Sudan’s president, first vice-president to meet Thursday
October 16, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese president and the first vice-president are expected to meet on Thursday in a bid to settle row over the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) after the withdrawal of the SPLM.
Marchar said the two leaders will discuss the outstanding issues and resolve the crises between the parties triggered by the non-implementation of the CPA and violation of the spirit and equal partnership between the two parties.”
Minister of Presidential Affairs, Bakri Hassan Salih, in a press statement did not rule out setting up of new mechanisms or reactivating the existing ones in the context of the commitment of the two partners to the implementation of the CPA.
The SPLM decided to suspend participation in the national government because it wants President Bashir to accept a reshuffle of ministerial posts and also wants the CPA, signed in 2005, to be fully implemented.
SPLM sources said if the crisis continues, SPLM could recall its representatives in the federal parliament, and the members of the states governments.
Riek Machar was waiting since Sunday in Khartoum for a meeting with the Sudanese president. The meeting was the first since the SPLM suspended its participation in the government of the national unity last week.
Machar said that, despite having waited two days for Bashir to receive him, he was confident the problems would be resolved: “I believe the president has the political will to do this.”
South Sudan president Salva Kiir told a rally in Juba today that some elements in Khartoum refused to allow the SPLM delegation to meet with the President.
Asked whether the SPLM ministers will resume their activities soon Machar said “The return of the ministers to work is dependent on how fast the critical provisions … are resolved and how fast the violations are corrected.”
Machar further said he hoped the crisis would be resolved before Darfur peace talks begin on Oct. 27 in Libya.
However he declined to say whether the SPLM would join the government team at the Libyan talks or send its own.
“I’m hoping it will be resolved in the next two days so that we don’t have to send a separate delegation,” he said.
(ST)