Articles and Analysies
Confederal System between Sudan and its southern part is just a Farce By Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman
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Jul 3, 2010 - 9:39:08 AM

Confederal System between Sudan and its southern part is just a Farce

By Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman

Newspapers reported that the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Government of Southern Sudan (GoSS) to the Arab Republic of Egypt Mr. Robin Mrial Benjamin has described Ali Osman Mohmed Taha�s visit to Juba as futile, useless, unnecessary and a provocation to the feelings of the people of Southern Sudan and that he should have apologised for the crimes committed against the people of the South otherwise he would be a man devoid of conscience towards humanity. Mr. Benjamin is reported to have said that �talking about unity is too late and that whoever tries to do so will face of overwhelming confrontation by the people of Southern Sudan. The Deputy of (GoSS) Mission to Egypt has also been quoted as saying that "All the Southerners who are driven by the National Congress Party (NCP) machine, will eventually vote for separation, including Dr. Lam Akol and Dr Riek Gai and that those who voted for them in the Akobo area are separatists. He wondered whether Dr. Gai is going a way opposite to that of his constituents who voted for him in the April 2010 elections.

Whist analysts considered what the Second Vice President of Ali Osman Mohmed Taha trying to achieve politically with the National Congress Party (NCP) partner Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/M (SPLA/M) in the Government of National Unity (GoNU) as a knee jerk reaction and too late and too little to make unity attractive, discussing the option of Confederal system between current Government of Sudan (GoS) and the South of Sudan which is not yet a sovereign State is a futile effort and absurd.

As everybody knows, confederal system or confederation is an association of sovereign member states, which by treaty have delegated certain of their competences to common institutions, in order to coordinate their policies in a number of areas, without constituting a new state on top of the member states. Furthermore, the sovereign states later adopting a common constitution, to deal with critical issues such as defense, foreign affairs or a common currency, with the central government being required to provide support for all members.

Sudanese Second Vice - President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha is considered one of the engineers of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) with the late SPLM leader Dr. John Garang, and has been by some quarters as �the quickest highjump fox hindering and misleading, instrumental in mobilizing the infamous Janjaweed thugs from beyond the Sudan�s borders to exterminate the people of Sudan in Darfur through ethnic cleansing and genocide.� Ali Osman Mohmed Taha is trying at the last minute to salvage the rift and the huge gap between the attractive unity in one Sudan and the option of secession for the people of Southern Sudan at the referendum on self-determination planned for Sunday, the 9^th of January 2011 which is round the corner.

The campaign led by Ali Osman Mohmed Taha for making Confederal System between GoNU and Southern Sudan attractive at this stage is a failed task, ridiculous, contemptuous and insulting to the intelligence of the Sudanese people in the southern part of the country. Priority was the implementation of the liabilities of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which the National Congress Party (NCP) regime failed to meet during the past six years which were wasted in intransigence, prevarication and the use of  the evil doctrine of �Divide and Rule�. Signing today the so-called Unity Support Fund (USF) pledged to fulfill companies� obligations within the next six months including schools and universities in addition to other projects for provision of water services and establishment of railways and river transport passages as part of making Unity Attractive seems too late and too little given the fact that only remaining six months from the holding of the referendum, observers say! Darfurian proverb says that the serpent (snake) which caused you a bite and entered its hole will not come out to give you the antidote to the poison.

The Sudanese public yearn for their beloved country remaining united as it was when their ancestors established, nurtured it and handed it over to generations after them. The people of Sudan in Darfur have been longing for just and lasting peace that address their legitimate rights which the National Islamic Front /National Congress Party (NIF/NCP) has denied them and applied scorched earth policy as a punitive destruction of the region, killing (300000) innocent unarmed vulnerable civilians, driving the survivors out of their homes and lands (Hawakeer) in the IDP and refugee camps 7 - years on; and it is still a common practice by the formal Sudan Armed Force (SAF) and its allied militias. We in the Sudan Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), while calling for a united Sudan, nevertheless, reaffirm through our General Congress, legislative council, executive institutions, and popular and military forces - full and absolute support to the right of People of Southern Sudan for self-determination as provided in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and strongly call for the Referendum to be held in a timely manner on Sunday 9^th January 2011 without delay. Will the racist autocratic regime which is renowned for denunciation of covenants and famous for abrogating agreements, pay respect to the most challenging of the requirements of the CPA? That is a Sixty Four Dollar ($64 Question!

Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is the Deputy Chairman of the General Congress for the Justice and Equality Movement (J EM). He can be reached at [email protected].