Sudan slams Darfur rebels’ visit to Washington
January 11, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – Sudanese Foreign Ministry criticized the meeting of the American administration with a delegation from the rebel Justice and Equality Movement saying it would encourage them to defy efforts to end the conflict.
This week a JEM delegation began a visit to Washington in which they met with a number of officials including the US special envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson, Jendayi Frazer, the US Assistant Secretary for African Affairs and Timothy Shortley head of Sudan program group at the US state department.
“Such meeting gives the rebel movements a wrong impression and a false strength. it also encourages them to stick to their positions not to participate in peace process or to respond to the international efforts for peace” said Ali Al-Sadiq, the spokesperson of the foreign ministry.
“The U.S. administration should not to meet a with a rebel movement,” he added.
Commenting reports about preconditions by the rebel JEM to take part in the peace negotiations, Sadiq said those who believe in peace sit at the negotiating table and do not go to pose their conditions and demands to other party that has nothing to do with the talks.
“The right place to discuss what the rebels demand is the negotiating table.” He underscored.
The US embassy in Khartoum on January 5 said the visit of the rebel delegation would “take place within the context of U.S. government efforts to encourage all parties to participate in the Darfur peace process.”
Washington as well as other occidental capitals announced their support to the Qatari initiative to hold peace in Doha in the coming months. They have been pressuring JEM to halt its military activities as well as Chad to stop supporting the rebel groups.
A rebel commander from JEM, Suleiman Sandal, said this week that they plan to mark the expected announcement of arrest warrant for the Sudanese president by the International Criminal Court judges with some military action.
Sadiq expressed doubts over the willingness of the rebel group to achieve peace in Darfur saying
Whoever wants peace should seek to employ all the means for dialogue, not mobilize troops near the border watching cities and other regions to carry out attacks.
He concluded in his statement, saying that the crowds of the Justice and Equality Movement in Chad’s land was not unaware of the competent organs, which is monitoring and follow up the matter with extreme precision
(ST)