EXCLUSIVE: Egypt requested delay for Sudan
referendum, according to new WikiLeaks cable
03 December, 2010 | By Lina Attalah
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Egyptian officials have been pressuring the United States to delay a
referendum on South Sudanese independence, a newly-leaked US
Embassy cable has revealed.
“The result would be the creation of a non-viable state that could
threaten Egypt's access to the Nile waters,” says an Egyptian foreign
ministry official quoted in the cable.
The official suggested that the 2011 referendum be postponed for four
to six years until the "capacity for statehood in South Sudan can be
developed.”
The issue of South Sudanese secession has been a contentious one for
Egyptian officials as Sudan remains a key Egyptian ally in on-going
disputes with Nile Basin countries over water shares. A divided
Sudan, Egypt fears, can compromise Egyptian water security interests
and further tilt the balance of power in favor of upstream countries
who want increased control over the Nile waters.
Ethiopia, which is at the helm of efforts to renogotiate water shares,
has recently accused Egypt of supporting domestic Ethiopian
insurgents to leverage control over the Nile dispute, a charge that
Egypt has flatly denied. Ethiopia is the source of 85 percent of the
Nile's river water, though Egypt receives a lion’s share of the water
according to a 1929 agreement signed with the British government.
Upstream states have criticized the agreement as a relic of
colonialism.
Contrary to what Egyptian officials stated according to the cable,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said in August 2010
that Sudan's referendum should be held in January 2011 as scheduled.
His remarks came after a meeting with the Sudanese State Minister
for Foreign Affairs, Kamal Hassan Ali.
According to the leaked cable, the Egyptian government also asked
the US government to convince Sudanese leaders of the dangers of
separation and to encourage them to advocate for unity.
More recent statements last month show some divergences between
US and Egyptian visions for Sudan. State Department spokesperson
Philip Crowley said in November that the United States had rejected
a suggestion by Egypt for a "confederation" between North and South
Sudan. Crowley asserted it was up to the people of South Sudan to
determine their own fate.
On general Egyptian-African affairs, the cable goes on to say:
“The GoE [Government of Egypt] views the Horn of Africa as vital to
its national security interests. Instability in the region might result in an
increase in the flow of African refugees into Egypt, threaten Egypt's
access to Nile waters, and affect Egyptian Suez Canal revenues and
security in the Red Sea.”
The cable includes lengthy discussions about Egypt’s role in
attempting to stabilize Somalia. It confirms Egypt’s support for Somali
President Shaykh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, head of the Transnational
Federal Government (TFG), but notes that Egypt remains “skeptical
the TFG can militarily defeat Hizb al-Islam or al-Shibaab,” two
Islamist insurgent groups operating in the southern part of the country,
the latter one being affiliated with al-Qaeda.
The TFG remains the internationally recognized federal government of
Somalia. It was ousted in a 2006 military coup led by the Islamic
Courts Union (ICU), which then imposed Shari’a law. Shortly
afterwards, Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers,
backed by US air support, restored power to the TFG, causing the
ICU to split into smaller groups, including al-Shibaab, which have
conducted insurgency campaigns against the government since then.
In the cable, Egyptian officials underscore their own efforts to train
Sharif’s presidential guards and their willingness to train the Somali
police and armed forces. They also recommend working with the US
to encourage Islamist leader and former Ahmed ally Shaykh Dahir
Aweys--who later became affiliated with the Hizb al-Islam
insurgency--to join the TFG and have his name removed from
international terrorist lists.
For Egypt, instability in Somalia represents a threat to the Red Sea
area, where maritime shipping though the Suez Canal constitutes an
important source of state revenue.
In the cable, Egyptian officials are also expected to propose more
cooperation with USAID in the Horn of Africa to promote Egypt’s
regional interests.
“The GoE [Government of Egypt] will likely encourage the USG
[United States Government] to take the "public" lead on some issues,
reflecting Egypt's aversion to risk and fear of the consequences if
these initiatives fail,” says a US Embassy official.
Courtesy
referendum, according to new WikiLeaks cable
03 December, 2010 | By Lina Attalah
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Egyptian officials have been pressuring the United States to delay a
referendum on South Sudanese independence, a newly-leaked US
Embassy cable has revealed.
- In the October 2009
cable, obtained today
by Al-Masry Al Youm
and not yet released by
WikiLeaks, Egypt
draws the United
States’ attention to the
“fatal implications”
should South Sudan
choose to secede in a
referendum next
January.
“The result would be the creation of a non-viable state that could
threaten Egypt's access to the Nile waters,” says an Egyptian foreign
ministry official quoted in the cable.
The official suggested that the 2011 referendum be postponed for four
to six years until the "capacity for statehood in South Sudan can be
developed.”
The issue of South Sudanese secession has been a contentious one for
Egyptian officials as Sudan remains a key Egyptian ally in on-going
disputes with Nile Basin countries over water shares. A divided
Sudan, Egypt fears, can compromise Egyptian water security interests
and further tilt the balance of power in favor of upstream countries
who want increased control over the Nile waters.
Ethiopia, which is at the helm of efforts to renogotiate water shares,
has recently accused Egypt of supporting domestic Ethiopian
insurgents to leverage control over the Nile dispute, a charge that
Egypt has flatly denied. Ethiopia is the source of 85 percent of the
Nile's river water, though Egypt receives a lion’s share of the water
according to a 1929 agreement signed with the British government.
Upstream states have criticized the agreement as a relic of
colonialism.
Contrary to what Egyptian officials stated according to the cable,
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit said in August 2010
that Sudan's referendum should be held in January 2011 as scheduled.
His remarks came after a meeting with the Sudanese State Minister
for Foreign Affairs, Kamal Hassan Ali.
According to the leaked cable, the Egyptian government also asked
the US government to convince Sudanese leaders of the dangers of
separation and to encourage them to advocate for unity.
More recent statements last month show some divergences between
US and Egyptian visions for Sudan. State Department spokesperson
Philip Crowley said in November that the United States had rejected
a suggestion by Egypt for a "confederation" between North and South
Sudan. Crowley asserted it was up to the people of South Sudan to
determine their own fate.
On general Egyptian-African affairs, the cable goes on to say:
“The GoE [Government of Egypt] views the Horn of Africa as vital to
its national security interests. Instability in the region might result in an
increase in the flow of African refugees into Egypt, threaten Egypt's
access to Nile waters, and affect Egyptian Suez Canal revenues and
security in the Red Sea.”
The cable includes lengthy discussions about Egypt’s role in
attempting to stabilize Somalia. It confirms Egypt’s support for Somali
President Shaykh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, head of the Transnational
Federal Government (TFG), but notes that Egypt remains “skeptical
the TFG can militarily defeat Hizb al-Islam or al-Shibaab,” two
Islamist insurgent groups operating in the southern part of the country,
the latter one being affiliated with al-Qaeda.
The TFG remains the internationally recognized federal government of
Somalia. It was ousted in a 2006 military coup led by the Islamic
Courts Union (ICU), which then imposed Shari’a law. Shortly
afterwards, Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers,
backed by US air support, restored power to the TFG, causing the
ICU to split into smaller groups, including al-Shibaab, which have
conducted insurgency campaigns against the government since then.
In the cable, Egyptian officials underscore their own efforts to train
Sharif’s presidential guards and their willingness to train the Somali
police and armed forces. They also recommend working with the US
to encourage Islamist leader and former Ahmed ally Shaykh Dahir
Aweys--who later became affiliated with the Hizb al-Islam
insurgency--to join the TFG and have his name removed from
international terrorist lists.
For Egypt, instability in Somalia represents a threat to the Red Sea
area, where maritime shipping though the Suez Canal constitutes an
important source of state revenue.
In the cable, Egyptian officials are also expected to propose more
cooperation with USAID in the Horn of Africa to promote Egypt’s
regional interests.
“The GoE [Government of Egypt] will likely encourage the USG
[United States Government] to take the "public" lead on some issues,
reflecting Egypt's aversion to risk and fear of the consequences if
these initiatives fail,” says a US Embassy official.
Courtesy
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