By Mohamed Khaled The latest round of peace talks between the southern Sudanese rebels, the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), and the Sudanese government ended last week in Addis Ababa without achieving any progress. The talks took place under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), which includes Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and Djibouti. During the talks, disagreement persisted on two basic issues: the creation of a secular state in Sudan and the definition of the exact boundaries of "southern Sudan" in which a referendum should be held on self-rule. "The government failed to come with a clear position on the two issues we disagree on. The fundamental issue is the nature of our state, whether it will be a democratic one, equally accommodating to all its citizens, or whether it will remain a theocratic state discriminating against them on religious and other grounds," Pagan Amum, spokesman of the SPLA delegation, told Al-Ahram Weekly. "We call for the first, while the government which represents the position of the National Islamic Front (NIF), is insisting on the latter," he added. Although the government and the SPLA rebels agreed, in their previous round of talks in Nairobi in May, on the principle of the right to self-determination of southern Sudanese people, this time, in Addis Ababa, disagreement over the details aborted hopes of progress. There was a basic disagreement about which territories were part of southern Sudan. The SPLA demanded that three more states be included in the referendum -- southern Kordofan, southern Blue Nile and Abyi. The government rejected this demand on the basis that it modified the definition of southern Sudan established on the eve of independence in 1956. "The SPLA believes that self-determination is a basic democratic right of any people fighting against an oppressive regime. It is also a mechanism for solving conflict by resorting to the will of the majority," said Amum. The three disputed states are part of what have been referred to in Sudanese political literature as "marginalised regions", a term reflecting their low level of development in comparison to other regions in central and northern Sudan. Though most of their population is Muslim, they are dominated by the non-Arab Nuba and Angasana tribes, the majority of whom are currently fighting under the banner of the SPLA. Amum said, "The people who took up arms [against the Khartoum government] have to be consulted on whether they want to be part of the NIF's Sudan or not." Since 1994, several rounds of talks have been held within the framework of IGAD, but all ended without any sign of progress on the key issues. Despite the current stalemate, the SPLA spokesman was convinced that "IGAD is still the only mediation party that has a legitimate basis and an appropriate framework to solve the Sudanese problem." Moreover, despite the repeated failure of past talks, including the most recent ones in Addis Ababa, the government and the SPLA are still committed to the principle of dialogue, and have agreed to meet again in six months in Nairobi. But the hopes seem to be limited in light of the chronic disagreement between the two parties. "The NIF regime is not prepared for any kind of reconciliation with other Sudanese political forces. The only solution is to overthrow it in order to restore the unity of the country and rebuild it on a new basis," asserted Amum. The SPLA is working closely with other major northern Sudanese opposition parties gathered under the umbrella of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The NDA was due to convene what observers described as an "important meeting" in Cairo on Thursday. Though there was no direct relation between the Addis talks and the timing of the unprecdented NDA meeting in Cairo, the SPLA spokesman said that the main purpose of the Cairo forum was to discuss more effective strategies for the overthrow of the Khartoum regime. The fact that SPLA leader John Garang arrived in Cairo on Sunday to take part in the meeting together with NDA leader and president of the Unionist Party, Mohamed Othman Al-Merghani, former Sudanese prime minister and Umma Party leader, Sadeq Al-Mahdi and other opposition military and political leaders, underlines its importance and is expected to influence its outcome. According to the SPLA, several recent attempts to hold this meeting were hampered by Garang's inability to get to Cairo due to fighting in southern Sudan. However, other observers noted that the real motive for his delay may have been dissension within the NDA, particularly after reports emerged in May of progress in the negotiations between the SPLA and the government in Nairobi. Some NDA members criticised the SPLA for not coordinating with its fellow opposition parties. There were also reported disagreements about use of armed violence to overthrow Khartoum's government. Umma leader, Al-Mahdi, in particular, has made statements in recent weeks indicating that he might accept a political compromise with the NIF regime. But NDA sources denied any divisions within its ranks and said that all Sudanese opposition parties were united in their conviction that there was no other way to effect change in Sudan but the "stepping up of all forms of resistance" to the government of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and his main ally Hassan Al-Turabi, leader of the NIF and speaker of parliament. Following the latest round of talks in Addis, the SPLA said it was not optimistic about the prospects of a peaceful settlement through negotiation. Instead, it is concentrating upon the combined military option: "My expectation is that the NDA meeting will come out with a concrete plan of action on how to overthrow the NIF. We have already worked out an overall strategy for that, but in this meeting we have to develop a short-term plan of action," said Amum.
