‘Darfur displaced and refugees not part of National Dialogue’

Members of the Darfur Displaced and Refugees Association reject the National Dialogue launched in Khartoum on Saturday.

“The Darfur displaced and refugees have not been invited to this Khartoum-Khartoum dialogue,” the spokesman for the Association told Radio Dabanga.

“Anyhow, we do not see any benefit coming from it,” Hussein Abu Sharati said. “It will only deepen the divisions among the Sudanese, and prolong the crises in the country.

“What we consider most important is a real ceasefire between the government and the armed movements, for a period long enough for the humanitarian organisations to deliver aid to the victims of the civil wars,” he stressed.

The coordinator of the North Darfur camps, Sheikh Abdelrazeg Yousef, told Radio Dabanga that the displaced will not recognise the outcomes of the National Dialogue “unless it addresses the political and economic crises in the country”.

He stated that the “Darfur displaced and refugees will not recognise any dialogue or peace agreement if their demands are not met. These include restoration of the rule of law, a safe return to the areas of origin, individual and collective compensation, and implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1556 which stipulates the disarmament of the militias and Resolution 1593 that refers the Darfur file to the International Criminal Court”.