KHARTOUM, Sudan, March 9 (UPI) -- Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir cautioned Tuesday peace negotiations might collapse if separatist rebels sustained claims to a disputed oil-rich area.
In a first public comment on the stumbling peace talks with the Sudan People's Liberation Army led by John Garang, al-Bashir said Khartoum's control over the region of Ebin in central Sudan was non-negotiable.
He said the separatists were reneging on the framework agreement for peace signed in 2002 under which self-determination was granted for southern Sudan within the administrative boundaries that existed when the North African Arab country gained independence in 1956.
"There are two choices, either to honor the agreement and stick to its content and continue the peace negotiations, or go back to square one," al-Bashir was quoted by Khartoum daily al-Rai as saying Tuesday.
He said Ebin, an oil rich region, is part of mainly-Muslim northern Sudan and does not fall within the administrative boundaries of the mainly Christian and Animist south.
He accused the SPLA of obstructing peace negotiations taking place in Kenya for settling Africa's longest-running civil strife and warned the separatists were jeopardizing the gains they achieved, including self-determination for southern Sudan and sharing the country's oil revenues.
Under the framework agreement a popular referendum would be held after a six-year transitional period to determine the fate of southern Sudan.
