Day: November 2, 2022

Pope Francis has exuded confidence that he may finally visit South Sudan “early February” 2023 after his pastoral visit to the East African country was postponed in July this year, with the Holy Father’s doctor citing health challenges.

In a virtual dialogue with African Catholic students on Tuesday, Pope Francis said that his health had improved significantly and revealed that he had started to move around with a lot more ease.

He said that plans were already underway for the realization of the postponed ecumenical trip to South Sudan and his pastoral visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) at the beginning of next February.

Pope Francis was responding to a request that was made by Clevine Kavira, a student from DRC who begged the Holy Father to visit the Central African nation and to express solidarity with those undergoing various challenges in the country, including women who have been sexually abused.

“Regarding my visit, I had to suspend it because my doctor ordered me to. I am back to walking now with a cane, and therefore things are improving. Hopefully, if all goes well, in early February, I will come to visit you. I will visit you and South Sudan,” Pope Francis said during the virtual dialogue with African Catholic students.

He added, “This trip was planned for February. I was thinking of late January, but the climate is not the very best in January, and therefore, we are moving the trip to February. We are working on the trip, and I will surely be able to meet you.”

Ms. Kavira was one of the nine students that presented talking points at the November 1 virtual Papal dialogue with African Catholic University students, seeking solidarity with the Holy Father in the challenges faced by the youths in Africa.

The virtual initiative brought together students from 34 universities that were drawn from nine African countries. These were the DRC, Congo Brazzaville, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Amid rumours of an agreement between the Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) and the military junta over Sudan’s transition from dictatorship, coalition spokespeople have reported strong resistance to any form of impunity for the country’s military, paramilitary, security, and police forces.

Professor Siddig Tawir, former member of the Sovereignty Council and a leading member of the Socialist Ba’ath Party Sudan, said that the number of member groups of the mainstream FFC that are in favour of an agreement with the military junta is limited. He added that any notion of an agreement “finds wide resistance within the coalition itself and on the streets” of Sudan.

He denied the existence of any dialogue between the mainstream FFC and the military junta.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Tawir said that the only way the coalition sees a possibility for reaching an agreement is if they guarantee continued impunity for the military, paramilitary, security, and police forces.

“The military junta should be overthrown, after which we can prepare for a new transitional phase.” – Professor Siddig Tawir

“The common vision is that the military junta should be overthrown, after which we can prepare for a new transitional phase,” he said. “This vision does not include any guarantees of impunity and rejects any presence of the military in power structures, politics, and transitional arrangements.”

The recent FFC Political Conference reiterated that there are to be no negotiations nor guarantees of impunity, he stated. “The FFC do not have any right to waive the rights of the Sudanese people and the rights of the families of the martyrs.”

He questioned the seriousness of the military promises that they would withdraw from the political scene or step down from power.

Various rebel movements and protest groups, including the FFC and the Resistance Committees of Khartoum, initially refused to participate in the initiative or take part in any dialogue with the military coup authorities and those who support them as they fear that this will legitimise the coup.

‘Useless’ settlements

Lawyer El Sadig Ali Hasan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Darfur Bar Association (DBA), stressed “the uselessness of any settlement” between the FFC and the military junta regarding exemption from accountability for the crimes committed since the violent dispersal of the Khartoum sit-in on June 3, 2019.

He told Radio Dabanga that “it is not legally possible for any party to replace accountability for a crime by private rights, in particular in crimes related to the right to life”.

“El Burhan speaks with several tongues. He cannot be trusted, and the street knows this all too well.” – DBA Lawyer El Sadig Ali Hasan

He claimed that a dialogue is taking place behind closed doors, of which the contents are unknown. “No deals will arise from it,” he said. “El Burhan speaks with several tongues. He cannot be trusted, and the street knows this all too well.”

Rumours of agreement

Saudi newspaper Al Sharq Al Awsat reported on Friday that Sudan is awaiting an announcement “in the next few days” about a final agreement between the FFC and the military junta.

The newspaper said that the sides were “close to reaching an agreement on the formation of a government of technocrats headed by a civilian prime minister, in addition to the head of a civilian Sovereignty Council.” Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan and Gen Mohamed ‘Hemeti’ Dagalo will retreat from the Council, and will remain commander of the Sudan Armed Forces and commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces respectively, according to the report.

Throughout October, rumours have been circulating regarding an imminent agreement between the military and civilian counterparts. The mainstream FFC has received criticism from other opposition groups because of their sympathy towards a power-sharing government with the military.

FFC leading member and former Cabinet Minister Khaled Omar Yousef, denied the existence of such a dialogue.

In a post on his Facebook page, he described talks about an upcoming bilateral settlement with the military as “sheer nonsense”, explaining that “a political solution requires participation by as many of the forces of the revolution and transition as possible.”

Transitional justice

Yousef also said that “the only political solution that we will accept is the one that leads to a complete and real civil authority, one that distances the military institution entirely from politics.” He added that there must be security and military reform to build a single and professional national army, as well as a transitional justice process that leads to free and fair elections at the end of a maximum two-year transitional period.

“The only political solution that we will accept is the one that leads to a complete and real civil authority.” – FFC member Khaled Omar Yousef

Prominent human rights lawyer Nabil Adib told Radio Dabanga on Sunday that the issue of transitional justice, which is based on the perpetrator’s acknowledgment of wrongdoing in exchange for the victims’ acceptance of truth and reconciliation, must be discussed first among the victims and their relatives.

He explained that accountability for crimes does not necessarily mean conviction, but rather the prosecution of people whose involvement is proven, with the right to self-defence.

Adib urged the pro-democracy groups to join the negotiations and to continue their talks with the military “to reach an agreement on constitutional arrangements that will restore civilian rule”.

In Sudan, there is plenty of sceptisism around the military’s announced ‘withdrawal’. On October 5, Sudan’s Resistance Committees and Coordination Committees activated a separate document, the Revolutionary Charter for the Establishment of the People’s Authority.

Source: Radio Dabanga

The defence team of lawyer Wajdi Saleh, leading member of the Socialist Arabic Ba’ath Party Sudan and former head of the now dissolved Empowerment Removal Committee (ERC), announced on Tuesday that he would be released on bail, before he was detained again due to another complaint.

It was agreed that Saleh would be released according to “normal guarantees” regarding the official complaint lodged by the Ministry of Finance, yet he was detained again according to another complaint filed by the same authority yesterday, defence lawyer Mahmoud El Shazli told reporters in Khartoum.

El Shazli explained that the new complaint was lodged by the Ministry of Finance on October 27 under Articles 13 and 14 of the June 30 Empowerment Removal Bill related to Saleh’s statements about the ministry’s squandering of public funds. According to El Shazli, the Empowerment Removal Bill does not apply to Saleh’s remarks because he referred to actions that took place between April 11 and June 30.

Series of complaints

Since Saleh, who is also a leading member of the mainstream Forces for Freedom and Change, began his work as chair of the ERC, his popularity among pro-democracy groups grew. After the October 2021 coup, he became a symbol of the opponents of the military junta and the followers of ousted President Omar Al Bashir.

On September 30, Saleh handed himself over to authorities in Khartoum, following orders from Sudan’s Public Prosecution Office declaring him a fugitive. In a video posted on Saleh’s Facebook page, he denied any attempts to flee from the prosecutors, stating that his “phone was constantly on” and that he was “present on the streets and public seminars”.

Saleh refused to answer questions posed by the prosecutor, until his immunity is officially lifted. It is his legal right as a lawyer to refuse questioning under the Law of Advocacy that stipulates prior permission from the Sudanese Bar Association for his questioning.

“Saleh expects that the series of malicious political and illegal complaints against him will not end,” El Shazli said.

Lawyer Moez Hazrat said that the actions taken by the Public Prosecution Office were an “exploitation of the prosecution to settle political scores”.

Letter from Saleh

Saleh has been detention incommunicado since he handed himself over to authorities. In a letter written from his prison cell and published yesterday, Saleh explained that he refused to be questioned so that these legal violations will not be repeated or affect other lawyers in the country.

He said he would sue all who have accused him of not adhering to the law.

He further stressed the importance of the unity of the revolutionary forces, and called on them to escalate their civil disobedience actions and political strikes in order to reach their aims and overthrow the military junta.

His wife, Jihan Abdelwahab, told the press that he is patient and “his spirits are high. Wajdi is ready for more complaints and any trial, and he will observe the legal procedures.”?She said the complaints were filed because her husband spoke out against the proposed settlement with the military.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Cases of dengue fever* have appeared in North Kordofan, while North Darfur continues to suffer from large numbers of dengue and malaria cases and Khartoum state is monitoring a rise in malaria cases in some localities. No cases of Ebola have been reported in Sudan so far.

The Minister of Health in North Kordofan, Ibrahim El Ansari, reported that until Monday, two people have died from dengue fever in the state. 13 cases of infection are still in isolation centres.

He told Radio Dabanga that the fight against dengue fever depends on awareness. A week ago, the government of North Kordofan announced a 14-day holiday in an attempt to prevent the spread of dengue fever.

In North Darfur, the Ministry of Health reported a significant increase in dengue and malaria, reaching 570 suspected cases and 239 confirmed cases of dengue fever. The total number of malaria cases reached 916 this week.

Mohamed Idris, Director of the Ministry of Health, appealed to the federal government and international organisations to urgently intervene to limit the spread of the highly infectious diseases in a report to Governor Nimir Abdelrahman on Tuesday.

On the same day, the Health Promotion Department of the Ministry of Health in North Darfur organised an awareness campaign to promote infectious disease awareness in a number of schools in El Fasher. The campaign includes spraying classrooms, offices, and bathrooms with pesticides to combat disease spread.

The Khartoum state Ministry of Health also reported an increase in malaria infection rates in a number of localities, according to the Sudan News Agency. Rates have decreased in other localities.

Bashir Adam Ismail, Director of the Malaria Department of the General Administration of Preventive Medicine, said that out of 26,460 people, 3,696 tested positive for malaria.

About 348,700 people have been affected by rains and floods across Sudan this year, according to UN OCHA. Recent flooding may be a leading cause of the spike in dengue and malaria cases, as standing water left after floods and rains can lead to an increase of mosquito breeding.

Late September, the Director-General of the Ministry of Health in North Darfur said that there is a marked increase in cases of diseases associated with autumn compared to this time last year.

Ebola campaign

The federal Ministry of Health confirmed on Sunday that no cases of Ebola have been recorded in Sudan.

Montasir Osman, Director of the Health ministry’s Emergency and Epidemic Control Department, gave a speech during a workshop organised by the ministry in cooperation with the World Health Organisation. He said that the ministry is about to send rapid response teams to all states of Sudan to help the states to check for and prevent spread of the disease.

He said that the campaign aims to raise the health sector’s capability to undertake epidemiological monitoring and effective infection control of the Ebola virus.

Source: Radio Dabanga