Salva Kiir Mayardit Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Foreign policy=== [[File:President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama greet His Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan.jpg|thumb|Kiir with US President [[Barack Obama]] in Washington, D.C., 5 August 2014]] [[File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi meeting the President of South Sudan, Mr. Salva Kiir Mayardit, in New Delhi on October 30, 2015 (1).jpg|thumb|Kiir with Indian [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]] [[Narendra Modi]], 30 October 2016]] [[File:Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi (2019-10-24).jpg|thumb|Kiir at the [[Russia–Africa Summit 2019]] in Sochi on 24 October 2019]] In mid-October 2011, Kiir announced South Sudan had applied for accession to the [[East African Community]]. He declared the EAC to be "at the centre of our hearts" due to its members' support of the South during the Sudanese civil wars.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.busiweek.com/11/the-eac-issues/eac-news/1891-south-sudan-readies-for-eac-membership|title=South Sudan readies for EAC membership which was later rejected|publisher=Busiweek.com|date=17 October 2011|access-date=6 December 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021011844/http://www.busiweek.com/11/the-eac-issues/eac-news/1891-south-sudan-readies-for-eac-membership|archive-date=21 October 2011}}</ref> On 20 December 2011, Kiir [[Israel-South Sudan relations|visited]] Israel to thank it for its support during the [[First Sudanese Civil War]] from 1956 to 1972,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/20/183573.html|title=Al Arabiya, 12/20/2011|publisher=Alarabiya.net|date=20 December 2011|access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref> and met with Israeli president [[Shimon Peres]] to discuss establishing an embassy in [[Jerusalem]], which would make South Sudan the first country to have one in that city.<ref>{{cite web|first=Daniel|last=Pipes|author-link=Daniel Pipes|url=http://www.danielpipes.org/10486/south-sudan-israel-allies|title=South Sudan, Israel's New Ally|website=danielpipes.org|access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref> After the outbreak of the South Sudanese civil war, Salva Kiir delivered a speech in January 2014 lashing out at the United Nations and “so-called humanitarian organizations,” accusing them of supporting Riek Machar to try to overthrow him. He accused the UN of sheltering his enemies on their bases adding, “There is a problem with the international community, and it is something that people will have to thrash out with them.”<ref>{{Citation|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCJ9YWChiB0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/xCJ9YWChiB0 |archive-date=21 December 2021 |url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2015|title=South Sudan President Salva Kiir told UN of acting like a parallel government JAN 20,2014 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> In March 2014, Kiir's government organized a rally accusing the United Nations of colluding with anti-government forces. Protesters carried signs accusing the UN of arming anti-government forces.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.voanews.com/content/south-sudan-peace-protesters-against-un/1868885.html|title=South Sudan Peace Protesters Rail Against UN|last=Rwakaringi|first=Mugume Davis|date=14 March 2014|work=Voice of America|access-date=15 October 2015}}</ref> Relations between Kiir's government and some erstwhile supporters deteriorated since the start of the civil war. He disclosed in an op-ed published in his name in the Washington Times in October 2015 that unnamed "international partners in peace" had threatened his government with sanctions, the withdrawal of aid support, and referrals to the International Criminal Court.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/oct/11/salva-kiir-mayardit-south-sudan-worlds-youngest-na/|title=South Sudan: the world's youngest nation strives to build democracy|last=Kiir Mayardit|first=Salva|date=11 October 2015|work=Washington Times|access-date=16 October 2015}}</ref> ====Heglig crisis and war with Sudan==== {{Main|Heglig Crisis}} On 26 March 2012, the South Sudanese army attacked the oilfield in the town of [[Heglig]] (known also to the Dinka of the Unity state as [[Panthou]]), located between the border of the Sudanese state of [[South Kordofan]] and the South Sudanese state of [[Unity State|Unity]], triggering the [[Heglig Crisis]]. On 27 September, Kiir met Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and signed eight agreements in [[Addis Ababa]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theglobalobservatory.org/2012/10/negotiating-peace-in-the-sudans-the-addis-ababa-cooperation-agreement/|title=Negotiating Peace in the Sudans: The Addis Ababa Agreement|last=Affa'a-Mindzie|first=Mireille|date=9 October 2012|website=IPI Global Observatory|language=en-US|access-date=31 January 2019}}</ref> Ethiopia, which led the way to resume important oil exports and create a {{convert|6|mi|km|0|order=flip|adj=on}} demilitarised zone along their border. The agreements allow for the return of {{convert|350,000|oilbbl|L|order=flip|abbr=off}} of South Sudanese oil to the world market. In addition, the agreements include an understanding of the parameters to follow in regards to demarcating their border, an economic cooperation agreement and a deal to protect each other's citizens. Certain issues remain unsolved and future talks are scheduled to resolve them. On 25 November 2012, South Sudan launched a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) against Sudan in the wake of aerial bombings carried out by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in parts of South Sudan's northern Bahr el Ghazal state, killing at least eight people and injuring an equal number. South Sudan treated the attack as a gross violation of the cooperation agreement the two country's leaders signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on 27 September.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allafrica.com/stories/201211250310.html|title=South Sudan: Juba to File Complaint to UN Security Council Over Khartoum Aggression|publisher=allAfrica.com|date=25 November 2012|access-date=21 January 2014}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page