A roundup of a few key political stories over the last week in Sudan and South Sudan:

President Kiir opposes federalism as not viable at all (Catholic Radio Network, 2 June 2014) – South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, dismissed widespread proposals for the introduction of a federal system of government yesterday as divisive.  He directed accusations at his former vice president, Riek Machar, who is currently leading a rebellion against his leadership claiming that the notion was a pretext to divide the government. 

‘It’s my decision to leave, not pressure’ – Hilde Johnson (Eye Radio, 1 June 2014) – The chief of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Hilde Johnson, spoke out on her decision to leave her post as announced earlier this week. She insisted the decision was not related to what she describes as a ‘hostile campaign’ directed at her and the mission.

Sudan’s First Vice-President calls for peace in Darfur (Radio Dabanga, 2 June 2014) - Sudan’s First Vice-President, Gen. Bakri Hassan Saleh, has called upon the armed rebel movements in Darfur to lay down their arms, and catch up with the peace process. On the National Day of Peace, Sultan Saad Bahreldin, the chairman of the Popular Initiative for Peace in Darfur, presented Saleh with a document proposing unity and in support of a 2011 peace agreement struck in Doha.  The Vice-President pledged to implement the proposal but Darfur-based opposition groups remained sceptical. 

Multiple protests in Sudan’s capital (Radio Dabanga, 2 June 2014) - Hundreds of people in the districts of Rumaila and Alamab in southern Khartoum took to the streets on Monday to protest against the sale of plots of public land in their areas while employees of the Civil Aviation Authority also demonstrated against their dismissal. On Sunday, employees of the National Laboratory for Public Health protested against the closure of almost all departments.  Tear gas was reportedly used by authorities to disperse some of the protests.

Two South Sudanese parties merge to promote unity (Sudan Tribune, 29 May 2014) – Two South Sudanese political parties have agreed to merge in an effort to strengthen unity and pledged to fight tribalism and corruption.  A faction of the South Sudan Democratic Forum (SSDF-mainstream) announced, under the leadership of Mario Awet, that they had agreed to merge with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC) in forming a united party.

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