Sudan to study AU’s Peace, Security Council statement on Darfur
Mar 12, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese cabinet chaired by president Omer al-Bashir, Sunday held a regular meeting and formed a 10-member ministerial committee headed by the Foreign Minister Lam Akol, to prepare a study on the communiqué of the recent meeting of Peace and Security Council of the African Union to determine the official stance of the government on this regard.
The African Union decided to extend its peacekeeping mission in Sudan’s Darfur region for six months, giving it more time to try to mediate a peace agreement and allowing the United Nations to prepare to take over the job.
The Council of Ministers heard a report of the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the recent meeting of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union in Addis Ababa regarding the transfer of its mission in Darfur to the United Nations.
The Council of Ministers expressed reservations concerning some ambiguous clauses in the communiqué, besides the inclusion of issues that has nothing to do with the African Union’s role and mission in Darfur.
The Cabinet underscored positive aspects of the decision of the Peace and Security Council as regards giving top priority to the political solution and the importance of intensified efforts to reach a peaceful solution through the negotiations in Abuja as soon as possible, on the ground that the political solution represents the basic means to restore security and peace in Darfur and to avoid any attempt of foreign military intervention in Darfur.
In a press statement after the Cabinet meeting, the Secretary General and spokesman of the Council of Ministers, Omer Mohamed Salih, pointed out that the Council of Ministers has expressed satisfaction over the continuity of the African Union’s mission in Darfur for another six months and appreciation of the refusal of the Peace and Security Council to transfer immediately its tasks in Darfur to the United Nations, besides its affirmation of the right of Sudan to adopt the final decision in this regard.
The Council of Minister has praised the role of the Sudanese diplomacy and the extensive contacts, which were made by the Presidency of the Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the continuity of the African Union’s mission in Darfur.
The Council of Minister has lauded the cohesion of the internal front with its various political parties, which was reflected through the recent huge mass rallies all over the country against the attempts of foreign intervention in the country.
(ST)