"Halayeb is Sudanese and will stay Sudanese" Bashir told crowds at the coastal town of Port Sudan marking the 21st anniversary of his military coup. The remark by the Sudanese president is a rare one as he avoided public mention of the disagreement with Egypt over the area but generally referred to it as a possible integration zone between the two countries. Sudan state media however, omitted any mention to this portion of Bashir’s speech. The Halayeb triangle that overlooks the Red Sea has been a source of tension between the two countries as early as 1958, shortly after Sudan gained independence from British-Egyptian rule. The border issue was laid to rest until the 1990’s when relations between the two countries worsened over accusations that Sudan is harboring Islamic militant groups seeking to overthrow the Egyptian regime. A failed attempt on the life of the Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak was blamed on Khartoum after which Cairo moved to assert full control over the area. Egypt rejects international arbitration to resolve the issue. Sudan has avoided registering voters inside Halayeb for the elections which took place last April despite earlier assertions that the region was included as a constituency. Relations between the neighboring countries appeared to have soured this month after the newly appointed foreign minister Ali Karti criticized Egypt saying its understanding of Sudan issues is minimal. Cairo asked Khartoum for clarifications regarding the statements attributed to Karti and secretly dispatched a delegation to defuse tension. Egypt and Sudan are jointly fighting a major battle with other Nile basin countries that want reallocation of water shares stipulated by colonial agreements in 1929.
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article35542
Sovereignty over the area has never been satisfactorily determined. Both Egypt and Sudan claim ownership over the land. In February 1958, President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt sent troops into the disputed region for the referendum of the proposed unification between Egypt and Syria, but withdrew them the same month.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hala'ib_triangle
ReplyDeletethe matter rested until 1992 when oil was discovered off-shore and the Sudanese granted exploration rights to a Canadian company... http://girlsoloinarabia.typepad.com/girl_solo_in_arabia/2009/10/the-halaib-triangle-and-the-pyramids-of-meroe.html
ReplyDeleteEgypt also has raised an old border dispute over the so-called "Halaib Triangle'' on Egypt's southeastern border with Sudan. In 1899 the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium Agreement for Sudan set the border between Egypt and Sudan at the 22nd degree of latitude. However, in 1902, for administrative convenience, Britain drew a separate "administrative boundary" under which a triangle of land north of the parallel was placed under Sudanese administration because it was more easily reached from Sudan. This was an "administrative," rather than a sovereign, boundary.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0293/9302033.htm
ياعادل صباحات بيض. طولت مامنك اخبار إنشاء الله يكون كل شىء على مايرام نحن جميعا بخير.انا بقترح حلايب تبقى منطقة حرة ويعيش فيها المصريين والسودانيين ويستفيدوا من مكانتها السياحية والتعدينية والفوائد تتوزع بين البلدين بالتساوى وبكده الكل يضمن انه حلايب ممكن حل مشكلتها لمصلحة الشعبين,
ReplyDeleteSaad Nasreldin Elsayed
Salaam Saad, Great that you are doing fine.. Yes, busy struggling in the downturn of Dubai, preparing to leave to somewhere not chosen yet.. and dropped all ideas of get back to Sudan..!! On Halaeeb; there are 3 levels to deal with. 1st, legal evidence of sovereignty, 2nd strategic utilization, then 3rd, necessary operations to align & upgrade.. None of these are realized by our folks; nor in process.. Egyptians preserve it for future resources, while working on the 3rd; steadily converting land and people.. Not Al-Basheer, or all Sudanese will change the facts on the ground by shouts or press releases.. Pitty..!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, join economic zones are proven great political and operational failure among countries.. unless fine maturity and corresponding frameworks are in place..i.e., EU, NAFTA, SAARC, etc.. Arabs, African failed to do it.. So, forget about Egypt & Sudan..!!
ReplyDeleteشكرا عادل على المرور الكريم، لم اخالك محتارا إلى اين الذهاب فهناك من الفرص المتاحة فى كثير من الدول النامية والمتقدمة فأهلاً بك اينما حللت. بالنسبة لحلايب إذا لم تجلس الدولتين فى محادثات مباشرة وتحت مسمى ايجاد حل للمنطقة فلن يكون هناك حلاً، ما اردت قوله بأن الحل الإقتصادى ربما يقود لحل شعبى يرضى ابناء المنطقة من مصريين وسودانيين وأنا اتفق معك بأن السلطة فى مصر تدخر حلايب كمصدر ثروة مستقبليه لما فيها من ثروات .
ReplyDeleteSaad Nasreldin Elsayed
Thanks Saad for the good-wishes.. I'm not confused where to go, I'm disappointed and pessimistic about the political future, and sequential urban, economical and cultural standards.. therefore, I'm forcibly sailing away.. However, shall never be that far to be unreachable or abandoning my roots and folks..! Apparently, my restless soul is younger to restrain.. yet, pasionate to ignore the chaos we have back home..
ReplyDelete