Aweil community stands behind president Kiir over Abyei conflict - Article <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48838#tabs-1> - Comments (12)<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48838#tabs-2>
[image: email] Email<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=enviar_email_articulo&id_article=48838> [image: print] Print<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?iframe&page=imprimable&id_article=48838> [image: pdf]Save<http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?page=spipdf&spipdf=spipdf_article&id_article=48838&nom_fichier=article_48838> [image: separation] [image: increase] <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48838#> [image: decrease] <http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article48838#> [image: separation] [image: separation] ------------------------------ November 17, 2013 (JUBA) - Community leaders from South Sudan’s border state of Northern Bahr el Ghazal said they unanimously supported efforts by the South Sudanese government, including president Salva Kiir Mayardit, to peacefully resolve the conflict with Sudan over the final status of the oil-producing Abyei region. “We know Abyei is an area of Dinka Ngok. Our government knows and the president knows this. The issue of Abyei is not a community matter. It is the issue between the leadership of the two countries. It is already at the level of two presidents”, said Deng Akuei Ajou, a traditional leader from Baac *payam* in Aweil East county. Lual Magok, another chief from Wunlang *payam*, said his community also supports efforts aimed at returning the area of the nine Ngok Dinka to South Sudan peacefully. “Abyei, as you know, was part of South Sudan until it was transferred to Kordofan in 1905 for administrative purposes during colonial rule. So we are standing behind our leadership and we follow what they tell us about the area”, Magok said on Saturday. Deng Aliel, a senior member of South Sudan’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) from Aweil South county, said his community’s allegiance remained swith the government and not with individuals who have used the Abyei issue to advance their own special interests. “We are a system and must therefore stand with our leadership. We need to understand what the leadership says and what individuals who have their own interests to advance through Abyei issue are saying. As a community we must be careful”, Aliel warned in an exclusive interview with *Sudan Tribune* on Saturday in Juba. *SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS* Spokesperson of the business community in South Sudan Lual Bol Kuan said the government was handling the Abyei situation well. Kuan and other community leaders were reacting to a demonstration reportedly held in the capital of Northern Bahr el Ghazal, Aweil town, to support the outcome of a unilateral referendum results recently held on the Abyei issue, but which was not supported by the South Sudanese government. “That demonstration was wrong. It was not meant to support the issue of Abyei. It was organised to draw [the] attention of the central government by individuals with special interest”, Kuan told *Sudan Tribune* on Saturday. He criticised protest organisers for acting against the SPLM even though they are members of the same government. “The people who were behind this move need to be identified and oriented properly. They need [to attend a] workshop so that they are taught about policies of the government”, he added. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14oqG1%3DVjcLkyAsxG-EqUntdGDRQ3X1qWkzOOHLPo5uBxZw%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
