Taha and Machar urge peaceful coexistence between Sudan’s neighboring communities

February 28, 2010 (KADUGLI) – The two peace partners called, during a two day conference held in Southern Kordofan, on neighboring communities in northern and southern Sudan to promote peaceful coexistence

The Vice President of the Republic of Sudan, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and the Vice President of the Government of Southern Sudan, Dr. Riek Machar Teny, were in Kadugli, the capital of the Southern Kordofan state to attend North-South border conference that kicked off on Saturday.

The conference was attended by representatives of 10 Sudanese states including South Darfur, Northern and Western Bahr el Ghazal, South Darfur, Warrap, Unity, Upper Nile, White Nile, Sennar and Blue Nile.

Both leaders expressed the need for a peaceful co-existence between communities in Northern Sudan states that border the South and particularly between communities of Southern Kordofan state, and their neighboring communities in the Southern Sudan states they share borders with.

Taha called on the communities in the state to exercise peaceful relations that would contribute to the attractiveness of unity between various communities. He said what unites Sudanese is bigger than what divides them.

Machar on the other hand commended the convening of the conference, saying it had come at the right time because of the coming elections, calling on the neighboring communities to refrain from inciting cross border or inter-community violence during the elections.

He called on the communities of Southern Kordofan and their neighboring communities in the bordering Southern Sudan states to build on peaceful co-existence conducive for development and prosperity.

The governor of Southern Kordofan, Ahmed Haroun, hailed the conference and pledged to work for peaceful interaction between the communities.

Haroun explained that his state has the longest border with the South, describing it as the bridge between Northern and Southern Sudan.

Southern Kordofan shares borders with Unity and Warrap states.

It is the same state under which jurisdiction falls the contentious Abyei area.

While most of the 2,000 long North-South borderline has been agreed upon in the recent breakthrough between SPLM and NCP joint committee that led to the Presidency instructing for immediate demarcation of the border on the ground, five areas have remained contentious.

The most contentious areas of Heglig oilfields and River Kiir (also called Bahr el Arab) are between Southern Kordofan with Unity and Warrap states, respectively.

(ST)