Darfur rebel group says independence is a valid alternative

June 1, 2006 (LJUBLJANA) — The head of one of the three rebel groups in Darfur has mentioned the possibility of his group seeking independence for the western Sudanese region after it failed to sign up to the recent peace deal, TV Slovenija reported.

Khalil Ibrahim, who took part in talks with Slovenian President Janez Drnovsek on Wednesday, told the Slovenian public broadcaster that his Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) would seek independence if there was no peace in Darfur.

“Now as the next step that means that we will ask for self-determination – we’re going to have our own country,” Khalil told TV Slovenija, which said that this is the first time he has mentioned the possibility of independence.

Moreover, Khalil believes it does not make sense to extend the deadline for JEM to sing on to the peace agreement since the mediators from the African Union and International partners refuse to accept JEM’s demand that the people of Darfur be compensated for the damage caused during the civil war.

“The most important point is not to make extension but to make substantive changes and commitments,” he said.

Moreover, he claimed that his movement was put under enormous pressure during the peace talks in Abuja. “‘You sign or we will kill you,’ this is what they told us,” he said.

JEM is one of two rebel groups to reject the peace agreement signed by the Sudanese government and the main faction of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Minni Minawi on 5 May in a bid to end the bloody three-year conflict.

The two holdout rebel groups – SLM al-Nur faction and the JEM — say they want more political representation, compensation for the victims of the conflict and a say in disarming the government-armed Arab militia, who are blamed for much of the violence on the ground. But these demands were rejected by the Sudanese government, and not being taken in consideration by the mediators.

(ST)