Sudan's President, Rebel Leader Vow To Enhance Peace Efforts
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| "The two leaders underscored the need to reinforce the peace process " |
KAMPALA,
July 27 (Islamonline & News Agencies)- President Omar al-Beshir of
Sudan and John Garang, leader of the rebel Sudan People's Liberation
Army (SPLA), ended their first ever meeting in Kampala Saturday, July
27, vowing in a joint communiqué to step up efforts to bring peace to
their country.
The
two leaders "underscored the need to reinforce the peace process
by rallying popular support behind it and building national consensus
on a comprehensive political settlement," the communiqué said.
"They
undertook to ensure that all efforts are deployed to resolve the
outstanding issues, which will be discussed in the next phase of the
peace talks," said the communiqué that was read at the end of
the talks by Uganda's Foreign Minister James Wapakhabulo, Agence
France-Presse (AFP) reported.
The
meeting, which lasted about two hours and was chaired by Ugandan
President Yoweri Museveni, followed significant progress announced
last week after peace talks in Kenya, aimed at ending Sudan's civil
war.
"This
is a good signal for the Sudanese people and the world," Garang
told reporters as he walked out of the conference centre.
Museveni
did not allow reporters to ask Beshir and Garang questions after the
communiqué was read, but encouraged the two leaders to shake hands
for the second time during their historic encounter, which had begun
with the two men shaking hands.
"We
have applauded what has been achieved so far and we hope this
[meeting] helps us find comprehensive peace," Garang added.
After
five weeks of peace negotiations ended on July 20 in the Kenyan town
of Machakos, the two sides agreed to a protocol that will give
southern Sudan administrative autonomy for a six-year period and
excluding it from the Islamic law applied in the north, AFP said.
Saturday's
meeting had been arranged before the Machakos round of negotiations,
as a "supplementary effort" of the peace initiative of the
regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which
organized the talks in Kenya.
At
the end of the six years, according to the Machakos protocol, the
people of southern Sudan will be asked to vote on whether they want to
remain part of the country or secede.
Speaking
after the Machakos talks, SPLA officials explained that the conflict
had started when southern soldiers in the Sudanese army mutinied in
November 1983 after former Sudanese president Jaafer Nimeiri decided
to abrogate a 1972 agreement that would have established a regional
government for the south.
The
war and related famine have killed up to 1.5 million people and
displaced more than four million others, according to humanitarian
sources.
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