The Abyei referendum should take place at the same time Southerners vote for self-determination and Khartoum should name the commission within this week.
This is the main demand the Abyei Referendum Forum put forward in a two-day meeting that started yesterday in Juba with the presence of GoSS president Salva Kiir Mayardit .Chol Deng Alak, chairperson of the Abyei Referendum Forum, told SCR News that the National Congress Party (NCP) must appoint the Abyei Referendum Commission immediately to enable it carry out the plebiscite on time.
Mr. Deng added that the Abyei vote was a human right that should be carried out by all means.
Henry Wol Kol, a citizen of Abyei, said that the right of self-determination belonged to the people adding that this right would be exercised whether NCP wanted it or not.
Speaking through a translator, Achai Deng Abiem, Member of Parliament in the Abyei Assembly, argued that the rights of the people of Abyei were taken away and they must find a way to get them back.
In the last round of talks that took place last week in Khartoum, the SPLM and NCP decided to refer the Abyei issue to the Presidency of the Republic.