Sudanese cabinet endorses new strategy for peace in Darfur

September 16, 2010 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese cabinet in its weekly meeting on Thursday chaired by President Omer Al-Bashir officially endorsed a new strategy to end war in Darfur seven years after an insurgency of rebel groups accusing Khartoum of backing land grabbing and lack of development.

The new peace plan focuses on local actors to end violence, establishing security and return of civilians to their villages but also aims at establishing development projects.

Prepared by presidential adviser in charge of Darfur file Ghazi Salah Eddin Attabani, the strategy blames the divisions and competition among the rebel groups saying it complicated the negotiating process with the government.

A draft of the strategy released since last month says also there a change in the pattern of violence in the region. The insurgency has a “low-intensity” character, adding it turned in many cases to “criminal activity”.

After a briefing on the strategy by Ghazi Salah Eddin, the Council of Ministers directed to translate the strategy to programs of action for the government during the next stage and to mobilize the required resources for the enforcement of national projects, in the states of Darfur.

The cabinet further stressed on the need to reestablish security in the restive region through the collection of illegal arms. It also directed to bring the perpetrators of any breach of security to justice.

Sudanese government said it will implement development and recovery projects in Darfur at a total cost of $1.9 billion, finance minister announced on August 23.

Darfur rebel groups slammed the new strategy describing it as tool to implement new atrocities in the region. The adoption of the new strategy comes with the bloody attacks by government militias on the camps of displaced civilians in Tabra and Al-Hamadiya.

The government is accused of instigating the attacks to force the residents of Darfur camps to flee the camps and return to their villages.

Sayed Charif, external relations official from the Liberation and Justice Movement the sole group negotiating with Khartoum in Doha last month slammed the new strategy terming it as “an escape, a waste of time and a continuation of the genocide”. “If the government is serious it should put all these files on the negotiating table,” he said.

However the government says this strategy should not be considered as an “attempt to exclude external partners from the political process”. “It is crucial to make their participation in the vicinity of the real stakeholders in Darfur. The government will incorporate the Doha Forum with other initiatives, including the high-level panel of the African Union and UNAMID in order to achieve a comprehensive peace,” says the text of the strategy.

Dealing with the role designated for the talks with the rebel groups in Doha, the strategy further says “The ultimate goal of negotiations is to prepare a comprehensive political agreement addresses the concerns of different stakeholders in Darfur”. This agreement should be signed by all the rebel groups, it further adds.

On Wednesday, following a meeting with the Joint Chief Mediator, Ghazi told the press that the 2006 peace deal signed with Minni Minnawi has failed due to the lack of conducive environment allowing its implementation. He further said it was only signed between two parties.

Scott Gration, US envoy for Darfur, hailed the transparency of the new strategy for peace adopted by the Sudanese government during a briefing to the press on Wednesday in Washington. He disclosed that the government gave him “a copy of (the strategy) and asked me to give my views on it before it happened”.

He also praised the developmental approach adopted by the government to resolve the conflict saying “if we can bring some security to that triangle (Fasher, Nyala, and Geneina), if we can bring development, if we can make opportunities to create wealth and jobs, then we’re off to a good start”.

“And that’s what the Sudan strategy for Darfur does: It brings development, it brings infrastructure, and it brings security to that region and then the rest of the region.”

However he cautioned that the key of this “very good plan” is not in the words but in implementation underling it needs the support of the UN and international aid groups.

(ST)