Leave Sudan alone, Eritrea urged
2002-11-11 08:23
Cairo - Arab foreign ministers on Sunday appealed to Eritrea not to interfere in the internal affairs of Sudan and expressed concern over US policy toward Khartoum.
The council of the Arab League "asks that Eritrea respect the sovereignty and security of Sudanese territory and regional security", the ministers of the 22 member states said in a statement issued at the end of a session devoted mostly to the Iraq crisis.
They also called on Asmara "not to interfere in the internal affairs" of Sudan.
Tensions have been heightened between Sudan and Eritrea since Khartoum accused Asmara of being behind an offensive in early October by rebels in the east of the country - charges Asmara denied.
Eritrea is a member of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, which is sponsoring peace negotiations between Khartoum and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army.
The Arab foreign ministers also noted their "concern" over a law signed by US President George W Bush last month that calls for sanctions on Khartoum if the US finds the government is not negotiating in good faith with southern rebels to end the 19-year civil war.
They said the Sudan Peace Act constitutes an obstacle to peace efforts, and called on the US to "take a balanced position, to look again at this law."
The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, representing the mainly animist and Christian south, has been gripped in a war against successive Islamic and Arab governments in Khartoum since 1983.
But under a groundbreaking agreement reached at peace talks in Kenya on July 20, southern Sudan will be granted a six-year period of administrative autonomy and not be subject to the Islamic law applied in the Arab north. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA