Sudanese presidency convenes today as North-South rift widens
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March 16, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese president Omer Hassan
Al-Bashir and South Sudan leader Salva Kiir are scheduled to meet on
Thursday to discuss the deteriorating relations between the North and
South a few months before the country officially split into two.
JPEG - 41.4 kb
FILE - South Africa’s former president Thabo Mbeki (L) attends a joint
presidency meeting with Sudan’s President Omar Hassan al-Bashir (2nd
L), First Vice President and southern president Salva Kiir and Vice
President Ali Osman Taha (R) in Khartoum January 27, 2011 (Reuters)
Southerners voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence during the
referendum that took place last January. The ruling National Congress
Party (NCP) in the North accepted the outcome of the vote and vowed to
be the first to recognize the new state.
Both sides are supposed to iron out the post-referendum arrangements
such as border demarcation, oil, water, citizenship, national debt,
international agreements and the fate of the Abyei region.
However, progress has been slow on resolving these issues and last
week the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) controlling the
South said it was suspending the talks and accused the North of arming
militias with the aim of toppling the government in the
semi-autonomous region.
The U.S., UK and Norway issued a joint statement on Tuesday urging the
NCP-SPLM negotiations to continue.
Yesterday the SPLM political bureau said it will not continue its
participation in the security committee with the NCP in protest.
The head of an African Union (AU) panel Thabo Mbeki who is mediating
between the North and South met with Bashir and Kiir in a fresh bid to
defuse tensions and prevent further escalation as violence spread to
different parts of the South and Abyei.
"Bashir is a believer in the importance of continued dialogue to
resolve all outstanding issues" Mbeki said.
Today’s meeting is expected to tackle the South’s accusations about
the NCP arming the militias and the alleged plot to install an "agent"
government before the country’s breakup in July.
(ST)
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