20110204
sudan tribune

Juba — While the referendum on self determination for citizens from the oil-producing region of South Sudan, to decide whether they should remain part of a united Sudan or vote to form an independent nation has gone smoothly, talks over the region of Abyei are stalled and tensions are high as roads remained closed.

As part of a 2005 north-south peace deal Abyei was supposed to hold a simultaneous referendum to that of the south but it has not taken place after disputes over who is eligible to vote.

Violent battles in early January have raised fears among the local population and analysts that the region could drag the north and south back into another war should Abyei decide to unilaterally conduct a referendum in the area.

A series of attacks occurred early in January in three different locations involving local police and armed nomads identified as members of the Misseriyia ethnic group, who have demanded they be allowed to vote in referendum.

Officials from the area say that at least 50 people died in the January clashes, including 20 police officers. Around 33 people were wounded.

Misseriya leaders deny launching the attack and accused local police of initiating the attack firing on nomads which in turn prompted them to respond in what they termed self defense.

Michael Makuei Lueth, a former minister of legal affairs and constitutional development and a now minister of parliamentary Affairs in the government of south Sudan in a televised statement on South Sudan Television (SSTV) Thursday night accused Sudan's ruling National Congress Party of holding Abyei "unjustifiably" and described it as home to the Ngok Dinka.

"The National Congress Party is unjustifiably holding Abyei. This is a clear violation of provision of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement on Abyei" said Makuei. The senior member of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, who was part of the delegation representing the former rebels, at the peace talks, said the Misseriya did not have any rights in Abyei, other than to the right to access water and grazing.

"When we accept in the agreement to give Misseriya the access to water and grazing, it was not because they have any right or because we were afraid of anything but it was on humanitarian grounds", said Makuei.

While the Dinka Ngok believes that Abyei belongs to them, the Missiriya who graze their cattle in the region for some of the year, argue the area belongs to neither of the two tribes, and thus they have rights in the area. They also blamed territorial rival on the CPA with most leaders from the Misseriya arguing that they have shared this land for centuries without any problem.

"We have never had any territorial dispute between us and the Dinka Ngok because we have always been one and the same people. The problem started with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the so called court ruling which talks about borders", Hassan Musa, the leader of one of the Misseriya's groups, told Sudan Tribune on Friday from Muglad town, located west of South Kordofan's state capital of Kadugli.

January's fierce fighting started amid charges by the Khartoum-aligned Misseriya that they were being blocked from bringing their cattle to water sources in the area and claimed the Ngok Dinka, who consider themselves southerners, planned to drive them out of the area.

The Misseriya say they lost 20 dead in clashes with the pro-southern Dinka in January. The Dinka said they had lost between 24 and 30 people from January 14 to 16 in the latest fighting over the disputed district.

The SPLM, who govern the south, accuse president Omer Hassan al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in Khartoum, of being behind the clashes.

Sudan Tribune, on 17 January, 2011, saw a statement by Edward Lino, a chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the area which accused, "Al-Bashir's regime as pushing the southern government for a war but they will not get it," adding that Bashir's government cannot deny its involvement since the southern government has captured mercenaries, funded and armed by Khartoum, involved in Abyei clashes.

But the fighting also has local roots. Musa Dudu, a member of the Misseriya tribe, told Sudan Tribune on Friday from Khartoum that his tribe will not give up easily on Abyei even if the government concedes.

"The issue of Abyei is very complicated to be discussed on telephone. I would prefer you find time so that we discuss it at length once you are in Khartoum. I say it so because it involves two sensitive issues to settle the Abyei disputes. One of these issues is that the Missiriya needs not to be told the land belongs to Dinka Ngok even though there are guarantees to access water and grazing points", said Dudu.

"Another issue is the political differences between the two parties who are now using the two communities to fight their political wars," explained Dudu who is a student of social studies at the University of Sudan.

He said his observations are that his tribe will not allow the Dinka Ngok join the south. "I am a member of the Misseriya myself from Awalad Kamil and have my own observations which show my people will let the Dinka Ngok go with land whatsoever. The Dinka Ngok can vote to join the south but their votes will never settle the issue", he said. Dudu also described their relationships with Dinka Malual of Northern Bahr el Ghazal as "cordial and superb."

"Our relationship with the Dinka Malual of Paul Malong Awan Anei and Sultan Abdal Bagi Ayii Akol are cordial and superb. We enjoy excellent relationship with Dinka Malual of Aweil. We share celebrations of major events and hold regular peace conferences because Governor Malong Awan has good relations with our people. This shows enormity of our relationships. I do not see this happening in Abyei", said Dudu.

Speaking to Sudan Tribune from Abyei on Friday, Miyen Alor Kuol, and a senior member of the SPLM in the town said several attempts to resolve impasses over Abyei were made.

"The issue Abyei did not just start now. Abyei has long history of struggle. Some attempts to resolve the issue were made even before we were born. Some resolutions have been initiated, but they did not stop the clashes in Abyei," said Kuol.

"Among them is the 2004 draft agreement, the Abyei Conflict Resolution Protocol. "Article 1.1 of the Protocol states: "(1) Abyei is a bridge between the north and south, linking the people of Sudan; (2) the territory of Abyei is defined as the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905; and (3) the Misseriya and other nomadic peoples retain their traditional rights to graze cattle and move across the territory of Abyei."

"See, this is very clear and it was signed by the two parties. The Abyei protocol is a clear provision which does not need any negotiation. What it needs is sincere implementation. Short of that, we will not accept another compromise come what may. We have compromised a lot in the name of peace and stability but the concession we make is taken as our weakness", explained Kuol.

Kuol Deng Kuol, a paramount chief in the area said they independently reached an accommodation with some of the Misseriya tribe on January 14 to resolve their disputes after the clashes.

This agreement had three main points according to Kuol:

"One of them was that blood money will be provided for all the people killed in clashes during the past year. The Misseriya agreed to provide security on the roads used by internally displaced persons returning to the south".

And the Misseriya will be allowed to travel on their migratory routes south in 15 days' time, if these conditions are met but none of them seems to have materialized because Missiriya have not stopped blocking roads. They are still closed as of today. No vehicle has entered Abyei through Nyama since we concluded talks nearly three weeks ago", Kuol told Sudan Tribune from Abyei.

The paramount chief who's father is blamed by many in the area to have accepted transfer of Abyei to Kordofan province in 1905, explained further that the 1972 Addis Ababa Agreement, signed between the then-military regime of Jaafar Nimeri and southern rebel movements, had a clause providing for a referendum allowing Abyei to decide to remain in the North or join the South.

"The Agreement, which ended the first Anyanya war, included a clause for a referendum to allow "any other areas that were culturally and geographically a part of the Southern Complex," including Abyei, to choose between remaining in the north and joining the new autonomous southern region. The referendum was never held, and attacks against the Dinka Ngok continued throughout the 1970s, said Kuol.

"A vote in Abyei to choose whether it wants unity with the north or south was also part of the 2005 accord and was due to coincide with the independence referendum. But polling here was also postponed indefinitely after neither side was able to agree on who should be eligible to participate", he said.