Amid
Moves
in Abyei,
Sudan & US
Disagree on
Kordofan, Oil
Fee Not
on Agenda
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
May 31 --
While US
Ambassador
Susan Rice
insisted
Thursday
that "all of
the operative
paragraphs" of
the Security
Council's
Resolution
2046 on Sudan
and South
Sudan are
mandatory
under Chapter
7 of the UN
Charter, her
Sudanese
counterpart
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman
disagreed ten
minutes later.
"No
one can
stop us" from
combating
rebels in our
own territory,
he said,
especially
when armed
from outside
the country.
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman cited
the Geneva
Conventions.
It
seems unlikely
that the US
agrees with
this; take for
example its
position on
what
the Syrian
government is
doing in Homs,
Hama and
Houla.
But in the
Press
Statement read
out by the
outgoing
Azerbaijani
President of
the
Council after
Ambassador
Rice spoke,
there was no
move to
enforce or
seek
accountability
for violations
of Resolution
2046.
This
may simply
reflect
real
politik,
that while
portions
remain
unfulfilled,
South
Sudan's then
Sudan's pull
out (mostly)
from Abyei is
more than was
expected, and
focus has
shifted to
Syria, if it
was ever
primarily on
Sudan of late.
This
was reflected
in the
questions
directed to
Ambassador
Rice after she
spoke at the
stakeout about
Sudan: of the
five first
questions, by
three
journalists,
four question
were about
Syria. When
Inner City
Press
was called on,
it asked about
the Southern
Kordofan and
Blue Nile
paragraphs of
the Resolution
2046, and
about
financial
issues.
Strangely,
given
the importance
of the oil
transfer fee
issue to the
dispute
between
the Sudans, it
does not
appear to be a
topic in Addis
Ababa.
Ambassador
Rice said "my
understanding
is that in
this round
thus far they
have not
gotten into
the oil
issues, the
revenue-sharing
issues."
When Inner
City Press
asked if the
US would
support
reducing
Sudan's
external debt
at the IMF,
Ambassador
Rice said "I'm
not prepared
to answer that
at this
stage."
Sudan's
Ambassador
Daffa-Alla
Elhag Ali
Osman said
more pointed
that until
they are
agreements on
security,
South Sudanese
oil cannot
flow
through Sudan.
So the
standoff
continues.
Footnote:
After
the two
stakeouts,
Sudan
complained
that
Ambassador
Rice "broke
protocol" by
speaking at
the stakeout
before the
President of
the Council.
(It may be
that the
President was
moving slow:
slow but sure,
although he
declined to
take
questions.)
More
substantively
the Sudanese
said they do
not think Rice
would ever do
anything
helpful for
(North) Sudan.
Given where
Rice
may be headed,
they might
want to hope
that is not
true.
Inner
City Press
recently asked
a member of
the Sudanese
delegation why
his country
has not
thought of
running for a
Security
Council seat.
(It would
certainly make
interesting
news to
report.) He
shook his head
and
said the
Sudanese have
"too much
pride," and
would not be
willing to bow
down. And so
it goes.
From
the
UN Mission
transcript:
Inner
City
Press: On Blue
Nile and
Southern
Kordofan.
There was a
lot of
back and forth
in the Council
when the
resolution was
passed whether
the paragraph
about these
two regions
are under
Chapter VII.
So,
given what
you've said,
do you feel
that Sudan is
in any way not
complying with
or violating a
Chapter VII
mandate of the
resolution,
both to
negotiate
and/or to
allow in
access? And
just one other
thing
I wanted to
know.
In
Addis-
it seems like
a lot of
the-some of
the basis of
the conflict
is financial.
So I wanted to
know, is it
your
understanding
that
they're
actually
negotiating
things like
the oil
transfer fee
or IMF
debt relief or
what Sudan
asked
for-reparations
for Heglig- or
is it
all security
or is the
financial
aspect-and can
the U.S. play
any
role in
solving those
financial
issues?
Ambassador
Rice:
Well, to your
first
question, all
of the
operative
paragraphs
of resolution
2046 are under
Chapter VII,
and what we
know-indeed
what was
reaffirmed
today-is that
there are
various
aspects of the
obligations-the
Chapter VII
obligations
under that
resolution-that
are
unfulfilled by
both sides,
including the
provisions
related to
Southern
Kordofan and
Blue Nile. So
both sides
have done some
things,
both sides
have not done
everything,
and that
remains
something of
great interest
to and focus
by the
Council.
Inner
City
Press:
Financial.
Whether the
U.S. can play
a role in-
Ambassador
Rice:
Well first of
all, I'm not
able to give
you a detailed
characterization
of the
discussions in
Addis. Others
who are there,
both for the
U.S. and for
the UN, can do
that more
precisely. But
my
understanding
is that in
this round
thus far they
have not
gotten
into the oil
issues, the
revenue-sharing
issues. But
they have in
the
past, as you
know, and we
have been very
active, along
with others,
in trying to
encourage a
fair and
viable
resolution to
the
revenue-sharing
issues,
including
helping the
two parties
draw on
international
expertise to
try to work
through these
quite complex
financial
issues.
Inner
City
Press:
Reducing debt
at the IMF?
Would the U.S.
support
reduction of
Sudan's debt
at the IMF?
Ambassador
Rice:
I'm not
prepared to
answer that at
this stage.
Thank you.
, 
