Hereward Holland, Reuters

JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan will soon acquire anti-aircraft missiles to defend its territory against air attacks it says are frequently carried out by warplanes from neighbouring Sudan, the South Sudanese military said on Wednesday.

Since South Sudan became the world's newest independent nation in July last year, its government has accused northern neighbour Sudan of continuing aerial bombing raids on South Sudanese territory, a charge routinely denied by Khartoum.

Foreign reporters in South Sudan have witnessed bombings by Sudanese warplanes of targets including a market, a refugee camp and oil infrastructure, and border skirmishes between the two countries' armies last month included a series of air raids by the northern nation.

The United Nations' top human rights official said on Friday she was outraged by Sudan's "indiscriminate" bombings of South Sudan that killed and injured civilians, after U.N. officials verified damage and casualties caused by recent raids.

South Sudanese army spokesman Philip Aguer told Reuters on Wednesday Juba's military intended to acquire anti-aircraft missiles as part of the new African nation's plans to modernise and re-equip its armed forces, which had previously fought for years as a rebel guerrilla army against Khartoum.

"It will enhance our defences. All strategic points need to be protected, including oil-producing areas and airports," Aguer said. He did not say where South Sudan would seek to purchase the anti-aircraft weapons, nor exactly what kind they would be.

"It depends on the market and the political will to sell to us," Aguer said.

He did not specify a time-frame for the South Sudanese army to acquire the anti-aircraft capability, but The Sudan Tribune newspaper quoted the head of South Sudan's army (SPLA) James Hoth Mai as saying his troops would be equipped with anti-aircraft missiles within a "few months."

Last month's fighting broke out amid disputes between the two former civil war foes over oil exports, border demarcation, citizenship rights and financial arrangements.

On May 2, the U.N. Security Council, endorsing an African Union peace plan, gave the two sides two weeks to resume talks on the outstanding disputes, but there was no indication that a firm date has been set for negotiations to restart.

The Security Council, including China and Russia, gave them three months to solve the issues or face sanctions.

CONSOLIDATING INDEPENDENCE

Aguer said acquiring air-defence capability would help South Sudan to consolidate its newly-won independence, unanimously endorsed by its population in a referendum following an initial 2005 peace agreement that ended more than two decades of civil war between the North and the South.

"Prior to independence, it was not easy to acquire these weapons but now I believe we will," Aguer said.

"This will promote the confidence of South Sudanese citizens that their airspace will not be violated again. That will have a psychological and physical impact," he added.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has also called on Sudan to halt what she called "provocative" air bombardments.

Last week, a former U.S. special envoy to Sudan, Andrew Natsios, urged his country to send weapons to Juba.

"The only way to end the North's bullying and foster peace talks is to give the South the right tools: American anti-aircraft weapons," Natsios wrote in an article published in the Washington Post.

Experts said acquiring anti-aircraft weapons would certainly strengthen the South Sudanese army's arsenal against the generally better-armed northern forces, but would not necessarily end the bombings or the conflict.

Jonah Leff, project coordinator for the Small Arms Survey Sudan Project, said the South's army would have to be trained to use the surface-to-air missiles effectively.

"I wouldn't expect for Khartoum to back down, but anti-aircraft missiles would give the SPLA an advantage that they didn't previously have," he told Reuters by email.

"Even if Khartoum decides to cease its aerial operations, which I find doubtful, the two sides still seem to have an appetite for war, which could be fought on the battefield," Leff added.

The two Sudans sit on significant oil reserves, but the independence of the South gave it two-thirds of the oil output of the previously unified nation. A dispute over the level of fees independent South Sudan should pay to Sudan to export its crude through the north prompted Juba to shut off its oil production earlier this year, straining the two economies.

Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said on Tuesday Khartoum would not allow South Sudan to export any oil through its territory unless the two states settle all arguments over border security.

(Editing by Pascal Fletcher and Janet Lawrence)

Jerry DeLuccio wants people to remember Awuol as more than a crime statistic.  "This was a young man that has made such a difference," he said.

Chol Awuol was born in southern Sudan.  Because of violence in his homeland, his father sent him to a refugee camp where he converted to Christianity and took the name Paul.  At 14 he came to Rochester as an unaccompanied minor.  It wasn't easy.  "Chol, like many of the unaccompanied minors, felt lost a little bit here in the United States," said DeLuccio.

In and out of foster homes, he struggled for years to find his way.  With help from the DeLuccio family, the young man they called Chol made a life-changing discovery.  "Chol found that he could love himself," said DeLuccio.

He began to take responsibility for his decisions at the Neilsen Halfway House and embraced God at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.  "Here was this delightful, I would call him charming, intelligent, sweet man, that's how we experienced him here at St. Paul's," said St. Paul's Episcopal Rector Reverend Fred Reynolds.

Awuol was in the process of becoming a certified nursing assistant, focused more and more on helping others.  That's what led him to Smith Street Tuesday, to watch a friend's child.  "He was holding my son in his hand when this man came and just shot him in the chest," said friend Jessica Lane through tears.

A small memorial has begun where the Sudanese refugee fell, the painful irony all too clear.  The man who came to America as a boy to escape violence was ultimately killed by a gunman.  "That's what hurts me so much, is that he was ready to explode, in terms of how he would help others and we're never going to have that chance," said DeLuccio.

Awuol was planning a trip back to Sudan this summer according to DeLuccio.  He was hoping to see his mother for the first time since he was eight years old.

DeLuccio hopes his friend's death will inspire others to find love and reject violence.

KHARTOUM (May 16, 2012): A UN deadline for Sudan and South Sudan to resume talks on oil and other critical issues looked likely to pass without action on Wednesday, as South Sudan accused Khartoum of stalling.

The South's lead negotiator, Pagun Amum, told AFP late Tuesday that his country is ready to resume the African Union-led talks.

Sudan withdrew from negotiations after South Sudanese troops occupied the north's main oil region of Heglig on April 10, in a conflict that led to widespread fears of all-out war.

Amum said Juba has sent a letter to the AU mediator, former South African president Thabo Mbeki, saying "we have been ready to resume talks and we are waiting."

Sudan has not reciprocated, Amum said.

"I believe it is because the government of Sudan hasn't been keen to return to talks, which is in violation of the UNSC resolution and the AU roadmap" underlying the UN resolution, he said.

The May 2 United Nations Security Council resolution gave Sudan and South Sudan two weeks -- until May 16 -- to unconditionally resume the talks.

The unanimous resolution sought to avert a "serious threat to international peace and security" caused by the situation along the disputed border between the two countries, after weeks of fighting.

South Sudan's 10-day occupation of Heglig coincided with Sudanese air raids on South Sudanese territory, actions which the UN condemned and called for a ceasefire.

Khartoum's foreign ministry did not respond to AFP's requests for comment about the talks, but it said late Tuesday that Mbeki would likely be in Khartoum this week.

"Mbeki himself is expected in Khartoum tomorrow (Wednesday) or the day after tomorrow to discuss the details of negotiations, like the dates and the agenda," foreign ministry spokesman Al-Obeid Meruh said.

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir, an accused war criminal, said last week that Sudan "will not negotiate about any issues" unless security matters are resolved first.

Khartoum accuses South Sudan of backing a major insurgency in South Kordofan state, as well as in Blue Nile, and also of working with Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels from Darfur.

The South says it does not back the rebels but suspected JEM fighters were seen alongside its troops during the Heglig occupation. JEM denied involvement.

South Sudan accuses the north of backing insurgents in the South as well.

The UN resolution calls on both sides to halt the practice.

Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide allegedly committed in Sudan's Darfur region several years ago. – AFP

By Elad Benari & Yoni Kempinski

Arutz Sheva visited the Agritech 2012 International Agricultural Exhibition and Conference, which is taking place in Tel Aviv this week.

During the conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon met with South Sudan’s Minister of Agriculture, Betty Ogwaro, and together they decided to promote the establishment of an agricultural village in South Sudan which will be constructed based on Israeli methods and technologies and will serve as a model for other villages in the future.

Soon after South Sudan became an independent nation, Israel and the new country decided to establish diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.

Arutz Sheva spoke with Ogwaro about the cooperation between Israel and South Sudan.

“Cooperation is very important between government and government, government and investors, and investors and investors,” said Ogwaro, adding, “What I see here is a lot of cooperation between investors and government.”

Ogwaro said that she “would like Israel to translate its skills in small-scale agriculture to [South] Sudan, because we are still small-scale. I see [Israelis] improving agriculture through irrigation. This is very important because irrigation is more efficient than rainfed agriculture.”

She addressed the phenomenon of the illegal infiltrators from Africa who enter Israel through the non-hermetically sealed border with Egypt. The infiltrators have become an issue of controversy in Israel, with several MKs calling to deport all the infiltrators who, in some cases, have been involved in crime and other violent activities.

“What I would like to tell the public is that there’s a difference between Sudan and South Sudan,” said Ogwaro. “In the past we were one country but now we are South Sudan. When the Israeli people talk about the Sudan, they’re talking about the total Sudan. There are not many South Sudanese in Israel.”

Ogwaro added that she believes that “for humanitarian purposes, I feel the Israeli government should support all the Sudanese who are here, whether from the north or from the south, because they came here for a purpose. They came here because they’re afraid for their lives and they came here to seek better opportunities.”

She noted that “in South Sudan the situation is getting better, but there is still a reason for us to ask the Israeli government to support them staying here. At the moment, South Sudan is only nine months old, so there are so many things that need to be put in place.”

© Arutz Sheva, All Rights Reserved

By Dianna Hunt, Fort Worth Star Telegram

dhunt@star-telegram.com

FORT WORTH -- A former Lost Boy of Sudan who has a history of mental illness was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison in the stabbing of a UPS driver on her delivery route.
James Panchol, 35, of Fort Worth had pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and opted to let a Tarrant County jury decide his punishment. The jury of seven men and five women deliberated about an hour before deciding on the maximum punishment.
Panchol was shot four times by a police office after attacking the UPS driver in the parking lot of a west Fort Worth apartment complex on July 27, 2009.
He stabbed the woman, unprovoked, in the upper back with a large kitchen knife and then twice more in the lower back and upper arm as he chased her around the parking lot, according to prosecutors Lloyd Whelchel and Jennifer Jackson.
A bystander helped the woman hide, but Panchol was still in the parking lot when police arrived. He refused to drop the knife and was hit with a Taser. He pulled out the probes and charged officers before being shot.
He had a history of mental illness and had reportedly been "hearing voices" a few weeks before the stabbing, according to evidence presented by the defense. However, he refused treatment.
A cousin testified for the defense about their lives as they left Sudan, living in Ethiopia and Kenya before moving to the United States.
Defense attorney David Jones said they were "taught to kill people so they could defend their homeland." He urged jurors to consider probation.
"Life has already punished this man," he said. "Do you need to punish him more? It's like we saved him to lock him up. I suggest that isn't the solution to what we have here. We might as well have left him to be eaten by the crocodiles."
Whelchel, however, told jurors during closing arguments that prison may be the only way to guarantee that Panchol takes his medication.
"It took four bullets to stop him in this case," Whelchel said. "He's violent, he's dangerous, he's unpredictable, and he's out of control. If he's left to his own devices, he's going to seriously injure -- or kill -- someone again."
He urged the jury to assess the maximum punishment.
"You think about how long you want to keep him away from us," he said.
Panchol was one of about 40 Sudanese refugees known as Lost Boys who came to Tarrant County in 2001 to escape years of civil war and famine. More than 4 million refugees came to the U.S. from Sudan.
Panchol had been prescribed medication but was not taking it when he stabbed the UPS driver.
Dianna Hunt, 817-390-7084

Twitter: @DiannaHunt

Press Release

My dear fellow south Sudanese, global friends and members of the various foreign governments: It is indeed honor for me to inform you that, after series of political consultations from the period of revolt against the regime in Juba in December 2011. We, have been in series of political consultations, and have reached consensus as people’s revolutionary movement.

To date, we have resolved to maintain the name South Sudan people’s Liberation Movement \ Army (SSPLM\A), and  hereby, releasing the revolutionary  manifesto called, “The Vision and Mission of SSPLA\M,”. A document that states the real intention and motive behind armed rebellion against the SPLM regime; of course, we are committed to our’ vision and Mission, and  our revolutionary forces is ready to carry out planned attacks against SPLA installations, until the entire South Sudan is free from power of dictatorship, corruption, injustice, and nepotism. We have also reach a consensus that, General Tong Lual, will remain the interim Chairman and Commander In Chief of the SSPLA\M until such a time National Revolutionary Delegates Conference {NRDC} will meet, and determine the restructuring of the entire organization.

As matter of facts, we are independent Revolutionary organization, who includes in our ranks people of all races, religions, and culture, from all regions, and it is not connected in any way to National Congress Party (NCP). Nevertheless, we do have, and will continue to seek to have mutual relationship with other Armed Liberation Movements in South Sudan – including, South Sudan Liberation Army \ Movement (SSLA\M), South Sudan United Democratic Army \ Movement (SSUDA\M), the South Sudan Defence Force (SSDF), the National Democratic Front (NDF) and South Sudan National Resistant Movement\Army (SSNRM\A). Our alliance with these other armed liberation movements is, and will base on the mutual understanding based on the shared, and common objectives of liberation of south Sudan.                                                         

SSPLA\M is committed to the national liberation cause, and will continue to uphold its ‘objectives and vision, and will carry on with the struggle for freedom, and democracy as planned, through armed struggle.
 
We, the SSPLA\M never only resolved to the armed struggle against regime of the SPLM, but have conducted ourselves peaceable from the very beginning of the CPA, throughout the Six years of interim period and post session, regardless of the brutality of the SPLM regime on many innocent souls searching south Sudanese. we all had, as south Sudanese, within the structures and ranks of SPLA and SPLM, Civil society organizations,  and other existing political parties within the Country,  prefers peaceful  methods, and tried to persuade the SPLM and leadership to open up to, a true democracy that we fought for, as south Sudanese for decades. Nevertheless, SPLM failed to come into understanding the need for democracy, and socially development in the Country, for this reason, our patience is never everlasting and this brought us, to this stage of armed struggle against SPLM, as armed struggle remains the choice we have to date.
 
The cause of our armed  liberation struggle are in the best interests of the people of south Sudan, whose future happiness and well-being cannot be achieved without overthrown of the existing regime in Juba. Indeed, our freedom fighters “The SSPLA” will be at the front line for the defense of our people and nation, with all its natural resources, as a fighting arm of the people against the cruelty of the existing regime. We therefore appeal for the support and encouragement of all South Sudanese, International Community and individuals, who seeks the happiness and freedom of the people of south Sudan.
Fellow compatriots and people of Africa, as well our friends, this is the time; the best time to set people free from dictatorship, corruptions, injustices, and lack of freedom  that is every one’s fundamental rights. To all those who seeks to help for the liberty of this nation, this is the time to join hands together with us, for the common cause of the people of South Sudan.
                                                                
For Peace, Justices and Prosperity for All;                                                         
 
Cde. John Sunday Martin
ADC for International Affairs (Office of the Chairman and Commander In Chief)
The South Sudan people’s Liberation Movement \ Army (SSPLM\A)
E-mail: sspla.foreignaffairs@gmail.com                      

By Ahn Kwan-ok, Gwangju correspondent

The Yankyoreh

Father Won Seon-o comes from set of popular film to see students

84-year-old veteran teacher Father Won Seon-o (Vincenzo Donati), has come to Korea to visit his students. The priest has been working to provide relief and education to young people in a refugee camp in South Sudan. Father Won’s camp is also the setting of the film “Don’t Cry for Me Sudan”, a hugely successful film about Father John Lee Tae-seok, a South Korean missionary.

The documentary featuring Father Lee has been viewed by millions in South Korea. Father Lee fell ill with colon cancer while in South Sudan. He passed away in January 2010 at age 48.

Father Won is Italian and belongs to the same Salesian Brotherhood as Father Lee. Like most foreign priests in Korea, Father Won adopted a Korean name during his mission here. In July 2011, he sent a letter to his followers telling of his dream to embrace poor youths in South Sudan.

“Korea was poor in the past but has become a rich country. Now I have to help poor countries like Sudan. I don‘t have much time left. Please hold out your hands to help me,” said Father Won.

Won is conducting a campaign to build 100 small schools in places such as Juba, Wau and Rumbek in South Sudan, which separated from Sudan and gained independence also in July 2011. The letter Father Won sent to his followers was the first he had sent in 30 years. He was moved to action by the suffering he saw among poor young people in South Sudan.

Won finally boarded a plane bound for Korea on May 7. He had for a long time turned down the offer of a place ticket purchased by his supporters on the grounds that it was too expensive. Arriving in his only jacket, he brought all his remaining possessions in his bag: prayer books, two pairs of underwear and two pairs of socks.

Spending a week at the Salesian community in Seoul’s Singil district, he has met sponsors from Seoul and Changwon and now plans to visit Gwangju and Daejeon to collect donations for the schools.

As it welcomes its former teacher, the Salesian general alumni association is conducting a fundraising campaign to achieve the goals of fathers Won Seon-o and Lee Tae-seok. When he visits Gwangju on May 19, it will hand him 50 million won (about US$43,200), enough to build one school with four classrooms. It plans to send all funds raised in the future to South Sudan.

After being dispatched to Japan in 1950, Won came to Korea in 1962 and worked at Gwangju Salesian High School for 19 years. Every day he would call his students and give them a big warm hug. He was also an outstanding accordion player. He was loved unreservedly by his teenage friends. After earning respect for his benevolent character and austere, honest attitude, he suddenly flew to Africa in 1982, at the age of 54, to live among poor children in Kenya and Sudan.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

The first group of around 12,000 South Sudanese ordered out of Sudan last month as conflict flared between the two neighbours flew into the Southern nation's capital Juba on Monday in an internationally backed humanitarian airlift.

They are among hundreds of thousands of Southerners living in Sudan who lost jobs and were left without official residency papers after South Sudan broke away last July to become the world's newest independent state.

The Southerners' plight in the North has become more acute as simmering disputes between Khartoum and Juba over oil exports, border demarcation and reciprocal citizenship rights erupted into fighting along the frontier last month.

Threat

Plans for deals to grant reciprocal residency and freedom of movement stalled because of the outbreak of fighting, which has since ended. The United Nations Security Council demanded both sides settle their disputes peacefully or face sanctions.

A charter plane flew 164 people from Khartoum to Juba on Monday, the start of an airlift organised by the http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp " target="_blank">International Organization for Migration (IOM) of thousands of Southerners who had been stranded at the Sudanese port of Kosti on the Nile. Last month, Sudanese authorities in Kosti accused some 12,000 South Sudanese gathered in the area of posing a security and environmental threat and ordered them to leave.

Apprehensive

The first evacuees, consisting mostly of women in brightly coloured shawls accompanied by young children and some men, were met by IOM and South Sudanese officials and taken by bus to a dusty reception camp on the outskirts of Juba operated by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

"I'm very happy to be here," said Helen Mussa, smiling but weary and clearly a little apprehensive as she sat with others on benches under a tin roof in oppressive heat at the temporary camp. As the convoy of buses carried the newly arrived Southerners from the airport, some Juba residents waved and smiled and at one point a group of women ululated in joyful greeting. "This is yours, this is where you belong. Welcome home," the acting governor of Central Equatoria State where Juba is located, Manasse Lomore, told the group.

Big chance

Terencio Lako Mario, 47, a laboratory technician who said he had lived in the North in Sudan for the last 28 years, said he was glad to be back in his now independent home country. "We faced a lot of difficulties in the North. We were not getting health attention, we had problems with education for our children and housing and we were forced to live outside Khartoum," he told reporters. "It's a big change. When you start a new life, there will always be challenges but I am prepared to face them.”

IOM officials said most of the first group flown in had relatives in Central Equatoria State and so would be able to reintegrate back into the community. IOM's Chief of Mission in Khartoum, Jill Helke, said several thousand Southerners had been registered for the flights so far, but it was unclear how many would finally take the option.

There would be another flight on Monday and the number of daily flights in the airlift would increase. "We should have been able to start yesterday, we were not in the end allowed to fly for security reasons. But we're starting today and hope things will go smoothly from now on," Helke said.

Voluntarily

Earlier at Khartoum airport, as the flight prepared to leave, South Sudan's Ambassador to Sudan, Kau Nak Maper, told reporters that the flights would continue until the last Southerner who wished to return came back safely. "Every Southerner that wants to return voluntarily to South Sudan, will get a chance to travel," he said.

Most of the passengers carried only hand luggage, some only canvas sacks. A truck loaded up hundreds more bags outside Khartoum airport, preparing to take them to the South by road. A barge carrying some 1,700 Southerners down the Nile from Kosti was due to arrive in Juba later this week. 

Foreigners

The IOM and other humanitarian agencies are working with South Sudan's authorities to prepare better facilities to be able to receive the flow of Southerners expected from the North. Although most of the Southerners on the first flight appeared pleased to be in South Sudan, for those who were born in the North or who had spent most of their lives there, it was clear that the adjustment could be a big strain.

"We've been in the North for a long time. We were born here, grew up here, and studied here. Now we're going back to our country, and it's hard for us," said Julia Richard, 23, as she prepared to board the flight with her four children. More than half a million more South Sudanese remain in the North, most without residency papers and treated as foreigners.

In Juba, the capital of South Sudan, thousands of Sudanese citizens also face a new government that has declared them expatriates. But it has not yet imposed any new rules for residency papers and appears willing to let them stay.

source: Reuters

By Confused Eagle

On Thursday Afternoon the Confused Eagle was honored to be part of a meeting at the Institute for Religion and Democracy here in Washington. Later that Afternoon the CE also took part of a meeting of the Security Working Group for the Advocacy Network for Africa. The Current Situation regarding South Sudan played a prominent role in both meetings.

The first meeting was actually a briefing involving South Sudanese Government Ministers and the New Charge D'Affaires here in the United States. The briefing started out by stating that recent fighting has displaced 60% of the Population in Abeyi. The Information then steadily grew worse.

The problems with an Independent State were then revealed. Issues such as lack of access to clean potable water, no paved roads, 70% of Children of Primary School age (Elementary here in the US) do not have access to Education and an overall lack of access to Medical Care were discussed. 

After that the topic of conversation switched to one of the main sources of tensions between Khartoum and Juba. That is one of the Mother's Milk of the Western Industrialized Society. This being Oil. As the reader probably is aware of the Sudan/South Sudan Border is one of the new emerging African Oil Fields. Negotiations after the Independence Referendum placed some of the Oil Fields in South Sudan while giving Khartoum control of the Pipelines.

One of the sources of tensions just happens to be the Helig Oil Fields. The ownership of this key Oil Field has yet to be proper defined. Last Month South Sudan seized these Oil Fields after bitter fighting which has led to stern action being taken by the UN Security Council.  At the ADNA meeting it was raised that this action may have cost South Sudan the Moral High Ground and forced the International Community to deal with Khartoum equally.

Another issue that was raised is Transit Fees. This is the cost per gallon of Oil that moves through a pipeline. Generally the cost is between 16 and 50 cents. The GOSS offered to pay 67 cents per gallon. To help offset the costs of potential lost Oil Revenue GOSS offered to pay over $2 Billion to Khartoum to help with lost Revenue. The IMF estimates that the proper cost is just under $8 Billion right now. Khartoum then demanded $10 Billion. The International Community offered to assist paying this but Khartoum has refused and started seizing the oil being shipped North.

These acts forced GOSS to shut down Oil Production from December 2011 to Feb of this year. It has actually returned Money to Oil Companies due to lack of production. GOSS feels that as long as Khartoum Bombs and attacks them no one will notice.

I asked the Minister about the reports that both Uganda and even Kenya are preparing steps to assist them. The Minister then smiled and discussed the ways that Uganda was trying to help them. He seemed surprised that Kenya was taking similar steps or the concern of that Government due to tensions.

One final note. It was raised during the ADNA Meeting about how the Clooney Sentinel Project is getting their imagery for their project. Another concern was how to maintain the flow of Humanitarian Aid into South Sudan if/when the UN Security Council imposes Sanctions. 

It was also revealed that Kony is along the Chad-Darfur Border during these meetings as well.

There is concern among the "right"-leaning Religious Community that the White House will sell the South Sudanese Down the river.....

This isnt the last we will hear of South Sudan.