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December 4, 2012 (KHARTOUM) – The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) today downplayed the need for a new summit between president Omer Hassan al-Bashir and his South Sudan counterpart Salva Kiir saying that at this point what is needed is for agreements to be implemented.
- Sudanese President Omer Hassan al-Bashir ( L) shakes hands with his South Sudanese counterpart Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa on 14 July 2012 (SUNA)
The NCP spokesperson Badr al-Deen Ibrahim in press statements said that those summits were important prior to cooperation agreements inked last September in Addis Ababa but is of little value now.
Ibrahim stressed that any hurdles in executing what was agreed on requires political will on the part of South Sudan presidency given Khartoum readiness to do so immediately.
He reiterated Sudan’s position that implementing security arrangements is a prerequisite to enforcing others in reference to oil deal which was put on hold as a result.
The September deals mediated by the African Union (AU) includes setting up a demilitarized border buffer zone to cut support for insurgents in Sudan and to allow a resumption of South Sudanese oil through northern pipelines for export.
Khartoum insists that Juba must disconnect from the rebel group known as Sudan people Liberation Movement North (SPLM-N) fighting the Sudanese government in the border states of Blue Nile and South Kordofan which the United Nations says has resulted in either displacement or severely affected 900,000 people.
Sudan accuses South Sudan, which seceded from the north in July 2011, of backing the SPLM-N, whose fighters were part of the southern rebel army during Sudan’s two decades civil war.
SPLM-N along with Darfur rebels have formed a military alliance that aims to topple the Khartoum government.
Juba denies any links to SPLM-N and insists that this is a domestic issue that they will not interfere in.
But this week local media reported that chief South Sudan negotiator Pagan Amum who travelled to Khartoum last week to deliver a letter from Kiir to Bashir conveyed Juba’s agreement to demobilize Sudanese from South Kordofan and Blue Nile working in the SPLA.
Amum said that the oil flow will resume by month end but the NCP spokesperson emphasized that no date has been set and that it all depends on agreements going into effect. He noted that whenever goodwill is apparent between the two sides then the accords can move forward.
Ibrahim added that Juba needs to be serious about breaking ties with SPLM-N and move the 9th and 10th divisions inside Sudan to South Sudan saying they actually belong to SPLA.
South Sudan also needs to expel Sudanese rebel leaders and stop recruitment efforts by the insurgent groups there then make that policy public, he said.
This week the two sides kicked off the work of the joint security committees to iron out details regarding the technical details relating to September pacts.
(ST)
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