Abyei remains contested area between Sudan and South Sudan, says SPLM official Article Comments (8) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Ngor Arol Garang September 17, 2011 (JUBA) - A high ranking official from the South Sudan’s governing party said Saturday that the border region of Abyei remains a contested area until his country and its northern neighbour reach a compromise that resolves their differences in a manner that will not affect rights of ancestral residents, predominantly members of South-aligned Dinka Ngok. Luka Biong Deng, a co-chair of the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee representing government of the Republic of South Sudan, said in a statement extended to Sudan Tribune on Saturday, that United Nations, humanitarian agencies, donors and the international diplomatic community appear to be working under a misinterpretation of the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements for Administration and Security of the Abyei Area that was signed between the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan (GoS) on 20 June 2011 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Biong said the primary objective of the agreement was to protect and assist the return of those displaced after what he described as “the barbaric invasion” of the Abyei area by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) in May 2011. SAF took control of the oil-producing region two months before South Sudan’s independence in July. The senior SPLM figure, said that the international community is unable to aid Abyei because it has incorrectly identified it as part of North Sudan, placing it outside its area of mandate. A referendum was due to held to decide Abyei’s fate but the plebiscite - a key part of a 2005 peace deal - did not go ahead as the SPLM rejected Khartoum’s demand that north-aligned nomads the Misseriya be allowed to take part. “This misinterpretation is the latest in a long line of obstacles preventing the implementation of agreements concerning Abyei. The hostile activities of SAF and Arab militias, the conflict between the SPLM and Government of Sudan in the Southern Kordofan state, and the antagonistic attitude of Government of Sudan towards international organizations have collectively caused a deepening of the crisis for the Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs) inside and outside the Abyei Area”, said Biong. Biong was the first senior official from Abyei to resign from his ministerial post - in the now defunct North-South power-sharing government in Khartoum - in protest of the north’s military occupation of the area. The Sudanese former minister for cabinet affairs, said the region remains a contested area between North and South Sudan and until its status is determined legally and politically, it retains a special status between both nations. The Abyei Protocol will not be complete until the referendum for the people of Abyei is held or a political settlement is reached by South Sudan’s SPLM and Khartoum’s National Congress Party (NCP). Biong argues that despite now being different countries Abyei should still have special status and the dual jurisdiction of President Kiir of South Sudan and Bashir of Sudan, should remain despite partition. The Abyei agreement signed in Addis Ababa is temporary, Biong’s statement says, and that the final status of Abyei shall be decided by either a popular referendum as stipulated in the Abyei Protocol or through another process to be agreed upon by the parties to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Biong, who has been tasked to follow the issue by the Juba government, added that his interpretation of the agreement leads him to conclude that Abyei remains under the jurisdiction of the Government of Sudan and the Republic of South Sudan. “The Agreement clearly spells out how such dual jurisdiction 2 shall be arranged. First there will be an Abyei Joint Oversight Committee that will exercise, on behalf of the two Presidents (North and South), political and administrative oversight of the affairs of the Abyei Area. There will also be an Abyei Area Joint Administration with the Chief Administrator as a nominee of South Sudan and Deputy Chief Administrator as a nominee of the North. Third, there will be a Joint Military Observer Committee. The Republic of South Sudan and Government of Sudan shall jointly finance the Abyei Administration”, the statement adds. The statement further added that the agreement focused upon concerns of security, protection of civilians and ensuring the return of IDPs to their home areas with dignity. North Sudan, he said, should not be allowed to use the agreement to deny access of aid or returns to the people in Abyei or reward the "criminal actions of the North in its violent takeover of the area and atrocities committed". The agreement is also meant to create a conducive, environment for the safe and dignified return of the people of Abyei, and to ensure humanitarian access. Biong said that the newly amended Nationality Act of Sudan gives conditional citizenship to the members of Ngok Dinka of Abyei area pending the final resolution of the status of Abyei area while the Transitional Constitution of the Republic of South Sudan gives unconditional and inalienable rights for the members of the Ngok Dinka of Abyei to enjoy South Sudanese citizenship and nationality and all rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitution. “This legal commitment by the two states to grant citizenship and nationality to the people of Abyei Area clearly affirms their dual citizenship. Having this dual citizenship and coupled with the special status of Abyei Area should have made it clear for the international organizations to have an unambiguous position towards the status of Abyei area rather than the current misguided position that dominates thinking within international organizations and stifles any humanitarian action to access and address the appalling humanitarian situation in Abyei area”, the statement observed The former minister, however, explained that misunderstandings of Abyei’s status seems to arise from a misreading of an Abyei Protocol provision cited in the Addis Ababa Agreement which states that the 1956 border will be inviolate unless changed through the referendum or a decision agreed by the Parties. “This provision, he said, does not conclude Abyei’s status nor does it signify Abyei is under the exclusive jurisdiction of Government of Sudan.” Abyei lies just north of the border after it was transferred from South Sudan for administrative powers by colonial power Britain over a century ago. According to the Addis Ababa agreement, the principles of the Abyei Protocol continue to apply in that Abyei holds a special administrative status in which the residents of Abyei are citizens of South Kordofan state (Sudan) and Bahr el Ghazal (South Sudan), with representation in both states. The 2005 agreement between the north and south contains a Protocol on Abyei that described the area as a bridge between the North and South. “The misinterpretation of Abyei’s present status is not based upon the tenets of the Addis Ababa Agreement or those of the Abyei Protocol. Instead it is a baseless rumor without any factual or substantive foundation, reinforced by Beshir’s reckless declarations that Abyei Area is exclusively part of the North”, Biong said. Humanitarian Access Having recognised the special status of Abyei between North and South Sudan, the humanitarian community must identify the best locations to access the area since it would be difficult to access Abyei from the North because the rear base for humanitarian support is Kadugli, Southern Kordofan. Sudan has refused to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Sudan. Despite many aspects of the CPA - which UNMIS was mandated to help the two sides implement - not being completed. This include demarcating the ill-defined border and holding "popular consultations" in the northern border state of South Kordofan and Blue Nile where many fought with the SPLM against Khartoum during the civil war. Northern sector SPLM members have refused triggering conflict SAF and their aligned militia, starting in June in Kadugali and spreading to other parts of South Kordofan and early September in Blue Nile. “The conflict situation in Kadugli and the denial of access to humanitarian agencies make it a poor choice for logistical and administrative support to Abyei. What is happening in southern Kordofan will continue in Abyei if the NCP is allowed to dictate the terms of this access”, he observed. He said Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from Abyei are spread out through areas south of Kiir River (known as the Bahr Al-Arab in North Sudan) and the neighboring southern states of Warrap and Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal. The presence of IDPs was placing a greater strain on communities who were already struggling. The official said consolidating the delivery of humanitarian assistance inside Abyei area would be beneficial for the IDPs, and Abyei authorities as some displaced show interest in returning to their homes. He rejected the north’s dissolution of Abyei’s civilian administration in May saying it is still functioning from south of Kiir River in Agok town and is more able to assist its constituencies within Abyei. The traditional leaders are also carrying out their duties from Agok. “Omar Bashir’s dissolution of the Abyei Administration was unilateral and illegal. The Abyei Administration is still recognized by the people of Abyei and the government of South Sudan and will continue to carry out its duties until the new administration is formed”, he said. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. 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