Unity and Secession.

Peace: In the Debate on Unity and Secession


El Sadig El Mahdi puts forward 29 points that would lead to the Unity of Sudan.
Report By El Sammani Awadallah

With the country preparing for the referendum of self-determination for the South in this coming January, the first debate of its kind was held in Khartoum on the issue of unity and secession under the auspices of the National Organization for Voluntary Unity.


The debate in which Political leaders and prominent academicians participated drew a dark picture of the situation after January.



Despite his attack on the National Congress Party, the leader of the National Umma Party, Mr. El Sadig El Mahdi, offered 29 points that would lead to unity and another 11 points that would lead to secession. Mr. El Mahdi said the national state is the one that is internationally acceptable. Such state should be based on "human engineering" that would achieve unity despite the diversification of the Sudanese population.



Mr. El Mahdi went on to say whatever the grievances of Southerners they did not reach one tenth of what blacks suffered in South Africa and Unites States of America. "They persisted and struggled until they achieved equality," Mr. El Mahdi said. He said foreign rule had kept the South Sudan blocked due to the closed districts policy while national rule has marginalized it. He went on to say that calls for secession without addressing the negative aspects following the present semi absolute self-rule and without introducing an overall reform that removed such negative aspects is not without its shortcoming.
"If secession is attained on the ground of such calls, this would lead to failed hopes. Call for unity without providing visions on reform will mean copying the current state of affairs with all its crises," Mr. El Mahdi said. The Ummah National Party leader went on to say what is required in both cases is that a program should be presented to Southern voters that should serve their interests and dignity. "Such endeavor should be carried out by a national forum that should be highly credible that speaks to Southern voters and the public opinion in the North, and even neighboring countries who are interested in what is going on in the Sudan," he said.



Mr. El Mahdi added that it is not correct that the problem is between the South and the North since there are big problems amongst Southerners themselves. He then spoke about a field study that was carried out by Mr. Jok Madot Jock from Leula University Marimount and Sharon Hutchinson from Wisconsin University in 1999. The study, he said, found that the number of those killed because of fighting amongst Southerners was more than the number of those killed in the fighting between the North and the South during the period from 1983 -1999. He added that such fact was confirmed by the Washington Center for Africa which is sponsored by the Church in addition to a field study that was conducted in 2010 by two professors from the University of London in conjunction with six experts and the Peace and Development Studies Center at the University of Juba. Mr. El Mahdi said the results attained by these institutions concluded that the South has been suffering from tremendous security turbulence following the conclusion of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). "Such situation cannot be attributed to hidden hands or merely to tribal differences but rather there are specific factors, namely grievances over the distribution of power and wealth, the neglecting of disarmament and the absence of demarcation of borders at all the levels of administrative units and tribal borders and the spread of armed theft of cattle," Mr. El Mahdi said. He added that national interest should advocate new basis for unity and preparation for the twining option in case of secession through the urgent formation of a national forum. Such forum should change the present public opinion tendencies that call for unity in the North and for secession in the South.



For his part, Dr. Luka Biong said Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) sides with the unity of the Sudan on new basis and called on all to work as Sudanese. He called on the people of Southern Sudan not to vote under psychological pressures by seeing Northerners as their enemies but rather they should vote for their own interest. "We must give Southerners in the North and Northerners in the South the opportunity to choose their option if the South opts for separation," he said.



Professor Ibrahim Ghandor, the National Congress Party (NCP) political secretary affirmed that (NCP) is committed to work for unity until the last day before the referendum. In his contribution to the debate, he said the (CPA) obliges both parties to work for unity and that any party that advocates secession violates the (CPA)." Secession was not the vision of insurgency in Southern Sudan, including (SPLM)", he said. Mr. Ghandor called on the (SPLM) to work for convincing the Sudanese people of its political agenda through hard and continuous political activities and not by following the easy way of working for separating the South.



Dr. Wani Tombe of University of Juba affirmed that dialogue was the only way for achieving peace and stability in the country. "For the Sudan to remain united, we can ensure the optimum utilization of our national natural resources and the infrastructure on the long run," he said.



"Unity will achieve for all of us political, social, economic and cultural stability in addition to economic and social development and sustainable peace," he said. He affirmed that by achieving unity, the Sudan will be a good model within the religious and political context and for cultural coexistence on the regional and international levels.



Dr. Tombe warned against the spread of tribalism and nepotism in Southern Sudan. He said claiming that the North is fueling conflict in the South is not correct and therefore the separation of the South from the North is not the solution. "The problems of the Sudan cannot be solved through the secession of the South from the North," he said.



Dr. Tombe warned that the separation of the South will turn the South into smaller tribal states and if secession occurs, some of its parts may demand rejoining the North or opt for independent states. He added that secession will lead to increased violence and tribal conflicts in Southern Sudan because of the presence of tribal militia.




He refuted claims of secessionists that the South may witness instability in case it remains united within united Sudan. "Those who call for separation of the South because it remained underdeveloped during the transitional period depend on illogical reasons," he said. He added that the non-utilization by Southern Sudan of its 50% share in oil revenue is not attributed to the fact that Northern Sudan has deprived the South from these gains but rather due to misuse of the utilizations of these resources.