Sudanese government, rebels consult with mediators to plan final phase of talks

NAIROBI, May 27, 2004 (AP) — Mediators consulted with the Sudanese government and southern rebels Thursday to plan the final phase of talks to end Africa’s longest-running war, hours after the adversaries signed key agreements that pave the way for a comprehensive peace deal.

The warring parties signed three protocols late Wednesday on power-sharing and the administration of three disputed areas in central Sudan , clearing up the last remaining political issues needed for a final peace accord.

All that remains for the two sides to work out are procedural matters to end the 21-year civil conflict, in which more than 2 million people have perished, mainly through war-induced famine.

“The next step will entail negotiations on the detail of each step of the transition,” chief mediator Lazaro Sumbeiywo told The Associated Press. “I am going to meet these groups now.”

Negotiators are expected to take a short break before returning to talks in Nairobi to iron out the final issues, including how the accord will be implemented.

“I hope that by June we would have signed and completed the (final) deal,” said Sayed el-Khatib, a Sudanese government negotiator. “This is the most detailed peace agreement that has probably been negotiated in the history of the world because of the problems we have had, the lack of trust and prolonged conflict.”

The accord is unrelated to a 15-month insurgency in the Darfur region of western Sudan , where fighting between the government and rebels has raised fears of ethnic cleansing and made 1 million people homeless.

El-Khatib said the government hoped the deal with the southern rebels would help build bridges with the western insurgents.

“Now the (Sudan People’s Liberation Army) is going to be part of the government, that is going to encourage the rebels in Darfur to be less suspicious of the government when negotiating a settlement to the problem there,” he said. “The southern rebels have had contacts with those in Darfur.”

The latest effort to end the southern conflict began in Kenya in 2002 and the two sides have already agreed on how to share wealth in Africa’s largest country and what to do with their armed forces during a six-year transition period.

In Wednesday’s protocols, both sides agreed that the rebels and other southern groups would have 30% of positions in national and state administrations in the north, while the government and northern groups will have 70%, el-Khatib said.

In southern Sudan , the rebels will have 70% of positions and the government 30%, he said.

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir will remain as head of state during the interim period, while rebel leader John Garang will become first vice president, el-Khatib said.

“We have reached the crest of the last hill in our tortuous ascent to the heights of peace,” Garang said after the signing. “There are no more hills ahead of us.”

The two sides have also agreed on their representation in separate administrations for Southern Blue Nile and the Nuba Mountains, with the government having 55% of the positions and the rebels 45%.

Abyei -an oil-rich region the rebels claim is part of the south, but the government says is in the north -will have special status and be administered by the presidential office.

Khartoum will be governed under Islamic law, but there will be certain protections for non-Muslims, el-Khatib said.

The southern conflict broke out in 1983 after the rebels from the mainly animist and Christian south took up arms against the predominantly Arab and Muslim north.

U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Wednesday the agreements would trigger a process leading to the establishment of normal relations with Sudan if certain conditions are met.

Boucher said these include the completion of a comprehensive peace agreement to end the southern conflict and an end to the violence in Darfur.