Summit Held in Kenya on Sudanese PeaceLeaders of some African countries Saturday held a one-day summit here, urging the continued talks between the Sudanese government and rebels aimed at ending the country's 18-year-old civil war.The summit called by the Inter-governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Committee on Sudan was attended by regional leaders including Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, Djibouti's President Ismael Omar Guelleh, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, and the host's President Daniel arap Moi. Among the participants were also President Omar Hassan El-Bashir of Sudan, John Garang, Chairman of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army and Attala Hamad Bashir, the IGAD Executive Secretary. According to a communique of the summit read by Kenya's Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Bonaya Godana, no agreement on cease-fire in the Sudan was reached by the attended parties. The summit noted that although four meetings and two working sessions on the Sudanese peace process have been held in Kenya in recent years, progress in the negotiations has been slow. There is lack of agreement on core issues, including the determination of the boundary of the areas that constitute southern Sudan, the system of government during the interim period and sharing of wealth, the communique noted. During the summit, East African leaders met separately with President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and John Garang, and urged them to redouble their efforts in the spirit of give and take so as to resolve all outstanding issues and reach agreement as soon as possible. The heads of state also expressed concern regarding the intensification of the conflicts in Sudan and its adverse effect on the economy and people's life. The communique said that the parties agreed to appoint permanent negotiating teams to the IGAD Secretariat on Peace in the Sudan to ensure continuity of the negotiations. They also agreed to reconvene within two months to follow up on the implementation of decisions made. Speaking at the opening of the summit, Moi said that the Sudan conflict continues to cause anguish, suffering and loss of life to the people of the country, and also posed a threat to peace, security and stability to this region. He hoped that the people of Sudan will take advantage of the opportunity offered by the summit to engage in sustainable negotiations with greater determinations, and reiterated that the full responsibility for resolving the conflict in the Sudan rests with the people themselves. Moi called on both parties to contribute constructively in a spirit of comprise to bringing the conflict to an end and enhancing the peace process. The Sudan peace talks in Kenya under the auspices of the IGAD have dragged on since 1994 and no real progress has been achieved. The conflict between the government and rebels, combined with disease and famine in southern Sudan, has taken around 2 million lives since 1983. |
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