Sudan's Merging Conflicts...

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT Sudan and South Sudan's Merging conflicts The conflicts in Sudan and South Sudan are increasingly merged. Halting drift toward a Uganda-Sudan proxy war on the Sudan-South Sudan border requires better coordination by regional organisations and more engagement by influential outside powers, notably China and the U.S., including via the UN Security Council. A UN-imposed arms embargo, improved border monitoring, and a UN panel of experts mandated to study the funding of South Sudan’s war are needed. Neither the 2005 peace agreement that ended Sudan’s second civil war nor South Sudan’s 2011 independence brought stability. The wars in the two Sudans began to come together when conflict broke out in South Sudan in December 2013. The International Crisis Group’s latest report, Sudan and South Sudan’s Merging Conflicts, analyses the cross-border alliances that have formed and argues that strong measures are required by the UN Security Council as well as more strategic engagement by the wider international community in support of mediation efforts by the regional bodies, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU). The report’s major recommendations include: To better link the stalled Sudan and South Sudan peace processes and ensure developments in one are not undermined by deterioration in the other, the AU, IGAD, and their international partners, in particular the U.S. and China, must increase coordination, perhaps via a senior forum including the AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) for Sudan and South Sudan, IGAD and key international actors. Employing both pressure and positive inducements, China and the U.S. must deepen their engagement to persuade Uganda to use its military support as leverage to press the South Sudan government to work toward a mediated agreement. China and the U.S. should also press the South Sudan government to end support for the armed opposition in Sudan, and Sudan’s government to remain neutral and constructively engage in the mediation in South Sudan. To slow regional arms flows, prevent further political deterioration, identify potential cessation-of-hostilities violations and advance IGAD’s political dialogue, the UN Security Council should impose an arms embargo on all parties in South Sudan. The Security Council should establish a panel of experts to examine the war’s funding and propose concrete measures within six months for stopping South Sudanese leaders from using oil revenues to fund the war and enable cessation-of-hostilities violations. The Security Council should consider mandating the UN Interim Security Force in Abyei (UNISFA) to independently monitor the movement of armed groups and weapons along and across the border and identify sources of weapons and violations of the Cooperation Agreement and Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. “Halting drift toward a Uganda-Sudan proxy war requires finding ways to end cross-border interventions, implement workable border measures and better coordinate mediation so peace can be made for the interconnected wars”, says Comfort Ero, Africa Program Director. “The alternative is more escalation and destabilisation, humanitarian crises and atrocities”. “New strategies to support regional efforts should begin with more engagement from the UN Security Council, particularly the U.S. and China”, says Jean-Marie Guéhenno, Crisis Group President & CEO. “Both pressure and more positive inducements are needed to change the calculations in Kampala, Khartoum and Juba”.

South Sudan: Jonglei - "We have always been at war..."

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Jonglei state’s combustible mix of armed political opposition, violent ethnic militias and dysfunctional political system were part of the tinder that led to the eruption of the civil war in South Sudan in late December 2013. Despite eleven months of peace talks, mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the war threatens to reintensify in the coming weeks. The negotiations do not reflect the diversity of armed groups and interests in South Sudan and the region, most of which are nominally allied with either President Salva Kiir’s government or former Vice President Riek Machar’s Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition (SPLM/A-IO). The constellation of regional and South Sudanese armed groups in Jonglei is emblematic of the regional, national and local challenges to peace and the pattern of a war that cannot be resolved by engaging only two of the nearly two-dozen armed groups in the country and ignoring those that have not yet engaged in the fight.

These armed groups’ casus belli are often different from those of Kiir and Machar, and many do not support the peace process, creating a chaotic environment on the ground. Most of these groups are not fighting for control of the government in Juba and some of their conflicts are best resolved at the state or local level. Yet if they are ignored the main protagonists will use these groups to continue the fight and derail national peace efforts.

This round of fighting in Jonglei represents more continuity than change with past decades, and its deep roots are similar to those across the country. Much of the state is now under the control of the SPLM/A-IO and the Murle South Sudan Democratic Army-Cobra Faction (SSDA-CF), which has made a peace deal with the government but the majority of whose fighters are not integrated into the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA), while the SPLA and the Ugandan army, the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF), secure the government’s control over the rest.

No one’s territory is stable, civilians are displaced and starving and a return to fighting is all but guaranteed. The trajectory of the war in Jonglei demonstrates the dangers of limiting IGAD’s peace process to only the government and SPLM/A-IO. The uneasy status quo in Jonglei is unlikely to last; the peace deal between the government and SSDA-CF is in danger while the local peace deal between the Murle and the opposition-affiliated Lou Nuer grows stronger. Jonglei illustrates the nationwide trend of fragmentation of armed groups, alliance formation at the local level and the potential for the war to get much worse during the upcoming fighting season.

Crisis Group’s prior recommendations about the need for more inclusive talks focused on 1) Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement (SPLM) reform (now supported by Tanzania’s ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party); 2) a reactivated Political Parties Forum; 3) engaging with armed groups beyond the SPLA and SPLA-IO; and 4) more attention to intercommunal all remain relevant to ending the war. By looking at the war in Jonglei, this report explains the importance of the third and fourth recommendations. IGAD’s emphasis on brokering a deal between Kiir and Machar neglects the diversity of armed interests and may lead to a peace deal that enjoys little support on the ground. While the government has the upper hand militarily, increasing repression in Juba, interminable rebellion in the bush and cities of Greater Upper Nile and continuing regional interference point to a turbulent future.

In addition to the peace talks in Ethiopia, political work is needed on the ground not only to end the war, but to create a sustainable peace. To improve the prospects of an agreement that leads to peace on the ground, IGAD could consider a number of factors:

• The vast majority of the political work toward a sustainable peace will need to be done inside South Sudan. IGAD could reinforce its political presence there in addition to its monitoring and verification teams.
• Monitoring and verification teams could become more responsive to ongoing violations and increase monitoring in areas not yet in conflict but that remain at risk.
• Building upon the political consultations undertaken by the government and SPLM/
  A-IO, encouraging dialogue in strategic areas within and between key communities will better link the talks with the evolving political situation on the ground.
• Sustainable peace at the local level is distinct from the alliances of convenience that constitute much of the government and SPLM/A-IO coalitions. Unpacking different groups’ motivations will enable a more coherent approach toward which matters should be included in the IGAD talks, which require local-level processes, and how best to link the two so they are mutually reinforcing rather than mutually undermining.
• The multiplicity of armed groups and their independent nature suggests that far more effort should be dedicated to discussions about transitional security arrangements that go beyond the government and SPL/A-IO.
• The 2010 elections in South Sudan took place in a restrictive political climate and led to conflict. Elections should be part of a long-term national political process, not an outcome or objective on their own.
• Outsiders have had little success in mediating south-south conflict over decades and the most transformative southern peace agreements have been led by South Sudanese. Religious and traditional leaders are influential, relatively independent of military leaders and important barometers of communities’ willingness and ability to implement agreements.
• Abuses against civilians in South Sudan lead to rebellion and communal obligations to revenge. IGAD could carefully consider how transitional justice and accountability can reinforce the peace process and encourage the parties to halt abusive practices to prevent further escalation.

ICG Nairobi/Brussels, 22 December 2014 

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Short Reflection on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Readings: Isaiah 42: 1-4. 6-7; Acts 10: 34-38; Mark 1: 7-11

Selected Passage: “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." (Mk. 1: 8)

Reflection: In our lives, we always try to discover the meaning being baptized by the Holy Spirit.  In our own Baptism, this reality is better understood in our being anointed by the Spirit as PRIEST, PROPHET and KING. Priest symbolizes the worship of God in our lives; Prophet tells of our commitment to Justice and Truth; and King speaks of our life of service to others, especially those in need.

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Hymn to Mary - The Holy Mother of God

HYMN to Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Mary the dawn, Christ the Perfect Day;
Mary the gate, Christ the Heavenly Way !
Mary the root, Christ the Mystic Vine;
Mary the grape, Christ the Sacred Wine !
Mary the wheat sheaf, Christ the living Bread;
Mary the rose tree, Christ the Rose blood-red !
Mary the font, Christ the Cleansing Flood’
Mary the chalice, Christ the Saving Blood !
Mary the temple, Christ the temple’s Lord;
Mary the shrine, Christ the God adored !
Mary the beacon, Christ the Haven’s Rest;
Mary the mirror, Christ the Vision Blest !
Mary the mother, Christ the mother’s Son.
Both ever blest while endless ages run.
Amen.

(“Mary the Dawn”; Words: anonymous poet; The poem now exists in its edited form by the Dominican Sisters of Summit (1972).
Mary the Dawn by Kathleen Lundquiest is available from Amazon.com)

True Love in Jesus Christ...

True Love in Jesus Christ..

The many odes written about true love...  Clergy, ulama and other guru try to define it... Yet, only those consumed by it truly understand what it is all about...!

Dante wrote in The Divine Comedy: ‘The day that man allows true love to appear, those things which are  made will fall into confusion and will overturn everything we believe to be right and true.’

Paolo Coelho wrote in The Zahir: ‘Love is an untamed force. When we try to control it, it destroys us. When we try to imprison it, it enslaves us. When we try to understand it, it leaves us feeling lost and confused.’

‘This force is on earth to make us happy, to bring us closer to God and to our neighbour, and yet, given the way that we love now, we enjoy one hour of anxiety for every minute of peace.’

We profess that God is LOVE! And that LOVE is the one revealed by Jeus Christ – the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger; and and the man hanging on the Cross at Calvary!

A Blessed Christmas!

Fr. Jun Mercado, OMI

Jonglei: We have always been at War...

INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT South Sudan: Jonglei – “We Have Always Been at War South Sudan’s Jonglei state is emblematic of the regional, national and local challenges to peace and of the limitations of trying to resolve a conflict by engaging only two of the nearly two-dozen armed groups in the country. Despite eleven months of peace talks mediated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), South Sudan’s civil war threatens to intensify in the coming weeks. Most of the nearly two dozen armed groups in South Sudan are, at least nominally, allied with President Salva Kiir’s Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army (SPLA) or former Vice President Riek Machar’s SPLA-in-Opposition (SPLA-IO). Yet most of these groups are not battling for control of the central government and their casus belli is different from that of Kiir or Machar. Some groups are fighting over land and representation in state and local governments, while others are caught in cycles of revenge attacks that began with atrocities against members of their community. Crisis Group’s latest report, South Sudan: Jonglei – “We Have Always Been at War”, calls for IGAD to enhance its political presence in South Sudan, to better engage with armed groups and to ensure talks in Addis Ababa reflect the diversity of armed interests on the ground. The report’s major findings and recommendations are: Jonglei state’s mix of violent ethnic militias, armed political opposition, intercommunal clashes and dysfunctional governance were part of the tinder that led to the outbreak of South Sudan’s civil war a year ago. Today, civilians are displaced and starving, and a return to war is all but guaranteed. While the government has the upper hand militarily, interminable rebellion and continuing regional interference point to a turbulent future. The trajectory of the war in Jonglei demonstrates the dangers of limiting IGAD’s peace process to only the government and Riek Machar’s SPLM/A-IO (Sudanese Peoples’ Liberation Movement/Army-In Opposition). IGAD should expand its political presence in South Sudan to engage more directly with the various armed groups – including non-South Sudanese ones – and the communities that support them. Engaging these groups is critical to building support for a future peace agreement and to ensuring that Salva Kiir and Riek Machar cannot use these armed groups to undermine talks or an agreement. The multiplicity of armed groups and their independent nature suggest that far more effort should be dedicated to discussions about security arrangements that go beyond the government and the SPLA-IO. Much of the political work should be done in South Sudan, not Addis Ababa, and IGAD should carefully assess which conflicts require resolution at the national level and which should be addressed at the local level. Engagement with armed groups will lay the groundwork for the national political processes and transitional arrangements that are needed for a sustainable peace once a deal is reached in Addis Ababa. “This war cannot be resolved by engaging only two of the nearly two-dozen armed groups in the country and ignoring those that have not yet entered into the fight”, says Casie Copeland, South Sudan Analyst. “IGAD should enhance its approach, which already includes regional and national tracks, with strengthened engagement with armed groups to move the peace process forward”. “As the case of Jonglei illustrates, armed groups continuously assess their alliances, make and break them frequently, and will do the same with respect to the benefit or detriment they perceive from a peace agreement”, says Cedric Barnes, Horn of Africa Project Director. “Kiir and Machar have built their coalitions on these shifting sands and any deal between the two could fall apart if their constituent groups don’t see an advantage for themselves. This calls for more systematic engagement at the community level”.

4th Sunday of Advent (B)

Short Reflection for the 4th Week of Advent (B)

Readings: 2 Samuel 7: 1-5. 8-12; Romans 16: 25-27; Luke 1: 26-38

Selected Gospel Passage: And the angel said to Mary in reply, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God”. (Luke 1: 35)

Reflection: Jesus comes to us anew through the power of the Holy Spirit and like Mary, our mother, in events we least expect. What is important is our generosity and readiness to respond, like Mary, ‘I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word’.

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD...

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 

3. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

3rd Sunday of Advent (B)

Short Reflection for 3rd Sunday of Advent (B)

Readings: Isaiah 61: 1-2. 10-11; 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-24; John. 1: 6-8. 19-28

Selected Passage: He said: "I am 'the voice of one crying out in the desert, "Make straight the way of the Lord,"' * as Isaiah the prophet said." (John 1: 23)

Meditation:  The call is to ‘make straight the way of the Lord’.  Often, we miss the coming of the Lord into our lives, because of the ‘hardness’ or the ‘crookedness’ of our hearts. John the Baptist reminds us that if we truly want to feel and see the coming of the Lord into our lives, we need to have a change of heart… a true conversion.

Visit: www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

Dhikr Prayer Method…

Dhikr is an Arabic word for remembrance. In the “tariqa” (the way) movement, dhikr developed into a form of prayer… It is a prayer of the heart… following three simple steps:

1. Write in one’s heart a certain passage of the Holy Writ…

2. Make the same passage ever present in one’s lips. 

3. Recite the passage as often possible… sometimes with the use of beads

4. Then wait for God’s disclosure on the meaning of the passage…that interprets one’s life NOW…!

It takes a week of remembering (dhikr)…or even more days to relish the beauty of this method…

Solemnity of Christ the King

Short Reflection on the Solemnity of Christ the King (A)

Readings: Ezekiel 14: 11-12; 15-17; 1 Corinthians 15: 20-26; Matthew 25: 31-46

Gospel Passage: “Lord, when did we see you hungry and fee you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you stranger and welcome you or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'” (Matthew 25: 37-40)

Meditation: In the end, the real test of discipleship is ‘believing and doing’, that is, caring for and ministering to people in need, especially the least of our brothers and sisters. The real fellowship at the table of the Lord is when we are able to break bread with the poor.

Short Reflection for the 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 33^rd Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Proverbs 31: 10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-6; Matthew 25: 14-30

The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14-30)

Selected Passage: “For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” (Matthew 25: 29)

Meditation: Every gift we receive from God has corresponding responsibility. It must bear fruit in plenty so that others may also share in the blessing.  Each one receives gives according to the measure one is capable… We become responsible and accountable for that gift else we become half-hearted servants.  Pope Francis reminds us that “only one whose gaze is fixed on that which is truly essential can renew his yes to the gift received.”

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

November 9: The Feast of St. John Lateran

Short Reflection for the Feast of the Dedication of Lateran Church

Note: This year, in the place of the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, we celebrate the feast of the Dedication of Lateran Basilica in Rome, the cathedral of Rome, originally dedicated to the Savior, but then to St. John the Baptist.

Readings: Ezekiel 43: 1-2. 4-7; 1 Corinthians 3: 9-13; John 2: 13-22

Selected Gospel Passage: “He made a whip out of cords and drove them all out of the temple area, with the sheep and oxen, and spilled the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables, and to those who sold doves he said, "Take these out of here, and stop making my Father's house a marketplace." (John 2: 15-16)

Meditation: The community of believers – the assembly of two or more in the name of Jesus- is the true living house of the Father. Have we, too, transformed God’s Church into a marketplace?  Beware…!

www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Looming Military Offensives in South Sudan

Warring parties in South Sudan’s civil war are preparing for major offensives as seasonal rains ease. Hardliners in both the government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army-In Opposition (SPLA-IO) are entrenching their positions, and think, as one opposition commander declared, “we will settle this with war”. Renewed conflict is likely to be accompanied by widespread displacement, atrocity crimes and famine. Despite some progress, nine months of peace talks in Addis Ababa have been unable to stop the fighting. With splintering interests, weak command and control and proliferating militias and self-defence forces, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the regional body mediating peace talks, must expand and strengthen its political links on the ground with senior commanders, armed groups and militarised communities not represented in Addis Ababa if a future agreement is to have meaning. The coming violence will present new challenges for UNMISS as it prioritises protection of the nearly 100,000 civilians sheltering in their bases.

The soon-to-end rainy season was accompanied by reduced fighting, which allowed both sides to import arms and marshal forces that were hastily mobilised at the outset of war in December. The government is emboldened, perceiving a diplomatic swing in its favour, following Kiir’s July visit to Washington and the August IGAD heads of state summit, giving it the space to launch a major offensive while stalling in Addis Ababa. It has spent tens of millions of dollars on arms - largely from oil revenues - (rather than humanitarian assistance for its people); strengthened its military cooperation agreement with Uganda; undertaken mass recruitment, including of children; and mobilised police units in efforts to regain some of the strength it lost with the defections of troops and loss of weapons to the SPLA-IO. 

However, major government victories are unlikely to end the rebellion. Furthermore, given the Ugandan army and Sudanese rebel deployments on its behalf, government advances will likely threaten Sudan’s national security interests, increase regional tensions and further inflame the conflict.

At the same time, state and opposition-supported, ethnically-based armed groups, such as the Nuer White Armies, have flourished and are only tenuously controlled by their sponsors. Including the Ugandan army and Sudanese rebels backing the government, there are now at least two dozen armed entities operating in South Sudan. The fragile coalitions threaten to further fracture, particularly in oil-producing Upper Nile State. Many of them, as well as some powerful generals from both the government’s Sudanese People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) and the SPLA-IO, have expressed their intention to fight on, even if the political leaders sign an agreement.

Despite these obstacles, the IGAD mediation team has focused on trying to broker a deal between Kiir and Machar in Addis Ababa, ignoring other actors. As Crisis Group warned in July, this lack of broad-scale engagement has led many commanders and armed groups to reject the political process. Most of these parties have their own interests. IGAD should work with the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan and South Sudan (AUHIP)(that is supporting the Sudanese dialogue process), led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, in order to secure the withdrawal of the Sudanese armed groups as called for in the January cessation of hostilities agreement and previous AU-mediated agreements.

Furthermore, despite many threats, IGAD has not taken punitive measures against the two main parties for violating cessation of hostility agreements, committing war crimes and otherwise undermining the peace-talks, and nor has it requested the African Union or UN Security Council to do so. Armed actors increasingly believe there is little muscle behind the mediation, which is challenged by divisions within the regional body. IGAD should continue the process with the two main parties, but given the deteriorating situation on the ground, it must expand its efforts and strengthen its links to other groups and militarised communities not represented in Addis Ababa, through increased political presence on the ground (not simply the Monitoring and Verification Teams observing the ill-implemented cessation of hostility agreements). 

Its mediation should be supplemented by separate but linked negotiation tracks on issues not being comprehensively discussed in Ethiopia, particularly the Tanzanian-led SPLM party talks; a re-activated Political Parties Forum; engagement with armed groups; and processes to address violent communal conflict. Promising internal SPLM party talks have begun, sponsored by Tanzania's ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM; in English Party of the Revolution), however they have not yet changed the calculus for war on the ground. The Political Parties Forum should be re-activated and the leader of the largest opposition party, the SPLM-Democratic Change, should be permitted to travel from South Sudan to re-join the talks. Much of the dialogue and work with community representatives, armed groups and militarised communities should take place in South Sudan, not in Addis Ababa.

China and the U.S. should play a more active, neutral, consistent and transparent role in ameliorating the regional divisions to help break the impasse. The two should take a harder line with their allies within the region who continue to enable the war and are party to cessations of hostilities violations. The limited U.S. and EU individual sanctions, aimed at punishing a few commanders on both sides that are seen to have broken the cessation of hostilities, have thus far had little impact on the combatants’ calculations and individual IGAD, AU or UNSC sanctions are similarly unlikely to turn the tide unless used as leverage to further political negotiations.

In light of the anticipated intensification of fighting, UNMISS’ mandate, due to be renewed on 30 November, should continue to focus on civilian protection. This is particularly true of protection of civilians already sheltering inside UNMISS and, where possible, it should extend protection beyond bases. Hosting nearly 100,000 civilians inside of its bases for an extended period is far from ideal, however the mission must continue to provide protection until conditions allow for their safe and voluntary exit from the bases. Civilians should not be moved into less protected UN humanitarian sites or other specially-designated sites where protection standards will not be the same as within a peacekeeping base. Supporting further ethnic divisions by moving people to their “ancestral” lands where famine and conflict are likely in the coming months is also not a viable option.

Many recommendations Crisis Group made in its December 2013, Open Letter to the UN Secretary-General, its April report, A Civil War by Any Other Name, and July conflict alert, Halting South Sudan’s Civil War,remain relevant to averting further escalation, improving the peace process and ensuring UNMISS has an appropriate mandate and posture. To stop further intensification of the war, IGAD should take the following steps:

• increase its political presence on the ground in South Sudan, with a specific focus on engagement with commanders and armed groups;
• start dialogue with all armed groups and militarised communities; 
• open four separate negotiation tracks, both in Addis and South Sudan, sequenced and pursued so as to contribute to the broader national political dialogue and focused on: 1) the SPLM (supported by Tanzania’s CCM party); 2) a re-activated Political Parties Forum; 3) armed groups; and 4) communal conflict; and
• work with the African Union High-Level Panel on Sudan and South Sudan (AUHIP) to secure the withdrawal of the Sudanese armed groups as called for in the January cessation of hostilities agreement and as well as previous AU-mediated agreements between Sudan and South Sudan.

As the conflict threatens to intensify once again, the United Nations Security Council should take the following actions:

• institute an arms embargo for South Sudan, which must then be carefully monitored to prevent further escalation; identify the government's and opposition’s sources of weapons and how they are paying for them; and increase leverage over the parties;
• establish a Contact Group that includes IGAD, the AU, UN, Troika (U.S., UK, Norway), EU, China and Tanzania to facilitate coordination and discussion on the way forward; and
• maintain UNMISS’ core protection of civilians mandate, including allowing civilians to shelter within UNMISS bases until they are able to make a safe and voluntary exit.

Greater coordination between regional and international actors is urgently needed to ensure the high-level peace talks better reflect the growing number and power of increasingly autonomous armed groups in South Sudan as well as the regional dynamics behind the war. A clear strategy for engagement with armed groups and facility for linking local negotiations with a wider national process will help prevent the civil war deepening and spreading further in South Sudan and the region. 

(Source: ICG)

November 2, 2014 - ALL SOULS DAY

Short Reflection for ALL SOULS DAY (November 2 - year A)

Readings: Wisdom 3: 1-9; Romans 6: 3-9; Matthew 25: 31-46

Selected Gospel Passage: “The righteous will answer him and say, “lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we you stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?  And the King will say to them in reply, “Amen, I say to you whatever you did for one of the least brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me”. (Matthew 25: 37-40)

Meditation: People have the tendency to multiply and impose so many laws and requirements.  Yet one thing is truly required of us - to help the poor and be in solidarity with them. It is, indeed, sobering that in the end this is the only thing that matters - what we did or did NOT do for the least of our brothers and sisters.  Our true measure and worth would depend on our ACTUALLY lifting our fingers to help the poor, the orphans, the strangers, the destitute and those in the margins of our society. Beware of the YEAST of the Pharisees!

www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

Bapa Jun

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 30^th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Exodus 22: 20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10; Matthew 22: 34-40

Selected Passage: "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"He said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."  (Matthew 22:36-40)

Meditation: The Love of God and Love of Neighbor remain the basic ethical measure of our words, thoughts and actions. Often, we measure the LOVE of God by our concrete GOOD actions for the least of our brothers and sisters. We should not behave and think like the Pharisees and Scribes who multiply laws yet are lacking in the real measure that counts.

www. badaliyya.blogspot.com

Bapa Jun Mercado, OMI

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.