AU mediators in consultations with Darfur negotiators

ABUJA, June 13 (AFP) — African mediators held separate bilateral talks with Sudan’s government and representatives of the two rebel groups in a bid to find lasting peace in the civil war in Sudan’s western region of Darfur.

Officials of the Sudanese government wait for resumption of talks with rebel leaders 10 June 2005, during a summit on Darfur crisis in Abuja. (AFP).

The talks were aimed at resolving the crisis that has lasted more than two years, claimed between 180,000 and 300,000 lives, displaced around 2.4 million and sent more than 200,000 fleeing to neighbouring Chad.

The latest round of talks between Khartoum and representatives of two rebel groups — the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) — resumed Friday after a six-month break.

Discussions began early Monday on a declaration of principle which was adopted last December when talks were suspended after mutual accusations of ceasefire violations.

In a statement after the meetings, the AU mediating team led by special envoy for the peace talks on Darfur Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim said “these consultations gave the parties an opportunity to make comments, observations and suggestions on the draft declaration of principle (DoP).

“The representatives of JEM and the Government of the Sudan (GoS) later submitted their comments in writing. The SLM however requested more time to finalise their submission,” it said.

Earlier, AU spokesman Nouredine Mezni told AFP that mediators first held separate talks with JEM negotiators before going into another round of talks with SLM delegates.

“The bilateral meetings were attended by Nigeria and Libya — the two facilitators at the talks,” he said.

He said the AU would meet with representatives of the Sudanese government later in the evening for further talks.

“All discussions are centred on he declaration of principle which was adopted in December,” Mezni said.

“The DoP (declaration of principle) is a momentum we want to build on. It will set the tone for further agreements to be reached,” he said.

Earlier, Sudan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Najeib Abdulwahab told AFP the government was optimistic.

“What is left is not problematic. The difficult issues have been agreed upon — the security and humanitarian issues. This week, we shall deal with declaration of principle from which we will distill the modalities for power and wealth sharing. People will not quarrel over principles,” he said.

Sudanese government spokesman Ibrahim Mohammed Ibrahim urged the rebels to embrace a peaceful settlement of the conflict.

“We appeal to our brothers in the movements to embrace peace so that our country can move forward,” he said.

JEM negotiator Mohammed Tugod told AFP the rebels were out to achieve peace. “We keep an open mind to issues. We will not work against any efforts to end the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.”

Another JEM delegate Abdullahi Osman El-Tom said: “We are upbeat about the current talks. The AU has done a lot to soften the ground since the last round of talks. We are hopeful this round will be ground-breaking.”

Violence broke out in Darfur in February 2003 when a rebel uprising against the government led Khartoum to unleash Arab militias known as the Janjaweed on a scorched-earth campaign. The Janjaweed are accused of “ethnic cleansing”, torture, rape and intimidation.

Humanitarian officials have warned the situation in Darfur is becoming more desperate, with insufficient funding to meet the crisis aggravated by drought, famine and the long-term effects of conflict.

On Sunday, African mediators managed to bring the two parties together face-to-face, despite continuing splits.

But Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail warned his government was ready to walk out of the talks if AU mediators allowed Eritrea, considered an archfoe by Khartoum, to take part.

Eritrea has long provided refuge to Sudanese opposition groups but denies accusations from Khartoum of arming their military wings. It accuses Khartoum in turn of supporting Eritrean rebel groups.

The Darfur rebels in turn oppose Chadian participation in the talks, accusing it of siding with Khartoum.