Rebels in Sudanese Dialogue make demands

National Dialogue participator El Tahir Hajar, as leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement for Justice, said that the rebels received “great guarantees” from the Chadian President for their participation.

His armed movement (formerly led by Ali Karbino) decided to attend the National Dialogue conference, that started on Saturday, after lengthy discussions with Idriss Deby recently. Speaking to Radio Dabanga, he did not elaborate on what the President guaranteed them besides the promise that they would not be arrested.

“We expressed our concerns to President Deby about the tactics and practices of the Khartoum regime,” Hajar said, “especially with regard to its commitments and obligations towards the implementation of any dialogue or agreement made with any party in the past.”

The rebel leader added that the National Dialogue is not an alternative to negotiations on a just and comprehensive peace in Darfur. After his return to the Chadian capital of N'Djamena on Saturday evening, he requested the Sudanese president to separate the peace negotiations of the conflict areas and the National Dialogue process.

The leader of an offshoot faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdelwahid El Nur who decided to participate in the conference on Saturday, told Radio Dabanga that they demanded the “release of all the detainees and convicts in prisons, allowing freedoms, the participation of the displaced people in the dialogue, and the disarmament of the militias”.

Regarding the reasons for their return to N’Djamena, SLM-Second Revolution leader Abulgasem Imam El Haj said they will further consult and arrange to send representatives to participate in the National Dialogue committees.

The President of Chad, Idris Deby, had attempted to convince the main Darfur rebel leaders to attend the dialogue in a meeting in Paris last week. Also a third rebel leader of the Sudan Liberation Movements, Abdallah Yahya, declined, in addition to the absence of the majority of the opposition parties.

Correction 16:34 13/10/2015: El Tahir Hajar is the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement for Justice, formerly led by Ali Karbino (LMJ-TH), and not an offshoot faction of the SLM-AW as previously written.