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Sudan VP, rebel leader kick off expected final peace talks in Kenya
NAIVASHA, Kenya (AFP) — Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and southern rebel leader John Garang arrived for talks in the Kenyan town of Naivasha, amid heightened expectations that a final peace agreement could be reached before the end of December.
Earlier rounds of talks have made significant progress in ending two decades of war, notably on transitional security arrangements clinched in September and the right for the south to hold a referendum after six years of self-rule, agreed in July 2002.
“What we have done in the previous rounds has been the way to the final settlement,” Taha told reporters on arrival at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Saturday.
“I hope that we will have the will and determination to finally settle this issue of Sudan,” Taha said.
Delegates from both sides have been meeting for the past week in Naivasha, 80 kilometres (50 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi, to hammer out the remaining sticking points — power — and wealth-sharing and three disputed regions not part of the south: Abyei, Nuba Mountains and Southern Blue Nile.
Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) rebels have been battling the Arab, Muslim-dominated government in Khartoum since 1983 to end the domination of the south, where people mostly practise traditional religions and Christianity.
An official from the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators told AFP on Saturday that a final accord could be reached before the December 19 end of this round.
“There are high chances that both sides could agree before the end of this session,” said the official, who asked not to be named.
SPLA delegates also expressed optimism, with one saying: “We hope to agree in this session.”
For the first time, delegates from both sides mingled with one another to greet Garang and Taha.
Shortly after the two leaders’ arrival, the media was asked to leave the hotel where the talks are being held.
Since it began in 1983, more than 1.5 million people have died in Sudan’s multi-faceted civil war, which has increasingly been fuelled by the country’s oil reserves.
In a further sign of high hopes for peace, leaders of the SPLA and the rebels’ political wing, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, made a historic visit to Khartoum on Friday that prompted a triumphant welcome from thousands of supporters.
At a press conference later, the head of the delegation, Bagan Amum, described the trip as a “goodwill visit” aimed at showing the people of Sudan “it was time to end a chapter of fighting and open a new chapter of peace.”
Beshir said on national television that “all indications are that the war in southern Sudan (…) is reaching its end and only the finishing touches need to be put on a final peace agreement.”
Beshir expressed the hope that the new round of negotiations in Kenya “will be the final round that will help reach a just and permanent peace accord.”
The United States has increased pressure on Khartoum and the SPLM/A to reach a final peace agreement before the end of December, pledging to assist the country and review its status as a sponsor of terrorism.
On Thursday, Taha signed a deal with Mohammed Osman Mirghani, the leader of the National Democratic Alliance, a coalition of opposition forces, including the SPLA.
The deal backed the Nairobi talks and called for a new democratic Sudan benefiting all political parties.