Khartoum: Washington is the reason behind the stumbled negotiations
Sudan, Politics, 8/21/2003

The Sudanese foreign minister Mustafa Othman Ismael said yesterday that the failure of negotiations between the government and the southern rebels led by John Garang is Washington's inability "to withstand pressure groups formed by the former US administration on which the (rebels) movement is based," adding that the policies of the previous administration presided over by Bill Clinton "included economic sanctions and placed Sudan on the terrorism sponsor list."

Ismael was talking in a seminar on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the US bombardment of the medicine factory in Sudan, that was claimed by the US to be producing biological and chemical weapons, a charge later was proved false, after the US had already bombed the factory and as a follow up investigation proved, at a time when the Kenyan foreign minister arrived in Khartoum in order to mediate in the peace talks between the Sudanese movement and the government.

The Kenyan FM expressed his optimism that the civil war in southern Sudan will end shortly.

For his part, the advisor for the Sudanese President Ghazi Salah Eddine said following the meeting with the Kenyan FM of Kenya's role to bring together to the table of negotiations the two sides after the 7th round of talks reached a deadlock.

A spokesman for the southern rebels denied yesterday that negotiations were suspended as announced in previous says. He stressed that "the talks have not collapsed nor have been postponed" and that Khartoum and the rebels are still making consultations and it is expected that direct negotiations will be held in order to reach a likely agreement with in the fall of September 20.

On the other hand, the Sudanese papers said that the People's Congress party led by Hassan al-Turabi agreed to sign a new agreement with the southern rebels through the deputy secretary general of the party Ali al-Haj who lives in London.

The agreement states to form a four-way force power including beside the two sides, the Umma nation party and the Democratic Federation party. Turabi who was arrested in February 2001 just one day after his party signed an agreement with the southern rebels, the main opposition group in Sudan.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Sahafa: Southern rebels want veto right; Sudanese negotiations suspended indefinitely   (8/20/2003)
  Turabi's lawyers call for his release   (8/19/2003)
  Egypt, Kenya hold Garang responsible for the stumbled talks in Sudan   (8/18/2003)

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