A LEADING member of one of Darfur's rebel groups has resigned from his position on the advisory board of Irish Aid, the Government's overseas development division, The Irish Timeshas learned.
Darfur-born Abdullahi El-Tom is director of training and strategic planning for the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the main rebel factions that have been fighting the Sudanese government and their militias since 2003.
Dr El-Tom, who heads the anthropology department at NUI Maynooth, was appointed to the advisory board of Irish Aid by then minister for overseas development Conor Lenihan in November 2005.
The advisory board was established to provide general oversight and advice on the strategic direction of the Government's programme of assistance to developing countries.
The Irish Timesunderstands that at the time of his appointment Dr El-Tom's links to JEM were not known to the Government, but concerns were raised within Irish Aid and the Department of Foreign Affairs after this newspaper revealed his high-ranking position in the rebel group earlier this year.
At that time, Dr El-Tom told The Irish Timeshe did not believe his position in the rebel group and work with Irish Aid constituted a conflict of interest, pointing out that neither Sudan nor Chad receive direct bilateral aid from Ireland.
But he said he would be willing to resign if his role in JEM caused difficulties. "If people think my presence is causing any problem . . . I would be happy to step aside. I would have no problem with that," he said.
Dr El-Tom submitted his resignation on June 10th, a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said. Dr El-Tom could not be reached for comment last night.
Last month JEM was singled out in a report on child soldier recruitment published by Waging Peace, a British human rights organisation. The group said it had filmed testimony from refugee camps in eastern Chad to support its claim that JEM was losing support among Darfuri refugees because it recruited boys who had been kidnapped and trafficked from the camps. Last week Dr El-Tom dismissed this as "totally unfounded and false".