Kenya moves to defuse diplomatic row with Sudan
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Xinhua, December 1, 2011
Kenya has kicked off a flurry of diplomatic activity aimed at easing tensions with Sudan sparked by a Nairobi court ruling ordering the arrest of Sudan's president.
The east African nation, which hosted protracted negotiations that culminated in the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, also plans to appeal the ruling which was delivered on Monday, triggering a diplomatic row between the two nations, with Sudan expelling the Kenyan ambassador and recalling its own envoy.
A senior Kenyan foreign ministry official told Xinhua that Foreign Minister Moses Wetang'ula was due in Khartoum on Thursday for a meeting with President Omar Al-Bashir whose country had indicated that it was open to a diplomatic resolution.
The official said President Mwai Kibaki, who currently chairs the IGAD sub-committee on the Sudan peace process, sent Wetang'ula to Khartoum to iron out the diplomatic rifts between the two countries.
"The minister was due to leave Bujumbura, Burundi for Khartoum later today where he is scheduled to meet President Al-Bashir to discuss the current diplomatic standoff," the official, who did not want to be named, told Xinhua by telephone.
A Kenyan judge on Monday ruled that President Al-Bashir be arrested if he sets foot in the country again, after the government failed to execute an International Criminal Court warrant when he visited Nairobi last year.
Wetang'ula, who was attending the East Africa Community (EAC) summit in Burundi on Wednesday, confirmed the latest developments, saying he was eager to resolve the current diplomatic tension with Khartoum.
"Sudan is an important component for security in the Horn of Africa. Any acts, judicial or otherwise, that undermine the stability of this architecture is a threat to regional security and peace," Wetang'ula reportedly said in Bujumbura.
"To do so we need the participation of all parties and Sudan led by Al Bashir is an important partner in this," he said.
The foreign minister said the government was not only going to appeal but also to ensure normal diplomatic ties between the two countries.
Wetang'ula also announced that President Kibaki would convene an IGAD meeting on the peace accord to address the outstanding issues of Abyei, Southern Kordofan, and Blue Nile, the demarcation of north and South Sudan boundaries, and wealth sharing issues.
"I take exceptional concern with the blatant display by our courts on a rather very sensitive matter. It was wrong for the courts to have made the ruling when a meeting to discuss the admission of Sudan to the EAC is going on," Wetang' ula said.
Al-Bashir visited Kenya last year for the signing ceremonies for the nation's new constitution.
After he left the country a free man, the Kenyan chapter of the International Commission of Jurists, an association of legal professionals that promotes human rights, went to court seeking a warrant for his arrest on future visits.
At the time, Kenyan officials said their first obligation was to the African Union, not the ICC. The pan African body opposes the ICC warrants, saying his arrest could destabilize Sudan.
Al-Bashir is the subject of two arrest warrants issued by the ICC for alleged atrocities committed in Darfur, western Sudan. The first was issued in March 2009 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The second was issued in July 2010 on charges of genocide.
The Hague-based ICC has issued arrest warrants for Al-Bashir on alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, he has denied the charges and accused Western nations of "neo-colonialism."
The Sudanese leader is wanted by the ICC on allegations of war crimes and genocide in western Sudan's Darfur region.
But Wetang'ula expressed optimism that the east African nation, which has some prominent leaders appearing at The Hague as suspects in the country's 2008 post-election violence, would weather the current tensions.
"Even though Kenya is yet to officially write to Sudan to register displeasure with the decision of expulsion of Kenya's envoy, I have been in constant touch with my Sudanese counterpart, which to me is the more important thing to do at this stage in time." he said. "I have no doubt that both countries are keen on resolving the matter before hand."
Regional countries which are members of the IGAD had earlier condemned the ruling. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the regional bloc said it supported the African Union's position on the ICC warrants against the Sudanese leader.
"In order for peace, stability and economic development to prevail in the volatile Horn of Africa region, it's imperative that member countries of IGAD spearhead the AU agenda on this matter. The warrant issued by the Kenyan High Court curtails this, and puts the fragile peace processes undertaken by IGAD at great risk," the statement said.
"We respect the courts of member states. However, IGAD's position is that courts cannot work in a vacuum and a decision has to be rendered considering the law and balancing it with the wider IGAD regional interests. We are currently looking at the judgment and are aware that there is a right of appeal that is guaranteed, and this decision may or may not stand."
Kenya and Sudan maintain trade ties under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Free Trade Area. Kenya has also signed a trade treaty with Sudan.
Kenya had been an advocate of Sudan's entry to the EAC, without prejudice to its relations with South Sudan because Nairobi stands to gain from the development of a considerable market within the EAC.
However, Khartoum's membership was rejected during the just-concluded EAC Summit on grounds of its geographical proximity.
The vibrant trade potential that Sudan offers if included into the regional trading body should be an overriding goal behind the debate on whether Sudan has anything to bring to the diplomatic and trade stable.
Analysts say Kenya managed to ensure stable ties between the South and the North Sudan when it brokered the Sudanese peace agreements, and it should continue to play that role in the medium-term for the sake of regional peace and prosperity.
