African mediators optimistic of settlement of Darfur crisis

Sept 16, 2005 (ABUJA) — As the sixth round of African Union-sponsored talks toward resolving Sudan’s Darfur crisis gets underway in Abuja, the AU mediators are optimistic that this could be the final round, an official said here Friday.

“From the speeches delivered last night (Thursday night) by all stakeholders in the crisis, one is confident that all the issues will be resolved in this round,” said Sam Ibok, head of the AU mediation team.

“The people in Darfur are suffering and it is heart warming that all parties are worried by this development and want a final solution to the problem,” he added.

Ibok said the leaders of the various delegations — the government of Sudan and the rebels — all agree that the problem could only be resolved by political means.

“It is good that they are appreciating the futility of the military option. No matter how many people you kill, eventually you must go back to the round tables to negotiate peace,” he said.

The talks which were declared open Thursday night would continue with workshops that would prepare participants for the full agenda.

AU special representative in Sudan, Nigeria’s Baba Gana Kingibe, who spoke at the opening ceremony, harped on the need for urgency as the situation in Darfur was “not encouraging.”

“The talks must take cognizance of the situation in Darfur, where millions have been displaced, thousands killed and many more subjected to intimidation, looting, rape and untold suffering,” he said.

He called for a quick resolution to the leadership issues of one of the rebel groups, the SLMA, to avoid distractions during the talks.

Permanent Secretary of the Nigerian Foreign Affairs Ministry Nkem Wadibia-Anyanwu, who represented her minister, urged the stakeholders to move fast toward resolving the major issues.

Specifically, she urged them to tackle the issues of power sharing, wealth sharing and security arrangement.

(Xinhua/ST)