Two rebel leaders in Doha on Monday for Darfur peace consultations
May 29, 2016 (KHARTOUM) – Leaders of Darfur rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) would arrive in Doha on Monday to discuss with the Qatari mediation the peace process in the region.
The two sides agreed to continue their discussions in Doha late this month.
Earlier this month, Ibrahim told Sudan Tribune that they intend to ask Qatar for joining the African Union High-Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) led by Thabo Mbeki in order to have a united framework for negotiating a number of issues on Darfur and the comprehensive peace in Sudan.
However, the Sudanese presidency rejected the armed movements’ proposal describing it as “an attempt to circumvent the (AUHIP-proposed) roadmap which was not signed by the two armed movements”.
In a press statement extended to Sudan Tribune Sunday, SLM-MM said a senior delegation from the movement headed by Minnawi would arrive in Doha Monday within the framework of the ongoing consultations with the Qatari mediation.
The statement pointed that the visit is part of the continued “consultations on the vision of JEM and SLM-MM on how to achieve a just and comprehensive solution that addresses the root causes of the Sudanese crises in general and in particular the Darfur issue and to unify the international [mediation] efforts and create an enabling climate to move forward the stalled peace process”.
It added that the government doesn’t have a true will to achieve peace, saying the “comprehensive peace is a strategic choice that the SLM-MM wouldn’t abandon and will seek to achieve by all means including negotiations to end the totalitarian regime, stop the war and build a state that is based on equal citizenship”.
“The regime speaks about peace while its warplanes kill children in Heiban and burns villages [in south Kordofan] and its militias carry out massacres in Darfur’s peaceful villages such as the recent incident in Azirni in West Darfur” the statement read.
The SLM-MM renewed its commitment to support the Sudanese people demands to achieve the comprehensive peace, democracy and the state of law.
The Doha brokered the Darfur peace negotiations resulted in the signing of the DDPD by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) in July 2011. JEM which had initiated the process rejected the deal.
The two groups have engaged in peace talks with the government under the auspices of the AUHIP. However, several rounds of talks between the two groups and the government in Addis Ababa have stalled and no progress on the pending issues was made.
JEM and SLM-MM call for opening the DDPD for negotiations, saying some issues were ignored or not fairly treated, but Khartoum rejects such request.
(ST)