The spokesman for the Darfur-based Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) says his group has rejected an invitation to be part of the peace talks scheduled to resume Monday in Qatar’s capital, Doha.
Ahmed Hussein Adam said the talks will do nothing to end the escalating violence in the Darfur region.
“JEM is not going to be part of that exercise which is going to take place in Doha because, like we said before, this is just a play. It is just a p.r. (public relations) exercise for the regime that they want to play again. But, the crisis right now is that the government of Sudan has been attacking our people…because they want to dismantle the IDP (Internally Displaced Person) camps to liquidate the course of the people of Darfur,” Adam said.
President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir’s government is scheduled to resume peace talks with the Liberty and Justice Movement (LJM), a conglomerate of minor Darfur-based rebel groups in Doha.
The talks are aimed at finalizing a peace deal after the LJM recently signed a ceasefire agreement with President Bashir’s government.
JEM’s spokesman Adam said the international community has the leverage to stop the ongoing atrocities in Darfur.
“If they (government) are serious about it, and if the international community is also serious about it, they have to stop what is going on there (Darfur). But, actually they (government) want to divert attention from what is going on in Kalma and in the IDP camps right now in Darfur, in Nyala,” Adam said.
After signing a peace agreement with the Sudanese government in February, JEM suspended further negotiations after accusing Khartoum of continuing attacks on its positions – a charge the government denies.
JEM also refused to participate in other peace talks involving LJM saying the government in Khartoum is not interested in finding a lasting solution to the Darfur crisis.