Eastern Equatoria Governor campaigns for independence of south Sudan

By Ngor Arol Garang

December 13, 2010 (ABYEI) – A senior member of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, Brigadier General, Louis Lobong Lojore, Governor of the Southern state of Eastern Equatoria, has embarked on a campaign calling on citizens of the state to vote for the independence of south Sudan in a referendum on January 9.

Addressing a massive crowd on Sunday at Lafon in Eastern Equatoria over weekend, Lojore, who became the state governor following defeat of his fierce rival, former governor of Eastern Equatoria State, Brigadier General Elession Ojetuk, in the last April elections, accentuated the importance of the upcoming referendum on state television.

“The upcoming referendum is very important exercise. It is not like elections. It is about freedom and future of our region. It comes once in the life time. So, we must come out and vote and as we vote, our votes must go to the box with one hand showing bye bye and not two hands showing signs of unity,” explained governor Lojore while addressing a rally in Lafon.

Lojore who is the SPLM chairman in the state becomes the second senior member of southern ruling party to publicly call for separation of south from North. On Saturday, the SPLM’s deputy secretary general for southern sector, Anne Itto, who is also minister of agriculture and forestry in the regional government of south Sudan on Saturday blamed the northern ruling national congress party of having failed to make unity attractive in the last six years and said that her party would now campaign for separation.

More than 3 million southerners have signed up for the 9 January poll, which is likely to result in Africa’s largest country being split in two. Disputes and delays in registering voters had led many to suggest that the vote for an independent south Sudan would have to be postponed – a controversial and potentially dangerous option, given the huge weight of expectation there.

However, aided by a renewed international engagement over the past two months, the registration process has passed peacefully and smoothly in the semi-autonomous south. Despite the registration window being extended for a week until last Wednesday on 8 December 2010, hopes are high that the vote will still go ahead on schedule.

Barnaba Marial Benjamin, a senior member of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in an interview with Sudan Tribune from the regional capital of Juba on Monday said conducting the referendum on time was still possible.

“The conduct of the referendum on self determination for the people of south on 9th of January 2011 can never be avoided. It is a fixed date it will be conducted despite all the challenges,” said Marial,

The minister of information and broadcasting service who doubles up as the official spokesman of the government of south Sudan said logistical and financial challenges remains some of the issues.

“Logistical challenges remain but things look to the move. The will is there. Nobody is against the conduct of the referendum now. It is only negligible percentage that is suggesting delay but 99% of the international community now says it should happen on time,” explained the minister.

South Sudan’s right to secede stems from the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended a 20-year civil war between the south and north that claimed more than 2 million lives.

The referendum is open to all southerners, including those living in northern Sudan and the Diaspora. A separate and simultaneous referendum is expected take place in Abyei, an oil-producing area on the north-south border.

Though the peace has held for the past six years, the mistrust between the ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south and the president Omar Hassan al-Bashir’s National Congress party (NCP) in the north has not disappeared.

About three-quarters of Sudan’s 500,000 daily barrels of oil come from the south, and while this revenue is currently shared between the two sides, the north will lose out if the country splits.
Many southerners believe Khartoum will try to postpone their independence bid to avoid giving up so much of the country’s petrodollar income.

These suspicions led to many of the southerners living outside south Sudan refusing to register for the referendum, fearing that the Khartoum government will tamper with their votes.

The April elections that saw Bashir returned to power for another term were plagued with irregularities in both north and south. The incumbent President of southern Sudan, Salva Kiir, of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movemt won over 90% of the vote in his re-election.

For its part, the SPLM, which is mindful of the situation in Western Sahara, where Morocco has blocked an internationally agreed referendum on independence for Saharawis since 1991, warned at the weekend it would not accept a delay in the poll “even for a single day”.

While the international community and United Nations exerts pressure to ensure there is no delay, printing of ballot papers has not yet begun and the African Union last week described the referendum schedule as “desperately tight”.

Diplomats are also concentrating on persuading the NCP not to sabotage the process. The US has been leading the effort, offering Khartoum based government incentives, from an easing of sanctions to debt relief, as long as the vote is free and fair and the outcome respected.

Bol Makueng, head of the SPLM Secretariat of information, culture and communications, told Sudan Tribune on Monday that understanding the true intentions of northern leaders is difficult, and no one else a part from members of the National Congress Party knows what they want.

“The NCP does not have a shared position on this and appear to be unaware of what they will do. They are completely confused. They do not know what to do. They are trying all possibilities, said Mathok.

The uncertainty over the post-referendum situation adds to the failure to implement key parts of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, including the demarcation of the north-south border.

Both The SPLM and NCP have also not agreed on how the oil would be managed in future, which is critical since the only pipelines from the southern oilfields run through the north.

(ST)