By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 25 -- Sudan's and South Sudan's ambassadors traded speeches about Abyei in the UN Security Council Monday morning, and things got personal.
While the Security Council urged against the unilateral referendum held in Abyei, South Sudan's Francis Deng on Monday praised it. He said the Miseriya had been out of the area "in their own homeland" 125 miles away when the referendum was held.
Inner City Press has previously reported that Deng's family comes from Abyei, and has questioned if he owns property there. It makes for a more dramatic story.
Sudan's Permanent Representative Daffa-Alla Elhag Ali Osman took the floor to say Deng's speech was against the current tenor between Khartoum and Juba, and was based on "personal interests" and not the interests of the whole of South Sudan.
It's rare these days at the UN for arguments to turn personal in this way. Relatedly, some in the Council note that soon after Ambassador Susan Rice was promoted to Washington, there were no more twice a month meetings on Sudan and South Sudan. In fairness we report that others say that's a coincidence. Like Deng's personal story? Both are compelling. Watch this site.
