Casbah Udine

darfur

Autore: Orma

Sudan offers Darfur ceasefire

al jazeera english, 15 settembre 2007

Sudan's president has said that government forces would observe a ceasefire in the western Darfur province after the start of peace talks next month with rebel groups from the region. Omar Hassan al-Bashir made the remarks on Friday at the start of a highly criticised three-day visit to Italy.

Bashir said he hoped talks in Libya on October 27 would finally end the four-year conflict in the region. "We have given our government's willingness for a ceasefire from the start of the peace talks," he said at a news conference with Romano Prodi, the Italian prime minister. Prodi, who has been criticised by Italian politicians and other European politicians for hosting Bashir, said he had used the meeting to emphasis the international community's "strong concerns" about the situation.

Darfur 'slaughter'

A group of European parliamentarians, led by Britain's Glenys Kinnock, said it was surprised and concerned that Prodi would welcome a man "primarily responsible for the slaughter in Darfur". Foreign experts estimate that the conflict in Darfur has killed about 200,000 people and forced another 2.5 million from their homes. Khartoum disputes the figures.

Last month in Tanzania, the myriad of Darfur rebel factions agreed a common platform for new talks with the government before Khartoum agreed to attend peace talks in Tripoli. Bashir said he had asked Prodi to pressure "certain European countries harbouring some of these rebel groups" to persuade them to come to the talks. The Sudanese leader also said that he wanted an end to economic sanctions against his government and the cancellation of its foreign debt.

Prodi called on Bashir's government to make "realistic contributions" to the negotiations and pledged financial help, transport and logistical assistance, as well as training for the UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in Darfur.

Papal visit

After talks with Prodi, Bashir went to the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo near Rome to meet Benedict XVI. "Very positive views were expressed concerning fresh peace negotiations for Darfur," the Vatican said. "It is the Holy See's heartfelt hope that these negotiations prove successful in order to put an end to the suffering and insecurity of those peoples."

However, the talks could be hampered by the refusal of Abdulwahid Elnur, leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement, to hold negotiations before a ceasefire is in place and the arrival of a UN-African Union peacekeeping force. On Friday, he rejected the Libya meeting and expressed scepticism about Bashir's offer of a truce. "How many ceasefires is al-Bashir going to offer?" Elnur said to the Associated Press news agency, listing nearly a dozen he claims Khartoum has violated.

Khalil Ibrahim, leader of the northern Darfur Justice and Equality Movement, has also said he might not travel to Libya after government forces launched a major attack on his fighters earlier this week. Abdullahi Eltom, JEM's chief political negotiator, dismissed the ceasefire, saying the president's "word is worth nothing".

Sudan's President Says All Parties to Darfur Conflict Must Join October Talks

Sabina Castelfranco, VOA news, 15 settembre 2007

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir says his government wants the upcoming United Nations-backed peace talks on Darfur to be definitive. He says pressure must be applied by the international community so all parties to the conflict participate in the talks, and measures should be taken against those who refuse to sign a deal. Sabina Castelfranco interviewed the Sudanese president in Rome for the VOA.

Castelfranco report (mp3) - Download 786k audio clip

Listen to Castelfranco report (mp3) audio clip

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir told the VOA that his government will cease fire at the start of U.N.-backed peace talks in Libya October 27. He said he expects rebel and opposition groups attending the talks to do the same. Mr. Bashir said he hopes all the parties to the Darfur conflict will join the talks, to be held in Libya. He said that during his three-day visit to Rome, he appealed to Italy's prime minister and to Pope Benedict XVI to pressure those who refuse to attend the negotiations, especially rebels who are in Europe and specifically in France. Mr. Bashir also said he wants to see fair and punitive measures applied against parties that refuse to sign a deal at the end of the talks.

Mr. Bashir said that following the Abuja peace agreement of 2006 between the Khartoum government and the largest Darfur rebel group, those who participated in the talks made commitments to take measures against those who refused to sign. But, he says, pressure was applied only on Sudan's government. The Sudanese president says there are a number of groups who do not want peace in his country.

In the four-year conflict in western Sudan, the Khartoum government has been accused of supporting ethnic Arab militias called Janjaweed who have carried out what the U.S. has called a campaign of genocide against the people of Darfur. The Janjaweed have also been accused of attacks on humanitarian workers trying to alleviate the suffering of the population. Mr. Bashir, who came to power in 1989 in a military and Islamic coup, rejected the charges.

He said these are fabrications by circles hostile to the government. The president added that all the non-governmental organizations working in Darfur are aware that attacks on humanitarian convoys are carried out by non-signatories to the Abuja agreement and also by what he called "bandits."

Speaking in Paris, Abdul Wahid El Nur, a top leader of the popular rebel group, the Sudanese Liberation Army, rejected the Libya talks and expressed skepticism about the government's truce offer. Nur says his movement wants to see the U.N. deployed in Darfur and the Janjaweed disarmed before it agrees to negotiations.

In the interview, Mr. Bashir called the problem in Darfur environmental and said it has led to a scarcity of resources. He said this has been recognized by U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon. He said that if the issue of Darfur's development is tackled, the root causes of the conflict will be eliminated.

In the four years of conflict in Darfur, more than 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2 million have fled their homes.

Sudan's Beshir offers Darfur ceasefire, blasts rebels

AFP, 15 settembre 2007

ROME (AFP) — Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir said Friday he was ready to call a ceasefire in the war-torn province of Darfur ahead of October peace talks while accusing rebels of prolonging the conflict. "We think a number of factions are not ready for peace. They are enjoying their stay in luxurious hotels in Europe," Beshir told an evening news conference in Rome. "We can say they are marketing the suffering of their people in Darfur."

Beshir made the ceasefire offer ahead of his first meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, who voiced his "heartfelt hope" for the success of the peace talks, the Vatican said. "We stated that we are prepared for a ceasefire for the start of negotiations in order to create a positive climate conducive to a positive end to the negotiations," Beshir said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi.

The Sudanese government and Darfur rebels who refused to sign a peace agreement are to hold talks in Tripoli from October 27. Several ceasefires have already broken down. But last month, UN and African Union mediators brokered talks in Tanzania between the myriad rebel factions to thrash out a common platform for new talks with the government. The African Union mission in Sudan said only on Tuesday, however, that it was deeply concerned about renewed fighting.

Beshir faces mounting international pressure over the Darfur conflict, which has killed at least 200,000 people and displaced two million since 2003, according to UN figures. The Sudanese leader stated Friday that 350,000 internally displaced people "have returned voluntarily to their homes and villages."

The conflict, which the United States has called "genocide", started after Beshir's government enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to help put down an ethnic minority rebellion.

The Sudanese president said he asked Prodi to pressure "certain European countries harbouring some of these rebel groups" to persuade them to come to the negotiating table. "Every day we see a new faction, more splintering, even a group riding only three cars," Beshir said, adding: "I would like to declare the coming negotiations will be final ... Any party (not honouring it) should be subject to punishment."

During Beshir's audience with Benedict at the papal residence at Castel Gandolfo near Rome late Friday morning, the Vatican said "very positive views were expressed concerning fresh peace negotiations for Darfur." A Vatican communique said: "It is the Holy See's heartfelt hope that these negotiations prove successful in order to put an end to the suffering and insecurity of those peoples."

For his part, Prodi called on Beshir's government to make "realistic contributions" to the October negotiations. He pledged financial help, transport and logistical assistance, as well as training for a UN peacekeeping force to be deployed in Darfur.

Also Friday, the US group Human Rights Watch urged both Prodi and the pope to call for the arrest of International Criminal Court (ICC) suspects including Sudan's State Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun. The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Haroun in April citing 42 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes. The court highlighted evidence that Haroun recruited, paid and armed Janjaweed accused of raping and killing civilians in Darfur in 2003 and 2004. Haroun is now in charge of hearing human rights complaints from Darfur abuse victims.

"Nominating a suspected war criminal to hear human rights complaints from Darfur's victims is outrageous and shows the government's utter disregard for their plight," said Lotte Leicht, EU advocacy director at Human Rights Watch. But Beshir told the evening news conference: "This issue is not our business. We don't have anything to do with this court, so we're not going to waste our time answering questions about it. We are not part of the Rome protocol."

Beshir, who came to power in an Islamist-backed coup in 1989, was also set to meet his Italian counterpart Giorgio Napolitano and the ministers of economic development and transport, Luigi Bersani and Alessandro Bianchi, during a three-day visit.

Prodi assures UN of Sudan's cooperation with Darfur force

AFP, 15 settembre 2007

ROME (AFP) — Sudanese President Omar el-Beshir has promised "total cooperation" with a joint UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, Italy's prime minister has told the UN chief, officials here said Saturday.

In a telephone call late Friday after talks with Beshir in Rome, Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also informed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon of the Khartoum government's commitment to a ceasefire in the war-torn region. He told Ban that the Sudanese leader had offered him "the assurance of total cooperation for the deployment" of the hybrid force in the western Sudanese region of Darfur, according to a statement from Prodi's office.

Beshir also offered a "commitment to a unilateral ceasefire with rebel groups who did not sign the Abuja peace deal" in 2006, it said. This agreement was only signed by one rebel group, but the others met in UN- and African Union-mediated talks in Tanzania last month to establish a common platform for negotiations with Khartoum. Talks between the government and rebels are due in Tripoli from October 27.

Prodi also said he had told Beshir about "the concerns of Europe and the international community" about the humanitarian and human rights situation in Darfur.

The UN estimates that at least 200,000 people have been killed and two million displaced in Darfur since 2003, when Beshir's government enlisted Janjaweed Arab militia allies to help put down an ethnic minority rebellion. Khartoum contests the UN figure, claiming only 9,000 people have been killed in the violence.

In a press conference in Rome late Friday, Beshir said he would like the coming negotiations to be "final", but added that he believed "a number of factions are not ready for peace". The Sudanese leader also held talks with Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to Italy, which was due to end Saturday.

Beshir, who arrived in Italy on Thursday, is understood to have returned to Khartoum after the talks.

Sudan truce pledge as talks loom

bbc news, 15 settembre 2007

Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir has said he is ready to call a ceasefire with rebel groups ahead of peace talks next month over the Darfur region. He was speaking in Rome, where he met the Pope, who voiced his "heart-felt hope" for the success of the talks. Several ceasefires have previously been agreed but none has ended the violence, in which some 200,000 have died.

Meanwhile, Darfur rebel leader Suleiman Jamous has left Sudan to seek medical treatment in Kenya. He had been in a UN compound for more than 13 months, with the Sudanese authorities threatening to arrest him as soon as he left the protection of the UN. During talks with UN chief Ban Ki-moon last month, President Bashir promised to let him travel to Kenya for a stomach biopsy. Actress Mia Farrow had offered to swap places with Mr Jamous, seen as a key figure in unifying Darfur's numerous different rebel groups.

'Horror'

Speaking after meeting Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, Mr Bashir said he hoped the Libya talks would bring "a final peace". "We stated that we are prepared for a ceasefire for the start of negotiations in order to create a positive climate conducive to a positive end to the negotiations." Mr Bashir also said he had asked Mr Prodi to urge European countries to put pressure on all of Darfur's rebel leaders to attend the talks, due to start in Tripoli on 27 October.

One of the most influential Darfur leaders, Abdel Wahed Mohamed el-Nur, is in Paris and says he will not attend talks until the fighting stops.

The BBC's Amber Henshaw in Khartoum says Mr Bashir's words are encouraging but similar promises have been made before. She points out that Sudan's military used planes to bomb a rebel-controlled town recently, although Sudan says it was provoked by rebel attacks. The African Union peacekeeping mission in Sudan said the reports of attacks were "astonishing" given the importance attached to the talks in Libya. Our correspondent says that there is often an increase in violence ahead of peace talks.

This is the first time that a leader of Sudan, an Islamic republic, has met the Pope. Pope Benedict XVI has said he will do whatever is possible to end what has called the "horror" of Darfur. "Very positive views were expressed concerning fresh peace negotiations for Darfur," the Vatican said following the 25-minute meeting. "It is the Holy See's heartfelt hope that these negotiations prove successful in order to put an end to the suffering and insecurity of those peoples."

Italy has been asked to take part in the strengthened UN peacekeeping force to be set up to police Darfur shortly.

Darfur has been wracked by conflict for more than four years. Sudan's government denies charges it backs Arab militias accused of atrocities against the region's black African population.

Aggiungi il Tuo Commento:

nome (*)

e-mail (*)

commento all'articolo (*)

Inviando questa risposta dichiaro di aver letto ed approvato le condizioni di utilizzo di questo sito web.

(*) = campo obbligatorio.

Condizioni di Utilizzo

1 - Tutte le risposte inviate a questo sito saranno sottoposte a moderazione manuale da parte dell'amministratore al fine di evitare il fenomeno detto "SPAM".

2 - Tutti i dati inseriti nel modulo di risposta verranno pubblicati in questa pagina ad eccezione dell'e-mail. Tale informazione viene richiesta ed archiviata dagli amministratori al fine di scoraggiare un utilizzo non consono del blog.

3 - Non utilizzare le risposte per pubblicizzare il tuo sito web. Tale tentativo verrà cancellato dall'amministratore. In ogni caso ai link inseriti nelle risposte viene applicato il "nofollow" per cui non ti portano vantaggi.

categorie disponibili

ultimi articoli

darfur

Aggiungi il Tuo Commento:

Condizioni di Utilizzo