Egyptian president unhappy over Bashir’s remarks on Halayeb: official

July 25, 2010 (CAIRO) — The Egyptian president Mohamed Hosni Mubarak skipped the summit of the Community of Sahel-Saharan states (CENSAD) held in Chad this week to avoid meeting his Sudanese counterpart, said an Egyptian presidential source.

An article in The Washington Times this week said Mubarak was thought by most Western intelligence agencies to be suffering from terminal cancer affecting his stomach and pancreas.

It cited a central European intelligence officer as saying the 82-year-old leader could have less than a year to live.

The source told the Cairo-based Al-Shurooq newspaper that Mubarak’s absence “is somewhat related” to the participation of Bashir after making remarks last month asserting sovereignty over the disputed border region of Halayeb.

The statements made were contrary to the previous understandings reached between Mubarak and Bashir, the source added.

“Halayeb is Sudanese and will stay Sudanese” Bashir told crowds at the coastal town of Port Sudan last June marking the 21st anniversary of his military coup.

Egyptian officials at the time dismissed the remarks saying the Sudanese claim is unfounded and expressed surprise at the timing of bringing up the issue citing crises surrounding Sudan.

“The Southern borders to Egypt are well known at latitude 22° and I see no need to further indulge in the historical backgrounds [of this subject] ” Egyptian foreign minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said in response.

Bashir has rarely brought up the issue publicly in order to avoid angering his Northern neighbour which has been one of his main backers.

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 area has been under Egyptian control since the mid-1990’s after a Sudanese backed attempt on Mubarak’s life.

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.
(ST)