President Salva Kiir’s Speech at the UN General Assembly in New York City

Speech of H.E. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit,

The President of the Republic of South Sudan on the occasion of the United Nations General Assembly, New York,

Session No. 66

September 23, 2011

 

Mr. President of the United Nations General Assembly

Mr. Secretary General of the United Nations

Heads of the Delegations

Distinguished Guests

Ladies and Gentlemen

I wish at the outset to avail myself of the opportunity and privilege of addressing your stellar gathering, to reiterate on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of the Republic of South Sudan our most sincere and profound gratitude to the entire international community for the warmth with which our state has been welcomed into the community of world nations. My people back home in South Sudan, and I personally here with you in New York, regard this significant moment, as yet another milestone on the long list of our achievements.

I would like to seize this rare opportunity, once again to salute many of you, who stood with us during our long struggle.

We are indebted to many friends in this great hall without whose efforts, it would not have been easy for us to arrive where we are today. We owe a debt of gratitude to the IGAD countries, the Troika states, the friends and partners of IGAD, who waged peace for Sudan that culminated in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2005.

As an emergent nation that has been embroiled in conflict during different periods of time and all of which add up to a total of more than five decades, the Republic of South Sudan stands in dire need of all the help it can get. In most post conflict situations, nations would normally expect to rebuild. This is not the case for us.

Even before the ravages of war could set in, our country never had anything worth rebuilding. Hence we characterise our post conflict mission as one of construction rather than reconstruction and we therefore hope that the overwhelming outpouring of support and sympathy that greeted our independence from all corners of the globe, will translate into tangible development assistance for South Sudan. Our march out of the abyss of poverty and deprivation into the realm of progress and prosperity is going to be a long one and that is why we need you to partner us on this difficult journey.

Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Although nature has endowed our country with abundant resources, notably oil and other mineral wealth, we hardly produce anything for ourselves; at least not yet. We are determined to diversify the economy of our country and lessen our precarious and near total dependence on oil. Our strategy is to use the oil as a catalyst to unlock the potential we have in other areas especially in agriculture. Oil is a non-renewable resource that will inevitably be depleted at some point in the future but we know that the land, water and human resources at our disposal will continue to be our country’s true inexhaustible fountain of wealth. The ambition of the people of South Sudan is to be able to transform their country into a regional agro-industrial powerhouse and without a helping hand from others; the attainment of this goal will indeed remain a tall order. Much as we need external assistance it is our passionate wish that it will be offered on terms that will also respect our political and economic choices.

The Republic of South Sudan is not under any illusions that economic development and prosperity can be achieved in the absence of a climate of peace and stability. We shall therefore strive to promote peace and harmony not only internally but also between all our neighbours and us. Inside South Sudan we have set up broad-based Executive and Legislative Organs of Government that are inclusive of key political parties. We did that despite the fact that our party, the SPLM won a landslide in the last elections.

We were not deterred from installing such an accommodative Government by the fact that we do not even yet have in place, the requisite legal framework governing political party activity.

We took these steps not only because of our commitment to political pluralism but primarily because of our strong conviction that measures of inclusion such as these, foster peace and harmony.

Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the external domain, we remain strongly committed to maintaining peaceful and mutually beneficial relations with all states and particularly with our neighbours. In this regard I wish to affirm that the Republic of South Sudan fully adheres to the principle of absolute respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states including the Republic of Sudan. Therefore the Republic of South Sudan hereby categorically restates that it has not and will not interfere in any domestic conflict situation in the Republic of Sudan. However on account of the fact that conflict areas in the Republic of Sudan border our country and any spill-over effects from these could negatively impact our own security, we urge the Government of Sudan to seek a peaceful resolution to these conflicts.

We would like to emphasise in particular that the reinstatement by the government of Sudan of the recent Addis Ababa Framework Accord on the situation in Southern Kordofan State and political relations between the Government and the opposition, could go a long way in promoting the restoration of peace in the areas bordering South Sudan.

There are a number of outstanding issues that have carried over from the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). We hope to expeditiously resolve them so as to ensure complete normalisation of relations between the two states and the start of a new era of positive and mutually beneficial relationship that will be predicated on the commonalities shared by the people of the two states.

We therefore urge the Government of the Republic of Sudan to consent to the speedy demarcation of the border between the two states with the help of the international community.

We hope Khartoum will no longer object to such an arrangement given that South Sudan is now a sovereign state. We would also like to plead with the Government of the Republic of Sudan to agree to the submission of our dispute over the ownership of a number of border areas, to international Arbitration. The Government of the Republic of South Sudan applauds the cooperation of the government of the Republic of Sudan in paving the way to the full implementation of UNISFA and hopes that the two countries will reach agreement sooner rather than later, on the resolution of the Abyei issue in line with the relevant provisions of the CPA.

Mr. President, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On the economic front, South Sudan wishes to declare that it is willing and ready to continue serious negotiations with Khartoum. This will be done with the aim of reaching mutually acceptable arrangements that will guarantee for the Republic of Sudan a fair income, from the use of Sudan’s Oil export infrastructure.

In terms of governance, we have moved to rectify some of the defects in our system by strengthening the pillars of good governance. A number of key Bills, notable among which is the ‘Public Financial Management Bill’, are now making their way steadily through the legislative process. The passage of such laws will help promote accountability and transparency and ultimately curb corruption and the unwarranted loss of public revenue.

In conclusion the new Republic of South Sudan vows to become an active member of the global family of nations, making its contribution to fostering world peace and prosperity for the benefit of all humankind.

http://www.goss.org/

Sudanese president highlights resolving Sudan-South Sudan issues via talks

Khartoum. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on Saturday stressed it is important to resolve the outstanding issues between his country and South Sudan through dialogue and negotiations and without any external mediations, Xinhua reported.

"There are many bonds between Sudan and South Sudan and the issues of difference should be settled through dialogue and without external mediations," al-Bashir told a conference of the external relations committee of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

He voiced Sudan’s willingness to establish normal ties with South Sudan on the bases of common interests, good neighborliness and mutual respect.
President of South Sudan Salva Kiir Mayardit is expected to visit the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Monday, accompanied by senior officials, to talk with Sudanese government officials.

The media reported Mayardit would review the outstanding issues between the two countries and sign memos of understanding with al- Bashir in the fields of petroleum, water, general and higher education, electricity, dams and health.

Sudan and South Sudan earlier agreed to open ten passages on their joint border to facilitate movement of citizens after the border was closed before the declaration of South Sudan independence on July this year.

Khartoum is accusing the newly born South Sudan state of supporting the rebels in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan areas which are witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and fighters of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM)/ northern sector.

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n260685

Sudanese Army Stays in Abyei, Despite Withdrawal Agreement

Sudan says its troops will stay in the disputed Abyei region despite an agreement with South Sudan to withdraw on Friday.

Khartoum says the troops will remain in Abyei until United Nations peacekeepers have fully deployed in the region.

A U.N. spokesman says only half of the 4,200 Ethiopian peacekeepers have arrived in Abyei.

South Sudan says Sudan never intended to honor the agreement to withdraw its forces. The south also says Sudan called off Friday’s Abyei Joint Oversight Committee meeting.

Sudanese forces moved into Abyei in May, sparking an exodus of more than 100,000 people.

South Sudan became an independent country in July. A referendum on the future of Abyei never happened because Sudan and South Sudan could not agree on who qualified to vote.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/Sudanese-Army-Stays-in-Abyei-Despite-Withdrawal-Agreement-130903193.html

Two Sudan(s); Two Flags Flutter in UN General Assembly

The 66th session of the United Nations General Assembly has witnessed dramatic developments for the Sudan and post-secession Sudan.

It was the first time that President Salva Kiir represented Republic of South Sudan (President) in the UN following the peaceful disengagements on July 9, 2011. That is why Kiir’s speech focused on outstanding issues between the two republics of Sudan as well as establishing better neighbouring relations.

On its part, Sudan foreign minister Ali Ahmed Karti has delivered Sudan’s speech before the UN General Assembly session; he also expressed government’s commitment to sustain peace and stability. Sudan has fulfilled its obligations towards the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Regarding the issue of peace process between Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan (RoSS), Kiir reaffirmed that his government has pledged its obligations towards implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement as Sudan tended to the option of peace and stability.

In quotation from Akhbar Al Youm Daily Arabic, Karti expressed government keenness to resolve the remaining issues known as the pending issues of the CPA implementation including the Abyei border demarcation as well as necessary measures required to monitor such borders.

Karti also blamed the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon for ignoring the efforts exerted by Sudanese in his annual report and President Al Bashir in particular for his efforts that empowered southerners to exercise their self-determination as commitment for the option of peace.

Also, Sudan statement urged the UN not to follow orientations of some countries adding that Sudan performance in the field of peace needs to be appreciated, not accusation and criminalization as international criminal court (ICC) targets the Sudan.

The statement has also pointed to implicit warning for RoSS that Sudan will not accept any intervention or any war on behalf of any organization to destabilize the situation on the borders between Sudan the RoSS, emphasizing that the government is about to approach an agreement on the security and political arrangement which resolve the turmoil and tensions happened in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile States.

However, Sudan’s speech dealt with different areas including the US sanctions against the Sudan and the Doha peace document as well as achieving preventive diplomacy in Africa and promotion of peacemaking efforts.

Kiir vows maintaining peace and beneficial relations n the other side, RoSS speech which was delivered by President Salva Kiir has criticized by responsible ad calm tone and Karti’s speech too particular on the bilateral issues between the two countries. Kiir’s speech on 23 September 2001 stressed that in external domain, they remain strongly committed to maintain peaceful and mutual beneficial relations with all states and particularly with neighbours.

In this regard, I wish to reaffirm that the Republic of the South Sudan fully adheres to the principles of absolute respect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states including the Republic of the Sudan, said Kiir.

He attributed in his speech that RoSS categorically refutes that it has not and will not interfere in any domestic conflict situations in the Republic of the Sudan. Analysts say this phrase in Kiir’s speech is a way to reform his statement which angered Khartoum on July 9, 2011 when he said to the people of Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan that, we will not forget you, when you cry, we also cry and when you bleed, we also bleed.
The mentioned statement interpreted by Khartoum as RoSS intention to interfere in the conflict of these is in a way or another.

Kiir went on to emphasize that reinstatement by the government of recent Addis Ababa framework accord on the situation in Southern Kordofan state and political relations between the government and the opposition could go a long way in promoting the restoration of peace in the area bordering south Sudan.

On the CPA president Kiir expressed hopes to expeditiously resolve between the two states to complete normalization in a new era of positive and mutual beneficial relations.

However, Kiir urged Sudan to consent to speedy demarcation of borders between the two states, with the help of the international community. Kiir concluded his speech by applauding the cooperation between RoSS and the Republic of the Sudan in paving the way to the full implementation of the UNISFA, expressing his optimism that the two countries will reach an agreement sooner rather than later on the resolution of the Abyei issue in line with relevant provisions of the CPA.

Finally Kiir and Karti have delivered optimistic and promising speeches before the UN General Assembly, yet they are now back to their respective countries leaving heavy task on the backs of their leaders in both Republic of Sudan and the Republic of the South Sudan. Then the question; what after words, deeds or other things?…………..

By Mohamed Ali Fazari, 7 hours 55 minutes ago

http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=200013

South Sudan: Remembering the legacy of Mengistu Haile Mariam

Written by Agereb Leek Chol,

www.kushrepublic.net

Thursday, 28 July 2011

(Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S) – Mengistu Haile Mariam, a former president of Ethiopia who came to power in 1974 to 1991 after over throwing Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974, was a prominent officer of Dergue Communist military junta, which governed Ethiopia from 1974 to 1991. His services deserve many thanks for helping the SPLA/SPLAM during Sudan’s civil war. Under his leadership, Ethiopia became the first country to support the liberation of South Sudan while many countries in Africa were not too concerned about the war in the Sudan.

Former Ethiopian President, Mengistu Haile Mariam, who midwifed the birth of the SPLM/A in 1983-1991.

To remind all Southerners, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam wasn’t supported by many citizens in Ethiopia and Eritrean people due to his harsh rules, and failed economic policies during his Presidency. Under his rules, many Ethiopians and Eritreans citizens were murdered, killed, and kidnapped. In 1991, Mengistu fled to Zimbabwe after losing power. He was later found guilty in absentia of genocide in Ethiopia. These aforementioned crimes did not make Colonel Mengistu a great leader in the eyes of Ethiopians, Eritreans, and the international community.

In my perspective as a Southern Sudanese citizen, we should acknowledge him for supporting us during the civil war, which began in May 16, 1983 until 2005. To all Eritreans and Ethiopians, the South Sudan was not supportive of Mengistu’s actions during his leadership. Never less, both countries have gone through similar atrocities, and no doubt innocent people pay the price in blood.

The early days of the SPLA/ SPLM under the leadership of Samuel Gai Tut, Akuot Atem and Joseph Oduho began in Ethiopia. The SPLA/SPLM later gained more support from Colonel Mengistu under the leadership of Dr. John Garang de Mabior. He allowed the SPLA/SPLM to operate militarily, and also hosting refugees from the South. The SPLA was a government in Itang, Panyindu, Gamabla, Pachala, Bonga, and Dimo. “By 1989 over 70, 000 SPLA troops graduated from training camps in Ethiopia. In August of 1986, Dima refugee camp topped 100,000 people, and by May to June 1991 refugee population reached 100,000 to 250,000 in Itang, Ethiopia”. (Relief and Rehabilitation Commission RRC).

Like any other army that needs food, the SPLA always found their ways to feed their soldiers. Interviewing an ex-soldier, he added that “the SPLA/SPLM benefited from food aid”. The Ethiopian government often restricts the access and monitoring of food aid by the international agencies. It is believed that in the refugee camps, the SPLA was a government. The power to operate in refugee camps would have not been possible if was not for Mengistu. The Government of South Sudan (G.O.S.S )should work hard to make Ethiopian their number one ally despite the history. The failed attack on Khartoum’s government by the Darfur rebels because they lacked a strong ally. Fortunately South Sudan did have an ally that supported them.

Not to undermine the support we received from Kenya and Uganda, Ethiopia was the life line for the South until the fall of Mengistu in 1991. Inviting him to celebrate the independence of South Sudan on July 9, 2011 would have been a great way to honor his service. His invitation would have been controversial for the Republic of South Sudan to attend, but President Omar Bashir was invited even though he supported atrocities committed in Darfur. Did President Bashir really deserve that invitation and not Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam? South Sudan did appreciate Bashir for recognizing referendum’s results, but does that alone should not have him the right to be there at the celebration.

Experts on African politics may argue that there was a ‘cold war’ between Sudan and Ethiopia because both countries were supporting opposite rebels. Despite all that, the South and Eretria benefited from a proxy war. Recently, some Ethiopians news reports accuse the Republic of South Sudan that they built Mengistu a house in the South. The news report wasn’t correct. However, the way the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) Liaison office in Addis Ababa responded to this news is what angered me the most when the spokeman says “they are outraged by the news report”.

Even if the news report was a lie, should the (GOSS) be “outraged” by this news given the invaluable support he gave to the South during the war? Mengistu is no longer visible, but he’s someone the Republic of South Sudan should never forget in the history of the South Sudan. Ethiopians deserve invaluable praise and thanks for helping an emerging birth of a new nation.

Agereb leek Chol is a gradate student at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts. He can be Kushrepublic

http://blog.kushrepublic.net/2011/09/17/south-sudan-remembering-the-legacy-of-mengistu-haile-mariam.aspx?ref=rss

Press Release: SPLM-DC Chairman, Dr. Lam Akol, to Return to Juba on Sunday, Oct 2nd, 2011

Press for Immediate Release

The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change (SPLM-DC)

U.S.A. Executive Office Team; Press and Media relation.

October 01, 2011

The Chairman of the Sudan people’s Liberation Movement for Democratic Change, Dr. Lam Akol, is scheduled to arrive in Juba, the capital city of the Republic of the South Sudan on Sunday October 2, 2011. Dr. Lam’s return come shortly after his historic meeting with South Sudanese president Salva Kiir Mayardit last Thursday in the Kenya’s capital city of Nairobi.

{Fearing for his life, Dr. Lam Akol, the chairperson of the main official opposition party in South Sudan, the SPLM-DC, has been residing in Nairobi since July 9th when South Sudan declared her independence from the North.}

The SPLM-DC executive in the U.S.A. would like to congratulate President Salva Kiir Mayardit and the SPLM-DC Chairman Dr. Lam Akol Ajawin for the initiative they took to reconcile their political differences and resolve for the unity and common good of South Sudanese people. For us, the coming of the two leaders together means unity, development, prosperity, reform, fighting corruption, security, good governance, transparency and accountability.

President Slava Kiir Mayardit got huge credit for open up for multiparty system in the Republic of South Sudan, this affirms his commitment to unity of our people. His decision is a good lesson we should all learn from and apply in respective settings we are serving our country.

For South Sudanese at home and in the Diaspora, the joy and happiness to cherish home coming of their leader is shining. It’s also seen as historic moment for unity among leaders of the new independent county. As South Sudanese prepare to receive Dr. Lam Akol in Juba on Sunday, we would like to call upon responsible and concerned citizens of South Sudan to Oyee democratic Change as sign of hope, equality, co-exist and prosperity for all.

We would like to rebuke those who see Dr. Lam’s coming as threat to eliminating corruption, bring checks and balance in the system of the governance that, Dr. Lam is a leader for all South Sudanese not only the Party the democratic Change. Any step Dr. Lam Makes will bring about a change in your life, thus, he is on your side. It is health and natural in deep roots of democracy that formidable opposition is essential for checks and balance in the system of Governance. So, let us see presence of Dr. Lam as positive step towards democratic process so that citizens of South Sudan will have a choice to choose what they need and want out of the political environment of South Sudan.

Those of you who would like to get your salaries on time, education for your children, health clinics and facilities, transportation, Agriculture production made in (South Sudan), fair representation, etc; it is time for you to come forward to meet the leader of the democratic change. Dr. Lam can not do that alone he and President Salva Kiir Mayardit with collaborative approach will meet the expectation and aspiration of the South Sudanese people.

As the world watch Dr. Akol’s home coming, we would like to encourage all the citizen to stay away from the politics of personal distraction and tribalism but embrace of difference and similarities and forge way forward and put South Sudan first and not our personal interest.

We have come long way we would not afford to live any body behind but together through democratic process, we will all reach our destiny.

Hearty Ritti

SPLM-DC USA.

South Sudanese Voice on International Stage: Speech Before Durban Watch Conference

Saturday, 01 October 2011 00:00

Simon Aban Deng and Bush

September 22, 2011

By Mr. Simon Aban Deng

Thank you for those kind words:

I want to thank the organizers of this conference, The Perils of Global Intolerance. It is a great honor for me and it is a privilege really to be among today’s distinguished speakers.

I came here as a friend of the State of Israel and the Jewish people. –Like you, I came to protest this third Durban conference which is an effort based on a set of lies and organized by nations who are themselves are guilty of the worst kinds of oppression. Durban III will not help the victims of racism. It will only isolate and target the Jewish state. It is a tool of the enemies of Israel. The UN has lost its way. It’s obsession with the Jewish obvious: . For over 50 years, 82 percent of the UN General Assembly emergency meetings have been about condemning one state – Israel. Hitler couldn’t have been made happier.

Given all the good Israel does in the world, given its democracy and its striving to follow the highest standards of human rights, even in the face of the most brutal , the most fanatic enemies, the Durban Conference is an outrage. All decent people will know that.

But friends, I come here today to make a different case. I come with what you might at first think is a radical proposition: I come to tell you that there are peoples who suffer from the UN’s anti-Israelism even more than the Israelis. I belong to one of those people.

Please hear me out.

By exaggerating Palestinian suffering, and by blaming the Jews for it, the UN has muffled the cries of those who suffer on a far larger scale.

For over fifty years the indigenous black African population of Sudan — Christians and Muslims alike — have been the victims of the brutal, racist Arab Muslim regimes in Khartoum.

In South Sudan, my homeland, about 4 million innocent men, women and children were slaughtered from 1955 to 2005. Seven million were ethnically cleansed and they became the largest refugee group since World War II.

Everybody at the United Nations is concerned about the so-called Palestinian refugees. They dedicated a separate agency to provide for them; this agency, UNWRA, treats them with a special privilege.

Meanwhile, my people, ethnically cleansed, murdered and enslaved, are relatively ignored. The UN even resisted using the word “slavery” to describe the enslavement of tens of thousands of my people. Why? Because slavery is a crime against humanity. When Khartoum insisted that the term “abducted people” be substituted for the word “slaves,” the UN, caved to Arab pressure and agreed. Try that in America. Try calling Frederick Douglas an “abducted person.” It’s outrageous.

The UN refuses to tell the world the truth about the root causes of Sudan’s conflicts. Take Darfur, for example. Who knows really what is happening in Darfur? It is not a “tribal conflict.” It is a conflict rooted in Arab colonialism, as it has typically been practiced in Africa. In Darfur, a region in the Western Sudan everybody is Muslim. Everybody is Muslim because the Arabs invaded the North of Africa and converted the indigenous people to Islam. The Darfuris are not Muslim enough in the eyes of the Islamists in Khartoum. And they also do not want to be Arabized. They like their own African languages and dress and customs. They resist Arabization. The Arab response is genocide! But nobody tells the truth about Darfur.

In the Nuba Mountains, another region of Sudan, genocide is taking place as I speak. The regime is targeting the black Africans – Muslims and Christians. This happened to the Nuba people before. In the 1990’s hundreds of thousands were murdered; a large number of women were raped; children were abducted and forcibly converted to Islam. Nobody at the UN told the truth about the Nuba Mountains.

Do you see a massive amount of outrage and reports and protests about this coming out of the UN or Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International? Do you hear them condemn Arab anti-black racism?

Look at the pages of the New York Times, or the record of the UN condemnations, What you will find is “Israeli crimes” and Palestinian suffering. My people have been driven off the front pages by exaggerations of Palestinian suffering. Why? Because what Israel does is portrayed as a Western sin that we are all supposed to address. The truth is that the West commits a real sin when it abandons us: the actual victims of non-Westerns. Our suffering has become almost tabu.

Let me return to the topic of slavery. Because, while there are issues that divide public opinion, we can all agree that for one man to own another is a sin, and it should be stopped. The Americans tore themselves apart over the issue of slavery.

Chattel slavery, a centuries-long practice in Sudan, was revived as a tool of war in the early 90s. The Islamist regime in Khartoum declared jihad and therefore legitimized taking slaves as war booty. Arab militias were sent to destroy Southern villages and were encouraged to take African women and children as slaves. We believe that up to 200,000 were kidnapped, brought to the North and sold into slavery.

I am a living proof of this crime against humanity.

I don’t like talking about my experience as a slave, but I do it because it is important for the world to know that slavery exists even today.

I was only nine years old when I was made a slave. An Arab neighbor named Abdullahi tricked me into following him to a boat destined to Northern Sudan where he gave me as a gift to his family. For three and a half years I was their slave going through something that no child should ever go through: brutal beatings and humiliations; working around the clock; sleeping on the ground with animals; eating the family’s left-overs. During those three years I was unable to say the word “no.” All I could say was “yes,” “yes,” “yes.”

The United Nations knew about the brutal enslavement of South Sudanese by the Arabs from the early days of the conflict.. Human Right Watch issued extensive reports about the issue. These reports gathered dust on UN shelves. It took UNICEF – under pressure from the Jewish –led American Anti-Slavery Group — sixteen years to acknowledge what was happening.

As soon as the Sudanese government and the Arab League pressured UNICEF, the UN agency backtracked, and proceeded to criticize the NGOs that worked to liberate Sudanese slaves. In 1998, Dr. Gaspar Biro, the courageous UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Sudan who reported on slavery, resigned in protest of the UN’s actions.

My friends, today, tens of thousands of black South Sudanese still serve their masters in the North and the UN is silent about that. It would offend the OIC and the Arab League. So much for “human rights for everybody.

As a former slave and a victim of the worst sort of racism, allow me to explain why I think calling Israel a racist state is absolutely absurd and immoral.

I have been to Israel five times visiting the Sudanese refugees. Let me tell you how they ended up there. These are Sudanese who fled Arab racism, hoping to find shelter in Egypt. They were wrong. In 2005, the refugees camped outside the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Cairo looking for mercy. Instead, the United “do-nothing” Nations closed their doors and left the helpless women and children at the mercy of the ruthless Egyptian security forces who brutally slaughtered at least twenty six of them.

After this event the Sudanese realized that the Arab racism is the same, whether it is in Khartoum or in Cairo. So they continued looking for a shelter and they found it in Israel. Dodging the bullets of the Egyptian border patrols and walking for very long distances, the refugees’ only hope was to reach Israel’s side of the fence, where they knew they would be safe.

The fact that even Darfuris, who are Muslims chose Israel above all the other Arab-Muslim states of the area, speaks volumes.. Israel is racist? Israel is against the Muslim world? Ask the thousands of black Muslim Darfuris who found shelter inside the Jewish state!

When I asked the refugees about the treatment they receive in Israel, their response was absolutely the opposite of what the United Nations alleges. They were welcomed and treated like human beings. Compared to the situation in Egypt, they described their lives in Israel as “heaven.” No-one called them “abid” – an Arabic word for slaves often used in Sudan, Egypt and other Arab nations.

Is Israel a racist state? To my people, the people who know racism – the answer is absolutely not. It is a state of people of the colors of the rainbow. Jews themselves come in all colors, even black. I met with Ethiopian Jews in Israel. Beautiful black Jews. And Israel is a state that has taken my own black people in, rescued them, and helped them.

So, yes … my claim may be a radical claim: I claim that the victims who suffer most from the UN anti-Israel policy are not the Israelis but all those people who have to be ignored in order for the UN to tell its big lie against Israel: all those victims of non Western abuse, especially all those victims of Arab/Muslim abuse: women, ethnic minorities, religious minorities, homosexuals, in the Arab/Muslim world. These are the biggest victims of UN Israel hatred.

So far, the Israelis have only been cursed by the UN. But look at the situation of the Copts, the Christians in Iraq, and Nigeria, and Iran, Hindus and Bahais who suffer from Islamic oppression. The Sikhs. We all suffer. We are ignored, we are abandoned. So that the big lie against the Jews can go forward.

Before I conclude let me tell you a story that reflects a special connection that the people of South Sudan feel towards Israel. In 2005, I visited one of the refugee camps in South Sudan. I met a twelve year old girl who told me about her dream. In a dream she wanted to go to school to become a doctor. And then, she wanted to visit Israel. I was shocked and numb. How could this refugee girl who spent most of her life in the North know about Israel? When I asked why she wanted to visit Israel, she said: “This is our people.” I was never able to find an answer to my question.

On July 9 of 2011 South Sudan has become an independent state. We achieved freedom despite the opposition from the Arab world and despite the United Nations whose General Secretary Bi Ki Moon lobbied for the unity of Sudan. For South Sudanese, that would mean continuation of oppression, brutalization, demonization, Islamization , Arabization and enslavement.

In a similar manner, the Arabs continue denying Jews their right for sovereignty in their homeland and the Durban III conference continues denying Israel’s legitimacy.

As a friend of Israel, I salute the President of the Republic of South Sudan Salva Kiir who had the courage to publicly state that South Sudan embassy in Israel will be built— not in Tel Aviv, but in Jerusalem, the eternal capital of the Jewish people.

I also want to assure you that my own new nation, and all of its people, will oppose racist forums like the Durban III. We will oppose it by simply telling the truth.

My Jewish friends taught me something I now want to say with you .

AM YISROEL CHAI!

The people of Israel lives!

Thank you.

Simon Aban Deng

http://pachodo.org/201110012271/Pachodo.org-Community-News/speech-before-durban-watch-conference-by-mr-simon-aban-deng.html

Young Maryville College grad now helps lead emerging African nation

• By Robert Wilson
• Knoxville News Sentinel
• Posted October 1, 2011

In an October 2009 photograph, Jimmy Makuach, left, meets with a village chief and subchiefs to discuss the future of South Sudan. The 2006 Maryville College graduate is one of the Lost Boys of Sudan and now serves on the staff of South Sudan President Salva Kiir. (Maryville College/Special to the News Sentinel)

Maryville College graduate Jimmy Makuach visits campus minister Rev. Anne McKee Friday at Maryville College. Makuach, one of the Lost Boys of Sudan, is a naturalized American citizen and serves on the staff of South Sudan President Salva Kiir. (AMY SMOTHERMAN BURGESS/NEWS SENTINEL)

In an October 2006 photograph Jimmy Makuach, left, and Victor Chol are sworn in as U.S. citizens in a ceremony in Greeneville, Tenn. (MICHAEL PATRICK/NEWS SENTINEL)

MARYVILLE — Jimmy Makuach’s country has a history of only 84 days, but he says its future is where his focus is.

Though lacking in infrastructure, the Republic of South Sudan is on its way to being a sovereign citizen of the world, says Makuach, 30, who serves the fledgling nation as the "president’s note taker," a title that probably understates his position within the democracy led by President Salva Kiir Mayardit.

"South Sudan has learned from the experience" of other nations, he said Friday during a visit to his alma mater, Maryville College. "It takes time. Democracy does not come quickly."

Makuach was among thousands of children known as the Lost Boys of Sudan in the mid 1980s. They were typically 6 or 7 years old and were orphaned or separated from their families by a brutal civil war that ripped the region apart. The Lost Boys who survived completed a walk of up to 1,000 miles to reach Kenya and safety.

Makuach completed his primary education there and came to Maryville College through the sponsorship of First United Methodist Church. He completed his degree in international studies in 2006.

Makuach said his college degree is the result of his desire to return to the African continent and make life better for those he left behind.

The challenges the new nation faces are formidable, he said, with many of even the most basic of human necessities still not in place.

"There are no roads, no hospitals, or schools, no clean water," Makuach said. "And our resources are very limited. It will take time, but we rely on the assistance of our friends in the region."

And the U.S. also is expected to be a prime player in helping get South Sudan on its feet.

South Sudan became a sovereign nation July 9 and has gained formal recognition by the U.S. government.

Makuach and President Kiir, a man with a penchant for cowboy hats, last week were in New York for meetings at the United Nations. Makuach seized the opportunity while in the U.S. to visit the Maryville College campus and renew some old friendships among the faculty.

He describes Maryville as "my second home," and says that the times of his life have ranged from the tenuous — barely surviving — to the present, when he is helping a new nation be born.

The significance of what he calls "this moment" is not lost on Makuach, and he looks ahead to a "long journey" for South Sudan.

Makuach has reunited with some members of his family. His parents are dead, as are some of his brothers and sisters.

But his new country, which is home to 8.2 million people and a section of the Nile River, is just beginning to establish itself.

"South Sudan will learn from many nations," Makuach said. But it will mature slowly.

"The U.S. took many, many years."

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2011/oct/01/young-maryville-college-grad-now-helps-lead/

South Sudan government accuses North of training LRA rebels

By MACHEL AMOS

IN SUMMARY

The South has now threatened to close borders with its northern neighbour if hostilities do not cease

Monitor Correspondent

JUBA

South Sudan has accused the North of training the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) rebels in remote villages of the troubled Darfur region as tensions between the two countries continue.

Interior ministers said the rebels were being trained in order to “destabilise” Africa’s newest country through cross-border attacks. “They have a training camp at the border between Western Bhar el Ghazel and Darfur, where they are being trained and supplied,” Interior minister Alison Magaya said on Tuesday as he recounted recent incidents of violence from the brutal Ugandan group that remains on the run.

The LRA are said to have attacked the remote Raja village in Western Bhar el Ghazel State, looted property and then headed towards the troubled Central Africa Republic three weeks ago. “The North is firing up destabilisation in South Sudan,” said Mr Magaya at a news conference.

The minister said the 27 entry points along the disputed 2,040 kilometre border with Sudan would be reinforced with police in a bid to seal off the LRA. “We are also concerned about likely terror attacks because of a weak infrastructure. So we are taking it seriously and we are setting up an anti-terrorism unit,” said Mr Magaya.

“The LRA are being trained by Khartoum to hit two birds with one stone; they come and attack us in Western Equatoria and Western Bhar el Ghazel and then go and cause havoc in DRC,” Information minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said.

The government chief whip in the national parliament, Atem Garang earlier said “South Sudan will shut the borders with Sudan if it does not change from hostility.” The LRA, primarily a Ugandan rebel group, has transformed into a transnational banditry army, terrorising civilians in various countries. LRA rebel leader Joseph Kony is wanted by the ICC to answer charges of abuse of human rights.

http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/-/688334/1245682/-/bimoilz/-/

South Sudan Make a first international call with the new country code- New Nation, New Phone Code 211

WHat’s up with South Sudan Country code 211?

Dear All,

If I may, a colleague drew my attention to the issue of +211 being discussed in Internet fora and thought I could shed some light on the subject. I have not been lately following the fora due to pressures on time and many competing priorities.

That said, however, to my knowledge, all operators in RSS have not completed registration with GSM-A, an international body which co-ordinates between members and operators exchange of traffic, such as international calls and roaming between operators, be it on bilateral or multi-lateral mobile traffic exchange across international borders.

GSM-A registration for mobile operators enable them negotiate rates with other traffic carriers for inbound traffic to RSS or outbound traffic termination into other geographies around the globe, through bilateral and multi-lateral agreements with international carriers.

And because of absence of these arrangements for most operators in RSS, international carriers forwarding traffic to RSS are free to charge any rates and not bound by any agreements with local operators in RSS. For instance, Zain South Sudan, Gemtel, Vivacell or MTN and Sudani mobile operators in RSS all need to sign agreements for traffic exchange (call terminations for inbound or outbound) with other international carriers, but this is not possible without registration with GSM-A (you can google GSMA to learn more about it).

So, Zain, Gemtel, Vivacell, Sudani and MTN all need to gain registration with GSM-A, and there are specific requirements for admission into GSMA membership which the Ministry of Telecommunications and Postal Services in RSS (as the regulator) should publish to GSMA about in-country mobile operators. The information is important for commercial reasons and purposes of settling call charges between legitimate entities in the international system of mobile communications.

The Ministry (MTPS) needs to write to GSMA to confirm the status of local operators (licenses, frequencies, etc) which GSMA would use to register local operators and publish the information to international carriers, most of who are GSMA members. As members, operators are required to adhere to agreed code of practice and industry standards for carriage and terminations of inbound and outbound traffic between countries, operators and so forth. This is currently lacking, hence the high rates of calls terminations to RSS.

The registration process in addition to concluding commercial agreements with international carries may take between 3 – 6 months. We have written to the MTPS to follow up on publishing in-country mobile operators information to GSMA to confirm status of operators, etc and some of these operators might only be in South Sudan without footprint in other countries, and little known operators would find themselves in difficult situation trying to negotiate better commercial terms for their interconnection with international carriers, whereas those with large footprint already have existing interconnection and roaming agreements with carriers and would not have to go through protracted commercial negotiations to agree rates for termination of outbound or inbound calls for RSS.

The Government cannot do these negotiations for operators, it only needs to give information about these operators to GSMA and the operators are left on their own to reach bilateral or multi-lateral agreements with carriers for their calls in the international market.

So, even though ITU has assigned +211 country code to us, carriers are free to interconnect or not interconnect with RSS operators as based on commercial agreements with in-country operators on competitive terms. Our Telecom ministry has now taken steps to write to GSMA so that local operators gain acceptance for registration with GSMA for new comers as well as updates for existing members and any of their new operations.

Hope this clarifies some of the issues surrounding +211 interconnection with international carriers of mobile traffic.

Kind regards

Dr. Hakim

Zain South Sudan

South Sudan Make a first international call with the new country code- New Nation, New Phone Code 211

Manyang David Mayar | Juba, South Sudan

Map of Sudan and South Sudan

South Sudan’s transition to establishing all the trappings of full independence and statehood is moving ahead rapidly. The latest evidence of this came Friday when Zain, the mobile telephone company, launched its official switch from the old Sudanese 249 international dialing code to the new South Sudanese country code 211. Other phone companies will follow suit begin starting on Saturday. The new code was granted to South Sudan by the International Telecommunications Corporation months before independence, but Friday’s phone call by the Undersecretary in the Ministry of Telecommunications to his daughter in Australia marked the first time it has ever been used.

Please click on the link below to hear VOA’s Manyang David Mayar’s report on the historic phone call.

http://www.voanews.com/english/news/africa/east/South-Sudan—New-Nation-New-Phone-Code-130866293.html

Zain Launches S. Sudan’s Country Code +211

The Zain mobile communications compsany operator in South Sudan yesterday launched the South Sudan new country code, +211 replacing the Sudan code +249.

01 October 2011

George Garang speaking to her daughter in Australia as the first caller using of Zain through +211 code, left is Mr. Hakeem Dario and other Zain staff during the launch [©Gurtong]

By Waakhe Simon Wudu
JUBA, 1st October 2011 [Gurtong] – The Zain mobile communications compsany operator in South Sudan yesterday launched the South Sudan new country code, +211 replacing the Sudan code +249.

Subscribers in South Sudan now have less than three months to replace their lines, the Zain General Manager, Hakeem Dario urged their clients to cooperate for the new changes to take effect.

Speaking during the launch, Hakeem clarified that changing the old country code into the new one is part of steps Zain is undertaking towards intensifying her investment plans in the new nation.

“This is a commitment from Zain to invest in South Sudan’s telecommunication sector, in the next few months we will be creating awareness on the new code changes to our clients,” Hakeem said.

He pointed out that, this move is part of the rights as articulated in the South Sudan Transitional Constitution which gives the right to access of information.

He stressed that, in collaboration with the South Sudan’s government, Zain will improve access to information in intensifying socio-economic growth to alleviate poverty in the country.

It will also introduce new services such as Mobile Banking which will facilitate easy and faster payments of bills.

Hakeem also said that the company is strategising to move from States to County levels in order to widen the coverage.

Meanwhile representing the government of South Sudan and launching the Zain Code, Mr. George Garang, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Information said that, Zain’s move to use the Country’s new code is part of the efforts to intensify South Sudan’s identity.

“Today we are launching a new country code, what we are doing here is to embrace our identity,” George Garang said while calling his daughter in Australia as the first caller using Zain with the country code +211.

Garang also urged the rest of the telecommunication companies in the country to do the same.

Source: Gurtong

Dear All country men and women,

Greetings from Juba, and am very much delighted to be associated with the first launch of new country code +211 and making of the first call from South Sudan to signal the start of yet another era and journey in our independence march. I don’t feel like a stranger among you here, I have known these fora for years and interacted with many of you on countless occasions, these fora have brought us together, and we have always expressed our frustrations and disappointments here as well as jubilations and hopes for our nascent country and nation.

History records it for us that a member of this forum, one of your own numbers from the Diaspora was lucky to be associated with the first historic launch of our new country code +211, it’s a great honour and I appreciate very much your support and voices. This is part of the journey on the right of access to information for our people to enjoy their constitutional rights of access to information and right to information enable by media and communications infrastructures that are being built up in South Sudan.

Many of my friends here too, may have been surprised to learn now that am leading Zain South Sudan on this feat to be first to launch our country code +211, but I was inclined to let actions speak louder than words and therefore wasn’t in a haste to rush to publicity the time for which will come, as indeed it did on Friday 30th September 2011.

Let’s all work as a team to build South Sudan and move it forward for ourselves and our children and future generations.

Kind regards

In order for your to call your son on the +211 code, he must be using a new replacement SIM card to be able to receive calls. Currently most people are still on their old SIM card with the code +249.

What will happen in the next few weeks till December is what we call SIM SWAP, in which customers hand in their old SIM cards to be replaced by new SIM cards with the +211 code programmed to received calls locally or internationally routed to them through the +211 code.

So, your son hasn’t changed and swapped his SIM card yet, which is why you are having difficulty calling his old number which is still on +249.

Once he has changed his SIM card to a new SIM card, then you can call him. This goes for all the operators if their customers have old SIM cards with the old +249 country code of Sudan.

Hope this explains it.

Best regards and thanks for your support.

Dr. Hakim Moi.

South Sudan +211 country code goes live

Dennis Mbuvi
03.10.2011 kl 15:48 | CIO East Africa

South Sudan’s mobile service provider, Gemtel, has tested and gone live with South Sudan’s +211 dialling code. Gemtel went live with the code on October 1st, about 2 months ahead of the December 15th deadline. Major General Madut Biar Yel, the Republic of South Sudan’s Minister for Telecommunication and Postal Services also announced that one other mobile operator would be switching to the country’s +211 code. Zain is also reported to have launched the new dialling code . Zain operations in Sudan and South Sudan were not part of the stake sold to Bharti Airtel and later re-branded to Airtel in several African countries.

South Sudan’s mobile service provider, Gemtel, has tested and gone live with South Sudan’s +211 dialling code. Gemtel went live with the code on October 1st, about 2 months ahead of the December 15th deadline. Major General Madut Biar Yel, the Republic of South Sudan’s Minister for Telecommunication and Postal Services also announced that one other mobile operator would be switching to the country’s +211 code. Zain is also reported to have launched the new dialling code . Zain operations in Sudan and South Sudan were not part of the stake sold to Bharti Airtel and later re-branded to Airtel in several African countries.

South Sudan became a republic on the 9th July 2011 after voting to secede from Sudan in January this year. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) granted South Sudan the +211 dialling code in July this year.

Previously, most of South Sudan’s telecom operators were relying on Sudan’s +249 dilling code. Gemtel at some point has used the Ugandan +256 dialling code, especially in a period between 2008 and 2009. The move was however met with a lot of opposition in Uganda and at one time resulted in a spat between Uganda’s MTN and the incumbent Uganda Telecom over interconnection fee.

South Sudan currently has three mobile operators, Vivacell, Gemtel and Zain. In 2010, South Sudan’s Government sold Gemtel to the Libyan Arab Investment Portfolio (LAP) Green Networks, which is linked Muammar Gadaffi, Libya’s deposed leader.

Yel also made other announcements on the country’s alpha-numeric codes and postal service. “We have also received our Alpha-numeric Country Codes “SS” (Alpha-2) and “SSD” (Alpha-3) from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and will soon be advising you of arrangements to implement our Internet domain (dotSS). As you may have heard, these Alpha-codes have many applications, including the national currency (SSP) and passports (SSD), among others. In the same vein, we are advanced with arrangements to join the Universal Postal Union (UPU) that will permit Juba to have its own International Postal Exchange for mail and parcel delivery,” he said

http://news.idg.no/cw/art.cfm?id=E95A3DDB-1A64-6A71-CEAEB3A826AE7424