[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 8]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10710]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




   ON THE OCCASION OF THE INDEPENDENCE OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH SUDAN

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JAMES P. MORAN

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, July 8, 2011

  Mr. MORAN. Mr. Speaker, we are here today to mark a great day in the 
history of democracy, a great day for Africa, and a great day for the 
United States.
  On Saturday, July 9th, the Republic of South Sudan becomes Africa's 
54th country and the world's newest nation. This is an outcome that 
would likely have been inconceivable for most Sudanese only a few years 
ago. South Sudan's declaration of independence is a testament to their 
resolve and determination to be free.
  The United States should also be proud of this momentous achievement, 
and I would like to congratulate the Obama Administration and the Bush 
Administration for maintaining the vision and unwavering commitment to 
stand with the people of this great new country through their struggle. 
I am thrilled that the White House has sent a high level delegation, 
led by Ambassador Susan Rice, to the burgeoning new capital of South 
Sudan, to celebrate with our newest ally.
  Former Secretary of State Colin Powell will accompany Ambassador 
Rice. I'm pleased that our colleague Congressman Donald Payne, a leader 
of the Sudan Caucus and a forceful advocate for Sudanese self 
determination, will be with the delegation, as will the senior 
diplomats Johnnie Carson and Princeton Lyman who have worked to make 
this day possible, and Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of the U.S. 
Africa Command. Underscoring our past and future commitment to human 
rights and economic opportunity and development in Sudan, Donald 
Steinberg, Deputy Administrator of USAID and Ken Hackett, of Catholic 
Relief Services, are also part of the White House delegation.
  As in so many struggles for democracy, the final joy of liberation 
emerged only after many seasons of pain and loss. We join the South 
Sudanese in honoring those who struggled, suffered and died over 
decades of conflict in the effort to celebrate this great democratic 
achievement. Two million of their brothers and sisters died in the 
struggle, and twice that number were forced from their homes. This loss 
is felt today, and will take a generation or more to recover from.
  Indeed, we must recognize that our new ally faces serious challenges. 
South Sudan holds oil wealth, but is still extraordinarily poor. The 
new capital, Juba, is expanding at a fast pace, but the country is 
bereft of an infrastructure that can support commerce and development. 
This huge new country of more than 250,000 square miles has less than 
50 miles of paved roads.
  On average, a family in South Sudan must spend 30 minutes just to 
secure their water for cooking and bathing, and their water is often 
not safe to drink. This is no doubt one reason why South Sudan suffers 
a rate of infant mortality that is among the highest in the world. And 
Sudan is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a mother. 
In fact, a girl in Sudan is more likely to die in childbirth than to 
receive a primary education. We must recommit ourselves to a new 
independence for Sudan: independence from poverty.
  And we must also recognize today that the people of both the new 
republic and the state from which it split continue to suffer the cruel 
and indiscriminate evil of conflict. Even now, so soon after the 
referendum in which nearly 99 percent of South Sudanese voiced their 
intention to be free, we have witness to a vicious armored assault on 
Abyei that displaced some 100,000 people in May, while destroying 
homes, churches and businesses. And in June, the Khartoum government 
unleashed a further assault on Sudanese civilians, this time in south 
Kordofan State. The people of this region largely identify with South 
Sudan.
  And so we also must recommit ourselves to Sudan's independence from 
war. I know that the Obama Administration intends to stand with our new 
ally in these other, critical liberation struggles. I ask my colleagues 
to join me as we remind Juba and Khartoum that we are still watching, 
and we remain attentive to the cause of peace with justice in both 
countries, including in Kordofan, Blue Nile, Abyei and, not least, 
Darfur.
  And as we learned with the defeat of the Soviets in Afghanistan, let 
us not abandon them after we worked so hard to help them secure their 
freedom.

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