Sudanese president seeks to lure Southerners into voting for unity

October 12, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir appeared to be making a last-ditch attempt to avert the likely breakaway of the South at the referendum due to take place in less than a 100 days.

Another self-determination vote is supposed to take place in the North-South border region of Abyei in which its residents will decide whether they want to be part of the North or an independent South.

But a deadlock over the composition of Abyei’s referendum’s electoral commission, eligibility of voters and demarcating the borders means it is unlikely to happen on time, if at all.

Bashir outlined several incentives he is prepared to offer Southerners should they vote for unity in the referendum set for January 9, 2011 as provided for in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan people Liberation Movement (SPLM) more than five years ago.

“With regards to security arrangements, we are fully prepared to conduct a joint review that complements what has been achieved, and enable the government institutions in the south to handle security responsibilities in the entire region. We will work on developing what was outlined in the [CPA] agreement on the responsibilities of the SPLA [a body] which is an integral component of the national army, in order to enhance mutual cooperation, and to enable the optimal distribution of the tasks to defend the homeland and protecting the national security,” the Sudanese leader said before the parliament at the commencement of its second legislative session.

“As for the wealth sharing, we are ready to embrace the development of programs and projects adopted by the Unity Support Fund, in the areas of education, health, electricity, infrastructure, agricultural projects and manufacturing, until it reaches a level comparable to services provided in other states of Sudan,” Bashir added.

The Sudanese president said that the government will seek funding for these projects from the national budget, grants or loans “even if it exceeded 100% of the oil revenue”.

Under the CPA, the north and south are to split proceeds from oil produced in the South equally. The SPLM in control of the South has persistently accused the North of paying them less than the 50% stipulated in the peace accord.

Bashir’s speech also promised to seek a new formula for power sharing “on a national level….in order to expand participation of citizens, and people of the South in particular to build the big nation”.

Tensions in Sudan has reached its peak this month after South Sudan president and chairman of the SPLM Salva Kiir declared that he will not vote for Sudan’s unity since the north has failed to make unity attractive during the last five years. The Sudanese president slammed these remarks saying it violates the CPA which said that both northern and southern leaders should try to make unity “attractive” to southerners.

Today, the Sudanese president stressed that his government is not willing to accept anything short of unity in the referendum.

“I reiterate that we, granted our unequivocal commitment to the referendum, do not acquiesce an alternative to the unity of Sudan and we do not see anything other [than unity] as protector to preserve our land from fragmentation and loss,” Bashir emphasized, without specifying his reaction in case of a “yes” vote in the south’s referendum.

“The pure blood of our martyrs did not flow on the soil of our beloved south, to water the tree of unity, nor were we patient in tough dialogue and negotiations, a number of years, for the final scene to be splitting of the land and say goodbye to our brothers. Everyone knows that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, it approved the referendum, only because it is a guaranteed right, and a usual methodology, but every word in the chapters of the agreement was carrying the promises of unity, starting with the cessation of bloodshed, and then commitment to the rights, and sharing of the fruits of power and wealth, and normalization of the citizens’ relations as they move between the two halves of a single home without hindrance or fear,” he added.

Bashir underscored that Southerners are likely to pick unity if the referendum is conducted in “fair and free manner”.

“Sound logic leads the south to unity,” the president said.

However, he warned that the stalled demarcation of the North-South borders is a “decisive factor” in conducting a fair and transparent referendum.

Last month, the United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that her country is working hard with international partners to defuse “a ticking time bomb” in Sudan ahead of the referendum describing the split of South Sudan as inevitable.

Clinton suggested that North Sudan has not interest in letting the South go and lose 80% of the oil revenue.

But the Sudanese president told lawmakers today that the government has put a plan in place that will prevent any economic setback that would result from the South’s secession which includes more oil exploration and crafting a new law to encourage investors.

(ST)