IGAD trying to break peace-talks impasse

Mediators are trying to break an impasse at the Sudanese peace talks currently under way in Naivasha, Kenya, under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an IGAD source involved in the proceedings said. Peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) hit a deadlock over power-sharing and the application of shari'ah in the capital, Khartoum, and IGAD "is trying to come up with a compromise proposal", said the source. As a symptom of the difficulties facing the negotiators, Sudanese First Vice-President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, the head of the government delegation to the talks, returned to Khartoum on Saturday for consultations with his government over the talks, according to a Sudanese government official. "Since there were no planned meetings scheduled between the vice-president and Mr [and leader of the SPLM/A, John] Garang, he left for Khartoum for consultations," said Ahmad Dirdiery, the Sudanese deputy ambassador in Nairobi. Dirdiery told IRIN that the negotiators were awaiting an "IGAD proposal" to break the log-jam. "All hinges on this new proposal on power-sharing", he said, also noting that the application of shari'ah in Khartoum remained "the main bone of contention". The SPLM/A reportedly opposes this, maintaining that since the city is the national capital, "shari'ah should not be applied in Khartoum", according to the IGAD source. Dirdiery, however, said the two sides had already agreed that shari'ah would continue to be applied in north of the country, "and Khartoum is in the north". "We have given them guarantees that shari'ah application in Khartoum will not adversely affect the religious rights of non-Muslims. We are still working on finding a workable solution to this," he stressed. The IGAD source told IRIN that the two sides were broadly in agreement, "but a few issues remain, and we are hopeful that we will find a compromise acceptable to both sides". Since January - with a three-week break for a Muslim pilgrimage - the talks have been bogged down by negotiations over the future status of three disputed areas, namely the Nuba mountains, southern Blue Nile and oil-rich Abyei. On 19 March, US Senator John Danforth put forward a proposal calling for a referendum that offers Abyei the choice of joining southern Sudan or remaining in the north, and detailing the sharing of oil revenue. Still the talks remained deadlocked. Meanwhile President George Bush was due to report to the US Congress on the progress of the talks, as required by the Sudan Peace Act. International news reports quoted US officials as saying it was likely that Bush would declare the two sides to be negotiating in good faith and hence not impose any sanctions on the government. On Tuesday, the European Commission donated €1.5 million euros (US $1.8 million) to support the talks. It said in a statement: "After decades with on-off dialogues, the negotiations between the government and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA/M) seem to have reached the home stretch."