By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, December 16 -- Fighting continued in Darfur on Thursday, as the UN Security Council met about Sudan, mostly South Sudan. The Council issued a press statement about the secession referendum scheduled for January 9, including condemning Khartoum's bombings in Western Bahr al Gazal State.
Outside the Council, Inner City Press asked the Sudanese State Minister of Humanitarian Affairs Mutrif Siddiq about the bombings, and his government's fighting with the Minni Minawai faction. It's not with the whole faction, he quickly said, naming a subcommander who he said tried to “collect taxes after the harvest.” Video here.
The fact remains that Minni Minawi, the sole Darfur rebel to sign a deal with Khartoum, has walked away from it. So what does the "Doha process" with the LJM really mean?
Despite UN confirmation of the bombing, Sudanese minister Mutrif Siddiq would only concede that it was under investigation, as if the investigation weren't finished. Inner City Press later asked Council president Susan Rice about this.
She replied, "you heard Under-Secretary- General LeRoy in the Council speak very plainly to that as he also did in consultations."
Southern Sudan's Ezekiel Lol Gatkuoth and Pagan Amum, Secretary General of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement came to the stakeout. Inner City Press asked about the bombing and Pagan Amum said it had already been condemned. He called for a peace agreement in Darfur. This seems a long way off.
Inner City Press asked about comments attributed to Benjamin Mkapa that “some Southerns” were intimidating other Southerns in the North to not register to vote in the referendum.
Pagan Amum denied that, saying that instead it was the National Congress Party which threatened Southerns with harassment if they voted for secession. Video here.
Inner City Press asked Mkapa himself who he blamed for the low registration in the North. He said that it was understandable if Southerners who have lived in the North for years didn't register. Video here. Then he was gone.
Footnote: The International Organization on Migration gave a press conference on Thursday as well. Inner City Press, along with questions about Sudanese refugees returned from Israel and elsewhere, asked about IOM's role in the Sudan referendum. It's in their law, was the answer. IOM was asked to run the process in North Sudan but declined.
IOM says they didn't choose the sites in the eight diaspora countries. But are they observing for fairness? Watch this site.
