Al-yurae- ABC- Ausrealia- Sudan government minister — whose behaviour towards a woman in Perth earlier this year prompted an apology from the country’s ambassador — has cancelled an appearance at a mining conference in Sydney.
Key points:
- Sudan’s ambassador to Australia has apologised for the minister’s behaviour in September
- The minister is listed as a speaker for the International Mining and Resources Conference
- However, a spokesperson from the conference has confirmed he will not be attending
Sudan’s Minerals Minister Mohamed Bashir Abunammu was involved in a confrontation with Sudanese Australian activist Nazik Osman outside the Africa Down Under conference on September 1.
During the confrontation, which Ms Osman was live streaming on Facebook, the minister told Ms Osman in Sudanese Arabic: “If you weren’t here, we would beat you until you begged us to stop.”
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told the ABC they were disappointed by the comments made by Mr Abunammu.
On September 14, following the ABC’s coverage of the incident, DFAT “conveyed concerns” about the minister’s comments to Sudan’s ambassador and advised that his behaviour was “unacceptable”, the spokesperson said.
“The ambassador provided an apology,” they said.
Mr Abunammu was due to return to Australia to speak at the International Mining and Resources Conference in Sydney today.
However, the DFAT spokesperson said Mr Abunammu would not be travelling to Australia.
