Sudan defense Minister meets Ethiopia’s Zenawi in Addis Ababa
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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
June 3, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) – Sudanese defense minister Gen.
Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein met on Thursday with the Ethiopian Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi to discuss the situation in the disputed region
of Abyei and a number of other bilateral and regional concerns.
Abyei’s seizure by the northern Sudanese army (SAF) on May 21 has
raised fears of a possible return to civil war between North and South
Sudan. The SAF says its action came in response to attacks on one of
their convoys in the area.
Earlier in May Abyei was included in the constitution of South Sudan
as it prepares to secede from the north in July. Last week officials
from North and South Sudan reached an agreement to set up a
demilitarized zone along the border to be jointly patrolled.
Ethiopia, seen as a neutral player by both sides, has expressed
willingness to deploy peace-keeping forces to Abyei to act as buffer
between the North and South Sudan.
"If the request comes from North and South Sudan, Ethiopia will
consider of offering peace keepers to Abyei region," Ethiopia Foreign
Ministry spokesman, Ambassador Dina Mufti, told Sudan Tribune on
Wednesday.
During this latest meeting, the Ethiopian premier reiterated that his
country will continue to work to ensure peace and stability in Sudan.
He said peace in Sudan means not only to Sudanese but also has
considerable impact on East Africa as a whole.
The last Sudanese civil war between north and South Sudan killed
around two million and forced four million to leave their homes, many
fled to countries that border the south such as Ethiopia, Kenya and
Uganda.
Zenawi called on the governments of north and South Sudan to
relentlessly exert their efforts to peacefully resolve the remaining
and pending issues of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and build
excellent future relations.
According to the senior government source, the two sides also
discussed the restive region of Darfur, where rebels have been
fighting the Sudanese government since 2003. Peace talks in Doha seem
to be making some progress despite one of the largest groups not
attending.
The two officials also conferred on the issue on Nile water - the Blue
Nile begins in Ethiopia and meets the White Nile in Sudan’s capital
Khartoum. Ethiopia intends to build a massive hydro electric power dam
on the Blue Nile and export power to neighboring countries.
The Sudanese defense minister congratulated Meles Zenawi on the 20th
anniversary of the May 20 victory, which saw the downfall of the 17
year rule of the former Marxist Derg regime.
He appreciated what the victory has brought to the country and to the
future generation. Both underscored a need to jointly step up efforts
to ensure regional security.
(ST)
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