South Calls for Abyei Referendum

Oliver Mathenge

26 May 2011

Nairobi — The South Sudan government insists that the Abyei region must be allowed to go to a referendum to break the ongoing impasse that continues to displace residents.

Through is representative in Kenya Majok Ayom Dor, the South Sudan government has also called on the strengthening of the UN security mission in the area and withdrawal of troops from both governments.

Mr Dor told journalists in Nairobi Thursday that though the north is opposed to a referendum, it was the only way to secure stability in the region adding that the situation may have to be left to the international community if the voting fails. He added that the south was ready to respect the decision of the Abyei residents if they choose to be part of the north in the referendum.

“The referendum is part of the Common Peace Agreement and must be respected. The people of Abyei have the right to make a choice of whether to be part of the south or the north. For now the UN presence in the region should be boosted and neither the north nor the south should have troops there,” said Mr Dor.

He spoke as reports indicated that four UN helicopters were shot at, probably by militias allied to northern Sudan forces though none was hit.

Mr Dor said that though the 1956 borders put Abyei in the south, it was important to give the residents the opportunity to make a choice on which country they want to belong to.

“It is unconstitutional for the north to occupy the Abyei region. We are ready to sit down and negotiate but this cannot happen by force,” Mr Dor said.

He also accused the Khartoum government of trying to divert attention from the internal problems facing the north.

Tension is high in the border region of Abyei, which was seized by northern troops over the weekend – a move condemned by the UN Security Council and the international community.

The region is also claimed by South Sudan and the fight over Abyei threatens to send north and south back to war only two months before the south is scheduled to declare independence.

Fighting in Abyei has pitted the former civil war enemies against each other since January when the district was due to vote on its future alongside a referendum on independence for the south which delivered a landslide for secession.

But the plebiscite was postponed indefinitely as the north and south disagreed on who should be eligible to vote in an area where conflicted loyalties and land disputes keep tensions high.

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