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Sudan Wants International Pressure for Cease-Fire
Katy Salmon, Voice of America NAIROBI -- Sudan's government is urging the international community to pressure rebels in the south of the country to agree to a cease-fire. But the rebels are refusing to agree to a cease-fire until the government halts oil exports from the south of the country. Sudan Foreign Affairs Minister Choul Deng appealed to the international community to force the Southern People's Liberation Army, to stop fighting and start negotiating. "The cease-fire is a necessity," he said. "These tactics of talking and fighting cannot take us to a good solution really." Sudan's civil war pits the Christian south against the Islamic military government in the north. The rebels say they are fighting for greater autonomy for the south. Analysts say the fighting has cost the lives of two million people, mostly from famine linked to the war. Peace talks have dragged on since 1994 without any significant progress. On Saturday, a regional peace summit aimed at ending the war ended in deadlock. Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, who was hosting the talks, appealed to the Sudanese government to agree to a separation of state and religion and asked the rebels to agree to a cease-fire. Neither side would make concessions. Rebel leader John Garang says a comprehensive cease-fire must also include, what he called a comprehensive "cease-oil" - an end to the exploration, development, and export of oil from the south. Since 1999, the government has been earning hundreds of millions of dollars a year from oil exports. The Southern People's Liberation Army says the money is being channeled into the government's war effort. Human rights groups say thousands of people have been forcibly displaced to make way for oil exploration. The British aid agency Christian Aid accuses the government of implementing a scorched-earth policy to secure the area against rebel attacks. Mr. Deng denies this. He says the government is sincerely interested in a peaceful settlement with the rebels. "Really we are committed to peace and the beginning of peace is cease-fire," he added. "I do not know why [others] should expect to be rewarded for accepting peace? He is being given all his right. I have gone as far as even saying to the right of secession. Those who want to say that after this, after transitional period, we go for a separate south, will have the right. Those who will say, no we will go for an organic unity, even what type of a unity, all this will have the right." Analysts say the SPLA fears a cease-fire without an end to oil drilling will give the government time to build up its war chest. It would then have the military might to end the war by force if no political agreement were reached. The rebels are also calling for a fair share of oil profits to go to the south. Mr. Deng says the government is open-minded on the issue and that wealth sharing can be discussed once a cease-fire is in place. The rebels announced a major victory over the weekend, saying they have taken control of the strategic town of Raga in the southwestern Bahr el Ghazal Province. The government denies the town is in rebel hands, saying fighting is still continuing.
And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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