Darfur rebels seek ‘credible deal’

Jem chief says agreement with Khartoum must be fair if it is to be sold to people of Darfur.

Sudan - Khalil Ibrahim
Ibrahim says Jem is fighting Sudanese forces to end socio-economic problems in Darfur [AFP]

Ibrahim said the rebellion was triggered by socio-economic problems faced by the people.

“This agreement should be fair so that we can sell it to our people. We are merely fighting [to end] socio-economic problems in Darfur,” he said.

“We have demands that look naive [in the eyes of] developed nations.

“We are fighting for pure water supply, education, primary health care, electricity, food, job opportunities and participation in taking decisions.”

Arrest warrant

The talks in Qatar have been overshadowed by an impending arrest warrant for Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Sudan’s president, who stands accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) of war crimes in Darfur.

The ICC says it has incriminating evidence against al-Bashir, but he denies the charges and has even challenged those blaming him for the massacres to show him the graves of the victims.

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Sudan has rejected the use of the term genocide by the ICC and said only 10,000 people have died.

Al Jazeera’s James Bays said the potential arrest warrant, while not an official issue at the Doha talks, was the main point of discussion on the sidelines on Thursday.

“One theory here is that the leak from the UN was quite deliberate,” he said.

“They were flagging up the possibility of an imminent arrest warrant, because they know that this peace deal is getting close.

“They didn’t want the parties here … to come to a deal and then that deal have to be torn up in a couple of weeks when that arrest warrant is issued.”

Sudan’s rejection

Abdalmahmoud Abdalhaleem, Sudan’s envoy to the UN, told Al Jazeera any arrest warrant against al-Bashir “means nothing to us”.

“We are not going to be surprised if this decision is issued today or tomorrow or if it has already been issued,” he said.

“Because we know this court is a political court, a politically motivated decision, it will never bother us at all. It means nothing to us. We are in no way going to co-operate with this decision.”

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies