Back to Khartoum: Can South Sudanese Accept to Lose Their Independence?
By. David Mayen Dengdit, Denver-Colorado, USA
Thursday July 05, 2018 (PW): On June 26, at the Sudan Institute of Security and Strategic Studies, in presence of President Kiir and Dr. Riek, President Al-Bashiir stated that he regretted that South Sudan’s separation and independence happened during his time.
He said, quote: “We divided Sudan for the sake of peace. However, with most regret, all these sacrifice resulted in no peace. Instead, it brought more misery to the people of South Sudan. The number of casualties in the current war in South Sudan has even exceeded all the statistics in the 21 years of the North-South civil war.”
Bashiir further stated that: “We did not want history to record that the South separated during the time of Omar Albashiir. I was once the President of the whole Sudan and I implemented the CPA in order to bring peace, in spite of the negative signs we had felt. We sacrificed for peace and our preoccupation was with the unity of Sudan. I have a moral responsibility towards any citizen in South Sudan.”
In an interview on July 5, Sudan’s Minister of Oil and Gas, Eng. Abdul-Rahman Osman, made remarkable statements which exposed the extent to which his country was going to regain full control over South Sudan’s oil. He made an initial assessment of what his country is owed by its southern neighbor to be more than 5 billion dollars (BILLION is not a typing error).
He broke the figure down as follows: $1.8b arrears, $2b Heglig damages, and $1.2b transit cost. Additional cost will come from rehabilitation of unity oil fields, and that will be assessed separately by both as it happens. Why separately? God knows!
When asked about this unexpected capitulation by the South, he sounded so surprised at the ease with which South Sudanese have agreed to such terms which are so beneficial to Sudan. In Arabic, he said “subhan Allah”- which is an Arabic expression of a great surprise over the unexpected, almost miraculous turn of events.
Looking at these bold statements above, patriotic sons and daughters of South Sudan are asking themselves: what the hell is going on in Khartoum? Are we witnessing 1947 again? Can South Sudanese allow Sudan to reverse their country’s independence and deploy the infamous Petroleum Protection Forces inside the country, again?
Can a devastated and impoverished country like ours agree to pay over 5 BILLION dollars to Sudan? To most citizens, this is simply like a nightmare we should wake up from. But it is a reality. UNBELIEVABLE!
It has now transpired that Al-Bashiir is telling the IGAD and Torika that he is capable of restoring peace in South Sudan in a better way than any hybrid UN-African trusteeship could afford.
In fact, he claims that the international community shouldn’t even bother about the cost because he will finance his peace building mission from South Sudan’s oil. But before doing so, his country must be paid (pay itself, rather) over $5 billion upfront and more in future.
And considering the intransigence shown by the warring parties, he initially wanted the South to be made into a semi-state with three regions to be governed from Khartoum. This appears, however, to have been dropped because it did not make sense for South Sudan to be called a country without a unitary seat of government.
History is unfolding very fast with regard to South Sudan’s relationship with Khartoum. Since 1947 when Southerners were forced into a unity they did not want, through two bitter civil wars against Northern domination, to full independence in 2011, the cycle may have reached its end point, only to begin again.
One wonders whether South Sudanese citizens and civil war patriots will accept to allow the country to be dragged back to square one (Khartoum) again.
David Mayen Dengdit is a former Vice Presidential Press Secretary and founder of Free Citizens Red Flag League (FCRFL), a peace and development advocacy platform. He can be reached at mayen.ayarbior@gmail.com.
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