Parliament urges justice ministry to sue Sudanese who participated in Heglig attack
April 30, 2012 (KHARTOUM) — Ahmed Ibrahim al-Tahir, speaker of National Assembly, on Monday urged the Sudanese minister of justice to undertake the legal procedures to sue Sudanese who participated in the occupation of Heglig with the South Sudanese army.
Sudan says rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) took part in the attack on Heglig on 10 April which led to the capture of the oil-producing area by the South Sudanese army, SPLA, and its occupation for 10 days.
JEM rebels denied being involved in the attack, but they claimed responsibility for two attacks on the Sudanese army in Karasana, located 30 Kilometers northward to Heglig in South Kordofan.
Tahir urged the Minister of Justice, Mohamed Bushara Dosa, to prosecute all the Sudanese who participated in the attack on Heglig and some localities in South Kordofan state and to charge them of helping foreigners to sabotage the country’s oil facilities.
The head of the Sudanese parliament further demanded to place severe charges against them and to put it on the same level of hostility they showed towards their country.
Sudan says it will seek compensation for the sabotage of Heglig oil installations, which produce the half of Sudan’s oil production.
The chairman of the National Assembly asked the minister to stand by the parliament in the legal battle and he accused some circles of trying to turn the victory of Sudan in the battlefield into a political defeat.
The justice minister briefed the parliament on the outcome of his action during last year and about the plans of his ministry for 2012. He stressed that the strategic objective of the ministry is to upgrade and strengthen the rule of law in Sudan.
(ST)