[allAfrica.com] Sudanese Peace Talks Near Collapse As Power-Sharing Row Rages The Nation (Nairobi) NEWS November 18, 2002 Posted to the web November 18, 2002 By Bob Odalo with Agency Nairobi The third leg of the Sudanese peace talks collapsed in Machakos Town yesterday. Government delegates and those of the Sudanese People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) failed to reach a compromise on power and wealth sharing despite spending the better part of Saturday night on the negotiation table. The government side objected to a deal which would have seen the rebel south leaders invited to form a government of national unity. In the new deal accepted by the SPLM, the presidency was to be on a rotational basis with the holder occupying the office for three years. It was suggested that the new post of first vice-president be created and given to the SPLM. The talks, which took five weeks at the Garden Hotel, were facilitated by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Disappointment was written on the faces of the SPLM delegates and special envoys who had spent the past two days trying to get a compromise from the two factions. Kenya's special envoy to the talks, Lieutenant General Lazarus Sumbeiyo, came out of the meeting without finalising the deal. Asked by the Press if there had been a breakthrough, he responded: "No, no we are still going to talk." There was, however, still a ray of hope as IGAD gave the parties "48 hours to talk and find peace" as one envoy put it. The talks are expected to resume today in Nairobi. IGAD had expected a deal to be reached by Saturday. Sudanese President Omar Bashir's special envoy on peace, Dr Ghazi Salah al-Din Atabani, led the government side while the SPLM Commander, Mr Salva Kiir Mayardit, led the rebel team. The rebel movement suggested that the post of vice-chairman be created and given to them. Its official spokesman, Dr Samson Kwanje, while confirming that the talks had failed, said the government side was uneasy about wealth distribution, especially in the southern oilfields. The south felt it had suffered economic stagnation as a result of the 20-year war which has claimed two million lives and should therefore be given an upper hand in the distribution of the region's natural resources. Sources at the meeting said the government's about-turn surprised the delegates. "All appeared well to the last day of the talks, then they started keeping us guessing, seeking time out for consultations." On Saturday they adjourned for four hours, pushing the talks past mid-night. The SPLM leader accused the Khartoum government of sending confusing signals to its delegates. The first round of the talks scored a rare first when the parties agreed on a framework to satisfy both sides. It was then agreed that in the North, the basis of legality would be the Shariah and consensus, which would not be applicable in the south. The talks are supposed to resume on January 4, next year. In Geneva, a spokesman for Kofi Annan said the UN secretary-general had telephoned Sudan President Omar Hassan el-Bashir and SPLA leader, Colonel John Garang to express satisfaction with the talks to date and encourage both sides "to continue negotiating in good faith until peace prevails in the Sudan." Sudan's warring factions said yesterday a disagreement on how to share wealth and power in post-war Sudan was likely to delay the signing of a deal at the latest round of peace talks. The Khartoum government and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), at war for the past 19 years, have been meeting in Kenya to try to build on a framework peace plan for Africa's biggest country that was signed in July. Both sides hoped that the talks would result in agreements on sharing power and wealth, but said negotiating over the details was likely to last into Monday. The talks had been due to end on Saturday. "We are still trading drafts up and down," SPLA spokesman Samson Kwaje told Reuters as the parties broke off for dinner at 7:30 pm. "I don't know whether we will manage to sign a protocol tonight or tomorrow, we still have a lot of problems on power sharing, on the presidency, the percentage of representation for southern Sudan. We will most likely adjourn until Sunday." The deal in July was a major breakthrough. Khartoum agreed to a referendum on secession for the south and that Islamic Sharia law should only be applied to the predominantly Muslim regions. The talks are now expected to break for more than a month, resuming in 2003 to try to hammer out agreement on the outstanding issues, and ultimately sign a lasting ceasefire. Both sides agreed last month to cease fire while dialogue was in progress after heavy fighting in the south caused the negotiations to break down in September. The government and the rebels have accused each other of violating the truce. The fighting in Sudan has killed an estimated two million people and displaced twice that number. Earlier, Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail said on Monday his country was willing to share its power and wealth with rebels in the hopes of ending the war. a 19-year war and preserving the unity of Africa's largest country. "(We want) to give the south confidence and a high participation in power. This is not a problem for us and we will reach a solution regarding this (power- sharing)," Ismail told reporters in Cairo. "We need...to stop the war and for a fair distribution of wealth, power and to reconstruct the south. This will strengthen unity's chances," he said. Earlier this month, Sudan said it was ironing out the final details with the SPLA on dividing political power and had started to discuss the issue of wealth-sharing. Mr Ismail described the peace talks in Kenya, which are expected to break off in the next few weeks as a "limited success". Negotiations are due to resume in January. "The peace talks are progressing normally. We can't say that they have reached a blocked road or that they are moving with the required speed," to say a peace deal will be signed in the coming few weeks but there is limited success," Mr Ismail said last week. The Sudan war has cost nearly two million lives and is complicated by issues of ideology, ethnicity and oil.   =============================================================================   Copyright © 2002 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). =============================================================================