Category: REGION

South Sudan ambassador to Kuwait dies

South Sudan ambassador to Kuwait Parmena Makuet Manar Riak [Photo via al-Jarida]

South Sudan ambassador to Kuwait Parmena Makuet Manar Riak [Photo via al-Jarida]

KUWAIT – South Sudan’s ambassador to Kuwait, Parmena Makuet Manar Riak, has passed away today at dawn after short illness, according to a foreign ministry official.

The foreign ministry official who spoke to Sudans Post on condition of anonymity said Manar died in Kuwait following short illness caused by high-blood pressure and diabetes.

The official although hinted at COVID-19, the official ruled out the possibility.

“This is to confirm that Ambassador Parmena Makuet Manar Riak, our country’s representative to the state of Kuwait has died,” the official said. “We cannot rule out COVID-19, but what I have as of now is that he has been sick with high blood pressure and diabetes.”

Manar was the first South Sudan ambassador to the Arab Republic of Egypt.

He was appointed the head the country’s diplomatic mission in the North African country following the independence of South Sudan in 2011.

Before he was moved to Kuwait, he was South Sudan’s ambassador to Nigeria.

He was later on recalled and then redeployed to Kuwait.     

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This is not the kind of the unity government we want – European Union

European Union (EU) and South Sudan national flag from textile. [Photo by iStock]

European Union (EU) and South Sudan national flag from textile. [Photo by iStock]

JUBA – A senior European Union (EU) diplomat has said that the current unity government in South Sudan is not the kind that the continental body wants.

“You cannot have a proper new transitional unity government without a parliament. There are no real check and balances at the moment and this is not the kind of government the international community is ready to speak with for long-term planning of development,” Alessandro Rossi, EU’s deputy head of mission to South Sudan, said.

The EU diplomat said the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement is not going as expected saying the security arrangements are not completed ruling out any support for the government the unity government.

“If the security arrangements are not completed, if transitional justice has not even started, if public finance management is not redressed then we cannot speak of appropriate implementation of the peace agreement,” Rossi.

Most of the provisions of the revitalized peace agreement, most importantly the security arrangements which provides for the formation of a unified and professional national army, have not been implemented.

The United Nations Secretary-General said in a report last week that the government was not sending its forces to training centers where opposition forces are currently stationed for training.

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Kiir’s security advisor, Egyptian president discuss peace process

South Sudan presidential security advisor Tut Gatluak, left, meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, right, in Cairo on Tuesday [Photo by Sudans Post]

South Sudan presidential security advisor Tut Gatluak, left, meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, right, in Cairo on Tuesday [Photo by Sudans Post]

CAIRO, EGYPT – President Salva Kiir’s security advisor Tut Gatluak Manimeh has this morning met the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo on Tuesday and discussed the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, according to a senior government official.

In an exclusive interview with Sudans Post in Cairo this morning, investment minister Dhieu Mathok Ding Wol said the delegation came to also invite the Egyptian leadership for the upcoming ceremony of the signing of the Sudanese peace agreement due for October 3.

“We have come to invite the Egyptian leadership for the signing of the Sudanese peace deal which is expected to be signed in Juba on October 24,” Dhieu told Sudans Post in Cairo this afternoon.

The senior government official said the delegation led by Gatluak has also discussed with the Egyptian president the status of the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, specially the security agreements.

He said the Egyptian leader has vowed to support the reunification of the rival forces and will also mobilize other world leaders to support the implementation of the deal which ended the seven-year-old civil war in February this year.

“We have also discussed the implement of the revitalized peace agreement. H.E the President after our meeting today, we discussed the implementation of the peace deal and he has vowed to support us in the areas such as the security arrangements and will mobilize for world support to the peace process in the republic of South Sudan,” he said.

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South Sudan urges international support for Sudanese peace agreement

South Sudan deputy minister of foreign affairs Deng Dau Deng [Photo by unknown]

South Sudan deputy minister of foreign affairs Deng Dau Deng [Photo by unknown]

JUBA – South Sudan’s government has urged international community to rally behind and support the Sudanese peace agreement set to be signed in Juba next week.

The call was made by the world’s youngest country’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Deng Dau Deng during a briefing for the diplomatic community on the status of the Sudanese peace deal in Juba Friday.

“The peace deal will be signed on Oct. 3 and this would form a very important message to our ambassadors in Juba and our friendly countries, for them to be able to invest in supporting the peace process in the Republic of Sudan,” Deng said.

Sudan is set to sign the deal next month in Khartoum.

“This is the right time. The peace implementation will require financial support and expertise to undertake rehabilitation, reconstruction of physical and social infrastructure damaged during the war,” he said.

The deal accords a lifetime opportunity to Sudanese people to put years of war behind them and embark on development while addressing the fundamental root causes of the conflict, he said.

Deputy Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs Malek Ruben said the government and different groups agreed clearly on points of national interest.

“The parties considered to jointly agree on national issues that includes identity, public freedom, human rights, separating religion from state, constitution making process, distribution of power and wealth and social justice and equality,” he said.

South Sudan has offered to mediate between parties to the crisis since unrest led to the overthrow of longtime President Omar Bashir in April 2019.

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Irish Presbyterian Church urges end to South Sudan violence

Logo of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland [Photo via Irish News]

Logo of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland [Photo via Irish News]

DUBLIN, IRELAND – The Presbyterian Church of Ireland (PCI) added its name to a statement that draws attention to the situation in the East African country.

Published today, the statement, which has been produced by churches and agencies affiliated to the Ecumenical Network on South Sudan (ENSS), calls for ordinary South Sudanese people – including young people and women – to feel engaged in the process.

The statement also calls upon PCI and other church partners to stand with the world’s newest nation and points out that the conflict has led to a “dire humanitarian situation” with 7.5 million people requiring humanitarian assistance and more that 2.2 million fleeing the country.

South Sudan is also ranked the country third most vulnerable to the impact of Covid-19.

Rev Dr Liz Hughes, convener of denomination’s Council for Global Mission, said: “Our hearts are heavy for the people of South Sudan and for those who are endeavouring to build peace at every level of society.

“This includes the leaders and members of our partner Presbyterian church. On this International day of Peace, we once again reiterate our commitment to join with them in prayerful solidarity.

“For many years we have prayed for and provided practical support for the work of our partner church in South Sudan in relation to the humanitarian situation there, and in East Africa in general.”

She said PCI had encouraged support “through grants to our partner church and through our development partners Tearfund and Christian Aid Ireland.”

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IGAD will have no grounds to reject request to allow Machar visit troops – spokesman

South Sudan opposition military spokesman Brigadier General William Gatjiath Deng [Photo by Sudans Post]

South Sudan opposition military spokesman Brigadier General William Gatjiath Deng [Photo by Sudans Post]

KHARTOUM – South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, SPLA-IO, has said regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which mediated the 2018 peace agreement, will have no grounds to reject a request by the SPLA-IO military to allow their leader, Dr. Riek Machar, to visit them for consultation on the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

This comes a day after the SPLA-IO Chief of General Staff, General Simon Gatwech Dual, wrote a letter to the regional bloc asking it to allow Machar to visit him so that he could be briefed and consulted on the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

In an exclusive interview with Sudans Post on Saturday, the SPLA-IO official military spokesman Brigadier General William Gatjiath Deng said security arrangements provision in the peace agreement is at a cross road because the other side to the deal has not ordered its troops to report to training centers across the country.

“According to the peace agreement, 41,000 soldiers from the SPLA-IO should be deployed together with their counterparts from the SSPDF in the first phase of the implementation of the security arrangements,” Gatjiath said from Magenis.

“But as of now, the security arrangements is not event being talked of according to what we see and our observation on peace process,” he added.

Asked what would be the next step if IGAD refuse to allow Machar to visit his forces, Gatjiath said the regional body would have no grounds to reject the request by the opposition military chief, saying the implementation of the security arrangements which would have been concluded by now, according to implementation matrix, has not yet been implemented.

“South Sudan peace guarantors will have no ground to reject our request to allow Dr. Riek Machar to visit the headquarters. If they are serious in the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement, they have to allow Dr. Riek Machar, the chairman of the movement, to come and brief the movement in the headquarters,” said the opposition spokesman.

“I don’t see any reason for South Sudan peace guarantors to disregard the deployment of the unified forces because it is agreed upon in the revitalized peace agreement and security arrangements .” he further said.

Machar signed the revitalized peace agreement with Kiir in September 2018 in Addis Ababa. The  agreement provided for the reunification of the rival forces to establish the country’s first professional national army, police and national security service.

Regional and international observers have said that the reunification of forces was in jeopardy as government forces have not reported to joint training centers across the world’s youngest county.

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SPLA-IO chief General Gatwech Dual tells IGAD peace deal is ‘dead’, threatens to redeploy forces

SPLA-IO chief of staff General Simon Gatwich Dual speaking to reporters following arrival at Juba airport on April 25, 2016, a day before Machar return to Juba in 2016. [Photo by Radio Miraya]

SPLA-IO chief of staff General Simon Gatwech Dual speaking to reporters following arrival at Juba airport on April 25, 2016, a day before Machar return to Juba in 2016. [Photo by Radio Miraya]

KHARTOUM – The military chief of South Sudan’s main armed opposition group, General Simon Gatwech Dual has said that the revitalized peace agreement is dead, according to a letter addressed to the regional bloc, IGAD, which mediated the revitalized peace agreement.

The powerful military chief also requested in the letter that IGAD allow Dr. Machar to travel to the SPLA-IO military headquarters to consult and brief the SPLA-IO military on the status of the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement.

“The Military High command’s leadership (MHCL) of the SPLA (IO) has learned that the ongoing peace agreement in Juba has a lot of complications and inherited some sorts of procrastination which are debilitating the implementation of the agreement especially, the security arrangements which is the most paradigm that should have been solved in the first month prior to the agreement,” General Dual said in the letter extended to Sudans Post.

“However, I have written an appeal to South Sudan peace guarantors Troika, AU and IGAD to accept our request as a movement that the Chairman and Commander in Chief (C-in-C), First Vice President of the Republic of South Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny Dhurgon, should be given a chance in order to meet and brief the SPLA (IO) Military Leadership (ML) about the status of the peace in the GHQs,” he said.

he said despite the commitment and good faith shown by Dr. Machar who is now the First Vice President, the regional bloc has kept quite to the ongoing reluctance of the government of President Salva Kiir Mayardit to implement most contentious parts of the agreement.

“It’s clear that Dr. Machar went to Juba in February for conditions building and pushing the agreement to work without hindrances but as a result, the regime in Juba is playing tricks to mislead both African peace actors, IGAD, AU and the wider international community,” he said.

He threatened to deploy over 41,000 SPLA-IO forces in the country in accordance with the 2018 peace agreement or otherwise the entire peace agreement will be considered dead echoing the return to war.

“Undoubtedly, the current peace deal in South Sudan is deteriorating and slowly moving towards passimisive ending while peace guarantors are crossing legs and watching without action,” Dual said.

“The SPLA-IO forces comprising of 41,000 troops are ready now to move anytime and must be deployed in the three regions Equatoria, Upper Nile and Bahr el Ghazal as per the agreement, or otherwise the peace is dead,” he concluded.

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Kiir’s security advisor Tut Gatluak to arrive in Cairo tomorrow

South Sudan security advisor on security Honorable Tutkew Gatluak Manimeh speaking to media in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Thursday [Photo by Sudans Post]

South Sudan security advisor on security Honorable Tutkew Gatluak Manimeh speaking to media in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on Thursday [Photo by Sudans Post]

JUBA – South Sudan president’s security advisor Tutkew Gatluak Manimeh will arrive in the Egyptian capital Cairo along with other senior government officials on Sunday for bilateral talks with their counterparts in Egypt, according to a senior government official.

“Tomorrow, we are going to Egypt with a delegation. This delegation will be headed by Honorable Tut Gatluak, minister of water Manawa Peter Gatkuoth and some members of the cabinet,” the senior government official who is a member of the delegation said.

According to the government official, the delegation would discuss with their Egyptian counterparts issues pertaining to the implementation of the revitalized peace agreement as well as bilateral ties.

“Main areas of discussion will be the implementation of the peace agreement and teh Egyptian support for us. We will also discuss relationship between the two sisterly states which is very important,” the official said.

Egypt and South Sudan enjoys good relationship and the North African country has been sending medical and humanitarian aid to South Sudan in recent years.

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Leek community in Sudan elects new leader

Members of the Leek community in Sudan attending election on Friday, September 18, 2020 [Photo obtained by Sudans Post]

Members of the Leek community in Sudan attending election on Friday, September 18, 2020 [Photo obtained by Sudans Post]

KHARTOUM – The Leek Community Association in Sudan has on Friday elected a new leader in an election described as “free and fair,” according to members of the community who attended the election.

Leek community Association in Sudan is a body established in the 1990s and its membership are the people of South Sudan’s Rubkona county of oil-rich Unity state and was established.

Speaking to Sudans Post this morning, a member of the community said Gattot Goyok was elected as the new leader of the community organization in Sudan succeeding outgoing chairman Sudan Pech Tot.

“On Friday, elections were conducted in Sudan and was won by Gattot Goyok. So Gattot is now our new chairman here in the Republic of Sudan,” the community member said on condition of anonymity.

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General Hemeti tells Tutkew Abyei referendum without Miseriya unacceptable

South Sudan presidential advisor on security Tut Gatluak Manimeh meeting General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo in Khartoum [Photo by Sudans Post]

South Sudan presidential advisor on security Tut Gatluak Manimeh meeting General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo in Khartoum [Photo by Sudans Post]

KHARTOUM – The First Vice President of Sudan’s sovereign Council and commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo has reportedly told President Salva Kiir’s security advisor Tut Gatluak who is currently on a visit to Sudan that any future Abyei referendum without the participation of the Arab Miseriya tribe would not be acceptable.

Gatluak is currently in Sudan on an official visit to invite Sudanese leaders for the ceremony of the signing of the final Sudanese peace deal which is set for the first week of October in Juba where it was negotiated.

Speaking to Sudans Post on Friday night, a member of the South Sudan high-level delegation said the Daglo who is better known as Hemeti told Gatluak that Abyei referendum must include the Miseriya and any conduct of the 2005 peace provision without that would not be accepted by the Sudanese part.

“Yesterday, after we met al-Burhan, we went to meet General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. What he said when we raised the issue of Abyei, was that the Miseriya must be part of the Abyei referendum,” the member of the delegation said on condition of anonymity.

Abyei is a contested area between Sudan and South Sudan and a 2013 referendum conducted unilaterally by the Abyei residents of the nine Ngok chiefdom was declared null and void by both countries.

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