PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
khartoum, Juba trade accusations over oil-rich Abiyei
Khartoum, Sudan (PANA) - Sudan and South Sudan continue to trade accusations over the attempt to convene the Abyei Joint Oversight Committee (AJOC) meeting that will focus on the implementation of the Temporary Arrangement for the Administration and Security of Abyei area, an oil-rich triangle disputed by the two sides, PANA reported here Tuesday.
The South Sudanese government last week issued a statement, accusing Sudan of dragging its feet on the arrangement for the meeting but Khartoum responded Tuesday by saying it was Juba that lacked the political will to hold "that vital meeting" last week, at a time millions of cattle from the north are expected to cross into South Sudan, a trip annually carried out by cattle herders for centuries from north to south during the dry season in the north, seeking better grazing grounds and water supply.
South Sudanese Dr. Luka Biong Deng, Co-chair of the AJOC, had issued a statement, accusing the Sudan government of not being ready to attend the seventh meeting of the committee.
The Sudanese State Minister at the Presidency, in charge of the peace negotiations with the South, Idris Abdul-Gadir, issued a counter statement, saying the Sudanese government wanted the meeting postponed to pave the way for the implementation of provisions of the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements, ironed out on 20 June, 2011, for the Administration and Security of Abyei Area .
"It is true that the proposal to postpone that meeting was conveyed to the African Union, but it is also true that consultations were underway to finalize the list of the Government nominees for all the positions in Abyei's institutions mentioned in the Agreement," Abdul-Gadir said in a press statement Tuesday.
The statement accused the Government of South Sudan of stalling the establishment of Abyei institutions until recently.
Abdul-Gadir said that the Government of Sudan acted timely when it agreed to accept the nomination of one of the three South Sudanese nominees to hold the post of Chief Administrator of Abyei Area.
That agreement, he said, was promptly transmitted to the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) in Addis Ababa on 24 July, 2011, together with Sudan's nominations for all positions of Abyei institutions.
"Unfortunately, the response from South Sudan was not constructive as it insisted that the nominee for the post of the chairman of the legislative council should also hail from NGOK Dinkas," the release said.
The dilly-dallying came at a time the two heads of state, President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan spoke on phone, calling for the speedy implementation of the process.
But their governments appear eager to hold each other responsible for the lack of progress so far.
However, the two Defence Ministers are expected to meet in Khartoum next month, a meeting
that could make or mar the process.
Thereafter, an intervention by the United Nations Security Council as recommended by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel headed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, could be the final option.
In anticipation of such a move, the Sudan nomadic tribes have said they would not want to see any referendum in the area, rejecting the Mbeki proposal.
-0- PANA MO/VAO 27Nov2012
The South Sudanese government last week issued a statement, accusing Sudan of dragging its feet on the arrangement for the meeting but Khartoum responded Tuesday by saying it was Juba that lacked the political will to hold "that vital meeting" last week, at a time millions of cattle from the north are expected to cross into South Sudan, a trip annually carried out by cattle herders for centuries from north to south during the dry season in the north, seeking better grazing grounds and water supply.
South Sudanese Dr. Luka Biong Deng, Co-chair of the AJOC, had issued a statement, accusing the Sudan government of not being ready to attend the seventh meeting of the committee.
The Sudanese State Minister at the Presidency, in charge of the peace negotiations with the South, Idris Abdul-Gadir, issued a counter statement, saying the Sudanese government wanted the meeting postponed to pave the way for the implementation of provisions of the Agreement on Temporary Arrangements, ironed out on 20 June, 2011, for the Administration and Security of Abyei Area .
"It is true that the proposal to postpone that meeting was conveyed to the African Union, but it is also true that consultations were underway to finalize the list of the Government nominees for all the positions in Abyei's institutions mentioned in the Agreement," Abdul-Gadir said in a press statement Tuesday.
The statement accused the Government of South Sudan of stalling the establishment of Abyei institutions until recently.
Abdul-Gadir said that the Government of Sudan acted timely when it agreed to accept the nomination of one of the three South Sudanese nominees to hold the post of Chief Administrator of Abyei Area.
That agreement, he said, was promptly transmitted to the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel on Sudan (AUHIP) in Addis Ababa on 24 July, 2011, together with Sudan's nominations for all positions of Abyei institutions.
"Unfortunately, the response from South Sudan was not constructive as it insisted that the nominee for the post of the chairman of the legislative council should also hail from NGOK Dinkas," the release said.
The dilly-dallying came at a time the two heads of state, President Omar Al-Bashir of Sudan and President Salva Kiir of South Sudan spoke on phone, calling for the speedy implementation of the process.
But their governments appear eager to hold each other responsible for the lack of progress so far.
However, the two Defence Ministers are expected to meet in Khartoum next month, a meeting
that could make or mar the process.
Thereafter, an intervention by the United Nations Security Council as recommended by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel headed by former South African President Thabo Mbeki, could be the final option.
In anticipation of such a move, the Sudan nomadic tribes have said they would not want to see any referendum in the area, rejecting the Mbeki proposal.
-0- PANA MO/VAO 27Nov2012
