Africa

July 30, 2017 (JUBA) - The Chinese government has donated up to $ 1.8 million to South Sudan's ministry of health to fight cholera and malaria in the country.

A child receives an oral cholera vaccine dose in the South Sudan capital, Juba (Medair Photo)

The donation was handed over by the Chinese embassy in South Sudan to government officials in the war-torn nation on Saturday.

During the occasion, the South Sudanese government also launched a Chinese-aided project worth $33 million for the modernization and expansion of the country's main referral hospital, the Juba Teaching Hospital, and renovation of the China-funded Kiir Mayardit Women's Hospital in Rumbek, the South Sudan Western Lakes state capital.

South Sudan's health minister, Riek Gai Kok said the donation given by the Chinese government will support health in the grassroot level.

"We thank you for the kind donation that will help us a lot in strengthening our capacity to respond to diseases," said Kok.

The Chinese ambassador to South Sudan, He Xiangdong said Beijing is committed to helping Juba improve its public health sector by providing capacity building and financial contributions.

"This is a gift from the Chinese people to our brothers and sisters in South Sudan because we are trying to help them improve the public health sector," he said.

Since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, China has contributed diplomatic and material support to South Sudan.

Early this year, for instance, China and South Sudan agreed to boost cooperation in the health sector by enhancing knowledge sharing, capacity building as well as hospital to hospital collaborations.

(ST)

July 30, 2017 (JUBA) –The deployment of regional protection forces in war-torn South Sudan will take place soon, a senior United Nations official said.

David Shearer, the head of the UN mission in South Sudan was a deal was reached with the government on a base for the troops in the capital, Juba.

He described the moved as a "significant” and “positive” step that will allow the world body extend its presence to areas beyond Juba.

In August 2016, the UN Security Council, following request by the regional body Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), approved the deployment of 4,000-strong RPF force to secure Juba in the aftermath of renewed clash there.

South Sudan's coalition government confirmed its unconditional consent to the deployment of the force in a communiqué to the Security Council on November 30, 2016.

The 4,000-strong force is meant to protect civilians from the gang rapes and other abuses seen during the fighting that erupted in the capital, Juba, a year ago. This additional force would beef up the existing 13,000-strong UN peacekeeping troops.

South Sudan's civil war has killed tens of thousands and displaced over two million civilians in less than five years, according to the UN.

The signing of the base agreement between South Sudan's government and the U.N. comes day before the world body's peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix visits the East African nation.

The South Sudanese government said last week that it had completed the verification needed for regional protection forces to be deployed in the country.

The regional protection forces, once deployed, will be mandated to protect key installations like the Juba airport, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and provide protection to the civilians.

The regional forces are also expected to further strengthen the security of UN protection of civilians' sites and other UN premises.

South Sudan's civil war broke out in December 2013 after President Salva Kiir accused his former deputy Riek Machar of plotting a coup.

Machar denied the accusation but later mobilised a strong rebel movement.

A peace deal signed in August 2015 led to the formation of a coalition government but was again devastated by fresh violence that broke out in July last year.

(ST)

Waves of violent conflict in the Greater Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have forced more than one million people, including hundreds of thousands of children from their homes, the United Nations Children&#39s Fund (UNICEF) has reported.

The top United Nations peacekeeping official is in the Central African Republic where he today discussed the security situation and the political process, while paying homage to three UN &#39blue helmets&#39 killed in the line of duty in recent days.

By Duop Chak Wuol

The unlawful detention of South Sudanese rebel leader Dr Riek Machar by South Africa is beyond the common sense of rationality. The South African government's decision to accept an outside influence to keep Dr Machar under house arrest is no different from apartheid policy of 1948 when the “all-white government” rewarded people who committed atrocities on its behalf and punished those who spoke out against its vicious tyranny. For most South Sudanese, the decision is a clear endorsement of a Gestapo-like campaign against the people of South Sudan.

The South African government should know that world rebellions are not created in South Sudan. Rather, they have been part of human existence, their origin began before civilization, and the idea that South Sudanese rebellion is an exception is merely a modern-day political conspiracy in sheep's clothing. The ongoing civil war is a result of a well-planned coup orchestrated by Salva Kiir Mayardit and Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. The South African government has nothing to do with the war and should allow Dr Machar to leave its land; preventing him from leaving amounts to complicity in Kiir's atrocities.

I agree with the fact that South Africa, like any other country, has the right to help in finding a peaceful solution to the ongoing armed conflict in South Sudan. But the South African government's detainment of Dr Machar seems to be an indirect support for Kiir's atrocious regime and is suspicious enough for any reasonable person to question its plausibility.

Did Dr Machar commit any crime under South African laws?

The answer is a resounding no. Dr Machar did nothing wrong against the South African government or its citizens, and South Africa should not allow itself to be part of Kiir's atrocious club by proxy.

The South African government has clearly violated Dr Machar's rights by illegally detaining him without any charges. Detaining someone who committed no crimes is in itself a violation of human rights. I believe that even The Constitutional Court of South Africa would find that the South African government has violated Dr Machar's rights. A government cannot put a foreigner under house arrest and claim that nothing is wrong. The people of South Africa should file a petition demanding the immediate release of Dr Machar.

The people of South Sudan know very well that the plan to isolate Dr Machar from East Africa was not engineered by South Africa. It was instead orchestrated by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni when the then-former SPLM/A-IO chief negotiator and now illegitimate First Vice President conspired with tyrant Kiir to kill Dr Machar in a bid to take over the leadership of the armed opposition. Museveni later used his friendship with Western leaders to win the backing of the former United States administration under Barack Obama. The U.S. then waged a secret diplomatic campaign in favour of isolating Dr Machar.

I believe that Dr Machar has unknowingly contributed to his own isolation. Common sense and historical evidence tell us that nearly all world rebellions were and are waged in the bushes. Logic also tells us that a rebel leader does not need to live in a foreign city to wage an armed rebellion. So, the idea that one needs to live in a modern capital to successfully run a rebellion is pure nonsense. Common sense would also tell us that a rebel leader can only live in a foreign land if the host country agrees to it.

Dr Machar must not rely on questionable friends who secretly accept bribes from Juba's bloody regime in exchange for his exclusion from South Sudanese politics.

The South African government has no reason whatsoever to keep Dr Machar under house arrest. The sensible thing for South Africa to do is immediately allow the South Sudanese rebel leader to leave its soil because there is no reason under South African laws to keep him under house arrest. Not unless the South African government wants to be a part of known greedy foreign governments that are committed investors in Kiir's atrocities.

One cannot force a goat to live at the mercy of a ruthless hyena.

Imagine a vicious teeth-wielding hyena with a reputation of killing a goat everyday demand that it be made the leader of all goats. Assume the hyena, for some mysterious reason, becomes the leader of goats and then summons all goats to its headquarters, orders them to build their houses, tells them that its words are final, and warns that any goat that violates its order will be sent to its grave by the force of its gigantic teeth. Now take a deep breath and reflect on the lives those goats would be subjected to under the rule of such a hyena.

The question then arises: what kind of a goat would want to live under the control of such a brutal hyena? The answer is none unless one had a supernatural power that would magically prevent the hyena from slaughtering the goats.

Kiir is no different from a vicious hyena that kills goats with impunity. His mighty teeth are his ethnic militias he empowers to kill people, rape innocent women and girls, abduct young men, and burn down homes of civilians who have nothing to do with the ongoing armed conflict. Other political figures in Juba live like stranded goats at the mercy of Kiir.

There are those who claim that other countries should not be blamed for South Sudan's armed conflict. What is ironic about this misleading notion is that other nations are in fact part of the problem. Some of these countries are actively fighting alongside South Sudan against the armed opposition. For instance, Uganda is assisting Kiir's regime militarily against the rebels, Egypt is supplying South Sudan with lethal weapons and ammunition, and the international community simply buries its head in the sand.

There are currently many armed conflicts around the world that the international community seems not to be interested in ending; South Sudan's civil war appears to be one of the conflicts the community of nations shamelessly ignores. What I find ironic about this is that every time Syrians are killed by their government, the international community makes an uproar against the Syrian President. But whenever the same act is committed in South Sudan, the world displays a high level of hypocrisy.

Are South Sudanese lives different from those of Syrians? I strongly believe the answer to this question is no because a South Sudanese child has the same rights as a Syrian child. There is no doubt in my mind that the South Sudanese civil war has exposed global hypocrisy in a stunning way — and I am not quite sure if this level of hypocrisy is a Western, African, or Eastern one.

Kiir's merciless regime rationalizes its existence through killing, and I don't think the South African government wants to be part of it. The decision by South Africa to keep Dr Machar under house arrest is undoubtedly a complicit one. If Pretoria believes that it is not colluding with Juba in its campaign to prevent Dr Machar from participating in South Sudan's politics, then it must allow Dr Machar to leave its land. Failing to do so will only cement the already alleged accusations that South Sudan has successfully bribed some South African officials to help keep Dr Machar under house arrest. The South African government has a choice to make: it must come clean by releasing Dr Machar or else be seen as complicit in Kiir's atrocious regime. The people of South Sudan have heard enough about the viciousness of the apartheid's one-sided policy of 1948 and are certainly not interested in seeing a similar policy in their own country. If South Africa wants to be part of Kiir's Gestapo-like campaign against the South Sudanese, it should simply come out and not hide behind Kiir's bloody fedora.

Duop Chak Wuol is the Editor-in-Chief of the South Sudan News Agency. He can be reached at duop282@gmail.com. The views expressed in this article are his and should not be attributed to the South Sudan News Agency.

July 30, 2017 (JUBA) - The central bank of South Sudan has announced new monetary policies seeking to avoid more inflation, regulate trading in foreign currency and combat money laundering and financial crime

Women carrying babies are commonly seen queuing at commercial banks and forex exchange companies in Juba. Trade in dollars has now become a lucrative business in South Sudan (ST/File)

In statements to the state owned South Sudan Broadcasting Corporation TV last Thursday, Bank of South Sudan Governor Othom Rago Ajak urged security organs and members of the general public to play a supplementary role to help the institution implement major financial sector reform strategies.

Ajak presented the new measures as part of the monetary policies developed last May to control inflation, combat financial crime and support the existing monetary policies.

The new policies, he said, advocate the adoption of new anti-money laundering policy, which will guide the bank in establishing any business relationship with other financial institutions and another policy seeking to strengthen transaction in foreign currency among others.

The foreign exchange policy requires all business entities and organizations to open special accounts with the central bank for foreign exchange transactions.

"The new policy is for the interest of the public. It is a policy aiming at how best to better manage foreign exchange proceeds, resulting from the purchase of foreign exchange from the accounts relating to UN agencies, international Non-Government Organizations, oil companies and others,” said Ajak.

Ajak further disclosed that all licensed financial institutions have been directed to implement the new directives immediately.

South Sudan depends on oil revenue for 98 percent of its budget, but production decreased significantly due to the civil war that erupted in December 2013, causing most oilfields in the country's oil-rich northern region to shut down.

This led to a fall in production to less than 130,000 barrels per day (bpd) from 350,000 bpd in 2011.The young nation is struggling with hyperinflation amid shortage of foreign reserves to support imports

The government through the management of the bank and the ministry of finance and other economic institutions in the country announced in May that it would engage in major restructuring and reformation of its system and financial sector in a bid to combat the biting economic crisis.

The new strategies, approved by the council of ministers, advocates for strengthening financial sector regulation, supervision, adaptation of a sound exchange rate policy, public debt management and developing a financial regulatory framework that is compatible with international standards.

(ST)

July 30, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP) Sunday has handed over a memo to the director of the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) demanding the release of two of its leading members.

Abu Bakr Youssef Babiker (L) and Ibrahim al-Sheikh (ST Photo)

Former Chairman of the SCoP Ibrahim al-Shiekh and Secretary General Abu Bakr Youssef Babiker were arrested by the NISS on July 19 as they were returning from Shiekh Yaghout village, White Nile state, where they showed solidarity with Darfur students who resigned from Bakht Al-Ruda University.

SCoP legal sector including lawyers Hanan Hassan Khalifa, Hassan Fadl Allah and Khaled Saeed Mohamed Nour submitted a memo to the NISS saying the detention of al-Shiekh and Babiker “violates the 2005 constitution and the right of expression and to practice political work”.

The memo pointed the detention of the SCoP members “clearly illustrates the profound crisis in justice and human rights in the country”, saying detentions must be carried out upon judicial orders, not the NISS.

Khalifa added the next step for her party would be to submit a challenge before the Constitutional Court, saying the move will expose and document the constitutional, freedoms and human rights violations.

The SCoP was established in January 1986. It was first chaired by the former chief-justice Abdel-Mageed Imam who was succeeded by Ibrahim al-Sheikh and has elected al-Digair as its third president in 2016.

The center-left reformist party calls for social justice and separation of religion and state. It also believes that peaceful transfer of power is the only way to stability and unity of the country.

In recent months, the SCoP has challenged the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and organized political activities in public and open places calling on the citizens to resist the regime and take to the streets in protest against the deterioration of living conditions at all levels.

(ST)

July 30, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan's National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking (NCCHT) Sunday said arrangements are underway to hold a national conference to develop plans to address the human trafficking problem.

Speaking at a media forum on Sunday, the NCCHT deputy chairman Ismail Omer Tirab said turbulent conditions in Libya as well as in other neighbouring countries have increased human trafficking and illegal drugs smuggling activity in Sudan.

However, he said human trafficking cases that have been filed with the police have decreased from 83 cases in 2015 to 31cases in 2016.

Tirab also added that human trafficking cases among refugees have decreased to 11 cases since 2016, saying the government has exerted significant efforts to combat the phenomenon through ratifying a number of agreements and protocols.

The Sudanese official pointed out that a number of human traffickers have been tried according to the human trafficking law, saying some victims have been transferred to their home countries while others were granted asylum in Sudan.

For his part, the deputy director of the borders and foreigners department at the foreign ministry Ga'afar Mohamed Adam said combating human trafficking is considered a religious and ethical duty, pointing to the lack of resources which hinder efforts to carry out the task.

He disclosed that Sudan has been chosen as headquarters country for the regional centre for combating human trafficking, criticizing the recent U.S. report on human trafficking.

In its 2017 Trafficking in Persons report released earlier this month, the U.S. Department of State retained Sudan on Tier 3, saying the Sudanese government “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so”.

In January 2014, the Sudanese parliament approved an anti-human trafficking law which punishes those involved with human trafficking with up to 20 years imprisonment.

Also, in 2014, Khartoum hosted a conference on human trafficking in the Horn of Africa, organised by the African Union (AU), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Sudanese government.

The East African nation has also forged a strategic partnership with several European countries and the EU to combat illegal migration and human trafficking.

(ST)

July 30, 2017 (JUBA) - South Sudan President Salva Kiir will visit neighbouring Sudan in the next month of August, said the foreign minister, reversing initial reports speculating that Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir had accepted to visit Juba.

Minister Deng Alor Kuol told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that he expects the visit take in August and the exact date will be made public once the preparations currently underway are completed.

“The President of the Republic is expected to visit Khartoum for bilateral talks. The Preparations are underway to fix the date. This will take place in August if they are completed,” foreign minister Kuol said when asked whether he was aware of reports about Kiir's visit to Sudan.

His comments follow statements by Information Minister Michael Makuei Lueth on Friday in which he said preparations for the visit of the president are underway but that no time has been fixed.

Lueth said the upcoming visit of President Kiir was in response to an invitation from the Sudanese president Omer al-Bashir. The agenda of the upcoming meeting between the two leaders remains unclear.

In September 2012, Sudan and South Sudan signed a comprehensive cooperation deal in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, under the patronage of the East African regional bloc (IGAD).

Observers are keen to say the meetings would focus on security and humanitarian efforts as well as trade and economic issues.

But it would also be an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss and lay out mechanisms to expedite how they could cooperate to implement non-aggression pact, demanding either side not to host, arm and provide logistical and military supports to hostile group with ambition to destabilize security of the other, or possessing political ambition to ascend to power through the use of unconstitutional means.

Last May, Khartoum accused Juba of supporting a rebel attack by two Darfurian groups who organised a coordinated operation in East and North Darfur states. But South Sudanese officials said they only asked the rebels to leave the country upon a Sudanese request.

(ST)

July 29, 2017 (KAMPALA) - At least 20,000 rebel troops loyal to South Sudan's Former First Vice-President, Riek Machar have allegedly declared allegiance to the National Salvation Front (NASA), led by ex-South Sudan army's deputy chief of logistics, Gen. Cirilo Swaka.

Lt. Gen. Thomas Cirino Swaka, the ex-SPLA deputy chief of general staff for training (youtube photo)

In a statement, Lt. Gen. John Kenyi Loburon, the overall commander of the Central Equatoria command of armed opposition movement faction (SPLM-IO) said his group had sealed links with the Machar-led rebel faction.

It remains unclear as to how many rebels could have defected, although Loburon put the figure at 20,000 in Equatoria region alone.

He cited divisions in the armed opposition faction soon after Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict of South Sudan (ARCSS), which allegedly created political differences in the ruling party.

“Despite continuous solidarity of my forces with SPLM-IO before and after the signing of ACRSS agreement in August 2015, the SPLM-IO leadership intentionally neglected our forces and only polluted us with the unnecessary and random promotion of officers,” said Loburon.

“For the above reasons and others too numerous to enumerate; I, along with my entire forces have decided to join the National Salvation Front (NAS) under the Leadership of Gen. Thomas Cirillo Swaka,” he added.

According to Swaka, NAS has shown a clear and bright path with a political road map for the restoration of the unity of the people.

“Known to many, Gen. Cirillo demonstrated his dedication and commitment to the cause of human dignity and freedom throughout the time of the liberation of South Sudan which resulted in the independence of South Sudan in 2011. But also unknown to many, Gen. Cirillo ever since has taken the risk to his life by providing us with logistics support, and tactical guidance when he was inside the country,” he said.

Sudan Tribune could, however, not confirm the rebels' claims on the alleged defection.

(ST)

July 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - Bulgaria and Sudan agreed to enhance bilateral relations and to develop trade and economic relations, said the Sudanese foreign ministry on Saturday.

Foreign Minister Ibrahim Ghandour who is the first senior Sudanese official to visit the east European country in decades concluded a three-day visit to Sofia where he held a series of talks with the Vice President Iliana Iotova, and his counterpart Ekaterina Zaharieva who is also the deputy prime minister.

In a meeting on Thursday, Zaharieva welcomed Sudan efforts to combat illegal migration and human trafficking adding that Ghandour visit "would open a new chapter in the relations between the two countries".

The two officials further discussed the organisation of joint political consultations and deepening of cooperation in trade and education and signed a Memorandum of Understanding between their two foreign ministries.

The Sudanese foreign ministry on Saturday said the Bulgarian vice president during her meeting with Ghandour on Friday reviewed the areas of economic cooperation and welcomed the agreement to organise a joint Sudanese-Bulgarian economic forum in the coming autumn in Khartoum.

Iotova recalled the past education cooperation between the two countries, pointing that over 3,000 Sudanese studied in Bulgarian universities and many of them are now playing important role in the country.

She further said that strengthening of bilateral cooperation in the area of higher education will get the support of all state institutions in Bulgaria.

The Sudanese minister also met with Bulgaria's speaker of parliament Dimitar Glavchev and the head of the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Tsvetan Simeonov.

According to the spokesperson of the foreign ministry, Glavchev accepted an invitation to visit the Sudan extended by the speaker of the National Assembly Ibrahim Ahmed Omer.

Bulgaria was one of the first to recognise Sudan's independence in 1956. Since, the two countries had strong economic relations. Bulgaria was also one of the main weapon providers to the Sudanese governments until the UN sanctions on Sudan.

(ST)

July 29, 2017 (JUBA) – The Jikany Nuer community in South Sudan and Ethiopia have congratulated the four SPLM/A-IO senior officers who joined the peace forces loyal to South Sudan's First Vice-President, Taban Deng Gai in Pagak at South Sudan's border with Ethiopia.

The move, the community said in a statement, saved many lives.

Gai replaced Machar, the armed opposition leader, who was until July last year the First Vice-President in the coalition government.

“There is no logic whatsoever why Jikany Nuer would be subjected to insecurity and chaos because Riek Machar was replaced by Gen. Taban Deng Gai, who is a Jikany of Bentiu. If the internal Nuer leadership dynamic is the one behind the thinking of those rejecting peace, the Jikany Nuer would make it abundantly clear that Gen. Taban Deng Gai is their son who is capable of bringing peace in South Sudan,” the community said in a statement issued Saturday.

The four officers included Gen. James Khor Chuol Giet, Gen. Thok Chuol Luak, Gen. Thok Chuol Liah and Gen. Stephen Pal Kun Kek.

According to the community, the Jikany Nuer population badly suffered 1991 due to the sectional and clan fighting, which erupted afterwards as a result of the unexpected breakdown of law and order.

“After the eruption of conflict in December 2013, Jikany became victims of the SPLM [Sudan People's Liberation Movement] Party's power struggle. Thousands of Jikany youth were mobilised and weaponised to fight a war they didn't know its cause. For the last four years, no child in the entire Jikany land attends any school because of insecurity,” stressed the community's statement.

It added, “The defection of the four senior officers of the SPLA-IO [Sudan People's Liberation Movement-In-Opposition] is to ensure that there is peace in the entire land of Jikany so that our children can go back to school”.

Meanwhile, the Jikany Nuer community leadership in Ethiopia has called upon all the Jikany in the armed opposition movement to join the peace forces in line with the decisions taken by the four officers.

Their decision, they said, is in line with the position of IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] that calls for all armed groups in South Sudan to lay down their weapons and join the implementation of the 2015 peace deal signed in Addis Ababa.

(ST)

By Dhano Obongo

While I was on the Easter break in April visiting my beloved family in Kampala, Uganda, in on morning I was reading a news paper call New Vision dated Monday, April 24, 2017, Vol.032No. 081.

I read that, H.E President Museveni attended a summit on natural resources in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.

In that summit, he gave a talk on natural resources and why the Africa Continent remains behind. President Museveni was very persuasive in his language.
However, when I was reading his speech, yes, I agreed with some of what he told the African leaders in the summit for example, “ Africa has a structural disadvantage, We are not like China – In China, when there is one good thinker, the whole China follows them”. Here, H.E President Museveni, he is absolutely right and I agreed with him. Because we Africans we intended to localize and not to sell it to the whole continent. It's a pity.

In the summit President Musseveni, it seems disagree with the presenter on the issue of education as a right direction to the African problems.
I said , I agreed with presenters that, education is a good solution to our African solution, with due respect to the President Musseveni opinion, I want to say I profoundly disagreed with President Musseveni on the “ the talk that if you educate your people, everything will be okay, was part of the mistakes in 1960. This fragmented thinking. Vision is incorrect”.

From my point of view giving education to African people, means give power,& knowledge and two are robust instruments for our beloved continent. And a good example is the President Musseveni himself. Why? Because he has a strong education background, has made him to be an instrumental, influential, strong and thinker, a political leader in the continent and in the region and may be around the globe.
Simply, because he has earned a robust knowledge. Thus, saying that, the education vision that was put in place by our pan-African leaders was incorrect vision is not place.

I think, only what our Pan-African leaders missed was that they lack poor planning in vocational education to produce skills that should match with the development needs of the continent. In general or each country demands.

For instance, the South Sudan is an oil producing country, so the skills being passed on now should be relevant to the jobs that will raise from the oil industry. And that is the work of educationist planners in the Ministry of Higher Education, Sciences and Technology with the collaboration of the Ministry of Public Service & Human Development Resources.

For these reasons, I strongly articulate above mentioned and with my due respect to president Museveni, I profoundly disagreed with him on the issue of education, Because education is power, light and most significantly is a key road to civilization and modernity. While the illiteracy is a killer and enemy to dignity as well as to self-esteem. Thus, I will not miss this opportunity to thank our beloved missionaries who came from the western world in the last passed century and they gave us the knowledge to open our eyes through education. Furthermore, education can minimize poverty which the first killer in the world in general and Africa continuant in particular. God bless Africa.

The author can be reached via Email address: dhano01obongo@gmail.com

July 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Wilby, launched a call for peace and reconciliation from the capital of South Kordofan Kadugli, where he travelled immediately after his arrival in Khartoum.

The Church of England's spiritual leader arrived in Khartoum on Saturday. On Sunday, he will inaugurate the Anglican Church of Sudan, which will be the 39th Province of the Anglican Communion.

Upon his arrival at the airport Khartoum, he was received by the undersecretary of the ministry of religious affairs Hamid Youssef Adam and a number of local church officials. Following what he travelled to Kadugli to meet church leaders and visit camps of displaced people and refugees there.

In a written statement he released on his Facebook page from the capital of South Kordofan, the leader of Anglican Church welcomed the efforts of the Sudanese government towards refugees from South Sudan.

"Sudan sets an example to many around the world in its welcome to those in need. I'm sure it's a great pressure on the government and local people to receive such large numbers, and the people of Sudan have shown true humanity," he said.

He further called for peace and reconciliation in Sudan saying it is the wish of ordinary people who are affected by the armed conflict in the troubled region.

"In Kadugli today I heard inspiring stories from Christian and Muslim leaders who want peace, and who are actively working together to achieve it. They need peace. They understand more than anyone else the cost of war".

"Peacemaking is the call of God on us all. So join me in praying for peace. Pray for those in areas of difficulty. Pray that they will know that they are not forgotten," he further wrote.

The South Kordofan is witnessing a six-year war between the government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N). The warring parties failed to reach a humanitarian cessation of hostilities despite regional and international efforts in this respect.

On Sunday the Archbishop of Canterbury will open the 39th Province of the Anglican Communion with the participation of Sudanese government officials and Christian and Muslim leaders.

The Anglican missionary began its activities in the twin capital city of Omdurman before to spread in the country particularly in the southern parties of the country.

Until 1974, the Diocese of Sudan was part of the Jerusalem archbishopric. The province of Sudan was established in 1976. After, the independence of South Sudan in July 2011it moved to Juba to be the Province of South Sudan and Sudan.

The new province which will be declared on Sunday 30 July will consist of five dioceses in El Obeid, Kadugli, Khartoum, Port Sudan, and Wad Medani.

(ST)

July 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan People's Liberation Movement/North (SPLMN-Agar) has denied reports that it has notified the Sudanese government of its readiness to resume talks on the Two Areas.

The Sudanese army has been fighting the SPLM-N in the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, also known as the Two Areas since 2011.

Talks between the two sides for a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access are stalled since last August. The SPLM-N demands to deliver 20% of the humanitarian assistance through a humanitarian corridor from Asosa, an Ethiopian border town.

But the government rejects the idea saying it is a breach of the state sovereignty and a manoeuvre from the rebels to bring arms and ammunition to their locked rebel-held areas in the Two Areas.

The Khartoum-based Al-Watan newspaper Saturday has published a report saying the SPLMN-Agar led by Malik Agar has informed the government of its readiness to resume the peace talks.

In a press release extended to Sudan Tribune Saturday SPLMN-Agar spokesperson Mubarak Ardol said Al-Watan's report is “totally false”, pointing it is fabricated by “the security apparatus of the regime”.

“We have nothing to do with the National Congress Party government. We are dealing with African mediation,” said Ardol.

He pointed out the SPLMN-Agar met with the African mediation last month, saying we underscored our rejection to engage in any political talks with the government.
“We reiterated our position and readiness to sit to solve the humanitarian issue,” he said.

“Moreover, we clearly stated the Roadmap Agreement is no longer valid after the government has destroyed it and we wouldn't join [President] al-Bashir's call to draft the constitution and this the position of the Sudan Call forces,” he added.
Ardol further stressed his movement's joint stance with all political forces seeking to overthrow the regime.

Earlier this year, the SPLM-N has split into two groups over the demand of self-determination made by its former deputy chairman Abdel Aziz al-Hilu who is now the leader of the other faction.

In a letter handed over earlier this month to the head of the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) Thabo Mbeki, SPLMN-Agar reiterated its readiness to engage in talks for a humanitarian cessation of hostilities.

SPLMN-Agar underscored the fact the SPLM-N now is divided into two groups and expressed readiness to form a joint delegation with the SPLMN-al-Hilu for the talks for a humanitarian truce which requires a COH agreement.

Nonetheless, it added that the joint delegation depends on an agreement between the two factions.

(ST)

July 29, 2017 (KHARTOUM) - The Sudan Liberation Force Alliance (SLFA), a new rebel group in Darfur, has rejected the Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir call to draft the permanent constitution saying the move could take place only after achieving the comprehensive peace.

Last month, al-Bashir called on the opposition groups to participate in the drafting process of a new constitution before its approval by the Parliament, saying the move would mark the beginning of a new phase of national dialogue.

SLFA spokesperson Salah Hamid al-Wali told Sudan Tribune Saturday that his movement refuses al-Bashir's call to draft the constitution, saying “al-Bashir is a fugitive from international justice and does not respect the laws or the Constitution”.

He added the Sudanese President “has violated all international conventions and covenants pertaining to human dignity and life that represent the basis upon which constitutions are drafted”.

Al-Wali pointed out that the drafting of the permanent constitution requires a number of moves including to achieve just and comprehensive peace, bringing criminals to justice and the return of IDPs, refugees and immigrants to the country to participate in the process.

He called on the opposition forces and civil society organisations to reject al-Bashir's call, saying the Constitution wouldn't reflect the true will of the Sudanese if a consensus wasn't reached.

The rebel spokesperson stressed that the alliance is not committed to the unilateral declaration of cessation of hostilities.

SLFA was formed earlier this month following the merger of three Darfur armed factions including the Sudan Liberation Movement for Justice of Taher Hajer, Sudan Liberation Movement-Unity of Abdallah Yahia and the Justice and Equality Movement led by Abdallah Bashr Gali (aka Gena).

Hajer has been elected as the chairman of the new coalition, Yahia is the deputy chairman, Mahjoub Ishaq Abdalla is the head of the Central Revolutionary Liberation Council and Gali is the SLFA forces general commander.

The government, two holdout armed groups and the National Umma Party (NUP) in August 2016 signed the African Union brokered the Roadmap Agreement, a framework for a political process to end the war and achieve democratic reforms.

However, after their failure to reach a humanitarian cessation of hostilities agreement, the government endorsed the outcome of an internal dialogue process and called it the 'National Document'. Now It calls the opposition groups to join them in its implementation, while the opposition sticks to the need to implement the Roadmap which Khartoum declines.

(ST)

July 29, 2017 (JUBA) - A South Sudanese Catholic Bishop said efforts to resuscitate South Sudan's peace process would not be successful, if the rebel leader, currently in exiled in South Africa, was excluded.

Catholic Auxiliary Bishop of Juba, Reverend Santo Laku Pio (ST Photo)

Bishop Santo Loku of the Auxiliary Catholic Dioceses of Juba said President Salva Kiir and his main political rival are responsible for the more than three-year civil war in the country and must be personally involved in resolving it.

“I hear IGAD [Intergovernmental Authority on Development] want to revitalize the peace agreement by evaluating the whole agreement so that they see where progress has been made and where there is a need to conform to the provisions of the agreement, which is encouraging,” the Bishop told Sudan Tribune Saturday.

He added, “But I also hear one of the leaders, Riek Machar will not participate in revitalization forum. I don't know how true this information but if it turns out to be true, the IGAD needs to reconsider their position because the war was not started by civilians.”

The cleric blamed President Kiir and Machar for peoples' suffering.

“The people are now dying behind these two people,” he stressed.

Ten of thousands of people have been killed and nearly two million displaced in the country's civil war, which started after disagreement within the ruling party (SPLM).

The outspoken cleric, however, said any process that excludes one of the parties in the conflict would undermine the objectives for which the efforts were being made, equating attempts to deny either of the parties to the conflict an opportunity to participate in the process as taking sides against those with common interests.

The religious leader called on the regional leaders to step aside for the international community to take over the process, saying some leaders in the region have direct interests in the war to perpetuate.

“Clearly people South have lost faith in the process because some of the leaders in the region have interests in the conflict. IGAD has failed to stop war and bring peace in this country because some of the leaders have interest in the war and they are benefiting from the death of civilians,” further stated the Bishop.

He added, “I think they should now give it up to the international community”.

His comments follow a proposal by South Sudan youth leaders who requested the African Union to take over the process, accusing regional leaders of lacking impartiality and interest in the country.

The youth called for an all-inclusive forum through representatives of different stakeholders would participate in contributing ideas and make proposals aimed at ending the conflict in the country.

However, the IGAD foreign ministers said after a consultative forum in Juba this week that they would not guarantee participation of Machar in person, but said he was free to send representatives.

“For the time being, physically we shall not be inviting Machar,” the Ethiopian foreign minister, Workneh Gebeyehu said, adding that their objective was to evaluate the peace process and prepare grounds for elections in which Machar and other leaders would participate.

The Machar-led armed opposition faction have dismissed IGAD's proposal, describing it as a plan to legitimize and consolidate Kiir's regime against the will of majority of South Sudanese.

(ST)

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