Issue No. 602
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5 - 11 September 2002 Issue No. 602 Region |
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Renewed vitriol in Sudan
Due to US pressure, renewed calls for war in Khartoum do not spell an end for peace talks between the two sides, reports Khaled Dawoud
The Sudanese army geared up for fresh fighting in the south as the government traded blame with the rebels over who is responsible for the collapse of US-sponsored peace talks.
Sudan's government suspended the negotiations on Monday and ordered a general mobilisation of the army after rebels seized the strategic town of Torit, their biggest battlefield victory in two months.
The withdrawal from talks has been accompanied by renewed war talk. President Omar Al-Bashir said he was preparing the country for more war while a pro- government newspaper declared, "we are all behind the armed forces."
"I have declared a general mobilisation and the armed forces have been directed to move in all directions until Torit, Kapoeta and other areas are recaptured," Sudan's government-owned Al-Anbaa newspaper quoted Al- Bashir as saying.
Bashir also called on all sectors of Sudanese society to join training camps and move to the operations areas. State television on Monday night showed members of the Popular Defence Force, which was formed in 1989 to help the army fight the SPLA, and groups of policemen arriving at Khartoum airport to fly to Juba, southern Sudan's main town.
The government and rebels exchanged accusations of blame over the breakdown of the talks. "They (the government) came more or less with an opinion to torpedo the talks," SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje told a news conference in Nairobi. "They were not interested in negotiating seriously."
Sudan's representative in Kenya, Ahmed Dirdeiri, accused
the rebels of backtracking on an outlined peace agreement reached at a previous round of talks in July. But he also said there was still a will on both sides to resolve the conflict. "There is a momentum for peace in Sudan, the government is interested in maintaining this momentum... but it takes two to tango," he said. According to Dirdeiri, the rebels re-opened the issue of church and state and threatened Suda's unity by proposing a confederation of two states and the expansion of the southern borders. Analysts have attributed these latest moves to the need to gain military advantage in order to strengthen bargaining position.
The United States, which played a major role in convincing Khartoum and the SPLA to reach an agreement, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the Sudanese government's decision to temporarily suspend its participation in negotiations. Although the US was optimistic that talks would continue "sooner rather than later".
Hopes for a peace agreement rose in July, when the government and rebels reached a landmark deal allowing southerners to opt for secession after a six-year transition period, and limiting the application of Islamic Shari'a law to Muslim areas only. The latest round of talks aimed at building on the agreement by confronting outstanding issues such as power-sharing, dividing Sudan's oil wealth and agreeing on a timetable for a cease-fire.
But while mediators struggled to find common ground between the two sides, the government accused the rebels of undermining the July agreement by launching military offensives. The rebels denied the allegations, saying their capture of Torit, a major garrison town, over the weekend had simply been a response to a government offensive.
Many analysts believe that Sudan's decision to suspend talks with southern rebels is a setback on the road to peace, but exhaustion with 19 years of war and pressures from the international community will likely push both sides back to the table.
Sudan watchers also say the swift US criticism of the collapse in negotiations showed the extent of foreign interest in peace in Sudan. There are many reasons for this but not least of which are the largely untapped oil reserves in southern Sudan which are now largely off limits.
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