Darfur peace talks in Doha between JEM and GONU called off without any progress

The two parties agreed to resume the talks on May 27th.

From Sudan Radio Service 13 May 2009 (Doha)

The peace talks between the Darfur anti-government group, the Justice and Equality Movement and the Government of National Unity were called off on Tuesday without any progress being made.

In an interview with Sudan Radio Service from Doha on Tuesday, JEM spokesman Ahmed Hussein claimed that GONU is deliberately disrupting the talks.

[Ahmed Hussein]: ”There is nothing new in the talks, we came to Doha at the invitation of the mediators, we still haven’t met the GONU delegation, the discussions are going on between us and the mediators, we are discussing the implementation process, the date of implementation and the goodwill agreement we signed. The government is clearly disrupting the process here, they did not come with a real negotiating team, and they are not committed to implementing the agreement we signed with them, so that is why there is no progress, because of the government’s stubborn stance and dodging to implement the goodwill agreement, that is the problem.”

The two parties agreed to resume the talks on May 27th.

In February, JEM and GONU signed a goodwill agreement. JEM accused GONU of violating the deal when 81 JEM prisoners were sentenced to death last month.

The men had been captured following a JEM attack on Omdurman in May last year.