Poor reception for Tijani Sese and Al Mahmud on arrival to Darfur

Qatari mediator accompanies ex-rebel chief now heading Regional AuthorityThe first visit of Dr. Tijani Sese, the newly sworn-in head of the Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA), accompanied by the Qatari mediator Minister of State Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmoud, was met by a poor reception in the city of El Fasher yesterday. The number of the crowd at the reception did not exceed 300 people, according to media personnel accompanying the delegation who spoke to Radio Dabanga.

Sese was traveling with an entourage of ex-rebels of the Liberation and Justice Movement, which signed a peace deal with the Government of Sudan last July in Doha.

Elsaddig Adam Gadhi, who is a leading figure in the Popular Congress Party (PCP), which was invited to the reception of Dr. Sese, told Radio Dabanga that the reception was poor but, at the same time, the response was high. Gadhi stated that he believed the presence of the TDRA would increase the stability of the region and described it as a great accomplishment. He also demanded the release of all those who are detained, arrested or on trial in connection with the Darfur crisis. He said this would be a proof of good intentions on the part of the government, and a push for peace and change in Darfur.

From their side, displaced people from camps in El Fasher stated that they do not care about the visit of Dr. Sese. One of the omdas of El Salam camp in El Fasher told Radio Dabanga that the agreement will end before the ending of the ceremonies and visits which have started in Darfur. He also asserted that without the involvement of the rest of the armed factions, there will be no peace or security in Darfur.

The head of the UN-African Union Mission and Joint Chief Mediator ad interim, Ibrahim Gambari, described the arrival of Dr. Tijani Sese to Sudan as “the first harvest of what we hope will be a fruitful and sustainable peace for the benefit of all the people of Sudan.” 

“We are ready to fully implement the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur and to get all the parties to join the peace process,” he said in a speech during the reception ceremony of Sese and the Qatari minister.

Gambari described the Doha agreement as an important chance for the people of Darfur to get over the past and have a new start and hope for a better future for the children and people of Darfur. Gambari asserted that, as the main mediator in the peace process and through consultation with Qatar, he would continue to try to convince the other factions that have not joined the agreement and to encourage them to stop aggression and join political negotiations with the government.

File photo (credit: LJM), Tijani Sese (left), former mediator Djibril Bassole (center), Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al Mahmud (right), and Sudan negotiator Amin Hassan Omar (seated) in Doha