Arab League SG candidate cancels Sudan visit

May 6, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Egyptian candidate for the post of Arab League Secretary general Mustafa El-Fiqi has canceled a planned visit to Sudan that was aimed at lobbying for Khartoum’s support.

The semi-official Al-Ahram newspaper quoted El-Fiqi as saying that he took this decision after finding out that Sudan has deiced to back the Qatari candidate for the position Abdel-Rahman Hamad Al-Attiya who was the former SG for the Gulf Cooperation Council.

Sudan has objected to El-Fiqi’s nomination over remarks he made last year describing the government in Khartoum as the worst in the country’s history and blamed them for the South’s secession.

The former adviser to deposed Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak met with Sudanese ambassador to Cairo and sought to clarify his position saying that his statements were published inaccurately and taken out of context. He made press statements stressing his admiration to the people of Sudan and noted his position against the International Criminal Court (ICC) indictment of president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir.

But his apologetic position has failed to impress Sudanese officials who insisted that they would not support his candidacy.

El-Fiqi told Al-Ahram that he came to realize that Sudan’s position is driven by their desire to see the Qatari candidate win and not because they object to him. He added that he managed to get the backing of many Arab states.

The newspaper reported that Sudanese foreign minister Ali Karti will visit Cairo in the coming days to discuss the issue of El-Fiqi.

(ST)