Sudan peace talks have not collapsed: SPLA

NAIROBI, Aug 20 (AFP) — Peace talks between the Sudan government and southern rebels are still going on in Kenya’s central town of Nanyuki, a rebel source told AFP on Wednesday, denying reports the negotiations had collapsed.

“The talks have not collapsed and no adjournment has been made,” Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) deputy spokesman George Garang told AFP by telephone from Nanyuki.

“Khartoum and SPLA are still holding consultations and expected to hold face-to-face negotiations … for a possible agreement by the September 20 deadline,” Garang said.

Press reports in Khartoum claimed on Tuesday that the talks had collapsed after deadlock and that the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) mediators had postponed the peace parley indefinitely.

Garang explained that “the talks were scheduled to end on August 24, but they have since been extended to go on up to September 20, depending on whether the mediators will succeed in sending the parties to the negotiating table for face-to-face talks.”

“If the warring parties agreed to begin talks, then they will have to tackle all the outstanding issues, in order to finish business by September 20 and be ready to sign the final agreement shortly thereafter,” Garang said.

The deadlock hinges on Khartoum’s refusal to negotiate on the basis of an IGAD framework document, while the SPLA insists it should form the basis of a settlement, sources close to the Nanyuki negotiations said last week.

The government and the SPLA struck a breakthrough accord in July 2002, guaranteeing the south a six-year period of autonomy after which a referendum will be held to decide whether the largely Christian and animist south will secede or remain under the administration of the Arabised, Muslim north.

Exiles from southern Sudan protested in Nairobi Wednesday, calling on the UN to intervene if the talks break down irretrievably.

The protesters accused Khartoum of delaying an agreement in order to exploit the rich oil resources in the south. The demonstrators say the south’s oil bonanza is at the heart of the 20-year conflict that has killed up to two million people and displaced another four million.

“We are tired of war. We are tired of being in exile. Sudan peace process should be embodied in the UN Security Council resolution,” read some of the banners carried by the demonstrators.

A previous round of talks broke down last month when Khartoum rejected a draft accord on power- and wealth-sharing and security arrangements.