Sudan is waging a wrong war against the people of South Sudan

By Isaiah Abraham

April 12, 2012 — The Sudanese Parliament has declared general mobilization for war against the neighboring Republic of South Sudan. Yet they also target Northern rebels holding up along South-Northern border. Indirectly Khartoum is aiming at killing two sparrows using a single stone. It wanted to punish, fail and silence Juba and at the same time stop rebels fighting their government.

For now there seems to be no turning back from that thinking, the path chosen by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) to resolve their internal political problems as well as export troubles to others. The two countries are technically at full and all out war.

But I see Khartoum fighting shadows instead of concentrating on how to settle political differences with its internal opposition groups. The Northern Opposition forces are everywhere even in the South Sudan State, and this has worried Khartoum much not its differences over oil, border and land with Juba. Juba is mistakenly drawn into Khartoum needless war, and the cost for that move will be felt so soon.

Peace Process

This is a way to go! It might be long, but majority of the Sudanese in the North and the South don’t see war as a solution to problems facing the two countries. Peace must be given a chance by any cost. Leaders from both South Sudan and North Sudan, especially those in the NCP are advice to return to the negotiating table for dialogue. Nothing is so powerful than language of talking (dialogue) and reasoning. It is about time for Khartoum to drop expansion crusade and work for what that works. No return to war please!

Let’s resume talking, and somewhere we must critically check out causes of the current conflict. People talk of oil, border incursion and invasion, but we must not ignore Khartoum security fears after the two areas of Blue Nile and Southern Kordofan unrest. They know rebels fighting against them are out to topple their government and South Sudan being so fold to help others in need, especially friends could be a spring board for that project. The security element therefore ought to be given the urgency it deserves. It keeps on coming up during the past negotiations and mediators must find ways of accommodating security concerns by Khartoum.

In another word, once the military dust settles in few days or months to come, there is an urged need to look into this element of rebels fighting Khartoum within space of political rounds of talks currently in Addis Ababa. Perhaps that is where we must begin

There are accounts of accusations and counter accusations that South Sudan is supporting rebels and the opposite true about Sudan. To be exact, Sudan started it, and South Sudan followed suit (support Northern rebels), morally however. There are no secrets about what is happening between the two countries and if healing and reconciliation are anything important to the two regions, there has to be openness and honesty. The two must cease from cheating one another for the sake of peace.

I still see window of opportunity for the two sides to stop the fighting and dialogue. The world must help the two nations in the form of peace keeping mission and buffer zones. Negotiation must start from cease fire arrangement immediately, followed by border demarcation exercise. Border current issue is really an issue. Countries must know their international borders otherwise it is possible for temptation to annex lucrative soils of others.

Though the atmosphere is just not conducing for talking at the moment, and the war is in the air, let us do what good men (NCP and the SPLM) did in Naivasha Kenya. To straighten out differences through violence is the last thing when other avenues are not workable. We must learn to seek peace through other means and not through war. Khartoum is wrong here 100%. They still live in the past.

If they continue in that orientation (belligerency), they will be shocked. They will never conquer South Sudan, mark my words! The SPLA has ability to discipline an intruder. They are wasting their time fighting the people of South Sudan for their own down fall. South Sudan has not bowed to anyone. We will withstand any threat!

Wait a minute, I read a lie that Panthou (now renamed Heglig) as part of Southern Kordofan, that is in correct. South Sudan territories of the 1956 are well documented; Panthou is well deep within Southern territory, let no one again mistaken it using the current corrupted so-called map of the two countries. We still have other areas we will bring back even beyond Panthou. When did Panthou become Northern territory? The people are joking! Panthou is many miles behind in the state of Western Upper Nile

SPLA must not leave Panthou whether Khartoum rains fire on our men or through any pressure from New York (UN) or Addis Ababa in Ethiopia (AU). AU in specific should look away. Khartoum has is invading and they will find men here. If to patch up their economy through Southern land is an issue, then they are wrong. Khartoum must forget it quickly and look for other sources of financing their crumbling economy.

Way forward

The thing we hear over again that South Sudan did this or that is just a divisionary. The fact is that there is a civil war in the Sudan, and South Sudan is paying the price for an imported war. Sudan at the moment doesn’t differentiate between South Sudan and her rebels fighting in that territory and this is a mistake.

Now that the Sudan has waged a wrong war against a wrong enemy, leaving Northern rebels behind, the people of South Sudan should stand up shoulder to shoulder, tie their belts and resist Sudan aggression against their territory and people, whether that is through talking or defending. Enough must be enough! If the price of peace is war, our people shouldn’t just sit by and allow their leaders to sing ‘peace’, ‘peace’ when actually there is no vocabulary called peace to the Sudanese.

Khartoum ought to stop aerial bombardment in the territory of South Sudan. They got to go away from areas along the borders, until demarcation exercise actually takes place. They must cease from supporting Southern dissidents and close down their activities, the same way they did to rebels then fighting Ndjamena Government. If Khartoum fails to do the right thing to stop harassing us, we will stand up and say a resounding no

There is no need for sovereignty if another country enters your own, curbed away territories, pillaged it and destroyed everything at will. Our people will not watch the North doing just that, at this point in time. We have ‘rested’ and since the North has pushed us thus far, we must give it another lap. Our people fought in ages and this war is nothing. Let us prepare for the worse as this war has been enforced on us. This message is to you my people (South Sudanese): Nehemiah 4:14

Isaiah Abraham lives in Juba; [email protected]