S. Sudan hails cross-border peace, development initiative
By Isaac Vuni
May 19, 2009 (JUBA) – Minister of Regional Cooperation Barnaba Marial Benjamin, speaking on behalf of the Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) to a visiting team from the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), hailed cross-border cooperation on trade and security.
The ICGLR program was signed by 11 member states in December 2006 in Nairobi comprising Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, DR Congo, Central African republic, Angola and Zambia, nine of which ratified.
Benjamin assured participants of the regional government’s political and financial commitment toward disarmament of armed nomadic pastoralists.
The minister said GOSS is working very hard to control the death toll arising from cattle rustling in southern Sudan adding that there should be development plans for nomadic pastoralists as a solution to effective development.
State Minister of Kenya Isaac Musuba said the issue of cattle rusting has become a major concern within communities spanning three countries. He emphasized that disarmament of armed nomadic pastoralists in Uganda, Kenya and Sudan as well as Ethiopia should be carried out concurrently in a coordinated and harmonized manner.
He added that Southern Sudan’s government has a special role to play in disarmament that ought to be coordinated carry to ensure security and development environments.
Hon. Agnes Lasube, head of regional and international cooperation in the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA), said cattle rustling has affected the whole of southern Sudan today while Hon. David Mayo who led the government delegation to attend a meeting held in Kampala, Uganda revealed that they had had a confrontation with Sudanese embassy that claimed to be the only official representative at the international forum.
GOSS Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Kuol Athinga reminded the ICGLR team that the south had been neglected by the previous Khartoum government so now Goss needs to maintain the peace by protecting development by ensuring alternative developmental activities to affected communities.
He added that security and rods are top priorities of GOSS to enable people to conduct border trade.
The Government of Sudan representative to the event, Ambassador Abdelbasit El Sanobi, said that southerners will be able to nominate among themselves a person to be appointed deputy chair of the ICGLR.
The Kenyan minister, Musuba, disclosed that during their recent visit to Khartoum, the federal government authorized GOSS to nominate to ICGLR for the position of deputy coordinator.
The European Commission representative, Harvey Rouse, said there would be no development without peace and no peace without development. Therefore, he said, there is need to have legislators to influence policy and decision-making, media for passing educative messages and civil society and alternative business opportunity for those being peacefully disarmed otherwise they will return back to using guns as means of their survival.
(ST)
Ajuscommando
S. Sudan hails cross-border peace, development initiative
Thanks Marial Benjamin for the propsal but I still emphasize to the government of southern Sudan to do proper disarmament to the pastoralists in south Sudan and build up the peace among the communities. Also goverment of Southern Sudan should maintain good security from North Sudan borders to avoid crossing of weapons to South which they used to armed militia. In addition to that, they governors, kings and chiefs of all states in southern sudan should help the south government to calm the situation.
BLACKSTAR 2
S. Sudan hails cross-border peace, development initiative
Congratulation to president Kiir to rejected census results and to proved it that we are not Southerners of 1970s.
Blackstar
paul baak anyaar
S. Sudan hails cross-border peace, development initiative
If I quoted him well, the minister for Regional Cooperation, Marial Benjamin used very interesting words,’…the GOSS is working very hard to control death toll arising from cattle rustling..’. These are well chosen words. But let’s look at these controversial words within the statement, ‘working very hard’. I must agree to differ with the minister on these words not about the meaning because he might even know that better than I do. But it is about reality as reflected on the ground. For the last four years or so, death toll resulting from cattle rustling has been on the rise. Our little peace has been continually disrupted by the waves of attacks among clans and tribes.One would argue that trbal clashes are normal and expected sometimes, but something is intriguing about recent clashes in South Sudan here.
Surely you don’t expect petty clashes to involve the use of heavy artilery; the rocket propel grenades, the machine guns and the likes. Where do poor innocent villagers find these dangerous weapons if not from some of the dishonest army Generals who are chronically tribal and clanish. I am not also surprised that some of the national army members have always been implicated in some fightings. The number of guns in the hands of civilians is just undeterminantly on the increase, the clashes are in full force, no authoratative intervention, no strategies for proper disarmament so far – at least one that had been witnessed.
Surely, are the minister’s words appropriate in this case? There is a long way to go. Regional cooperation – by action not by word mind you – should be encouraged, yes, as the first step forward. A ‘honest disarmament’, stricter security measures within and at the borders, proper staffing of police force – all these and more should be done before our country degenerates into a war zone. And all these we can do. And all these we must do.
By Paul Baak Anyaar,