South Sudan youth call on Eastern Equatorians to vote for independence

By Julius N. Uma

September 9, 2010 (TORIT) – Hundreds of youths, civil society activists, politicians, students and the elderly yesterday thronged the streets of Torit, the capital of Eastern Equatoria state, advocating for separation of Southern Sudan in the next year’s referendum.

Their fate, will however, be decided on January 9, 2011 when the long-awaited referendum, a key requirement in Sudan’s 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), will be held on the self-determination of the south.

Chants of slogans, ululations and traditional dances filled the air as a pro-separation procession organized by Southern Sudan Youth Forum for Referendum (SSYFR), starting from the army barracks to Torit to the Freedom Square marked the climax of the day.

“Separation is our ultimate goal now. No to unity, but yes to separation of Southern Sudan,” an elderly man, clad in an orange T-shirt told Sudan Tribune in Torit on Wednesday.

Benjamin Bol, the SSYFR chairperson said next year’s referendum is a golden chance for southern Sudanese to decide their destiny as well as that of future generations to come.

“Those who surrender their freedoms for temporary and personal gains should not be given an opportunity to influence the decision of the majority of the southern population who suffered from long decades of war. It’s now or never,” Bol said, to a rapturous applause of those who braved the afternoon heat at Torit Freedom Square.

He appealed to the international community, especially the UN and America to recognize the need for Southern Sudan’s independence from the North, saying a vote for “unity is a vote for slavery”.

“The international community should keep in mind that southern Sudanese are the last slaves still existing in bondage all over the world. Why can’t the international community now intervene and help us gain the freedom we long fought for,” the youthful Bol, also President of Southern Sudan Chamber of Commerce, queried.

Meanwhile, Lokulenge Lole, the Chief Coordinator, Southern Sudan Civic Education organization accused the Khartoum-based National Congress Party (NCP) of being the biggest threat to Southern Sudan’s quest for self-rule.

The referendum, he reiterated, will still go ahead regardless of the ongoing north-south border demarcation saga, which has continuously drawn mixed reactions from leaders in the two regions.

“I want to assure you all that with or without the north-south border demarcation, the referendum will still take place. Short of that, we shall just declare the independence of the south, period,” Lole told Sudan Tribune.

In a related development, Magdalene Beato Atior, the Culture, Cooperative and Social Development Minister in EES government lauded the youth pro-separation initiatives, describing it as a “positive” move.

Asked whether she will support unity or separation of the south in the referendum, she said, “As a citizen of this country, I think enough is a enough. We have suffered for long and its time we decided our own destiny as southerners.”

There were also similar processions in Juba, the Southern Sudan capital, as women, youth and civil society activists openly called for the separation of south from north.

(ST)