Rebel group welcomes AU/UN initiative to resolve Darfur crisis
Greater Sudan liberation Movement (GSLM)
Date:15/05/2007
His Excellency, Alpha Omar Konare
Chairman, AU
His Excellency, Salem Ahmed Salem,
Chief Mediator
Re: Greater Sudan liberation Movement (GSLM) Welcomes AU/UN Initiative to Resolve Darfur Crisis.
The GSLM welcomes AU/UN initiatives to resolve Darfur Crisis and appeals to both organisations to extend their initiatives by involving all the Darfur Political and military Factions, groups and civil organisations including the representatives of IDPs and Refugees, in order to ensure maximum and proper participation of all the people of Darfur, so as to achieve a comprehensive peace settlement that will enjoy the support of all the Darfur people.
We from the GSLM through our political and military structures have experienced the suffering of our people and would like to avoid the past mistakes committed by the parties involved in Abuja peace conference which led to the partial agreement signed between Khartoum Government and SLM Minni Minawi Faction.
As people involved in the DPA, we have learnt from our own experiences which have led some of us to leave Khartoum and moved to form GSLM in order to bring together those factions that refused to endorse DPA.
The GSLM believes that the only way to reach a lasting and durable peace in Darfur is through dialogue and negotiations that should involve all the military and political factions as well as civil societies in Darfur.
The GLSM would like to draw the attention of AU/UN to learn from the previous experience of Abuja and the mistakes committed at that time in order to avoid another partial peace agreement.
The GSLM would like to caution the AU/UN to avoid any bias, sympathy and/or tendency to lean towards one side or the other, as this may affect their efforts to bring together all the factions to the negotiating table.
The GSLM would advice the AU/UN to recognise and be ready to accept all the factions that are now operating on the ground with their political groups supporting them in Diaspora and/or inside the country.
The GSLM is ready and prepared to cooperate and coordinate fully with AU/UN mediators as most of our members were instrumental in bringing about the DPA and would like the AU/UN mediators to benefit from that experience.
Based on our experience in Khartoum and the way the DPA is being implemented, the GSLM would like the AU/UN mediators to call for a full review of DPA so as to avoid any future mistakes that may jeopardise the current peace initiatives.
The GSLM would highly appreciate the AU response towards the above mentioned advice, suggestions and observations.
Yours Sincerely
Rashid Abubaker Sharafeldin
Secretary of Political Affairs
GSLM