ABYEI ARBITRATION: THE SPLM’S WORST DEFEAT

The story is told about the two women who were quarreling over the ownership of a child. Each of them claimed that the child was hers. They went to King Solomon to resolve the dispute.

In his wisdom, King Solomon told the two women that the child would be cut into two for each of them to have half the child. One of the women was horrified and shouted that the child be given to the other one. King Solomon immediately ruled that she is the mother of the child as she wanted to save its life.

The story is relevant to what happened on Wednesday about the arbitration on Abyei. It turned out that Abyei was an orphan and the two claimants agreed to its division into two. This is a sad development. To add insult to injury, the SPLM was celebrating its "victory" in The Hague. The SPLM owes the people of Abyei and the entire Southern Sudanese an apology on bungling this important issue and trying to hoodwink them into taking a terrible defeat for victory.

The days leading to the announcement of the verdict saw intense activities geared towards getting agreement from the two parties to respect and abide by the decision of the court whichever way it went. The gullible SPLM negotiators and representatives on the case put all their faith in the American envoy to Sudan or "the friend" as they always refer to America. They thought that since the Americans were so serious to get a prior agreement from both parties, then the verdict of the court must be in their favour! They went on to arrange victory parties on the day of the announcement. It is these victory parties that went on despite the fiasco.

The map published by the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague shows very clearly the areas of Abyei ceded to the North. According to the map, the new area of Abyei is 10,460 square kilometers down from 18,559 suggested by the Abyei Boundary Committee (ABC) in 2005, a reduction of 44%!! Many villages with Dinka names are now outside Abyei Area, which means they will not vote in the 2011 referendum on joining the South or otherwise. It also means that if Abyei decides to join the South they will remain in Northen Sudan. What has these sell-outs to celebrate?

To go back to the beginning, the parties to the dispute are the signatories to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), namely, the SPLM/A and the Government of Sudan (not the National Congress). The two disagreed over the ABC report rendered in 2005. The SPLM's position was that the report was binding as per the CPA while the National Congress (on behalf of the Government of Sudan which signed the CPA with the SPLM/A) maintained that the ABC has exceeded its mandate. All these four years were spent haggling on this matter. One committee after another of the two parties sat and rose with no compromise in sight. The SPLM insisted that a compromise on the matter was tantamount to renegotiating the CPA. Luka Biong was on record saying that the Americans supported the SPLM's position on the dispute. Even the idea of instituting an interim administration in Abyei was rejected in 2006 so as not to give any inkling to the Arabs that we are ready for compromise!! In the process millions of dollars of well deserved resources for Abyei were lost because there was no administration there. A year later the SPLM agreed on the interim administration in Abyei that it had rejected earlier.

The Northerners who are adept in political attrition wore the SPLM down and lured it finally into accepting arbitration. As usual the SPLM side, especially the sons of Abyei, was unprepared whereas the other side had all the maps and documents to support their claims. When the SPLM representatives flew for the hearing in The Hague in April, they came back elated that their case was water-tight and a clear win. This judgment was based on the excellent performance of their white advocates. But advocates could win arguments but that is not the same as winning the case; you need more solid evidence. It is a court of law and not a political rally! So, the minds of Abyei people and the Southerners were prepared for a victory in the arbitration. Hence, they were well disposed to accepting the verdict in advance. They trusted the so-called defenders of their cause. Herein lies the deception.

Now that the extent of the loss has become abundantly clear, the SPLM ought to explain to the people the truth of the matter. It will not take the people long to find out the facts. The SPLM has extricated itself from the case and the Abyei people are now left on their own.

Deng Chol Arop.