In a message dated 12/27/99 7:04:43 AM Central Standard Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:
Gambia-Senegal-Casamance
Casamance peace talks under way in Gambia
BANJUL, Dec 26 (AFP) - Peace talks between Senegal and armed separatist
rebels in the southern Casamance region got under way here Sunday, with the
rebels' leader calling for a "final peace" while appearing to drop demands
for independence.
Father Augustin Diamacoune, leader of the Casamance Movement of Democratic
Forces (MFDC), asked Senegalese authorities to join him in sealing a "real
and final peace" accord to end 17 years of fighting in southern Senegal.
In his opening address to delegations from both sides of the conflict and
Gambian mediators, Diamacoune completely avoided the word "independence,"
leading observers to believe the MFDC might have softened its position.
On Saturday, Gambian Foreign Minister Sedate Jobe said that MFDC delegates
had "agreed to negotiate with the government of Senegal on the basis that
they could discuss everything possible but the request for independence."
Jobe added that the movement sought to establish itself as a political
party.
Diamacoune said Sunday that the talks should aim at "finding, defining and
sealing the outlines of a real and final peace in Casamance as well as
mechanisms to follow-up and confirm agreements," once they are reached.
"The MFDC never wanted and does not want war," he stressed, adding that the
group was committed to "entering the next millennium in peace and harmony."
Senegalese General Liamine Cisse said: "It is time for the different sides
to prove they can move on and relieve the suffering of Casamance's civilian
populations."
The talks began to take shape on January 22 after Senegalese President Abdou
Diouf shared a historic handshake with Diamacoune in Ziguinchor, the
province's main city.
Negotiators decided to hold the talks on December 26 because the date marks
the 17th anniversary of the start of the rebellion in the province.
The main items on Sunday's agenda were mine-clearance, freedom of movement
for MFDC fighters, freedom of expression, the release of MFDC prisoners and
increased powers for local authorities in the troubled province.
Jobe is acting as chief mediator between the Senegalese government and the
MFDC, while seven Gambian ministers will also attend the negotiations.
The two delegations, each composed of ten members, are to hold face-to-face
talks.
Gambia is eager to be seen as a peacebroker in Casamance, and Jobe said it
would be "an honour for Gambia and Gambians to have succeeded in solving the
problem without involving the Organisation of African Unity and the United
Nations."
An MFDC hardliner speaking from France Saturday expressed his opposition to
the talks, but was disavowed by the rebel leaders.
Former deputy secretary general Mamadou Nkrumah Sane said he was holding out
for the total independence of Casamance and denounced Diouf's "political
manoeuvring."
But the group's leaders marked their distance from that position on Sunday,
while still accusing Dakar of being responsible for problems in the province
and calling for greater freedoms for all its members, including those who
belong to its armed wing.
str/hts/kd/wai/hn
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