By Elizabeth Costner
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, Africa
KHARTOUM, Sudan – Peace talks scheduled to begin in Libya on October 27 are possibly in jeopardy amid rebel groups threatening to boycott and continued fighting. The Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) is the latest of six rebel groups to announce that they will boycott the upcoming talks. Although there have been many problems, the African Union (AU) and United Nations (UN) remain optimistic.
The chief mediator for the AU, Salim Ahmed Salim, told BBC that they could not afford to be pessimistic and that the talks will go ahead as scheduled. Sudan’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamad, has repeatedly said that the peace process will not be held ransom by the rebel groups. Both the UN and the AU continue to emphasize to the press that they are not there to impose what sort of peace there should be in Darfur, but rather through negotiations and consultation hope to evolve an agreement which would contribute to peace.
Jem, on its website, stated that they are “not ready to take part in the masquerade.” On Tuesday, Ahmed Abdel Shafi, the leader of a Sudan Liberation Movement splinter group which represents the Fur tribe said he would not attend the talks because he said the atmosphere is not “conducive” to success.
Yesterday, Amnesty International issued a report claiming the Sudanese government was obstructing the deployment of a 26,000 joint UN-AU peacekeeping force. Amnesty’s director for Africa urged the government to allow the force freedom of movement and to immediately provide land for the establishment of bases.
Sudan is scheduled to announce a ceasefire with rebel groups this weekend, at the opening of the talks. However, past cease-fires in Darfur have been regularly violated and it is doubtful that all of the rebel troops will agree on a truce.
The UN remains hopeful that the peace talks will go ahead as scheduled and that eventually all the rebel groups will join. John Holmes, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs has said that he hopes others may join once negotiations begin. He emphasized, “It’s not a once-for-all offer. It is possible to join later if the process starts to make progress.”
Since the conflict began in 2003, more than 200,000 people have died and 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes. Ethnic African rebels in Darfur took up arms against the Arab-dominated Sudanese government, accusing it of decades of discrimination. The government is accused of retaliating by unleashing a militia of Arab nomads known as the janjaweed, a charge officials deny.
For more information, please see:
International Herald Tribune (AP) – UN hopes all Darfur rebel groups will attend talks eventually – 24 October 2007
BBC News – Darfur peace talks under threat – 24 October 2007
Guardian Unlimited – Sudan to announce Darfur ceasefire – 23 October 2007
Amnesty International – Amnesty International Says Sudan is Again Obstructing Peacekeeping Deployment to Darfur – 22 October 2007
For more information on the Darfur conflict, please see the following Impunity Watch reports: New Atrocities in Darfur; Ceasefire Ends in Sudan; African Union Peacekeepers Attacked in Darfur; Ongoing Conflict in Sudan; ICC Prosecutor Demands Arrests in Sudan; Secretary General Urges Sudan President to Commit to Ceasefire; Peace Talks on Darfur Scheduled for October
