Sudan's SPLM voices commitment to int'l arbitration ruling on Abyei

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) in southern Sudan stressed its full commitment on Sunday to a ruling by the international court of arbitration on the oil-rich Abyei, a disputed area between SPLM and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the north.

"The SPLM is committed to the decision of the international court of arbitration, and the accusations that the SPLM is rejecting the arbitration are not true," said James Wani Igga, chairman of the Transitional Legislative Council for Southern Sudan in a statement.

On July 22, The Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration issued a ruling which stipulates redefining of the boundaries of Abyei and cedes some productive oil fields to the north. Both the SPLM and NCP have pledged to respect the international arbitration.

The boundary dispute over Abyei was one of the most sensitive issues in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement reached by the two peace partners in 2005.

"We are committed to what the court has reached and what the two parties have accepted, and we will carry on its implementation. The SPLM is committed to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and there will be no going back to war again," Igga added.

He underscored the importance of dialogue between the SPLM and the NCP to close their rifts on some laws, including the law on the referendum on the self determination of southern Sudan, scheduled for April 2011.

"We have a committee for the dialogue with the NCP in such issues. Dialogue is essential to reach satisfactory solutions, but we will not accept any individual visions," he added.

The NCP and the SPLM differ on all essential points of the referendum law, but the most serious difference is over who has the right to vote. The NCP argues that all southern Sudanese, wherever they are, have the right to vote and that this right should not be confined to SPLM members.

Another difference is over the headquarters of the referendum commission. The NCP insists that the CPA stipulates that the commission is to be based in Khartoum, while the SPLM demands a sub-office be established in southern Sudan to be responsible for the state offices.

The two parties also disagree on how the referendum is to be decided. The NCP demands that separation should be decided by more than two thirds of the registered voters and unity by a simple majority, while the SPLM insists both separation and unity should be decided by a simple majority.

Source: Xinhua