Peace deal signed in the Sudan,
Sudan's government signed a peace agreement Friday with an exiled opposition party, promising to establish a "democratic regime" in the country and to end a 16-year-old
civil war within four years. Sudan Television reported that the agreement with the Umma Party was signed in the east African country of Djibouti, where Sudanese
President Lt. Gen. Omar el-Bashir and Umma Party leader Sadiq el-Mahdi held previously unannounced talks on Thursday.
This agreement "will be the beginning of the end of the major problems for Sudan," el-Bashir told reporters in Djibouti. His comments were broadcast by Sudan Television,
monitored in Cairo. "What happened here is another step on the road to a comprehensive political solution. We hope it will be followed by other steps and will be
completed in the framework of just peace and stability and democracy in Sudan," el-Mahdi said. An estimated 2 million people have died in Sudan's civil war, many from
war-related famine, and hundreds of thousands have been driven from their homes. El-Mahdi did not say if he will return soon to Sudan. He lives in exile in Egypt and
Eritrea and is a prominent member of the National Democratic Alliance, an umbrella group of northern and southern opposition groups seeking to overthrow el-Bashir's
Islamic government. Whether the peace agreement will have a real impact will only be clear in the coming days, when other members of the National Democratic Alliance
express their views. The northern opposition groups want democratic rule in Sudan while the southerners, led by the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army, have been
fighting northern Islamic rulers since 1983 for more autonomy for the largely Christian and animist south. El-Mahdi fled Sudan in 1996, escaping from house arrest imposed
after his elected government was ousted in a 1989 military coup led by el-Bashir.
The highlight of the peace agreement is a promise by the government to allow a four-year transitional period during which the southerners will decide whether to remain with
Sudan or secede. There has been no comment yet from the SPLA on the agreement. "This big agreement could not have been achieved without the desire of the Sudanese
people for peace and accord," el-Bashir said. The agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail and the Umma Party's head of foreign relations,
Mubarak el-Fadel. A copy of the agreement was faxed by the Umma Party to The Associated Press in Cairo. It said the government agrees to "set up a plural democratic
regime that guarantees human rights and basic freedoms." The aims of the four-year transitional period called for in the pact include: ensuring equality for the country's
citizens; devolving more powers to states; distributing the country's wealth evenly to all regions; and following international charters on human rights. |
