US envoy to Sudan reaches Doha to push Darfur peace process

The US special envoy to Sudan, Ambassador Princeton Lyman, started intense talks with the parties in Doha in his first visit since he was appointed envoy last month. The envoy held closed meetings with the JEM and LJM separately. The chief negotiator of the JEM, Ahmed Tugud Lisan, said that his movement informed the US envoy its opinion on the proposal of the mediators and stressed the necessity of placing the case of Kordofan as one of the protocols in the negotiations besides looking into the issue of holding a civil society organizations’ conference in Doha this month.

From its side, the LJM defended the peace proposal of the mediators and considered that it achieved great turnovers to the people of Darfur, including participation in the government with the post of the vice-president. The peace document does not stipulate, however, that the vice-presidential post must be occupied by a Darfuri from one of the movements – it could be filled by someone from the National Congress Party.

The chief negotiator of the movement, Tajeldin Naim, said that the proposed provincial authority includes an executive bureau and a legislative body and pointed out that 2 billion dollars is committed for construction projects. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Tajeldin described the amount as a significant sum and stressed on the need to implement justice and reconciliation both individually and collectively through compensations.

Photo: Ambassador Princeton Lyman (right), US Special Envoy to Sudan; Ambassador Barrie Walkley (left), US Principal Officer and Consul General in Southern Sudan.