Sudan to take “appropriate action” against two western diplomats
September 28, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – A senior Sudanese diplomat said the foreign ministry is making arrangements to take the “appropriate action” against two western diplomats for expressing support to the families of the victims of the deadly protests of September 2013.
On Saturday, the French consul and the British Chargé d’affaires in Khartoum accompanied by several opposition activists visited families of the victims and expressed readiness to exert pressure on Khartoum to achieve justice.
The diplomats move has infuriated the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) who described it on the lips of its secretary for Europe and the Americas, Osama Faisal, as “improper diplomatic behaviour” and urged the executive authorities to hold the two diplomats accountable for their “anomalous behaviour”.
Ali al-Sadig, spokesperson for Sudan’s foreign ministry told Sudan Tribune Monday that the “foreign ministry would soon take the appropriate action on the issue” without elaborating on the nature of the actions.
Earlier this month, the Sudanese foreign ministry summoned the British ambassador Michael Aron to protest statements he made to a local newspaper in which he addressed the situation in Darfur and debt relief.
Following a wave of criticism, Sudanese authorities said they formed a commission of inquiry into the protests which were the deadliest of their kind against the regime.
However, the findings of the investigation are yet to be revealed.
Last month, the Sudanese president Omer Hassan al-Bashir directed the ministry of justice to compensate the families of victims of the protests.
On Tuesday, the European Union (EU) ambassadors in Khartoum called upon the Sudanese government to conduct an independent investigation into the September protests.
They welcomed the government decision to compensate families of the victims but noted that justice couldn’t only be achieved by financial reparations.
(ST)