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SPLM Official says Party to 'Champion Separation'

   Peter Clottey 26 December 2010
   If  the January referendum does take place, it will have little impact
   on the conflict in Darfur, in western Sudan, which has been in a lull.

   If  the January referendum does take place, it will have little impact
   on the conflict in Darfur, in western Sudan, which has been in a lull.

   A  prominent member of the Sudan Peopleâs Liberation Movementâs (SPLM)
   ruling  council told VOA his party will now âchampion separationâ from
   the north in the run up to the 9^th January referendum.

   Ezekiel  Lol  Gatkuoth,  who  is  also  the  head of the government of
   Southern  Sudan  Mission  to the United Nations and the United States,
   said  President  Omar  Hassan  al-Bashirâs government has, in the past
   five  years,  failed  to make unity attractive to southerners ahead of
   next monthâs self-determination vote.

   âIt  is actually very clear now that the SPLM is going to champion the
   separation.  We have made it very clear to the world that we have been
   fighting  for  a  united  secular Sudan. But, for the last five years,
   unity  has been made very ugly to our people in the south, east, west,
   (and) north, and even in the center, said Gatkuoth.

   âIt  is  very clear now that the people of southern Sudan are going to
   vote  for  separation  and we are going to champion the course for the
   people of southern Sudan.â

   Observers   say   the   move  contradicts  stipulations  of  the  2005
   Comprehensive  Peace Agreement (CPA), which calls on both the SPLM and
   the  ruling  National  Congress  Party  (NCP) to work together for the
   countryâs unity ahead of the referendum.

   Officials  of the NCP have accused the SPLM of flouting the CPA, which
   some analysts say will set the stage for a dispute over the outcome of
   the referendum.

   The  ruling  party  says  it  will  only  accept  the  outcome  of the
   referendum  if  it  is  conducted  in  a  free,  fair  and  a credible
   atmosphere.

   But,  Gatkuoth  said  his  partyâs  decision  to  openly  campaign for
   secession does not undermine the CPA.

   âThe CPA is not forbidding anybody from championing or campaigning for
   any options. We have agreed, yes, that unity has to be made attractive
   for  the  last  five years and then, at the end of the interim period,
   the  people of southern Sudan will be asked if the unity has been made
   attractive so that they can vote for unity,â said Gatkuoth.

   âBut  now,  since  we  have  failed  to  make  unity attractive, it is
   actually  the choice of the SPLM, or the choice of the NCP, or anybody
   in  Sudan,  to champion or to campaign for any of the options that you
   deem  fit  for your constituency. So, it is very clear that we are not
   violating anything.â

   Gatkuoth  also called on the estimated 3.5 million registered southern
   Sudanese to vote for separation so that, in his words, we can have 100
   percent turnout and 100 percent separation.

   Meanwhile,  recent  polls  show  a  majority of southern Sudanese will
   choose secession over unity with the north.

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