By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, February 17 -- With Sudan Sanctions the topic of the UN Security Council on Friday morning, a simple vote on the US-drafted resolution was expected. But Sudan's Permanent Representative Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman asked to speak after the 15 - 0.
He took issue with a paragraph about bombings -- apparently that's more in South Kordofan and Blue Nile than in Darfur.
Then Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman repeated publicly what he'd said exclusively toInner City Press earlier in the month: that he was told yesterday by a member of the UN panel on Darfur sanctions that when the member asked for access to South Sudan to check on Khartoum's allegation that the Justice and Equality Movement rebels had entered South Sudan with weapons from the collapsed Gaddafi government of Libya, "the government of South Sudan blocked me and didn't give me access."
The location was later specified as Tumsaha.
(For that story, David Choat challenged Daffa alla to name which South Sudan ministry or minister had denied access.)
On Friday when US Ambassador Susan Rice came out of the Security Council, Inner City Press began to ask her a question. She said, let me say something first - and said, there should be penalties for perjury in the Security Council.
Inner City Press asked if she meant his allegations about the monitor being blocked by South Sudan from going to Tumsaha. Rice replied, the visas, the bombings.
Moments later at the UN Television stakeout, Inner City Press conveyed this view to Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman - the bombings, visa. He paused and then said, I will give you the name of the monitor who was blocked: he is British and his name is Mister Bryan. Inner City Press later asked, first or last name, but Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said, you find out. A western member of the Council said he was sure it would be check. But will it?
Inner City Press asked asked Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman about blocking South Sudanese losing their jobs in North Sudan and being blocked even from traveling to the South by barge on the White Nile. Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman said Sudan had "hosted" its "brothers" from the South, but that the government of South Sudan isn't doing what it should to help them. Inner City Press has asked the UN to comment on this for days, with no response.
At issue Friday seemed to be that while Sudan continues blasting away in Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, its strategy in Darfur has led to JEM's Khalil Ibrahim dead, and people in IDP camps -- some call it the "Sri Lanka strategy," which was the subject of Inner City Press' questioning Friday and will be addressed in the next article - watch this site.
