CBN.com – Twenty years of war between Sudan's Muslim government and Christians in the south has killed more than 2 million people. Now, both sides are apparently ready to lay down arms in a peace deal brokered by the U.S.
Flanked by Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha and rebel leader John Garang, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced the breakthrough that both sides were ready to talk peace.
Powell said, "It is absolutely clear to me that the way is now open to a final and comprehensive solution. We must have a solution, this is a moment of opportunity that must not be lost. The people of Sudan have known hardship and devastation for too long. All the people of Sudan, northerners and southerners alike, are desperate for an end to this conflict."
This is the first time the warring parties have agreed to a timetable for ending the conflict. A peace deal is expected to be signed by year's end.
Sudan's Vice-President, Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, said, "Our message is that we are committed and focused and we will remain engaged until peace is achieved."
John Garang, leader of Sudan People's Liberation, said, "There is a window of opportunity for us and we will take that window of opportunity to achieve peace for the people of Sudan. So our message is a message of peace, a message of commitment, of determination."
But there are still a number of difficult issues to be resolved before peace can be achieved.
Still, Powell says the U.S. is ready to review sanctions against Sudan if the government and rebels hold to their pledge to make peace.
The U.S. has listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism claiming Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad are operating from Khartoum.
During his meetings with the leaders in Kenya, Powell also said that President Bush would invite the parties to the White House to endorse the peace deal.
QUESTION: You have been intimately involved in the last two and a half years in the Sudanese -- with the Sudanese adversaries. Thanks to the U.S. and IGAD, a working ceasefire and 80 percent of a comprehensive peace settlement have been achieved.
Two questions. Question number one, what is your assessment of the situation, now that you are leaving at a critical time of the process? Are you optimistic that the post-Ramadan negotiations will achieve a just and fair peace?
And question number two, what would be your advice be to the Sudan Government, SPLM and the American Administration to help achieve such an end within the Secretary of State December 31st deadline?
Thank you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Thank you. And all reports and my conversations with both parties are that the post-Ramadan discussions will be the final discussions. They will be the venue and the opportunity to wrap up all the remaining loose ends. They will begin sometime after Ramadan, although even during Ramadan, there will probably be some low-level conversations, some dialogue, perhaps a little shuttle diplomacy going on. But then the real final push will be in December, wrapping up what remains in power sharing, wealth sharing and the three conflict areas being the three major items on the agenda.
I am optimistic. I think they can do it. I think the security agreement that was reached a few weeks back was actually the more difficult problem to get over. The notion of two armed forces and an integrated armed force, it was complicated. And it had all sorts of not only security, but political implications and ramifications, and they did it. They did it. They pulled it together. They made some tough compromises and they reached an agreement.
So I think that on the wealth sharing, particularly the wealth sharing, I think they're very, very close. Power sharing will flow. If you get the -- if you get the security and the army, and you get the money, the power is going to flow from that. And so I think they're close to that.
And then the three areas. Now, the three areas are complicated and they have a lot of history behind them, but I think both sides know that they've got to do it. So I'm optimistic.
QUESTION: Your advice?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: My advice would be: Don't let the momentum die. You've got good momentum. You've got the potential to reach the finish line. Stay the course and get it done.
Yes.
QUESTION: What have you told the Sudanese about what they specifically are going to have to do to get off the terrorism list, given that they have made some strides in counterterrorism assistance, but they're, you know, not quite there yet?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: And we work with them, literally, on a weekly basis in the sense of cooperation. Ambassador Black, Cofer Black, is very involved, and I would leave it to him on some of the specific details of what those expectations and what those requirements are.
But there is very good cooperation and dialogue and there is a definite understanding of our process and how our process works, both on lists, but also on sanctions. You know, we've got actually six different types of economic sanctions against Sudan right now, each with a slightly different threshold for when they get lifted. Congress has mandated some, some are the Executive Branch, so we're going to have to go through all of those and look at what the criteria are, why they were placed on it, and what is necessary for them to be lifted. And in fact, the Africa Bureau here at State, Treasury, the interagency process is looking, starting to look at all six different sets of sanctions.
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QUESTION: Back to Sudan. Can you describe how much -- or describe the U.S. intent toward the peacekeeping operation there, both in terms of budgetary contributions and military contributions? And are you satisfied with that, given the amount of effort you put into getting the situation there --
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Well, we have a joint monitoring verification team that's very good, and they've done a terrific job. It started in Nuba Mountains and now it's expanded out. That, we think, will be the basis for a larger peace monitoring apparatus. There is also within IGAD, and within the agreement that General Sumbeiywo has done, for an assessment and evaluation committee, AEC. That is, again, an IGAD-led institution that will, in fact, monitor some of these security deals; for instance, the integration of some of the armies, and the reduction in numbers of the various armed forces.
So that is going to need to be built and set up and stood up, and we anticipate helping that, very much so.
The other component, of course, is what's the role of the UN. Is the United Nations going to want to come in and play a part in monitoring? And we would very much encourage that and welcome that. And then again, how all these various institutions talk to each other and interface with each other; that needs some thinking, too. So there's a lot of work to be done in the next couple months.
QUESTION: So the U.S. budgetary commitment is what toward that?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Well, we have some placeholder numbers and we have some commitments both on the, kind of, reconstruction and redevelopment, the DDRR, you know, the demobilization. And I don't, off the top of my head know the exact placeholder numbers, but it's, you know, it's significant dollars that we are hoping to be able to use in '04 and '05.
QUESTION: Okay. So there's nothing in the current budget, then?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Yes, in '04, yeah. There's -- there are line items in our '04 request.