Blood and oil tinge South Sudan’s first birthday

(Reuters) – South Sudanese celebrating their nation’s first birthday on Monday will bask in the pride of their hard-won political freedom, but many may ask when they will enjoy the material benefits promised by the government of former rebels. Cleaners have swept Juba’s dusty streets, hawkers have been peddling red, green and black national flags, and government workers have hung colorful bunting from lamp posts to prepare for the ceremonies. “Together we walk the land of freedom,” read a 20-foot independence day billboard near the airport showing President Salva Kiir in step beside Vice President Riek Machar. South Sudan split from Sudan after a civil war that killed some 2 million people over two decades, becoming the world’s newest nation. But the jubilation that saturated the ramshackle capital last year has dimmed. The government is struggling to build institutions and stamp their authority over a vast, gun-riddled territory.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/08/us-south-sudan-anniversary-idUSBRE8670KI20120708

South Sudan Looks Ahead After Rough First Year Voice of America The country’s first year was a tumultuous one that saw renewed fighting with former civil war foe Sudan and the shutdown of oil production.

South Sudan marks first anniversary of independence in wary mood The Guardian Violent divorce with Sudan, corruption and debilitating oil crisis underline difficulties of constructing state.

Tutu pleads for peace on eve of South Sudan anniversary AFP (AFP) – 16 minutes ago. JUBA — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu on Sunday appealed for peace in troubled South Sudan, on the eve of the country’s first anniversary. Tutu was speaking to political, military and religious leaders from the world’s …

Government to encourage private sector to play leading role in economy: Prime … Business Recorder (blog) Volunteers cleared away the rubbish and worshippers offered prayers for its future on Sunday, afterSouth Sudan was feted by world leaders as it celeb.

Sudan constitution to be “100 percent Islamic:” Bashir

KHARTOUM (Reuters) – President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Saturday Sudan’s next constitution would be “100 percent Islamic” to set an example for neighboring countries, some of which have seen religious parties gain power after popular uprisings. The secession of mostly non-Muslim South Sudan a year ago sparked predictions that Sudan, which hosted former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, would start implementing Islamic law more strictly. In a speech to leaders of the mystical Islamic Sufi tradition in Khartoum, Bashir suggested Sudan’s new, post-secession constitution could help guide the region’s political transformation. “We want to present a constitution that serves as a template to those around us. And our template is clear, a 100 percent Islamic constitution, without communism or secularism or Western (influences),” said Bashir. “And we tell non-Muslims, nothing will preserve your rights except for Islamic sharia because it is just,” he said.

http://news.yahoo.com/sudan-constitution-100-percent-islamic-bashir-220010343.html

Egyptian President orders dissolved parliament back in defiance of the army

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Islamist president fired the first volley in his war with the powerful generals on Sunday, calling on the Islamist-dominated parliament to reconvene in defiance of a military decree dissolving the legislature on the basis of a ruling by the country’s highest court. A week into his presidency, Mohammed Morsi’s decree could plunge the country into a new bout of instability, and possibly violence, nearly 17 months after the ouster of authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak by a popular uprising and the start of a transition period defined more by turmoil than the freedom that followed some 30 years of authoritarian rule.

http://news.yahoo.com/egypt-president-orders-dissolved-parliament-back-150728878.html

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE FROM NORHTERN BAHR-EL-GHAZAL STATE TO PRESIDENT KIIR

CONGRATULATORY MESSAGE FROM NORHTERN BAHR-EL-GHAZAL STATE TO H.E. 1ST LT. GEN. SALVA KIIR MAYARDIT,
PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF SUDAN PEOPLES’ LIBERATION ARMY, 
ON THE OCCASION OF THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN, JULY 9, 2012.

We, the government, on behalf of the people of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, hereby warmly congratulate Your Excellency, the President, and the People of the Republic of South Sudan for the greatest achievement of the independence of the Republic on such a day one year ago.

 
This is one of the greatest achievements in the history of the world in the 21st Century of the 3rd Millennium. Not many leaders and communities have achieved such a vision through a protracted struggle over the last 200 years of our self-discovery as the first indigenous inhabitants of the land of the Black People, Bilhad-el-Sudan, in the then so-called `Dark Continent’ of Africa.

 
Therefore, we, from Northern Bahr el Ghazal, being part of the committed communities, which brought about this independence and still continuing to defend it by all cost and by all means on the borders with our former and current enemy, are assuring you and the whole nation that we will remain a formidable dam against any foreign aggression and its malicious agenda from now to the end of the world. So help us God.

 
Happy Birth Day to all the peoples of South Sudan, their friends and well wishers who are celebrating the making of our history in Juba and all the other capitals of the nation.

 
Long live The President!
Long Live the Virgin Republic!
God Bless South Sudan!

Lt. Gen. Paul Malong Awan,
The Governor with The Government and the Patriotic People of Northern Bahr-el-Ghazal State.
Aweil, South Sudan.

South Sudan Turns 1, Without Much To Celebrate

South Sudan Turns 1, Without Much To Celebrate

NPR
The world’s youngest nation, South Sudan, marks its first year of independence Monday, after emerging from 60 years of civil war and seceding from its northern neighbor. Guest host David Greene talks with NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton about the challenges …

Sudan constitution to be “100 percent Islamic:” Bashir Chicago Tribune The secession of mostly non-Muslim South Sudan a year ago sparked predictions that Sudan, which hosted former al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the 1990s, would start implementing Islamic law more strictly. In a speech to leaders of the mystical …

Back to the future: South Sudanese return to rebuild nation Sin Chew Jit Poh By Aymeric Vincenot. JUBA, July 8, 2012 (AFP) — It’s a year since Suzy Cagai returned to newly independent South Sudan from Australia, leaving her comfortable existence there to help to rebuild her fledgling but war-ravaged country. The 25-year-old’s …

Sudan, South Sudan take steps to peaceful relations GlobalPost Violence along the Sudan-South Sudan border will stop after leaders of both countries agreed to peace initiatives during talks today in Ethiopia. The oil-producing border region has been the site of violence and clashes since South Sudan declared …

South Sudanese return to rebuild nation Times LIVE It’s a year since Suzy Cagai returned to newly independent South Sudan from Australia, leaving her comfortable existence there to help to rebuild her fledgling but war-ravaged country.

Sudan, S. Sudan adopt “strategic” approach to resolve disputed issues Sudan Tribune July 7, 2012 (KHARTOUM/JUBA) – Sudan and South Sudan delegations in Addis Ababa endorsed with some optimism a new strategic approach to facilitate a quick progress in the stalled talks when it resumes next week, the two parties announced.

South Sudan puts on show of hope for unity AFP JUBA — Strutting on stage to the delight of cheering crowds, the performers in aSouth Sudan talent show have a bigger dream than entertainment alone — of helping unite their war-ravaged young nation. Destroyed by one of Africa’s longest civil wars …

Jonglei Governor ‘Relaxes’ As Security Improves AllAfrica.com Bor — The governor of South Sudan’s Jonglei State has said that the security situation is “relaxing” across the troubled underdeveloped area of the world’s newest country. Kuol Manyang Juuk said that his focus was moving towards attracting investors.

Is Independence Day 1st Anniversary Worth Marking?

By Tearz Ayuen

In the name of God, what’s there to be celebrated on the 9th of July? When and why do people celebrate? Is it a success or a failure that is celebrated?

Generally, People celebrate whenever they have achieved something.
For instance, in the united Sudan, we suffered untold suffering from the hands of our part-time brothers, the north Sudanese, who racially discriminated us. Out of jealousy, they murdered our early student geniuses who they picked from Rumbek schools after they excelled in national exams. They enslaved and sold some of us into slavery in distant lands. They raped, both men and women. They forcefully arabized and islamized some of us. They killed 2.5 million relatives of ours. They violently chased us away from our ancestral homes, making us international wanderers and beggars. They annexed our areas with the intention of taking control of our oil. And that’s why after we overwhelmingly chose to be a free people, with our own country, and our own government that would introduce good governance, shed tears of joy on Saturday, the 9th of July 2011. Yes, South Sudanese of all walks of life, wherever they were on this planet; prisons, refugee camps and hospitals, joyfully celebrated the birth of South Sudan that we longed for for almost a century.

Now tell me, what are we going to celebrate the first anniversary for?
What has the government achieved in the last 12 months of independence?
Could it be the various incorporeal MoUs signed with suspicious foreign governments and companies?
Is it the shutdown of oil production countrywide?
The Heglig war?
The Lou Nuer-Murle violence that left over 800 innocent women and children dead?
Or the discovery of 75 officials who stole billions of dollars?
The fact that the president sent them letters, begging them to return the money?
The fact that the recovery account was opened in Nairobi?
The inability to name and shame the corrupt senior officials?
The useless asset declaration decree which the constitutional post holders [have been defying] defied for about two years now?
The presidential visit to Beijing that turned out to be a sham?
The lame economy?
The inflation that skyrocketed to 80 per cent?
The depreciation of SSP against dollar?
The persistent hunger that nibbles people’s lives?
The Mombasa retreat in which top officials indecisively spent millions?
Is it the fact that the government does not address the public on national matters?
The armed rebellion in Greater Upper Nile in which hundreds were killed and thousands others rendered homeless?
The high unemployment rates?
The recent donations of vehicles to Ugandan government?
Or the creation of many unnecessary ministries which drains public coffers, acting as a barrier to services delivery to the people?
The increasingly uncontrollable high rates of crimes?
The fact that the army is still both angry and hungry?

Anyway, what will the top government officials say to the thirsty and hungry audience at the John Garang Mausoleum tomorrow? – The contemptuous “Hakuma bi tana” slogan? What else?
Shouldn’t the government realize its austerity measures initiative and reserve the 23 million SSP earmarked for the celebration for any other emergency situation?