South Sudan's English Daily Newspaper
"We Dare where others fear"

By Awan Achiek
The Vice President for Infrastructure Cluster, Taban Deng Gai, said on Thursday that the transitional unity government is contemplating recognizing the Abyei community referendum of 2013 in case no permanent resolution is found to determine the status of the disputed area.
In October 2013, Ngok Dinka of the disputed region of Abyei voted overwhelmingly to join South Sudan in a unilateral popular referendum, which saw 99.9 percent of voters wanting to join South Sudan.
“We are going to recognize the community referendum of Abyei in the absence of the total settlement of the problem of Abyei,” Gai said during the ongoing 8th Governor’s Forum in Juba on Thursday.
He asked the Governors Forum to discuss possible ways to address the problem of Abyei, adding that the government remains steadfast in the search for the permanent resolution over the oil-rich area disputed with neighboring Sudan.
“We can discuss this with them. Let them give us a solution, a total solution. In the absence of a total solution, we are going to recognize the community referendum of Abyei,” Gai said.
Gai stressed the need to give an ultimatum to the U.N. Security Council to expedite the final settlement of Abyei.
“We must pressure so that we have a total settlement. We can also give an ultimatum to the UN. That in five years you have been keeping quiet about the total settlement of Abyei,” he said.
Gai noted said that the Ngok Dinka people of Abyei are suffering and finding solution to their plight is urgently needed, adding that UN agencies in Juba should think of providing humanitarian assistance to the population in Abyei.
“There was supposed to be a UN mission head of Abyei, but this one was blocked by Khartoum. Nobody is there now. So the UN Security Council should appoint,” he said.
Gai asked the Governors Forum to inform the Council of Ministers to demand reopening of the critical Athony airport to ease travel between Abyei to Juba.
South Sudan seceded from Sudan in 2011 leaving the status of Abyei to be determined by vote supervised by the African Union which has never taken place to date.