Saturday, February 06, 2010

AFP misquoted UN chief Ban Ki Moon - How a translation error led to an international incident - UN chief clarifies erroneous reports re Sudan unity

How a translation error led to an international incident
From Foreign Policy.com by Colum Lynch, Tuesday, 02 Feb 2010 - 4:16 PM:
On Saturday morning [30 January 2010], Ban Ki-moon appeared to be breaking with five years of standing U.N. policy toward Sudan, telling two French news agencies in an interview that he would try to prevent Africa's largest country from splitting into two nations in a 2011 referendum on independence for southern Sudan. "We'll work hard to avoid a possible secession," the wire service Agence France Presse reported him saying.

Ban's remarks were little noted in Washington, but they have set off a major international incident in Sudan, prompting Sudan's southern leaders to accuse the secretary-general of interfering in the South's decision to determine its own political future. Southern Sudan's president, Salva Kiir Mayardit, wrote a letter this morning [Tuesday, 02 February 2010] to Ban, saying his published remarks constituted "an erroneous description of the U.N.'s role as a guarantor" of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended one of Africa's bloodiest and longest civil wars, and offered southerners the right to vote on independence in January 2011. "I'm sure it was not your intention to depict the U.N.'s role in this manner," the letter reads.

Ban told the French reporters that he favors a unified Sudan, saying, "We will try to work hard to make this unity attractive." But he never said he would actively work actively to oppose it. AFP apparently mistranslated the English language interview in its first French version of the story, and then repeated the mistake in English. The actual quote was "Then we will work very closely -- we will have to work very closely -- not to have any negative consequences coming from this potential or possible secession."

The problem is that the story, which first appeared on the wires in French Saturday morning [30 January 2010] and in English in the early afternoon, has played out over the past three days in the international press, getting picked up by news agencies like the BBC and the Financial Times. The new head of the U.N.'s mission in Sudan, Haile Menkerios, has been on the phone with Salva Kiir during the past 24 hours trying to assure him Ban was misquoted. The U.N., meanwhile, only issued its first public denial this afternoon [Tuesday, 02 February 2010]:
"In order to clarify erroneous reports about remarks attributed to the Secretary-General concerning Sudan, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General would like to reaffirm the Secretary-General's position, which is in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the United Nations mandate in Sudan.

The Secretary-General made clear that the United Nations would work to support the parties in their efforts to "make unity attractive" as well as the exercise by the people of Southern Sudan of their right to self-determination in a referendum. In this connection, he made clear that that the United Nations would work to avoid any potential negative consequences following next year's referendum.
Note this copy of a comment posted at the article:
PERMMEMBER 10:56 PM ET February 3, 2010
How attractive?
Was this really a translation error? Or did BKM have it right?
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) commits the parties in para 1.5.5 to:
"Design and implement the Peace Agreement so as to make the unity of the Sudan an attractive option especially to the people of South Sudan."
It's an odd concept for a peace agreement that leads to a referendum on secession...

Any suggestion that the United Nations may have taken a position that may prejudge the outcome of such a referendum is incorrect."
- - -

UN Issues Statement Clarifying World Body's Position on Sudan
From Xinhua, Wednesday, 03 February 2010 2010, 05:59:28, Web Editor: Wang Wenwen:
The United Nations issued a statement on Tuesday [02 February 2010] clarifying the world body's position concerning Sudan's unity over an anti-"secessionist" remark by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that a news outlet reported, which compelled protesters and stirred up emotions and criticism.

UN spokesman Martin Nesirky issued a statement Tuesday here at the UN Headquarters in New York to "clarify erroneous reports," in which he reiterated in the statement that the UN chief "made clear that the United Nations would work to support the parties in their efforts to 'make unity attractive' as well as the exercise by the people of Southern Sudan of their right to self-determination in a referendum."

"The spokesperson for the secretary-general would like to reaffirm the secretary-general's position, which is in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the United Nations mandate in Sudan," the statement said.

It was reported in a joint interview with French news media that Ban had said that "we'll work hard to avoid a possible secession."

A later version of the AFP story on Tuesday left the word secessionist out.

"The basic point as I said, in the statement, any suggestion that the UN should take a position that should prejudge an outcome is incorrect," UN associate spokesman Farhan Haq said here at UN Headquarters at a daily press conference.

"(They) did not use the quotes that were attributable to him," Haq said.

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed by the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) separatists in the south and the national government in the north, brought the end to a decades long civil war, in which at least 2 million people were killed, 4 million others uprooted and 600,000 more forced to flee across the country's borders.

"The Agreement must be implemented in spirit as well as the letter if the immense work undertaken is to be sustainable," the secretary-general said in his report last October, calling on both sides to boost their level of cooperation.
UN chief rebuffs "erroneous" reports about Sudan remarks - People's Daily Online - ‎Feb 2, 2010‎ - UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Tuesday rebuffed "erroneous" media reports about his recent remarks concerning the unity of Sudanese parties and a
UN Issues Statement Clarifying World Body's Position on Sud-CRIENGLISH.com
UN Chief's Comment on South Sudan's Independence Stirs Anger CNSNews.com
UN seeks to calm Sudan row Financial Times - William Wallis, Barney Jopson - ‎22 hours ago‎ Ban Ki-Moon said in an interview with the French News Agency (AFP) on the sidelines of this week's African Union summit that the UN would “work hard to make ...
UN insists not taking sides in Sudan referendum AFP - 3 days ago
UN wants Sudanese unity - News24 - 4 days ago
UN chief remarks on African cooperation with ICC draws rebuke from Sudan Sudan Tribune - 4 days ago
UN chief warns on Sudan secession push Financial Times - Barney Jopson, William Wallis - ‎Jan 31, 2010‎ Ban Ki-Moon, UN secretary-general, has pledged to “work hard” to avoid the secession of south Sudan in a referendum next year, a position that risks setting ...
UN will work to maintain Sudan's unity, Ban Ki-Moon says Sudan Tribune - ‎Jan 30, 2010‎ January 30, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) — UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said today his organization would work to avoid southern Sudan secession
UN chief calls for Sudan unity ahead of African summit AngolaPress - ‎Jan 31, 2010‎ Addis Ababa - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called Saturday for national unity in Sudan and ruled out deploying UN peacekeepers in Somalia, ...
UN chief appeals for Sudan unity Kenya Broadcasting Corporation - ‎Jan 31, 2010 The UN secretary general has urged African leaders to work for national unity in Sudan to avoid the south of the country seceding from the north. ...
UN chief pledges full support for peace, security in Africa CCTV - ‎Jan 31, 2010‎ ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary General Ban ki-moon pledged here on Sunday that the world body fully supports the peace and security in the ...
Ban Ki-moon calls for Sudan unity Press TV - ‎Jan 30, 2010‎ UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for national unity in Sudan in an effort to stop a possible partitioning of the country by the 2011 referendum. ...
UN Secretary-General on Sudan—High-Level Meeting in Addis Ababa
From United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General (NEW YORK) Wednesday, 03 February 2010, via African Press Organization (APO) -
Statement Attributable to the Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General on Sudan—High-Level Meeting in Addis Ababa:
In order to clarify erroneous reports about remarks attributed to the Secretary-General concerning Sudan, the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General would like to reaffirm the Secretary-General’s position, which is in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the United Nations mandate in Sudan.

The Secretary-General made clear that the United Nations would work to support the parties in their efforts to “make unity attractive” as well as the exercise by the people of Southern Sudan of their right to self-determination in a referendum. In this connection, he made clear that that the United Nations would work to avoid any potential negative consequences following next year’s referendum.

Any suggestion that the United Nations may have taken a position that may prejudge the outcome of such a referendum is incorrect.

SOURCE: United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General
- - -

Reaction to Ban Ki-moon Secession Statement
Report from SRS - Sudan Radio Service, Wednesday, 03 February 2010:
(Asmara/Khartoum) - There have been mixed reactions to the statement by the UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that the UN and the AU will work hard to avoid the secession of southern Sudan.

Ban Ki-moon made the statement during the AU summit in Addis Ababa over the weekend.

The director of the Peace Building Centre in the Horn of Africa, Dr. Taysir Mohamed Ahmed, has described Ki-moon’s statement as “illogical and meaningless”.

Ahmed spoke to SRS from Asmara, Eritrea on Wednesday.

[Dr. Taysir Mohamed Ahmed]: “This statement was unusual, because the right of self-determination is internationally recognized and it is one of the fundamental rights expressed in the CPA. Secondly, Ban Ki-moon himself comes from a country which seceded from another country, am I right? Then why were they allowed to secede yet it is forbidden for others? Ban Ki-moon would have been better off speaking about the efforts to solve the root causes of the civil war in Sudan since independence, instead of saying they will work to make sure Sudan remains united. So, it was an illogical and meaningless statement.”

Another political analyst reacted with rather less hostility to Ki-moon’s statement.

Taj Al-Sir Makei spoke to SRS from Khartoum.

[Taj Al-Sir]: “As a general idea it is right to think that the UN will work towards avoiding the secession of the south. But the reaction to Ban Ki-moon’s statement was a misinterpretation if people think that he supports the unity of the country. But the issue will be decided upon by the referendum, and the only people who will determine unity or secession are the people of southern Sudan. Personally, I think it was just a point of view indicating that if the south secedes, some other voices will demand the same thing for other parts of Sudan - and this is possible.”

According to the CPA, the people of southern Sudan shall have the right to self-determination through a referendum, at the end of the interim period in 2011, choosing between unity of the Sudan and secession.
- - -

UN seeks to calm Sudan row
From the Financial Times by William Wallis in Addis Ababa and Barney Jopson in Juba
Published: February 5 2010 16:23 | Last updated: February 5 2010 16:23
The United Nations has no intention of pushing south Sudan to vote one way or the other at next year’s referendum on self-determination, a senior UN official has said, after comments attributed to the UN secretary general sparked a diplomatic storm.

Ban Ki-Moon said in an interview with the French News Agency (AFP) on the sidelines of this week’s African Union summit that the UN would “work hard to make unity [with Khartoum] attractive”, a position potentially pitting it against the wishes of the majority of south Sudanese.

AFP later said it had misquoted the UN chief making a stronger commitment to “prevent secession”. But this was only after the episode had prompted alarm in the government of the semi-autonomous south at the prospect of the UN taking a more proactive approach to such a sensitive issue.

The referendum on self-determination was a key provision of a peace agreement that in 2005 brought a formal end to a 20-year civil war between the north and non-Muslim rebels from south Sudan.

“You cannot change the course of a ship midstream,” said Haile Menkerios, the new UN special representative for Sudan, clarifying the UN position and adding that it was up to the Sudanese to influence the outcome of the referendum. The responsibility of the UN was to ensure the agreement was implemented, he said.

“Helping southern Sudan to build institutions, to build capacity up is an effort the international community must increase. It does not in any way prejudge the outcome of the referendum. Whichever way the decision is going, such an effort would have a positive contribution,” he said.

Relations between the northern Islamist regime of Omar al-Bashir, president, and south Sudan have become increasingly tense in the countdown to scheduled elections in April and the referendum due next January.

A majority vote for southern independence is looking likely, but negotiations on sharing oil wealth, demarcating borders, sharing external debt and many other divisive issues are far from complete.

Mr Ban’s reported comments prompted Salva Kiir, president of south Sudan, to write to the secretary general requesting his “confirmation” that the UN’s role as a guarantor of the peace deal was to support its implementation and “a smooth transition post-referendum, regardless of the outcome”.

Luka Biong Deng, minister of presidential affairs in the government of south Sudan, told the Financial Times that the episode had had a positive effect. “It was necessary because it triggered the fundamental question about the mandate of the UN,” he said.

Questions about the south’s chances of success as an independent state have been revived by the controversy, with considerable concern focusing on rising ethnic violence in the region and the continued existence of rival militias outside the southern army and within it.

“It’s good that these things happened now, because otherwise as we move nearer to the referendum some voices will start talking about whether this state is viable or not,” Mr Biong said. “I think the issue of whether the situation is viable or not is our collective responsibility, as the government and the international community.”

He said the southern government had made significant progress in improving security and raising standards of governance, but diplomats and business people in Juba, the southern capital, say more needs to be done.

Some African Union and some UN officials fear a vote for independence could reignite the civil war in Sudan and inspire secessionists elsewhere in Africa.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2010. Print a single copy of this article for personal use. Contact us if you wish to print more to distribute to others.
News from SRS - Sudan Radio Service 29 Jan 2010 - 03 Feb 2010:

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Job vacancy: ICT officer in Juba, South Sudan for MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors without Borders)

Here below is a job advert received from Médecins Sans Frontières Belgium. Apologies for the delay. Yesterday, at Sudan Watch, priority had to be given to publicising Julie Flint's important blogpost and the Small Arms Survey.

Also, here is a copy of my e-mail sent Mon, 01 Feb 2010 to Philip Janssens, Logistical Coordinator, South Sudan Programs, Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels, in reply to his e-mail Mon, 25 Jan 2010:

Dear Philip

Thank you for your very interesting email. Unfortunately, as it arrived in my spam box, I have only just seen it.

So, to make up for lost time, half an hour ago I e-mailed (see copy here below) several of my contacts at my professional network on LinkedIn.

By the time you read this email, the job vacancy will have reached some of the best IT connected people in the world.

Here's hoping that some of the most promising candidates in the world will make contact with you before the closing date of February 26, 2010.

MSF and your operations in Sudan deserve the best.

Please feel free to contact me anytime, I am always here.

Kind regards
Ingrid
Editor at Sudan Watch
http://sudanwatch.blogspot.com
England, UK
- - -

Copy of e-mail received Mon, 25 Jan 2010:

Dear Ingrid,

Is it possible to post a Job Vacancy for our office in Juba on sudanwatch.blogspot.com?
Pls find in attachment a copy of this vacancy.

It would help our operations in Sudan greatly,

Kind regards,
Philip
_____________________________________________
Philip Janssens
Logistical Coordinator, South Sudan Programs
Médecins Sans Frontières, Operational Centre Brussels
Mob (Zain) : +249 909 926 997
Mob (Gemtel) : +256 477 162 045
Mob (Sudani) : +249 122 145 114
msfocb-juba-log@brussels.msf.org

MSF Belgium is looking for an ICT Responsible (m/f)
For its office in Juba

JOB PROFILE

JOB LOCATION
Based in Capital office (Juba) with regular trips to the field

OBJECTIVE
Ensures good maintenance of software and IT hardware;
Ensures good maintenance of communications hardware;
Advises on the proper choice of hard- and software;
Supports users in the mission;

MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

General:
Implements and endorses MSFB ICT (field) policy
Support the whole mission (capital and projects) on IT and Communications (Radio and satellite)
Reports on a monthly basis to the hierarchical and functional managers

Equipment:
ICT helpdesk [1st line support]: repairs all occurring software and hardware problems;
Supports installation of communications equipment and continually assesses the functioning of all communications systems (HF, VHF, satellite systems, Landline and GSM).
Keeps proper inventories of communications equipment and ICT hardware, software and documentation. Is responsible for asset tracking of Communications and IT hardware;
Prepares a draft of the ICT budget for the annual plan in relation to the (mission) ICT policy;
Keeps himself informed about technical developments;
Updates his line manager on new developments in the ICT branch;
Looks for proper solution for the Communications and IT needs in the mission;
Purchases ICT equipment and software in line with MSFB policy;
Manages a small stock of spare ICT equipment

User Support:
Advises on proper filing of unique documents
Gives advice, training and/or trouble shooting when problems occur;
Organises computer training for MSF staff according to the needs;
Provides support to the field projects on Communications, and ICT maintenance and repair;

NECESSARY SKILLS & REQUIREMENTS

Very good knowledge of all major software;
Very good knowledge of proper hardware and network installations;
Very good knowledge of (HF and VHF) radio and (phone and data) satellite equipment.
Good organisational skills;
Patience and a supportive / facilitating attitude;
An accurate way of working;
Willingness to travel to projects sites and spend time there;
Working knowledge of English and full knowledge of ‘ ICT-English’;
Training skills.

Candidates are requested to send their CV + motivation letter to
HYPERLINK "mailto:msfocb-juba-log@brussels.msf.org" msfocb-juba-log@brussels.msf.org
or deliver it to MSF Belgium, Hai Malakal, Juba, to the attention of Philip Janssens, CoTL
before February 26, 2010.

Médecins Sans Frontières Belgium is a non-governmental organisation providing medical care to populations in distress. It operates under neutrality and impartiality and requests their employees to perform their duties in the same spirit.

[end of MSFB job advert copy]

Tuesday, February 02, 2010

IMPORTANT: Julie Flint's report for the Small Arms Survey: Rhetoric and Reality. The Failure to Resolve the Darfur Sudan Conflict

From Alex de Waal's blog Making Sense of Sudan
The Strife Inside the SLA
By Julie Flint
Monday, February 1st, 2010
The difficulties facing the Doha peace talks—highlighted in my report for the Small Arms Survey: Rhetoric and Reality. The Failure to Resolve the Darfur Conflict—have been starkly illustrated as meetings resume in Doha between mediators and representatives of some of the Darfur armed movements. (Planned talks between the movements and civil society have been postponed, apparently indefinitely, at the insistence of JEM.)

Since 5 January, rival factions of SLA-Abdul Wahid have been fighting each other in Jebel Marra. The fighting, which has been largely unreported, has caused civilians to flee from a number of villages in the south of the mountains, towards Nyertiti and Kass. There are fears that the violence, which has many fault lines, too complicated to explain in this short posting, could have repercussions among civilians in IDP camps where SLA-Abdul Wahid has a hold.

It will be impossible to reach a sustainable settlement to the simmering but still-unresolved conflict in Darfur, regardless of anything the government does or does not do, while the ‘revolution’ of 2003 is eating itself.

The intra-SLA fighting has claimed the lives of a number of commanders critical of the SLA Chairman, his decision to reside in France rather than Darfur, and his refusal both to participate in the Doha process and to seek reconciliation in the SLA faction he leads. Some of the commanders have died in armed clashes; others have perished in ambushes—most recently, a commander from Kass, Mohamed Adam ‘Shamba’, whose car was reportedly attacked with rocket-propelled grenades in Jebel Marra on 26 January.

The long-standing tensions within SLA-AW over Abdul Wahid’s management surfaced dramatically (albeit behind closed doors) in the middle of 2009 when senior SLA commanders—including several of those considered most loyal to Abdul Wahid—‘challenged him for 10 days’, in the words of one of those present, at a capacity-building workshop in Switzerland. The chief of staff of the SLA, Yousif Ahmad Yousif ‘Karjakola’, went as far as to call the SLA chairman incompetent. Others complained about a lack of support, including salaries and military supplies, and the refusal to participate in the internationally-mediated peace process led by Djibril Bassole.

The spark to January’s mini-war appears to have been the capture of Karjakola by JEM in November 2009 as he returned to Darfur from Chad. Abdul Wahid’s critics allege that JEM acted at the instigation of the SLA Chairman, and are super-critical of the US special envoy, Gen. Scott Gration, for not seeking the release of a senior commander who defied Abdul Wahid’s rejectionism and favoured participating in the peace process. After Karjakola’s arrest, I received calls from SLA commanders in Darfur claiming that they have evidence of a ‘hit list’ (reportedly backed by serious money) of pro-peace reformers. I am aware that Abdul Wahid loyalists have made similar claims to others, but have no details of their claims. The list is said to include several SLA leaders in the Ain Siro area—including Ali Haroun, a law graduate of Khartoum University and responsible for justice in the SLA, and Suleiman Sakerey, the highest military commander in Ain Siro. Both met the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur in June last year.

Ain Siro has been untouched by the factional fighting and serious human rights abuses that have cast such a cloud over some rebel-controlled areas. But it has a history of problems with the SLA leadership in Jebel Marra. A number of commanders from Ain Siro were ‘arrested’ and taken to Jebel Marra, Abdul Wahid’s headquarters, late in 2007 as they gave voice to growing popular demand from the field for reform of the movement that Abdul Wahid leads from the diaspora. A confidential UN report said the Ain Siro group were accused of ‘attempting to divide the movement’. During the group’s detention in Jebel Marra, a university companion of Ali Haroun, Abdalla Mohamed, was kidnapped with his bodyguard, Hamadi, by masked men from the centre of Deribat, the SLA stronghold where the Ain Siro group was being held. (Abdalla’s body was later found three months later, hanged, in a village in Jebel Marra. Hamadi’s body was found in the same village, shot in the back.) I personally went to Paris to ask Abdul Wahid for guarantees for the safety of the Ain Siro group. He assured me they would come to no harm, and they were indeed released—albeit many months later. Abdul Wahid claimed that Abdalla Mohamed had been seized, from the market in Deribat, by ‘janjaweed’. I do not know Deribat. I leave it to those who do to judge whether ‘janjaweed’ could have got into the centre of the town, and out again, without a fight.

On 5 January this year, a senior SLA commander critical of Abdul Wahid and supportive of the peace process, Abdalla Abaker, was shot dead by Abdul Wahid loyalists at a checkpoint in Jebel Marra. Abdalla’s supporters subsequently attacked and looted the homes of a number of commanders considered to be Abdul Wahid loyalists, setting in motion a chain of attack and counter-attack that will continue until the root causes of the problem are resolved—most importantly the lack of structures, and accountability, in Jebel Marra.

The people of Darfur—those stuck in wretched camps and those still clinging to the countryside so utterly devastated by Khartoum’s criminal counter-insurgency—deserve better leadership than this. I have many reports of, and testimony to, the latest clashes and killings. It is a pity that none of this reaches the ‘ordinary’ people of Darfur, to enable them to judge for themselves who they want to represent them and speak on their behalf. A little naming and shaming, with dispassionate, detailed reporting of what exactly is going on—and why—might help Darfurians to find a voice of their own that is informed by fact rather than internet rumour and propaganda.
Click here to read comments.
- - -

Book by Julie Flint & Alex de Waal - Darfur: A New History of a Long War (African Arguments) - Revised and Updated

Julie Flint

Julie Flint is a journalist and Sudan researcher. She has co-authored two books on Darfur with Alex de Waal—most recently, Darfur: A New History of a Long War—and acted as a consultant for a range of international organizations and human rights groups on the Darfur conflict and the Inter-Sudanese Peace Talks in Abuja, attending four sessions of the talks over two years. (Photo credit: us.macmillan.com)

Julie Flint & Alex de Waal

Photo credit: Amazon.co.uk

Further reading

Nov 29, 2008, Sudan Watch - Qatari Peace Bid: UN, EU, AU, AL, UK, US & France support the joint Arab-African peace initiative for Darfur led by Qatar & Sudan People's Forum (SPF)

Oct 26, 2009, Sudan Watch - Sudan in 2012: Asking New Questions (Alex de Waal)

FULL TEXT: FINAL REPORT OF THE AFRICAN UNION HIGH‐LEVEL PANEL ON DARFUR (AUPD) OCTOBER 2009

Click here for AUPD Report in English

Click here for AUPD Report in Arabic