Darfur rebels ask for inclusion of four issues in Addis Ababa talks
November 28, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The joint delegation of the Darfur rebel groups in the Addis Ababa talks with the Sudanese government has said it suggested adding four issues to the draft agenda proposed by the African mediation and accused the government team of “dodging” for rejecting the inclusion of these issues in the agenda.
Since 23 November, Sudanese government delegations and representatives of two rebel groups, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Minnawi faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement, (SLM-MM) are engaged in talks on a cessation of hostilities and security arrangements in Darfur.
The process comes in implementation of a roadmap endorsed by the Peace and Security Council providing to hold one process in two tracks to include the rebel groups in the national dialogue process.
According to a statement issued by the member of the joint delegation, Mutwakil Mohamed Musa, the rebel negotiating team has discussed on Thursday evening with the African mediator, Thabo Mbeki, inclusion of four issues including land, Hawakeer, borders and nomad issues, compensation, refugees and IDPs, reconstruction and development issues in the agenda.
On Friday The Sudanese official news agency SUNA said the government and the rebel delegations will hold a meeting on Friday evening to agree on the negotiations agenda.
Musa said the rebel joint delegation would wait to see the result of the mediation efforts to include these issues in the agenda and will then decide on the whole issue of negotiations.
He pointed they do not think the government negotiating team is serious about engaging in genuine talks to end the conflict in Darfur, saying the government continues to exercise its tactical approach to buy time.
“Proof of this is that it [government] refused to discuss pivotal issues which caused the current situation in Darfur,” he said.
He added the government lack of seriousness is manifested in its negotiating team which is comprised of army generals and security officers.
Musa said the negotiation is at standstill due to differences on the agenda, pointing the African mediation is making efforts to converge views of the two sides.
The joint statement underscored the government team rejected inclusion of the four issues in the agenda on the pretext that it does not have a mandate to discuss the roots of the Darfur crisis and its consequences.
He said the agenda proposed by the mediation included the security arrangements, political issues, humanitarian issues, the link between negotiation and comprehensive dialogue and the negotiation approach.
“The delegation found that the proposed agenda overlooked many of the core issues and therefore suggested inclusion of several points due to its importance and impact on the crisis in Darfur,” the statement added.
Rebels want the talks in Addis Ababa to be comprehensive but the government delegation has insisted the negotiations must be an extension of Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).
Conflict in Darfur, a region in western Sudan, which started in 2003 has killed an estimated 300,000 people and displaced nearly two million.
(ST)