Sudan’s Blue Nile governor scraps meeting with Bashir

August 3, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – A planned meeting between the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir and Blue Nile state governor Malik Agar on Wednesday has been cancelled.

The summit was quietly arranged to discuss on ways to end the ongoing clashes in South Kordofan state between Sudan people Liberation Army (SPLA) units and Sudan Armed Forces (SAF).

Agar is the chairman of SPLM in Sudan (SPLM-North) which is the offshoot of the party that now controls the newly independent state of South Sudan.

Fighting flared in South Kordofan, which borders South Sudan and Darfur, in June after Khartoum claimed that SPLA units led by former deputy governor Abdel-Aziz al-Hilu attacked police station in the state’s capital of Kadugli.

But al-Hilu blamed SAF for attempting to disarm the SPLA soldiers in South Kordofan by force triggering the clashes. A month prior to that, al-Hilu accused the Sudanese government of fraud in the gubernatorial elections in favor of incumbent governor Ahmed Haroun who was the candidate of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

Haroun is a war crime suspect wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his role in atrocities allegedly committed in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

An internal UN report said the army’s systematic attacks, targeting the state’s indigenous Nuba peoples, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Khartoum initially appeared to be seeking a military solution to quell the rebellion and unleashed its might during the fighting including the utilization of its air force. The Sudanese leader urged the army to continue the campaign and bring al-Hilu to justice. He also effectively voided an agreement signed by one of his powerful aides with Agar in Ethiopia that set the groundwork for cessation of hostilities in South Kordofan.

However, Sudanese officials in recent weeks softened their stance and expressed willingness to engage in negotiations with al-Hilu.

Nafie Ali Nafie, who is also NCP deputy chairman and Bashir’s assistant, said this week that his party recognizes the SPLM as “an entity” in South Kordofan and Blue Nile. He, however, stopped short of saying that the former guerrilla movement is recognized as a countrywide political party. This was contrary to earlier positions by NCP which stated that SPLM will not be allowed to operate in North Sudan after the South breaks away.

Al-Hilu said in an interview last month that talks with Khartoum will be only be acceptable if it takes place through a third party and outside Sudan.

Addressing a conference today comprised of political parties and local leaders in the state’s capital of Damazin, Agar said that the war in South Kordofan led to growing tensions in his state. He warned that this situation will be defused only through the implementation of the Addis Ababa agreement that was brokered by the African Union (AU).

He said that he refused to meet with Bashir as SPLM-North chairman after he insisted that the Sudanese leader meet with him in his capacity as governor.

“Bashir as the NCP Chairman may not recognize me as SPLM-North chairman,” Aggar said before adding that he prefers that Sudanese VP Taha or Nafie be dispatched to kick off negotiations and later report to their boss.

“The failure of negotiations at the level of the two leaders [Agar & Bashir] will lead to war in the absence of a party to bridge views” he said.

The NCP political Secretary General Al-Haj Adam Youssef in press statements said that the issue of South Kordofan was not even on the agenda of the meeting adding that the two men were to discuss only the affairs of the Blue Nile state.

The SPLM-North head warned against provocative actions by some military bodies in his state and called on the security services to return to their positions and leave the task of maintaining law to the police force.

“Anyone now has his own army and palace [so] if you cry out loud in your palace I can also cry out loud in my own palace” Agar said.

“If the governor’s chair will make me accept insults to my people I will abandon it” he added.

Agar urged the NCP to tone down their aggressive positions to preserve the unity of Sudan and pursue consensus with other powers on how the country should be governed without endorsing supremacy of Arab and Islamic culture.

He said that other ethnicities need to know where they stand and their position with regard to beliefs, unity and peace, economy, power and wealth sharing and building a state of citizenship.

(ST)