Abyei Dispute is Settled, But Will Verdict Be Respected?

Even though the long-drawn out dispute over the Abyei boundary in Sudan has finally been settled, the full implementation of the decision by the Abyei Arbitration Tribunal will only materialise with pressure and support of the international community.

The tribunal, sitting at The Hague last Wednesday, issued a compromised ruling in which it confirmed that the nine chiefdoms of the Ngok Dinka belong to Southern Sudan but also ensured that major oil fields are assigned to the North.

The decision also guarantees the rights of Misseriya pastoralists, who have been in constant conflict with the Dinka chiefdoms.

The Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) head of mission in Nairobi, John Andruga Duku, told The EastAfrican that the ruling did not meet all the expectations of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement but that his government will abide by it nonetheless.

"We are now calling on the international community to move fast and ensure that the decision of the court is implemented. We would like to see a repeat of what happened last time when the decision of the Abyei border commission was ignored," he said.

The Abyei Protocol, which was signed nine months before the 2005 Sudanese peace deal, was threatening to return the two partners to war mainly because of the oil fields.

The fact that the National Congress Party (NCP) had rejected the recommendations of the Abyei Border Commission that three years ago ruled that Abyei belonged to the South is another obstacle.

The Abyei Arbitration Tribunal had the task to determine whether the Abyei Border Commission -- which was to define and demarcate the area of the nine Ngok Dinka chiefdoms transferred to Kordofan in 1905 -- exceeded their mandate.

Besides the related issue of the sharing of oil wealth between the North and the South, the long-standing differences between the Misseriya and Ngok Dinka over grazing rights had inflamed the situation.

The dispute erupted into violence in May 2008 when Sudanese armed forces razed Abyei town and forcibly displaced an estimated 60,000 people.

With Abyei residents set to vote in a referendum in 2011 to decide whether they want to belong to the South or the North, the situation is still fluid, even though NCP and the SPLM have issued a joint statement promising to abide by the ruling.

The two partners reaffirmed their intention to fully implement the tribunal's decision, including the protection of rights of local communities, demarcate the Abyei border and create a joint task force to meet with traditional leaders in Abyei.

The parties equally confirmed their commitment to ensuring sustainable peace in Abyei as a gesture of their commitment to involve local communities in Abyei in the process of resolution of the dispute.

Earlier in the week, the parties brought traditional leaders from these communities to Khartoum for a meeting to discuss the impact of the ruling, its implementation and the rights of the communities regardless of the outcome.

"The NCP and the SPLM recognise the importance of maintaining peace and security in Abyei and its surrounding areas, particularly in the wake of the tribunal's award. We commit to taking steps to use our existing capabilities to prevent violence, enhance security, and consolidate peace in Abyei," the two parties said in a statement availed top The EastAfrican through the Sudanese Embassy in Nairobi.

Historically, Abyei -- which contains the bulk of the oil deposits in the south -- has been occupied by the Ngok Dinka and the Misseriya.

For decades the two communities, who both keep cattle, had developed a traditional arrangement where during drought the Misseriya could water their cattle on River Kiir, the only one that survives the drought in the region.

But after the CPA, the region became increasingly militarised and the GOSS has been accusing Khartoum of arming the Misseriya to terrorise other groups with the intention of intimidating them before the 2011 referendum.

Now with both sides undertaking to respect the ruling by the arbitration team, the question is whether they will be willing to put aside their vested interests to allow the Abyei people to decide in 2011 which side they belong.

Earlier in the year, Commissioner Bakhet of Abyei repeated Khartoum's long-held position that a referendum for Abyei was out of the question if the report by the Abyei Boundary Commission was left to stand.

To-date, the security arrange-ment contained in the Abyei Protocol has not been implemented.

The protocol had stated that only three groups are allowed to carry arms -- Sudanese People's Liberation Army, Sudanese Armed Forces and the Joint Integrated Unit.

However, the SPLM had been complaining that the NCP has not been keen to disarm militias allied to Khartoum while the SPLM had disarmed those allied to it, one among them being Polino Matip, who is now a senior commander with SPLA.

The semi-autonomous South has been experiencing inter-ethnic clashes with the Nouth leadership, attributed to the tension over probable secession by the South.

Source: The East African - Nairobi