Sudan alarmed by Kiir’s visit to Israel
December 21, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government has made no secret of its concern over the visit of South Sudan’s President Salva Kiir to Israel, saying it poses a threat to Khartoum’s national security.
This was Kiir’s first visit to Israel since his predominantly Christian country seceded from the Muslim-dominated Sudan in July this year following more than two decades of civil wars and the signing of a peace deal in 2005.
Israel, which allegedly provided support during the war to the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), now the ruling party in South Sudan, was quick to recognize the independence of the world’s newest nation and pledged to establish full diplomatic and economic relations.
According to Israeli media sources, Kiir’s meeting with Netanyahu focused on the discussing the fate of more than 8000 South Sudanese illegal immigrants in Israel which seeks to repatriate them.
However, Kiir’s northern neighbors in Khartoum have expressed discomfort with his visit to Israel.
The official spokesman of Sudan’s foreign ministry, Al-Obaid Marawih, told reporters in Khartoum on Wednesday that the government was concerned and studying the visit of Salva Kiir to Israel in order to ascertain its possible ramifications.
Marawih said that the visit is of concern to the government because it affects Sudan’s interests and its national security especially in light of what he termed as the fact that Israel and its lobby groups constitute an important part of the international campaign to “foment” the conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.
He further accused Tel Aviv of having close ties with Darfur rebel groups that rejected to join a peace agreement signed between the government and one rebel faction in the Qatari capital of Doha in mid-July.
The Sudanese diplomat further pointed out that the government would study the fallout of Kiir’s visit and decides afterward.
Sudan, an Arab League member state, has no diplomatic ties with Israel – and in recent years it experienced at least two Israeli air raids believed to have targeted weapons smuggling activities in the east of the country.
The Sudanese government is also supportive of the Gaza-based government of Hamas which Israel designates as a terrorist group.
A somewhat mild reaction to Kiir’s visit came from the official spokesman of Sudan’s army Al-Sawarmi Khalid Sa’ad who told the London-based Al-Sharq al-Awsat newspaper that South Sudan is now an independent state and has the right to establish bilateral ties with whomever it wishes.
He further downplayed media reports on the dangers of relations between South Sudan and Israel against Sudan, saying that these reports are overrated and that relations between Juba and Tel Aviv are not as dangerous as depicted by the media.
However, he said that the Sudanese army has taken all precautions to defend the country against any aggression.
In a related development, the Egyptian government revealed it was organizing for its foreign minister to visit South Sudan and said that Cairo is not bothered by the rapprochement between Juba and Tel Aviv.
Egypt’s assistant minister for Sudan’s affairs, Mohamed Musa, said in statements reported by the Egyptian media that his country had invited South Sudan’s foreign minister to visit Cairo and that Egypt’s foreign minister Mohamed Amur would soon visit South Sudan.
The Egyptian diplomat denied his country was in competition with Israel over Africa, adding that South Sudan is an independent state and has absolute freedom in managing its foreign relations.
“Egypt runs its relations according to its priorities and interests, and we don’t care what Israel does as much as we care about what we do to strengthen our ties with other countries. Our role has nothing to do with that of Israel because we are in no competition with it,” he said.
(ST)