South Sudan

[Sunni Man]

The media is trying to sell it as a race thing.

And have been very successful in doing that .

I know several Sudanese people and what is on the news is vastly different from the truth.

And Israel has been one of the chief covert weapons suppliers to the South for many years.

If you think Israel is doing this out of the goodness of their heart and trying to help black Africans then you are seriously gullible.

They are making money currently off of the conflict and hope to secure lucrative oil contracts in the future.

 

[High_Gravity]

The media is trying to sell it as a race thing.

And have been very successful in doing that .

I know several Sudanese people and what is on the news is vastly different from the truth.

And Israel has been one of the chief covert weapons suppliers to the South for many years.

If you think Israel is doing this out of the goodness of their heart and trying to help black Africans then you are seriously gullible.

They are making money currently off of the conflict and hope to secure lucrative oil contracts in the future.

If the Sudanese were really a united people like you say why did 99% of the South Sudanese vote for independence and to have their own country? I definently don't think the Israelis are doing this out of the goodness of their hearts, the South has oil which has many countries interested even us, this is what gives South Sudan the potential to be a decent country. I expect alot of other countries to flock to the South for oil contracts in the future including the US.

 

[Sunni Man]

Read what I had originally posted.

They were a united people before oil was discovered.

And Western powers started giving arms to rebals in the south.

 

[High_Gravity]

Read what I had originally posted.

They were a united people before oil was discovered.

And Western powers started giving arms to rebals in the south.

I was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for 4 years when I was in the service that is near Omaha, Omaha is the place where the US sends refugees from Sudan, usually they were from Darfur or the South. I have talked to a couple of these refugees and some of their biggest complaints was that the North did not dispute the oil wealth fairly, Khartoum took care of the people in the North and the Arab tribes there but barely gave anything to the South or Darfur, most of the people I talked to live in shacks and had no running water and barely any food, this unfair treatment is one of the biggest reasons the people in the South wanted their own country. I think the oil did come into play because the government did not want to, or did not know how to divide it fairly among the different ethnic groups in the Sudan.

 

[High_Gravity]

Sudan says army to carry on South Kordofan operations

(Reuters) - Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said the northern army would continue its military operations in the border flashpoint state of South Korfodan, state news agency SUNA said on Friday.

The northern army has been fighting in the state armed groups allied to South Sudan which is due to become an independent state on July 9.

A northern state minister said on Wednesday Khartoum had reached in principle a ceasefire with the south in South Kordofan. (Reporting by Khaled Abdelaziz and Ulf Laessing, Khartoum newsroom)

Sudan says army to carry on South Kordofan operations | Reuters

 

[Ropey]

It seems that the only moves that are quick are war moves. The politics in comparison is like molasses in the winter.

 

[High_Gravity]

It seems that the only moves that are quick are war moves. The politics in comparison is like molasses in the winter.

Yes, going to war is much faster and quicker than coming up with a diplomatic solution.

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan says it can export oil through East Africa, bypassing Khartoum-run pipelines

JUBA, Sudan — An official from oil-rich Southern Sudan said Wednesday the government is considering connecting its oil supply to an East African pipeline and bypassing Khartoum-run pipelines, a move that could further deteriorate relations between the north and south as Southern Sudan prepares for independence.

Southern Sudan will declare its independence on Saturday, but some vital provisions of its split from the north — such as oil rights and wealth-sharing — have not been settled. Last month, northern President Omar al-Bashir said he would block the south’s access to the pipelines unless a favorable wealth-sharing agreement was reached.


The south accounts for more than three-quarters of Sudan’s total oil output but is reliant on northern refineries and pipelines.

Southern roads and transport minister Anthony Lino Makana said his government has been meeting with petroleum companies interested in building a pipeline connecting the south’s oil to ports in East Africa. He did not specify which companies had approached his government.

Makana said oil infrastructure in neighboring Kenya will quickly allow the south to pump its oil through existing Kenyan pipelines.

“To put a pipeline is very easy for us,” he told reporters in Juba.

Makana said that at a cost of “only a few million dollars,” new pipelines will allow the south to “refine and pump petrol in the reverse,” meaning not from south to north, as is currently done.

“We won’t need to export very far,” he added.

Oil is virtually the only moneymaker for the government of Southern Sudan. Sudan as a whole is the third largest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa, behind Nigeria and Angola, with exports of some 490,000 barrels a day.

When the south declares independence on Saturday, it will become of Africa’s most oil-rich countries. But analysts say underdevelopment and insecurity will continue to plague the diversification of the southern economy. Last year oil revenues accounted for nearly 98 percent of the southern budget.

Months of tense, on-off negotiation between the northern and southern governments over the future of the oil sector and over any potential sharing of the south’s reserves have failed to produce an agreement.

South Sudan says it can export oil through East Africa, bypassing Khartoum-run pipelines - The Washington Post

 

[Baruch Menachem]

The Nothern Sudan is going to be so screwed.

 

[High_Gravity]

The Nothern Sudan is going to be so screwed.

Khartoum has been screwing Darfur, South Sudan and the Nuba people for decades, time for them to get a taste of their own medicine.

 

[High_Gravity]

World's newest country: Can South Sudan limit internal strife?

When South Sudan becomes the world's newest country Saturday, its upcoming challenges will take a back seat to the euphoria surrounding the historic moment.

Still, internal conflicts loom large.

Before the young government can truly focus on the monumental task building a nation from scratch, it must first figure out a way to manage a range of pressing security issues.

Not only must the nascent, oil-rich country overcome the threat posed by its longtime enemy to the north – the Islamist-dominated government of Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes by the International Criminal Court – it must also deal with militias, ethnic divides, and vocal critics within its own borders.


Analysts warn that if South Sudan's government does not seize the "independence moment" to begin a new chapter in the region's history, then it risks fulfilling the doomsday prophecies fueled by the northern government and other actors opposed to southern secession.

"Posturing along the border makes clear that [conflict] with the North is not over on July 9," says Zach Vertin, a Sudan analyst for the Brussels-based International Crisis Group, referring to ongoing North-South hostilities, such as running battles in the northern border state of South Kordofan and the tense stalemate over the contested Abyei region. "While there will undoubtedly be continued security attention in those areas, at the same time focus increasingly has to turn to the domestic situation both in political and security terms."

2,000 killed in six months

The United Nations estimates that nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the six months since southerners voted almost unanimously for independence in January.

Anti-government militia activity, severe army responses to the militias, and armed cattle raids that often spiral into local but deadly ethnic conflicts are the main causes of these deaths. The UN's latest statistics indicate that there are more than 260,000 people displaced in the South this year, which includes an estimated 100,000 who ran for their lives after the northern Sudanese army seized the disputed town of Abyei in mid-May.

The recent violence also illustrates that the grievances that southern tribes and armed groups have with each other – and with the southern government – are real and will not be resolved overnight.

Old wounds reopened

Conflicting priorities may well plague South Sudan's President Salva Kiir, who has been praised for bringing friends and foes alike into his government in the past five years. Mr. Kiir's strategy enabled the government to preserve the fragile southern peace that was ushered in when the north-south war ended in 2005.

When the war ended, healing the wounds between southern ethnic groups through political and military reconciliation was an essential task for the already bloated and at times dangerously dysfunctional army. But these wounds were reopened after Sudan's April 2010 elections, when the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the south's ruling party, used questionable tactics to secure its victory in some remote areas where opposition to its rule was strong.

Birth of a Nation: Can South Sudan limit internal strife? - CSMonitor.com

 

[Ropey]

I understand American action will not be forthcoming, but I don't understand why there is not more help from Britain, France, Germany, etc. etc.

The history of Europe is to look inward until they are smashed. Then the Calvary comes. This history will repeat regardless that they have a Euro Zone.

This seems to have changed nothing with regards to any security protocol changes as a Zone. So, it's more of the same. Israel is sending help to create the necessary Democratic institutions in S.Sudan.

Not only military support, but in that arena Israel is doing far more than simply streaming weapons to the South. They have military personnel as well as advisers AND combatants helping the South.

 

[Baruch Menachem]

Israel's record in Africa is not particularly good. They helped Idi Amin take power. They were buds with the South African government.

I would hope they do better this time.

What would be cool would be if they could get the South Sudan Army to a level of discipline and professionalism as seen by the IDF. One can hope

 

[Ropey]

Israel's record in Africa is not particularly good. They helped Idi Amin take power. They were buds with the South African government.

While I disagreed with Apartheid, South Africa has descended, not ascended.

I would hope they do better this time.

I would have hoped the Africans would have taken South Africa higher, not lower personally. It's their country now and the same resources and GNP previously possible are now in a highly corrupt system. It's about Africa, not Israel although Israel has made its share of faux pas and horrid choices.

What would be cool would be if they could get the South Sudan Army to a level of discipline and professionalism as seen by the IDF. One can hope

What would be cool would be if the Major powers did something. eh? This is a different arena now than the arena that the US ran from. Maybe they can come back now? Hmmm?

You do know that Hamas and Hezbollah are supported militarily in North Sudan?

In other words, they are in the North actively. It's a new time but the old methods still seem to be applying in historical terms and I am nothing if not an old military man.

 

[High_Gravity]

I understand American action will not be forthcoming, but I don't understand why there is not more help from Britain, France, Germany, etc. etc.

The history of Europe is to look inward until they are smashed. Then the Calvary comes. This history will repeat regardless that they have a Euro Zone.

This seems to have changed nothing with regards to any security protocol changes as a Zone. So, it's more of the same. Israel is sending help to create the necessary Democratic institutions in S.Sudan.

Not only military support, but in that arena Israel is doing far more than simply streaming weapons to the South. They have military personnel as well as advisers AND combatants helping the South.

I know the US has their hands full in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya but I would like to see the US take a more active role in training and equiping the South Sudan Military, sooner rather than later. We send officers from countries like Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan to US Military bases for training, I know because I have seen them, so why not South Sudan?

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan Independence: Challenges Facing World's Newest Nation

JUBA, Sudan -- The people of South Sudan finally get their own country on Saturday, an emotional independence celebration few thought possible during a half century of civil wars and oppression that left more than 2 million dead.

Military parades and celebrations will burst forth Saturday in front of dozens of visiting world leaders. But when that party ends, South Sudan must face grim realities: It will be one of the most underdeveloped countries on the planet, only 15 percent of its citizens can read and fears of renewed conflict abound.

South Sudan's successful independence drive was made possible by a 2005 peace deal between Sudan's north and south. Last January, former guerrilla fighters shed tears as they cast votes to break away from the control of the Khartoum-based north.

Among those who cast ballots at special U.S. polling stations were some of the 3,800 war orphans known as the Lost Boys of Sudan, who ran away from war and were taken in by communities in the United States.

In the southern capital of Juba this week, the Republic of South Sudan's new national anthem blared from cell phones.

"It took a combination of bullets and ballots to attain our hard-earned independence," reads a new sign next to a main intersection here.

Albino Gaw, a member of a minority tribe who works for the government in Juba, said he's excited about the south's independence. The 30-year-old former child soldier said he's pessimistic though about how much work lies ahead.

"The day will be good but people are expecting something more than we've gotten in the past five years," he said. "A lot of work needs to be done by the government. Otherwise things will be like they were before."

The world's newest capital, the Nile River city of Juba, was war-ravaged ruins six years ago, when the 1983-2005 north-south civil war ended. It was the second war between the mostly Arab north and the south, where traditional African religions and Christianity are practiced.

Now the presidential motorcade is practicing its run through the city for Saturday afternoon, when world leaders will watch South Sudan President Salva Kiir host the country's inauguration.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend, as will former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice and Gen. Carter Ham, commander of the U.S. Africa Command. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, a deeply unpopular man in Juba, is also expected to attend.

Despite the excitement, South Sudan is saddled with problems. Violence – from cattle raids and rebel battles – has killed nearly 2,400 people this year, the U.N. says. Seven different rebel militias operate in the south.

South Sudan Independence: Challenges Facing World's Newest Nation

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan expatriates flock home to witness birth of new nation

(CNN) -- Victoria Bol sits under the blazing sun in the soon-to-be world's newest capital of Juba, a city of red soil, winding dirt roads and scattered tin-roofed homes.

She watches in delight as children frolic on the streets and women mill about with the new flag of South Sudan wrapped around their shoulders.

A few feet away, boisterous neighbors spray the rare paved road with a hose, playing with the soapy suds as they hum the new anthem of a nation on the eve of its birth.

"Oh my goodness, I cannot believe this day is finally here," says Bol, a resident of Grand Rapids, Michigan. "It is very emotional. I'm excited, but I'm also thinking of all the people who died for this to happen."

Bol is among scores who have returned home to witness the birth of South Sudan, as it officially splits from the government based in the north on Saturday.

"The airport is packed and homes are filled with people coming in from all over the world," Bol says. "We lost almost everything -- our relatives, our homes, everything we own -- to get to this point. There was no way I was missing this."


She fled Juba in 1991 as mortars rained from the sky, and has not set foot in her homeland since then.

"We were at the airport trying to leave when the north started bombing nearby," she says. "Everything shook. We all started screaming and hiding."

Sudan's Muslim north has been in conflict with the majority Christian south for decades. The civil war created a class of refugees who drifted in and out of neighboring countries -- many on foot -- to flee violence and famine that left about 2 million people dead.

In January, South Sudan voters overwhelmingly approved a referendum to split, which was part of a 2005 peace deal that helped end the war.

Dallas resident Abuk Makuac escaped Juba in 1984.

"I wish my many relatives who died in the civil war were here to witness the separation into a new country," she says. "From here on, I know that they did not die in vain."

Scores who fled the long conflict are coming home to a region that has not changed much over the years. The infrastructure is still lacking -- with about 30 miles of paved roads in all of South Sudan, an area the size of Texas.

"It is no Michigan," Bol says with a chuckle, "but it's home, and there is a feeling of solace you get at home that you will never get anywhere else."

Water remains a luxury in most communities and security is still tense, especially in regions bordering the north where violence still rages days before independence.

But patriotism trumps the challenges, say the returnees, who gathered this week in Juba to discuss how they will help move their new country forward.

Gordon Ajak, who left Sudan in 1989, hopes to capitalize on the opportunities in his homeland after he decides what to invest in.

The 46-year-old bought a one-way ticket from Canada, where he works as a counselor.

"I left Sudan because ... we were not wanted by the government in the north," he says. "We have our own country now. It is time to come back to invest and help my people."

Business analysts warn that the minimal infrastructure in South Sudan can lead to a difficult business climate.

"Good business skills will come at a premium and there will be a ferocious demand for talent," says Robert Taiwo, director of Whitespace Advisory, a global firm that works with businesses looking to invest in Africa.

South Sudan expatriates flock home to witness birth of new nation - CNN.com

 

[High_Gravity]

Lessons from East Timor for South Sudan: Three Things Nation #193 Can Learn from #191

The verdict, it seems, is already in. Many are already calling South Sudan, which will become the world's 193rd nation on July 9, a soon-to-be failed state. Indeed, the prognosis is grim: as its secession from Sudan has drawn near, nearly 2000 people in the south have been killed in inter-militia fighting. Hundreds more are dead after a month-long campaign by Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to clear South Kordofan, a disputed state in the north, of rebels who fought with the south for independence.

The development challenges of the new nation are also daunting, to say the least. As United Nations General Ban Ki-Moon wrote in a July 8 editorial in the International Herald Tribune, “On the day of its birth, South Sudan will rank near the bottom of all recognized human development indices. The statistics are truly humbling.”

There is a big job to be done in the shiny new Republic, and thousands of miles away on the other side of the planet, the recent history of a much different nation may offer some guidance in how to do it. In 2002, East Timor became Nation No. 191 (Montenegro is 192). It faced similar predictions of failure as it prepared to secede from the massive and powerful state of Indonesia. Like South Sudan, after decades of unrest, residents had voted overwhelmingly for independence. And like South Sudan, nobody thought they could pull it off.

Yet today East Timor — while certainly not without problems — is a functioning state that has successfully held democratic elections, maintained a healthy opposition in the process, and avoided the resource curse to manage its vast oil revenues with reasonable success. “It proves that most of the skeptics were wrong,” says Geoffrey Robinson, a professor at UCLA who worked as a U.N. adviser in East Timor in 1999 in the run-up to independence. “All of the pundits said it will never work, [saying] ‘It's too poor. It's too small. There's no infrastructure.' Things you would have read about colonized countries in the 1940s.”

The first ten years of East Timor's independence, of course, have not been perfect. But there are a few important pointers that South Sudan can take away from East Timor's decade of failures and successes. Robinson, who also authored the book If You Leave Us Here, We Will Die: How Genocide Was Stopped in East Timor, outlined a few lessons that South Sudan might glean from its predecessor for TIME.

Don't underestimate the legacy of violence.

In places where violence has ruled people's lives for decades, abrupt peace can become a vacuum that sometimes fills back up — with more violence. “People who have been involved in long term violence don't simply stop it once one side goes away,” says Robinson. “People learn violence.”

Like South Sudan, where two million people died in the north and south during two civil wars spanning decades, East Timor was born out of death. In 1975, Indonesia invaded the then-Portuguese colony, and subsequently over 100,000 East Timorese were killed in a genocidal counterinsurgency aimed at rooting out independence-minded political factions and their supporters. In 1999, after the Indonesian dictator Suharto stepped down and a new government in Jakarta allowed East Timor to cast a vote on its future, the population was again subjected to violence at the hands of the Indonesian military and Jakarta-backed militias leading up to and after the referendum.

Lessons from East Timor for South Sudan: Three Things Nation #193 Can Learn from #191 - Global Spin - TIME.com

 

[High_Gravity]

South Sudan Begins Countdown To Independence

JUBA, Sudan (AP)—When Southern Sudan becomes the world's newest country on Saturday, its people will rejoice in the streets as it enters statehood as one of the poorest and least developed places on earth.

But advocates and diplomats warned Friday that when the celebrations subside and the dignitaries leave, unresolved problems between the south and the northern government, could spark renewed conflict along their new international border.

The internationally-brokered 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of north-south war expires Saturday.

South Sudan becomes its own nation at midnight. The U.N. recognizes 192 countries; South Sudan will be 193.

Sudan, the country South Sudan is breaking away from, will recognize the new country as soon as Friday turns to Saturday.

 

[Ropey]

Crowds go wild as South Sudan marks its independence

Frenzied crowds went wild in Juba as South Sudan, the world's newest country, marked its long-awaited day of independence from the north when the clock struck midnight last night.

Among the revellers was South Sudan's information minister, Barnaba Marial Benjamin, who told Reuters: "It is already the ninth so we are independent. It is now."

North Sudan's Khartoum government was the first to recognise the new state, hours before the formal split took place, a move that smoothed the way to the division of what was, until Saturday, Africa's largest country.

The recognition did not dispel fears of future tensions.

Northern and southern leaders have still not agreed on a list of sensitive issues, most importantly the exact line of the border and how they will handle oil revenues, the lifeblood of both economies.

It's still very much a work in progress.