Saturday, December 28, 2013

Crisis in South Sudan is as a result of Failed Inclusive Equitable Constitution



COMMENTS:
 


Good People,

Resolution to Crisis in South Sudan demands an Equitable Constitution that Guarantees Fair Opportunity and Respects Individual Rights to all, can alleviate these tension in South Sudan………which IGAD Leaders with its members are armatures and (who might use the troubled opportunity in South Sudan to achieve their selfish greediness and thievery gluttoness, to steal and occupy Land irregularly from South Sudan), are incompetent failures and cannot be trusted and where, from the onset, they have demonstrated inability to address and they should not be left to play with human lives dangerously for their benefit and profit. These IGAD leaders must be stopped by the UN and Washington immediately before they do more harm to South Sudan people.
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com/
Crisis in South Sudan: It’s equality before the law


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South Sudan needs to find justice for all people or it will never find peace. Photo: Pete Muller—AP Southern Sudanese from the pastoralist Taposa tribe
WASHINGTON, December 28, 2013 — If South Sudan wants eternal peace and to release the talents and knowledge of its people, it must put in a justice system.
Just a few years since gaining independence from Arab North Sudan after a difficult war of attrition, South Sudan finds itself on the brink of a full scale civil war. The civil war, like most post colonial strife in Africa, is breaking down on ethnic lines. Unfortunately, this country which only gained its independence in 2011, did not learn from the tragic history of the countries around it.
Even before independence there were ethnic tensions in South Sudan.
Those tensions were exacerbated after independence, by concentrating power in government. This gave certain factions the ability to dole out favors, including granting business licenses and mining concessions, to friends and to those who can pay bribes. It also causes resentment.
A constitution that guarantees equality, respects individual rights and ensures a free market would help alleviate these tensions.
Guaranteeing equality makes losing power less of a calamity than it is under an unjust system. One gets a bruised ego, rather than losing potential graft from giving out licenses and concessions. Resources are distributed fairly through a clear system, rather than based on friendship, bribery or other inequitable terms.
Africa needs a true freedom fighter who understands the fight is not about using people for power but about giving power to the people. This should not be a slogan but a call to action. It is a call for equality, fairness and justice.
Freedom, equality and justice allows people to participate in a free economy. They can produce, buy and sell. Slaves and second class citizens are not free to engage in the market.
Guarantee property rights, let the power flow to the people and let them use their power in the way they desire. They can start a business, a bank, a farm, sell and buy property. Rather than consult economic advisors in London and Washington about strategic planning, South Sudan needs to start with basic free market economics.
There is still time for lasting peace and development in South Sudan. Empower all Soth Sudanese people from repression and the country will move in the right direction.
Disregarding equality always causes trouble. In effect, South Sudan is only trading supression by the Arab Sudan for its own governmental supression. It creates an aristocratic class which seeks to preserve its privileges, like mining concessions, banking licenses, telecommunication licenses, casino rights, rather than improving the good of all.
Elites of today, modern aristocracy, fear equality because that recognizes that everybody is a human being with rights, and the elites have spent centuries and millennia trying for total control. People will always end up fighting for their humanity one way or another.
South Sudan has a chance to show that freedom works. Economies flourish when people are free.
When equality is eroded, those in power consolidate control, granting lucrative concessions to cronys. Income gaps grow and the economy becomes skewed.
As long as the central government remains all powerful, it will be difficult for the government and the rebels to reach a lastning peace. Power is only attained on the battlefield, and there is no incentive to stop fighting.
South Sudan has large oil reserves and could be a very wealthy country. It must, however, plan think beyond current spoils and focus on sustainable development. The only true way to prosper is through respect, equality, and justice.
Maybe it is time to negotiate a proper constitution before it is too late.






a day ago
The Nuer/Dinka have been cattle raiding enemies for centuries. Recently the stakes were raised with the ever increasing oil revenue.
The Lou Nuer cannot sit idly by and watch their arch enemy the Dinka exert control over the state through the economic power the oil revenue gifts. Economic power or the fear of the developing strength of a historical enemy is a powerful driver for this type of civil war. History is littered with such conflicts.
Arguably these tribal groups only united in 2005 to ensure international support for secession and the initial donor investment it might attract. Secession now achieved and the gloves are coming off. The President's sacking and recent imprisonment of his cabinet colleagues cannot be seen by the international community (IC) as a gesture of inclusion.
Resource wealth and in South Sudan's case oil is the driver of this instability. The tribal desire and/or an individual's desire to covet this wealth is likely to be the dominant force. Somehow the wealth the oil brings needs to be shared equitably.
Perhaps the IC might have to intervene and develop attractive proposals to coax the protagonists to the table. If these proposals are inclusive and equitable then there is significant potential to develop a sustainable peace process. The SS political leaders will have to compromise otherwise the future looks very uncertain for the region.




South Sudan rebel leader dashes ceasefire hopes

Riek Machar, whose insurgents have taken control of the country's biggest oil fields, has suggested a ceasefire proposed by president Salva Kiir would not be credible


A South Sudan army soldier holds a cigarette and his weapon in Bor, 180km (108 miles) northwest from capital Juba



A South Sudan army soldier is photographed in Bor which is 108 miles northwest from the capital Juba Photo: REUTERS

By , Nairobi



1:59PM GMT 28 Dec 2013
South Sudan's rebel leader dashed hopes of an immediate ceasefire on Saturday, complicating a frantic diplomatic effort to halt the country's civil war.
A regional summit in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, led to the announcement of a ceasefire by Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, on Friday. But Riek Machar, whose insurgents now control the nation's biggest oilfields, did not attend the meeting and made clear that his forces would not observe the supposed ceasefire.

"I have got involved many times in negotiating ceasefires," said Mr Machar. "My knowledge of it is that ceasefires are negotiated by two delegations and then mechanisms for monitoring the ceasefires are put in place, so that a ceasefire becomes a credible ceasefire."



Mr Machar said that he was not bound by the conclusion of a meeting he did not join. "We need to be serious about ceasefires," he told the BBC. "It's not just that we declare a ceasefire. It needs mechanisms so that it becomes credible."
The communiqué from the Nairobi summit, convened by Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, said that Mr Kiir had agreed a ceasefire. But a diplomatic source said that in the absence of a rebel delegation, this amounted to little.
Thousands are believed to have died in two weeks of fighting between Mr Machar's rebels and government forces. About 120,000 people have been driven from their homes, with more than 60,000 sheltering inside United Nations compounds across the country.
Mr Machar said that his forces had captured all of Unity state and "three quarters" of Upper Nile state, which together produce South Sudan's daily oil output of 245,000 barrels. In addition, he claimed to hold all of Jonglei state, apart from its capital, Bor. Mr Kiir, meanwhile, controls the national capital, Juba, and the other seven states.
By seizing the oilfields, Mr Machar is trying to maximise his bargaining power in any future negotiations. His feud with Mr Kiir is primarily a struggle for power: Mr Machar was sacked as vice-president in July and accuses the president of plotting to become a dictator. But the conflict also reflects a widening tribal fissure between Mr Machar's Nuer people and the president's Dinka ethnic group.
So far, there have been no direct talks between the two rivals, or their representatives. Mr Machar said that he was willing to negotiate, but he first demanded the release of 11 allies, who were jailed and accused of mounting a coup when the fighting started in Juba on Dec 15.
Mr Kiir has freed two of these detainees - and mediators say that "most" are expected to be let out. But Mr Machar insisted that all must be released before any talks can begin.
The question is whether Mr Kiir will accept this condition. Alternatively, he could choose to launch an offensive to recapture the territory seized by his rival. All of the diplomatic efforts are designed to put in place a ceasefire followed by negotiations.
Britain, America and Norway serve as guarantors of the peace agreement that allowed South Sudan to secede from its neighbour and achieve independence in 2011. William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, pledged that all three countries would work "in lockstep" to restore peace.
Sir Simon Gass, the political director of the Foreign Office and one of Britain's most senior diplomats, was dispatched to Juba on Christmas Eve. He arrived with an equally senior American colleague and a host of international envoys.
But a glance at Sir Simon's three-day itinerary showed that he met President Kiir, but not Mr Machar or any rebel representatives.
Mr Machar has not disclosed his own location, saying only that he is "in the bush" in South Sudan. His allies, meanwhile, are either in prison in Juba, or directing military operations.
However, Mr Machar disclosed that he spoke by satellite telephone to John Kerry, the US secretary of state, twice last Thursday. He also spoke to Susan Rice, the National Security Adviser.
America gave vital support to South Sudan during the last decade of its struggle for independence against rule by Khartoum.
The question is whether international pressure will be enough to bring the two sides to the negotiating table.
Mr Machar, who graduated in mechanical engineering from Bradford Polytechnic in 1984, accused the president of "plunging" South Sudan into an "unnecessary conflict". He added: "We want South Sudan to be a democratic nation with free people, elections which are free and fair, multi-partyism where power transfers through the ballot box."
America and its allies have invested billions of dollars in South Sudan, starting when the peace agreement with Khartoum was signed in 2005 and continuing through the achievement of independence in 2011. Their aim is create a beacon of stability in what is one of Africa's most oil-rich zones.
Britain's Department for International Development had planned to spend £91 million in South Sudan in the current financial year but much of the aid has ended up in officials' pockets.
Mr Kiir stands accused of leading an autocratic and militarised government which has failed to create a viable state. Instead, corruption has undermined South Sudan's young institutions from the moment of their birth.
Meanwhile, fierce fighting continues, with the latest clashes taking place in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile State. James Koang Chuol, a senior rebel commander, denied that the insurgents were seeking to dominate the oilfields and form a state within a state. "The unity of South Sudan is very important. We have to contain this incident and find a solution," he said.
Both sides also deny that the war is becoming a tribal conflict between Nuers and Dinkas. In Juba, however, around 10,000 Nuers have sought sanctuary in a section of a UN compound next to the airport. They say they were targeted for attack by Dinka soldiers.
"When the fighting was happening, we didn't know that it was going to be an issue with civilians. The government had said all people should remain indoors," said one man. "But soldiers, who are Dinka, came and carried out a house to house search, asking 'are you a Dinka, or a Nuer?' If you are a Nuer, you are shot. My two cousins were killed."
A spokesman for the army blamed "criminal elements" for all the killings of civilians in Juba on. He denied that any soldiers had been involved. Meanwhile, the UN acknowledges that 20 Dinka civilians and two of its
own peacekeeping soldiers were killed by a Nuer militia when one compound was overrun in Jonglei state.
This has raised concerns about the safety of people sheltering in UN premises. There are continued reports of armed men cutting through perimeter fences and then hauling civilians away. The Security Council has authorised a doubling of the strength of the peacekeeping force to 12,500 troops.
Conditions in the camp by Juba airport are dire. The smell of faeces hangs in the air and the ground is soggy with urine, creating a significant risk of a cholera epidemic.
The UN wants donors to provide £100 million for fresh humanitarian aid but many international aid workers were evacuated last week on a series of emergency flights organised by foreign embassies.
ENDS




South Sudan: Peacekeeping Reinforcements Arrive in South Sudan Amid Ceasefire Doubts

28 December 2013





Dozens of police officers have arrived in South Sudan as part of plans to beef up a UN peacekeeping mission there. Meanwhile, doubts have been raised about prospects for a ceasefire following political talks in Kenya.
Seventy-two Bangladeshi police officers arrived in South Sudan's capital, Juba on Friday, the United Nations said.
Kieran Dwyer, a UN peacekeeping spokesman said the additional police officers "will play a key role maintaining order and security" at UN compounds in South Sudan, where an estimated 63,000 people have sought refuge since fighting broke out in mid-December.
The Bangladeshis were redeployed from a UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo and are the first of a total of 440 extra police officers along with 5,500 additional peacekeepers, whose deployment was approved by the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
More troops and equipment were expected to arrive in over the next few hours.
Ceasefire offer
They arrived in South Sudan just hours after East African leaders meeting in Nairobi had announced that President Salva Kiir had agreed to end hostilities with the rebels. The government said it had agreed at the meeting not to go ahead with a planned offensive to recapture Bentiu, the capital of oil-producing Unity state.
"We are not moving on Bentiu as long as the rebel forces abide by the ceasefire," the Associated Press quoted South Sudan's interior minister, Michael Makuei Lueth as saying.
However, there was no immediate indication that the rebels, led by deposed former Vice President Riek Machar had any indication of observing a ceasefire, announced at talks at which they were not represented.
UN officials in the country also warned that their was little indication that either side was preparing to halt hostilities.
Situation 'tense'
A statement released by the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) on Friday said "that the security situation in Upper Nile and Unity states is tense, with reports of the presence of anti-government and government forces."
A separate statement, released by the UN's Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) described the situation in Bentiu as "tense," adding that "there are reports that fighting may resume in the coming days."
The fighting broke out on December 15 after President Kiir of the Dinka ethnic group, accused Machar an ethnic Nuer who was sacked as vice president back in July, of attempting to depose him in a coup.
Since then, more than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed and 120,000 othersi displaced.
pfd/av (AP, AFP, dpa)

===========================

South Sudan: IGAD Leaders Considering Power Sharing to End S. Sudan Crisis

27 December 2013
Nairobi — Leaders from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are considering the release of political prisoners and a power sharing deal as a possible solution to South Sudan's political crisis.
"There is a strong desire to end the violence and leaders have seen this is a political problem which can be solved if everyone is brought on board," a source close to the ongoing discussions in Nairobi told Kenya's Daily Nation newspaper.
On Thursday, Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta and Ethiopia's Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn visited the 11 detained senior political leaders accused of having a hand in what the government said was a failed coup attempt, two weeks ago.
Violence broke out on 15 December between rival factions within the national army - the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
The United Nations says more than 500 people were killed in the violence and over 40,000 displaced. The world body said is urgently requires $166m to address the needs of those affected by the conflict.
IGAD leaders at the summit in Nairobi have meanwhile condemned any attempts to seize power by force in South Sudan.
"We in IGAD will not accept the constitutional overthrow of a democratically elected government in South Sudan," said Kenyatta, also chair of the East African Community (EAC).
South Sudan government, on Friday, said its forces had retaken Upper Nile state from anti-government elements loyal to former vice-president, Riek Machar.
In a show of progress in talks being brokered by regional leaders, president Salva Kiir was on Friday reported to have accepted "immediate cessation of hostilities."
There was, until now, no response from Machar, Kiir's chief protagonist accused of planning the failed coup attempt. Machar has, however, denied the accusation.
The IGAD leaders, in a statement, called upon "Dr Riek Machar and other parties to make similar commitments."



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south sudan president response to save yar campaign

Pres. Kiir Mayardit bringing in Ugandans troops without informing chief of staff General Mames Hoth Mai.  President Kiir is responsible for SPLM .... Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. This week, the President spoke on the importance of addressing .... "We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do .... Gado is the most syndicated political cartoonist in East and Central Africa, and for over two decades a contributor to the Daily Nation (Kenya), New African (U.K .... Field Marshall Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is the President of Sudan and the head of the National Congress Party. He came to power in 1989 when .... 1

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Pres. Kiir Mayardit bringing in Ugandians trops without informing chief of staff General James Hoth Mai . Video youtube.






Analysis about SPLM Crisis: Which group will win the party Leadership? By Peter Gai Manyuon




President Kiir should step down in peace By Peter Gai Manyuon The autonomous of South Sudan came from a background of civil war which might not be forgotten by the generations to come

 


President Kiir is responsible for SPLM failure Call it dictatorial or otherwise, it is what it is, authoritarianism. It is an uncounseled positive ambition of the president to stay in power by force or else.
 

South Sudan: Is it really a booming nation, or another Somalia? By John Bith Aliap, Adelaide South Australia. Readers of this article may agree with me that South Sudan's historical issues are far from resolved.



26 Sep 2012
Members of the South Sudanese community in Toronto, and as far away as Windsor, held a demonstration at Queen's Park on Saturday calling for a peaceful end to recent violence in their native country. Now Playing on CBC Radio Refresh CBC Radio ...
CBC, 52 minutes ago
11 Aug 2013

22 Mar 2013

Latest Sudan News

CHINA CONCERNED

The U.N. said it hoped within the next 48 hours to begin receiving critical reinforcements of military hardware and personnel for its overstretched peacekeeping mission.

China, which has significant oil interests in South Sudan, said it would send its special envoy for Africa to help bring about talks between Kiir and Machar.

"China is highly concerned about the evolving situation in South Sudan," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Western powers and east African states, keen to prevent more chaos in a fragile region, have not been able to get Kiir to meet Machar, whose whereabouts are unknown. He told Reuters on Monday he was "in the bush".

The U.N. estimates 92,500 people have been displaced during the 12 days of fighting that has sparked the biggest crisis in the country since it gained independence from Sudan in 2011.

Ethiopian Foreign Minister Adhanom said regional leaders would meet in Nairobi on Friday to follow up on issues raised during the three-hour talks with Kiir and his cabinet in Juba.

Kenyan President Kenyatta said the conflict was not ethnic-based and the media should stop creating "negative impressions". He also urged Machar and Kiir to meet for talks.

(Writing by Drazen Jorgic; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
=======================

Congo-Kinshasa: UN Peacekeepers Respond to Ugandan Rebel Attack in Eastern DR Congo

26 December 2013
Reformed fighters
United Nations peacekeepers in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) yesterday helped the national armed forces retake control over a town following an attack by a Ugandan rebel group that left dozens dead and displaced many more.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the Allied Democratic Forces-National Army for the Liberation of Uganda (ADF-Nalu) attacked positions of the DRC national armed forces (FARDC) in the town of Kamango.
The rebels captured the location after brief clashes, resulting in the killing of innocent people and massive displacement of civilian populations towards the Ugandan border, according to the UN peacekeeping mission in DRC (MONUSCO).
"MONUSCO strongly condemns these attacks and reassures that it will be using all its aerial and ground assets available to protect the civilians and will reinforce its presence in the area," it stated.
In accordance with its mandate to protect civilians, MONUSCO launched two attack helicopter sorties to respond to repeated attacks from the ADF-Nalu. In coordinated operations to support FARDC troops on the ground, MONUSCO helicopters opened fire on ADF-held positions to help Government troops retake Kamango.
The Mission noted that the FARDC has successfully taken over positions in Kamango and is currently in control of the situation.
"The Mission is determined to fulfil its mandate of tracking down and neutralizing all armed groups elements that spread fear and desolation among innocent civilians."
In March, the Security Council authorized the deployment of an intervention brigade within MONUSCO to carry out targeted offensive operations, with or without the Congolese national army, against armed groups that threaten peace in eastern DRC.

South Sudan: Breaking News - South Sudan President Sacks VP, Dissolves Govt

23 July 2013
Juba — President Salva Kiir Mayardit of South Sudan, in a surprising move, sacked Vice-president Dr. Riek Machar Teny-Dhurgon on Tuesday, moments after dissolving the entire cabinet in a presidential decree that was read on national TV.
Mr. Kiir removed all ministers, their deputies and he has directed undersecretaries to take charge in the meantime.
In the same decree, the president has also susspended and ordered investigation of the ruling party's Secretary-General Mr. Pagan Amum Okiech.
He has tapped Speaker James Wani Igga as head of the committee tasked with overseeing that investigation.
It is not clear what the thinking was behind the decision to dissolve the national government. But South Sudan has been rocked by specters of violence and corruption for years now.
The young country just marked its 2nd anniversary of the independence on July 9, 2013.
Plus, the country is gearing up for the 2015 presidential election, which in recent months has seen the former vice-president ratcheting up his criticism of the president.
It is not clear when the president will fill the currently vacant seats: of vice president and all the national ministeries.


 
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