Sudan foes must shun divisive tags, says Moi

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 19, 2005 (PANA) — Sudanese leaders and former
rebels must shun all “divisive tags” by accommodating
each other’s diverse opinions in implementing a
comprehensive peace agreement which ended a 21-year
war in the country, Kenya’s former President Daniel
arap Moi said on Tuesday here.

Moi, who convened the talks to smooth out differences
among the political groups in the southern Sudan,
urged various faction leaders to unite for the sake
of peace in the vast region as they move towards
implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement.

“Conflict is usually ignited easily when division of
whatever nature blurs common vision and creates
suspicion and mistrust in society.

“Through reconciliation, tolerance and forgiveness,
the sky should be the limit for your aspirations,”
Moi told the Sudanese political groups gathered in
Nairobi for the reconciliation dialogue.

Representatives attending the meeting are former
southern Sudan rebel leaders, pro-Khartoum government
militias and other armed groups.

Moi urged the Sudanese political elite, including the
leader of the Sudan Peoples Liberation Movement
(SPLM) John Garang, to embrace dialogue as a key
investment for peace to help bridge their ideological
differences.

“I call upon you to relinquish all divisive tags and
accommodate each other. This will help you to
cultivate a collective sense of responsibility as a
way of transcending beyond fault lines in your
society,” he told over 200 participants who also
included civil society organisations.

The three-day conference, dubbed South-South
Dialogue, is being convened by Moi’s charitable
organisation, the Moi African Institute, to
facilitate the achievement of a viable political
settlement to the tension arising from the 9 January
peace accord.