Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir reiterated on Wednesday that the ruling National Congress Party(NCP) had no intention to go back to war in southern Sudan.
The Sudanese president made the remarks in his address at the opening session of the Second General Conference of the NCP in his capacity as chairman of the ruling party.
"I stress to you at the beginning of the conference that there is never a return to war as long as there is a wick of candle and a gleam of light in the tunnel of peace," al-Bashir told some six thousand representatives taking part in the conference.
He called for "an effective political partnership" between the NCP and the former rebel Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM).
The NCP and SPLM have shared political power in the Sudanese Government of National Unity since the two sides signed the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005.
"I call for an effective political partnership with the SPLM for running the affairs of governing during the transitional period in order to consolidate the pillars of peace, reinforce the voluntary unity and increase the opportunities for other parties to take part," the Sudanese president noted.
The president's call came amid an over 40-day political crisis between the two peace partners in Sudan, and the two sides are awaiting another meeting between al-Bashir and SPLM leader Salva Kiir Mayardit to iron out pending issues.
The SPLM announced unexpectedly on Oct. 11 a decision to suspend the participation of its ministers in the central government to protest over what it called a "procrastination" of the implementation of the peace deal.
Al-Bashir and Mayardit announced following their third meeting early this month that they had settled all the disputes between the two parties except the issue of the oil-rich Abiye enclave.
According to the CPA, a referendum will be conducted in southern Sudan in 2011 after a transitional period of six years in order to decide whether the area will stay inside Sudan to maintain the voluntary unity or to announce an independence. Source:Xinhua
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