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      • Juba, Khartoum strike deal on conflicts but is it a breakthrough?

Juba, Khartoum strike deal on conflicts but is it a breakthrough?

South Sudan’s Chief Negotiator Pagan Amum told reporters in Juba on Saturday, August 4, that the two countries have agreed on a number of conflictive issues, although they are yet to strike a comprehensive agreement.

“The delegation will return soon to Ethiopia to finalise the details of the oil agreement and to finish and sign a comprehensive agreement that will include agreement on all the outstanding issues,” Pagan said.

The talks which focused on oil, security, border disputes, protection of citizens in both countries and the Abyei issue, were described as “tough” by Pagan. He said he hoped for “a new page in our relations with Sudan.”

South Sudan has offered Sudan a one-off payment of US$ 3.028 billion which Pagan said aimed to stabilise their neighbour which has lost an estimated 70 percent of its oil following the secession of South Sudan in July 2011.

 

Analysts said the breakthrough in the talks, which have been running for a year, came as a result of international pressure and the dismal state of the two economies.

“Reaching this agreement is a really good sign,” said Lillian Riziq, a former civil society activist and Western Bhar el-Ghazal State Minister of Agriculture. “What the South Sudanese really want is peace and development. I totally agree with the agreement if it will bring stability for the two countries. We don’t have an alternative.”

Leben Moro, a lecturer at the University of Juba, cautiously welcomed the move. “This time we need to put pressure on our leaders to plan for the long term. It is not going to be a good deal -- it is going to be a bad deal but we will have to live with it for a while,” he said.

It remains to be seen whether these tentative agreements will lead the way towards a comprehensive agreement at the next meeting. Here are the main issues at stake:

Oil

Oil has long been the most urgent issue for the countries. They have drawn up an interim oil agreement specifying how much South Sudan should pay to export its crude through Sudan, a spat which led to the South halting its all-important oil production at the start of the year.

Speaking to the press, Pagan said his government will only implement the oil deal if all the outstanding issues are resolved. He added that South Sudan’s financial offer to Sudan was also conditional. “We will not pay this money unless we reach an agreement and resolve the issue of Abyei. It is a tool for achieving peace and viability of the two states,” he said.

Security

The two parties have initially agreed on security issues, but Pagan said progress has been stalled by the Sudanese government’s failure to accept South Sudan’s map, which has been endorsed by the African Union.

“We have agreed on the security arrangements but Sudan’s refusal to accept the map is holding up the implementation and establishment of a safe border demilitarised zone and deployment of monitors,” he said, adding that the committee headed by the two countries’ Defence Ministers will meet in Addis Ababa to establish the safe border demilitarised zone.

Border and citizenship

If other issues arise which have not been solved by the border deal, Pagan said that South Sudan will seek arbitration. Asked about citizenship, he said the two parties have struck provisional agreements on the protection and status of all citizens living in either country.

Abyei

The two countries have agreed that an Abyei referendum will be conducted before the end of this year.

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