18 SPLM officials in Darfur suspend participation over camp attack

September 1, 2008 (KHARTOUM) – Over a dozen officials from the ex-Southern rebels Sudan People Liberation Movement (SPLM) suspended their participation in the executive and legislative bodies of all three Darfur states.

The SPLM figures, who are all from Darfur, included 3 ministers and 15 legislators. In a statement the officials said that they were not informed of the government plan to conduct a raid on the Kalma camp last week.

The attack by the Sudanese soldiers and security officers resulted in the death of 30 people and injuries to 100, mostly women and children.

The high death toll drew condemnation from the US, EU and the United Nations – African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID).

The Sudanese authorities had justified the raid by claiming to have received reliable intel about weapons smuggled recently into Kalma camp which is at a strategic position because of its proximity to the Nyala airport and railways.

Sudan official news agency (SUNA) quoted Al-Bashir during the weekly cabinet meeting last week as stressing “the importance of disarming the refugee camps particularly the Kalama camp for its negative impact on civilians living there”.

But the acting governor of South Darfur Farah Mustafa was quoted by the daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat published in London last week as saying that “carrying out duties by the police and other agencies resulted in repercussions”.

“The police went a little too far in Kalma camp” he added.

The Darfuri SPLM officials said that they took this step after consultation with their leadership. They further said that it is “impossible” to conduct elections in the war ravaged region without resolving the crisis and returning refugees and IDP’s to their lands.

The names of the SPLM ministers are Omer Adam, minister of agriculture in South Darfur; Abdel-Shafie minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in North Darfur; Jamal Ramadan, Minister of Health in West Darfur.

The names of the SPLM parliamentarians include Mohi Al-Deen Ismail; Abdel-Rahman Al-Bashari; Hawaa Abdel-Mutalib; Ibrahim Al-Jak; Saleh Bahr Al-Deen; Al-Sayed Neel; Al-Sheik Doda Hamed; Aicha Ahmed; Abdel-Majeed Hassab Allah; Ahmed Fadl; Mohamed Abakr Goma’a; Khalid Daraja; Zubaida Ahmed; Sa’ad Hamed and Dohya Karama.

However Ibrahim Gandoor, a figure at the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) downplayed the impact of the move and called it “an attempt by the SPLM to make political gains”.

Gandoor also said he expects the officials to reverse their suspension decision.

Last week six South Darfur officials resigned over the Kalma camp incidents and said that the attack is a breach of Al-Bashir’s promises during his tour in the region last July.

One source told Sudan Tribune that the adviser to the South Darfur governor Al-Magdoom Salah Fadl confronted Al-Bashir during his tour telling him that his call for refugees to return to their homes is unrealistic.

“He bluntly told Al-Bashir that the refugees’ lands have been taken by re-settlers from other countries and that the displaced have nowhere to go” the source said.

Some observers and experts have alleged that Khartoum brought in Arab tribes from neighboring countries who took over the lands of the African population.

Kalma’s attack comes more than a month after the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced in mid-July that he requested an arrest warrant for Al-Bashir.

Ocampo filed 10 charges: three counts of genocide, five of crimes against humanity and two of murder and accused Al-Bashir of masterminding a campaign to get rid of the African tribes in Darfur; Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa.

Most of the Kalma camp residents are from the Fur tribe.

International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.

(ST)