Arab tribe in Abyei set conciliatory tone on dispute with SPLM
April 09, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The leadership of the Misseriya tribe will head next Saturday to Northern Bahr El-Ghazal State to congratulate the newly appointed governor Major General Paul Malong Awan, Sudan official news agency (SUNA) reported.
The new governor is believed to be in good terms with the Misseriya tribe since the North-South civil war that ended in 2005.
The Arab tribe to announce the opening of Miram-Awil road closed during recent escalation of tensions with Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA).
Sudan’s ruling party last week accused SPLM of stoking tensions in oil-rich Abyei by unilaterally appointing a governor in the disputed state, saying it violated the north-south cease fire.
The charges by the NCP came after the former southern rebel group accused the northern army of sending troops into Abyei town, capital of the state disputed by Sudan’s north and south.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned today that attacks in the disputed region between two sides will deter displaced people “from returning to the disputed areas to register for the national census, which is important for future elections, a referendum on independence for the south, and resource distribution between Khartoum and southern Sudan”.
The rights watchdog said that the “unresolved question of whether Abyei belongs to the north or the south are the main threats to full implementation of the peace agreement”.
The Abyei protocol is part of the Naivasha agreement that ended two decades of the civil war between the North and the South.
Under the protocol a commission known as the Abyei Boundaries Commission (ABC) was to “define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905, referred to herein as Abyei Area”.
However the president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir said that the NCP is committed to the Abyei Protocol only with the border of 1905. He further said the government is not concerned with the ABC report and that the latter is of no value to them.
The SPLM chairman Salva Kiir on his end insisted that the Abyei Protocol is binding to the NCP.
One of the Misseriya tribe leading figures Mukhtar Babu Nimir told SUNA that a reconciliation conference will be held with Nuer tribe in Heglig.
Nimir said that the Misseriya will return stolen livestock to the Nuer tribe while the latter will pay them blood money. He also hailed the revocation of the SPLM administrative body in Abyei headed by Edward Leno saying it “paves the way for dialogue to end the tensions in the area”.
The Misseriya figure called on a joint council with Dink Ngok to run the oil rich region to “fill the administrative void”.
The SPLM signed a peace deal in January 2005 with the government of the National Congress Party in January 2005 ending two decades of civil war in Southern Sudan. The peace deal made the SPLM, the ruling party in the south and the NCP the ruling party in the north.
In 2011, southerners will be asked to vote in a referendum on whether they want to be independent or remain part of Sudan.
(ST)
Bol Madut
Arab tribe in Abyei set conciliatory tone on dispute with SPLM
This reminds me of a story told about a person who was on a journey to a nearby village when he suddenly came upon people who were skinning the bull they just slaughtered for a special occasion. The passer stopped and asked the people that he be given a bull thigh, and the responds was you should at least ask for ribs, but not thigh. The passer then respond, well if I had asked for ribs I would have gotten none.
The bottom line is this is exactly what the so-called Misseriya intention is, to claim and insist that Abyei belongs to them knowing at the end, the Ngok Dinka will compromised and give them the portion of ribs… which would means splitting Abyei into two if Sudan ended up being divided between North and South in 2011. This tactic should be unacceptable period.
The recent appointment of CDR. Malong Awan as a governor of NB brought stomach to the Misseriya and that’s why they are so quick to congratulates him. Malang understands how the Misseriya thinks and behaves as he used to hit them hard during the war. For the Misseriya to have a person such as Malang as governor tells them we are heading back to the old days.
ochan stephen
Arab tribe in Abyei set conciliatory tone on dispute with SPLM
By, Ochan Stephen Lochi
This is a very crucial point to talk about the misserya and the border issue of Abyei. this tribe at any time don’t understand where they belong to, and what to consider as theirs.
Not only do the Khartoum gov’t support them but also failed to define who they are to GOSS. Never before have I ever heard of a tribe with rascal ideology of fighting the Gov’t force with heavy weapnos . I just seconded to what the UN watchdogs say about the Northern gov’t aiding them even with troops while pretending that they are strick at following CPA’s documented protocols signed in 2005 to end the world’s longest war that claimed 2 million people.
If I am given a chance to face Bashir, I would tell him that he better resign or else no future for sudanese at all. messirya tribe is being used as escape-goat , so I strongly ask SPLM to keep awake and not watching people dying which will affect the census exercise as we prepare to determine our own destiny.
Ladu Ladu
Arab tribe in Abyei set conciliatory tone on dispute with SPLM
This is an opportunity for the SPLM to capitalize on the Misseriya’s ambivalence. If they had been stauch supporters of NCP and the so called Islamic doctrine they have been imbued with since 1989 when NIF/NCP and Turabi gangstars came to power, they would have demonstrated a radical non-compromising position. But the fact that they are reaching out to SPLM leadership demonstrates their probable disillusionement with their status. Look at their brothers in Darfur? They were the People’s Defense Force (PDF) used against the South. What did they get in return? A kick by the NIF/NCP.The Misseriya’s approach should not be mistaken, however, for their naivety. We know what Islamic fundamentalist can do to people. They become beasts! Once again, I urge the SPLM to be vigilant and protect our brothers in Abyei and the entire Sudan. Long live SPLM/A!