Sudan will not participate in Washington workshop on Darfur – official
October 12, 2011 The Sudanese government will not participate in a workshop on peace in Darfur to be held in Washington in two weeks, the foreign ministry announced Wednesday in Khartoum.
The two sides discussed a workshop that Washington plans to hold on 27-28 October to discuss peace in Darfur and its perspectives. According to the organisers the discussions will include the Doha Darfur peace Document (DDPD) and the what can be done to strengthen this framework agreement signed only by one rebel group.
In a statement put out after the meeting, Ambassador Rahama-Tallah said he told the visiting American diplomat that the situation in Darfur is moving towards the best and the government has already implemented several points included in the DDPD.
The undersecretary went further to say that the Sudanese government will not participate in the workshop but he called on the US Administration to push the rebel groups who did not sign the DDPD to join it.
Khartoum is mainly opposed to any discussion over the framework agreement for peace in Darfur that the government inked with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on 14 July in Doha.
Since the adoption of the DDPD by Darfur stakeholders in May, US officials supported the text but also support what the former joint mediator suggested; that the text should serve as basis for talks with other rebel groups. JEM, despite its participation in the process, did not take part in the preparation of the text.
But the government does not want to engage in talks with the rebels at this stage of the implementation of the Doha peace document. Initially, the government said the rebels would have three months to join the deal, but Washington urged Khartoum to keep the door open for futures talks.
The government will determine its position on the outcomes of the workshop when it becomes available, Rahama-Tallah said.
The meeting is expected to be attended by Darfur rebel groups who are not part of the Doha deal and the LJM. The former and the ad interim mediators are also expected to be there besides regional and international partners.
Washington thinks the resolution of Darfur conflict will help to end the looming tension of Khartoum and Juba relations, and boost good cooperation between Sudan and South Sudan.
However, the new armed conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile pushed rebels from Darfur and the SPLM-N to say they want a holistic approach including all the Sudanese political forces.
Some members in the US administration said recently that they are favorable to such an idea but they fear to be submerged by a long and slow process. On the other hand observers say Washington prefers the “step-by-step” policy to reach the ultimate objective of a democratic regime in Sudan.
(ST)