Jongeli governor accuses north of instigating conflict ahead of South
Sudan’s independence
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By Philip Thon Aleu
June 2, 2011 (BOR) – Jonglei state governor Kuol Manyang Juuk said
Tuesday that the northern military’s deployment at sites occupied by
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in South Kordofan and Blue Nile
states is an attempt to ignite renewed conflict and to disrupt South
Sudan’s independence in July.
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Gov. Kuol Manyang Juuk (ST)
Khartoum’s Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) have demanded that all SPLA
soldiers move south of the 1956 colonial border that will form the
border between the two countries once the south secedes.
Although Sudan’s second civil war began in the South Sudan town of Bor
in 1983, many of the people’s of the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan
and Blue Nile joined the SPLA in their conflict against Khartoum.
Governor Kuol said SPLA forces in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states
in north Sudan that fought alongside the former rebel movement cannot
leave their homes.
“The Nuba who are in the SPLA in southern Kordofan will not move out
because that is their land,” said the governor. “Where do they go to?
In fact there will be fighting and could be a reason for Khartoum
government to attack the south [Sudan],” he added.
As part of a 2005 peace deal South Sudan voted to separate from the
north in referendum earlier this year. Independence of the south means
that SPLA soldiers who are from northern states such as South Kordofan
and Blue Nile will be north of the border and still governed by
Khartoum.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) provided for this eventuality
by awarding the regions ’popular consultations’ to assess whether the
deal addressed their grievances and define their future relationship
with Khartoum.
Governor Kuol accused the north of dragging its feet on border
demarcation claiming that “they might move and occupy some areas
inside the south.” Khartoum’s ruling National Congress Party has said
it would not recognise the south’s independence if the border is not
demarcated before July 9.
The SPLA would “definitely ... fight back” if the north occupies areas
deep inside the oil-producing south, he said.
On May 21 the SAF marched into the disputed region of Abyei dislodging
SPLA forces using tanks and air strikes and dismissed Abyei’s civilian
administration. Khartoum says the move, which is in contravention of
the peace deal and recieved international criticisism, was in response
to a southern attack on an SAF convoy near the area.
Last week, the SAF gave the SPLA an ultimatum to move its forces out
of Kordofan and Blue Nile states or they would be removed forcefully.
The SAF said this process must begin by June 1, but the SPLA have said
that they cannot move them as the people concerned are not southern
Sudanese but natives of the region’s in question.
The Jonglei state governor made the remarks while meeting
international Non-governmental organization and UN agencies in a
monthly briefing he co-chairs with South Sudan Relief and
Rehabilitation Commission to discuss state and national political and
security issues.
(ST)
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