South Sudanese students vent their anger in Kampala

About 100 students assembled at the South Sudanese Embassy in Kampala, airing their discontent with the ongoing border dispute between South Sudan and Sudan.

Sudan and South Sudan are yet to resolve several contentious post-independent issues, a dispute over oil revenues, border demarcation and the repatriation of Southerners living in Sudan.

Clashes intensified last month, Heglig and Unity State were major flash points.

Demonstrators chanting slogans on the premises of the South Sudanese Embassy in Kampala (26.04.2012/Ochan Hannington).Although views on the ongoing conflict differ, the demonstrators in Kampala share one opinion. The president of Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, is the villain. He is a traitor and a thief,” says Motwakil Awol, one of the demonstration’s organisers.

One of the students sat on a hard-cover paper with Bashir” written on it. I am sitting on this criminal because I hate him and his actions. He is attacking and killing us for no good reason,” Liong, a 23-year old female student explains.

Another dominating view held by the demonstrators is that the oil-rich Heglig area belongs to South Sudan. Though the area is internationally referred to as Heglig, the demonstrators persisted on the use of the name Panthou”.

According to the demonstrators the existence of the name Panthou proves that the area historically and traditionally belongs to South Sudan.

The Sudanese government claims ownership of Heglig, based on the 1956 borders, a claim South Sudan officials dismiss.

Some students' parents were also amongst the demonstrators. When asked why they attend the demonstration, one person who wishes to remain anonymous says: our children’s good cause needs our support and we will fight alongside them to the end.”

Slogans like Bashir must go” and we will never surrender” were chanted almost throughout the three-hour-session, as people marched around the premises of the embassy.

Mayal James (centre), leader of the South Sudanese Students’ Union (26.04.2012/Ochan Hannington).The marching was followed by a statement prepared and read by the South Sudanese Students’ Union Leader in Uganda, Mayal James.

The statement appeals to the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) to put an immediate stop to the bombardments on Unity State, which claim the lives of innocent civilians.

People are dying, this must be stopped immediately,” Mayal says.

He also has a clear position on how to proceed in case the UN and the AU do not intervene. We will mobilise and have so many join the army to fight ‘Bashir’ to retain our sweet Panthou and even fight all the way to Khartoum and overthrow his government,” Mayal explains.

However, a few students think the developing tensions could be settled by dialogue, yet they believe that the Sudan government is not really willing to sit for peace talks with the Government of South Sudan (GoSS).

Two demonstrators posing with their banner for a photo (26.04.2012/Ochan Hannington).The demonstration took place on the premises of the South Sudanese Embassy in Kampala because the Ugandan authorities did not approve the demonstration to be carried out on the street. The tight security on the embassy compound prevented many non-South Sudanese from attending.

Ugandan authorities say that the permission was denied due to a late submission of the demonstration request, leaving too little time for an appropriate planning by the police.

Most Ugandans asked, say the permission should have been granted, as its denial violates the right to freedom of speech, which Uganda should grant according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

South Sudanese have a right to demonstrate against any injustice committed against them,” Nalukenge Susan, a Ugandan citizen says. Our police should understand these people are facing hard times right now. So they deserve special consideration.”