Sudanese govt, SPLM to sign “initial” peace pact 31 December

OMDURMAN, Dec 30, 2004 (Sudanese radio) — It has been officially announced in Naivasha ,Kenya that the initial peace agreement will be signed tomorrow afternoon between the first vice-president of the republic, Ali Osman Mohamed Taha, and the chairman of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), Dr John Garang.

Southern Sudanese men, holding up a picture of Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army leader John Garang, demonstrate in the streets of Khartoum in celebration of an agreement between the government and the main southern rebel group. (AFP).

A day in your great history O! Sudan. These are moments awaited for long by millions of Sudanese people. The iceberg of the conflict has melted and turned into rivers watering four million square kilometres.

The government delegation and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) has actually announced an agreement which will culminate in the initialization of the peace agreement in Naivasha, Kenya, tomorrow afternoon.

The first vice-president Ali osman Mohamed Taha will be signing on behalf of the government, while Dr John Garang will sign for the SPLM. The signing ceremony will be witnessed by several officials and leaders from both sides, besides IGAD and its partners, as well as the UN.

The signing agreement will cover three annexes: first, the preamble on the final peace agreement, which by definition contains the agreement and guarantees found therein in form of protocols, as well as topics discussed previously, and subsequent agreements reached in this regard.

The second annexe contains an agreement on the cease-fire and ways of its enforcement as well as procedures related to that – the time frame, geographical locations for assembling forces from both sides, as well as the commencement of the deployment of forces.

The third agreement which both sides will be signing comprises all the remaining details related to the implementation of the two protocols – power and wealth sharing.

In the course of a week, arrangements will be completed to identify the venue for the official celebration which will be witnessed by several heads of state and government – in order to make the function an international forum with a far-reaching impact for the peace agreement and its reliability.

In this way, the peace process will be concluded tomorrow afternoon to bid farewell to the last day of the year, while we look forward to a new era of stability and harmony for our beloved Sudan.

Material from the BBC Monitoring Service.