South Sudan offers to mediate Sudan political crisis

By Deng Machol Juba – South Sudanese president Salva Kiir has offered to mediate the Sudan’s ongoing political chaos in a bid to return peace and harmony in his former foe – country. President Kiir’s plan was unveiled by the country’s Information Minister Michael Makuei last week. Since the deposed of Sudan’s president Omar Hassan Al- Bashir in April this year, ended 30 years of tyranny ruling. The subsequent taking over of rule by the Sudan’s Military Council, as the country has been experiencing internal crisis with the citizens and opposition leaders demanding for civil rule in the country. Last month, the Africa Union extended its offer to mediate Sudan’s political crisis after they threatened Sudan to suspends its membership in the Union if the Military Council continue brutal crackdown the protesters. However, South Sudan’s Information Minister Makuei said his government knows Sudan crisis better than any other country thus prompting the Juba government to intervene to end the political chaos. “South Sudan is the country that knows the problems of Sudan better than any other and note that only Sudan knows our problems more than others,” said Makuei. “That is why the government of South Sudan, H.E President Salva Kiir Mayardit offered to mediate so that those parties in Sudan are brought to work together to bring peace and harmony to the people of Sudan.” Last week, South Sudan’s delegations head by the presidential advisor on security affairs traveled to Sudan and Egypt respectively on official missions to ascertain possible grounds of bringing Sudan’s rival groups together. Despite knowing Sudan’s situation more than any other country, Makuei says did not elaborate on what other reasons prompted the government’s offer to mediate in its neighbor’s problems. However, the observers say likely Sudan’s internal crisis could have negative impact on South Sudan economy if not handle well quickly. In aftermath of political crisis, Juba government says the flow of the country’s oil had been interrupted. In spite the separation in 2011 after the decades of scorched – earth conflict, South Sudan and Sudan are still held by pre and post – independence unfinished deals. Khartoum was recently seeing as instrumental mediator on the fragile revitalized peace deal, inked by Juba’s warring parties last year, to ended five-year of civil war that has uprooted four million people from their homes and killed 400,000 people. Sudanese prominent opposition leaders are currently in Juba after being forcibly expelled from Khartoum by the Transitional Military Council, following the wake of a deadly raid on protest sit-in in Khartoum in earlier June, killing over 100 protesters.