On Abyei, Rice Tells ICP to Call "Misseriya the Majority" Is a Joke
By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive
UNITED NATIONS, January 23, 2013 -- In Abyei, are the Misseriya or the Dinka
in the majority? The question has arisen as Sudan and South Sudan negotiate
about the composition of the Abyei Area Council.
On January 22, Inner City Press asked the Permanent Representatives of
South Sudan and of Sudan, then Susan Rice of the United States, about it.
Susan Rice was most direct. "To call the Misseriya the majority is a joke,"
Rice exclusively told Inner City Press.
South Sudan's Francis Deng, previously the UN Special Adviser on the
Prevention of Genocide, objected to Sudan asking for fifty - fifty
representation.
Sudan's Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman told Inner City Press this would be
more than fair, since "the Dinka are the minority in Abyei."
He said there were two times as many Misseriya there as Dinka. This is
what Ambassador Rice, after declining the question at the on-camera stakeout
because she hadn't heard Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman speak, called "a joke"
two hours later to Inner City Press.
Afterward, another Security Council diplomat whom Inner City Press asked
about it offered a compromise: "it depends on the season."
Inner City Press also asked both Deng and Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman about
South Sudan's shooting down of a Russian helicopter serving UNMISS. Deng
said the investigation is underway.
Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman quoted Russia, unhappy with the delay. Security
Council President Masood Khan told Inner City Press that the whole Council
wants a prompt investigation.
Footnote: there were rumblings, about a Southern Kordofan delegation coming
to the UN. Watch this site.
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Received on Wed Jan 23 2013 - 19:56:30 EST
