Darfur displaced tell UN envoy to not visit their camps
December 8, 2007 (KALMA, South Darfur) — Darfur displaced said they are not willing to receive UN envoy for Darfur in their camps reiterating that peace must be discussed once security is on the ground.
Hussein Abusharati, the spokesperson of Darfur displaced and refugees told Sudan tribune from Kalma, South Darfur, they handed a letter to the representatives of the UN and African Union in the area telling Jan Eliasson he is not welcome in Darfur displaced camps.
The U.N. special envoy for Darfur toured the tribal heartland of the region’s top rebel on Saturday, trying to draw the reluctant chief’s followers into new peace talks that have stalled since October
Abusharati denounced Eliasson statements on existence of arms in Darfur camps. He added “Eliasson is marketing Khartoum false propaganda and tries every time he comes to Darfur to distort our cause.”
Since last May Eliasson expressed repeatedly concern over radicalization and taking up of arms by refugee camp residents in Darfur.
In November Darfur police had threatened to use force to seize arms from Kalma displaced camp. However after wide dissemination of a notice delivered to AUMIS by the Sudanese authorities, the police abandoned the operation. The displaced say Khartoum fabricate pretexts to dismantle camps.
The rebel spokesperson also justified their refusal to see the UN envoy in Darfur saying that they reject talks before the deployment of the international troops in the region.
“How people can speak about peace while they are subjected on daily basis to the attacks and seeing death and rap around them.” Shartati said.
He disclosed that since August 2007 there were 138 persons killed in Kalma camps following attacks by Arab militias and formers rebels who are now allies of Khartoum government.
“We delivered the bodies of all the killed persons to the UN and we have documents to prove what I’m telling you;” he asserted.
He further wondered why the UN envoy comes to meet them and they have their “political representative and leader” who is in charge of this task.
“If he wants to talk about peace negotiations he has to go and meet Abdelwhaid. He is fully mandated by our people in Darfur. Also Eliasson has to stop wasting his time with the so called leaders and blood suckers” he added.
Jan Eliasson is on a four-day visit to Darfur to press key leaders of rebel movements to join the peace process that began in October but quickly broke off. He also said keen to win the Fur civilian leadership to the idea of negotiations.
The UN envoy had failed Friday to meet with Khalil Ibrahim, the leader of the Justice and Equality Movement, because of security reasons following the heavy recent fighting just over the border in Chad where the meeting was planed to be held.
(ST)
Lago Gatjal Riaka
Darfur displaced tell UN envoy to not visit their camps
Thank you Darfurians for your refusal of the U.N. envoy to come visit. Numerous visitations without solutions do not make sense to me at all. It becomes boring to see these high profile personals go to Darfur and say the same thing all the time. The former secratary general Kofi Annan,current secretary general Ban-Ki-Mon, Europeans head of states, U.S. envoys,and celebrities have all been to Darfur to raise awareness. But, nothing change since they have been to Darfur.
Therefore, it is good that the Darfurians have now understood this game. While people are getting kill, some people are becoming famous. Darfur is becoming boring for me for the fact that people say thing that they do not put in action for instance, the United Nation. Thus, I stood with the Darfurians, no more visitations, no more famous, and no more fooling. Stop the killing.