South accuses north of stalling on a number of key issues

KHARTOUM, June 28 (Reuters) - Sudan's former southern rebels on Sunday said there had been no concrete progress in talks over a faltering peace deal with the north, and warned time was running out to save the accord.

Sudan's Muslim north and its mostly Christian south fought a two-decade civil war that ended in the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Leaders from both sides met in Washington last week to discuss remaining disputes over the deal that, analysts warn, may drag the country back to conflict if left unresolved.

A senior official from the south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) accused the northern delegation of stalling on a number of key issues, including the position of their shared border, preparations for coming elections and a referendum on southern secession. "The issues remain the same.

There is no progress in resolving the issues yet," SPLM delegation spokesman Yasir Arman told Reuters. "We discovered again that the (north's dominant) National Congress Party has no political will to resolve those issues ... We are running out of time." Arman's comments clashed with more upbeat commentary on the Washington conference from the northern delegation, and the event's organiser, the U.S. envoy to Sudan Scott Gration.

Northern delegation head Ghazi Salaheddin told state media late on Saturday the discussions had made solid progress, and chided the SPLM for playing down the chance of success. "The talks could reach a good outcome if the other party expressed a spirit of optimism instead of depicting a bleak image," Salaheddin told the state Suna agency, after flying back into Khartoum from the conference. He said there had not been time to discuss all outstanding issues, but added there would be a chance for more progress at a second meeting between the two sides in Khartoum in July.

Both sides have accused each other of dragging their feet over implementing the 2005 peace deal, which includes a number of looming deadlines, including national elections scheduled for February 2010, and a referendum on southern independence in January 2011. The SPLM's Arman said both sides had repeated a previously agreed commitment to abide by the decision of international arbitrators over the borders of the contested central oil region of Abyei. The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague is due next month to rule on a dispute over the borders of Abyei, a region claimed by the north and the south that includes oilfields and a key pipeline. Northern and southern troops have clashed in the area since the 2005 agreement was signed.

Arman added that the Washington event had also succeeded in raising the profile of the CPA which many in Sudan feel has been overshadowed by efforts to solve the separate conflict in Sudan's western Darfur region. Any return to civil war in Sudan would have a disastrous effect on the country, its oil industry -- which involves France's Total , China's CNPC [CNPET.UL], Malaysia's Petronas [PETR.UL] and other leading operators -- and surrounding states. Two million people died and 4 million fled their homes between 1983 and 2005 as north and south Sudan battled out differences in ideology, ethnicity and religion.

Source: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/HEA831635.htm