Powell meets south Sudan rebel leader

U.S. Department of State spokesperson Richard Boucher said yesterday that a meeting was held between Secretary of State Colin Powell and Sudanese southern rebel leader John Garang.

Boucher said "It was a good meeting, interesting discussion. The Secretary made clear that President Bush is particularly concerned about the plight of the Sudanese people and the ongoing civil war. The Secretary discussed these concerns and conveyed to Mr. Garang this administration's commitment to finding a peaceful and just solution to the civil war. Both the Secretary and Mr. Garang noted the momentum that seems to be starting up in the process of resolving the issues in Sudan. So they discussed those issues. They discussed how to continue and further the process. They talked about the status of various peace efforts that were under way, but also discussed the issue of development in southern Sudan."

He added "And Mr. Garang thanked us for the assistance the United States has been giving, particularly in the area of education, which he described as one of the keys to the future of the people of Sudan, and said he needed further assistance. And we said we continue to support that area."

Asked if there are arrangements for direct peace talks between the two parties, Boucher said "I would take the suggestion on board. I'm sure somebody might have thought of it already. But I have to say that there are a number of fora that have been involved with trying to promote the peace process, and we kind of at this moment updated each other on the status of those various discussions. But I don't have anything new to announce either on our behalf or anybody else's at this point."

Asked "With regards to the agreement that Mr. Garang and the Sudanese Government signed last week on not targeting civilians, does the State Department understand that to mean that Garang cannot continue his very public campaign of targeting Sudanese oil fields? Is that a civilian target? Would that be covered in this agreement not to target civilians?" Boucher said "I'm sure all those things were discussed in Switzerland and elsewhere as this was worked out." He said he would try to clarify this issue later.