Qatar, UNAMID renew calls for Darfur rebels to join Doha document
March 11, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The Qatari vice-prime minister Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud and the joint chief mediator Moahmed Ibn Chambas called on the non-signatory rebel groups to join the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).
The official Qatari news agency (QNA) reported a statement released following the meeting, saying that Al-Mahmoud who facilitated the DDPD with the former joint mediator Djibril Bassolé and Chambas discussed the latest developments related to the peace process in Darfur.
During the meeting Chambas “explained the outcome of the meetings that took place in Addis Ababa, where all the parties welcomed the initiative of Sudanese president Omer Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir for national dialogue”, said the statement.
Al-Mahmoud and Chambas further appealed “all the non-signatory movements to join the DDPD and to participate in the National dialogue”, said the statement.
The DDPD is signed between the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) after two year of talks in Doha on 14 July 2011. JEM which was part of the process refused to sign it. But a dissident faction of the group joined it on 6 April 2013.
On 7 March Chambas facilitated a meeting between the head of the African Union Commission, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, and two rebel leaders, Gibril Ibrahim of the Justice and Equality Movement and Minni Minnawi of Sudan Liberation Movement faction. Also the meeting was attended by the deputy chairman the rebel alliance Sudanese Revolutionary Front, El-Tom Hajo.
The rebels claimed that Zuma supported their demand for a comprehensive process on Sudan conflicts and the unification of the two existing forums for peace.
Chambas “urged the movements to join the ‘national dialogue’ proposed by Sudanese President Al Bashir in January, as a workable option towards bringing a comprehensive solution to the crises in Darfur and all of Sudan. Chairperson Zuma similarly, encouraged them to continue to work with UNAMID and other stakeholders to formulate a strategy on how to conduct the national dialogue,” said a statement released by the joint mediator and UNAMUD chief.
The government proposes that rebel groups join the national dialogue after the signing of separate peace agreements. While the latter say a national conference can settle the conflicts in Darfur and the Two Areas besides the constitution reforms alike.
The African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) is expected to take a decision on ways to bring peace in Sudan after a meeting held on the matter on Monday 10 March.
The Sudanese government Tuesday criticised a statement by the US ambassador to the United Nations, Samanta Power, calling on the AUPSC so support the holistic approach and to merge the two peace processes for Darfur and the Tow Areas.
“The United States is against peace in Sudan because they spoke with the same phrases and meanings advocated by the SPLM-N during the last round of talks with the government,” said the Sudanese ambassador to the African Union Abdel Rahman Sirelkhatim.
He further said such positions encourage rebels to refuse peace talks.
(ST)