African Union ability to choice advisers

This comment is published in response to a paper wrote by Abdullahi El-Tom entitled Expert De Waal continues misleading the World on Darfur.

By Julie Flint

May 21, 2008 — Abdullahi quotes me as saying “the Americans had just hired de Waal as their advisor to the AU and that would put an end to their confusion about how to address Darfur crisis”. Personal jibes do not merit a response. But these words, attributed to me, are not mine and will not pass. To say “the Americans hired Alex” to advise the AU is not only daft; it is insulting to the AU. The AU is perfectly capable of choosing its own advisors and would, I think, be more than a little resistant to having anyone foisted on it. And great as my admiration for Alex is, I would never have imagined that he alone could end the “confusion” of international policy.

On a different, although still JEM-related, subject, I have just received another tribute to Jamali Hassan Jalal al Din, a JEM delegate to the Abuja talks, like Abdullahi, who died in the attack on Omdurman—according to some sources, as a result of torture after capture by government forces. It comes from Mohamed el Ansari, who says:

“Jamali was one of those whom the Sudan could depend upon as an honest person. With his loss, Darfur will lose one of its important leaders. However, Jamali has many who have known him and who have been touched by his spirit, so we cannot say he is lost to us. His memory will continue to live.”

The circumstances of Jamali’s death are still not clear. Photos of his corpse, grotesquely paraded by the government, suggest he may indeed have been beaten to death. If it is true that he was captured, let us hope that JEM can find the evidence that will enable us to push for an investigation. This would be time well-spent.

Julie Flint, independent journalist and author of different reports on Darfur. Also, she is co-author with Alex de Waal of “Darfur: A Short History of a Long War.”