In the European Parliament in Brussels, the Committee of Foreign Affairs (AFET) exchange views with Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan, regarding the situation in Sudan following recent democratic elections and in the perspective of the forthcoming referendum in January.

Committee on Foreign Affairs

Brussels

exchange of views

meeting

GOMES, Ana (S&D, PT)

EU - Sudan (T)

DE KEYSER, Véronique (S&D, BE)

BRYLLE, Torben (DK)

Situation in Sudan: extracts from the exchange of views with Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan

SOUNDBITE (English), Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan, The finalisation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement includes the referendum to be held in January next year. It is included in the Peace Agreement, entered into by the two parties themselves and guaranteed by the international community.

SOUNDBITE (English), Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan, There are limits as well in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement that remains to be implemented. A crucial one is the demarcation of the border between the northern and the southern Sudan, it is evident that it is an important element considering that the southerners are supposed to vote in their capacity of southerners. There also outstanding issues related to one of the so-called three transitional areas.

SOUNDBITE (English), Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan, Important is of course that the referendum takes place in a way whereby the outcome can be regarded as credible. It requires a very thorough preparation, it requires that the parties themselves understand the need to create transparency, to create space for the people to discuss issues and I am sure that there will be a number of conclusions and experiences and assessments from the election observation missions, including our own, which can be brought to bear in an appropriate manner in terms of preparation of the referendum.

SOUNDBITE (English), Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan, The situation in Darfur remains a matter of concern. The security situation has deteriorated over the last six months; as a matter of fact we have seen attacks on peacekeepers, the joint UN-EU peacekeeping force unit.

SOUNDBITE (English), Torben BRYLLE, EU Special Representative for Sudan, The solutions for the conflict in Darfur cannot be achieved through military means, there must be a political solution, there are efforts being done in Doha by a joint mediator of the EU and the UN supported by the Qatari government, there are efforts also to mobilise civil societies.

SOUNDBITE (French), V&#233;ronique DE KEYSER (S&amp;D, BE), The CPE will have to draw all the lessons that we need to from recent events and from the violence taken place, because if we the outcome of the January's referendum is questionable, then there would be serious problem, so it would be difficult to disarm and to control of the troops and militias. Nevertheless, I think that a supporting force will be necessary from the international community and the UN in order to manage to run the referendum in a peaceful environment.

SOUNDBITE (French), V&#233;ronique DE KEYSER (S&amp;D, BE), We are referees but we cannot actually say anything about the game or the decisions that have been made until the end. You are a referee with your hands tight who cannot say anything or do anything until the final whistle is blown. The stakes are so important here that even a small amount of defects can lead to a huge amount of violence, therefore the observers have got to agree after what sort of intervention there can be, we need to be discreet and not too overt and there will need to be an acceptable way of trying to correct the procedure before it went really wrong.

SOUNDBITE (English), Ana GOMES (S&amp;D, PT), I think that we have a real risk of either ending up with another dictatorship or another failed state and we do not want any of these. This requires a lot of engagement on the part of the EU and not just in electoral preparation but also in the north. What the elections have proven is that we cannot neglect democratic transformation of Sudan. I think the people of Sudan, namely in the north, clearly gave us this message that they are keen on this transformation.