Sudan resolves Darfur issue with logic and positive action: president
KHARTOUM, Oct 4, 2004 (Xinhua) — Sudanese President Omar El Bashir said here Monday that his government is resolving Darfur issue with logic and positive action.
In an address to the Sudanese National Council, Bashir said the government is approaching the Darfur issue with “the power of logic and positive action and stance”.
He attributed the Darfur conflict to two factors, one of which is internal and the other external.
“There are objective reasons for the disorder that Darfur witnesses from time to time,” said the president, adding the most important reasons are the tribal dispute, armed hijacking, shortage of resources and general services.
Concerning what he called as “the external agenda” against Sudan, Bashir accused some western powers, without mentioning their names, of exaggerating the situations in Sudan by means of denouncing Sudan and its positive role in all fields.
“The Sudanese government has constructed a policy to face the two factors,” he said.
On the internal level, the president said the Sudanese government has adopted a clear policy to resolve the Darfur problem by enhancing civil administration and boosting programs of development.
Indicating that his government has taken steps to implement the United Nations Security Council resolutions in order to foil “the external agenda”, Bashir said that “we have prepared a security plan to protect the displaced camps, aid access and transportation in Darfur”.
He also referred to the deployment of a large number of police forces and the specification of particular centers for voluntary repatriation of displaced people in the troubled area of Darfur.
In addition, the president declared that an agreement has been reached between his government and the African Union (AU) to increase the number of monitors in Darfur as well as military forces to protect them.
However, Bashir reiterated that protecting the Sudanese civilians “remains the Sudanese government’s responsibility and sovereignty”.
Activities of the African mission and its forces should not overlap with the role of the Sudanese security forces, he stressed.
The African Union has recently sponsored peace talks between the Sudanese government and the two main rebel groups in Darfur in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, which broke down earlier this month over disagreement on security arrangements.
Clashes flared up in February 2003 when Darfur rebels rose up against the central government in protest against negligence.