US dollars and an annual budget deficit of more than $ 5 billion. Sadly that Omar al-Bashir and his regime has demolished the great Sudanese army for fear of coups, and replace it by tribal militias of Janjaweed, bandits and gangs of armed robbery and fleeing expatriate mercenaries from neighboring African countries. Thus, the people of Sudan have to spend their entire budget on a failed army that does not fight a war against an aggressive foreign country, nor against neighbour who usurped the land of Sudan. The NCP President Omer al-Bashir got rid of a committed National Sudan Armed Force (SAF) because of his fear of the danger the national army could pose to his continuation in power. This is a regime that spent more than a quarter of a century to kill children, women and elderly people in Eastern Sudan, region of Darfur, Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, Ingessana in southern Blue Nile, people of Nubia in Kajbar and Amrey and burning villages and raping women! !! For these reasons the Sudanese people became convinced that such an army is not worthy to honoured, and they would rather prefer to be in a state without an army to spend its budget on education, health, electricity and water services for the welfare of the poverty stricken majority citizens to live honorable enhanced life.

Corruption and waste of public money reached the summit
Corruption under (NIF/NCP) regime reached its peak. According to the daily Newspaper which the spy agent (NISS) instantly closed said that the President of the Islamism regime Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir granted as a free gift a brand new Land Cruiser 2016 model car with –price of one billion and a half pounds - to every one of the army officers in his former batch colleagues in the Military Academy; the act of corrupted bribery!

The systematic plots woven and cultivated by the regime of the NCP, one after the other, against the people of Sudan in the Darfur region represented in the following manner and at this pace as a continuation of the previous genocidal crimes and other series of atrocities:

Chain of events, which affected the Darfur region and its people, included

1) The massacre of the citizens of El Geneina town and villages around
2) By the decision to dismantle the IDP camps the Muslim Brotherhood Movement (MBM) regime led by the genocidal criminal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir tries to bamboozle the international community that the problem of the IDPs camps in Darfur has ended by the return of the residents to their homes voluntarily! In conformity with the plan, an influential official of the ruling regime announced the intentions of his government to dismantle all IDP camps during 2016. He gave two options for the displaced citizens; accepting resettlement or return to their original areas in a period of 50 days from his announcement. He further reiterated his government's commitment to take all necessary measures and do the needful to achieve this goal, stressing that "the year 2016 will see the end of displacement in Darfur. http://www.sudanjem.org/2016/01/walking-the-talk-or-fleeing-the-scene/
3) Scorched earth campaign in the areas of Jebel Marra
4) The systematic targeting of Darfur students in Sudanese universities with murder, arbitrary arrest and expulsion from boarding student accommodation by students affiliated to the National Congress Party (NCP) and by the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS).
5) Omar al-Bashir government's attempts to expel the joint mission of the United Nations and the African Union (UNAMID) in Darfur to provide the opportunity for the militias and mercenaries of the regime of the NCP to exterminate or forcefully remove the displaced population from the IDP camps, thinking that this would bamboozle the world that the issue of Darfur has been addressed and ended!
6) The plan for imposition of an alleged administrative referendum to Darfur to undermine the region and causing fragmentation of the social fabric of the people of Darfur and dividing the communities on ethnic lines in order to apply the principle of divide and rule, and sow discord among the components of society and stir up tribal warfare.
7) Recruitment of the notorious Janjaweed militias, codenamed rapid support forces (RSF) and mercenary from neighboring countries to occupy and colonize Darfur
8) Continuous shelling and aerial bombardment of areas of citizens' housing by war aviation that result into the destruction of water sources and the killing of cattle and burning farms and houses
9) Use the most humiliating crime of mass gang rape as a war weapon against young girls and women sometimes in front of their relatives who are threatened and forced to watch the crime as it is going on; mass rape crime in the village of Tabit in north Darfur against more than 200 women and girls by army soldiers in October 2014. Rape in Tabit remains the most egregious example of the horror.

10) Sanctity of killing innocent humans went unheeded in the NCP ruled Sudan
The NCP regime which claims of applying Islamic Sharia in Sudan, in clear contradiction, has legitimized to its security apparatus National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) to use live ammunition to shoot to kill innocent civilians in the West Darfur City of Geneina in complete disregard to the sanctity of Spilling the blood of innocent civilians formed of children, women and infirm elderly who were protesting peacefully against the government allied Janjaweed militias. The militias attacked their villages, killed people, looted property and burnt homes. When the NISS opened fire at them, the civilians were trying to take refuge at the headquarters of the state government building. The Janjaweed militia that attacked the villages of Moly and the surroundings and killed the civilians is allied to the (NCP) regime and is known as the Rapid Support Force (RSF). Thus, the regime of the NCP made the sanctity of killing the innocent unheeded.

In order not to forget the facts, it is pertinent to delve to Darfur's role in the founding of the modern state of Sudan in the following:

1) The year 2016 marked the hundredth Anniversary of the martyrdom of Sultan of Darfur Ali Dinar who was assassinated by the colonial invaders in 1916 and the annexation of the Sultanate of Darfur to the State of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan
2) Sultan Tairab of Darfur ruled from 1752 to 1787 and his soldiers entered the city of Omdurman chasing Musabbaat Army
3) Fung Sultanate lasted from 1504 to 1821 when the Turkish colonialism came in the period from 1821 to 1886 and followed by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium colonialism
4) Sultanate of Darfur lasted from 1650 to 1916
5) Sultanate of Darfur was not subject to the rule of the Turks during the period 1650-1916
6) Statistics show that more than three million people in the Darfur region have become either internally displaced people or refugees in the neighbouring countries. This figure is more than the population of the region in the northern Sudan extending from the city of Shendi to Halfa!

Divide and Rule Doctrine hit the Sudanese in the Kill off
The biggest problem for the Sudanese people in dealing with the NCP regime is that we tend to not realize that the (NCP) regime is trying to deal with all the component of the people of Sudan as individuals and not as one unit. The regime takes head on the Southern Sudan, Darfur, Eastern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, South Blue Nile and then Kajbar and Amry of Nubia to impose forcibly river dams without the feeling of intense pain of the others. Therefore, all of us, the Sudanese, are in dire need of unity and to feel the pain of each other before our fateful turn comes true with the Muslim Brotherhood Movement (MBM) entity. Let us stand steadfast together to confront the common enemy with the view to oust it and rid the whole Sudan of their evils. Moreover, let us join our ranks together and do not remain silent when one part of the Sudanese nation suffers burning under the grip of the bloodstained fists of the (NCP) despotic regime. With solidarity, at the end of the day, the people of Sudan in Darfur would not be suffering alone.

Objectives for Darfur Referendum
The alleged Administrative Referendum aims at the removal of the indigenous population of the Darfur Region from their Hawakeer to become IDPs or refugees or Diaspora and replaced by the NCP allied mercenaries and militias from the neighboring countries in place aiming at complete demographic change. It is a forged right intended for a falsehood. Thus, the (NCP) regime as usual tends to reproduce itself through the spurious ongoing evil plots for the distraction of the components of the opposition and the Sudanese people by running sagas as the Wathba national dialogue process and the alleged Administrative Referendum for Darfur.

Dialogue is a Value
Dialogue is a value and a way to bridge the gap between human beings and access to participants make peaceful coexistence possible. Dialogue is a Value and fruitful in stop wars and conflicts. Dialogue is also Value and tool for addressing the causes their eruption. Nevertheless, the ruling regime of the NCP as usual, takes the ideas of others and then trying them out of their content and context with a view to throw them away, wrap and dodge to win time in power and mislead the international and regional community. The Sudanese issue is not resolved, but the Sudanese people. The international community does not want the overthrow of the (NCP) regime.

Responsibility to Protect
The atrocities happening to the children, women, the elderly and other vulnerable civilian populations in Darfur and carried out systematically by the National Congress Party (NCP) regime in Sudan is Global issue and humanitarian problem. The international community of the United Nation Security Council (UNSC) needs to pay attention to this continuing ethnic cleansing and genocide against the civilians in the Darfur region. The Responsibility to Product (RTP) becomes onus upon the UNSC today before tomorrow.

The vulnerable group of the civilian population are subjected to all kinds of crimes by the official army of Omer al-Bashir and his so-called Rapid Support Force ( RSF) Janjaweed militia and mercenaries. They use the most humiliating crime of mass gang rape as a war weapon against young girls and women sometimes in front of their relatives who are threatened and forced to watch the crime as it is going on.
The insistence of the Muslim Brotherhood Movement (MBM) regime and its pressed demand to hold an administrative referendum in Darfur in April 2016 is a warning signal for deceit. The regime claims it as a constitutional duty. We know for fact that the (NCP) regime itself has continued breaching the 2005 Constitution repeatedly and before that, it breached the Transitional Constitution of the Sudan of the democratic Constituent Assembly by the fateful military coup it carried out on June 30, 1989 and overthrew the democratically elected government of the Republic of Sudan. Thus, the shameless unconstitutional (MBM) regime tries to claim legitimacy for its illegal alleged administrative referendum as a constitutional justification without batting an eyelid. The genocidal criminal, fugitive from the international justice, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir and his criminal entourage and the ilk have to understand that all the components of the Sudanese people in Darfur and other regions have categorically announced their refusal of a referendum in the Darfur region. The Sudanese people know well that the purpose for conducting referendum remains conspicuous. Accordingly, the people of Sudan in general and those in Darfur in particular will stand steadfast opposed to the referendum and would struggle to foil it by all the available means. The people of Sudan in the Darfur region, who continued suffering the woes of wars of attrition, ethnic cleansing, genocide and other heinous crimes will not rest their mind until this conspiracy for demographic change brought to its demise. Moreover, their mind will not rest until they stop the plot to rob the soil of the homeland of ancestors and the plot of fragmentation of the social fabric of indigenous people in order to bring in foreign mercenaries and militias into the Hawakeer of people of Sudan in the Darfur region.

Proof for rejection of Darfur referendum
The evidence for the attitude of the Sudanese people to reject the decision to hold the alleged Administrative Referendum the Darfur region is the thundering demonstrations that swept the world's cities with the participation of all segments of the people of Sudan, condemning the decision of the criminal regime of the National Congress Party (NCP). The demonstrations held in front of the embassies of Sudan and consulates. Furthermore, it is a clear message from the people of Sudan sent to the symbols of the regime and their genocidal criminal Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir who remains on the run fugitive from international justice that they rejected the referendum outright.

Anything short of that they remain ready for scarifying hearts and souls. The termites may try the stone as the saying goes! This represents an ultimatum that there is no excuse for those warned. On Saturday 23 January 2016 thousands of Sudanese demonstrated through the streets of the city of London. They chanted slogans against the regime led by the Génocidaire Omer al-Bashir and demanding to stop the genocide in Darfur, Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile and the arrest of those indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC).

In solidarity with the the issue, many human rights activists joined the demonstration demanding to stop the gross violations taking place in Sudan against unarmed civilians. The demonstrators repeated slogans condemning genocide, repression, looting of properties and brutality against the Sudanese people by Bashir's regime and demanded the arrest of Omar al-Bashir and his regime entourage and bringing them to trial. The fugitives from the ICC indictment include Omar al-Bashir, Ahmad Harun, Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein and Ali Abdelrahman Kushayb.

Referendum Debated
If we accept the controversy over administrative referendum that mentioned in the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) , which was boycotted by the main Darfur armed movements, the current dire conditions of the population in Darfur while the warfare continues unabated, access to the results representative of the unanimous opinion of the majority become farfetched and the credibility of the results of the ballots would be mooted.

The main Objective behind the scenes of NCP for the Darfur Referendum
Are the reasons for the insistence of the ruling regime of the National Congress Party (NCP) to proceed with the administrative referendum in spite of the dire conditions on the ground and against all odds are for making unity unattractive and even repulsive for the people of Darfur to the point of forcing them to resort to request the right to self-determination? A rather dimensional Question demanding an answer to it! If so, let us delve into the question as to whether the people of Darfur are ready to leave their country of origin Sudan to join some other soil?
No to the Demand for Self-Determination Right

Darfur is the part and parcel of the Origin of Sudan
According to the ideological set of the gangsters in the National Congress Party (NCP) regime they wish that the people of Darfur demand the right of self-determination as it did the people of southern Sudan before to get rid of the citizens of Sudan of African descent. Nevertheless and to the disappointment of the regime, the people of Sudan in Darfur would say in a loud voice that they are the Sudan and the asset of it who have been maintained the sovereignty on the borders of Sudan, where the Sudan was governed by the Sultanate of Darfur and the Sultanate of Fungi. It is pertinent to note that the Sultan of Darfur Tairab had arrived in his war with the Musabbaat up to the outskirts of Sudan's border with Egypt. This remained the true part of the history of Sudan, which is neglected deliberately by the Arabism elites. Those elites attempted to confine the history of existence of Sudan, in Isolation from the foregoing facts by referring it 'to the entry of the Arabs' as if there were no people in the land of Sudan before the alleged planned entry of the Arabs! It was an outright falsification of history, which the Arabism elites tried to teach schoolchildren in Sudan since childhood to wash their brains until they reach maturity for alienation away from the origin of their identity and from their historic background heritage. Thus, the term Sudanese remains the identity of the citizens residing within the geographical land referred to SUDAN and none of other words, neither Arabism and nor Africanism can accommodate the population of Sudan on a single identity. As said by the Inspiring leader late Dr. John Garang Mabior.

The Citizens in Sudan's Darfur region will remain in the land of their ancestors and their ancestors Sudan in spite of those racists who made the unity of Sudan repulsive and unattractive to our compatriots, the Sudanese citizens from the southern part of Sudan. Sadly, they left with that dear part of ancestral land to form their nascent state of South Sudan. As far as the people of the remaining Sudan in Darfur, they would remain as Sudanese whether they are in the IDP camps inside the country, in refugee camps in the neighboring Chad or in the middle of nowhere in the Diaspora . They would like to see the back of the supremacist racist elements leaving Sudan to join their alleged countries of origin. But there is considerable doubt that it would welcome and receive them as equal citizens of the indigenous population in the country that are trying falsely to belong to!

The people of Sudan in Darfur would not allow and have not complied with the plots of the totalitarian regime who always tried imposing its misleading racist criminal divisive wedge between the components of the Sudanese citizens who accept each other without discrimination based on color, ethnic, gender, belief, language, the cultural background, political party or regional affiliation.

In the wake of the current accelerating tragic events planned and orchestrated by the National Congress Party (NCP) regime that claims the monopoly of the Islamic religion against the people of Sudan in the Darfur region, seem unprecedented. The genocidal ruling regime of the NCP resumed committing the reprehensible crimes especially in sync with the sixtieth Anniversary of the Independence of Sudan by the First of January 2016 and the passage of the Centenary since the British Colonials annexed the Sultanate of Greater Darfur The invading British troops killed Sultan Ali Dinar - and is the last sultan of the Sultanate of Darfur on the sixth of November 1916 to the New Sudan. The renewed crimes perpetrated by the NCP regime in the Western State of the Darfur Region were meant for specific purposes, particularly in this pivotal time referred to above. The Sixty years of Independence represented an abject failure of the national Sudanese state and the absence of a national project that transforms and transmits Sudan to state for all its citizens. The result is a current massacre like the massacre in El Geneina in West Darfur State and conspiracy to dismantle IDP camps and impose a scorched earth policy in Central Darfur With view to forge results of the so-called Administrative R referendum of Darfur aimed for demographic change.

The components of the Sudanese people, know very well for fact the underlying cause for the hatred and the obstinate determination of the despotic racist regime of the NCP to retaliate from the Sudanese people in the Darfur Region for demanding their legitimate rights of equitable sharing of the National power and wealth as citizens and for their alleged support of armed resistance by the Darfur rebel movements after the National Congress Party (NCP) government refused to negotiate with those who do not carry weapons and the result was the Deluge of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that led to the indictment by the International Criminal Court ((ICC) and the conviction of the criminal, Omer Hassan Ahmed Bashir, President of the regime who remains at large, fugitive from international justice. Darkest Chapter in the Sudanese History is the era of the reign of the political Islamism of the National Congress Party (NCP) led by the genocidal criminal fugitive from the international justice, Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictee. We do not expect the shadow to be straight when the wooden pole of the shadow itself is serpentine and crooked.

Retaliatory spirit prevails
And out of the retaliatory Spirit, the National Congress Party (NCP) gang allowed for the Janjaweed militias and mercenaries extermination of the people of Darfur and evacuated them from their Hawakeer and execute the alleged administrative referendum the results of which are known in advance. They then falsely claims that the people of Darfur are in favor of the end of the Darfur region forever to be ground forfeit for foreigners from neighboring countries mercenaries who had occupied a wide swath of indigenous lands in preparation for achieving the long awaited goal of demographic change and the end of the Darfur issue under the carpet.

All the evidence on the ground confirms the impossibility of a credible administrative referendum in Darfur in the conditions imposed by the regime of the NCP for remaining for more lean years in power. Many had already written in the past two weeks about the brutal massacres, which affected unarmed the civilian citizens in the West Darfur State by the Janjaweed militias affiliated to the National Congress Party (NCP) regime under the sight and earshot of the Authorities of the West Darfur state, without batting an eyelid, where it was playing the role of the Dump –devil; So to speak. Evidence of the situation in Darfur in general does not enable the regime hold the alleged referendum with any credibility just like its predecessors of the fraudulent previously rigged ballots. Ballot rigging has become synonymous with the reign of the genocidal criminal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, the fugitive from international justice par excellence.

The administrative Referendum, which the ruling regime of the NCP intends to conduct in Darfur in April 2016, is a false endeavor for falsification of the will of the Sudanese citizens in Darfur. Besides the illegitimacy of the plan, it is not the right time to hold a referendum. The Darfur region at the present is devoid of the original population as a result of wars imposed on them and made them either internally displaced in IDP camps or refugee camps in neighboring African countries or asylum seekers in the Diaspora. Omer al-Bashir has interspersed the region by dividing it into five states based on tribal lines of the population to sow sedition and discord and ethnic strife. The second important goal of the regime is the imposition of demographic change in Darfur through the process of substitution and the replacement. Housing the arrival mercenaries from neighboring countries in the Hawakeer of the natives remains the gall. Thus, the alleged Administrative Referendum for Darfur planned by the National Congress Party regime in April 2016 is nothing but falsification of the will of the Sudanese citizens in the Darfur region. Resistance of this plot by the NCP genocidal criminal has become the duty of every Sudanese citizen, whether inside the homeland or abroad.

The components of the Sudanese people, know very well for fact the underlying cause for the hatred and the obstinate determination of the despotic racist regime of the NCP to retaliate from the Sudanese people in the Darfur Region. The marginalised people of Sudan in Darfur demanded their legitimate rights of equitable for sharing of the National power and wealth as citizens and they supported the armed resistance by the Darfur rebel movements after the National Congress Party (NCP) government refused to negotiate with those who do not carry weapons. Consequently, the (NCP) created the Deluge of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes that led to the indictment by the International Criminal Court ((ICC) and the conviction of the criminal, Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir, President of the regime who remains at large, fugitive from international justice. The past 26 years represent the Darkest Chapter in the Sudanese History is the era of the reign of the political Islamism of the National Congress Party (NCP). Therefore, the people in Darfur do not expect the shadow to be straight when the wooden pole of the shadow itself is serpentine and crooked! The situation in Sudan in general and Darfur in particular has become unconducive to negotiate with Omer al-Bashir and his entourage in the (NCP) regime. It has become the duty of every Sudanese citizen, whether inside the country or abroad to join ranks with the view to oust the regime by all the available means.

Let us not deceive ourselves. Omer al-Bashir is in need to be on the run. As we all know, previous marathon so-called peace negotiations abjectly failed. Peace negotiations started from N'Djamena and Abéché in Chad passed by Abuja in Nigeria and ended in Doha in Qatar without tangible beneficial effect to the Darfur refugees and the Displaced Persons. The main reason centred around Bashir's fear of the possibility of his arrest and extradition to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the event of a sustainable peace in Darfur achieved. For this reason, any work aimed for striking a credible peace deal with the (NCP) Bashir would aggravate the situation in Darfur and causing more suffering to the civilians and exacerbate crises in all parts of Sudan.

Omar al-Bashir would do all in his power to avoid arrest and extradition to the ICC. He would try his utmost to abrogate any agreements that expected to lead to sustainable peace in Darfur. Accordingly, he would do all he could to aggravate the situation in Darfur to continue suffering and exacerbate crises. Furthermore, he will hire the receivables from the Darfur region to sow rift between the communities with resultant tribal warfare. Omer al-Bashir does not hesitate to betray his fundamentalist terrorist Muslim Brothers (MB) who fled their original home countries and sought refuge from his regime to provide classified intelligence about them to other interested countries in lieu of political support at the international institutions. Omer al-Bashir does not hesitate to get the country involved in regional wars of no interest to Sudan in return for payments to him to enable him to ignite civil wars in Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile. The repression of the peaceful demonstrations protesting against the removal of subsidies on basic commodities such as that in September 2013 in Khartoum is a model.

Anyone who thinks that Omer al-Bashir wants sustainable peace to Darfur and wants to stop the war will be kidding or cheating himself or living with Alice in Wonderland or in Cloud Cuckoo land as the saying goes! We need taking action, challenging the policy of referendum and stop the implementation of it.

George Papandreou, the 182nd Prime Minister of Greece has been quoted as said: “If we had a consensus, we would not have to go to a referendum”.

Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/

The BBC has evidence that Israel is sending unwanted African migrants to other countries under secretive deals which may be in breach of international law.

February 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Internally displaced persons (IDPs) continue to flee the fighting in Jebel Marra area that straddles three Darfur states, as the number of those who seek protection at a nearby UNAMID site in North Darfur has reached 21.000 civilians.

A group of women build a shelter in Kalma camp for internally displaced people in South Darfur on 9 March 2014 (Photo: UNAMID/Albert Gonzalez Farran)

"The African Union-United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) says that as of 31st of January, the number of displaced persons seeking refuge in the vicinity of its Sortoni team site, in North Darfur, is reported to have increased to 21,328 from 14,770. This includes 13,269 children," said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq on Tuesday.

Haq further pointed that the number of civilians who have fled from Jebel Marra, Jebel Si and Fanga Suk, in Central Darfur, to the Rwanda and Argo camps in Tawila, North Darfur, is reported to stand at 9,209 civilians.

He said aid groups are providing emergency humanitarian assistance to the new IDPs. He added that an inter-agency humanitarian needs assessment team also arrived at the Sortoni team site on Tuesday.

"Humanitarian organizations, with the support of UNAMID, are working with relevant national authorities to deploy inter-agency assessment teams to Nertiti, Thur and Guldo in Central Darfur, to assess critical needs of civilians displaced in these areas," he added.

On Wednesday 24 January, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Marta Ruedas, expressed "grave concern" over the humanitarian impact of the fighting in Jebel Marra, adding that some 34,000 people have been displaced.

During an informal meeting for peace in the region held recently in Ethiopia, two armed groups: Justice and Equality Movement and SLM-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) called on the government to stop the military campaign but the government delegation refused saying the SLM-AW does not want to join the peace process.

In a briefing to the UN Security Council on 26 January, UN peacekeeping chief Hevré Ladsous called to stop the clashes in Jebel Marra and urged the SLM-AW to join the African Union-led efforts to end the conflict.

February 2, 2016 (KUAJOK) – Authorities in South Sudan's state of Gogial released on Tuesday 17 inmates, who included three expectant mothers, from detention.

Inmates released from Kuajok prison on February 2, 2016 (ST)

The move was made in collaboration with Gai Makiir, a leading South Sudanese tycoon who offered to assist those convicted of minor crimes.

Maj. General Justin Garang, the prison director, said the facility, initially constructed to house 50 inmates, now serves up to 168 prisoners. Some of the inmates, he said, were convicted and are on death row.

The official, however, said only those with minor offenses gained freedom.

“The process for the release was made through the state high court to make sure those legal procedures was follow,” explained Garang.

The state prison director appealed to those who had been freed to go back into their respective communities and share experiences acquired from jail.

“You should be the ambassadors for peace in the communities because what you acquired during your short term sentence should help you to transform yourself in to good person in the community,” stressed the Gogrial prison director.

Majith Mangong Manyang, one of the freed inmates, said he was in jail for nearly three years having been convicted by the court for killing a person.

(ST)

By A. D. McKenzie
PARIS, Feb 3 2016 (IPS)

Amid continuing attacks on journalists, media representatives from around the world will meet in the French capital this week to discuss how to reinforce the safety of those working in the sector.

Organized and hosted by the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, this “unprecedented” meeting between media executives and the agency’s members states on Feb. 5 is an attempt to “improve the safety of journalists and tackle impunity for crimes against media professionals”, UNESCO said.

Journalism is one of the deadliest professions in the world. Credit AD Mckenzie/IPS

“As everyone knows, the problem has been increasing over the past five years of killing of journalists in different parts of the world, and the UN system as a whole has become more concerned about this in parallel,” said Guy Berger, director of UNESCO’s Division of Freedom of Expression and Media Development.

He told IPS that the UN has been putting “a lot of effort” into trying to get more action against these killings and that UNESCO has been working to create greater cooperation among various groups concerned with journalists’ safety.

But Berger said that the conference wanted to focus on what media organizations themselves could do “to step forward” and bring attention to the matter.

The day-long meeting – titled “News organizations standing up for the safety of media professionals” – will “foster dialogue on security issues with a view to reducing the high number of casualties in the profession”, UNESCO said.

The number of media workers killed around the world totaled 112 last year, according to the Brussels-based International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), whose president Jim Boumelha will speak at the conference.

The IFJ, which represents some 600,000 members globally, said that among the deaths, at least 109 journalists and media staff died in “targeted killings, bomb attacks and cross-fire incidents”. This number marks a slight decrease from 2014 when 118 media personnel were killed.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF), a group that defends freedom of expression, said in its report that the deaths were “largely attributable to deliberate violence against journalists” and demonstrates the failure of initiatives to protect media personnel.

The slayings included those of cartoonists working for the French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. Following those attacks, UNESCO organized a conference then as well, under the heading “Journalism after Charlie”.

In the year since, many other media workers have lost their lives, in both countries at peace and those experiencing civil war.

Calling on the UN to appoint a special representative for the safety of journalists, RSF’s Director General Christophe Deloire says that the creation of a specific mechanism for enforcing international law on the protection of journalists is “absolutely essential”.

Deloire will present a safety guide for journalists at the conference, in association with UNESCO. This is part of the aim to “share good practices on a wide range of measures including safety protocols in newsrooms … and innovative protective measures for reporting from dangerous areas”, according to the UN agency.

Some 200 media owners, executives and practitioners from public, private and community media are expected to attend the conference, UNESCO said.

“The diversity of media represented, in terms of geography, size and type of threat encountered, is unprecedented and should contribute to the conference’s ability to raise awareness of and improve preparedness for the full range of dangers the media face worldwide,” the agency added.

Berger will moderate the first session, while debates in the second will be led by Christiane Amanpour, chief international correspondent for the broadcaster CNN and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Freedom of Expression and Journalism.

Diana Foley, founder and president of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, is also scheduled to be among the speakers. The institution honours the work of American journalist James Foley, her son, who was abducted while covering the Syrian war and brutally killed by his captors in 2014.

One of the conference’s high-level sessions will focus on “ending impunity together” and will comprise “dialogue” between the media industry and UNESCO member states, according to the programme.

UNESCO says it has been advocating and implementing measures to improve the safety of journalists and to end impunity for crimes against media workers. The agency’s Director-General issues press releases to condemn the killing of journalists and media workers, for instance.

In addition, UNESCO publishes a biennial report that takes stock of governments’ replies to the organization’s request for information about “actions taken to pursue the perpetrators of these crimes”.

In its 2015 report, “World Trends in Freedom of Expression and Media Development”, UNESCO noted that some member countries were not submitting requested updates on investigations into attacks against the media. However, the response rate had still risen to 42 percent (24 out of 57 countries) from 22 percent in 2014.

One of the issues not on the agenda at the conference is the number of UNESCO member states that imprison journalists or attempt to suppress freedom of expression. Experts acknowledge that this is also a topic that needs addressing, but some say that a distinction between the issues needs to be made.

“You can have freedom of the press and journalists are not safe,” Berger told IPS. “And in other places, you can have a lack of freedom of the press, and journalists are safe, even if they face consequences under laws that may be out of line with international standards.”

He said that governments have “the primary responsibility to protect everybody and to protect their rights,” but that not all governments live up to this task.

“That doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t,” he added. “If you sign up to these international declarations, you actually have to match your words with your actions.”

The public, too, could be more aware of the challenges that media workers face and support the calls for safety and protection.

“Nobody wants to be out of line with public opinion, and the stronger public opinion is, the more governments actually see that it’s important to act,” Berger said. “Governments need journalists, even if they don’t like them, and they need them to be safe.”

(End)

February 3, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – South Sudan's former Vice-President, Riek Machar, will travel to the Egyptian capital, Cairo, on Wednesday evening for talks with President Abdel Fattah al Sisi, on the implementation of the peace agreement signed in August by warring parties in South Sudan.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (Photo Reuters)

This was announced by the chairman of the external committees in the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO), Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth via social media.

“The President of Arab Republic of Egypt H.E. General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi invited H.E. Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon, First Vice President Designate of the Republic of South Sudan and Chairman and Commander in Chief of SPLM/SPLA (IO) to discuss the implementation of the Agreement for the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan and bilateral relations between Egypt and South Sudan,” Gatkuoth posted in various blogs.

“Dr. Machar will leave for Cairo, Egypt on February 3, 2016. This visit is historic and it is the first ever visit Dr. Machar had since the war broke out in South Sudan in December 15, 2013,” he said.

He added that Machar will be accompanied by “Madame Angelina Teny, Chairperson, National Committee for Defence and Security and First Lady of SPLM/SPLA (IO), Dr. Dhieu Mathok Diing, Secretary General SPLM, and Ambassador Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, Chairperson, National Committee for Foreign Affairs.”

The visit comes two days after the IGAD Council of Ministers on the sideline of the African Union summit issued a communique urging the parties to form a transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) as soon as possible.

The communiqué called on President Salva Kiir's government to suspend the creation of 28 states, saying it is inconsistent with the provisions of the peace agreement which is based on the existing 10 states of the country.

The statement further urged the parties to implement the first phase of the security arrangements by deploying joint police and military forces in the capital, Juba, and other states capitals, before a unity government is formed.

The visit to Egypt will be the first of its kind by Machar since South Sudan became independent in July 2011.

It also comes a week after the opposition's top leader visited Uganda and held talks with President Yoweri Museveni.

(ST)

February 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudanese oil minister Wednesday will hold talks with his South Sudanese counterpart on the review of oil transit fees

A worker at the power plant of an oil processing facility in South Sudan's Unity state on 22 April 2012 (Photo: Reuters)

When the two countries stroke a deal on oil transit fees in 2012, world oil price had been stable at around $110 a barrel. But Since June 2015 princes have been cut roughly by more than 70 percent.

As result of this unprecedented fall of oil prices in the international market, Juba and Khartoum agreed to review the deal which gives Khartoum over $9 per barrel in addition to $15 as a transitional financial arrangement.

South Sudanese Ambassador in Khartoum Mayan Dot Waal announced that Sudanese oil minister Mohamed Zayed Awad, will fly to Juba on Wednesday for talks with his counterpart Stephen Dhieu Dau to discuss oil transportation fees via the Sudanese pipelines.

Waal who is travelling with Awad to Juba, further said the two ministers will discuss the resumption of oil production from Bentiu state which stopped since more than a year due to the South Sudanese conflict.

Presidents Omer al-Bashir and Salva Kiir recently expressed their will to normalize bilateral ties and settle the different disputes that caused tensions between the two countries since the secession of South Sudan.

In an interview with France 24 last Monday, al-Bashir said the outstanding issues between the two countries are not resolved. But, he pointed to the humanitarian and economic effects of the South Sudan's crisis, adding he was the president of the unified Sudan for over 20 years and he has to behave in the interest of South Sudanese people.

(ST)

February 2, 2016 (JUBA) – An alliance of 18 South Sudanese political parties has warmly welcomed regional calls for the formation of the country's Transitional Government of National Unity (TGNU) this week.

South Sudan's main opposition leader, Lam Akol (AFP)

The 55th Extra-Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) said on Sunday that various parties that were signatory to South Sudan's August 2015 peace agreement, which ended 21 months of conflict, should form the TGoNU in the first week of February.

The regional foreign ministers, in statement extended to Sudan Tribune, said obstacles to South Sudan's peace implementation process be negotiated afterwards.

“Although the National Alliance has been calling all along for the decision to create 28 states to be revoked, we believe that the compromise proposal by IGAD to suspend its operationalisation for a month is something we can live with in order to salvage the peace process,” said the alliance.

“We congratulate IGAD for reminding all of us to stick to the strict implementation of the Peace Agreement as this is the only way to end the suffering of our people and keep the country united,” its statement added.

The process to form the TGoNU hit a snag in after President Salva Kiir decree the formation of 28 states in October last year, contrary to provisions in the regional and internationally-backed peace agreement.

But IGAD said the South Sudanese government, the armed opposition-led by former vice president Riek Machar and other parties would discuss the stalemate “subsequent to the formation of the TGoNU at national level.”

The IGAD ministers said in the absence of agreement on the creation of new states, further action on implementing the operationalisation of new states until an inclusive, participatory National Boundary Commission comprising all Parties to ARCSS reviews proposed states and their boundaries, and that this review process occur, for a period of one month.

On Monday, however, President Kiir's government welcomed the communiqué saying it was consistent with government's position and the negotiations on the number of states will continue after forming TGoNU.

The national opposition alliance will nominate a minister to the 30 months interim government. Another minister allocated to the opposition parties will be selected by a separate opposition group allied to the government. SPLM-IO will name 10 ministers and President Kiir will name 16.

The former political detainees have already nominated two ministers for foreign affairs, transport as well as the deputy minister for foreign affairs.

(ST)

February 02, 2016 (JUBA) – People are starving to death in Mundri county of the newly created Amadi state in South Sudan according to the report by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC), a body monitoring the implementation of the peace agreement signed in August last year.

Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) Chairperson Festus Mogae meets with community leaders and civil society groups during a visit to Bentinu on January 14, 2016 (UNMISS Photo)

Speaking at the opening of JMEC meeting attended by government and opposition officials on Tuesday, former President of Botswana and JMEC chairman, Festus Mogae, said the death occurred due to continued fighting between government and opposition forces.

“I was told this morning that one of the ceasefire monitoring teams, which recently visited Mundri, found people there are starving to death,” said Mogae.

Mogae expressed “disappointment” that the parties have failed to form a transitional government of national unity (TGoNU) last month.

“Disappointed that I am not here today to see a new transitional government in place. Disappointed that another date has come and gone. This disappointment stems not solely because a day on a calendar was missed, but because the potential, the opportunity, the possibility of a new government is so close, so vital for this country, that it must be taken,” he said.

“Every day we spend here I think of the children I met growing up without the chance of education, the chance of bettering their own lives denied through no fault of their own. When will independence make a difference for these people? For all of your people? Africa has too many lost generations already,” he added.

According to JMEC timetable, TGoNU should have been formed on January 22. The parties missed the deadline after disagreeing on number of states. Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) council of ministers urged the parties to form TGoNU this week and resolve the issue of 28 states later.

President Salva Kiir created the new states in October, two months after signing the peace agreement. Mogae said the economic situation is worsening and there is need to save lives.

“When I left South Sudan in January, the South Sudanese pound was under 20 to the dollar. Today, I am told, it is close to 30. As a former central bank governor, as a former official at the IMF, I know how difficult it is for the economy to be managed in unstable times. But I plead with you to avoid ruin: form the transitional government of national unity without further delay, restore stability, repair the damage that has been done before it is too late, so that urgent economic assistance can become available,” he said.

Prices of basic commodities surged since the central bank and finance ministry devalued the South Sudanese pounds against the United States dollar.

Mogae said he expected parties in the meeting on Tuesday to take practical and immediate action to complete the tasks necessary to establish a new government, to agree on the urgency of introducing phased arrangements for the transitional security arrangements necessary for the capital city, Juba.

The interaction also discussed how the work of the other transitional security institutions can be accelerated and to identify, further to previous commitments, any additional steps that can be taken by the Parties to ensure constraints on humanitarian access are removed.

“I expect to report again to the AU Peace and Security Council, and to the UN Security Council on the status of implementation of the Agreement within weeks. I hope my next report can be more positive than my last, and that the delays that have plagued the process so far cease,” he said.

(ST)

February 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's national dialogue conference has recommended the delay of the Darfur administrative referendum.

3rd meeting of the national dialogue national assembly in Khartoum on Thursday 20 August 2015 (Photo - SUNA)

The Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) provides that the permanent administrative status of Darfur be determined through a referendum. The voters have to vote for the creation of a Darfur Region composed of the States of Darfur; or the retention of the status quo of States system.

The Darfur Referendum Commission (DRC) had earlier announced that the referendum will be held between 11 to 13 April.

However, the chairman of the dialogue freedoms and rights committee Obied Hag Ali said in press statements Tuesday his committee recommended postponement of the Darfur referendum, noting the recommendation will be submitted to general secretariat of the dialogue conference.

He added the committee also called for retaining the international human rights agreements and the bill of rights included in the 2005 constitution, demanding restructuring and activating judicial organs which are responsible for monitoring and protecting liberties.

“The committee also called for maintaining neutrality of the civil services and the defence institutions including the police, army and the security services”, he added
Meanwhile, the DRC announced the completion of all arrangements to start the registration for the referendum on 8 February saying that 1400 polling centers have been set up across the region.

The semi-official Sudan Media Center (SMC) Tuesday quoted the DRC deputy chairman Abdel-Aziz al-Samani as saying that all technical and administrative arrangements for holding the referendum have been completed.

He added that registration centers will be ready to receive the voters between 6 to 8 February, saying the DRC has completed the training of the referendum officers in the five states of Darfur.

Several lawmakers had previously called to postpone the referendum saying the exercise will create a new turmoil in Darfur and also noted the huge financial cost of the referendum.

According to the latest census, the inhabitants of Darfur region are estimated at 12 million people including 5 million internal and external migrants.

Observers close to the file in Khartoum say the organization of the referendum illustrates once again the deep divisions among the Darfurians, adding that those who are against the process are not part of the DDPD signatories.

Some rebels among the non-signatories of the Doha framework agreement say they are against the referendum because it would not express the will of Darfurians, pointing to the IDPs and refugees in Chad who will not participate in the vote.

(ST)

February 2, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government has renewed call for the implementation of the cooperation agreement signed with South Sudan saying it would ask Juba to hold a meeting for the Joint Political and Security Committee (JPSC).

South Sudanese president Salva Kiir (L) and his Sudanese counterpart, Omer Hassan al-Bashir, attend a press conference at Khartoum airport on 4 November 2014 (Photo: AFP/Ashraf Shazly)

In September 2012, both Sudan and South Sudan signed a series of cooperation agreements, which covered oil, citizenship rights, security issues, banking, border trade among others.

In March 2013, the two countries signed an implementation matrix for these cooperation agreements.

Sudan's state minister at the presidency Al-Rasheed Haroun said a meeting of the higher committee for the implementation of the cooperation agreements chaired by the First Vice President Bakri Hassan Salah discussed the progress made in the implementation of the agreements since they were being signed.

According to Haroun, the committee praised recent decisions by the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan to re-open the border between the two countries, stressing that Sudan continued to implement the agreements to enable both peoples to live in peace especially along the joint border.

Last week, the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir issued a presidential decree ordering to open the border with the South Sudan and directed the concerned authorities to take all the necessary measures for the implementation of this decision on the ground.

Bashir's decision came as a response to an earlier decision by the South Sudanese President Salva Kiir ordering his army to withdraw from border with Sudan to 5 miles [8km].

Haroun further told the official news agency (SUNA) that the meeting underscored the strategic relations with South Sudan, pointing to Sudan's keenness to promote those relations and implement all items of the cooperation agreements.

He said the Sudanese relevant committees would press ahead with the parallel committees in South Sudan to implement the outstanding issues including the security arrangements, borders, trade, oil, economic situation, workers conditions and the contested area of Abyei.

Haroun added the meeting directed the Sudanese committees to contact parallel committees in South Sudan to implement the border agreement on the ground, demanding Juba to reciprocate by carrying out similar practical moves.

“[We] would renew call for South Sudan to hold the meeting of the JPSC to determine the demilitarized zone and the [border] crossings and ensure the non-harboring and support [of rebels from the other country]”, he said.

Last December, the third meeting of the JSPC which was scheduled to be held in Khartoum was postponed for internal Southern Sudanese security reasons.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July, 2011, following a referendum held in January of that year.

February 2, 2016 (JUBA) – The leadership of the armed opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM-IO) Tuesday welcomed the call of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), to suspend the controversial 28 states and form a transitional unity government.

President Salva Kiir meets SPLM-IO Chief Negotiator, Taban Deng Gai, in Juba, December 22, 2015 (ST Photo)

SPLM-IO further said political decisions made by President Kiir's government outside the peace agreement are seen by the armed opposition's leadership as proposals that have no legal binding on the constitution and the peace deal agreed by all parties in August last year.

On the other hand in Juba, the government has “accepted” the communiqué from IGAD, but it concentrated on the call to form a transitional government.

The East African regional bloc, IGAD, on Sunday issued a communiqué, calling on all the parties to the Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (ARCSS) to form a transitional unity government at the national level without an amended new constitution.

IGAD also called on President Kiir's government to “suspend” the implementation of the 28 states he unilaterally created on 2 October after the peace agreement, describing the decision as “inconsistent” with the provisions of the peace deal which only recognizes the existing 10 states in the country.

The communiqué also called on the parties to establish an inclusive boundary commission with membership of all parties to the peace agreement in order to review creation of more states, and in case of disagreement, the parties should revert to the 10 states as provided for in the accord.

A media official of the armed opposition faction said the SPLM-IO leadership welcomed the IGAD decision to suspend the unilateral creation and implementation of the 28 states, adding it should therefore be treated as a mere suggested policy on governance by President Kiir's faction.

“The leadership of SPLM/SPLA (IO) has commended the decision which calls for suspension of the 28 states. The parties should abide by the peace agreement and form a Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU) in accordance with the provisions of the Agreement,” James Gatdet Dak, official spokesman of the opposition leader, Riek Machar, told Sudan Tribune.

He said since the current constitution only recognizes 10 states as also stipulated in the peace agreement, there is no reason not to incorporate the provisions of the peace deal and pass a new constitution as the basis for formation of a new unity government.

He however said the decision to suspend the 28 states implies that the 10 states which have been in the constitution and in the agreement shall prevail until in the future when consensual change may take place on the number of the states.

The 28 states, he said, should be treated like the rest of political proposals from other parties in the country if “President Kiir's administration” wanted to table it for discussion in the future.

“If it is a political decision of one party or faction to create 28 states after signing the peace agreement based on the existing 10 states, then this decision is not legally binding and should not therefore appear anywhere in the constitution, as it is not in the peace agreement. It should be treated as a suggested policy proposal from one party,” he added.

Dak also said the SPLM-IO has a party policy which has suggested creating 21 states in South Sudan which are based on former colonial districts and their boundaries as they stood from 1956, but added they don't want to impose it and violate the agreement.

“We don't try to impose on the constitution our party policy to create 21 states. We keep it as our proposal to be tabled before the other parties to the agreement at an appropriate time,” he said.

He said if President Kiir has suggested 28 states as a political decision or policy of his faction, the two or more suggestions will then be discussed when time comes using the mechanisms in the peace agreement.

Meanwhile, he said, the parties should abide by the agreement which should be incorporated into a new constitution based on the 10 states as recognized by both the constitution and the “supreme document”, the peace agreement.

Besides violating the power sharing deal for the states, the controversial 28 states, he added, are problematic as they are intended to grab lands from certain ethnic groups and annex them to another ethnic group.

The decision by IGAD, a body which mediated the peace process between the South Sudanese parties, seemed to have partially echoed previous decision by the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) over the 28 states.

Festus Mogae, chairperson of JMEC, a body which is established by the peace agreement to oversee its full implementation, described the creation of 28 states as “political” and not “legal” matter, urging the parties which involve the armed opposition faction of SPLM-IO led by former Vice President, Riek Machar, and former detainees and other political parties to reach a consensus on the “political matter.”

Mogae, former President of Botswana, however called on them to form a unity government at the national level and delay formation of state governments until they reached a consensus on the number of states.

JUBA ACCEPTS THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT

Information minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, told reporters after the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (JMEC) meeting on Tuesday that there is an agreement to form TGoNU

“JMEC had its fourth meeting, and in this meeting, the meeting went on very well and in the meeting we discussed the communiqué which was issued by IGAD and we adopted the communiqué as it is, as the best option and the way forward and as a roadmap for the implementation of the agreement and the establishment of the Transitional Government of National Unity,” Lueth said.

He said they also agreed to deploy about 3,000 components of the joint police and military forces from the opposition faction.

“So we have agreed that, yes, within this coming short period we need to work hard and ensure that the security elements from the [SPLM] IO are brought in. That the police of 1,500 for Juba town and the police for the greater Upper Nile of 1,200 are also brought in and the other security forces of 1,410; all should be brought in as soon as possible so that the first Vice President [Riek Machar] comes in and the transitional government of national unity is established. This is what we discussed. This is what we agreed,” he added.

It is not clear whether the government has also accepted to suspend the 28 states and withdraw its excess forces from Juba.

President Kiir last week said the issue of 28 states was a “red-line” and a decision which will not be reversed, adding it was a demand of the people of South Sudan.

During the peace negotiations in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, the SPLM-IO proposed creation of 21 states based on a federal system of governance, saying federalism was a long time popular demand of the people of South Sudan. The government however refused the proposal at the time, saying there was no money to fund more states and threatened to take the matter to the people for a referendum.

IGAD stepped in and forced the parties to sign the agreement based on 10 states, but provided a mechanism in the agreement for all parties to discuss the future system of governance during a transitional period of 30 months in a permanent constitutional making process.

However, 39 days later after the signing of the agreement, the government unilaterally made a U-turn and decreed creation of 28 new states. Other parties and mediators condemned the action, saying it violated the agreement and called on the government to reverse the decision.

(ST)

Alastair Leithead visits the world's largest refugee camp at Dadaab, Kenya, to see what lessons can be learned from Somalia's migrant crisis.

How Israel gives migrants $3,500 and turns them away

Condemning in the strongest terms Saturday’s “horrific terrorist attacks” attributed to Boko Haram in northeastern Nigeria, which resulted in a large number of dead and wounded, the United Nations Security Council today called on all States to cooperate in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 2 2016 (IPS)

When U.Thant of Burma (now Myanmar) was elected UN Secretary-General back in November 1962, he was the first Asian to hold that post after Trygve Lie of Norway and Dag Hammarskjold of Sweden.

The appointment was also a historic moment for Asia, which waited for 45 long years for the second Asian to hold that position: Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, the current UN Secretary-General, who was elected in January 2007.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon meeting with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar in November 2014. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

An equally important event took place in Myanmar last November when it held nation-wide elections, the first after decades of military rule, which were hailed by the United Nations as “a significant achievement in Myanmar’s democratic transition.”

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was forced to spend nearly 15 years under house arrest by a military government, emerged the leader of the largest political party: the National League for Democracy (NLDP) party.

On Tuesday, Myanmar’s first freely-elected parliament in decades met in the capital of Naypyidaw — and at least over 110 of the NLDP’s 390 members in the new parliament are former political prisoners.

But constitutionally, Aung San Suu Kyi, is barred from holding the post of President, despite the NLD’s parliamentary majority, primarily because her children who were born in UK are treated as foreigners. Her late husband was a British scholar.

Asked about the historic opening of parliament, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said: “It’s another extremely important step in the restoration of democracy in Myanmar.”

Dr Palitha Kohona, Sri Lanka’s former Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told IPS the gradual transition to democracy in Myanmar must be welcomed.

But the transition has to occur through a measured process, he said.

“Myanmar has not enjoyed a UK style (or an Indian style) democracy for a long time. It will take a while for a successful transition to be consolidated.’

“We know from recent experience that a Western style democracy cannot be superimposed on a country inexperienced in democracy. It is to be remembered that its territorial integrity will be a priority for Myanmar while divisive ethnic tensions will need to be carefully managed as it slowly absorbs the new political experience,” said Kohona.

Ban said the United Nations “has long been involved in Myanmar’s transition after more than 50 years of military rule”, appointing a Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on the issue.

In 2007, he set up the “Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on Myanmar,” a consultative forum of 14 countries to assist him in his efforts to spur change in the South-East Asian nation.

Over the years, he has welcomed the release of political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself. In 2010 he voiced concern over the decision to dissolve 10 political parties, including the NLD, ahead of the previous elections that November.

The United States, which imposed rigid economic and military sanctions on Myanmar for lack of a democratically elected government, for its treatment of political prisoners and its human rights violations, has begun easing some of these restrictions.

Since 2012, the US has provided over $500 million in support of Myanmar’s reform process, including implementation of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and efforts to increase the participation of civil society and women in the peace process.

At a press conference in the Naypyitaw last month, US Deputy Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the US welcomes the positive statements from President Thein Sein and from the leadership of the military congratulating the NLD and pledging to respect the result of the elections.

It is also encouraging that Aung San Suu Kyi has met with President Thein Sein and Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing to discuss the upcoming political transition.

“We know there are still many challenges ahead,” Blinken said.

“Broad-based economic growth must be nurtured and it must be sustained. The national reconciliation process must continue.”

He also said that remaining political prisoners must be released and human rights protected for all, no matter their ethnicity or religion.

Reforms need to continue until an elected civilian government is truly sovereign and all the country’s institutions answer to the people.

“The United States will work in close partnership with the new government to support its efforts to achieve these goals,” he declared.

He said the US has also discussed Myanmar’s economic challenges, including the incoming government’s focus on improving conditions for those who live and work off the land.

“The United States will continue to promote responsible investment by our companies in Myanmar, which we believe is strengthening new local businesses and industries and building human capital, not just extracting resources.”

“We talked about the peace process and political dialogue between the government and ethnic nationalities. The United States will do whatever the stakeholders in this historic effort believe will be helpful to aid in its success. Meanwhile, we urge an end to offensive military operations and unfettered humanitarian access to civilians in need,” he added.

The US is particularly concerned about discrimination and violence experienced by ethnic and religious minorities, including the Rohingya population in Rakhine State.

Ban said he is regretfully aware that a large number of voters from minority communities, in particular the Rohingya, were denied the right to vote and some were disqualified as candidates,” the statement noted.

Encouraged by the statements of political and military leaders and other relevant actors, as Myanmar begins the process of forming its next government, the UN chief has urged all national stakeholders to maintain a calm atmosphere and uphold human rights and the rule of law.

“There is much hard work that remains ahead on Myanmar’s democratic journey and towards making future elections truly inclusive,” he said, underscoring that the people and leaders of Myanmar have it within their power to come together to build a better future for their country, “a future where peace and development take firm root on the foundations of inclusivity, respect and tolerance, where the human rights of all are protected regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or gender, and where no one is marginalized, vulnerable, and discriminated against.”

The writer can be contacted at thalifdeen@aol.com

Tichaona Muzariri, 44, a villager based at Range in Chivhu, a town 143 kilometers south of Harare, the Zimbabwean capital, quit his job as a teacher in 2009 to start a rabbit farm on a small scale with three does (female rabbits) and one buck (male). With around US$30 as capital, Muzariri waded into rabbit […]

In the country’s capital, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff oversees one of the military operations against the Aedes Aegypti mosquito carried out at a national level in the last few days to curb the spread of the Zika virus. Credit: Roberto Stuckert Filho/PR

By Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 2 2016 (IPS)

Brazil is deploying 220,000 troops to wage war against the Zika virus, in response to the alarm caused by the birth of thousands of children with abnormally small heads. But eradicating the Aedes aegypti mosquito requires battles on many fronts, including science and the pharmaceutical industry.

The Zika virus, transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, like dengue and Chikungunya fever, is blamed for the current epidemic of microcephaly, which has frightened people in Brazil and could hurt attendance at the Aug. 5-21 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

It has also revived the debate on the right to abortion in Brazil, where the practice is illegal except in cases of pregnancy resulting from rape, or when the mother’s life is in danger.

“Immediate measures to provide assistance to the mothers of newborns with microcephaly are indispensable,” said Silvia Camurça, a sociologist who heads SOS Body – Feminist Institute for Democracy. “Almost all of them are poor, and they are completely overwhelmed by this new burden, with no help in the household.

“Imagine a mother with more than one child, without a husband,” she told IPS. “Childcare centres are not prepared to receive children with microcephaly, who are now numerous and whose numbers will grow even more, with the children to be born in the next few months. It’s a desperate situation. Public assistance for these families is urgently needed.”

An increase in the number of unsafe back-alley abortions, which put women’s lives in danger, “is very likely, since many women know that there are no public policies to support them, and the situation is aggravated by the economic crisis and high unemployment,” said Camurça.

Pernambuco, the Northeast Brazilian state where her non-governmental organisation is based, has the highest number of suspected or confirmed cases of microcephaly, a rare birth defect.

As of Jan. 23, the Health Ministry had registered 1,373 suspected cases in the state, of which 138 have been confirmed, 110 were ruled out, and 1,125 are still being examined.

A total of 270 cases of microcephaly have been confirmed in Brazil and 3,448 suspected cases still need to be investigated. There have also been 68 infant deaths due to congenital malformations since October, 12 of which were confirmed as Zika-related and five of which were not, while the rest are still under investigation.

The main symptoms of Zika virus disease are a low fever, an itchy skin rash, joint pain, and red, inflamed eyes. The symptoms, which are generally mild, last from three to seven days, and most people don’t even know they have had the disease.

Brazil is at the centre of the debate on the virus because it is experiencing the largest-known outbreak of the disease, and because the link between the Zika virus and microcephaly was identified by the Professor Joaquim Amorim Neto Research Institute (IPESQ) in the city of Campina Grande in the Northeast – the poorest region of Brazil and the hardest-hit by this and other mosquito-borne diseases.

Explosive spread

On Monday Feb. 1, the World Health Organisation declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects an international public health emergency.

The WHO said the rise in the disease in the Americas is “explosive”, and predicted up to 1.5 million cases in Brazil and between three and four million cases in the Americas this year.

Spraying against the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which transmits the Zika virus and other diseases, has been stepped up in cities around Brazil. Credit: Cristina Rochol/PMPA

Although WHO Director General Margaret Chan said “A causal relationship between Zika virus and birth malformations and neurological syndromes has not yet been established,” in Brazil there are no doubts that the Aedes aegypti is the transmitter of the new national tragedy.

The government has mobilised the army, navy and air force against the epidemic, and is trying to mobilise the local population as well as state employees who make door-to-door visits as part of their job, such as electric and water utility meter readers.

The aim is to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds – any water-holding containers (tin cans, plastic jugs, or used tires) lying around the country’s 49.2 million households.

Mosquito repellent has been distributed to pregnant women. “But there are already shortages of repellent, and the ones that are safe for pregnant women are more expensive,” and less affordable for poor women, said Camurça.

The activist said another big problem is the lack of information and knowledge about epidemics. In Pernambuco, dengue fever – also transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito – was under control, according to health officials, “but all of a sudden we’re the champions of Zika,” a contradiction that has yet to be explained, she complained.

The first confirmed case of Zika virus in Brazil came to light in April 2015, after which the disease began to spread like wildfire. It is now present in 23 countries of the Americas, according to the WHO.

Epidemiologists say the statistics available on diseases transmitted by the Aedes aegypti are insufficient because reporting the diseases was not mandatory, which led to under-reporting.

Now microcephaly, but not its causes, are reported, and the lack of reliable statistics from the past, and on related infections, make it more difficult to obtain clear data.

Microcephaly has a number of other causes, such as syphilis, toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes and different infections.

Science is, however, another battlefront that could be decisive in this medium to long-term war. The hope is that efforts to develop a vaccine will be successful, at least to prevent the Zika virus’s most severe effect: microcephaly in unborn infants.

Research forges ahead

The Health Ministry’s Secretariat of Science, Technology and Strategic Inputs has played a key role in research on the Zika virus, encouraging studies in Brazil’s leading health research centres.

The head of the Secretariat, epidemiologist Eduardo Costa, believes Brazil could develop a vaccine, “despite the bureaucratic hurdles to the import of biological material and other inputs necessary to research, delaying it and driving up the costs.”

“It’s Brazil’s responsibility to produce a vaccine, and it’s something we owe Africa,” he told IPS.

Progress has been made in specialised centres, such as the Butantan Institute in the southern city of São Paulo, which is working on a vaccine that offers 80 percent protection against the four strains of dengue and could extend to the Zika virus. “Clinical tests are needed,” which are costly and take time, Costa said.

The Evandro Chagas Institute, of the northern Amazon state of Pará, is also making progress towards a medication that mitigates the effects of the Zika virus. And a University of São Paulo laboratory is researching possibilities offered by genetic engineering.

These Brazilian research centres have ties to universities or pharmaceutical companies abroad, and the resulting medications could be wholly produced in Brazil, in Bio-Manguinhos, the technical scientific unit that produces and develops immunobiologicals for the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), a leading Health Ministry research centre, said Costa.

Other technologies being tested in Brazil are aimed at curbing the breeding of the Aedes aegypti. One example is the Wolbachia bacterium, which can stop the dengue virus from replicating in its mosquito host. Fiocruz is releasing mosquitos with the bacterium in a Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood to infect other Aedes aegypti mosquitos.

Another initiative involves the release of genetically modified male mosquitos which produce offspring that die before they are old enough to start reproducing. Other studies have involved an insect growth regulator, pyriproxyfen, which disrupts the growth and reproduction of mosquitos.

In addition, new tests are needed to diagnose women with the Zika virus. The tests currently available must be carried out in the few days that the infection is active.

“A post-infection test is needed, to identify the lingering antibodies and offer more information about what the virus does,” Costa said.

Brazil eradicated the Aedes aegypti mosquito in 1954, in a campaign against yellow fever, the disease it spread back then, Costa pointed out. But the mosquito returned in intermittent outbreaks in the following decades, when it began to transmit dengue.

Now eradicating the mosquito is impossible, even for 220,000 soldiers, with the expanded repertoir of viruses it transmits, and today’s much more populous cities, with limited sanitation, endless amounts of garbage and containers of all kinds strewn everywhere. But technology and social mobilisation could at least help curb the mosquito population.

Edited by Estrella Gutiérrez/Translated by Stephanie Wildes

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