March 14, 2022

Sudan: Five dead as grenade blast rocks South Darfur gathering

Police confirm that five people were killed and at least 25 others were injured in a grenade explosion in Um Dafug locality in South Darfur, in an apparent attack on a social event.

According to a statement by the Director of South Darfur State Police, Maj Gen Mohamed El Zein, the incident took place in the southeast of Um Dafug locality, close to the Sudan’s border with the Central African Republic.

Gen El Zein said that “a person threw a grenade among members of the public, who were attending a social event”. He confirmed that five people were killed outright, while 25 were wounded.

The police director says that the wounded were transferred to Nyala Teaching Hospital in the South Darfur capital.

Residents of Darfur complain about the widespread use of weapons by members of the public, which they say has increased the spread of crimes, especially armed robbery, and encouraging tribal conflicts.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

March 14, 2022

UAE to inject money in Sudanese banks: minister

Acting foreign Minister Ali al-Sadiq Sunday said the United Arab Emirates agreed to inject money into Sudanese banks to support its financial activities during these difficult times.

Abdel Fattah al-Burhan returned to Khartoum after a four-day visit to the UAE where he met with Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. He was flanked by the acting foreign minister, finance minister and head of the General Intelligence Service.

After the meeting on March 11, the Sovereign Council said that the UAE de facto ruler pledged bank deposits in support of the Sudanese economy.

But al-Sadiq told reporters after their return to Khartoum that the two countries agreed to inject money into the Sudanese banks.

“An agreement between the two governments and the private sector in the two countries has been reached to support Sudanese banks with significant amounts, enabling them to play their role in developing the Sudanese economy,” he said.

Before announcing this agreement, he said the two sides agreed to establish strategic economic partnerships in the areas of roads, ports, railways, military cooperation and exchange of experiences.

However, he did not elaborate if the UAE financial institutions would buy shares in the Sudanese banks or will sign contracts allowing them to take control of some companies or projects in the country.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE)’s DP World in the past had shown interest in Port Sudan seaport but the civilian transitional government was not interested in the offer, at the time.

The head of the Sovereign Council was in UAE to attend Dubai’s Expo 2020 world fair.

Meeting with Hamdok

Also, al-Burhan met with former Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok during his visit to Dubai, triggering rumours about his return to power.

Hamdok’s wife, however, denied these reports saying he is no longer interested in the position of the prime minister.

in a statement she released on social media, she underscored that he intentionally left the country to not give the impression that he is available to assume any executive role.

Source: Sudan Tribune

March 14, 2022

Civil society body advocates for climate change dialogue

Community Empowerment for Organization (CEPO) has called for a national climate change dialogue to mitigate effects of heavy rains expected in the region.

The call comes barely a month after the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s (IGAD) Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) announced that heavy rains could fall over East Africa in the months of March, April to May (MAM) seasons.

ICPAC is a designated Regional Climate Centre by the World Meteorological Organization, whose seasonal forecast is based on analysis of several global climate model predictions customized for East Africa.

“The Community Empowerment for Progress Organization climate change engagement program is urging the South Sudan government to act on this information timely,” said CEPO’s Executive Director, Edmund Yakani.

He added, “Unavailability of accurate information on government strategy of how to deal with information provided is worrying after persistent floods recently displaced thousands of people in several parts of South Sudan”.

Yakani expressed fears of a likely rise in politically-motivated inter-communal violence.

According to ICPAC, southern to central parts of the region have the highest chances of receiving more rain than normally at this time of year, particularly southern, central and northern Tanzania, eastern Uganda, northern Burundi, eastern Rwanda, southern and western Kenya, eastern South Sudan, western Ethiopia, a few localities in southern and south-eastern Ethiopia, and southern and northern Somalia.

The regional climate change entity, however, said western South Sudan, and central and north-eastern Ethiopia are likely to receive less rain than usual, while estimating that high temperatures could be recorded in southern Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea and northern Sudan.

Yakani said the rainfall patterns could result into low agricultural production.

“Both situation are worse and require early national decisions from the concerned government institutions, including state government’s plan for mitigation of the situation should it get worse,” stressed the activist.

He further added, “But it seems the concerned government institutions at national and state levels are silent on these facts and are first waiting to see the occurrence of the disaster before they can act. This is unacceptable”.

More than 70% of South Sudan’s population will struggle to survive the peak of the annual ‘lean season this year as the country grapples with unprecedented levels of food insecurity caused by conflict, climate shocks, Covid-19 and rising costs, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned last week. Particularly at risk, it said, are tens of thousands of South Sudanese who are already severely hungry following successive and continuous shocks and could starve without food assistance.

Source: Sudan Tribune

March 14, 2022

Rights watchdog urges release of two South Sudanese critic

A human rights body has called for the release of a clergyman and a university professor in South Sudan, in detention since last year for criticising government.

Human Rights Watch (HRW), in a recent statement, called for dropping of charges against the two, saying the arrests were a “systematic intimidation of civil society and attempt to suppress free speech”.

Last July, Abraham Chol Akech, a Juba-based leader of Cush International Ministries was arrested at his home by the police.

Days before, the 69-year-old cleric had told his congregation during a Sunday service that both President Salva Kiir and his deputy Rick Machar would be unseated from office on July 9th, the independence anniversary, to make way for new leadership.

Weeks later, Kuel Aguer Kuel, professor of economics at Stratford International University in South Sudan and a former governor of the North Bahr el-Ghazal State was picked up at a petrol station by the secret service. Kuel had called on the government to replace some ministers who have been in the cabinet even before the country’s independence in 2011.

This was days after the 66-year-old and other members of the People’s Coalition for Civil Action (PCCA), a group of critics, had advocated for government reforms in a memo published online. PCCA also called for peaceful protests nationwide on August 30, 2021.

Both Chol and Kuel have been accused of sabotage and undermining South Sudan’s constitution. They face the death penalty or life imprisonment if convicted, their lawyers say.

“The government needs to cease these abuses and foster an environment for open dialogue on matters of public interest and governance,” said Nyagoah Tut Por, South Sudan researcher at HRW.

Kiir and his deputy have been in power since 2005 in the then-partly autonomous south Sudan. In mid-December 2013, friction between the two men erupted into a war that killed thousands and displaced millions from their homes. Machar was removed from his position and was only reinstated after signing a peace deal in 2018.

Under their administration, politicians and dissidents have been arrested on charges that human rights activists say trumped up. Chol and Kuel are the latest.

Source: Sudan Tribune

March 14, 2022

Pro-democracy Leaders, Jailed Journalist Among US ‘Women of Courage’ Honorees

WASHINGTON — The United States honored 12 women from Colombia, Iraq, Libya, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries, with the State Department saying they have demonstrated leadership and a willingness to sacrifice for others at an “International Women of Courage Award” ceremony Monday in Washington.

This year’s honorees include Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an environmental lawyer from Bangladesh; Simone Sibilio do Nascimento, one of Brazil’s most prominent prosecutors; Ei Thinzar Maung, Myanmar’s pro-democracy opposition National Unity Government Deputy Minister for Women, Youths, and Children Affairs; Josefina Klinger Zúñiga, a human rights and environmental defender from Colombia; Taif Sami Mohammed, Iraq’s deputy finance minister known for fighting corruption; Facia Boyenoh Harris, who advocates for women’s rights and speaks out against gender-based violence in Liberia; Libya’s first woman foreign minister, Najla Mangoush; Moldova’s parliament member Doina Gherman, who promotes women’s inclusion; transgender activist Bhumika Shrestha who is from Nepal; Carmen Gheorghe, who promotes women’s rights in Romania; Roegchanda Pascoe, a crime prevention activist from South Africa; and jailed Vietnamese journalist Ph?m Ðoan Trang.

Jailed Vietnamese journalist absent in virtual ceremony

Ph?m Ðoan Trang did not attend Monday’s virtual award ceremony, since she is currently in prison.

Pham Doan Trang is seen as a leading advocate for human rights, rule of law, and the inclusion of all voices in political spaces in Vietnam. She was sentenced to nine years in prison on Dec. 14, 2021, for “making, storing, distributing or disseminating information, documents and items against the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam,” according to Amnesty International.

“We condemn her unjust imprisonment. We call for her immediate release,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during Monday’s ceremony.

Pham Chinh Truc is Pham Doan Trang’s brother. He attended the trial in December with their 81-year-old mother. Pham Chinh Truc told VOA Vietnamese he raised objections at the hearing and called the verdict “completely absurd and unacceptable.”

“Trang was convicted under Article 88 ‘Propaganda against the State of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,'” he said in the VOA interview. “As far as I know, this article has been criticized by many individuals, social organizations, and even the United Nations, who have asked the Vietnamese government to revoke this law because it is too vague. Its boundaries are not clear, but it has been used to arrest many people who have views that are contrary to the views held by the party and state.”

Ph?m Ðoan Trang was a journalist with government media before leaving to write independently on democracy and free elections, according to advocacy group The 88 Project.

The United States values its comprehensive partnership with Vietnam but believes firmly that “in order for this country to thrive, it needs to embrace the openness, transparency, inclusion, and respect for the rights of all of its citizens that Ph?m Ðoan Trang has relentlessly sought through her writing and advocacy,” said U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Marc Knapper in a pre-taped message.

Burmese award winner

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been displaced since a military coup that toppled the democratically elected government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Feb. 1, 2021.

The U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) said the number of internally displaced people in the country is now over 800,000. Some 440,000 people have been newly displaced since the coup, adding to an existing 370,000 who had fled their homes previously.

This month, Myanmar’s junta stripped the citizenship of 16 prominent opposition figures, including senior members of the National Unity Government, which is leading the resistance to the military regime.

Ei Thinzar Maung is among the NUG members whose citizenship was revoked.

She was honored with the State Department’s 2022 Women of Courage Award for her commitment to democracy and work for a strong, inclusive and democratic Myanmar that respects human rights.

“We are not going to ever give up. Democracy must be restored,” said Ei Thinzar Maung in a pre-taped message. While being forced into hiding due to torture and death threats, Ei Thinzar Maung continues to speak out against the 2021 military coup. She is the youngest woman to run in Myanmar’s general election held in 2020.

A champion of the rights of women and young people, Ei Thinzar Maung also advocated for ethnic minorities. She was beaten and jailed for more than a year after leading a 644-kilometer march from Mandalay to Yangon in 2015 to protest a national education law that excluded ethnic languages and restricted student unions.

On Oct. 30, 2020, she spoke to VOA Burmese in its Weekly Women’s Corner program.

“I’m 25 years old and I’ve been competing as an adult, but in the eyes of others they see me as a child. No matter what I say.”

She added, “Look around us and in Asia. Now the Thai student movement is led by students. The Hong Kong movement is led by students. There are a lot of students in the political process in Burma.”

Bangladesh’s honoree

Syeda Rizwana Hasan, a Bangladeshi lawyer, is also one of the recipients of the International Women of Courage Award this year.

The State Department says she has shown exceptional courage in her mission to protect the environment and defend the rights of marginalized Bangladeshis. As chief executive of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association, she has won cases against deforestation, pollution, unregulated ship breaking, and illegal land development.

“In the context of Bangladesh, this award is important because it shows that working on environmental issues is important. It is also a recognition that this difficult job is done by a female leader,” Syeda Rizwana Hasan said in an interview with VOA’s Bangla Service.

Monday, first lady Jill Biden spoke during the ceremony about the barriers and struggles awardees continue to face.

“For 16 years, these awards have lifted up the voices of women around the world. It has shined light on the struggles and strength of women in the global north, south, east and west,” Biden said.

“We will tell your stories, even when you cannot.”

Source: Voice of America