The sixth round of Sudanese peace talks in Kenya ended abruptly when Khartoum rejected the mediators' proposals for a peace deal. But in an exclusive interview with Gamal Nkrumah, United States Special Envoy to Sudan John Danforth said he remained confident that peace can be achieved To hell with it The sixth round of peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the country's largest armed opposition group ended abruptly in the Kenyan Rift Valley city of Nakuru when the Sudanese government flatly rejected the proposals made by Kenya and other neighbouring African countries acting as mediators. The Nakuru talks are officially held under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), a regional organisation which groups seven East African countries, including Sudan. The United States, which is working hard behind the scenes to speed up the peace process, promptly dispatched the US special envoy to Sudan John Danforth to have another go at bridging the gap between the Sudanese protagonists. Danforth arrived in Egypt on Tuesday and left for Sudan the next day, publicly warning that this is Sudan's last chance for lasting peace. The IGAD mediators presented the Sudanese protagonists with a draft peace proposal which was summarily rejected by Khartoum on the grounds that it was biased in favour of the SPLA. The Sudanese government accused the IGAD proposal of handing power to the SPLA on a silver platter. Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al- Beshir defiantly denounced the IGAD proposal at a huge public rally in Al-Jazira Province, Sudan's most populous region. He said that his government will never give in to the unfair IGAD demands. "Let IGAD and those behind it go to hell," a furious Al- Beshir told thousands of militant supporters. The Sudanese president said that IGAD must "come up with a reasonable alternative, or else dissolve the peace proposal in water and drink it". Meanwhile, the Sudanese government issued an official statement in Nairobi denouncing the IGAD proposal. "After carefully examining the proposal in light of the Machakos Protocol and previously agreed texts, the [Sudanese] government delegation concluded that the proposal was unbalanced and far removed from the text and spirit of the above agreements." The statement warned of the dire consequences of the IGAD peace proposal. "Furthermore, the proposal, if applied, would raise more complicated problem in the future than it would resolve the existing one and as such is unsustainable." However, the Sudanese government has not ruled out a final peace settlement through IGAD, but stressed that a "fair and realistic approach" be "applied that takes into account the interests of all the Sudanese". Khartoum pledged to continue with the peace process. "The [Sudanese] government will remain engaged in the IGAD peace process in the hope of achieving a just, durable and sustainable peace." Khartoum called for the mediators to take the Sudanese government's interests into consideration. "The Sudanese government delegation also urged the mediators to come up with a more balanced and workable formulation in future rounds." The Sudanese National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the umbrella opposition organisation grouping the SPLA and other mainly northern- based Sudanese opposition parties, is not a direct party to the talks. The NDA, which includes the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Communists and other northern- based political parties, is pressing for a speedy and unconditional resumption in the Sudanese peace talks. Another influential political force, the Umma Party, which has withdrawn from the NDA, also called for the resumption of the peace talks. There is a consensus among Sudanese opposition groups, both northern and southern, that the peace talks in Kenya must proceed according to plan. Outside forces also come into play. Sudan's Arab and African neighbours want to see an end to the Sudanese civil war. The international community, especially the US, is also demanding an end to the conflict that has claimed the lives of two million Sudanese and left more than five million more homeless. "The Sudanese government will ultimately have to bow to US pressure. The government is pretending to drive a hard bargain, to prove that the peace process is a difficult and time-consuming job. In reality the Sudanese government is running out of time. The government is testing the Americans' patience to the limit. But sooner or later they will have to give in," Farouk Abu Eissa, the head of the Cairo-based Arab Lawyers Union and official spokesman for the NDA told Al-Ahram Weekly. Professor Ibrahim Al-Nour, the director of the African Studies department at the American University in Cairo, concurred. "The Sudanese peace process cannot be stopped. The Sudanese government will eventually have to work out a compromise of some sort. It is very difficult to retreat or turn back from the peace process at this point in time." Professor Al-Nour explained that certain domestic Sudanese factors will determine the pace of the peace process. "There is war fatigue among both the northern and southern Sudanese. The desire for peace is strong in Sudan." However, Al-Nour conceded that the Sudanese government is torn between appeasing its militant Islamist constituency at home who do not want Khartoum to make any more concessions to the SPLA and the regional and international player that are pressuring the government to compromise and yield more to the SPLA. "The mediators' proposals will give the SPLA effective control of the entire southern Sudan, much of which is currently divided between the government forces who control most urban centres, garrison towns and the oil- producing areas, while the SPLA dominates the countryside." Al-Nour noted that the SPLA is the only military force in southern Sudan today. All other southern Sudanese political parties and opposition groups are not armed, and therefore the SPLA will have a monopoly of power in southern Sudan. The Sudanese government objected to the office of the vice-presidency going to the SPLA leader John Garang. The current Sudanese First Vice President Ali Othman Mohamed Taha, widely considered a hard-line Islamist, will be obliged to step down under the IGAD mediators' proposals rejected by the Sudanese government. Garang, as vice-president with a full mandate will be in a strong position to effectively veto many decisions taken by Sudanese President Al-Beshir. Another contentious issue is the legal and religious status of Khartoum. The IGAD proposal envisages a secular federal capital in Khartoum. The Sudanese government's claim to legitimacy is based on its upholding Islamic Shari'a laws and, therefore, the government cannot easily accept a secular Khartoum. Meanwhile in a separate development, fighting flared up in the garrison town of Al- Teena in the western Sudanese province of Darfur which left more than 250 Sudanese army soldiers dead. Darfur's Sudan's Liberation Army (SLA) -- not to be confused with the southern-based SPLA -- claimed responsibility. "The government must find a formula or pretext that does not antagonise its Islamist constituency. The SPLA cannot compromise on this issue. The Sudanese government will be forced to accept a federal Khartoum," Dr Mansour Khaled, special political adviser of SPLA leader Dr John Garang told the Weekly.
