Activist launches “Abyei final status” campaign

A Kenya based South Sudanese activist has launched “Abyei final status” campaign urging the governments of Sudan and South Sudan to find an immediate resolution on the area.

Akol Miyen Kuol, a writer and poet who hails from the Abyei area has started a campaign aimed at drawing international attention to the plight of the locals.

In the recent months, they suffered multiple incidents of cattle-related hostilities that led to the death of dozens people, destruction of properties as well as displacement of many others.

In December last year, the Chief Administrator for Abyei Administrative Area called on the presidency to expedite the process of determining the final status of the area.

The two countries are currently struggling to implement similar peace agreements signed after political unrests and conflicts over the years.

Miyen and other concerned South Sudanese have now launched campaigns on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag “Abyei Final Status.”

Speaking to Eye Radio this morning, Miyen appealed to the two governments to resolve Abyei status to stop the suffering of the people.

“The Ngok Dinka people of Abyei have suffered for far too long, so this issue of Abyei needs to be settled once and for all,” Miyen told Eye Radio.

“We started the campaign yesterday to draw the attention of the international community to bring the two countries back to the negotiating table and work on the final status of Abyei.

“My appeal is for them to embark on full implementation of the two peace agreements; the peace agreement for Sudan and the one for South Sudan and also work on the issue of Abyei.

“They need to resume the talks on the final status of the region without further delays because what happened last month and this month in Abyei is a signal that this issue will continue for long without any solution, it can lead to a dangerous point in time.”

The oil-rich border region of Abyei has been contested since South Sudan gained independence in 2011.

The area was accorded a special administrative status by the 2004 Protocol on the Resolution of the Abyei Conflict, known as, the Abyei Protocol.

A referendum was originally to be held in 2011 in which the residents of Abyei could decide either to remain part of Sudan or to become part of South Sudan.

However, the referendum was postponed indefinitely due to disagreements over the process.

As a result the Dinka Ngok and the Mesiriya tribesmen of Sudan unilaterally conducted separate referendum – but were not recognized by either government.

In 2020, a UN official told a Security Council meeting that, despite improving relations between Sudan and South Sudan, progress was unlikely in a short term in determining the final status of the Abyei Area.

In May 2021, President Salva Kiir constituted a high-level committee to initiate dialogue with the Sudanese government on the final status of the Abyei Administrative Area.

The team comprises three members of the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly and four other senior SPLM cadres.

They include Assa Abas Akuei, Dr Luka Monoja, Deng Biong Mijak, Majur Babur Ajang, James Deng Lual and Kom Kom Geng.

They are led by Tut Gatluak, the Presidential Advisor on Security Affairs, deputized by Deng Alor Kuol, the minister of East African Affairs.

The committee was tasked with negotiating with the government of Sudan in order to reach an amicable solution on the status of Abyei.

The committee who were expected to feed President Salva Kiir with monthly updates on the progress of the negotiation has so far made no progress.