On
Abyei, Rice
Says Negotiate
with Mbeki
Proposal as
Basis, Sudan
Says
Direct
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 4 --
How is the
dispute about
Abyei between
Sudan
and South
Sudan to be
resolved?
After the September
27 high level
meeting at the
UN, the
Communique
stated:
"Participants
noted
that the AUHIP
[African
Union High
level
Implementation
Panel, led by
Thabo Mbeki] has
submitted a
comprehensive
proposal
regarding
the Final
Status of
Abyei, and
strongly
encouraged the
Parties to
continue
negotiations
on this issue,
with a view to
reaching
agreement
before the
Peace and
Security
Council meets
to consider
the
report of the
AUHIP."
Inner
City Press
right after
that meeting
tried to ask
the UN's Herve
Ladsous about
Abyei, the UN
and next
steps, but
Ladsous
refused to
answer. See
video here.
Afterward
South
Sudan's chief
negotiator
Pagan Amum
said, "The
issue of
Abyei is
finished, no
more
discussions.
The two
countries will
be
expecting a
solution from
the African
Union Peace
and Security
Council."
But
the Communique
"strongly
encouraged the
Parties to
continue
negotiations
on this
issue."
On
October 4,
Inner City
Press asked US
Ambassador
Susan Rice
about
Amum's
statement, and
for the US
view. Video
here, from
Minute 9:32.
Ambassador
Rice replied,
"We
look forward
to former
president
Thabo Mbeki's
report, first
to
African Union
Peace and
Security
Council then
of course
thereafter to
the [UN]
Security
Council in
which we
expect this
issue to be
addressed."
Of
Mbeki, Rice
said "he has
tabled a
proposal that
is consistent
with Abyei
protocol and
the finding of
the Permanent
Court of
Arbitration,
we think
that's a
worthy and
valid proposal
and we hope
it will remain
the basis of
the
negotiating
efforts going
forward."
Moments
later,
Inner City
Press put the
same question
to Sudan's
Permanent
Representative
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman, who
said that the
dispute
about Abyei
should be
addressed
through
"direct
negotiations."
Video
here, from
Minute 3:12.
So
that is the
range:
South Sudan
says the AU
PSC should
just rule on
the matter and
the two
countries
accept it
unconditionally;
Sudan
says it should
be negotiated
directly
between the
parties. The
US'
stated
position is
that the
parties should
negotiated,
but on the
basis of the
Mbeki and,
presumably, AU
PSC proposal.
With
Mbeki slated
to visit both
Khartoum and
Juba before
presenting his
report to the
AU PSC on
October 21,
perhaps that
is as close to
"direct
negotiations"
as things will
get.
Inner
City Press
asked asked
Sudan's
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman about
the
blockage in
aid getting to
Southern
Kordofan and
Blue Nile. Video
here, from
Minute 5:55.
He said,
there is in
blockage, as
soon as the
three
institutions,
the Arab
League,
African Union
and United
Nations, along
with the
representative
of the
government of
Sudan meet,
they will work
out
the
modalities."
Watch this
site.
From
the US Mission
transcript:
Inner
City Press: I
wanted to ask
you, the
communiqué
that came out
after the
Sudan / South
Sudan meeting
during the
General Debate
said that the
two parties
should
continue to
negotiate on
the unresolved
issues. But
Pagan Amun,
the chief
negotiator of
South Sudan,
said there's
no need to
negotiate
anymore in
Abyei, that a
proposal was
made that
Sudan turned
down and now
it's just sort
of in the
hands of the
high-level
panel. What's
the U.S.'s
view? Should
South Sudan
continue to
negotiate this
issue of
Abyei, as was
said in the
communiqué,
or what's the
next step to
actually solve
this
unresolved
issue?
Ambassador
Rice: Well, we
look forward
to former
President
Thabo Mbeki's
report first
to the AUPSC
and then of
course
thereafter to
the Security
Council in
which we
expect this
issue to be
addressed. He
has tabled a
proposal that
is consistent
with the Abyei
protocol and
the findings
of the
Permanent
Court of
Arbitration.
We think
that's a
worthy and
valid proposal
and we hope it
will remain
the basis of
the
negotiating
efforts going
forward.
, 
