The general coordinator
of the Sudanese Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), Abu Bakr Hameed Nur, yesterday threatened that his rebel movement was not ready to lay down arms, even as electric power failure disrupted the peace talks at the international conference centre, Abuja.
The power outage which disrupted the peace talks as the Sudanese government delegation were presenting a report on the humanitarian situation in Darfur, has, according to participants, created a set back for the peace talks.
Speaking exclusively to Daily Trust, Abu Bakr Hamid Nur said his rebel group will not disarm until the African Union and members of the international community find a lasting solution to the crisis in Darfur.
Listing the conditions that will warrant his group to lay down arms, the rebel leader said: “We want the unity of Sudan, land and people. We want political and religious freedom. We want real democracy. We want a decentralised system of government, and we want equality in the distribution of wealth.”
The rebel leader who claimed that Darfur is marginalised, said of the 31 million people of Sudan, only 1.5 percent have been ruling the country for the past 50 years, saying the remaining black people are marginalised. According to him, alth-ough the central government gave the Darfur region two ministerial positions, but that these portfolios are “useless and powerless.”
“The marginalised region has been denied the five key posts which are; security, fin-ance, external affairs, commu-nication and justice. Darfur’s so called ministers are in tourism and aid,” he added.
On whether the level of representation by the Suda-nese government is satisfa-ctory and committed to peace, the rebel leader said his group has not yet seen any positive response from the Sudanese government, saying since the N’djemena accord on April 8, 2004, the government has violated more than 128 agreements.
Asked about the roles of the Sudanese neighbours in the peace process, the JEM leader denied as unfounded, the allegation that Eritrea was supporting the various rebel groups in his country.
“Why we negotiate in Chad is because Sudan has a security agreement with Chad. Sudan also has a sec-urity agreement with Ethi-opia. But there is no security agreement with Central Africa,” he said.
Asked about sources of their funds, the leader said his rebel group is indepe-ndent and self-subsistent.
“We get some of our res-ources from the government troops. We snatch tanks and guns. Our people support us with food, cows and goats,” he added.
In a related development on Wednesday, the chairman of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLMA), Abdelwaheed Mohamed al-Nur, had critic-ised the African Union for bothering itself with a rather too slow procedure, saying the African Union was was-ting time and that it was a matter of life and death.
Similarly, the spokes-person for the delegation of the Sudanese government at the peace talks, Ibrahim Mo-hammed Ibrahim, had accu-sed the rebel groups of attac-king humanitarian aid wor-kers, police and journalists.
British foreign minister, Jack Straw, said there is much progress in providing secu-rity at Darfur refugee camps and that the government was fulfilling its commitments under a plan of action it reac-hed with the UN.
Daily Trust corresp-ondent at the peace talks said enough time is needed to exhaust the agenda, as there are more important issues to be discussed. He said at the end of the talks, the AU may be forced to use its unilateral powers.
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