South Sudan’s Kiir addresses UN, urges Khartoum to address conflicts
* Article
* Comments (0)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
*
*
*
*
September 23, 2011 (NEW YORK) - South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir
Mayardit on Friday delivered his maiden speech before the United
Nations (UN), appealing for international assistance and resolutions
to contentious issues with north Sudan.
JPEG - 14.7 kb
South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir Mayardit during his speech at the
UN General Assembly on Friday, 23 September
South Sudan received official recognition as the UN’s 193rd nation on
July 14, few days after it seceded from Sudan and declared
independence in line with the outcome of a vote held at the start of
this year. The plebiscite was part of a 2005 peace agreement that
ended nearly half a century of intermittent civil wars between north
Sudan and the south.
Addressing representatives of the UN’s General Assembly in New York,
Kiir conveyed his nation’s gratitude to the international parties
which welcomed the new nation and helped to broker peace in Sudan.
“I would like to seize this rare opportunity, once again to salute
many of you, who stood with us during our long struggle. We are
indebted to many friends in this great hall without whose efforts, it
would not have been easy for us to arrive where we are today. We owe a
debt of gratitude to the IGAD countries, the Troika states, the
friends and partners of IGAD, who waged peace for Sudan that
culminated in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in
2005.”
The South Sudanese leader went to underscore his country’s “dire need”
for international assistance in order remedy the ramifications of war
and lack of infrastructure.
“The Republic of South Sudan stands in dire need of all the help it
can get,” Kiir declared.
He added: “Even before the ravages of war could set in, our country
never had anything worth rebuilding. Hence we characterise our post
conflict mission as one of construction rather than reconstruction and
we therefore hope that the overwhelming outpouring of support and
sympathy that greeted our independence from all corners of the globe,
will translate into tangible development assistance for South Sudan.”
Acknowledging his country’s “near total dependence” on oil resources,
Kiir vowed to diversify his country’s economy and called on the
international community to offer South Sudan with assistance on terms
that will respect his nation’s “political and economic choices.”
“Oil is a non-renewable resource that will inevitably be depleted at
some point in the future but we know that the land, water and human
resources at our disposal will continue to be our country’s true
inexhaustible fountain of wealth,” Kiir said.
Kiir also acknowledged that development and prosperity cannot be
achieved in the absence of peace and stability, hence he vowed that
South Sudan would strive to promote peace and stability “not only
internally but also with between all our neighbours and us.”
Earlier this month, the Sudanese government lodged a complaint to the
UN Security Council accusing South Sudan of supporting rebel groups in
Sudan’s states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
South Sudan, which also accuses Khartoum of supporting rebellions in
its territories, denied the charge.
Kiir reaffirmed South Sudan’s commitment to refrain from interference
in the domestic affairs of any country, particularly the republic of
Sudan.
“I wish to affirm that the Republic of South Sudan fully adheres to
the principle of absolute respect for the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of all states including the Republic of Sudan. Therefore the
Republic of South Sudan hereby categorically restates that it has not
and will not interfere in any domestic conflict situation in the
Republic of Sudan,” he said.
However, he warned that the conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile,
which border the south, could spread to affect South Sudan, urging
Khartoum to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Sudan’s border states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile plunged into an
episode of violence between the Sudanese army and rebels who fought
alongside the South in the war and refuse to surrender their arms
without an agreement on the process.
Kiir further called on the Sudanese government to reinstate its
commitment to the agreement it recently signed in Addis Ababa with the
rebels Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) which is
fighting the Sudanese government in South Kordofan and Blue Nile.
Khartoum reneged on the agreement it signed with SPLM-N in Addis Ababa
on arrangements to disarm SPLM-N’s troops and recognition of the
movement as a legal political party in the north.
“We would like to emphasise in particular that the reinstatement by
the government of Sudan of the recent Addis Ababa Framework Accord on
the situation in Southern Kordofan State and political relations
between the Government and the opposition, could go a long way in
promoting the restoration of peace in the areas bordering South
Sudan,” he said.
Kiir’s call on the Sudanese government to adhere to Addis Ababa deal
is likely to draw the ire of Khartoum which maintains that the
conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile is a strictly domestic
affair.
Turning to the front of post-independence issues between Sudan and
South Sudan, Kiir called on Khartoum to expedite the border
demarcation process and agree to the submission of the dispute over
the ownership of borders areas to “international arbitration.”
He expressed hope that the governments of Sudan and South Sudan would
soon reach a settlement to the dispute over the north-south border
area of Abyei “in line with the relevant provisions of the CPA,” in
reference to the Abyei Protocol of the CPA which stipulates a
referendum on whether Abyei people want to join north or south Sudan.
Abyei referendum was supposed to be held simultaneously with that of
South Sudan but the vote stalled due to disagreements between the
north and the south over who can vote.
Kiir moved on to address economic disputes between Khartoum and Juba,
vowing the latter’s willingness to continue serious negotiations with
the Sudanese government in order to reach “mutually acceptable
arrangements” for the use of Sudan’s oil export infrastructure.
Sudan and South Sudan were evenly splitting proceeds of the 500,000
barrels of oil produced daily from oilfields mainly belonging to the
South since the signing of the CPA. After the south’s independence,
the two sides have been negotiating arrangements to allow the south,
which lacks pipelines and refineries, to use those of Khartoum to
export its oil.
Turning to the domestic front, Kiir reiterated the south’s commitment
to combat corruption and promote good governance.
“In terms of governance, we have moved to rectify some of the defects
in our system by strengthening the pillars of good governance. A
number of key Bills, notable among which is the ‘Public Financial
Management Bill’, are now making their way steadily through the
legislative process. The passage of such laws will help promote
accountability and transparency and ultimately curb corruption and the
unwarranted loss of public revenue,” he said.
(ST)
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD
info" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected].
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
