‘Third way’ proposed for peace in Darfur

The temporary Popular Committee for the Follow-up of the Implementation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) has proposed ‘a third way’ to realise peace and stability in the war-torn region.

The Committee of 300 Darfuri leaders and academics, presented a document on Monday, entitled ‘A Comprehensive and Just Peace’.

Head of the Committee, Dr Faroug Ahmed Adam, stressed at the press conference following a symposium about the implementation of the DDPD organised by the Centre for Future Studies in Khartoum on Monday that the document presents “the opinions and views of the silent Darfuri majority, as the DDPD partners have become adversaries”.

He said that the Sudanese government will not be able to impose peace in Darfur by force, as it is currently doing. He warned that this will lead to negative developments.

“We strongly deny that there is peace and stability in Darfur, as officials say, while there are more than three million people living in camps for the displaced, people are daily subjected to assaults, murders and rapes.”

The Committee included in the document “all the facts and figures that have not been not said about Darfur since Sudan’s independence”, and added that the Committee is adamant to complete the peace process, “even if that would mean calling for a new peace agreement”.

Adam explained that the Committee is composed of 300 academic experts, who spent 18 months preparing the document “that is based on principles of unity, justice, freedom, and equality”.

He said that the contents of the document will be raised for discussion to “all Sudanese, especially in Darfur, as well as to the armed rebel movements”.

Darfur Regional Authority

The document explicitly criticises the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA) for performing “less than 50 percent of its duties.

“DRA President Dr El Tijani Sese has clearly lost his way,” Adam said. He added that the Committee plans to submit a memorandum to the Sudanese Presidency, calling for a review of the DRA’s performance, and a reform of the Authority.

Referendum

The authors of the document also warned for holding a referendum for Darfur region in the current situation, as it would only lead to further divisions.

The DDPD was signed by the Sudanese government and the Liberation and Justice Movement, a coalition of 19 breakaway rebel factions led by Sese, in Qatar in July 2011. The peace accord stipulates that the permanent administrative status of Darfur will be determined by a referendum. Until the referendum, the governments of the five Darfur states are supposed to be coordinated and supervised by the DRA. It should have been organised within one year after the signing of the peace accord, but it has not been held to date.