---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Wed, Jan 23, 2013 at 11:33 AM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] S Sudan changes 'bring younger people into top positions' To: Group <[email protected]>
1. South Sudan defends army dismissals BBC 22 January 2013 Last updated at 17:43 South Sudan has denied to the BBC that the dismissal of more than 30 top army officers has anything to do with a rumour about a coup attempt. The country's information minister said the changes were been made to bring younger people into top positions. On Monday, all six deputy chiefs of staff were removed and 29 major generals were dismissed. It is the biggest shake-up of the military since South Sudan became independent in July 2011. The BBC's Nyambura Wambugu in the capital, Juba, says nobody knows the exact size of South Sudan's army - with figures ranging from 80,000 to 200,000. It is made up of disparate units of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) which fought in more than 22 years of guerrilla warfare. Generals have been cited as a hindrance to reforming the army, which requires the decommissioning of soldiers, as they want to preserve their own units, our reporter says. "We are no longer a liberation army where you don't retire," Information Minister Barnabas Marial Benjamin told the BBC's Focus on Africa radio programme. Top-ranking officers "have a certain life span" and such changes were necessary for a "young nation trying to transform its army", he said. The information minister said the 35 officers had been put on a reserve list until their pensions were sorted out. The move should be seen as a "morale booster", rather than a cause for concern, Mr Benjamin said, dismissing any connection between the reshuffle and recent reports of political instability. "It was just a rumour... I don't think there was any coup attempt at all - and as we speak today there is nobody who has been arrested or been accused of having tried to stage a coup," he said. The security concerns for the government came from a few militia groups which had taken up arms since South Sudan seceded from Sudan, he said. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21144601 END1 2. Kiir appoints new head of South Sudan police January 22, 2013 (JUBA) - President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Tuesday issued a decree sacking Lt Gen Acuil Tito Madut and appointing Lt Pieng Deng Kuol as the new head of South Sudan’s police. General Kuol served as Deputy Chief of General Staff for Finance and Administration in South Sudan’s army (SPLA) before being removed from active military service on Monday and put on reserve list of senior military officers who are awaiting reassignment. The minister of information Barnaba Marial Benjamin, who also acts as South Sudan’s spokesperson, has told the BBCthat the changes were been made to promote younger officers. South Sudan has denied that the shake up - the biggest since South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 - was related to rumours of a military coup that circulated towards the end of last year. The SPLA’s six deputy chiefs of staff were all removed while 29 major generals dismissed in the move. Police sources said on Tuesday that the removal of Madut and his deputy is part of a new policy introducing four-year term limits for top positions in the police. Under the new "administrative policy", a police officer told Sudan Tribune, the Inspector General of the South Sudan Police Service (SSPS) "can be removed without being consulted." Echoing the comments of the information minister, the police source said that the "reason is to allow [the] growth and promotion of [younger members of the] police force." However, the officer expressed dissatisfaction that the new Inspector General was appointed from the army rather than from within the police. “There are capable police officers who should have been appointed to the post. We have people like General Manyuat Deng. We were expecting him or another senior police officer”, an officer, who did not want to be named told Sudan Tribune in Juba. (ST) http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45272 END2 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 050 1235 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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