Sudan requests Chad to convince Darfur groups to join dialogue conference
September 30, 2015 (KHARTOUM) – Sudan has officially requested the Chadian President Idris Deby to persuade rebel groups in Darfur region to join the national dialogue conference which is supposed to kick off in October.
Two main groups in the region, Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Sudan Liberation Movement -Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), denied reports they are invited to visit Ndjamena to discuss their participation in the national dialogue with the Chadian president.
But other rebel factions confirmed the invitation and stressed that they will not meet the Sudanese presidential aide. They said that their upcoming visit will be within the framework of consultations they have with the Chadian authorities since December 2014 to end the 12-year conflict in the region.
“Sudan looks forward to the support of President Deby in convincing the holdout movements to sign the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) and joining the national dialogue process,” said Hamid in remarks from the Chadian capital after his meeting with Deby.
The presidential envoy further said he handed over two messages from al-Bashir expressing Sudan appreciation to the Chadian efforts to achieve peace and security in Sudan. Also, he praised Deby’s successful efforts to persuade several former rebel groups to join the DDPD.
He said the meeting also discussed the security situation in Chad, Sudan and Libya and they agreed that instability in any of the three countries will affect the two others.
“We discussed the security situation in the region and ways to deal with terrorist groups such as Daesh and others,” he added.
The Chadian presidency in a statement released on its website said Bashir, in his letter, praised the role that President Deby plays in the fight against the terrorist groups in the region, in reference to the role of the Chadian army in Mali, and the regional efforts to contain the activities of the Nigerian Boko Haram extremists.
Pro-government media recently published several reports claiming the involvement of Darfur rebel groups in the inter-factional fighting in Libya and designed them as trouble makers in the region. But the different movements denied any presence there.
The presidential assistant further disclosed that he extended to President Deby an invitation to attend the opening session of the national dialogue conference in Khartoum on Saturday 10 October.
Hamid was accompanied by the cabinet affairs minister Ahmed Saad Omer, and head of Darfur peace implementation office state minister Amin Hassan Omer. The delegation also included two representatives of the dialogue committee: the chairman of the Liberation and Justice Party (LJP) Bahr Idris Abu Garda and political secretary of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) Kamal Omer.
The Sudanese ruling party and allied forces say they are resolved hold the dialogue conference inside the country without any foreign involvement. they also say the holdout forces can join the process at any time.
The national dialogue coordination committee is expected to brief President al-Bashir over latest preparation before the launch of the internal process.
A 7+7 member, Bushara Gumma Wednesday said that the committee in a meeting to be held on Sunday will to discuss the latest arrangements before to meet the Sudanese president who is also the chairman of the coordination committee.
Gumma told the semi-official SMC that invitations were extended to the diplomatic missions in Khartoum and national figures supporting the process to attend the launch ceremony, adding that all the political forces will address the conference.
(ST)