Sudan angry over the absence of Darfur rebel leader from talks

August 9, 2007 (Khartoum) — The Sudanese government summoned the French envoy in Khartoum to protest what it described as “France’s failure to put pressure on Abdul-Wahid Nur, to attend Arusha meeting”.

Sudan’s foreign Ministry stated that the French Foreign Minister, Bernard Kouchner, has assured his Sudanese counterpart that they will pressure Nur who is residing in Paris to attend meetings aimed at unifying the Darfur non signatory groups.

Sudan said it was “shocked” over France failure to convince Al-Nur of attending the talks.

Abdelwahid al-Nur, leader of Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), and a popular figure among Darfur refugees decided to boycott the Arusha talks saying that the international community needs to provide security for civilians in Darfur first.

African Union (AU) mediator Salim Ahmed Salim expressed his regret that Al-Nur has decided to boycott the meeting expressing hope that he will “join his brothers and sisters from Darfur”.

Khartoum expressed doubt over the commitment of Paris to the Darfur peace process saying that “this stance does not conform to concern that is being declared by France at the highest level on Darfur issue”.

Al-Nur told the Arabic Al-Jazeera channel that he explained his position to the French government and they respect this decision.

The rebel leader hailed France saying that “it is a democratic country with a solid principles of freedom and democratic values”.

Sudan has boycotted an international meeting on Darfur hosted by France last June saying there was no need for new initiatives and that there is a risk that the gathering risked “scattering the efforts”.

The Darfur conflict broke out in 2003 when an ethnic minority rose up against the Arab-dominated government, which then enlisted the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.

The conflict has killed at least 200,000 people and forced more than two million from their homes, according to the United Nations, though Khartoum contests those estimates, saying 9,000 people have died.

(ST)