From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Apr 13 2010 - 08:30:19 EDT
<http://allafrica.com/sudan/> Sudan: Uganda Traders Leave Southern Region
Amid Election Tension and Violence
D. Malingha Doya And Fred Oluoch
13 April 2010
_____
Nairobi - The political risk in Southern Sudan is seen as so high that many
Ugandan traders were opting to leave the troubled country as it prepared for
the general election scheduled for this week.
Many returned home for fear of an escalation in violence and mistreatment,
as the business climate in Southern Sudan deteriorated even before the
election tensions peaked with the decision of opposition parties to pull out
of the exercise.
On their return, the traders held an impromptu meeting, which they used to
draft and file a petition to parliament to address the rising dangers of
doing business in Southern Sudan.
The petition revealed that many influential Southern Sudanese have assaulted
and killed Ugandan business people with impunity, and thrown hundreds more
in jail on trumped-up charges.
The traders also reported that many of their vehicles and goods were
confiscated with the motive of intimidating suppliers to avoid honouring
payment obligations.
The murder of Tonny Makuyi, allegedly stabbed by an officer from the
Sudanese People's Liberation Army, was highlighted in the petition handed
over to Rebecca Kadaga, Deputy Speaker of Uganda's Parliament, last week.
The petition stated that after the trader was stabbed to death, Ugandan
vendors in Juba were asked to relocate their market to a place 12 kilometres
away, and said to be infested with land mines.
Issa Sekito, spokesman of the Kampala City Traders Association, said they
have filed complaints with authorities in Juba on a range of abuses --
including SPLA members raping Ugandan business women, ambushing trucks, and
refusing to pay for goods they have consumed -- none of which have been
acted on.
The petition to parliament wants the Ugandan government to weigh in with
demands for compensation and release of all traders in jails there. "We did
not know many of these things; now that we do, something is definitely going
to be done about it," said Ms Kadaga.
Whereas it is true that abuses are not perpetrated by the Southern Sudanese
government, its lack of control speaks volumes about the political risk in
the country, especially now that there is electoral tension.
Uncertainty could continue until after all electoral activities are done
with, including the 2011 referendum, although this will not necessarily
guarantee a better business environment.
Indeed, the legitimacy of the Sudanese elections is set to be a major area
of contention with the 2011 referendum hanging in the balance following an
election boycott by the South.
The country goes for a three-day election from April 11-13, but serious
questions are emerging as to whether the political climate is conducive for
free and fair polls that would be acceptable to all.
By all accounts, the incumbent, President Omar al-Bashir is headed for
outright victory following the decision by the Sudanese People's Liberation
Movement to withdraw its presidential candidate, Yasir Arman.
SPLM stated that it would boycott this week's local and parliamentary polls
in the country's Northern provinces because of alleged government control of
the media and biased legislation that makes an honest vote impossible.
There are also fears that the country could relapse into civil war should
the elections polarise the partners further and cripple the implementation
of the remaining phases of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
President al-Bashir has made it clear that the North will block the
referendum in the South in case of a boycott, whereas the people in the
South consider the right to self-determination as sacrosanct.
President al-Bashir has maintained that elections will be free and fair,
while downplaying the Juba boycott, describing it as "scattered."
SPLM withdrawal is seen to be consistent with its earlier decision to field
a junior party leader instead of Vice-President Salva Kiir.
It was a strong indication that the SPLM is more interested in the
referendum than the elections.
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