Sudan says cancellation of Taha’s address in Blue Nile caused by ill-preparation

February 23, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan on Wednesday said that the cancellation of Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha’s address in the Blue Nile State two days ago was prompted by lack of “proper preparations.”

Taha’s failure to address a public rally in the stadium of the capital of Blue Nile State Damazin on Tuesday was attributed to the presence of hostile crowd bearing signs critical of the Khartoum government and demanding autonomy for the state.

The Vice-President visited the state on Monday and inaugurated the project heightening the Roseires Dam.

Officials organizing the events and the Blue Nile governor Malik Aggar said that Taha could not attend because he had to attend to urgent issues in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.

But the governor’s alibi contrasted with a statement released on Wednesday by the Presidency of the Republic which said that the cancellation was decided by the Blue Nile government in consultation with the organizing committee due to lack of “proper preparations” for the rally.

The Blue Nile State lies on the faultline of the tentative and highly volatile borders between north and south Sudan.

The state recently held “popular consultations” to determine the level of local satisfaction with the implementation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) that ended the war between north and south Sudan.

However, the process does not entail any right to self-determination to the two areas which will remain inside north Sudan, unlike south Sudan which is set to gain full independence as a result of a referendum vote that took place last month.

The popular consultation process in the Blue Nile revealed strong calls for autonomous rule within the north.

(ST)