UNAMID denies Darfur process to be transferred to Addis Ababa

September 17, 2014 (KHARTOUM) – The spokesperson of the African Union United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Ashraf Eissa, denied statements attributed to him saying Qatar had accepted the transfer of the venue of the Darfur peace process to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

“I categorically deny that I made such a statement. What I said specifically is that the Qatari deputy prime minister welcomed the augmentation of mediation efforts into a synchronised and harmonised mechanism,” Eissa said in a statement released on Wednesday.

The denial comes after a press release by the spokesperson of Darfur Regional Authority (DRA), saying that Qatar contested the accuracy of statements attributed to UNAMID spokesperson about Qatar’s acceptance to transfer the Darfur peace talks from Doha to Addis Ababa.

Eissa who held a press conference in Khartoum on Monday released the transcript of his statements at the briefing, emphasising that, “There is no such statement by me in these records”.

On 9 September, the AUHIP chief met with the Qatari deputy prime minister Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud in Doha to brief him on the 4 September agreement on national dialogue with the rebel alliance of Sudanese Revolutionary Front.

The official Qatari News Agency (QNA) following the meeting reported that the meeting, which was attended by Darfur peace mediator Mohamed Ibn Chambas, further examined ways to involve the non-signatories in the comprehensive process on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

After a meeting with president Bashir on 10 September, Mbeki announced that he and Darfur joint mediator will hold synchronised discussion with the rebel groups in Darfur, Blue Nile and South Kordofan but he didn’t say where.

The African Union Peace and Security Council in a meeting held on 12 December said that a meeting to discuss a framework agreement on the national dialogue will be held at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa.

This meeting would be held after synchronised negotiations on the cessation of hostilities between Khartoum and rebel groups the AU PSC further stressed, but it did not design the venue of the talks on security arrangements.

Observers in Khartoum pointed to the DRA press statement on the Qatari position, wondering why it was the regional authority and not Doha who issued such communiqué.

Sudanese government officials stated at different occasions that any future talks with Darfur rebel groups would not affect the DDPD signatories from the former rebel groups.

(ST)