By Manoah Esipisu
NAIROBI, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Sudanese peace talks that stalled three
years ago will resume in
the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 28, the Khartoum government and
the rebel Sudan
Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA) agreed on Monday.
The two parties said in a joint communique that they agreed to provide
chief negotiators and
negotiating teams of not more than six people each. They also pledged
to ``fully cooperate'' in the
search for a negotiated solution to their conflict.
The warring parties signed the communique in the presence of foreign
ministers of Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya who had met earlier on the Sudan crisis
under the auspices of the
regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Minister for Federal Affairs Ali al-Haj Mohammad signed the communique
for Sudan while
Commander Nhial Deng signed for John Garang's SPLA. Representatives of
Riak Machar, who
has reached a separate peace deal with Khartoum, were also there.
Sudan peace talks to resume October 28
05:33 p.m Sep 22, 1997 Eastern
By Manoah Esipisu
NAIROBI, Sept 22 (Reuter) - Sudanese peace talks that stalled three
years ago will resume in
the Kenyan capital Nairobi on October 28, the Khartoum government and
the rebel Sudan
Peoples' Liberation Army (SPLA) agreed on Monday.
The two parties said in a joint communique that they agreed to provide
chief negotiators and
negotiating teams of not more than six people each. They also pledged
to ``fully cooperate'' in the
search for a negotiated solution to their conflict.
The warring parties signed the communique in the presence of foreign
ministers of Eritrea,
Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya who had met earlier on the Sudan crisis
under the auspices of the
regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Minister for Federal Affairs Ali al-Haj Mohammad signed the communique
for Sudan while
Commander Nhial Deng signed for John Garang's SPLA. Representatives of
Riak Machar, who
has reached a separate peace deal with Khartoum, were also there.
The civil war in Sudan has pitted Christian and animist rebels in the
south against the Moslem and
Arabised north since 1983. The rebels want greater autonomy or
independence.
Earlier on Monday, Deng told Khartoum not to scuttle the latest peace
plans, blaming the
government of President Omar Hassan al-Bashir of taking an attitude to
peace ``that is far from
reassuring.''
But Mohammad told Reuters Sudan was deeply committed to a peaceful
solution in the south
``and we can only hope that I will be here on October 28 to continue
that process.''
``The National Islamic Front (Khartoum government) walked away from the
DoP (peace
declaration of principles) and IGAD in September 1994 leaving the SPLA,
the mediators and
indeed the entire process stranded, and this attitude has delayed the
IGAD process for three
years,'' Deng told the IGAD ministers.
``The regime has been trying to circumvent the IGAD process and
supplant it with an alternative
forum,'' Deng added, saying such tactics were aimed at avoiding genuine
dialogue and persuading
some African leaders to pressure the SPLA into a deal.
Earlier on Monday, officials quoted Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo
Musyoka as saying that a
Sudanese peace initiative by South African President Nelson Mandela was
premature.
Mandela held separate meetings in August with Garang and Bashir on the
war. At the time
Mandela said IGAD would pursue outstanding questions.
Mandela's meetings followed a July summit hosted by Kenya where
President Daniel arap Moi
expressed concern that all-party talks had stalled since September
1994.
At the end of his visit to South Africa, Bashir called for a ceasefire,
but the SPLA said it had
always maintained this could not happen before a peace agreement.
>
>Selamat Ismail and seb Dehai
>
>You wrote:
>" It was of course in the name of liberation and false enlightenment
that
>they snached young people away from thier parents. Many parents who
sent
>thier youth to fight for liberation were not happy at this indoctrine.
Some
>protested but the mighty EPLF totally disregarded thier concerns.
EPLF's
>arroance did not make it pause to question the appropriatness of its
>methodology as applied to different segmants of our society. Muslims
were
>particularly vulnerable in this regard. "
>
>Bro Ismail could you explain to me that why only the Muslims were
vulnerable
>by what you called snaching of young people? or the mighty EPLF only
snached
>away young Muslims from thier parents? was this only paractied by EPLF?
>
>Beraki Tafere
>San Diego, CA
>
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