Southern Sudan not prepared for independence – De Chan
By Julius N. Uma
August 16, 2010 (KAMPALA) — Majority decisions in favor of an independent Southern Sudan in next year’s referendum could have serious repercussions not only in the region, but the entire African continent, a renowned Sudanese Political scholar has warned.
David De Chand, the Chairman of Southern Sudan Democratic Front (SSDF) party told journalists in Kampala, Uganda that it’s still too early for the semi-autonomous region to secede from the north, given its “lack of leadership capabilities”.
Asked to elaborate further, De Chand said, “I should now tell you that Southern Sudan is not united at all. It [still] lacks leadership capabilities to govern itself and our experience with the SPLM [Sudanese People Liberation Movement] leadership has been disastrous for the last five years”.
The SSDF Chairman also accused the southern Sudan ruling party of its alleged interference in the April general elections, saying the latter “deliberately and willfully” barred other Southern Sudan parties from freely propagating their political ideas to the population.
“The elections were not democratic because they were rigged by the SPLM and the way the SPLA [Sudanese Peoples Liberation Army] behaved during the elections showed that they are partisan and not a national force,” he said.
De Chand maintains that unity remains that only option in the forthcoming referendum, and that an independent Southern Sudan could undermine efforts to achieve the East African integration.
Under the East African integration arrangement, member countries will benefit from common terms of trade, including trading using one currency. Current members include Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
According to the SSDF leader, the current political boundaries of Sudan needed to be preserved, arguing that if the south separated from the north, the entire country will disintegrate, citing likely scenarios in Darfur, Southern Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan and the Nuba mountains.
“To make matters worse, that scenario would lead to the disintegration of other African countries and that is what Europe wants to achieve. This has been the major cause of conflicts between Sudan and western countries,” Prof. De Chand told journalists.
Critics have, however, accused the learned political scientist of championing a hate campaign against the Southern government, with many already labeling him as being loyal to President Omar Hassan Al Bashir’s regime.
“David De Chand has not been in Southern Sudan for a long time. He has been in the US from where he came and went to Khartoum and later to Uganda for press interviews. He needs to be told realities on the ground,” Mr. Ador Akok Athuai, the Political Affairs Officer at the Liaison Office of the Southern government in Kampala said yesterday.
Mr. Athuai, like others, strongly believes the time is ripe for semi-autonomous region to gain independence from the north, saying the current SPLM leadership is capable of ruling the country.
Meanwhile, Mr. David Amour Majur, the Secretary General for South Sudan Youth Forum for Referendum told Sudan Tribune that much as some elements were opposed to the independence of the south, loyalists have already view it as an effective way of countering terrorism threats, under the East African integration initiative.
(ST)