From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Oct 14 2009 - 07:59:44 EDT
Bashir's Sudan Party Discounts SPLM Parliamentary Threats
By Peter Clottey
14 October 2009
The National Congress Party (NCP) has accused the Sudan People's Liberation
Movement (SPLM) of acting in bad faith for threatening to withdraw its
members from parliament.
The SPLM blamed the NCP on Monday for refusing to endorse proposals in the
current parliament session that strengthen the implementation of a 2005
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
But the NCP dismisses the charge as unwarranted.
The SPLM's proposals include a security and intelligence service, a
referendum that could lead to southern Sudan's self determination, and a
budget measure.
Analysts say the SPLM's latest threat could worsen tensions with its
northern partners.
Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth, head of southern Sudan's mission to the United States
said that his party is "only" promoting the wishes of the Sudanese people.
"It is not true that we are obstructing the implementation of the CPA. This
is the only thing that we want to see happening. The CPA, we wanted it to be
implemented in this opening of the parliament," Gatkuoth said.
He said SPLM members want parliament to discuss and endorse its proposals.
"We just wanted the freedom law to be passed, the laws that are actually
meant for democratic transformation, and then the budget. These are the
three items that we wanted to be discussed in the parliament," he said.
Gatkuoth said his movement is fighting for the ordinary Sudanese.
"This is not our wish. It is the wishes of the people of Sudan. They want
this agreement to be implemented (and) we are actually saying that the
National Congress Party should not deviate from what we have agreed upon,"
Gatkuoth said.
He said Sudanese want to feel free in their own country.
"They want a democratic country and a country that is transformed, whereby
it respects all the religions, respects all the aspirations of everybody in
Sudan," he said.
Gatkuoth said its northern partners often make decisions without the SPLM's
input, a charge the NCP denies.
"Decisions are being made using a mechanical majority without the consensus
of the two parties - (like they) expelled the Canadian diplomat. They are
doing things unilaterally without consulting with us," Gatkuoth said.
He denied the SPLM is threatening its northern partners.
"We are not threatening anybody. The only thing that is binding the National
Congress Party and the SPLM together is the CPA. Short of that, we are not
partners," he said.
Gatkuoth said the NCP is determined to move the country towards an Islamic
state despite the SPLM's protests.
"These two parties have different ideologies. The National Congress Party .
they want to Islamize the whole world. That is their thinking, and that is
their ideology. For us, we are saying that everybody is equal in this
country of ours called Sudan," Gatkuoth said.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement effectively ended more than two
decades of civil war between the Sudanese north and the south.
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