Sudan foils attempt to hold unilateral referendum in Abyei: Karti

September 30, 2013 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese diplomacy foiled an attempt to issue a decision by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seeking to organise a referendum in Abyei without the consent of the Khartoum government, said foreign minister Ali Ahmed Karti on Monday.

Karti who leads Sudan’s delegation to the meetings of the UN Assembly General made his statements from New York where he participated in the Sudan-South Sudan Consultative Forum (SSSCF), attended by neighbouring countries, the permanent members of the UNSC, and African members at the Security Council, among others.

In statements to Ashorooq TV, the Sudanese minister said some Western parties sought during the UNSC meeting at the level of head of states, held on 24 September, to impose the organisation of a referendum in Abyei without the participation of the Misseriya as it was proposed by the AU High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP).

Karti further added that these parties, which seek to impose an unilateral decision; do not want the establishment of good relations between Khartoum and Juba, after the recent rapprochement between the two capitals.

He added that there is a consensus among the members of the African Union Peace and Security Council to leave the issue of Abyei for the two presidents Omer Al-Bashir and Salva Kiir to reach a lasting solution on the final situation of the disputed area.

Khartoum and Juba disagree over who can participate in a referendum to determine the fate of the fate of Abyei, as the region remains part of the Sudan in accordance with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement of 2005.

The Dinka Ngok, who form the majority of Abyei population called recently to hold this crucial vote without the accord of Sudan saying the Permanent Court of Arbitration stated that the area belongs to their nine chiefdoms.

The SSSCF meeting which was co-chaired by the UN Deputy-Secretary-General, Jan Eliasson, and former president Abdulsalami Abubakar of the AUHIP expressed concern for the “risk that unilateral actions by Misseriya and Ngok Dinka communities lead to security incidents costly in human lives”.

The meeting welcomed the commitment of Sudan and South Sudan to expeditiously implement the 20 June 2011 Agreement” on the temporary administration and legislative council, a step rejected by the Dinka Ngok.

The participants further “urged the two governments to establish the Abyei Area Referendum Commission and refrain from undertaking unilateral actions and encourages implementation of such commitments”.

(ST)