NCP shrugs off U.S objection to Al-Bashir’s attendance of South Sudan independence Article Comments (0) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
June 27, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The governing National Congress Party (NCP) in north Sudan has reacted indifferently to reports suggesting that the U.S president Barack Obama has conditioned his attendance of South Sudan independence ceremony on the absence of President Al-Bashir. U.S President Barack Obama (FILE) The possibility that Sudan president Omer Al-Bashir may attend South Sudan independence ceremony, which is slated for 9 July in the region’s capital Juba, has in the past few days stirred up both diplomatic and media confusion. Al-Tayyar Arabic daily newspaper in Khartoum reported this week that a number of Western leaders had conditioned their attendance of South Sudan independence ceremony on 9 July on the absence of President Al-Bashir. “A number of European heads of state, including the French President Sarkozy and UK Prime Minister as well as the U.S President Barack Obama, have in principle welcomed the invitation to attend the South’s independence ceremony, but they conditioned their appearance in Juba on the non-attendance of the president of the republic Omar Al-Bashir, pointing to the crimes with which he is charged by the International [Criminal] Court,” the paper quoted an anonymous southern official. Sudan president Al-Bashir is sought by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide he allegedly masterminded during the long-running conflict in the country’s westernmost region of Darfur. Al-Bashir denies the charges and denigrates the ICC as a tool of neocolonialism aimed at changing his regime. Since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir in 2008, Western officials have mostly avoided meeting him. Since his indictment, however, the defiant Sudanese leader managed to visit a handful of countries, including three ICC member states. When asked to comment on reports that Obama would not attend the ceremony unless Al-Bashir is absent, the NCP’s political secretary Qutbi al-Mahdi replied: “this is his business and we have no comment on that.” It is worth mentioning that South Sudan officials gave conflicting statements on whether Al-Bashir will be invited to the ceremony or not. Former federal cabinet affairs minister Luka Byong told the UAE-based Al-Itihad newspaper earlier this month that Al-Bashir would receive an invitation but it is up to him whether to accept or reject it. But Atem Garang, another leading figure of the ruling SPLM in South Sudan, told the pro-government daily newspaper Akhir Lahza this week that they are yet to invite the Northern government to attend the independence ceremony. NCP slams U.S “carrot-and-stick” policy Separately, Qutbi Al-Mahdi distrusted promises by the U.S administration to help relieve Sudan’s hefty external debts in exchange for de-escalating the situation in the country’s north-south border state of South Kordofan, where the northern army has been fighting elements aligned with South Sudan army. Al-Mahdi told reporters in Khartoum on Monday that the NCP does not pay any attention to U.S promises whether on the debt issue or other issues because the government realizes that the U.S administration “spews such promises to achieve particular ends then reneges on its commitments.” “The failure to fulfill promises and commitments is a moral issue and we know to which extent does America honors its promises,” the ruling party official said. Al-Mahdi went on to fulminate against the U.S policy know as the “carrot-and-stick,” saying that no free people would accept to deal with America in accordance with this “nefarious” policy. “That’s why we in Sudan do not afford America’s promises any attention,” he added. The U.S Administration is currently in the process of removing Sudan’s name from its blacklist of countries sponsoring terrorism, but the administration has warned Sudan government that the process of normalization of ties would be jeopardized if the northern army does not withdraw from the contested region of Abyei which it seized last month. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
