Month: August 2021

Planned protests against South Sudan’s government failed to materialize Monday amid a heavy deployment of security forces in the capital, Juba, and a nationwide disruption of internet service.

A coalition of activist groups had called for public demonstrations to coincide with President Sala Kiir’s address to lawmakers at the opening session of Parliament Monday. However, there were no major gatherings on the streets of Juba.

Protesters ‘scared off’

Speaking to VOA, Wani Michael, a member of the People’s Coalition for Civil Action, said the protest fizzled because people were “scared off” by the large police presence throughout the city.

“How do you arm yourself like that just to suppress your own citizens who are expressing their disappointment with how things are going on in the country? This is not going to stop today because today is an awakening day. It is going to be a process,” Michael told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus.

Police said the activists had not sought permission to protest, and therefore any large demonstration would be illegal.

“We deployed the forces at least to keep order in case of any problem. Those forces are in the streets for your safety,” police spokesperson Daniel Justin Boulogne said.

Mobile data unavailable

Residents in Juba told Reuters that as of Sunday evening, mobile data was unavailable on the network of South African mobile operator MTN Group, and by Monday morning, it was also halted on the network of Kuwait-based operator Zain Group.

Alp Toker, director of NetBlocks, a London-based group that monitors internet disruptions, said it detected “significant disruption to internet service in South Sudan beginning Sunday evening, including to leading cellular networks.”

South Sudan’s Information and Telecommunications Minister Michael Makuei denied the government tampered with internet services in the country.

“It is not shut down by the government but has technical problems that need to be addressed. If that fault is addressed, it will come back,” Makuei told South Sudan in Focus.

‘A stupid question’

Asked why the internet was disrupted on the same day protests were planned, Makuei said, “This is a stupid question. Why do cars go off on the road? Why do TVs go off at certain times? Why are all these things happening? They happen because they ought to happen at that particular moment, not because anything is being done by anybody.”

Activist Jame David Kolok, whose Foundation for Democracy and Accountable Governance is one of the groups that called for the demonstration, told Reuters that the internet shutdown was a sign “the authorities are panicking.”

The activists accuse Kiir’s government of corruption and failing to protect the population or provide basic services.

The government has repeatedly denied allegations from rights and advocacy groups of abuses and corruption.

Source: Voice of America

BANJUL— Gambia has formally blocked flights returning migrants deported from the European Union, declaring that the country cannot reintegrate them.

Being the smallest country on mainland Africa, Gambia has a long tradition of migration.

An estimated 118,000 Gambians live abroad, according to the International Organisation for Migration, who send home remittances worth over 20 percent of the country’s GDP.

However, this week’s announcement that the government aims to block flights of returning migrants comes ahead of a presidential election in December and some have interpreted the move as a bid to boost electoral support ahead of the poll.

The Banjul administration says it will block all flights returning migrants from the EU, just as Germany was preparing to expel a number of Gambians.

Gambian foreign ministry spokesman Saikou Ceesay says that the government decreed the policy last June, explaining that large numbers of returning migrants would cause “social upheaval”.

He maintains: “We are trying to consolidate the peace, stability and democracy we have in this country.”

The Gambia was ruled by violent dictator Yahya Jammeh for 22 years, until he was forced from power in 2017 after losing a presidential election to Adama Barrow.

The first Gambian presidential election of the post-Jammeh era is due to be held on Dec 4.

Meanwhile a European diplomat, who declined to be named, described The Gambia’s move to block migrant returns as “a political issue” motivated by the upcoming election.

European governments have previously complained that The Gambia has never fully cooperated on returns.

The West African country signed a non-binding agreement on returns with the EU in 2018 has reportedly “never fully respected”.

The European Council is due to examine a proposal which would tighten access to EU visas for Gambians, for example, over the country’s “failure to cooperate on readmission”.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The South Sudan National Police Service has deployed officers on the streets of the capital, Juba, and warned South Sudanese not to take part in the scheduled nationwide Monday protests against the government.

A group calling itself the People’s Coalition for Civil Action is organizing the protests after launching a public campaign for change in July, saying the Revitalized Transitional Government of National Unity led by President Salva Kiir is doing very little to address the many challenges facing the people of South Sudan.

Abraham Awolic, a member of the group, said it notified the police by letter of the planned protests even though such notification is not required.

“The people of South Sudan are coming out on the 30th to protest, it is their constitutional right,” he told VOA’s South Sudan in Focus. “You don’t need approval from anyone to exercise that power. … You cannot ask the same state which has aggrieved you to give you permission to protest against it.”

South Sudan police service spokesperson Major General Daniel Justin said the planned protests will “cause public disorder” and will not be tolerated by authorities.

Justin invited protest organizers to meet with the police.

“You have to coordinate with the police to give you protection. And these people, we invite them to come such that we sit and arrange, so it will not be allowed,” Justin told VOA.

South Sudan has been in political turmoil after the leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-in-Opposition, part of the ruling alliance, fired three generals in the command of the Upper Nile state shortly after the generals declared First Vice President Riek Machar had been ousted as head of the movement.

Bol Deng Bol, head of the civil society organization in Jonglei state, said some of South Sudan’s political parties have done more harm by rebelling against the government.

“This time is the right time for us as citizens of this hard-earned country, South Sudan, to express our views, to express our dissatisfaction as long as they are not going to go violent,” Bol told VOA.

Bol said he will attend the protests. Other political leaders are wary.

The South Sudan National Youth Union this week urged young people across the country to stay away from the demonstrations.

Gola Boyoi, chairperson of the Youth Union, condemned the protests, calling them an undemocratic way of toppling a government. He told South Sudan in Focus that the people should give the signatories to the 2018 peace deal ending the country’s civil war a chance to fully implement the agreement.

“We are also calling on the business community and the working class to ignore this uprising and go about their normal duties,” Boyoi said.

Peter Malir, a youth rights activist and a representative of the South Sudan Youth coalition, said that although citizens have the right to hold a peaceful protest, it is not the right time because the country is facing several challenges, including road ambushes and ethnic fighting.

A heavy police presence could be seen along several streets in Juba on Friday. Officers have orders to arrest anyone who takes to the streets to participate in the protests, police spokesperson Justin said.

Source: Voice of America