South Sudan: Meeting Expectations

Last year, I welcomed South Sudan to nationhood. This year, I’m surprised they made it through the first year. South Sudan is a landlocked country with tremendous oil wealth that has been in a bitter conflict with Sudan over how much money it should pay Sudan to pump its’ oil to international markets.

Both nations have toyed with the idea of war as Sudan has bombed villages inside South Sudan. Meanwhile, South Sudan has taken control of Sudan’s largest oil producing town Heglig.

The international community should’ve known that separating the two Sudan’s wasn’t going to be pretty.

 The two countries have been involved in a bitter war for over twenty years on some level. It would be crazy to believe that Sudan would give up all that oil wealth without a fight and the leadership of South Sudan fought for the liberation of South Sudan with their blood and sweat.

 They’d rather die than cede anything to the hated Sudan.

 Ultimately, it was probably what we expected out of South Sudan in the first year.

South Sudan: Terror Haven

Another one from the where were you last week file. South Sudan Minister of the Interior Alison Manani Magaya has accused North Sudan of providing support and training camps for the Lords’ Resistance Army (LRA) to launch attacks into South Sudan in an effort to destabilize the recently minted country.

He also mentioned some 27 entry points that will be reinforced and cited as poor infrastructure as a reason why so many people have found their way into South Sudan. For the international community, these actions could represent their worst fears as the North appears determined to weaken its’ southern neighbor.

This would be far from unprecedented. All kinds of nefarious things happen in newly democratic countries. Take the collapse of the Soviet Union for example, were still trying to account and secure the vast supplies of nuclear weapons with somewhat mixed results. In order countries, black markets in goods and services have proliferated seemingly overnight.

That terrorists could set up shop in South Sudan is indeed likely because the lack of infrastructure makes movement from place to place easier. Furthermore, the government is new and fragile, if your aim is take down a government…you’d most likely go someplace where institutions are weaker.

For South Sudan, did you really expect the North to give you freedom?