Sudanese columnists mock government for accepting Darfur force
By Wasil Ali
August 6, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — For over a year the Sudanese president’s Omar Al-Bashir strong statements about rejecting UN peacekeepers in Darfur made the news almost every week. It almost seemed there is no chance the blue helmeted troops would ever make it to Darfur.
But last week Sudan accepted the UN-AU hybrid force resolution 1769 in Darfur after extended foot dragging. Sudan’s foreign minister Lam Akol, who is also considered by many to be the SPLM’s black sheep, hailed the resolution as a diplomatic victory.
But some Sudanese columnists had a different point of view. Kamal Hassan Bakhiet a columnist in the daily Al-Rayaam, who also happens to be Al-Bashir’s cousin, questioned the government’s excitement over the resolution saying that Chapter Seven managed to “sneak in” despite government’s resistance.
Bakhiet expressed concern over the mandate of the force saying it may lead to a clash with the Sudanese army. He also said that there was no exit strategy for the troops in the resolution. He called on the Sudanese people to unite to “kill the idea of the hybrid force before it becomes a reality”.
Mahjoub Irwa, the editor in chief of Al-Sudani daily, accused the government of insulting the intelligence of the Sudanese people by saying that resolution 1769 “preserved Sudan’s sovereignty”.
Irwa stressed that the government’s acceptance of 26,000 peacekeepers in Darfur is a clear acknowledgment of their inability to protect their own people. He stressed that this resolution “is a clear violation of Sudan’s sovereignty”.
Mustafa Abu-Al Azayem a columnist in Akhir-Lahaza newspaper said that the he was sad that the government accepted the resolution. He added that Khartoum is now in a corner as a result.
The former Sudanese former minister Sadeq Al-Mahdi stressed that foreign intervention in Sudan has started only after the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) took power in 1989. He added that there are now twenty UN Security Council resolutions on Sudan under Chapter Seven and there will be over 36,000 foreign troops in Sudan.
The U.N. Security Council last Tuesday authorized up to 26,000 troops and police for Darfur and approved the use of force to protect civilians against violence which has driven more than 2.1 million people from their homes over the past four years.
(ST)