VoicesforSudan

1413 K Street N.W. #1000 Washington, DC 20005 Phone: (202)440-5392 Email: info@voicesforsudan.org Dear Friends and Allies, On May 3rd 2012 Voices for Sudan attended a briefing on Sudan and South Sudan at the Institute on Religion & Democracy. In attendance were Ministers of South Sudan including Deng Alor, the South Sudan Minister of Cabinet Affairs, and Pagan Amum, South Sudans Chief Negotiator. The briefing covered a summary of recent events between North and South Sudan as well as an analysis of the international communities lack of action. According to Pagan, the two parties could not reach an agreement on their oil relationship. There was a discrepancy between amounts to pay per barrel resulting in a stalling of negotiations. South Sudan was willing to pay a transit fee of $0.69 per barrel to use Sudans oil pipelines. This was a generous sum compared to other international oil agreements, according to Pagan. Sudan disagreed, however, and demanded a sum of $36.00 per barrel. During December, January and February, Sudan kept all of the oil already sold for export by South Sudan. This forced South Sudan to return funds received from the international oil market. South Sudan stopped production of oil and discontinued paying the transit fees. As a result, Sudan began an aerial bombardment in February followed by increased air and ground attacks in March. Having explained the background, Pagan then addressed the issue of violence initiated by South Sudan over Heglig. According to him, South Sudan wishes to approach a nonviolent solution with Sudan, but the violence perpetuated by Sudan must stop. The recent circumstances were summarized as stemming from: 1) The taking of oil 2) Aerial bombing by Sudan 3) Silence of the international community A discussion of normalcy and abnormality emerged as a possible explanation for the international communities apathy. Pagan worried that Khartoum killing South Sudanese individuals had become normal in the eyes of the international community while South Sudans attempt to fight back and protect themselves was seen as abnormal. This might explain why the actions of the North are met with impunity by the international community while the actions of South Sudan in Heglig resulted in a great deal of attention. In order to reach a state of peace, both sides must take responsibility for their part in the violence and the international community must break their streak of apathy. Hearing Pagans emphasis on peace, freedom and democracy for the future, the meeting ended with a tone of optimism. Kelly Kundrat Program Director Voices for Sudan

VoicesforSudan (VFS) is a national organization consisting of a cross section of all Sudanese groups residing in the United States. VFS closely follows developments in both South Sudan and Sudan, advocates for stability, peace and development in the new South Sudan, and seeks to bring an end to the genocidal violence that rages in various regions of Sudan. Please visit VoicesForSudan.com for more information.