Government denies harassing activists

A Sudanese government official has denied claims that Khartoum is frustrating initiatives by civil society organisations in northern Sudan to discuss the peace process aimed at ending the country's long running civil war. Sudan's deputy ambassador to Kenya, Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry, told IRIN the allegations, contained in a recent report by the rights group Amnesty International, were "completely unfounded". The report did not take into account recent developments in which the UN Human Rights Commission dropped Sudan from the list of countries under scrutiny, he said. Amnesty International on Friday called on the Sudanese government and security forces to "stop harassing, detaining incommunicado and impeding" Sudanese civil society activists from discussing issues related to the country's ongoing peace talks between the government and rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). "At a time when the Sudanese government and the SPLM are negotiating a peace agreement to end the civil war, all Sudanese must be free to participate in discussions related to their own future," the report said. But Dirdeiry dismissed the claims. "The report is painting a very gloomy picture of the situation of human rights in Sudan," he said. "But this is not true." The peace talks, which are taking place in neighbouring Kenya under the initiative of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), are expected to result in a peace agreement, to be followed by a six and a half year transitional period during which south Sudan will prepare a referendum on possible secession. According to Amnesty, the Sudanese authorities have forcibly interrupted several civil society meetings in northern Sudan, and newspapers have been subjected to "effective censorship" on peace-related issues. Dirdeiry said civil society and political opposition groups, which are not officially included in the peace talks, are to be accommodated in an agreed upon all-inclusive process, but only after the major parties have signed a final peace accord. He said involving other groups at this stage of the talks would jeopardise the process. "We are not closing the door. Other groups will be involved. But we have agreed we will involve them later," he noted.