Khartoum voices optimism about Darfur peace talks
Nov 29, 2005, (KHARTOUM) — Majzoub al-Khalifa, head of the Sudanese government’s delegation to the 7th Abuja peace talks on Darfur, said his side was optimistic about the new round kicked off late Tuesday.
Khalifa made the remarks at a press conference before his departure for the Nigerian capital Abuja for the talks.
He told the reporters that his delegation has involved representatives from all Sudanese political parties of the national unity government in addition to the participation of the Darfur people through preparatory conferences which they had held on the issue.
He said he was optimistic on the next peace talks despite difficulties which might be brought up by differences inside a main faction of the Darfur rebels, referring to conflicts between two leaders of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM).
The last round of the African Union (AU)-sponsored Abuja talks ended in October with a split in the SLM.
Khalifa noted that after reaching the Declaration of Principles between the Darfur conflicting sides in the fifth round, negotiators discussed in the sixth round 40 clear and decisive points and agreed on 37 of them.
The government has made positive efforts on internal, political and development levels as well as the voluntary return of the displaced people in the Darfur region and the acknowledgement of justice and the rule of law, which would contribute in the success of the new round, he added.
The official hoped that the seventh round of peace talks would be well exploited by the Darfur parties taking into consideration positive factors that have been available such as the formation of the government of national unity in the country and the support by the AU, the European Union (EU), the United States and the United Nations.
Yassir Arman, representative of the former rebel the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) in the government delegation, said that the SPLM representatives in the talks were part of the government of national unity and would represent the whole country.
“Our existence in the peace talks will contribute to build trust between the government of national unity and the armed movements in Darfur particularly the Justice and Equality Movement and the Sudan Liberation Movement because of our good relations with these movements,” he said.
Abuja has been hosting several rounds of peace talks on Darfur, but conflicts still exist in Darfur.
The 7th round of Darfur talks will endeavor to strike a consensus on how to run Darfur over the long-term, particularly on power-sharing and wealth-sharing between Darfur’s inhabitants and Khartoum, according to AU officials.
(Xinhua/ST)