US hails Darfur accord, calls for peace talks

WASHINGTON – The United States called for quick peace negotiations between the Sudanese government and rebel groups to end the Darfur conflict as it welcomed a framework agreement reached between them.

The State Department, in congratulating Khartoum and the rebel groups on their signing on Tuesday of the 17-point “Declaration of Principles for the Resolution of the Sudanese Conflict in Darfur,” also sought an immediate end to violence that had gripped the country’s western region for nearly 30 months. The accord will form the basis for future political dialogue at their African Union-sponsored peace talks.”We urge the parties to undertake these negotiations quickly in order to achieve peace and reconciliation in Darfur,” department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.The agreement would provide a framework for negotiations on wealth and power-sharing, he said, adding that it “should serve as the basis for further good-faith political dialogue.”The United States, which had last year accused Khartoum of fuelling genocide in the Darfur region, urged the Sudanese government and the rebel groups to adhere to their previous cease-fire, humanitarian, and security commitments, McCormack said.Under the deal clinched in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, the Arab-led Khartoum regime agreed to guarantee traditional tribal ownership rights over land in Darfur and allow the black African region autonomy under a reformed federal constitution.More than 180 000 civilians have been killed and 2,5 million driven from their homes during fighting in the western Sudanese region, creating what UN agencies have dubbed the “world’s worst humanitarian disaster”.The AU has sent a peacekeeping force to monitor the oft-broken ceasefire signed by the parties in April last year, but five rounds of peace talks in the Nigerian capital have failed to find a political solution.Tuesday’s accord came ahead of the inauguration of Sudan’s national unity government formed as part of a peace deal with former southern rebels.Former southern Sudan rebel leader John Garang, head of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement, is to arrive today on his first Khartoum visit in more than 22 years to take up his post as first vice president in the national unity government, in line with a key January peace accord with the Sudanese government.The SPLM signed the accord with the government on January 9 ending more than two decades of north-south conflict that left an estimated two million people dead and four million displaced.”Taken together, the Declaration of Principles and the planned July 9 installation of the presidency of the Government of National Unity constitute significant progress toward the goal of achieving peace throughout Sudan,” McCormack said.Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will join dignitaries from around the world in attending the inauguration of the national unity government.In Khartoum, Zoellick will meet with Sudanese leaders from the North and South, African leaders, and UN officials, McCormack said.In addition, he said, Zoellick would make his third trip to Darfur to assess the humanitarian and security situation by meeting with local leaders, representatives of the NGO community and aid workers, and the AU’s security forces.He will also meet with some of the internally displaced persons.-Nampa-AFPThe accord will form the basis for future political dialogue at their African Union-sponsored peace talks.”We urge the parties to undertake these negotiations quickly in order to achieve peace and reconciliation in Darfur,” department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.The agreement would provide a framework for negotiations on wealth and power-sharing, he said, adding that it “should serve as the basis for further good-faith political dialogue.”The United States, which had last year accused Khartoum of fuelling genocide in the Darfur region, urged the Sudanese government and the rebel groups to adhere to their previous cease-fire, humanitarian, and security commitments, McCormack said.Under the deal clinched in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, the Arab-led Khartoum regime agreed to guarantee traditional tribal ownership rights over land in Darfur and allow the black African region autonomy under a reformed federal constitution.More than 180 000 civilians have been killed and 2,5 million driven from their homes during fighting in the western Sudanese region, creating what UN agencies have dubbed the “world’s worst humanitarian disaster”.The AU has sent a peacekeeping force to monitor the oft-broken ceasefire signed by the parties in April last year, but five rounds of peace talks in the Nigerian capital have failed to find a political solution.Tuesday’s accord came ahead of the inauguration of Sudan’s national unity government formed as part of a peace deal with former southern rebels.Former southern Sudan rebel leader John Garang, head of the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Movement, is to arrive today on his first Khartoum visit in more than 22 years to take up his post as first vice president in the national unity government, in line with a key January peace accord with the Sudanese government.The SPLM signed the accord with the government on January 9 ending more than two decades of north-south conflict that left an estimated two million people dead and four million displaced.”Taken together, the Declaration of Principles and the planned July 9 installation of the presidency of the Government of National Unity constitute significant progress toward the goal of achieving peace throughout Sudan,” McCormack said.Deputy US Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will join dignitaries from around the world in attending the inauguration of the national unity government.In Khartoum, Zoellick will meet with Sudanese leaders from the North and South, African leaders, and UN officials, McCormack said.In addition, he said, Zoellick would make his third trip to Darfur to assess the humanitarian and security situation by meeting with local leaders, representatives of the NGO community and aid workers, and the AU’s security forces.He will also meet with some of the internally displaced persons.-Nampa-AFP