(The Washington Post) Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir met on Sunday with his Egyptian counterpart in Cairo, defiant of the International Criminal Court’s two arrest warrants against him for an alleged role in his country’s turbulent western Darfur region. The visit underlines a renewed interest in cooperation between the two neighbors, after what many saw as a period of neglect in the years before Egypt’s new Islamist President Mohammed Morsi was elected this summer. Relations largely deteriorated after former President Hosni Mubarak accused Sudan of harboring those suspected of being behind an assassination attempt against him in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa in 1995. Prior to the trip, London-based Amnesty International called on Cairo to withdraw its invitation to the Sudanese leader or arrest him on arrival, but Egypt does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction and instead welcomed al-Bashir at the airport with a delegation led by Vice President Mahmoud Mekki. It was at least al-Bashir’s third visit to Egypt since an arrest warrant was issued in 2009. Morsi’s spokesman Yasser Ali told reporters that Cairo follows the African Union’s line with regard to al-Bashir, which asserts that ICC arrest warrants do not lift immunity for heads of state, and that in any case the U.N. Security Council has not lifted the Sudanese president’s immunity. Signaling a shift in relations, al-Bashir and Morsi discussed boosting investment and trade, and opening a land route to better connect the two countries, the spokesman added. Internationally, both countries have vested interests in keeping intact a 1959 agreement that allocates the bulk of NileRiver water to Sudan and Egypt, despite calls for a new agreement supported by nine countries such as Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda. In particular, Egypt’s population of 82 million lives mostly along the NileRiver and relies heavily on it as a main water resource. Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil is scheduled to visit Sudan Wednesday and Thursday.
Germany orders embassy staff to leave Khartoum
(Reuters) Germany ordered some staff members to leave its embassy in Sudan and bolstered security at the mission in Khartoum after it was stormed on Friday by protesters infuriated by an anti-Islamic film made in the United States. A spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry in Berlin said the staffing levels at the embassy in Khartoum had been reduced, although she did not provide any numbers. She said additional security personnel was sent to protect the building. The situation was tense at the embassy in Khartoum but calm at the moment, she said. About 5,000 people protesting against the film that insults the Prophet Mohammad outside the embassy stormed the building on Friday and raised an Islamic flag above the mission. They smashed windows, cameras and furniture in the German complex and then started a fire, witnesses said. It was unclear why the German embassy was singled out since the film was made in the United States and Muslim outrage has led to crowds assaulting U.S. diplomatic missions in a number of Muslim countries. Sudan also criticized Germany for allowing a protest last month by right-wing activists carrying a caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad and for Chancellor Angela Merkel giving an award in 2010 to a Danish cartoonist who depicted the Prophet in 2005, triggering demonstrations across the Islamic world.
European Union and French Ambassadors Discuss South Kordfan and Blue NileStates
(SUNA) The undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Rahmatullah Mohammed Osman Sunday discussed with the French Ambassador and the Ambassador of the European Delegation to Sudan means of implementing the memorandum o understanding signed by the Government of Sudan and the parties of the tripartite initiative (UN, African Union and Arab League) with regard to the humanitarian situations in South Kordufan and Blue Nile States. The Undersecretary affirmed the commitment of the Government of Sudan to the clauses of the Memorandum of Understanding, attributing the delay in the implementation to the absence of the representatives of the three parties from the coordinating meetings. Meanwhile, the Ambassadors of France and the European Union affirmed the concern of the donors with the humanitarian situations in the two States as well as proving the needy citizens of the two States with the humanitarian aids soonest as possible.
Senator McCain vows to raise Sudan’s issues in U.S. Congress
(Sudan Tribune) U.S. Senators John McCain pledged to raise issues of humanitarian and political concerns in Sudan in the two houses and to advocate for strong congressional stance, said sources close to the Sudanese rebels. The former Republican presidential nominee received Friday the visiting leadership of the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) which is in Washington for talks with the government officials and to mobilize political parties and civil society to support its cause during the campaign of presidential election. In a meeting with Malik Agar, SPLM-N chairman, his deputy Abdel Aziz Hilu and secretary general Yasir Arman, Senator McCain expressed his support to the plight of Sudanese people in Blue Nile and South Kordofan and pledged to raise the humanitarian and political crisis of the two region in the two houses of U.S. Congress. The meeting tackled the delay in the implementation of a humanitarian tripartite initiative aiming to reach affected civilians in the SPLM-N areas. Also the rebel group explained its position over the ongoing political process in Addis Ababa. The SPLM-N leadership met also with Michael Capuano who co-chairs with Frank Wolf a bipartisan congressional caucus on Sudan. The Sudanese rebels also met with a number of officials at the State Department to discuss issues related to human rights and Sudanese refugees in South Sudan and Ethiopia. They also held a round table at the US Institute for Peace over issues of war, peace and change in Sudan with a number of researchers and experts as well as foreign diplomats in Washington.
Sudan Debates Embassy Warnings
(DW) The burning of the German embassy is being hotly discussed in Sudan. Citizens who have been taking to the streets recently aren’t motivated by religious sentiments alone. They’re fighting a different battle. The attack on the German and American embassies in Sudan appeared to be a spontaneous outburst of popular anger. Now, Sudanese opposition groups are suggesting that the violence could have been planned. What happened in Khartoum was “the result of the policies of purposeful misinformation and propaganda and hate speech of the regime,” the opposition group Sudan Change Now stated Saturday on its Facebook site. The group accused Islamists along with the President Al-Bashir uncle’s newspaper “Al-Intibaha” of instigating the protests. In an op-ed, the newspaper distanced itself from the attacks, instead raising its own serious accusations against the American government. “We’re weary of the shameless American hypocrisy, which claims to support the Arab revolution in its fight for dignity, human rights and democracy. At the same time, it closes its eyes against those who denigrate Islam and Muslims. Not only that: It even supports them.” The newspaper also demanded that Americans and “their Israeli allies” immediately stop their slander of Islam. In this context, attacks upon the German and American embassies allowed for a brief distraction from the pressing problems of the country. Al Hayat, a pan-Arabic newspaper published in London, pointed to extremist and populist groups in both the East and West as setting the groundwork for easily ignited religious unrest.
Sudan downplays US threats to move its diplomatic mission from Khartoum
(Xinhua) Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP) on Sunday downplayed the United States’ threats to move US diplomatic mission from Khartoum to one of other African countries’ capitals after Sudan rejected the entry of US army. The United States wanted to send US marine infantry troops into Sudanese territories to enhance protection around the US embassy in Khartoum, but was rejected by Sudanese government. “The Sudanese government, with its regular forces, was in better control in terms of minimizing and lessening damages, compared to what had resulted from the violence due to the protests witnessed by Islamic countries against a movie that insults Prophet Mohamed,” Rabie Abdul-Atti, a leading NCP member, told reporters here Sunday. He said the Sudanese government and the NCP firmly reject violence and assault on embassies, “but insulting Prophet Mohamed is similarly rejected.” Abdul-Atti reiterated the capability and keenness of the Sudanese forces to protect citizens and diplomatic missions, noting that the disputed movie was produced by certain institutions and individuals, not by European or US governments. He denied the accusations that Sudanese government had instigated the people to stage protests, or that the police had designed the incident which claimed the lives of two innocent people. On Saturday, US government was reported to have ordered non- essential staff to leave its embassies in Sudan and Tunisia and have threatened to move its diplomatic missions from Sudan and Tunisia to one of other African countries’ capitals. At least three protestors were killed during the protest in front of the US embassy when they were hit by a police vehicle, while some 50 civilians and policemen were injured.
Mutrif: Significant Progress in Addis Ababa Talks
(Sudan Vision) Ambassador Mutrif Sidiq, member of the Sudanese negotiating team, said that Sudan and South Sudan have made great progress in their ongoing negotiations in Addis Ababa, adding that an agreement can be reached on most of the disputed issues between the two sides. Ambassador Sidiq said, in press statements on the sidelines of the ongoing negotiations in Addis Ababa, said that the delegations of Sudan and the South Sudan can complete all matters relating to oil if they conclude the supplementary agreement quickly. He expressed hope to conclude the security issue also, saying, “We are not far from reaching an agreement on this issue,” adding that the Sudanese delegation working seriously with the African Union High Implementation Panel (AUHIP) in order to reach agreement on the disputed area of “Mile 14” that is located in the south Bahr Al-Arab. On the deadline set by the UN Security Council, which ends on 22 Sept., Ambassador Sidiq said that the Sudanese delegation did not believe that there will be a problem if they do not reach an agreement before the deadline, saying, “If we do not finish, the AUHIP has freedom to submit its recommendations or vision to the UN Security Council about what will be done”, adding,” Even in the border issue, the work of experts will take time and thus a conception should set on unfinished issues. ” The agency said that the U.S. special envoy, Lyman Preston arrived in Addis Ababa yesterday to push the two parties to reach an agreement before the deadline.
UN-African mission applauds JEM rebel group’s decision to end use of child soldiers
(UN News Centre) The joint United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) has hailed the recent decision by one of the largest armed movements in the Sudanese region to prohibit the recruitment and use of child soldiers. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) agreed, following recent consultations with the UNAMID leadership, to establish an operational mechanism to identify children, who are associated with its forces, for demobilization and reintegration. “Child soldiering is detrimental to peace and to children, who are the future of Darfur,” said the Acting Joint Special Representative and head of UNAMID, Aichatou Mindaoudou. “The Mission applauds JEM’s commitment toward protecting children and appeals to all members of armed groups and forces to do the same,” she added. JEM is one of seven armed movements in Darfur, including the Sudan Liberation Army/Abdul Wahid, to have taken such significant steps, according to the Mission. In July, the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), a signatory along with the Government of Sudan of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur, issued a similar order.