Government and SPLM-N start informal discussions over peace process

December 16, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Informal meetings kicked off Wednesday in the Ethiopian capital between Sudanese government and Sudan’s People Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) delegations in a bid to break the deadlock on peace talks.

Last November the warring parties in South Kordofan and Blue Nile failed to reach cessation of hostilities and humanitarian access agreements, as the five-day talks showed that important sticking points in the positions of the two sides.

The African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) recently proposed to the two parties to send the heads of negotiating teams to Addis Ababa for informal and direct discussions over their gaps before to resume officials talks and to finalize a deal.

Sudanese diplomat in Addis Ababa told the Turkish news agency Anadolu that the informal discussions started on Wednesday, adding it will tackle the security arrangement including the cessation of hostilities and ceasefire besides the humanitarian assistance.

The Sudanese official further added that the government delegation arrived to Addis Ababa with “a specific aim of reaching a final settlement and comprehensive solution to the issue of South Kordofan and Blue Nile states”.

Reached by Sudan Tribune, a SPLM-N official confirmed from Addis Ababa the starting of the informal discussions saying the four-member delegations – headed by presidential assistant Ibrahim Mahmoud Hamid and SPLM-N secretary general Yasir Arman – met all the day without the participation of the AUHIP team.

The rebel official who requested anonymity further said the two sides failed to narrow the gaps as the government wanted to discuss only the issue of the Two Areas while the SPLM-N insisted on the need to agree first on the national agenda and to discuss the Two Areas within a national framework.

“The gaps are still significant. The government sticks on the ongoing national dialogue while the SPLM-N proposes a new comprehensive and healthy process,” the source said adding that they did yet discuss the cessation of hostilities.

Last November, the chief mediator said the agenda of the talks includes the truce, the humanitarian access to the war affected areas, and the national dialogue preparatory meeting.

But the government delegation said they came for a permanent ceasefire agreement paving the way for aid groups to reach civilians in the war zones and the SPLM-N participation in the dialogue conference launched in by President Omer al-Bashir in October of this year.

(ST)