Mbeki appeals for resumption of negotiations between Sudan’s peace partners
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March 15, 2011 (JUBA/KHARTOUM) — Thabo Mbeki, the former South African
president and Chairman of the African Union (AU) High-Level Panel on
Sudan has appealed to the leadership of the South Sudan to resume
negotiations on post-referendum arrangements with its peace partner in
the north, after last week’s suspension.
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President of the Government of South Sudan, Salva Kiir (L) and chair
of African Union High-Level Implementation Panel, Thabo Mbeki (AFP)
Pagan Amum, secretary general of the Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement (SPLM) on Saturday announced his party has suspended all
talks and contacts with the National Congress Party (NCP), accusing
the latter of working to destabilize the emerging independent state of
South Sudan.
Pagan said there was evidence indicating that the NCP has been
supporting various militia groups in the South with the intention of
carrying out a genocide in the region; a charge denied by the NCP
officials.
His remarks followed waves of clashes that have rocked the south in
the past few months raising fears in the region, ahead of the 9 July
2011 declaration of the region’s long-awaited independence.
The former South African president told reporters he remains
optimistic that the two parties, who were signatory to the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005 will get back to the
negotiation table and reach a consensus before the official
declaration of the independence of Republic of South Sudan next July.
Addressing a press conference in Juba, South Sudan’s capital, soon
after a consultative meeting he held with Salva Kiir, the South Sudan
leader, Mbeki said his panel will convene another meeting as a "matter
of urgency" with president of the Khartoum-based Republic of the
Sudan, Hassan Al-Bashir to find ways of reviving talks between the two
parties.
Mbeki’s intervention comes less than a day after the SPLM unveiled
confidential documents detailing NCP’s alleged plot to overthrow the
southern government by supporting, arming, training and financing
militias opposed to the semi-autonomous region.
The documents, which spanned from 2008-2010 included confidential
information involving the northern military high command, its army’s
logistical department, intelligence units and the defence ministry.
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AU Panel chairman, Thabo Mbeki, shaking hands with South Sudan Vice
President, Riek Machar, Juba, March 15, 2011 (ST)
During his meeting with the vice-president, Riek Machar, on Tuesday in
Juba, Mbeki stressed the importance of resuming the negotiations in
order to avoid any deterioration of the situation.
He further discussed with Machar issues that needed immediate
attention and resolutions included the North-South borders, security
as well as citizenship, and briefed the Vice President on the status
of the negotiations prior to their suspension by the SPLM Secretary
General.
Mbeki said the situation in Abyei also needed intervention from the Presidency.
Machar also briefed the AU envoy on the disengagement process between
north and South Sudan, which will formally end with formation of two
independent states on 9 July 2011.
Khartoum-based NCP party has consistently denied the SPLM’s
accusations. In a statement issued on Monday, Ibrahim Gandoor, NCP’s
political secretary said that, confronted by a large armed opposition,
the SPLM was seeking a scapegoat for what is a southern problem.
However, the northern Sudan ruling party released on Tuesday a strong
statement denouncing what it termed "fabricated documents" aiming to
ignite hatred between the two peace partners and to provoke a return
to war.
The NCP statement, focused mainly on the telephone tapping, said Pagan
had already used a document he presented yesterday in the past to
accuse Khartoum of monitoring telephone conversations between the SPLM
leadership members.
The communiqué went to say that the ruling party does not use the
national emblem (Falcon) in its official papers, as it was the case in
yesterday document, stressing that there is no "Political Affairs
Secretary" in the NCP as it was written in the document produced by
Pagan but a "Political Relations Secretary".
The NCP accused the SPLM Secretary General saying "he and his group"
used to promote "lies and fabrications" to exacerbate relations
between the two ruling parties and expressed hopes that "the SPLM
leadership would be aware of this point".
(ST)
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