Darfur rebel chief welcomes appointment of new peace envoy
June 29, 2008 (PARIS) — Darfur rebel chief welcomed the appointment of the Burkina Faso Foreign Minister Djibril Bassolet as joint peace envoy for Darfur urging him to work with peace lovers to achieve security for Darfuri before negotiations.
Abdel-Wahid al-Nur urged Bassolet to break the deadlock of the peace process by working to convince Khartoum to stop attacks on civilians and disarming its militias as well as evacuating the new settlers from the displaced lands.
The rebel chief stressed that talks should be conducted within a climate where attacks against the civilians should be totally stopped. He also underlined that peace negotiations should be dedicated to deal with the root causes of the conflict and not with the consequences of the war, the humanitarian situation and the displacement of local populations.
The appointment of the Burkina Faso top diplomat comes after two years of the failure of Abuja peace talks mediated by the AU envoy Salim Ahmed Salim. Last year the U.N. appointed Jan Eliasson to amend the broken confidence between Salim and the rebels. But he failed to do so.
Al-Nur also urged the international community to review its position towards the protection of the relief workers in the region, adding that “it is too natural that the hybrid peacekeeping force protects the humanitarian activities in Darfur.”
Increasing insecurity due to direct attacks on WFP convoys and frequent clashes between Sudanese and rebel forces have forced the U.N. agency to cut rations in half for Darfur.
ELECTIONS SHOULD NOT BE RUN BEFORE PEACE
The Sudanese parliament will deliberate exclusively during a two weeks session on the election law that organises the next year general elections.
Al-Nur warned the political parties saying that Sudan can’t be divided in a part where there are elections and another part where citizens are deprived from their constitutional rights.
The rebel leader stressed that such move could provoke frustration and push Darfuri to commit violence to stop this additional injustice.
(ST)