South Sudan: Apparently “No Pardon” for Dr. Riek Machar; while Machar calls Kiirs Government a “Rogue Regime” the battles intensify as the UNSC Arms Embargo in the works!

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SPLA

Today is another day and on this blessed Sunday, the battles between the SPLM/A and SPLM/A-IO are continuing and are in many states like: Yei River State, Blue Nile, Upper Nile, Western Bahr El Ghazal and Unity State. With this in mind, the reports of today tell who the fragile situation is and what this can all mean for the near future. Because the SPLM-N are even in trouble in Sudan and in South Sudan, which makes the borders even worse; with this reality the world should act and give extend the mandate of UNMISS, the Arms Embargo would not work if there is still sold weapons without ending certificate; than the meaning of the trade will not be in the loop until their fetched by the International Community like MONUSCO this year. So here is the lot of the day!

No pardon for Dr. Riek Machar:

President Salva Kiir said on Sunday: “My brother Riek Machar thinks the only way for him to become the president of this country is violence, killing innocent people. I told him several times [that] there is no reason to fight. If you [Machar] wants to be the president, wait for elections, but he did not listen” (…) “They come asking me to pardon him. I tell them I have no problem with him. He is a citizen of this country and he can return anytime, but must denounce violence” (Sudan Tribune, 2016).

Offensive from SPLA:

Big government offensive on rebel Fatuyo’s base in Li-Rangu following the attack on Yambio, in which rebels showed off new RPG supply.

This is happening as fuel shortages are hitting the country, the issues with lacking of food-supply and the NGOs are under attack from SPLM/A-IO and also SPLM/A; this is happening with the full knowledge and with support from the Troika. That have set in force the process, but not considered the wish of power for the President and FVP Machar, who both of them has their agenda. This is happening as the sore and weak Kenyan Government cannot handle criticism of their commander, therefore they are leaving the UNMISS to show integrity, but instead losing their power and helpful assistance in the war-torn country.

As this is happening the Yei River State Officials are resigning because of the “Human Right Violations” in the state. There been reports of fierce battles between the State and the SPLM/A-IO in the Unity State.

Gen. Malik Agaar speaks out:
“Does Taban know how many lives we sacrificed for the independent of South Sudan?” Asked Malik Agaar” (…) “Does Taban know how the people of Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile fought for the liberation of South Sudan?” He ask again?” (…) “Where was he when our bones littered the land of South Sudan?” And asked again. Taban looked between his legs as if he was peeing but he was just sweating” (…) “Taban we aren’t going anywhere, as SPLA-N we are here to stay whether you like it or not.” Malik Agaar concluded boldly looking in the face of Salva Kiir. At this point Taban was done” (…) “Until you become the President of South Sudan then you can do whatever you want to do to SPLA-N.” Malik Agaar warns” (…) “From today onwards I don’t want to hear from you, neither call me nor ask me.” Malik Agaar declared and that was by no mean a point of contention. It was the END of the meeting” (Alfa, 2016).

So another group who are in the borderland and creating problems in South Kordofan, Blue Nile State and in Darfur, the SPLM-N are now threatening the SPLM/A and the FVP Taban Deng Gai, who took over when Dr. Riek Machar fled Juba in July 2016. This has since inflamed the situation and now the fragile state has more trouble.

SPLM-N
SPLM-N

But the SPLM-N is already trouble also inside Sudan:

“On Sunday, the Khartoum North court judge Osama Ahmed Abdalla convicted the defendant of spying for violating article “53” of the Criminal Code, saying the prosecution presented coherent and strong evidence against the defendant” (…) “He pointed the prosecution witnesses proved that the defendant has conveyed military information about the Sudanese army in El Meiram area, South Kordofan to the ruling SPLA party in South Sudan” (…) “The judge added the defendant also, in collaboration with two others, handed over a government source to the SPLA, saying the source was assassinated by the latter” (Sudan Tribune, 2016).

So when the Gen. Malik Agaar attacks Gen. Taban Deng Gai for his actions, they are themselves into trouble elsewhere… the fragile border and frictions between Sudan and South Sudan. This has become better and there been visits from Juba to Khartoum as even Dr. Riek Machar came there after being in the woods of Democratic Republic of Congo and banished by the MUNSCO, the President Kiir has pardoned the 750 soldiers that we’re part of Machar’s group there, but is not willing to pardon him before he acts peaceful. Certainly the bloodshed between the SPLM/A and  the SPLM/A-IO is not over, as the SPLM-N are taking stand now and are under fire in Sudan as well.

There rumours that the SPLM/A-IO Dr. Riek Machar after leaving the safe shores of South Africa he is now taken by Army Operatives of the Ethiopian State on Ethiopian soil, while the U.S. is currently on working on blacklisting him for not being able to get arms on legal basis; though I am sure the blood money can pay for guns and ammunitions.

These rumours and reports are coming as Dr. Riek Machar has leached out this statement:

“We have been driven back to the bush,” James Gadet, a spokesman for Machar, told the AP on Saturday in a call from Nairobi, Kenya” (…) “(We) call on the international community to declare the regime in Juba a rogue government,” the document says, adding that international agencies monitoring the peace deal should “suspend their activities” until the agreement is “resuscitated.” (News Wires, 2016).

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They can declare as much as they like, can call the TGoNU who cooperates with the IGAD-Plus and the UNMISS, also with the Troika a “Rogue Regime”, that might help their cause and help their loyal commanders, but it doesn’t strengthen their cause after the skirmishes this year.

President Salva Kiir might be totally wrong about his actions and decrees, but the initial violence comes as a result, but also the power-hungry FVP Machar has created as much violence on his own and also tried to kill the president in vain. Therefore both men do what they can keep themselves in power. The people, the citizens of the South Sudan are the losers who torn between two Parties and too Big-Men. Peace.

Reference:

News Wires – ‘South Sudan rebel chief urges armed resistance against government’ (20.11.2016) link: http://www.france24.com/en/20160924-south-sudan-rebel-chief-riek-machar-kiir-urges-armed-resistance-against-government?ns_campaign=reseaux_sociaux&ns_source=twitter&ns_mchannel=social&ns_linkname=editorial&aef_campaign_ref=partage_user&aef_campaign_date=2016-09-24

Sudan Tribune – ‘No amnesty for South Sudan rebel leader, says President Kiir’ (20.11.2016) link: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article60893

Sudan Tribune – ‘Sudanese court convicts former SPLM-N officer of spying for South Sudan’ (20.11.2016) link: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article60895

Alfa, John – ‘GEN. MALIK AGAAR OF SPLA-N IN is in JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN’ (20.11.2016) link: https://africanspress.org/2016/11/20/gen-malik-agaar-of-spla-n-in-is-in-juba-south-sudan/

Statement by Ambassador Joseph Moum Majak N. Malok, Charge d’affairs A.I. and Deputy Representative the Permanent Mission of the Republic of South Sudan to the United Nations, to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on the UNMISS and South Sudan Sanctions (17.11.2016)

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UNSC Press Statement on the Ethnic Violence and the Situation in South Sudan (18.11.2016)

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South Sudan: Eye Radio is Back on Air (18.11.2016)

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UNSC November 2016 on the South Sudan and the continued crisis!

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The United Nations Security Council have delivered a letter and also two statements on the situation and the level of crisis in the Republic of South Sudan. This is happening as the UNSC are discussing the mandate of United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS). The problem is continuation of the flaring skirmishes in July 2016.

The UNSC are now looking into crisis and fixing the lax mandate or the issues with the peacekeepers in the nation. This has to happen as the UNMISS has already come under scrutiny for their acts around the UN House in and around Juba. The proven skirmishes and the evidence of what went down and also what has gone on since. Also the interesting who has exported the arms to the Republic; which has given the fighting armies the needed ammunition and weapons to continue to fighting each other.

Mr. Mohamad of Sudan said this:

“The Cooperation Agreement laid a solid foundation for normalizing relations between the Sudan and South Sudan, enhancing cooperation in all areas between the two and achieving sustained peace. It covered the areas of oil resources, trade, borders, security arrangements, the status of citizens and other themes. However, our brothers in South Sudan have so far been enthusiastic only about the implementation of the oil agreement. They have overlooked the implementation of other agreements, particularly the Agreement on Security Arrangements between the Republic of the Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan, which includes provisions on ending the support for, and the harbouring of, rebel movements, the establishment of the Safe Demilitarized Border Zone and the establishment of the Joint Border Verification and Monitoring Mechanism (JBVMM)” (…) “On the deployment of the oil police in the Diffra oil complex, my delegation reaffirms the need for such a step, as the joint Abyei police has not yet been established. Another reason is that there are Sudanese rebel movement groups in South Sudan that can target those vital installations. That force is limited both in number and equipment” (UNSC 7810, 2016).

Mr. Malok of South Sudan said this:

“Cooperation between the two countries is crucial to any constructive and productive efforts in Abyei. Indeed, even the progress made by UNISFA could not have been possible without a degree of functional cooperation by the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan. However, much more cooperation is needed if the efforts of UNISFA are to continue to bear tangible fruits that will benefit the two communities and help to facilitate continued improvement in the relations between the two countries” (…) “It is noteworthy that, as the report of the Secretary-General observes, the restrictions imposed by the Government of the Sudan on non-governmental organizations have limited the implementation capacity of humanitarian and development actors, especially in the northern parts of Abyei. As the Secretary-General also notes, in addition to a lack of adequate funds, other challenges include high implementation costs owing to security and logistical constraints, delays in the issuance of travel permits and restrictions on the movement of personnel and supplies by the Government of the Sudan.” (UNSC 7810, 2016).

Context:

“The armed opposition to Kiir’s regime is an increasingly multifaceted amalgam of forces encompassing dissident groups with diverse grievances, aims and approaches to the war. Many of these groups are either not under the direct control of SPLM/A in Opposition led by Machar, which was a party to the Agreement, or are only loosely affiliated with it. Nevertheless, Machar’s resilience, notwithstanding the government attempts to assassinate him in greater Equatoria, has seemingly provided more motivation for Equatorian armed elements to associate formally with SPLM/A in Opposition. The perception that the belligerence of Kiir’s Dinka-dominated regime is leading the country inexorably towards a devastating tribal war, coupled with a sense that the international community is failing to take the steps necessary to avoid a further escalation of the conflict, are providing impetus among non-Dinka opposition political and military forces towards greater coordination, if not complete organizational unity” (UNSC letter, P: 3, 2016).

“The SPLA Chief of General Staff, Paul Malong, remains a central figure in the perpetuation and expansion of the war, including the conflict in greater Equatoria, described in detail below. After the fighting in Juba in July, he oversaw the operation to hunt down Machar and the SPLM/A in Opposition forces in Central Equatoria” (…) “The extension of the war continues to pose an increasingly grave threat to the countries that neighbour South Sudan. For example, after a long series of skirmishes between SPLA and SPLM/A in Opposition in Central and Western Equatoria after Machar fled from Juba in July, Machar and some 750 soldiers and civilians entered the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Panel has confirmed that, on 13 August, SPLA then launched an incursion into the Democratic Republic of the Congo. An estimated 800 to 900 SPLA troops from Division VI crossed the border and engaged in a battle with SPLM/A in Opposition. On 17 August, two MI-24 helicopters also crossed the border, travelling nearly 6 km into Congolese territory and again attacking SPLM/A in Opposition positions” (UNSC letter, P: 6-7, 2016).

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Arms dealings:

“In a meeting with the Panel on 28 September, the First Vice-President, Taban Deng Gai, refuted the presence of L-39 jets in South Sudan, which the Panel had documented with supporting evidence, including photographs and eyewitness accounts, in its report to the Security Council that month” (…) “The Panel has been provided with preliminary information on the weapons that the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo took from the combatants who accompanied Machar into the Democratic Republic of the Congo in August 2016. The sources of the weapons are consistent with those previously documented by the Panel as having been procured in South Sudan, both before and after independence, including weapons and ammunition manufactured in the Sudan, China, the United States of America, Israel and various Eastern European countries” (…) “One weapon of note among the arms documented is a Micro Galil rifle manufactured by Israel Weapon Industries, bearing serial number 36100549. This is the third weapon of its type identified by the Panel, with two others (serial numbers 36100566 and 36100588) having been documented in Upper Nile in 2015. Each of the weapons was, according to interviews with SPLM/A in Opposition members, taken from South Sudanese government stocks either through battlefield capture or by defectors. According to information provided to the Panel by the manufacturer, as noted in the Panel’s report of January 2016 (S/2016/70), the three weapons are from a batch sold to the Ministry of Defence of Uganda in 2007. There is no provision in the end user certificate for their transfer to South Sudan” (…) “In September, the Panel received information from Spain regarding weapon trafficking to South Sudan that the Spanish police had obtained as part of a continuing investigation into money-laundering and racketeering. The information details communications between an arms trafficking network based in Europe and the leadership of SPLM/A in Opposition in 2014, in which the latter had requested the delivery, through an intermediary in Senegal, of an extensive list of small arms, munitions and light weapons. Further investigations by the Panel suggest that this shipment was at least partially delivered” (…) “Also in September, the Panel received information and documentation from a confidential high-level South Sudanese source that, in July 2014, a shipment of small arms ammunition and 4,000 assault rifles had been delivered by Bulgarian Industrial Engineering and Management to the Ministry of Defence of Uganda. According to the documentation, Bosasy Logistics, a company registered in Kampala and described in previous reports by the Panel, including its report of January 2016 (S/2016/70), acted as an intermediary in the transaction. The weapons and munitions were subsequently transferred to South Sudan. While the Panel is further investigating this transaction, it notes that recent arms transfers from Uganda to South Sudan, as described in its report of September 2016 (S/2016/793), are likely to be using the same modality as the earlier transfers from 2014, with Bosasy Logistics and its Chairman, Valerii Copeichin, facilitating the sales” (…) “The Panel has received multiple reports from various sources of arms shipments entering South Sudan by road through Uganda and by airlift to Juba and Wau since May. The content, according to two high-level sources with knowledge of the operations, was small arms and light weapons, ammunition and armoured vehicles. The Panel is in possession of a contract signed by SPLA in May 2015 for the provision of Panthera armoured vehicles valued at $7,187,500.50 The company contracted to provide the vehicles, Egypt and Middle East for Development, was represented by an Egyptian national, Mohamed Atta Jad. The company is registeredin Cairo.51 The Panel is investigating the possible connection between this contract and the recent airlifts to South Sudan” (UNSC letter, P: 18-20, 2016)

Budget:

“The Panel obtained data indicating that projected State budget expenditure for the 2016/17 fiscal year would exceed revenue by 149 per cent.62 Consequently, the government has laid out a proposal for financial austerity and external borrowings, which incorporates recommendations made by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) after its mission of May. The Chair of the Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission, in his address to the Commission on 19 October, said the following: “We commend the TGNU for the work that has gone into creating an ambitious budget, which has been commended by many analysts. Strong constraints on expenditures are central to the budget and a condition for stabilization.” Progress towards the implementation of this strategy will indicate the government’s seriousness in addressing the macroeconomic crisis” (…) “The draft budget for the fiscal year 2016/17 is estimated to be 22.3 billion South Sudanese pounds, half of which is allocated to the security sector” (…) “Revenue for the 2016/17 budget was calculated on the basis of oil production of 120,000 barrels per day, which is the lowest rate of extraction since December 2013. There is no indication that Deng Gai’s efforts in August to renegotiate the pipeline and transfer fees with Khartoum were successful, meaning that South Sudan will continue to pay $24.1 per barrel in fees to the Sudan, undercutting the revenue of the budget owing to volatile oil prices. The oil industry also shows no signs of recovery to the pre-war levels; the Unity fields were disabled in the early months of the war, and the continuing conflict will make it difficult to launch the long and technologically complicated process of restarting oil production” (UNSC letter, P: 23, 2016).

This here is lots of interesting collected information that usually would be left behind and not for-told to the media and the press, as even the press is suppressed in the South Sudan. As the Eye Radio and others has gotten harassed by the TGoNU. They don’t want the news of conflict spread and the initial reports from the nation. Peace.

Reference:

United Nation Security Council 7810th Meeting (15.11.2016)

UNSC – ‘S/2016/963: Letter dated 15 November 2016 from the Panel of Experts on South Sudan established pursuant to Security Council resolution 2206 (2015) addressed to the President of the Security Council’ (15.11.2016)

 

Horrendous bleak situation right now in East Africa/Horn of Africa: Genocide Warnings, Army used against Civilians, Opposition harassed and a surge of refugees between the nations (November 14.2016)

East-Africa

That there is civil-war like activity in Ogaden and Amhara regions in Ethiopia, that there continues internal skirmishes between Burundian security forces and civilians, that the Rwandan Opposition are silenced, In the Democratic Republic of Congo as there guerrillas fighting and killing while the FARDC and MONUSCO doesn’t act against civilians in North and South Kivu; As there are internal fighting between Somaliland, Galdumug, Al-Shabaab and AMISOM. This is all happening as we flick between the channels on the telly.

There we are discussing who’s the next racial biased brother Donald J. Trump thinking of hiring to his executive branch staff at the White House. This is happening while there continue bloodbath, there been genocide warnings for Burundi in October 2016 and South Sudan November 2016. South Sudan are skirmishes happening in Yei State, South Kordofan, West Bahr El Ghazal between SPLM/A and SPLM/A-IO, which is President Kiir and former FVP Machar. There are battles still in Darfur as the Khartoum regime under President Omar Al-Bashir are attacking the SPLM-N and other rebels who fight themselves in the past, but has no written an agreement while the Khartoum has said they will continue to fight them.

Rice in Market

These are killings of civilians in with the mind of staying in power. It is happening with bullets that imported and exported from the rich nations, through back-channels that none of us want to discuss, because it implicates the nations of peace are involved in profits of the death of civilians. This is happening as we go to buy bread at the supermarket, markets for selling cassava and rice are blown to bits, water-sources are getting scarce as these nations are hurt by droughts and dire need of secure agricultural productions, but that is not happening while the big-men are explicitly doing what they can to kill each other for POWER.

The innocent is dying at rapid speed. The livelihoods are dwindling away because the Presidents and Government together with rebels are destroying the nations in their reach of staying with titles, businesses and feeding their elites of the donor funds. This is the situation in Ethiopia, Burundi, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan.

Adjumani Refugee Camp

We cannot let this happening while the fleeing civilians are going from one bad situation into another. If the Somalis think of fleeing to Ethiopia, they get into new trouble and Kenyan Government are busy deporting them to PoC sites inside Somalia. If you’re fleeing Ethiopia you have to cross the South Sudan and Sudan. Where the battles between the rivals continue and are bloody. The place of refuge right now is Northern Uganda, the war-torn parts that has had a decade of peace, but the locals are not getting land, but the refugees and businessmen. The reality is that the Government doesn’t have funds to allocate the Refugee camps in Adjumani where the UNICEF organization is lacking funds for support.

Together with the issues of Burundian refugees in Rwanda and Tanzania; the Burundian ones are safe in Tanzania, but still the UN operations doesn’t have the sufficient funds as there are more worry of what the Rwandese authorities do, as they want to send them away because the Burundian Authorities are claiming that Rwandese Government are training rebels to coup d’état against President Nkurunziza.

While the pulling out of ICC happens from Burundi, the Kenyan pulling troops from the UMISS, Ugandan negotiations in dialogue between the parties in Burundi and South Sudan; while the shallow relationships is to see how they all can grind monies out of the international community. The African Union complains to the European Union on payments for the soldiers, while the Ugandan and Burundian government eats of these funds, while the soldiers themselves thieving ammunition and gas to supply themselves with needed salaries.

All of this is happening while the Ethiopian Government has pulled out battalions out of certain areas in Somalia, as Kenyan have a strong force and feeling the pinch for being involved in the internal squabbles between Al-Shabaab, Government and Local-Government in war-torn nation. As Djibouti tries to live in peace, but get trained guerrillas from Eritrea and has built a railroad from Ethiopia so that the coastal state has giant ally on the Horn of Africa.

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So the civil wars, the skirmishes from governments towards civilians shouldn’t be happening without anyone doing something about it. The Ethiopian, Burundian, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and South Sudan are now all involved in similar business. The Troika of South Sudan is inactive and like a donor-friendly buddy to Kiir Government, but not certainly acting upon the violence and crimes against humanity. The Sudan government might be under sanctions and has issues with ICC charged President Bashir. Still, they are able to continue to fight civilians in the Darfur Region. The Somali Government feels more powerless as they are donor-friendly and need foreign support for basic operations, while the Al-Shabaab takes stake in every other region, as the Puntland, Galdumug and Somaliland has become more independent and making agreement on their own. As Somaliland have signed giant port-agreement to secure funding of the Civilian Government; also so they can function as nation on their own, though not respected as one from the international community.

This is just the beginning, and it’s not wonderful, it’s bleak… the warnings of GENOCIDE should worry the world in Burundi and South Sudan. But, the current silence, the mediocre attention and no-worries attitude. Is making me shiver and making me worried about the state of affairs in our time!

IGAD Plus

That there are such current state of affairs, the diplomatic works must be in tatters, the African Union is pointless, the East African Community is a Men’s Club for the Presidents, European Union are stooges for big-business, IGAD are Ethiopian skeleton for peaceful operations and the United Nations are powerless with no-mandate or real army to act upon the human rights violations or crimes against humanity if they are occurring.

It’s a reason why these nations want to withdraw from the Roman Statute if they can and still get donor-aid because the armies, laws and regulations of the civilians are massive breaches of international laws. The Geneva Conventions, the UN Charters and the other ones these Nations have signed into.

While the worst is having knowledge of the dying civilians in South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Burundi and Somalia as we speak, the silence and indifference… time to act; time for change and time get it on the agenda. Peace.

Adama Dieng Briefing on South Sudan: “There are cases of barbarous use of machetes which reminds of Rwanda… Genocide can be prevented.” (11.11.2016)

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Raila faults Uhuru over KDF Withdrawal from South Sudan Peace Mission (Youtube-Clip)

South Sudan: Eye Radio shut down (11.11.2016)

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UN Experts criticize Kenya Police for Excessive Use of Force against Peaceful Protesters (10.11.2016)

Nairobi 09.05.2016 Demonstration P8 Tear-gas

The demonstrators were protesting against alleged government corruption when police used teargas and batons to disperse them.

GENEVA, Switzerland, November 10, 2016 -A group of UN human rights experts* has condemned a violent clampdown on a peaceful protest in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, while urging the authorities to investigate claims of excessive use of force and arbitrary arrest – both against demonstrators and journalists – and to hold all perpetrators accountable.
The demonstrators were protesting against alleged government corruption when police used teargas and batons to disperse them. A number of people are reported to have been injured or detained during the incident on 3 November.

“Interference with the right to freedom of peaceful assembly is inexcusable at any time, but it is especially repugnant when demonstrators are calling for government accountability,” the experts said. “Protesters may sometimes raise uncomfortable truths, but holding people in power to account is a central function of peaceful assemblies in a democracy.”

The experts also expressed alarm at the timing of the crackdown, less than a year before Kenyans elect a new president in August 2017. They said creating an environment where opinions could be expressed peacefully was key to avoiding a repeat of the wave of violence which followed the disputed presidential poll in 2007.

“Beating protesters does not make their grudges go away. Rather, it intensifies them, because it sends the message that the government does not care,” they stressed. “This approach does not foster a culture of dialogue; it fosters a culture of violence, which is exactly the opposite of what Kenya needs right now.

The UN independent experts also expressed grave concern over reports that police had attacked journalists covering the protest, in some cases damaging their equipment.

“International law protects the right of everyone – including journalists and human rights defenders– to observe, monitor and report on such events,” the experts said. “It also imposes a duty on States to protect the rights of monitors to do their jobs, even if the gatherings turn violent. Attacking journalists who perform this important public duty is simply unfathomable.”

The UN Special Rapporteurs called on the Kenyan authorities to respect the demonstrators’ fundamental rights at future protests, and noted that they would be watching developments closely.

(*) The experts: Mr Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Mr. David Kaye, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression and Mr. Michel Forst, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.