Kiir calls Machar to discuss ongoing fighting in Central Equatoria

September 18th 2018 (Nyanilepedia) – South Sudan President said on Monday that he called the country’s First Vice President designate Dr. Riek Machar Teny who is also the leader of the main armed opposition to order his field commanders to cease attacking government positions in Yei.

Kiir was speaking to a congregation in Juba where a prayer for the victim of Yirol plane crash took place.

Mr. Kiir said he initiated to call Machar to ask him why his forces are fighting them when there is a peace agreement in place that’s meant to end the ongoing conflict

Kiir assured the people that the agreement marks the end of the ongoing civil war and the government signed the agreement for the sack of signing the agreement.

“I want to personally assure you that the agreement we have just signed has ended the war. Your suffering provided the primary motivation for this government to pursue peace by all means necessary,” he said.

He urged the people to embrace peace telling them to forgive those he called brothers and sisters from the opposition.

“I want to appeal to all of you to accept and embrace this peace agreement [and forgive] your brothers and sisters from the opposition side and so that we close the dark chapter on the wall by forgiving each other. We give the chance to peace and prosperity of our peace and our nation,” he added.

UN urges South Sudan to fast track formation of hybrid court

The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan on Monday called on South Sudan government to expedite the process of forming a hybrid court to try perpetrators of rights abuses in the war-ravaged nation.

This follows a similar call by the United States on 7^th September 2018.

In a statement, the commission urged South Sudan to use the newly signed peace deal as an opportunity to ensure justice and accountability for the victims of rights abuses.

“The Commission in particular urged the African Union and the Government of South Sudan to agree on a timeline to fast-track the long-awaited Hybrid Court for South Sudan, the Commission on Truth, Healing and Reconciliation and the Compensation and Reparations Authority, all set out in Chapter V of the Peace Agreement to render justice and facilitate national reconciliation,” the statement reads in part.

The Commission’s Chairperson Yasmin Sooka said they are waiting for consent from the government of South Sudan.  

“Six months later, we are still waiting for this signature [by the President of South Sudan or his foreign Minister], which is required by the African Union to set up this court,” stressed Ms. Sooka.

“South Sudan is at war with its citizens and currently stands at the crossroads between hope and peace, on the one hand, and more missed opportunities, on the other hand. Sustainable peace requires justice and accountability for serious crimes,” she added.

The rights body further added that victims of the five-year conflict need justice for healing of communities and rebuilding of social bonds, while condemning the on-going sexual violence against women and girls in South Sudan.

The Commission further criticised the South Sudanese government for not heeding to calls by civil society and the international community to abolish the death penalty or put in place a moratorium on executions, noting that three executions took place in May this year.

It further expressed fears that there could be more executions in the coming months as 40 out of 345 death-row prisoners detained across the country have been transferred from state and county prisons to Wau and Juba central prisons, which are the only prisons equipped with execution chambers.

Radio Tamazuj

China,Sudan to write new chapter of strategic partnership

By Li Lianhe (People's Daily)

It has been 4 years since I first set foot on the land of Sudan, a country located in northeast Africa with a vast territory.

During my years in Sudan, I’ve felt firsthand the friendliness and kindness of Sudanese, and witnessed the development and changes of Sudan and the rapid progress of China-Sudan friendship.

Enjoying a long history of friendship, China and Sudan have set a role model for South-South Cooperation.

Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1959, the two countries have always maintained stable and healthy development of bilateral friendly relations in various fields, enjoyed mutual understanding and coordination, and supported each other on issues related to core interests and major concerns.

China has offered assistance to Sudan's economic and social development to its best capabilities, such as the aiding of the Sudan Friendship Hall, which has become a well-known project in Sudan, as well as a series of economic and livelihood projects including the construction of hospitals, schools, roads and bridges, and the Brightness Action campaigns that offer free surgery for cataract patients.

In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Bashir jointly announced the establishment of China-Sudan strategic partnership, pushing bilateral relations forward to a new historical stage.

In 2017, China remained the largest trading partner of Sudan, with bilateral annual trade volume reaching $2.8 billion that accounted for 21 percent of Sudan’s total imports and exports in the corresponding period.

China and Sudan have also carried out effective cooperation on petroleum, agriculture, and mining industry. Under China’s assistance, Sudan has built a complete petroleum industry chain integrating oil and gas exploration, development, production, oil refining, petrochemicals and marketing.

Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises are also growing stronger thanks to the cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples.

In addition, cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries have made Confucius Institutes and Happy Spring Festival art and cultural show name cards of China in Sudan. Chinese language is also seeing increasing popularity in the country.

Mohammed Elmoiez (Chinese name: Zhao Zhixing), a Sudanese student majoring in Chinese from the University of Khartoum, won the championship in the 16th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students, which further ignited the enthusiasm of the Sudanese people for Chinese and promoted the friendly exchanges between the two peoples.

The Belt and Road construction has brought China and Sudan a rare and valuable opportunity for enhancing their cooperation.

As one of the earliest countries to respond actively to the Belt and Road Initiative and sign cooperation agreements with China on the joint development of the Belt and Road Initiative, Sudan hopes to align the Belt and Road construction with its own development strategies so as to realize greater development.

China and Sudan enjoy traditional friendship. They are highly complementary in both development strategies and economies. With solid public support, the two countries now face a new historical opportunity for pragmatic cooperation.

President Xi met with President al-Bashir once again at the 2018 Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation to jointly draw a beautiful blueprint for China-Sudan relations in the new era. It is expected that the two countries will usher their strategic partnership into a new chapter.

(Li Lianhe is Chinese Ambassador to Sudan)