Sudanese partners stress commitment to implement peace
May 30, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — In a press conference held in Khartoum yesterday, leaders of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) and its partner Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) have stressed their commitment to the fully implement the CPA and that all people should be involved in the process.
President Omer al-Bashir and the First Vice-President Salva Kiir Mayrdit held Monday evening a joint press conference at the end of the First Meeting of the politburos of the NCP and the SPLM.
Al-Bashir pointed out at the press conference that the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was a national responsibility at this historic juncture. The President described the partnership meeting as being a constructive and frank in which the two parties exercised all freedom of criticise. He said the out come of this discussion was the publishing of the final communiqué.
The President stressed that the country would depend on its own resources for the implementation of the agreement and that the Government of National Unity should give people hope after the end of the war in the south, conclusion of the Darfur Peace Agreement and the positive steps being taken to resolve the Eastern Sudan question.
The First Vice President Salva Kiir has meanwhile stressed the importance of ending the activities of the Lord Resistance Army in the south saying that those killed and affected at the hands of the LRA are southerners.
Salva Kiir said there is no difference on Abyei administration but there is a row of the border of this area and the two partners are determined to resolve this issue in the coming days.
The central oil-rich territory of Abyei continues to be one of the main stumbling blocks in the north-south deal because of a dispute between the Arab Misariyah and African Dinka Ngok tribes over ownership of the region.
The Misariyah and the NCP have rejected boundaries proposed by an international commission while the Dinka – to which Kiir belongs – insist the area is part of south Sudan.
The First Vice-President also denied that SPLM had given any help to the Ugandan rebels; all we meant is to mediate between the two Ugandan parties.
The two leaders have stressed that time has to be given for the two parties who negotiated and reached the CPA to implement the agreement, stressing that people should not expect a solution for all the problems facing the country.
A referendum on self-determination is due to be held in the south in 2011 in line with the peace deal, with oil wealth in the meantime to be shared and concessions awarded by a joint oil commission. Most of Sudan’s oil fields lie in the south.
(ST)