Sudan denies pulling ICC suspect from meetings with UNSC
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May 18, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government on Wednesday refuted
remarks by a one of its officials in which he claimed that the
governor of South Kordofan Ahmed Haroun will be pulled from the
meetings with the visiting delegation of the United Nations Security
Council (UNSC).
JPEG - 33.6 kb
National Congress Party candidate for governor, Ahmed Haroun, speaks
to the press after voting at the polling centre in Kadogli in the
South Kordofan state, May 2, 2011 (Reuters)
Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in
connection with alleged war crimes he committed in Sudan’s Western
region of Darfur while he was the state minister for interior. He
recently was declared the winner in South Kordofan’s gubernatorial
elections amid allegations of fraud by the Sudan People Liberation
Movement (SPLM) which fielded a candidate against Haroun.
The cabinet affairs minister Luka Byong, who is an SPLM figure, told
the Al-Sahafa daily in an interview published today that the Sudanese
foreign ministry agreed to exclude Haroun from meetings with the UNSC
delegation during its visit to the disputed region of Abyei which
borders South Kordofan.
But spokesperson for foreign ministry Khalid Moussa denied Byong’s
assertions and emphasized that they have not received any request in
this regard.
"In addition to the false claims attributed to Luka Byong such an
accusation [on excluding Haroun] violates the principles of national
sovereignty and the provisions of the constitution prevailing in
Sudan," Moussa said.
He stressed that Haroun is the legitimate elected governor and he must
be treated as such as a respect to Sudan’s sovereignty.
Innercitypress website quoted the French ambassador Gerard Araud who
is also UNSC president for the month of May as saying that "we are not
going to meet him."
The Sudanese diplomat described UNSC’s visit as a "routine" one and an
opportunity for the council to see things on the ground first hand.
However, he declined to confirm the delegation’s planned visit to
South Kordofan and Abyei.
"Consultations on the visit to these two areas has not been resolved"
Moussa said.
Abyei’s future status is the most sensitive of a raft of issues that
north and south Sudan are struggling to reach agreement on ahead of
the south’s full independence, due to take place in two months time.
Deadly fighting and recriminations have flared since January, when the
region had been due to vote on whether to join the north or the south,
alongside a referendum in the south that delivered a landslide for
secession.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS) flew
Haroun to Abyei a meeting to try to reconcile feuding tribes following
deadly clashes. This was done despite a legal opinion by the UN that
contacts between officials of the world body and people indicted by
international courts "should be limited to what is strictly required
for carrying out U.N. mandated activities".
But the UN underscored that flying Haroun was in line with that policy.
The North and South signed a security accord in South Kordofan capital
city of Kadugli last January to withdraw from Abyei except the special
Joint Integrated Units (JIUs) of northern and southern personnel, both
army and police, alongside UN peacekeepers.
(ST)
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