Sudanese vice president, rebel leader recommit to peace, launch final round
NAIROBI, June 5 (AFP) — Sudanese Vice President Ali Osman Taha and rebel leader John Garang signed a declaration recommitting themselves to a series of peace protocols and officially launched a final round of talks aimed at ending 21 years of civil war.
Taha and the head of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army signed the Nairobi Declaration on the Final Phase on Peace in Sudan in the presence of Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki in his Nairobi offices.
The declaration encapsulates deals struck over the course of two years of talks on issues such as power- and wealth-sharing and the establishment of a six-year interim period of autonomy for south Sudan.
The final round of talks covers a comprehensive ceasefire and technical aspects of its implementation. Actual negotiations are due to resume on June 22.
“The documents we have just signed with Vice President Ali Osman Taha represent a solemn declaration on our part that war in Sudan is truly coming to an end,” Garang said at the ceremony, marked by ululations and cheers.
Some northern Sudanese mingled with their southern counterparts to dance and sing freedom songs, a rare sight in the vast country with deep religious and cultural differences.
“This is a historic moment for the people of Sudan,” said Taha.
“We declare that we have entered a new era,” he added.
But the talks have no bearing on the western region of Darfur, where at least 10,000 people have been killed, more than a million displaced and several hundred thousand left at risk of starvation amid a 15-month-old conflict pitting two rebel groups against government forces and their militia allies.
More than 1.5 million people have been killed and more than four million displaced in the wider civil war since the SPLA launched its rebellion in 1983.
Saturday’s declaration committed both parties to “finalise negotiations and resolve (outstanding) details in as short a time as possible,” according to a copy of the text.
“This occassion is a source of great joy, hope and expectation for the people of Sudan, the region and indeed the whole continent of Africa,” Kibaki said.
“I am confident that the painstaking and selfless efforts that two Sudanese patriots have put into the peace process will not be in vain. I appeal to — Taha and Garang — to maintain the current momentum towards lasting peace in Sudan,” Kibaki added.
“We cannot afford to relax now. Sustained hard work and determination are required to meet the challenges that lie ahead,” he added.
UN Secretary General Koffi Annan thanked the two leaders for showing “statemanship in bringing the peace process to its current point.
“The United Nations stands ready to contribute directly to this final phase of talks which will also define the scope of the UN on involvement during implementation of the peace agreement,” Annan said in a message read by his envoy to Horn of Africa, Mohammed Sahnoun.
African Union’s (AU) Baba Gana Gingibe, former Nigerian foreign minister, said the two sides had reached “a great achievement of indescribable proportions.”
Arab League chief Amr Mussa said: “We in the Arab League feel that we are indeed reaching the end of a long and dark tunnel and about to enjoy the light that many of us have seen for a long time at the end of the tunnel.”
In late May, Khartoum and the SPLA extended a ceasefire originally signed in October 2002 by three months to cover the final round of talks.
On May 26, the two parties signed three crucial protocols on power-sharing and the administration of three disputed regions, capping two years of intense political negotiations in Kenya.
In essence, the texts give the African people of southern Sudan, who mostly observe traditional religions and Christianity, what they have been fighting for for decades: an equitable role in their own governance and an end to domination and marginalisation by the Islamic, Arab north.