Sudan’s NCP reiterates sovereignty over Abyei and Halayeb

June 27, 2013, (KHARTOUM) – The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) affirmed its position on the contested border regions of Abyei with South Sudan and Halayeb with Egypt saying that both are considered Sudanese territories.

In a meeting with Sudanese expatriates in China, the NCP’s external relations officer Ibrahim Ghandour said that Khartoum will not compromise or bargain on any inch of land belonging to it.

Ghandour also stressed that any attempt to hold a referendum in Abyei without the participation of the Arab Misseriya tribe will not work adding that history and geography proves that the oil-rich region is part of Sudan.

South Sudan split from its northern neighbor in 2011 under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war. Like South Sudan, Abyei was meant to have an independence referendum, agreed under the 2005 deal, but Sudan and South Sudan have been unable to agree which tribal members should participate.

In a bid to end the stalemate last year, the African Union (AU) backed a proposal allowing only those residing permanently in the area to vote in the plebiscite.

The decision effectively excludes members of the Misseriya nomads, who enter the area at different times of the year to graze their cattle, from participating in the vote.

The NCP official also denied speculations that Sudan is using the issue of Ethiopia’s Renaissance dam to press Egypt into conceding Halayeb triangle.

“Our relationship with Egypt and Ethiopia is strategic; Sudan does not compromise this [dam issue] in return to that. Halayeb will remain Sudanese like our other borders which will not be forfeited,” Ghandour said.

Cairo and Addis Ababa have traded barbs in past weeks about Ethiopia’s new hydroelectric project, which Egypt fears will reduce a water supply vital for its 84 million people, who mostly live in the Nile valley and delta.

But Sudan has taken the unusual step of dissenting from Egypt’s position by announcing its support to the dam project and emphasizing that it will not negatively impact the water supply.

Many Egyptian politicians and observers and have expressed fury over Sudan’s stance with some going as far as calling Khartoum an “ingrate” and “treacherous”.

Some commentators have speculated that Khartoum wants to use the dam issue as a bargaining chip to claim back Halayeb which is under Egyptian control since the 90’s.

Egypt brushed aside Sudan’s repeated calls for referring the dispute to international arbitration.

(ST)