South Sudan Diplomatic Relations and the Final Status of Abyei

By Jok WaMonychok, Juba, South Sudan

Saturday, October 1, 2022 (PW) — The question surrounding Abyei Final Status has been ignored by South Sudanese to the point that some South Sudanese are less knowledgeable than foreigners, say Kenyans, Nigerians, South Africans, or even Europeans. A Nigerian friend from Biafra lectured me on the status of Abyei in a way I was envious, and I almost took him to be my compatriot and give away one dumb South Sudanese to be a Nigerian. How can a foreigner know more about my country than my compatriots?

 He told me that Biafra, despite being the backbone of Nigeria, wants to break away but can’t, which I am aware of. Biafra started the war after seven years of independence to break away, but until today it’s still under Nigeria. We both agreed that the people’s will is constantly hijacked by a clique in the form of elites or groups of powerful nations that decide the fates of others.

Some South Sudanese whom I refer to as traitors or ignorant have made some stupid ideas. They have maintained that the reason Abyei will never achieve final status is that there are some Ngok Dinka who is in Khartoum who calls themselves Sudanese, while there are those in South Sudan who call themselves South Sudanese. This is a blatant lie blended with pure malice and jealousy. If there are those in Khartoum calling themselves Sudanese, they are eaters from Abyei and some from other Dinka communities used by Sudan to complicate Abyei status.

These categories of people whom I call traitors fail to refer to the 2013 Abyei Referendum in which 99.9% of Ngok Dinka voted in favor of joining South Sudan. This referendum was unilateral, meaning the people decided by themselves, against the will of the Sudan government, to conduct their own referendum. This category of traitors forgets that Ngok Dinka does not have ministers or any administrative positions in the government of Sudan. Ngok Dinka has no generals or soldiers in Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

When the South Sudan government decided not to recognize Abyei Referendum in 2013, it was because of two factors that still exist up to today and may live for a long time. The first factor was the imminent rebellion. Before October, in which Abyei conducted the referendum, there was a rift between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and his deputy, Dr. Riek Machar.

The group, which later became the Former Detainees (FDs), also had a rift with the president. Dr. Riek and FDs pushed for the recognition of the Abyei Referendum, but President Kiir and his group were suspicious of them. South Sudan could not fight over Abyei while it was deeply divided. Thus, President Salva Kiir put a halt to things done with the Final Status of Abyei.

The second factor is poor diplomatic relations. On one of my flights from Wau to Juba, I eavesdropped on a conversation between two South Sudanese VIPs. According to his impressions, one was a staff in one of the South Sudan embassies. I overheard him say: “We are dead diplomatically. People working in our embassies are there for employment, not serving the country.

Have you ever heard a diplomat in another country without speaking the language of that country? Some of the diplomats we have in embassies only know their mother tongues.” This implies that there is no productivity in foreign missions, and this category of diplomats, as they are called, cannot achieve a good image for the country. They only return to brag about their titles.

In addition, South Sudan has forgotten old friends who suffered with us during the liberation struggle. These friends have been dumped because our government has chosen the same approaches that made us pick weapons and go to the bush. Our government has decided to befriend our enemies. Imagine yourself supporting your friend against their enemy and later making peace with them without considering your position in the equation. It’s a betrayal, isn’t it? Imagine a situation where your friend chooses neutrality in a conflict with your enemies.

Will you feel safe in that friendship? Friends are to be maintained and new ones made in the diplomatic and political arena. That’s because, in situations like South Sudan against Sudan, those who were not our friends during the liberation struggle were our enemies. The perfect example is China. When we are now trying to befriend them, we can’t be closer to them than Sudan. We can’t be the most intimate friends. Sudan is my closest friend.

When we look at our old allies, for example, the US and the UK, Sudan has become closer to them than South Sudan. The edge is that while we have forgotten them, Sudan has approached them with new tactics and enticements. The new leadership in Sudan has not forgotten the influences the US and the UK have played toppling Bashir’s regime. Like any friendship, any leadership or nation that fails the good things done by friends can’t be trusted or assisted next time. Even the new friends you make base their friendship with you on quid pro quo. You’re not trustworthy.

In conclusion, Abyei belongs to South Sudan and will always be South Sudan. But South Sudan now cannot face Sudan militarily, politically, or diplomatically. Our diplomatic missions are there as means for family and friends’ employment opportunities. Economists or human resource managers call themselves diplomats. A secondary school leaver is also a diplomat. The friends who helped us achieve our independence are not happy. They are pleased with our enemies instead. Our military is not taken care of. It’s divided into tribes and furthermore into communities.

Abyei has done everything. It has been fighting with Khartoum since 1956 and since 2005. It has declared itself as South Sudan. It’s waiting for the government in South Sudan that will take the referendum results and report them and then remains for what Sudan will say. If not, Abyei may embrace Dr. Francis Mading Deng’s proposal and stay as a secluded mother chased away by her daughter-in-law.

Jok WaMonychok is the founder of Yen La Abyei initiative. He is a business strategist pursuing his Master of Arts in Economic Development and Policy Analysis at the University of Juba. He can be reached via jokwamonychok@gmail.com.

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