USAP leader invites Southern Sudanese to vote for independence

Nov 24, 2005 (KHARTOUM) — A southern opposition politician has urged Southern Sudanese not to vote for unity during the referendum on self-determination.

Founder and chairman of Union of Sudan African Parties (USAP) and member of parliament in the National Assembly, Eliaba James Surur, alleges that if Southern Sudanese vote for unity they will, as he put it, remain second-class citizens and underdeveloped for the rest of their lives.

The veteran politician told Sudan Radio Service in Khartoum during an exclusive interview that southerners should not vote for unity because of what he called injustices committed by past governments in Khartoum.

He claimed that injustices are still manifested in the recent wealth and power-sharing arrangements in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.

(SRS/ST)