Obasanjo, Sudanese rebels meet late Sunday

ABUJA, Nigeria, June 20, 2005 (PANA) — A meeting between Nigeria’s
President Olusegun Obasanjo and Sudanese rebels aimed
at jumpstarting the tottering Darfur talks in Abuja
has been rescheduled from Saturday to Sunday night,
sources at the talks told PANA on Sunday.

Though the talks did not hold on Saturday night as
scheduled, PANA learnt that Obasanjo still held a
meeting with the head of the African Union (AU)
mediation team at the talks, Salim Ahmed Salim.

Details of their discussions were not disclosed, but
sources said the meeting was part of Obasanjo’s
efforts to help pump life into the talks, which has
been held up by the failure of the parties to agree
on the work plan and the decision by one of the rebel
groups to boycott the talks if Chad is allowed to
participate.

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) had declined
to continue with the talks due to Tuesday’s arrival
in Abuja of the Chadian delegation.

JEM opposes the participation of Chad at the talks,
alleging that the country had taken sides in the two-
year crisis that has killed between 180,000 and
200,000 and displaced over two million in Darfur.

Confirming the movement’s stand on Sunday, JEM
spokesman Ahmed Hussein Adam told PANA that the
position of his group is non-negotiable.

Adam accused Chad of trying to frustrate the talks so
it could be moved from Abuja to N’Djamena.

The accusation could not be independently
corroborated, as the two-member Chadian delegation
was not immediately available.

The talks resumed last Monday after a six-month break
due to the failure of the parties — the Sudanese
government, Sudan’s Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A)
and JEM — to agree on the agenda.