Sudan, Cairo truce talks tackled by Arabic press, Thamer Abu Baker

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THE SUDANESE peace negotiations and failure of the Palestinian truce talks in Cairo were the focus of Arab media last week. Commenting on the peace talks between the government in Khartoum and the rebels, Ali Ibrahim, who writes for the London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat, stated that Sudan seems to be the only Arab country moving forward, tackling its problems in a realistic manner after seeing that no solution helped bring about peace in a country plagued by 20 years of civil war that killed more than a million Sudanese.

The writer said that opposition groups inside and outside the country might have some objections regarding certain points in the ongoing peace talks, taking place in Kenya, fearing that the Sudanese government and the rebels — Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) — will share power in the country, leaving nothing to other political groups in Sudan.

These objections are details that can be solved through negotiations or through the political process that will take place in the aftermath of the signing of the peace agreement, the writer said, adding that the main issue now is trying to put an end to the civil war which has divided the Sudanese people and undermined the country's resources.

The writer said that there are positive indications suggesting that the talks will succeed, as the SPLA calls for unity between the North and the South. However, said the writer, the Sudanese government has to work hard after the signing of the peace agreement to end the differences between the South and the North and intensify integration of the various parts of the country.

Commenting on the same issue, Idrees Hasan stated in an article published in the Sudanese daily Al Ray Al Aam that Sudan was undergoing significant changes in its political arena as the different parties were searching for a peaceful solution to the civil war. Now, the Sudanese are moving towards a fresh political era which is likely to shape the future of the country.

The writer stated that efforts must concentrate on building confidence and uniting visions regarding Sudan's future, but he warned that some people in Sudan are trying to revive the past with all its conflicts in order to reignite the civil war.

He said that some politicians have certain stands which are at variance with the peace spirit because they have their own agendas that have nothing to do with the Sudanese people's interests. In general, observed the writer, the peace negotiations will reach a final agreement because the Sudanese society desires so, regardless of the strange voices that want the civil war to persist.

Concerning the failed negotiations between Palestinian factions, that took place in Cairo last week with a view of declaring a truce with Israel, the editor of the Palestinian daily Al Quds argued that the negotiators should have achieved a truce, or at least a partial truce, with Israel, to prove to the world that the Palestinians are willing to end violence in the region, besides, regional and international circumstances that require a truce from the Palestinian side.

Moreover, said the editor, a Palestinian truce will not only put an end to the Israeli aggressive practices in the Palestinian territories, it will also put a heavy diplomatic pressure on Israel's government which doesn't have any political plans and is facing mounting internal problems.

Everyone knows, said the editor of the daily, that Israel is not interested in a truce with the Palestinian side. However, had the Palestinian parties issued a statement at the end of their talks, pointing out general points on which they agree, they could have strengthened the internal Palestinian front.

The editor concluded that it would have been better if the Palestinians could reach a truce with Israel, whether for a long or short period, rather than continue the endless negotiations and talks which never reach any conclusion.

Tackling the same subject, Abdullah Iskandar, who writes for Al Hayat daily, asserted that the failure of the Cairo talks last week heralded the beginning of a new stage in the conflict in the region, because this failure is what Hamas and the Islamic Jihad desire, as neither party wants to declare a truce with Israel, believing that the Israeli side is the one experiencing serious problems and not the Palestinian.

Iskandar went on to say that Hamas and Islamic Jihad will try to sabotage any talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority by carrying out spectacular operations inside Israel. On the other hand, he said, Israel declared that it would attack Syria if the Palestinians carry any suicide attacks in Israel, thus giving the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon the opportunity to derail the peace track on both the Syrian and Palestinian sides.

The writer said that any Israeli attack against Syria would invite a Syrian retaliation this time, and thus the region might experience a new phase in the Arab-Israeli conflict.