Independence “incomplete” without Abyei, says South Sudan forum
May 16, 2013 (JUBA) – Attendees at a high-level conference in South Sudan have issued a statement, asserting the new nation’s independence from Sudan “remains incomplete” until Abyei is transferred back to the South from which it was moved in 1905 under colonial rule.
As part of a 2005 peace deal, residents of Abyei had been scheduled to hold a referendum on the status of the fertile, oil-producing area in January 2011, but Khartoum’s demand that the Misseriya nomads, who enter the region for part of the year seeking pasture for their cattle, also be allowed to participate has led to a stalemate over the emotive issue.
“Greater Bahr El Ghazal and the Republic of South Sudan will not be complete without Abyei, the solid land of South Sudan. The referendum of Abyei has to take place as scheduled and we will support Abyei by all possible means”, said a combined statement from the region’s four state governors.
Abyei’s borders were defined by international arbitration in 2009 as the land of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms and a United Nations peacekeeping mission has been deployed there since 2011 to protect civilians and oversee the demilitarisation of the area.
The United Nations Interim Force for Abyei (UNISFA) has faced severe criticism from South Sudan since Ngok Dinka paramount chief Kuol Deng Kuol was killed by members of an armed Misseriya group while travelling under their protection in a convoy returning from Kej in the north of Abyei.
Kuol had been part of a joint delegation from Sudan and South Sudan which visited the area to hold a consultative meeting on how the two sides could move towards forming a joint administration, seen as a prerequisite for the return of people displaced when the Sudanese military over ran the area in the run-up to South Sudan’s secession.
Abyei’s displaced would need to return before a referendum on the final status of Abyei can be held.
The African Union (AU) has proposed that the plebiscite take place in October but with only permanent residents permitted to vote, effectively excluding the Misseriya from participating. This has been rejected by the Khartoum as the Southern-aligned Ngok Dinka would be expected to overwhelmingly vote in favour of returning Abyei to South Sudan.
Kuol’s murder has been widely criticised not only by the UN, AU and South Sudanese government (SPLM), but also by some in the Sudanese opposition.
“We strongly condemn the barbaric murder of one of the strong pillars of the traditional authority in South Sudan, the paramount Chief of Abyei, Kuol Deng Kuol. We call on the African Union Peace and Security [Council] and [the] United Nations Security Council to hold the Republic of Sudan responsible for the killing and ensure the culprits must be brought to book. The international community should also ensure that [the] Abyei referendum takes place as scheduled”, the combined statement adds.
This is the first time governors from the four states of Bahr el Ghazal have come forward to issue a strong worded statement since the incident took place earlier this month.
The statement was issued during the regional conference, attended by hundreds of representatives from the four states of Warrap, Lakes, Western and Northern Bahr el Ghazal who converged in Wau on Wednesday to discuss the political, economic and security situation unfolding in the new country.
The governors in attendance include Paul Malong Awan of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Rizik Zachariah Hassan of Western Bahr el Ghazal, Nyandeng Malek Deliec of Warrap and Lakes state’s military caretaker governor, Matur Chut Dhuol.
The conference is also hosting the speaker of the national legislative assembly, James Wani Igga, who is representing South Sudanese president Salva Kiir.
(ST)