As
Sudan
Violates Deal
to Leave
Abyei, UN
Waits for
Questions, US
Ignores Them
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 1 --
In the disputed
Sudanese
flashpoint of
Abyei,
the acting
chief of the
UN Department
of
Peacekeeping
Operations
Edmond Mulet
gushed to the
press
weeks ago that
the Sudan
Armed Forces
would withdraw
by September
30.
As
the day grew
closer and it
became clear
it would not
happened, one
expected the
UN
to speak out.
But outside a
meeting about
Abyei in the
UN's North
Lawn building,
after
peacekeeping
sources told
Inner City
Press that
inside the
Sudanese
representatives
were making it
clear the SAF
would not
leave, Mulet
emerged to
tell Inner
City Press
that there
was not
"frustration"
in the
meeting, that
it went well.
On
September 30
itself, Inner
City Press ran
to the UN noon
briefing,
expected
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
to make a
statement
about Sudan's
failure to
comply. But
nothing was
said. So
Inner City
Press asked:
Inner
City
Press: today
is the stated
deadline for
the Sudanese
Armed
Forces to pull
out of Abyei
with UNISFA.
what’s the
status? have
they pulled
out or not?
And has the
level of
UNISFA
deployment
risen
above 1,800 or
not?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
Well, to my
knowledge, the
deployment of
the troops is
at
1,800 out of
the authorised
4,200. To
answer your
first part of
the
question, to
our knowledge,
this is not
the case. We
would urge the
parties to
implement the
agreement they
reached early
this month,
and
to withdraw
their forces
from the Abyei
area so as to
facilitate the
return of the
displaced
populations
and ensure the
smooth
beginning
of the
migration
season. And
also, I mean,
as you know,
on 8
September, the
Government of
Sudan and the
Government of
South Sudan
held the first
meeting of the
Abyei Joint
Oversight
Committee. And
there the two
parties agreed
on a timeline
for the
redeployment
of
their forces
from Abyei
that was to
begin on 11
September and
to end
today. So, as
I say, we
would urge the
parties to
implement that
agreement.
Inner
City
Press: there
was a meeting
in the North
Lawn earlier
this week
involving Mr.
Mulet, the
Ethiopian
peacekeepers
and Sudanese
and
South Sudanese
sides Did
Sudan give
some
explanation at
that point?
is this a
surprise to
the UN that
they haven't
actually met
the
deadline?
Spokesperson:
Well, I don’t
think it’s a
surprise. It’s
been evident
for
some time. But
as I say, two
things: It’s
really
incumbent on
the
parties to
implement the
agreement that
they reached
earlier this
month. And
also simply by
doing so, to
allow people
who were
displaced to
return, and
for those who
need to, to be
able to begin
the migration
season.
Inner
City
Press: when
does Mr.
Ladsous --I
have heard
late
September,
early October
-- when does
he actually
begin as the
head of DPKO?
Spokesperson:
Well, we’ve
consistently
said early
October, and I
would think
that next week
you will hear
more about
that.
Ban
Ki-moon on
September 2
named Herve
Ladsous the
fourth
Frenchman in a
row to head
DPKO. But for
some
unexplained
reason,
Ladsous did
not begin, and
still has not
begun, amid
peacekeepers
sex abuse
scandals in
Haiti
and this
situation in
Sudan.
Abyei in
flames in May,
UN and US
silence in
September
After
the
September 30
noon briefing,
Nesirky gave
additional
information to
another
reporter who
has been a
defender of
Ladsous or at
least of
how he was
selected.
(We'll have
more on this.)
Meanwhile, the
following
question was
put to the
US Mission to
the UN on
September 29,
the eve of the
Abyei
deadline:
" What does
the US think
about Sudan's
compliance (or
non
compliance)
with agreement
to remove SAF
from Abyei by
September 30?"
Two
days later,
there has been
no response or
statement by
the US
Mission,
perhaps
due to
discomfort
with another
questions
asked. Watch
this site.
, 
