AU top mediator in Darfur talks hopes for April deal
April 12, 2006 (ABUJA) — The African Union’s chief mediator in the Sudanese peace talks said he hoped most of the basic issues in the conflict in Darfur in the west of the country would be resolved this month.
“I am going to do my utmost to ensure that we leave within
that deadline. When we say we want to conclude by the end of April, I think what we have in mind basically is that most of the basic issues will be resolved. That’s something we should be expecting,” Salim told reporters.
“At some point long before the end of April, we would have presented some specific, comprehensive proposals to the parties, intended to achieve a comprehensive peace agreement,” he said.
The AU chairman, Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso and his predecessor, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, last weekend met all the parties at the talks to push the process forward.
Salim said that he was “cautiously optimistic” that the talks had entered their final phase.
“I say ‘cautiously’ because at the end of the day, it is not me or the AU or the international partners that will bring peace to Darfur. It is the parties themselves. It is the government of Sudan and the movements that will negotiate among themselves,” Salim said.
The Sudanese parties at the talks equally expressed cautious optimism that they could work within the April deadline and reach a deal on the outstanding issues.
Majzoub Al-Khalifa, agriculture minister and leader of the Khartoum delegation, said: “I think it is possible to reach a deal especially if all parties are committed to the words, advice and remarks of the leaders that there should be a concession from each party.”
The leader of the Sudanese Liberation Movement (SLM), Abdul Waheed Al-Nur, said there was a “strong will” on the part of the movements to reach a deal but urged the Sudanese government to manifest the same will.
“There is no way to play games or propaganda. If they address the outstanding issues clearly and answer our negotiating position, actually there will be peace immediately: otherwise there will be no peace,” Al-Nur said.
“We have come to the stage of taking a decision. It is not a stage of negotiating details. Since we are at this stage, I think it is possible to have a better deal before the end of this month,” said Ahmed Tugod, chief negotiator for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the second rebel movement.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol, reacting to news of the talks, said he expected a Darfur peace deal was possible by the end of April.
The timeframe set by the African Union “is a realistic platform for reaching a peace deal,” he said at a press conference during a visit to the United Arab Emirates adding: “There is no certainty of peace before April 30, because it involves not only the government but also the armed groups.”
Three years of fighting between rebels and Khartoum-backed militias in Sudan have left up to 300,000 people dead and two million displaced.
(ST/AFP)