UNMAID agrees that Darfur conference to be held after peace deal - rebels Article Comments (0) Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 21, 2011 (DOHA) — A rebel group and the head of the hybrid peacekeeping mission agreed that a dialogue process in Darfur should be held only after the signing of a peace agreement in Doha and after fulfilling the requested conditions to hold it. brahim Gambari speaks during a press conference in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, on February 16, 2011 (Getty) The head of the hybrid peacekeeping mission (UNAMID), Ibrahim Gambari who is visiting the Qatari capital to discuss with the parties and the mediation of the Doha peace process the progress achieved in talks and the preparations for a dialogue meeting to be held in the troubled region. On 8 April, the African Union Peace and security Council charged the head of the UNAMID to start the preparations for the contested Darfur Political Process (DPP) and suggested to start it on 1 May 2011. Led by the former South African President Thabo Mbeki, the DPP is rejected by rebel groups who consider that a number of conditions should be met before its start. They also describe Mbeki as "tool" to implement Khartoum policy and to officialize the status quo in Darfur. "The two parties agreed that he internal peace process is complementary and should not substitute or be parallel to the ongoing peace process in Doha," said the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), after a meeting held with Gambari. The rebel group emphasized that they further agreed that the "appropriate conditions" should be established in Darfur before the political process which intends to preach reconciliation and redemption among traditional leaders, civil society groups and IDPs. In a briefing to the UN Security Council on wednesday, the Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Atul Khare, said the DDP "must take place in an environment that will guarantee its credibility" through ensuring unhindered participation by all. "The intention of the Government to lift emergency law will go along way toward fulfilling these conditions," Khare added. The Sudanese government and LJM are discussing a compromise over the pending issue of Darfur administrative status. The chief negotiator of the rebel groups said two days ago they are optimistic that a deal would be reached before the deadline fixed by the mediation. The mediators, this week asked the parties to finalize direct discussions over the remaining issues before the 27 April where they intend to present a draft peace agreement to the three parties and to hold the stakeholders conference on 18-23 May. LJM said they stressed during the meeting that UNAMID must play an impartial and transparent role in the process of selecting and transporting the participants in this conference and to protect them from arrest, intimidation and denial of participation . (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "JFD info" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/jfdinfo?hl=en.
