Sudan denies secret deal with JEM amid intense speculations on power sharing
February 20, 2010 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government dismissed reports on a secret deal with the Darfur Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) that paved the way for a peace accord signed this week in its preliminary form in Chad.
Full blown negotiations will resume in Doha shortly and Sudan says it expects concluding it by March 15.
The head of the Sudanese delegations in Doha talks Amin Hassan Omer told the government sponsored Sudanese Media Center (SMC) website that there have been no secret meetings or agreement with the rebel group saying that these are speculations and fears made by other Darfuri movements which are not part of the accord.
A breakaway faction of JEM led by Idris Azrag slammed the accord saying that it throws a cold shower on the efforts to unite the Darfur rebel groups currently in Qatar.
The group said that this is an outcome of “secret compromise” between the two sides under the following terms,
1. The release of Abdul-Aziz Nur Ushar (half-brother of JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim subject to death sentence), and others.
2. JEM to keep its army in Darfur while Khartoum will provide supplies and salaries to its fighters.
3. Handing over the political and military powers in Darfur to JEM and making Khalil Ibrahim the governor of the region.
4. JEM would cooperate with the government to protect polling stations.
5. The government would pay compensation for the losses of JEM.
6. JEM Cooperation with the government to dismantle and eliminate the rest of the rebel groups.
7. A reconciliation to unify the Islamic movement in Sudan to meet the challenges arising from the secession of the south and putting an end to expansion of secularism in the north.
Azrag’s statement said that this “bilateral pact” does not resolve the Darfur conflict and will further escalate the situation. The group said it will determine within the next 24 hours its position on the Doha talks.
The faction of Sudan Liberation Army (SLM) led by Ahmed Abdel-Shafi said in a statement today that they have ordered his delegation to withdraw from Doha and accused the mediation of violating the terms of prior agreements by endorsing the JEM accord with Khartoum.
In Khartoum some sources spoke of a “gentleman agreement” by which JEM and the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) would inaugurate a “political partnership” in the coming period under which the rebel group would take join the government at the executive and legislative levels.
On Sunday the Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen said that power sharing will be looked at in more details at a later stage but did not elaborate.
It is not clear how such a deal would play with elections being around the corner. Yesterday a senior JEM official told Sudan Tribune that it is all but certain that Khartoum would agree to reschedule the elections.
If JEM is given representation at the presidential level then it is likely that Ibrahim would be appointed a Vice president meaning that 2nd Vice president Taha will have to be removed. Last year reports have raged that Bashir intends to appoint a VP from Darfur.
Currently, SLA leader Minni Minnawi who signed the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) with Khartoum is the senior presidential assistant. He has been largely marginalized by Khartoum and his movement accused the government of breaching the terms of the DPA.
Many analysts link the agreement with JEM to a rapprochement between the NCP and the Popular Congress Party (PCP) led by the Islamist opposition leader Hassan Al-Turabi. The latter has fell out with Bashir in the late 90’s and joined the ranks of the opposition after being the mastermind behind the 1989 coup.
Khartoum has long accused JEM of being the military wing of the PCP, something which Turabi and the rebels have denied.
Sudan official news agency (SUNA) said that president Omer Hassan Al-Bashir will fly on Monday to Doha for the signing ceremony where he will be joined by JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, Chadian president Idriss Deby and Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa.
Bashir also made a series of phone calls today to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki to inform them of the latest development with regards to the peace accord and received their congratulations.
Deby has stopped in Riyadh en route to Doha where he briefed the Saudi King Abdullah on the ties normalization with Sudan that took place earlier this month. The Chadian president paid a two-day landmark visit to neighboring Sudan during which he and his Sudanese counterpart agreed to normalize ties and turn a page on years of tense relations.
“King Abdullah said he was satisfied by the rapprochement between the two countries and hoped that they will both develop and prosper,” the Saudi news agency (SPA) said.
In 2007 both Bashir and Deby signed a reconciliation pact in Riyadh under the auspices of Saudi King Abdullah. However, the deal did not hold and both countries resumed trading accusations over supporting armed opposition groups.
(ST)
Gatwech
Sudan denies secret deal with JEM amid intense speculations on power sharing
Bashir needs Darfur in the elections hoping to get a higher winning percentage he could use against the ICC’s indictment. He can agree to postpone the elections if he is convinced that Sadiq Al-Mahdi will win the elections as he read it in the survey internet polling last week. He can wait for Darfur’s votes through the blessing of JEM that almost captured Omdurman last year.
But, hell, we should not re-schedule elections that will push back the referendum in the South. My other worry is that the SPLM officials do not care as long as they keep the status quo.
Dear readers,
SPLM/A’s liberation struggle, that ended up peacefully through an agreement on the table in Nairobi, Kenay, is being spoiled by its failure to deliver what it fought for in the last five years of GOSS.
Most of the officials who led the SPLM-ruled GOSS for five years should be replaced in order to make a meaningful change.
I don’t trust these Political Bureau imposed candidates because these are the same people who have proved themselves incompetent, corrupt, tribal, and with no political direction or preparation for independence.
How do you trust them when they have not prepared the South for independence. Now the North will continue to take some share of oil revenue for a very long time as revealed by Luka Biong Deng and this is simply because these corrupt SPLM officials have not built a pipeline to Port Mombassa during the last five years.
Didn’t they know that the independent South needed an independent pipeline, not the one in the North, to take the oil to international market?
They have not trained the SPLA forces to become conventional army; they have not made them happy by giving them regular salaries and other services; they have not treated their diseased and they have not bought modern weapons to back off Northern weaponry in case of any eventuality, etc, etc.
Instead they have been busy looting the money and taking them abroad where they bought big houses. They have not even developed their own villages. How can we trust them for the next 10 months to referendum when they could not do any thing tangible for the last 5 years?
I believe that they will be worst off if they come back and occupy their offices. They will loot more public money and run away with the money to Uganda, Kenya, Australia, UK, Canada, America, when they sense war again. Most of them will disappear by December this year when they know that referendum is only one month away.
Independent candidates will do better because they have their people in heart. They will not leave their people alone. And besides, their name independent really means they are even for independence of the South……
joseph kuir
Sudan denies secret deal with JEM amid intense speculations on power sharing
That is good news for all 25 state of Sudan to have 25 2nd Vice presidents in the Country as a resean to remove Mohamed Taha and indication of Southern Sudan independency,pleaes please do it ,do that pressure mr-Dr Bashir ,this is how powers are share in country like sudan also you can release Prisoners of WarPoWand give them food so that Dafuri must support you in coming war against southern as the Dafurian did in the previous
An other news coming about bashir tommorrow