Sudan ‘s NCP cannot win South Sudan Referendum

By Steve Paterno

June 14, 2010 — As January 9, 2011, the date for conducting the South Sudan referendum approaches nearer, the Khartoum base, National Congress Party (NCP) members are strategically playing a pivotal role to upset the final outcome of the referendum, which could lead to secession to favor unity. In their rhetorics, on the result of the referendum, they have already claimed victory with confidence for South Sudan to remain under Khartoum’s oppressive regime.

Listening to NCP surrogates and their cheerful asserted winning of the referendum of South Sudan, in effect, reveals that they are sure of their abilities to disrupt the referendum in South Sudan. However, the South Sudan referendum is an exercise to be carried only by South Sudanese for their self determination. Therefore, the rhetorics by the NCP to win in such exercise is inconceivable as they are non participants.

Even though the NCP northern bases members are not participants to the referendum, they, for good reason have stake in its outcome and wary at the same time. Hence; they resort to disruptive methods for the entire process of the referendum exercise so as to maintain South Sudan under the oppressive regime in Khartoum. Some of the recent activities in South Sudan show the works of the NCP. Politics is like sports; the weakness of your opponent is an opportunity to capitalize on your opponent weakness. Following in the footsteps of generations of oppressive Khartoum regimes, the NCP, like their predecessors, master the game of exploiting the weaknesses of generations of South Sudanese. Some South Sudanese may think the word militia has its origin in one of the many South Sudanese languages. For a South Sudanese, a militia is a South Sudanese tribal person who is fed, clothed, and armed by a regime in Khartoum to kill people from his or other tribes, and the established institutions. The practice of militancy has been there as ancient as the state Sudan existed.

In the last few months, several new militia groups sprung up in South Sudan. These militias are of various backgrounds, though with one aim. One such example is that of a former South Sudan army general, George Athor, who resigned his top military position to contest for election and then ended up leading militias against South Sudan. The activities of these militias, which include the killing of innocent civilians, disruption of road transportation system, and attacking of institutional infrastructures and installations, are linked to the regime in Khartoum. Officials from both South Sudan army (SPLA) and government of South Sudan publicly accused Khartoum for instigating this militia violence in South Sudan . The South Sudan army spokesperson told the media that, “all militia leaders report directly to national intelligence services in Khartoum .” This message was echoed by senior officials in South Sudan government or the ruling party in the South, the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM).

If one follows to find the reason that led to the recent surge in militant activities in South Sudan, it will be absurd as the militias themselves. They are claiming to be fighting against rigging of elections by SPLM. However, deep at the heartland of SPLM-DC, one of the militias outfit that infiltrated Malakal, Upper Nile State, the real story is very startling. The SPLM-DC was hatched before the election, ostensibly to destabilize the SPLM/A, and South Sudan for that matter. Since then, the SPLM-DC has shaped-up with tribal roots, anchored by its leader ethnicity, Lam Akol—a typical definition of militias in South Sudan context. During the elections of last April, the SPLM-DC not only rigged (if rigged is synonymous with win) the elections, but also intimidated and killed their opponents in its stronghold in Malakal constituency. They are already being implicated in several cold blooded murders in Malakal. To underscore this point, a decorated South Sudanese army general and minister in the government of South Sudan, Gen. Deng Oyai, who happens to hail from Malakal, lost the elections to SPLM-DC member, a proof that SPLM could not have rigged election to warrant military attacks against South Sudan. Malakal has become sort of Fallujah of South Sudan (a reference to an Iraqi city overtaken by terrorists during USA occupation of Iraq ).

So, the NCP cannot win the referendum in South Sudan, but they can sure disrupt its conduct by proxies. It is vital to South Sudanese people not to allow the chance for their self-determination get snatched away as Khartoum pits them against each other at this critical moment.

Steve Paterno is the author of The Rev. Fr. Saturnino Lohure, A Romain Catholic Priest Turned Rebel. He can be reached at [email protected]