Category: General

Huitfeldt emphasises that ahead of the third anniversary, “we continue to hold the security forces responsible to prevent violence against peaceful protesters and protect civilians across the country.

“We urge the military to rebuild confidence by reversing unilateral actions and appointments made after the coup. Accountability for violence against civilians and peaceful protesters will prove that the era of impunity is over.”

“Moving forward, transferring the Chair of the Sovereign Council to a civilian is key. Further, more transparency and oversight of the economy are needed. Such actions will also contribute to a conducive environment for a national dialogue, reconciliation, and transitional justice.

“We welcome renewed commitments to free and fair elections. This requires respecting freedom of speech and assembly, and respect for free and independent media. Organising the constitutional conference and establishing the election commission will be critical.

“In the current political process, a diverse set of voices should have a say, including Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC), political stakeholders, civil society and resistance committees. Active participation of women is a prerequisite. This will strengthen legitimacy and build trust. We call upon political actors to engage in a constructive manner given the fragility of the situation.

“The risks of non-action are high, and time is of essence. Only with a legitimate government and legitimate institutions, the international community can fully reengage and support Sudan in the economic recovery that it so urgently needs.

“The deteriorating situation in Darfur and the political crisis in the East are very worrying. Fundamental change must benefit the whole population. The military-led Sovereign Council carries a heavy responsibility to protect civilians, prevent further escalations and find sustainable solutions for conflicts across the country. In an unstable region, the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan remain of fundamental importance.

“Norway stands with the Sudanese people as they commemorate this monumental day and courageously continues to demand a civilian-led path towards democracy,” Minister Huitfeldt concludes.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Sudanese took to the streets in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere across the country for mass protests Sunday against an October military takeover and a subsequent deal that reinstated Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok but sidelined the movement.

The demonstrations mark the third anniversary of the uprising that eventually forced the military removal of longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government in April 2019.

Sudan then followed a fragile path toward democracy and ruled by a joint military-civilian government. The October 25 coup has rattled the transition and led to relentless street protests.

Video footage circulated online purported to show tens of thousands protesters marching in the streets of Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman on Sunday. Protesters were seen waving the Sudanese flag and white ones with printed images of those killed in the uprising and ensuing protests.

Ahead of the demonstrations, Sudan’s authorities tightened security across the capital, barricading government and military buildings to prevent protesters from reaching the military’s headquarters and the presidential palace. They also blocked major roads and bridges linking Khartoum and Omdurman across the Nile River.

Security forces used tear gas to disperse protesters headed toward the palace on the bank of the Blue Nile in the heart of Khartoum, according to activist Nazim Sirag. The Sudan Doctors Committee said some protesters were injured, but didn’t provide a tally.

Activists described chaotic scenes, with many protesters rushing to side streets from the tear gas. Later, footage showed protesters at one of the palace’s gates chanting: “The people want the downfall of the regime” — a slogan heard in the Arab Spring uprisings that began in late 2010. Those movements forced the removal of leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen.

The Sudanese Professionals’ Association, which spearheaded the uprising against al-Bashir, called on protesters to gather outside the palace and block roads with make-shift barricades.

There were also protests in elsewhere in the country, such as the coastal city of Port Sudan and the northern city of Atbara, the birthplace of the uprising against al-Bashir.

The protests were called by the pro-democracy movement that led the uprising against al-Bashir and stuck a power-sharing deal with the generals in the months that followed his ouster.

Relations between the generals and the civilians in the transitional government were shaky and capped by the military’s Oct. 25 takeover that removed Hamdok’s government.

Hamdok was reinstated last month amid international pressure in a deal that calls for an independent technocratic Cabinet under military oversight led by him. The agreement included the release of government officials and politicians detained since the coup.

Talks are underway to agree on what Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the ruling Sovereign Council, described as a “new political charter” focused on establishing a broader consensus among all political forces and movements.

Addressing Sudanese late Saturday ahead of the protests, Hamdok said he stuck the Nov. 21 deal with the military mainly to prevent bloodshed. He warned that the country could slide further into chaos amid uphill economic and security challenges.

“Today, we are facing a retreat in the path of our revolution that threatens the country’s security and integrity,” Hamdok said, adding that the agreement was meant to preserve achievements his government made in the past two years, and to “protect our nation from sliding to a new international isolation.”

“The deal, in my view, is the most effective and inexpensive means to return to the course of civic and democratic transition,” he said.

Hamdok urged political parties and movements to agree on a “national charter” to complete the democratic transition and achieve peace with rebel groups.

The pro-democracy movement has meanwhile insisted that power be handed over to a civilian government to lead the transition. Their relentless protests follow the slogan: “No negotiations, no compromise, no power-sharing” with the military.

The list of demands also includes restructuring the military and other security agencies under civilian oversight and disbanding militias. One is the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary force that grew out of janjaweed militias and is accused of atrocities during the Darfur conflict and most recently against pro-democracy protesters.

Sunday’s protests have “unified all revolutionary forces behind a single demand: handing over power to civilians,” said Mohammed Yousef al-Mustafa, a spokesman for the Sudanese Professionals’ Association.

“Prime Minister Hamdok must declare a clear position and choose whether to join the people or continue siding with the generals,” he told The Associated Press.

The continued protests since the coup have increased pressure on the military and Hamdok, who has yet to announce his Cabinet.

Security forces used violence, including firing live ammunition at protesters, in the past round of demonstrations, according to activists. At least 45 people were killed and hundreds wounded in protests triggered by the coup, according to a tally by a Sudanese medical group.

Source: Voice of America

Groups of gunmen continue to torch villages and destroy public facilities in Tawila and Dar El Salam in North Darfur. Two boys were seriously injured near Tabit when gunmen shot at them. In West Darfur, three people were wounded in an attack on a passenger vehicle. The Sudan Liberation Movement-TC faction will contribute 300 combatants to the new joint force to be established to restore security in the violence-torn western region.

Armed herdsmen are still wreaking havoc in the area south of El Fasher, capital of North Darfur. “Groups of militant herders riding on camels are now raiding villages in Tawila and Dar El Salam from which the inhabitants have recently fled,” an activist told Radio Dabanga from Dar El Salam yesterday.

“They are stealing what is left of the villages, including water pumps,” he said. “They are also destroying the water wells in the area. These attacks all happens in front of the authorities who are doing nothing to prevent further destruction.”

He further reported that two children sustained bullet wounds near Tabit in Tawila on Friday.

“It happened when a group of youngsters on a tractor returned with water fetched from the area of Tabit to their village, Hillet Hamed,” he explained. “Upon their return to the village, armed robbers riding on camels suddenly shot at them. Mohieldin Seifeldin (12) and Yousef Mohamed Ali (10) were seriously wounded and had to be transferred to the El Fasher Teaching Hospital.”

The source added that the robbers then took the telephones from the youngsters and fled. The incident was reported to the police of Tabit.

In West Darfur, three people were wounded in a shooting at a passenger vehicle en route from El Geneina to Kereinik on Friday.

According to one of the passengers, gunmen riding on motorcycles attempted to stop the vehicle but the driver did not stop.

“They then shot at us, which led to the injury of the driver, Amer Ahmed, and passengers Hasan Ishag, and Ishag Mohamed. We took them to the hospital of Kereinik, but from there Ahmed and Ishag had to transferred to the El Geneina Teaching Hospital because of their serious condition,” he said.

In October, the harvest month, Radio Dabanga received reports of increased attacks on farms by militant Arab herders. On October 19, the North Darfur state government declared a State of Emergency in Tawila and Dar El Salam to secure the crops.

The violence however reportedly surged since the military coup of October 25.

‘Vacuum’

Chairman of the Sudan Revolutionary Front rebel alliance and member of the Sovereignty Council, El Hadi Idris, has confirmed the readiness of the forces of the Sudan Liberation Movement-Transitional Council (SLM-TC) faction to participate in the joint force to be established with the task to restore security and the Rule of Law in Darfur.

Addressing a military parade of the movement’s forces in Korma in North Darfur on Friday, El Hadi said that the SLM-TC will participate with 300 fighters, eighteen officers and thirty vehicles.

He explained that the new joint military force will work to fill the vacuum left by the exit of the UN-AU peacekeeping Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) on December 31 last year.

The new Sudanese joint force will be backed by field prosecutors and judges in courts to be set up under the Emergency Law.

On December 9, Idris announced that a joint force with special tasks will be formed “within two weeks”, consisting of the Sudan Armed Forces, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), former rebel combatants, and police forces, to contain the situation in Darfur.

Source: Radio Dabanga

Local authorities in Jonglei State’s Uror County on Friday banned residents from carrying firearms within the county headquarters, Yuai town, as a measure to boost security as Christmas nears.

Speaking to Radio Tamazuj, Tang Chatim, the county commissioner, said only the members of the security forces will be allowed to carry guns as they discharge their duties and that those found in violation will be punished.

“We started implementing this ban in Yuai town and it will be rolled out to all the Payam headquarters. All civilians are required to keep their guns indoors,” Commissioner Chatim said. “Our security forces are also providing patrols and very soon we will impose a curfew.”

He wished the locals a merry Christmas and urged them to cooperate with security forces on duty.

For his part, county police inspector Lt. Col. Gatbel Machar said they have instituted security measures to help restore calm in the restive Uror County during the festive season and called on the locals to cooperate with security personnel.

A local, John Choal, commended initiative by the local authorities to improve security and said it should extend beyond the Christmas festivities and become the norm.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

The constitution of South Sudan gives all citizens of the country equal rights without any discrimination and people living with HIV/AIDS are an integral part of society in the country.

According to the constitution, they have the right to lead their lives normally, receive treatment, education, and work to earn a living together with healthy people.

International human rights laws and treaties also give every person the right to health and to access HIV and other healthcare services.

Human rights violations in the context of HIV include the criminalization and enactment of punitive laws that target people living with and most affected by HIV. It also includes stigma and discrimination in the workplace and in healthcare services, gender inequality, and the denial of access to HIV services.

Angelina Doki Terso, a South Sudanese health worker, has been living with HIV for the past fifteen years and devoted her life to educating people infected with AIDS. She says the disease is not an obstacle to living a normal life because she takes her medication and her health and psychological condition is very good.

“Currently I work in a hospital in South Sudan and I see some mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, young and old, living with the AIDS virus flock to the hospital in large numbers,” Doki says, “They were infected with the virus but they will not continue treatment and receive medicines periodically because of the fear of society. So, I ask them to receive treatment periodically in order to live longer.”

Many experts say that discrimination against and stigmatization of people living with HIV is rampant in South Sudanese communities which have made many infected people afraid of disclosing their health status or even starting antiretroviral treatment.

Another South Sudanese lady living with HIV, Sarah Taban, says they face lots of challenges, are insulted and hated by the community, and are not taken to hospital when they fall sick.

“People living with HIV are facing enormous challenges in society. For example, sometimes when we get sick and ask for help, it is not given to us and they insult us badly, which makes us sometimes not disclose our status to the community,” Taban says “I think that there is great hatred towards people infected with AIDS in South Sudan by the society.”

Wilson Batali, another health worker living with HIV and who works in the HIV department at Nyakuron Health Center in Juba, says that when patients are tested and told they are HIV positive, they take the first tranche of medicines but do not return for more.

“I have found many difficulties in our society in South Sudan, especially working in this health center,” Batali explains. “Many of those who come to us to know their health status and if it turns out that they have AIDS, they take the medicines for one time only and do not come back and follow up on the treatment. I think they are afraid of society.”

According to Fatima Mohammed, a Juba resident who tested HIV positive 18 years ago, the South Sudanese society discriminates against people living with the disease yet there are many people who are HIV positive unfortunately do not know their status.

“So far the community does not want to respect people infected with AIDS in South Sudan. They are insulted and face rejection, although there are many in this community who are also infected yet they do not know their health condition,” Mohammed says. “I have now lived with HIV for about eighteen years and I take my medicines regularly and do not care about the stigma from society. Society should know that all people are equal.”

Legal activist Khansa Ibrahim says South Sudan’s constitution clearly stipulates the rights of people living with AIDS to receive treatment and lead a normal and equal life.

“The state must provide good medical cadres and hospitals for citizens to receive treatment and help simple people to receive treatment at the same levels as in private hospitals,” Ibrahim explains. “It provides the simplest things, such as medicines and medical staff in government hospitals, even if a simple citizen cannot pay the costs of treatment. It must be provided.”

The representative of the United Nations, Mahmoud Rahman, says there are many efforts in South Sudan to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS and that number of people infected with AIDS is estimated at about 180,000 people. He adds that there are 17,000 cases recorded annually and 9,000 deaths per year and that some of them did not receive treatment.

“These numbers recorded in South Sudan for people infected with AIDS may be considered small compared to other countries in the Horn of Africa but a percentage of a fragile country such as South Sudan may consider these numbers to be very large and dangerous because the numbers also show that only about 29% of the infected know their health condition,” Rahman says.

He adds that this means that approximately 70 percent do not know about their health condition, 23 percent receive treatment and less than 20 percent do not receive treatment.

“So, we still have a long way to go to eradicate HIV/AIDS,” Rahman concluded.

According to the chairperson of the South Sudan AIDS Commission, Doctor Esterina Novello, despite making some progress, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS who are not on treatment has increased significantly.

“We have made progress in the fight against AIDS. The latest statistics of the infected people among the citizens indicated a decline in the number of infected people, according to the statistics of the year 2020,” Dr. Novello explains. “Challenges remain as usual. Despite the fact that 90 percent of the total number of people infected with AIDS, which numbered 180,000 people, 23 percent of them receive treatment. We have large numbers of women who were diagnosed with AIDS and did not receive treatment.”

She says there must be concerted efforts and collaborative work between the government and partners in order to eliminate HIV/AIDS in southern Sudan.

South Sudan health minister Elizabeth Achuei Yool says that despite the large scale of the response, there are many challenges in responding to the AIDS crisis in the country.

“I know our local culture very well and people do not respect those living with HIV/AIDS. There is discrimination and stigma towards those infected,” Minister Achuei says. “It is unfortunate that we, the government, are doing some duties to fight AIDS but it is not enough because the health system is very expensive. It can be funded from abroad only. The government must do something to take care of its people.”

She adds: “For example, if we receive medicines from abroad, we cannot demand food as well. The government must provide it to the sick because the medicines are strong and need abundant amounts of food for the infected people.”

She says that the Covid-19 pandemic has also diverted attention from HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

The challenges are many, but people living with AIDS need the support of society, government, and organizations in order to end the scourge of the virus in South Sudan.

International rights groups argue that human rights-based HIV programs should be implemented to avoid inequalities or discrimination, and when countries fail to meet the human rights requirements for people living with HIV they should be held legally accountable.

Source: Radio Tamazuj

Local authorities in Twic East County of Jonglei State on Friday launched a Covid-19 vaccination campaign targeting 900 local residents.

The county health director, Chol Leek, told Radio Tamazuj that the drive started after they received 900 doses of COVID-19 vaccines from the state capital, Bor, on Friday, and that it is progressing well.

“We received 900 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines today (Friday),” Leek said. “We just launched and now the vaccination process is ongoing. As of this afternoon, 33 people have already been vaccinated.”

He said the turnout among the locals is promising and that they will exhaust the doses they received before the expiry of the vaccines in April next year.

Deng Gak Atem, the county executive director, applauded the state health ministry for extending the Covid-19 vaccination drive to Twic East and called on the locals to get vaccinated, saying he got the jab and felt well.

“I just got vaccinated. I am feeling well. There is no problem. So, I am calling on the residents to get vaccinated,” he said.

A Sudanese businessman, Mohamed Omer Arun, said he feels well after being vaccinated and called on those who have not taken the vaccine to embrace it. He emphasized the importance of the vaccine in providing protection and a travel pass.

Source: Radio Tamazuj