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AU Urges South Sudan Parties to Complete Arrangements before Government Formation

Rebel fighters hold up their rifles in Upper Nile State, South Sudan February 13, 2014. (Reuters)
Rebel fighters hold up their rifles in Upper Nile State, South Sudan February 13, 2014. (Reuters)
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AU Urges South Sudan Parties to Complete Arrangements before Government Formation

Rebel fighters hold up their rifles in Upper Nile State, South Sudan February 13, 2014. (Reuters)
Rebel fighters hold up their rifles in Upper Nile State, South Sudan February 13, 2014. (Reuters)

The African Union (AU) urged parties of the South Sudan Peace Agreement to double their efforts to ensure the completion of all arrangements of the pre-transitional period, which was extended for an additional six months to November.

AU’s High Representative for Infrastructure Development in Africa and Kenya’s former Prime Minister Raila Odinga told reporters that parties of the peace agreement should double their efforts to ensure that all arrangements for the pre-transition period are completed.

The Intergovernmental Authority for Development (IGAD) endorsed extending the pre-transitional period by six months effective from May 12, 2019 to enable the execution of the critical pending tasks.

Odinga called on the leaders of South Sudan to quickly restore stability so that the country can claim its share in the development of infrastructure in Africa.

The deadline for the formation of a national unity government in November should not be missed again, he warned. 

“I would like to see peace and calm reinstated in South Sudan and to end the deadlock in the implementation of the peace agreement until it is possible to form a government.”

He noted that citizens are eager for peace, development, stability and security, admitting there are challenges to be solved if everyone agrees to work together, pointing out that he held talks with President Salva Kiir and urged him to prioritize peace and development in South Sudan. 

In related news, the South Sudan National Pre-Transitional Committee (NPTC) decided to end the accommodation of the negotiating delegations that discuss the implementation of the peace agreement, and asked them to leave the hotel.

Head of the Committee for Accommodation Dhieu Mathok Diing issued a letter to the members informing them that their housing in the hotels will end as of Monday May 27 and the NPTC will not be responsible for the accommodation of any member who remains in the hotel from that day.

For his part, a top opposition figure told Asharq Al-Awsat that his party is concerned about the opposition delegations after the decision to terminate their stay in the hotels.

The member, who preferred to remain unnamed, warned that such decision will disrupt the implementation of the agreement to activate peace and will reflect negatively on the mutual trust between all the parties.

Civil society organizations welcomed the move, saying South Sudanese people had repeatedly called for the leaders to return to their own homes.

Civil society raised question marks on the government’s decision to host officials in luxury hotels while claiming lack of funds to implement the terms of the peace agreement, especially the security arrangements.

The organizations accused some peace delegates of spending lavishly on guards, families and friends rather than providing services to citizens.

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China Releases 3 Americans it Imprisoned for Years, Beijing Says US Returned 4 People to China

The Chinese and United States flags are flown outside the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The Chinese and United States flags are flown outside the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
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China Releases 3 Americans it Imprisoned for Years, Beijing Says US Returned 4 People to China

The Chinese and United States flags are flown outside the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
The Chinese and United States flags are flown outside the China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

Three American citizens imprisoned for years by China arrived back in the United States late Wednesday. Their release, announced earlier by the White House, was the result of a rare diplomatic agreement with Beijing in the final months of the Biden administration.
The Chinese government also announced Thursday that the US had returned four people to China, including at least three Chinese citizens who it said had been held for “political purposes,” and a person who had been sought by Beijing for crimes and had been living in the United States. According to The Associated Press, it did not identify the four.
The three Americans released by Beijing are Mark Swidan, Kai Li and John Leung, all of whom had been designated by the US government as wrongfully detained by China. Swidan had been facing a death sentence on drug charges while Li and Leung were imprisoned on espionage charges.
A plane carrying the three men landed late Wednesday night at a military base in San Antonio, Texas.
Biden told reporters on Thursday morning that he has spoken to all of them and “I’m really happy they are home."
The release comes just two months after China freed David Lin, a Christian pastor from California who had spent nearly 20 years behind bars after being convicted of contract fraud.
US-China relations have been roiled for years over major disagreements between the world’s two largest economies on trade, human rights, the production of fentanyl precursors, security issues that include espionage and hacking, China’s aggressiveness toward Taiwan and its smaller neighbors in the South China Sea, and Beijing’s support for Russia’s military-industrial sector.
The release of Americans deemed wrongfully detained in China has been a top agenda item in each conversation between the US and China, and Wednesday’s development suggests a willingness by Beijing to engage with the outgoing Democratic administration before Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Trump took significant actions against China on trade and diplomacy during his first term. He has pledged to continue those policies in his second term, leading to unease among many who fear that an all-out trade war will greatly affect the international economy and could spur potential Chinese military action against Taiwan.
Still, the two countries have maintained a dialogue that has included a partial restoration of military-to-military contacts. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met this month to discuss potential improvements.
In a separate but related move, the State Department on Wednesday lowered its travel warning to China to “level two,” advising US citizens to “exercise increased caution” from the norm when traveling to the mainland. The alert had previously been at “level three,” telling Americans they should “reconsider travel” to China in part because of the “risk of wrongful detention” of Americans.
The new alert removes that wording but retains a warning that the Chinese government “arbitrarily enforces local laws, including exit bans on US citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law.”
The Biden administration had raised the cases of the detained Americans with China in multiple meetings over the past several years, including this month when Biden spoke to Xi on during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
Politico was first to report the men’s release, which it said was part of a prisoner swap with the US. The White House did not immediately confirm that any Chinese citizens in American custody had been returned home.
However, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning announced in Beijing on Thursday that “three Chinese citizens have returned to the motherland safe and sound."
“China always firmly opposes US suppression and persecution of Chinese nationals out of political purposes, and we will continue taking necessary measures to defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese nationals,” she said.
She added that a fourth person, “a fugitive who escaped to the US many years ago, has also been repatriated to China.”
The fourth person's nationality was not identified. Mao said “this shows that there will be no safe haven forever for criminals. The Chinese government will continue our efforts to repatriate the fugitives and recover criminals and illegal possessions until every fugitive is held accountable.”