{UAH} THIS HAPPENED YESTERDAY

 

A telephonic media briefing with U.S. Special Envoy for Sudan and
South Sudan Ambassador Donald Booth and U.S. Special Envoy for the
Great Lakes and the DRC Russell D. Feingold.

MODERATOR: Greetings to everyone from the U.S. Department of State's
Africa Regional Media Hub. I would like to welcome our callers who
have dialed in from across Africa. Today, we are joined by U.S.
Special Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan Ambassador Donald Booth and
U.S. Special Envoy for the Great Lakes and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo Russell D.Feingold. They are speaking to us from Washington,
D.C. We will begin with remarks from Ambassador Booth, followed by
Special Envoy Feingold and then we will open it up to your questions.
For those of you listening to the call in English, please press *1 on
your phone to join the question queue. If you are using a
speakerphone, you may need to pick up the handset before entering *1.
For those of you listening to the call in French and Portuguese, you
will need to submit your questions in English via email to
afmediahub@state.gov. If you want to follow the discussion on Twitter,
we are using #USAfrica. Today's call is on the record and will last
approximately 45 minutes. And with that, I'll turn it over to
Ambassador Booth. He will be followed by Special Envoy Feingold.

Ambassador Booth, please.

AMBASSADOR BOOTH: Thank you, and thank you all for joining us today. I
thought I would confine my opening remarks to discussion about the
efforts to restore peace to South Sudan. That is the issue that I have
been focused on very intently since the 15th of December when the
crisis began, and I want to just pick up where the Secretary of State,
John Kerry, made a trip to the region at the beginning of the month.
He met in Addis with regional foreign ministers of IGAD and then
travelled on to Juba on the 2nd of May.

The efforts that we were trying to bring about was to move the talks
which had been underway in Addis since early January, to move them to
a stage where we could make a breakthrough, to truly achieving a
discussion of real implementation to the cessation of hostility that
was signedin January and also the beginning of a political dialogue to
address the underlying political issues. As a result of the
Secretary's trip which was built on much effort by the IGAD mediation
team headedby former Ethiopian foreign minister Seyoum Mesfin and
others, the two leaders President SalvaKiirand opposition leader,
former Vice President RiekMachar agreed to come to Addis to meet face
to face and on the 9th of May they met in Addis and signed an
agreement reiterating their commitment to the cessation of hostility.
They also agreed very importantly to begin the political talks toward
a transitional arrangement for the establishment of a transitional
government to bring South Sudan back from the brink of this conflict.

So we have seen the signing of that agreement between the two leaders
on the 9th of May. Some fighting has continued, but it has been at a
much lower level that had occurred after the signing of the initial
cessation of hostility in January. The key to achieving the real
cessations of hostilities will be deployment of monitors, monitoring
and verification issues established by IGAD. Those monitors are now in
the field in South Sudan. They had been put in the field to operate in
a benign environment. Since that did not exist, they were constrained
in what they could do, but now the United Nations Mission in South
Sudan (UNMISS) has begun to provide security so they can get out and
monitor who is violating the agreements, who is doing what on the
field. This will lead to a greater respect for the cessation of
hostility. The mediators will soon be resuming talks in Addis to focus
on the political issues underlying the conflict and issues that need
to be addressed to establish a transitional government. Let me leave
it there and then I can answer questions further on if possible.

MODERATOR: Okay, thank you. Special Envoy Feingold we'll turn it over
to you now.

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD: Thank you all for joining the call and thank
you for your great work inyour region. I am very happy to be able to
talk to you about the Great Lakes briefly, both the progress and the
continuing changes that face the region and the international
community, just as Envoy Booth indicated, Secretary Kerry's visit to
the region really helped us focus on some of the critical issues and
was a real shot in the arm for our efforts, and in fact, he helped us
with the regional front. We are encouraged on the regional front by
the ongoing effort of the region to implement the peace, security and
cooperation framework agreement of February 2012. We believe this
presents the region with the best opportunity for resolving the root
causes of conflict if the signatories fully implement their
commitments.

In this endeavor, we are particularly encouraged by the nascent
dialogue initiated by Angola in its role as a chair of the ICGLR ,and
under the auspicesof the framework. And this is a regionally led and
regionally owned dialogue which is very important. It's howpeace
processes should be supported by the region itself and with the
international community playing only a supporting role. And, I should
have said 2013 for the date of the framework agreement, but it is
really something that gives life and force to that agreement, having
this type of regionally led dialogue. Domestically, with regard to the
DRC and Burundi, we are increasingly focused on the series of upcoming
elections in the region.

Actually, starting with Burundi's elections in May of next year, the
stability and democratization of these countries and the region at
large, in my view, depends on, in large part,on this series of
upcoming elections. That they have to be timely, and peaceful and
credible.

With regard to the DRC, we are focused on the continued effort to
implement the Nairobi Declarations. On this front we are encouraged by
the DRC's effort to engage the ex-M23 combatants in Uganda, about the
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process, and we of
course, continue to encourage the DRC and Uganda and Rwanda to work
together to ensure the permanent demobilization of the M23 and to
ensure that those responsible for war crimes and crimes against
humanity, and other serious human rights violations are actually held
accountable. Now beyond the M23, I firmly believe that the DRC and
MONUSCO must prioritize going after the Democratic Forces for the
Liberation of Rwanda, the FDLR. In addition to its continued efforts
against the ADF.

This was one of the most important messages that the Secretary brought
on his recent visit, and it is a message that I will continue to
promote during my upcoming trip to the region. That trip will be next
week. I am about to make my 11th trip to the region since taking the
job, and actually the first trip was in early September last year. On
this trip I will be going to Burundi and the DRC, again with that
particular focus on elections. I will also be traveling to London to
attend the global summit to end sexual violence inconflict, and also
to meet with our donor partners with regard to the Great Lakes. In
Burundi, we will meet with government representatives and political
parties to discuss the upcoming elections and our concerns that many
of us have about the decreasing political space in that country.

And in this regard, I will be joining my colleagues, the other envoys
from the United Nations, the African Union and the EU and we will
attend a regional youth summit to promote the PFC framework agreement
and we would like as a group to meet with President Nkurunziza to
discuss the election process. The DRC, my colleagues and I will travel
there together and we intend to meet with President Kabila and members
of the government, as well as members of the opposition in civil
society. I will be reiterating the messages conveyed by Secretary
Kerry, specifically the United States' commitment to support the DRC's
upcoming electoral process. The Congo and its international partners
must begin preparing for the elections now, and that includes
finalizing the electoral calendar, and ensuring that the electoral
process is conducted in line with the existing constitution. So in
both Burundi and DRC, I hope to help foster a dialogue between all
stakeholders in an effort to reach consensus on the road ahead for
these respective countries. These next elections in Burundi and the
DRC will be critical to sustaining and building on the progress that
both countries have made toward stabilization and development. It is
absolutely imperative that the electoral processes be peaceful,
transparent and credible, and this means ensuring that everyone has an
equal opportunity to participate and be heard, otherwise both
countries risk losing some pretty hard won progress in recent years. I
will leave it at that.

MODERATOR: Thank you Ambassador Booth and Special Envoy Feingold. We
will now begin the question and answer portion of today's call. For
those asking questions, we ask that you first state your name and
affiliation. Please limit yourself to one question only. Please
indicate if your question is directed to Ambassador Booth, Special
Envoy Feingold, or to both. Our first question will go to a journalist
at the Watch Party at the US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Operator,
please open the line.

MEDIA: This is Mthna Al-Fahal from Al-Intibaha, a daily newspaper in
Khartoum. My question is, the Sudanese government, they are saying
that the Sudanese rebels in South Sudan, they are fighting with
[inaudible]. So what does Mr. Booth think about that and how will it
be a danger after they sign the agreement. Thank you.

AMBASSADOR BOOTH: Thank you very much for that question, because it
brings up the issue of adherence to the cessation of hostility
agreement and it also brings up the question of the deployment of a
regional force to join the UN mission in South Sudan, so that the
monitors who are out there to monitor the cessation of hostilities
agreement can more effectively do their job. We are in the final
stages right now of working with IGAD and the United Nations to get
the force from the region deployed to South Sudan and the purpose of
the deployment of that force will also be to ensure that one of the
other commitments of the cessation of hostilities agreement, which is
the withdrawal of foreign forces from South Sudan, can then be
implemented. So getting this regional force deployed to South Sudan is
a critical element. It should happen in the very near future and then
should give no excuse for further operation by foreign forces
unilaterally in South Sudan.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question goes to a journalist at the
Watch Party at the US Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Operator,
please open the line.

MEDIA: Thank you, my name is Omer Redi the Spanish News Agency
correspondent in Addis Ababa. Ambassador Booth, you mentioned that
effort recently has been to make breakthrough with peace talks in
South Sudan, especially with the coming of President Kiir and
RiekMachar to Addis Ababaand signing the cessation of hostilities
agreement. As you said, there has been fighting going on still. Do you
think that breakthrough has been achieved, if not, what is your
government's position in the way forward? Thank you.

AMBASSADOR BOOTH: Well as I said, there has been fighting since the
May 9th agreement was signed, but at the time it was signed, the
forces of the two sides in certain areas particularly around Bentiu
were in very close proximity to each other. What we have seen is
compared to prior to the May 9th Agreement, the level of fighting
between the two sides has indeed declined and a process is underway
now to give the monitoring and verification mechanism information that
it needs to identity the disposition of the forces so that they can
begin to work to ensure that the forces are separated. That was part
of the agreement on May 9th as well, was the disengagement and
separation of forces. So, the monitors will be able to oversee that.
The deployment of a force from the region, as part of UNMISS to
provide security to the monitors to do that is critical and that will
happen in the next week or so. So the process of achieving a
verifiable cessation of hostility is moving forward now with much
greater progress than we have seen in the past. So I think there has
been a breakthrough as a result of the President and the opposition
leader signing the agreement themselves and getting orders out to many
of their troops to begin the disengagement process, and we need to
continue to press on the implementation of that agreement and also to
hold those who would undermine that agreement, as well as the previous
cessation of hostilities agreement, accountable for their actions.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is for Special Envoy Feingold.
This wassubmitted from the Watch Party at the US Embassy in Angola.
Angola has been widely praised for its diplomatic efforts to bring
stability to the region, particularly since it took over the
presidency of the internationalconference of the Great Lakes region.
At the same time, Angola has one of the biggest armies in the region
and its defense budget is the biggest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our
question is whether the United States believes that Angola could add
to its contribution for stability in the region by contributing troops
to international efforts. Has this possibility been discussed in the
various meetings US diplomats had recently held with President dos
Santos? If so, has the Angolan President shown openness to the
possibility?

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD: First of all it is so important to reiterate
the tremendous leadership role that Angola has taken in a relatively
short period of time. They just took over the ICGLR in January of this
year and not only President dos Santos, but also Foreign Minister
Chicoti, have devoted a lot of their time, not only in Rwanda, but
throughout the region to try and bring together the countries in the
region, and the concerns in the region, including military concerns,
and discussions about things like the problems in the Central African
Republic. So they are already making a substantial contribution
diplomatically and organizationally. In fact, there were conversations
with President dos Santos and Foreign Minister Chicoti with Secretary
Kerry about possibilities in the future involving Angola, but it is
not for me to discuss the specifics that were discussed at that time,
but I can assure you it was actively discussed in a number of
contexts.

MODERATOR: Our next question goes to a journalist at the Watch Party
at the US Embassy in Juba, South Sudan.

MEDIA: My name is Sebit Abdu, a radio journalist with Radio Miraya.My
question is about the, according to thehuman rights report that states
that the killing in Bor and Bentiu can be termedas a genocide. But
when we look, or the concern comes in that the killing or the fighting
started before, but the US government as astrong institution has
delayed in terms of intervention that's whyall of these atrocities
happen. Why did the US take that long to come in for the intervention
before the atrocities happened? Thank you.

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD: Well I would take issue with your assertion
that we delayed in intervening in this crisis. Since my appointment as
Envoy at the very end of August of last year, I traveled twice to Juba
before the conflict and met with all of the parties trying to figure
out a way to help them find a way to resolve their political
differences peacefully and through the political process.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts and efforts with them, that
did not succeed and on the 15th of December there was the outbreak of
the conflict in Juba where there were many many people that were
killed. In the daysimmediately following December 15th, and in the
fighting that broke out through particularlythe eastern part of the
country, the States of Jonglei, [inaudible] and upper Nile over the
subsequent month. I was immediately in the region, arriving there - I
was in Juba by the 23rd of December, and spent almost two weeks there
working with the government, working with the mediation efforts from
the IGAD and in particular with Ethiopia, trying toget the parties to
agree to come to a talk to try to find a peaceful way to resolve the
conflict. We had been engaged very directly and at very senior levels.
There have been a number of calls from senior US government officials,
including many by Secretary Kerry himself over the Christmas/New
Year's period to try and bring about an end to the fighting. We got
the negotiations through IGAD auspices underway in early January, and
unfortunately the fighting did continue despite the efforts to
convince the parties to respect their own obligations. I traveled with
the IGAD mediators on two occasions to visit with Dr. RiekMachar, and
several visits to Juba as well to engage the government to try to find
a way to get them to respect the cessation of hostilities agreement.

We were very pleased that Secretary Kerry's visit out there in early
May finally got the agreement of two protagonists to come together,
the president and Dr. Macharin Addis to recommit. Since then the level
of fighting has declined. The killings that have occurred, indeed
UNMISS has done very good work on the human rights violations to
resolve the fighting and the AU African Union established a commission
of inquiry to look at the issues about what has happened with a view
toward both accountability and reconciliation. We have been very
supportive of the effort of the African Union commission of inquiry,
headed by former Nigerian President Obasanjo. And we continue to
support those efforts and those to document what has happened, because
at the end of the day, South Sudan in order to return to peace will
need to have reconciliation and justice.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question was submitted by a journalist
from RadioVictoire in Lome, Togo. This is directed toward Ambassador
Booth. On May 15, a court in Khartoum sentenced a young Sudanese
Christian woman of 27 years to the death penalty for apostasy. The
young woman, 8 months pregnant, is currently detained according to
Amnesty International which called for her immediate release. A few
days ago, several embassies, including the US, expressed their deep
concern about the case of the young woman and requested that the
government of Sudan respect the right of people to change faith or
belief. Beyond these calls, how is the US planning to prevent the
coward murder of the woman?

AMBASSADOR BOOTH: Well let me say I want to reiterate the very deep
concern we have about the charges that have been brought against her
and the sentences that have been handed down by the Sudanese courts to
date, and we have raised this case at very high levels in the Sudanese
government and we will continue to express our concerns in trying to
bring about a situation where the government of Sudan will ensure that
its citizens enjoy the rights that they have under their own
constitution. So that will be the main thrust of what we are trying to
do, is trying to ensure that Sudan applies its own constitutional
protections to its citizens and we will continue to engage with the
government on this case as we remain very concerned that no one should
have their freedom to choose the religion that they wish to worship,
how they wish to believe, circumscribed by laws that are particularly
laws that are in conflict with the constitution.

MODERATOR: Our next question goes to Special Envoy Feingold. This is
from Cassien Tribunal of BRFM in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

What is the expected impact of the upcoming Great Lakes summit on the
elections to be organized in the DRC?

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD: I am not sure what the question is about. If
you are talking about the visit of the Special Envoys to Kinshasa,
which I assume he is, our goal is to make it clear in Kinshasa, both
to the government and to civil society and to opposition partyleaders,
that this process has to begin in earnest, that there has to be a
public and clear and credible election schedule and calendar, that
there has to be the opportunity for a consensus about the way these
elections are going to be conducted, so that all of the parties
involved agree in advance that this acceptable and so that after the
election, whatever the outcome is, everybody will be able to say that
it was a fair election.

We also have to make sure that the constitution is followed. The
constitution should not be altered for any individual. That is an
important principle. In fact, the way the constitution of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo reads right now, that is not
something that can be amended. The provisions are related to a term
limit. So that is important that that be respected as well. In
addition, there has to be proper funding for the elections. A vast
majority of this will be handled by the DRC itself as they have
indicated, but the United States is working hard in taking the lead in
making sure that there is a serious commitment by the donor countries
and we have already on the Secretary Kerry's visit, announced
significant new resources for that purpose. But the main purpose of
the trip by the Envoys to Kinshasa is to promote that thesebefree,
fair and transparent elections. We want to promote consensus and we
want consensus between the opposition and the government as we go
forward.

MODERATOR: Our next question comes from a journalist at the Watch
Party at the US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan. Operator, please open the
line.

MEDIA: This is Asmaa Al-Suhaily from Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper. My
question is what is the problem between the Special Envoy for Sudan
and the Sudan government? What are the reasons that lead to reject his
entrance in Sudan? And is it a reasonablereason? Thank you.

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD:Well, let me say that I, as the US Special
Envoy for Sudan and South Sudan, have had many engagements with senior
officials of the government of Sudan. We have had many opportunities
to discuss the issues between our two countries. I have met on several
occasions, particularly on the margins of negotiations in Addis, for
the two areas where wehave met with the Sudanese delegation to discuss
how to try to bring about resolution of the conflicts in the two
areas, as well as in Darfur. We have also talked about ways of
engaging between our two countries, to try to address the underlying
issues that have resulted in the current relationship that we have.

I just recently met in Oslo on the margins of the South Sudan
humanitarian conference with foreign minister Kartiand we discussed -
I expressed to him our continuing desire to meet and have a
constructive engagement, trying to find a way to address the issues
between our two countries and we will continue to look for ways to
expand the dialogue so that we can resolve some of these issues that
have plagued the relationship between the United States and Sudan for
so many years.But I would just like to reiterate that the fundamental
issue we have in the relationship has to do with the way that the
government has treated the people of Sudan, particularly those in the
periphery. The violence that has been perpetrated against civilians in
southern Kordofan, in the Blue Nile and in many parts of Darfur is
unconscionable. Arial bombardment, attacks on the ground against
civilian populations, attacks on hospitals and schools - these are the
things that are of tremendous concern to the United States. If we are
to address the issues in our bilateral relationship, these are issues
that also have to be discussed.

MODERATOR: Our next question comes from a journalist at the Watch
Party at the US Embassy in Ethiopia. Operator, please open the line.

MEDIA: My name is Addis Getachewand I work for Anadolu News Agency.

My question is directed to Ambassador Booth. The UNHCR and FAO are
warning of an impending faminein South Sudan. Actually the UNHCR and
the FAO put the number of the people needing relief at four million
people.

What is the US doing to avert this?

AMBASSADOR BOOTH: I am glad that you asked that question. The danger
of pending famine is something that I first flagged at the IGAD summit
meeting on the 31st of March in Addis and we have, the United States,
working with our troika partners, the UK and Norway, as well as the
European Union and other donors have been making it clear that we need
not only to have resourcesto deal with the humanitarian disaster
unfolding in South Sudan as a result of the conflict - a manmade
disaster. But, we also need to have the cooperation of the parties. In
Oslo over the past two days, there was a humanitarian conference that
was organized, there were pledges of an additional 600 million dollars
made, including 291 million dollars by the United States to assist
those displaced by the fighting in South Sudan, those displaced
internally as well as those who have been pushed across South Sudan's
boarders into neighboring countries as refugees. So the international
community is stepping up to the plate and is doing what is needed to
make resources available to mobilize delivery mechanisms. But as was
stressed repeatedly at the conference in Oslo, without the cooperation
of the parties, assistance will not reach those people who are at risk
of famine, who are at risk of serious disease. We need the cooperation
of the parties. We need the fighting stopped so that this humanitarian
assistance can move. The cessation of hostilities agreement of the
23rd of January had a provision for opening of humanitarian corridors
for cooperation with the humanitarian assistance delivery.

This was reiterated in an agreement that the parties signed in Addis
in early May to allow for 30 days of tranquility so that business
could move and farmers could plant. This was reiterated by President
Kiir and Dr. Macharagain on the 9th. The ability to avert famine, to
avert widespread malnutrition, disease, really rests on the
cooperation of the parties. The weather in South Sudan is not
cooperating either. We are now into the rainy season, so delivery of
assistance by barge is absolutely essential. Air deliveries are
underway. They are exceedingly expensive, and are not always able to
reach the people in need. We really need to have the cooperation of
all the armed parties on the ground to respect international
humanitarian law and to facilitate the work of those trying to deliver
life-saving humanitarian assistance.

MODERATOR: Our next question was submitted by a journalist at the
Watch Party of the US Embassy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

This question is for Special Envoy Feingold. Once peace will be
totally restored in the eastern DRC, how will the US participate to
the development of this region?

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD: We want the development in the region to be
hand-in-hand with the achieving of peace. We do not want to wait until
the very last moment that everything is taken care of in terms of
stabilization in the region. We want to encourage economic development
as this process continues. That is one of theideas behind the peace,
security and cooperation framework, and in fact, Mary Robinson, the
Special Envoy from the United Nations is planning to host an economic
development conference later this year in conjunction with the
countries who signed the agreement and so our hope is that of course
there is development and progress not only in Eastern Congo, but for
all of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and also for the other
countries in the region. This is an opportunity for these countries to
reach an accord and to have the resources of the region for the first
time really go for the benefit of the people of the region - Congo,
Rwanda and Uganda - and this is something that can happen. In this
regard, the United States is one of the largest development donors. We
are interested in legitimate investment and to harness the resources
first and foremost for the Congolese people.

MODERATOR: Our next question comes from a journalist at the Watch
Party at the US Embassy in Juba South Sudan. Operator, please open the
line.

MEDIA: My name is Nichola Mandil from Eye Radio, an independent radio
station in Juba. President Kiir, when he returned from Ethiopia, said
he was forced by the international community,including the US
government, tosign the agreement. He also mentioned that he was forced
to postponethe election from next year 2015, to 2018. Is that the
position of the US government to see that elections are postponed? Do
you see any valid reasons for President Kiir to postpone the election?

And is it true that it was the US government that forced President
Kiir to sign the agreement with Machar? Thank you very much.

SPECIAL ENVOY FEINGOLD: Let me take that question in two parts. First,
the two leaders met. They met with the chairman of IGAD, the prime
minister of Ethiopia, who negotiated with the document that they ended
up signing. I did meet with both delegations while they were in Addis,
but I can assure you that the United States, while we very much
encouraged them to recommit themselves to the cessation of hostilities
and to moving forward on transitional arrangements, that the decision
to sign was theirs. Now in terms of the elections, I think what we
have is a situation where the people of South Sudan really need to
have the ability to come together as part of a transitional
arrangement. The negotiations that will resume in Addis shortly will
have representatives of civil society, religious communities,
traditional leaders and others, as well as the government and the SPLN
and opposition. So they will be the ones to decide what the
transitional arrangement will be, what the transitional government
will look like, and what the calendar for the transition will be. The
United States does not have a position on when elections should be. We
believe that what is needed though is a transitional period that will
oversee critical reforms in the country, including the writing of a
new constitution, a permanent constitution, and the time that that
will take, really will dictate when elections should be held. But the
process is one that will be owned by the South Sudanese, will be
facilitated by IGAD and IGAD will continue to be supported by the
United States and other key international partners of the troika and
the European Union, China. The timing of the elections will depend on
the process of transition. The South Sudanese need to make the
determination.

MODERATOR: We have time for one final question. This question was
submitted by Carlos Tobias from Fullnews.info in Togo. This is for
Ambassador Booth. What is the current relationship between oil and war
in South Sudan? What are the other reasons for the conflict?

AMBASSADOR BOOTH: That is a very good question. South Sudan as the
world's youngest country has a great advantage of having oil resources
so it has a revenue stream. Unfortunately, that revenue stream has not
been fully reflected in terms of development of the country. The
conflict at this point has resulted in a reduction by almost half of
oil output from South Sudan, so the entire country, even if not
directly involved in the fighting, will suffer for a long time
economically as a result of this conflict. What we believe is that the
oil resources of the country need to be harnessed and used for
development to provide social services, such as health care and
education and to begin to develop the infrastructure so that the
economy can be diversified.

Shortly before the conflict broke out on the 15th of December, the
government of South Sudan hosted an international investment
conference.

I was in Juba for that conference. It was truly amazing to see the
interest of the international private sector in the world's newest
country, finding opportunities to invest there. What the country most
needs now is a restoration of peace and a credible transitional
process that will put in place the reforms that are needed, including
financial management reforms that will ensure that in the future that
natural resources of the country, oil in particular, are used for the
benefit of the people of South Sudan.

MODERATOR: Before we close today's call, did either of our speakers
wish to make any final remarks? [PAUSE]. Okay, thank you. That then
concludes today's call. I want to thank Ambassador Booth and Special
Envoy Feingold for joining us, and thank all of our callers for
participating. If you have any questions about today's call, please
contact the Africa Regional Media Hub at afmediahub@state.gov

Copyright © 2014 United States Department of State. All rights
reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media

 

EM

On the 49^th Parallel          

 

            Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
           Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"