On January 11th, 2011, 10 civilians were killed and 18 were injured in Juba, located along the tense north-south Sudan's border. Sudan officials announced that truckloads of heavily armed nomads ambushed 23 vehicles carrying Southern Sudanese who were on their way to vote for the referendum. This incident is especially horrifying and stunning as it was just 3 days since more than 40 people were killed within the same region due to a skirmish between Sudanese police force and opposing militia. United Nations stated that "There is an evident increase in tension... The situation is volatile and there could be outbreaks of further violence." The referendum vote which is taking place currently in Sudan will decide whether southern part of Sudan will be seperated from Sudan and form its own country. While the result is expected to be positive for independence of the southern part of Sudan, there are strong oppositions against this referendum such as the Misseriya community. Misseriya community is located between the southern and northern Sudan and they do not want the Sudan to be separated since then their community will be divided as well. Thus, the Sudanese government suspects that the Misseriya community is responsible for recent killings of people through ambushes and skirmishes including this incident.
Despite all of the life-threatening and violent attacks, majority of the people from both Southern and Northern part of Sudan are participating in the votes. The voting is expected to continue for the rest of the week, and the election officials have extended their hours at voting stations in order to accommodate flood of people eager to vote.
From my perspective, I can see how devoted people are towards this independence as flood of people still continues to vote despite the recent violent incidents which took place along the borders. Thus, I strongly believe that the vote should be continued cleanly without any corruption and flaws. However, I find these skirmishes and ambushes extremely immoral and problematic. I believe that every citizen must be guaranteed with safety when voting however it is evident that the security in Sudan is very poor. Both parts of Sudan must strengthen their forces to oppress the oppositions' militia in order to secure their citizens safety. If a country cannot protect their citizens, then who would? Who can? If I was living in Sudan as one of their citizens, I would refuse to vote even though I find the vote very important because my life is much more important than the vote. Important votes regarding to ideas like referendum must not be affected by unnatural and unacceptable factors like the attacks of oppositions. Promoting clean and fair votes are essential in Sudan today.
Furthermore, oppositions such as the Misseriya community should be granted with some forms of privilege or rights to help them keep their community as whole although their actions of killings were ultimately wrong. Because Sudanese government is responsible for not recognizing minorities and
their problems which lead to horrifying killings, the Sudanese government must oppress the oppositions, promote peace afterwards and find resolution which can help visible minorities to keep their culture and custom as soon as possible. Moreover, the Misseriya community must formally apologize and take full responsibility of their actions to achieve peace and rights to keep their community as whole. If not, the border between north and south part of Sudan can become just like the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Durand Line, which is the centre of the world's conflict. In order to prevent another country evolving with the same problems as Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Sudanese government must act now and supports from other international countries must be provided as well.http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/world/africa/12sudan.html?_r=1&ref=world
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