Sudan rejects UNSC clause on negotiating with SPLM-N
Article
Comments (56)
email Email
print Print
pdfSave
separation
increase
decrease
separation
separation
May 9, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The leadership council of the ruling National
Congress Party (NCP) chaired by president Omer Hassan al-Bashir
announced late Wednesday that it does not agree to elements of a
recent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution regarding
negotiations with the Sudan People Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N).
JPEG - 25.8 kb
Girls sit in front of their shelter in Bram village in the Nuba
Mountains in South Kordofan April 28, 2012 (Reuters)
Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) is battling SPLM-N in the border states of
Blue Nile and South Kordofan since last year with each side blaming
the other for initiating the fighting.
Prior to the outbreak of clashes in Blue Nile state in Septmeber 2011,
the head of the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan
(AUHIP) brokered a framework agreement in June 2011 between SPLM-N and
Khartoum to end fighting in the oil-producing state of Southern
Kordofan.
The accord was signed by SPLM-N chairman Malik Agar and Bashir’s top
assistant Nafie Ali Nafie. But a few days later Bashir declared his
rejection of the deal and berated his aide for signing it. He ordered
the army to crush the rebellion in South Kordofan signaling his
preference for a military solution to end the conflict.
But the Sudanese army has yet to bring down the SPLM-N in either state
and particularly in South Kordofan where rebels have managed to
threaten strategic towns several times.
This month the UNSC adopted a resolution under Chapter VII dealing
with negotiations between Khartoum and Juba but also instructing the
Sudanese government and SPLM-N to cooperate with AUHIP in seeking a
solution on the basis of the June 2011 agreement.
Sudan’s foreign minister Ali Karti said following NCP’s meeting that
this clause was "totally rejected" and that they will discuss the
matter with the mediation and friends in the UNSC.
It remains to be seen whether this refusal will fall under
non-compliance sanctions threat contained in the UNSC resolution.
The Russian ambassador at the UN Vitaly Churkin had said at the time
that sanctions threat does not apply to conflict in South Kordofan and
Blue Nile. But the U.S. ambassador Susan Rice disagreed with this
interpretation.
"The entire operative part is under Chapter VII, and there are four
"decides" paragraphs, including one-paragraph three-which relates to
resolving the political issues that are at the root of the conflict in
Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile" Rice said.
The SPLM-N issued a statement this week saying it welcomes the UNSC
resolution while stressing that a "comprehensive peaceful settlement
is the best choice for the Sudanese people and the parties to the
conflict".
"The entry point for the comprehensive peaceful settlement in Sudan is
for the parties to address urgently and seriously the humanitarian
crisis in the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile immediately and to put into
effect the tripartite agreement of the United Nations, African Union
and the Arab League, which was signed by the SPLM-N long ago and
avoided by Khartoum using different tricks to buy time. And in this
regard, the SPLM-N is ready for a humanitarian cessation of
hostilities that will enable the UN, African Union and Arab League to
implement their proposal," said the statement signed by SPLM-N
Secretary General Yasser Arman.
The U.S. and United Nations agencies have been pressing the Sudanese
government to agree on a joint AU-UN-AL plan to deliver aid to
affected conflict areas in the two states. Some US and UN officials
have expressed concern about the possibility that famine could be
imminent.
Sudan is resisting allowing external aid groups citing security issues
and also fearing that food would be used to aid SPLM-N rebels.
The UNSC resolution does not mandate acceptance of the AU-UN-AL aid plan.
ST
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
"South Sudan Info - The Kob" 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/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
