9 Jul 2012

SOUTH SUDAN / INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY

Thousands of joyful South Sudanese gathered today in the capital Juba in celebration of their country’s first anniversary. UNMISS

Posted at: July 9, 2012 3:50 pm

Duration: 02:21

Available in: SD

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STORY: SOUTH SUDAN / INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY 
TRT: 2.21
SOURCE: UNMISS
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 9 JULY 2012, JUBA, SOUTH SUDAN

SHOTLIST:

1. Pan left, crowd
2. Various shots, dancers
3. Med shot, drummer
4. Med shot, traditional dancers
5. Various shots, military marching past
6. Wide shot, President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir looking at marching soldiers
7. Various shots, military vehicles driving at march
8. Wide shot, crowd surrounding John Garang statue
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Salva Kiir, President of South Sudan: 
"The year to come will be hard, but we will prevail in all of this. I ask that the international community stays with us. We are a new country and they should not just abandon us now that we are independent. The commitment we showed in creating our nation is the same commitment we will show in developing it."
10. Med shot, section of crowd waving flags
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Hilde Johnson, Special Representative of the Secretary General for South Sudan;
"A lot has been achieved since independence but a lot also needs to be done. The road ahead will not be without challenges, but I am confident that with the resilience of its people and the wisdom of its leadership, South Sudan will overcome any obstacles."
12. Wide shot, section of crowd
14. Med shot, caricature portraits of South Sudan President Salva Kiir and late John Garang
15. VOXPOP (English) Man:
"Let us work in unity, let us work in peace – let us really embrace peace as the tools that we can use so that we can be a good example to other countries in Africa."
16. Wide shot, section of crowd

STORYLINE:

Thousands of joyful South Sudanese gathered today (9 July) in the capital Juba in celebration of their country's first anniversary.

Waving flags and wearing the country's flag colors, they danced to traditional music in jubilation despite the numerous challenges the country has experienced over the past 12 months within its borders and with its immediate neighbor, Sudan.

South Sudan became the world's newest country on 9 July 2011. Its birth was the culmination of a six-year peace process which helped bring an end to the long-running conflict between South Sudan and Sudan, of which it was formerly a part.

In the past year, the country has been working on building various structures from scratch, while struggling with a host of challenges.

Besides a conflict with its neighbor Sudan due to unresolved Comprehensive Peace Agreement issues, South Sudan is dealing with ethnic violence, humanitarian displacement, economic problems, and the impact of raids by the notorious rebel group known as the Lord's Resistance Army.

The country has had to implement austerity measures due to a loss in oil revenue as a result of a shutdown in oil production earlier in the year. It is also faced with an urgent need to produce food and has been forced to seek food aid.

President Salva Kiir called on South Sudan to become self-reliant in its food production through farming, saying that by 2015, the country would be able to achieve food security.

He urged the international community to "stay with us" and vowed that South Sudan would show the same commitment to development as it had showed in "creating our nation".

The event was attended by various leaders and officials, including from neighboring countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and Sudan, as well as from the African Union (AU).

In a speech read on his behalf of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by his envoy to South Sudan, Hilde Johnson, Ban said he was deeply impressed by the country's commitment to peace.

While noting much had been achieved since independence, the Secretary-General said that much still needs to be done. But he was convinced that South Sudan will overcome "any obstacles" and become "a prosperous nation based on human rights and rule of law and live in harmony with its neighbors near and far".

Ban acknowledged that "all South Sudanese are worried that relations with Sudan have deteriorated." He noted that the United Nations is doing its utmost, in partnership with the AU, to help the Governments of the two countries settle all pending differences peacefully.

Last week, the Security Council today extended the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) for 12 months, while focusing its mandate on civilian protection and the improvement of security in the African country. In a unanimously adopted resolution, the Council stressed the need for UNMISS to focus on its capacity-building efforts, and called on the Government of South Sudan to take greater responsibility for the protection of its civilians, and encouraged its cooperation with the Mission.

Filed under South Sudan.