Build strong economic relations, Mbeki advises South Sudanese

By Julius N. Uma

January 07, 2011 (JUBA) – Southern Sudanese should focus on building stronger socio-economic relations with neighboring regions, should they opt for secession in Sunday’s self-determination referendum, Thabo Mbeki, the ex-South African leader said Friday.

Mbeki, who heads the African Union High Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) made these remarks while giving a 30-minute lecture on, “Southern Sudan on the eve of self-determination,” held at Juba University.

The referendum, he said, provides a unique opportunity for the population of the semi-autonomous region to not only express their right to self-determination, but further determine both their destiny and that of future generations.

“This historic referendum will be remembered as the period when the current generation of South Sudanese strived to achieve what they have always longed for after long years of civil war,” Mbeki said.

Mbeki also dismissed critics and skeptics of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), saying the successful conduct of the self-determination referendum provides a new era for Southern Sudan’s reconstruction and recovery.
“The January 09 referendum remains the central part of the CPA and it had to be fully implemented regardless of what skeptics believe,” stressed the former South African leader.

He further acknowledged the contributions of Sudan’s President, Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and his Southern Sudanese counterpart, Salva Kiir Mayardit, both of whom he said played fundamental roles in leading people towards the long-awaited vote.

Specifically, he lauded Kiir for his role in the organizing the landmark south-south political parties’ dialogue and later extending amnesty to former enemies of the southern government, which he said proved a milestone for the referendum success.

Mbeki, who addressed thousands of people present at the public lecture, also rapped the former colonial administrators who ruled the African continent, saying it was time for Africans to unite for a common initiative that steers progress.

“As Africans, we all need to embark on a transformation approach from the colonial ways of administration to that of countries with independent status,” he said, amidst loud chants from people in the packed hall.

Citing what he described as the larger pan-African project, the former South African president urged Africans to embark on liberalization and solidarity as the only mechanisms derived through politics.

The head of the AUHIP also challenged the current Southern Sudanese generation to be prepared for “war” against poverty, which he said should be fought on the basis of a strong economic recovery programme.

Mbeki further paid tribute to fallen Southern Sudanese heroes, saying the emergence of Southern Sudan as the 54th African nation, should the masses vote for independence, will be a clear indication that their struggles were not in vain.

Both the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and their National Congress Party (NCP) counterparts, Mbeki emphasized, have agreed to work together to build two viable states, regardless of the referendum outcomes.

(ST)