Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
By Atem Mabior
November 24, 2007 — Many southern Sudanese are worried that the current impasse between the SPLM and NCP may eventually slide into open war. Their worries are justified as the standoff escalates everyday. But looking back at the start of the events we will discover that the following triggered the crisis:
– The crisis was engineered and used by some elements within the SPLM as a diversionary tactic to galvanise the South, garner support and obtain internal and external help for their ill-intended schemes.
– The crisis was engineered to obscure visible failures and defects i.e corruption and other maladministration practices within GOSS and the SPLM.
– The crisis was engineered as a personal vendetta and to settle personal scores. The recent summoning to Juba of some senior SPLM members who are opposed to the current SPLM adventurism, is part of this campaign.
The SPLM says it wants peace but it does exactly the opposite when it comes to settling its differences with its partner. Senior SPLM cadres continue to utter inflammatory statements that tend to escalate the crisis. Recently Yasser Arman a SPLM member on the bipartisan six-man committee told News reporters that they have reached agreement on all issues except Abyei. What this means is that it is only Abyei that remained to be resolved. Nevertheless despite this big progress there is no softening of positions and no resumption of work by SPLM ministers.
We are certain that a big section of the Sudanese population do not know much about the Abyei problem. No one neither from the SPLM or the NCP would want to educate the Sudanese people about it. The sons and daughters of Abyei do not volunteer information to the Sudanese people on Abyei either because they know little about it or because they risk being challenged. All the players on Abyei have barricaded themselves in their cocoons but defense of own position blinds each side and does not grant each side any verdict of right. These behaviours express the usual pitfalls in any process of reconciliation and peace. No party makes any attempt to understand the position of the other side. Each side automatically assumes that the opposing side is wrong. Honesty and truth telling have become to be regarded as a sign of weakness and sometimes attracts punishment or reprimand. Now since we are dealing with national issues we must rise above ethnic/tribal and racial interests and say the truth. In saying this truth we are not condemning anybody and we are not assign any judgement on anybody. Wether we are saying this truth against the interests of the Dinka Ngok or the Messiriyya tribe, all will still live as neighbours in the end. What concerns us now is saying the truth. Anyway according to anthropologists the majority of the Sudanese are all immigrants. They migrated and occupied their present so-called homelands either from within Sudan or from abroad. So there is no real landlord in the strictest sense.
Historically, we have established according to our research, the Th present Abyei belonged to the Dajo tribe which is now dispersed into Southern Kordofan, Southern Darfur and Eastern Upper Nile. The cause of this dispersion might have been caused by Dinka Ngok incursion into Abyei. Area Claims by Ngok Dinka and the Messiriyya to the area are all false and unsubstantiated. We know that the Messiriyya and the Dinka were in Abyei by the 17th and 18th Centuries. Can they tell us that this area was unoccupied when they invaded it?
Anyway to come back to the point, in 1905 for administrative reasons or otherwise, decided that Abyei be annexed to South Kordofan from Bahr Al Ghazal. The most important point we want to put through is that this decision was not unilaterally made but was made through the free will of the then leadership of the Ngok Dinka under the paramount chief Late Deng Majok. So far we know that Abyei was not the original homeland of both the Ngok Dinka and the Messiriyya and that the British colonial administration annexed it to Southern Kordofan in 1905 with the consent of the Ngok Dinka.
After the CPA, the Ngok Dinka intellectuals have rediscovered their roots and want to join their kith and kin in Bhar Al Ghazal. The CPA gives them this right but after a referendum. Meanwhile the parties to the CPA agreed to commission the Abyei Border Commission (ABC) to demarcate the border of Abyei and Southern Kordofan before the referendum. The terms of reference included taking the border of Bahr Al Ghazal and Southern Kordofan of 1905. The parties to the CPA, SPLM and NCP, agreed to respect the outcome of the ABC. However, things did not go as agreed upon, the ABC after failing to find the coordinates of the 1905 border between Bahr Al Ghazal and Southern Kordofan, resorted to using 1965 as the border reference. When the ABC presented their report it was rejected by the NCP while the SPLM accepted it. The question is: should the report be accepted even when it violated the terms of reference? If you were in the NCP shoes could you accept the ABC report? If the SPLM were in the NCP shoes could it accept the ABC report?
These are some of the questions that have to be answered if the two partners are willing to reach a compromise. I the two partners have the political will to maintain the CPA it should not be difficult for them to discuss and reach an agreement. But as we said earlier the defence of own position blinds each side to seeing the issue from the other’s position. Usually we fail to make any attempt to understand the position of the other side. We always take a defensive stance and operate through fear of what the other side will or could do, often tipping the balance towards mistakes leading to more conflict.
We hope the leaders of the SPLM and the NCP will rise above party interests and resolve the Abyei issue to the satisfaction of the Dinka Ngok and the Messiriyya.
*The author is the head of SPLM Veterans for Truth in Diaspora, London, UK. He can be reached at [email protected]
Zechariah Manyok Biar
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Brother Atem Mabior, I appreciate your boldness in saying what you have on your mind. This shows that we are above tribal loyalties.
What I have not understood in your objective analysis is whether you know that the SPLM’s withdrawal from the Government of National Unity was more than the issue of Abyei. If I am not mistaken, then there were four reasons why the SPLM withdrew from the Government of National Unity. Abyei was one of them, but there are three other issues you never touched in your objective comment. What do you think about the refusal of Sudan Army Forces in the oil areas in South Sudan when the CPA clearly states that they should have left South Sudan by the end of July this year? What about the SPLM’s claims about NCP’s cheating in the distribution of oil’s money? The cheating in the distribution of oil’s money might not be visible to the outsiders like us, but is the issue of SAF also invisible? Why couldn’t you talk about these issues before you concluded that the SPLM members withdrew from the Government of National Unity because of their selfish motives?
I am really naive about the ownership of Abyei. But did the British told you clearly who arrived in that area before the other? Do the Arabs have the right to claim any land in Sudan if there is no ownership of the land? Would it not be the choice of the residents of particular land to go to the side they want that would count? Have you discovered in your research that the Dinka Ngok are willing to be in the north?
I am just curious. I don’t know the answers to these questions because I believe that the people in Abyei know more than you and me know even though you say they don’t know much. I don’t think Omar has the right to say that he can never give out even a smaller part of Abyei. I did not know he was the owner of the land in Sudan so that he could not give out or give out particular land. our constitution does not say that. May be I am naive about these issues. But the committee that came up with the recent recommendations about the borders of Abyei might be naive too. But why would the people regarded first by both the SPLM and the NCP as experts in the issue of Abyei become naive at last when they submitted their findings? May be you know the answer.
Zechariah Manyok Biar,
Graduate Student at Abilene Christian University, Texas, USA.
Pothwei Apet Bangoshoth
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Dear Atem
With my respect to your opinion about currecnt political crisis in Sudan, I condamn the ruling National congress Party of president Omar for delaying implementation of the CPA regardless of whatsoever truth people mean today.
first if all, did the NCP miss its deadline to implement some of outstanding issuse of the CPA that was suposed to take place befor July 2007?
Secondly, is Sudan ready now to carryout upcoming two elections by 2009 and 2011 as stipulated in the CPA?
If not, what do we want SPLM to do?
Before signing the peace agreement between SPLM/A and NCP, it was affirmed that Sudan’s problems won’t and can’t be solve militarly but, through the negotiation. So, please let’s support SPLM to implement the CPA this year, otherwise the effort of brining peace is meaningless.
Thanks
I don’t want answers to my above questions but for awarness.
Ahmed Chol
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Atem mabior,
I think you faked your name to appear like a dinka but I think you are an Arab.
well whether you are a Dinka or not, I think the anthropological book that you read might have been written by your mother if not by al-Bashir. I mean the book that is telling you that Abiye belongs not to Ngok Dinka does not exist.
If it was agreed that the work of ABC will be respected by both parties, then the ABC has to use whatever resources it has to demarcated the boundary. Your article is just blaming the SPLM which reflects the usual attitude of NCP and therefore is not neutral.
Ahmed Chol, the future commander of Anya-nya III
Deng Dekuek
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Mr. Atem blasphemy! blasphemy! blasphemy!
This is nothing but just a sadistic blasphemous libel. You should be executed for it.
How can anybody spit such seditious garbage? My God!!! What is becoming of this world. Blasphemy!!!!
Samani
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Mr Mabior is trying to present a neutral perspective to this conflict. Also trying to answer alot of the questions and reasons why people cant agree on some of the issues. We can all agree that both the NCP and SPLM are to blame for alot of the outstanding issues not being implemented in the CPA. We should work together to outline these outstanding issues and resolve them, Atem is trying to do that and i thank him for his contribution no matter his personal views.
Now, for those poor and ignorant remarks and replies. Other than hard line fanatic and racist remarks i cant read anything usefull or helpful. Instead of calling it blasphomy or Atem a fake or arab even why dont you try providing proof or atleast a reasonable arguement against it. Not only does it show ignorance, arrogance and lack of knowledge of history (because its obvious you dont know anything), but it is the main reason why nothing is sloved. Providing Evidence and debating things my friends, is what differentiates genuine sincere people who care for the future of all our people, from those who just cause trouble.
Martin claims arabs think southerners are confused, illiterate and dont know thier history ! True alot are, but so are many people in the north. If you peronaly want to hold a grudge against arabs for the rest of your life thats your personal problem, no need to spread your hate to others. Cause that makes you sound just as bad as people that are racist. I am not denying anyone personal feelings or the right to express themselves, but this isnt democracy i read here, just hate.
You will never know what democracy is, because you havent got a clue what it means. But a word of advice .. it is to debate and question things with respect to others. Not calling to execute people.
Titai Sobiri
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Dear Atem,
Are you really sourthern Sudanese and willing to return back home? you are talking like you will never step home again and ignorance of NCP unwishful deliberate and undermining strategies to put off who ever parallelly line-up confronting them.
You seemed to be scholared by NCP to sought southerners in dellima,whilst not knowing or negleting that Khartoum stick to Abyei because of the present oil in the area.
If you know the real prove, then why not bringing them to evacuate the troubling partners. Where you must make assure your realistic prove serves Beshir’s wishes ,but will that work in our eyes? Do the people of Abyei have no grand grand fathers who pass their historic live existency in the area?
You sorted your views like half human.
Bombom
Abyei Issue from a neutral perspective
Dear Southerners
Nobody can ever say Abyei is not important to Southern! But the question one wants to ask is why Abyei issue wasn’t resolved during the peace negotiations! Why was it left pending? Why didn’t Dr John, among others of the CPA signatories prioritize the Abyei status! Why did they prioritise issues such power-wealth sharing, among other and not those of Abyei, South-north border differentiation etc?
Accordingly, they didn’t prioritise Abyei because there would have been no peace by now if they were adamant about Abyei status!! So, if Dr Garang and his partners in peace did not solve Abyei problem overnight during the peace talks, then, why are you expecting it to be easily resolved now??? Can you tell us (southerners from different political forces) the reason for this outrage or rampage for Abyei!!!! What happen to the unity of Sudanese that SPLM/A used to lecture us about!
I got enraged by all these discriminative words like referring to the citizens of our northern region as Jalaba, even by the people who are calling for the equality and justice for all Sudanese people! If we are racist or discriminative or prejudice to northerners or what some call Arab (although I don’t believe there are no any pure Arab left in Sudan after all those centuries of intermarriages with their African brothers/sisters) for God sake, why are we blaming them for their discrimination and rejection of us??
Why are we expecting them to accept us when in fact we don’t accept them, as what goes around comes around! And thus, we shouldn’t be surprised by the rejection of us, especially if we reject them?
My advice to the SPLA/M followers is, please familiarise yourselves with the principle of your party, in another word, you get to know the ideologies of your party in-side-out!! Because whatever you say is reckon and can be used against your party, if you don’t care about that, then, you will be regarded with suspicion!! That is to say, the ideals that your party claimed to be fighting for, will be disregarded and perceived hypocritical by the Sudanese people. Let us not
sideline OR marginalise those Sudanese Arabs if we don’t want to be sidelined!!
I am saying all this in the angle of full impartiality just like our author or any concerned son of Sudan and citizen of Southern region!! I believe in negotiation and not war for the achievement of peace!
Some people on this website always question my being a southerner simply because I call for justice for all, because I condemn war and because I hate discrimination in its all forms!! But I believe many southern Sudanese are sharing me those ideals. Let Abyei problem not to result into warfare because I don’t think it will solve the problem unless we want to slaughter another 2 million or even more once again(if there is anyone left to be killed) before we come back again to settle the matter peacefully and just like the first SPLA/M war that slaughtered 2 million innocence southerners, but di it solve THE problem?? Of course no!! thus, let us learn from our mistakes, otherwise it will never progress.
Bol Thourmuck of Greater Nuer Greater Nasir(UK)