In the evening of April 2013, the leaders of Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) signed Doha Document for Peace in Darfur after a more than 4-month-long negotiations with government in Khartoum. The leaders of the movement opted for negotiations out of convictions that there was no alternative to stability in the region except pursuing path of negotiations and peaceful means, through which the two signed were eventually able to come to an agreement that would accommodate all. Shortly after inking the agreement, the leaders of the movement were ambushed while on their way to Khartoum by rebel Justice and Equality Movement – Jibreel. The chairmen of JEM and his deputy Arco lost their lives in the incident, while 28 other leaders are still being held in custody. Nevertheless, JEM, which is signatory to the Doha agreement, has continued to pursue the path of peace to arrive in Khartoum late March to carry through its obligations with the government, transcending the great loss of its prominent leaders in the aforementioned attack by rival rebel movements. To shed lights on the thorny road the movement has walked in pursuit of peace and stability in Darfur, Sudan Vision below interviews, Nahar Osman Nahar, JEM's head of a vanguard delegation to Khartoum.
Q: Do you expect to demand top ministries like foreign?
A: The names of ministries are not a problem. We will reach agreement with partners in the government on that because there are many positions where we can serve since we signed the important agreement. What matters is we work at ministry fully satisfied as well as our partners on the other side. So far we have not settled on any ministerial portfolio, but we work where we can achieve something.
Q: What were contents and outcomes of your meetings with the government since your arrival in Khartoum? Who have you met?
A: We have held and still holding a number of meetings. We met with the Minister for Justice, Mohamed Bushara Dosa, ministers at Darfur Peace Bureau, the National Assembly, and National Unity Government Council. Meetings with many other ministers will continue to pave the way for the arrival of the Chairman of the movement and working for translating the agreement into actions; including discussing details and timetables. We regard all of our meetings positive and fruitful. Our visits were not exclusive to the governmental side, but we maintained communications with a number of Sudanese parties, civil society organizations, and national figures.
Q: When will your presidential delegation headed by the chairman of the movement, Dabajo arrive?
A: There are always new developments in politics at any moment; especially the chairman of the movement is currently present in the field undertaking his function, most lately retrieval of a vehicle belonging to the armed forces from outlaws. Generally, there are a number of points, which may expedite his arrival such as the general pardon granted to the forces of the movement in custody. A list including a great deal of political prisoners in Sudan was submitted.
Q: On what charges were those leaders thrown behind the bars? Were some of them accused of involvement in Omdurman attacks?
A: Part of was do with Omdurman incidents, while the other part was related to battles against the government. Some prisoners were charged with taking part in activities supporting Justice and Equality Movement against the government. A list containing their names was submitted as important preliminary step, which may accelerate the arrival of the chairman of the movement in Khartoum. He is expected to arrive within two weeks after progress was reached in some files, particularly general pardon.
Q: Does your visit to Darfur depend on their arrival in Khartoum?
A: Part of vanguard delegation will go Darfur to prepare for the arrival of chairman, who will tour Darfur states after his visit to Khartoum.
Q: Aren't concerned about his safety that he might be attacked by non-signatory movements?
A: What happened in the past was a group of armless persons assassinated in cold blood. They would have not be attacked should we had army; simply it is very easy to target the unarmed even in Khartoum. It was not a military battle at first place. What happen was a stab in the back and treachery.
Q: Would you please acquaint us with what happened exactly regarding the assassination key figures in your movement?
A: The incident could better be described as "awkward act", carried out in neighboring Chad in a bid to abort peaceful process in Darfur. A number of leaders were assassinated while some others were held in custody. We view such appalling attack as sacrifice for peace. We will stay the course for peace and follow their footsteps toward bringing peace to Darfur. We will never let their blood go in vain. We will continue to walk the same path until peace becomes a tangible reality on the ground.
Q: What efforts the movement has taken to liberate the detainees? Do you know their whereabouts?
A: Of course, according to our reliable source, we have accurate information about their whereabouts. Also, the movement has contacts with local, regional and international human rights organizations like the ICRC; in addition to communication with members of the Security Council, UNAMID. We levied a number of lawsuits at the level of Sudan with Darfur Crimes Tribunal. Furthermore, we are making additional efforts, which are off-record. We assure the families of the detainees, despite our reservation about the term "detainee" because detention is a result of a military battle, but what took place on that day was not a battle. Our losses were hostages not detainees. I am convinced that our efforts will yield fruits in releasing them through political, legal efforts, or else we will be compelled to set them free militarily.
Q: Are sure that all detainees are alive?
A: Of course, according to our information, the 28 detainees are still alive, but they are being treated indecently and harassment such as depriving them of food and calling their families.
Q: In case political efforts failed, would the movement resort to force to release them?
A: Our hostage brothers were taken away by force. We chased the kidnappers close to borders with South Sudan. We are prepared to engage in war with this terrorist group to free our hostages. This is a red line, and will not tolerate detention of signatories to peace endlessly. All remain options on the table.
Q: Do think that the government is required to demonstrate further goodwill in order to encourage the armed movement to join the peaceful process?
A: Certainly. For severally reasons including the Doha agreement should be more flexible. We believe that drafting good terms is crucial to peace – the reason why we signed the agreement. I expect more movements with sign it provided that some items related to those movements are taken into account and added as appendix. In this situation, the government can make the document desirable to groups willing to join it.
Q: Do you think that there are international forces preventing parties willing to join the Doha deal, especially the Darfur issue is being capitalized by exploiters.
A: many states that are in bad terms with the government are seeking to exploit the movements in their conflict with the government. When we were taking up arms against the government, we had the backing of the government of the slain leader Muamar Gaddafi and South Sudan. Some movements benefited from such situation materially, which is common in international politics.
Q: For how long will hear about continuous splintering within Darfur factions to join Doha negotiations in a new name, considering that signatory movements have now reached 20 factions?
A: The government has to be blamed for dividing these movements in the beginning in a bid to undermine them, but such strategy proved failure later. Movements carrying weight in Darfur don't exceed five movements including Justice and Equality Movement.
Q: Absence of security constitutes a major threat to peace in Darfur despite allocation of huge mounts of money earmarked for development. What is your message to movements mainly fighting for abolishing development projects in favor of the people of the region?
A: We, in Justice and Equality Movement, believe that peace is crucial to the return of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes of origin. We are working to restore security and order in regions of our control as well as contributing to restoring security in adjacent areas. We are working for that end in partnership with the government so that overall security prevails and developmental programs kick off, only then the refugees will voluntarily go back to their former homes.
Q: What do make the work of Darfur Crimes Attorney General?
A: We, in the agreement, called for not authorizing any tribunal in Darfur, save for Darfur Criminal Tribunal. Demanded all previously existing courts abolished; in addition setting up special police force to protect the Attorney, while UNAMID should oversee his work to assess performance. If that achieved, all results will be satisfactory to all parties. If the tribunal pursued fair justice course, many crimes committed in Darfur will be settled and justice will be administered for victims.
Q: Are you optimistic about peace in Darfur any sooner?
A: Peace can be achieved a step by step, which were started a long ago. We not claim that we are the only parties that will bring peace to Darfur, but we can reach that end when all join forces and demonstrate strong desire for stability and settlement across the region. Finally, I would like to stress that by signing the agreement we have taken the right political direction after a long consideration, we are seeking to transform into a political party when security arrangements are in place. Until then, we will gradually become a political body and will exercise politics in tandem with efforts to end the war by all means any ways. We have laid down our arms in full conviction of necessity for dialogue and involvement in building the country under mounting challenges our country is currently faced with. We have come to a conviction that democracy can only be reached through ballots.
By Hana Abdul Hai, 2 hours 21 minutes ago
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