Calls for Abyei referendum grow louder (08.05.2011 00:00) - 745

The plebiscite to decide the future of the disputed territory is mandated by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Listen to "Situation: Critical" by Marvis Birungi

Members of the Abyei Referendum Forum (ARF), a human rights advocacy organisation, want the international community to put pressure on the ruling Northern Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum to allow the vote to take place.

The ARF said prices of goods and services have skyrocketed due to continuing attacks by rebel militias in the area. Abyei, which lies on the border between north and south, was a flashpoint of conflict even before the south voted to secede.

The ARF Chairperson Dr. Chol Deng Alak (right) and Mading Deng (left).Dr. Chol Deng Alak, chair of the ARF, called the situation "alarming," saying the crisis has worsened due to continuing attacks by ethnic Messiriya on Ngok Dinka communities. The ARF claims the militias are backed by the northern Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

The CPA mandates a plebiscite to grant the people of Abyei the right to self-determination. The vote was scheduled for the same time as Southern Sudan’s independence referendum in January, but it never took place. The decision to secede from the north was almost unanimous.  

The ARF has called for the implementation of the Abyei Protocol, which says the people of Abyei should be given the chance to decide whether they want to remain part of Sudan or Southern Sudan, whose independence is effective 9 July.

Read also: "Pessimism prevails among civilians in Abyei" by Yobu Annet

"We urge the international community to ensure that these agreements are implemented before July so as to avoid the dangerous conflict that will inevitably result if Abyei is not incorporated into an independent Southern Sudan," Chol said.

President Omar al-Bashir has said he will not recognise the south's independence if Abyei is included as part of Southern Sudan in the emerging nation's constitution.

The ARF conference in Juba received extensive media coverage.The ARF has condemned Bashir’s statement, saying it raises fears that the state of Southern Kordofan, where Abyei lies, could become the frontline in a war for control of the region. 

Reports say villages belonging to nine chiefdoms of the Ngok Dinka, who are loyal to the south, were attacked by ethnic Messiriya herders in February and March.  

Activists warn that if no action is undertaken to quell the rebel activities, the economic impact and humanitarian situation will paralyse economic activities in the south.  

For more background information check the Small Arms Survey Abyei update

Bashir’s statement was seen as a response to efforts by the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) to treat Abyei as one of its territories. In its annual budget, the Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) allocated 28 million Sudanese pounds, about nine million U.S. dollars, to the region in March.