Sudan’s security adviser says PCA ruling on Abyei “did not resolve dispute”

July 31, 2010 (Khartoum) – The presidential adviser for security affairs and former director-general of Sudan’s National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), Salah Gosh, has said that the ruling made by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) to redefine the boundaries of the oil-rich region of Abyei “did not resolve the dispute”, reported Sudan’s official news agency SUNA yesterday.

“The ruling did not resolve the dispute and was not adequate or fulfilling to the needs of both sides” Gosh said, adding that the two partners, the SPLM in south Sudan and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in the north must “find new solutions”

In July 2009, the PCA ruled to redefine the boundaries of Abyei after the two sides failed to agree on borders and referred the case to the Hague-based tribunal.

Gosh’s statements appear to be in response to Abyei Chief Administrator, Deng Arop Kuol, who said in a press conference on Thursday that the NCP is “not serious” about honoring its obligation towards the Abyei referendum.”

According to Abyei Protocol in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the area’s residents are due to vote in a referendum to decide whether to remain part of the north or the south in case the south opts for secession in a referendum scheduled for January 2011.

The formation of Abyei referendum commission remains stalled.

Deng Arop Kuol accused the NCP of instigating its members in Abyei to destabilize the situation.

Kuol further said that President Omer Al-Bashir had affirmed commitment to implement the PCA ruling on border demarcation but at the same time he told the Misirriyyah that they would vote in the referendum despite it is against the Abyei protocol.

(ST)