NAIVASHA,
Kenya, October 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The Sudanese
government and the opposition Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM)
have pledged to sign a comprehensive deal to end two decades of civil
war by the end of December, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said
Wednesday, October 22.
"Both
sides have agreed to continue the talks and reach a comprehensive
agreement no later than by the end of December," Powell told a news
conference after meeting Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman Taha and
SPLM leader John Garang in this Kenyan city, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
"Both
gentlemen have committed themselves to that goal," said the top
American diplomat.
He
told the news conference he felt it was "absolutely clear ... that
the way is now open to a final and comprehensive solution" to the
war.
"Based
on what I have heard, I believe that a final agreement is within the
grasp of the parties," he said, a couple of hours before flying to
the Egyptian seaside resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for talks with Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak.
"We
must find a solution. This is a moment of opportunity that must not be
lost. The people of Sudan have known hardship and devastation for too
long. All the people of Sudan, northerners and southerners alike, are
hungry and desperate for an end to this conflict," Powell added.
He
said U.S. President George W. Bush will host leaders of both sides at
the White House once such a deal was signed.
"Once
the parties have signed the final comprehensive agreement for peace,
President Bush looks forward and has invited them to come to the White
House so that he can recognize their achievement and also endorse the
agreement," Powell added.
'Morale
Booster'
 |
|
"The
issues are not easy, but with determination and commitment, we can
overcome," said Taha
|
Sudanese
government spokesman Sayed el-Khatibu praised the U.S. administration
for its endeavors to end the deadly civil war that has killed some 1.5
million people and displaced more than four million.
"The
coming of Powell was a morale booster. It's a sign that people in other
corners of the world are touched by the devastation in Sudan. We accept
anybody who is willing to help us reach peace," he said.
Asked
whether Powell had exerted any pressure on the negotiating parties, he
added: "The U.S. is helping us but I have neither seen a carrot nor
a stick from their end."
Garang,
for his part told AFP: "We will achieve peace for our country
hopefully, as the secretary of state said, before the end of the
year."
"Powell
came to nudge us in order to achieve peace," the SPLM leader told
the same news conference. "He brought encouragement and hope."
Taha
told reporters: "The issues are not easy, but with determination
and commitment, we can overcome."
On
Tuesday, October 21, Powell told reporters that such a deal could lead
to the lifting of U.S. sanctions against Sudan.
In
the current round of talks, Taha and Garang are focusing on the status
of three central regions claimed by both sides and on how to share power
and wealth, notably that of Sudan's oil reserves.
Previous
rounds have already produced crucial agreements on a six-year interim
period of self-rule for the south before a referendum and on the
security arrangements to put in place during this period.
'Impossible'
A
senior Sudanese government official argued it was "impossible to
dictate" a deadline for reaching a peace deal.
"It
is impossible for anyone to dictate a date on the two parties that are
negotiating," presidential peace adviser Ghazi Salaheddine said in
Kenya hours after the news conference.
Asked
whether this time frame was realistic, Salaheddine said: "It is not
putting a deadline on the end of the negotiations, it is an expression
of the desire to redouble efforts to reach an agreement."
Another
Sudanese government official was less diplomatic.
"The
U.S. is here to solve its own problems simply because elections are
around the corner and they have never had success in the Middle East and
Gulf region," said the official, who asked not to be named.
