Media & Spokesperson Unit, Communication & Public Information Office

MEDIA MONITORING REPORT United Nations Mission in (UNMISS)

MONDAY, 06 MAY 2013

SOUTH SUDAN, SUDAN • UN, US condemn Abyei killings (Radio Miraya) • Kiir calls for calm in Abyei (Radio Miraya) • Leaders call for calm and in Abyei (Gurtong) • South Sudan says Abyei will be reclaimed “at any cost” (Sudantribune.com) • South Sudan demands security increase in Abyei region (Gurtong) • Sudan’s ruling NCP calls for restraint in wake of Abyei killings (Sudantribune.com) • South Sudan welcomes UN decision over Abyei access (Sudantribune.com) SOUTH SUDAN • South Sudan’s newly appointed national reconciliation committee takes over (Sudantribune.com) • NGOs, civilians told to leave Kapoeta and Pibor towns amid safety fears (Sudantribune.com) • SSRRC boss warns army, communities over SPLM “internal problems” (Sudantribune.com) • South Sudan says death penalty remains until constitution amended (Sudantribune.com) • Jonglei community urges government to increase number of SPLA forces (Gurtong) • 500 policemen abandon posts over food shortage (Sudan Catholic Radio Network) • Government urged to act on media freedom violators (Radio Miraya) • Journalists must continue fighting for freedom (Sudan Catholic Radio Network) • Journalist bailed out after three days under arrest without charge (Sudan Catholic Radio Network) • State governor acknowledges media, freedom of expression (Sudan Catholic Radio Network) • 27 children freed from army in Unity State (Radio Miraya) • Wau special court resumes hearings (Sudan Catholic Radio Network) • $270,000 to improve prison conditions in South Sudan (Radio Miraya) • Five killed, dozens injured in Cueibet County crossfire (Sudantribune.com) • Fresh attack on home of state political advisor in Rumbek (Sudantribune.com) • Hunger on the rise as seed shortage hits Payinjiar in Unity State (Sudantribune.com) • FM radio to be set up in Lainya County (Gurtong) OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Sudan army closing in on a rebel-controlled area – sources (Sudantribune.com) OPINIONS/ EDITORIALS • A new country rises from the ruins of the world’s youngest country (The Economist)

Headlines from the morning edition of the Media Monitor • SSLA rebels say their presence in South Sudan means peace not war (Sudantribune.com) • 11 Sudan traders killed in South Sudan (Associated Press) • At least 20 die in shootout in border area (Associated Press) • Tension, anger in Abyei after chief, peacekeeper killed (Agence France-Presse) • Ethiopian peacekeeper killed, two wounded in Sudanese clash (Reuters) • South Sudan holds Sudan responsible for killing of paramount chief in Abyei (Sudantribune.com) • Deputy Speaker: killing of Dinka Ngok chieftain not to affect relations (SUNA) • South Sudan’s Kiir to visit Sudan for oil flow (Reuters)

NOTE: Reproduction here does not mean that the UNMISS Communications & Public Information Office can vouch for the accuracy or veracity of the contents, nor does this report reflect the views of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Furthermore, international copyright exists on some materials and this summary should not be disseminated beyond the intended list of recipients.

Highlights

UN, US condemn Abyei killings Radio Miraya , 05/05/13 - The United Nations and the United States have strongly condemned the killing of the Abyei Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief, Kuol Deng Kuol, and an Ethiopian UN peacekeeper. The deceased were killed when Misseriya militiamen waylaid a convoy they were traveling in, on return from an inspection visit to Koc area within Abyei on Saturday. UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed deep condolences to the Ngok Dinka Community, the Ethiopian government and the families of the deceased and injured. In a statement, Ki Moon urged Sudan and South Sudan, as well as Ngok Dinka and Misseriya communities, to remain calm and avoid any escalation of the attack. US Ambassador to South Sudan, Susan Page, called on Khartoum and Juba to bring the perpetrators to justice. She also called for calm and restraint in the Abyei region.

Kiir calls for calm in Abyei Radio Miraya Juba, 05/05/13 - President Salva Kiir has called for calm in Abyei following the killing of Paramount Chief Kuol Deng Kuol on Saturday. While addressing members of the Abyei community in Juba, Kiir said the incident was a security issue that will be handled by the country’s top leadership. The Paramount Chief of the Nine Dinka Ngok chiefdoms, Kuol Deng Kuol Arop (Kuol Aduol) was killed during a stand-off between the Misseriya tribe and UN peacekeepers in the Koc area of Abyei One UNISFA peacekeeper is said to have been killed and two others seriously wounded in the attack.

Leaders call for calm and unity in Abyei Gurtong Juba, 05/05/13 - The people of South Sudan including the President of the Republic Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit gathered to mourn the death of the Paramount Chief of Abyei, Koul Deng Majok who was killed on Saturday. The chief was in the company of the United Nations Interim Security Forces for Abyei (UNISFA) protection after attending a meeting of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC). After the delegation from Sudan left to Khartoum and the delegation for South Sudan decided to remain in Abyei. Speaking to the press in his residence in Juba, the Minister for Cabinet Affairs in the government of South Sudan, Deng Alor said the Chief and the Ethiopian Forces went to Difra to hold a meeting and on their return they were ambushed. “The Ethiopian Commander tried to negotiate with the armed men because they wanted the Dinka in the convoy to be handed to them. Nobody was armed in the convoy. When the convoy was about to leave they shot the chief and he died instantly,” he said. “We will try to minimize any negative effects as a result of this incident to impact negatively on the referendum,” said Alor. Edward Lino broke into tears as he was addressing the media. Women and men during the press briefing equally broke into tears when Lino could not control his tears.

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“It happened, and it has happened in Abyei. Am annoyed, am very annoyed, am very sorry, I think this is a simple issue, really do we want Abyei or not? If we want Abyei, we shall get it. Am annoyed, why? Because of the Misseriya, they think with all these time they can take away Abyei from the people of Abyei,” Lino said. “I hope I will get well. I want a small number of Abyei Youth and we have to go and stay in Abyei. This issue is not a joke. We did not play with them with more than 20 years because we were dealing with big issues. Now, we will have to fight for the rights of the people of Abyei,” he continued. “The government of Sudan is behind this attack,” he said. Speaking to residence of Juba and particularly the people of Abyei they are saying they need an end to President Omar al-Bashir’s provocations. But most importantly they want the people of Abyei to unite.

South Sudan says Abyei will be reclaimed “at any cost” Sudantribune.com Juba, 05/05/13 - South Sudan said on Sunday that it will reclaim the oil- producing region of Abyei from the government of neighboring Sudan with which it has repeatedly failed to settle the region’s final status “at any cost”, and repeated accusation to Khartoum of “masterminding” the killing of paramount chief Kuol Deng Kuol on Saturday. Kuol was killed during following a standoff that lasted for several hours with armed members of the Misseriya who claimed that the Dinka Ngok chief was passing through their land without permission. However, Sudan’s interior ministry said in a statement today that the armed Misseriya demanded from Kuol that their cattle stolen by Dinka Ngok be returned to them. The tribal leader was being escorted in a convoy protected by the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) in the presence of its Ethiopian commander Major General Yohannes Gebremeskel Tesfamariam. The ministry blamed Kuol for visiting northern Abyei region inhabited by the Misseriya without informing the monitors. It is not clear who fired the first shot but a Misseriya chief told Agence France Presse (AFP) that the clash happened when a UN peacekeeper shot one of the Misseriya who was readying his weapon. Sudan said that yesterday’s incidents resulted in 17 deaths and 12 injuries among the Misseriya. Two people were killed from the Dinka Ngok side including Kuol. One peacekeeper was killed on spot and two others seriously injured. Later one of the injured soldiers passed away. South Sudan president Salva Kiir Mayardit sprung up to his feet at a mourning function held in Juba today saying the issue should be left to the governments of Khartoum and Juba to handle but stressed that he was certain the region would one day return to the South “at any cost”. “This is sad. No one had expected this to happen at a time when we have accepted to give peace a chance. President Bashir and I have accepted and declared at the press conference here when he visited Juba to work together for peace. I know it pains but this should be left to the government to see what to do. And I only want to assure you that I am certain that Abyei will one day come to the south at any cost”, Kiir told thousands of mourners on Sunday. South Sudanese minister of information Barnaba Marial said the government condemned the attack in the "strongest term possible" and called on the international community, particularly the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and African Union to investigate and hold those responsible to account.

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“The government of the republic of South Sudan condemns this unwarranted and unprovoked attack. This cowardly act of terrorism is unacceptable”, Marial told reporters Sunday. The minister did not say what the government planned to do but said president Kiir had been engaged in discussion with Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir over the issue since yesterday. "The government is committed to pursuing this issue. President Salva Kiir Mayardit himself has since yesterday been engaged with president Bashir in discussion to find out how to address the issue”, he said. South Sudan’s Cabinet Affairs Minister, Deng Alor Kuol accused Sudan of effectively helping members of the Arabs nomads of Misseriya with weapons to carry out attacks in the area. Minister Alor said chief Kuol was killed with another elder from the area and six others, five of whom are members of the Ethiopians nationals serving as part of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the area. Three others were wounded and are in stable condition. He warned that the killing of the paramount chief would “open the door to all possibilities", without elaborating on the remarks but officials and residents argued supply of weapons. Speaking at the same function, Edward Lino, the Co-Chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC), on the side of South Sudan and who is also the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) branch office in the area, said while wiping his face from shedding tears that “he is very sad but was sure the area would not remain in Sudan even if it means losing the whole population in the course of fighting for the liberation of the people from years of bondage”. “The world is helplessly looking on events unfolding in Abyei as if they are watching soccer. The international community, particularly key players, America and her allies, the Security Council of the United Nations, the African Union and the regional leaders have left Abyei to be constantly subjected to heinous crimes and killing always committed by the criminals and the indicted president of Sudan and his government. They do not care what the international community says. They believe in seeing”, Lino told reporters Sunday. Lino said he was only waiting to recover from his sickness and will move into the area with youth group who will accept to follow him. “I am sad this happened. The issue of Abyei is very simple. It is simple thing because it is about land. This land belongs to us and we will get it from any animal or person by all means because it is ours. Nobody will ever deny our right”, Lino explained to the mourners mainly women and youth groups from the area. Meanwhile thousands of people in Agok and in Abyei took to the streets to protest the killing of the chief, burning down shops belonging to Sudanese traders in Abyei town and bringing down a mosque, resulting into exchange of fire with members of the Ethiopian forces in the town. Local officials and relatives said “three juveniles” were shot in the protest by the United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA), generating disquiet and tension in town and the surrounding area. “Three children, very young below 18 years have been shot by the UNISFA during the protest. They have not died but they are in critical condition. I think Ethiopian forces have a problem with our people. They shoot at our innocent and unarmed civilians and leave those who pose the danger. The Misseriya are at large holding weapons and attacking and killing people and UNISFA does not respond. They only respond when it is something related to the concern of our people”, Mijak Dau, a senior Civil Servant in Abyei town, an administrative headquarters of the area said.

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It was unclear whether there were members of the Misseriya tribe or traders from other states in Sudan who were injured or killed during the protests although authorities said no Sudanese nationals were in town during protest. "There are no traders from Sudan in the area. They fled yesterday after learning the incident. The town is now empty. The protesters only burned empty shops without goods", said Kuol Deng, a civil servant in Abyei.

South Sudan demands security increase in Abyei region Gurtong Juba, 06/05/13 - South Sudan has demanded for the international community to intensify security in Abyei following the Saturday’s attack which led to the killing of a Paramount Chief and U.N. peacekeeper. South Sudan army spokesperson Col. Philip Aguer told Gurtong that the attacks in the Abyei disputed region indicate that a circle of people in Khartoum are against the anticipated referendum scheduled to take place in October this year. He also said the act indicates failure within the UNISFA led by Ethiopia to protect militias whether from Sudan or South Sudan. “The international community needs to revise to strengthen this force-(UNISFA) so that they can provide security in its fullest form,” Aguer said. South Sudan has also pointed fingers to Sudan, saying the Saturday’s attacks were either fueled by the security or intelligence apparatus of the Khartoum government. “So we have feeling that this incident must have been sanctioned by the government in Khartoum,” Aguer said. Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Broadcasting Dr. Benjamin Barnaba Marial has announced that the government has already protested to the African Union and the United Nations Security Council on the killing. The minister made the statement during the Sunday’s mass at the All Saints Cathedral in Juba. He told the congregation that Chief Kuol Deng Kuol Arop was killed in the middle of the UNISFA Forces with two others allegedly by Misseriya on Saturday. Barnaba added that the chief was being protected by the UNISFA forces until he was killed. Nevertheless, the government has called on the people of Abyei to be calm and that they will take the matter seriously. “The government will take it seriously and I would like to urge the people of Abyei to be calm,” Dr. Barnaba said. The two presidents are set to discuss the final status of the oil rich region when they meet as South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir visits Khartoum.

Sudan’s ruling NCP calls for restraint in wake of Abyei killings Sudantribune.com Khartoum, 05/05/13 - Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has warned that the incident which took place yesterday in the disputed border area of Abyei could trigger renewed strife in the region. Sudan said today that 17 were killed and 12 injured from the Misseriya side, 2 from the Dinka Ngok and two UNISFA peacekeepers. The NCP’s spokesperson, Yasser Youssef, called on all sides to deny "enemies of peace" the chance to exploit the incident expressing his deep sorrow for the killings and extended his condolences to the families of the victims. He urged all parties to show restraint until an investigation into the incident is completed.

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Youssef pointed out that the government of South Sudan hastily rushed to hold the Sudanese government responsible for the assassination of Kuol, saying that conclusions should not be drawn before launching an impartial investigation. The NCP official said that his party is collecting information on the incident and ready to help the government in case it decided to form a fact finding committee. Sudan’s ministry of foreign affairs announced on Sunday that authorities in Khartoum will carry out an inclusive, transparent and fair investigation. It condemned the killing while vowing to hold those responsible accountable. The ministry further reiterated Sudan’s commitment to all agreements signed with South Sudan and its determination to implement them. It affirmed Sudan’s keenness to normalize and enhance bilateral relations.

S. Sudan welcomes UN decision over Abyei access Sudantribune.com Juba, 04/05/13 - South Sudan on Saturday welcomed a United Nations decision, which allows UN personnel to access the contested oil-producing region of Abyei, using any travel means available. Nhial Deng Nhial, the country’s Foreign Affairs minister, said the move was in line with last year’s Status of Force Agreement (SOFA), signed by both Sudan and South Sudan, allowing UN to access Abyei without placing conditions. UN personnel, as part of the SOFA, are allowed to travel to the disputed region, either for immediate assessment, or to conduct and respond to daily needs of the humanitarian related activities in the region. But the world body insists it has often been difficult for its personnel to obtain visa approval, mainly from the Sudanese Foreign Affairs ministry, despite the agreement, which the two countries signed. Sudanese authorities reportedly demand foreign nationals working for the UN to get visas from Khartoum only, saying Abyei was under its administrative control. South Sudan, however, argues that the position of the Sudanese government neither reflects the status of the contested region, nor the agreement reached. “South Sudan welcomes the decision of the United Nations and will do its best to unconditionally facilitate movement of the UN personnel seeking access to Abyei,” Nhail told Sudan Tribune Saturday, without giving further details. The minister’s remarks was in response to a statement by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator’s Office in Sudan which referred to the previous communication with authorities over the need to provide access to UN personnel travelling to the area to respond to the humanitarian needs. The 22 April statement, also obtained by Sudan Tribune, was addressed to protocol department at the Sudanese Foreign Affairs ministry. A UN official working in Abyei said that no response has so far been received from Sudanese authorities, while South Sudan indicated it has no objections. “I have not seen any response from the government of Sudan. Our office is actually the one that deals with such matters. The government of South Sudan has indicated no objection to providing access to our personnel seeking to enter the region for humanitarian assignments and other relief-related activities approved by UN,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They have expressed readiness to provide assistance without any condition, especially approval of visas, he added.

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The UN made this decision after failing to get response to repeated requests seeking permission from authorities in Sudan to access the area. “The office of the United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator presents its compliments to the ministry of foreign affairs in the Sudan and has the honour to refer to previous correspondence relating to the permission required by UN personnel to travel to Abyei,” the UN letter reads in part. It further states, “Based on the lack of response from the authorities concerned, the needs of the people of Abyei and the need to maintain UN programmes and project active, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator and UNDP RR [Resident Representative] has authorised all UN personnel to access Abyei by any mean of travel available to the UN including from neighbouring countries.” South Sudan’s president, Salva Kiir, says the fate of the disputed oil-producing border region Abyei remains his government’s top priority following the country’s secession from Sudan in July 2011.

Sudan’s newly appointed national reconciliation committee takes over Sudantribune.com Juba, 05/05/13 - The national reconciliation committee recently appointed by South Sudan’s president Salva Kiir has officially began its mandate of overseeing efforts to reconcile the various communities in the country and identify the root causes of the conflicts with the aim of addressing them. Under the chairmanship of Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul of the Episcopal Church, the new committee, which is predominantly composed of religious leaders was handed over documents on Saturday compiled by the outgoing committee in a ceremony presided over by South Sudan Vice President Riek Machar. The documents handed over included the road map for the national reconciliation process, Conflict Mapping of all counties, detailing areas of conflicts, as well as files of the recently trained 200 peace mobilizes from the ten states and Juba, among others. In extensive remarks to the new committee, VP Machar urged the committee to work hard and try to reconcile the communities that were separated by war. Machar reminded the new committee about the complexity of the reconciliation program, urging the team to address all the interrelating factors that cause conflicts in order to achieve true reconciliation in the country. He also appealed to the international partners including the international Initiatives of Change and the Swiss government to continue supporting the new committee. Machar also reminded the team that even those in the Diaspora have become tribal internet warriors due to the high level of trauma they possess and also urged the new committee to design ways to help them relieve the trauma. “It is good that they express their feelings; but the question is whether it cures their trauma particularly when they are hostile to one another in the internet,” he inquired. The Presidential advisor and former chairman of the organizing committee for national reconciliation, Tor Deng Mawien, also briefed the new committee on the activities the committee had so far achieved. Mawien said the council of ministers had already approved 8.2 million South Sudanese pounds (SSP) in support of the process, which the committee should pursue with the finance ministry. However he lamented that his committee had no assets or offices to hand over because they were using his presidential advisory office.

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Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul, in his remarks commended the previous committee for thorough documentation and preparations they have already made. He appreciated the guidance provided by the Vice President and appealed to the leadership to continue doing so in order to succeed in its mission. “I don’t think this committee formed by the president will do it alone. It will be a big mistake,” Archbishop Bul said. “The field I am coming into is not my field; it is not a religious field,” he added, acknowledging the complexity of the reconciliation process. Bul however expressed his commitment along with his colleagues including Archbishop Paride Taban of Torit Diocese to try their best.

NGOs, civilians told to leave Kapoeta and Pibor towns, amid safety fears Sudantribune.com Juba, 04/05/13 - Rebel forces from the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army (SSDM/A) are seriously advising civilians and NGOs to leave the South Sudanese towns of Kapoeta and Pibor within a week, amid concerns for their safety. Rebels led by David Yau Yau have reportedly claimed responsibility for an attack in Pibor - home of a minority Murle community from which Yau Yau hails - earlier this week, in which a South Sudanese soldier was killed. The group has also threatened to mount more attacks in areas around the towns, located in and Jonglei states respectively. “Our struggle against the regime in Juba is not over until all the conditions of the SSDA are met,” the spokesman for the SSDM/A, Col. Peter Konyi Kubrin, said in a statement on Thursday. “In order to bring to an end to the suffering of our people, arrest the collapse of our nascent nation, and to rid it of the dictatorship gripping it now, a popular revolution must take place,” he added. “We are not war mongers but are seeking a serious peaceful resolution to the armed conflict through dialogue and negotiations”, Kubrin added. Kubrin said the amnesty offer was rejected on the basis that the rebel group still had “genuine grievances” against the South Sudanese government, which had yet to be addressed. In an earlier statement issued last month, the SSDM/A questioned the credibility of Kiir’s offer, saying the announcement was made through the mass media without any direct consultation with the group’s leadership. “If the Government of the Republic of South Sudan is serious about a negotiated peaceful settlement to the current conflict in the country, then as the government of the day, they should address us directly on the matter rather than resorting to mass media. They know how to get to us”, Kubrin said in the previous statement. “We are serious about the attainment of peace in our country. However, history tells us that peace without justice, equality and dignity is bound to be short-lived”, he added. SSRRC boss warns army, communities over SPLM “internal problems” Sudantribune.com Juba, 03/05/13 - The Chairperson of South Sudan Relief and Rehabilitation Commission (SSRRC) has warned communities and the national army (SPLA) to avoid getting soaked into “internal problems" within the country’s-ruling party (SPLM). Peter Lam Both, in an interview with Sudan Tribune, said the SPLM is currently facing internal leadership problems, which can only be resolved by its top leaders from within the party, not outside it.

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“What the party [SPLM] is facing is an internal problem that was created by its leaders within the party. The SPLA and communities must not be part of this problem in any way,” the SSRRC head said on Friday. He further stressed that only the SPLM political bureau, its National Liberation Council (NLC) the party’s extraordinary meeting were capable of resolving the SPLM’s current problems, which has attracted lots of public debates. Both, who previously served as state’s Information Minister, said it was "too immature” for SPLM members to begin discussing transition, while the party’s constitution is still in its draft stage and the country’s Transitional Constitution is under review. “The party constitution, which should guide members on the transfer of power within the party, is still not passed. Our Transitional Constitution, as you know, is yet being reviewed. It’s too immature to talk about transition,” he said. The official further told Sudan Tribune that it will be the mandate of the National Election Commission (NEC) to set guidelines and criteria for the conduct of the much-anticipated elections, expected in 2015. Last week, the Jikany-Nuer community, disturbed by the ongoing political atmosphere in the country, called its members for a meeting, which took place on April 21. At the meeting, participants reportedly adopted a resolution calling on President Salva Kiir and his Vice President Riek Machar to play peaceful politics and prevent a leadership crisis. However, the community, including lawmakers in the national legislature, on Thursday accused the SSRRC chairperson of “desperate lies” after he issued a statement said to be contrary to what they discussed at a meeting they held with President Kiir. Both, in a separate interview, denied he ever said something negative, while appearing on the state-owned SSTV. “What I said on television was not something bad, unless people misunderstood me. I only said what SPLM is facing is a leadership problem from within, and communities should not get involved into it,” Lam stressed. “I did not say the Vice President was the cause of the problem, as many people seem to imply,” he added. At the time, the SSRRC chairperson was understood to be alluding to reports of the unfolding controversy within the south-ruling party, regarding the party chairmanship. South Sudan says death penalty remains until constitution amended Sudantribune.com Juba, 03/05/13 - South Sudan will keep capital punishment in place unless amendments are introduced in the country’s constitution, the chief justice said on Friday. “The transitional constitution does not have a provision that prohibits [the] death penalty. This means that our judges will continue to rely on current laws until [such time] when constitutional amendments [are] made through an act of parliament”, the country’s chief justice, Chan Reec Madut said. Madut was speaking at an inauguration function at the new office of the Constitutional Review Commission whose mandate has been extended for up to two years. The chief justice appeared to be reacting to recent reports by different civil rights activists, who have joined with international human rights organisations, to call for the abolishment of capital punishment. In a separate interview, state’s acting president of the High Court, Nyok Monyrac, who in April presided over murder-related cases in the capital Kuacjok, said that there was no alternative sentencing to capital punishment “by hanging” unless a constitutional amendment is made. 9

“There are three people who have been convicted in Kuacjok. They are now awaiting execution. All the processes are completed. The hearings have taken place and [the] judgment which established reasonable grounds for [the death] sentence has been made. They have now been sentenced to death by hanging in the proceedings because it has been proved beyond reasonable that the killings were deliberate. The convicts also accepted [the sentence]. In fact, one of the convicts said he had wanted to kill one of his targets but ended up mistakenly killing another innocent person”, Monyrac explained. Two others, he said, were sentenced for jointly stabbing a person to death with a spear in Majokanyar, a local market under the administrative and territorial jurisdiction of Warrap state’s Tonj North county. He cited the 206 and 207 sections of the South Sudan Penal Code Act 2008 which states that people convicted of intentional murder should be sentenced to death or life imprisonment. Jonglei community urges government to increase number of SPLA forces Gurtong Bor, 05/05/13 - The three communities of Boma sub-county in have urged the government to increase the number of Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) soldiers following the recent attack which left Marua under rebel control. Speaking to Gurtong, the youth leader of Ngalam, Zuagin Racho Balko said that SPLA forces within the areas of Boma Sub-county especially from the Marua payam, a section of the Boma were few and rebel groups were reported as more than 3,000. Balko said that the rebels have intention of capturing Boma and make it as their base followed by Raad near to the border of Ethiopia and Kethangor according to the report he received on the ground. He told Gurtong that Yau Yau is being supported by many people to continue destabilizing the communities of Jonglei state. Balko said Yau Yau gets his forces through community mobilization in Murle land by misleading the people that the government belongs to Dinka and Nuer tribes only. He reported that their people are being called Dinka Ngalam, Dinka Kachipo and Dinka Jie by the Murle community members who have joined Yau Yau. A local government officer who came from Boma recently, Marconi Kuju Oboch has said that they have experienced more pressure from outside Boma being caused by David Yau Yau. Kuju explained that South Sudan armed forces are not present in the camp but some few soldiers are still in Kethangor which is a mile to Boma and some few miles to Marua. Marconi Kuju is said to have fled out of Boma before the fighting erupted in Marua, a section of Boma sub-county last Sunday and urges the government to deploy more forces in the areas of Boma. Kuju said that Boma has many resources such as the national park, gold and a hospital which can serve the nation and if war happens, there may be destruction which will create negative affect to people of Boma. “There is no road in the area for SPLA soldiers to reach those places easily and no network as well so that the soldiers can monitor the security situations,” he said. He added that issues of thieves and child abduction are rampant in the area of Boma. 500 policemen in Jonglei abandon posts over food shortage Radio Miraya Juba, 03/05/13 - More than 500 policemen have abandoned their jobs because of a lack of food in Gumuruk, Manyibol and Voveat areas in Pibor County, Jonglei State. State Governor, Koul Manyang Juuk, said the policemen have relocated to Anyidi Police training detachment in Bor.

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They last received food in February and have been feeding from the army, Kuol said, calling on the Interior ministry to provide the policemen with food. “I understand that they have no logistics. They have no food. They had run out of food and it was the SPLA that was actually helping them,” Mr Kuol told Radio Miraya. The policemen were deployed to Jonglei last year under “Operation Police” to boost security efforts against militia attacks. Government urged to act on media freedom violators Radio Miraya Juba, 03/05/13 - The South Sudan government is being called upon, to take more action against violators of journalistic freedoms. The authorities have not done enough to end unlawful detention of journalists in recent years, rights groups and media freedom watchdogs said in a joint statement on Friday. Harassment by security forces and unlawful detention of journalists is undermining freedom of expression in South Sudan, they said in the statement on the World Press Freedom Day. South Sudan has droped 12 places to 124 in the 2013 press freedom index released by Reporters with Borders. “We have noticed with concern what they have reported; we are now number 124th, may be next time we will be number 30th who knows. I think we will improve,” Information and Broadcasting minister Dr Barnaba Marial Benjamin said in response. South Sudan is the first of five selected countries to adopt a UN Action plan, committing itself to creating a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers. Journalists must continue fighting for freedom Sudan Catholic Radio Network Juba, 04/05/13 - Journalists must fight for their freedom and equip themselves with the best weapons to do their jobs well and avoid falling into the traps of those who want to crucify them. Thompson Reuters Foundation Consultant John Sehemen told CRN that journalists must abide by all tenants of good journalism including accuracy, objectivity and balance. He said World Press Freedom Day should not be just one day, but every day because that is the whole mark of what journalists do. Juba Post journalist Tendai Sembo urged journalists to keep the rules because freedom goes with responsibility. He said journalists have to use journalism to enlighten the public and media houses have to be agents of positive change. The Citizen journalist Nyabol Grace described World Press Freedom Day as important for journalists to remember the difficulties they face in their day to day work. She called on the journalists to continue struggling, especially women, despite of the many challenges they find. More than 100 journalists gathered together on Friday evening in Juba to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. Journalist bailed out after three days under arrest without charge Sudan Catholic Radio Network Juba, 06/05/13 - A senior journalist was bailed out after being under police custody for three days without charge. Juba Monitor Managing editor Michael Koma was arrested on Thursday on the eve of World Press Freedom Day.

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The Police told him he would be released when his chief editor Alfred Taban was arrested after he returned from Kenya and did not allow him to consult his lawyer. Mr Koma said he was arrested after the Juba Monitor printed a statement by the Nuer community accusing the deputy interior minister of involvement in the murder of a traffic policeman in late March. WES Governor acknowledges media, freedom of expression Sudan Catholic Radio Network Yambio, 04/05/13 - The governor of Western Equatoria State recognised that the media is core to changes in South Sudan and the whole world. Bangasi Joseph Bakosoro told journalists during the World Press Freedom Day in Yambio that they should be granted freedom and access to information to promote development, Radio Anisa reported. He promised that his government would make sure the safety of media personnel was guaranteed in the state although the media laws were not yet out. Governor Bakosoro said the media plays a vital role in exposing the government’s achievements and failures. The Governor advised journalists to follow their ethics and avoid issues that can incite conflicts in the community. He said as head of state he regretted that media personnel were intimidated or harassed in Western Equatoria. Governor Bakosoro urged everybody to be transparent and open to the media. 27 children freed from army in Unity Radio Miraya Juba, 03/05/13 - Twenty seven children associated with armed groups have been demobilized in Pakur Military barracks in Koch County, Unity State. The children will be taken care of by the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration commission and the UN children’s organization, UNICEF, as their families are being traced. Each child will be given five goats and some of them shall be enrolled in school as part of the demobilization and reintegration process, said Jeorge Gatloi, the state’s DDR director. He said hunger and insecurity have been forcing children into armed groups. The children were removed from the army barracks by the arm (SPLA)’s child protection unit in Unity State with support from the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Wau special court resumes hearings Sudan Catholic Radio Network Wau, 04/05/13 - Wau Special Court for December’s deadly violence on Thursday morning resumed the hearings of 21 suspects after Tuesday’s suspension. The court decided to hear the testimony of a security officer in spite of the objections raised by the defence lawyer, Voice of Love reported. The lawyer reminded the court that the witness attended earlier sessions of the case. The court also listened to another two witnesses from the security forces. The Thursday hearing was attended by female and male relatives of suspects. The hearing was suspended on Tuesday when CID officers tried to bar relatives from attending the case. Among the 21 suspects, there are five State MPs, one female civil servant, two Fire Brigade officers, a journalist and a number of youths.

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$270,000 to improve prison conditions Radio Miraya Juba, 05/05/13 - The Council of Ministers has allocated $270,000 for the improvement of prison services countrywide. "The money will go towards supporting women prisoners and the treatment of the mentally-ill inmates in all prison facilities", Information Minister Barnaba Marial Benjamin said. The decision was reached at a Council meeting on Friday. The Council has also approved payment of pension to former senior government officials in six States. Minister Marial said the government is responsible for paying pensions of officials appointed before the 2010 elections.

Five killed, dozens injured in Cueibet county crossfire Sudantribune.com Rumbek, 03/05/13 - Five people were killed and dozens wounded after suspected cattle raiders attacked a village in Lakes state’s Cueibet County, officials said Friday. Isaac Mayom Malek, the County Commissioner said cattle raiders from Tonj South County in neighbouring Warrap State, carried out the attack. Also killed, he added, were 13 animals, with about 50 others seized during the attack. Malek strongly condemned the incident, urging his Tonj South counterpart to recover the stolen animals so that they are returned to their rightful owners. “I have asked [the] Tonj South commissioner to recover back those 50 cows with immediate [effect]. After being recovered, those cows will be sent back to Gap payam [district],” he told Sudan Tribune Friday. The attack comes barely two months after the Commissioners Tonj East, Cueibet and Tonj South signed an inter-state peace chapter, designed to quell down insecurity across inter-state borders of Warrap, Lakes and Unity states. “The aim [of the peace agreement] was to reduce cattle raiding activities,” Malek stressed.

Fresh attack on home of Lakes state political advisor in Rumbek Sudantribune.com Rumbek, 04/05/13 - The wife of a Lakes state political advisor was arrested on Saturday after being attacked by her neighbour in Malakia. The cause of dispute between family members of Dut Malual Arop, a political advisor to Lakes state government, and their neighbours is still unconfirmed. Lakes state police investigators confirmed to Sudan Tribune that the incident occurred on Saturday when a neighbour of the political advisor attacked his family home. “The cause is now being investigated. We have arrested them all - the family of [the] Lakes state political advisor, including his wife Asha is under arrest”, the police officer said on condition of anonymity. The arrests were made despite laws providing immunity for crimes committed by other family members. On Wednesday, the residential house of Lakes state’s commissioner of headquarters, James Aguer, was also targeted in a surprise attack reportedly carried out by relatives of a girl who was allegedly impregnated by Aguer’s family member. Under censorship measures introduced by the Lakes state’s minister of information and communications, state media has been warned not to broadcast anything related to internal attacks on government officials.

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The state-owned radio station FM98 remained silent this week over the separate attacks on the homes of the two senior government officials. The minister has also criticised international media for portraying a negative image of the government since January.

Hunger on rise as seed shortages hit Payinjiar Sudantribune.com Bentiu, 05/05/13 - Residents in Unity state’s Payinjiar county are facing a severe shortage of seedlings, urging both the government and international NGO’s to help provide seeds before the start of the rainy season. Michael Banak Dahnier, who is from Nyal payam [district] in Payinjiar county, says 16 people have starved to death as a result of the poor harvest following the 2012 flooding. Dahnier added that the situation was likely to worsen, with the lack of seeds set to discourage agricultural activities. “I’m appealing to international organisations to intervene to provide us seeds; this would help us to improve the current starvation in the county”, said Dahnier. “If we are not provided with seeds the suffer[ing] will continue, but the only thing to stop what [is] happening is only if the government and NGOs provide us with seeds in order to focus on agriculture in order to produce food for ourselves”, he added. He has urged the government to do what it can in order to avoid flooding reoccurring, which has made many citizens vulnerable in the state. Payinjiar commissioner Simon Chuol Biel says the lack of seeds will significantly hamper farmers’ ability to cultivate their crops. “Our concern [is to] request to both government and NGOs to provide seeds to the county only for this year. But I hope [in the] coming year the county will be able to supply themselves with seeds because they are going to cultivate this year and hopefully if the rain will continue they will have good production for coming year, whereby they will not ask any seeds from NGOs”, said Biel. Farmers in the low lying, flood-prone area are particularly vulnerable at the beginning of the rainy season. NGO Norwegian People Aids have already stepped in by funding the construction of dyes in flat low-lying areas along the river. County officials told Sudan Tribune that the organisation has released the first installation of 40,000 South Sudanese Pounds for the project. However, the commissioner said the funding is not enough and is urging NGOs to provide greater assistance to the more than 60,000 flood-affected people in the area. He says the South Sudanese government has come under criticism from residents in the area, who say it has failed to adequately respond to the food security crisis. More than a thousand Payinjiar residents at risk of starvation are currently in Bentiu. In a series of interviews with Sudan Tribune on the ground, county officials said the deteriorating conditions last month were to blame for the deaths of the 16 people. A join assessment team from UN agencies, led by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), recently visited the area, but have yet to respond to the crisis.

FM radio to be set up in Lainya County Gurtong Juba, 06/05/13 - Lainya County in State will soon have an FM radio broadcasting from the area.

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The foundation stone laying ceremony for the radio being set up by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church was witnessed by the state ministers. “We have come to launch this project with the presence of our State Minister of Information. I believe that this project will take ground before the end of the year. Because we need to build the antenna, place for administration and security for the radio and even a guest house to be put along that,” Bishop Elias Taban said. He said the station will cover the state and beyond and hope that the project will be expanded to other states in South Sudan. The State Minister of Information Jacob Aligo Lo-Ladu called upon the church leaders to extend their services to other states. “The people of Lainya had being longing for this facility and today they are realizing their aspiration to have a radio station in Lainya. I hope that the church extends this service to the other parts of South Sudan,” Aligo said. The Community of Logili where the FM will be located gave out a 100 square meter piece of land. Commissioner of Lainya County, Huda Micah said: “Today we are celebrating about the laying of the foundation stone for Lainya FM Radio. This is the first of its kind here in Lainya County. We are happy to set the foundation. Am happy because this radio will expose us to the outsiders and also us as a county we will be able to disseminate our ideas and even our friends from other states will hear us.” “Am happy as a Commissioner of Lainya County for this radio to be set during my time,” she said. The FM will be used for the development of the state, education and promotion of cultural activities of the people and above all to deliver the word of God.

Sudan army closing in on a rebel-controlled area: sources Sudantribune.com Khartoum, 04/05/13 - The Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) has completely surrounded the district of Abu Kershola that was overrun by rebels from the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) last week, well-placed sources in the South Kordofan government said. The army expects to assert control over the town in the coming hours, the sources said, before adding that the SAF is eyeing Kauda, a rebel stronghold since the conflict broke out in South Kordofan almost two years ago. The Sudanese government has come under fire from citizens of Um Rawaba who accused it of negligence and leaving the area exposed. There have also been mounting calls for the defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein, to resign over his handling of the matter, even from pro-government lawmakers. In an interview published on Saturday in pro-government al-Rayaam daily, Hussein said that the SAF was compelled to fight in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile because the SPLM-N is unwilling to agree to peace in these two areas. The defence minister stressed that the government only resorted to war as it had no other options, pointing out that war is the last and worst stage of diplomacy. The top military official also addressed criticisms of his performance and allegations that he remains in his post, despite numerous failures, because of his relationship with president Omer Hassan al-Bashir. “Anyone who does not accept criticism will never be a leader”, he said.

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“My relationship with the president is purely without ulterior motives, a brotherhood relationship, regardless of whether or not he was president,” Hussein added.

FEATURE – A new country rises from the ruins The Economist Liriya, 04/05/13 - Shops and taverns occupy a single row of tin shacks stocked with bottled drinks, the only consumer items available, while a road leading to a dozen thatched huts is still mud. At first sight little has changed in the farming village of Liriya since your correspondent’s last visit two years ago, just before South Sudan’s independence from the northern rump state. Yet on closer inspection, a few shiny additions come into view at the foot of a lushly forested hill in the country’s south-east (see map). Clusters of houses now share taps of running water from a borehole pumped to an elevated tank. New blue and white school buildings and a vocational training centre have risen amid tilled fields. Yet such progress amounts to less than it seems, says Charles Sebit, the local priest. Villagers are too poor to buy fuel for the generator powering the water pump when bad weather thwarts solar power. Nor can they afford the school fees from which teachers’ salaries are paid. In any case, the mostly illiterate parents prefer to send their children to the fields or marry them off, hoping for a dowry paid in cattle. Many classrooms are never used. Much of the hope with which South Sudanese greeted independence in July 2011 has evaporated. Too little has changed for the better. The government’s plans to bring public services to an impoverished population of about 12m, of whom three-quarters are illiterate and innumerate, are stalling. The country is bigger than France but has almost no infrastructure. Less than 1% of the people have access to electricity. “This place makes Afghanistan look developed,” says one of thousands of foreign helpers. Three-quarters of frontline health care is provided by foreign outfits. Without foreign assistance, South Sudan would collapse. Just how independent is it really? Optimistic officials and do-gooding expatriates insist that change takes time—and is coming. Infant mortality, they say, has dropped from 102 per thousand to a still dire 76. Maternal mortality, at 2,054 per 100,000 births, remains the world’s worst. The country’s first major paved road, from Juba, the capital, to Nimule, on the border with Uganda, was completed last year. But 60% of the population are still cut off for half the year due to floods in the rainy season. Paved roads to connect the main towns of South Sudan’s ten states would cost $7 billion. At present only UN helicopters can be relied on to reach them. Yet the new country’s potential remains great. It has a lot of oil, more cattle than people, enough farmland to feed most of sub-Saharan Africa, and minerals and timber in abundance. But without roads even the canniest businessmen will struggle to make it worthwhile to invest. Could the government have done better? The problem is partly systemic. Administrative machinery must be built from scratch. Some 200,000 civil servants have been enlisted. Half are fairly useless: former guerrillas given sinecures to keep the peace. This cannot last. Some 75% of the budget is spent on wages. Every successful liberation movement must eventually discard battle-hardened stalwarts and create competent civilians. South Sudan has a long way to go before reaching that point. Such huge systemic problems were compounded by a self-inflicted wound when, in January last year, the government shut down oil production. This was in reaction to Sudan, which controls the sole export pipeline and demands fat transit fees for taking much of the output without paying for it. The south bet that the north, seeing its oil revenue fizzle, would buckle first. At first South Sudan seemed likely to come off worse. Its formal GDP dropped by 53% last year, says the IMF. Government finance, 98% of it funded by oil, dived. Political leaders focused on the conflict with the north, virtually to the exclusion of everything else. State- building was put on hold. Public resentment rose. Annoyed by a lack of consultation and uncertain of the future, some foreign donors cut funding. 16

Yet South Sudan’s leadership has been largely vindicated. During the crisis it had to reduce public services even more. But thanks to loans from oil customers and savings from previous budget surpluses, it remained in business. A looming currency collapse was averted. In the countryside, the ancient barter economy kept things going. And in Juba a construction boom continued with private money. Multi-storeyed buildings sprouted in place of pre-independence shacks. Entire districts sprang up. Seen from the air, the city seems to be racing into the surrounding bush. The population may have doubled to about 1.2m in two years. Water lorries with big blue tanks plunge feeder pipes into the Nile at first light, replacing the cyclists who used to go down to river with yellow jerry cans. Watching from afar, the government in the north eventually blinked, accepting a compromise after little more than a year. The north gets its oil—and fees of nearly $10 a barrel plus $1 billion a year. Southern production resumed on April 7th. The southern leaders have come out of the shutdown looking canny. They used the crisis to tighten fiscal policy. New revenues were raised; customs receipts tripled. At the same time, southern leaders earned the grudging respect of the north, which had never fully accepted the secession. Omar al-Bashir, Sudan’s president and a notorious bully, learned that the new state will not fail nor will it kowtow. Last month he visited Juba for the first time. All the same, fierce differences with the north persist. In the Sudanese province of South Kordofan rebels allied to South Sudan are fighting Mr Bashir’s forces. A long-running dispute over Abyei, an oil hub on the border claimed by both sides, will be still harder to solve. UN peacekeepers, dampening the tension, will be needed for the foreseeable future. The north has ominously referred to Abyei as “our Kashmir”. At least five other areas along the border are disputed. But both sides are waiting for a report from an African Union panel. If need be, they have agreed to go to international arbitration. As recent border clashes have shown, such rows need not descend into all-out war. But the south’s own internal security may be even more worrying. Whole communities are traumatised and trust no one after decades of war. Poverty and underdevelopment accentuate ethnic rivalry. The government recently appointed several bishops to head a new commission to oversee reconciliation between warring tribes and factions. In Jonglei state, such tensions have spilled over into open warfare. Since January at least 1,000 people have been killed and more than 100,000 have fled into the bush. “This could undermine everything,” says a foreign monitor. The UN’s 7,000 peacekeepers are essential. Bad habits picked up during decades of fighting against the north are hard to shed. Officials at all levels seem to indulge an authoritarian streak. Many tend to focus on hurting opponents rather than helping their own people. Human rights are often violated, with arbitrary arrests, summary executions and routine intimidation of journalists. One was sent a bullet and a jawbone as a warning to keep away. Rivalry between the leading southern tribes, the Dinka and the Nuer, has long been a source of instability. Even in the past few weeks, rumours of friction between the president, Salva Kiir, a Dinka, and his ambitious vice-president, Riek Machar, a Nuer, have jangled nerves in Juba. In any event, the transition of the ruling Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement from rebel group to national government is incomplete. As winners of the civil war, many veterans feel entitled to spoils. Police outside the presidential palace openly ask for bribes. Last year Mr Kiir sent a letter to 75 senior officials accusing them of embezzling $4 billion. “We fought for freedom, justice and equality,” he wrote. “Once we got to power, we forgot what we fought for and began to enrich ourselves at the expense of our people.”

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For further information or media enquiries please contact: UNMISS Spokesperson Tel.: +211 (0) 912 06 7149 or Mobile: +211 (0) 912 396 539

United Nations Mission in South Sudan - Public Information Office www.unmiss.unmissions.org

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