Sudan: German President Steinmeier visits Khartoum - Germany involved in UN Missions in Sudan, S. Sudan

German President Steinmeier’s visit boosts Sudan bid against isolation

Report from monitor.co.ug

Dated Saturday, 29 February 2020

Photo: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s visit to Khartoum this week has become the latest marketing tool for the transitional government to help Sudan out of international isolation.

Mr Steinmeier became the first German President to visit Khartoum since 1985, and is the highest ranked global leader to visit Sudan since the ouster of Omar al-Bashir last April.

His two-day trip from Thursday has left authorities excited and hoping it could further improve the country's image.

Sudan is still struggling to get off the US sanctions list.

In Khartoum, the German leader met Abdul Fattah Al-Burhan, the leader of the Transitional Sovereign Council, as well as Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.

“I am here to say that we are happy with the changes in Sudan and public opinion is interested in that as well,” Steinmeier said.

He urged the international community to help the country to rebuild.

“We know the difficult economic situation and Sudan needs access to international financial institutions,” Steinmeier told a joint press conference with Premier Hamdok on Thursday.

“I assured Hamdok that Germany can be relied on and pointed out the economic potentials…Germany is ready to support the peace process.”

The German leader had visited Burkina Faso and Kenya this week, promising support for development and trade.

Germany, for example, has announced that it will increase its contribution towards fighting locust invasion in East Africa, providing an additional $18.7 million to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, increasing its total commitment to $21.99 million.

But in Sudan, where food shortage and hard economic times have been felt just as much, the problem is the restriction to international assistance. 

Officially, the US lists Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism and a USA Court has issued a verdict demanding that Khartoum pays families of victims of a US warship bombed in Yemen in 2001. The terror merchants of that incident were reportedly trained in Sudan, where then al-Qaeda mastermind Osama bin Laden was living in the 1980s.

President Steinmeier’s visit indicated thawing relations between Germany and Sudan, which had been in a lull for the three decades of Omar al-Bashir’s rule.

Prime Minister Hamdok said Berlin’s decision to lift the development ban on Sudan establishes strong ties.

View Original: https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/africa/German-President-Steinmeier-s-visit-boosts-Sudan-bid-against-isolation-881575

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Germany Extends Involvement in UN Missions in Sudan, S. Sudan Until 2018

Report from Sputnik News

Dated 02 November 2015, 14:46

Bundeswehr's involvement in the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), and the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) will be extended until the end of 2017, maintaining a regular level of staff, up to 50 soldiers at each point, according to government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

BERLIN (Sputnik) — The German Cabinet has decided to extend the Bundeswehr's involvement in the United Nations–African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), and the UN Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS) until the end of 2017, government spokesman Steffen Seibert said on Wednesday.

Earlier this week, an independent inquiry revealed that the UN peacekeeping mission had certain shortcomings in South Sudan, and failed to properly protect hundreds of civilians. Following the inquiry's publication, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki moon pledged to introduce additional measures to improve the mission and bolster its protection capabilities.

"In both cases, the German part amounted largely to guiding and advising tasks, in both cases it will be extended until the end of 2017, maintaining a regular level of staff, up to 50 soldiers at each point," Seibert said.

According to him, the Bundeswehr mission in Sudan would remain part of long-term efforts for "a lasting settlement of the conflict and stabilization of peace consolidation in the region."

UNAMID was deployed to Sudan's western region of Darfur in 2007, which has been engaged in an armed conflict between rebel groups and the government of Sudan since 2003. The rebels accused authorities of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population, to which the government initially responded by ethnic cleansing.

South Sudan, which separated from Sudan in 2011, has been engaged in an armed ethnic conflict since 2013, when President Salva Kiir said that a military coup had been planned in the country, pointing the blame squarely at rebel leader Rijek Mashar. Apart from killing scores of people, the conflict has put the country on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.

UNMISS was deployed to South Sudan in July 2011, initially for a year, but its deployment was later extended.

View Original: https://sputniknews.com/africa/201611021047001055-un-mission0sudan/

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PHOTOS: German Air Force Returns From AMIS Mission In Sudan (March 2006)

LANDSBERG, GERMANY - MARCH 24: A German Transall C-160 Military plane parks on an airfield after the return from a mission in Sudan, Africa, on March 24, 2006 at the airbase in Penzing near Landsberg, Germany. The mission in Sudan called "African Union Mission in Sudan" (AMIS), and is the support to move 500 soldiers from Tschad to Sudan. (Photos by Jan Pitman/Getty Images)

LANDSBERG, GERMANY - MARCH 24: German soldiers stand in front of a Transall C-160 military plane after their return from a mission in Sudan, Africa, on March 24, 2006 at the airbase in Penzing near Landsberg, Germany. The mission in Sudan called "African Union Mission in Sudan" (AMIS), and is the support to move 500 soldiers from Tschad to Sudan. (Photo by Jan Pitman/Getty Images)

Photo: LANDSBERG, GERMANY - MARCH 24, 2006: German soldiers stand in front of a Transall C-160 military plane after their return from a mission in Sudan, Africa, on March 24, 2006 at the airbase in Penzing near Landsberg, Germany. The mission in Sudan called "African Union Mission in Sudan" (AMIS), and is the support to move 500 soldiers from Tschad to Sudan. (Photo by Jan Pitman/Getty Images) © AP Photo / Jan Pitman

SOURCE: https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/german-soldiers-stand-in-front-of-a-transall-c-160-military-news-photo/57173279

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FURTHER READING

Sudan Watch - March 23 2006

Germany approves peacekeeping troops to Sudan

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2006/03/germany-approves-peacekeeping-troops.html

Sudan Watch - December 15, 2006

German parliament gives green light to extending Sudan mission

https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2006/12/german-parliament-gives-green-light-to.html

Sudan Watch - May 16, 2005

German military observers fail to get visas for Sudan

Deployment of German military observers to southern Sudan may be delayed. So far, the Sudanese government has issued entry visas to hardly any of the soldiers who are supposed to help with monitoring the peace agreement in the African country as of mid-May.

According to the German news magazine Der Spiegel, the reason for the delay is occasionally seen in the pressure exerted by German diplomacy.

Germany had pilloried the human rights violations in the crisis region of Darfur early and contributed to making the brutal civil war an issue in the UN Security Council, which adopted sanctions.

The UN in New York has now noticed that other Western members of the UN mission have not received the entry visas necessary for southern Sudan, either.

This makes it difficult for the UN to station 10,000 soldiers in Africa's largest country as soon as possible.

One of a total of some 50 German soldiers has meanwhile arrived in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, another four are in Nairobi, Kenya, for preparations. - BBC via Sudan Tribune Berlin, Germany, May 15, 2005. 

Source: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2005/05/aid-to-sudan-depends-on-peace-in.html

Sudan to hand Bashir for trial by ICC - Sudan launches investigation into Darfur crimes and alert to Interpol

NOTE from Sudan Watch editor: Here below is a news report from the FT dated 11 February 2020 entitled 'Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague'. The report says, quote "Sudan will send Omar al-Bashir, its former leader who was ousted in a coup last April, to The Hague to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, according to a top Sudanese official".

Also copied below are some excerpts from an in-depth online BBC report dated 22 December 2019 entitled 'Darfur conflict: Sudan launches investigation into crimes'. The report states that Mr Bashir's former intelligence chief Mr Salah Gosh is among those under investigation, that there are four cases against Mr Gosh and that investigators have started a procedure to bring him back to Sudan by Interpol. The report goes on to say, quote "it is unclear whether Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo is under investigation. A former Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur, he turned against Bashir as protests grew and was named vice-president of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) after Bashir was forced out".

Incidentally, ten years ago the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Mr Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Mr Bashir was one of 51 names recommended by the UN in 2005 for prosecution by the ICC for Darfur atrocities. Mr Gosh, reportedly currently residing in Egypt, is on the list.

Surprisingly, the current vice-president of Sudan's TMC, Gen Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo, leader of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - unless previously known by another name - does not appear to be on the list. Perhaps because the list is dated 2005 and Hemeti's Darfur war crimes were not committed until several years later (or to be precise: subsequent to 2013 according to Eric Reeves' tweet dated 16 Feb 2020 [ https://twitter.com/sudanreeves/status/1229111767990562816 ] regarding Hemeti complaining about himself being marginalised (you can't make this stuff up) by the Hamdok government and calling for a code of conduct! 

The List of Top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (Africa Confidential) published online in 2005 can be found under ‘Further Reading’ below. 

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Copy of online news report from The Financial Times - www.ft.com

By DAVID PILLING in London 

Publication date: 11 February 2020

Title: Sudan to send al-Bashir for trial at The Hague

Former leader could face charges for genocide and crimes against humanity

Photo: Omar al-Bashir was toppled in April last year after ruling Sudan for 30 years © Ashraf Shazly/AFP/Getty

Sudan will send Omar al-Bashir, its former leader who was ousted in a coup last April, to The Hague to stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity in Darfur, according to a top Sudanese official.

Without naming Mr Bashir specifically, Mohamed al-Hassan al-Taishi, a civilian member of Sudan’s joint military-civilian sovereign council, told a press conference on Tuesday that anyone facing an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court would face trial in The Hague. 

“We agreed that everyone who had arrest warrants issued against them will appear before the ICC. I’m saying it very clearly,” Mr al-Taishi said, according to multiple reports. 

Mr Bashir, who ruled Sudan for 30 years, was toppled last year after months of protests in which millions of ordinary Sudanese took to the streets demanding his resignation. His regime was accused of committing atrocities, including murder and rape, in Darfur, a region in the west of the country, during an uprising against Khartoum. 

Last July, the military agreed to share power with civilians as part of a 3½-year transition towards democratic elections. Mr Bashir is currently in prison in Khartoum. 

We hope he will be sent [to The Hague], said Michel Arditti, permanent secretary to Abdul Wahid al-Nour, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, a rebel group in Sudan that fought against Mr Bashir’s regime. 

Mr Arditti cautioned that some loyalists to Mr Bashir’s regime opposed extradition, although he said there were members of the sovereign council, including General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the chairman, and Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemeti, who might be willing to “trade him in”. 

Last week Mr Burhan took the unusual step of meeting Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, in Uganda while he is due to visit Washington for a meeting with Michael Pompeo, US secretary of state, this month. “This could be seen as painting a new picture of Sudan moving back into the international fold,” said Jonas Horner, a Sudan expert with the Crisis Group.

Mr Horner said giving up Mr Bashir could even be part of negotiations aimed at removing Khartoum from the US list of state sponsors of terrorism, essential to get investments flowing back into a Sudanese economy that is on its knees.

Sudan’s new government is desperate to show that it can improve lives for those who rose up against Mr Bashir, but it has made slow progress. Sporadic protests have continued throughout the country and splits have emerged within the sovereign council.

The ICC has been pressing for the trial of Mr Bashir for war crimes following his conviction in a Sudanese court last December for minor crimes of money laundering.

The UN estimates that up to 400,000 people died in the conflict in Darfur and nearly 3m more were displaced, with militia formed by Mr Bashir blamed for the worst atrocities.

The ICC has a patchy record in prosecuting people for serious war crimes. Last year it sentenced Bosco Ntaganda, a Congolese former rebel leader, to 30 years in prison. Mr Arditti said it was not clear whether the ICC, which has not been able to send investigators to Sudan, had assembled a watertight case against Mr Bashir.

Calls made by the FT to the prime minister’s office in Khartoum went unanswered.

All Comments

Zoran 6 DAYS AGO

Let the people of Sudan fulfill their potential! 

View original: https://www.ft.com/content/13bcb06a-4cf0-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2020. All rights reserved.

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Further Reading

Excerpts from BBC Africa online news report - www.bbc.co.uk

Publication date: 22 December 2019

Title: Darfur conflict: Sudan launches investigation into crimes

Image copyright REUTERS

Image caption Ex-ruler Bashir already faces a range of other charges

“Sudan has launched an investigation into crimes committed in the Darfur region under former President Omar al-Bashir, the state prosecutor [Tagelsir al-Heber] says. A trial could take place outside the country, Tagelsir al-Heber said. Ten years ago the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Bashir on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. […] 

Mr Heber said the Darfur investigation was focusing on "cases against former regime leaders". He did not give names, but said no-one would be excluded from the investigation. All crimes committed during the Darfur conflict would be looked at, he said - including numerous incidents of murder and rape. If necessary, the trial could take place abroad, Mr Heber said, raising the prospect that Bashir could be transferred to the ICC in The Hague. […]

Bashir's feared former intelligence chief Salah Gosh is also being investigated, Mr Heber said. The head of the National Intelligence and Security Service (NISS) quit in April two days after the Bashir was ousted and left the country. "There four cases against Salah Gosh and we started a procedure to bring him [back to Sudan] by Interpol," he said.

It is unclear whether Mohamed Hamdan "Hemeti" Dagolo is under investigation. A former Janjaweed militia leader in Darfur, he turned against Bashir as protests grew and was named vice-president of Sudan's Transitional Military Council (TMC) after Bashir was forced out.

View full report:  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-50887252

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Article from Sudan Watch archive dated 21 February 2006

Title: List of top wanted Janjaweed leaders - Who's who on Darfur (African Confidential)

View full report: https://sudanwatch.blogspot.com/2006/02/list-of-top-wanted-janjaweed-leaders.html

Sudan's TMC Hemeti and AFC al-Rabie sign deal

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Sudan's big deal was signed today amidst banners saying "Sudan's joy". I fear for what lays ahead. The old regime has not vanished and Hemeti, a psychopathic camel herding upstart mercenary from Chad, who has four wives and hates politics, doesn't fit in with Khartoum's elite and its social scene.

Sixteen years ago I started this blog Sudan Watch during which time I lost count of the number of agreements signed in Sudan. They all ended up being worth less than the paper they were written on. 

The ink wouldn't be dry before fights started between rebels and government troops. Rebels would then fall out with each other and split into different groups with new names. How else could they make a living?

In the early years I lost count of the number of rebel groups after noting 48. In my view, today's deal is no different from all the others. The youngsters protesting in Khartoum were babies when this blog started.  Sad to say they'll be disillusioned, soon. 

South Sudan is, I believe, a failed state and Sudan is on the brink of becoming one. I wonder whether Sudan and South Sudan are governable. They're so diverse and backward in many ways. They need water.

Sudanese civilians living far from Khartoum are still suffering being attacked and killed. Recent floods caused unhealthy conditions. People are in need of mosquito nets and medicines especially for malaria.

Meanwhile, South Sudan government officials are proposing a house be built for ex-rebel President Kiir in his home town and a private jet be bought for him. He spends tons on constant unnecessary travels. Puke.

Article by AFP.com from Businesslive.co.za

Dated 17 August 2019 - 15:53 AFP.COM

Sudan generals, protest leaders sign transition deal

Heads of state from several countries attended the ceremony in Khartoum

Sudan's protest leader Ahmad Rabie (R), flashes the victory gesture alongside General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan (2nd-R), the chief of Sudan's ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC), during a ceremony where they signed a "constitutional declaration" that paves the way for a transition to civilian rule, in the capital Khartoum on August 17, 2019. Picture: EBRAHIM HAMID / AFP

Khartoum - Sudan's military council and protest leaders on Saturday signed a hard-won "constitutional declaration" that paves the way for a transition to civilian rule.

The agreement was signed by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, deputy chief of the military council, and Ahmed al-Rabie, representing the Alliance for Freedom and Change protest umbrella, an AFP reporter said.

Heads of state, prime ministers and dignitaries from several countries -- including Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Egypt's premier Mustafa Madbuli -- attended the ceremony in Khartoum, and the signing was met with applause.

The constitutional declaration builds on a political declaration that was agreed by the military and protesters on July 17.

It formalises the creation of a transition administration that will be guided by an 11-member sovereign council, comprised of six civilians and five military figures.

The agreement follows nearly eight months of protests -- initially against longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir, who fell in April, and then against the military council that deposed him.

Talks between the protesters and the military were mediated by the African Union and Ethiopia, which brought the two sides together again even after a protest sit-in outside military headquarters was brutally dispersed by men in military fatigues on June 3.

Some 120 people were killed during that crackdown, according to doctors linked to the protesters.

The signing ceremony started with Sudan's national anthem, followed by a reading of verses from the Koran and the Old Testament, while the words "Sudan's joy" were emblazoned on banners. AFP

SOURCE: https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/world/africa/2019-08-17-sudan-generals-protest-leaders-sign-transition-deal/

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Hemeti BBC interview broadcast ahead of signing ceremony

A BBC News online report dated Saturday 17 August 2019 states that the above mentioned deal was signed by Hemeti and Lt-Gen Abdel Fattah Abdelrahman Burhan for the military council, and Ahmed al-Rabie for the Alliance for Freedom and Change umbrella group of pro-democracy protesters.

“We will stick to every single letter we have agreed on," Hemeti told the BBC's Zeinab Badawi in an interview (see below) broadcast ahead of the ceremony.

"Even without the agreement we [would] have to work in this direction because it's in the country's interest," he added. 

"Therefore we have to carry out the agreement, stick to it and support it."

[Sudan Watch Ed:  Puke]

To visit the report and video interview click here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49379489

US David Hale meets TMC al-Burhan, FFC and other groups - US keeps Sudan on terrorism sponsor list

Article written by Reuters

Dated 08 August 2019

Sudan stays on terrorism sponsor list

The United States still needs to resolve longstanding issues with Sudan before removing it from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, a senior State Department official said.

Earlier this week, Sudan’s military rulers and the main opposition coalition initialled a constitutional declaration paving the way for a transitional government, leading to calls from international mediators for the country to be removed from the US list.

The designation as a state sponsor of terrorism makes Sudan ineligible for debt relief and financing from lenders like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Removal from the list potentially opens the door for foreign investment.

“There’s a number of things we’re looking forward to engaging with a civilian-led government,” Under Secretary for Political Affairs David Hale said when asked about the issue in Khartoum.

These included human rights, religious freedom and counter-terrorism efforts, as well as “promoting internal peace, political stability and economic recovery in Sudan”, he said.

The US government suspended discussions on normalising relations with Sudan in April after the overthrow of President Omar al-Bashir. Hale said the suspension remained.

The US government added Sudan to its list of state sponsors of terrorism in 1993 over allegations that then-President Bashir’s Islamist government was supporting terrorism.

Hale met General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of Sudan’s Transitional Military Council, as well as members of the Forces for Freedom and Change, the main opposition coalition, and other civil society groups.

“We discussed the importance of a thorough and independent investigation into the violence that has claimed numerous lives, according to credible reports, since the former regime was deposed,” Hale said.

Dozens of demonstrators were killed in crackdowns on protests in Khartoum and other cities following Bashir’s overthrow.

Hale paid tribute to the role of women in the revolution and hoped they would play a meaningful part in the transition to a civilian government.

“America is fully committed to helping Sudan transition to a civilian-led government that reflects the will of the people,” Hale said.

SOURCE: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/joint/diplomacy-a-peace/sudan-stays-on-terrorism-sponsor-list/

Sudan: Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan to be appointed 1st President of Sovereign Council, Hemedti Deputy

Article from Aawsat.com

By Sawsan Abu Hussein and Ahmed Younes - Cairo, Khartoum

Dated Saturday, 10 August, 2019 - 08:00

Sudan: Burhan to Be Appointed 1st President of Sovereign Council, Hemedti Deputy

A senior Sudanese military commander announced on Friday that Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, who currently presides over Sudan’s Transitional Military Council (TMC), would be appointed the head of the future Sovereign Council.

“The Sovereign Council will chair the first transitional period under the leadership of Abdel Fattah Burhan, and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo will be his deputy,” Gen. Salah Abdelkhalig, a TMC member, told Sputnik news agency.

The TMC and the forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change agreed on Saturday on a constitutional declaration to govern the transitional period following months of political instability.

The declaration stipulated that the presidency of the Transitional Sovereign Council shall be assumed by the military for the first period of 21 months. It shall be composed of five representatives of the military and five representatives of the civil community, in addition to one other member who will be appointed by a collective vote.

The civilian-picked prime minister will appoint a cabinet where the defense and home ministry seats have been reserved by the military.

Abdelkhalig stressed that the constitutional agreement was “one of the most important strategic achievements, as it has saved the country from the civil war disaster.”

Meanwhile, Cairo is expected to witness important talks between representatives of the Sudanese Revolutionary Front and the coalition of Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change, to negotiate controversial issues between the two parties related to achieving peace and ending war with the armed movements.

The armed movements - operating under the Revolutionary Front – expressed reservations over the constitutional document signed with the TMC, noting that it failed to include the “peace paper” that was approved in Addis Ababa.

SOURCE: https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1851861/sudan-burhan-be-appointed-1st-president-sovereign-council-hemedti-deputy