On February 23-24, 1989, leading politicians and intellectuals from all major political forces in the Sudan came together in Bergen, Norway. They were joined by a few concerned observers, mostly from Norway. The main purpose of the gathering was to make a contribution to the ongoing search for peace and unity in a country plagued by a prolonged and destructive civil war. This book contains the proceedings of that meeting, as well as a number of declarations, agreements and position statements preceding the Bergen conference.
At the time of writing this preface, a new government has just been formed. Reports from Khartoum indicate that the new government will initiate discussions with SPLM/SPLA in order to bring about a peaceful resolution of the Sudanese conflict. In view of such developments, the organizers of the conference have considered it important to produce a document as soon as possible after the Bergen gathering. By doing this, we hope that the book will play an important and constructive role during the ongoing and difficult negotiations concerning the future of the largest country in size on the African continent.
We want to thank all the participants for making the Bergen conference a successful undertaking. We also want to thank the Norwegian Ministry of Development Cooperation for generously providing the necessary financial support for hosting the conference. At the Centre for Development Studies, most of the staff have shared in the efforts, both before, during and after the meeting. We owe a particular debt of gratitude to Torhild Håland Eide, Thelma Kraft, Eyolf Jul-Larsen and Leif Manger. Eldar Bråten has played a crucial role in preparing the manuscript for publication, and we are also grateful to Rex S. O'Fahey for providing important editorial assistance.
Bergen and Khartoum April 1989 Abdel Ghaffar M.Ahmed Gunnar M. Sørbø
