Abyei SPLM official - military option “fully available”
May 17, 2012 (JUBA) - Leaders from the contested region of Abyei on Thursday called for the “unconditional” withdrawal of the Sudanese forces, to allow displaced people to return to their ancestral areas. Miyen Alor Kuol, a senior member South Sudan’s governing Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in Abyei said on Thursday that military action is "fully available", but that the Juba government was giving the international community an opportunity to convince Khartoum to pull out its troops. “The time for diplomacy is finished. […] They are therefore using war as strategy to remain in power,” he explained. “Something somewhere is wrong with international community" added Miyen Alor Kuol, "They do not want to exert strong pressure on the Sudanese government.” Miyen Alor Kuol said South Sudan has completely withdrawn its forces from the area and that the security there remains under the control of Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the UN’s Ethiopian peacekeeping forces, the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei. The paramount chief Kuol Deng Kuol commended South Sudan president, Salva Kiir, for ordering the withdrawal of the police forces from the area, stressing that the cabinet decision has put the country on a “high moral ground”. Kuol said on the national radio and television on Wednesday that Juba considers military action a “last resort” in order to “prevent Khartoum from committing atrocities against the civil population.” "It is preferable to resolve this conflict through dialogue and the use of international pressure on the government of Sudan to withdraw the troops rather than the military option”, he said. He described the military option “is available” and necessitating planning. Kuol said it is time for influential nations to exert pressure on Khartoum. South Sudan said on 15 May that it would not accept Sudan placing conditions on its withdrawal from the contested region of Abyei, or any action that violated recent resolutions of the Security Councils of the United Nations and African Union. Abyei’s status was supposed to be determined via a vote originally planned to take place simultaneously with that of South Sudan on independence in January 2011. The plebiscite was delayed due to disagreements between Sudanese and South Sudanese leaders on who has the right to vote. The AU, in a press released on 11 May hailed South Sudan’s efforts to withdraw it’s police force, with its chairperson Jean Ping saying “such withdrawal would mark a significant step in the normalisation of relations between the two countries and the creation of confidence.” Speaking at a function marking the 29th anniversary of the establishment of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) on 16 May, its chief of general staff, James Hoth Mai, said the army was capable and that "the military option is ready and available to the President at the moment he decides to use it." (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" 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/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
