Rubin condemns deal with Umma

US State Department spokesman James Rubin told reporters that the agreement signed on Friday in Djibouti between Khartoum and the opposition Umma party was merely indicative of Khartoum's intransigence, as it did not "address the main concern that we've all had (concerning) Sudan's crackdown on human rights, its deliberate policies of deprivation, and its refusal to approach peace seriously." The agreement was described by its signatories as "a declaration of principles" and contemplated a four-year transition period, to be followed by a referendum in southern Sudan on whether to confirm unity with the north or to secede.