Doha agreement would increase IDPs suffering in Darfur – SLM leader
February 17, 2009 (PARIS) — The founder of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) has rejected the goodwill agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) saying it would bring more suffering to the civilians in Darfur.
Sudan’s government and JEM agreed today to negotiate a peaceful settlement for the Darfur crisis. The two parties pledged to meet soon to discuss a cessation of hostilities and to agree on the agendas of upcoming talks. They also agreed to free prisoners and detainees held in relation with the conflict and to not hinder humanitarian aid or harass IDPs.
The SLM led by Al-Nur rejected to take part in the Doha process, demanding instead that before talks the Sudanese government must disarm militias and observe a ceasefire signed in April 2004. The SLM rebels also ask for the return of the IDPs to their homeland.
“This agreement unfortunately will prolong the suffering of the displaced and the refugees,” said Al-Nur adding that the two parties are just dealing in the name of the Darfur people in order to realize their own agenda which is far from bringing a solution to IDPs’ plight.
The rebel leader, who like JEM refused to sign the Abuja accord in May 2006, said the purpose of this declaration of goodwill is to secure “the release of Abdel-Aziz Usher (a brother of the JEM leader) and Hassan Al-Turabi (the leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party).” He regretted that “the fate of the millions of displaced Darfuri has been traded for the release of two people.”
Abu Usher was sentenced to death with over 38 rebels after an attack on the Sudanese capital last May. Meanwhile Hassan Al-Turabi, the Islamist leader of the PCP, is detained since last month without trial in Port Sudan prison after his support for the ICC charges against the president, after which he was accused of plotting with JEM rebels to topple the government.
“This agreement would allow the government to pursue a genocide that it conducts on an ethnic basis in Darfur,” said Al-Nur. He added that he is “not surprised that JEM behaves in such a way because they were accomplices in other genocides committed in Southern Sudan and Nuba Montains in the past.”
Further, the Paris-based rebel added that Doha agreement is “a piece of theatre managed by the Qataris to give Khartoum a pretext to go once again to the UN Security Council to request the use of Article 16 to suspend the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over Darfur crimes and to rescue the embattled President Omer Al-Bashir.”
JEM leaders have repeatedly said the political process should not be associated with the ICC move against Al-Bashir. Khalil Ibrahim said he would stop the peace process if it is instrumentalized to suspend the ICC indictment against the Sudanese president.
The ICC pre-trial chamber is expected to take a decision soon on the prosecutor’s demand for an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir whom the prosecutor accused since mid-July 2008 of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
(ST)