Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire, on Press TV world news discussing the situation in Sudan in December 2013. Azikiwe is a frequent contributor to global media outlets., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Interview with Abayomi Azikiwe
Thu Dec 19, 2013 10:0AM GMT
To watch this Press TV interview with Abayomi Azikiwe just click on the website below:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/12/19/340804/us-israel-pushed-for-split-of-sudan/
Abayomi Azikiwe, editor of the Pan-African News Wire from Detroit, has joined Press TV to discuss the situation in South Sudan.
Below is a rough transcription of the interview.
Press TV: Mr. Azikiwe what exactly is happening in South Sudan?
Azikiwe: The problem is that there is a power struggle going on between forces loyal to President Salva Kiir and his former Vice-President Reik Machar.
These problems have been going on since the partition of Sudan back in July 2011.
There is thes South Sudan Liberation Army; there are other rebel organizations and with this new split within the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement and the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army, it further complicates the situation and I think that it brings it to a very dangerous level because first of all the opposition forces, who are being arrested right now by President Salva Kiir, are well-armed and they have a substantial amount of support.
This latest incident in Jongelei state in Bor county resulted from a mutiny on the part of forces that overran the... base in Bor County and it was led by a high-ranking general within the SPLA, Peter Gadet Yaak.
So this is a very complicated and a very serious development in the situation in South Sudan.
Press TV: So was this almost to be expected, considering South Sudan as such a young nation?
Azikiwe: Well, yes! The United States and the state of Israel were pushing very strongly for the South Sudanese to vote in favor of partition in 2011.
The founder of the SPLA, Sudanese People Liberation Movement, John Garang, many people believe had favored autonomy as opposed to partition and with the partitioning of the country this has effectively paralyzed the economies of both the Republic of South Sudan as well as the Republic of Sudan in the North.
Prior to the partition Sudan constituted the largest geographic nation-state in Africa. They were producing over 500,000 barrels of oil per day; they were emerging as a major oil-producing state in Central Africa; but today as a result of unresolved issues involving the partitioning of the country and also support for the rival militia groups and rebel groups, both fighting the Republic of South Sudan as well as the Republic of Sudan, this of course, is creating a tremendous amount of tensions inside of the country.
Also South Sudan has been plagued by extreme criminality in terms of corruption that has been going on by high-ranking government officials.
Millions upon millions of dollars apparently have been embezzled from the government over the last two years. This is the serious problem.
So the county is yet to be proved as a viable nation-state and I think that the responsibility for trying to negotiate some type of settlement, should heavily lay on the US as well as the United Nations Security Council. They should definitely get involved in trying to mediate this most recent and most protracted conflict inside of South Sudan.
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