YouSaid · the spoken record

Erwa

lines on the record

266

first

1996-08-16

most recent

2005-03-31

sittings or episodes

29

sources

un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

1. “Why were the Ambassadors of the permanent members of the Security Council not able to meet them? Why did the court proceedings stop? It is ridiculous. It is astounding that some parties would depend on information provided in a press conference with those suspects, who are protected by law. However, they could not be brought to a court where they could say what they wanted to say. Security Council resolutions 1044 (1996) and 1054 (1996) call on Sudan to desist from supporting terrorism and terrorists and from providing them with shelter. Thus was a grave accusation levelled against Sudan and used as a pretext to punish it, despite the fact that no one has given any firm evidence of actual occurrences. However, Sudan took the matter seriously and with great interest and it discussed the pretext that prompted this accusation.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

2. “Nor is it acceptable to use the pretext of protecting classified and delicate sources, because these sources are usually made available precisely at the critical moment when they are needed, and not afterwards. I really do not believe that punishing and depriving people should be so easy or that protecting sources and witnesses should be more important than human lives. I do not wish to take up much of your time. However, the entire people of Sudan is being subjected to sanctions, and the embargo is a result of unfounded accusations from secret sources that cannot be revealed. Here I would like to raise some questions. Why were those suspects brought to justice in secrecy? Why were Egyptian lawyers not permitted to see them? Why was Mr. Garekhan not able to meet them?”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

3. “The rationale for holding Sudan responsible for the presence of those people on its territory during a certain time period because they used Sudan as a transit point, or even because they resided in Sudan, can also be used to make each State through which they have passed or in which they have resided during different periods responsible at those times. In this sense, Ethiopia, where the crime took place and where the suspects remained for a considerable period of time, entering and leaving Ethiopia over a two-year period, as mentioned in the Ethiopian document, can be considered directly responsible. Why did Ethiopia not discover them at the time of their entries and departures? It is unacceptable to fail to provide adequate information that would help us find the suspects.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

4. “It is also committed to cooperating with the Member States concerned, the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations in this respect. We hope that this cooperative spirit will be reciprocated. Sudan is also committed to turning over all available information, now and in the future, stemming from the ongoing investigations. However, Sudan cannot accept responsibility for the disappearance of the suspects or the failure to find them, especially since we are certain they are not in Sudan. Those who claim they are in Sudan must provide us with the information that will lead us to them.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

5. “In particular, we fully understand our responsibility towards the Sudanese people, who have been subjected to sanctions because of the extremely difficult demand made of Sudan to extradite the suspects for prosecution. Sudan spared no effort, employing all its technical and professional capability. It requested the assistance of Interpol in trying to locate the suspects and the participation of a security team from Ethiopia and Egypt in searching for the suspects. We got no answer. I admit that we have so far failed to find the suspects. This confirms our belief that they are not in Sudan. Sudan shares the Council's View about the need to punish those who attempted to assassinate the Egyptian President. Sudan is committed to extraditing them if they are in its territory.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

6. “I found out that he stated that two, not three, people had participated in the assassination attempt in Addis Ababa and were able to leave the country. That confirmed our belief that this suspect did not exist. Some might say that we cannot depend on press releases by the suspect; that may be true. What is clear is that the information presented about the so- called third suspect is insufficient and unprofessional. No security or police force, regardless of how qualified, could trace a suspect on the basis of that information. Is Sudan required to chase mirages? That is my question. Despite my comments about the suspects, and the fact that we made sure that they were not present in Sudan, we seriously and earnestly tried to trace them and obtain any additional information about them.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

7. “However, we could find no trace of him and concluded that this person does not exist, but is merely a fictitious character, unknown to us or to any of the other parties concerned with the matter. I would like to refer to a comment that attracted our attention in a letter of 25 July 1995 from the President of Ethiopia, delivered to Sudan. This document claimed to include all the information about the suspects. Its annex 2 says of this fictitious suspect: (spoke in English) "His full identity can be obtained from Mustafa Hamza and from Husayn Ahmed Shair'Ali". (spoke in Arabic) This sentence persuaded me to re-examine the press interview with Mustafa Hamza, and compare it with the comments in the Ethiopian letter.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

8. “Security Council resolutions 1044 (1996) and 1054 (1996) refer to three suspects. The issue of the third suspect still raises many questions. What information about him is available in Sudan, Ethiopia or Egypt? His name is Izat or Yasim. There is no photograph of him. However, it is known that he is an Egyptian national, 34 years old, is married and lives in the Amarat quarter of Khartoum. That is the information that is available - it is the only information about him that Ethiopia has provided. At the beginning, Sudan tried to verify the information provided about the character of the suspect, and the investigative commission tried to search the quarter where Ethiopia claimed he lived.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

9. “The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan confirmed the presence of the suspect inside Afghanistan, in an area outside the control of the Afghan Government. We concur with the members of the Council who said that press reports cannot be considered hard evidence of the presence of the suspect in Afghan territory. However, the letter from the Afghan Foreign Minister confirming the press reports is before the Council today in document S/1996/513. Furthermore, many members of the Council have already verified the information and know that the suspects are not in Sudan. What is asked of Sudan now? How can you give what you do not have? To request Sudan to extradite suspects it does not have is like asking it to try to square the circle, and is unjustified - unless the objective is to find an excuse to impose unjust sanctions.”

   1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

10. “This is the stage we have reached in trying to trace one of the suspects whom Sudan was asked to extradite under resolutions 1044 (1996) and 1054 (1996). All members of the Council are aware of the press reports published about the other suspect, Mustafa Hamza. They also know about his interviews with reporters from his hiding place, which was outside the control of the Government of Afghanistan. Sudan drew the Council's attention to this fact before the adoption of resolution 1054 (1996). Sudan tried at the time to verify the information included in these reports by requesting the Council to establish an investigative committee to verify the information provided. When Sudan did not receive a positive response to the request, it tried unilaterally to verify the information and then intensified its contacts with the Afghan Government.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

11. “We tried to trace him and find him, even before the adoption of resolution 1044 (1996), and we continue to do so. It has been proved beyond any doubt that the period that elapsed between his entry into Sudan and our receipt of the information from Ethiopia, when we started the search, provided him with the opportunity to flee the country. According to the information provided by Ethiopia, he carries passports from many States, including Ethiopia, the country making the complaint, and Egypt, of which he is a national. It is well known that Sudan is a vast country with many points on its borders that cannot be controlled. But here I would like to mention in particular the fact that we continue to carry out our investigations into the route he took when he fled. Sudan is fully committed to providing any information it can in that respect.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

12. “But I would like to draw the attention of the members of the Council to the fact that at that time Sudan gave Ethiopia the landing card received by one of the suspects upon landing at Khartoum airport immediately after the incident. Our dealings with Ethiopia were completely open. We wanted to cooperate in the search for and apprehension of the suspects. It is strange that that very same card was presented by our neighbour, Ethiopia, as proof of Sudan's involvement. From the very beginning, Sudan approached the issue with good intentions and in a spirit of cooperation and confidence in our integrity and innocence. I speak in full knowledge of the arrangements that were undertaken. The relevant authorities investigated this suspect who had entered Sudan, and they failed to find any trace of him there.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

13. “Sudan expressed its full readiness to cooperate with all parties to bring the suspects to justice, and took tangible steps in this respect even before the subject was brought before the Central Organ of the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and Resolution of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), which discussed the question before it was brought to the Security Council. Sudan sent a special presidential envoy to Ethiopia to communicate the results arrived at by the commission of inquiry established by the President of the Republic on the basis of the information provided by Ethiopia about the Egyptian suspects a month after the incident took place.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

14. “Killing women and children, terrorizing peaceful citizens, destroying property and taking innocent civilians hostage cannot be accepted under any divine law; nor can they be accepted by any human being who believes in justice and peace. My delegation reiterates its firm positions of principle, which have been repeated time and again and have not been heeded. We hope that this time the Council will listen and understand the seriousness and sincerity of our position. Sudan renews its strong condemnation of the tragic terrorist attempt on the life of the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and firmly believes that those who participated in this terrorist crime must be brought to justice and punished.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

15. “I should like to reiterate my country's position for all who would like to open their hearts, to understand and to listen. The Sudanese Government and people forcefully condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, irrespective of the reasons or motivations of those responsible. Sudan has not, and will not, allow its territory to be used for any act of terror or to be used as a shelter for terrorists or by those who have eluded justice. Sudan, like many other States, suffers day after day with those innocent civilians who lose their lives or who are harmed as a result of terrorist acts perpetrated in many parts of the world.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source

16. “Mr. Erwa (Sudan) (interpretation from Arabic): Allow me to begin by offering heartfelt congratulations, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for this month. We have confidence in your wisdom and in your ability to lead the deliberations of the Council to positive and just results. We would also like to express our appreciation to your predecessor, Ambassador Dejammet, the Permanent Representative of France, for the wisdom with which he conducted the deliberations of the Council last month. Sudan's firm condemnation of terrorism has been expressed in all international forums, including in the United Nations and in the Security Council. Our condemnation stems from our firm principle of refraining from violence and following a path of peace and security.”

    1996-08-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.3690 (1996) · source