From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jun 15 2010 - 18:22:58 EDT
Sudan's Beshir forms new government
UN says planning needed for Sudan referendum, urges Darfur rebels to join
peace process.
First Published 2010-06-15
KHARTOUM - Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir on Monday formed a 35-member
government two months after multi-party elections, according to an official
decree distributed to the media.
Beshir handed the key foreign ministry to Ali Karti from his ruling National
Congress Party while the strategic oil ministry went to Luwal Ashweil Deng,
from the ex-rebel South Sudan People's Liberation Movement.
The SPLM held the foreign ministry in the previous government which Beshir
dissolved at the end of May following his re-election victory in April
during which his party retained a majority of seats in parliament.
"President Omar Hassan al-Beshir has announced in a statement the nomination
of ministers and ministers of state," said the decree.
According to the text of the decree, the new government will have 35 cabinet
ministers, compared to 31 in the previous line-up, as well as 42 ministers
of state.
Karti, known to be a conservative, was a minister of state for foreign
affairs in a previous administration and has also served in the past as
minister of state for judicial affairs.
Deng, a member of the ex-rebel SPLM, served as a minister of state for
financial affairs in the previous government.
Twenty-four ministers were chosen from Beshir's National Congress Party
while eight of the ministries went to SPLM members. Three small parties
received each a government ministry.
The ex-rebel SPLM joined the government after signing with the Khartoum
government in 2005 a peace deal that ended a devastating civil war that
lasted more than two decades.
The 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement ended two decades of war in Sudan by
offering southern Sudan a measure of autonomy until the future of the
country is determined in a referendum set for January 2011.
Sudan produces 500,000 barrels of oil per day and has reserves estimated at
six billion barrels.
Most of it lies on the border between north and south and how to share the
revenues has been a major source of tension in the run-up to the promised
referendum on southern independence due in January.
Earlier this month Beshir warned of an "explosive" situation between north
and south Sudan if the south chooses to break away in the referendum, but he
also said: "We have no other choice but to work with the SPLM for the sake
of the country's unity."
Beshir was sworn in last month.
At his swearing in ceremony the Sudanese president said he was committed to
holding the referendum on time.
"It is a commitment we will not renege on. We made a vow and we will adhere
to it," he said.
"We will accept, in good faith, the choice of the south, whatever the choice
may be," he said, but stressed he would work for unity.
UN says planning needed for Sudan referendum
The UN Security Council on Monday called for "timely preparations" for next
year's landmark referendum in Sudan's south and disputed oil-rich Abyei
region in line with the 2005 peace deal.
The 15-member council also underlined the need for the world body "to plan
for its presence in Sudan post-CPA," referring to the 2005 Comprehensive
Peace Agreement.
The Abyei referendum, scheduled for January 9, 2011, will let residents of
the disputed oil-rich region-- on the border between north and south Sudan
-- decide whether they want to remain part of the north or join the south
should it become independent.
Ambassadors from The United States and Britain also stressed the need to
begin planning for referenda in south Sudan and Abyei.
"Referenda commissions must be appointed immediately to begin the difficult
work of operational and budget planning, voter registration, education,
logistics, and administration," US Ambassador Susan Rice told the council.
"We must also continue to press the parties to completely demarcate the
North-South and Abyei borders."
And she said that regardless of the referenda outcomes, attention should be
paid now to steps needed "to promote a sustainable relationship between the
parties beyond July 2011."
She cited the need for progress towards reaching agreements on
post-referenda wealth-sharing and citizenship, among other issues.
Her British counterpart, Mark Lyall Grant, said while "we should not
pre-judge the results of the referendum... we should be clear that it must
take place on time. There must be a credible result, beyond dispute."
The council also expressed "grave concern about the upsurge in violence in
Darfur and the high number of civilian casualties" and urged all parties to
respect the ceasefire, according to Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, who
chairs the council this month.
It urged "all rebel groups to join the peace process, and calls on all
parties to engage constructively in negotiations in Doha," he said after
hearing a briefing by UN and African Union mediators on developments in
African's largest country.
In May, fighting broke out anew between the Justice and Equality Movement,
Darfur's main rebel group, and the government after the JEM walked out of
peace talks in the Qatari capital Doha.
Darfur has been gripped by a civil war since 2003 that has killed 300,000
people and displaced another 2.7 million, according to UN figures. Khartoum
says 10,000 people have died.
