Sudanese rebel spokesman accuses government of “back-pedalling” on talks
By Sudanese opposition Democratic Unionist Party web site
KHARTOUM, Jan 27, 2004 — The Sudanese peace talks between the government and the SPLM [Sudan People’s Liberation Movement] have been suspended after 58 days and will resume on 17 February.
Commenting on the suspension, the SPLM official spokesman, Yasir Arman, said : “The wish to perform the Hajj is something we respect”. However, he further said: “The Islamic Fiqh [jurisprudence] gives priority to preventing evil acts rather than securing one’s interests. If one of the state officials wanted to perform the hajj, it was possible to substitute him with somebody else without putting at stake the future of a whole nation and the peace process in this critical stage”.
Arman accused the government of “back-pedalling ” and said: “The government delegation back-pedalled from its stance, after it agreed on the main issues of the southern Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains”.
He said: “During the past few days, the talks became more and more tense, and [the two parties] traded accusations . This had a negative repercussion on the climate of optimism brought about by the agreement on the wealth sharing.
Western mediators and the IGAD [Inter-Government Authority on Development] failed to eliminate conflicts and contain the tension.
BBC Monitoring Middle East