Juba peace talks: Agreement on power sharing in Darfur

The Sudanese government delegation and the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) alliance of armed movements have agreed in negotiations on the Darfur track on all power-sharing issues except for the representation of Darfuris in national institutions such as the Sovereign Council, the Council of Ministers, and Parliament. They agreed to exempt Darfur students from university tuition fees.

On Monday, head of SRF, El Hadi Idris, told Radio Dabanga that the the SRF demands a 30 per cent representation of Darfur people in national institutions, based on population criteria. The government delegation, he explained, argues that this is a national matter.

Idris confirmed that both parties agreed to entirely exempt Darfuri students from university tuition fee for a period of 10 years. They also agreed to allocate 15 per cent of places in the national universities in faculties of science, medicine, and engineering to Darfuris. “We agreed that children of people who have been killed, displaced people, refugees, and nomads also will be exempted fully from any university tuition fees,” he said.

The two parties agreed on retribution. However, discussion about the details in the context of individual and collective compensation are still an ongoing issue.

The rebel leader said the SRF is demanding $500 million in collective compensation each year and $30,000 for individual compensation, while the government delegation argued that it is unwise to make any commitment at this stage until the amount or percentage of compensation is discussed with the Ministry of Finance.

Idris further said that they have been discussing wealth-sharing since Saturday because there is a disagreement between the SRF and the government on the issue of national revenues. “We are expecting the government to respond to this issue in a day or two,” he concluded.

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