Tension heightens in Sudanese peace talks as parties trade accusations

KHARTOUM, May 19, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — Tension has heightened at the venue of the Sudanese peace talks Naivasha in Kenya following the speech delivered by Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader John Garang on the 21st anniversary of the foundation of his movement.

According to sources near to the talks, the government delegation regarded Garang’s speech as a threat, the daily newspaper Al Sahafa reported

The same sources added that an agreement on the status of non-Muslims in the capital Khartoum had not yet been confirmed and there were conflicting reports on the issue.

While the government believed that an agreement had been reached offering non-Muslims guarantees within the Shari’ah law in Khartoum, the SPLM insisted on the fact that the agreement specified that the Shari’ah law would not be imposed on non-Muslims.

The sources said the first vice-president and Garang would not hold any meetings today

The same sources added that the conflicting points remained the same and both parties traded accusations revoking what had been agreed upon before.