Bashir, Kiir Disagree Over Oil Talks

The ongoing talks between the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan headed by the two respective Presidents; Omar Al Bashir and Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa are bearing no fruits.

29 January 2012
Bashir, Kiir Disagree Over Oil Talks
(L-R) Presidents Salva Kiir and Omar Al Bashir meet for talks in Ethiopia [©AFP]

By Waakhe Simon Wudu
JUBA, 29th January 2012 [Gurtong] – The ongoing talks between the Republic of Sudan and South Sudan headed by the two respective Presidents; Omar Al Bashir and Salva Kiir in Addis Ababa are bearing no fruits, credible sources has confirmed.

The two heads of delegation yesterday met in the Ethiopian Capital, Addis Ababa to resume talks on the oil crisis between the two countries, prior to post-independence arrangements on negotiation by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel, (AUHIP)

President Kiir left Juba last Friday accompanied by the South Sudanese Chief negotiator on the talks, Pagan Amum with other senior government officials.

Mr. Bol Makueng, the SPLM Secretary for Information and Communication told Gurtong yesterday that, the Sudanese ruling party is demanding more oil from the Republic of South Sudan despite South Sudan’s demands for fair imposition of transit fee charges.

“The progress is that, NCP (National Congress Party) the Sudanese ruling party still wants more oil and we are saying no. This is a greedy request,” Bol said.

He said Khartoum still insists on its decision to charge South Sudan $36 US Dollars per barrel as transit fees for using its facilities.

According to unconfirmed reports, during the day-long negotiations yesterday chaired by the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in the company of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and former South African President Thabo Mbeki, South Sudan insisted on its early arrangements of wanting Khartoum to charge a fair international fee of $1 US Dollar per barrel.

Other media sources have quoted Meles Zenawi speaking yesterday to his peers after the meeting with the two presidents that, “it was agreed that the two parties; (SPLM and NCP) will continue their negotiations during the summit. We have not come to conclusion as yet."

On 20th January 2012, South Sudan took a unilateral decision of shutting down all oil pipelines in its territory used for exporting oil to Khartoum. The bold decision was widely supported by the legislature and the judiciary.

South Sudan accused Khartoum of stealing its oil of approximately $815 million US Dollars worth.

Posted in: Home, Business, Foreign Relations
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30/01/2012, 3:32 AM
 - Posted by HD Afadier
..I see no reason(s) to continue talking about oil. I mean the popular decision taken by the GoSS petroleum ministry hails by the South Sudanese as the most credible decision second only to the january 9, 2011 referendum by the SPLM government should be seen as final in regards to the oil talks. And any attempts to roll back such a decision would blackmail the leadership of Goss at the negotiations and the South Sudanese at large. Who despite the heavy reliance of the their Goverment on Oil revenues support the decision to shutdown the production. Such hardlines approach are indeed far over-due from the splm led Goss. it seems the SPLM has developed a tendency to be "defensive", showing that Khartoum is a head in devicing means to contain the South-a region the racism inspired regimes in Khartoum view as feeble and undefendable. It should have been the time for the free South to radically reject the pathetic ideological basis of the Khartoum.
A further weakeness exhibited by the GoSS is that, despite Khartoum greed for the South Sudanese resources and appetite for the blood of her citizens, Bashir continuous to walk on red carpets in Khartoum and in the region capitals while east, west,central and the far north of the Sudan continuous the demand of basic human rights,and the South Sudan lies in ruins. Credible caveat efforts must have been taken to install a friend in Khartoum before talking about sharing Sudanese EXTRACTIVE wealth with a regime that will use it to purchase military hardwares and wage further wars with the fractional owner. Any one in the region and abroad who thinks that the two Sudans can live in a friendler atmospher should consider one Sudan with out mr Bashir a a pre-requiste.

HD Afadier
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