Category: Governance

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

UNITAMS Head Volker Perthes and African Union Envoy Mohamed El Hacen Lebatt on Thursday said they would join their efforts to bring Sudanese to end the current political stalemate and restore a civilian-led transitional government.

Perthes and Lebatt appeared together hand to hand in a joint press conference on Thursday for the first time after multiple visits by African Union officials and statements by the African Union Peace and Security Council about their leading role in the restoration of the civilian-led transition in Sudan.

The special representative of the UN secretary-general stressed that the United Nations is committed to partnering with the African Union and IGAD to return Sudan to a real transition path, ending with free and fair elections and democratic civilian rule.

The goal of this partnership is to restore the constitutional situation and a transitional path towards civil and democratic rule, Volker said.

He stressed that the United Nations and the African Union will not impose any solution, but rather the dialogue must be “Sudanese – Sudanese.”

After announcing the partnership, he spoke about the timeframe he said they are in a situation of urgency and they have to finalize the process very quickly.

“We do not have long to act,” he said, pointing to the deteriorating economic and security situation in Sudan, as well as the bloody repression against protesters who are killed in the streets.

He further warned that the date of forgiveness of Sudan’s debts is approaching. So, “We must reach a solution before next June,” he added.

For his part, Lebatt said that the United Nations and the African Union would not set the agenda of the proposed intra-Sudanese dialogue.

He added that Sudanese have to develop an urgent programme for the transitional period, which includes the constitutional, executive and judicial status.

The African Union official went further to speak about the needed steps to create a conducive environment for the political process such as the release of political detainees, stopping violence against protesters, and lifting the state of emergency.

“We need responsible and appropriate action as soon as possible for national consent, in order to restore the constitutional legitimacy of the country and end the military coup,” said the African diplomat who mediated the constitutional declaration of 2019.

The agreement on the partnership will cut short any attempt to maintain the current status quo with a military regime backed by Islamist elements.

Observers expressed fears that the military would try to juggle multiple initiatives and finish by remaining in power.

The Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) welcomed the partnership between the African Union and the UNITAMS to resolve the Sudanese crisis.

The political coalition met on Thursday with the two partners to discuss the situation in Sudan and the way forward to end the political crisis.

“The FFC Executive Office reiterated that any political process must achieve the goals of the revolution and the demands of the street,” said the statement.

The statement further pointed to the need to repeal the state of emergency, end violence against protesters, release political detainees.

Source: Sudan Tribune

PRETORIA— Three African presidents have spoken with their Russian counterpart since the Ukrainian invasion by Russia started on Feb 24.

The latest is South African president Cyril Ramaphosa, who posted details of his telephone call with Putin on his Twitter handle on Thursday.

“Thanking His Excellency President Vladimir Putin for taking my call today, so I could gain an understanding of the situation that was unfolding between Russia and Ukraine.

“I outlined our position on the conflict that has unfolded as well as our belief that the conflict should be resolved through mediation and negotiation between the parties and – if need be – with the help of agencies that can help bring a solution to the conflict.

“President Putin appreciated our balanced approach. We believe this position enables both parties to subject the conflict to mediation & negotiation. Based on our relations with the Russian Federation & as member of BRICS, South Africa has been approached to play a mediation role,” his series of tweets read.

Before Ramaphosa, Egypt’s Abdul Fattah Al-Sisi spoke with Putin on bilateral issues and on developments in Ukraine.

The third African leader to have spoken to Putin is Senegal’s Macky Sall, who is also current Chairperson of the African Union, AU.

“I welcome my meeting this morning with President Putin in my capacity as Chairman of the African Union to seek a lasting ceasefire in Ukraine.

“I salute his attentiveness and his willingness to maintain dialogue for a negotiated outcome to the conflict,” Macky Sall tweeted on March 9.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

Yasir Arman, a leading figure of the Forces for Freedom and Change (FFC) on Wednesday denied reports about a meeting with the splinter National Charter group that supports the military coup of October 25, 2022.

Media outlets reported contacts and meetings between the FFC mainstream group with the National Charter to reunite the coalition.

The reports said Yasir Arman, Gaafar Hassan and two others would meet again on Wednesday with Noreldayem Taha of SLM-Minni Minnawi and Ahmed Tugud of JEM-Gibril Ibrahim among others.

However, Arman swiftly issued a statement dismissing the “inaccurate and false” reports.

“Neither I nor Gaafar Hassan participated in such a meeting. (these reports) are an ugly attempt to demonize the Forces of Freedom and Change,” further said Arman.

In recent statements to the Sudan Tribune, Taha expressed their frustration about the current political and economic situation pointing out that the coup they supported led to a power grab by al-Burhan and his deputy Hemetti.

The SLM-MM senior official called on the FFC Central Council to hold genuine negotiations and form a real partnership to make the transition a success, as he said.

Arman stressed that the FFC stand at the forefront of the ranks with the agenda of the revolution and the street which rejects any partnership with the coup leaders.

He called for building a broad front for civilian forces and the forces of the December revolution. “And to start with a unified coordination centre between the revolutionary forces towards forming one front,” he added.

The military coup has stopped the democratic transition and aggravated the economic crisis in Sudan. Also, it ignited more divisions among the forces of the revolution in the country after the support of some armed groups to the coup.

The UN political mission in Sudan is seeking to bring together the Sudanese stakeholders at the negotiating table to reach an agreement on the restoration of the democratic transition.

Arman repeated that the coup has undermined the constitutional framework of the peace agreement which leads to establishing a democratic regime in Sudan. Also, the takeover stopped the enforcement of the security arrangements which should pave the way towards a single professional army.

Source: Sudan Tribune