Machar congratulates Ngok Dinka for determining their destiny

November 1, 2013 (JUBA) – The deputy chairperson of South Sudan’s ruling party (SPLM) has congratulated the Ngok Dinka people of Abyei for successfully conducting a unilateral referendum, in which 99% of them opted to join South Sudan.

Riek Machar said it was their God-given right for the Ngok Dinka to decide their destiny, 108 years after they were administratively transferred from Bahr el Ghazal to Kordofan by the former British colonial administration.

He made the remarks on Thursday during a meeting at his residence with a delegation from the leadership of the SPLM secondary school students’ league, led by its chairman, Wuol Agany.

The former vice-president of South Sudan also criticised those who downplayed the plebiscite, saying the people who have voted in Abyei were the eligible voters. He further said those who opposed the referendum had no alternative for the Dinka Ngok, other citizens who already voted.

The Misseriya, Machar said, were merely seasonal guests in the disputed oil-producing region and had no right to vote, adding that even the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, signed in 2005 did not mention the Misseriya by name to vote.

“Also the ruling of the Tribunal Court of Arbitration in The Hague on 22 July 2009 in the presence of Misseriya and Dinka Ngok leaders clearly curved the Abyei Area as belonging to Dinka Ngok alone”, he stressed.

Machar, however, called on both South Sudan and Sudan to accept and recognise the free will of the Ngok Dinka, urging the greater international community to bless the will of the people.

The people of South Sudan, he emphasizes, should celebrate on the streets in solidarity with the people of Dinka Ngok, who voted with over 99% to rejoin the region.

Meanwhile, the leadership of the SPLM student league also briefed the former vice-president on their plans and activities, which among others, involved recruiting youth across the country in to the party.

(ST).