DATE=1/19/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SUDAN / UGANDA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-258203
BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS
DATELINE=NAIROBI
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Officials from Sudan and Uganda are returning
to the table (Wednesday) for talks on restoring
diplomatic relations that were cut five-years ago. As
Scott Stearns reports, former U-S President Jimmy
Carter is sponsoring efforts to reconcile the East
African neighbors.
TEXT: Sudan and Uganda broke relations with each
accusing the other of helping arm and train rebels
across the border. While both countries are still
fighting rebellions, they have made considerable
progress toward normalizing ties between their
governments.
This round of talks in the Kenyan capital is a follow-
up to the December meeting between Ugandan President
Yoweri Museveni and Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-
Bashir. They agreed to stop supporting each other's
rebel groups and offer amnesty to former insurgents
who renounce the use of violence.
An 11-point accord also promised to return prisoners
of war and work together to locate and return refugees
and people who have been abducted.
Former U-S President Jimmy Carter brought the two
sides together and it is through his Carter Center for
Resolution of Conflicts in Africa that these talks
continue. This week's sessions, at the ministerial
level, are expected to concern arrangements for
resuming diplomatic representations, air flights, and
joint development projects. If those deals are
worked-out, both countries are expected to restore
full relations by the end of February.
Earlier this month, Ugandan President Museveni freed
72 Sudanese prisoners of war, who were captured in
Kitgum district in 1997. Sudan responded by releasing
58 Ugandans, including eight school girls, who were
captured by the rebel Lord's Resistance Army.
That rebel group launches cross-border raids into
northern Uganda from bases inside Sudan. Ugandan
State minister for regional cooperation, Amama
Mbabazi, was in Khartoum last week to discuss what the
two governments could do to stop those rebels. Under
this accord, both sides say they will make every
effort to disband and disarm rebel or terrorist groups
hostile to the other nation.
Uganda has long accused Sudan of sponsoring the Lord's
Resistance Army and another rebel group, the Allied
Democratic Forces. Sudan says Uganda is helping the
Sudan People's Liberation Army, which is fighting a
16-year-old civil war against the government in
Khartoum. (SIGNED)
NEB/SS/GE/RAE
19-Jan-2000 08:44 AM EDT (19-Jan-2000 1344 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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