Minnawi calls to forge Darfuri-Libyan-European alliance to achieve regional peace
July 14, 2017 (PARIS) – The leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-MM) Minni Minnawi Thursday has proposed to strengthen cooperation among Darfur people, Libya and Europe away from the Sudanese government in order to achieve stability in the region.
Minnawi, who spoke at a symposium on the Libyan crisis and its regional and international impact organised at the French Senate in Paris by the Sahel Center for Expertise and Political Counseling, said it is necessary to coordinate and cooperate between Darfur people and the Libyans in order to achieve regional stability and promote regional cooperation particularly between Libya and Darfur.
In his paper entitled “The Totalitarian Regimes and Anarchy in Africa”, Minnawi proposed to establish a permanent joint forum among the Darfurians, Libyans and the Community of Sahel-Saharan states (CENSAD) besides European organisations to find ways to achieve a sustainable solution for the region’s crises.
He warned that the border region between Darfur and Libya could become a launching pad for international terrorism activities due to the existence of the Khartoum regime “which finances and sponsors terrorism from an ideological point of view”.
“We call on the Libyan brothers to move together to form a joint mechanism to promote peace and create channels of social communication between the people in Libya and Darfur,” he said.
He pointed that Darfur has been more economically connected to Libya than Khartoum during the past 40 years, saying Libya’s share in the development projects in Darfur has surpassed the support provided by the Sudanese government by 60%.
The rebel leader called on the international community to be far-sighted regarding the illegal migration issue, saying the EU funding of the Sudanese government to combat illegal migration wouldn’t resolve the problem.
The EU, in the last couple of years, has been forging increasingly close ties with Sudan to combat illegal migration to Europe. The EU so far has given just under €215 million to Sudan to curb migration.
The SLM-MM added the EU has the political and economic weight that allows it to press the world to move to end the crimes committed against humanity, whether in Darfur, Libya or in any country in the Sahel, urging the EU to play a central role to achieve security and stability in the region.
He pointed that the crises in Darfur and Libya are political in nature, urging the European countries to work with them to achieve political solutions which address the root cause of the crises in Libya and Darfur in order to achieve the permanent peace and address the illegal migration issue.
Minnawi stressed that chaos, unrest and lack of security in Sudan have created serious problems in and beyond the region, pointing to illegal migration and human trafficking crises in Europe, Australia, United States and Asia.
He requested the European countries to deal with the Darfurians as the rest of refugees who suffer from genocide and persecution.
The rebel leader claimed that the Sudanese government continued to be a major player in the Libyan crisis through training Islamic militants, saying the Libyan and Darfur people have paid a high price for Sudan’s acts.
He added the Darfur refugees seeking to travel to Europe are being tortured and killed in Libya in areas under control of Islamic militants supported by Sudan, saying the unity of Libya is important for the Darfur people.
Peace talks between the government and the SLM-MM and Justice and Equality Movement are stalled since August 2016 after their failure to reach a humanitarian cessation of hostilities in Darfur region.
Last May, the Sudanese army clashed with a joint force comprising SLM-MM and SLM Transitional Council of Nimir Abdel Rahman in North and East Darfur. Khartoum said the assailants come from Libya and South Sudan.
(ST)