CPA is dead without North-South border
Without implementation of ABC (Abyei Boundary Commission) report and demarcation of South/North border, there will be no security in Southern Sudan
By Sabrino Majok Majok*
Nov 29, 2006 — The contentious issues of South/North border and implementation of ABC are principal ingredients toward a secured peaceful Southern Sudan including Abyei.
As came in security arrangements protocol signed in Naivasha, Kenya, on September 25, 2003, which stipulates SAF and SPLA members that are not part of Joint/Integrated Units (JIUs) are supposed to be “separated and encamped” during six-year interim period.
On section three on redeployment of SAF and SPLA, the protocol can not be any clearer in the following paragraphs:
(a) The two forces shall be disengaged, separated, encamped and redeployed as will be detailed in the Comprehensive Ceasefire Agreement, (b) Except for those deployed in the Joint/Integrated Units, the rest of the forces of SAF currently deployed in the south shall be redeployed North of the South/North border of 1/1/1956 under international monitoring and assistance within and up to two and one half years (2 1/2) from the beginning of the pre-Interim Period, (c) Except for those deployed in the Joint/Integrated Units, the rest of SPLA forces currently deployed in Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile shall be redeployed South of the South/North border of 1/1/1956 as soon as the Joint/Integrated Units are formed and deployed under international monitoring and assistance.
Although the above clauses are unambiguous as they can be, their implementations can not successfully be done if South/North border is not demarcated, couple with stalled ABC. One can not practically redeploy south or north of “South/North border of 1/1/1956” if the border itself doesn’t exist.
Therefore, it’s lack of demarcated South/North border that allows SAF to freely reposition its forces within Southern Sudan, sometimes within one region. For example, forces which were withdrawn from Bahr el Ghazal were immediately repositioned just along Kiir River (a part of constituency of this writer).
SAF sly schemes, and a slow withdrawal from Southern Sudan, are positively meant to destabilize Southern Sudan as they can crop up their proxy forces in the region with impunity, for example, OAGs and LRA.
Furthermore, SAF is well aware that it cannot play a fair game with mighty SPLA; that’s one to one as in JIUs. Thus, the massive, illegal forces in areas where they are not supposed to be in the first place, especially after 22 months of CPA and only 8 months for supposedly complete redeployment of SAF NORTH OF SOUT/NORTH BORDER OF 1956.
As NCP manipulates daily oil output from Southern Sudan, it also restricts the demarcation of South/North border and ABC. Unless GOSS expedite and resolve these controversial points, we will soon kiss goodbye to hard worn Comprehensive Peace Agreement. For instance, an incident that happened in Malakal two days ago was not an accident, but a harbinger. Other serious events are in the pipeline!
Consequently, GOSS must convince or force NCP to demarcate South/North border and simultaneously effect implementation of Abyei Border Commission Report before January 9, 2007.
*Sabrino Majok Majok is a Sudanese; reach him via [email protected]