Sudan’s Bashir reiterates sovereignty over disputed border area of Halayeb
June 30, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — The Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir today brought the dispute with Egypt over a border area to the spotlight by stressing that his government will never forsake sovereignty over it.
The remark by the Sudanese president is a rare one as he avoided public mention of the disagreement with Egypt over the area but generally referred to it as a possible integration zone between the two countries.
Sudan state media however, omitted any mention to this portion of Bashir’s speech.
The Halayeb triangle that overlooks the Red Sea has been a source of tension between the two countries as early as 1958, shortly after Sudan gained independence from British-Egyptian rule.
The border issue was laid to rest until the 1990’s when relations between the two countries worsened over accusations that Sudan is harboring Islamic militant groups seeking to overthrow the Egyptian regime.
A failed attempt on the life of the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was blamed on Khartoum after which Cairo moved to assert full control over the area. Egypt rejects international arbitration to resolve the issue.
Sudan has avoided registering voters inside Halayeb for the elections which took place last April despite earlier assertions that the region was included as a constituency.
Relations between the neighboring countries appeared to have soured this month after the newly appointed foreign minister Ali Karti criticized Egypt saying its understanding of Sudan issues is minimal. Cairo asked Khartoum for clarifications regarding the statements attributed to Karti and secretly dispatched a delegation to defuse tension.
Egypt and Sudan are jointly fighting a major battle with other Nile basin countries that want reallocation of water shares stipulated by colonial agreements in 1929.
(ST)
Deng Yak L
Sudan’s Bashir reiterates sovereignty over disputed border area of Halayeb
Arab are very unique people on the world they like to complicate thing, look Bishar is claiming that area and they were the one sold it to Egyptians in the earlier 1980s but now they are claiming it. what Omar is doing is to create a problem between two nations as is means of employing unity as he said.
They wanted to create problem so that Sudanese citizens can fight with Egypt and forget about the inner problem and unite , this is their target with his minister for Foreign Affair , they want to complicated referendum by going in war with different nations , shame on Arab .
By Bonaparte