Editorial: No to Disturbing the Political Atmosphere

According to UNISFA press release on July 10, 2012 the Dinka Ngok community in Abyei area on Monday, July 09, 2012 celebrated the First Anniversary of South Sudan’s Independence Day. About 6000 people attended the celebration.  During the celebration a few hundred people tried to get into violent acts. As a result a shop in the local market was burned down. The situation was immediately brought under control by the peacekeepers and any further outbreak of violence was prevented.
However, what happened by Dinka Ngok community during their celebration the first anniversary of South Sudan Independence is unfortunate as it affirms the continuation of the tension and conflict between the two Sudans.
It is true that the UNISFA contained the chaos, but the occurrence of such accidents fuels the already existing strife between Misseiriya and Dinka Ngok.
We believe that what happened is a result of the conflict situation in the area despite the existence of the Ethiopian troops and affirms the tension between the components of the social fabric in Abyei, a matter that might escalate the causes of tension between the two countries more than it is now.
It is high time to expedite striking a deal to protect the peace between the two parts of Sudan and avail the healthy environment to return the humanitarian waters to its courses protected by the deep-rooted social intermingling.
Any attempt to belittle the incident will not serve in resolving the existing political, economical and security issues.
We don’t want to intrude on what is in the hearts of the inhabitants of the area, but we speak out the logic on the necessity of peaceful coexistence between the two Sudans for practical reasons which we all know.
We admire the address of the Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister, Hailemarian Desalegn, in Juba on the occasion of South Sudan Independence Anniversary, in which he stressed on the importance of soft borders between Sudan and South Sudan.
The bordering line between Sudan and South Sudan extends to more than two thousand kilometers and the population in that area represents about one third of the old Sudan.
Out of those there is a group which we can call the inter-tribal who stay some months in the north and others in the south.
Determining the months in itself triggered and is still triggering the problems between the two countries.
To sum it up, let us hope that the ongoing talks in Addis Ababa ends with positive outcomes to avoid any international intervention which will affect negatively both Sudans.