The National Congress Party will destabilize South Sudan at any cost BY: Jacob K. Lupai , SOUTH SUDAN
MAY 31/2011, SSN; The National Congress Party (NCP) of North Sudan is set to destabilize South Sudan at any cost and people must understand this. The question may be why does the NCP want to destabilize South Sudan and how. Many theories abound. Foremost the NCP had wanted Sudan to remain united. However, when it failed miserably to sustain the unity of Sudan due to its deep seated contradictions, the NCP had no option but to embark on a campaign of destabilization of South Sudan through tyranny at any cost. There are also many ways in which the NCP imagines it can shamelessly achieve its sinister plan. A covert operation is one and a naked aggression is another. The NCP is a politico-religious party. It is a party of a mix of militant Islamic fundamentalism and opportunistic pragmatism. The NCP appeared in the Sudanese political scene after the third military coup in Sudan since independence. The coup was led by one Omer Hassan Ahmed El Basher now the chairman of the NCP and currently the president of the republic of Sudan. Before the coup Sudan was in the sixth year of a destructive war in which South Sudan was the battle ground. The war was fought between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Army (SPLM/A) representing the marginalized of Sudan. The civilian government, prior to the military coup of Bashir, was in negotiations with the SPLM/A in which it agreed to freeze Islamic Law that had been imposed by the previous military government of Sudan. A constitutional conference was set to convene to address the Sudan problem. This was a welcome development for the achievement of a lasting peace in Sudan. However, Bashir pre-empted the convening of the constitutional conference with his military coup. It was to take another 15 years of a bloody and devastating civil war before peace was finally realized in Sudan. After his successful coup d’état Bashir reaffirmed in no uncertain terms the strict application of Islamic Law in Sudan. Bashir stressed he would not deviate from the path of his god. This was happening when it had seemed the North and South were united behind the peace process initiated by both the civilian government that Bashir overthrew and the SPLM/A as important meetings and talks had taken place between representative groups and leaders on both sides. The coup of Bashir brought in a radical Islamic faction in the military whose Islamic policies widened the gap with the SPLM/A. Religion became a highly divisive factor that reactivated calls for separation of the South from the North even within the SPLM/A which as a movement had been committed to unity of Sudan according to the movement’s manifesto. As the war dragged on the government fought with considerable and indiscriminate brutality towards the civilian population in the South. Massive violations of human rights were committed by the government which fought the war with a vain belief of sustaining unity of Sudan while at the same time imposing the divisive Islamic Law with impunity. On the part of SPLA the war was fought for a secular system where religion would not be a divisive factor in Sudanese politics. In desperation the NCP led government declared a jihad (holy war) against the South which was seen as infidel. Many northerners who were drugged by religious fervor unquestionably flocked in droves to fight for god in the South. Unnecessary loss of precious lives characterized this phase of the war. Behind the scene concerted international effort and pressure was mounting on the NCP and SPLM/A to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict. Tortuous negotiations took place with regional and international assistance. The NCP mischievously cooperated in the negotiations probably because Sudan was being regarded as one of the sponsors of terrorism in the world. Only when negotiations ended and a peace agreement was signed did the NCP showed its true colors. The NCP realized with a lot of pain that it had conceded too much to the South. In the peace agreement that followed, South Sudan was to have its own army and worse for the NCP, the South was to decide through a referendum whether to be part of a united Sudan or to opt for full independence as a sovereign nation. The NCP in sadness discovered that it was outmaneuvered and in practical terms there was no way it could salvage unity of Sudan. With the South having an army and the free choice to walk out of a united Sudan, the NCP turned berserk. In its panic and mental confusion the NCP became disruptive like a delinquent child. In its unsettled frame of mind the NCP was not prepared to see the full implementation of the peace agreement. The NCP became intransigent. However, to the South despite the NCP’s intransigence the peace agreement has been largely and successfully implemented. The South has its own army and soon will be recognized as world newest independent nation. What the NCP seems to fail to understand is that this has been the ultimate aspiration of the South since it was raided for slaves by the Arabs in time immemorial. The problems that seem to exist are of the making of the NCP. The problems are the lack of resolution of the Abyei conflict and the lack of demarcation of North-South border. The NCP manufactures the problems to cover up its miserable failure in conquering the South to keep it perpetually marginalized in a united Sudan. Since time immemorial the people of Abyei, the Ngok Dinka and their neighbors the Misseriya, have lived in peace. It was only the northern divisive policies of religious bigotry and racist arrogance in their greed for power exacerbated by the NCP that have thrown Abyei into turmoil. The NCP led government has just occupied Abyei using brute force and Bashir has boasted that Abyei is northern and will remain so. In contrast in a press briefing in the State House J1 in Juba, the president of the government of South Sudan (GOSS) said Abyei will remain the land of Dinka and added that those who are occupying Abyei are invaders who will leave Abyei either now or tomorrow but Abyei will be free. The president asked the NCP to withdraw their forces from Abyei unconditionally. According to the peace agreement the Ngok Dinka are to decide their destiny in a referendum whether to remain administratively in the North or to join the South. Joining the South will only be a change of administrative boundary but Abyei will not be physically cut off from the North. Abyei will continue to be a bridge between the North and South. It is therefore important that there is peaceful co-existence in the area of Abyei. >From the peace agreement it seems clear that neither the NCP nor the SPLM should lay any claim to Abyei. It is for the Ngok Dinka to decide and the NCP and SPLM should keep a respectable silence. The Ngok Dinka are capable of making an informed decision. In the peace agreement they seem the most privileged as citizens of both North and South. Apart from Abyei the Ngok Dinka are also represented in Greater Bahr el Ghazal and Upper Nile, and in the governments in Khartoum and Juba respectively holding powerful positions. Given that Abyei seems to be an equivalent of a county the Ngok Dinka seem over represented. The assertion that Abyei was annexed by the British to the North probably against the will of the Ngok Dinka is arguable. Before the British set foot on Sudanese soil the Ngok Dinka and the Misseriya were already living in symbiotic relationship and in peaceful co-existence. Raiding of each other was resolved amicably. The Ngok chiefs preferred to be administered from the North rather than from the South. The British tried to persuade the Ngok Dinka to join their kindred in the South but to no avail. Dinka southern chiefs also tried to convince their counterparts in Abyei but nothing materialized. It is of recent that some educated Ngok Dinka consider their destiny linked to that of the South. The northern divisive policies have made this consideration plausible. The NCP is now using the lack of demarcation of North-South border as a strategy to undermine the independence of South Sudan. It has declared that it will not recognize the independence of South Sudan this coming July unless North-South borders are demarcated. However, in the press briefing the president of GOSS said that South Sudan will be independent come 9 July with or without recognition by the NCP. As an independent state nothing will stop the South from signing up to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Protocol as a member state. Bashir the most of the saboteurs of the implementation of the peace agreement is wanted by the ICC for genocide and crimes against humanity committed in the Darfur region of Sudan. Bashir may need to think twice in his terror campaign against the independence of South Sudan. Bashir terror campaign is in the use of traitors to destabilize the South. There are commanders who were in the SPLA but due to politics of greed and hunger have now joined Bashir’s terror campaign against their homeland to fulfill Bashir’s ultimate aim of aborting independence to the South. However, the South is more determined than ever that it will be independent regardless of the renegades, the hirelings and the enemies of the people of South Sudan. The southern masses are fully behind the president of GOSS to witness the lowering down of the Sudan’s flag that symbolizes Bashir‘s terror campaign in the South. The South will only fly one flag and that of independence. The renegades and hirelings who are nothing but greedy and hungry will be consigned to the dustbin of history. The sooner they repent the better. In conclusion, the NCP will do what it takes to sabotage the independence of South Sudan. However, as the NCP is a perpetual failure the South will be independent and recognized by some of the most powerful nations in the world. An independent South Sudan will be a power to reckon with in the region and will not be dependent on the mercy of NCP. South Sudan will most likely collaborate with the nations of the world to face the menace of terrorism. It is understandable that Bashir is very dangerous like a wounded buffalo. The conflict in Darfur is beyond his political skills. Bashir has lost the South and there is nothing he can show as a success story. Haliab a part of Sudan in the North is forcefully occupied by the Egyptians and Bashir has no guts to challenge or evict the Egyptians but only wants to fuel conflicts in Sudan. For a peaceful co-existence in the region one solution is to accelerate the demise of NCP which has become nothing but a thorn in the flesh in Sudan and beyond where Bashir will be history. The author 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]. 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