Lyman appointed as new U.S. special envoy to Sudan

March 31, 2011 (WASHINGTON) – The United States announced on Thursday the appointment of a veteran diplomat to became the next special envoy to Sudan as the country is set to officially break up into two next July.

Princeton Lyman, who has served as an envoy to both South Africa and Nigeria, will now replace Scott Gration who is now nominee for the post of U.S. ambassador to Kenya and is awaiting confirmation by the Senate.

Lyman was in recent months assisting Gration on North-South issues related to the referendum. Ambassador Dane Smith who was working the Darfur dossier with former special envoy will keep his post.

President Obama in a statement hailed Gration’s tenure and thanked him for his “tireless and effective work”.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton introduced Lyman at a press conference in the State Department by saying that this is a “critical moment in Sudan’s history”.

“Two months ago, in a peaceful display of democratic values, the people of Southern Sudan expressed their clear unequivocal choice. They want to live in a free, independent country, and now we look forward to a peaceful separation of these two states in July. The Government of Sudan played an important role by creating the conditions that allowed voters to express their will without fear, intimidation, or coercion. And since the vote, the government has continued to move this process forward with the same spirit of cooperation,” Clinton said.

However, the U.S. top diplomat sounded the warning bell on the dispute between the North and South on the border region of Abyei. She said that Washington is “concerned about the dangerous standoff”.

“We call on both sides to take immediate steps to prevent future attacks and restore calm. Violence is simply unacceptable. The deployment of forces by both sides is in violation of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement and undermines the goodwill from January’s referendum,” Clinton said.

“Before July’s deadline, as outlined by the CPA, both sides must reach an agreement on Abyei that meets the needs of all communities in the region and is consistent with the CPA’s Abyei protocol,” she stressed.

The disputed oil-rich district was supposed to have a referendum last January for its residents to decide whether it wants to join the North or the South.

However, the vote did not take place as the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) in control of the South refused to accept the National Congress Party (NCP) demand that the Misseriya tribe, who enter the region to graze their cattle for a few months of the year, be allowed to vote.

The ex-Southern rebel group maintain that the Dinka Ngok tribe are natives of the area and are the only group who should be allowed to vote in the Abyei referendum. The Dinka Ngok is a branch of southern Sudan’s largest ethnic group, the Dinka, and largely identify themselves as southerners despite Abyei geographically being in northern Sudan.

Hundreds were killed and thousands of Abyei residents were displaced in deadly clashes that took place between militias from both sides.

Lyman speaking to reporters confirmed that there is a military buildup from both sides and a continuous flow of arms into Abyei.

“It is a very tense situation, because this is taking place with the migration not taking – being blocked, and that creates tension in and of itself. So we have to work on two fronts. We have to try and ease this immediate security problem, but I don’t think we’re going to get the tensions really resolved until the people in Abyei know what’s going to happen to them, and particularly by July. Are they going to remain in the North, are they going to move to the South? Who – and that the Sudanese leadership has to address,” he said.

“We only have 100 days before July 9 when the south is to become fully independent. They have a lot of tough issues to negotiate. These are going to be hard negotiations,” the new special envoy said.

The NCP and SPLM have yet to agree on post-referendum issues such as border demarcation, oil, water, international agreements, national debt and citizenship. The African Union (AU) panel led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki is mediating on these items.

Lyman will depart on Saturday for meetings in Ethiopia and Sudan, and will look push again for a deal on Abyei and post-referendum arrangements.

He emphasized that the United States was monitoring Khartoum’s progress along a “roadmap” president Obama offered last year which could lead to eventual full normalization of ties contingent on improvements in Darfur and full implementation of the 2005 peace deal.

“They’re moving on some, we’re pushing hard on the others, and I think they do understand exactly how the timetable works,” he said.

(ST)