Sudanese government ready for talks with Darfur rebels: envoy

ABUJA, Oct 3, 2004 (Xinhua) — The Sudanese government is still prepared for talks with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) despite recent reports linking the Darfur rebel group with plans to oust the government, Sudanese Ambassador to Nigeria Abdulraheem Ahmad Khalil has said.

Khalil told reporters at the weekend that his government did not intend to stop negotiations with any group.

Earlier, there were reports claiming that the Sudanese government had foreclosed discussions with the JEM over its alleged involvement in a coup plan.

The government was only prepared to re-open negotiations with the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) which was not fingered in the coup plan, said the reports.

But Khalil dismissed the reports, saying that “Sudan is willingand committed to resume talks with all the rebel groups under the auspices of the African Union, in the interest of the suffering people of Darfur.”

He said that the Sudanese government knew that JEM was closely connected with one political party, the National Popular Congress,implicated in the coup attempt and that a large quantity of arms had been recovered from them toward a violent overthrow of government.

“But we shall still leave our doors open for negotiations with them,” he said.

The envoy told reporters that such a stance further confirmed the government’s position that the rebels were only using the Darfur issue to advance their political causes.

“They showed this in Abuja. Even when the AU tried to ensure a meeting point, they showed no real commitment to any peace agreement,” he recalled.

The Sudanese government was always set for peace toward building a strong country, Khalil said.

“With oil now in Sudan, we are bound to attract envy from our enemies, and we are out to ensure that they do not use the Darfur conflict to destroy our nation,” he added.

Khalil, however, suggested a united rebel front to ease negotiations. “Each group should be represented by one speaker if the next round of Abuja talks is to achieve much,” he said.

The Sudanese ambassador also suggested that all groups in the Darfur talks should stick to the agenda, with a united, strong and prosperous Sudan as their focal point.

Khalil expressed confidence in the African Union’s ability to resolve the Darfur conflict, and assured the world of his government’s readiness “to cooperate towards peace in Darfur and stability in Sudan.”

According to a United Nations report, the Darfur crisis, which began 20 months ago, has so far claimed thousands of lives and displaced over one million people.