Despite Slovene efforts, Darfur JEM refuses to sign peace accord

May 31, 2006 (LJUBLJANA) — Slovene President Janez Drnovsek has failed to persuade the Darfur rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to sign up to the Darfur peace accord. “We were trying to find a way out…but we have so far failed to reach a clear solution,” Drnovsek told reporters after Wednesday’s talks in Ljubljana, but said that there was still time until midnight.

The JEM refused to sign the deal earlier this month in Abuja and the international community had given it until the end of May to sign up. The JEM leader, Khalil Ibrahim, thanked Drnovsek for his efforts, but said that the Abuja accord was unacceptable.

“The agreement is unacceptable for the people of Darfur and Sudan, for it undermines and ignores Darfur’s identity,” he said. Many big countries have backed it, not because it is good but because Darfur has become a playground for conflicting political and economic interests, Khalil added.

JEM is nevertheless willing to continue with talks and requests more concessions. “We urge the UN and the EU not to close the door to peace in Darfur; don’t consider this document as something vital, something which cannot be changed,” Khalil explained.

Drnovsek said he agreed with Khalil that the accord could be improved, but the fact of the matter is that the international community has set a deadline which expires at midnight, so he advised the JEM to sign the document despite its shortcomings.

If the other players are willing to extend the deadline, Slovenia is willing to talk, Drnovsek added after the eleventh-hour talks with the JEM leader, who arrived in Ljubljana today.

Drnovsek had already met yesterday the chief JEM negotiator, Ahmed Tugod Lissan, member of the JEM leadership Abdullahi Osman El-Tom, and Ahmed Diraige, the chairman of the Federal Democratic Alliance and former Darfur governor.

In Addis Ababa, the midnight African Union deadline for holdout Darfur rebels to agree to a peace deal for Darfur passed with no new signatories, AU officials said.

(ST)