Sudan Accepts Egyptian-Libyan Peace Initiative

Sudanese government has accepted an Egyptian-Libyan plan for ending the 18-year civil war and achieving reconciliation, the Al Ra'ie Al Am (Public Opinion) daily reported on Wednesday.

During an overnight meeting on Tuesday, the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) led by President Omar Hassan el-Bashir decided to accept the initiative, NCP Secretary General Ibrahim Ahmed Omar was quoted as saying.

Omar said, NCP also called on the opposition parties to accept the plan and submit their responses quickly.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mustafa Ismail told reporters Wednesday that the government will give its reply to the two sponsors by the end of this week, adding that "we hope that the parties concerned would not retreat when we begin to implement the plan."

Ismail said that the government does not oppose mixing the Egyptian-Libyan initiative with a proposal raised by the Inter- Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), which has been mediating negotiations between the Sudanese government and the southern rebels of Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), led by John Garang.

Last week, Egypt and Libya put forth a new reconciliation plan for Sudan, which calls for resuming the peace process, forming a transitional cabinet of all political forces, specifying date and arrangements of new general elections, and an immediate cessation of all forms of hostilities.

In l999, Egypt and Libya launched an initiative that called for a national conference, to be attended by the Sudanese government, all opposition groups in the north and SPLA in the south, to put an end to protracted civil war.

In 1993, IGAD proposed to end the Sudanese conflict through negotiations. The proposal called for self-determination in the south while the Egyptian-Libyan plan advocated Sudan's territorial integrity.

The Sudanese government forces have been fighting with SPLA, which struggles for greater autonomy for the predominantly Christian and animist south since 1983.






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