Darfur JEM leader says Sudan ruling party not serious about peace

June 15, 2008 (WASHINGTON) – The leader of Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) lashed out at Sudan ruling party accusing it of not being serious about seeking peace in the war ravaged region.

“We entered into repeated negotiations rounds; more than 10 in Abuja, Nigeria [2006]. But all these attempts on ceasefire and reaching peace failed due to the stubbornness of the Sudanese government” Khalil Ibrahim said in an interview aired yesterday on the Al-Jazeera Arabic language television.

“Therefore the hope for reaching peace in Darfur and all over Sudan has faded. The government is totally unconcerned with what happens to the people of Darfur” he added.

This is the first time Ibrahim appeared on TV since commanding a lightning attack on the Sudanese capital on May 10th that took the government and international community by surprise. The Sudanese government managed to repulse the attack and accused Chad of backing JEM in its attempt.

The rebel leader has been on the run the days following the assault and the Sudanese government put a bounty of $250,000 for anyone contributing to the rebel leader’s arrest.

It was not clear where the interview took place. The JEM leader, appearing to be in good health, was surrounded by his fighters who occasionally interrupted him chanting slogans.

JEM chief said that his group “decided to end the suffering [of Darfuris] in 2008 either by peace or war”.

He also defended the ethnic formation of JEM saying that more than a 100 tribes are represented in the rebel group “even Northerners”.

“I am the Secretary General of all the marginalized in Sudan and elected by a general convention in Germany. We represent the marginalized people in Sudan” Ibrahim said.

“While it is true that the movement started from Darfur but this doesn’t mean that it is locked there. We are a national group and call for Sudan unity. Even if it was true that we are a regional movement how can we solve the issues of a region without resolving the problems in the center [Sudanese capital]” he added.

“We decided to move the battle directly to the national capital….war should be in that area. War will continue till we overthrow the regime and we call on all regions to move towards the center and meet in the capital to get rid of the fascist National Congress Party (NCP)” the JEM leader said.

NCP MUST STEP DOWN

Asked about the goals of JEM in Sudan, Ibrahim said that they want to see “a democratic system based on equality between people. We want a regime devoting all resources to male peoples’ lives better”.

“If JEM comes to power in Sudan them maybe we no longer need an army; perhaps just a police force. Why should we fight?”.

The Darfur movement has long been suspected of being the military arm of the Islamic Popular National Congress (PNC) led by Hassan Al-Turabi who was the former ally of the Sudanese president before being ousted in 1999. Khalil Ibrahim and other leading members of JEM are seen as Turabi’s followers.

Al-Turabi denied in an interview with Sudan Tribune last month any relations with JEM though he acknowledged that some of their members used to be part of them.

Sudan president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir said in an interview with Al-Jazeera this week that investigation with JEM rebels arrested after the attack revealed that PCP elements were involved. He added that Turabi had been summoned by the security service to interrogate him about links of his party with JEM.

After recounting examples of deteriorating living conditions in Sudan the JEM leader said the NCP has two options.

“The options before the NCP are either to step down from power or accept a comprehensive and just peace for all marginalized people” he said.

At that point Ibrahim and his fighters started chanting “All marginalized go inside Khartoum”.

JEM leader spoke sarcastically of Al-Bashir statements that he will no longer negotiate with them following their assault on the capital last month.

“This is strange talk. Then who will you negotiate with? JEM is the main group” he said.

Ibrahim then switched to speaking in English and described JEM as “one single dominant grand movement that exists and popular among grassroots with strong military force and clear ideology”.

“We tell Al-Bashir that we will negotiate with arms and tongue. If he is late in seeking negotiations with us then he will come later to negotiate but he will not find us then” he added.

JEM DEMANDS

Asked about JEM demands in any future peace negotiations the Darfur rebel leader said he wants “personal compensation to every single Darfur refugee”.

“We specifically asked for no less than 15,000 Euros to every person and not per family. We also demanded internationally comparable reparations for all losses in lives, injuries, properties, homes, money and lands”.

“We also demand providing suitable homes for all Darfuris. We proposed a project costing 20 billion Euros to rebuild the villages [Darfur]. This will include infrastructure such as electricity, water, energy and schools……We shared this proposal in the Oslo donors’ conference in 2004”.

Ibrahim also said that the lands allegedly confiscated by the government “must be returned to its original owners”.

The JEM leader also called for international trials for those responsible for crimes in Darfur.

Peace talks brokered by the United Nations (UN) and the African Union (AU) between Sudan’s government and Darfur rebel groups in the Libyan city of Sirte last October failed after main movements boycotted them.

“We want the Darfuris to rule themselves. The Darfur region should have self rule within the same state. The same should apply to other regions of Sudan.” Ibrahim said.

“There should be a single ruler for Darfur who would also be the Vice president. We demand legislative and executive bodies for Darfur and all other regions” he added.

The rebel chief likened the ideal self rule system to that of the semi-autonomous Southern Sudan saying it should be replicated all over the country. He also said that Darfuris should be represented in central government equivalent to their population size relative to other regions.

“We represent 45% of the residents of the national capital. There is no other region in Sudan with such a big presence in the capital. Despite that we have no representation even in localities” he said.

“The governor [of Khartoum] should either be elected or chosen from Darfur…. The presidency of the country should be a rotational one. It is not right that the president comes from the same region all these years. All presidents came from the Northern region” Ibrahim added.

RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL

Khalil Ibrahim was asked to comment on the announcement by Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur of opening an office in Israel.

“This is a matter that concerns the SLM and Abdel-Wahid. Israel is one of the world countries. Prophet Muhammad dealt with Jews. When he died he owed money to a Jewish man” Ibrahim said.

“Dealing with Israel is not a crime. How many Arab countries have embassies in Israel? The Jews are considered people of the book and so are Christians and Muslims” he added.

Ibrahim also claimed that Sudanese officials are making secret visits to the Jewish state.

“Omar Al-Bashir makes visits to Israel. Ali Osman Taha [2nd Vice President] goes to Jordan and from there takes a helicopter to Israel” he said.

However Ibrahim did not elaborate on how he found out about these visits or when they took place.

The JEM chief said he supports relations between and Sudan and any other country including Israel.

“We support the rights of Palestinians in their lands and liberties. We support all that. The Palestinian president meets with the Israeli president. If Abdel-Wahid opens an office in Israel then this is not a crime” he stressed.

However Ibrahim denied any contacts with the Jewish state.

The rebel chief also said he was “surprised” that the Arab League made a decision to suspend contacts with JEM following the attack on Khartoum.

“We found it strange from an institution that is supposed to be responsible…..Why do they think it is unacceptable for us to enter our own capital? This is an internal matter and not war between two countries” he said.

“The Arab League does not represent the will of the Arab people. It is just a trump for the Arab regimes” he added.

During the 30 minutes interview Ibrahim did not speak in depth about the attack by JEM last month and the circumstances surrounding it. It is not clear if the interview was edited leaving this portion out.

Al-Jazeera has previously showed excerpts from the interview. The Sudanese government at the time questioned the authenticity of the video saying that some of his guards shown were arrested during mopping-up activities by Sudanese army after the JEM offensive.

The delay in airing the tape led to speculations that Khartoum is pressuring Al-Jazeera to prevent broadcasting it.

Ahmed Sheikh, editor-in-chief of Al-Jazeera television, told Sudan Tribune earlier this month that the there was no deliberate holdup but that the network was waiting for the tape to arrive.

(ST)