Government says IGAD talks "crucial" for peace

A senior adviser to Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir has said the IGAD-sponsored peace process is a crucial part of efforts to end Sudan's 18-year civil war, AFP reported on Monday. "The permanent negotiations, which are about to start, are a crucial stage of the whole IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] peace process," AFP quoted Ghazi Salah al-Din al-Atabani, presidential adviser on peace affairs, as saying on Sunday. Addressing the state opening of parliament on Monday, Bashir said the Sudanese government was "seeking to activate" the peace efforts sponsored by the IGAD. The latest round of IGAD talks, which were scheduled to have begun on 24 September, were indefinitely postponed after Khartoum said it needed more time to consult with the chairman of the process, Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi. The rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) claimed last week that the Sudanese government was "backing away" from the IGAD-sponsored proposal, in favour of a parallel initiative put forward jointly by the governments of Egypt and Libya. Bashir was quoted as saying by Sudan TV on Monday that the Egyptian-Libyan initiative had "registered positive developments" in recent weeks. "We will continue to provide all the necessary and positive support until it achieves its aspired for goals," he said. Although both the government and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) - an opposition umbrella group including the SPLM/A - in June accepted the Egyptian-Libyan plan, some NDA members have criticised it for failing to include the principles of separation of religion and state, and self-determination for the south - both included in the IGAD-sponsored plan.