Africa

By Jawed Naqvi
Jun 14 2016 (Dawn, Pakistan)

In the departure lounge near Gate No 308 at the Istanbul airport there’s a coffee shop, which has thrown a few chairs and tables near the exit to cater to its needy customers whose flights are delayed. It was here that I got an important glimpse the other day of how one can still frontally approach issues of religious sensitivities. The young Turkish waiter asked an old Arab man to place the order. The man said he was only waiting for his flight to be announced. “Not here, please. This is a coffee shop.” The Arab vacated the chair without fuss.

Next, the waiter turned to a well-heeled albeit younger man who could be from anywhere. Occupying a useful seat he was not generating a lira’s worth of business for the coffee kiosk. “I am fasting,” the man pleaded. “Please go and fast somewhere else. We are serving food to the hungry,” he was told politely. The man left without demur.

I believe this is how Kemal Ataturk would have liked his people to be. They should not flaunt their religion in public, and keep it preferably a private affair. Jinnah applauded Ataturk. Gandhi, on the other hand, as an advocate of the controversial Khilafat Movement, had little time for the Turkish hero’s secular politics.

In the Erdogan era, a marked deviation from the Ataturk vision of Islam seems to have crept in. The Turkish president was asked why he cut his last week’s trip to the United States short. He said he thought it would be “unnecessary” to stay until the burial ceremony of boxing legend Muhammad Ali after realising the event on June 10 would have “no religious aspect”.

A new vocabulary of orthodoxy is palpable today, which quickly mutates into extremism, and it is not limited to Muslims.

Even in the Erdogan era, however, there are limits to how far one can take the public display of religion. For example, travelling from Delhi on Turkish Airlines, I saw the bar nicely stocked with a range of drinks that would have pleased Ghalib. When I asked the plane’s chef on the Istanbul-Dakar sector why his bar was so completely depleted, the man smiled back. “We are a discreet airline. We are flying to a Muslim country.”

As far as Islam in Senegal goes it is the official religion. But try and find a woman in hijab in Dakar and you would not succeed though they will in all probability be scrupulously observing their Ramazan fast. With their beautifully assembled attire woven in a riot of colours, one can’t easily tell a Christian Senegalese from his Muslim counterpart. And yet both sides will be observing their faith with sincerity.

I drove to the Keur Moussa abbey on Sunday to listen to the fabled Gregorian chants its black African denizens sing for congregations every week. I remembered the late Muhammad Ali’s persistent questions to his mother at their Louisville church. Why were all the angels white, Ali would want to know. Well, he would have found both Mary and Jesus in their black African avatar at the Senegal abbey, an hour’s drive from Dakar. The angels hovering over them are black too. And the music, it is divine.

The situation in South Asia is fraught by comparison. Americans ‘skedule’ their appointments while the English ‘shedule’ them. The obvious reason for pronouncing schedule differently, the Americans will laugh, can be found in the different ‘shools’ the two attended. South Asia’s debate between Ramadan and Ramazan would reflect a similar unequal contest of receding and upwardly mobile cultures, had it not been usurped by its pervasive religious revivalism.

Given the mushrooming clusters of orthodox believers we face today, the chances are that those who prefer the Arabic Ramadan would be found to be the more assertive Muslims against the conventional lot who have stayed with Ramazan to describe the month of fasting. A new vocabulary of orthodoxy is palpable today, which readily mutates into extremism, and it is not limited to Muslims.

The syndrome exists among a growing number of north India’s Hindus, for example. They have migrated from the traditional and laid-back Jai Ramji ki as a social greeting over the years to Jai Shri Ram, the latter with pronounced religious and even militant underpinnings.

It is highly probable in my view that the mob that lynched Mohammed Akhlaq — whether he ate or did not eat beef — would respond to Jai Shri Ram rather than to Jai Ramji ki as a greeting. It is equally my instinct that the Pakistani policeman who assaulted an 80-year old Hindu man for eating outside his house in Sindh before sunset last week is a partisan of Ramadan over Ramazan. Check it out. My hunch derives from the pattern of vocabulary religious orthodoxy assumes.

Given my early exposure to Ramazan in Lucknow, it is difficult to accept that there is no music on the occasion today. Some of you will remember how in the mornings singers who would call out in unison to the fasting men and women, and their children for sehri, the last meal before sunrise.

On the other hand there was the legacy of Ghalib always offering his own insights with roots placed deep in realism: Iftaar-i-saum kii jise kuch dast gaah ho/ Us shakhs ko zaroor hai rozaa rakha kare/ Jis paas roza khol ke khaane ko kuch na ho/ Roza agar na khaaye to naachaar kya kare. (The one who has the means to break his fast/ that person should indeed keep the fast/ The one who has nothing to break his fast with/ What else can he do but to ‘eat the fast’).

In Delhi, there were poetry soirees during Ramazan where the congregation would conclude with the morning meal. Apparently, a couplet would lure the audiences: Mushaira bhi hai, sehri ka intezam bhi/ Daawat-i- aam hai, yaarane nuqtadan ke liye. (This mushaira will end with sehri. Friendly critics and commoners are welcome for both).

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi. jawednaqvi@gmail.com

This story was originally published by Dawn, Pakistan

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Peter Mcharo's two children digging their father’s maize field in Kibaigwa village, Morogoro Region, some 350km from Dar es Salaam. Mcharo has benefitted greatly from conservation agriculture techniques. Credit: Orton Kiishweko/IPS

By Dr. Katrin Glatzel
KIGALI, Rwanda, Jun 14 2016 (IPS)

After over a year of extreme weather changes across the world, causing destruction to homes and lives, 2015-16 El Niño has now come to an end.

This recent El Niño – probably the strongest on record along with the along with those in 1997-1998 and 1982-83– has yet again shown us just how vulnerable we, let alone the poorest of the poor, are to dramatic changes in the climate and other extreme weather events.

Across southern Africa El Niño has led to the extreme drought affecting this year’s crop. Worst affected by poor rains are Malawi, where almost three million people are facing hunger, and Madagascar and Zimbabwe, where last year’s harvest was reduced by half compared to the previous year because of substantial crop failure.

However, El Niño is not the only manifestation of climate change. Mean temperatures across Africa are expected to rise faster than the global average, possibly reaching as high as 3°C to 6°C greater than pre-industrial levels, and rainfall will change, almost invariably for the worst.

In the face of this, African governments are under more pressure than ever to boost productivity and accelerate growth in order to meet the food demands of a rapidly expanding population and a growing middle class. To achieve this exact challenge, African Union nations signed the Malabo Declaration in 2014, committing themselves to double agricultural productivity and end hunger by 2025.

However, according to a new briefing paper out today from the Montpellier Panel, the agricultural growth and food security goals as set out by the Malabo Declaration have underemphasised the risk that climate change will pose to food and nutrition security and the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. The Montpellier Panel concludes that food security and agricultural development policies in Africa will fail if they are not climate-smart.

Smallholder farmers will require more support than ever to withstand the challenges and threats posed by climate change while at the same time enabling them to continue to improve their livelihoods and help achieve an agricultural transformation. In this process it will be important that governments do not fail to mainstream smallholder resilience across their policies and strategies, to ensure that agriculture continues to thrive, despite the increasing number and intensity of droughts, heat waves or flash floods.

The Montpellier Panel argues that climate-smart agriculture, which serves the triple purpose of increasing production, adapting to climate change and reducing agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions, needs to be integrated into countries’ National Agriculture Investment Plans and become a more explicit part of the implementation of the Malabo Declaration.

Across Africa we are starting to see signs of progress to remove some of the barriers to implementing successful climate change strategies at national and local levels.  These projects and agriculture interventions are scalable and provide important lessons for strengthening political leadership, triggering technological innovations, improving risk mitigation and above all building the capacity of a next generation of agricultural scientists, farmers and agriculture entrepreneurs. The Montpellier Panel has outlined several strategies that have shown particular success.

Building a Knowledge Economy

A “knowledge economy” improves the scientific capacities of both individuals and institutions, supported by financial incentives and better infrastructure. A good example is the “Global Change System Analysis, Research and Training” (START) programme, that promotes research-driven capacity building to advance knowledge on global environmental change across 26 countries in Africa.

START provides research grants and fellowships, facilitates multi-stakeholder dialogues and develops curricula. This opens up opportunities for scientists and development professionals, young people and policy makers to enhance their understanding of the threats posed by climate change.

Sustainably intensifying agriculture

Agriculture production that will simultaneously improve food security and natural resources such as soil and water quality will be key for African countries to achieve the goal of doubling agriculture productivity by 2025. Adoption of Sustainable Intensification (SI) practices in combination has the potential to increase agricultural production while improving soil fertility, reducing GHG emissions and environmental degradation and making smallholders more resilient to climate change or other weather stresses and shocks.

Drip irrigation technologies such as bucket drip kits help deliver water to crops effectively with far less effort than hand-watering and for a minimal cost compared to irrigation. In Kenya, through the support of the Kenya Agriculture Research Institute, the use of the drip kit is spreading rapidly and farmers reported profits of US$80-200 with a single bucket kit, depending on the type of vegetable.

Providing climate information services

Risk mitigation tools, such as providing reliable climate information services, insurance policies that pay out to farmers following extreme climate events and social safety net programmes that pay vulnerable households to contribute to public works can boost community resilience. Since 2011 the CGIAR’s Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), the Senegalese National Meteorological Agency and the the Union des Radios Associatives et Communautaires du Sénégal, an association of 82 community-based radio stations, have been collaborating to develop climate information services that benefit smallholder farmers.

A pilot project was implemented in Kaffrine and by 2015, the project had scaled-up to the rest of the country. Four different types of CI form the basis of advice provided to farmers through SMS and radio: seasonal, 10-day, daily and instant weather forecasts, that allow farmers to adjust their farming practices. In 2014, over 740,000 farm households across Senegal benefitted from these services.

Now is the time to act

While international and continental processes such as the Sustainable Development Goals, COP21 and the Malabo Declaration are crucial for aligning core development objectives and goals, there is often a disconnect between the levels of commitment and implementation on the ground. Now is an opportune time to act. Governments inevitably have many concurrent and often conflicting commitments and hence require clear goals that chart a way forward to deliver on the Malabo Declaration.

The 15 success stories discussed in the Montpellier Panel’s briefing paper highlight just some examples that help Africa’s agriculture thrive. As the backbone of African economies, accounting for as much as 40% of total export earnings and employing 60 – 90% of the labour force, agriculture is the sector that will accelerate growth and transform Africa’s economies.

With the targets of the Malabo Declaration aimed at 2025 – five years before the SDGs – Africa can now seize the moment and lead the way on the shared agenda of sustainable agricultural development and green economic growth.

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Farmers are in despair at the drought crisis in Southern Madagascar, where at least 1.14 million people are food insecure. Credit: Miriam Gathigah/IPS

By Miriam Gathigah
BEKILY, Madagascar, Jun 14 2016 (IPS)

Havasoa Philomene did not have any maize when the harvesting season kicked off at the end of May since like many in the Greater South of Madagascar, she had already boiled and eaten all her seeds due to the ongoing drought.

Here, thousands of children are living on wild cactus fruits in spite of the severe constipation that they cause, but in the face of the most severe drought witnessed yet, Malagasy people have resorted to desperate measures just to survive.

“We received maize seeds in January in preparation for the planting season but most of us had eaten all the seeds within three weeks because there is nothing else to eat,” says the 53-year-old mother of seven.

She lives in Besakoa Commune in the district of Bekily, Androy region, one of the most affected in the South of Madagascar.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says that an estimated 45,000 people in Bekily alone are affected, which is nearly half of the population here.

Humanitarian agencies like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) estimate that 1.14 million people lack enough food in the seven districts of Southern Madagascar, accounting for at least 80 percent of the rural population.

The United Nations World Food Programme now says that besides Androy, other regions, including Amboassary, are experiencing a drought crisis and many poor households have resulted to selling small animals and their own clothes, as well as kitchenware, in desperate attempts to cope.

After the USAID’s Office of U.S Foreign Disaster Assistance through The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) organised an emergency response in January to provide at least 4,000 households in eight communes in the districts of Bekily and Betroka with maize seeds, many families had devoured them in less than three weeks.

Philomene told IPS that “the seeds should have been planted in February but people are very hungry.”

Due to disastrous crop production in the last harvesting season, many farmers did not produce enough seeds for the February planting season, hence the need for humanitarian agencies to meet the seed deficit.

Farmers like Rasoanandeasana Emillienne say that this is the driest rainy season in 35 years.

“I have never experienced this kind of hunger. We are taking one day at a time because who knows what will happen if the rains do not return,” says the mother of four.

Although the drought situation has been ongoing since 2013, experts such as Shalom Laison, programme director at ADRA Madagascar, says that at least 80 percent of crops from the May-June harvest are expected to fail.

The Southern part of Madagascar is the poorest, with USAID estimates showing that 90 percent of the population earns less than two dollars a day.

According to Willem Van Milink, a food security expert with the World Food Programme, “Of the one million people affected across the Southern region, 665,000 people are severely food insecure and in need of emergency food support.”

Against this backdrop, the U.S. ambassador to the UN Agencies in Rome (FAO, IFAD and WFP), David Lane, has urged the government to declare the drought an emergency as an appeal to draw attention to the ongoing crisis.

Ambassador Lane says that though the larger Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) member states are making plans to declare an emergency situation in 13 countries in the southern region, including Madagascar, “the government of Madagascar needs to make an appeal for help.”

“Climate change is getting more and more volatile but the world does not know what is happening in Southern Madagascar and this region is indicative of what is happening in a growing number of countries in Southern Africa,” he told IPS during his May 16-21 visit to Madagascar.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), these adverse weather conditions have reduced crop production in other Southern African nations where an estimated 14 million people face hunger in countries including Southern Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Malawi and South Africa.

Thousands of households are living precarious lives in the regions of Androy, Anosy and Atsimo Andrefana in Southern Madagascar  because they are unable to meet their basic food and non-food needs through September due to the current El Niño event, which has translated into a pronounced dry spell.

“An appeal is very important to show that the drought is longer than usual, hence the need for urgent but also more sustainable solutions,” says USAID’s Dina Esposito.

The ongoing situation is different from chronic malnutrition, she stressed. “This is about a lack of food and not just about micronutrients and people are therefore much too thin for their age.”

She says that the problem with a slow onset disaster like a drought as compared to a fast onset disaster like a cyclone – also common in the South – is to determine when to draw the line and declare the situation critical.

Esposito warns that the worst is yet to come since food insecurity is expected to escalate in terms of severity and magnitude in the next lean season from December 2016 to February 2017.

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Protesters along a Kenyan street. Elections should not mean destroying every gain made over the previous years. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By Dr. Francis Ole Kaparo and Siddharth Chatterjee
NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 14 2016 (IPS)

Kenyans, and friends of Kenya, are once again hoping that the five-yearly ritual of elections will not take the form of widespread ethnic violence and destruction of property. However, recent intransigent positions over the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) are a cause for apprehension and concern.

The social and economic effects of the 2007 election dispute are still being felt, and key sectors of the economy, including tourism, are still struggling. The violence had also left its scar on the survivors in the form of anxiety and post-traumatic stress. Statistics on sexual and gender-based violence show that whenever election-related violent conflict occurs, it is the innocent women and children who suffer most.

As a development partner of Kenya, and guided by the core values of respect for human rights, diversity, equality and inclusion, the United Nations (UN) family is determined to do all it can to help prevent a recurrence of violence and conflict.

The UN in Kenya is currently supporting institutions to deliver a free, fair and peaceful election, with an eye on the welfare of the most vulnerable populations. It recognizes the adverse effects of violence on the poor, especially women and children, and believes that respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to peacefully assemble, is critical to fostering democracy and dialogue.

Through the current electoral support project entitled Strengthening Electoral Processes in Kenya (SEPK), supported by the European Union (EU), the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the UN is supporting institutional strengthening, professional development, procurement and the use of information and communication technology for the 2017 elections.

The UN is also working with various stakeholders such as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), faith-based organizations, and civil society groups towards peace building, conflict prevention, and on early-warning and response mechanisms.

These investments will only yield fruit if there is a genuine desire to carry out a peaceful election. For those seeking elective office, the elections must not be a zero-sum game, and the welfare of the country must supersede individual gain.

Kenyans must start believing that elections do not mean destroying every gain made over the previous five years, and that political contestation is possible without violence. The youth must decide to carve out a better future for themselves and say no to politicians who misuse their energy and enthusiasm.

It must not be lost on them that the heaviest toll from election violence is always on the poor youth, most of whom are already affected by lack of opportunities and have little hope of coming out of poverty.

These young populations provide a demographic edge for economic prosperity, but they are also a powder keg, especially when political self-interests clash, that ignites violence and lawlessness. Today, there is no greater need than that of investing in their future in order to stay the country from degenerating into chaos whenever elections approach.

Kenya has made significant of strides in attracting foreign direct investment. For instance, the Tenth World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference that was held in Kenya last year cemented Kenya’s global significance and reinforced the belief that Kenya is open for business. However, a politically charged and polarized environment does not bode well for a conducive environment that attracts new investors, while at the same encouraging the old ones to stay put.

With Kenya hosting several high-level meetings in the coming months; such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on 17-22 July 2016; Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) on 27-28 August 2016 – the first time the conference is being held outside Japan – and the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation (GPEDC) 28 November – 1 December 2016; the political violence will not help the country’s image – that of a stable destination that attracts tourists and investors. Kenya must continue to gain the confidence of the international community by demonstrating that it can handle the demands of democratic space.

Efforts that are being made to ensure that Kenya has a peaceful, credible, free and fair election, such as the recent formation of the parliamentary joint select committee to unlock the IEBC impasse, are a welcome step. The work being done by the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) to ensure a peaceful, harmonious and integrated society should be supported by all.

While ultimately it is the people of Kenya who will chart the course that the country takes through the institutions they have put in place, the UN will continue to remind the leaders of sides of the political spectrum of Kenya, of their obligation to the poor and vulnerable.

As the official election campaign period approaches, we must choose the dove of fraternity and mutual concession over the hawk of belligerence and mutually destruction.

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June 13, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - The UAE Etisalat Group has announced selling its 92.3 percent shareholding in Sudanese fixed line operator Canar to Bank of Khartoum for 349.6 million dirham ($95.2 million).

In a statement issued on Monday, the Etisalat Group said that Bank of Khartoum, which already owns 3.7 of Canar company, has exercised its right as shareholder to reject selling the stakes of the Etisalat to Zain, a mobile telecommunications company known as (Zain-Sudan).

The Etisalat Group and the Bank of Khartoum have signed the final documents of the deal at a cost of 349.6 million dirham, with a rate of 17.504 dirham per share, the statement said.

The Etisalat stated that the completion of the agreement is still subject to the approval of the Sudanese concerned authorities. In line with the deal, the number of the Bank of Khartoum shares in Canar Company increased from 3.7% to 96%.

Previously The Etisalat had agreed to sell its stake in Canar for Zain-Sudan with the same price the stake was sold to the Bank of Khartoum, but the deal was aborted by the Bank of Khartoum when it used its right of rejection.

The deal sparked a row between the Bank of Khartoum and Zain-Sudan as the two firms traded accusations in a rare public dispute over the conditions of the sale.

It was also reported that Zain-Sudan decided to close its accounts and withdraw its funds from the Bank of Khartoum and sell its assets.

(ST)

June 13, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudan's national security forces have been accused of firing live bullets at University of Juba students during an election organized by students to nominate the guild president of the University.

University of Juba (File photo )

The shooting took place at 8:00 pm on Monday, forcing many of the students who have attended the occasion to flee from the scene.

A Juba University student identified himself as Deng has told Sudan Tribune over phone interview that a group of national security personnel broke into the University premise and intimidated students before they could fire bullets.

He claimed as the election was ongoing, groups of students allied to the President Salva Kiir's faction of the transitional government went out and brought some militants from the national security to force students out of the hall and called for electoral committee to remain behind with all casted votes.

Deng further explained that the arrival of the national security at the venue threatened students and those responsible for students' body leadership election.

He said students were intimidated, calling for their arrest, as they waited for electoral results declaration. Although students insisted to continue with the push of results declaration, he added, the group of the national security personnel started to scare the students through use of live bullets, fired randomly into the air.

Several other sources told Sudan Tribune that there was a disagreement between university students who are supporters of the armed opposition leader, the First Vice President, Riek Machar and those supporting President Salva Kiir.

Puot Kang, a member of Sudan People Liberation Movement armed opposition, and chairman of the armed Youths league, has also confirmed that students were forced out of University of Juba on Monday evening.

He said as students conducted a peaceful election on the top seat of students leader at the University, the group of the national security drove into the venue and surrounded the premises.

Kang said the involvement of the national security in the students' activities meant violation of South Sudanese transitional constitution for freedom of assembly and expression.

“We need to respect all citizens' rights in freedom of assembly. It is not acceptable for the national security to interfere with other people's right of expression,” he said over phone interview with Sudan Tribune.

Kang further explained that the SPLM-IO led by Machar is now the main peace partner in South Sudan's peace agreement, adding that they have condemned the students' provocation by the national security forces.

Last week a group of students were arrested at Juba University because of having allegedly supported of the armed opposition groups.

(ST)

June 13, 2016 (JUBA) – The head of the United Nations peacekeeping operations, Herve Ladsous said South Sudan has opened a new page in its national life with the coming into force of the newly-established Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).

The head of the UN peacekeeping mission, Herve Ladsous speaking in Juba (UNMISS photo)

He said peace and security should be prioritised as he held a meeting in the capital, Juba with President Salva Kiir and his two vice presidents during a visit to the young nation.

The UN involvement in the country, Ladsous said, should not be seen as the work of a substitute government, but that key decision-making be in hands of South Sudanese.

‘‘It was very important to listen to our South Sudanese interlocutors with one very important message; it is that the responsibilities are theirs, but that the UN are here to help,” said the UN head of peacekeeping mission.

He added, “We are not there to substitute, the decisions have to be made by the South Sudanese themselves, but we are in support”.

According to Ladsous, South Sudanese leaders should focus on, stability and security, the situation of internally displaced persons, building an institutional framework, the economy and humanitarian situation with focus on food insecurity.

Tens of thousands of people were killed and nearly two million were displaced in South Sudan's worst ever violence since its secession from neighbouring Sudan in 2011.

Ladsous also visited displaced camps in Bentiu and Malakal, raising issues of human rights and tasking the government not to compromise on the rights of ordinary people.

“I would also mention, of course that we remain very attentive to human rights and similar issues, but we are taking a positive view. Again, a new page has opened and the relationship of the United Nations with South Sudan similarly is now on a new footing,” he further stressed.

South Sudan had been in political crisis since the current first vice-president was sacked by president Kiir in 2013, following a war which broke out in the young African nation.

President Kiir and his deputy Machar, under the terms of a peace agreement signed in August 2015, formed a 30-month Transitional Government of National Unity (TGoNU).

(ST)

Given the unchanged nature of the conflict in Darfur, Sudan, the mandate of the African Union-United Nations mission there should be extended for another year, without changes to its priorities or its authorized troop and police ceiling, the top UN peacekeeping official said today.

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Sudan is in urgent need of a fresh democratic transition, and for an inclusive peace to avert negative scenarios.

By Ahmed H Adam and Ashley D Robinson

The Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and succeeded in overthrowing three dictatorships in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya in 2011 was a pivotal point in the history of nations.

Despite the subsequent descent into the "Arab Winter", the peaceful protests of young people were heroic. The movement demonstrated the power of the people against the status quo and the grip of repressive regimes.

After the initial but short-lived success of the Arab Spring, many observers asked: "Why hasn't there been a Sudanese Spring?" Sudan's crisis had been no less severe, nor protracted than those of the Arab Spring countries.

In addition, two of the Arab Spring countries - Egypt and Libya - border Sudan. Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese president, was quick to answer the question claiming that his coup 27 years ago was Sudan's version of the Arab Spring. "Those who are waiting for the Arab Spring to come will be waiting for a while," he said.

He explained that the Arab Spring in Sudan had already occurred through a bloodless revolution that he led against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi on June 30, 1989. Bashir's claim had astonished many in Sudan and across the globe.

Pioneers of uprisings

While the Sudanese people admire the Arab Spring, they do not appreciate the question of why the Sudanese have not followed suit.

They proudly believe that they are the pioneers of the art of popular uprisings in the region.

The Sudanese succeeded in overthrowing two military dictatorships through popular uprisings: They threw out the regime of General Ibrahim Abboud in October 1964 and the regime of General Jaafar Nimeiri in April 1985.

As in the April 1985 uprising, students today are leading the way in building momentum. Last April's surge in student protests should be seen as a continuation of a successful revolt, not as random pockets of unrest, says Mastour Mohamed, the secretary-general of the Sudanese Congress Party (SCP).

Indeed, the people of Sudan have made many efforts to break through the ceiling of a repressive regime.

In January 2011, anti-government protesters, inspired by the "Arab Spring" movements in Tunisia and Egypt demanded the departure of the regime.

Peaceful protesters were met with the regime's usual excessive use of force. Perhaps South Sudan's secession overshadowed the protesters' demands.

Demonstrations surged again in December of 2011, when students at the University of Khartoum staged a successful sit-in. Increasing economic and political fragility of what's left of Sudan, led the government to impose austerity measures.

Public announcements of these austerity measures brought protesters back on to the streets in the summer of 2012.

Rising fuel prices throughout 2013 also increased public outrage. The September popular uprising of 2013 was one of the milestones in the Sudanese quest for freedom and dignity. The uprising started in Nyla City in Darfur, and then swept across the country.

Again, protesters were met with a heavy and bloody crackdown. The notorious National Intelligence Security Services (NISS) killed more than 200 peaceful demonstrators.

Puncturing the wall of fear

Sudan cannot heal the wounds of its evil past as long as those who have inflicted such injustice are permitted to do so with impunity - and with the broken or hollow promises of peace from the international community.

As the regime's same old tactics rot it from the inside, those outside the regime feel the deterioration.

Those who previously benefited from the inequitable policies of Bashir's regime are feeling the consequences of their dwindling prospects. They are gaining greater perspective and empathy for their former ethnic rivals.

A student from Khartoum University, and a leading activist against the so-calledcorruption dams, stated that "the student activists are now fully aware of the regime's tactics and cannot be divided on racial or any other grounds."

Mohamed of the SCP argued that students have scaled the "wall of fear". "Risking their lives, students picked up tear gas canisters before they exploded and threw them back at the armed forces. Thus they fight back and do not quit," he said.

When asked why students have punctured the "wall of fear", Adam Musa, one of the leaders of the Darfuri Student Leagues Coalition, said: "We do not have another option. People are so bitter. The continuous excessive violence by the regime and our long accumulated trauma, has emboldened us to fight back."

Sudan shall not be failed

Sudan is geopolitically important for the region in the fight against terrorism, and in its efforts of humanitarian intervention for those migrating through Sudan's porous borders.

A united Sudan is vital for the stability and security of the region. However, current policies and leadership in the country continue to dissatisfy the people of Sudan.

The Arab mainstream media have not given the same coverage to the aspirations and efforts of the Sudanese people as they have to the neighbouring Arab Spring countries.

Sudan is in urgent need of a fresh democratic transition, and for an inclusive peace to avert the negative scenarios of Libya and Syria.

Perhaps such media attention would provide powerful insights into how to avoid another Bashir-like dictatorship for the countries which have fallen into the chaos of "Arab Winter".

The League of Arab States has failed to offer the Sudanese opposition forces and independent civil society any fair hearing, as they have been doing in Syria.

The league and its members should listen to Sudanese forces of change. The people of Sudan will eventually succeed in bringing about change in their country, as they did in 1964 and 1985.

The question is, what role will the Arab states play in the rebirth of this vital nation?

Ahmed H Adam is a visiting fellow at Cornell University's Institute for African Development, and a research fellow at the Department of Public Policy and Administration at the American University in Cairo.

Ashley D Robinson is a public policy and human rights expert. She obtained her master's degree from Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs.

June 13, 2016 (KHARTOUM) - Sudanese government Monday, announced the official dissolution of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) and Darfur Peace Office, indicating that the implementation of peace agreement in Darfur region.

Former DRA chairman Tijani al-Sissi speaks to the press after the dissolution of the regional body on June 13, 2016 (ST Photo)

The DRA was established in line with the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), which was signed in July 2011, by the Government of Sudan and former rebel Liberation and Justice Movement, and the Justice and Equality Movement-Dabajo in April 2013.

The regional body had a four-year mandate to implement the framework peace document. However, the DRA term was extended up to July 2016, by a presidential decree in 2015.

The dissolution was announced following a meeting of the High Committee for Peace in Darfur attended by First Vice President, Bakri Hassan Saleh, DRA Chairman, Tijani al-Sissi, DRA member, Bahr Abu Gaurda , the head of Darfur Peace Office, Amin Hassan Omer, and some DRA ministers.

However, the meeting agreed to maintain the High Committee for Peace in Darfur headed by President Omer al Bashir and the International Committee for DDPD Implementation Follow-Up headed by Qatar.

JEM Dabajo political advisor, Nahar Osman Nahar told Sudan Tribune that the meeting decided to dissolve the DRA officially. Nevertheless he added that DRA commissions and funds that didn't yet finish the implementation of their projects will be continue their activities under a new body to attached to the presidency.

“So, the DRA commissions will be directly supervised by the Presidency of the Republic. As for, the (former) DRA Chairman Tijani al-Sissi, the government will find a solution for his situation later,” said Nahar.

One the fate of DRA staff members, Nahar said they will be financially compensated based on years of service. Also some of them will be incorporated in the civil service in Darfur states and the central government while others will be absorbed in the newly established regional institutions.

“This marks the official end of the DRA, and some of its commissions will continue working most probably for one year,” added Nahar.

For his part, the Chairman of Darfur Peace Office, Amin Hassan Omer, told the media that the meeting concluded to establish a body at the presidency to oversee the DRA five commissions, stressing that the composition of the council of Development and Reconstruction Fund will be reviewed.

The head of DRA was accused in the past of controlling this vital fund and appointing the majority his supporters to its board.

Amin said the meeting discussed the procedures for dissolving DRA in July and attaching DRA Commission to the Presidency of the Republic. He added that the Darfur Peace Office is fully dissolved because it was a coordination body between the DRA and the federal government.

He pointed that the nomad and pastoralists commission will be dissolved and integrated into the Development and Reconstruction Fund.

The state minister at the presidency further said the meeting decided to maintain Darfur Special Criminal Court and resolved to ask the African Union and United Nations to send observers to the court.

The Chairman of DRA, Tijani al-Sissi, on his part reiterated that DRA commissions will continue implementing their projects, pointing that DRA has implemented 85% of DDPD items.

Last April, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs declared the end of DRA after the conduct of Darfur Administrative Referendum.

Darfur Administrative Referendum results indicated that 97.73 % of the voters have called for keeping the current five states, while 2.28% of the voters called for one region in Darfur.

Al-Sissi who is also a Fur tribal dignitary was the only political leader to call for the establishment of a single administration in the western Sudan region.

(ST)

June 13, 2016 (JUBA) - South Sudanese presidency comprising President Salva Kiir, First Vice President, Riek Machar, and Vice President, James Wani have not yet directed state governments and army command to establish cantonment sites for forces of the Sudan People's Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO) in the country.

A state governor in Bahr el Ghazal region revealed that the presidency has not yet acted upon their last week's consensus to establish cantonment areas for the opposition forces.

General Elias Waya, governor of the newly created Wau state, said he has not received any official directive from the presidency about the establishment of the cantonment sites for forces of SPLA-IO.

“I have no information about the establishment of the cantonment sites for SPLA-IO forces in the state. There is no official communication. No directives have been given from the presidency,” Governor Waya explained.

“Yes, we heard from the media the decision of the cabinet but this has to be operationalized. It has to be made official in writing,” he said when reached on Monday to comment on the establishment of cantonment sites.

Waya also described security situation in the area as calm and under control.

His comments echoed the explanation from a SPLA-IO's senior commander, General James Koang Chuol, who also said the Joint Military Ceasefire Committee (JMCC), of which he is a member, has not yet received official directive from the presidency to establish the cantonment sites.

Observers say the delay in the establishment of the cantonment sites for forces of the SPLA-IO in the country, specifically in the two regions of Bahr el Ghazal and Equatoria, continues to be a cause of current tensions and clashes between the two rival forces when coming into contacts during reconnaissance.

Others attribute the delay to lack of funds to facilitate movements of the officials who would be involved in identification of the locations and discussion with local communities.

(ST)

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

June 13, 2016 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian and Eritrean forces on Sunday engaged in fresh fighting along their heavily militarised common border, officials in Asmara said.

Eritrea, which borders Sudan and Ethiopia, has been dubbed the North Korea of Africa (HRW)

According to multiple reports, the two rival forces fought in Tserona front, an area situated about 75 kilometers south of the Eritrean capital, Asmara.

An Eritrean opposition website said the clashes took place shortly after midnight on Sunday morning and each side appears to be calling up reinforcement.

Asmara released a short statement accusing neighbouring Ethiopia of launching the attack.

However, the Ethiopian information and communications minister, Getachew Reda couldn't confirm the border clashes, saying he had no knowledge about the report.

Ethiopian forces “has today, Sunday 12 June 2016, unleashed an attack against Eritrea on the Tsorona Central Front” the Eritrean ministry of information said in a statement.

The statement added that the purpose and ramifications of this attack are not clear.

“The Government of Eritrea will issue further statements on the unfolding situation” the short statement concluded.

The latest fighting comes, as Ethiopia in recent months warned Eritrea that it would take a proportional action unless the red Sea nation refrains from continued provocations.

In February, a group of Eritrean armed men cross borders in to Ethiopia and carried out mass kidnappings from a Tigray region in North Ethiopia bordering Eritrea.

However Eritrea freed the abductees after Ethiopia warned it would take military action to recue its citizens.

Last moth, Ethiopia said it has foiled what it described was a plot by Eritrean mercenaries to carryout a terror attack in the country.

Ethiopia has previously carried out military actions against targets inside Eritrea to what Addis Ababa says is a proportional measures to Eritrea's continued aggression.

In 1998, the two neighbors fought a two-year long war over their disputed border which has claimed the lives of at least 70,000.

The row over their border remains unresolved and forces of both sides regularly engage in lower-scale skirmishes.

It is not yet clear on to what has triggered Sunday's clashes but Ethiopia has routinely accused Eritrea of orchestrating a number of cross-border attacks using Ethiopian rebels it harbors, an accusation Asmara denies.

Abraham Belay, a political analyst based in Addis Ababa told Sudan Tribune that the quick statement issued by Eritrea is “nothing more than the usual systematic ways” of the country to divert the people's attention.

“It is meant to deflect the public's attention from the recent UN human rights commission report,” he said.

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea on Wednesday disclosed that the commission found crimes that were committed against humanity.

Mike Smith, the chairman of the commission said crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, persecutions, sexual and gender based violence, discrimination on the basis of religion and ethnicity and other inhuman crimes were documented.

The latest report said it has found no improvement in the rule of law further citing to the absence of a constitution, an independent judiciary or democratic institutions in Eritrea.

The commission said it has recommended to the UN Security Council to refer the situation in Eritrea to the prosecutor of the Hague-based International Criminal Court.

(ST)

June 13, 2016 (KAMPALA) – Fighting erupted on Sunday evening in Uganda's Gulu district near the border with South Sudan, Ugandan media outlets have reported.

Ugandan leader Yoweri Museveni and his son Muhoozi Kainerugaba (Monitor)

The first clashes in the Gulu district area, predominantly inhabited by the Acholi tribe in Uganda, occurred after media reports that a number of army officers have been allegedly arrested in Kampala over an alleged plan to stage military coup against President Yoweri Museveni.

“It is true, Gulu Police barracks was attacked today [Sunday],” Uganda media quoted police spokesperson, Fred Enanga.

“The attackers were repulsed in a fight that lasted about 39 minutes – from around 9:00 pm to 9:30 pm,” he added.

Enanga could not however name the fighters who stormed the police state for security reasons, saying this would be “jeopardizing investigations.”

Shops were closed as the fierce gun battle rocked the town, forcing many to scamper for safety. The police station was reported raided before army reinforcement came in to flash out the gunmen.

The incident also comes against the backdrop of reports that a new rebel movement has begun to operate in the area against President Museveni's government.

Last year, unidentified group of armed men attacked Mubende Police Station to loot the armoury but were repulsed after the army came in and joined the battle.

(ST)

June 13, 2016 (JUBA) – A senior army general in the opposition faction of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA-IO) under the leadership of the First Vice President, Riek Machar, said they have not been officially informed to open the river Nile route.

Lt. Gen. Simon Gatwech Dual, the chief of staff of the SPLA-IO, talks to the press at a rebel military site in Juba on April 25, 2016 (Photo AFP/Charles Lomodong)

The presidency of South Sudan and the council of ministers have resolved on a number of security issues, but which have not yet been communicated officially to the implementers on the ground.

In the last week's Friday council of ministers meeting, information minister, Michael Makuei Lueth, said the SPLM-IO leadership would direct their Sector One commander in Upper Nile state, General Johnson Olony, to allow the river route to open between Renk and Malakal which the opposition controls.

However, the top commander of the SPLA-IO in the Joint Military Ceasefire Committee (JMCC), General James Koang Chuol, said their organization has not been informed to communicate the matter.

JMCC is a body established under the August 2015 peace agreement to monitor the implementation of the security arrangements in the country.

“We have not been informed officially that there is food that is going to be brought from Renk to Juba. If we were informed the joint military committee would do that. But no one had informed the military committee officially,” General Chuol told the media.

He said they have not been informed about the items which the government wanted to ferry along the River Nile.

The river route connecting Renk and Malakal has been blocked since last year by the opposition forces of the SPLA-IO.

General Chuol also earlier said they have not been informed officially in writing to identify the cantonment areas for opposition forces in Greater Equatoria and Greater Bahr el Ghazal regions, despite agreement in the presidency to establish the cantonment areas.

No cantonment areas have yet been established in the country.

(ST)