Sudanese President, Darfur mediators discuss outstanding issues in Doha talks
November 7, 2010 (DOHA) – Darfur mediators discussed today with the Sudanese president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir the outstanding issues in the negotiations and asked him to consider rebel demands.
President Al-Bashir wrapped up a two-day visit to Qatar Sunday with a meeting with the Qatari state minister for foreign affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud and the Joint Chief Mediator, Djibril Bassole to discuss the outstanding issues in the peace talks.
Last month delegations from the Sudanese government and the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) ended direct talks and submitted outstanding issues to the steering committee which handed its conclusions over to the mediation.
Speaking to Sudan Tribune after the meeting, Bassole said they had a fruitful meeting on the progress of peace process in Darfur and the negotiations between the government and the LJM.
Mediators “have seized this opportunity to request that the Government of Sudan pays particular attention to issues relating to administrative status of Darfur, the compensation and Darfurian participation in the executive power,” Bassole further said.
In a press conference held in Doha before the arrival of the Sudanese president, LJM chairman El-Tijani El-Sissi who had been a former governor of the region, said “there is no compromise in the issue of one region in Darfur”.
LJM rebels also ask to give a position of vice-president of the republic to the western region of Darfur.
The government sponsored SMC news service, said that Bashir expressed reserves about a proposal made by Bassole to allocate a position of vice-president to Darfur rebels.
The president said the request would open the door to give each region a vice-president and he would not take any step that will lead or help the fragmentation of the country, SMC reported citing a high ranking official source.
Bassole said they also emphasized the need to reach before the end of the year a comprehensive, fair and inclusive peace agreement that will get the support of all the Darfurians and the rebel movements not yet involved in the negotiations.
In this regard, the mediators have finally asked President Bashir to facilitate further dialogue with JEM by deescalating violence and military confrontation with the rebel group.
In May 2010, JEM decided to walk out of the peace talks in Doha accusing the Sudanese army of breaching a cessation of hostilities agreement they signed with Khartoum three months before.
The mediation plans to discuss the peace document they are preparing with the two rebel group who are not involved in the process: Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which froze its participation since last May and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur.
The mediation said last week that a peace agreement scheduled to be signed before December 19 between the government and LJM rebels.
(ST)
Paul Ongee
Sudanese President, Darfur mediators discuss outstanding issues in Doha talks
Bassole,
Forget about getting another DPA signed before December 19, 2010. You cannot discuss peace with Khartoum-forged rebel leader in Doha whose implications affected IDPs in Darfur while Khartoum believes only in military pressure to bring Tripoli and Paris to negotiating table. What kind of peace is Qatar actually hosting?
Tripoli, Paris and Cairo are watching with great concern the negotiation game run only by Khartoum and Qatar. They (Khartoum and Qatar) are kidding themselves that they can by-pass international effort to really bring the conflict in Darfur to an end sooner than later.
The Arab League-backed peace talks are certainly failing in broad daylight not because AL has no track record of conflict resolution in Africa or Middle East but because peace talks cannot succeed while military confrontation with the major rebel forces is regarded as an order of the day. No consideration of security of IDPS and consistent access to humanitarian relief.
One of the best ways to resolve Darfur issue is to create an environment that would bring the key rebel leaders on board without letting Khartoum sits behind the wheel of peace talks. Khartoum doesn’t care so long as killings, kidnappings of western NGOs’ staff members and peacekeepers w/out ransom, pillaging, raping and ethnic cleansing are going on smoothly as planned in Darfur.
Paul Ongee
Khartoum, Sudan