Sudan peace process irreversible: Kenyan FM
NAIROBI, Oct 16, 2003 (Xinhua) — Kenyan Minister for Foreign Affairs Kalonzo Musyoka said here Thursday that the ongoing search for peace to the Sudanese conflict is irreversible.
“The ongoing discussions on power sharing, wealth sharing and the status of the three disputed regions of the Sudan are the final phase of the negotiations,” he told a news conference held at the ministry upon his return from the United Nations General Assembly.
He said he told the UN assembly that in order to consolidate and guarantee a long lasting peace in the Sudan, it was vital for the international community to play a greater role in the process.
He welcomed the recent developments that led into the signing of the agreement by the warring parties in Sudan on security arrangement during a interim period.
“I think over 80-90 percent of the work was actually done during the 20 days when the Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha and John Garang (rebel leader) met for the first time since this conflict. This is very significant,” Musyoka said.
The two Sudanese principals had met in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, 80 km northwest of Nairobi, since Sept. 4.
The minister described the agreement as a breakthrough on military and security arrangements and about the deployment of troops during the transitional period.
The six-year interim period will come into effect once a comprehensive peace agreement is signed.
The Sudanese civil war began in 1983 and has been the longest- running conflict in the continent.