On South Sudan, Kiir's Reservations Would Delete Groups' Disarmament, Follow the Money

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive series

UNITED NATIONS, August 27 -- After the South Sudan peace agreement was signed by President Salva Kiir, saying that he had reservations, there has been a lot of vague talk about these reservations, with the US "not recognizing" them, some saying they've seen them but not publishing, and others saying wait and see. Now it's time to see: Inner City Press is publishing the 12 page docuemnt, here, just as Inner City Press earlier put online the August 17 Compromise Agreement, as first  obtained, here.

  The 12-page reservation document says to delete the provision about disarming Darfur based armed groups including JEM, SLA-Minnawi, SLA-Abdulwahid, as well as the SPLM-North.

  It resists calling the Army the NDFSS and referring to the "Armed Opposition" instead of the SPLM/A-IO. It says the National Army will remain inside its headquarters, and would delete Juba from the list of cantonment areas. It says there is a need to reconstitute the Monitoring and Verification Mechanism.

  It says to limit the JMEC and delete the word "oversee" throughout.

 The article on reparation and compensation is to be removed.

 Who would be vice president(s) would be up to Kiir: no reward for rebellion, or "gambling" on who ministers will be. The rebels should not be governors in Unity, Jonglei and Upper Nile State. Power sharing should be 70-20, not 46-40.  Funds should be with the Minister of Finance. As always, follow the money -- Inner City Press would add, to Kenya Commercial Bank and beyond. We'll have more on this.

  Before Kiir signed, Uganda's Yoweri Museveni advised him to get the UN out of the country, saying having the UN is is a sign of weakness and that the UN preserves terrorism.

 Past 5 pm New York time on August 26, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon offered praise for Kiir signing, saying nothing of the reservation or of the UN being openly trashed by Museveni.

  It is to Museveni that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has been deferring on Burundi, still not having named a UN envoy as the UN Security Council called "imminent" two weeks ago. (Ban was in France on August 26, praising the country's ambassadorial corps without a single mention of French troops' alleged rape of children in the Central African Republic, covered up by Ban's (French) head of UN Peacekeeping, Herve Ladsous.)

  In fairness to Museveni, his reference may have been in part to Ladsous' MONUSCO failing to act on armed groups in Eastern Congo -- including the FDLR, which also impinges on Burundi. We'll have more on this. Here was Ban's August 26 statement:

"The Secretary-General welcomes the signature today by President Salva Kiir of the Agreement on the resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. This is a critical and necessary step towards ending the 20 month-long conflict that has devastated South Sudan and subjected its people to unspeakable suffering." full statement here.

  In front of the Security Council on August 26, there was loose talk about Kiir signing; an African diplomat told Inner City Press, "He signed! He was obliged!" with no mention of the reservations. The UN had no noon briefing  -- it said it woul only have one if something important happened, this was apparently not important - here are answers from August 24 and August 25, Inner City Press' South Sudan questions have been not been answered.

  On August 25, Ellen Loj, the head of the UN Mission in the country UNMISS told the UN Security Council that Kiir is expected to sign the agreement on August 26. Inner City Press asked, how might that impact the pending draft resolution on sanctions and an arms embargo?

  After consultations on August 25, Security Council President for August Joy Ogwu of Nigeria emerged with Elements to the Press including:

“The Council members expressed concern on the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation. They condemned the continuing fighting by the parties and underlined the need for a peaceful resolution of the crisis.

  “They expressed optimism that President Salva Kiir would follow through on his commitment to sign the IGAD Plus Peace Agreement without reservation.

  “They stressed the importance of full implementation of the Agreement. Council members underscored the need to remain engaged on the situation in South Sudan. In this regard they expressed their readiness to act immediately if President Kiir does not sign the agreement tomorrow as he has undertaken."

  Inner City Press asked Ambassador Ogwu about sending the draft resolution's annexes to the African Union and IGAD, as an African delegation told Inner City Press about. Ogwu answered that speed is important, but also that it be concerted, a consensus, like an orchestra, it doesn't matter who writes the notes, but... Periscope video here; here's fast transcript of Q&A from InnerCityPro, which also has analysis:

Inner City Press: Some members talked about sending the annexes to the AU or IGAD. Was there discussion of that? When you say immediately, does it include that? 

Amb Ogwu: We all understand the need for urgency, because the situation is urgent. But also there is the need for concerted action, for consensus. It is a stage and all the players must act as an orchestra, play the symphony, it doesn’t matter who writes the notes but it’s important to act in unison, act with one voice.

Q: Can you clarify, if he does not sign tomorrow, will you vote on the US draft resolution?

Amb Ogwu: We decided that we will take immediate action if he does not sign, or if he signs with reservations....

Inner City Press: Any discussion of the military situation? Which side is more responsible for the military action since the Addis meeting?

Amb Ogwu: We are seeking peace. We are not apportioning blame to any particular side. We are urging all the parties to come together to relieve the dire humanitarian situation and to stop the fighting.

Q: What about justice? We heard from Stephen O’Brien this morning…

Amb Ogwu: I don’t think Stephen O’Brien mentioned anything about justice.

Q: He spoke about women being raped, atrocities.

Amb Ogwu: Yes. That is an outcome. But that is left for another department. I would not want to go into that. But we all agreed I would say on measures to be taken that anybody who is found culpable will be held accountable. There is one voice in the Council.

  In her national capacity, Nigeria's Ambassador Ogwu emphasized the need for an arms embargo, and to check where the weapons in the country are.

  Loj said, "a Mini-Summit has been called for tomorrow, where the Government of the Republic of South Sudan, in the interest of peace, is expected to sign the proposed agreement. Despite this hopefully positive development, the security situation on the ground has been volatile and tense. Fighting in the Greater Upper Nile region has remained intense and further escalation of hostilities in southern Unity State has had increasingly severe consequences for the civilian population. Major offensives conducted by the SPLA and its allied militias into Opposition-held areas have led to further deterioration of the security and humanitarian situation since April, and have resulted in numerous reports of grave human rights violations. Most recently, on August 19, fighting occurred between SPLA and Opposition forces around Leer town, with both sides trading accusations of having initiated the attack.

  Loj spoke of discouraging some from entering the UN's "protection of civilian" camps, without addressing the blocking of civilians fleeing fighting from the UN's Yambio camp, which Inner City Press has repeatedly asked about. Nor did she address if UNMISS' radio station, Radio Miraya, kept rigt on broadcasting amid a strike by media in the country to protect the assassination of journalist Peter Julius Moi.

  On August 18, Inner City Press asked UN Associate Spokesperson Maestracci, "do you have any comment on, or does the mission have any comment on, Salva Kiir having said at the airport on his way to Addis that 'if anybody among journalists does not know that this country has killed people, we will demonstrate it one day, one time'?" 

  By August 21, after South Sudanese journalist Peter Julius Moi was assassinated in Juba, Inner City Press asked the next UN Associate Spokesperson Eri Kaneko this question, video here:

Inner City Press: In South Sudan,  virtually all media there, the Union of Journalists in South Sudan and the Association for Media Development in South Sudan, have agreed to a media blackout in mourning and as a protest of the murder of the journalist Peter Julius Moi.  They’re saying that UNMISS’ Radio Miraya is going to keep broadcasting.  Is that the case?  Is Miraya part of sort of the media of South, what’s the position of the UN on this?

Associate Spokesperson:  I’m not aware, but I will look into that.

  Eight hours later and counting, there has been no answer. Video here.

  On both August 18 and 19 when Inner City Press asked, UN spokesperson Maestracci declined to confirm or deny any of the fighting in the country -- a pattern for UNMISS under UN Peacekeeping boss Herve Ladsous. On August 19, Maestracci told Inner City Press, "As soon as I have [information], I will give it to you." None came: also a pattern.

  But Inner City Press sources tell it of ongoing clashes in Upper Nile, in Pageri, East Equatoria, still ongoing. The Juba – Nimule road, the only "proper tarmac road" in the country, remains closed; limited communications within the fragmented phone networks confirm that civilians are being targeted.

   West Equatorial Governor Joseph Bakasoro is still detained.

  Also, here is UNMISS sit-rep for insiders, not meant for the public, apparently:

“Following attacks in Pageri on 18 Aug 2015 host country security forces have advised that there is still military operation in the vicinity of Pageri town (30 kms North of Nimule).

UN Security advises that:

·        UN/INGO travels on the Juba - Nimule road are currently restricted.

·        UN Security will re-assess the situation in the next 24 hours and will advise accordingly.

·        In the interim all missions should be cleared with UN Security until further notice.

·        Additionally, UN/INGO missions into Pageri are to be suspended until a clearer picture is established as there are reports of heavy host country security forces deployed in Pageri.” 

  ... This is how things are at UN Headquarters and elsewhere in the system, especially in UN Peacekeeping under Ladsous. The Free UN Coalition for Access is challenging this.

Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan, Aug 17, online via Inner City P... by Matthew Russell Lee

  On August 19 after UN Deputy Secretary General Jan Eliasson briefed the Council behind closed doors - he stopped and told Inner City Press is was not a short consultation, only a scheduling misunderstanding - he stopped on the way out and spoke again.

  Inner City Press asked Eliasson the question the UN Spokesperson has for two days declined to answer: "Have the two sides started fighting again?"

  Eliasson to his credit answered: "There are reports, they are very worrying. And this is also why, it is important if there is this progress towards signing of an agreement, that it is accompanied by the need for a ceasefire. A diplomatic solution cannot be found if there is not a de escalation."

  Moments later New Zealand's Ambassador Gerard van Boheman stopped and spoke about the US submitted draft resolution that the US' Susan Rice had alluded to the day before, that that it "does deal with an arms embargo also posits additional sanctions, if the agreement is not signed. I think there’s general recognition that the situation in South Sudan is not good, there’s a recognition that the IGAD and that the IGAD plus countries have been doing all they can. We want to be able to support their efforts.”

  Ambassador van Boheman said that “it’s quite a technical resolution. So I think it will take quite a bit of work to get everyone on the same page.”  Could that timing be related to the 15 days from August 17 deadline for Salva Kiir to sign?

  Inner City Press also asked van Bohemen about Yemen, but that's another story.

 On South Sudan, from the UN's August 18 transcript:

on South Sudan, can the Mission there, or do you have anything on reported, an attack by the Government on the opposition in a place called Imatong?  And do you have any comment on, or does the mission have any comment on, Salva Kiir having said at the airport on his way to Addis that "if anybody among journalists does not know that this country has killed people, we will demonstrate it one day, one time"?  It's a comment that CPJ has criticized, and I wonder if the mission has seen it and what they think of it.

Associate Spokesperson:  So on Imatong — is that what it's called?

Correspondent:  Yeah.

Associate Spokesperson:  I actually do not have a statement.  On South Sudan and the comments on the media that were made by Salva Kiir, yes, the Mission told us they were very concerned about, over the curbing of the press freedom in South Sudan, including recent closure of media houses and threats to journalists.  And they've also reiterated the importance of independent, free and pluralistic press.

Question:  Is the Deputy… I just wanted to ask one thing.  I saw that the Deputy Secretary-General's schedule says appointments are internal.  Did he come back from Addis?  Is there some way…

Associate Spokesperson:  He is on his way back.

  On August 19, Inner City Press asked Maestracci again - still no information on Imatong, nor Upper Nile, Pageri or other attacks since. From the August 19 UN transcript:

Inner City Press: I wanted to ask about South Sudan.  I’d asked you yesterday about whether UNMISS could confirm reports of fighting and now there’s increased reports of fighting and counter charges by the Government and the opposition of fighting in Upper Nile State, also near the Ugandan border.  So I’m wondering if UNMISS, given its presence in the country, it seems important to know is this taking place and if so which side is instigating it?

Associate Spokesperson Vannina Maestracci:  We’re checking and we’re waiting for an answer.  As soon as I have one, I will give it to you.

  Nothing was given, but see above.

 Inner City Press asked DSG Eliasson of reports of fighting in South Sudan, he acknowledged the reports, Periscope video here. We'll have more on this.

   

On Sudan, HRW Chides UNAMID, ICG on Aid into Blue Nile from Ethiopia, Amnesty Report Online (as is FUNCA)

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 21 – In Sudan, International Criminal Court indictee Ali Kushayb continues killing in Darfur and the SPLM-North rebels shell Kadugli, recently killing a UN peacekeeper there.

In New York, the International Crisis Group, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International held a join press conference on Friday. 

  On Kushayb, Inner City Press asked HRW's Jehanne Henry about the UNAMID peacekeeping mission responding on June 5 that “fighting between Miseria and Salamat tribes took place [but] UNAMID has not observed Muhammad Ali Abdel-Rahman (also known as Ali Kushayb) in Darfur.”

  Henry replied that while UNAMID has a strong protection of civilians mandate, it is not fulfilling this mandate, there are many examples and this is just one. Video here, from Minute 27:13.

We have noted in the past a reticence by HRW to criticize the UN. Perhaps because UNAMID is a hybrid mission with the African Union, it is different? One wonders: when Ken Roth met with Ban Ki-moon, was the weakness of UNAMID brought up?

  And why has HRW said so little about DPKO's Herve Ladsous' lack of communication and action about the rapes in Minova by two units of the Congolese Army he continues to support? 

  About Ladsous' proposed use of the Chadian Army, on the UN's list of child soldier recruiters, in the MINUSMA mission in Mali – which not only Watchlist but also WorldVisior have criticized?

On the evening of June 20, Inner City Press asked top UN Humanitarian Valerie Amos about Amnesty's report on Blue Nile; she said that Sudan is offering to let aid in “cross line” but is opposed to cross border entry from South Sudan, which the SPLM-North is insisting on. 

  The question is whether the insistence on cross border aid is, as in Syria, used for political purposes by some.

  Renzo Pomi of Amnesty declined to get into cross-border aid, saying it is being discussed but not yet put on paper. He noted divisions in the UN Security Council, and said he'd more closely review what Amos answered Thursday night. We'll await that. The Amnesty report, including recommendations to international NGOs and UN agencies, is online here.

  EJ Hogendoorn of the International Crisis Group said if the aid into Blue Nile couldn't be cross-line, it should be cross border. He said this might be possible from Ethiopia, which would be less problematic for Sudan.

  One wonders how the killing of an Ethiopian peacekeeper in Kadugli, pretty clearly by the SPLM-North, will impact Ethiopia's positions on Sudan and South Sudan.

  The Ethiopia idea was something new, at least in UN world – just as when ICG's Comfort Ero told Inner City Press of Mali, “there must be a willingness to include all armed groups at table if they are willing to end armed struggle.” 

  That was not pen-holder France's thinking; Ero was also willing to publicly note that Romano Prodi with his Sahel report had been slow. Now that it's out – and underwhelming – we'll be writing on that soon. Watch this site.

Footnote: In a note on the ICG / Ero press conference on Mali, the UN Correspondents Association and some of its Executive Committee members' attempt to get the investigative Press thrown out of the UN was reviewed. On Friday, the first question went to UNCA, taken by a person who lost when running for the Executive Committee. We've said it before: given the payment of dues, this amounts to questions being for sale at the UN. So says the FREE UN Coalition for Access, now tweeting questions, often from journalists denied access or answers by the UN, from@FUNCA_info. Onward.

On Sudan, UN Stonewalls Then Spins Suffering & Empty Blue Nile Glass as Being Half Full, No Push for Cross-Border Aid Like For Syria

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, June 12 -- For more than a week, Inner City Press has been asking the UN if there is humanitarian access to Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan states in Sudan. On June 4 an answer was promised. On June 12, still with no answer, Inner City Press asked it again, this time citing an Amnesty International report on Blue Nile issued on June 10.

The report (online here) details horrendous conditions in Blue Nile, and concludes by recommending to the UNMISS mission and other UN agencies that they monitor violations of humanitarian law and report them to Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

After the second request to Ban's Spokesperson's Office, that Office sent this:

Subject: Your question at the noon briefing
From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.or
Date: Wed, Jun 12, 2013 at 2:42 PM
To: Matthew.Le [at] innercitypress.com

UN access to Government-controlled parts of Blue Nile has improved significantly since this time last year. In late May, WFP reached 84,000 people with food assistance and UNHCR delivered emergency shelter and non-food items to 5,000 people. UN staff had meetings with the authorities and NGO partners in the state capital, Ad-Damazin, last week.

The UN still does not have access to areas of Blue Nile controlled by the SPLM-N, however. The UN continues to call for a cessation of hostilities so that a polio vaccination campaign can be carried out in these areas from within Sudan and for the parties to return to the negotiating table so that all civilians affected by the conflict can be reached with humanitarian assistance.

  The rosy picture of relations with the Sudanese authorities is at odds, to say the least, with the Amnesty International report. There is no mention of the type of cross-border the aid that the same Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is demanding in Syria. Why not? Watch this site.

Exclusive: Sudan Meets With, Gives New May 3 Letter to, UNSC President Asking for Action on "Slaughter" in Abu Karshola, North Kordofan

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, May 3 -- After the war in Southern Kordofan spread into Umm Rawaba in North Kordofan, on May 1 Sudan's Permanent Representative Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told Inner City Press he had written to the UN Security Council asking them to condemn the attack.

Inner City Press has obtained Sudan's April 30 letter and puts it online, here. Inner City Press has also obtained Sudan's new May 3 letter and, also exclusively, puts it online here.

  Inner City Press on May 1 asked US Ambassador Susan Rice about Sudan's request for a Council press statement. Rice told Inner City Press, with some sarcasm, "Like we've had so many statements recently."

  Two days later, at 5 pm on Friday, May 3 Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman came to meet the Security Council president for May, Kodjo Menan of Togo, to press the point forward.

  Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told Inner City Press one point was double standards. The Security Council members express concern about violations of human rights elsewhere but, he said, in Abu Karshola dozens of civilians were "slaughtered;" a man was put on a table, cut into pieces.

  An article attached to Sudan's May 3 letter gets into details -- the "looting... of personal cell phones," analogizing the attack to those of Joseph Kony and the Lord's Resistance Army.

  Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said there were six thousand people held as "human shields." He said the attacks have the goal of unraveling agreements made between Sudan and South Sudan, and undermining the talks with the SPLM-North in Addis Ababa. That, he said, you'd think the Security Council would care about.

  There are of course other issues, many of them. But do they mean the Security Council does and says nothing about this? What does that say about the Council? Watch this site.

Footnote: Inner City Press also asked Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman about the improbably named Telephone Kuku; Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said he was just released, and has more right to speak for the Nuba of Southern Kordofan than anybody. Speak by Telephone? Watch this site.