Darfur peace partner denies suspension of participation in government
By Wasil Ali
May 5, 2008 (WASHINGTON) — The only Darfur rebel group to sign a peace deal with Khartoum denied press reports that they have suspended their participation in the government today.
“We were stressing our point. The responsibility for the lack of implementation lies with the Sudanese government” he said.
Exactly two years ago the Sudanese government has signed the DPA with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) faction led by Minawi who was appointed as the senior assistant of the Sudanese president in August of the same year.
However, Minawi’s faction persistently accused the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of ignoring the implementation of the DPA.
Minawi also faulted the international community for not ensuring compliance of the Sudanese government with the DPA.
“International players have to closely monitor the progress of the DPA. It is a collective responsibility” the SLA leader said.
He also criticized the African Union and the UNAMID (United Nations / African Union Mission in Darfur) saying “they are not doing their jobs as they are supposed to”.
CENSUS IN DARFUR
The Sudanese presidential adviser also reiterated his rejection of the current census process in Darfur and claimed that it is “failing”.
“The census is not going very well even in the main cities. The IDP’s have refused to take part and demonstrated against it so the security forces surrounded their camps” Minawi said.
All Darfur rebel groups have rejected the census saying the instability in the war ravaged region prevents a fair process.
Last week the census director in West Darfur, Ms. Wafaa Hassan Mansour said the census will not be conducted in IDP camps because they are “not accessible.”
In 2009 Sudan will hold its first general elections since the 1989 coup that brought Sudanese president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir to power. A census is supposed to prelude the elections in terms of easing voter registration. Under the peace deal, its results will also redraw or confirm the ratio of central power-sharing between the north and south.
AERIAL BOMBARDMENT IN DARFUR
Minawi lashed out at the Sudanese government after reports that its Antonov planes bombed the village of Shegeg Karo in North Darfur on Sunday. The raids targeted the market and a school killing at least 13 people, including seven children.
“The news came as a shock to us. We condemn in the strongest possible terms the attacks against civilians in Darfur” he said.
However the senior presidential assistant declined to say whether he formally lodged a complaint with his boss president Omar Hassan Al-Bashir.
The attack confirmed by UNAMID is a violation of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution 1591 banning all offensive military flights in Darfur.
International experts also say more than 300,000 were killed and 2 million have been driven from their homes by the conflict in Darfur, a region that is roughly the size of France.
(ST)