Egypt Calls on Southern Sudan To Opt for Unity with Khartoum

Oct. 26 (EIRNS)—Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Nzaif called upon the people and Government of Southern Sudan (GOSS) to vote for unity with the Sudan central government in a 2011 referendum, according to an Egyptian cabinet spokesman yesterday. The announcement followed a three-day visit to Egypt by South Sudan President Salva Kiir. Kiir, who also heads the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, held talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Nzaif expressed his hope that Sudan will preserve its unity and territorial integrity. This Egyptian policy orientation towards its southern neighbor supports the sovereignty of Sudan, in stark contrast to that of the Western industrialized nations, up to this point. In the 2011 referendum, the South will choose to either remain as "one Sudan," or to secede.

In contrast, U.S. President Barack Obama declared Oct. 19 that he will "renew" the "tough" (counter-productive) sanctions against Sudan. Imposed first by President Clinton in 1997, they were greatly strengthened by George W. Bush. By making economic development of the nation much more difficult, U.S. sanctions are actually contributing to the separation of the South from the nation of Sudan.

Obama's announcement of his "new" policy Oct. 19, attempts to justify the now completely discredited charge of genocide against Sudan in Darfur, a region which now has the lowest mortality level in all of Sudan. The Obama Administration's new policy also implies that the Sudan government is holding up the implementation of the 2005 CPA agreement that ended the protracted civil war between North and South.

As diplomatic observers expected, the so-called new Sudan policy elaborated by the State Department on Oct. 19, represents no real change. These observers note that the policy most glaringly fails to define a positive approach that would assist Sudan in realizing its vast agricultural potential that could not only feed its people, but also help to alleviate the starvation now threatening 22 million people from other East African nations.

Odinga Joins ICC Attack on Kenya's Sovereignty

Oct. 21—Kenyan Prime Minister Oginga Odinga told the London Financial Times in an interview published today, that he would work with the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute those allegedly responsible for the post-election violence in 2007-08. According to the City of London mouthpiece, Odinga "pledged his full cooperation with the International Criminal Court as it investigates the role of several cabinet ministers suspected of orchestrating last year's post-election violence."

The post-election violence—in large part organized by Odinga's own Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which was in opposition—was used by the British, with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan as their intervenor, to force the creation of the prime ministership for Odinga, and bring several ODM chieftains into the cabinet.

Now Odinga, a notorious opportunist, is planning to betray his country's sovereignty to the ICC and the British, and turn against his ODM partners in the violent crimes of 2007-08.

The Financial Times notes that Kenya's power-sharing government (between the ODM and President Mwai Kibaki's Party of National Unity) could break apart if cabinet ministers are prosecuted by the ICC. It chooses not to mention that such prosecutions would also lead to a renewal of the 2007-08 ethnic violence, for which Kenyan groups are now arming, according to reports.

Odinga hopes to run for President in 2012.