Darfur rebel commanders adjourn reunification conference
Feb 18, 2007 (PARIS) — Darfur rebel commanders from the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) announced the postponement of a conference aimed at reuniting the different factions of the group.
The conference, which was scheduled to commence Monday in an unspecified northern Darfur town between the field commanders of the SLA, has been adjourned to enable other SLA factions to join the reunification talks.
SLA leading commander of North Darfur, Suleiman Marjan told Sudan Tribune that the conference was delayed because Khamis Abdalla Abakr, and Adam Bakheit — both of the SLA but had rejoined the National Redemption Front (NRF) — and Ahmed Abdelshafei have requested to participate in the reunification conference.
The rebel commander said that the members of the conference welcomed the move because it signifies what he described as “the ultimate objective”. Marjan added that the reunification process will continue even after meeting.
The conference will discuss the root causes of the divisions within the movement and also determine the status and role of the rebel commanders in the expected peace talks.
Marjan mentioned that the current phase of the conference will involve field commanders only. In a second phase the commanders and the political leadership will convene to bridge the roles of the two wings in the SLA/SLM.
The rebel commanders say they have no desire to remove the historical leadership of the SLM, but that their main purpose is to put an end to the divisions and rebuild the SLM/A.
Ironically, following the signing of the Darfur peace talks, the field commanders of the non-signatories worked and supported each other to repel attacks by Sudanese army and its militia despite their political differences.
MEETING WITH AU AND UN ENVOYS
Asked about the meeting with AU and UN Special Envoys Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson on 14 February, the rebel commander said that they discussed the preparations of the talks with Khartoum.
Marjan said they asked for a strong international presence in the talks so that the mediators are capable of bringing a compromise between the two negotiating sides. The rebel delegation blamed the African Union for the failure of the Abuja talks.
He said that their preference is for a European venue for the expected talks with the Sudanese government. The AU management of the negotiations in Abuja was a disaster, Marajan said. He also said the Sudanese government transported more than 500 people from the relatives of the rebel delegations to pressure them to conclude a peace deal, a move that Marajan described as a government tactic to deploy “emotive and psychological pressures”.
Yesterday the Sudanese president indicated — after a meeting with AU and UN envoys for Darfur — his preference to hold the talks inside Sudan or in a neutral place without elaborating.
The Secretary General of the SLM Jarelnabi Abdulkarim Younis and Suleiman Marajan were among what later became known as “G19” an SLA group that split at the end of 2005 from the SLM faction led by Abdelwahid al-Nur, but after the signing of Abuja peace deal by Khartoum and the SLM of Minni Minawi the G19 reintegrated the SLM.
Khamis Abakr , the leader of the G19 and the former Vice president of the SLM, had joined the NRF while the rest of the group remained opposed the move.
Abdelwahid al-Nur and Ahmed Abdelshafi both from the Fur tribe were subjected to huge pressures from their ethnic group to put an end to their divisions.
The participation of Adam Bakheit in the conference is expected to add impetus to the reunification efforts of commanders who were loyal to Minni Minawi, who is currently senior assistant to President al-Bashir.
(ST)