Ramtane Lamamras appointment.. Slap or kiss
By: Osman Fadlallah
The relationship between the Sudan and the international community is gradually returning to the state of disruption of the past 30 years. While many Western capitals have begun to narrow down on the pastoral actions of the de facto Government in Khartoum, silent on this in order to avoid placing the Sudan on the rogue list of States, and to avoid the Sudanese citizen once again being a victim of the Muslim Brotherhoods organization, the relationship with the United Nations has appeared to deteriorate rapidly.
Last Friday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations addressed the second blow to the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is run by the brotherly organization. Following Guterres rejection of the Sudanese Governments request to remove his former envoy, Volker Berts, he went even further, asserting his confidence in him and keeping him at the helm of the UNTAMS mission until the man resigned. On the second day of receipt of the letter from the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ali Sadik, requesting the termination of the Missions functions and the cancellation of the headquarters agreement with the Mission, he announced the appointment of Algerian diplomat Ramtane Lamamra as his Personal Envoy, who was not resident in the Sudan.
However, Lamamras appointment at this site raises a number of question marks. The man, who has already been entrusted by the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to those who do not know him, He is an Algerian politician, born in Bejaya state in 1952, Graduated from the Higher School of Administration, formerly Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as as as United Nations envoy to Liberia between 2003 and 2007 in the diplomatic sphere and served as Algerias Ambassador to the United Nations between 1993 and 1996, Engage in many mediations to resolve a number of conflicts on the African continent s Republic of Korea ", until his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs on 11 September 2013.
Lamamra, known for his proximity to intelligence services under the late President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, is one of the Algerian leaders who emerged after the Black Decade. However, it does not hold a strong stance towards the Muslim Brotherhood and has stopped any attempt to declare the Brotherhood a terrorist organization in Algeria. Some Moroccan communities are even talking about his ties with Tehran and Doha, which has led the United States of America to reject his candidacy as United Nations envoy in Libya. The Sudanese conflict, centred on the same organization that had kidnapped the Sudanese State for 30 years, had not had a good relationship with Algeria and Khartoum, but had not witnessed tension as well.
It is no secret that his relations with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, which are widely involved in Sudans affairs, are insufficient for him to walk through the sands of the intersections that await him. During his assumption of the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, his countrys relationship with the two Arab capitals had come to light several times. That will not facilitate the task of the man whom he found uncomfortable with the remnants of the brothers regime in the Sudan.
According to several diplomats with whom I spoke about the motives that led Guterres to choose Lamamra for this mission, the international organization may have aimed to clearly bridge its relationship with the Islamist-controlled military establishment. The Algerian diplomat enjoys extensive relations within the African Union, which makes it more realistic to talk about the need to resolve the Sudanese crisis within the African continent.
The challenge before him becomes to present a clear road map for his mission and to work with the actors in the Sudan without attempting to significantly change the international organizations position in support of the aspirations of the Sudanese people.
