Government agrees to free all pro-rebel detainees

The Senegalese government and insurgents have agreed that all detained rebels would be released, hostilities would be ended immediately and the free movement of people and goods allowed in the Casamance, southern Senegal, Banjul's `Daily Observer' newspaper reported on Tuesday. This was contained in the final communique of a 26-27 December meeting in Banjul, The Gambia, between the Senegalese government and the Mouvement des forces democratiques de Casamance (MFDC). The meeting marked the beginning of direct talks to end 17 years of civil war. Both sides agreed to hold talks on the 15th day of each month except January, when they will meet on the 24th because the second round of the presidential elections in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau is to be held on 16 January. The agenda for January's meeting will include an examination of conditions for lasting peace, the Senegal government's response to MFDC's political demands and the reorganisation of the MFDC as a political movement, a Gambian news source told IRIN on Tuesday. Other issues will be the demining of the war zone, the redeployment of the government army, the return of internally displaced people, the identification and reintegration of all former MFDC fighters, and the rehabilitation of schools and infrastructure. The source said that the head of Guinea-Bissau's Military Junta, Ansumane Mane, who is also involved in the mediation effort, told the meeting peace in Casamance meant peace for Guinea-Bissau. Other news reports said the separatists appeared to have dropped their long-standing demand for independence for Casamance. However, the man still claiming to be deputy secretary-general of the MFDC, Nkrumah Sane, said on the eve of the Banjul meeting that he disassociated himself from the gathering. In a message sent to news agencies, Sane, who lives in Europe, said the MFDC's fight for total independence for Casamance had "never varied", `The Point', another Banjul newspaper, reported. Reacting to Sane's message, MFDC spokesman Alexandre Djiba said he was out of touch with the movement which, since its Banjul Congress in June, had scrapped the position of deputy secretary-general, `The Point' said.