When politicians interfere in diplomacy!

 Sudanese demonstrators broke into the US embassy in Khartoum on Friday.

 In the news, the United States has evacuated its non-essential national staff from Sudan and Tunisia and warned its citizens against traveling to the two countries, in light of deteriorating security conditions following attacks on US embassies in Sudan and Tunisia last week to protest a release of  film clips, produced by a US-based filmmaker, which negatively portrayed Prophet Mohammed (PBUH). Meanwhile the Canadian foreign ministry has also closed its embassies in Libya, Tunisia and Sudan, saying that they will remain closed until the safety of staff is guaranteed.

The decision by the US Administration to evacuate its non-essential staff came as a reaction to the rejection by the Sudanese government to allow US special forces, “Marines”, into the country, saying that it was fully capable of safeguarding all diplomatic missions on its land.

So far, we can consider these as normal diplomatic actions and reactions, if we exclude the fact that the fault from the beginning was from the Sudanese authorities and that Friday’s violent incidents should have been controlled and dealt with in a proper manner.

However, that is not the issue. The issue is that when other governmental bodies or officials from the ruling party intervene in the work of the foreign ministry by issuing negative statements that could affect on the diplomatic relations, where the news also quoted NCP member of the Political Bureau, Rabie Abdelati, as describing the American embassy in Khartoum as “idle”, pointing out that the embassy does hardly any diplomatic work and is run by a Charge d’Affairs in a building without any real purpose!

My above claims are supported by evidences and statements by the foreign minister, Ali Karty, who criticized governmental bodies and accused some officials, before parliament, of interfering in his ministry’s work.

I think, as diplomats understand the Geneva Convention to prohibit  interference in internal affairs and bar diplomats from engaging in the country's internal affairs, politicians should also understand that they should not talk on behalf of the foreign ministry because it is simply not their job!