Ex-rebel movement tables proposals to solve Abyei issue

Ex-rebel movement tables proposals to solve Abyei issue
BBC Monitoring Service – United Kingdom
Published: Jun 15, 2007

Excerpt from report by Sudanese newspaper Al-Ra’y al-Amm on 14 June

The [SPLM] has rejected the [ruling] National Congress [NC] party’s proposal to set up a six-month interim administration for Abyei in order to reach a final solution to the issue saying such proposal would only prolong the crisis.

Meanwhile, the SPLM made two alternative proposals and according to Southern Sudan Vice-President Riek Machar, up to late yesterday evening the NC had not yet expressed its opinion about them. Machar refrained from giving more details about the SPLM’s proposals but said they included the establishment of both a permanent administration and an interim one comprising officials from both parties

After a closed door meeting with Vice-President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, Machar told Al-Ra’y al-Aam that the SPLM had taken into account the fact that the regional administration should be based on the principle of SPLM-NC partnership. He pointed out that he had not noticed any indications of rejection of the proposals during the meeting and Taha had asked for more time so that the NC could examine the suggestions and respond to them. [Passage omitted]

Source: Al-Ra’y al-Amm, Khartoum, in Arabic 14 Jun 07

BBC Monitoring