Sudan gov't urges int'l community to put pressure on Darfur movements

Loka Byong from the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) speaks during the opening session of the African Union and United Nations Sudan Consultative Forum in Khartoum, Sudan, on July 17, 2010. Photo: Xinhua

The Sudanese government on Saturday urged the international community to put pressure on the Darfur armed movements to join the peace negotiations hosted by the Qatari capital of Doha.

"We want the international community to practice pressure on the armed movements which reject to negotiate. They must be persuaded that the peaceful settlement is the only way out of the Darfur crisis," said Kamal Hassan Ali, Sudanese state minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when addressing an international conference on Sudan's issues in Khartoum Saturday.

"We want the international community to stress on Doha as the only forum that will lead to realization of peace and stability in Darfur and to set a timetable for the negotiations," he added.

The Sudanese minister reiterated his government's commitment to conduct south Sudan referendum as scheduled and to recognize its results whether unity or separation, saying that "we are committed to conducting the referendum in a fully transparent and credible manner and we want to reach an agreement with the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) on all suspended issues."

Sudanese Minister of Cabinet Affairs and SPLM leading member Luka Biong, for his part, renewed the SPLM commitment to the dialogue with the National Congress Party (NCP) to tackle the suspended issues and agree on post referendum arrangements.

He added that the NCP and the SPLM were working to enhance trust among them and remove the barriers on the way before the referendum and ensure the referendum to be fare and credible.

The international consultative meeting on Sudan's issues kicked off in Khartoum on Saturday with the participation of Qatar, Sudan 's neighboring countries, Norway, United States, regional and international organizations and representatives of the permanent member states in the UN Security Council.

The meeting, which is organized by the United Nations and the African Union, also brings representatives of the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Qatar which sponsors the peace negotiations between Sudan government and the Darfur armed movements, and Norway which hosted the donor conference for supporting rehabilitation and development in Sudan in 2008.

The meeting will discuss all Sudan's issues including Darfur, the CPA implementation and arrangements for the conducting of south Sudan referendum, slated for January 2011.