This week, global outcry as South Sudan changes peace deal. Congolese academic pleas for peace amid Ebola outbreak. Rohingya survivors of Arakan Army massacre denied justice.
Global Outcry as South Sudan’s President Changes Peace Deal
A global outcry is taking place now that South Sudan’s president unilaterally made changes to its 2018 peace deal. On May 19, the embassies of Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Britain and the United States released a joint statement urging South Sudan president Salva Kiir Mayardit immediately return to dialogue.
The statement read, “Unilateral changes to the agreement are not in accordance with the letter and spirit of the agreement and will not bring peace to South Sudan.”
The outcry came after, on May 11, Kiir’s party made controversial changes to the peace deal removing key pre-election requirements, such as the permanent constitution making process and a national population census, from the electoral timeline.
Congolese Academic Pleas for Peace Amid Ebola Outbreak
A Congolese academic is pleading for peace amid a recent Ebola outbreak in the country. Dr. Hypolite Muhindo Mavoko, M.D., a professor in the Department of Tropical Medicine at the University of Kinshasa, appeared on France 24 on May 18 to provide an update on the Ebola crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Dr. Mavoko said the conflict in the region “contributed to delaying the identification of the outbreak because cases have been occurring in areas that are hard to reach with security issues. But I think this could also be high time to plead for, to push the peace agenda, the security agenda, so that people who have gone to the field can move easily and have possibilities to track the contact and identify the cases and isolate them.”
This development comes after M23 rebels withdrew from several areas of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) on May 11 amidst pressure from the US to respect the ceasefire. Members of the armed group withdrew from Kabunambo, around 35 kilometers north of Uvira, to Luvungi, around 30 kilometers further north towards the provincial capital Bukavu. The withdrawal came two weeks after the U.S. imposed sanctions on former president Joseph Kabila over alleged links to M23. Kabila denies the allegations.
Rohingya Survivors of Arakan Army Massacre Denied Justice
Myanmar’s Arakan Army, an ethnic army in Rakhine state, denies responsibility for its 2024 massacre of Rohingya Muslims. Survivors of the massacre are still unable to return to their homes, with many effectively detained, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a report on May 18.
The report details brutal crimes against nearly 80 Rohingya villagers on May 2, 2024, based on interviews with 41 witnesses. The witnesses’ statements were corroborated through satellite imagery, along with photographs and videos posted to social media or shared with researchers.
Myanmar’s military launched a brutal counter-insurgency and ethnic cleansing campaign against Rohingya in 2017, forcing over 750,000 Rohingyas to flee to Bangladesh, joining earlier arrivals and forming the world’s largest refugee settlement. Today, over 1.2 million Rohingyas live in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char in densely crowded camps amid poverty and insecurity. Perpetrators of crimes against Rohingyas still have not been fully convicted.
Keywords: South Sudan, DRC, DR Congo, Congo, Myanmar, Rohingya, Arakan Army, massacre, Muslims, peace, conflict, conflict resolution
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
