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Sudan’s Bashir reinstates UN ambassador despite reaching retirement age

March 24, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir has reportedly issued a decree extending the tenure of United Nations Ambassador Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem despite being informed that he has reached the official retirement age as mandated by the country’s law.

Sudan's United Nations Ambassador Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem (Reuters)
Sudan’s United Nations Ambassador Abdel-Mahmood Abdel-Haleem (Reuters)
The pro-government Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper said that Bashir also reinstated two other ambassadors who are past retirement age including Abdul-Hafiz Ibrahim as Sudan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Abdel-Rahman Dirar as Sudan’s ambassador to Syria.

One source familiar with the matter said that Abdel-Haleem has sought and eventually secured Bashir’s approval for renewing his term against the will of the foreign ministry namely Ali Karti, state minister for foreign affairs and Sudanese Undersecretary for foreign affairs Mutrif Sideeg.

Last month, the pro-SPLM Ajras Al-Hurriya newspaper quoted an unidentified Sudanese foreign ministry official as saying that Abdel-Haleem’s retirement is “normal” and in line with the law.

In recent months a number of Sudanese columnists including those writing in pro-government newspapers has fiercely criticized his performance saying it has tainted Sudan’s image and alienated many countries at the world body.

Abdel-Haleem is well known for his less than diplomatic style and unconventional choice of words. He is also famous for his verbal target of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo who has managed to secure an arrest warrant for the Sudanese president.

“Mr. Ocampo, you are not welcome in this place. You abuse the image of the United Nations,” Abdel-Haleem told reporters in June 2009 following Ocampo’s briefing and described him as a “mercenary”.

“Your dreams of publicity and media should come to an end also,” he said.

In one instance the Sudanese ambassador called Costa Rica a “banana republic” because of its support to the ICC.

The Costa Rican envoy to the UN Jorge Urbina responded saying that his country has a far higher ranking than Sudan in the United Nations Development Programme human development index.

(ST)

4 Comments

  • Dinka Dominated SPLA
    Dinka Dominated SPLA

    Sudan’s Bashir reinstates UN ambassador despite reaching retirement age
    lat them go to hell mr bashir is always like same one who supported him eventhought he is dume. alwas criminal walk together no doubt that both are criminal like riek machar teny dog and lam akol are all criminal people if you can hear that mr symbol of death riek machar teny dogz is charge make ssur that mr lam is included death to them doom people who just kill DINKA BOR simply GARANG WAS FROM BOR that is serious crime that will not be cover

    Reply
  • Thyinka
    Thyinka

    Sudan’s Bashir reinstates UN ambassador despite reaching retirement age
    What can you expect from a one-man dictatorship with his corrupt cabal? His word is the law and he is milking his opportunity because he knows he is going to go sooner or later. And if he keeps his cronies far longer, he might go farther.

    Reply
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