Darfur displaced renew their demand for security before peace talks

October 20, 2008 (ELFASHER) — Darfur Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) organised today a demonstration in the different camps in the troubled region demanding that security should be first on the ground before peace talks.

The IDPs staged on Tuesday a protest to alert the international community to the volatile security situation as well as their request to disarm the Khartoum backed militias before to hold peace negotiations.

The IDPs spokesperson Hussein Abu Sharati told Sudan Tribune today that the Qatari initiative is seen as an attempt to rescue President Al-Bashir from the international justice more than as a serious effort to end the ongoing violence in the troubled region.

“The displaced are against the Qatari initiative because they do not trust the government of Al-Bashir. We want Khartoum to stop the ongoing bloody attacks and to disarm the janjaweed before talks” Abu Sharati said.

Qatar proposed officially since last September to host peace talks between the different parties in Darfur conflict. The Arab backed initiative was welcomed by the African Union and the United Nations which are involved in its preparations.

Abu Sharti also criticised the Darfuri who are taking part in the Sudan’s People Forum organised by the ruling National Congress Party to set out a national vision to end Darfur crisis. He said “they are any thing but not Darfur people representatives.”

The displaced delivered at the end of their protest a memorandum with their demands to the U.N. and the UNAMID officials in the different camps.

Following September attacks carried out by the Sudanese army on the rebel positions and civilians villages last September around 40,000 displaced arrived to the camps in northern Darfur, the IDPs representative said.

(ST)