Military

DATE=10/6/04

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT (L-ONLY)

TITLE=SUDAN/PEACE TALKS

NUMBER=2-319461

BYLINE=CATHY MAJTENYI

DATELINE=NAIROBI

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: Sudanese Government Blasts Critics As Peace Talks Resume

INTRO: The Sudanese government Wednesday blasted a report from an international research organization warning that civil war could break out across Sudan, unless long-running negotiations between the government and the country's main rebel group in the south conclude quickly and successfully. As Cathy Majtenyi reports from Nairobi, the final round of talks is scheduled to open in Kenya Thursday.

TEXT: The deputy ambassador at the Sudanese embassy in Nairobi, Dirdeiry Ahmed, denied Wednesday that the long-running peace talks between his government and the southern-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement, or SPLM, are in danger of collapsing.

/// AHMED ACT ///

"We have made a lot of successes. Everybody knows that we have succeeded. Every person and foreign analyst in the world are commending the government of Sudan and the SPLM."

/// END ACT ///

The Brussels-based International Crisis Group warned Tuesday that if the talks collapse, or do not produce what it calls a "quick and conclusive peace agreement," the 21-year civil war could erupt again.

The conflict, which has claimed an estimated two million lives and displaced many more, pits a largely Muslim north against the Christian and animist south. The fighting also centers on oil-rich areas in the south where local people have been forcibly removed to get to the oil.

Peace talks between the government and the SPLM have been taking place in Kenya over the past two years. During that time, negotiators signed six protocols that, among other things, spell out precise arrangements on how to share the country's wealth and power.

Negotiators say all that remains before a final, comprehensive peace deal can be signed is to work out small, technical details.

But the Sudanese government has been accused of dragging its feet on completing the negotiations, using the crisis in the western region of Darfur as an excuse not to come to the table, a view the Sudanese government has denied.

The director of the International Crisis Group's Africa program, Suliman Baldo, explains.

/// BALDO ACT ///

"The government has been sending mixed signals expressing readiness to finalize the process but at the same time accusing SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army, the armed wing of the SPLM) of intransigence and saying that Darfur is diverting it and they can't focus because of the crisis in Darfur and all the pressure they are getting there from the international community."

/// END ACT ///

The report predicts that a number of what it calls "stumbling points" could scuttle the final round of talks. It says hard-liners in the government who think too many concessions have been made to the rebels might "stonewall" the process.

The report also points to the SPLM, saying that some in its army, who do not trust the government, could sabotage the agreement.

SPLM spokesman Samson Kwaje said he does not expect members of his group to sabotage the process.

/// KWAJE ACT ///

"I'm not aware of elements within the SPLA. But SPLA being a southern movement, I also cannot deny."

/// END ACT ///

Mr. Kwaje said many southern Sudanese who do not belong to the SPLM do not trust the government and could resume fighting.

Sudanese vice-president Ali Osman Taha and SPLM chairman John Garang are scheduled to attend the opening of what could be the final round of Sudan peace talks in Nairobi Thursday, and are expected to stay for about two days. (Signed)

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