Separatists meet to seal rifts

Senegalese separatists, riven by internal differences, on Tuesday began a three-day meeting in The Gambia to prepare a joint position for possible peace negotiations with the government in Dakar. “This is a genuine effort to heal the rift,” a senior official of the Gambian Department of State for Foreign Affairs told IRIN. The meeting of the Mouvement des forces democratique de Casamance (MFDC), which wants independence for the region of Casamance in southern Senegal, is being attended by representatives of its southern and northern fronts, and its political leader Diamacoune Senghor. Senghor has formed a Comite de Pilotage provisoire that preaches reconciliation among the factions. The Senegalese Minister of Agriculture Robert Sagna, who comes from Casamance, and Interior Minister Lamin Cisse are among the observers at the meeting, which is being held in the Gambian capital, Banjul. Others observers include diplomats from Britain, the United States and the EU, and the head of Guinea Bissau’s former Military Junta, Gen. Ansumane Mane. However, the leader of the MFDC’s Southern Front, Sadif Sadio, and his main spokesman in Europe, Mamadou Sane, are absent. Instead, they have sent representatives to the talks. “The two want to ensure that the meeting is not manipulated by the Senegalese government,” a source close to the conference told IRIN. The source also said Mane would consult with the Southern Front after the meeting ended. The MFDC is split, with the hardline Southern Front preferring to continue the 17-year war, whereas the Northern Front stopped fighting years ago, while Senghor is ready to pursue peace with Dakar without losing sight of the movement’s main objective. “I ask that you never miss the target, never to lose sight of the main objective of our struggle which is the independence for our dear Casamance,” AFP reported Senghor as saying at the opening of the meeting attended by 130 to 150 delegates. Gambia is acting as facilitator and has provided the logistics and finance to bring the delegates to the meeting. Gambian President Yahya Jammeh offered to mediate in 1997 in a conflict which has forced hundreds of Casamance refugees into his country.