South Must Not Swallow Khartoum’s Bait

29 May 2011

editorial

Nairobi — Just over two weeks ago, invaders that have since been identified as being Sudan government troops and allied militias swooped down on Abyei, pillaging the borderline state whose true ownership is still in dispute.

Coming weeks just before South Sudan’s formal separation from the north, the action has sparked both fear and condemnation. Fear of what this could mean for the new state and condemnation because it is a slap in the face of not just the Comprehensive Peace Agreement but the people of the South who just months ago unequivocally voted for separation.

Fortunately, common sense appears to be prevailing as both the victim of this act of provocation and the regional and international community have seen it for what it is and refused to swallow Khartoum’s bait. Abyei is supposedly important to Khartoum because it provides verdant grazing lands to its Miseriya tribesmen and of course oil.

In the wider scheme of things, however, Khartoum is looking beyond Abyei and simply trying to create an environment that makes it impossible for the South to consummate its independence. If the northerners succeeded in provoking a new war, in effect they could be setting the ground for a settlement that would ultimately alter the terms of the CPA.

It is important that the international community turns the screws even deeper to force Khartoum into a retreat. The international community should also find ways of making the price of intransigence high and impress it upon Bashir and his handlers that there will be no breaking of ranks over his adventures.

AllAfrica – All the Time