United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) Media & Spokesperson Unit Communications & Public Information Office MEDIA MONITORING REPORT THURSDAY, 13 JUNE 2013 SOUTH SUDAN, SUDAN • African mediation hands “urgent proposal” to Sudan and South Sudan (Sudantribune.com) • Kiir acknowledges Khartoum decision to block oil flow through Sudan (Sudantribune.com) • South Sudan will “not fold its arms” if Khartoum launches attack (Sudantribune.com) • China pledges support in resolving differences with Sudan (Gurtong) • Youth call for postponement of SPLM Convention following oil dispute (Gurtong) SOUTH SUDAN • Commissioner urges humanitarian agencies to resume as calm returns to Pibor (Gurtong) • Ministry requests withdrawal of Provisional Orders on municipality border (Gurtong) • Bor County Paramount Chief sworn in (Sudantribune.com) • Morobo Commissioner seeks support in health service delivery (Gurtong) OTHER HIGHLIGHTS • Karti in Ethiopia to discuss Nile dam, Sudan, South Sudan conflicts (Sudantribune.com) OPINION/ FEATURES • OPINION - Stoppage of oil pipeline: has Juba learnt the lesson? (Sudan Vision) • OPINION – Bashir blackmails the international community (by Ahmed Hussein on Sudantribune.com) • REPORT – Fashoda Institute: Al-Bashir attacks South Sudan, stirs Jihadists to distract from domestic protests (PRWeb.com) LINKS TO STORIES FROM THE MORNING MEDIA MONITOR • US, EU urge Khartoum to reconsider blocking pipelines (Eye Radio) • Sudan tells US top diplomat in Khartoum ‘not to offer any advices’ (Sudantribune.com) • Oil row could impact South Sudanese residents in Sudan (Radio Miraya) • Interior ministry completes police screening (Radio Miraya) • Lack of vehicles impedes fight against crime in Juba (Eye Radio) • South Africa and South Sudan enter declaration of intent (DefenceWeb) • More than 80 rifles found after search in Bor Town (Gurtong) • SPLA recover 500 guns from civilians in Unity State (Sudantribune.com) • Kenya refinery workers protest over possible plant closure (Gurtong) • South Sudan soldier’s case drags on in Kampala (The Daily Monitor) 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 African mediation hands "urgent proposal" to Sudan and South Sudan Sudantribune.com Khartoum, 12/06/13 - The head of the African Union (AU) mediation handed over "urgent proposals" to Khartoum and Juba in order to overcome the recent tensions between the two capitals that led Sudan to freeze the implementation of a cooperation treaty. The African Union released on Wednesday two statements saying that AU commissioner for peace and security, Ramtane Lamamra, discussed with Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti and South Sudan’s chief negotiator Pagan Amum the current crisis between sides. Lamamra discussed with the two officials "the urgent proposals that the Chairperson of the AU High-level Implementation Panel (AUHIP), former President Thabo Mbeki, formally conveyed to the Heads of State of the two countries on 9 June 2013, with a view to decisively resolving some crucial implementation issues", said a statement released by the African body on Wednesday. Lamamra called on Khartoum and Juba to give "an urgent positive response", in order to take concrete steps aiming to assist the two parties to address the situation. (Back to top) Kiir acknowledges Khartoum decision to block oil flow through Sudan Sudantribune.com Juba, 12/06/13 - South Sudanese president Salva Kiir Mayardit said on Wednesday that he acknowledges the decision taken by Khartoum to block transportation of oil produced by his country, adding he was willing to engage in peaceful dialogue to promote better relations. South Sudan’s petroleum and mining minister, Stephen Dhieu Dau, said he had received two letters on Tuesday from Sudan’s oil minister, Awad Al-Jazz, informing him of the decision by the Sudanese government to suspend economic agreements and the use of its territory to export crude oil to the international markets. The letters, obtained by Sudan Tribune, bear the signature of Al-Jazz and give the effective date for the shutdown of oil flows as 9 June. According to Dau, the first letter had informed South Sudan of the suspension of the cooperation agreement signed by both countries in September, but did not mention halting oil flows. However, after about one hour, he said the government had received a call from the Sudanese embassy in Juba requesting that the letter not be distributed because they wanted to make some amendments. “They made the amendment and sent the one which included suspension of the oil from flowing to the international markets through Sudan. I told the president that we have now received official notification from Sudan and he said ‘okay let’s respect that’”, Dau told journalists on Wednesday. The letter says that the shutdown of processing and transportation facilities for oil received from South Sudan would be done in a way that would minimize the environmental effects in the two countries. “In order to protect the facilities and to avoid any environmental hazards in the two countries, the shutdown shall be safely and smoothly carried out during a period of 60 days from the date of 9 June, 2013”, it added. The Sudanese ambassador in South Sudan confirmed his country had sent a letter, but declined to make additional comments when questioned about his government’s decision. (Back to top) 2 South Sudan will ‘not fold its arms’ if Khartoum launches attack Sudantribune.com Juba, 12/06/13 - South Sudan said on Wednesday that it will not fold its arms if the government of neigbouring Sudan, with whom it is engaged in an oil dispute, launches cross-border attacks. “We are not after anything else apart from peaceful relations. We are for peaceful dialogue as a means for resolving dispute and peaceful co-existence between Sudan and South Sudan”, South Sudan’s minister of information and broadcasting service, Barnaba Marial Benjamin said on Wednesday. Minister Marial, however, quoted president Salva Kiir’s warning during his state address that his country would not fold its arms if Sudan continues to engage in aggressive behaviour and carry out an invading attacks on its territory. “We have a constitutional obligation as a democratically elected government to protect the territory of this country and its citizens with their properties from any foreign aggression. We will not attack but will not accept being attacked and expected to fold our arms when our people and their properties are attacked. We will do anything within our capacity to safeguard their safety”, he said. Marial made the remarks at a briefing during which he stated position of the government that it was not in any way interested in returning the country to “senseless war” but that it was time to consolidate peace and build the new nation he said was created as a result of devastating civil wars with Sudan. “The president clearly stated that he will not return the citizens of this country to senseless war. It is we are afraid to fight. We know our people can fight but this is the position of our government. The position of the government is what I have said already that we are peaceful coexistence with Sudan. We know what war has done to the people of Sudan and South Sudan. The citizens in both Sudan and South Sudan need peace. If you ask any citizen in Sudan, he or she will definitely tell you that they are not interested in war. So why would you go against the interest of the majority”, he asked. Marial, who speaks for the government as its official spokesperson, wondered why Sudan’s president was mobilising young people for a Jihad - holy war - as he had claimed in a recent speech. "He is calling Jihad to fight who?" Marial asked. "If it is the rebels in Sudan, then he should know they are also Muslims. If it is for South Sudan then he should know that we are not against anybody and therefore do not want to fight senseless war". South Sudan was committed to the implementation of the cooperation agreement and the implementation matrix agreed by the two nations to resolve the difference, Marial said. He described president Bashir’s remarks in which he described South Sudanese a fools as “irresponsible and racial statement”. President Bashir on Saturday 8 accused South Sudan of providing support to the SRF, who are trying to overthrow his 25-year rule. "We gave them their country with all the resources and instead of focusing on building it, they decided to follow and support fools like them. We will now close the pipeline and after that it is up to them to take it to Kenya or through Djibouti or wherever”, Bashir said at a rally held north of Sudanese capital Khartoum which was broadcast by the national television. Marial said that Bashir’s comments were "irresponsible", especially coming from a head of state. He repeated South Sudan’s denial "that we do not provide any support to the Sudanese rebels". Earlier this year, in a brief period when relations improved between Juba and Khartoum, Bashir denied that he had described the leaders of South Sudan’s ruling SPLM as "insects" that must be crushed. 3 Marial said that Sudan wants his country to reject hosting the refugees that have fled from South Kordofan and Blue Nile where the SRF rebels are fighting government. “Sudan is manufacturing all these lies because we are not accepting them. They want us to chase away the refugees we are hosting in Upper Nile and Unity States. It is these refugees who flood our markets and other public places along the borders which [Khartoum] consider as rebels”, he explained.