Kiir says Libya vows to support South Sudan choice of independence
WASHINGTON — The First Vice president of Sudan and the president of semi-autonomous South, Salva Kiir, disclosed yesterday that the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi promised him to support South Sudan should vote for secession in the 2011 referendum, according to Reuters.
The extraordinary remarks by Gaddafi are the first of their kind by an Arab or African head of state. They are likely to spark concern in Sudan and among some of its neighbors particularly Egypt which fear the impact of independence on its share of the Nile water.
Kiir told audience at the St. Theresa’s Roman Catholic Cathedral in Juba that during his visit to Libya last week, Gaddafi informed him that if Southerners vote for independence “they shouldn’t be frightened of anybody” saying that he “will stand with them”.
Furthermore, he quoted Gaddafi as saying that the British colonial power made a mistake when they allowed South Sudan to be part of the North when the country gained its independence in January 1956.
“[Gaddafi said] they should have been separated either to become an independent state or join any country in east Africa,” Kiir was heard saying on the recording obtained by Reuters.
The London based Al-Sharq Al-Awsat contacted Libyan foreign ministry officials who declined to comment on the report.
However, other unnamed Libyan sources told the newspaper that Gaddafi’s remarks were probably “exposed to misunderstanding”.
The sources speaking from Sirte where the African Union (AU) summit will be held this week said that the official Libyan position is to support the unity of Sudan and strengthening its sovereignty.
“It Is not known that Gaddafi has ever been a supporter of separation of South Sudan or dividing the country between Northerners and Southerners. On the contrary he is a proponent of unity and against division” the sources said.
Libya along with Ethiopia and People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen were the earliest supporters of the Southern rebellion that broke out in 1983 led by late John Garang who formed Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The support afforded by Gaddafi at the time was motivated by his tense relations with Sudanese president Ga’afar Nimeiry. It is widely believed that Libyan planes were behind an air raid on the Sudanese twin capital city of Omdurman in 1984.