Doha, July 14 - HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani of Qatar patronized the official ceremony for agreement signing between the Government of Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement for the Doha document for peace in Darfur which was held in Doha Sheraton Hotel this evening.

The ceremony was attended by President Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir of Sudan, President Idriss Deby of Chad, President Isaias Afewerki of Eritrea, President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso, and Prime Minister of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ethiopia Hailemariam Desalegn.

The ceremony was also attended by HE Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabor Al Thani, and Secretary General of the Arab League Nabil Al Arabi, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, representative of the African Union and the United Nations for Darfur Ibrahim Gambari, as well as representatives from Arab, regional and international organizations as well as members of the diplomatic corps accredited to Qatar.

The ceremony began with a recitation of versus from the Holy Quran. Then, HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani gave a speech where he expressed his satisfaction at the signing of the peace accord by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement which was based on the Doha document.

HH the Emir described the Doha Document for Peace as a blessed beginning to establishing peace in Darfur. HH the Emir considered the signing of the accord as an honest invitation to all rebel groups to avoid conflict and contribute to making and ensuring peace.

HH added that the time has come for Darfur and its people to have stability after a long period of suffering, and that they become able to return to their homes and their normal lives with availability of the basic components of a decent life.

HH the Emir stressed on the State of Qatar’s keenness to coordinate with its regional and international partners to see the people of Darfur and Sudan enjoy security and stability, as they are the two conditions for development and stability.

His Highness added that all effort will be exerted in order to achieve that, at the same time the Emir called on everyone to make the interests of the people of Darfur in particular and of Sudan in general a top priority. The Emir appealed to everyone to start making real peace that signifies their devotions to their countries and putting the nation’s interest above all else.

HH the Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said at this stage of the history of our region the voice of people are rising to ensure for themselves their interest, adding that it is better for the politicians to listen and respond to them early. His Highness added that people in our region said they want justice and freedom but they did not say they want the terrible civil conflicts. These conflicts must be abandoned.

His Highness at the end of his speech thanked all of those who contributed to this achievement. In particular, HH the Emir extended his thanks to the Government of the Republic of Sudan, and the parties involved in peace negotiations, and the UN mission, and the AU, and the Arab-African Ministerial Committee, and international partners. He also extended his thanks to Minister of Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso Djibril Bassole, who served as the joint mediator of the African Union and the United Nations for his patience, perseverance and sincere efforts.

His Highness also thanked HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud for his concerted and constant efforts that contributed to this achievement.

And then HH the Emir and their excellences the presidents witnessed the signing of the agreement.

The agreement was signed for the Sudanese government by Advisor to Sudan’s President Ghazi Salah El Din, while for the Liberation and Justice Movement by the head of the movement El-Tijani El-Sisi Mohammad Ateem. For the State of Qatar it was signed by HE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud. Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso Djibril Bassole signed the agreement along with Chairperson of the African Union Commission as Joint African Union-United Nations Special Representative for Darfur Ibrahim Gambari.

(QNA)

The Sudanese government has signed a framework peace accord with a small Darfur rebel group, officials have said.

The three-month ceasefire agreement, signed with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) on Thursday in Doha, the Qatari capital, came as talks with the larger Justice and Equality Movement (Jem) stalled.

Ali Osman Taha, the Sudanese vice-president who attended the signing of the Qatari-sponsored agreement, said: “This is an important step which will give momentum to peace efforts in Darfur.”

Qatar has been mediating between various Darfur groups and the government in Khartoum with a view to finding a lasting peace in Sudan’s western region.

Jem dismisses deal

As the signing ceremony got under way, Jem dismissed the deal saying the LJM had no military force on the ground.

But Al-Tahir al-Feki, a Jem senior official, told the Reuters news agency that his movement would not immediately act on its threat to walk out of Doha talks in protest at the deal. ”The ceasefire is meaningless. It is a ceasefire without any fire,” he said, speaking just before the signing.

“We’ll not leave Doha. We can’t respond now in a reflex reaction. We’ll see how it [the new accord] goes.”

Tijani Seisi, leader of the LJM - a newly formed umbrella group of 10 movements - that signed the framework deal paving the way for further talks, told Al Jazeera the peace deal will “underpin confidence between the two parties in order to move into the peace process”.

“There is a need to unite all these movements because peace will only be achieved if everybody is involved. But the Jem movement does not want to recognise the existence of the other factions on the ground,” he said.

Sudan and the Jem signed a pact in Doha last month, seen as a major step towards bringing peace to Darfur, but it has since run into difficulty. Omar al-Saleh, Al Jazeera’s correspondent at the talks in Doha, said: “What we witnessed today is a framework agreement with the government of Sudan and the ceasefire for three months.

“This is the important thing. The breakthrough came last month when 10 rebel groups decided to join forces and they called themselves the Liberation and Justice Movement.”

But the Sudan Liberation Army, a major faction led by Abdelwahid Nur, has so far refused to have any negotiations with the government.

Earlier this month it clashed with the army in the fertile Jebel Marra plateau in the heart of Darfur.

On Wednesday, Sudanese authorities re-arrested 15 members of Jem after releasing them following a truce with the group. Adam Bakr, the lawyer representing the rebels, said they were arrested when they went to Al-Fashir, the capital of north Darfur.

Our correspondent said one of the important things at the signing ceremony was the presence of some regional players like the foreign ministers of Eritrea and Chad.

Chad and Eritrea have been accused in the past of aiding rebel groups fighting Sudan. Qatar’s diplomatic efforts to find peace in Darfur have been complemented by Western powerful countries.

US appeal

Scott Gration, the US envoy to Sudan, urged all parties to the Darfur conflict to seize the “little window” for a peace agreement before presidential, parliamentary and state elections next month.

“If we can get a jump on a Darfur peace agreement, then we should, because there’s going to be a lot of things keeping us from focusing on Darfur,” Gration told reporters in Nairobi last week before he travelled to Doha.

“The framework agreement “has to be turned into a more formalised agreement … If there is going to be a comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur, all rebel groups need to be involved.”

The conflict in Darfur has pitched ethnic African tribesmen against the Arab-dominated Khartoum government, claiming up to 300,000 lives - from the fighting as well as famine and disease - and displacing 2.7 million people, according to the UN.

Sudan, whose president Omar al-Bashir has been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) over war crimes in Darfur, disputes the toll and says only 10,000 have died. Source: (Aljazeera)