Sudanese parliament welcomes security deal with rebel SPLM
KHARTOUM, Sept 28, 2003 (Xinhua) — The Sudanese National Council (parliament) Sunday welcomed the signing of a security agreement between the government and the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM).
Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Osman Mohamed Taha and SPLA leader John Garang had been holding peace talks in Kenya until Thursday when they signed an agreement on security arrangements for a six-year transitional period.
Under the terms of the deal, the government and the SPLM agreed to the withdrawal of most government troops from the south of the country, the main theatre of the war, while SPLM’s military wing, the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA), would be incorporated into the regular army in the future.
In a statement, The Sudanese National Council said the agreement was a step towards achieving just and lasting peace in Sudan in the foreseeable future.
“The people of Sudan have always been preoccupied with peace, which is a noble and strategic goal ever sought by the Sudanese government,” it added.
Meanwhile, Sudanese President Omar Bashir met Sunday with the Sudanese community in Qatar during his brief visit, highlighting the signing of the agreement on security and military arrangements.
The president noted that the country was emerging from decades- long political and economic crises, adding the agreement does not mean a final settlement has been reached, but that 90 percent of the disputed issues have been agreed upon.
The negotiators from both sides will discuss in the next meeting three main issues, namely, authority, wealth and the situation in the Blue Nile and Nouba mountains areas, Bashir said.
The next round of Sudanese peace talks is scheduled for October 6, it was reported.
Civil war has raged in Sudan since 1983 between government forces and the SPLA, leaving more than 2 million people dead, mainly through violence-induced famine and disease.
The newly-signed agreement has drawn a chorus of approval from world countries, amidst hopes it would end more than 20 years of grinding civil war.