The conflict in the biggest African country, Republic of Sudan, is more than two decades old.

Based on the media report two million people have been killed during the violence and nearly the same number is homeless.

Israel has facilitated the rebel groups in the south with weapons launched its military base in the southern Sudan and others have come to aid and each one takes its share of the area which provides the main income of the country.

Western countries like the United States of America and United Kingdom have been sending envoys on constant visits to the area.

They have sent special envoys including Hollywood figures like George Clooney to the region to make sure their old scenario is making progress.

Now a referendum is to be held and this biggest Muslim country of Africa is on the verge of division.

In a move to shed light on some aspects of January 9 referendum, Taqrib News Agency has had an exclusive interview with the Republic of Sudan's ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Iran, Suliman Abdel Towab El-Zein.


Q: Please give us a summary of what is going on in Sudan now and what made the ground to the present crisis in the Republic of Sudan.

A: The story goes back to the British colonialism of Sudan in 1936 and that was before the independence of Sudan. That was the time when Britain was providing the ground for division of Sudan.

It All started when British government, before it started its plan on separation of Sudan, started to impose limitations on the northern Sudanese who wanted to travel to Southern Sudan and the internal elements did their best so that the separation would not realize.

As of the elements out of Sudan, Israel plays an important role in the division and launch of a military base in Southern Sudan.

Based on a research there are seven countries which are counted as a threat to Israel, one of them being Sudan.

Sudan has always been among the countries which have been a threat to Israel therefore Israel meant to surround the country and limit the relation between Sudan and other African countries.

Consequently the referendum in Sudan is a victory for Israel which is now blamed in the international arena.

Separation of southern Sudan and the efforts of the Zionist regime of Israel are in line with the efforts of the US though US is actually aiding Israel to gain its own aims.

Q: Hillary Clinton calls the referendum in Sudan as a bomb ticking off, George Clooney travels there to make sure of the people taking part in the referendum and John Kerry visits the area to observe the progress of the referendum in person. What are they exactly looking for?

A: All these are in line with the efforts of the Jewish groups. They are after taking Obama out of the quagmire he is in. They are all after adding the achievements of Obama, saying that he has been successful in his presidency and to pad his presidential achievements.

Q: Losing 25pc of Sudan in area and eight million of its population is a big loss for the country. Directly and indirectly it has negative effects on the economy of the country.

As you know the oil resources of this country is located in the south and this way actually the oil resources would be taken from the northern Sudan.

As I said all the oil resources would be taken from the northern Sudan but since north is the only way for exporting the oil, it will have 30pc of the oil income anyway.

Also there are many northern companies that are working on extracting oil in the southern Sudan.

Since 2005, 50 pc of Sudan's income has been paid to the southern Sudan but contrary to the payment of this amount nothing has been investigated in the area and no progress has been made.

We really do not know where all this money has gone.

It is noteworthy that the infrastructure in the southern part is country is not developed enough hence I think the southern people have to expect problems in future.

The income of those in the south comes merely from oil while in the north there is non-oil industry and therefore it is not the northern Sudan which will face real problems.

Q: What do you see for the future of the country with an oil-rich mainly under educated and under developed south and barren but developed north?

A: I think there will be civil war in the south because the ruling tribes will not let other tribes and other sects to have a say in the affairs of the south, therefore I think there will be civil war in southern Sudan.

Q: So is there the possibility that based on what some say "Each tribe and each religion has to have its own ruling", enemies are after not only dividing the country into south and north but also tearing the country into many parts and many tribes?
A: Yes, It's possible.

Q: What is the impact of this referendum and separation of Sudan on the neighboring countries and also on some western countries that are concerned over their own interests in Africa?

A: The western countries, Israel and America have a double stance towards that though in general they prefer that the country is separated.

On the other hand there are some in the cabinet of Obama who are against the separation of Sudan however there has not been any history on that, that the borders are redefined, especially those borders which are defined by the United Nations. I can call that "Separation Flu".

Q: On President Omar al-Bashir there are controversial stances. Once he is counted as a positive figure for Sudan that he was quite positive and that since his presidency the country has flourished dramatically. On the other hand ICC accuses him of genocide. Now on the verge of the referendum some western media approve him as being quite flexible towards the rebel groups. What are they looking for in frequent approving and disapproving him?

A: Firstly, that\'s because of the Islamic system of Omar al-Bashir. If his system was not Islamic, they would not have taken this stance towards him.

Secondly, because of the point that Sudan is an Islamic country and quite influential in Africa and the Middle East, they have aimed at Sudan.

These countries have always been after toppling the Islamic system in Sudan and that is possible through economic sanction.

The western countries have sanctioned Sudan though Sudan, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, made it not only to stand the sanctions but also to make remarkable progress.

Again in the line with the economic sanctions and tightening the limitations against Sudan, they created another problem and that was the issue of Darfur.

When the Sudanese government handled the issue of Darfur they made up another issue and that was accusing Omar al-Bashir to committing genocide.

The governments who seek division of Sudan are also after making tension between the northern Sudan and the future government of southern Sudan.

In the recent visit of Omar al-Bashir from south and the southern officials, he highlighted the point that should south want division, this has to be a friendly division and that is not what the western countries like.

In the same visit of Omar al-basher from south, he stressed an all out cooperation with the future government of southern Sudan and that he would spare no effort in helping the future government of southern Sudan to gain its independence.

Q: Do you think that after the remarks of Omar al-Bashir on keeping the unity with southern Sudan, western countries again raise another issue to undermine the unity between north and South?

A: Apart from the referendum in southern Sudan there are still some issues on which the two parts of the country have not come to an agreement yet.

One of these issues is the region called Abyei. Abyei is an oil-rich region on the border of south and north Sudan and before the independence of the country; southern Sudan claimed the area because of its oil. Certainly northern Sudan will not let that happen.

Q: What is your idea of the separation which is happening between the religions since the people in the north are mainly Muslim and those in south are Christians? Sheikh Ahmad al-Tayyeb from al-Azhar University said that the separation in Sudan is first the separation of Muslims and Christianity and it will lead to disunity of Shia and Sunni.

A: This is one of the means of soft war. This is one of the threats that face Islamic countries. These countries are actually trying to disintegrate Islamic countries through soft war.

There are side effects to this separation and the enemies are also taking advantage of the separation between the Muslims and Christians in the south but I wish Islamic schools especially Shia and Sunni keep aware against the threats of the enemies.