Washington, DC — Let me thank the Brookings Institution and Rich Williamson – Nonresident Senior Fellow and Former U.S. Special Envoy to Sudan -- for inviting me to speak at this event entitled "The Sudan Referendum: Dangers and Possibilities".
I was elected to Congress in 1988 and was sworn into office in 1989 – the same year that Omar el Bashir came to power in a bloody coup.
I have closely followed the situation in Sudan ever since then, and I must say, I am extremely concerned about what is happening now – the continued and emboldening intransigence of the Bashir regime threatens to unravel the peace that was won five years ago and spark a return to conflict.
On January 9, 2005 I had the honor of witnessing the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) which ended the ghastly 21-year war between North and South Sudan – a war that claimed the lives of 2 million Southerners and displaced 4 million; a war in which the Bashir regime used aerial bombings against innocent, defenseless children, women, men, elderly, and disabled; a war that nearly destroyed an entire region – South Sudan, but could not destroy the spirit of its people.
The CPA, championed by the late Dr. John Garang who led the struggle in the South, outlined the path to secure lasting peace – a 6 year Interim Period during which Khartoum would have the opportunity to show the people of the South that it was capable of change.
At the end of the 6 year period – on January 9, 2011 – the CPA promised an opportunity for the people of the South to determine whether the regime in Khartoum had changed enough that they want to remain a part of Sudan or whether they want to secede.
The people in the marginal area of Abyei -- the region that holds in its soil Sudan's oil wealth – would decide if they would retain their special administrative status in the North or to become part of the South.
The CPA laid out very clear benchmarks to be met for these referenda to take place and also included detailed instructions for power sharing and oil-revenue sharing.
As things stand today, Khartoum threatens to tear the CPA apart at the seams, as Bashir's regime has refused to cooperate on key measures that must be put in place.
In fact, the nine-day talks in Addis Ababa between The National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) to address the issue of Abyei as an important component of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement have failed. According to the joint statement issued by the parties, "Despite serious efforts and many productive discussions, they did not succeed in reaching agreement on the eligibility criteria for voters in the Abyei Area referendum." The failure of the talks rules out the possibility that the Abyei Referendum will be held on time.
Unfortunately, this comes as little surprise to many of us. Abyei has remained a contentious issue throughout the CPA process.
In late December 2009, the Sudan National Assembly passed the South Sudan and Abyei Referendum Act.
In late June 2010, the National Assembly approved a list of names submitted by President Bashir to become members of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, and on June 30, 2010, President Bashir issued a Presidential Decree appointing the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, and members of the commission. To this very day, the Abyei referendum commission has not been approved.
There have been reports of mass migrations of Misseriya into Abyei ahead of the referendum and concerns that these movements are being encouraged and orchestrated by the NCP to sway the vote in favor of Khartoum.
Of course, no one can forget the bombing and burning of Abyei that was carried out by Bashir's regime in May of 2008. I traveled there shortly thereafter and witnessed the heartbreaking devastation. All these issues are reminders that Abyei is critical to full implementation of the CPA.
And concerns remain. Khartoum has repeatedly played games, stalled, held up, and obstructed so many critical steps in the fulfillment of the CPA.
So much so that today, it is unclear whether the referendum in January – even for the South -- can actually be held freely and fairly.
Must I remind us that this is the regime that carried out the first genocide to be declared by Congress while it was in progress? Nearly half a million Darfuris have lost their lives as a result and more than 2 million have been displaced.
While Darfur is no longer on the front pages of newspapers, the people still suffer what the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno Ocampo called "a silent genocide" last month at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Brain Trust on Africa which I chaired. Khartoum has strangled aid, cut off IDP camps, and is watching the people of Darfur slowly starve to death.
This is the regime headed by a president who has been indicted by the ICC for war crimes and for genocide.
And again, as the CPA is supposed to come into full completion in less than 3 months, there is the threat of massive violence once again against the people of the South.
We have seen several reports of arms shipments into the South to arm the Misseriya militias that were such a destabilizing force in the North-South war. This is very serious.
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And so, as the Obama Administration rolls out a new policy that includes an incentives package to sway Khartoum to do the right thing, let us remember also that this is the same regime that welcomed with open arms and harbored Osama bin Laden from 1991-1996.
It was from Khartoum that he planned an assassination attempt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
Is this a regime deserving of a second chance again, and again, and again? I daresay no.
So what have we learned? In the words of the late Dr. Garang, the Bashir regime is "too deformed to be reformed". The U.S. must provide leadership in the international community. I call on President Obama, Secretary Clinton and Special Envoy Gration to provide clear leadership and to not give this regime another chance.
The message to Khartoum must be that a dismissal of the CPA in any form will not be tolerated. We demand free and fair referenda for the people of South Sudan and Abyei. We demand justice and accountability in Sudan. We must also demand a real end to the genocide in Darfur. All these things are paramount if we are to see lasting peace in Sudan.
Thank you.
Donald M. Payne, who has represented New Jersey's 10th District in the United States House of Representatives since1989, chairs the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health.
