Category: Foreign

State oil company workers and doctors in Sudan said on Wednesday they were joining protests against the military coup that has derailed the country’s planned transition to democracy.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets since Monday’s takeover led by armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and several have been killed in clashes with security forces.

A group of neighbourhood committees in the capital Khartoum has announced plans for further protests leading to what it said would be a “march of millions” on Saturday.

In one Khartoum neighbourhood on Wednesday, a Reuters journalist saw soldiers and armed people in civilian clothes removing barricades erected by protesters.

A few hundred metres away, youths came out to build barricades again minutes later.

One of them said: “We want civilian rule. We won’t get tired.”

Burhan on Tuesday defended the military’s seizure of power, saying he had ousted the government to avoid civil war.

He has dismissed the joint civilian-military council that had been set up to steer the country to democratic elections following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising in April 2019.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was returned to his home under tight security on Tuesday after being held at Burhan’s house.

Workers at state oil company Sudapet on Wednesday came out in support of the ousted government.

“We announce (we are) joining the civil disobedience in support of the people’s decision backing the civil democratic transformation and until this demand is achieved,” Sudapet said in a statement carried by the Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an activist alliance.

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Doctors also said they would go on strike.

“As we promised and previously announced we would enter a general strike across Sudan in the event of a coup, we are keeping to our word and timing completely,” the Unified Doctors’ Office, which is made up of different unions, said.

The doctors’ unions were one of the earliest and key driving forces behind the 2019 uprising that brought down Bashir.

Other striking groups, including the oil workers and central bank employees, could help bring the country’s economy to a standstill.

Civilian groups have accused the military of scheming for weeks to seize power.

Speaking on Tuesday at his first news conference since announcing the takeover, Burhan said the army had no choice but to sideline politicians who he said were inciting people against the armed forces.

The military’s action did not amount to a coup, he said.

Events in Sudan – Africa’s third-largest country – mirror those in several other Arab states where the military tightened its grip following uprisings.

Willow Berridge, a Sudan expert at Newcastle University, said it would be difficult for Burhan and the army to suppress street mobilisation against the takeover because of the presence of resistance committees in many neighbourhoods.

“My greatest fear is that he will fall back even further on the only legitimacy he can depend on – violence. It is a very serious risk,” Berridge said.

Burhan has close ties to states that worked to roll back Islamist influence and contain the impact of the 2011 Arab Spring uprisings, including the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

While Western countries have denounced the takeover in Sudan – which has a history of military coups – those Arab countries have mainly called for all parties to show restraint.

“They (The Sudanese military) misunderstand the will on the street quite to their detriment.

“I think they are badly advised by regional powers supportive on this and uneasy by the prospect of transition,” said Jonas Horner of International Crisis Group.

Burhan has also been at the forefront of Sudan’s steps to normalise relations with Israel.

Sharon Bar-Li, deputy director-general for Africa at the Israeli Foreign Ministry, told Kan radio on Tuesday it was still too early to know if developments in Sudan will have consequences for the issue of normalisation.

The African Union has suspended Sudan’s participation in all activities until the restoration of the civilian-led authority it said in a communique dated on Tuesday.

On Tuesday evening, the SPA said it had reports of attacks by “coup forces” on protester sites in Khartoum and other cities.

It said they had fired shots and tried to break through barricades.

“Right now, because the military now has power, they have halted the path and taken us back to square one, but that doesn’t work for us,” said Sudanese citizen Mohamed Ali. (Reuters/NAN)

BRITAIN’S Queen Elizabeth carried out her first official engagement yesterday since spending a night in hospital and being ordered to rest by her doctors.

The 95-year-old queen, the world’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, stayed overnight at London’s King Edward VII private hospital last Wednesday after undergoing “preliminary investigations” for an unspecified but not COVID-19 related ailment.

It was Elizabeth’s first overnight hospital stay for years, but royal officials said she was in good spirits and she returned to her Windsor Castle home the following day where she got back to carrying out light duties.

Yesterday, she carried out two virtual audiences to welcome the new ambassadors to Britain from South Korea and Switzerland.

Elizabeth, who is queen of 15 other realms including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand and next year celebrates 70 years on the throne, is known for her robust health and still carrying out many public duties.

However, she was forced to cancel a planned official trip to Northern Ireland last week after her medical team said she should rest for a few days.

The queen will not attend the U.K.-hosted COP26 climate summit, Buckingham Palace announced yesterday.

The U.K. monarch — who had to cancel an engagement in Northern Ireland last week on medical grounds — had been expected to attend the United Nations gathering, which kicks off in Glasgow this weekend.

In a statement, Buckingham Palace said that while the queen had been “undertaking light duties at Windsor Castle,” she had “regretfully decided that she will no longer travel to Glasgow to attend the evening reception of Cop26 on Monday, November 1.”

The statement added: “Her Majesty is disappointed not to attend the reception but will deliver an address to the assembled delegates via a recorded video message.”

The queen was recorded appearing to criticize world leaders for climate inaction earlier this month, reportedly saying of COP26: “We only know about people who are not coming … It’s really irritating when they talk, but they don’t do.”

The U.K. sovereign’s absence from COP26 comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin made clear he will not attend, while questions remain over whether China’s Xi Jinping will make an appearance.

 

 

 

 

 

EGYPT’S state of emergency will be lifted for the first time in years, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has said.

The country imposed a state of emergency in April 2017 after deadly bombings of churches and has since routinely extended it at three-month intervals, despite an improved security situation.

“Egypt has become … an oasis of security and stability in the region.

“Hence it was decided, for the first time in years, to cancel the extension of the state of emergency in all areas of the country,” Sisi wrote in a Facebook post.

The state of emergency granted authorities sweeping powers to make arrests and crackdown on what they call enemies of the state.

It was applied during the extension of a clamp-down on political dissent under Sisi that has swept up liberal as well as Islamist critics over the past few years.

Egypt’s security forces have also been battling an insurgency by militants linked to Islamic State in northern Sinai, although they have recently consolidated their position in the area.

Prominent Egyptian activist Hossam Bahgat welcomed the decision, saying it would stop the use of emergency state security courts, although it would not apply to some high-profile cases already referred to such courts.

SUDAN’S military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan yesterday defended the military’s seizure of power, saying he ousted the government to avoid civil war.

He spoke as protesters returned to the streets to demonstrate against the takeover after a day of deadly clashes.

At his first news conference since he announced Monday’s takeover, al-Burhan said the army had no choice but to sideline politicians who were inciting against the armed forces.

“The dangers we witnessed last week could have led the country into civil war,” he said, an apparent reference to demonstrations against the prospect of a military takeover.

Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who was arrested on Monday along with other members of his cabinet, had not been harmed and had been brought to Burhan’s own home.

The general said: “The prime minister was in his house.

“However, we were afraid that he’d be in danger so he has been placed with me at my home.”

Burhan had appeared on TV on Monday to announce the dissolution of the Sovereign Council, a body set up to share power between the military and civilians.

The Facebook page for the office of the prime minister, apparently still under the control of Hamdok’s loyalists, called for Hamdok’s release and that of the other civilian leaders.

Hamdok remains “the executive authority recognised by the Sudanese people and the world”, it said.

It added that there was no alternative other than protests, strikes, and civil disobedience.

Images on social media showed renewed street protests yesterday in the cities of Atbara, Dongola, Elobeid, and Port Sudan. People chanted: “Don’t give your back to the army, the army won’t protect you.”

Khartoum and its twin city Omdurman across the Nile were partly locked down, with shops shut and plumes of smoke rising from where protesters were burning tyres.

Calls for a general strike were played over mosque loudspeakers. Streets and bridges were blocked by soldiers or protester barricades.

The military takeover brought a halt to Sudan’s transition to democracy, two years after a popular uprising toppled long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

An official at the health ministry said seven people had been killed in clashes between protesters and the security forces on Monday.

Burhan said the military’s action did not amount to a coup, as the army had been trying to rectify the path of the political transition.

“We only wanted to correct the course to a transition. We had promised the people of Sudan and the entire world.

“We will protect this transition,” said Burhan.

He added that a new government would be formed, which would not contain any typical politicians.

Western countries have denounced the coup, called for the detained cabinet ministers to be freed, and said they will cut off aid if the military does not restore power-sharing with civilians.

Sudan, for decades a pariah under Bashir, has depended on Western aid to pull through an economic crisis in the two years since Bashir was toppled.

Banks and cash machines were shut yesterday, and mobile phone apps widely used for money transfers could not be accessed.

“We are paying the price for this crisis,” a man in his 50s looking for medicine at one of the pharmacies where stocks have been running low said angrily.

“We can’t work, we can’t find bread, there are no services, no money.”

In the western city of El Geneina, resident Adam Haroun said there was complete civil disobedience, with schools, stores, and gas stations closed.

Roads were blocked, shops were shut, phones were down, and mosque loudspeakers blared calls for a general strike in Sudan yesterday, a day after the army seized power in a coup.

At least seven people were killed in unrest triggered by the military takeover, which brought a halt to Sudan’s transition to democracy two years after a popular uprising ended decades of authoritarian rule.

Plumes of smoke rose over Khartoum from tyres set ablaze by protesters.

Life came to a halt in the capital and in its twin city Omdurman across the Nile, with roads blocked either by soldiers or by protester barricades.

The night appeared to have passed comparatively quietly after Monday’s unrest when protesters took to the streets after soldiers arrested Hamdok and other civilians in the cabinet.

A health ministry official said seven people had been killed in clashes between protesters and the security forces.

 

 

Surrogate alcohol has killed at least 30 people in western Russia’s Sverdlovsk region, TASS news agency reported on Tuesday.

TASS said, citing a source, that the Russian authorities were working to uncover new distribution channels for counterfeit alcohol in the Urals, where part of Sverdlovsk is located.

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Earlier this month, surrogate alcohol poisoned 64 people in western Russia’s Orenburg region, killing 32 of them.

Methanol poisoning has long plagued the country, in spite of government campaign against counterfeit alcohol. (Xinhua/NAN)

Doctors and civil servants in Sudan have called for a general strike to protest against the military coup which deposed the civilian government on Oct. 25.

The National Sudan Doctors Central Committee said on Tuesday that doctors will withdraw from all hospitals in the country and only treat emergencies.

The committee also said it will withdraw completely from military hospitals.

Government officials in the ministries, civil service and central bank announced a general strike during the night.

The United Nations Security Council in New York is due to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the military takeover.

Sudan’s top military official, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had announced on Oct. 25, that civilian members of the government had been ousted and declared a state of emergency.

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The internet, the mobile phone network and parts of the landline network have been disrupted since then and most people are unable to make calls.

The whereabouts of Prime Minister, Abdullah Hamdok, who had headed the interim government together with al-Burhan since August 2019, is unclear.

According to a United Nations assessment, the military has taken control of the capital Khartoum.

The airport, bridges and state television are in the hands of the armed forces and the entrances to the city are blocked.(dpa/NAN)

African leaders, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, have been called upon to be outspoken and wade into the ongoing genocide taking place in Ambazonia, a former British Southern Cameroons territory.

This call was made by the self-styled Ambazonian President, Dr. Samuel Ekome Sako, in a zoom meeting with Nigerian, Ghanaian and Cameroonian reporters at the weekend.

He said the latest being the killing of a five-year old Caroline at a checkpoint on her way to school because her mother refused to part with money.

While thanking Nigeria for taking care of refugees in the country, he appealed for more compassion to so many others who are roundly arrested and dealt with while insisting that Nigeria has more information than any other country concerning their plight as it is the only country with a diplomatic service in Ambazonia.

Explaining the genesis of the crisis, Sako said: “The root cause of the present conflict is the non-implementation of the procedures outlined in UNGA resolution  1608(xv)  of  21st  April  1961  on  the  future  of  the  UN  trust  territory  of  British  Southern Cameroons,  and  the  consequent  annexation  by  La  Republique  Du  Cameroun  due  to  the  failed decolonisation process of the territory.

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“Genocide has been ongoing in Ambazonia since 2017 when Paul Biya of French Cameroon declared war on the people of Ambazonia. Since  then,  the  death  toll  keeps  increasing  as  a  result  of   crimes  perpetrated  by  the  military  forces of French Cameroon, coupled with the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the war.

“As of now, more than 30,000 civilians have been killed. About 500 villages have been burned to the ground. More than 120,000 refugees in neighbouring countries and more than 1,500,000 refugees/IDPs in French Cameroon and Ambazonian territories.

“About 10,000 enforced disappearances of Ambazonian citizens, likely massacred and buried in mass graves across both territories by French Cameroonian genocidal forces.

“Several massacres are well-documented in  Ngarbuh,  Mautu,  Santa – Pinyin,  Bali,  Bafut,  Kumba  massacres etc.”

He added that in 2019, Switzerland proposed to mediate between Cameroun and Southern Cameroon (Ambazonia) as a way forward to justice and lasting peace. An initiative endorsed by the U.S., UN,  EU,  Canada  and  other  countries.  However, French Cameroon supported by France has refused to commit to the Swiss-led negotiation process, despite Southern Cameroons’ (Ambazonia) commitment to it.

Sako insisted: “We will continue to defend our people being massacred in this largely ignored genocide, as we persist  in  the  quest  for  the  restoration  of  the  independence  of  Southern  Cameroons  (Ambazonia)  as  was  intended on October 1, 1961.”

 

AFRICAN and business leaders have, at a two-day virtual celebrations of the 30th anniversary of the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), called on member-countries and development partners to continue supporting the African Union’s specialised agency for capacity development, because “it is an institution we can all trust”.

Dr. Christiane Abou Lehaf of the Afreximbank, who joined the anniversary webinar from the Egyptian capital, Cairo, said ACBF was one of the success stories of the bank, and since their collaboration started in 2007.

Lehaf said the bank has been proud to know ACBF as a responsible entity that takes charge of capacity building on the continent.

Based on this track record, Dr. Lehaf called on the Foundation’s member states and development partners to come together and continue to help ACBF deliver on its mandate, “because it is an institution we can all trust”.

That vote of confidence coming from Afreximbank was reinforced by the Chair of the Board of Governors of ACBF and Ghana’s Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, who said “Africa needs ACBF more than ever” to better play the role it has been playing for the past 30 years.

“The good news is that with 30 years of experience, ACBF has reached the age of maturity to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s growth,” Ofori-Atta said, adding that financial support by member states and development partners was critical to the activities and survival of the Foundation.

Ofori Atta thanked the member states and development partners for having played the critical supporting role of providing funding for ACBF’s activities for the past three decades, and encouraged them to do even more to invest in the future of the continent.

Welcoming participants to the webinar, H.E. Eratus Mwencha, the Chair of the Executive Board of ACBF, said it was with a sense of pride that the Foundation was celebrating its 30th anniversary after three decades of positively impacting the life of Africa and its citizens.

“In February 1991 when the foundation was founded, there were just 12 member states. Today, ACBF boasts of a membership of more than 40 countries,” H.E. Mwencha said. “The Foundation itself has grown to become one of the best-run institutions in Africa in terms of corporate governance. No audit in the last 30 years has found any problem of financial mismanagement.”

In his introductory remarks, the Executive Secretary of ACBF, Prof. Emmanuel Nnadozie, gave a brief history of the Foundation, going back to

“The creation of the Foundation was in recognition of the serious capacity deficits on the continent,” he said, and expressed delight that in 30 years of excellent work, ACBF has left good footprints on the continent.

The Foundation has since trained about 50,000 public sector officials, who hold high positions in ministries of finance, economic planning, and central banks. It has also created over 40 think tanks across Africa to support development on the continent.

In addition, the Foundation has published hundreds of policy research and analyses which it has passed on to member states for implementation. ACBF’s interventions have also strengthened African economies, but Prof Nnadozie conceded that more still remained to be done.

The anniversary webinar was attended by a host of dignitaries, including Zimbabwe’s Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Prof. Mthuli Ncube; Cameroon’s Minister of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Alamine Ousmane Mey; Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary, Ambassador Ukar Yatani Kanacho; Mauritania’s Minister of Economic Affairs, Hon Ousmane Mamoudou Kane, and Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Hon Dr Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed.

As part of the anniversary celebrations the Foundation launched two new initiatives, the ACBF Alumni Network and the ACBF Media Awards on Capacity Development.

The Alumni Network aims to catalyze support of individuals and institutions that have benefited from ACBF services in the past, and former staff members, consultants, and former Executive Secretaries, to provide advice to ACBF activities and support its governance organs in the mobilization of resources.

The Media Awards will recognise excellence in African journalism, and particularly reportage on capacity development.

HOUSE Speaker Nancy Pelosi said yesterday that Democrats were “pretty much” close on an agreement around a social spending and infrastructure bill.

The bill is a cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s agenda and was introduced with a $3.5 trillion price tag.

But progressive and centrist Democrats have squabbled over particulars in the bill, also delaying a vote on an infrastructure bill already passed in the Senate.

Pelosi, a Democrat from California said she expects an agreement on the bipartisan infrastructure bill soon as lawmakers near an agreement on a social spending plan.

The Speaker, who made the comments during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said Democrats were nearing consensus on how to proceed with the reconciliation bill, the 10-year spending plan that is the cornerstone of President Joe Biden’s agenda.

The bill, which has been pared back from about $3.5 trillion to $2 trillion to gain the support of two Democratic holdouts, would invest in education, childcare, climate change, and programmes for women, the elderly and minorities.

House leadership has held off on voting on an infrastructure bill passed by the Senate in August until an agreement between progressive and centrist Democrats could be made on the reconciliation package.

Meantime, Biden was expected to meet with one of the holdouts, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer yesterday to try and hammer out a final agreement on the tax-and-spend bill.

Pelosi said 90% of the reconciliation bill had been written and agreed upon, adding that lawmakers were “pretty much there” on it.

At the beginning of the month, Pelosi pushed the deadline for lawmakers to agree on the infrastructure bill to October 31 , when highway funding runs out, saying it was “about time” the House passed the legislation after progressives stalled its passage, claiming they wouldn’t vote in its favour unless it passed alongside the reconciliation bill.

Centrist Democrats, like Manchin and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, have pushed back on key provisions of the reconciliation bill, also leading to the delays.

 

PRESIDENT Tayyip Erdogan’s political opponents said yesterday that his call to expel the ambassadors of 10 Western allies was a bid to divert attention from Turkey’s economic difficulties, while diplomats hoped the expulsions might yet be averted.

On Saturday, Erdogan said he had ordered the envoys be declared ‘persona non grata’ for seeking philanthropist Osman Kavala’s release from prison.

By yesterday evening, there was no sign that the foreign ministry had yet carried out the instruction, which would open the deepest rift with the West in Erdogan’s 19 years in power.

The diplomatic crisis coincides with investor worries about the Turkish lira’s fall to a record low after the central bank, under pressure from Erdogan to stimulate the economy, unexpectedly slashed interest rates by 200 points last week.

The lira hit a fresh all-time low in early Asian trade, weakening 1.6% to 9.75 per dollar in a move that bankers attributed to Erdogan’s comments. It has lost almost a quarter of its value so far this year.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition CHP, said Erdogan was “rapidly dragging the country to a precipice”.

“The reason for these moves is not to protect national interests but to create artificial reasons for the ruining of the economy,” he said on Twitter.

Kavala, a contributor to numerous civil society groups, has been in prison for four years, charged with financing nationwide protests in 2013 and with involvement in a failed coup in 2016. He denies the charges and has remained in detention while his trial continues.

“We’ve seen this film before,” said opposition IYI Party deputy leader Yavuz Agiralioglu. “Return at once to our real agenda and the fundamental problem of this country – the economic crisis.”

Erdogan said the envoys had failed to respect Turkey’s judiciary and had no right to demand Kavala’s release.

Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Istanbul-based think tank Edam and a former Turkish diplomat, said Erdogan’s timing was incongruous as Turkey was seeking to recalibrate its foreign policy away from episodes of tension in recent years.

Erdogan has not always acted on threats.

In 2018, he said Turkey would boycott U.S. electronic goods in a dispute with Washington. Sales were unaffected. Last year, he called on Turks to boycott French goods over what he said was President Emmanuel Macron’s “anti-Islam” agenda, but did not follow through.

One diplomatic source said a decision could be taken at today’s cabinet meeting and that de-escalation was still possible. Erdogan has said he will meet U.S. President Joe Biden at next weekend’s G20 summit in Rome.

Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for two decades but support for his ruling alliance has eroded ahead of elections scheduled for 2023, partly because of high inflation.

While the International Monetary Fund projects economic growth of 9% this year, inflation is more than double that, and the lira has fallen 50% against the dollar since Erdogan’s last election victory in 2018.

Emre Peker, from the London-based consultancy Eurasia Group, said the threat of expulsions at a time of economic difficulties was “at best ill-considered, and at worst a foolish gambit to bolster Erdogan’s plummeting popularity”.

“Erdogan has to project power for domestic political reasons,” he said.

In a joint statement on Oct. 18, the ambassadors of Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, New Zealand and the United States called for a just and speedy resolution to Kavala’s case, and for his “urgent release”.

The European Court of Human Rights called for Kavala’s immediate release two years ago, saying there was no reasonable suspicion that he had committed an offence.

Soner Cagaptay from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy tweeted: “Erdogan believes he can win the next Turkish elections by blaming the West for attacking Turkey — notwithstanding the sorry state of the country’s economy.”