High-level guests to attend Darfur Authority closure ceremony

During a grand ceremony in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, on Wednesday, the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) will officially be dissolved.

DRA chairman El Tijani Sese told reporters in Khartoum on Friday that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad and the Chadian President Idris Deby will attend the ceremony.

He said that the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) is “an integral document that has comprehensively addressed the root causes of the problem”. He stressed that there “is no need for any other document to discuss the issues of people of Darfur”, referring to the current demands for a renewed peace accord by the main Darfur armed movements that did not join the DDPD.

The DDPD, signed in Doha in July 2011, stipulated the establishment of the DRA for a period of four years following the signing of the agreement. The DRA was “to serve serve as the principal instrument for the implementation of this Agreement in collaboration with the Sudanese government and with the support of the international partners”.

One year after the signing, a referendum was to take place, in which the Darfuris would be able to to determine the permanent status of Darfur.

The referendum took place in April this year. The controversial outcome turned out against the unification of Darfur as a single province. This means that the region will remain divided in five states, giving Khartoum more power over Darfur. A result in favour of the unification would have led to the creation of a regional government of a semi-autonomous Darfur State.

‘Key provisions not implemented’

A number of activists and politicians however criticised Sese’s words, and pointed out that the DRA achievements are not commensurate with the grants provided by the Qatari government for the rebuilding and development of Darfur.

According to Awatif Abdelrahman Yousif, Secretary-General of the displaced women in Darfur, the key provisions of the DDPD have not been implemented, “especially the voluntary repatriation, and the granting of collective and individual compensations”.

Human rights activist Mohamed Alameldin commented to Radio Dabanga from El Geneina, capital of West Darfur, that the Sudanese government benefited from the conflicts between the DRA leaders, and added the Qatari grants to its treasury.

Student leader and former head of the University of Khartoum Students Union, Mohamed Hassan El Taishi considers the DDPD “a deal between the Liberation and Justice Movement and the government.

“The Doha Document has nothing to do with the core concerns and grievances of the Darfuris. The Document is a reproduction of the Darfur crisis, and a large source of frustration for those who are a waiting for a genuine solution.”

Mobilisation

Mohamed Kamaleldin Abu Shouk, Chairman of the High Committee responsible for the organisation of the event, said that the committee “will mobilise officials and citizens from all localities in North Darfur, to attend the ceremony”.