Category: Literacy

Al-Buran’s media adviser on Monday censured the dismissed director of Sudan Radio and TV Corporation, saying he ignored the news of the head of the Sovereignty Council and abandoned its mission as an official media tasked with publishing the news of state institutions and leaders.

In a statement released 24 hours after the sack of Lugman Ahmed from the state media body, Tahir Abu Haja released a statement to explain the al-Burhan decision to relieve him on Sunday.

Abu Haja said the official TV station ignored the news of the army and broadcast the news about the army commander in chief at the end of the news bulletin.

He added that the editorial line of private media could classify the news according to its importance but not the government media, which have to take into account the importance of the positions in the state.

The adviser went further to blame the national television for not giving the needed attention to the liberation of Al-Fashqa last year and the visits of the military leadership to the border area.

He added that the official channel was clearly used against the government and against the head of state, as he said.

Although he started his career with Sudan TV, Lugman worked more on Pan-Arab TV channels such as MBC, Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya. These regional channels enjoy a kind of independence to cover Arab affairs.

He also worked for the BBC and was influenced by the liberal school of journalism.

Abu Haja said the government would work to activate the “press code of honour and laws and regulations that govern the work of all media channels and others”.

He quickly added that these measures do not aim to “limit freedoms, but rather to reduce the misperception of freedoms and publishing crimes”.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Leaders from Twic county in South Sudan’s Warrap state and Abyei administrative area have signed a cessation of hostilities and agreed to suspend surveying activities in Aneet market.

The deal was signed on Monday in Northern Bahr El Ghazal state capital, Aweil. Mediated by a fact-finding investigation committee led by the vice president for services cluster, Hussein Abdel Bagi Akol, who was assisted by the governor of Unity state Joseph Nguen Monytuil and the minister of investment, Dhieu Mathok Diing Wol, the two communities agreed to stop carrying out attacks and resume their normal relations and continue to live peacefully with each other.

Governor of Warrap state, Aleu Ayieny Aleu, and the Abyei chief administrator, Kuol Deim Kuol, attended the function and signed the documents along with two county commissioners and two traditional leaders.

The deal listed 13 points, the first of which includes a declaration of cessation of hostilities, resumption of peaceful coexistence, and social cohesion between themselves.

End all of the forms of direct provocation, whether verbal or written material which constitutes spreading hate and other hateful activities, stop all of the forms of unauthorized blockage of roads or checkpoints, allow free movement of persons and goods in the territorial jurisdictions of each community, allow national government without reservation to convene and facilitate peaceful dialogue and reconciliation which should establish root cause of the conflict and find a permanent solution.

The two communities pledged to recognize that interstate boundary are always a responsibility of the national government to which any dispute should be left for an amicable settlement. The deal pledged that the accused from both sides of the conflict will be identified and be held accountable for their actions.

The leaders also pledged commitment to peace and stability and determination to accept the outcome of the permanent peaceful settlement when the national government convenes it.

The document commits each chief to control his people and be held responsible in the event an attack was launched from his area against the other without acting to control the situation. It calls on the national government and humanitarian organizations to urgently provide humanitarian assistance to the affected population and victims of the conflict in Aneet.

Source: Sudan Tribune

The Troika countries on Wednesday condemned attacks by the South Sudan People’s Defense Forces (SSPDF) on the armed opposition faction (SPLM/A-IO) positions in Jekow and other towns in Maiwut County, Upper Nile State.

The troika comprises of the United States, the United Kingdom and Norway.

The group, in a statement released on Wednesday, said that they have received reports showing that government forces have carried out attacks on positions held by armed opposition fighters in multiple places.

They cited the latest attack in Maiwut county of Upper Nile state which took place between March 19 and 20 March 2022. These incidents led to displacements, loss of lives, and destruction of properties in the area in which clashes occurred.

These incidents, according to the statement, followed a series of repeated attacks across Unity and Upper Nile states by either government forces or-aligned forces on positions held by armed opposition forces over the last two months.

“The Troika requests the Permanent Ceasefire and Peace Agreement monitoring and verification mechanisms, the Ceasefire, and Transitional Security Arrangements Monitoring and Verification Mechanism (CTSAMVM) and the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), to provide urgently an assessment of whether these attacks constitute a breach of R-ARCSS and identify those that bear primary responsibility,” said the Troika in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune.

It continued: “Incidents such as these and the resulting cycles of revenge attacks risk greater violence in the country. They also illustrate the destabilizing and pernicious effects of incentivized defections, as these are often followed by armed clashes between defectors and their former comrades in arms.”

The countries normally considered friends of the people of the country and considered as a group advocating regime by the government and its supporters expressed concerns at attacks against training centers and cantonment sites.

The attacks, noted the statement, betray a lack of political will to unify and graduate the Necessary Unified Forces and thereby threaten to undermine the peace agreement.

“We call on the Government of South Sudan to exercise leadership and oversight of the nation’s security forces to maintain discipline and compliance with the peace agreement,” the statement stressed.

“The Troika regrets the decision by SPLM/A-IO to temporarily withdraw its participation from CTSAMVM and R-JMEC and urges all parties to recommit to the R-ARCSS and re-engage in good faith in the Agreement mechanisms,” it added.

The attacks are happening with less than a year left of the transitional period, whole-hearted commitment is critical to get us past the finish line.

“Unfortunately, recent events signal the opposite. We are concerned that a continuation down the current path could lead to renewed bouts of fighting and suffering visited upon the people of South Sudan, who have already suffered two wars in their first decade of independence,” noted the Troika.

“The Troika will continue to support the parties in their efforts to achieve a stable, peaceful society for all South Sudanese,” it added.

Source: Sudan Tribune

Widespread rape is being perpetrated by all armed groups in South Sudan often as part of military tactics for which government and military leaders are responsible, either due to their failure to prevent these acts or for their failure to punish those involved, a new United Nations report revealed.

“It is outrageous and completely unacceptable that women’s bodies are systematically used on this scale as the spoils of war,” said Yasmin Sooka, the chairperson of the UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan.

“Urgent and demonstrable action by authorities is long overdue, and South Sudanese men must stop regarding the female body as ‘territory’ to be owned, controlled and exploited,” she added.

The 48-page report is based on interviews conducted with victims and witnesses over several years. Survivors detailed staggeringly brutal and prolonged gang rapes perpetrated against them by multiple men, often while their husbands, parents, or children have been forced to watch, helpless to intervene.

Women of all ages, the reported stated, recounted being raped multiple times while other women were also being raped around them.

“Anyone reading the details of this horrific report can only begin to imagine what life is like for the survivors. These accounts are unfortunately just the tip of the iceberg. Everyone, inside and outside governments, should be thinking what they can do to prevent further acts of sexual violence and to provide adequate care for the survivors,” said Andrew Clapham, member of the Commission.

According to the report, South Sudanese women are physically assaulted while being raped at gunpoint, typically held down by men while being abused by others. They are told not to resist in the slightest way, and not to report what happened, or they will be killed.

In the damning document, a woman described her friend being raped by a man in the jungle who then said he wanted to continue to ‘have fun’ and further raped her with a firewood stick until she bled to death.

Husbands searching for abducted wives and daughters often spend years not knowing their fate. Some learned they were abducted by men from rival ethnic groups and forced to bear multiple children – one such man was so traumatized he wanted to take his own life.

The Commission found that these attacks were not random opportunistic incidents, but usually involved armed soldiers actively hunting down women and girls. Rape carried out during attacks on villages are systematic and widespread.

The Commission said the failure of political elites to deal with security sector reform and to provide for the very basic needs of armed forces on all sides, contributes to a permissive environment in which South Sudanese women are regarded as currency.

“The Government of South Sudan has the primary obligation to end impunity for serious crimes. The Commission has noted the recent Government initiatives to address sexual violence in conflict, including establishing a special court and holding military justice proceedings,” the Commission said.

“The Commission welcomes these measures, but they remain woefully inadequate given the scale and extent of crimes. The 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement offers a framework to address the drivers of conflict and sexual violence if fully adhered to.”

“It is scandalous that senior officials implicated in violence against women and girls, including cabinet ministers and governors, are not immediately removed from office and held accountable. To address this pervasive violence in conflict and other contexts, those in positions of command and other authority must promptly and publicly adopt a ‘zero-tolerance’ policy towards sexual and gender-based violence.” said Barney Afako, a member of the Commission.

South Sudan laws provide for protection of women and girls from sexual abuse and exploitation and gender-based violence, including rape, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

Source: Sudan Tribune

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

The African region is lagging behind in COVID-19 vaccination roll out with only 10.2% of its population fully vaccinated compared to 55.5% globally. Between January and August 2021, the low vaccination coverage was due to insufficientavailability of vaccines. Since August 2021, vaccine supply in the African region has increased significantly, especiallythrough the COVAX Facility, which has donated 69% of all vaccines received in the African region. With only 51.1% of vaccines received administered and reports of expired COVID-19 vaccines in 27 countries, the low vaccination rateappears to be the consequence of insufficient vaccine demand and limited capacity to roll out the vaccination programme. As result, only 5 countries have achieved the target of vaccinating 40% of their population set for December 2021, and 15 countries are yet to reach 10% of their population fully vaccinated. It is critical for the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO AFRO) and other partners to provide the requisite technical and financial support to Member States in order to speed and scale up COVID-19 vaccination and achieve the target of fully vaccinating 70% of the population in all countries by the end of June 2022. To this end, the WHO AFRO launched, in January 2022, a new initiative aiming to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination in Africa: the Multi-Partners Country Support Teams initiative.

Source: World Health Organization