Sudan peace talks continue as deadlock on oil revenue shares resolved
NAIVASHA, KENYA, Dec 21, 2003 (Xinhua) — The Sudan peace talks continued here on Sunday as both parties have resolved the deadlock on oil revenue shares, according to the Kenyan chief mediator.
Lazaro Sumbeiywo, Kenya special envoy for peace in the Sudan, told Xinhua in Kenyan town Naivasha, about 90 km northwest of the capital of Nairobi, that the talks between the Sudanese government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) are now proceeding into other issues of wealth-sharing, one of three major outstanding issues in the peace talks, after both parties have reached a deal on oil revenue shares.
However, Sumbeiywo refused to give further details on the deal, saying it is only part of the issue of wealth-sharing.
The Sudan currently produces around 300,000 barrels of oil a day, accounting for 43 percent of government revenue.
Both parties of the peace talks had been stuck on petroleum commission and percentages. The Sudanese government was willing to give 5 percent to the SPLA, while the SPLA insisted on 60 percent, SPLA negotiator Malik Agar said on Friday.
The Sudan civil war started as the SPLA took up arms fighting for self-determination in the southern part of the country in 1983. The conflict has left some 2 million people dead, mostly through war-induced famine and disease.
The Sudanese government and the SPLA began peace talks last July in Kenya, aimed at ending the longest civil war on the continent, under the auspices of the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a seven-member region group in east Africa, consisting of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Uganda, Eritrea, Somali and the Sudan.
During this round of talks, supposed to be the last one of the whole talks, the parties are expected to agree on the contentious issue of sharing of the revenue from the oil deposits in the south.Other issues to feature include the status of the three areas, Abyei, Blue Nile State and the Nuba Mountains
Talking about whether the comprehensive agreement of the talks will be signed by the end of 2003 as scheduled, the Kenyan envoy said “that’s what I hope.”
Kenya is holding the current chairmanship of the IGAD ministerial sub-committeeon the Sudan.