Zoellick, who was joined in Abuja by a top British official, Hilary Benn, later shuttled among the groups, listening to complaints and making suggestions for compromise, according to a member of the U.S. delegation.
A delegate from one insurgent group suggested his side would leave without an agreement. "There's no solution yet," said Calfaddin Aroun of the SLM. "We're waiting to go home."
"Despite all its shortcomings, this process has yielded a draft agreement which is the best the (rebel) movements will get ever," said Alex de Waal, an adviser to the African Union (AU), which is mediating the talks.Read more in full report at ABC May 2 2006 - excerpt:
"They have to make the shift from criticizing the many injustices that they and their people have suffered, to seeing that a much better future can be grasped on the basis of this agreement."
The top two AU officials - Chairman Denis Sassou Nguesso and commission head Alpha Oumar Konare - are set to arrive in Abuja on Wednesday, which diplomats said could indicate that the deadline, already put back by 48 hours, will slip again.
The rebels took up arms in early 2003 in ethnically mixed Darfur, an arid region the size of France, over what they saw as neglect by the Arab-dominated central government.Note, the report explains that under a U.S. proposal, a section of the AU draft that requires the government to disarm the Janjaweed before the rebels lay down their weapons would be amended to better suit the government. In return, Khartoum would accept a detailed plan for integration of specific numbers of rebel fighters into the Sudanese security forces. This is a key rebel demand.
Khartoum used militias, known locally as Janjaweed and drawn from Arab tribes, to crush the rebellion. The fighting has killed tens of thousands of people while a campaign of arson, looting and rape has driven more than 2 million from their homes into refugee camps in Darfur and neighboring Chad.
Washington, which labels the violence in Darfur "genocide," is intensifying efforts to resolve the conflict.
"Despite all its shortcomings, this process has yielded a draft agreement which is the best the (rebel) movements will get ever," said Alex de Waal, an adviser to the African Union (AU), which is mediating the talks.Note the report says Abdelrahman Musa Abakar, chief negotiator for one of the rebel factions, welcomed Zoellick's involvement.
"They have to make the shift from criticising the many injustices that they and their people have suffered, to seeing that a much better future can be grasped on the basis of this agreement."
"This means the U.S. government really cares ... They can put pressure so that we can get better terms," he told Reuters.Surely failure to get a deal now will lead to more bloodshed and suffering in Darfur. A collapse of the talks would also be a serious setback for the AU, which seeks African solutions to African problems.
But other rebel delegates reiterated old complaints and diplomats said internal divisions were holding back progress. Decision-making is arduous for the rebels, who are split into two movements and three factions with a history of infighting.
"We had over 250 passionate, educated and opinionated young people, and many of them were very brave, debating in public an issue normally reserved for private discussions. We were keen to make sure every form of opinion was represented to the millions of our listeners across the Arabic-speaking world. In fact, it was the heart of the matter, the whole reason why we embarked on this debates road show: giving the youth a voice, listening to their untold stories."Feb 13 2006 BBC Arabic road show at Khartoum University, 6 March 2006
The programme, the very first UN Joint Programme in Darfur, is fully funded by the Government of Japan through the Human Security Fund and will cover a broad area of topics including, internally displaced persons, child rights and protection, gender-based violence, codes of conduct, the notion of voluntary return, and Sudanese legal and cultural frameworks, according to UNDP.
"Too many objections are going right back to the start of the discussions. We can't start all over again and that is what JEM wants to do. Both SLM factions will be more able to sign but they cannot laugh at this deadline. They cannot repeat old positions.[Link via Coalition for Darfur with thanks]
"I have to present my report to the UN by the end of April. It is still just April, but it will be up to the Security Council to decide what should be done in terms of sanctions if there is no agreement.
"The rebels fight for more justice and equality but continuation of these talks leads to more injustice and more inequality. I hope the representatives of these groups will eventually be leaders in a peaceful Darfur but by prolonging this discussion, they are not serving the people they claim to represent."
"What we have found, touring through this area, is village after village burnt, destroyed or abandoned. By the end of March the count was 90 villages.
Two years after the international community woke up to the crisis in Darfur, the reality is that villages are still being torched and civilians are still being forced to flee.
Keeping watch is the AU's main role here. It came with a limited mandate, lacking both equipment and troops.
Baba Gana Kingibe, head of the AU mission, told the BBC the international community should have done a lot more for Darfur."
Chief AU mediator Salim Ahmed Salim told the BBC the rebels had come to the talks in Abuja with their minds made up, and had simply been repeating their demands.Note, Eugene at CfD links to Bloomberg report Zoellick Headed to Stalled Negotiations
"They [the rebels] will have to be reasonable and they have to pay also a price for this peace," Sudan's Justice Minister Muhammad Ali al-Maradi told the BBC.
US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick will travel to Abuja [today] in a bid to hammer out an agreement before Tuesday's midnight deadline, AFP news agency reports.
The BBC's Africa Analyst Martin Plaut says the talks in Abuja are a last effort attempt to maintain the fading credibility of the AU, while preventing the flames of war from spreading beyond the borders of Sudan.
DARFUR DRAFT PEACE PLAN
Pro-government Janjaweed militia to be disarmed
Rebel fighters to be incorporated into army
One-off transfer of $300m to Darfur
$200m a year for the region thereafter
AU mediators say the rebels insist certain demands, such as a vice president's post for a Darfurian and a new regional government, should be met in full which is just not possible.
"I think the chances are very slender. ... I don't think the movements realise they've missed their big chance. ... The only thing left is for Minni to realise that the game is up," said the diplomatic source.
"His meetings with the (rebel) movements yesterday were so bad. They were, frankly, so insulting to the government," said the diplomat, who described his mood as "depressed".U.S. diplomats have come up with a list of suggested compromise solutions and government delegation spokesman Amin Hassan Omar said substantial changes were still possible on the issue of integration of rebel fighters.
Observers say the rebels have squandered enormous international sympathy while the government, widely portrayed as the villain in the Darfur conflict, has played its diplomatic cards just right.
"The AU peace proposal does not address our crucial demands," he told AFP. 'We know the Sudan government very well'
Ahmed Hussain of the JEM said the JEM was "more interested in the concessions the government of Sudan will or can grant us during the extension. This will be the basis on whether or not we would sign the agreement."
"We know the Sudan government very well," Hussain said Monday. "It does not respect agreements. So, we need very safe and firm guarantees from the government and the international community."
He added: "The Sudanese government should be held responsible for any failure at these Abuja talks."
