Final phase of peace talks to open on Saturday

The final phase of the Sudanese peace process is expected to be launched in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on Saturday by President Mwai Kibaki, according to a press statement issued by the Kenyan foreign ministry. It follows the signing on 26 May by the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) of three key protocols on power-sharing and the contested areas of Abyei, the Nuba mountains and southern Blue Nile, paving the way for a comprehensive peace agreement. Six protocols have been signed to date, which, together with two annexes, will make up a comprehensive peace agreement. Technical committees are expected to start work on the annexes governing the implementation of the protocols, plus comprehensive ceasefire arrangements and guarantees, and to finish their work within two months. The statement said "the peace process for the Sudan has entered the final crucial phase, which will look into the implementation modalities of the agreements, mechanisms for monitoring [the] ceasefire, and other arrangements necessary to secure and consolidate the peace". To build on the momentum so far achieved and to lay a firm foundation "for this meaningful engagement", Sudanese Vice-President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha, the leader of the government delegation, and SPLM/A Chairman John Garang "have decided to reconvene in Naivasha on 3 and 4 June 2004 for the purpose of preparing the formal launch of the final phase in Nairobi", it added.