Kirr accuses Bashir of planning to overthrow him
By George Murumba
14th March 2011
Southern Sudan has suspended its independence talks with the north’s National Congress Party [NCP] of President Bashir, accusing Bashir of planning to overthrow the government of Southern Sudan [GOSS].
Pagan Amum, the Secretary General of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) of Southern Sudan confirmed the development on Sunday 13th March when he accused Bashir’s government of arming local proxy forces to overthrow Salva Kirr.
“…The country is in a crisis because the National Congress Party has been planning and working to destabilise Southern Sudan”, Amum said at a press conference in the Southern Sudan Juba. He added that the northern government wanted “…to overthrow the government of Southern Sudan before July and to install a puppet government”.
Amum also said he would be ready to furnish sufficient evidence to prove his allegations by Monday [today] and also called on the United Nations Security Council to investigate the allegations.
Rabie Abdelati, senior National Congress Party official however told Reuters on Saturday that accusations of a northern plot were “ridiculous”. The suspension of talks comes in the wake of an attack in the town of Malakal on Saturday by fighters opposed to the Southern government.
Southern Sudan voted overwhelmingly to secede from the north in a referendum in January this year although many hurdles still remain; key among them is the question of sharing oil revenue from the border region of Abyei. Southern Sudan is afraid that the North has no intention of surrendering its full access to the oil revenues; a fact which analysts say could trigger fresh civil war.
Other unresolved issues include the status of Southerners or Northerners living on either side of the border between the north and south of Sudan. END. Please log into www.ugandacorrespondent.com every Monday to read our top stories and anytime mid-week for our news updates.
