Abyei Issue should be sorted out soon!

As the referendum in Sudan approaches, things don’t seem to be as good as one would have expected them to be. Only the last weekend, a meeting that was called by IGAD failed to reach any concrete agreements as regards the Abyei area. One of the most outstanding issues that came out of that meeting was the fact that the UN representative in the meeting said that there was no possibility of deploying peace-keeping forces on the border area. This was in response to the concerns of a number of organizations and concerned individuals who had asked the UN to consider sending the UN troops to the border region for the purpose of maintaining law and order in case there is an outbreak of war. This is because there are fears of war breaking out in the region before or after the referendum in January in case the outstanding issues are not settled. One of the groups that had asked the UN to consider deploying forces there was the All Africa Conference of Churches, led by Rev. Kobia. In a press briefing earlier, the Council had asked the UN and the international community to intervene in that region before things got out of hand. The Church leadership said that there was a possibility of another Rwanda-style genocide unless the world community stepped in to restore order and sanity in the region. According to the CPA that was signed five years ago, there was supposed to be a referendum to decide where Abyei belongs, whether in the South or in the North. This has not happened so far. It is the home of two groups, the nomadic Missseriya and the farming Dinka communities. There has been tension between them because of their different economic activities. The Southerners would like the Abyei area to be part of the South in a post-referendum period while the North is against that. The northern leaders are of the view that the referendum should not go on before the Abyei issue is settled. The southerners say the referendum should go on as planned, whether the issue has been decided or not. However, it is encouraging to note that some organizations like GOAL and Medecins Sans Frontiers seem to have heeded the warning by the Churches council, and have drawn up contingency plans to ensure the necessary supplies are in place to look after civilians in the event of fresh clashes. As much as these efforts are commendable, it would only be fair for the international community to step in strongly to ensure that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 is implemented to the letter, to ensure peace and security for the inhabitants of this region and Sudan in general. A lot is really at stake in the referendum. Without some of the sticky outstanding issues being dealt with, it would be foolhardy for people to expect peace before and after the referendum. The referendum should be an exercise to bring stability in Sudan, and not an exercise to create more instability and uncertainty. The concerned parties need to approach the outstanding issues with sobriety with the interest of the Sudanese people at heart. That should be the bottom line. Anything else will not help stabilize the region which has previously suffered from wanton destruction by evil forces of instability.