Protests planned if Bashir attends South Sudan independence celebrations
* Article
* Comments (8)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
*
*
*
*
By John Actually
May 15, 2011 (BOR)- The South Sudanese government’s intention to
invite the president of north Sudan, Omar Al Bashir, to attend
independence celebrations has sparked serious debate among the
citizens of South Sudan, reported a South Sudanese newspaper on 15
May.
JPEG - 43.8 kb
President Bashir (C) opens Dr. Garang Memorial University of Science
and Technology in Bor with Kuol Manyang (L), Aggrey Ayuen (R) March
17, 2010 (ST photo by Philip Thon Aleu)
One group believes that, what will be the Republic of South Sudan as
of the 9 July, has a moral obligation to arrest Bashir and hands him
to International Criminal Court (ICC). Another group Bashir showed be
allowed to celebrate and acknowledge the implementation of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
The CPA was signed by north and South Sudan, ending more than two
decades of civil war. A stipulation of the agreement was the right of
the South Sudanese to vote in a plebiscite. They voted overwhelmingly
in favour of secession in January 2011.
Bashir has an arrest warrant against his name for crimes against
humanity and genocide in Darfur.
According to The Citizen newspaper, the group that is opposed to
Bashir presence at the celebrations has been organized by relatives of
the 1992 Juba massacre. The group affirms that the relatives of the
victims are preparing to protest against Bashir if he turns up.
“The widows are planning to walk naked into the venue of the
celebration if Bashir is among the world leaders”, said one widow.
“The world will witness protests against Bashir that day. We will walk
naked to the celebration venue unless we are promised that Bashir will
be arrested and taken to the ICC for the charges of genocides and
atrocities against humanity,” she explained.
Merekase Lorna, a human rights campaigner, said if Bashir attends the
celebrations, the authorities should arrest him once the Republic of
South Sudan anthem ends and her flag is flying.
Sudan People’s Liberation Movement secretary for political affairs,
Antipas Nyok Kucha has suggested that Bashir will be the first leader
to come and recognise Southern independence.
Before the independence vote in January 2011 Bashir said he would
"congratulate and celebrate with you" to the people of South Sudan,
should they choose to vote in favour of secession. The rhetoric has
soured, with regards to the controversial Abyei over, which north and
south Sudan are claiming ownership, Bashir said he was willing to
return to war with the south.
(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].
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
