AU Salim, JEM Ibrahim hold talks on Darfur peace process
July 9, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Salim Ahmed Salim, AU envoy for Darfur met Sunday with Khalil Ibrahim Mohamed, leader of the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) as part of ongoing efforts to energize the Darfur peace process, the AUMIS said Monday.
Khalil Ibrahim welcomed the AU delegation and expressed his optimism that a fair and comprehensive peace could be achieved through the forthcoming round of negotiations, now that Salim and the mediation team have developed a clear understanding of the complexities of the conflict and the needs and demands of Darfurians.
The rebel leader emphasized that “JEM is committed to peace as its ultimate goal,” adding “It is vital that the international community and the mediators are better aware of the demands of Darfurians including their rights to power and wealth-sharing”.
The meeting, which took place in North of Darfur close to the boarder with Chad, was attended by AU Deputy Head of Mission, Ambassador Hassan Gibril, Head of the Darfur Peace Agreement Implementation Team, Ambassador Sam Ibok, as well as other AU and UN officials.
The AU envoy acknowledged that “In Abuja we agreed on some issues and disagreed on others. But we all agree that a just and sustainable peace in Darfur is our ultimate and collective goal”.
“We are aware of the aspirations and disappointments of the people of Darfur but it is difficult to sustain a healthy political process amidst a state of insecurity,” he added.
Salim explained that the fragmentation of some of the Darfurian armed Movements is still complicating the peace efforts. “It is in the best interest of all the Parties that a credible, coherent and unified rebel movement contribute positively to the peace talks. But we cannot wait indefinitely for all Movements to be united. We are looking into the possibility of helping the Movements to adopt a common negotiating framework. If we cannot achieve what is perfect, we will work with what is possible,” he said.
DARFUR ROAD MAP
He explained that the roadmap for the political process consists of three phases: Convergence of Initiatives and Consultations; Pre-Negotiations; and Negotiations.
He said it is of special importance that the different initiatives that aim at achieving peace in Darfur converge because “if everyone is doing the negotiation, then no one is doing the negotiation. There is a need for all negotiations to converge under the AU-UN leadership”.
As a point of departure for the implementation of the road-map, the AU and UN expect all parties to declare their serious commitment to achieve a political solution to the Darfur crisis; create a security environment in Darfur conducive to negotiations; participate in and commit to the outcome of the negotiation effort; and to cease all hostilities.
Consultations with JEM and the other Parties to the conflict constitutes the second phase of the Roadmap and comes before the Tripoli meeting, scheduled to take place on 15-16 July, to assess the progress made over the past months towards the commencement of the peace talks on the Darfur conflict.
Salim pleaded that it was necessary to quicken the pace of negotiations. He said the danger in the present situation lies not only in the sad humanitarian condition and lack of security that plague Darfur, but in the looming loss of hope among Darfurians. He said, “Despair only aggravates problems and solves none”.
Following the meeting, Salim and Khalil held private talks that covered details of the peace process and the roadmap.
JEM spokes person, Ahmed Hussein Adam said that Salim invited Khalil Ibrahim to attend Tripoli meeting next week under the joint AU-UN chairmanship. The AU envoy also invited the rebel JEM leader to participate in a meeting for the leaders of the rebel groups to be held in the coming days.
Salim’s visit to Darfur is in the context of the joint efforts by the AU and UN Special Envoys for Darfur to energize the Darfur political process. Salim Ahmed Salim and Jan Eliasson have been stepping up efforts to move the process forward towards the final phase of negotiations with the support of the international community.
Relations between the AU envoy and the holdout rebels were very bad after their refusal to sign Abuja deal; Khalil Ibrahim was particularly vehement in his rejection of Salim involvement in the forthcoming talks. But relations between the two parties improved since last month when Salim and Ibrahim talked for long time by telephone to mark their reconciliations.
(ST)