Peace process still on track, sides say

Sudan's warring parties say the peace process is still on track despite a number of setbacks which arose during the last round of talks held at the weekend. The talks aimed at ending the country's 20-year civil war ended Saturday after the government delegation raised objections to proposals contained in a draft peace agreement, citing "imbalances". The draft is a working document, presented to the sides by the negotiators, which is expected to lead to a final peace accord in August. After "careful examination" of the proposals, a government statement said it had concluded that the document was "far removed" from the text and spirit of the July 2002 Machakos Protocol, which is considered the basic cornerstone of the peace process. Sudan's deputy ambassador to Kenya Muhammad Ahmad Dirdeiry told IRIN the draft had "taken sides" with the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). "The draft is formulated on the basic assumptions that the country will be run by two separate administrations during the interim period," Dirdeiry told IRIN. "This is against the spirit and the letter of the Machakos Protocol. Unity is the underlying assumption and parties should work towards achieving unity at the end of the [six-year] interim period." He stressed however that the government was keen on negotiating a "more balanced" draft. For his part, SPLA/M spokesman Samson Kwaje told IRIN his movement would consider the draft proposals, even though some of its own key demands had been left out. "The draft does not belong to us or to the government," he said. "We also have our own reservations about it. But we believe it is a good basis for negotiations with the government." The talks are expected to resume on 23 July, during which time mediators from the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) will hold a series of wide-ranging discussions on the issues. Meanwhile, a number of Sudanese civil society groups which have been supporting the IGAD peace initiative have urged the international community - and specifically the African Union (AU) - to exert pressure on both parties to continue their dialogue. "The history of Sudan is unfortunately full of many aborted peace initiatives and dishonoured agreements," the South African-based New Sudanese Indigenous NGOs Network (NESI-Network) said in a statement. "We, as civil society and faith based groups, denounce any moves to abandon or derail the ongoing IGAD peace initiative and dishonour the agreements already made."