Sudanese civil war: a new round of peace negotiations
Sudan, Reporter's View, 4/16/1998

Towards the end of this month representatives of the Sudanese government are expected to meet with their counterparts in the Sudan's People Liberation Army ( SPLA ) at the Kenyan capital Nairobi to resume peace negotiations which was broken off last November after failing to reach an agreement on how to bring an end to the protracted civil war which lasted over 14 years and cost Africa's largest country well over one million deaths.

However, some doubt that this new round of negotiations could result in a breakthrough that would grind the war to a halt.

A series of peace negotiations had taken place between the two sides since General Omar al-Bashir came to power through a military coup backed by the National Islamic Front ( NIF ) in 1989.

Former US president Jimmy Carter sponsored and participated as a mediator in the first encounter at Nairobi in 1989, the Nigerian ex-president General Obasango also succeeded in bringing the two sides together several times during the 1990s in the Nigerian new capital Abuja. But none of these initiatives was fruitful in breaking the deadlock.

The coming new round of negotiations have been organized under the umbrella of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought ( IGAD ), which is a regional grouping for east African countries. Three of IGAD members, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea make no effort to deny the fact that they harbor a great deal of resentment for Khartoum's government. Uganda openly supports the SPLA while Eritrea provides sanctuary for the northern Sudanese opposition currently operating from military basis on the Sudanese-Eritrean borders.

The Ethiopian prime minister Mellese Zenawe, whose government continues to demand that Khartoum hands over the perpetrators of the 1995 attempt on the life of Egypt's president Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa, recently made it clear that he doesn't see any chances of success for the anticipated round of negotiations, blaming the Sudanese government for what he called its fanaticism and recalcitrance.

Inside Sudan seemingly there is not much optimism, Riak Mashar assistant to the president of the republic and chairman of the south Sudan coordination council, who is viewed to be a key player in the coming negotiations , in his turn, expressed his low expectations for a positive outcome.

The southern Sudanese Leader accused the SPLA of planning a wide range offensive supported by Uganda, Ethiopia and the United States, with the objective of aborting the forthcoming meeting in Kenya. The Islamists in Khartoum are fully convinced that the recent visit by US president Bill Clinton to Uganda was paid primarily to coordinate and bolster American plans aimed at bringing down General Bashir's government.

At the same time Khartoum is adamant not to back off from its Islamization policies, and not to give in to SPLA demands for a secular state. The SPLA refused to heed Khartoum's request to declare a cease-fire as a sign of good will which will create a conducive atmosphere for the negotiations. Rather the SPLA escalated its military operations in the south and continued to support the northern armed opposition on the eastern Sudanese front.

Previous Stories:
  Expected Mubarak - Bashir summit to discuss external plot against Sudan   (4/15/1998)
  Sudanese opposition accuses government of killing soldiers   (4/14/1998)
  Sudanese government expects a military attack   (4/7/1998)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search