NBGS: referendum pressure group rejects call for united Sudan

July 10, 2010 (JUBA) – Thousands of citizens from southern town of Aweil, capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal yesterday on Friday, flocked the streets to stage a peaceful procession, rejecting political calls against separation of the south from the north.

The procession reportedly organized by the newly formed local referendum pressure group dubbed as “The Concerned Youth for Separation of Southern Sudan (CYSSS),” in collaboration with SPLM state Youth league, started from Aweil freedom Square through the corridors of down town to UNMIS where the speakers gave out their speeches before returning to Aweil down town to freedom for conclusion remarks.

Matched through Malou Awer, Maper Akot Aru, Sakadit, Gabat, Ayuang, all in Aweil town, capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal State, procession is expected to be extended to county headquarters and villages. The procession was addressed by Jacob Yel Garang Yel; SPLM youth league chairperson in the state.

In a procession memo seen by Sudan Tribune, Mr. Yel said the CYSSS acting in collaboration with SPLM League, is non political party but a pressure group inspired to sensitize people of Northern Bahr el Ghazal importance of the upcoming referendum so that they show readiness to participate in the conduct of the exercise. This group is just a pressure group. It is not a political party affiliated group, Yel reportedly clarified to the audience at the procession.

Calling upon individual political figures and activists to bury their differences and campaign as an entity rising beyond all divisive factors such as race, religion, political affiliation, educational orientation to name a few, he urged the citizenry to campaign against unity and yes for separation by using peaceful means possible.

“We have to adopt the use of peaceful campaign against unity because of our solid belief in the strength drawn from our unity and common goal; he said stressing that Sudanese youth have hideously suffered bondage of many civil wars in the country in the course of justice. You should remember that we Youth from both sides dearly paid for price of this peace, and we should therefore watch out very carefully to avoid repeat of the past,” he said.

He said youth everywhere become the victims of any conflict, adding that in Darfur youth are dying on daily basis as direct result of the seven year conflict in the restive region.

He further said that northern Sudan failed to make unity attractive since Juba conference in 1947 including the five years of interim period of the CPA implementation, “I do not see when will northern elites make unity attractive for southerners to avoid separating from the north,” he posed.

However, Garang Baak Yel, a southern Student at Bahr el Ghazal University in Wau, condemned both calls against unity and separation, saying none of them has been attractive by the ruling parties.

“Neither has SPLM made separation attractive to the people of southern Sudan nor did NCP make unity attractive to the people of southern Sudan too. They have all done us no good than creation of political classes for poor and rich,” said Mr.Baak.

“How we can talk of separation when killings of innocent civilians are daily reports? How can we talk of separation while corruption is looming leaving no resources to basic services? How can we talk of separation when we are copying and pasting authoritarian behaviors of successive Khartoum in the south? SPLM must make separation attractive instead of empty and rhetoric demands for attractive unity from the north. None of them is good for in the interest of the southern people,” he concluded.

(ST)