Sudan official demands Egypt to vacate Halayeb “immediately”
February 17, 2011 (NAIROBI) – A senior official in President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir’s government has demanded that the Egyptian army “immediately” cede control of the Halayeb areas on Sudan’s northern border. The statement brings back to the fore the longstanding territorial dispute over the border region between Sudan and Egypt.
In an interview relayed on Wednesday by Al-Shurug Satellite TV, Sudan’s presidential aide and leader of the former eastern rebels, the Beja Congress, Musa Mohammed Ahmad called on the Egyptian army to pull out of Halayeb “immediately” so the area would not become a “bone of contention” between the neighboring nations.
Musa stressed that the issue is now easier to settle after the resignation of Mubarak whose regime Musa accused of “deliberately inciting sedition” between the two countries, expressing hope that the new Egyptian government would correct the mistakes of the old regime.
Mubarak was ousted last Friday after 18 days of public protests against his near 30-year rule. The Egyptian army say they will control the country for a six month transitional period before elections can be held in September. However, this period is open for extension.
Musa urged the high council of the Egyptian army to immediately pull out of Halayib, claiming that historical documents confirm that the area belongs to Sudan.
The official expressed support for the proposal put forward by Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to refer the issue of Halayeb to the UN Security Council (UNSC), saying that ruling on the issue would be in the favor of Sudan because the latter possesses documents confirming that “the triangle is 100% Sudanese”
Sudanese officials have long avoided raising the issue of Halayeb in public for fears of angering their Egyptian counterparts.
Sudan avoided registering voters inside Halayeb for the elections which took place last year despite earlier assertions that the region was included as a constituency.
But the issue of Halayeb flared up in July of last year when President Al-Bashir made a surprising assertion that “Halayeb is Sudanese and will stay Sudanese” while addressing a rally of his supporters at the coastal town of Port Sudan.
However, Al-Bashir’s remarks were brushed aside by Egypt’s foreign minister Ahmad Aboul-Gheit who said that “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].”
The Egyptian minister further noted that there was an agreement between Al-Bashir and his Egyptian counterpart to make Halayeb and integration and development zone.
The genesis of the disputes over Halayib dates back to as early as 1958 after Sudan gained independence from being ruled jointly by Britain and Egypt. The wrangle is a result of a discrepancy in the demarcation of political boundaries set by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium and the ones set earlier by the British in 1902.
Cairo rejects any international arbitration over the area. This week Sudan’s foreign ministry said that the country’s complaint to the UNSC on Halayeb has been pending since 1958 and is renewed annually for consideration.
(ST)