SPLM-IO leaders reject Dr. Francis Deng’s proposal for Abyei self-rule
The group rejected the proposal, quoting the SPLM-IO 6th Annual National Conference resolutions held in Juba in 2021
.By James Chatim
Leaders of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in Opposition (SPLM-IO) from the Abyei Administrative Area have denounced Dr. Francis Mading Deng’s proposal for the Abyei self-rule.
The group said they rejected the proposal based on the SPLM-IO call for the determination of the final status of Abyei, quoting the SPLM-IO 6th Annual National Conference resolutions held in Juba in 2021.
Earlier this month, Dr. Francis Mading Deng who hails from Abyei, wrote an open letter to the president asking for self-rule governance to be granted to the people of Abyei.
In a statement on Tuesday, following a meeting with the First Vice President Dr. Riek Machar in his office, the leaders rejected the proposal, and instead, urged the R-TGONU to expedite with the government of the Republic of Sudan the resolution of the final status of the Abyei Area taking into consideration the Arbitration Tribunal Award of July 2009 in The Hague and the resolutions of African Union High Implementation Panel on Abyei.
The SPLM-IO members in the Abyei Administrative Area highlighted that the future of the area lies within South Sudan while Dr Francis Mading Deng’s proposal represents an insignificant minority view that does not reflect the true desire of the Ngok Dinka of the Abyei people.
“The Abyei people have consistently and unequivocally expressed their commitment to South Sudan as demonstrated in October 2013 and the ongoing dedication of Abyei’s people to the future of South Sudan.”
“Dr. Francis Mading Deng’s proposal is a political maneuver that represents his long-standing bias in favour of Sudan and does not, therefore, represent the identity, aspirations, or future of the Ngok Dinka people and Abyei will remain strong, secure, and integrated within South Sudan contributing to the prosperity of the nation,” the statement read in part.
It further noted that the people of Abyei are united in their determination to be an integral part of South Sudan, and their future will be shaped by their continued commitment to achieving the final status of the area as it came in the Thabo Mbeki’s Proposal as adopted by the African Union.
The Abyei was accorded Special Administrative Status by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict (Abyei Protocol) in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the Second Sudanese Civil War. Under the terms of the Abyei Protocol, the Abyei Area is considered, on an interim basis, to be simultaneously part of both the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan, effectively a condominium.
Earlier this month, Dr. Francis Mading Deng who hails from Abyei, wrote an open letter to the president asking for self-rule governance to be granted to the people of Abyei.