---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Tue, Mar 15, 2011 at 8:23 AM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fw: Sudan talks break down To: Group <[email protected]>
I tend to agree with Claire in the Guardian piece (below): brinkmanship, posturing and accusations of bad faith are a normal part of negotiations between these two parties where there is so little trust. John BEGIN 1. Sudan talks break down as south accuses Khartoum of arming rebels Bashir regime accused of funding and training militias to destabilise south before country's division after referendum * Xan Rice in Nairobi * guardian.co.uk, Monday 14 March 2011 13.09 GMT Southern Sudan has suspended talks with the northern government after accusing President Omar al-Bashir's regime of arming rebel groups before the country's split in July. The move comes amid a sharp increase in tensions in recent weeks, with hundreds of people killed in clashes in the south, and along the north-south border. In the latest fighting, up to 42 people were killed after militiamen attacked Malakal, a state capital, on Saturday. Announcing their withdrawal from key negotiations on Sunday, southern officials accused Bashir of using proxy forces to weaken the south and to try to topple its government before secession. "They [the north] have stepped up their destabilisation of southern Sudan by creating, training, and arming and financing various militia groups in southern Sudan," said Pagan Amum, secretary general of the south's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), on Sunday. Amum said that the northern government was "already engaged at war", forcing the south to suspend talks. The two sides, which ended their 22-year war in 2005, are meant to be negotiating crucial issues related to the country's breakup, including border demarcation and oil-revenue sharing. Bashir's National Congress party dismissed Amum's allegations as "ridiculous". But it also warned of more fighting in Abyei, a disputed and volatile border area whose status remains unresolved. The war of words - and the fighting on the ground - follows the mostly peaceful referendum in January, when 99% of southerners voted for independence. Bashir did not attempt to disrupt the ballot, as many observers suspected he would, and promised to respect the south's decision to secede, raising hopes of a painless separation. But there were always warning signs this might not happen. The main one was Abyei, a long-contested region that was supposed to have its own vote in January on whether to join the south or north. Given that most of the eligible voters were expected to be Ngok Dinkas – southerners – it seemed inevitable that Abyei would join the south. But Bashir, ignoring the provisions of the 2005 deal to end the war, insisted that northern Missereya herders be allowed to vote too, forcing the ballot to be postponed. With only four months left to secession, the north is insisting on a negotiated settlement for Abyei, angering the SPLM and local people. After clashes in January, at least 70 people were killed in attacks involving Missereya and Ngok Dinka fighters earlier this month, with three villages razed and tens of thousands of people displaced. Elsewhere, in Jonglei and Upper Nile states, fighting between the southern army and militias groups allied to the renegade general George Athor have left hundreds dead. The SLPM says Athor is sponsored by Khartoum, although it has provided no evidence for this. Claire McEvoy, Sudan project manager at the Small Arms Survey, a Swiss-based research group, said that the unresolved post-referendum issues meant that the tension and violence was no surprise. But she added that neither side wanted another war, and that both were using rhetoric to try to maximise gains from the negotiations, as they have done in the past. "Posturing and accusations of bad faith are inevitably part of that process," she said. END1 2. South Sudan accuses Bashir of plot, suspends talks Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:20pm GMT * Accusations come hours after militia raid on south * South says mulling turning off oil flow after secession * Violence raises fears for south ahead of secession (Adds northern party official) By Andrew Heavens KHARTOUM, March 12 (Reuters) - South Sudan accused Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir of arming militias to overthrow the south's government before the secession of the oil-producing region in July, and suspended talks with Khartoum. The accusation, dismissed by the north, came hours after militias launched an attack on Malakal, capital of the south's oil-producing Upper Nile state. Senior southern official Pagan Amum said the south would suspend talks with Bashir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) about plans for the secession and would look into alternative routes for sending its oil to market, away from the north. Southerners overwhelmingly voted to declare independence from the north in a January referendum promised in a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north/south civil war. The south is due to split away on July 9. "We in SPLM (the south's ruling Sudan People's Liberation Movement) have details of a plan by the NCP to overthrow the government of south Sudan before July," Amum, SPLM secretary general, told journalists. "The NCP has been creating, training, supplying and arming militia groups in southern Sudan with the aim to destabilise and overthrow the government," he added. "This plan is being overseen by the President of the Republic ... himself." Amum said the SPLM had complained to the United Nations Security Council about a series of militia raids in its territory which it said were being backed by Khartoum. "For all these reasons, the SPLM is suspending discussions and negotiations with the NCP," said Amum. Amum added southern President Salva Kiir had asked him to look into finding alternative routes for the south's oil -- the lifeblood of both north and south economies. "(Kiir) has directed us in the negotiating team to look into a possibility of stopping the export of oil of south Sudan through the north in July and see possibilities of alternative routes of transport other than northern Sudan," said Amum. It was unclear how the south, almost entirely dependent on oil revenues, would manage to find alternative routes. The only pipeline currently runs through the north and it would take years to build another line via Kenya or Uganda. Any shutdown would have a serious impact on the north's economy which, up to now, has been receiving half of the revenues from southern oil and was hoping to negotiate continued payments after secession. Senior NCP official Rabie Abdelati told Reuters the accusation of a northern plot was "ridiculous". If the government of the south wants to export oil through any other means, it is up to them. We don't want to take something that is not ours," Abdelati told Reuters. The south's army said 23 militia fighters died after they raided Malakal, killing an unknown number of civilians. Renegade militia leader George Athor told Reuters one of his deputies had launched the assault to seize weapons and to strike back after a series of army offensives against his men. Athor is a former army officer who rebelled last year saying he had been cheated out of the governorship of neighbouring Jonglei state in April elections. The south has accused the north of backing Athor, an accusation he dismisses. Upper Nile includes oil concessions run by Petrodar, a consortium led by CNPC of China and including Malaysia's Petronas and Sudan's own Sudapet. (Additional reporting by Jeremy Clarke in Juba) END2 ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor Sudan Ecumenical Forum [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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