Darfur peace talks to resume on 29 September

September 20, 2010 (DOHA) — Darfur peace mediation announced Monday the restart of negations between the Sudanese government and rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on 29 September.

“The Government of the Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movment have agreed to resume their negotiations on 29 September 2010 in Doha,” said a statement released today in Doha.

The talks between the two parties were suspended last August after making progress in wealth sharing file while other committees dealing with power sharing and justice witnessed some delay as the government seemed reluctant to respond to rebels demands.

Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, and Djibril Bassole, the AU-UN Joint Chief Mediator for Darfur received today the preliminary draft peace document from the Drafting Committee formed recently by the mediation.

The two parties formed six committees to negotiate different issues defined in a framework agreement signed last march. The committees cover Power Sharing and the Administrative Status of Darfur; Wealth Sharing including Land Rights; Compensation and the Return of IDPs and Refugees; Security Arrangements; Justice and Reconciliation; and the Overall Agreement and the Resolution of Disputes.

The mediation said today intending to circulate the text of the draft document to all the parties without exception as it will serve as basis for a comprehensive peace agreement.

The mediation further urged the rebel groups to join the talks and called on all the parties to make the necessary concessions and to create a conducive environment to reach a lasting peace agreement.

The Justice and Equality Movement froze its participation in the peace process accusing Khartoum of attacking its troops in Darfur breaching a cessation of hostility agreement reached in February.

The other group boycotting the talks is the Sudan Liberation Movement of Abdel Wahid Al-Nur. This movement asks the government to disarm its militias and to create necessary security conditions to enable the displaced population to return to their village.

However, Al-Nur met last July with Qatari state minister for foreign affairs in Paris and hold regular meeting with the joint mediator to find a common ground allowing his group to join the talks.

The spokesperson of government delegation to the peace process, Omer Adam Rahama said today ready to resume talks with the rebel groups and called on the rebel JEM and SLM-AW to join the process without conditions in order to reach a comprehensive agreement before the end of this year.

(ST)