Washington Forum aims to support Doha process for peace in Darfur - Qatar
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September 11, 2011 (DOHA) — The Washington Forum on Darfur intends to
support the Doha peace process and to convince the reluctant Sudanese
parties to join it, a Qatari minister said after a first meeting of
the follow-up committee to implement the Doha peace agreement.
JPEG - 35.7 kb
Qatar’s state minister of foreign affairs Al-Mahmoud chairs the
Follow-up Committee with Burkina Faso’s FM Djbril Bassole at his left
and the UNMAID head Ibrahim Gambari at his right on Sunday 11 Sept
2011 (photo Albert Gonzalez Farran/UNAMID)
The Sudanese government showed some reserve towards the Washington
meeting, initially scheduled in September to discuss the ongoing
efforts for peace in Darfur, and warned that the gathering will
undermine the Doha process and the agreement signed with the
Liberation and Equality Movement (LJM).
However, US officials said the meeting does not aim to launch a new
initiative or to replace the Doha venue but intends to discuss ways to
revitalize the process and include the other rebel groups in the
talks. However Khartoum’s reticence has delayed the meeting to 27
October.
"Two days ago I had a meeting with the US special envoy to Sudan
Princeton Lyman who told me that Washington Forum is not an
alternative to the Doha venue but an invitation to push the rebel
movements to negotiate with Khartoum," said Qatar’s State Minister for
foreign affairs, Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud on Sunday
The Implementation Follow-Up Committee(IFC), a mechanism established
in accordance with the Doha Darfur Peace Document (DDPD), held its
first meeting on Sunday in Doha to discuss the implementation of the
peace agreement signed between the government and LJM on 14 July 2011.
The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which is part of the Doha
process, welcomed the DDPD but asked to open the framework text for
joint talks with the government. The latter refused JEM’s demand and
gave the rebel group three months to join the agreement.
A reliable source, who attended the meeting, told Sudan Tribunethat
the IFC discussed extensively ways to include JEM in the peace talks
based on the framework document. The envoy of the US and the UK
stressed on the need to include JEM in the peace process, he said.
JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim who has returned to Darfur after more than a
year in Libya told Sudan Tribune on Sunday that JEM is willing for any
talks that can achieve a just and lasting peace in Darfur. Khalil also
called on the Chadian president Idris Deby to play a crucial role to
end the eight year conflict in Darfur.
Minister Al-Mahmoud said the participants hailed the efforts exerted
by the government and LJM to implement the 14 July peace agreement. He
also said the meeting reaffirmed that the talks should not suspend the
implementation of the Khartoum-LJM deal.
A LJM delegation is currently in Khartoum to prepare the return of its
leader Tijani El-Sissi and to meet civil society and political
parties. The delegation met yesterday with the opposition Islamist
leader Hassan Al-Turabi who encouraged the group to work for the full
implementation of the Doha deal.
The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement faction led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur
did not take part in the process. The two SLM factions led by Minnawi
and Nur signed an alliance with the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement
calling to overthrow the government of the National Congress Party.
Talks are taking place to include JEM but the parties failed to reach
an agreement on the place of religion in the Sudanese state. JEM
speaks about a citizenship state and the three other groups say they
want a secular state.
(ST)
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