Armed groups, Qatari envoy discuss peace process in Darfur
November 14, 2018 (PARIS) – The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) leader Gibril Ibrahim Wednesday said that the Doha consultations meeting, which ended Tuesday, discussed how to move the peace process in Darfur and Qatar’s contribution to pave the way for the signing of the pre-negotiation agreement.
“The meetings discussed the practical steps to move the peace process with the contribution of the Qatari mediator in overcoming the small obstacle that stands in front of the signing of the pre-negotiation agreement,” he told Sudan Tribune after his return to Paris on Wednesday.
He added that once the pre-negotiation deal is struck, the parties will move to discuss a cessation of hostilities agreement for humanitarian purposes and then enter directly into negotiations on political issues to address the root causes of the conflict and address the effects of war.
Recently, the American and German facilitators informed the JEM and SLM-MM that Khartoum is ready to accept their demand for a new independent mechanism to implement any agreement they reach with the government.
However, the matter is not formally enacted.
Gibril further said that it was agreed on the need to coordinate between the different platforms and initiatives to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding.
The South Sudanese government recently proposed an initiative to facilitate the talks between the Sudanese government and the armed groups in Darfur and the Two Areas. The meetings will begin after the ongoing efforts to reconcile the SPLM-N factions.
During their visit to Doha, the Qatari foreign ministry organised a meeting for the visiting delegation with the diplomats from the United States, Britain, France and Germany to brief them on the outcome of the meetings.
The armed groups in Darfur have to sign a cessation of hostilities and a humanitarian access agreements with the Sudanese government in Addis Ababa before to start the political process in Doha.
(ST)