We Have Reasons To Support Yes For Separation.

In the south everybody hopes for an independent State. Some social organizations are already formed to alert southern population about referendum. Local organizations like Youth for Separation have only chosen to be demonstrating every month on date 9th until the referendum day. They declare their position, decision and right to vote for two Sudans . These people are very serious in their declaration for choosing secession and we support them. Indeed they have their own objectives of making a new country. They have reasons and great hopes and spirit to push the exercise of self-determination to a successful end of their own choice and that is all we want. They have declared with braveness and courage that “Southern Sudan is for Southerners.” They need no interruption from outsiders. They don’t want Khartoum to disturb them on their way to freedom. They have challenged the Government in Khartoum that it has failed to make unity attractive; so what next? The south must decide to go that is the only option left. If one observes this period carefully you will find that Southern Sudan is already an independent country waiting for its date to officially announce the day of independence. Because almost every southerner believes the fact that, we can make our own country. If we can manage our government in Juba ; why not our country? Ladies and gentlemen.

Why is Khartoum dragging its feet on the referendum commission? Does Khartoum think that southern Sudan shall agree the referendum day to be pushed ahead? They must know that we are aiming for separation nobody can change our minds. Khartoum must be clever enough to study the situation and do the exercise peacefully on time. Why unity? Why not separation? Since on Sudan TV you still write on it a slogan which says ‘ La Allah Ila Allah” a phrase that represents Muslims belief alone minus the rest. Will Khartoum allow Christians to write on the same Sudan TV a phrase like to say “Halleluiah?” and if they allow that then the traditional African believers in Sudan will surely ask something for them to be written on the same screen. The Dinka may come up with their religious phrase about Dengdit and it will be the same for Shilluk with Nyikang’s phrase and Nuer with their Kuoth and Ngundeng and maybe Bari , Taposa, Murlei and many other tribes or traditional groups will surely arise with no doubts. And if our words are all collected and put there on the same screen there will be no enough place to view the TV presenters and guests of honor. I am sure the screen for Sudan TV shall be very small to contain all the religious slogans. This is why we say let us leave religions in churches, mosques and any other worshiping places. We are aiming for secularism because we in the Sudan are multi-religious believers, so whose religion will be considered the highest. Can we really vote for unity when the country is still tough on Islamic Shari’ a Law leave alone the poor development in the south? Nobody will vote for unity which violates his/her rights. We must unite our ideas first, before everything. I don’t know! But in fact there must be some craziness or wrong understanding about us somewhere. We are who we are. Khartoum should let us go peacefully.

The Muslims in the north of course minimize our rich religions. They must know that these religions whether being Ngundeng, Nyikang, Dengdit or Christianity all came to us from God. We did not make them of our own. They are valuable and deserve respect. We also want in the Sudan a president who defines us all as Sudanese. We love Sudanism rather than Arabism. We are not Arabs but Sudanese, this is what brings us together and it is the correct definition for all of us. We want a country that will let us enjoy our citizenships equally with the other compatriots. We are not slaves but free men in our own black African motherland country. On our black soil we don’t like to be provoked. How can my president define the Sudan as an Arab country? When the majority of the Sudanese are not Arabs. Is this just because the Arabs minority of the Sudan has ruled the country over many years? We as southerners have refused frankly to be Arabs. We can not copy wrong origin. We are truly Africans believe it or not. It will give us wrong history if we admit this wrong definition and our children shall get lost or confused later. We better make two countries that are free from any group dominations.

Can we really vote for unity if Khartoum still defines us as pagans and drunkards? We can not unite with the president who during his election campaign refused our votes declaring us to the world that we are drunkards and for him as an Islamic and Arab president he doesn’t need votes from us. Which president in the world can do that? If not Sudan . If Arabs of Sudan want to keep our country together they must put in minds that we are all equal irrespective of our origin, religion, race, tribe or color then Sudan would remain a strong and the largest country in Africa. But with the way Sudan is going now, we shall with no doubt dissolve our idea of a new Sudan from Nimule to Alfa and from Geinina to Tokar. Instead we shall say that our new Sudan is from Nimule in the far south to Jebelein in the far north and from Nasir in the Far East to Raga in the far west.