Headlines – Page 5 – The Speaker News Journal

Two jihadists executed by Jordan after the murderer of a military pilot

February 4, 2015 by Esther Hervy

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After the Islamic State released a video showing the execution of a Jordanian pilot Tuesday, Jordan’s responded by executing two jihadists imprisoned since 2006 for acts of terrorism. One woman and one man were hanged early Wednesday morning.

The woman, Sajida al-Rishawi, a 44-year-old Iraqi designated a “sister imprisoned” by Daesh, had carried out attacks in the Jordanian capital a year before her arrest. Sixty tourists, diplomats, and expatriates were killed in suicide attacks committed in three hotels. Al-Rishawi was sentenced to death in 2008 for her participation in the attacks.

The man, Ziad Karbouli, was part of al-Qaeda. He had also been sentenced to death in 2008.

The two executions have been interpreted as Amman’s response to the appalling murder of Maaz Al-Kassasbeh, a Jordanian pilot captured on Dec.24 by the Islamic State after the crash of his plane in Syria, where he participated in air strikes for the international coalition against the Islamic State.

The barbarism of the execution of the pilot (burned alive in a cage) raised the emotions of well-known figures in the world of politics.

“This Sunni group is the embodiment of evil,” said David Cameron, British Prime Minister, while François Hollande, the French President, condemned the act as a “barbaric murder.”

In a unanimous statement, the 15 member countries of the UN Security Council also “strongly condemned” a “barbaric and cowardly act which once again shows the brutality of the Islamic State.”

The Islamic state had demanded the release of Sajida al-Rishawi in exchange for the Japanese journalist Kenji Goto, who the Islamic State had held hostage. The transaction had not taken place and the Japanese journalist was beheaded.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had described the killing of Goto as a “vile and unforgivable act.”

In Karak, the hometown of the pilot, some people protested outside a local administrative building. They felt that the government had not done enough to obtain his release.

In the most recent video release by the Islamic State, representatives also list names and display photographs and addresses of soldiers from countries participating in the international coalition, and claim to offer a reward of “100 gold coins” to those who would kill one of them.

Analysis by Esther Hervy

Photo by mhlradio

Islamic terrorists have committed 25,000 separate violent acts worldwide that resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths in last 15 years

January 26, 2021February 3, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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The number of Islamist attacks since 2001 when the World Trade Center’s twin towers collapsed has reached 25,000, according to terrorist watch group The Religion of Peace. The attacks currently occur regularly at a rate of over 200 per month around the world, so that the time at which the 25,000 mark would be reached was able to be predicted by TROP.

In January, Islamist terrorists committed 266 jihad attacks in 28 countries, including 43 suicide attacks. These attacks resulted in 2,998 deaths and 2,261 injured, not counting deaths and injuries that occured after the time the reports were published.

The numbers were almost the same over the past several months, so that when in early January The Speaker asked the editor of TROP, Glen Roberts, about the date at which the number would reach 25,000, he was able to predict that it would occur in February.

“It looks like there have been only 12 days since the beginning of 2005 without at least one Islamic attack,” said Roberts.

The TROP editor, who has maintained a record of Islamist attacks since the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, noted that the number of attacks is the only figure they calculate. They do not calculate the number of people killed by Islamists, which would be many times higher than the 25,000 figure. The 25,000 does not include regular killings by Muslims such as honor killings, murders, or executions, but measures only killings deemed by TROP’s editors to have been motivated by the perpetrators’ interpretation of religious duty.

Roberts also told us that the rate of attacks since 2001 should in no way be considered an increase in such attacks.

“The rate at which people died from Islamic violence was probably much greater prior to this,” said Roberts. “There was less attention focused on terror campaigns in places like Algeria and East Timor, for example, even though the loss of life was staggering. Another example is Bangladesh, where several million people lost their lives in the early 1970’s during independence, a great many of whom were Hindu.”

According to TROP, Islam is unique among the world’s biggest religions in that killing is widespread and continues regularly. Roberts believes that the killing has to do with the scripture and history of the Islam.

“The people who know Muhammad best – his companions – were extremely prolific in waging war against non-threatening populations under the rationale that Islam is meant to be supreme,” Roberts told us. “There is nothing in the Quran that discourages this. In fact, verse 9:29 says that Christians and Jews are to be killed if they resist subjugation. Verse 9:123 tells Muslims to ‘fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness.’”

Young British woman Hannah Davies missing in Bangkok, Thailand

January 26, 2021February 3, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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A 21-year-old British woman who went missing this week in Bangkok, Thailand is being sought by her Portsmouth family. The woman is feared to have been using drugs and has a history of mental illness. Her last contact with her family happened last Friday when she posted a short Facebook message.

In the Facebook message, 21-year-old Hannah Davies wrote that she was using the computer of a man who had invited her in off the street, according to Stickboy Bangkok. The man had offered her food, she wrote.

When last seen, the 5’6″ woman had long brown dreadlocks and was described as dirty and covered in mosquito bites.

The last known whereabouts of Davies was the Bang Kapi shopping mall in Bangkok Jan. 31.

Davies had been rooming at the Sawasdee Guesthouse in the tourist-area of Khaosan Road. Her last appearance at the guesthouse, according to staff there, was the day before she went missing.

Her family fears she may have been using drugs. According to Davies’ mother, the young woman has a history of mental health issues, and is a danger to herself when these issues surface. Her mother believes Davies requires urgent medical help.

Davies arrived in Thailand Jan. 17 and was travelling alone. She was scheduled to return to the England in mid-March.

Her family and the British Embassy in Bangkok are looking for any information that might lead to locating the woman. They can be reached through the family’s phone number (+44 07954 326152) and email ([email protected]) or the British Embassy’s Bangkok office (+66 02 305 8333).

South Korean swimmer attending doping hearing due to failed doping test

February 2, 2015 by EJ Monica Kim

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South Korean swimming super star Tae-Hwan Park will attend FINA’s doping hearing, held in Lausanne, Switzerland on Feb. 27, as he failed a doping test last September during the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

FINA, the international governing body of swimming, informed the Korea Swimming Federation (KSF) at the end of last October that Park tested positive for testosterone with his A sample. Testosterone is a male hormone on the Prohibited List of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Although Park and the KSF asked for the analysis of the B sample, again they were finally notified last December that the B sample also tested positive.

His agency, Team GMP, has sued a local hospital where Park received chiropractic treatment last July for a failed doping test on Jan. 20. The agency claimed that a doctor did not clarify the substances of the injections given him.

According to a statement from Team GMP, Park had a free injection, following a doctor’s suggestion, after double-checking whether the injection contained any banned-substances. The agency added that he did not fail a test during game-time last September in Incheon, Korea.

The hospital’s officials were under prosecutor’s investigation on Jan. 23. The doctor, however, told the prosecutor that Park had injections of Nebido, which contains Testosterone to boost levels of a male hormone, was delivered in December 2013, not last July. The officials argued that his agency is trying to shift the responsibility to the hospital in preparation for a hearing.

Park was also examined by the prosecution on Jan. 25. The prosecutor will announce the result of the investigation this week, based on medical records and testimonies from both sides.

Regardless of the different arguments from each side, Article 2.2 Anti-Doping Rule Violation of WADA states that, “It is each Athlete’s personal duty to ensure that no Prohibited Substance enters his or her body and that no Prohibited Method is Used.”

Consequently, it seems to be difficult for Park, who tested positive to the best-known banned substance, to avoid a suspension.

Moreover, the rules of the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) might thwart Park’s hope for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games if he is to be suspended for at least a month by FINA. Under the rules, amended last July, an athlete who has been suspended for a positive drug test may not be selected for a national team for three years, starting on the day that the suspension ends.

Meanwhile, officials from the KSF and KOC discussed preparations for a hearing with Park’s agency last Friday.

Tae-Hwan Park is the first Korean swimmer to win medals at the Olympic Games, where he gained one gold and three silvers in the 400m and 200m freestyle in 2008 and 2012. Park has recently visited the United States to find a new training venue and coach, ahead of the Rio 2016, after parting with his Australian coach at the end of 2014.

By EJ Monica Kim

Photo: EJ Monica Kim

Sources:

Strauss-Kahn before the judges: former president of the IMF accusated of procuring

February 2, 2015 by Esther Hervy

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Four years after the case regarding alleged sexual crimes committed at the Sofitel Hotel in New York City, Dominique Strauss-Kahn appeared again today in the opening of another trial — this one on charges of aggravated procuring alleged to have taken place at the Carlton Hotel. The former director of IMF, who is accused of having participated in naughty parties in Lille, Paris and Washington between 2008 and 2011 denied knowledge of the professional status of the girls. The hearing began today at 2 p.m. local time.

One of Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers, Richard Malka, who defended Strauss-Kahn in earlier investigations, said that the law does not necessarily condemn immoral acts.

Apparently, the young women were recruited in Belgian brothels, whose owner, Dominique Alderweireld, was arrested on Oct. 1 for pimping, and is further suspected of having employed undocumented minors.

One of them recounts that a man came to her home to “ensure that she could match the type of woman who could be presented to Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Another girl said that DSK was aware that they were all paid each time, and that she had told Strauss-Kahn so.

“If this man believed that he could not know the quality of the girls, he really wants to make us believe that he is naive and take us for idiots, the second girl, called Jade, said at a hearing. All these girls were good-looking, young, completely designed to meet his desires.

Eric Dupond-Moretti, one of the lawyers for the accused, denounced the extension of “customer to pimp.” If we want to penalize the customer in France, which does. There are countries where the customer is penalized, but not France, said Dupond-Moretti. “I think they want to destroy DSK.”

Dominique Strauss-Kahn faces up to 10 years in prison and 1.5 million euros in fines.

By Esther Hervy

Hong Kong streets “filled” with pro-democracy protesters

February 1, 2015 by Milad Doroudian

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Hong Kong experienced another, much smaller, pro-democracy protest this Sunday when close to 13,000 people peacefully took to the streets.

The organizers of the protest hoped to achieve a turnout of 50,000, but were disappointed to find out that only a few took to holding the yellow umbrella — the sign of protest that dominated Hong Kong last year before the government forced the protesters into submission.

Two thousand police officers stood by to watch the demonstrators go by in Hong Kong’s most prestigious financial sector. There have been no reports of violence or clashes, but only chants for freedom and democracy that echoed between the high-rise buildings.

The people that showed up were spotted carrying British Union Jack flags, symbolizing the city’s past status as a British protectorate before it was turned over to the Chinese in 1997. Although the British period was undeniably an era of instability, it was one in which the virtues of British democracy were bestowed on the residents of Hong Kong — virtues which still permeate Hong Kong’s anglophile culture.

Last year the protesters demanded to be given more democratic choice in their search for a proper leader for the city, which resulted in vast Occupy-type settlements and even barricades across sections of the city. This time the protest did not reach the same level of commitment.

The South China Morning Post ran an article where they showed an interview with Daisy Chan, one of the organizers of the protest. Chan stated that the low-turnout “only shows that Hong Kongers are no longer satisfied with conventional ways of protest”.

In another report, Chan said, “In the past, these citizens were less political than they are right now. The Occupy movement woke people up.”

Despite Beijing’s steadfast refusal to defer to the protesters, it conceded to give the city the possibility to select from a group of leaders hand-picked by Beijing.

Although hardly anything that resembles democratic conduct, the idea is still not ratified and will only be implemented after 2017, if ever.

The facts are, however, that the turnout was minimal when compared with the roaring crowds that made international headlines for weeks last year, and that after the crowds began to die down, police engaged in meticulous questioning which, even though did not lead to criminal charges, must have had an effect on the general populace.

It is essential to remember that China is a despotic nation, and that the government is putting on a relatively pleasant face should not detract attention away from its coercive nature. In this China faces international pressure, compounded by Hong Kong’s youth, who refuse to depart from their ideas about the intense government regulations that fill the city as thickly as does its smog.

It is not surprising therefore that many of the people who attended were carrying banners that had, “Reject fake democracy, we want real universal suffrage,” written on them in large, bold letters.

Whether or not what is happening now in Hong Kong will result in large demonstrations similar to the ones which shook the world last year is hard to tell; the real question is how the Chinese government will respond if it does.

Analysis by Milad Doroudian

Image by Pasu Au Yeung

Israel moves to enlarge West Bank settlements

February 12, 2015February 1, 2015 by Milad Doroudian

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Despite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s firm reversal of the Housing Ministry’s bid for the expansion of settlements into the West Bank, Ari Uriel, Israel’s minister of construction, decided to go forward with the plan of building an additional 450 housing units in the Eitam Hill area, just east of Efrat.

A total of $215,000 (over 800,000 shekels) have already been spent on an architect and a contractor who are currently implementing the designs for the settlements.

The settlements will be built east of the famous barrier that separates Israel from the West Bank, and will constitute another move by the right-wing government in their hope of pushing their barriers deeper into territory claimed by Israel.

This announcement came only days before a Palestinian man was fatally shot by Israeli forces as he was spotted throwing a firebomb near Nablus in the West Bank.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), as well as other Arab organizations, has condemned Israel’s actions in the West Bank as thoroughly illegal and unsettling. In fact Turkey has gone as far as to suggest that this infringement of international law will undoubtedly lead to even more instability in the area, and world politics as a whole.

In fact a statement released by the Turkish Foreign Ministry said, “This Israeli action shows that they neglect the Palestinians’ recent international initiative.”

Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Badr Abdelatty has made it exceptionally clear that Egypt condemns Israel’s actions and fears they will have grave consequences for the peace talks that Egypt has been mediating between Israel and Palestine.

Perhaps the most interesting comment came from Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, who said, “The Israeli decision is not surprising when you look at it in the context of the culture of impunity Israel enjoys from the international community”– in an attempt to show that it is really the global community’s fault for letting Israel act like this.

Only yesterday, 22 representatives of European nations converged at the entrance of the Silesian Sister Convent to protest Israel’s expansion, making a spectacle in the small town in the West Bank

A more concerning fact is the amount of tension that has resulted with regard to the United States, Israel’s longtime ally and friend, as a result of Israel expansion into Palestinian territory, especially for the Obama administration, which had been called by some leading intellectuals, such as Ben Shapiro, “anti-Semitic”.

Although Netanyahu has not commented on the situation, in his most recent cabinet meeting he once again expressed his concern of the ever-increasingly imminent terrorist threats to Israel “from all fronts,” referring particularly to the egregious attack on Sinai this past week that led to the deaths of 30 people.

Whoever has a claim over the West Bank, we can be sure of one thing: it will lead to more political and possibly even physical conflict in the future.

Analysis by Milad Doroudian

Image by Rafael Medina

France’s Glavany Amendment: animals now considered “living beings gifted sentience”

February 1, 2015January 31, 2015 by Esther Hervy

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While the French Civil Code considered animals to be “movable property” for 200 years, Parliament voted this Wednesday, Jan. 28 that a change in legal status was in order (even if the Senate rejected the Glavany amendment last week). Animals are now considered to be “living beings gifted sentience.” In this way, an animal is no longer defined by its market value but its intrinsic value. The Civil Code has been harmonized with Rural Code and Criminal Code on this matter.

FNSEA (the main French farmer’s union) criticized the new legislation, fearing the effects with regards to livestock. But after seeing that animals did not receive a new category, the representatives thought things could be worse. This amendment does not change the situation for farmers significantly because it does not create a special status for animals between the men and goods. Animals thus remain property under the Civil Code.

But the animals rights associations still saluted what they considered to be a great victory.

“The main lock popped! This breakthrough creates favorable conditions for the improvement of the animal’s lives,” said Reha Hutin, president of the Foundation 30 Millions d’Amis. Indeed, the group has worked toward this change for more than 10 years. they hope the new amendment will change attitudes and also allow judges to apply the existing law more easily (The Criminal Code allows up to €30,000 in fines and 2 years of imprisonment for any act of animal abuse).

However, it is worth noting that this change only applies to pets or wild animals tamed or held in captivity. The sentience of wild animals, meanwhile, is not recognized.

Concretely, in the short-term future, the law should not change much for our animals, but many still see a positive sign in the consideration of the daily suffering of animals. Even though the road still seems long toward the ban of bullfighting (which has a specific clause in the Act), geese feeding, vivisection and still dairy farms, this new amendment can only cause us to rejoice and to become more aware of the important place occupied animals in our society.

For Christiane Taubira, Minister of Justice, “It’s an act that has weight, meaning and consequences.”

Analysis by Esther Hervy

Corroboration: Vier Pfoten

Image: blurbrain/littlemiao

South Africa Apartheid Leader de Kock on Parole

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015 by Aliza Baraka

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A death squad leader in the South African apartheid, Eugene de Kock, was granted parole Thursday. This comes 20 years after initially being jailed for his role in the murder of activists protesting against white minority rule during the 1980s and 1990s.

The reason for de Kock’s release, according to Justice Minister Michael Masutha, was “in the interest of nation-building.” He emphasized that this decision is in accordance with South Africa’s constitution. This brings to the forefront the struggle that South Africa has in balancing justice with reconciliation.

The release of the 66-year-old comes after his sentencing in 1996 to two life prison terms. De Kock, nicknamed “Prime Evil,” had also been sentenced to an additional 212 years for his crimes. There is much controversy surrounding the release of Mr. de Kock. For this reason, the location and timing would not be made public.

Families of slain victims had mixed responses to the news. Some felt that it was right to move on, letting de Kock go on parole, and in so doing, “a chapter could be closed.” Some family members spoke of reconciliation and the need to focus on rebuilding South Africa.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of the 1990s was an effort to promote unity after the divisiveness and trauma of apartheid. The granting of amnesty, in some cases, was part of this effort.

At his 1995 trial before the TRC, one year after the first democratic elections in South Africa, de Kock confessed to more than 100 acts of torture, murder, and fraud. He took full responsibility for the actions committed by the Vlakplaas police, his notorious undercover unit.

The unit, based on a farm near the capital Pretoria, conducted some of the most horrific crimes during the apartheid era. Their trademark murders, which used explosives, would both kill the victim and destroy the evidence of the death.

One of the key factors in South African apartheid leader de Kock’s parole is that he has expressed remorse for his deeds. Some critics, however, express strongly that because he was ruthless in his brutality, he does not deserve mercy. They say that he should spend the rest of his life in prison.

In the TRC hearings, de Kock recounted murders of African National Congress (ANC) members in other countries, including Angola, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. The police commander above him was complicit in all of these crimes. However, de Kock is the only one who was charged with the crimes. The others are living in freedom.

De Kock took some actions while in prison that have influenced the reactions of victims’ families as well as his release on parole. In 2007, he did a radio interview, accusing the last white ruler of South Africa, FW de Klerk, of ordering specific killings. He said that President de Klerk “had blood on his hands.” This accusation was denied by the former president.

Justice Minister Masutha also said that de Kock has been helpful to the National Prosecuting Authority’s Missing Persons Task Team in recovering the remains of some of his victims. While in prison, de Kock also reached out to victims’ families. He asked them for his forgiveness.

Another former official within the apartheid era, Clive Derby-Lewis, has not been granted parole. He had been convicted in the assassination of Chris Hani, but has not shown remorse in the way that de Kock had expressed. Moreover, Derby-Lewis has medical reasons – undergoing chemotherapy for stage three lung cancer – that caused the Medical Parole Advisory Board to deny his release.

The actions as well as the parole of South African apartheid leader Eugene de Kock have been met with mixed response. A former employee of the South African Council of Churches spoke out. He had worked there when the Church headquarters were bombed in 1988 and said that South Africans are accustomed to having mixed feelings.

By Aliza Baraka

Sources:

BBC, News Africa
The New York Times
Eyewitness News

Photo courtesy of United Nations – Flickr license

Chinese charge government officials for being part of “illegal underground Tibetan independence organization”

January 29, 2015January 29, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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It has come to light that officials within the Chinese government have been charged and punished with crimes such as providing intelligence to exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and participating in activities found to potentially be “harmful to national security.”

Fifteen officials of the Chinese government in central Tibet were charged with the crimes in 2014 and have since been punished. The cases were brought to light Tuesday by official Chinese media organization China News Network.

The officials violated political discipline, according to the Wang-Gang, secretary-general of 27th Commission for Discipline inspection committee, the body that uncovered the Chinese crimes. Wang said that the officials, “participated in an illegal underground Tibetan separatist organization,” providing information to the Dalai clique,” “funded activities that endangered national security, and committed other serious violations. The officials, including six Communist party members and civil servants, had been dealt with, Wang stated.

In addition, 45 officials had been found to have abandoned their posts or neglected their duties had been “seriously punished,” according to Wang.

Complaints about misbehaving officials in the Tibetan region were on the increase, according to the discipline commission — up 132 percent between 2013 and 2014.

The commission reported that “the struggle against the separatist situation [in Tibet] is still complicated and grim. The political stance of the minority party members and cadres is not firm, and work needs to continue to strengthen the maintenance of stability.”

Under Xi Jinping, China has undergone visibly heightened corruption investigations, including within the continually resistant region of Tibet, which has been ruled by the Communist Party since China invaded Tibet in 1951. Within Tibet, no Tibetan has ever been placed in the position of Party Secretary for the region.

By James Haleavy

Can the River of Life survive? – Drina River and how to deal with plastics and heavy metals in Serbia

January 28, 2015 by The Speaker Editors

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BELGRADE, Serbia — The Drina River runs from south to north after its birth in Montenegro, created from two beauties: the Tara and Piva rivers. Locals tend to call her the River of Life, while the Old Slavic name is Zelenika (Green One). To be honest, she is still green and pure for the most of her flow. Water pours in from many mountains and the Drina is one of the cleanest rivers in Europe. The Drina joins the Sava River at the end of her 346 kilometers long flow. Along with the waters of the Danube, these rivers will reach the Black Sea in the end.

Drina is also a border line between Republika Srpska (BiH) and Serbia for some 220 km. Somewhere at around half of that distance Perućac Dam shelters a power plant, contributing power to Serbian grid. The concrete wall of Perucac has turned out to be a very problematic spot, as it stops the river’s flow and gathers plastic waste, which has proved to be very hard for cleaning and removal.

Both states tried to solve this problem, but obviously not strongly enough. Plastic bottles, bags and similar garbage are washed down with high waters and all that mess piles up at the dam, creating a very ugly site. One little boat, modified to collect the garbage, tries his best to clean it up but this effort seems pointless when you see all those new garbage piles coming downstream.

This place really gives us true picture of plastic waste problem. Approximately 5000 cubic meters of waste are removed from the river annually, but the problem is not solved since trash dumps of the upper towns are located on the banks while the local population is not educated to care about the effects on surrounding nature.

The municipalities of Rudo, Priboj, Prijepolje, and Bijelo Polje have placed their trash disposal dumps next to the Lim River (a tributary of Drina), and high spring water washes the trash down to the Drina. This problem affects Montenegro, Serbia and BiH.

We are driving down the road next to the Drina River heading north, and after Ljubovija, a nice little place, we can see next a sad example of human indifference. Zajaca mine, which has a history of mining going back to Roman times, has released dangerous toxic waste into the Drina. Heavy rains that occurred in the spring of 2014 caused flooding in this area and tailings sludge from Zajaca Mine was washed down to the Drina.

The mine is privately owned now by Farmakom Company from Sabac. Ash, a by-product of lead and antimony extraction, has very small particles and prevents oxygen from reaching any organism underneith it. This ash contains lead, zinc, etc. Farmakom’s company owner has detained for financial violation and tax fraud.

The sludge pond is under control now. Until the next heavy rain.

But tap water in Zajaca is still prohibited for drinking. Local children are monitored now because many of them have had increased lead percentages in blood testing.

In a nearby place, Stolice, another mine (also owned by Farmakom) released additional amounts of toxic sludge into Korenita River, and it all ended up in the Drina. Many farmers decided not to crop their fields due to the pollution.

Another spring is coming, and no solution is offered yet.

By Miroslav Velimirovic

South Sudan’s prices double as dollar crisis hits Juba

March 3, 2016January 28, 2015 by Taban Setimo

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JUBA, South Sudan — Prices of commodity goods have doubled over the past two months in South Sudan’s capital and across the country as the dollar exchange rate has risen from 450 South Sudanese pounds for 100 US dollars to 720 South Sudanese pounds for 100 dollars on the black market.

The chairperson of the traders union, while speaking to reporters in Nyakuron market, said that they are unable to buy dollars from the banks and Forex bureaus easily, so they resort to buying on the black market, but at a higher price, which also influences the final prices of the commodity. He urged the government to take bold action on this issue, as the increase in price is not only the traders’ problem, but is a national problem as well.

As the festive season approaches, a piece of soap which previously was sold at 1 South Sudanese pound rose to 2 South Sudanese pounds, and a kilogram of sugar, which used to be at 6 South Sudanese pounds now costs 8 South Sudanese pounds. The prices doubled amidst the ongoing conflict in the country and the falling prices of oil in the world market.

Oil has been the main revenue/income generating source for South Sudan over the past years, but its production has been diminished by the latest conflicts that have ravaged the country since Dec. 15, 2013.

The official exchange rate for the dollar at the central bank stands at 317 South Sudanese pounds for 100 dollars and the Forex bureau rate is at 319 South Sudanese pounds for 100 dollars. The Ministry of Finance had in April 2014 banned the sale of dollars on the street, but many street dollar vendors are still seen roaming around the town.

The president, in an attempt to curb the escalating prices of commodities and the dollar, sacked National Minister of Finance Mr. Aggrey Tisa Sabuni, and replaced him with the former finance minister, Mr. David Deng Athorbei, who had served as finance minister in the government of Southern Sudan in the early months of post-independence in 2011.

The national minister of finance has now issued a new directive regarding the giving dollars in bulks of about 2000 dollars and above, and also has caused the Forex bureaus to cease operations for at least one week. Banks are allowed to give dollars normally, but are cautioned to follow well-approved procedures to make sure the money does not get into the hands of the street vendors.

By Taban Ronald Setimo