Sudan’s Kiir says ruling NCP wary of SPLM role in Darfur

October 20, 2008 (JUBA) – The Sudanese First Vice-President and the head of southern Sudan government Salva Kiir deplored the “appalling humanitarian situation” in the war ravaged region of Darfur.

“As we speak, our brothers and sisters in Darfur are suffering the agonies of war and displacement….. If the Sudan is to survive into the 21st century, we cannot continue to kill and brutalize ourselves” Kiir said in prepared remarks at the Joint Meeting of the Council of States and Southern Sudan Legislative Assembly (SSLA) in Juba today.

Kiir’s speech strikes a different tone than that of president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir at Sudan’s people initiative conference launched last week.

Al-Bashir reiterated his commitment for a lasting peace in Darfur and pledged to support the voluntary return of the displaced to their villages and to provide them the necessary security and protection.

The Sudanese head of state also said a political solution should be founded on the basis of the federal system and the signed agreements.

Kiir said that previous attempts by the Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) to mediate in the Darfur conflict was met with skepticism from the ruling National Congress Party (NCP).

“We have previously taken the initiative to unite various Darfurian Movements, here in Juba. This humble move is being misunderstood by some political circles in Khartoum” the Southern leader said.

However he emphasized that this will not discourage the SPLM from trying to intervene and participate in a resolution to the Darfur crisis.

“We are concerned to stop the bloodshed, and in this we have been proved to be correct. It is a high time for all of us come together, putting the interest of our nation and our people above our parties’ interests” Kiir said.

The SPLM leader took part in the national consultations forum on Darfur that took place the town of Kenana in White Nile state.

Kiir stressed that only Sudanese people can bring peace to their homelands not through other countries and warned that peace agreements signed throughout the country must be honored.

“It is an overriding duty for you to ensure that all the States stand together to support peace in Sudan. This extends beyond Darfur; the Eastern Peace Agreement must also be closely monitored, as failure in its implementation will regrettably reproduce again that Old Sudan with all its oddities and disgraces” he said.

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the North and South does not cover a separate conflict in the western region of Darfur, where tens of thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands driven from their homes since rebels took up arms in early 2003.

(ST)