Sudan’s NCP accuses SPLM of jeopardizing Darfur peace talks
October 16, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — A Sudanese official from the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) accused on Tuesday the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), a peace partner which suspended its participation in the national unity government, of jeopardizing the upcoming peace talks between the government and Darfur rebels.
This came during a meeting between Sudanese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ali Ahmed Kerti and Deputy Representative of the UN Secretary General in Sudan Taye-Brook Zerihoun.
“Ali Kerti clarified to the UN envoy that the timing of the SPLM ‘s decision is jeopardizing the Darfur peace negotiations”, said Sudanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ali al-Sadig after the meeting.
“This decision has sent wrong signals to the negotiations as well as the participants,” the spokesman added.
It was the first time for the Sudanese government to link the SPLM’s decision to the Darfur peace negotiations to be held in Libya on Oct. 27.
The former rebel SPLM, which signed a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in 2005, decided on Thursday to withhold the participation of its ministers in the central government, accusing the government of delaying in implementing the peace agreement.
The ruling National Congress Party (NCP) led by President al-Bashir, has accused “a small group” within the SPLM of seeking to end the partnership between the two sides.
According to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the political power in the Sudanese central government has been shared between the SPLM and the NCP while an autonomous government has been formed by the SPLM in southern Sudan.
At the weekend, Zerihoun paid a visit in Juba, capital of southern Sudan, where he held meetings with Salva Kiir Mayardit, the Sudanese first vice president and chairman of the SPLM, and other officials of the movement in a bid to ease the current crisis.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has voiced concern over the governmental crisis in Sudan and called on the two sides to resolve their dispute in a way that preserves the 2005 peace accord.
“The Secretary-General urges the parties, in particular the National Congress Party, to urgently take the necessary steps to address the outstanding issues related to the implementation of the (peace agreement),” his spokeswoman Michele Montas said in a statement on Friday.
(Xinhua/ST)