Eritrean president slams the separation of Sudan into two states
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May 8, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki
criticized the split of Sudan into two states saying that it was a
result of "political blunders".
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Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki (Reuters)
In an interview with the pro-government Al-Shorooq TV, Afewerki said
that Eritrea worked for Sudan’s unity over the last twenty years
emphasizing that breaking up its territory into blocks may cast a
shadow on the fate of the state which has seen a quantum leap in the
areas of development.
Afewerki added that separation of South Sudan was the inevitable
result of political blunders and international intervention that
affected the region. He urged Sudanese people to preserve the unity of
the remaining land.
Southern Sudanese voted in January to separate from the north and form
a new nation, a referendum promised to them as part of a 2005 peace
deal which ended the decades of civil war.
But many countries in the region have expressed unhappiness with the
breakup of Sudan saying that it could set a precedent in the continent
and trigger regional instability.
Eritrea split from Ethiopia in 1991 after three decades of conflict.
Until the 2005 peace deal that granted South Sudan the right to self
determination the region had fought Khartoum for all but nine years of
Sudan’s independence.
Afewerki also warned against the "internationalization" of the Darfur
crisis stressing that it will only complicate the situation. He
pointed out that the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) signed in Abuja five
years ago came through U.S. and international support but did not
solve the problem and "failed miserably".
"Are the Sudanese people unable to resolve the crisis themselves?" he
said . "I do not see the need for internationalization because it
could lead the region ultimately to the same fate of South Sudan."
The insurgency in Darfur by African rebels has commanded unprecedented
international attention and sparked a humanitarian emergency which
claimed 300,000 lives and drove more than 2 million people from their
homes according to UN estimates. Government figures put the number of
deaths closer to 10,000.
The current Qatar-hosted peace talks in Doha have been delayed by
rebel divisions and continued military operations on the ground.
(ST)
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