A MONTH TO GO AND COUNTING
Today the long awaited Independence Day for the new Republic of South Sudan is a month away as the countdown and preparations across the South Sudan continue with increased determination, considering events of recent days and weeks.
The alleged war criminals and perpetrators of genocide in Khartoum, showing their true faces again, have in total defiance of UN demands, the provisions of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005 and the diplomatic pressure by East African Community member states embarked on a direct military offensive, raping, looting and burning in Abyei and now also doing the same in South Kordofan, where one of the ICC wanted alleged criminals has been installed as ‘governor’ following a hugely rigged election a few weeks ago. The Nuba mountains too are according to overnight feedback a target now of Northern troops and loyalist Janjaweed type militias who are allegedly doing the raping and burning on behalf of their Godfather in Khartoum’s presidential palace.
Refugees are again streaming further South into the ‘safe areas’ of Southern Sudan, as the SPLA led administration in Juba considers their options, not being too keen to let the hooligans and goons of the Khartoum regime dictate the agenda over the next month until Independence becomes finally a reality.
Said a senior and often quoted source in Juba to this correspondent: ‘Khartoum is in a last ditch effort to derail our Independence. They are trying to spoil our party by using military aggression and by committing more crimes against humanity and war crimes targeting civilian innocents. They know in a full scale conflict they cannot beat us. Now we are assured for military assistance from our friends, overseas and in the region. But still they are trying. We will not return to war, because that is what they want to provoke us.
We now have the high moral grounds, the world can see who the aggressors are and that we seek nothing but peace. I want to warn Khartoum to look at Libya, because what Gadaffi does there is the same what Bashir is doing to us now. We know that if worst comes to worst we can count on international support and if Khartoum is not very careful they might find raids coming to the regime there too.
In a month we are independent. We will immediately seek membership of East African Community for even better trade and commerce ties which benefit our people. Khartoum will block its own future with their war mongering to be taken as a partner of EAC and they might lose our trade and our goods. They take a lot of our produce right now but we can export those commodities just as easy after independence. Then we have our own banking access without our money coming from Khartoum, we have our won phone links without Khartoum interfering and listening, we have our own airline powers to allow flights to Juba without having to beg Khartoum and we will get a railway link very soon too to connect us with our neighbours. Roads and bridges are ready to go to Uganda, to Kenya, so Khartoum is damaging their own future and prosperity when they keep harassing us. Our people have spoken, 99 percent are for independence and the same is true for South Kordofan, Abyei and the Nuba mountains if the international community insists on a free and fair vote for our people there. We are tired to be treated like slaves, like third grade citizens in our own country just because we are African and they are Arab. We do not want Sharia law, never wanted it, because we do not believe in such dictatorship and still they tried to force it on us when we are Christians.
For now we are going ahead with preparing the big party celebration on 09th July and I know you will be here to celebrate with us because you have supported us for very long when very few took our side. Long live
SPLM and long live the new Republic of South Sudan.’
Strong sentiments expressed by a very senior source who spoke on condition of anonymity free from his heart and expressing what the sentiments in the South really are at present.
Watch this space as the South Sudan now rushes towards independence and expect a live report from Juba when it happens.
