Sudan secession not acceptable

An opinion poll shows that the secession referendum in Sudan will probably trigger more violence resulting in the West’s exploitation of southern oil-rich Sudan.

Nearly 58 percent of the respondents voted that the referendum on secession of southern Sudan will not only lead to a new wave of violence, strife and socio-economic instability, but it will also enable the exploitation of south Sudan’s oil by the removal of the anti-western regime.

The opinion poll was conducted by Press TV from January 8 to 18. A total of 638 participants took part in the poll. Only 13.79 percent of the respondents voted that the long-term conflict between south Sudan leaders and Khartoum will come to an end.

It is noteworthy that 27.4 percent of respondents were from the US, 9.5 percent were from the UK, 5.9 percent from Canada, 2.9 percent from Kuwait, 2 percent from Australia and 52.3 percent from other countries.

The vote is in contradiction with a 2005 peace agreement, brokered by the African Union and the United Nations, ending decades of civil war between Sudan’s northern and southern parts.

Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir has said the divisions between the two regions are the legacy of the former colonial power, Great Britain.

Bashir has also warned that south Sudan would face instability in the wake of a possible secession.

“The south suffers from many problems. It’s been at war since 1959,” the Sudanese president said.

“The south does not have the ability to provide for its citizens or create a state or authority,” he further explained.

Last Saturday, at least 25 people were killed and many more injured in clashes between fighters from two rival tribes in the Abyei region of southern Sudan ahead of the historic referendum.

The United States and the European Union have been campaigning for years to split the major African country, voicing support for the secession of the oil-rich, mainly Christian south. The effort has openly promoted racism as well as sectarianism, claiming rivalries between Arabs versus Africans and Christians against Muslims.