To be or not to be!

To be or not to be! This can be an apt heading for today’s summit between the presidents of Sudan and South Sudan where hopes for a breakthrough in the ongoing negotiations between the two countries, being held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, are running high ahead of the summit which is taking place on the same day. The extended deadline set by the UN Security Council (UNSC) through Resolution 2046 for the conclusion of the negotiation expires on 22 September. Resolution 2046 threatened non-military sanctions on both sides should they fail to reach a deal on the borders issues as well as oil production, security and the contested Abyei area.

It is unlikely that such deadline will be extended again as that will tarnish the credibility of the AU and the UN.

What makes one optimist is that the two Presidents are coming to the summit after they have experienced the economic, political and social costs of bad relations between the two countries, and that the remaining issues that may require the final decisions of the two Presidents can be resolved if there is a political will.

However, it would be suicidal if the two Presidents failed at today’s summit to reach feasible solutions for all the pending issues. Hence, it is a matter of “to be or not to be”, to reach final solutions for all the pending issues or get sanctioned!

Out of context:

I would like to inform the readers of “Spotlight” that I will be traveling to Jordan during the period 23-28 September to participate in the Arab Forum for Democracy. The column will therefore be suspended until my return next week, hoping that I will be back with new concepts and experience in the field of journalism and democracy!