US Senator Kerry calls to move the venue of Darfur process from Doha

January 7, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — US Senator John Kerry has called to remove the venue of Darfur peace process from the Qatari capital to another neighboring country and rapped the rebel groups.

The visiting Chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee met with Sudanese officials in Khartoum including Vice-President Ali Osman Taha to discuss the implementation of the final phase of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the referendum; and pledged to normalize relations with the northern Sudan government.

He also met with the Presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen who is in charge of Darfur file and relations with the United States. He also paid a visit to Darfur on Friday.

Following his trip to Darfur, Kerry told Reuters he felt the urgency to get the “Darfur peace process back onto the agenda in a larger, more significant way”.

“I think you have to pick the talks up into a larger venue with more players at the table,” he further said, stressing that the process can be hosted by one of Sudan’s neighbours.

Kerry who visited the theatre of the recent fighting in Shingili Tobayi in North Darfur, met with the governor of North Darfur state Osman Mohamed Kibir and held a close-door meeting with Ibrahim Gambari the head of the UN hybrid peacekeeping operation.

The official SUNA reported that the US senator expressed his solidarity with Sudanese government on the need to “isolate the rebel groups” accused by Khartoum of hampering efforts to end the eight year conflict in Darfur.

Kerry told Reuters he had discussed the idea of moving talks from Doha with north Sudanese leaders during his trip. He also underlined that it was his own idea and was not a formal offer from the White House.

Sudan has decided to withdraw its delegation from Doha and urged the mediation to finalize a draft peace agreement with the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM). It also stopped talks on a cessation of hostilities with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

Kibir praised the request made by the President Obama to the President of the Southern Sudan government to stop supporting Darfur rebel groups during a telephone conversation with Salva Kiir last week.

The governor also said that rebel groups are not commissioned by Darfur people to fight for them, reiterating his commitment to work for peace from inside the country as it is decided in a “new strategy” adopted by Khartoum.

“I think the Qataris deserve enormous credit and they’ve been the leaders in helping to marshal this process over these past months,” Kerry said.

“But I think you also need other parties present and accounted for in order to raise the level of scrutiny and accountability … You’ve got to rapidly get a higher profile on a set of talks.”

According to Kerry, the Doha negotiations had been undermined by rebel withdrawal from the peace process.

“It was a process that wasn’t working for a number of different reasons … I think that Doha was under the radar screen in many ways without even all of the parties there that are critical to establishing a real peace process.”

Yesterday, Afro-Arab ministerial committee renewed its support to the Doha peace process and called to gather all the initiatives under the same venue. In a clear reaction to Sudanese government decision to move from Doha but also against a Khartoum backed new plan the head of the AU panel on Sudan intends to implement.

Khartoum says rebel groups are not representatives for Darfur people who through their elected institutions civil society groups and IDPs can better settle the problem. The government also pledges to implement a number of development projects to support economic development in the restive region.

The Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole said he believes the exclusion of rebel movements will not lead to a lasting peaceful settlement in the restive region and Doha is the best choice as neutral venue accepted by the parties. He also said civil society groups have to play a considerable role in the current process.

Obama administration remained preoccupied during the past two years with the implementation of the CPA and the bilateral relations with Khartoum and took Darfur conflict out of its first Sudanese priorities.

Compared to what Washington had done in Naivasha or Abuja, the US officials distanced themselves from Doha despite a short bid to reunite rebel groups in Addis Baba two years ago.

The lack of strong international support to the Doha peace process is seen as an important pillar that the process misses.

(ST)