Sudan’s defense minister denies calling for referendum postponement

October 20, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s defense minister denied having called to postpone the referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan scheduled to take place on 9 January 2011.

Minister Abdel-Rahim Mohamed Hussein reiterated his support for the referendum on self-determination if the parties overcome the obstacles of border demarcation and identification of who can participate in Abyei’s vote. the official SUNA reported today.

“According to the reality on the ground, yes. Border issues and Abyei must be resolved within the framework of one nation because doing so in the framework of two countries open the door for foreign interference,” Hussein told reporters in Cairo following his meeting with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak on Tuesday.

“The referendum is not a goal but a tool to consolidate and promote security and stability,” the top military official said and warned that his government will not recognize the South should they proceed with unilateral declaration of independence (UDI).

The army’s spokesperson Al-Sawarmi Khaled said today that the minister who is visiting Cairo currently visiting Egypt denied categorically that he had called to postpone the referendum or confirmed government’s intention to postpone it.

Al-Sawarmi, pointed the minister had only called to complete the necessary security arrangements ahead of the referendum so that it can be conducted in a healthy atmosphere.

Northern and southern leaders disagree about who should take part in the vote and leading northern politicians have already said it will be impossible to run the Abyei plebiscite on time.

The NCP has been lobbying for the Arab Misseriya tribe who enter Abyei to find pasture for their cattle for 3-4 months of the year. The request has been denied by the SPLM as they were not mentioned in peace agreement the two signed in 2005.

A legislator from south Sudan’s oil rich Abyei region has described Abdel Rahim Mohamed Hussein, Sudan’s defense minister as a “non-starter full of wishful thinking”, on Tuesday following the minister’s call to delay two referendums that will decide whether Sudan splits into two countries.

Arop Madut Arop, the Abyei area legislator told Sudan Tribune in a phone interview on Tuesday that such remarks from pro-NCP officials especially at this critical time were simply the “kicks from dying horses”.

“The national government was responsible for the enactment of the Referendum Act which was passed. They formed the southern Sudan Referendum Commission which is now operational. Apart from the other technical aspects that may be required, they have nothing to do with the smooth conduct of the January referendum,” Arop said.

He added, “Why don’t these people [in the national government] allow the referendum bureau headed by Justice Chan Reec to do its work normally? This is just interference.”

Arop is confident that voting would go ahead as planned on 9 January.

Both sides have accused each other of amassing troops on the border in recent weeks. The UN announced yesterday that 100 troops had been sent to Abyei to diffuse tensions.

The timetable for the referenda was agreed between the two parties in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the accord that ended decades of north-south civil war in Sudan.

Negotiations aimed at resolving the Abyei stalled last week, with the SPLM accusing the NCP of sabotaging the talks.

The talks are due to recommence later this month in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

(ST)