Sudan’s peace talks have yet to be successful in Addis Ababa

14/02/2014 22:16

Direct negotiations between the delegations of the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) started immediately after the opening session in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday night, but did not make any progress so far. Direct negotiations began at 11pm on Thursday and lasted for more than three hours in a hotel in Addis Ababa. Mediator President Thabo Mbeki, Chairman of the AUHIP, told Radio Dabanga that “negotiations will continue without interruption until an agreement is reached”.Another round of negotiations, brokered by the AU, followed on Friday between the delegations of the SPLM-N, headed by Yasir Arman, and the government, headed by Ibrahim Ghandour. They exchanged their negotiation positions which they had proceeded on beforehand. The Friday talks, beside the two delegations, included international envoys from the US, Britain, Norway, and the European Union. The official spokesman for the opposition delegation, Mubarak Ardol, explained “the talks with these envoys came as part of ongoing negotiations”. The spokesman told Radio Dabanga from Addis Ababa that the delegation of the National Congress Party “is not carrying anything new, but rather seeks for partial solutions to the problem. “The government announced it is ready to make a comprehensive change. We will test them on that promise in Addis Ababa, but we did not find their readiness to change.” He revealed that the SPLM-N delegation met with experts Mohammed Abdullah Khater, Farah Ibrahim Agar, Bishop Andrew Djuma El Nil, and Dr Omar Kamaruddin Ismail. Nuba Mountains Spokesman for the Nuba Mountains region, Jatigo Amoga Delman, commented that the talks in Addis Ababa between the SPLM-N and the Khartoum regime failed. He stressed that the regime launched air attacks on more than two dozen sites in Buram, Heiban, Dalami, and Um Doreen over the past two days. Ten civilians were killed, including three women and two children, he reported. “This is the outcome of the negotiations system with the SPLM-N”, Delman said. “To let President Omar Al Bashir personally oversee the campaign of extermination of the Nuba people, at a time when the international community is watching more than one million people live in an extremely difficult humanitarian situation.” News photo: The head of the Sudanese government negotiating team, Ibrahim Gandour (R), speaks at the opening session of peace talks aimed at ending war in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, in Addis Ababa on 13 February 2014. The SPLM’s Yasir Arman appears at the extreme left of the table, while the mediators and UN envoy are pictured in the middle during the opening session of the peace talks on Thursday (AUHIP)Related: Nuba bombings kill nine as Sudan peace talks start (14 February 2014) Sudan peace talks: SPLM-N calls for ‘a new perspective and attitude’ (13 February 2014)

Direct negotiations between the delegations of the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) started immediately after the opening session in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa on Thursday night, but did not make any progress so far.

Direct negotiations began at 11pm on Thursday and lasted for more than three hours in a hotel in Addis Ababa. Mediator President Thabo Mbeki, Chairman of the AUHIP, told Radio Dabanga that “negotiations will continue without interruption until an agreement is reached”.

Another round of negotiations, brokered by the AU, followed on Friday between the delegations of the SPLM-N, headed by Yasir Arman, and the government, headed by Ibrahim Ghandour. They exchanged their negotiation positions which they had proceeded on beforehand.

The Friday talks, beside the two delegations, included international envoys from the US, Britain, Norway, and the European Union. The official spokesman for the opposition delegation, Mubarak Ardol, explained “the talks with these envoys came as part of ongoing negotiations”.

The spokesman told Radio Dabanga from Addis Ababa that the delegation of the National Congress Party “is not carrying anything new, but rather seeks for partial solutions to the problem. “The government announced it is ready to make a comprehensive change. We will test them on that promise in Addis Ababa, but we did not find their readiness to change.”

He revealed that the SPLM-N delegation met with experts Mohammed Abdullah Khater, Farah Ibrahim Agar, Bishop Andrew Djuma El Nil, and Dr Omar Kamaruddin Ismail.

Nuba Mountains

Spokesman for the Nuba Mountains region, Jatigo Amoga Delman, commented that the talks in Addis Ababa between the SPLM-N and the Khartoum regime failed. He stressed that the regime launched air attacks on more than two dozen sites in Buram, Heiban, Dalami, and Um Doreen over the past two days. Ten civilians were killed, including three women and two children, he reported.

“This is the outcome of the negotiations system with the SPLM-N”, Delman said. “To let President Omar Al Bashir personally oversee the campaign of extermination of the Nuba people, at a time when the international community is watching more than one million people live in an extremely difficult humanitarian situation.”

News photo: The head of the Sudanese government negotiating team, Ibrahim Gandour (R), speaks at the opening session of peace talks aimed at ending war in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, in Addis Ababa on 13 February 2014. The SPLM’s Yasir Arman appears at the extreme left of the table, while the mediators and UN envoy are pictured in the middle during the opening session of the peace talks on Thursday (AUHIP)

Related:

Nuba bombings kill nine as Sudan peace talks start (14 February 2014)

Sudan peace talks: SPLM-N calls for ‘a new perspective and attitude’ (13 February 2014)