Ankara is closely following the referendum in Sudan that began over the weekend. Foreign Ministry officials say Turkey favors the continuation of Sudan's territorial integrity and political unity, while expressing the hope that the vote results will serve peace and stability in the country
 An elderly Southern Sudanese woman casts her vote at a polling center in the city of Um Durman, Sudan, on Monday. AP photo |
With an ongoing referendum likely to split Sudan along its Arab-African fault line, Turkey has said it favors a unified country, though diplomats will try to maintain good relations with both sides.
“We are pursuing two principles in regards to our relations with Sudan. First, we want the continuity of Sudan’s territorial integrity and unity. Our desire is in this direction,” a Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday.
“Secondly, we want the referendum result to serve peace and stability in the country regardless of the outcome,” the official said, while noting that it is too early to comment on the independence vote since the results have not been finalized.
Turkey would pursue good relations with Southern Sudan if it splits off from the north, another Turkish diplomat who wished to remain anonymous told the Daily News. Ankara says the oil extracted in the south and carried through the north via pipelines should not become a source of friction between the two sides, but rather a shared resource that links them. Seventy percent of Sudan’s oil is in the south.
The referendum that began Sunday is required by a 2005 peace agreement that ended the 21-year civil war between Sudan’s predominantly Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the largely Christian-animist south. The vote was still continuing for a third day Tuesday, with news agencies reporting clashes and attacks in several regions.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke on the phone with his Sudanese counterpart, Ali Ahmed Karti, on the eve of the referendum. Diplomatic sources said he conveyed the importance Turkey places on Sudan’s territorial integrity, but added that Ankara will respect whatever decision comes out of the vote.
“We will respect the vote result, but would we be happy if the majority votes for independence? The country would be divided, but that would be the will of the people in the end,” said one diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity and indicated that Ankara would not be in favor of such a result.
Turkey dispatched diplomat Ahmet Ergin to the referendum in the south as an observer, diplomatic sources said. Ergin was appointed as Turkey’s chief consul to Juba in Southern Sudan as part of the government’s plans to create stronger ties with Africa.
Turkey currently maintains an embassy in Khartoum in the north and a consulate in the south. Following a meeting in October with Davutoğlu in Ankara, Karti said his government would not object if Turkey turned its consulate into an embassy following the referendum. Questioned on the issue by reporters accompanying him to an ambassadors’ conference in Erzurum on Saturday, Davutoğlu expressed his hope that the Turkish Embassy in Khartoum would not have to be divided.
Under the country’s regulations, the vote needs a 60 percent turnout to be valid. More than 50 percent of voters must choose independence for the south to secede – seen as the most likely outcome.
Final results are due out before Feb. 15 with preliminary figures expected up to two weeks earlier. Around 4 million people signed up to vote in the south and in diaspora communities of southerners in the north and abroad.
“We are pursuing two principles in regards to our relations with Sudan. First, we want the continuity of Sudan’s territorial integrity and unity. Our desire is in this direction,” a Foreign Ministry official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Tuesday.
“Secondly, we want the referendum result to serve peace and stability in the country regardless of the outcome,” the official said, while noting that it is too early to comment on the independence vote since the results have not been finalized.
Turkey would pursue good relations with Southern Sudan if it splits off from the north, another Turkish diplomat who wished to remain anonymous told the Daily News. Ankara says the oil extracted in the south and carried through the north via pipelines should not become a source of friction between the two sides, but rather a shared resource that links them. Seventy percent of Sudan’s oil is in the south.
The referendum that began Sunday is required by a 2005 peace agreement that ended the 21-year civil war between Sudan’s predominantly Arab and Muslim north and rebels in the largely Christian-animist south. The vote was still continuing for a third day Tuesday, with news agencies reporting clashes and attacks in several regions.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu spoke on the phone with his Sudanese counterpart, Ali Ahmed Karti, on the eve of the referendum. Diplomatic sources said he conveyed the importance Turkey places on Sudan’s territorial integrity, but added that Ankara will respect whatever decision comes out of the vote.
“We will respect the vote result, but would we be happy if the majority votes for independence? The country would be divided, but that would be the will of the people in the end,” said one diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity and indicated that Ankara would not be in favor of such a result.
Turkey dispatched diplomat Ahmet Ergin to the referendum in the south as an observer, diplomatic sources said. Ergin was appointed as Turkey’s chief consul to Juba in Southern Sudan as part of the government’s plans to create stronger ties with Africa.
Turkey currently maintains an embassy in Khartoum in the north and a consulate in the south. Following a meeting in October with Davutoğlu in Ankara, Karti said his government would not object if Turkey turned its consulate into an embassy following the referendum. Questioned on the issue by reporters accompanying him to an ambassadors’ conference in Erzurum on Saturday, Davutoğlu expressed his hope that the Turkish Embassy in Khartoum would not have to be divided.
Secession issues
If the majority votes for secession, Sudan will have to deal with a number of issues, ranging from confirming citizenship (1.5 million Southern Sudanese live in the north) and establishing a border to negotiating the distribution of natural resources and sharing the current debt of the country. Several commissions are already working on these issues, Karti said in October.Under the country’s regulations, the vote needs a 60 percent turnout to be valid. More than 50 percent of voters must choose independence for the south to secede – seen as the most likely outcome.
Final results are due out before Feb. 15 with preliminary figures expected up to two weeks earlier. Around 4 million people signed up to vote in the south and in diaspora communities of southerners in the north and abroad.
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