Egypt accuses Sudan rebel leader of blocking peace talks

CAIRO, Egypt, Aug 16, 2003 (AP) — Egypt’s foreign minister accused a southern Sudanese rebel leader of impeding negotiations for a permanent settlement of Sudan’s 20-year civil war.

Last month, the Sudanese government rejected a framework agreement set forth by mediators without previous consultation, saying it would result in the partition of Sudan and a retreat on the application of Islamic law. Rebel leader John Garang accepted the proposals.

“We are contacting Garang to ask him to review his positions, which are not facilitating the negotiations,” Egypt’s Ahmed Maher told reporters after talks with Kenyan Foreign Minister Kalonzo Musyoka.

A spokesman for Garang, who heads the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, could not be reached for comment.

Kenya has been hosting the peace talks, conducted under the auspices of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, or IGAD.

Egypt is known to oppose the interim settlement – the July 2002 Machakos accord, which provides for a referendum on self-determination for southern Sudan in six years.

Egypt opposes anything that might lead to the creation of a new state on the upper reaches of the Nile River, considering it a possible threat to its water supply.

Sudan People’s Liberation Army negotiators insisted on such a referendum as there is widespread opposition to the Khartoum government among the people of the south. Southern Sudanese are of animist and Christian faiths and resent the rule of the Islamic-dominated government in the north.

Earlier this week, Garang visited Cairo and consulted with Sudanese opposition leaders and Egyptian officials. Egypt wants to reach a settlement independent of the IGAD talks.

Although the civil war is characterized as being about religion, the conflict is fueled by competition between the north and the south over oil, land and other resources. Sudan began exporting oil in 1998.

More than 2 million people are estimated to have died in the fighting and war-induced famine and disease since 1983.