Another Hague Wednesday for the Sudan

By Isaiah Abraham

July 20, 2009 — The Sudanese from both the North and the South have now again fixed their ears and eyes to the Hague over Abyei ruling this Wednesday (July 22, 2009). The Dutch capital has made a name for the Sudanese for good or bad reasons; it was the same city when an Argentinian lawyer who is mentally doubtful defied all manner of logic’s to singlehandedly bundled a case against the Sudanese President on charges of crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

Although the law, like love, is blind, Louis M. Ocampo law wasn’t. He knew exactly what he was doing, purely on a behest close to his character. His organization furthermore is a proxy of another author, even if that country insists to be not signatory to Rome Statute. Oops! That is a line (statement) someone doesn’t like, yeah? But surely for anyone to run away with a case through our today’s pictures must not be left without a quiz. Today’s pictures lie, some are even from disasters of war in the Southern Sudan. Someone should have taken his time on a matter so sensitive like this one (cost more lives than save them). Learners leave no room for guessing, they investigate things thoroughly. That is where the problems lies. Besides peace is previous and expensive, achieve it isn’t like destroying it. To force it either doesn’t make it last! If that goaded you, sorry, there are no apologies here.

Here we go with our today’s important topic. This coming Wednesday ruling about Abyei is a huge and probably the toughest decision to swallow. The land is a hotly contested place, as both sides (the South and the North) stake serious claims to it. The North has the geographical (call it legal) right, while the South has the historical (call it ownership) right; where does the ruling going to go from here really? That is a big question, isn’t? But this is a moment after 105 years of dispute over that land, that a solution is finally going to be sought. Though there is anxiety and adrenalin among our people for the unexpected, everything must have an end and we should be contented (prepared) for worst or for good.

Someone on Wednesday will either wail or overjoy. Let there be no blame game. The South need not to blame GOSS or the SPLM, if the ruling goes against us; but surely the North will blame the West if the opposite becomes true on their side. But the ordinary man/woman in Abyei will have a psychological peace of mind. Yet, I would imagine the kind of feelings among our people if the likes of Brig. Edward Achueny Dau, Hon. Edward Lino Woor, Gen. Pieng Deng Majok, Gen. Kuol Deim Kuol, Hon. Zechariah Boll Deng, Hon. Deng Aloor Kuol, Mulana Deng Arop Kuol, Hon. Luka Biong Deng, Hon. Arop Mayak, Brig Kuol Deng Aboot, Ms Nyankol Mathiang etch kiss the South goodbye forever. I don’t think however this worse scenario could actually come to mind or be expected on Wednesday; I have the faith.

But I have a piece of advice to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) lawyers. Biblical Solomon had a story (case) similar to this one at hand; you got to draw a lesson or two from it. When a pretender (a woman) who had killed her child patched a claim on a living child of another woman, King Solomon asked for a knife to hack it (child) even. The pretender agreed and the real owner of the baby didn’t; instead she pleaded that the baby be given alive to the other woman than cut it into two pieces. King Solomon didn’t cut the child as we all know the story, but gave it away to the real owner who never agreed for the use of a knife to settle the case.

I hear Misseriya saying that the ‘child’ be cut into two pieces, one for them and the other for the Dinka Ngok. That is, the North part of Abyei town would be theirs and its Southern for the Dinka Ngok (South Sudan). The North of that town (as we all know) is large and rich than the Southern part of it and there lies the intention. The former is the homes for most of our today’s leaders including the Foreign Minister and Gen. Pieng Deng, among others. No! Don’t divide that land, deliver my land to me in whole, Misseriya are imposers! No South without Abyei!

Isaiah Abraham, is based in Juba; he’s on [email protected]