Talks between Sudan’s rebels and govt “difficult, but frank”: Garang

NAIVASHA, Kenya, Sept 15 (AFP) — Sudan rebel leader John Garang on Monday described as difficult but frank nearly two weeks of talks with Khartoum’s Vice President Ali Osman Taha, aimed at ending Africa’s longest civil war.

“The situation is difficult for both sides,” Garang, the leader of the Sudan People Liberation Army (SPLA), told reporters in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, 80 kilometres (50 miles), northwest of Nairobi, where he has been negotiating with Taha since September 4.

“The discussion on a personal level with Taha have been frank and serious,” he added.

The two leaders and their delegations are currently discussing the question of integrating the rebel force into the national army during an already agreed six-year interim period of self-rule for southern Sudan, which will take effect when a comprehensive peace accord is signed.

They have also been trying to break a deadlock on how to share power and resources during the interim period, which was agreed in a landmark peace deal signed in the Kenyan town of Machakos in July last year.

“We have made progress on the presidency, elections and power-sharing,” Garang told a news conference in Naivasha without giving further details.

“We have had serious discussions despite the differences,” he added.

He gave no indication how long the current round of negotiations would last.

“I am prepared to stay here as long as it takes,” he said.

“We want a deal that launches Sudan into democracy and prosperity … we should move away from parochial concerns of ethnicity and region,” he added.

The 20-year-old conflict between the Muslim-dominated regime in Khartoum and the mainly Christian or animist SPLA, Africa’s longest-running civil war, is estimated to have killed at least 1.5 million people and displaced another four million.