Bashir says no to Darfur rebels’ demand for a vice-president post
July 1, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir said his government did not accept a proposal to appoint a vice-president from Darfur as part of a compromise reached in Doha between his delegation and Darfur rebels.
Amin who leads the government negotiating delegation in Doha stressed that this nomination will be only during the current presidential term and it will not be included in the Sudanese constitution, as the rebels request.
In statements he made to Sudanese journalists travelling with him to China, President Bashir reiterated Khartoum’s rejection of allocating a post of vice-president of the republic to the Darfur region.
Al Bashir said his government did not commit to allocate this important position to Darfur or any other region because any Sudanese has the right to be appointed to this post. In accordance with the interim constitution the elected president has a discretionary power to appoint any Sudanese a vice-president.
In a statement to Sudan Tribune during the stakeholders conference Liberation and Justice Movement( LJM) leader Tijani El-Sissi said they accept the government proposal to appoint a vice-president during the current term but suggested to elect the vice president also.
Last January, Ghazi Salah Al-Deen refuted the rebel demand to reserve the vice president for Darfur saying allocating the post of vice-president to the restive western Sudan region is clear violation of the principle of equality between all the Sudanese regions. He further said a Darfurian can become president “so why insisting on a vice-president post”.
Darfur rebel groups, who were influenced by the Naivasha peace process between the North and the South, demanded during Abuja peace process to appoint a vice-president from Darfur as it was the case for the South Sudan.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement which gave the right of self-determination to the South sought that a the nomination of a southerner as first vice-president will allow the Christian South to co-chair the country for the first time with the Muslim North. The presidency also was designed to supervise the implementation of the 2005 deal and arbitrate any difference during the interim period.
Sudanese government led by the National Congress Party and Liberation and Justice Movement are preparing to sign a peace agreement in Doha during the second party of July but LJM rebels still requesting that they are associated in the designation process of the vice-president.
On the other hand, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which is part of the peace process, says it is not interested by the position of the vice-president and demands, in return, comprehensive peace talks that include all the chapters of the framework peace document adopted as basis for peace deals the rebel groups can negotiate with the government.
JEM spokesperson Gibreel Adam Bilal told Sudan Tribune they reject Khartoum’s call to negotiate only on the integration of their combatants and their participation in the national and regional institutions.
The rebel group which maintains its delegation in Doha despite the departure of the mediation team members said would take a decision concerning its commitment to the Doha process if a partial peace agreement is signed with LJM rebels.
“We did not yet announce our withdrawal from the Doha process and still there is an opportunity to reach a comprehensive peace agreement. But JEM has to take a decision over the Doha process if the government and LJM sign a peace agreement,” Gibreel stressed.
The rebel sopkesperson however said they launched a call for the international community to maintain the current mediation led by the Burkina Faso foreign minister Djibril Bassolé who ended his mandate as Joint Chief Mediator.
The Senior Political Adviser to the Joint Chief Mediator Ambassador Boubou Niang sent an Au Revoir (Goodbye) email, seen by Sudan Tribune, to his friends and colleagues announcing his return to his home country Senegal after serving for Darfur peace mediations since 2004.
The Doha peace process established a follow-up mechanism led by the State of Qatar and composed of the AU, Arab League, UN Security Council five permanent states, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt and Eritrea.
In line with the Doha document for peace in Darfur, the government and other rebel groups — JEM and Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid Al-Nur — have to engage peace talks based on the framework text endorsed by the stakeholders conference last May.
However, with the departure of the mediation team it is not clear who will run the talks. Qatar said willing to host the future talks while the UN Secretary General and Security Council took note and praised the gesture.
After the signing of a peace agreement with LJM, the Sudanese government plans to launch another process for dialogue in Darfur as the African Union panel also will hold a similar process aiming to involve local actors from civil society, tribal leaders and IDPs camps with the government officials.
(ST)
