The World - News from Sept. 10, 1989

Sudan’s military ruler opened a peace conference in Khartoum aimed at ending six years of civil war and appealed to the leader of the rebels to attend. Gen. Omar Hassan Ahmed Bashir told the conference in the capital that he would take “all measures” to ensure the safety of John Garang, leader of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army, if he would attend. The rebels are boycotting the meeting after announcing preconditions for Garang’s attendance. Bashir made no mention of the conditions, which include the repeal of Islamic laws--the issue at the heart of the rebellion--the lifting of a state of emergency, the release of political prisoners and the lifting of a ban on political parties and trade unions imposed by Bashir’s junta.