Tag: EAC
Press Release: Switzerland Responds to New Humanitarian Needs in South Sudan (27.07.2016)

Switzerland has decided to provide an additional CHF 2 million to alleviate the suffering of the local population.
BERN, Switzerland, July 27, 2016 – In South Sudan thousands of people have fled the recent hostilities between rival political factions. These new outbreaks of violence have compounded the already considerable humanitarian needs in the country. Switzerland has decided to provide an additional CHF 2 million to alleviate the suffering of the local population.
Switzerland is concerned about the fate of the civilian population of South Sudan following the outbreak of hostilities at the beginning of July 2016 in the capital Juba and other parts of the country. The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) will release CHF 2 million to help the victims of this new wave of violence.
Half of this amount will be channelled to the South Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund, to which Switzerland has been contributing since 2014. The funds will help finance the operations in the SDC’s three priority sectors in this country: food security, water and the protection of civilians. The other million will be allotted to the World Food Programme (WFP) to assist efforts to fight food insecurity, which is affecting over four million people in the country.
This new outbreak of violence is exacerbating the already dramatic humanitarian situation. South Sudan suffers from extreme poverty and a civil war, which has been undermining it since December 2013.
South Sudan, which is the world’s youngest state, is one of the priority intervention zones of Swiss Humanitarian Aid, whose budget for this country in 2016 amounted to approximately CHF 18 million before this new contribution.
South Sudan is also a priority country of the FDFA’s Human Security Division (HSD), which has been working to implement the peace agreement concluded in August 2015. The HSD is also involved in the reconciliation efforts and in strengthening local government in collaboration with the traditional authorities. The budget for its peace promotion activities totals about CHF 1 million per year.
Taban Deng Gai sworn in as South Sudan vice president (Youtube-Clip)
“General Taban Deng Gai, has been sworn in as the new South Sudanese first vice president after president Salva Kiir replaced Riek Machar, following a sharp surge in violence between the government and opposition fighters. Taban was a chief negotiator on behalf of Machar’s SPLM-IO group in the talks that led to last year’s peace deal” (Kenya NTV, 2016).
South Sudan Republican Decree No. 280/2016: “Appointment of the First Vice President Gen. Taban Deng Gai replacement for Dr. Riek Machar (25.07.2016)


Letter: SPLM/A-IO Members of National Liberation Council, Political Bureau and State Governors Reject Replacement of Dr. Riek Machar from posisiton of First Vice President of Republic of South Sudan (23.07.2016)


Kiir has received the letter of nominating Taban Deng Gai from the SPLM IO in Juba as the First Vice (Youtube-Clip)
“Kiir has received the letter of nominating Taban Deng Gai from the SPLM-IO in Juba as the First Vice President acting in place of Machar who fled Juba following the fighting of July 07th-11th 2016.
Machar was last week appealed to by President Kiir to come to Juba within the expired 48 hours weekend so that they continue with the peace agreement implementation” (Peter Louis, 2016)
Machar will not return to South Sudan capital unless peacekeepers are deployed (Youtube-Clip)
“South Sudan’s Vice President Riek Machar, said Friday that he would not return to Juba until regional troops are deployed in the capital to ensure his safety, his representative in Ethiopia, Jooyul Goi Yol has told AFP” (AfricaNews, 2016)
Opinion: Indifference from the public is a gift to the Political Sphere!

We live in a day and age where the content of information is accessible at any time of the day on all kind of formats. It isn’t only pamphlets, posters, newspapers and books. But there are blogs like this; it is digital videos, cable-TV, social-media and all the other ways of gaining information with or without membership pay-walls for the content. In that world of constant ability to gain this, it can either feed the hunger for knowledge or become tiring for the people as the constant newsflashes and breaking news can make your mind boggle and wonder what is really important. Therefore before I continue let see a main definitions of Indifference!
Definitions of the Word:
“lack of interest in or concern about something: an indifferent attitude or feeling” (…)” 1: the quality, state, or fact of being indifferent
2a archaic : lack of difference or distinction between two or more things b : absence of compulsion to or toward one thing or another” (Meriam Webster Dictionary).
As I tried to explain brief in this time and day, we’re all access to information and ability to download reports, getting brief headlines and watching reports on TV or tablets the clarity of what is important can sometimes not sink in. As we check the normal suspects for the commentary or the capability to get news and become reasonable updated on the matters at hand. Though there are stories lost and we can’t know what happens at every corner of the world, than we are stuck between all screens and behind every tweet dropped every hour of the day. We’ll live in a forever groundhog day and wish that we had comic talent of Bill Murray instead of trying to get up to date with current news.

The fear is with the level of information, the different formats and the ability of entertainment and tabloid news. The simplistic and breaking is taking over for the hardcore policy discussions as the direct terror threats and artists dismissals seems more important than the issues of trading and health care policies. The indifference towards the reasons behind the migrations and the reasons for the crisis in Syria for instance are lost in the battle against terror. The devastating idea for why Tunisia, Libya and other states who was has been under fire since the Arab spring have been lost in tales of Clinton and British death, instead of the iconic and important support to build state institutions for the citizens. In countries that before this we’re built around grand dictators like Ben Ali and Gaddafi. Therefore the indifference to the solutions and the real deal behind the fragile state is worrying.
The worrying indifference to the abysmal understanding of the financial structure of Greece and Italy, as the banks of Italy are in limbo; while the state sales and economic liberation while drowning a debt-burden Greece in more greasy debt as they trying to cope with the level of migrations. We should ask ourselves if the European Union forgot counting people or building swimming-pools for the new rich investor elites that got ability to buy state-resources and key installations like Piraeus port harbor for few cents on the dollar. Therefore the indifference for the swallowing the pride and the reactions this might have for the Greek state.

The indifference for rigging elections and supporting peacekeeping armies on the African continent, while the UN Peacekeepers in C.A.R. are using their power to rape and destroy, not only generate peace, as the UN Mission in Western Sahara is more a luxurious club for diplomates than generating mediation and justice for the people under siege from Morocco. But the world is silent. That the DRC are planning to exile more opposition or even detain them before the General Election for a third term for President Kabila and nobody flick their eyes. While the opposition is under siege in Rwanda, but President Kagame is hailed for the economic recovery as the totalitarian leader are oppressive and using forces in the Kivu’s to still steal resources from the Congo. The world doesn’t care or tries to forget. While the Burundi are still in crisis as the third term of President Nkurunziza is bloody, friends and foes of the President vanish and assassinated, while the Inclusive Dialogue by EAC and AU under former Tanzanian President Mpaka are at a standstill. So the state of affairs is far from beautiful. The indifference to matters is staggering as the knowledge of these actions shouldn’t be forgotten.
I wonder if I feel alone on it, like so many didn’t notice the skirmishes and the recent battles from the militias in Beni, in Democratic Republic of Congo. If it was just the Congolese diaspora who wore the yellow color clothes on Sunday’s to remember the dead and spread awareness of the continuing warfare in the region. As the world have forgotten the violence and want to be rest assure that the cobalt and other resources need in the smartphones are exported to factories far away.
The ignorance and indifference are so big as the cable-news and grand media-houses focus on the click-bait and easy journalism instead of digging deep and having questions to the matters. Only following the money, the money always says how the ethical principles a man or woman has; as a person will only spend money on the things and people that they care about. That is a forgotten one, at one point of time with the PanamaPapers, the big media-houses followed it, but when the leaks when silent the interest dwindled as quickly as the importance of Blackburn in British football, which division are they now in?

We can question if the world really want to care, as the violence, the single handily gun-men going on shooting spree and the endless bloodshed is sad to read about and would make your hard. The continuation of news on the freedom fighters or guerrilla of Niger Delta Avengers would be less interesting as long as they’re a giant force in Boko Haram that are steadily doing abductions, kidnaps and killings in Cameroon and Nigeria.
We can’t be able to be refreshed and know about all issues worldwide, but at least not care more about Pokemon Go, Donald Trump’s latest racist tweet or a Stephen Colbert skit. They might a moment of joy and laugh, but with the possible knowledge of destruction, lose forces and able information, we as people shouldn’t let this just go on without questioning the powers to be.
Because as long as the public is kept in the shadow and not knowing, the people will not be able to see what the government or civil society is doing. That gives leeway to do whatever. So with this in mind the people should be interested and question, wonder and check the resources and ability to gain information on the matters. Either if it by Youtube, library or on the newsstand; the government have it easier with ignorant public sphere and indifference to matters both domestic and international, as they don’t have to take a stand and change policy as long as the people doesn’t act upon the issue. Therefore the knowledge and questioning the businesses, government and NGO’s happens when the citizen’s acts upon what we know. Indifference is only earning the government and the ones that already are in power, the danger for them is if we already knows and can anticipate their moves. Because if so, then they can’t away with thieving, lying and deceit of public will. Indifference of this gives way and is a gift to political sphere. Peace.
Reference:
Meriam Webster – ‘Indifference’ link: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/indifference
South Sudan Crisis: Ongoing political uncertainty for the troubled nation (Youtube-Clip)
“Mining Minister Taban Deng Gai has replaced Riek Machar as the leader of the opposition. Gai is therefore also set to become the country’s acting First Vice President. Machar had until Saturday afternoon to return to the capital, Juba. He had earlier left following clashes that left hundreds of people dead. The opposition has stressed that Taban Deng Gai’s appointment is just temporary. But Machar’s failure to return has been called a defection by some. Machar says President Salva Kiir is not adhering to the terms of the peace deal signed between the two sides. It’s the latest in a string of crises to hit the country, and once again put into question the peace process. CCTV’s Patrick Oyet has more” (CCTV Africa, 2016).
Salva Kiir speaks for the first time about July 8 shootings (Youtube-Clip)
“Nearly two weeks after shooting broke out in the compound of South Sudan’s presidential palace, the country’s president Salva Kiir, has shed some light on the day’s events. Gunfire broke out in the afternoon of July 8 at the presidential palace at a time when Kiir and his two vice presidents were in a meeting at the presidential palace. It then spread to other parts of the capital Juba. The fighting happened just a day before the country was due to celebrate its fifth independence anniversar…” (Africa News, 2016).

