Unamid head holds ‘frank and fruitful’ talks with Darfur rebels

Unamid head, Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas, held talks on Monday with the leaders of the three main armed opposition movements in Darfur, under the banner of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF). In Kampala, capital of Uganda, Ibn Chambas met with Abdel Wahid El Nur, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-AW, Minni Minawi leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement-MM, and Dr Jibril Ibrahim of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). The talks concentrated on a comprehensive peace and the road to achieve security. They also covered the dire humanitarian situation in Darfur. JEM leader and Co-Vice Chairman of the SRF, Dr Ibrahim, told Radio Dabanga that Ibn Chambas met them with the understanding that the government was open to new possibilities to talk about dialogue. Ibn Chambas believes that there is an opportunity for a comprehensive dialogue in Sudan and that the SFR should seize the opportunity. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Dr Ibrahim said that they told Ibn Chambas they’re not against peace, as peace is their strategic goal. However at the same time, they will not accept partial agreements and a partial peace. Comprehensive solution “We confirmed to Ibn Chambas we want to talk with the regime on the condition that the entire opposition will be a party and government a party,” he said. “This is on the condition that this dialogue will lead to a real change in the country, beginning with a transitional government through which the people reach their goals in a serious way”. Dr Ibrahim continued: “We also confirmed to Ibn Chambas we are not willing to accept partial agreements and will not engage with him in this direction.” He said his delegation told Ibn Chambas that there is a need to change the mandate given to him and the African Union in the person of former South African President Thabo Mbeki. “Considering that this mandate is restricting them both, we told him we are in need of negotiators who could talk about the issue of Sudan as a whole,” Dr Ibrahim said. He confirmed that Ibn Chambas agreed with them on the need for a comprehensive solution and not partial one. On the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur, Dr Ibrahim said that they told Ibn Chambas that the task of Unamid, before being a mediation mission, is to protect civilians and aid convoys in Darfur. He told Ibn Chambas that “we currently do not see Unamid is fulfilling this role as required”. Dr Ibrahim said they reminded Ibn Chambas that displaced people are dying in the camps from hunger, disease, lack of water. “Unamid should be more preoccupied with this (humanitarian disaster) than with talks about peace,” said Ibrahim. “We have shown during the meeting, our willingness to cooperate with Unamid in the delivery of relief and coordination together to protect civilians in Darfur.” ‘Frank and fruitful’ Abdel Wahid El Nur, head of the Sudan Liberation Movement and Co-Vice President of the SRF, said that the discussions with Ibn Chambas were “frank and fruitful and focused on the security and humanitarian situation; a comprehensive peace and the rejection of partial solutions. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, El Nur said that they told Ibn Chambas how far the security and humanitarian situation in Darfur has deteriorated; UN reports show – and Ibn Chambas himself confessed – that 460,000 people are displaced and thousands have died. El Nur said that they discussed with Ibn Chambas the need to hold an international conference on the issue of security and humanity in Darfur and other parts of Sudan in order to stop the daily genocide, rape and displacement. He confirmed that his delegation underlined to Ibn Chambas its rejection of partial solutions, and its insistence on a comprehensive solution. “This begins first with security and disarmament of the National Congress Party (NCP) militias, and the expulsion of the new settlers who the NCP settled on Darfuri lands.” El Nur explained that the second step is to address the roots of the Sudanese crisis: there should be equal citizenship and a fair division of power and wealth. ‘Overwhelming response’ Speaking to Radio Dabanga, Minni Minawi, head of the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Co-Vice President of the SRF described the meeting as “the way to hold the dialogue and the way to convince the international community and the decision-making circles in the UN Security Council and the African Union. Minawi explained that in the meeting with Ibn Chambas, they all agreed “with overwhelming response from the head of Unamid”, Darfur cannot be separated from the other issues of Sudan. Minawi: “If Al Bashir’s understanding goes in the direction of inclusive dialogue and a national solution to the whole issue, we welcome it. We accept only discussions about the specifics of each region: Darfur, South Kordofan and the Blue Nile. Each region should retain its specifics within the overall solution”. File photo: Joint Special Representative of Unamid, Mohamed Ibn Chambas (Albert González Farran/Unamid)