DATE=12/24/1999
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
TITLE=SUDAN EMERGENCY / PEACE
NUMBER=5-45114
BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB
DATELINE=KHARTOUM
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// EDS: THIS IS THE THIRD IN A SERIES OF
THREE REPORTS ABOUT THE SITUATION IN SUDAN ///
INTRO: In Sudan, the recent state of emergency and
dissolution of parliament ordered by President Omar
al-Bashir have created a crisis within the government
and fears that it will lead to political instability
in what is, geographically, Africa's largest nation.
But many political leaders in Sudan say the crisis
also has created an opportunity to end 16-years of
civil war. V-O-A Correspondent Scott Bobb discussed
the prospects for peace with Sudanese leaders in
Khartoum recently and has this report.
TEXT: A former rebel from southern Sudan who has made
a separate peace and joined the government says
Sudan's political crisis is providing a rare
opportunity for peace.
The former rebel who is now Sudan's transportation
minister, Lam Akol, told V-O-A that now, more than
ever before, all parties are ready to discuss ways to
end the 16-year civil war that has caused one-and-one-
half million deaths and displaced two-million people.
/// AKOL ACT ///
We believe that the southern problem is the
priority. It is actually the problem of the
Sudan. It is the southern problem that has
created the instability in the country. It is
the southern problem which is affecting the
economy, the living conditions and everything.
So it must be addressed first.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Akol says a consensus has emerged that neither
side can defeat the other and the continuing
fratricide can only lead to more destruction.
Sudan's Information Minister, Ghazi Salah Eldin,
agrees that the emergency provides an opportunity for
peace.
/// SALAH ELDIN ACT ///
The latest steps taken have opened new frontiers
for peace, has enhanced confidence and trust
between the opposition parties and the
government. And I think, yes, the atmosphere is
conducive now to peace.
/// END ACT ///
A new constitution approved last year provides an
important, new concession to the rebels. It
guarantees the right of southern Sudanese to choose
whether they will remain part of Sudan or become
independent.
Mr. Akol calls this is a major achievement, but says
it can only be implemented under certain conditions.
/// AKOL ACT ///
There is no doubt today that self-determination
is a reality that has been acknowledged. But
for you to exercise self-determination, you must
have peace, because it is the people who will
vote. If they are not in their home areas, they
are not getting the stability they need, how can
they vote?
/// END ACT ///
Many observers believe that in a free and fair vote,
southern Sudanese would choose independence.
Information Minister Salah Eldin says the government
still hopes, however, that Sudan will remain united.
/// SALAH ELDIN ACT ///
Self-determination should be granted but we
should work for an outcome that would enhance
unity. The fact that the principle of self-
determination is granted does not mean we
countenance secession. No. We are unionists.
/// END ACT ///
One of the southerners' major complaints is the
imposition of Islamic law, or Sharia, in the mid-
1980s. Information Minister Salah Eldin says most
northern Sudanese want Sharia, and as a result his
government intends to keep it.
/// SALAH ELDIN ACT ///
What we are presenting to our people is to have
a system that incorporates the aspirations and
ambitions of the Muslims to have Sharia as a
source of legislation, but at the same time to
preserve the rights of non-Muslims.
/// END ACT ///
Most southerners, however, believe Sharia is part of a
pattern of disregard for southerners' rights that also
includes discrimination in jobs, education and social
services.
/// OPT /// A human rights activist from the north,
lawyer Ghazi Souleiman, believes if Sudan wishes to
remain united, the government must be secular, that
is, non-religious.
/// SOULEIMAN ACT ///
Unity has a price this time and the price of it?
We should form a country in which all the
Sudanese people are equal. And there is no way
to form such a country without a secular system.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
There have been extensive contacts over the years
between the government and rebels of the Sudan
People's Liberation Army, or S-P-L-A, but these have
failed to end the war. Information Minister Salah
Eldin says the government is ready to negotiate with
the rebels, but says it cannot wait forever.
/// OPT /// Southern leader Lam Akol says both sides
need to seize the opportunity provided by the current
government crisis.
/// AKOL ACT ///
We need to capture this moment and move on the
peace front. Otherwise, if we miss it, then we
will have missed a critical moment for the Sudan
to be what it used to be.
/// END ACT // END OPT ///
There is a general fatigue over the war that
reportedly extends to the Sudanese military as well.
And many Sudanese want the conflict to end so that the
country can begin to exploit the considerable oil and
agricultural resources in the south.
Nevertheless, there are fears that after years of
bitter conflict and suffering, positions have become
so entrenched that the parties will not be able to
take advantage of this opportunity. (Signed)
NEB/SB/JWH/JP
24-Dec-1999 11:24 AM EDT (24-Dec-1999 1624 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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