Sudan looks for compromises
What kind of peace deal is emerging, or not emerging, in Sudan? Dina Ezzat takes a look
With no clear advances made, the Sudanese government and its major opposition rival, the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLM/A) put an inconclusive end to their seventh round of peace talks this week, resolving to resume their painfully slow negotiations on 10 September in Kenya.
The upcoming round of talks is scheduled to last for 10 days, focussing on the thorny issues of the division of wealth and power between the government and SPLM/A, obstacles that were left almost completely unresolved after the latest meetings.
Sources close to the negotiations have been offering contradicting assessments on the progress of talks. Some suggest that the Sudanese government is softening its rejection of what it had qualified as exaggerated demands of the SPLM/A. They argue that by 20 September both sides will agree, at least in principle, on the guidelines dictating power and wealth sharing. The same sources also suggest that due to its weak political and economic standings, the Sudanese government will have to give in to the US-backed SPLM/ A demands or face US-imposed economic and political penalties. Other sources suggest that no matter how badly it needs international economic aid, or how intense the diplomatic pressure on Khartoum, because of its domestic constituencies the Sudanese government cannot succumb to the demands of the SPLM/A as currently specified.
The present version of opposition claims on power and wealth were presented to the sixth round of talks by the negotiations sponsor, the Inter-Governmental Agency for Development IGAD. These include the establishment of two separate central banks and two armies, for the north under the supervision of the government and for the south under the supervision of the SPLM/A. Furthermore, quite substantial power would be assigned to the SPLM/A-aligned vice president.
These proposals, known collectively as the Nakuru Document, are now being re- examined by the government, IGAD, SPLM/ A and other Sudanese political forces and mediators in an attempt to find a compromise satisfactory to both sides. The objective is to secure a peace deal by the end of this year, as adamantly requested by Washington. Most political forces and mediators are keen on including any new document with a clear emphasis on the unity of Sudan. This principle was vocally stipulated in the Machakos Protocols which had started the current peace talks between the government and SPLM/A in July 2000.
"So what is being looked for now is a Machakos-plus or Nakuru-minus proposal for peace in Sudan," commented one source close to the negotiations. "It is a 'Third Way' for peace that is being looked for now," he added.
Particularly active in undertaking this endeavour is the Sudanese opposition Al- Ummah Party. This week the Ummah leader, Al-Sadeq Al-Mahdi, held talks with Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa requesting his support for an Ummah proposal with a list of amendments leading to a deal palatable to all parties.
"What we have in mind is a compromise," Al-Mahdi said following his talks with Moussa on Monday. According to Al-Mahdi this proposal includes the establishment of one central bank, instead of two, with two branches in the north and south of the country. This plan would also create one army with a joint government-SPLM/A commanding board.
As for the disagreement over the prerogatives of the northern-aligned president versus those of the SPLM/A-aligned vice president, Al-Mahdi called for the establishment of a broadly representative presidential advisory board that would intervene in controversial issues.
In his talks with Moussa, Al-Mahdi requested an Arab League-sponsored meeting for all Sudanese political forces to consider the "Third Way" proposals put out by Al- Ummah Party and other Sudanese political forces. Moussa, Arab League sources say, "listened with an open mind to the request of Al-Mahdi, especially since it comes in line with a proposal that the Arab League secretary-general has already made for an all-inclusive Sudanese dialogue".
However, as these sources point out, this meeting most likely will not take place due to widespread opposition. Listing the parties unamenable to Moussa's suggestion, one inside source said "The SPLM/A leader John Garang is unlikely to go along with this proposal. IGAD is unlikely to feel comfortable with what it might see as parallel peace talks, and the US would not want the Arab League to assume a full-fledged mediating role in the Sudan peace negotiations."
He added that a likely scenario is for the Arab League to broker informal talks between representatives of the Sudanese government and those of the many northern and southern Sudanese political forces including the SPLM/A. They would debate the alternative options proposed to secure an end to 20 year-long civil war and begin an elusive national reconciliation with an eye on granting equal rights to all citizens in a unified Sudan.
The issue of peace and development in Sudan has been figuring high on the agenda of the Arab League and Arab governments, particularly at the upcoming regular bi-annual Arab foreign ministers meeting on 9 September, just before the eighth round of the Sudan peace talks.
