Darfur rebel faction express opposition to the upcoming Sudan census
April 20, 2008 (PARIS) — The leader of a Darfur rebel faction sent a letter to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon rejecting the census process in Sudan due to start this week.
“The SLM hereby rejects in the strongest terms the 5th population census as planned by the NCP to take place on 22nd April 2008” the letter read.
The long awaited census has been delayed several because of logistical issues and disputes over the inclusion of questions on ethnicity and religion in the questionnaires.
On April 12 Sudan’s semi-autonomous south withdrew from the census saying that there is a large number of southern Sudanese in northern Sudan which will affect the wealth sharing if not transported to the South according to South Sudan Information Minister Gabriel Changson Chang.
However South Sudan president Salva Kiir reversed the decision after meeting with Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir last week.
The SLM leader criticized the census saying that the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) “will use any information of their planned population census as the basis for future negotiations on power and wealth sharing with the people of Darfur”.
All Darfur rebel groups including one which signed a peace agreement with Khartoum rejected the census.
Sudan’s senior presidential assistant and the head of Darfur transitional authority Minni Minnawi told Sudan Tribune last month that the insecurity in Darfur means that no population census can be conducted and consequently no elections.
“There is no such thing as having a census without security on the ground. There are millions of IDP’s and refugees all over Darfur. At the same time you cannot have elections without Darfur. If you do, then this means that you don’t consider Darfur to be part of Sudan” he said.
Abdel-Shafi speaking to Sudan Tribune by phone today said any census requires “peace and stability”. He added that there are “more than 4 millions of Darfur’s population lives as internally displaced persons (IDPs) inside Darfur or as refugees across the country’s international borders”.
“Less than 20% of the inhabitants of Darfur enjoy relative tranquility and may be able to take part in the so-called census. The NCP has no means or genuine intention to reach out to the IDPs and refugees from Darfur and include them in the census” the SLM leader said.
The Darfur conflict began in 2003 when an ethnic minority rose up against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum, which then was accused of enlisting the Janjaweed militia group to help crush the rebellion.
(ST)