While repeatedly and belligerently calling upon the Jewish state to cede Judea, Samaria and Gaza to the Arab PLO, the Egyptian press maintains that no territorial compromise should be considered when it comes to a neighboring Moslem state. The agreement recently reached between the Moslem Sudanese government and the southern Sudanese rebels, most of whom are Christians or animists, is fraught with dangers of territorial dismemberment, according to the Egyptian press. Such a two-state solution, the Egyptians warn, would be a bad thing for all of Africa, and a national security risk for Egypt. As the important Egyptian newspaper, al-Ahram Weekly, put it: ?Allowing the creation of a separate state in the south, along religious and tribal lines, represents a dangerous precedent for several other African countries made up of a mosaic of tribes and religions.?
According to an editorial in The Egyptian Gazette, ?The US-backed Machakos Protocol [the agreement between Sudan and the southern rebels] has triggered concerns in the region because the possibility has arisen for the emergence of an independent state in southern Sudan.? The concerns arise because the pact grants ?Southerners a six-year autonomous rule, after which they can opt for independence through a referendum? an invitation for a regional partitioning spree.? The Egyptian newspaper al-Wafd expressed the concern succinctly: ?Without a national unity, Sudan is likely to be divided into several fractional entities in the north south, east, west and central areas. It is high time Egypt adopted a firm stance on the events taking place in the southern part of the Nile valley.?
This possible two-state solution is of particular concern to the Arabs, the Gazette declares, because they are ?now facing the threat of splitting Iraq?? Therefore, Arabs ?must not dither to do their utmost to convince the South Sudanese that they stand to gain from remaining part of the motherland?. Unless the Arabs move swiftly and wholeheartedly to banish the likelihood of Sudan's dismemberment, new realities will be established, which will bode ill for the future of this already fragile region.? Not only the Arabs in general, but Egypt in particular, see the Sudanese territorial integrity as important for regional stability. ?Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher has stressed that Egypt is a main party in the Sudan?s question, not only an observer? no one dares to marginalize Egypt?s role in this respect,? reports the Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper. ?Egypt?s stance as regards Sudan, in fact, emanates from its keenness on maintaining Sudan?s stability and its territorial integrity,? the newspaper maintains. However, the real reason for Egyptian opposition to a Sudanese two-state solution was revealed by the al-Ahram Weekly, ?the possibility of secession for the south poses a serious challenge for Egypt, which has always viewed maintaining Sudan's territorial integrity as a cornerstone of its own national security.?
Of course, al-Ahram states, Egypt recognizes that ?[t]he recent history of referendums on self- determination suggest that voters, angered by past injustices at the hands of the dominant power, usually opt for separation.? The Christians and Animists in Sudan, therefore, will most likely do so as well. Therefore, ?the challenge facing Egypt and other countries concerned with the situation in Sudan is to try to offer a different model.?
According to an editorial in The Egyptian Gazette, ?The US-backed Machakos Protocol [the agreement between Sudan and the southern rebels] has triggered concerns in the region because the possibility has arisen for the emergence of an independent state in southern Sudan.? The concerns arise because the pact grants ?Southerners a six-year autonomous rule, after which they can opt for independence through a referendum? an invitation for a regional partitioning spree.? The Egyptian newspaper al-Wafd expressed the concern succinctly: ?Without a national unity, Sudan is likely to be divided into several fractional entities in the north south, east, west and central areas. It is high time Egypt adopted a firm stance on the events taking place in the southern part of the Nile valley.?
This possible two-state solution is of particular concern to the Arabs, the Gazette declares, because they are ?now facing the threat of splitting Iraq?? Therefore, Arabs ?must not dither to do their utmost to convince the South Sudanese that they stand to gain from remaining part of the motherland?. Unless the Arabs move swiftly and wholeheartedly to banish the likelihood of Sudan's dismemberment, new realities will be established, which will bode ill for the future of this already fragile region.? Not only the Arabs in general, but Egypt in particular, see the Sudanese territorial integrity as important for regional stability. ?Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher has stressed that Egypt is a main party in the Sudan?s question, not only an observer? no one dares to marginalize Egypt?s role in this respect,? reports the Akhbar Al-Yom newspaper. ?Egypt?s stance as regards Sudan, in fact, emanates from its keenness on maintaining Sudan?s stability and its territorial integrity,? the newspaper maintains. However, the real reason for Egyptian opposition to a Sudanese two-state solution was revealed by the al-Ahram Weekly, ?the possibility of secession for the south poses a serious challenge for Egypt, which has always viewed maintaining Sudan's territorial integrity as a cornerstone of its own national security.?
Of course, al-Ahram states, Egypt recognizes that ?[t]he recent history of referendums on self- determination suggest that voters, angered by past injustices at the hands of the dominant power, usually opt for separation.? The Christians and Animists in Sudan, therefore, will most likely do so as well. Therefore, ?the challenge facing Egypt and other countries concerned with the situation in Sudan is to try to offer a different model.?