Are Ngok Dinka of Abyei South Sudanese?
Published: 1/Mar/2013
Source: Sudan Tribune
By Luka Biong Deng
The question of whether the Ngok Dinka of Abyei are citizens of South Sudan may seem strange to most people, who would answer it in the affirmative. But it seems a difficult question to a few, particularly among the elite. This ambiguity has reached the government level. Recently, a senior official compared the people of Abyei to those of Kashmir and described them as not citizens of South Sudan in a meeting of one of the highest decision-making institutions.”The people of Abyei are like people of Kashmir. Kashmir people do not occupy key positions in India and Pakistan. So Abyei people are not South Sudanese and should not occupy key positions in South Sudan,” he said.
This statement was made immediately after the appointment of Gen. Pieng Deng Kuol as the Inspector General of Police, who hails from Abyei. It seems we have a challenge to educate ourselves, not only about the history of our struggle but also about our Constitution as the supreme law of our country. Abyei has been increasingly referred to as Kashmir or even a disputed area. This reference is either meant to show the difficulty in finding a solution to the Abyei issue or it is based on an utter ignorance.
Read more on Sudan Tribune website: http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article45696