Conflicting attitudes over Doha Peace Signing
The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, stated yesterday in a speech to the parliament that the Doha peace agreement, which is to be signed this Thursday in Qatar’s capital, will propel the region of Darfur to new heights of development and stability. Mr. Bashir also re-affirmed that the signature would represent the final effort to bring peace to the region, and that no negotiations would be done anymore after the 14th of July. Dr. Tijani Sese, leader of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), stated for his part that over a thousand (1000) people from Sudan and Darfur had been invited to participate in the ceremony. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, he called upon the people of Darfur, the displaced and refugees to welcome and cooperate with the measures brought by the signature. Mr. Sese believes the agreement will bring the long-awaited peace back to Darfur, and allow all the displaced people and refugees to return to their original territories.
The Sudanese President, Omar al-Bashir, stated yesterday in a speech to the parliament that the Doha peace agreement, which is to be signed this Thursday in Qatar’s capital, will propel the region of Darfur to new heights of development and stability. Mr. Bashir also re-affirmed that the signature would represent the final effort to bring peace to the region, and that no negotiations would be done anymore after the 14th of July.
Dr. Tijani Sese, leader of the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), stated for his part that over a thousand (1000) people from Sudan and Darfur had been invited to participate in the ceremony. In an interview with Radio Dabanga, he called upon the people of Darfur, the displaced and refugees to welcome and cooperate with the measures brought by the signature. Mr. Sese believes the agreement will bring the long-awaited peace back to Darfur, and allow all the displaced people and refugees to return to their original territories.
The LJM is currently the only signatory involved in this peace agreement with the governmental forces, to the great concern of other parties. One of them is Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur, founder and leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM-AW). He rejected the agreement altogether, saying to Radio Dabanga that it will just add to the list of failed and incomplete peace deals, just as the collapsed 2006 Abuja agreement. Contrary to Sese, he calls for the resistance of all Darfuris, displaced and refugees of Sudan against the signing. “What is really needed now,” he emphasized, “is the disarmament of the militias. We should all work together to bring down the current regime.”
Abdel Wahed is not the only one fearing a repetition of history. In interviews carried out by Radio Dabanga in the refugee camps of Jabal, Gaga and Uri Kosoni (Chad), the refugees clearly expressed their refusal to attend the ceremony. They seriously doubted the effectiveness of what they call a “partial peace agreement”, and believe it will end up just as the failed Abuja agreement. They furthermore asserted that the mediation had been neglected in this process, as it should have pushed for a unification of all the movements in this treaty, and not simply settle with only two parties. They refused to send delegates to Doha on Thursday, the vice-president of the Gaga camp told to Radio Dabanga.
The representatives of the Trgim, Farchana and Touloum camps (Eastern Chad) will, for their part, attend the ceremony. They told Radio Dabanga before their departure at Abeche Airport that their presence is due to the strong insistance of the High Commissionner for Refugees, despite their intention to reject the document. Representing the delegation, Sheikh Yaqub explains that their position is due to the fact their demands were not included in the agreement, such as for instance a unification of the movements, and not a partial peace deal to satisfy the International Criminal Court.
Ali Abdul Rahman Tahir, the head of the sheikhs in the above-mentioned displaced persons camps, said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that he was concerned about the conflicts that might arise in the camps after the signature. “ There are many dissensions and internal arguments among the inhabitants,” he told Radio Dabanga. He added that the displaced will not settle for just a partial peace, and that they refused to send a representative to Doha.
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