Response to Dr. Francis Mading Deng’s Public Appeal: “A Call for Peace and Reconciliation Between the Ngok and Twic Dinka”
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Abyei Box map 2024
By Buk Dan Buk, Dallas, Texas, USA
Thursday, 01 February 2024 (PW) — Response To Dr. Francis M. Deng On His Public Appeal Titled “A Call For Peace And Reconciliation Between The Ngok And Twic Dinka”.
Following the joint statement from the Embassies of the Troika Countries of Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States on 29 January 2024, on the attack on UNISFA and in the Abyei, the Troika Embassies on behalf of their respective Governments, deplore the killing of UNIFSA peacekeepers and other civilians and condemned it in strongest terms possible.
On the resolution of the conflict, the Troika Embassies, in particular, called upon South Sudanese political and community leaders “to act with urgency and end the conflict and in this context referred to “all leaders who have influenced with involved communities and who failed to use it to support peace”.
After this strong-worded joint statement by powerful members of the international community who have much more stake in South Sudan’s peace, politics and governance, and indeed challenging the neutrality and proactive civic and political engagement by the communities to end the war, the two elderly statesmen in the parsons of Bona Malwal Madut Ring responded with the public appeal to Twic Mayardit community of Warrap State of the Republic of South Sudan, where in summary, he appealed to Twic Mayardit “ to disengage and put to an end any further forms of violence and to wait for how the Government of the Republic of South Sudan will act, especially in implementing the recent Republican orders of the President of the Republic of South Sudan of 16 January 2024 on the conflict between the Twic and Ngok Dinka”.
On the other hand, another elderly statesman Dr. Francis M Deng came out with his public appeal titled “A Call for Peace and Reconciliation Between the Ngok and Twic Dinka”. Despite his lip service call for peace and reconciliation, Dr. Francis has in his continued bad faith politics, misinterpreted the Presidential Orders of 16 January 2024 on the resolution of conflict between Twic and the Ngok Dinka, Marial Bai and Apuk Communities, to insinuate that “ President Salva Kiir Mayardit has called for immediate cessation of hostilities and end to any discussion on the border disputes until the issue of the final status of Abyei between South Sudan and Sudan is resolved”.
Accordingly, the objective of this brief statement is to correct such misleading assertions and misinterpretations of the Presidential orders. The assertion by both Dr. Francis M Deng and his brother Dr. Luka Biong separately is to put the issue of Abyei first and above. Anything else must also be in the advancement of their selfish political interest in the resolution of the final status of Abyei.
To put the record clear and help Dr. Francis and his younger brother Luka, the Presidential Orders did not mention anything to do with the final status of Abyei. Instead, paragraph (5) of the Orders said “ Land , borders and boundaries in the conflict-affected areas of Twic, the Ngok Dinka, Apuk, Marialbai, including the question of Abyei Box, Must be put on hold and the leadership shall devise a peaceful means of solving it accordingly”.
Second, the dispute between the Ngok and Twic Dinka has nothing to do with the final status of Abyei because the Abyei referendum through which the final status of Abyei is to be determined is between the Ngok and Misseriya communities of Kordofan State of the Republic of Sudan as per the Abyei Protocol signed between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People Liberation Movement ( SPLM) respectively.
On the issue of the Abyei Box, Dr. Luka Biong in his Facebook post dated 31st January 2024 titled “ Ngok-Twic Conflict: President Salva Kiir, Francis Deng and Bona Malwal called for ending violence, has wrongly asserted that Presidential Orders of January 16 2024 have put on hold all matters of disputes…including “questioning of the Abyei Box”.
This is a serious misinterpretation of the Presidential Orders intending to manipulate the understanding of the actual meaning and objectives of the Presidential Orders. In clear letters and spirit of the Presidential Orders, it only mentions “the question of Abyei Box must be put on hold” but not putting on hold the questioning of the Abyei Box as claimed by Dr. Luka.
Last but not least this response is to equally put the records clear that these brothers: Dr Francis and Luka Biong have ever since continued to intentionally misinterpret and misrepresent legal and factual statements on the final status of Abyei right from the Abyei protocol on the voters eligibility in Abyei Referendum, the Abyei Boundaries Commission Report, the Arbitral Award by the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the current Presidential Orders.
Therefore, I appealed to all peace-loving citizens to disregard the deceitful assertions of the sons of Deng Kuol since it is known that the two brothers are the architects of the Abyei Box. There shall come a time when the people behind the so-called Abyei Box, which has led to the loss of many lives and the destruction of the properties of innocent civilians shall be brought to book.
The author, Buk Dan Buk, is a Concerned citizen from Twic Mayardit and can be reached via his email address: Buk Atem bukdandit@hotmail.com
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