US initiative welcomed

14/08/2011 21:02

Popular Congress Party and Communist Party say the negotiations in Washington next month are step in the right directionThe Popular Congress Party (PCP) and the Communist Party (CP) welcomed, on Sunday, the US initiative to host negotiations between Darfur’s armed opposition groups and the Sudanese government in Washington in September. 

Popular Congress Party and Communist Party say the negotiations in Washington next month are step in the right direction

The Popular Congress Party (PCP) and the Communist Party (CP) welcomed, on Sunday, the US initiative to host negotiations between Darfur’s armed opposition groups and the Sudanese government in Washington in September. 
The PCP’s secretary Qamal Omar told Radio Dabanga, “The Washington conference is a new proposition after the partial Doha agreement. It looks at the demands of the people. It is a new opportunity to move away from war and include the rights of the different factions.”
He added that the United States is looking for a way out of the Darfur crisis after what he considers the failed Doha negotiations. 

Last week, Radio Dabanga reported about Dane Smith, US senior advisor on Darfur, sending an invitation to armed Darfuri factions and the Sudanese governments to meet in a neutral venue in the US, in order to see a way forward in the wake of the partial Doha agreement. 
Yusuf Hussain, spokesperson of the Communist Party, also welcomed the US initiative by terming it as a “step in the right direction”. He said, “The government should be held accountable for not touching upon key issues in the Doha agreement.”

He added, “The talks must look to achieve justice and provide assistance to the displaced people. It should lift the emergency law and facilitate the task of aid organizations. The prolonged emergency law in Darfur has caused the expulsion of aid organizations.”

Hussain said the continuing military operations in Darfur means that the Doha agreement has not been addressing the main demands of the province, such as establishing security and restoring the displaced to their villages of origin.

The Doha agreement was signed in July between the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) and the Sudanese government. All other rebel factions refused to join the peace agreement.