South Sudan Gets new Coalition Government

Associated Press JUBA, South Sudan (AP) -  South Sudan has opened a new chapter in its fragile emergence from civil war with rival leaders forming a coalition government. Opposition leader Riek Machar was sworn in Saturday as the deputy of President Salva Kiir, a day after the previous government was dissolved. That power arrangement between Kiir and Machar twice collapsed in fighting during the conflict that began in 2013 and killed nearly 400,000 people. Numerous attempts at peace in South Sudan have failed. Intense international pressure has followed the most recent peace deal in 2018. The rivals met the latest deadline to form the government.

US `gravely disappointed' by South Sudan coalition Government delay, will Reevaluate Relationship

By SAM MEDNICK
Associated Press

   NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) - The United States said Wednesday it is "gravely disappointed" and will reevaluate its relationship with South Sudan over the failure of its rival leaders to form a coalition government according to the country's fragile peace accord.

   President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar last week agreed to postpone the formation of a coalition government for 100 days. They had faced a Nov. 12 deadline but said security and governance issues needed to be resolved.

   The State Department statement said that "their inability to achieve this basic demonstration of political will for the people of South Sudan calls into question their suitability to continue to lead the nation's peace process."

   The U.S. said it will work bilaterally and with the international community to "take action against all those impeding South Sudan's peace process." That could mean sanctions.

   South Sudan government spokesman Ateny Wek Ateny called the U.S. statement disappointing but said the government understands the U.S. position. South Sudan's government also wanted the coalition government formed on time, he said.

   "The president wasn't willing to extend until we realized the opposition was adamant to see the extension done or they'd go back to war," Ateny asserted.

   South Sudan's civil war erupted in late 2013, just two years after the country's independence from Sudan, when supporters of Kiir and Machar, then his deputy, clashed. A previous peace deal under which Machar returned as Kiir's deputy fell apart amid fresh fighting in 2016 and Machar fled the country on foot.

   South Sudan experts have warned that without a new approach, the current uneasy situation may well be the same when the 100-day period ends in February.

   The oil-rich country is slowly emerging from five years of fighting that killed almost 400,000 people and displaced millions. The fragile peace agreement signed in September 2018 has been riddled with delays and a lack of funding.

   Pope Francis on Sunday called for South Sudan's politicians to salvage the peace deal and announced he intends to visit the East African country in the coming year. In a striking gesture of concern earlier this year the pope knelt and kissed the feet of Kiir and Machar to encourage them to strengthen the faltering peace process.

South Sudan Unrest Update

South Sudan Preisdent, Salva Kiir

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) - Tensions were high in South Sudan's capital on Saturday after President Salva Kiir sent troops to surround the home of former military chief of staff Paul Malong, disarm his bodyguards and remove all weapons.

   A copy of the order obtained by The Associated Press says any resistance by Malong "should be met with reasonable force."

   Malong's wife, Lucy Ayak Malek, told the AP that bodyguards refused to hand over arms and the situation had worsened, with hundreds of soldiers deployed. "I think things will escalate if the president doesn't act quickly," she said by telephone.

   The United Nations issued an emergency notification advising staff in the capital, Juba, to remain vigilant.

   It was not immediately clear what led to the president's order, which also prevents any visitors to Malong's home. Acting army spokesman Col. Santo Domic Chol said whatever was taking place was "political."

   Malong, who has been under house arrest, was fired in May and had been one of Kiir's closest allies. He was accused of directing last year's fighting in Juba that killed hundreds. A former governor of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, he also has been accused of controlling an ethnic militia that numbers in the thousands.

   In February, a handful of top-level military officials resigned while accusing Kiir and Malong of ethnic bias and corruption. Shortly after his firing, Malong told the AP that he would not take up arms against the government of the East African nation, saying "we don't fight a meaningless war."

   The United States in September imposed sanctions on Malong, along with two senior South Sudan officials, for undermining the country's peace, security and stability. South Sudan's civil war erupted in late 2013 and has killed tens of thousands of people and sent more than 2 million fleeing the country, creating the largest displacement of civilians in Africa since the Rwanda genocide in 1994.

   Many of Malong's supporters have been advocating for his release from house arrest. Concerns have grown that the supporters will take up arms.

   South Sudan's government said it was trying to "give Malong proper protection" since he can't protect himself.

   "We want to ensure that criminals from the outside don't run to his house for protection and find his weapons," said the minister of cabinet affairs, Martin Elia Lomoro.

Viongozi wa South Sudan Wafika Makubaliano

Rais Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Naibu Rais wa Afrika Kusini Cyril
Ramaphosa (kulia) na Bw. Bw. Deng Alor Kuol  wakifurahia wakati  Rais
Salva Kiir Mayardiy wa Sudan ya Kusini (wa pili kushoto) na Makamu wa
Rais wa zamani wa Sudan Dkt Riek Machar Teny (wa pili kulia) wakipeana
mikono na kubadilishana nyaraka baada ya kutia saini mkatana wa
makubaliano ya kukiunganisha upya chama cha SPLM cha Sudani Kusini
katika hoteli ya Ngurdoto jijini Arusha Jumatano Januari 21, 2015
usiku.  PICHA NA IKULU

TAARIFA KWA VYOMBO VYA HABARI

MKATABA wa kujenga tena umoja na kukiunganisha upya Chama Tawala cha Sudan Kusini cha Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) ulitiwa saini usiku wa jana, Jumatano, Januari 22, 2015, katika sherehe ya kufana iliyofanyika katika Ukumbi wa Mikutano wa Hoteli ya Ngurdoto, Wilaya ya Arumeru, Mkoa wa Arusha.

Mkataba huo unaojulikana kama Agreement on the Re-unification of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement umepongezwa kuwa ni hatua muhimu katika kulitoa taifa changa la Sudan Kusini katika hali ya machafuko, vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe, kutoelewana na kutoaminiana, mambo ambayo yameligubika taifa hilo tokea mwishoni mwa 2013 wakati kutokuelewana kulipozuka ndani ya SPLM na hatimaye katika Serikali ya nchi hiyo.

Baada ya siku nzima ya mawasiliano na majadiliano baina ya pande zinazovutana ndani ya chama hicho pamoja na viongozi wa nchi jirani na rafiki na Sudan Kusini, viongozi watatu wa vikundi vinavyopingana ndani ya SPLM walitia saini Mkataba huo muhimu sana.

Viongozi waliotia saini ni Mheshimiwa Salva Kiir Mayardit, Rais wa Sudan Kusini ambaye pia ni Mwenyekiti wa SPLM na anayeongoza kundi linalojulikana kama SPLM in Government (SPLM-IG), Mheshimiwa Dkt. Riek Machar ambaye alikuwa Makamu Mwenyekiti wa SPLM na pia aliyekuwa Makamu wa Rais wa Sudan Kusini anayeongoza kundi la SPLM in Opposition (SPLM-IO) na Dkt. Deng Alor Kuol ambaye anaongoza kundi la SPLM Leaders- Former Detainees (SPLM Leaders – FD).

Sherehe hiyo ilishuhudiwa na Rais wa Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania, Mheshimiwa Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete ambaye pia ni Mwenyekiti wa Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM) ambacho ndicho kimesimamia mazungumzo yaliyozaa Mkataba huo. Rais Kikwete pia ndiye mdhamini mkuu wa Mkataba huo.

Wengine walioshuhudia tukio hilo muhimu ni Rais wa Uganda, Mheshimiwa Jenerali Yoweri Kaguta Museveni; Rais Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta wa Kenya; Naibu wa Rais wa Jamhuri ya Afrika Kusini Mheshimiwa Cyril Ramaphosa, Makamu Mwenyekiti wa zamani wa CCM Mheshimiwa John Samwel Malecela ambaye ndiye alikuwa mwenyekiti wa mazungumzo yaliyozaa Mkataba huo na Katibu Mkuu wa CCM Mheshimiwa Abdulrahman Kinana ambaye alikuwa mwezeshaji wa mazungumzo.

Mazungumzo yaliyozaa Mkataba huo yalianza mwishoni mwa mwaka jana baada ya Rais Kikwete na Chama cha CCM kuombwa na Rais Kiir Mayardit kukubali chama hicho tawala cha Tanzania kutumia uzoefu na ujuzi wake wa miaka mingi wa uongozi na siasa kujaribu kuleta suluhu ndani ya SPLM.

Mazungumzo hayo ya kutafuta suluhu ambayo yamefanyika kwa awamu mbili, ya kwanza yakiwa yamefanyika Oktoba mwaka jana na pili yakiwa yameanza mwanzoni mwa mwezi huu, Januari 2015,  yameongeza thamani kwenye mazungumzo mengine yanayofanyika Addis Ababa, Ethiopia chini ya usimamizi wa taasisi ya IGAD na yanayojadili jinsi ya kurejesha amani nchini humo.

Viongozi wa SPLM wanaamini kuwa kwa sababu mgogoro wa kisiasa nchini mwao ulianzia ndani ya chama hicho na kwa sababu SPLM ndicho chombo pekee ambacho kinawaunganisha wananchi wote wa Sudan Kusini, basi busara inaelekeza kuwa suluhu ianze kutafutwa ndani ya chama hicho.

Mkataba wa jana, kimsingi, unalenga kuweka mazingira ya kujenga utulivu, maelewano, amani na umoja wa kudumu ndani ya chama hicho na nchini humo kwa kuhakikisha kuwa utekelezaji wa mambo ya msingi yaliyokubaliwa kuhusu shughuli za siasa, uongozi na oganisheni ya chama hicho yanafanyika bila kukawia.

Mkataba huo pia unalenga kuhakikisha kuwa chama cha SPLM kinabuni na kutekeleza sera za kuondokana na ukabila, makundi yenye mitazamo finyu na mwenendo wa kijeshi katika siasa za Sudan Kusini.

Aidha, Mkataba huo unalenga kuhakikisha kuwa chama cha SPLM kinafanya mageuzi ya kuanza kujenga utamaduni wa kuvumiliana na ujenzi wa misingi ya demokrasia.

Mkataba huo pia unataka watu wote ambao walishiriki katika mauaji na umwagaji damu katika vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe wasiruhusiwe kugombea wala kushika nafasi ya uongozi wa umma ndani ya chama hicho.

Pia viongozi wote wa Sudan Kusini wanatakiwa, chini ya Mkataba huo, kuwaomba radhi wananchi wa nchi hiyo ya Sudan Kusini kwa kuruhusu nchi hiyo kuingia katika machafuko ya umwagaji damu mkubwa.

Imetolewa na:

Kurugenzi ya Mawasiliano ya Rais,

Ikulu – Dar es Salaam.

22 Januari,2015

Meeting on South Sudan in Arusha

THE UNITED REPUBLIC OF TANZANIA

DIRECTORATE OF PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS

The warring factions of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement (SPLM) of South Sudan will tomorrow (Wednesday, January 21, 2015) sign an agreement on the re-unification of their movement, in a major step towards resolving the current political crisis that has plunged the country into a tragic and unprecedented civil war.

          The Presidents of South Africa, Uganda and Kenya and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia will join Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete in witnessing the signing to take place at the Ngurdoto Mountain Lodge in Arusha. 

          Both President Salva Kiir and Former Vice President Dr. Rick Machar will sign for their respectful SPLM factions. A leader of the SPLM-Former Detainees will also sign on behalf of his faction.

The agreement is result of an intra–SPLM Dialogue attended by delegations of the three SPLM Groups which has been taking place in Arusha under the auspices of Tanzania’s ruling party, Chama cha Mapinduzi (CCM).

Following a request by the chairman of SPLM, President Salva Kiir,  CCM agreed, last year, to mediate between SPLM groups – SPLM in Government, SPLM in Opposition and SPLM – Former Detainees – which appeared as a result of the political crisis.

 The talks in Arusha, which first took place between 12-20 October, last year, were chaired by former Chairman of CCM, John Samwel Malecela and facilitated by CCM Secretary General, Mr. Abdulrahman Kinana.

The latest talks, which resulted in the agreement, took place in both December last year and beginning January 8^th this year. The agreement will be followed by the process of implementation during which time CCM will continue assisting.

The Process in Arusha sought at re-uniting SPLM and was therefore complimentary to the Peace Talks taking place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

President Kikwete arrived in Arusha this evening (Tuesday, January 20, 2015) ready for the signing ceremony tomorrow.

Ndege Iliyobeba Wanajeshi Kutoka Marekani Yatua Kwa Dharura Uganda!

The Plane  on the Road at Mityana Highway in Uganda - Photo from Facebook

KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) - A Ugandan police spokesman says a small aircraft carrying U.S. military personnel has made an emergency landing on a road after running out of fuel.

   Phillip Mukasa said Friday that the Piper aircraft with eight people on board - including two crew members - was returning to Uganda's Entebbe airport when it had to make an emergency landing in Mityana town, some 67 kilometers (about 41 miles) from the Ugandan capital of Kampala.

   No one was hurt and the aircraft wasn't damaged, he said, although motor traffic flow was seriously disrupted.

   He said the aircraft had been headed to South Sudan but it couldn't land there and had to return to Uganda.

   It was not immediately clear why the pilot could not land in South Sudan.
  

Statement from Save Lamu Organisation

STATEMENT FROM SAVE LAMU ORGANISATION
Friday, January 27, 2012

Today the Minister of Lands, Orengo and yesterday the PS of Transport, Dr. Cyrus Njiru downplayed the plight of the people of Lamu over the Lamu Port-Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor. They keep ignoring that Lamu people are not only demanding land rights and are not against the lamu port but asking for transparency, information, consultation, and mitigation for the whole LAPSSET project. And still keep using the old constitution to violate the land rights of the people of Lamu.

Yesterdays comments by Mr. Orengo that the Lamu people are squatters on GOK land so the port must go on since they are squatters on GOK land were therefore very arrogant.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrIwY3eLKkg&list=UUekTpzKodObpOcmvVCFUvTw&index=7&feature=plpp_video. The new constitution clearly states that there is no government land but only Public land. In article 62(2) it says:

"Public land shall vest in and be held by a county government in trust for the people resident in the county, and shall be administered on their behalf by the National Land Commission..."

Since we have no County government yet and their is no National Land commission, they think the land is theirs automatically yet the constitution is very clear that the County government is holding it in trust for US not the GOK. Why can't they wait till we have our county government is in place to start the project? Why an't they rush to create the National Land Comission Bill before tehy carry out the port?? Because they want to steal while they still can just like Kilindini... WAKE UP TO THE REALITY PEOPLE!!

So people of Pwani, people of Kenya, I ask you to wake up to their clear arrogance. They want to marginalize the people of Lamu the same way the people of Mombasa were with the Kilindini port. The same way they took Masaai land and converted it into national parks without benefit-sharing. Today, the Kilindini port is closed and run down after all of them pocketed their own money. And the people of Mombasa... not even a house or title to show for it. The Masaai the same. When will the people of Pwani and Kenya as a whole join forces against this clear oppression? Tumechoka! Nimechoka! The new constitution is very clear. It must be followed!! No excuses. No ifs. No buts!

February 8th, 2012 is the court date for the port case in Malindi ...http://www.savelamu.org/press-release-lamu-residents-file-legal-petition-on-the-multi-billion-lamu-port-project/.... I say my dear friends, we should show them that while the people of Lamu may be weak, the people of Pwani are a force to reckon with and the people of Kenya are a BIGGER force to reckon with!!

No more corruption, no more oppression... a port but with information, consultation, and mitigation!!

******************************************************

   ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - A Sudanese official says Sudan will immediately release loaded oil tankers it has detained in its port and wants to end a dispute over payments for oil with its neighbor South Sudan.
   Landlocked South Sudan began halting oil production last week after accusing Sudan of stealing $815 million worth of the south's oil and detaining the oil vessels in Port Sudan.
   Sayed al-Khatib, spokesman of Sudan's negotiation team, says Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir decided Saturday to "release the vessels detained in Port Sudan as soon as possible".
   Al-Khatib also says Bashir is ready to sign an agreement with South Sudan's president Salva Kiir "by the end of today".

South Sudan

(Warembo wa Miss South Sudan Pageant)

From the Associated Press:

JUBA, South Sudan (AP) - South Sudan raised the flag of its new nation for the first time Saturday, as thousands of South Sudanese citizens and dozens of international dignitaries swarmed the new country capital of Juba to celebrate the country's birth.

South Sudan became the world's newest country Saturday with a raucous street party at midnight. At a packed midday ceremony, the speaker of parliament read a proclamation of independence as the flag of Sudan was lowered and the flag of South Sudan was raised, sparking wild cheers from a crowd tens of thousands strong.

"Hallelujah!" one resident yelled, as other onlookers wiped away tears.

The U.S. and Britain announced their recognition of South Sudan as a sovereign nation. President Barack Obama said the day was a reminder that "after the darkness of war, the light of a new dawn is possible."

"A proud flag flies over Juba and the map of the world has been redrawn," Obama said in a statement. "These symbols speak to the blood that has been spilled, the tears that have been shed, the ballots that have been cast, and the hopes that have been realized by so many millions of people."

The noon-hour ceremony hosted by Salva Kiir, who was sworn in as South Sudan's president, took place under a blazing hot sun. Sudan President Omar al-Bashir, a deeply unpopular man in Juba, arrived to a mixture of boos and surprised murmurs.

"Wow, this is a great day for me because it's a day that reflects the suffering that all southerners have had for almost 50 years," said David Aleu, a 24-year-old medical student.

Thousands of South Sudan residents thronged the celebration area, and organizers soon learned they did not have enough seats for all the visiting heads of state and other VIPs. The heat was strong enough that Red Cross workers attended to many people who fainted.

Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N. and the American envoy at Saturday's celebration, urged South Sudan residents and leaders to build a country worthy of the sacrifice of all the lives lost during the five decades of conflict.

"Independence was not a gift you were given. Independence is a prize you have won," she said. "Yet even on this day of jubilee we remain mindful of the challenges that await us. No true friend would offer false comfort. The path ahead will be steep... but the Republic of South Sudan is being born amid great hopes."

The black African tribes of South Sudan and the mainly Arab north battled two civil wars over more than five decades, and some 2 million died in the latest war, from 1983-2005. It culminated in a 2005 peace deal that led to Saturday's independence declaration.

Thousands of South Sudanese poured into the ceremonial arena when gates opened. Traditional dancers drummed in the streets as residents waved tiny flags. Activists from the western Sudan region of Darfur, which has suffered heavy violence the past decades, held up a sign that said "Bashir is wanted dead or alive." Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes in Darfur.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pointedly noted in his speech that Sudan and South Sudan have not yet resolved all of their political issues. The status of the contentious border region of Abyei - where northern and southern troops are standing off - remains in flux. South Kordofan, which is a part of the north but which has many southern supporters, has seen heavy fighting in recent weeks.

"Let their differences be resolved around the negotiating table," Ban said.
South Sudan is expected to become the 193rd country recognized by the United Nations next week and the 54th U.N. member state in Africa.

Though Saturday is a day of celebration, residents of South Sudan must soon face many challenges. Their country is oil-rich but is one of the poorest and least-developed on Earth. Unresolved problems between the south and its former foe to the north could mean new conflict along the new international border, advocates and diplomats warn.

Violence has broken out in the contested border region of Abyei in recent weeks, and fighting is ongoing in Southern Kordofan, a state that lies in Sudan - not South Sudan - but which has many residents loyal to the south. The 1,300-mile (2,100-kilometer) north-south border is disputed in five areas, several of which are being illegally occupied by either northern or southern troops.
Obama said that South Sudan and Sudan must recognize that they will be more secure and prosperous if they move beyond past differences peacefully. He said the 2005 peace deal - the Comprehensive Peace Agreement - must be full implemented and the status of Abyei resolved.
The young government faces the huge challenge of reforming its bloated and often predatory army, diversifying its oil-based economy, and deciding how political power will be distributed among the dozens of ethnic and military factions. It must also begin delivering basic needs such as education, health services, water and electricity to its more than 8 million citizens.

While South Sudan is now expected to control of more than 75 percent of what was Sudan's daily oil production, it has no refineries and southern oil must flow through the north's pipelines to reach market.

But for Saturday, at least, those problems lay on the back burner. Smiles, singing and dancing instead took precedence.

Adut Monica Joseph waited for the ceremony with her sister and uncle as world leaders arrived. She said she looked forward to a day when women in South Sudan don't face the hardships they have in recent decades. The risk to the mother of death during child birth is extremely high in the poor and underdeveloped rural south.

"I'm very grateful to see many people from other countries," said the 22-year-old. "I'm appreciating that they have come to celebrate with us. I hope when we have independence we shall have freedom and education for women."
---

Kwa habari zaidi soma:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/08/MNA31K8B6R.DTL

Nchi Mpya - South Sudan

(pichani: Bendera ya SOUTH SUDAN)

Wadau, Sudan Kusini sasa ni nchi huru. Mungu Awabariki maana wamepigana vita vya wenyewe kwa wenyewe kwa miaka 50. Waarabu wa kaskazini waliwatesa na kufanya ndugu zao waafrika weusi wa kusini kuwa watumwa na kuwaua ovyo. Safari yao ndefu lakini watumie hela ya mafuta vizuri kujenga nchi. Sidhani kama itabaki na jina la SoutH Sudan kwa muda mrefu, huenda wakaiita jina la kimila kama

*********************************************************************

JUBA, South Sudan — South Sudan raised the flag of its new nation for the first time Saturday, as thousands of South Sudanese citizens and dozens of international dignitaries swarmed the new country capital of Juba to celebrate the country's birth.

South Sudan became the world's newest country Saturday with a raucous street party at midnight. At a packed mid-day ceremony, the speaker of parliament read a proclamation of independence as the flag of Sudan was lowered and the flag of South Sudan was raised, sparking wild cheers from the crowd.

Mnaweza kusoma habari zaidi hapa:

http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/a-new-flag-raised-1004971.html