Sudan: Peace Talks Adjourn
Without Resolution
Talks to resolve a
standoff in Sudan's national coalition government has adjourned
without an agreement, prolonging the efforts at implementing a
peace agreement signed in year 2005.
After three and a half hours of talks on Thursday, SPLM Chairman
and First Vice President, Salva Kiir left the first meeting with
President Omar Hassan al-Bashir since the crisis began.
Presidential spokesman, Mahjoub Fadul said after the meeting in
Khartoum, “There was agreement to complete discussions on the
outstanding problems in the deal," he did not specify when the
talks might resume.
Officials however say discussions would continue.
The former southern rebel of Sudan People's Liberation Movement,
SPLM suspended its work in government last week after months of
stalemate on implementing key elements of the 2005 deal.
SPLM officials said they would not yet return to work.
The Focus
The SPLM had given the ruling party until January 9th, the third
anniversary of the landmark peace deal, to show progress on
outstanding issues.
SPLM Deputy Secretary-General, Yasir Arman, said that Mr. Kiir and
President Bashir had discussed outstanding elements of the peace
deal.
These include redeployment of northern troops from southern oil
fields, mapping the borders of the oil-rich Abyei region,
demarcating the north-south boundary and the fate of hundreds of
political prisoners being held in northern jails.
"The ministers will go back to work when the chairman of the SPLM
has finished his talks and instructs them to go," he explained.
"The talks will resume very soon and the first vice president is
optimistic," Arman said.
He said the SPLM leadership agreed progress was needed on both
outstanding issues in the peace deal and a long-delayed cabinet
reshuffle before the SPLM would rejoin government.
Bashir granted one SPLM demand on Wednesday by announcing a
reshuffle of SPLM ministers -- which make up a quarter of the
cabinet -- after three months of stalling.
But SPLM officials said the reshuffle was announced prematurely
and two presidential advisors had not been appointed as requested.
Arman said discussions on the reshuffle would follow talks on the
stalled peace deal.
While both sides have insisted they do not want a return to war,
recent relations have been strained.
REUTERS/YINKA
