Southerners say time running out to save Sudan accord

• Parties in conflicting stands over progress realised from peace talks in Washington

KHARTOUM, Sunday

Sudan’s former southern rebels today said there had been no concrete progress in talks over a faltering peace deal with the north, and warned time was running out to save the accord.

Sudan’s Muslim north and its mostly Christian south fought a two-decade civil war that ended in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).

Leaders from both sides met in Washington last week to discuss remaining disputes over the deal that, analysts warn, may drag the country back to conflict if left unresolved.

A senior official from the south’s dominant Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) accused the northern delegation of stalling on a number of key issues, including the position of their shared border, preparations for coming elections and a referendum on southern secession.

No political will

“The issues remain the same. There is no progress in resolving the issues yet,” SPLM delegation spokesman Yasir Arman told Reuters.

“We discovered again that the (north’s dominant) National Congress Party has no political will to resolve those issues ... We are running out of time.”

Mr Arman’s comments clashed with more upbeat commentary on the Washington conference from the northern delegation, and the event’s organiser, the US envoy to Sudan, Mr Scott Gration.

Northern delegation head Ghazi Salaheddin told state media late on Saturday the discussions had made solid progress, and chided the SPLM for playing down the chance of success.

“The talks could reach a good outcome if the other party expressed a spirit of optimism instead of depicting a bleak image,” Mr Salaheddin told the state Suna agency, after flying back into Khartoum from the conference.

He said there had not been time to discuss all outstanding issues, but added there would be a chance for more progress at a second meeting between the two sides in Khartoum in July.

Both sides have accused each other of dragging their feet over implementing the 2005 peace deal, which includes a number of looming deadlines, including national elections scheduled for February 2010, and a referendum on Southern independence in January 2011.

Troops have clashed

The SPLM’s Arman said both sides had repeated a previously agreed commitment to abide by the decision of international arbitrators over the borders of the contested central oil region of Abyei.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is due next month to rule on a dispute over the borders of Abyei, a region claimed by the north and the south that includes oilfields and a key pipeline.

Northern and Southern troops have clashed in the area since the 2005 agreement was signed.

Mr Arman added that the Washington event had also succeeded in raising the profile of the CPA, which many in Sudan feel has been overshadowed by efforts to solve the separate conflict in Sudan’s western Darfur region.

Any return to civil war in Sudan would have a disastrous effect on the country, its oil industry -- which involves France’s Total , China’s CNPC , Malaysia’s Petronas and other leading operators -- and surrounding states.

Two million people died and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 as north and south Sudan battled out differences in ideology, ethnicity and religion.

Following the CPA, the SPLM set up a government in the South, while a census was scheduled to be held across the country ahead of presidential, parliamentary and state legislative elections.

Rosy picture

The census was completed in 2008 but some southerners are already contesting the outcome. The logistical challenges of an election were also threatening to derail the process, Refugees International warned in a report.

A key sticking point in the CPA is the status of Abyei. The region was granted special administrative status and given the option to decide in a referendum in 2011 whether to join the South.

The fourth anniversary of the CPA was marked on January 9 in Malakal town. Earlier, Sudanese First Vice-President and President of Southern Sudan, Salva Kiir painted a relatively rosy picture.

“As we begin contemplating life in the new year, it is equally important to look back and assess what we have achieved as citizens and institutions in 2008,” Mr Kiir told the nation in a new year’s message.

“One important achievement is that we managed to maintain peace and stability through the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. If we reflect back to those days before CPA, we can say for sure that we are now more peaceful and secure.”

Reports by Reuters and IRIN