Chiefs Discuss Repatriation With GOSS

9 February 2011 – (Juba) – A delegation of southern Sudanese chiefs from Khartoum arrived in Juba on Tuesday to discuss with the Government of Southern Sudan ways of repatriating southern Sudanese from northern Sudan.

Speaking to SRS in Juba on Tuesday, the representative of the Chiefs’ Council of Central Equatoria State in Khartoum, Sebit Elia Sabun said most IDPs from Khartoum are stranded because there has not been a proper mechanism of repatriating them.

Chief Sabun disclosed that there are many IDPs who are stranded by the roadsides in Khartoum and have neither shelters nor food as they wait to be repatriated back to the south.

He explains the mission of their visit to SRS.

[Sebit Elia Sabun]: “We have come in order to put our hands together with the SSRRC to help our people who are stranded. If there are some things where our help is needed we shall help. We are eyewitnesses and would like to tell the authorities in the GOSS that there is a big number of southerners in the north who would like to come back home. They are not only in Khartoum; we the chiefs are now facing difficulties from our people in the states: Gadarif, Port Sudan and others. They assume that the work is concentrated in Khartoum and they are asking are they not southerners or don’t they don’t have to return like others? There are also southerners who are in need and want to come back. For example, there are people who spent a period of one month or one month and half to two months in the desert, come to think of this, it is a shame to the leaders in southern Sudan especially when the media and other agencies go and film these people and display them in the newspapers and on television channels and so on…and this reflects as if our government does not care for these people.”

Chief Sabun said his team is optimistic that the Government of Southern Sudan will find an amicable way of resettling the IDPs soon. He urged GOSS to speed up the process and resettle IDPs before 9th of July 2011, which is the end of the interim period.