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{
    "id": 89183,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/89183/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 356,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Foreign Affairs",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": " Mr. Speaker, Sir, yes, we also signed the treaty of the Constitutive Act of the AU, which is very critical to the survival of this country. Mrs. Shebesh asked whether the decisions were unanimous or not. The decisions of the AU were made without any dissention. So, they are taken to be unanimous and I always thank her and her colleagues from this Parliament who always join us. You have seen that and you know what the AU has said about this issue. Mr. C. Kilonzo has asked me a very weighty issue about Patrice Lumumba and all our brothers who died a long time ago, and other issues like the war in Iraq and so on. We all have varied judgments on these issues. I am sure that what prompted Mr. C. Kilonzo is on the minds of many others. We live in an un-equal world. We live in a world that is devoid of justice! I want to assure the hon. Member that our national interests must, at all times, be cardinal and paramount. Anything else must be subordinate to our national interests. That is why certain countries, in pursuit of their national and strategic interests, have even kidnapped heads of states of other countries and jailed them in their countries. On the issue raised by Mr. Kioni, I would like to respond as follows: When President Bashir was being sworn in after elections that were described by Retired President Carter as: “Despite the imperfections, they were elections, nonetheless. They were a way forward for the Sudan.” President Kibaki sent his Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs who represented us at the ceremony. Equally, when President Salva Kiir was sworn in, the same Vice-President and Minister for Home Affairs was sent by the President to represent us. Many countries, including organizations as important as the UN, were heavily represented. In fact, the Secretary-General of the UN has one of his deputies permanently stationed in Sudan, Khartoum, to oversee the issues of Sudan. Finally, the benefits from the visit of President Bashir can be, again, reflected in what I said. I received a note from the Embassy of Sudan that listed four things: That the parties agreed, following President Bashir’s return to Sudan and meeting his two Vice- Presidents, to hold the Southern Sudan Referendum on the dates stipulated in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) on 9th January, 2011 to adopt a number of measures to remove all the impediments facing the Referendum Commission. The referendum Commission had repeatedly raised alarm bells that they were not ready to hold the referendum and so on. The principals have told them the referendum must be on the date set. Mr. Speaker, Sir, they also formed a joint political committee for the speedy demarcation of the north-south boundary before the referendum. we also know that within the Comprehensive peace Agreement (CPA) negotiated by our Vice-President, who was then the Minister for Foreign Affairs, has a window for what they call “popular consultations after the referendum” to deal with all outstanding issues that may not have been dealt with, so that there is no pretext of outstanding issues to delay the referendum that everybody is looking forward to. Fourth, the meeting called upon the regional partners and the international community to live up to their commitment and pledges to support the implementation of the remaining provisions of the CPA. They also thanked President Kibaki for meeting President Bashir to unlock this impasse and get things moving. We cannot do better than that."
}