Sudanese top official skip IGAD summit in Kenya to protest over weapon cargo
October 23, 2008 (NAIROBI) – Top Sudanese officials will skip a regional summit to be held in Nairobi next week as result of the silent crisis between the two countries following reports saying that weapons were shipped through Kenya to southern Sudan.
Top Sudanese government officials have said they will not attend an Inter-Government Authority on Development meeting slated for Kenya, which is seen as an escalation of the controversy on the hijacked Ukrainian ship.
Sudan will be represented at the IGAD summit at the level of state minister for foreign affaires. The delegation was supposed to be lead by Ali Osman Taha, but no any high raking official will attend the summit of October 26.
The regional meetings are normally preceded by technical committee meetings, followed by that of foreign affairs ministers and finally Head of State or Governments Summit. The Sudan representative in the IGAD is to attend the foreign affairs ministers meeting.
Somali pirates hijacked lon September 25 a Belize-flagged ship “Faina” as it neared the Kenyan port of Mombasa carrying a cargo of 33 Soviet-type T-72 tanks, grenade launchers and ammunition.
American and Sudanese military source said that the ultimate destination was southern Sudan and that Kenya was only the transshipment point. However, Kenya asserted that the seized weapons belong to Kenya’s armed forces.
Mutua who has maintained that the east African nation will not pay ransom as demanded by the pirates said plans were still underway to raid the vessel but top priority of the mission is the lives of the crew on board.
Sudan summoned the Kenyan and Ethiopian ambassadors on October 13 to protest against what it said were illegal shipments of arms to the south.
Following the announcement of the maritime piracy, the foreign ministry protested to the Kenyan ambassador and expressed astonishment as the country is linked with “distinguished relations” with Sudan. Also, Kenya is founding member of the IGAD organization that sponsored the negotiations which led to the signing of the CPA in January 2005.
Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua told reporter in Nairobi that Nairobi ambassador “was never summoned by the foreign ministry there but was invited to meet members of the Sudanese intelligence who wanted him to clarify on media reports on the ship,” he said.
Kenya has insisted that the military cargo in the ship belongs to its military although there has contradicting reports that this could have destined for southern Sudan.
The plan by top Sudanese officials to skip the meeting came hot on heels of a move by the country’s Energy Minister Zubair Ahmed Al-Hassan to cancel his visit to Kenya to finalize an oil purchase deal.
The Sudan’s minister was to be in Nairobi this week to sign an agreement with his Kenyan counterpart, Kiraitu Murungi that would have seen Kenya start importing oil at a cheaper rate from Sudan. Kenya had already signed a memorandum of understanding with Sudan over the purchase.
(ST)