Sudan and Darfur rebel group to sign a peace agreement within two weeks

July 3, 2011 (KHARTOUM) – The Sudanese government and Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) have agreed to sign a peace agreement between 15 and 20 July after one year of negotiations held in the Qatari capital Doha.

In May the Darfur stakeholders conference endorsed a framework document to end the eight year conflict in the restive region of western Sudan. The African Union and Arab League as well as the UN Secretary General and Security Council announced their support to the text.

The regional and international organisations urged the rebel groups to sign a cessation of hostilities deal and to negotiate a peaceful settlement with Khartoum.

“We agreed to sign a peace agreement during the period between 15 and 20 July” said Tadjeldine Niam, LJM chief negotiator after a meeting held Sunday to discuss the arrangements of the signing ceremony.

The meeting was attended by Qatari state minister for foreign affairs Ahmed bin Abdullah AlMahmoud, the head of Sudan’s negotiating team state minister Amin Hassan Omer, LJM was represented by Ahmed Abdel Shafi LJM vice-president and Niam.

The signing ceremony will be attended by Sudan’s President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir and the Emir of Qatar Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani. Invitations also will be extended to the members of the international and regional community to attend the signing ceremony.

Niam said they agreed to finalise all the remaining issues during the upcoming 72 hours.

“We also want to call up on our brothers in the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) to join the peace agreement as we are aiming to achieve the same goals,” Niam further said.

The LJM will be the first group to sign a peace agreement in Doha as the Justice and Equality Movement threatened to take a position on its participation in the peace process. JEM rebels declined an offer to accept the framework document as peace agreement and to negotiate only the integration of its fighters and its participation in the national and Darfur institutions.

The Doha peace conference calls on the parties to engage in talks on the basis of the framework document but Khartoum says it is planning to launch an internal process. An African Union high level panel led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki also intends to launch a process for political dialogue in Darfur.

Sudan’s vice-president Ali Osman Taha who led the country’s delegation urged the African Union summit two days ago to support he Doha document in order to discourage rebel from refusing indefinitely to negotiate peace with the government.

Taha also warned that the government is not ready to negotiate indefinitely with Darfur rebels.

(ST)