Contrary to reports emanating from the Khartoum media and attributed to Presidential Advisor on Peace Ghazi Salah El Din Atabani and others that the Nakuru Draft Framework on the Outstanding Issues arising from the Elaboration of the Machakos Protocol has been sidelined during the last seventh session of the Sudan Peace Talks in Mount Kenya Safari Club, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLM/SPLA) begs to disagree. It is true that no meaningful progress was made in the last talks mainly due to procedural matters which were deliberately created by Khartoum to derail the peace process.
The SPLM/SPLA clearly restated its position as initially presented by the mediators that the Draft Framework Document is the only basis on which the Movement can directly engage the Government of Sudan (GOS) to address the outstanding issues for the resolution of the Sudan conflict. The GOS on the other hand refused to discuss on the basis of the Draft Framework and insisted that the Draft be sidelined completely so that discussions could go on in vacuum without any agenda. According to the National Islamic Front (NIF) convoluted thinking, the parties could pick up any issue and discuss it without sequence as long as the issues so picked pertain to the maintenance of the unity of Sudan. Of course, this haphazard approach by Khartoum rulers was not accepted to the SPLM/SPLA as well as the majority of the mediators since the talks would not be holistic as presented in the Framework.
Because of the obstructive position on procedural issues adopted by Khartoum, the talks could not continue despite tremendous efforts by the SPLM/SPLA to save the talks. The talks were therefore bound to be adjourned. Infact, in an effort to save its face, the GOS delegation requested for a break in the talks so as to consult with their principals in Khartoum who themselves are divided over their approach to the resolution of the conflict.
The IGAD mediators agreed to their request and the SPLM/SPLA obliged with the hope that the consultation will result in breaking the impasse created by the GOS in the first place. Consequently, the SPLM/SPLA would like to put the record straight and hope that the two weeks of consultation requested by GOS will bear fruits. It is time the Khartoum rulers abandon their culture of rhetoric and open lies to the Sudanese public. The truth of the matter is that the talks will resume in Kenya after two weeks on the basis of the Framework Document.
Therefore, assertions in the NIF controlled media by Ghazi Salah El Din Atabani and the other members of the GOS delegation to the Nyanyuki talks that the last three days of negotiation were successful because the Framework Document was sidelined is false.
Finally, the SPLM/SPLA would like to assure the Sudanese people in particular and the international community in general that the Movement is committed to the IGAD mediation and will not be swayed by Khartoum to seek other fora including the so-called proposed All-Party Conference in Khartoum. We are also committed to avoiding any propaganda and media campaign that may harm the coming negotiations and the peace process in general.
SIGNED:
Dr. Samson L. Kwaje
Commissioner for Information
and Official Spokesman SPLM/SPLA
As all have recognized, present peace talks have grown out
of what
appeared at the time to be the breakthrough Machakos Protocol (July 20, 2002),
in which the Khartoum regime agreed to a southern self-determination
referendum six years after the conclusion of a final peace settlement. Only
because of this breakthrough agreement at Machakos, which has given name to
the
peace talks sponsored by the East African consortium of IGAD, have present
peace talks created what continues to be referred to as an historic
opportunity for peace.READ MORE......
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 16, 2003
The seventh round of peace talks in Nanyuki [central Kenya] was on the
verge of collapsing after five consecutive days of talks between
mediators and the [presumably IGAD] secretariat with the negotiating
delegates [The Sudanese government and Sudan People's Liberation
Movement, SPLM].
The delegates met yesterday for the first time in the current
round
[of talks] which was opened by the secretariat after the two sides
insisted on their positions regarding the Nakuru proposal.
The government refused to rely on the [Nakuru] Proposal as
a basis for
negotiations and described the views presented by the [Sudan People's
Liberation] Movement as outside the principles proposed by the IGAD
[Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] secretariat.
In a statement to Al-Khartoum [newspaper], the SPLM official
spokesman, Yasir Arman, said the government was responsible for
obstructing the talks. [Passage omitted].
The mediators and IGAD secretariat will today [16 August]
continue
their talks with the two sides [The Sudanese government and SPLM] as a
final step, to prevent the talks from collapsing.
Source: Al-Khartoum, Khartoum, in Arabic 16 Aug 03
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 17, 2003
Cairo, 16 August: The Sudanese peace talks in Kenya are not rushing
down into collapse as the two sides had agreed to a number of
procedural steps for direct talks on what remained of the suspending
issues, a Sudanese diplomat said here on Saturday [16 August].
Some spokesmen for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement
(SPLM) have
give some "thunderous statements" to abort any progress in peace
negotiations and then blame the whole gamut of their failure on the
Khartoum government, said Sudanese Ambassador in Cairo Ahmad Abd-al-
Halim.
Most Khartoum independent dailies carried a report on Saturday
quoting
SPLM spokesman Yasir Arman as saying the talks were on "the verge of
collapse".
The peace talks started Monday in the Kenyan mountain resort
of
Nanyuki following intensive mediation from countries in the region,
the international community and the United States.
The Sudanese government said Saturday the peace talks in Kenya
had
been officially extended by mediators from the regional group Inter-
Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
Source: MENA news agency, Cairo, in English 2212 gmt 16 Aug 03
© BBC Monitoring
NAIROBI, Aug 9 (AFP) -- Peace
talks between the Sudanese government
and southern rebels are due to resume in Kenya on Sunday despite
acrimonious exchanges between the two parties this week over a draft
final accord.
The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLA) on
Friday
rejected a government demand that a draft peace accord be modified
before talks resume in the central Kenyan town of Nanyuki.
Sudan's Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail had on Thursday said
that
negotiations will not resume unless the mediating east African body,
the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), modifies the
draft accord.
But in an interview with the Arab daily Al-Hayat Saturday,
Ismail
appeared to drop the condition and said the government delegation will
attend the talks.
The SPLM/A spokesman Samson Kwaje also said the rebel group's
team
will travel to Nanyuki.
In the last round of talks with the SPLM/A in Nakuru, Kenya
last
month, the government rejected a draft accord prepared by the
mediators on outstanding issues such as power- and wealth-sharing and
security arrangements during a six-year transition period agreed last
year.
Khartoum said the draft was a prelude to a secession of southern
Sudan
with a separate army and independent central bank during the interim
phase.
On Saturday, Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki, whose country
chairs the
IGAD committee on Sudan, gave his approval to the draft accord, a
statement from State House said.
In the Kenyan town of Machakos in July last year, Khartoum
and the
SPLM/A struck a breakthrough accord granting the south the right to
self-determination after a six-year transition period and exempting
the south from Islamic laws.
But Khartoum and the SPLM/A are wrangling on how power will
be shared
during the interim period between the country's president and a vice
president expected to come from the rebel-controlled south, according
to a source close to the negotiations.
The SPLA has been fighting since 1983 to end domination of
Sudan's
mainly Christian and animist south by the Arab Muslim government in
Khartoum.
The government is also reluctant to suspend Islamic law in
the capital
Khartoum during the transition period, when mediators had proposed
that the city serve as the joint capital.
On wealth-sharing, the bone of contention is mainly on how
to
apportion oil revenues and the ownership of land and other natural
resources, according to the source, who spoke to AFP on condition of
anonymity.
Khartoum has also rejected a proposal that both the government
and the
SPLM/A maintain separate armies during the transition period.
The government has also refused to discuss the issue of the
three
disputed areas of southern Blue Nile State, Abyei, and the Nuba
Mountains in the centre of the country, where rebels are active
although the areas are not geographically part of the south, according
to the source.
The SPLM/A claims that it has the mandate from the three territories
to represent them at the talks, but Khartoum, for its part, says that
it controls 90 percent of those areas.
The European Union said Friday that time was "ripe"
for the Sudanese
government and rebels to seize on peace talks to end the war and the
US government on Thursday called on both parties "to take the
courageous decisions needed to reach a final agreement".
The Sudanese civil war, the oldest in Africa, has claimed
at least 1.5
million lives and displaced four million people.
=======================
WORLD NEWS: Weekend peace talks on Sudan vital to future of
Africa's
longest civil war By William Wallis in Nairobi
Financial Times; Aug 08, 2003
Sudan peace talks due to resume in Kenya this weekend could
make or
break prospects of ending Africa's longest running civil war, General
Lazaro Sumbeiywo, Kenyan mediator in negotiations, said yesterday.
The talks follow agreement last year on the so-called Machakos
protocol, under which John Garang's rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Movement (SPLM) traded agreement to the continuation of Islamic law in
the north for six years of southern autonomy, ending with a referendum
on the south's independence.
The deal, which came amid strong US engagement with the peace
process,
was seen by some as giving Sudan its best hope of peace since war
resumed 20 years ago.
The SPLM, fighting for the emancipation of the Christian and
animist
south, has largely accepted Gen Sumbeiywo's latest proposals, covering
issues left out of the Machakos deal.
However, western diplomats and Sudan specialists are less
sure whether
the National Islamic Front (NIF) government in the Arab-influenced
north is in the mood for compromise.
The NIF's position has hardened in response to the latest
proposals,
dealing with power-sharing and security arrangements, the division of
revenues and the religious status of the national capital. Government
officials have described them as the precursor to the break-up of
Sudan.
President Omar el-Bashir said last month that if they were
not
refashioned, regional mediators could "go to hell".
Gen Sumbeiywo, the tough former commander of the Kenyan army, was
unmoved.
He suggested in an interview with the Financial Times ahead of
Sunday's talks at Mount Kenya, that prevarication at this stage could
restart the war, and that Khartoum would be hard-pushed to withstand
international pressure for a compromise.
As far as the US is concerned, last year's Sudan Peace Act
requires
the Bush administration to determine by October whether the NIF is
negotiating in good faith. The act envisages $300m (?265m, £186m) of
US support for government opponents - on top of the continuation of
tough US sanctions on Khartoum - should the government be seen to
scupper the peace process.
"It is what you call decision time now. It's like a surgical
operation. They have to decide whether to bear with the pain of
surgery or to bear with the pain of death," Gen Sumbeiywo said.
John Prendergast of the International Crisis Group said NIF
hardliners
militating against a deal had been buoyed by their military success in
controlling oil-producing areas in the south.
However, the outbreak of a new rebellion in the western Darfur
region
may have alerted others in the NIF to the potential for a wider
conflagration as numerous marginalised communities attempt to weigh in
on the peace negotiations.
The fighting in Darfur, diplomats said, has in turn encouraged
some in
the SPLM to think the Khartoum government could still be toppled.
Sudan: President says peace document aims at disintegrating
the
country
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 09, 2003
The presidency of the republic organized this evening, at
the Guest
House, a National Dialogue Assembly under a theme "Sudan one homeland".
The meeting was greatly attended by member parties, political
groups,
representatives of civil society organizations and prominent nationals.
Addressing the opening session of the assembly, the president
of the
republic, Staff Lt-Gen Umar al-Bashir, commended the positive response
by the parties and political groups, saying the assembly aimed at
creating a national consensus in facing developments of the crucial
stage Sudan was going through.
Gen Al-Bashir reiterated the government's rejection of the
Nakuru
[peace proposal] document. He stressed that the document targeted [the
National] Salvation [Revolution NSR], with the aim of splitting and
disintegrating the whole of Sudan. He said the government was
committed to a just and comprehensive peace which will bring together
all parties without secluding others. He said an unjust peace would
lead to the emergence of new rebellion. He said the assembly aimed at
coming up with constructive proposals which would help the parties in
the negotiations, the government and the movement [Sudan People's
Liberation Movement], to come up with results which would bridge gaps
and establish an equation which would solve outstanding issues so as
to promote the peace process.
Gen Al-Bashir said the NSR was committed to uniting the internal
front
and national will. He said: We would like to have a dialogue which
will bring together all political forces and parties to a free forum
in facing the developments of the coming period. He said there were
many issues in common, which could unify rather than divide the people
on national issues. He declared the government's absolute readiness to
embark on dialogue with all parties with the aim of arriving at a
common vision for solving national issues. He also stressed the
government's commitment to safeguard rights and freedoms of nationals.
Gen Al-Bashir promised to work towards strengthening public
freedoms
and called for adherence to objectivity by distancing oneself from
political exaggerations.
Meanwhile, by the time of compiling this report, the meetings
of the
assembly were still going on, where the secretary-general of the Ummah
Party, Dr Abd-al-Nabi Ali Ahmad, addressed the assembly. He said there
was need to unify national ranks so as to confront the challenges. He
declared that the issue of peace concerned all Sudanese people,
government and opposition.
Several representatives of parties and political groups also
addressed
the session at a closed-door meeting, stressing the need to unify the
national ranks to confront the challenges of the coming period.
[Passage omitted: President Al-Bashir addressing the assembly, saying
more or less the same what has been summed up above]
Source: Sudan TV, Omdurman, in Arabic 1900 gmt 9 Aug 03
© BBC Monitoring
Kenya: President approves framework document for resolution of
Sudanese conflicts
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 09, 2003
President Mwai Kibaki today gave his approval to the framework
for the
resolution of conflicts in Sudan, a document produced IGAD's [Inter-
Governmental Authority on Development] secretariat on peace in Sudan.
The president made the announcement after being briefed on
the
developments in the peace process by members of the secretariat on
peace in the Sudan who visited him at State House. He also approved
the resumption of the Sudanese peace talks process.
According to the head of the secretariat, Ambassador Lazarus
Sumbeiywo, the Sudan peace talks process will resume tomorrow at
Nanyuki (central Kenya). Ambassador Sumbeiywo said members of the
secretariat have visited other heads of states of member countries' of
IGAD, including President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Ethiopian Prime
Minister Meles Zenawi and Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki, who
approved the secretariat's document on peace resolution and endorsed
it as adequate.
The Kenyan special envoy on the Sudanese peace process appealed
to the
governments of Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya to prevail upon the Sudanese
government to allow Eritrea's participation in the search for peace.
He said there was need also for the Sudanese government to be made to
view IGAD as an institution and not the individual countries making
the organization. [Passage omitted]
Source: KBC radio, Nairobi, in English 1600 gmt 9 Aug 03
© BBC Monitoring
Sudanese peace talks to resume on 10 August in Kenya - official
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 09, 2003
At a time when talks between the government and the SPLM [Sudan
People's Liberation Movement] are set to resume tomorrow [10 August]
on the outskirts of Mount Kenya [central Kenya], a prominent leader in
the [opposition] Democratic Unionist Party, Shaykh [honorofic] Hasan
Abu-Sabib, called on all sides to give concessions in this round of
talks.
He also urged the government to give a chance to [other] political
parties to take part in the final round of talks so as to reach a
comprehensive peace agreement where no one is excluded.
In a statement to Al-Khartoum newspaper, Abu Sabib warned
of the
failure of the next round of talks. He said that the consequences
would be harmful to the country.[Passage omitted]
Source: Al-Khartoum, Khartoum, in Arabic 9 Aug 03
© BBC Monitoring
Sudan: Capital, "even if an inch", will be governed
by shari'ah
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 09, 2003
A member of the government delegation to the peace negotiations,
Dr
Amin Hasan Umar, has condemned signs of perpetuation of war, saying
the country should not continue to lose its sons due unjustified and
meaningless war.
In a symposium organized by the ruling party the evening of the day
before yesterday at Atbarah, Dr Umar said the Sudanese people were
hopeful of peaceful solution, although some obstacles were hindering
it. However, he said the avenues [for a peaceful settlement] were
still open.
Dr Amin said the country spends 5b [Sudanese] pounds, saying
this was
a waste resources. He added that the oil should be used in generating
state's revenues and should serve as security to investments, but the
war had made this impossible.
He further said that the government will not approach the
logic of
bargain for positions and ranks. He said the Nakuru [peace proposal]
document gives the government a majority both in the legislature and
the executive, and ensures its continued stay in power, though the
government did not consider this as its objective.
He said, "the capital city, even if an inch, will be
governed Islamic
shari'ah". He described the rebellion in Darfur [western Sudan] as a
part of John Garang's activities. He also described the rebels there
as a group of robbers who are funded and armed so as to strenghthen
the movement's [Sudan People's Liberation Movement [SPLM] negotiating
position. He said the rebellion will end in six months due to the
contrasting identity between Darfur and the south.
Concerning involvement of the rest of political parties at
the peace
talks, he said the quarters do not have a right to take part in the
talks except for the government and the SPLM. He said, "they do not
have to say, 'Involve us! Involve us!', but they should say, 'Do not
forget us'. "
He said the only possible peace would the one whereby weapons
will be
laid down and the government would ensure fair competition.
Source: Al-Khartoum, Khartoum, in Arabic 9 Aug 03
© BBC Monitoring
IGAD leaders reportedly approve controversial Sudanese peace
proposal
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Aug 09, 2003
site on 9 August
Special sources in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, have disclosed that
the IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] secretary [and
Kenyan peace envoy], Lazarus Sumbeiywo, has received confirmation from
the presidents of Ethiopia, Uganda, and Eritrea [all members of IGAD]
that the IGAD forum and its secretariat, which is sponsoring the peace
talks between the [Sudanese] government and the people's movement
[rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement SPLM], that they were
backing his efforts and those of his team from among the mediators and
experts.
The sources which did not want their identity disclosed, revealed
that
the leaders of IGAD member countries conveyed to Gen Sumbeiywo their
approval of the Nakuru [peace] proposals which were rejected by the
[Sudanese] government in the previous round of peace talks and
stressed their support for these proposals.
The sources said, the presidents of the two countries agreed on the
irrationality of diversifying peace talks' forums, saying their
countries supported the IGAD forum because it was the only one which
could help Sudanese people realize peace...[ellipses as published].
The presidents said the paper which was presented by the mediators
would be main basis for the negotiation and it was upon the [Sudanese]
government to present its views during the negotiations.
The IGAD secretary has carried out a caucus tour of the three
capitals
of IGAD member countries which are sponsoring the peace talks
alongside with Kenya. Gen Sumbeiywo arrived in the Eritrean capital
Asmara the night before yesterday and held consultations with the
Eritrean president, Isayas Afewerki, the foreign minister, Ali Sayyid
Abdallah, the Eritrean ambassador to Kenya and the Eritrean envoy to
the Sudanese peace talks, Muhammad Amru.
Before visiting Eritrea, Gen Sumbeiywo had earlier visited
Kampala and
Addis Ababa and separately met the two countries' presidents ahead of
the decisive round of peace talks scheduled to begin in Kenya on
Monday [11 August].
Meanwhile the chairman of the SPLM, John Garang, and SPLM's
delegation
making preparations for the coming round of peace talks, has left [for
Nairobi].
During his sudden visit to Asmara, [John] Garang held consultations
with the leaders of [Sudanese opposition National Democratic] Alliance
resident in Asmara, as well as the Eritrean president, Isayas Afewerki.
Source: Sudanile web site, Khartoum, in Arabic 9 Aug 03
© BBC Monitoring
Subject: Sudan - Peace process
Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union
on the
peace process in Sudan
The European Union welcomes the resumption on August 10th
of the IGAD-
sponsored peace talks on Sudan.
The EU considers that time is ripe to strike the final compromises
on
the outstanding key issues and reach a comprehensive agreement to put an end
to
the conflict and to the sufferings of civilian population in Sudan.
The European Union calls on the Parties to work actively with
the IGAD
mediators led by the Kenyan Special Envoy with a view to achieve a
comprehensive solution, based upon a strict observance of the rule of law
and full respect
for human rights and fundamental freedoms to fulfill the aspirations for peace
and prosperity of all the Sudanese people within a unified Sudan.
The European Union commends the pivotal role of the IGAD member
states
and particularly of Kenya for its facilitating role and reiterates its full
and
continued support for the IGAD peace process.
The European Union assures the Parties of its readiness to
assist them
in the implementation of the Peace Agreement and to accompany Sudan on a path
of peace building, democracy and development.
The European Union welcomes the extension of the cessation
of
hostilities and of the Addendum on the Verification and Monitoring Team for
a further
three months and stands ready to support the monitoring mechanism.
The European Union urges the parties to fully abide by their
commitments to signed agreements.
The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Hungary,
Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the
Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries Iceland,
Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area align themselves
with
this declaration.
****************************************************
Press Statement
Philip T. Reeker, Deputy Spokesman
Washington, DC
August 7, 2003
Sudan: Talks Resume---Time for Agreement is Now
The United States is encouraged that the Intergovernmental
Authority
on Development (IGAD) peace talks on Sudan will resume on August 10 in Kenya,
and
that theparties to the Sudan conflict are continuing efforts to reach a
comprehensive peace settlement. We remain committed to achieving a just and
lasting
peace in Sudan and believe that the IGAD peace process under the very capable
leadership ofthe Kenyan Mediator, General (ret.) Lazaro K. Sumbeiywo, has
made
substantial progress over the past 14 months of consistent engagement.
The key substantive issues have now been put on the table.
It is the
responsibility of the parties to bridge the divide that separates them and
to
take the courageous decisions needed to reach a final agreement. As the U.S.
Special Envoy, John C. Danforth, has made clear, the time to reach an agreement
is
now; the Sudan conflict has lasted far too long.
The United States has intensified its engagement in support
of the
IGAD process through increased senior-level involvement and the provision
of
additional resources and personnel.
[Released on August 7, 2003]
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (AFP) -- Frustrated
by snags in negotiating a peace
deal to end Sudan's long-running civil war, the United States on
Thursday told Khartoum and southern rebels that it was now time to
reach an agreement.
"The key substantive issues have now been put on the
table," deputy
State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said in a statement.
"It is the responsibility of the parties to bridge the
divide that
separates them and to take the courageous decisions needed to reach a
final agreement," he said.
"The time to reach an agreement is now, the Sudan conflict
has lasted
far too long," Reeker said of the nearly 21-year-old war.
A new round of peace talks between the government and the
Sudan
People's Liberation Army (SPLA) rebel movement is set to start in
Kenya on Sunday, but Sudan has threatened not to attend unless a draft
accord is modified.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail told Egyptian newspaper
Al-
Ahram in an interview that unless the body hosting the talks, the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), took up the
changes Khartoum would stay away.
"If not, or if the (new) initiative is not acceptable,
the meeting due
Sunday in Nakuru will not happen," he said, referring to the Kenyan
town that is to be the venue for the talks. "Next Sunday will be a
decisive day."
In the last round of talks with the SPLA, in July, Khartoum
rejected
an IGAD draft on outstanding issues such as power- and wealth-sharing
and security arrangements during a six-year transition period agreed
to last year.
It said the draft was a prelude to a secession of southern
Sudan with
a separate army and independent central bank during the interim phase.
The Sudanese government and the SPLA struck a breakthrough
accord last
July granting the south the right to self-determination after a six-
year transition period and exempting the south from Islamic laws.
The SPLA has been fighting since 1983 to end domination of
the mainly
Christian and animist south by the Arab Muslim government in Khartoum.
The conflict, the oldest in Africa, has claimed at least 1.5
million
lives and displaced four million people since 1983.
Sudan will not resume peace talks with southern
rebels unless the mediating African body modifies a draft accord, the
Sudanese foreign minister said Thursday.
"Peace talks will resume if the Inter-Governmental Authority
on
Development (IGAD) takes a new initiative providing for reasonable
arrangements in the interim period," the minister, Mustafa Ismail,
told Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram in an interview.
"If not, or if the (new) initiative is not acceptable,
the meeting due
Suday in (the Kenyan town of) Nakuru will not happen," he said. "Next
Sunday will be a decisive day."
In the last round of talks with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Army (SPLA), in July, the government rejected an IGAD draft on
outstanding issues such as power- and wealth-sharing and security
arrangements during a six-year transition period agreed last year.
Khartoum said the draft was a prelude to a secession of southern
Sudan
with a separate army and independent central bank during interim
phase.
In the Kenyan town of Machakos in July last year, Khartoum
and the
SPLA struck a breakthrough accord granting the south the right to self-
determination after a six-year transition period and exempting the
south from Islamic laws.
IGAD comprises the east African states of Djibouti, Eritrea,
Ethiopia,
Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and, nominally, Somalia.
The SPLA has been fighting since 1983 to end domination of
the mainly
Christian and animist south by the Arab Muslim government in Khartoum.
The conflict, the oldest in Africa, has claimed at least 1.5
million
lives and displaced four million people since 1983.