Day: February 1, 2023

The United States on Wednesday voiced alarm over Sudan’s release of a man sentenced to death over the killing of an American development worker, denying there was any understanding between the countries.

Islamist gunmen shot dead John Granville, a 33-year-old U.S. Agency for International Development employee, along with his 40-year-old Sudanese driver Abdel Rahman Abbas in a hail of bullets on New Year’s Day 2008.

Sudanese authorities on Monday freed Abdelraouf Abu Zaid, who was convicted over the killing, with his lawyer saying it was a court decision in line with a 2020 compensation package by Sudan to Washington for past terrorism.

“We are deeply troubled by the lack of transparency in the legal process that resulted in the release of the only individual remaining in custody,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.

He said it was “inaccurate” that the United States had agreed to the release as part of the 2020 deal, which removed Sudan from a blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism dating from the dictatorship of Omar al-Bashir.

As part of the deal brokered by then premier Abdalla Hamdok, impoverished Sudan paid $335 million to American survivors and families of victims killed in past attacks.

Hamdok, a civilian heading a transitional government, was seeking to reintegrate Sudan into the international community but he was ousted the following year by the military, setting back relations with the United States, which froze $700 million in economic support.

Price said the United States was seeking clarity on the release of Abu Zaid and was offering $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of two other people suspected in the 2008 killings.

Source: Voice of America

The conference on the Juba Peace Agreement (JPA), organised by the AU-IGAD-UNITAMS Trilateral Mechanism in coordination with the signatories to the Framework Agreement, was launched in the Friendship Hall in Khartoum yesterday afternoon. Darfur displaced reported to Radio Dabanga that their invites were cancelled at the last minute, meanwhile, some community leaders were not invited at all.

“The aim of this workshop is not to amend, cancel, or denounce the JPA but to focus on exploring drivers of conflict and ways to better implement and revitalise it while safeguarding its gains,” said Volker Perthes, UN Special Representative for Sudan and head of UNITAMS, at the launch ceremony.

Khaled Omar Yousef, the official spokesperson for the signatories to the Framework Agreement, told Radio Dabanga that the conference will discuss the obstacles to the implementation of the peace agreement since it was signed in October 2021, the causes for the repeated armed conflicts, and the roles of the native administration* and local communities in peacebuilding. The workshops will continue until Friday.

“The conference seeks to expand the base of discussion to consolidate what has been achieved in the peace agreement and how to complete it in order to reach a permanent and comprehensive solution, including agreements with hold-out parties.”

Yousef explained that the participants will be divided into working groups on specific issues today, which will lead to recommendations to be incorporated into a final agreement with the military and turned into a roadmap for the upcoming civilian government.

On the topic of the upcoming evaluation of the JPA in Juba, organised by the South Sudanese mediation team, the spokesperson said that “the coming days will bring more discussions between the Sudanese parties and the mediation team to reach an integration in order to achieve the common goal of the stability of Sudan and for the current political process to reach its goals.”

Cancelled invites

Displaced women leader Awatif Abdelrahman told Radio Dabanga that at the request of the Centre for Peace Studies in Nyala, they nominated three women to represent the South Darfur displaced women, but the invitation was cancelled a day before the launch of the conference.

“UNITAMS informed the Centre for Peace Studies on Monday that the signatories of the Framework Agreement decided to limit the invitation to those who signed the JPA and the groups of displaced that signed the Framework Agreement.”

She explained that 25 seats at the JPA review conference are allocated to the displaced people of South Darfur, with two seats for representatives of each camp and three seats for women.?“The displaced people who are now attending the conference are only representing themselves,” she said.

Not invited

Displaced community leaders in Darfur reported that they did not receive invitations to participate in the workshop. Yagoub Furi, head of the Darfur Displaced and Refugee Camps Coordination informed Radio Dabanga that the conference may fail due to not inviting the real stakeholders. He said they consider the lack of an invitation a belittling of their status.

He strongly denounced the invitation of persons representing the Darfur displaced without displaced leaders being consulted. “Our views definitely need to be heard.”

He stressed that the Darfur displaced have not been invited to join the Framework Agreement. “We have not been notified of its content, which also happened before, with the peace agreements of Abuja, Doha, and lately, of Juba.”

Saleh Eisa, head of the Darfur Displaced and Refugee Camps Administration, also criticised the absence of the displaced from representation in the conference on the JPA.

“We did not receive any invitation. The displaced who are now participating in the conference only represent themselves,” he said and accused the Forces for Freedom and Change-Central Council of neglecting displacement, violence, and genocide. “We are not on their list of priorities.”

Boycott continues

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) repeated in a press statement that it will not participate in the JPA conference in Khartoum.

JEM media secretary Mohamed Hasan Fadul, said that the movement rejects the contents of the Framework Agreement and stressed their non-participation in the activities resulting from it.

“The conference will evaluate and amend the text of the JPA, which is a clear violation of the agreement.”

He said that the Framework Agreement “gives parties not related to the JPA the right to rectify and amend it”, stressing that the agreement is binding.

JEM leaders intend to travel to Cairo on Wednesday, as part of a large delegation of the FFC-Democratic Block, to attend the inter-Sudanese dialogue organised by Egypt. The FFC-CC has rejected the invitation.

Troika support

The Sudan Troika member states (Norway, UK, USA) welcomed the launch of the Juba Peace Agreement conference.

In a statement yesterday, the three countries said that the event brings together women, youth, and representatives from all over Sudan, and explained that though some important stakeholders in this peace process chose not to attend the launch, the door is still open to participate in the political process.

The Troika said that the Framework Agreement remains the basis on which a new civilian-led government can be established that will lead Sudan through a transitional period leading to free and fair elections.

The statement urged all Sudanese political and civil actors to engage constructively in the process of reaching an agreement that would allow the country to emerge from the current political crisis.

Speaking during a seminar at the Teiba Press Centre in Khartoum on Monday, NUP leader and former Minister of Foreign Affairs El Mahdi said that the main objective of the Framework Agreement, signed by more than 40 political parties and groups with the military junta on December 5 last year, “is to collect the largest number of members of the Sudanese spectrum in quantity and quality”.

She explained that the most important challenges facing the Framework Agreement “are the non-participation of a number of actors, including resistance committees and other civilian bodies, in addition to the lack of trust between the signatories”. She further stressed the need for larger participation of women.

* The?Native Administration?was instituted by British colonial authorities seeking a pragmatic system of governance that allowed for effective control with limited investment and oversight by the state. The Native Administration also took on new responsibilities for executing policies, collecting taxes, and mobilising labour on behalf of the central government. According to the Darfur Bar Association (DBA), the Native Administration during the 30-year rule of dictator Omar Al Bashir did not represent the real community leaders.

Source: Radio Dabanga

As Sudan witnessed protests demanding improvements in health and education, Economist Haisam Mohamed Fathi told Radio Dabanga that the 2023 national budget, approved by the Council of Ministers two days ago, “far from heralds a transition to a new phase for the Sudanese economy.”

“The Minister of Finance has not clarified the percentages of the budget deficit and other deviations,” he said. New future services and industries, investment opportunities, and laws that stimulate investment were also left out of Sudan’s new annual budget, which was leaked earlier this month.

Fathi also criticised Finance Minister Jibril Ibrahim for talking about increasing national production without a plan in place. “We expected an expansion of the tax umbrella, steps to prevent tax evasion, improvement of the tax collection system, combating smuggling, expansion of the list of financiers, and the inclusion of the informal economy in the formal economy. The minister ignored all of that.”

Resistance committees in the Sudanese capital organised protest marches to the Republican Palace in Khartoum and the Parliament buildings in Omdurman under the slogan “Free Health and Education” on Tuesday.

Many teachers responded to the calls of the Sudanese Teachers Committee and joined the demonstrations.

The security forces used tear gas extensively on the demonstrators.

Serving the coup

For his part, economic analyst Kamal Karrar told Radio Dabanga that the 2023 national budget “further impoverishes and starves Sudanese people while seeking to serve the goals of the coup.”

Karrar said that the revenues and expenditures budget figures will serve the military and security institutions, indicating that spending on the productive sectors, services, and development is not clear.

“The planned expenditures in the budget are huge and exceed SDG8 trillion. The revenues will be fed from customs fees and taxes which will lead to new price increases of goods and services.”?

He pointed to a large deficit in the budget, which will be covered by borrowing from the banking system, which will increase inflation rates and lead to a deterioration in the value of the pound.

Price increases

Fathi also told Radio Dabanga that “people can hardly bear the recent price increases. Their livelihoods are collapsing.” This year’s budget does not accommodate challenges to Sudan’s economy, especially in light of the global economic crisis, he said. “The budget ignores the high rates of debt, unemployment, and poverty” in Sudan.

At the end of December, merchants in Khartoum complained of declines in sales by at least 30 per cent. Trader Majdi Gamareldin told Radio Dabanga that the recession continues and the stability of the Dollar rate is not improving the market. His colleague Mohamed Yousef complained that though goods are available and prices are low, there are no buyers in the markets.

Taxes and fees have increased at rates ranging between 500 and 1,000 per cent since the beginning of 2022 in Sudan.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga earlier this month, Karrar said “the budget for this year will be funded by the pockets of ordinary Sudanese people by increasing taxes and prices.” He warned of great deterioration in the economic conditions, referring to the ongoing strikes being organised by teachers, university lecturers, students, researchers, bus drivers, meteorological workers, tax bureau employees, and various other sectors.

Hasan Bashir, a professor of economics at El Nilein University, ruled out an economic resolution through the continuation of grants, aid, and loans from abroad in an interview with Sudan Today on Radio Dabanga in mid-January. He pointed to the “country being in a state of anticipation for the final stage of the civilian-military agreement leading to the formation of a government.”

Source: Radio Dabanga

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in a statement on Wednesday said it was concerned about reports of a military build-up of Agwelek forces in Upper Nile State.

“The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), wishes to raise serious concerns over the reported buildup of the Agwelek forces in Upper Nile state in the past few days. The Mission urges these forces, loyal to General Johnson Olony, to refrain from any actions or movements that might pose threats to civilians and affect humanitarian operations in Upper Nile and Northern Jonglei,” the statement by UNMISS said.

The mission said UNMISS peacekeepers are increasing their presence in the area, and it is verifying reports of movements and mobilization.

“The Mission continues to engage with government, state officials, and other leaders to prevent any further escalation of tensions, following fierce fighting that began last November,” the statement reads in part.

“With the historic visit of His Holiness Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland to South Sudan expected to take place this week, UNMISS appeals to national and community leaders to exercise restraint and commit to peace and dialogue,” UNMISS concluded.

On Tuesday, the Troika (the United Kingdom, Norway, and the United States) raised the same concerns.

“We note with grave concern indications of preparation for renewed fighting in Upper Nile State. South Sudanese transitional leaders and political actors in Juba have a responsibility to act to prevent this and to find peaceful and sustainable solutions,” a statement from the Troika partly reads.

Troika further said the government is responsible for the continued safe access and delivery of humanitarian assistance.

“We also call on South Sudan’s leaders to hold accountable those responsible for previous subnational violence, including the most recent clashes in Upper Nile, Jonglei, and the Greater Pibor Administrative Area. This includes those who have engaged in human rights violations, abductions, and human trafficking,” the statement further read.

The three countries, however, reiterated that they ‘will always stand with those who call and work for peace in South Sudan’.

Source: Radio Tamazuj