Michael Majok Ayom Optimistic On Autonomy in Sudan

Mr Michael Majok Ayom, the diplomat representing Southern Sudan in Nairobi.

He is the representative in Nairobi of the government of Southern Sudan, whose people waged a long and brutal military campaign to liberate themselves from the tyranny of the Khartoum regime.

That guerrilla war culminated in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in Kenya. The deal guarantees the South the right to vote on whether to separate from the North or whether the people want to remain as part of one nation.

All indications are that Southerners will vote for separation. But tensions have risen steadily in recent weeks as the North has made moves seen as stalling preparations for the referendum.

According to Mr Majok, the referendum date of January 9 next year is non-negotiable.

“It is the right of the Southerners to vote on the date agreed in the CPA. That right is recognised by the entire international community. Numerous multilateral institutions were witnesses to the CPA agreement. There is absolutely no option but for the referendum to be held as scheduled,” he said.

Force delay

Despite the South’s demands, recent weeks have seen the Bashir regime engage in actions that are viewed as belligerent and an attempt to force a delay of the referendum.

The North, which took the position of chairman of the commission charged with preparing for the poll, insisted its candidate also takes the position of secretary-general.

That demand led to a stalemate lasting several weeks, before it was resolved last week when President Obama’s special representative to Sudan, Maj-Gen Scott Gration, hammered out a deal. The agreement saw the North’s candidate take the position of secretary-general.

Sharp words have also been exchanged between Khartoum and Juba over a decision by the Bashir regime to pay the South’s share of oil revenue in Sudanese pounds rather than dollars.

“That move was obviously designed to trigger a crisis,” said Mr Majok. “Denying the South dollars means that we can’t import anything. It will leave the government broke. And a government that is broke cannot, of course, govern.”

The diplomat said all the various crises that have emerged will not stop the referendum.

In the coming months, South Sudan will rely heavily on the backing of neighbouring states such as Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, all of which tacitly back the South’s desire for separation.

American involvement will also be crucial because the US has considerable diplomatic clout with the Khartoum regime’s most important ally, Egypt.

Speaking in Nairobi last week, Mr Gration acknowledged that there were tensions but said many outstanding issues had been resolved.

“Our objective, desire and goal is that the poll must go ahead as scheduled,” he said.

Apart from the disputes over administrative issues between Juba and Khartoum, there is also tension over the activities of the Lord’s Resistance Army in the South.

Officials of the government in Southern Sudan claim that the rebels are financed by Khartoum, a claim the Bashir regime denies.

There are also fears that the North might seek to finance ethnic militia to weaken the government in the South, especially in the wake of a successful ‘Yes’ vote.

Mr Majok says such tactics are unlikely to succeed. “In Southern Sudan, we are different. The talk that we will somehow descend into violence against one another is not factual.

Nobody understands better than Southerners how much sacrifice was made so that we can get to this point and we would be the last to start fighting each other on the basis of ethnicity.”

Mr Majok joined the guerrilla movement in 1983 while at Gezira University. He quit his engineering course to link up with the core of fighters under the command of General John Garang, founder of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA).

After serving for several years as a soldier, rising to the level of Brigadier, he resumed his studies at South Africa’s Fort Hare University, where he is currently finishing his Masters in public administration.

He served as a diplomat in Egypt before going back to Southern Sudan to work in the administration in Jonglei State.

Mr Majok arrived in Nairobi in February and says he is working with Kenya to ensure the CPA implementation process stays on track.