Darfur rebels divided over outcome of Tripoli summit

KHARTOUM, May 19, 2005 (Sudan Tribune) — The two main rebel movements in Sudan’s Darfur seem divided over the outcome of Darfur summit. While SLM rejects its decisions, JEM welcomes the summit and considers it as a positive step.

Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi attends an African mini-summit on Sudan’s war-torn region of Darfur, May 17, 2005. (AFP).

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), one of the major rebel movements in Darfur, has reacted to the outcome of the summit on Darfur which was concluded in Tripoli, Libya, yesterday morning, saying that the rebels do not have to abide by the outcome of the summit.

The SLM has also refused to give the Sudanese government the right to try the war criminals who are indicted of war crimes in the region, demanding that the war criminals should be referred to the International Criminal Court, a demand which the Sudanese government is opposed to.

Before the summit opened, the SLM urged participants to pressure Khartoum to “implement all United Nations’ resolutions” so that “Sudan does not become a safe haven for criminals”.

This comes as the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) representative for external affairs, Harun Abdelhamid, lauded the outcome of the summit saying it was positive and would support the negotiations between the government and the rebel movements.

All the countries represented at the summit agreed to send delegations to attend the Abuja talks and contribute in narrowing the views between the negotiators.

Darfur’s two main rebels, the SLM and the JEM, did not attend the summit in Tripoli, although their representatives were in town.

The two rebel movements announced Friday in Rome on Friday May 13, 2005, they were ready to resume talks with the Khartoum government. They also underscored a “commitment to implement all agreements with Khartoum, including the ceasefire”.

African Union-sponsored negotiations in the Nigerian capital have been suspended since December because of repeated violations of the ceasefire signed under the mediation of Chad in April 2004.