IGAD shows concern over Sudan peace deal, Bashir and Kiir trade blame

November 23, 2010 (ADDIS ABABA) – An East African summit has called on the ruling parties in north and south Sudan to iron out issues standing in the way of finalizing the implementation of the 2005 peace deal that ended decades of north-south civil war.

The extraordinary summit of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Tuesday wrapped up its closed-doors session in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, and issued a communiqué expressing concern over pending issues that “continue to threaten the full implementation” of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Only 47 days separates south Sudan citizens from going to the polls on 9 January 2011 to decide whether they wish to remain in a united Sudan or break away from the north. A yes vote for independence is all but certain, according to most observers.

The vote was promised under the CPA, which IGAD helped to broker.

The communiqué further said that the summit was “particularly encouraged” by the commitment shown by the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) in north Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the south to ensure that two “viable” states enjoying “soft borders” without “disruption to the livelihoods of the people” will exist should south Sudan opts for secession.

The summit’s main plenary was preceded by a meeting between Sudan president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and south Sudan president Salva Kiir under the mediation of Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Zenawi told reporters after the meeting that the two parties “didn’t get into the details of the discussions on Abyei”.

North and South Sudan remain deadlocked over the central contested region of Abyei, which is due to hold another plebiscite in January 2011 to decide whether it wants to remain in the north or join the south in the event of its secession.

The dispute over the oil-producing area is centered on the eligibility of voters. North Sudan insists that the cattle-herding Arab Misseriya tribe be allowed to vote whereas the south maintains that the only people eligible to vote are the area’s indigenous ethnic group, Dinka Ngok, who identify themselves as southerners.

Disagreements over the area’s boundaries led north and south Sudan to resort to the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration which last year ruled to redraw the region’s boundaries, ceding key oilfields to north Sudan but gave the South most of the land including Abyei town, huge areas of fertile land and one significant oilfield.

Ethiopia’s foreign minister Hailemariam Dessalegn told a press conference held following the preparatory session of IGAD ministers that concern had been expressed over what he said were issues yet to be resolved.

North and south Sudan are currently engaged in floundering talks over a host of post-referendum issues, including security, citizenship, oil and water resources, currency matters, assets and liabilities and international treaties and agreements.

The summit was also attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, Djiboutian President Ismael Omar Guelleh and Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki,

The IGAD summit also discussed the situation in Somalia expressing regret over the continued internal wrangling among the leadership of the Transitional Federal Institutions, who attempt to govern the war-torn country.

BASHIR HIGHLIGHTS HINDRANCE OF VOTER REGISTRATION, WARNS AGAINST UNDECIDED BORDERS

Sudan President Bashir used his address to the summit to say that unnamed parties were obstructing registration of southern voters by creating hurdles to prevent southern citizens from accessing voter-registration centers.

Registration of voters for the politically sensitive plebiscite took off domestically and in eight other countries on December 15 amid reports of high turnout in the south and low in the north. The exercise, which is due to end on December 1, has been characterized by much tension and mutual accusations of attempting to influence the outcome of the vote by intimidating voters.

“Since the beginning of the registration process, citizens in many areas started to complain about their inability to register as a result of obstacles made by some quarters which led to preventing them from accessing registration centers,” he declared.

He further warned that such practices would detract from the credibility of the process.

Bashir blamed the south for derailing the process of demarcating north-south borders, saying that representatives of southern states had put obstacles in front of the border-demarcation committee.

“Undecided borders could cause conflicts between nations,” Bashir said.

The President claimed that the Sudanese Armed Forces had re-deployed to the south of the border strip as stipulated in the CPA while the SPLA only implemented 24% of the southward re-deployment.

He reiterated the government’s commitment to the arbitration ruling on Abyei. However, he added that the government was “equally committed” to giving the right to vote to all residents of Abyei without confining that right to a specific group.

KIIR WARNS AGAINST DELAY OF REFERENDUM, NCP HATEMONGER

For his part, south Sudan’s leader Salva Kiir warned in his speech to the summit that any delay to the referendum could send Sudan back to war.

He said that the registration is going “smoothly and peacefully” and that the turnout is “encouraging particularly throughout Southern Sudan.”

The southern leader warned any delay to the referendum “risks a return to instability and violence”, adding that all efforts must be devoted to ensure “a timely conduct of the referendum.”

The South’s President and Sudanese First Vice President accused the northern government in Khartoum of stalling on providing funds to the the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, the body organizing the vote.

“As far as funding is concerned, it is important to admit that there are still difficulties particularly with the National Government in Khartoum, which has deliberately failed to fulfill its obligation to contribute money to the SSRC,” he said.

He went on to explain that the government in the north had so far only released “100 million SDG” (around $42 million) out of “the 150 million SDG it had pledged.”

Even foreign donors, said Kiir, are “struggling” to make good on their pledges.

Kiir said that some NCP senior members had been raising tempers in the public by issuing statements that are likely to instigate violence.

“I appeal to this august gathering to discourage the Sudanese parties from provocative behavior” he added.

“The records are documented that IGAD and the international community should seriously note because should violence erupt there are people to be held responsible” he said.

Kiir sought to assure the summit audience that south Sudan is committed to ensuring freedom of expression and campaigns for both choices of unity or secession ahead of the vote.

“This is our goal and I wish to reiterate to you that we will make certain that all opinions and campaigns for unity or separation are given equal opportunity to be heard” he said.

He also said that they were “deeply concerned” by the lack of progress on talks with north Sudan over Abyei, border-demarcation and post-referendum arrangements.

Kiir made a rare criticism against the government’s new strategy for Darfur, predicting its failure unless all rebel factions are included in the peace process.

“No new strategy can work for Darfur until all parties are brought to the negotiating table to agree for peaceful settlement,” he said.

(ST)