Sudanese leaders pledge to end uprisings in South

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 21, 2005 (PANA) — Southern Sudanese leaders and former rebels on Tuesday pledged to forge peace and
unity in the vast region emerging from a 21-year war
as talks aimed at promoting post-war reconciliation
between various factions kicked-off in Nairobi.

Sudanese Second Vice President Moses Machar.

Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) leader John
Garang and Sudan’s Second Vice President Moses Machar
appealed for unity and reconciliation among the
southerners and called for common resolve to rid the
region of militia activities.

“The people of southern Sudan have for a very long
time waited for this peace. It would be treacherous
for us to throw it away because we think we have
differences of personal interests at stake,” Machar
told over 200 delegates who included the former rebel
army, its political wing and rivals as well as
representatives from Khartoum.

Former Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, who was
approached by Garang to mediate in the search for a
lasting solution towards the achievement of lasting
peace in the region, said the factions should promote
dialogue to unite the various opposing ideologies.

Sudan’s ruling National Congress Party (NCP), chaired
by Machar, would work together with the SPLM to put
an end to militia activities in southern Sudan,
Machar told the delegates.

The three-day conference, dubbed South-South
Dialogue, was convened by Moi’s continental peace
promotion body, the Moi African Institute, which the
former leader formed to advocate his legacy as a
peacemaker in the region.

Moi initiated the Somalia and the Sudan peace
mediation efforts that led to the formation of
the Somalia government and the signing of the
comprehensive peace agreement for Sudan.

The 9 January peace agreement between the main rebel
force, the SPLM, and the Sudanese government gave the
southern Sudan limited autonomy in conducting its
affairs but did not include other factions from the
war-torn region.

“The comprehensive peace agreement belongs to all the
Sudanese people. It doesn’t matter who signed it and
it’s your duty to nurture peace and use it for
development of southern Sudan,” Garang said.

He said the peace deal offered “key solutions” to
some of the problems the southerners had been
fighting for in the last 21 years.

“The SPLM is fully committed to the dialogue no
matter how difficult they are. We are ever ready for
dialogue and reconciliation for the common good of
our people,” Garang said.

The SPLM leader said: “This is a place you belong and
everybody will be treated like any other person
joining the Movement. It is never too late for
dialogue between brothers and sisters.”

Garang, who is the Sudan’s First Vice President-
designate and the leader of the semi-independent
southern Sudan government, praised Moi for playing a
pivotal role in search for peace in the Sudan.

Sudan remains volatile despite the peace deal and the
promised aid, tensions remain high between the
government, its proxy militias in the south and the
SPLM/A, security analysts say.

Many militias have refused to deal with SPLM/A leader
whom they accuse of being dictatorial.

Several leading militia groups, among them the pro-
Khartoum southern Sudanese militia groups, whose
absence was blamed on the Khartoum government,
snubbed the conference.