Unity process should not be mixed with Doha peace process – Darfur rebels

November 14, 2009 (PARIS) — A rebel faction said today that reunification process of Darfur armed groups should not be mixed with the Doha peace process.

The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Ahmed Abdel Shafi slammed today statements attributed to the spokesperson of Technical Committee for the Unification of Darfurian Resistance (TCUDR) sponsored by the US envoy Mr Scott Gration.

The TCUDR acknowledges the Doha process because it has all the ingredients of success: the seriousness of the mediation, and international and regional support given to the State of Qatar, said Tag Eldin Bashir Niyam. He also added that they are more optimistic than ever that the next round will be decisive.

However Abdel Shafi said the technical committee is not authorized to talk about the peace negotiations, not in terms of agenda, time, or place.

He further said “What is worded in the statement of the official spokesperson of the technical committee does not represent the view of the movement, and should not represent the opinion of the technical committee because they are not entitled to do so.”

The rebel chief further urged the members of the TCUDR to comply with the powers granted to them, and not to engage in issues that do not fall within their competence.

Abdel Sahfi rejects participation in the peace process unless the Sudanese government provides security to the internally displaced people in Darfur.

His group is one of rebel factions gathered by Mr. Gration last August in Addis Ababa in his efforts to support the ongoing efforts to end the six year conflict in the restive region of Darfur.

Last month he rejected a proposal to hold a unity conference in Kurfa, Libya and stressed the need to organize it inside Darfur.

(ST)