Sudan rebels satisfied with SPLM-N position, prepared for Darfur talks

November 22, 2014 (ADDIS ABABA) – The Sudanese Revolutionary Front (SRF) said it is satisfied with the position taken by the SPLM-N in the recent round of talks over the Two Areas, expressing its readiness for discussions on Darfur.

The SRF rebel groups are engaged in two parallel tracks with the Sudanese government in a process brokered by the African Union High Level Implementation Panel (AUHIP) in order to end war in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile states.

On Monday, the mediation suspended talks between the government and SPLM-N delegations saying more time is needed to include further details in a framework agreement to stop war, open humanitarian access and to prepare for a comprehensive settlement for Sudan’s conflicts.

The adjournment came as the SPLM-N insisted on the need to dissipate opacity in the draft agreement about a roadmap endorsed by the AU Peace and Security Council providing to hold an all parties meeting in Addis Ababa to prepare for the national dialogue.

A coordination body between rebel groups for peace talks met on Friday with the negotiating teams of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM) ahead of a meeting with the government on 23 November.

In a statement released on Friday evening, the head of the SRF media sector, El-Tom Hajo, said the coordination mechanism “expressed its full satisfaction with the outcomes of (SPLM-N’s track) which are consistent with the SRF stated position calling for a comprehensive political solution, and the rejection of solutions of partial”.

Hajo further said the meeting discussed the arrangements of the launch of Darfur track.

He said that the meeting was addressed by the vice-president of the opposition National Umma Party Merriam al-Mahdi and Gen. Jakod Makuar of the SPLM-N.

JEM’s chief negotiator, Ahmed Tugud Lissan, told Sudan Tribune last Thursday they refuse talks based on the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD).

On the other hand, the government top negotiator Amin Hassan Omer stressed that no discussions can take place without the Doha framework document.

The SLM-AW led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur has refused to take part in the upcoming talks.

Also, talks between the government and the SPLM-N will resume within the upcoming days.

(ST)