Asmara: IGAD initiative the best opportunity for peace in Sudan
Sudan-Eritrea, Politics, 10/27/1999

Eritrea said it believes the efforts exerted by the governmental body for development in eastern Africa (IGAD) creates the best opportunity for halting the civil war in Sudan.

In a statement issued Monday, the Eritrean Foreign Ministry said the IGAD initiative in Sudan is still "as valid as ever."

"The initiative and mandate of IGAD were not dictated from without. On the contrary, they originated from the express wishes and consent of the Government of the Sudan on the one hand and the South Sudan People's Liberation Movement on the other. If the initiative was not enlarged to encompass other political forces in the Sudan, this was again in accordance with the express choice of the two protagonists," it added.

At the same time, Asmara denounced the latest predictions about the Egyptian - Libyan and IGAD initiatives.

The statement said, "The recent Libyan-Egyptian initiative is being portrayed as an 'Arab initiative' that is incoherent, if not at cross-purposes, with the IGAD or 'African initiative.' This baseless insinuation can only be counterproductive."

Moreover, the statement added that undermining IGAD's role or directing accusations to it "will have no meaning other than wasting time on marginal issues and confounding the peace initiative."

Previous Stories:
  Sudanese foreign minister: Israeli trains and finances rebels in the south   (10/26/1999)
  Albright : rejects Egyptian - Libyan solution to Sudan problem   (10/25/1999)
  Sudanese opposition criticizes Albright's statements   (10/25/1999)
  El-Bashir to confer with Afwerki in Doha soon   (9/4/1999)

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