SLM rebels say UNAMID chief is "no longer a neutral and valid interlocutor”
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September 19, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — The rebel Sudan Liberation Movement
led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur (SLM-AW) slammed the head of the hybrid
peacekeeping operation (UNAMID) and temporary peace mediator, Ibrahim
Gambari, saying he is no longer a neutral body in the eight year
conflict in Darfur.
JPEG - 25 kb
JSR Ibrahim Gambari (file/UNAMID)
The head of Darfur peacekeepers made recently a number of statements
about the peace process in a way to reaffirm his new political role as
Joint Chief Mediator (JCM) ad Interim after the departure of Djibril
Bassolé who is appointed foreign minister in his country Burkina Faso.
In a press conference held in Khartoum on 14 September the JCM ad
Interim said theSLM led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur is "the only one who has
never been part of any peace process at all. So the international
community is getting a bit frustrated".
"It is very important for the international community to consider what
need to bring to this movement that has never joined any political
process at all. And if that rejection is continuous, then the
international community will have to decide what to do with it," he
further said.
Reacting to this diplomatic offensive, Nimer Abdel-Rahman the
spokesperson of the SLM-AW claimed that Gambari is "no longer a
neutral valid interlocutor for the movement because of his ignorance
of the reality and unjustified attacks against the Movement".
"Gambari repeated his nonsense statements today in an interview with
the Khartoum based Al-Sahafa daily and we regret this dangerous and
un-neutral discourse against the Movement and its leadership".
"We urge the African Union and the United Nation to reconsider his
designation as joint envoy in Darfur, and we will not deal with him
from now forward".
Nimer further said the SLM-AW was part in the long peace process in
Abuja but "we realized that this government is not serious in its
efforts to bring peace in Darfur but use such forums for public
relations and to give the international community the impression they
are genuine in their efforts to reach a negotiated settlement".
With regard to the Doha process, the rebel official said they were
considering ways to join it but "we saw the Forum was transformed to a
factory where rebel groups are invented and prepared to sign job
contracts with the government".
The SLM-AW after the failure of Abuja talks in 2006, said it would not
negotiate with the government unless the militias are disarmed and
displaced civilians return to their lands and villages.
The SLM leader left Paris in December 2010 and lunched a new political
programme called the "New Beginning" where he appeals for a large
coalition of the Sudanese opposition and the armed movements against
the government of the National Congress Party (NCP).
Recently he and Minni Minnawi signed an alliance with the Sudan
people’s Liberation Movement –North (SPLM-N). The three groups vowed
to overthrow the NCP regime but no political deal is yet signed with
the democratic opposition in the capital.
Nimer also accused Gambari of supporting Khartoum’s policy of
repression and violation of human rights in Darfur. He said the UNAMID
donated vehicles to "the so called "police” or government militias
used to kill people and violate women".
Gambari stated during his last week press conference he handed over 25
vehicles to the Sudanese police in the three states of Darfur to
"enhance their crime prevention and crime reaction capacity".
After signing a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in Doha
on 14 July, a delegation of the rebel Liberation and Justice Movement
(LJM) is now touring Darfur before the arrival of its leader Tijani
el-Sissi next month.
Today, the West Darfur governor Shartai Jaafar Abdel Hakam accused the
SLM-AW rebels of killing a local chief (Umda) and abducting a state
legislator, a Umda and two students. He said these aggressions are
part of campaign implemented by the group to deter any support to the
Doha peace agreement and LJM particularly.
However, Nimer rejected these accusations saying their group did never
resort to violence against the supporters of other rebel groups. "They
are not our enemy. The only enemy we are fighting is the National
Congress Party". He stressed.
(ST)
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