Special Envoy of the African Union(AU) to Darfur Salem Ahmed Salem on Sunday stressed the need for the Sudanese themselves to do their best for peace in the conflict-torn western Sudanese region of Darfur.
In a press statement issued upon his arrival in Khartoum, Salem said that the AU and the United Nations could help facilitate the peace process in Darfur.
"The parties involved in the conflict, however, should decide when to start the peace talks and to see to the success of the talks for the interest of the people in Darfur, Sudan and the region," he was quoted by the statement as saying.
Salem hoped that the year of 2008 "should be a year for finding peace in Darfur."
The AU envoy said that the Darfur rebel movements have been given time and would be given more to conduct and deepen their consultations among themselves in order to come and forge a common platform for the peace talks.
"We sincerely hope that they have used that time and now may be in a better position to engage not only with us but in the actual peace process," Salem said.
He said that the parties concerned would be ready when the substantive negotiations begin.
"We are keen to have those negotiations begin as soon as possible but there is no point in insisting on having negotiations when the parties concerned have not get themselves ready," he said.
He said the situation in Darfur was deteriorating every day and the people there continued to suffer, adding that the overall security situation in Sudan and particularly in Darfur had a detrimental effect for the region and for Africa as a whole.
"But I think as Africans, as international community we have vested interests in doing everything possible to expedite the process of negotiation so that a durable peace and justice could be achieved in Sudan," he added.
Under the joint mediation of the AU and UN, the Sudanese government and some seven rebel groups held peace talks in Libya's coastal city of Sirte on Oct. 27 last year.
But so far no tangible advances have been achieved in the negotiations due to a boycott of main rebel factions in Darfur, including the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)-Nour faction led by Abdul Wahid Momammed Nour.
International mediators have hoped that a common platform will be forged by the rebel groups in order to accelerate the peace process to end the bloody conflict in the region, which has lasted for nearly five years.
Source:Xinhua
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