Abyei incident: The mere curtain for invasion By: Zechariah Manyok Biar, SOUTH SUDAN
MAY 25/2011, SSN; The incident that took place on May 19, 2011 in Abyei area in which Sudan Armed Forces leaving Abyei under the protection of UNMIS were reportedly ambushed by the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) is used as scapegoat by Khartoum Government to invade Abyei on May 21, 2011. Although the incident was very unfortunate as shown by the apology issued by the Government of South Sudan (GoSS), none of us here in the South is convinced that the unfortunate incident was the cause of the invasion of Abyei. It is just a curtain used by the Government in Khartoum to try to cover up their long term plan for the invasion of Abyei. There were reports obtained from the international satellite early this Month of the building-up of SAF around Abyei. SAF, according to local intelligence report, had even brought three chemical weapons to Abyei area in March this year. The GoSS and the SPLA ignored the build-up since we are aiming at the announcement of our country in July this year. When Khartoum Government noticed that GoSS would not be provoked by the build-up of SAF around Abyei, it started training militias and gave them to renegade Generals like Peter Gatdet and George Athor. These forces attacked Mayom County in Unity State several times and they could run to Northern Sudan border areas when defeated, but GoSS and SPLA still ignored the provocation. On May 2, 2011 the authorities in Khartoum issued an order to stop all shipments of goods and fuel to Southern Sudan by barges, with the sole exception of barges transporting returnees. The blocking of Northern traders from entering South Sudan was extended to air transports by the Government in Khartoum when GoSS never reacted negatively to the provocation. The possible intention of the Government in Khartoum was to use the scarcity of commodities as a tool for inciting popular uprising in the South in the same manner they now see in the Arab World. The idea was that when the Government in South Sudan failed to find a quick solution to both shortages of food and fuel, then the people in the South would think that Southern Sudan would not maintain itself independent of Northern Sudan. This would turn all South Sudan citizens, even the most loyal ones, against the GoSS. The international community would now see South Sudan as a failed state despite the fact that what is happening is beyond our control. The reaction of the President of the Government of South Sudan Gen. Salva Kiir was to call for an emergency meeting to find alternative suppliers of goods to the affected states. The Khartoum Government again saw itself defeated in their shallow strategy. What remains for National Congress Party to do? Cry louder, of course, by using the incidence in Abyei to demonstrate their anger against the seceding South Sudan. That is the whole story behind the invasion of Abyei. But who is the real loser here? People will have different answers to this question, but I think North Sudan is still the loser. The United States is now planning to hold the removal of North Sudan from the list of countries harboring terrorists, which means economic sanction would remain in place. Gen. Lazarus Sumbeiwyo of Kenya who helped mediate the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) called on May 24, 2011 for the creation of Abyei as a small nation independent of both North and South Sudan. President Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for atrocities committed in Darfur. He would have to lose his protectors in the international community who respected him for bringing peace between the North and the South. The war in Darfur is still ongoing. So the Khartoum Government will have to fight both the South and the West of Sudan. South Sudan would still become a country in July and will have the right to equip its army. Oil is still going to be in the South and South Sudan will have the right on who to do business with, let alone the booming business that could have been exploited by the experienced business people in Northern Sudan. The reality remains that Khartoum cannot dream of defeating the well-organized SPLA that they failed to defeat during the North-South civil war when the number of SPLA was less than fifty thousand, now in its hundreds of thousands. All in all, the curtain that Khartoum Government is using to invade Abyei is just a show of limited mightiness that will never benefit them. Zechariah Manyok Biar, BA. Edu., MACM, MSSW. He can be reached at [email protected] COMMENTS, PLEASE CLICK HERE Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent those of the website. -- 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.
