Darfur LJM rebel chief denies peace deal is ready for signature
Dr. Tijani Sese, president of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), denied that a peace agreement is already prepared in Doha awaiting signature with the government. He further denied that he had been offered the post of vice president of the republic, should he sign the peace agreement. He said that this is a hoax and an unfounded rumour, and he stressed that the Liberation and Justice Movement came to Doha for the the rights of the people of Darfur and will not sign any peace agreement unless it meets all of the rights and interests of the people of the region. Sese was speaking on the programme ‘Frankly Speaking’, which aired on Radio Dabanga on Thursday evening.Sese took the lead of the Liberation and Justice Movement soon after it formed in early 2010. The LJM is an alliance of Darfuri rebel factions, formed from two earlier united coalitions, the Addis Ababa and Tripoli groups. Sese said that he sought the presidency of the movement at the request of leaders of the rebel factions, who had failed to choose an overall leader from among themselves. He explained that he initially refused to accept the post but the pressure from faction leaders eventually made him accept it for peace and unity of the armed movements in Darfur.Sese’s negotiating team at Doha, meanwhile, held a day of meetings on Wednesday with visiting representatives of Darfur’s displaced people. The displaced presented demands including first security and individual compensations, and then improvement of the humanitarian situation, universities and food in the camps, as well as the release of prisoners and end of harassment of displaced persons. Three of the representatives of displaced persons from camps Kereinek, Attash, and Zam Zam told Radio Dabanga from Doha that they were not present at Doha to negotiate but instead to voice the demands of the displaced, before talking about peace. They stressed the importance of stopping the war and bringing back security first in Darfur, rather than signing a partial peace. They recommended not to repeat the experience of the Abuja talks, when one faction signed a peace deal and others did not. They said what is needed is a comprehensive peace involving all movements including those led by Khalil Ibrahim and Abdul Wahid Al Nur, who are boycotting the Doha talks.In another development at Doha, promoters of the Heidelberg proposals for peace in Darfur handed the Sudanese government delegation a copy of the Heidelberg document, but the negotiators refused to accept the document. Last month the government negotiators had filed a complaint with the mediators against the presence of delegates of the Heidelberg Committee, which takes its name from three symposia held for Sudanese civil society since January 2008 in Heidelberg, Germany. The committee has produced a document containing draft proposals for a future Darfur Peace Agreement. According to Abdullah Adam Khatir, one of the promoters of the document, the government delegation in Doha excused itself from receiving a copy of the document whereas the Liberation and Justice Movement willingly received it.
Dr. Tijani Sese, president of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), denied that a peace agreement is already prepared in Doha awaiting signature with the government. He further denied that he had been offered the post of vice president of the republic, should he sign the peace agreement. He said that this is a hoax and an unfounded rumour, and he stressed that the Liberation and Justice Movement came to Doha for the the rights of the people of Darfur and will not sign any peace agreement unless it meets all of the rights and interests of the people of the region. Sese was speaking on the programme ‘Frankly Speaking’, which aired on Radio Dabanga on Thursday evening.
Sese took the lead of the Liberation and Justice Movement soon after it formed in early 2010. The LJM is an alliance of Darfuri rebel factions, formed from two earlier united coalitions, the Addis Ababa and Tripoli groups. Sese said that he sought the presidency of the movement at the request of leaders of the rebel factions, who had failed to choose an overall leader from among themselves. He explained that he initially refused to accept the post but the pressure from faction leaders eventually made him accept it for peace and unity of the armed movements in Darfur.
Sese’s negotiating team at Doha, meanwhile, held a day of meetings on Wednesday with visiting representatives of Darfur’s displaced people. The displaced presented demands including first security and individual compensations, and then improvement of the humanitarian situation, universities and food in the camps, as well as the release of prisoners and end of harassment of displaced persons. Three of the representatives of displaced persons from camps Kereinek, Attash, and Zam Zam told Radio Dabanga from Doha that they were not present at Doha to negotiate but instead to voice the demands of the displaced, before talking about peace. They stressed the importance of stopping the war and bringing back security first in Darfur, rather than signing a partial peace. They recommended not to repeat the experience of the Abuja talks, when one faction signed a peace deal and others did not. They said what is needed is a comprehensive peace involving all movements including those led by Khalil Ibrahim and Abdul Wahid Al Nur, who are boycotting the Doha talks.
In another development at Doha, promoters of the Heidelberg proposals for peace in Darfur handed the Sudanese government delegation a copy of the Heidelberg document, but the negotiators refused to accept the document. Last month the government negotiators had filed a complaint with the mediators against the presence of delegates of the Heidelberg Committee, which takes its name from three symposia held for Sudanese civil society since January 2008 in Heidelberg, Germany. The committee has produced a document containing draft proposals for a future Darfur Peace Agreement. According to Abdullah Adam Khatir, one of the promoters of the document, the government delegation in Doha excused itself from receiving a copy of the document whereas the Liberation and Justice Movement willingly received it.
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