Meet Sekalala, the Makerere University student Billionaire

Abdu Sekalala studies while his innovations make him money. Photo by Patience Ahimbisibwe

By Patience Ahimbisibwe Friday, April 20  2012

At just 22 years, Abdu Ssekalala’s appearance is that of an ordinary student, but looks can be deceptive. The young man, is no ordinary student, while his colleagues await to celebrate sitting their last exam, he is already thinking about his next big challenge, how to improve his first innovation, a computer application. While others worry about where to find a job and earn their first salary, Sekalala is keenly watching the number of downloads of his application in one column while he calculates the financial return the hits make in the other.

Sekalala is a student of at Makerere University’s School of Computing and Informatics Technology (CIT) who has so far developed at least nine internationally recognized mobile phone applications that are not only building his career as an innovator but minting millions for him.

Sekalala got his break when Nokia, an international mobile phone company organized a special training session to help software developers hone their skills. The training in April and May last year presented a major break for the young man, whose application has crossed quarter a million hits so far.
While Sekalala’s success has excited his colleagues and trainers at Makerere, the challenge is where he will manage to control the excitement and keep focused. Sekalala says this is exactly what he is gunning for.
Software development has lately become an a global hit to make dollar millionaires and billionaires with the likes of Mark Zuckerberg founder of the social networking site Facebook, which he founded with colleagues while a student at Havard in 2004. Mr Zuckerberg is only 27 and is worth US$17bn (one and a half times bigger than the entire Ugandan budget for last year).

Finding success
Sekalala’s most successful application is the Wordbook which has already gone commercial and is making for him a Euro per down load or Shs3,200. Wordbook is a dictionary application with word of the day capability fully packed with definitions, examples and a selection of related words.

Speaking to Jobs and Career, Sekalala said his current success was guided by a clear focus and paying attention and making the best of the training opportunity when it presented itself.

“I paid attention throughout the sessions because I didn’t want to miss any information that I would [later] need. When we were asked to develop our own, I put my best and luckily my applications have been adopted by Nokia,” Ssekalala told Jobs and Career.

The applications are available on the Nokia Ovi Store with one of them, the Uganda Theme is a free download which has attracted over 300, 000 downloads making it the third most downloaded application.

The Nokia Ovi Store, is the firm’s application store. The greatest number of the downloads was registered in the Asian countries of India and Thailand.

Advice to young people
There is nothing impossible once you are determined to achieve your goals. He encourages young people to utilize all chances available while still in school.

The College’s training was aimed at improving the student’s mobile application development techniques to enable the public use Ugandan products world over and improve the visibility of the local software developers in the country.

His other applications 
101 Romantic SMS, WhirlSports, nLightFlashlight and Tutu translate are free but have adverts provided by an Indian-based firm Vserv. Ssekalala is paid for the different brands that advertise through his applications.

He has already achieved his one million target downloads for his mobile applications and is set to earn $1million (about Shs2.5billion) before he turns 23.

“I make at least $100 (Shs250,000) a day from one application. I don’t have to look for a job after I finish school. In fact I make money while am seated in class learning and make more money than my lecturers,” Ssekalala boasted.
Michael Niyitegeka, a computer and information technology lecturer at the university said it is one of the university’s strategy to partner with government and the private sector to familiarize the students with employers so that they get to know what is needed before they are there.

Ssekalala already owns two companies; Gogetta which employs eight people and Foo Technology with seven employees. The companies focus on mobile and website development.

“Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to do something with computers and my biggest motivation has always been a desire to innovate and leave a mark that says I was once here,” he said.

pahimbisibwe@ug.nationmedia.com

U.N. chief, Ban Ki-Moon: South Sudan infringing on Sudan sovereignty

U.N. chief says South Sudan infringing on Sudan sovereignty

Published: Thursday, 19 Apr 2012 

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday termed South Sudan’s seizure of a disputed oil field in Sudan an “illegal act” and called on both countries to stop border clashes spiraling into war as the United States warned of a “worrying” escalation in rhetoric.

Clashes along the ill-defined border between the former civil-war foes has led to a standoff over the Heglig oil field after it was seized last week by troops from South Sudan, which declared independence last year.

“I call on South Sudan to immediately withdraw forces from Heglig. This is an infringement on the sovereignty of Sudan and a clearly illegal act,” Ban, the U.N. secretary-general, told reporters.

“I also call on the government of Sudan to immediately stop shelling and bombing South Sudanese territory and withdraw its forces from disputed territories,” he said. “I have impressed on both governments the necessity of ending the fighting and returning to negotiations. They have yet to heed our call.”

Mounting violence since Sudan split into two countries last year has raised the prospect of two sovereign African states waging war against each other openly for the first time since Ethiopia fought newly independent Eritrea in 1998-2000.

Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir all but declared war against his neighbor on Thursday, vowing to teach South Sudan a “final lesson by force” after it occupied Heglig, while Juba accused Bashir of planning “genocide.

“The escalation of rhetoric on both sides is indeed worrying and it’s only fanning the flames,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, the president of the U.N. Security Council for April, told reporters.

“The effort ought to be made to reduce the flames, douse them, and return to the table to resolve the outstanding issues that have made relations between north and south so difficult in the wake of independence,” she said.

On Tuesday, the 15-nation U.N. Security Council discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions on Sudan and South Sudan if the fighting does not stop.

Distrust runs deep between the neighbors, who are at loggerheads over the position of their border, how much the landlocked south should pay to transport its oil through Sudan, and the division of national debt, among other issues.

Both are poor countries – South Sudan is one of the poorest in the world – and the dispute between them has already halted nearly all the oil production that underpins both economies.

South Sudan has accused Sudan of launching air strikes on some of its major oilfields. Sudan has denied launching air strikes but said its ground forces had attacked southern artillery positions that had fired on the north.

South Sudan has said it would only withdraw from the Heglig oil field if the United Nations deploys a neutral force there.

South Sudan seceded from Sudan in July, six months after a referendum agreed under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war that killed more than 2 million people.

(Additional reporting by Louis Charbonneau; Editing by Vicki Allen and David Brunnstrom)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47103556

U.S. struggles to head off wider Sudan conflict

Published: Thursday, 19 Apr 2012

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is working to push Sudan and South Sudan back from the brink of war as the two sides ratchet up hostilities that threaten to upend the U.S.-backed peace deal that led to South Sudan’s independence last year.

The Obama administration’s special envoy for Sudan, Princeton Lyman, said on Thursday the situation was a “very serious crisis” that threatened wider conflict between the two foes, which fought a brutal civil war for decades before finally signing a 2005 peace agreement.

But analysts said Washington, which worked hard to ensure that South Sudan seceded peacefully last year under the terms of the 2005 pact, found itself with very limited leverage.

“This is a level of hostility we haven’t seen for years,” said Jonathan Temin, director of the Sudan program at the U.S. Institute of Peace, a government-funded Washington think tank. “For the U.S., good options are limited right now.”

Lyman, speaking by telephone from Khartoum during a trip which also took him to the South’s capital, Juba, said the Obama administration was working to nudge both sides back into discussions of their basic security concerns while attempting to cool down the heated rhetoric.

“It’s not going to be easy. Emotions are running very, very high,” Lyman said. “It is important that we get the parties and our international colleagues together around this fundamental question of security.”

Sudan’s president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir, vowed on Thursday to teach South Sudan “a final lesson by force” after it occupied a disputed oil field.

The South says the Heglig field, which accounts for about half of the North’s remaining oil production, is in its territory. But Khartoum called the seizure an assault on its sovereignty. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called the takeover “a clearly illegal act.”

The standoff over Heglig follows months of disputes over the position of the border, how much the landlocked South should pay to transport its oil through Sudan, and the division of national debt, among other issues.

South Sudan in January shut down its oil production of 350,000 barrels per day in protest after Khartoum began taking some of its oil, exacerbating economic crises that have hobbled both countries. Khartoum says it took the oil as compensation for the use of its transportation facilities.

Lyman said he urged South Sudan to pull out of Heglig, and believed the South Sudanese leaders were caught by surprise by the strong international condemnation of the move.

SECURITY ISSUES

Lyman said the United States, together with the African Union and the Arab League, would push for dialogue on three central security points: the establishment of a 20-km (12-mile) demilitarized border zone, the end of support for proxy fighters and a halt to rebel fighting in Sudan’s Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

“That pulls together three critical security issues, which are really what’s underneath these series of clashes that’s been going on since last June,” Lyman said.

The United States also hopes that China – a major economic partner for both of the poor African neighbors – would bring its influence to bear when South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, visits Beijing next week, Lyman said.

It remained unclear whether anyone in Khartoum or Juba was ready to listen.

While Washington’s ties to Khartoum have long been strained, it has also made surprisingly little headway with Juba despite the U.S. role as a major aid provider and guarantor of the 2005 peace deal.

“They really need to be laying down the law to the government in Juba now,” said Richard Downie, deputy director of the Africa program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

“The U.S. has to be pulling out all the stops and get the South to withdraw from Heglig,” Downie said. “Right now we’re beyond a worse-case scenario. You’ve got a war combined with an economic crisis combined with an oil shutdown, which is about as bad as you can get.”

The U.N. Security Council has discussed the possibility of imposing sanctions on both Sudan and South Sudan if the fighting does not stop – a potentially disastrous prospect for countries already on the verge of economic meltdown.

“Just the fact that people are mentioning (sanctions) I hope sends the signal to both parties: this is very serious business, it effects international peace and security and the parties must work with all of us to get it under control,” Lyman said.

(Editing by Peter Cooney)

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Check for restrictions at: http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47103556

Chicago Bulls Star and South Sudan Native Luol Deng Joins Illinois Elected … MarketWatch (press release) WHO: Chicago Bulls Star and South Sudan Native Luol Deng, Illinois elected officials including State Senator Heather Steans, State Representative Kelly Cassidy, Alderman Joe Moore, members of Illinois’ Ethiopian and Sudanese communities, civic leaders …

South Sudan joins World Bank and IMF Daily Nation This IMF photo shows South Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Kosti Manibe Ngai (L) as he signs the treaty to become IMF’s newest member as US State Department Treaty Analyst/Depositary Officer Francis Holleran (R) looks on at the State …

UN chief says South Sudan infringing on Sudan sovereignty CNBC.com UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Thursday termed South Sudan’s seizure of a disputed oil field in Sudan an “illegal act” and called on both countries to stop border clashes spiraling into war as the United States warned of a …

Bashir says Sudan to teach South “final lesson by force” CNBC.com KHARTOUM/JUBA (Reuters) – Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir all but declared war against his newly independent neighbor on Thursday, vowing to teach South Sudan a “final lesson by force” after it occupied a disputed oil field.

Sudan Declares War on South Sudan The Mark Months of strained relations and border skirmishes have led Sudan to declare war on South Sudan, a country that gained independence just last July. Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir told a rally of supporters yesterday that he intends to “liberate the …

Nakumatt: From mattress shop to African chain Reuters He said Burundi and South Sudan were the next targets and space had already been identified in both. “It is a 12-18 months project to get what we want,” Shah said at the Reuters office in Nairobi. The stores would cost between 2 and 3 million euros.

Sudan declares war on South Sudan: Will this draw in East Africa, and China … Christian Science Monitor After South Sudan seizes Heglig oil fields, which both countries claim, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir declares war. How can international community prevent a regional conflict? By Scott Baldauf, Staff writer / April 19, 2012 Sudanese President Omar …

Deadly Kala Azar Disease Stalks South Sudan Voice of America April 19, 2012 Deadly Kala Azar Disease Stalks South Sudan Hannah McNeish | Juba, South Sudan In newly independent South Sudan, deadly Kala Azar disease is still raging in some of the most remote areas lacking basic health services.

Sudan launches 4 attacks on South Sudan Deseret News AP South Sudanese Minister of Information Barnaba Benjamin Marial, right, and Military Spokesman Philip Aguer brief the media on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 in Juba,south Sudan about recent fighting between Sudanese and South Sudanese forces along the …

Sudan and South Sudan do not need another war, Ban stresses UN News Centre Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today urged Sudan and South Sudan to end their hostilities, stressing that they must avoid a return to conflict, which has already cost them millions of lives over two decades. “The last thing the people of these two …

Negotiating With Monsters Huffington Post After a trip to Sudan and South Sudan, Clooney delivered impassioned testimony before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His firsthand account included a powerful video, where the suffering of the Nuban people was highlighted with graphic, …

Chicago Bulls Star and South Sudan Native Luol Deng Joins Illinois Elected … SYS-CON Media (press release) Come to New York and get yourself up to date with the Big Data revolution! As advanced data storage, access and analytics technologies aimed at handling high-volume and/or fast moving data all move center stage, aided by the Cloud Computing boom, …

Sudan-South Sudan Conflict: Sudan Launches Border Attacks, Says Official Huffington Post By MICHAEL ONYIEGO 04/19/12 04:01 PM ET SPLA (South Sudan People’s Liberation Army) vehicles drive on the road from Bentiu to Heglig, on April 17, 2012. (ADRIANE OHANESIAN/AFP/Getty Images) JUBA, South Sudan — The Arab League said Thursday it would…

Karunanidhi for Eelam, a la Kosovo, South Sudan The Hindu DMK president M. Karunanidhi on Thursday sought to make a case for the formation of a separate ‘Tamil Eelam’ drawing parallels with Kosovo, South Sudan, East Timor and Montenegro, all nations that have come into being in recent years following the …

US struggles to head off wider Sudan conflict CNBC.com WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States is working to push Sudan and South Sudan back from the brink of war as the two sides ratchet up hostilities that threaten to upend the US-backed peace deal that led to South Sudan’s independence last year.

MINISTRY OF FINANCE & ECONOMIC PLANNING EVENT, Washington DC, USA.

Kindly circulate to please mark your calendars for this Saturday, April 21, 2012 for a meeting with GoSS Delegates, details below:

MINISTRY OF FINANCE & ECONOMIC PLANNING EVENT

Please join us in celebrating the admission of South Sudan as the 188th member of the IMF and World Bank and also welcoming the Republic of South Sudan Delegation as they brief us on current events in South Sudan:

The Central Bank of South Sudan, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Water Resources & Irrigation and accompanying delegation include:

· Hon. Kosti Manibe Ngai, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning.

· Hon. John Dor Majok, Deputy Governor, Central Bank of South Sudan.

· Mr. Albino Chol Thiik, Acting Undersecretary for Economic Planning, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

· Mr. Abraham Diing Akoi, Advisor Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

· Hon. Isaac Liabwel, Undersecretary, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

· Mr. Peter Mahal Akat, Director General for Rural Water Supply, Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

· Mrs. Yar Paul, Deputy Managing Director for Urban Water Corporation.

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDERS!

Hosted By: Embassy of Republic of South Sudan & The South Sudanese Community

When:

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Time:

6PM-9PM

Where:

Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church

Norton Hall

228 South Pitt Street

Alexandria, VA 22314

If you have any further questions please call 202.656.TSSC (8772).

Ministry of Finance Delagation Event 4-21-2012.pdf

SPLM-DC: Press Release on the Current Political and Security Situation between South Sudan and the Sudan.

Press release on the current political and security situation between South Sudan and the Sudan. Juba 19th April 2012 – Juba

Bashir says Sudan to teach South Sudan “final lesson by force”

Sudanese president threatens force against South Sudan over oil field

By Sudarsan Raghavan, Thursday, April 19, 2012

NAIROBI — Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir threatened Thursday to reignite a full-blown war against its newly independent neighbor, South Sudan, dramatically ratcheting up tensions between the two nations.Appearing in front of a large rally in the Sudanese border province of North Kordofan, Bashir vowed to teach South Sudan a “final lesson by force.” A day earlier, he had threatened to “liberate” South Sudan from the “insects” who ruled it, referring to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, the former guerilla group.

 Bashir’s threat comes days after South Sudan seized Heglig, a disputed oil field near the border, claiming that it was the new nation’s territory.But it was unclear whether Bashir was making a formal declaration of war or merely ramping up pressure on the United States and other Western and regional powers to persuade South Sudan to leave Heglig.The two sides fought Africa’s longest civil war until a 2005 peace deal enabled South Sudan to become the world’s newest nation last year, with Bashir’s approval. But tensions never really died down as heated disputes erupted over border regions and oil transit fees, triggering waves of violence that propelled the two nations closer to war.

South Sudan has refused to leave Heglig until the United Nations sends a neutral force to oversee the area. Over the past 24 hours, Sudanese troops have attacked four areas near the field, according to South Sudanese military officials.

Bashir has vowed to retake the oil field and push on toward Juba, the capital of South Sudan. The capture of Heglig by the South Sudanese “has revived the spirit of jihad and martyrdom among the Sudanese people,” he told the rally in El Obaid, North Kordofan’s capital, according to the official Sudan News Agency.

“These people don’t understand, and we will give them the final lesson by force,” he added, according to a translation by the Reuters news agency. “We will not give them an inch of our country, and whoever extends his hand on Sudan, we will cut it.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/sudanese-president-threatens-force-against-south-sudan-over-oil-field/2012/04/19/gIQAJ0G8ST_story.html?wprss=rss_world

Bashir says Sudan to teach South “final lesson by force”

By Khalid Abdelaziz and Alexander Dziadosz

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir threatened war against his newly-independent neighbour on Thursday, vowing to teach South Sudan a “final lesson by force” after it occupied a disputed oil field.

“These people don’t understand, and we will give them the final lesson by force,” Bashir told the rally in El-Obeid, North Kordofan’s capital. “We will not give them an inch of our country, and whoever extends his hand on Sudan, we will cut it.”Appearing in medal-spangled general’s uniform at a large rally in the border province of North Kordofan, the burly military ruler danced side-to-side, waved his walking stick in the air and made blistering threats against the leadership of the South, which broke off last year after decades of civil war.

South Sudan separated from the rest of Sudan with Bashir’s blessing last July under the terms of a 2005 peace deal. But since then violence has steadily escalated, fuelled by territorial disputes, ethnic animosity and quarrels over oil.

Last week, South Sudan seized Heglig, a disputed oil field near the border between the two countries, claiming it as its rightful territory and saying it would only withdraw if the United Nations deployed a neutral force there.

Bashir vowed to retake the oil field, which he said was part of Sudan’s Kordofan province. That alone would not resolve the conflict, he added.

“Heglig is not the end, but the beginning.”

Global powers have voiced alarm at the escalation of violence and urged the two to stop fighting and return to talks.

In a dramatic escalation of rhetoric on Wednesday, Bashir said he would “liberate” South Sudan from its rulers, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, which fought the guerrilla civil war against Khartoum.

There was no immediate comment from the South to Thursday’s speech.

China, a major investor in both countries, expressed “serious concern” about the increase of tensions and called on both sides to stop fighting, “maintain calm and exercise maximum restraint”.

“China has worked hard to ameliorate the problems between the two Sudans, and we will continue to work with the international community at mediation efforts,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin told a daily news briefing.

Some 2 million people died in Sudan’s civil war, fought for all but a few years from 1955 to 2005 over disputes of ideology, ethnicity and religion.

The countries remain at odds over the position of their border, how much the landlocked South should pay to transport its oil through Sudan and the division of national debt, among other issues.

Both countries accuse each other of waging proxy war through militia operating on each other’s territory.

Sudan’s military – with an air force, tanks and artillery – is far better equipped than the former guerrilla fighters who make up the South Sudan army. In addition to the civil war in the south, Sudan has also fought long-simmering rebellions in Kordofan and Darfur.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court in the Hague for war crimes in connection with the Darfur conflict, charges he rejects as political.

The south has tens of thousands of fighters under arms, with decades of experience in guerrilla conflict.

(Reporting by Ali Abdelatti, Khalid Abdelaziz, Alexander Dziadosz and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Peter Graff)

Copyright © 2012 Reuters

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/19/worldupdates/2012-04-19T110216Z_1_BRE83I0JT_RTROPTT_0_UK-SUDAN-BASHIR&sec=worldupdates

South Sudan’s capture of Heglig went ‘beyond self-defense,’ US envoy says MiamiHerald.com By ALAN BOSWELL JUBA, South Sudan — The US special envoy to Sudan and South Sudanacknowledged in an interview Wednesday that the two countries are at war and warned that the conflict will likely spread if South Sudan does not withdraw from a disputed …

South Sudan is World Bank’s Newest Member Voice of America April 18, 2012 South Sudan is World Bank’s Newest Member VOA News South Sudan became the newest member of the World Bank on Wednesday when the country’s finance minister, Kosti Manibe Ngai, signed an agreement in Washington formalizing the country’s …

South Sudan Joins World Bank Group AllAfrica.com Washington, DC — The Republic of South Sudan became the newest member of the World Bank Group today when South Sudan’s Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kosti Manibe Ngai, signed the Articles of Agreement and Conventions of the World Bank …

Bashir Seeks to ‘Liberate’ South Sudan Voice of America April 18, 2012 Bashir Seeks to ‘Liberate’ South Sudan VOA News Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir has vowed to remove South Sudan’s ruling party from power, as tension between the countries continues to escalate. Addressing a rally in Sudan’s capital, …

Sudan president threatens to oust South government STLtoday.com This photo of Saturday, April 14, 2012, shows a dead Sudanese soldier lying on the road to the Heglig front lines in South Sudan as fighting between Sudan and South Sudan over the past two weeks centered around the oil-rich Heglig area.

Minister: South Sudan not Serious about Voluntary Repatriation of its Citizens Sudan Vision The Minister added that the government of the State of South Sudan is not serious and does not give concern over the return of its citizens. Concerning the Joint Tripartite Initiative which includes the UN, Arab League and the African Union to deliver…

Sudan threatens to unseat South Sudan government amidst clashes Christian Science Monitor Omar al-Bashir said he would “liberate” the people of South Sudan if fighting over oil revenues continue. By Michael Onyiego and Mohamed Saeed, The Associated Press / April 18, 2012 Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir addresses supporters at a rally, …

22 soldiers die in South Sudan border battle Southeast Missourian By MICHAEL ONYIEGO ~ AP JUBA, South Sudan — Soldiers from Sudan and South Sudanclashed at a river dividing their two countries, leaving 22 dead as fighting spread to a new area of the tense border. A Sudanese official demanded Wednesday that South …

Sudan president threatens to oust South government Faribault County Register As the international community pushed for a peaceful solution to the dispute, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir vowed to “liberate” the people of South Sudan, saying it was his country’s duty to them. South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July after …

China Expresses Concern Over Sudanese Conflict ABC News China said Thursday it is greatly concerned about the escalating border conflict between Sudan andSouth Sudan and is ready to help. South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July after decades of civil war, but the two never agreed on how to share the oil …

South Africa: Bashir declares war on South Sudan 7thSpace Interactive (press release) Pretoria – Sudanese President Omar al- Bashir on Wednesday declared war on South Sudan, and vowed to bring down the government of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Juba, at a time of escalating military confrontations on the border …

WORLD News of the Day From Across the Globe – San Francisco Chronicle El-Bashir vowed to “liberate” the people of South Sudan, saying it was his country’s duty to them.South Sudan broke away from Sudan in July after decades of civil war, creating the world’s newest country. But the two never agreed on how to share the …

South Sudan’s Machar calls on youth to join the army and defend the nation Sudan Tribune April 19, 2012 (JUBA) – South Sudan’s Vice President, Riek Machar, has urged the youth in the ten states of South Sudan to join the army amidst signs of further escalating border conflict between Sudan and South Sudan. Deadliest clashes since South …

Sudan president aims for South Sudan’s liberation IANS Khartoum, April 19: Sudan President Omar al-Bashir has said his main goal now is to “liberate” the people of South Sudan from its rulers following recent border clashes. President Bashir also described the former rebel Sudan People’s Liberation …

Backing up for Khartoum by the International Community is Unfair and Unacceptable

By Dengdit Ayok

Before I express my opinion on the ongoing aggression against our nation, I would like to commend our gallant soldiers, the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA); for bravely repulsing the invading Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) from Panthou. That is what the people of South Sudan have been enthusiastically waiting for to hear because their dignity and their integrity and their sovereignty as well; has been repeatedly disgraced and humiliated by the government of Sudan and its army.

I would also want to give a round of applause to the President of the Republic Sir Salva Kiir Mayardit for refusing the International Community’s unfair calls for withdrawal of our army from Panthou, and for courageously stating in his speech to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) that our army will advance into Abyei to liberate it if the International Community did not take a move to call on the government of Sudan to withdraw SAF from there. This is what the people of South Sudan have been keenly waiting for to hear from their government after series of aggressions and senseless wars waged against them by Khartoum’s Ingaz-Islamists government before and after independence.

The UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Security Council, the Arab League and the African Union and the US President Barack Obama have apparently showed to the people of South Sudan and proved to them beyond any doubt that they are biased and unfair, very unfair and backing up the Sudanese government in its failed attempts to invade and occupy areas that belongs to our country.

It is indeed very disappointing that President Obama called President Kiir to tell him to remain calmed without retaliating to protect the sovereignty of South Sudan in self defense; a right enshrined in the international laws and granted to states, groups and even to individuals, while SAF is occupying territories within South Sudan.

One wonders to hear President Obama whose country strongly stands against terrorism, calling on the President of a fledgling country telling him to remain calmed while the forces of invasion occupy its territories despite of his full knowledge that this nascent state is interested in peace and fully committed for peaceful settlement of the pending political differences between her and Khartoum through negotiations in Addis Ababa under African Union’s mediation.

One really wonders as to how President Obama could condone acts of terrorism being carried out against South Sudan by the very regime which once had hosted the most 21st century’s famous terrorist (Osama Bin Laden) who had inflicted death and destruction on the people of his country more than 11 years ago. What Khartoum has been doing on our borders is part and parcel of the global terrorism that the United States is fighting against, and so how come that President Obama, call on South Sudan to remain calmed in the face of terrorism that his government had hunted Osama Bin Laden for in the last 11 years and killed him last year? How come that he call on President Kiir to be calmed while he himself is ready to fight and deter any aggression that threatens the security of the people of United States such as Iran’s and North Korean’s Piong Yang nuclear programs as his government believes?

How come that Mr. Ban Ki-Moon gives orders to President Kiir to withdraw our troops from Panthou when our troops are actually implementing their natural constitutional mandate, protecting the lives of the people of South Sudan and the geographical territories of their state from Khartoum’s offensives? How come that Mr. Ki-Moon call on the government in Juba to withdraw its troops from the area when he himself and members of his Security Council have failed to convince the government of Sudan to withdraw its troops from Abyei since its occupation in May last year? Is this not interference into the internal affairs of South Sudan by the UN Secretary General at the expense of the people of South Sudan for the interest of Khartoum? Surely, it is, and the government and the people of South Sudan strongly reject that.

The message I would like to send here is that South Sudan is not the one attacking and invading the Republic of the Sudan or occupying its territories, it is the Sudan that is launching military offensives against South Sudan to invade it and kill its innocent civilians for nothing except its greed for oil. Al-Bashir and members of his government have a goal which they want to achieve. They want to occupy oil fields that belong to South Sudan on the borders. They are aggressive and they are the ones who initiate wars and military escalations on the borders by attacking oil fields in Unity State and carrying out aerial bombardments on oil fields and SPLA by their Iranian made warplanes.

Our government has proved to the whole world its seriousness and keenness in pursuing peace through talks, but Khartoum has been boycotting the talks, violating none-aggression agreement signed in Addis Ababa in February this year, violating agreement on four freedoms signed in Addis Ababa last month, agitating the Sudanese populace for war through mass media and calling for Jihad against the people of South Sudan, frustrated and sabotaged the summit scheduled to take place between Kiir and Al-Bashir on the 3rd of this month in Juba  and the list of violations goes on.

The statement read out by Mrs. Susan Rice, the US envoy to the Security Council and on Thursday saying that the 15 members of the Council “demands a complete, immediate, and unconditional end to all fighting; withdrawal of the SPLA from Heglig; end to SAF aerial bombardments; end to repeated incidents of cross-border violence between Sudan and South Sudan; and an end to support by both sides to proxies in the other country,” as reported by Sudan Tribune is completely unfair in our view because it is a backing up to Khartoum by the International Community and it is totally unacceptable because the people of South Sudan are now acting in self defense which is lawful.

Why then should the International Community waste its time in condemning the government of South Sudan and calling on it to withdraw SPLA from an area which originally belongs to South Sudan and now brought back by force after it was forced by the masters of war in Khartoum to do so? Moreover, the call by the International Community on Juba to withdraw its soldiers from Panthou is biased and does not serve justice at all for both sides. It only serves the political interests of the Ingaz regime in Khartoum and for this reason; it is vehemently rejected by the government and people of South Sudan; because it is very unreasonable for the International Community to waste its time in defending an indicted Sudan’s President for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur. Defending a criminal and fugitive by the International Community at this time, is something questionable. Our soldiers shall not withdraw from Heglig because it is part of our country and we cannot leave an inch of our land to the vampires of Khartoum. The International Community should now start calling on Khartoum to respect the sovereignty of South Sudan by withdrawing SAF from Abyei instead of unfairly calling on South Sudan to withdraw from an area which naturally, geographically, politically and historically falls under the jurisdiction of South Sudan.

We will win this war which Khartoum has imposed on us because we have the truth we have vowed to protect our nation and

 

“Though the cause of evil prosper,

Yet ’tis truth alone is strong;

Though her portion be the scaffold,

And upon the throne be wrong:

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadow

Keeping watch above his own”. 

James Russell Lowell

Mr. Ayok is a South Sudanese journalist working with the Juba-based Al-Masier Arabic daily newspaper. He can be reached at dengdit_a@yahoo.com.

Sudan-South Sudan Conflict: Sudan Launches 4 Border Attacks, Says Official

By MICHAEL ONYIEGO 04/19/2012 

SPLA (South Sudan People’s Liberation Army) vehicles drive on the road from Bentiu to Heglig, on April 17, 2012. (ADRIANE OHANESIAN/AFP/Getty Images)

JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan repulsed four attacks from Sudan over a 24-hour period as fighting on the border showed no signs of slowing, a military official said Thursday. Sudan’s president said the recent violence has “revived the spirit of jihad” in Sudan.

Despite the threats and hostilities, a southern government spokesman said South Sudan was only defending its territory and considers Sudan a “friendly nation.”

South Sudan military spokesman Col. Philip Aguer said three of the attacks were on Wednesday and one was on Thursday. He did not give a death toll.

South Sudan broke away from Sudan last year after a self-determination vote for independence. That vote was guaranteed in a mediated end to decades of civil war between the two sides. But the sides never fully agreed where their shared border lay, nor did they reach agreement on how to share oil wealth that is pumped from the border region.

Instead, the two countries have seen a sharp increase in violence in recent weeks, especially around the oil-producing town of Heglig. Both sides claim Heglig as their own. It lies in a region where the border was never clearly defined.

Aguer said southern troops repulsed one attack by Sudanese troops near Heglig on Wednesday and two attacks in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state. One was repulsed in Western Bahr el Ghazal state early Thursday, he said.

Sudan President Omar al-Bashir on Wednesday threatened to topple the South Sudan government after accusing the south of trying to take down his Khartoum-based government.

Al-Bashir continued his hardline rhetoric on Thursday in an address to a “popular defense” brigade headed to the Heglig area. The ceremony was held in al-Obeid, in northern Kordofan.

“Sudan will cut off the hand that harms it,” said al-Bashir, a career army officer who fought against the southern army, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, during the 1983-2005 civil war. Al-Bashir seized power in a 1989 military coup.

The capture of Heglig by the South Sudanese “has revived the spirit of jihad and martyrdom among the Sudanese people,” he told the brigade’s 2,300 men, according to the official Sudan News Agency.

In Khartoum, the pro-government Sudanese Media Center said late Wednesday that fighting broke out between the two nations in the Al-Meram area in South Kordofan, with northern troops driving away what it called “remaining elements” of the SPLA. It said northern troops chased away SPLA fighters who fled across the border into South Sudan.

It said the fighting left an unspecified number of dead and wounded among the SPLA forces but gave no precise figures.

South Sudan government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin said South Sudan does not consider itself at war with Sudan, but he said the south is defending territory it believes it owns based on borders outlined in 1956 by British colonialists.

“Up to now we have not crossed even an inch into Sudan,” Benjamin said. He added: “The Republic of South Sudan considers the Republic of Sudan to be a neighbor and a friendly nation.”

Benjamin said that southern forces would withdraw from Heglig if the African Union guarantees a cessation of hostilities, an agreement on border demarcation, and the withdrawal of Sudanese forces from the nearby border region of Abyei, with Ethiopian troops moving in as peacekeepers.

Benjamin said that al-Bashir is carrying out “genocide” against Sudanese people in the Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions of Sudan. He said al-Bashir’s words Wednesday were a warning that he would like to do the same in South Sudan.

“Can they quote one war fought by the Republic of Sudan fought with any foreign country? They have always used their military artillery to kill the innocent people of Sudan as well as South Sudan,” Benjamin said.

The International Crisis Group said in a new analysis on Thursday that Sudan and South Sudan are “teetering on the brink of all-out war from which neither would benefit.” It said an immediate cease-fire is needed, then solutions to the unresolved post-referendum issues.

“Increasingly angry rhetoric, support for each other’s rebels, poor command and control, and brinkmanship, risk escalating limited and contained conflict into a full-scale confrontation,” the group said. “Diplomatic pressure to cease hostilities and return to negotiations must be exerted on both governments by the region and the United Nations Security Council, as well as such partners as the U.S., China and key Gulf states.”

The U.S. played a large role in brokering the 2005 peace accord between the two sides. China is a big player in the two countries’ oil industry.

___

Associated Press reporter Mohamed Saeed contributed to this report from Khartoum, Sudan.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/19/sudan-south-sudan-conflict_n_1436986.html

Sudan-South Sudan Conflict: Sudan Launches Border Attacks, Says Official Huffington Post By MICHAEL ONYIEGO 04/19/12 09:39 AM ET SPLA (South Sudan People’s Liberation Army) vehicles drive on the road from Bentiu to Heglig, on April 17, 2012. (ADRIANE OHANESIAN/AFP/Getty Images) JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan repulsed four attacks from…

Sudan launches 4 attacks into South Sudan, official says; gov’t calls Sudan … Winnipeg Free Press South Sudan repulsed four attacks from Sudan over a 24-hour period as fighting on the border showed no signs of slowing, a military official said Thursday. Despite the hostilities, a government spokesman said South Sudan was only defending its …

Bashir says Sudan to teach South “final lesson by force” Malaysia Star By Khalid Abdelaziz and Alexander Dziadosz KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir threatened war against his newly-independent neighbour on Thursday, vowing to teach South Sudan a “final lesson by force” after it occupied a …

JobsDDG Head of AVR – South Sudan Reuters AlertNet Exciting opportunity to join a progressive organisation in a key leadership role and help shape the future of armed violence reduction programming in South Sudan and globally. Danish Demining Group (DDG) is the branch of the Danish Refugee Council …

Sudan launches 4 attacks on South Sudan, official says Fox News JUBA, South Sudan – South Sudan repulsed four attacks from Sudan over a 24-hour period as fighting on the border showed no signs of slowing, a military official said Thursday. In a further escalation of rhetoric, Sudan President Omar al-Bashir said …

Official: Sudan launches 4 attacks on South Sudan Huffington Post MICHAEL ONYIEGO | April 19, 2012 06:56 AM EST | AP JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudanrepulsed four attacks from Sudan over a 24-hour period as fighting on the border showed no signs of slowing, a military official said Thursday. Despite the hostilities …

South Sudan: The World Bank Group Reiterates Its Commitment to South Sudan’s… AllAfrica.com Washington — The Republic of South Sudan became the newest World Bank Group member today when the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Kosti Manibe Ngai, signed the Bank’s Articles of Agreement and Conventions in Washington DC

Tears of horror

Tears of horror

By Atok Dan

As tears trickle down my cheeks,

my face horrifies in aloofness

My face fickle with tears of death

I dare not to say it,

but dare to sympathize on horrors of others

We called each other generation of horrible experiences

Generation of starved skeletons

Generation that survives on the legumes in camps

With unfathomable expressions on our faces,

We still live in abundance love

We still share half empty glass of murky waters

Even on the edge of death bed

Our faces still seen unflappable

We still laugh though survive on alms

Even on the roots of wild elms

They called us generation of legumes

They called us children of beans

We emerged strong but a generation that exploited generosity

We were not just blues, yellows or even green

But our collective identity remains red

We fought battles but not battles of cattle

We fought hunger with anger

We hooded the horn for battle but at childhood

We did it more than our parents but perennially

For those in danger, we extend our hands of gratitude

For those in risked, we risked to rescue them

For those that underestimated us, we overjoyed them with enthusiasm

Without tires on our feet, our tiny feet traveled deserts, valleys, mountains and swamps

Without clothes on our backs, we sacrificed our hard black skins to cold and heat

Our melanin were baked more blackish

Our teeth and hands were molded into hammers for breaking hard objects

We sleep walk slipping off rough roads like a patient in agony in sick bed

Atok Dan is a media specialist working in Juba, South Sudan. He is reached at atokbaguot

Atok Dan

Radio Production Specialist

USAID/Economic Governance Project in South Sudan

atokdan@dcopllp.com