That is what Mu7 and his western backers, afraid of China in Sudan, are trying to divert attention of the population in the region to. Did not Mu7 ferried weapons to Southern Sudan before, and Dr. Garang died in his elicopter? With Darfur centre of western attention, to curve China's influence in the region, Southern Sudan is going to be forced into war yet again, and many lives are going to be lost. Maybe we Africans are not intelligent enough afterall. Just watch! Ocii
ugandahelp <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: War fears in SPLA, Khartoum feuding TABU F. BUTAGIRA & AGENCIES Peace in northern Uganda threatened KAMPALA THE decision by leaders of South Sudan to suspend participation in the unity government in Khartoum has drawn international concern as fears spread that the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) may be preparing to go back to war. A senior member of SPLA told Sunday Monitor on condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak,on Friday that "we fear that there is going to be war between us and the Arabs again". The officer, however, did not elaborate. But also on Friday, a member of the SPLA political wing and national unity government, Mr William Ajal Deng, tried to allay growing fears that the North-South partnership is on the verge of collapse. WORRIED: Chairman Mao RESTRAINT: RDC Ochora "No, things are not falling apart at all," he said. "We want things to be settled now. There is no going back to war." Sunday Monitor contacted South Sudan Information minister, Dr Samson Kwaje, to get a clearer picture of what is on the ground on Saturday, but he however declined to comment on the matter. Should war erupt in South Sudan, Uganda as an immediate neighbour would again have to not only contend with refugees but also with the Lord's Resistance Army rebels. The LRA, with the support of the Islamist regime of Gen. Hassan al- Bashir in Khartoum, has traditionally used bases in South Sudan to launch devastating attacks on northern Uganda. Defence and Army Spokesman Felix Kulayigye said on Friday that although it was early days yet to predict the exact outcome of the SPLM/A's Thursday move on regional stability, the Ugandan military was leaving nothing to chance. "We are not only ready but very anxious to end the LRA menace," Maj. Kulayigye said. Fighting between the rebels and the UPDF died down in August last year following the signing of a Cessation of Hostilities Agreement under the on-going Government of Uganda and LRA peace talks in South Sudan's capital, Juba. The fear in Kampala is that once the SPLM/A row with Khartoum explodes into full scale war, then the Government of South Sudan (GoSS) that is currently mediating the talks would find it difficult to continue. Uganda's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Okello Oryem said there is urgent need for the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) to intervene and forestall a resumption of hostilities that ended with the signing of the January 9, 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Kenya between the SPLA and the Khartoum regime. Kenya's ex-president Daniel arap Moi initiated the peace talks between the SPLA and the Khartoum regime. However, the agreement was concluded under current President Mwai Kibaki's tenure. President Kibaki and Mr Moi, who is now Kenya's special envoy to Sudan, have been urged to intervene to defuse the tensions. President Kibaki is current chairman of Igad. GoSS officials are accusing the National Congress Party (NCP) government of Gen. Bashir of selective and, in most cases, non- implementation of key provisions of the CPA. The most contentious issues include demarcation of the north-south territorial borders, withdrawal of northern forces from the south and grievances over sharing of oil revenues as well as political positions. In a new report titled Sudan: Breaking the Abyei Deadlock," the International Crisis Group argues that mounting tensions in the oil- rich Abyei region are the most dangerous threat to reignite the war. It examines the dispute over Abyei, the most volatile aspect of the CPA, the deal that ended the country's 21-year civil war in which over two million people died. The ruling NCP is violating the CPA by refusing the "final and binding" ruling of the Abyei Boundary Commission, leaving an administrative and political vacuum. "The international community has to re-engage across the board on CPA implementation but nowhere more urgently than Abyei, where the risk of a return to war is rising dramatically," said Mr David Mozersky, Crisis Group's Horn of Africa Project Director. "What happens in Abyei is likely to determine whether Sudan consolidates the peace or returns to war", said Mr François Grignon, Crisis Group's Africa Program Director. "Progress there would unlock a broader set of problems challenging CPA implementation, just as renewed violence would likely break the CPA - with tragic consequences". GoSS head of mission in Kenya, Mr Andruga Duku, told Daily Nation on Friday that the US, UK, Kenya, Norway, Italy, the African Union and the UN have a role to ensure the CPA was fully implemented. Mr Duku accused President Bashir's NCP of "rewriting the CPA through delaying tactics and trying to renegotiate issues that had already been resolved." He said Abyei had no government two years after the signing of the CPA because the NCP had rejected a report compiled by international experts on its boundaries. The SPLM further accuses Gen. Bashir of being impertinent towards his First Vice President, Gen. Salva Kiir, who also is the substantive President of the semi-autonomous South Sudan. The two sides have locked horns over Gen. Bashir's refusal to endorse Gen. Kiir's demand for the sacking of Sudan's Foreign Minister Lam Akol, an SPLM member whom the mother party believes has been compromised by Khartoum. Mr David Mafabi, an aide to President Museveni but with considerable knowledge of SPLM/A affairs having worked with the South Sudanese, said the Thursday action was a deliberate warning to the international community. "There has been a build-up of tension [leading] to this [suspension]," he said. "The SPLM/A are trying to underline and dramatise their willingness to fight for the CPA and also evoke regional and international sympathy and support to put pressure on Khartoum to follow the agreement." But war-weary leaders in northern Uganda are anxious should South Sudan revert to war. "We urge GoSS to stick to the implementation of the CPA because peace in South Sudan means peace in northern Uganda," Gulu RDC Walter Ochora said.The district's chairman, Mr Norbert Mao said: "If the pullout continues and SPLA war resumes, who knows what the agenda of the Khartoum government could be in regard to the LRA." If war between the SPLA and the Khartoum government erupts, "LRA commander Joseph Kony will take advantage of the lawlessness in South Sudan and operate from the region and that portends negatively for peace prospects in northern Uganda," said Mr Mwambutsya Ndebesa, a Makerere University historian. The Sudanese Ambassador to Uganda, Mr Hassan Gatkarim, said GoSS officials were being pushy and are misleading the public. For instance, he said, the Khartoum government was releasing about $160 million every three months from oil revenues to GoSS. He said a national commission for allocation of the natural resources and another one for border determination had been formed but heavy torrential rains was hampering its work. "There may be problems but you cannot put the blame all on one party," he said. "For instance, the SPLA have not also withdrawn their troops from northern territories as required under the CPA." Ambassador Gatkarim said that nonetheless a team of senior NCP officials flew to Juba on Friday to try to defuse the tensions. TIMELINE · 1958 - General Abbud leads military coup against the civilian government elected earlier in the year · 1962 - Civil war begins in the south, led by the Anya Nya movement. · 1964 - The "October Revolution" overthrows Abbud and a national government is established · 1969 - Jafar Numeiri leads the "May Revolution" military coup. · 1972 - Under the Addis Ababa peace agreement between the government and the Anya Nya the south becomes a self-governing region. · 1978 - Oil discovered in Bentiu in southern Sudan. · 1983 - SPLM civil war led by Garang breaks out in the south · 1986 - Coalition government formed after general elections, with Sadiq al-Mahdi as prime minister. · 1989 - National Salvation Revolution takes over in military coup. · 1993 - Revolution Command Council dissolved after Omar al-Bashir is appointed president. US strike · 2001 June - Failure of Nairobi peace talks with SPLA · 2001 October - US President Bush names Senator John Danforth as special envoy to tackle Sudanese conflict. Ceasefire deal · 2002 January - SPLA joins forces with rival militia group, Sudan People's Defence Force · 2002 July - SPLA sign Machakos Protocol on ending 19-year civil war. · 2002 July - President al-Bashir and SPLA's Garang meet face-to-face for the first time, through the mediation of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. · 2004 May - Government and SPLA agree on power-sharing after agreeing wealth sharing · 2005 January - Government and southern rebels sign a peace deal. The agreement includes a permanent ceasefire and accords on wealth and power sharing. Southern autonomy · 2005 9 July - Garang is sworn in as first vice president. A constitution which gives a large degree of autonomy to the south is signed. · 2005 July - Garang is killed in a plane crash. He is succeeded by Salva Kiir. Garang's death sparks deadly clashes in the capital between southern Sudanese and northern Arabs. · 2005 September - Power-sharing government is formed in Khartoum. · 2005 October - Autonomous government is formed in the south, in line with the January 2005 peace deal. The administration is dominated by former rebels. · 2007 October - The SPLM accuses Khartoum of failing to honour the 2005 peace deal with the southern rebels and suspends its involvement in the national unity government. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ugandans at Heart" group. To post to this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/Ugandans-at-Heart?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~--- --------------------------------- Be smarter than spam. 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