Al-Bashir Promises Peace in Sudan

02/07/2003| IslamWeb

JUBA, Sudan - Sudan's president celebrated the 14th anniversary of his coming to power on Monday by telling thousands of people that peace in the civil war-ravaged southern Sudan is imminent. Omar Al-Bashir's remarks came as his government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army meeting in neighboring Kenya extended a cease-fire agreement on Monday for another three months. The two parties first signed the agreement last October during the latest series of talks to end the 20-year war that has killed an estimated 2 million people, mainly through war-induced famine and disease. "We will come to Juba after a month or so to celebrate achieving peace and the end of war," Al-Bashir told 30,000 dancing, cheering people packed inside a stadium in this strategic town some 1600 kilometers (1,000 miles) south of the capital, Khartoum. Juba is the most important town in southern Sudan and headquarters for government forces in the south. Sudanese rebels have been fighting the northern government since 1983, demanding autonomy for the mostly animist and Christian south. The conflict -- Africa's longest running -- is also fueled by competition for oil, land and other resources. "There will be no wars, there will be no more death, there will be no more rifles and instead there will be hospitals, electricity and public services," Al-Bashir promised the crowd. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, who Al-Bashir invited to Juba for the occasion, expected "peace, security and fraternity will prevail in Sudan." He promised to work to get more Arab aid to Sudan. Negotiations that have been going on for two years between the government and rebels -- with regional and US intervention -- are nearing an end. The next session of the talks, which are being held in neighboring Kenya, will begin at the weekend, said chief mediator Lazaro Sumbeiywo. The peace process "is going well," Sumbeiywo said in Kenya. "Both parties seem to be committed to the process." Final negotiations are aimed at forging a plan for an interim coalition government and a vote within six years on self-determination for the south. The two parties have been unable to agree on the details of a number of issues, including wealth and power-sharing. Former US Sen John Danforth plans to make what he believes will be his last trip to Sudan in mid-July as President George W Bush's special envoy to the worn-torn nation. He has expected a peace agreement to be signed. Two main items, however, remain unresolved: the extent of Islamic rule that will be permitted in northern Sudan, and whether disputed territories in the central part of the nation will be allowed to hold a vote on self-determination.