A roundup of a few key stories from the last week on political matters in Sudan and South Sudan:
AU opts for silence on South Sudan war crimes as talks stall (Radio Tamazuj, 30 January 2015) – The African Union has deferred the presentation of a report on the war crimes that have been reported in South Sudan as leaders of the two forces accused of perpetrating them failed to reach a peace deal during negotiations at the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa on Thursday.
Equatorian politicians say they don’t want Riek as their VP (Radio Tamazuj, 30 January 2015) – Politicians from the Equatoria region of South Sudan working in the state and national governments have today announced their opposition to a proposal to make SPLM-IO rebel leader Riek Machar the “first vice president,” saying incumbent VP James Wani Igga should remain senior to the rebel leader in any power-sharing government.
Proposal at South Sudan crisis talks to restore Riek Machar to vice presidency (Radio Tamazuj, 30 January 2015) – The mediation of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have proposed to make South Sudanese rebel leader Riek Machar once again vice president while the incumbent vice president will remain as a “second vice president,” according to a statement by SPLM-IO.
General Akot Deng accused of making power grab in Aweil before standing down his forces (Radio Tamazuj, 29 January 2015) – A state minister has accused Northern Bahr el Ghazal Police Commissioner Major General Akot Deng Akot of exercising police powers illegally for political purposes, after allegedly revealing his own intentions to become governor in the state.
Bashir to Mbeki: rebels can participate in National Dialogue (Radio Tamazuj, 28 January 2015) – Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir yesterday vowed to provide assurances that leaders of armed movements can participate in the National Dialogue process, an official from his office said.