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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| Sudan government, rebels, discuss power sharing... |
| 2002-10-27 |
| Sudan's government and rebels began crucial talks in the eastern Kenyan town of Machakos to discuss a power-sharing agreement to end two decades of civil war. "We are looking into how the presidency would look like under the new arrangements," a Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) source told AFP after the morning session. The source said that among the issues on the table for discussion were elections during the interim period and "the composition of both the national government and that of southern Sudan, and who appoints who." Well, at least they're talking. For now. If they're talking, they're usually not shooting at each other... On the other hand, they usually stop talking after one side or the other shoots the other up... "We are also proposing the establishment of a new status for the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, that would be free of Islamic Sharia law," the SPLM/A official said. That sounds like a ducky idea, just on general principles... "Since we have been disadvantaged for a long time, the south will seek a greater say in the government, at least 40 percent share in institutions of government, such as appointments in key state organs like ministries," he added. Guess that's where they're going to start negotiating from. Doubt if they'll get 40 percent in the end — but they should get something fairly significant... Government and SPLM/A officials signed a memorandum of understanding on October 15 to observe a truce for the duration of the landmark talks, which started the day after. That was about two weeks after the rebels shut off the oil. Guess they know what to do now... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |