Government seeks details on SPLM/A stance

The Sudanese authorities in Khartoum were seeking clarification on the official position of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) on the recent Egyptian-Libyan initiative on Sudan, the President’s peace adviser, Dr Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Atabani, said in a press statement published in Sudanese newspapers on Monday. Al-Atabani said the government wanted to ascertain whether or not the rebel movement wanted peace, and its final position on the Libyan-Egyptian memorandum on their joint peace initiative. The peace adviser’s statement followed one by SPLM/A spokesman Yasir Arman saying the SPLM/A would not negotiate under the joint peace initiative unless it incorporated a number of controversial amendments suggested by senior members of the opposition umbrella National Democratic Alliance, including acceptance of the principle of self-determination for the south, and separation of religion and state. The SPLM/A statement also called on “all mediators” to consider a parallel peace initiative under the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as a basis for peace talks. Although a preparatory meeting of the IGAD technical committee was taking place on Monday in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, no date for the next round of talks had been set, AFP said. The SPLA statement “clearly indicates that the movement, contrary to its previous declarations, does not want peace to be achieved under the joint initiative” by Egypt and Libya, said Al-Atabani. He said his government and those of Egypt and Libya were trying to probe “the real stance of the movement, the extent of its interest in peace, and its final position with regards to the joint initiative”. Al-Atabani said Khartoum was in close contact with Libya and Egypt to address how best to take practical steps to implement the peace proposals. It had not yet been notified of the date for a preparatory meeting of the proposed comprehensive national conference, he added. Al-Atabani said there was no disagreement between Egypt and Libya on the proposed summit, and that consultations were under way on the agenda, date and participants of the summit. Meanwhile, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Mahir said on 12 August that the Egyptian-Libyan initiative had been accepted by all Sudanese parties, including SPLM/A leader John Garang, and refused to comment on the rebels’ demand on the IGAD principles and the merger of the Libyan-Egyptian and IGAD peace initiatives, the Middle East News Agency reported.