JEM reiterates refusal to join Darfur peace talks in Doha

The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has reiterated its refusal to join the talks in Doha on the basis of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD). Jibril Adam Bilal described the document a “disaster for Sudan, especially for Darfur”, when speaking to Radio Dabanga from London on Monday, 21 January. The spokesman said he met with a committee in charge of communicating with non-signatory parties and encourage them to join the Doha peace process. Siddig Wada’a, a Darfur businessman is the leader of the committee that consists of 12 members. He was appointed in November 2012 by Dr. Tijani Sese, head of the Darfur Regional Authority and of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM). Waste time JEM spokesman told Wada’a not to “waste his time and resources” during their recent meeting, he told Radio Dabanga. Bilal suggested that there is no real proof that the government of Sudan changed its strategy and that it still seeks a partial, instead of a comprehensive solution for the conflicts in the country.   Besides, JEM is a coalition member of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) and a signatory of the New Dawn Charter, which aims at overthrowing the regime in Khartoum, Bilal said. He explained that the stance of the SRF and of New Dawn is to refuse partial solutions for Sudan. JEM demanded from the committee led by Wada’a to concentrate its efforts in putting an end to the tribal war in Darfur and move towards reconciliation initiates between tribes of the region. Last year, Sese had asserted he specifically chose leaders from Darfur to be part of the committee in charge of urging the non-signatory parties to join the DDPD. The Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) and the delegation of the government of Sudan signed political and military partnership agreements in Doha in July 2011. Darfur-Darfur conference On 11 July 2012, Tijani Sese held a Darfur-Darfur conference in El-Fasher, North Darfur, with the intention of attracting support for the Doha Agreement. Participants from Khartoum and from the five states of Darfur, including representatives of the displaced, attended the conference. Additionally, the Qatari mediator, Sudan’s first vice-president Ali Osman Taha, regional and international organizations and UN envoys were also present. However, different participants criticized the event suggesting the DRA had selected only pro-government and LJM-affiliated displaced people to represent them during the Darfur-Darfur conference.Photo: Darfur Stakeholders Conference, Doha 2011 (Radio Dabanga file)Related: Sudanese opposition agrees to topple Khartoum regime (6 January 2013)Non-signatory movements renew rejection of DDPD (11 November 2012)Sese and Taha open government-led Darfur conference (11 July 2012)Controversy ahead of government-led Darfur conference (9 July 2012)