South Sudan opposition leader calls for immediate resolution on Abyei

June 12, 2011 (TURALEI, Warrap State) – A South Sudan opposition leader on Sunday called for an immediate resolution to the dispute over the contested region of Abyei, which has been occupied by the northern army since May 21.

The leader of the opposition United Democratic Party made the call as South Sudan prepares itself for independence from the north on July 9. The region gained its independence through a referendum agreed as part of a 2005 deal. The Abyei protcol of the deal, which includes a referendum on whether the region will go north or south, has not been fully implemented.

“In less than a month, the world will witness hoisting flag of a new nation of South Sudan. This emerging country will break away from Sudan after enduring more than four decades of the civil war since it became an independence state from the British and Egyptian rule in 1956. There are, however, worrying signs indicating possibilities of these provocations and reactions returning the country to war before it split in two”, says Tong Lual Ayat, the leader of United Democratic Party, in a telephone interview with Sudan Tribune from Juba on Sunday.

“The international community must immediately put their act together to bring lasting peace by ensuring that parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement reach an understanding to resolve long standing issues over Abyei before the independence of south Sudan”, said Ayat.

Reverend Majok Wek of the Episcopal Church of Sudan commended the position of South Sudan political parties on Abyei, stressing that all political leaders regardless of their differences needs to come up with a unified voice on issues of common concern.

“The Church is aware of [the] differences that exist between political leaders in Sudan. These differences are of political nature, but it is important that they come together on issues of common concerns”, says Wek.

Wek argued that the Security Council of the United Nations alongside a number of other countries has condemned the invasion and atrocities committed in Abyei but a clear position has not been articulated by Sudan’s opposition parties

“The political parties in general Sudan and South Sudan in particular should not stand aside thinking that they have no role to play. The political parties have greater and important role to play in the resolution of conflict over Abyei and the remaining issues in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. This remaining period needs unified voices”, says Reverend told Sudan Tribune in Turalei of Warrap State, on Sunday.

He said that the referendum to determine whether Abyei would remain in the north or join the south should go ahead. Wek also called for international humanitarian assistances and immediate withdrawal of the Sudan Armed Forces from Abyei.

He called for the international community to demand the “immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Sudanese Armed Forces from Abyei unconditionally and allow humanitarian access to the victims of military actions”.

Over 100,000 people are estimated to have fled Abyei and surrounding areas after it was occupied by the northern Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). South Sudan’s ruling party, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, have said that around 100 people have been killed although reliable information is not yet available.

SPLM officials have described the north’s military occupation of Abyei as a direct violation of the 2005 peace agreement that ended over two decades of civil war.

The President of Sudan and the President of the semi-autonomous south were due to meet in Addis Ababa on Sunday to discuss Abyei and other issues realted to the peace deal and southern independence.

Political and military tension between the north and south is also rising at an alarming rate in the oil-producing state of South Kordofan State, which borders South Sudan. Fighting between the SAF and northern soldiers loyal to the SPLM erupted over a week ago.

The Sudan People’s Liberation Army, South Sudan’s official army, last week accused the SAF of bombing areas inside southern territory in an attempt to take control of oil fields near the border with Abyei, South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

The former rebel movement also accused the Khartoum government of using militia backed by its army, the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) to attack and kill innocent civilians in Kadugli town, the capital of South Kordofan State and Abyei.

Accurate reports of casulties are hard to find as journalists are not being allowed into the region. Many people are believed to have been killed with over 75,000 people of the Nuba Mountains forced to flee their homes.

The people of South Kordofan’s Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile fought alongside the SPLM/A against Khartoum in the over two decade long civil war between the north and south. The devastating conflict officially ended with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, which provided for the South Sudan and Abyei referenda.

The SPLM say that the residents of Abyei, who they define as predominantly the Dinka Ngok tribe, are the only eligible voters in the poll. However, Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party maintains that members of Arab Misseriya tribe, who pass through the region with cattle looking pasture and water during the dry season, should also be allowed to vote.

Colonel Deng Thiep Akok, a senior SPLM official and former Aweil North county commissioner, in a separate interview with Sudan Tribune from Juba, described the military take over of Abyei by the northern army a direct violation of the 2005 peace deal

“The occupation of Abyei by the north is a clear and direct violation of the CPA and threatens to further destabilize this region”, says Akok. He said that military takeover was motivated by region’s oil, fertile land and strategic importance rather than for security reasons as the north has claimed. Southern armed groups attacked SAF envoys on two occasions in the run up to the occupation of Abyei.

“Sudan’s President, Omar al-Bashir is a criminal. He is wanted by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity in Darfur and should also be indicted for crimes he committed again in Abyei. This man does not accept anything short of armed confrontation. He sees with his eyes. He has already indicated that his government is not willing to let go Abyei”, he said.

(ST)