Sudan FM says Clinton has distorted idea about situation in the country

September 9, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti criticized statements made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in which she warned that the world need to work to defuse “a ticking time bomb” as the country heads towards referendum in a little over three month which could create the world’s news nation.

Karti was cited by Sudan official news agency (SUNA) as saying that Clinton’s remarks were intended to give the impression that there are there are major problems in Sudan. He further commented by saying that the U.S. top diplomat is exaggerating and attempting to portray the situation incorrectly.

“The U.S. Secretary of State if she visited Sudan and listened to the various parties she would have not said what she said and her forecast of events is not true,” he said.

The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) brokered by the U.S. ended two decades of war between North and South Sudan and provided for a self-determination exercise by Southerners in January 2011 in which they will decide whether they want to remain united with the rest of the country or form their own state.

Most observers say that South Sudan secession is all but certain due to deep mistrust between the two sides and feeling of marginalization in favor of the Arab Muslim dominated North.

Preparations for the referendum are well behind schedule and only recently did the National Congress Party (NCP) in the north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south agree on the Secretary General for the commission overseeing the key vote. Registration of voters will take place next month, according to the commission.

Furthermore, many contentious issues have yet to be agreed on between North and South notably the border demarcation, oil revenues, citizenship and international water agreements. The NCP has warned that no referendum can take place without agreement on the borders but the SPLM strongly reject the condition and stressing that the original timetable must stand.

Karti though gave an upbeat assessment of the situation prior to the referendum and downplayed any disagreements.

“The efforts that are currently being undertaken by the U.S. to solve the issues of Sudan, in my view, came after it was too late and after the two partners had agreed on most of the issues and no agreement was reached outside the [joint NCP-SPLM] committees formed by the two parties” Karti told SUNA.

He welcomed any initiatives by the U.S. to bridge differences between the two former rivals but warned that it must be genuine and not intended for local politics ahead of the mid-term elections in the U.S.

The U.S. special envoy to Sudan Scott Gration is currently visiting for discussions on the CPA implementation.

The U.S. President Barack Obama will attend a meeting on Sudan at the UN headquarters on September 24 called for by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon which will focus on the referendum. The First Vice president Salva Kiir from the SPLM and 2nd Vice President Ali Osman Taha from the NCP are expected to join the meeting.

(ST)