South Sudan parliament and Abyei referendum
By Luka Biong Deng
November, 25 2013 – After the people of Abyei announced the results of their referendum on 31st October, the people of South Sudan overwhelmingly applauded the outcome and the way the referendum was conducted. While the official position of the government of South Sudan is yet to be made clear and public, the Council of States of Sudan has resolved to condemn and reject the outcome of Abyei referendum. The real question is for how long will the Government of South Sudan remains silent or ambivalent on the outcome of Abyei referendum?
Given the dilemma facing the government of South Sudan not to make its position public, the national legislature of South Sudan should come up with a resolution that would reflect the will of the people of South Sudan on the outcome of Abyei referendum. There are strong and compelling reasons why the national legislature should recognize the outcome of Abyei referendum.
It is undisputable fact that Abyei area as defined by the Hague Permanent Court of Arbitration is a territory of South Sudan that was administratively transferred by the colonial administration from South Sudan to Sudan in 1905. The aim of such transfer was to protect the Ngok Dinka from Arab slave raids and to ease administration and collection of taxes. The Ngok Dinka of Abyei were not consulted when such administrative transfer was made.
Before the independence of Sudan, the colonial administration according to its annual report of 1951/1952 on the administration of Sudan granted the Ngok Dinka of Abyei the right to return back to the administration of the South after five (5) years. In pursuit of this right, the Abyei youth sent their representatives to Fulla in Kordofan in 1954 to raise with the colonial administration their exercise of the right to return back to the administration of the South, but they were arrested. Subsequently, the right to return to the South was not exercised by the Ngok Dinka within the specified period.
During the first civil war, the Ngok Dinka participated very well in the liberation struggle for the independence of South Sudan. People like Akonon Mathiang, Ayok Deng, Dominic Kuol and Dodol Nyang to mention few from Abyei played a great role in the first civil war. In particular Akonon Mathiang made a remarkable contribution in Bahr El Ghazal as he became a commander of Gogrial, Tonj, Lakes and Northern Bahr el Ghazal where he succeeded to cut the rail link between the North and South. Also Dominic Kuol was among the three officers accompanied Captain Bernardino Mou who was sent to launch the military operations in Bahr el Ghazal region and they succeeded to attack Wau in January 1964.
During the negotiations of Addis Ababa Agreement in 1972, the South Sudan Liberation Movement (SSLM) demanded administrative transfer of Abyei area back to South Sudan as it was transferred administratively by the colonial administration from the South to North. In resolving the issue of Abyei, the Addis Ababa Agreement defined the region of South Sudan with its boundaries as they stood on January 1, 1956, and any other areas that were culturally and geographically a part of Southern Complex as may be decided by a referendum. This right of referendum for the Ngok Dinka was denied by Sudan.
In the South, the intellectuals of Abyei in Juba joined the “wind of change” movement because of their unhappiness with Abel Alier, the first president of the Southern Regional Government, over his lukewarm towards the conduct of Abyei referendum. This movement targeted the presidency of Abel Alier and endorsed the presidency of the former Anya Nya leader, Mr Joseph Lagu with the hope he would stand firmer than Abel Alier in challenging President Nimeiri on the issue of Abyei.
In recognition of the role played by people of Abyei in the first civil war, Dr Zacharia Bol was elected to the Southern parliament for the seat of graduates in the 1978 elections and then elected as deputy speaker of the parliament. The newly elected parliament passed a resolution to annex Abyei area to the territory of Southern Region. However, the newly elected president of the Southern Region, Mr. Joseph Lagu did not act on this resolution.
In the elections of 1980, the intellectuals of Abyei, after being disappointed by the inaction of Mr. Joseph Lagu on the resolution of the parliament, decided to support Abel Alier for the presidency of the regional government. Abel Alier was overwhelmingly elected as the president of the regional government and he formed his government which included Dr Zacharia Bol as a regional minister of health. The newly elected Regional Assembly passed again a resolution to annex Abyei area to the territory of the South and asked president Abel Alier to forward this resolution to the central government for implementation.
Learning from his previous experience as the president of the regional government, Abel Alier was firmer this time and he courageously raised the issue of Abyei among other issues with the central government. Annoyed by the position adopted by president Abel Alier, President Nimeriri dismissed in 1981 the regional government and regional assembly and appointed Mr. Gissmallah Abdalla Rassas to oversee the process of dismantling the Addis Ababa Agreement and the division of the South.
It is also a common knowledge that the second civil war started in Abyei and people of Abyei played a great role in the second liberation struggle. People like Miokol Deng and Bagat Agwek to mention few from Abyei played a critical role in the formation of Anya Nya II in Bahr el Ghazal and that contributed in shaping the early formation of SPLM and its leadership in the early 1980s.
During the CPA negotiations, the SPLM/SPLA took a similar stance as that of SSLM in 1972 of demanding administrative transfer of Abyei to South Sudan. The SPLM/SPLA accepted simultaneous conduct of Abyei referendum with that of South Sudan to ensure that Abyei is not left out. When Sudan refused the conduct of Abyei referendum, the nine Ngok Dinka Chiefdoms prepared themselves to declare their decision to become part of South Sudan on 9th January 2011, the first day of the conduct of Southern Sudan Referendum. However, the SPLM intervened and convinced the people of Abyei not to take such decision and not to jeopardize a peaceful conduct of Southern Sudan Referendum.
The Government of South Sudan accepted the AU Proposal on the final status of Abyei including the conduct of Abyei referendum in October 2013. President Salva, after failing to convince President Bashir to accept the AU Proposal on Abyei, wrote to the AU that he reached stalemate with Bashir over Abyei. The South Sudan Parliament, after the assassination of the Ngok Dinka Paramount Chief Kuol Deng, resolved on 24th June 2013 to call upon the Government of South Sudan to ensure the conduct of Abyei referendum in October 2013.
After exhausting all avenues and waiting in vain for the conduct of their referendum by international community, the people of Abyei conducted their referendum as proposed by the AU and decided with overwhelming majority of 99.98% to become part of South Sudan. If Southern Sudan Regional Assembly within united Sudan and without a referendum could boldly resolve in 1978 and 1981 to annex Abyei area to Southern Sudan, the current South Sudan Parliament in a new independent country is in a far better position not only to recognize the outcome of the referendum but also to ensure its implementation.
In fact the recognition of the outcome of Abyei Referendum by South Sudan Parliament is urgent and necessary as it will provide a clear direction to the government of South Sudan. Although the Government of South Sudan has implicitly recognized the outcome of Abyei referendum, the resolution by the parliament to recognize the outcome will strengthen the position of the government in engaging with Sudan, African Union and international community. With such recognition, the Government of South Sudan will then adopt appropriate measures including diplomatic outreach to realize the full implementation of the popular decision of the Ngok Dinka of Abyei area.
Luka Biong Deng is a Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, USA, he is also a senior member of South Sudan’s ruling party the SPLM and a former Co-Chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee. He can be contacted at [email protected] and [email protected]