Nivasha negotiations continue to settle wealth- share dispute
Sudan, Politics, 12/29/2003

Negotiations between the Sudanese government and southern rebels have continued in Nivasha resort, Kenya. The first vice president of the Sudanese President, Ali Othman Taha, and the leader of the rebels, John Garang, are trying to bridgedifferences in the file of wealth sharing, in preparations to sign a final agreement concerning this issue.

The spokesman for the movement, Yasser Araman, said that negotiations in the issue of wealth- sharing lasted all that time because "one of the main roots for the Sudanese crisis and the civil war lies in the unjust distribution of wealth and the authority, which are complex and complicated issued but not impossible to solve. " The proposed wealth-sharing agreement includes distribution of oil revenues, and collecting and sharing of taxes, and the role of the central bank, and matters relating to the currency.

Araman added that Taha and Garang listened also to a report concerning the three areas submitted by the movement's chief negotiator, Neyal Dinaq, and Mutarraf Saddiq, the chairman of the government's delegation to the committee of the "three areas."

However, the last great progress was attained between the two sides in September, when Garang and Taha signed an agreement on security issues in the provisional phase. According to the agreement, aKhartoum will reduce number of its forces in the south to 36,000 troops, and joint forces including the government and the rebels will be formed.

Previous Stories:
  Al-Jazeera correspondent in Sudan released   (12/26/2003)
  Sudan peace near in Nivasha, far in Darfour   (12/25/2003)
  US continued support to peace efforts in Sudan   (12/25/2003)

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