Tribal leaders urge Khartoum to negotiate with Eastern Sudan rebels
April 15, 2006 (KASSALA) — Eastern Sudan traditional and tribal leaders called on the Sudanese government to engage peace negotiations with rebels group, asking Khartoum to consider their participation in the talks for peace in the region
Leaders representing 27 tribes and sub-tribes in eastern Sudan have called on their government to “use all available means” to bring peace to their region in order to create the conditions needed for economic and social development.
The delegates at a two-day workshop adopted resolutions calling for “strengthening the pillars of a peace negotiated between the central government and the armed movements.” They also asked that “the Native Administration and Civil Society organizations be engaged in pushing forward the process of peace and restructuring.” The delegates said a lasting peace was necessary before their impoverished region could develop and they called for the building of schools and health clinics and the creation of jobs.
The calls for peace came as rebels from the Beja Congress attacked government forces 40 kilometres north of Kassala on April 12. Armed conflict has been increasing in the region as the rebel groups oppose the arrival of Sudanese forces in the region as part of last year’s peace agreement with South Sudan
Ibrahim Hamid, the Wali of Kassala state, received the resolutions from the delegates and said he would “seriously consider them.”
Osman Jaffar Abdullah, director of the Kassala branch of the Sudanese Red Crescent, called the meeting a success. “It’s the first time all the tribal leaders have come together to meet in one hall,” he said. “I saw happiness on the faces of the people because of this workshop. Now they will go to their communities and they will talk and that is how things will move forward.”
The workshop was organized by the Sudanese Red Crescent with the support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Swedish Red Cross.
“We were very pleased to be able to create a neutral space where people could come together for discussions about peace and development,” said Mathew Varghese, Head of Delegation in Khartoum for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
(ST)