Stalemate Over Abyei Referendum Commission

Khartoum
2 August 2010 (Sudan Radio Service)

The Ng'ok Dinka from the oil-rich area of Abyei have said that they will resort to the Security Council of the United Nations to ask them to intervene and demarcate the Abyei boundary.

The Abyei Chief Administrator, Arop Deng Arop Kuol addressed a press conference in Khartoum on Sunday.

[Arop Deng-Eng]: "In the arbitration agreement, one of the provisions that came in the agreement was that the Government of Sudan would not enjoy sovereignty during litigation as well as the time of execution. It is a provision within the arbitration agreement. What does it mean? It means that the SPLM and the people of Abyei can seek other means of implementing demarcation, they can ask the international community and in this regard, I would point to the Security Council in specific to implement this demarcation exercise because if it is not happening at the level of the Presidency that was given the mandate to execute the Hague arbitration, then we will seek other means that have been availed to us by the agreement. That is to say we ask the Security Council simply because this issue of Abyei, if it goes back into conflict again, then this conflict is likely to affect the region and the conflict is likely to affect the world at large."

Mister Arop explained that the formation of the Abyei referendum commission has delayed because the two parties have not agreed on the chair of the commission.

He said the formation of the Abyei Referendum Commission has come to a stalemate because the NCP has rejected names proposed by the SPLM.

[Arop Deng Kuol-Eng]: "Now the two parties have reached a stalemate, the NCP seems to be insisting that they should also come and nominate the chairperson. Now the issue of Abyei referendum has come to a standstill".

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