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Africa Subsaharan
'They're bastids': Dutch Minister calls out South Sudan leaders over famine
2017-04-05
[SBS] Dutch Minister for International Trade and Development Cooperation Lilianne Ploumen isn’t one for holding back.

"The leaders of South Sudan are bastards who starve their own people," she told Dutch TV station RTL4 this week.

"The people of South Sudan have been abandoned by their leaders, left in the lurch, and they need help desperately," she said.
How is that different from any other third-world, authoritarian shit-hole?
The outspoken politician made the comments during a nationwide campaign which has seen the Dutch government and the public donate tens of millions of euros to UNICEF and Dutch NGOs as they struggle to address four major famines.

UNICEF says that nearly 1.4 million children are at imminent risk of death from starvation in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen.

While few have stated their views on South Sudan’s leaders in terms as strong as Minister Ploumen, the Dutch politician isn’t alone in blaming South Sudan’s own government.
Of course Juba has summoned the Dutch ambassador demanding an apology.
Posted by:Besoeker

#10  South is the Christian/animist part of old Sudan.

Therefore, a safe target.

Not that they don't deserve the criticism, but let's not kid ourselves about why it's happening.
Posted by: charger   2017-04-05 22:04  

#9  Like most African countries, S Sudan is a line on a map drawn around a hodgepodge of tribes and religions.
Posted by: phil_b   2017-04-05 20:34  

#8  Having read Martin Stanton's book Somalia on 5$ A Day(2001) on his tour there he noted that:
The foreign humanitarian efforts carpet-bombing the local economy randomly with foodstuffs had the long-term effect of destroying any incentive for local agriculture ... other than quat.
Posted by: magpie   2017-04-05 13:32  

#7  I've given some weight to the argument that "relief efforts" in most circumstances allow those who are in power to remain inefficient and/or corrupt.
Posted by: Crusader   2017-04-05 12:44  

#6  Of course Juba has summoned the Dutch ambassador demanding an apology.

The Dutch ambassador, who for some reason, showed up eating a sandwich.
Posted by: SteveS   2017-04-05 12:01  

#5  Die probleem is nie geographie nie. Die probleem is geneties.

The International Community is deliberately ignorant when it comes to genetics.
Posted by: Pappy   2017-04-05 11:14  

#4  Overall, or just before they left?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2017-04-05 11:14  

#3  Maybe some day after the Marxists are thrown out of our institutions, there will be a reevaluation of the benefits of colonialism.
Posted by: Procopius2k   2017-04-05 09:25  

#2  The establishment of South Sudan was celebrated because it would different from Sudan itself. Posted by Pappy

Die probleem is nie geographie nie. Die probleem is geneties. (Not a problem of geography, but rather genetics)
Posted by: Besoeker   2017-04-05 08:43  

#1  The people of South Sudan have been abandoned by their leaders, left in the lurch, and they need help desperately"

The establishment of South Sudan was celebrated because it would different from Sudan itself.
Posted by: Pappy   2017-04-05 08:28  

00:00