South Sudan Hopeful of AU Endorsement of Mediation Proposal On Abyei
24 October 2012
Juba/Khartoum — South Sudan on Monday expressed "strong optimism" about the
possibility of the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) coming
together to "unanimously" endorse a peace proposal aiming at addressing a
long standing dispute over the border region of Abyei.
"There is strong consensus building up around the proposal. The level of
consensus is high. The whole world is keenly following the process.
Everybody is waiting for the mediation panel to present their report to
African Union peace and Security Council," Luka Biong Deng, a leading member
of South Sudan's governing Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) said on
Monday.
Deng spoke to Sudan Tribune after arrival to the Ethiopia capital, Addis
Ababa, from South Africa where he and the accompanying government officials
held bilateral discussions with officials from South Africa governments and
leadership of the governing party on Sunday.
The co-chair of Abyei Joint steering Committee will participate in a
ministerial meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council where
the issue of Abyei will be discussed and a possible resolution is expected
to be endorsed on Wednesday 24 October before to refer it to the UN Security
Council.
At the height of conflict between South Sudan and her neighbouring Sudan in
April, AUPSC unanimously issued a strongly-worded communiqué, demanding the
two sides to pull out their troops from Abyei and other disputed areas
notably Heglig.
The prime objective of the communiqué was to ease hostilities from flash
point areas and urged the parties to the conflict to immediately resume
negotiations without preconditions. These demands were later adopted by the
security council of the UN and passed a resolution number 2046 demanding
also the two countries to pull back their armed forces from contested areas
and to resume negotiations to be completed with three months.
In the event the two sides failed to reach an agreement, the African Union
High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) would make a recommendation to be approved
by the African Union Peace and Security Council as final and binding
decision on both sides.
Conscious of the threat to their economies, both Sudan and South Sudan
decided to resume discussions in Addis Ababa in June, under facilitation by
the AUHIP, resulting partly into the signing of nine agreements in
September.
The agreements, though received with mixed reactions particularly border
communities in the South, were ratified by the two houses, paving ways to
resumption of negotiations the remaining outside issues. While deal allows
the South to resume oil production and export it to the international
markets through Sudan, the two sides could not agree the mediation proposal
on Abyei and status of the contested area.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir and his negotiating team accepted the
proposal but Sudanese president Bashir and his negotiating team rejected.
Sudan expressed its support to a previous proposition the mediation had made
in November 2010 calling to partitioning the region between the two
countries but Juba rejected it.
Deng said the government of South Sudan and its negotiating team accepted
mediators proposal because it derives basis from the 2005 peace accord which
provides the people of Abyei through it protocol the right to decide their
fate at a referendum and come in line with the decision of the Permanent
Court of Arbitration on the area.
The South Sudanese official, explained that the new nation expects the
African Union to not only to endorse the proposal but to come up with
measures to ensure the parties accept and immediately implement the outcome
of the proposal.
"Of course there are concerns about commitment of the (Sudanese) government
to honouring agreements but if Khartoum tries this time to reject again the
endorsed proposal, as it done in the past, the AU should review the
membership of Sudan in AU and its protection from the ICC [International
Criminal Court]. The AU should explore other economic and political
sanctions that should isolate Sudan," he said.
"The government of the Republic of South Sudan as a member of the AU should
review its bilateral relations with Sudan including the recently signed
Cooperation Agreement. The South should review its payment of $3.028 billion
to Sudan as Transition Financial Assistance, joint campaign for debt relief,
mobilization of international community to assist Sudan and lifting of
economic sanctions," Deng stressed.
The official further stated members of the UN Security Council are expected
to unanimously endorse the AU endorsed proposal on the final status of
Abyei.
"But if Bashir attempts to reject it the UN endorsed proposal on Abyei, the
UN Security Council should equally take more severe sanctions on Sudan,
particularly economic and political sanctions. The international community
should stand together to apprehend Bashir and hand him over to ICC. The UN
Security Council in collaboration with AU to explore a possibility of
ensuring the conduct of Abyei Referendum in 2013 even without the consent of
Sudan", he explained.
Recently U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice said the 2046 was
adopted thanks to the united position of the Security Council.
Khartoum which is aware of Rice's support to the South Sudanese position
over Abyei sought to convince Moscow to support the partition of Abyei
saying it can bring a lasting peace between the two communities of the
disputed area.
In Khartoum, following a meeting with Vice-President Al-Haj Adam Youssef
with the co-chair of Abyei steering committee, Al-Khair Al-Fahim, told
reporters in Khartoum that they support the position of President Omer
Al-BAshir which rejects the AU proposal on Abyei referendum.
Al-Fahim who was accompanied by a delegation of Messeyria tribal leaders
launched a call for peaceful coexistence between the nomads and the Ngok
Dinka, but he did not speak about the message they delivered to the Sudanese
presidency.
------------[ Sent via the dehai-wn mailing list by dehai.org]--------------
Received on Wed Oct 24 2012 - 08:15:54 EDT
