Sudanese government is drafting Darfur referendum decree – adviser
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March 24, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese presidential adviser Ghazi Salah
Al-Deen, who is in charge of the Darfur file, reiterated Wednesday his
determination to hold a referendum on the administrative status of the
region saying the government is working on a draft presidential
decree.
JPEG - 16.5 kb
Ghazi Salah Al-Deen
Rebel groups participating in Doha talks said they are against the
referendum as the government agreed to discuss the issue with them.
Also the decision to hold the vote came out for the first time this
month as the rebels refused to sign an agreement that does not give
the region a particular administrative status.
The government is working on the legal draft of a presidential decree
on the referendum for the President of the Republic to enact, Ghazi
told reporters today in Khartoum after a meeting between President
Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and tribal leaders of the Fur ethnic group.
Ghazi said the referendum is due to be held next April as the Darfur
Peace Agreement provides to organize the plebiscite twelve months
after the general elections of April 2010. He added Sudan’s electoral
board should begin to undertake the technical measures and the
registration of the voter.
He underscored that this agreement reflects a political will to
resolve the disputed issue. He said that negotiations with the rebels
on the matter can not continue indefinitely and distract the
government from "the real leaders on the ground".
According to the Sudan’s official news agency (SUNA), President
Al-Bashir told the Fur leaders that the government wants to end the
conflict in Darfur and establish stability. He also pointed out that
any delay in resolving the problem means more injustice for the
displaced and war-affected persons.
Last week the Qatari state minister for foreign affairs paid a short
visit to Khartoum for talks with president Bashir. Ahmed bin Abdullah
Al-Mahmoud arrived days after a request by the rebels to the mediators
demanding them to clarify government’s position over the framework
agreement signed in February and March 2010.
The rebels accused Ghazi of sabotaging the Doha peace process saying
he want to domesticate the conflict and warned this position will lead
to more violence in the restive region.
The presidential adviser who took the file from Presidential Assistant
Nafi Ali Nafi last year considers that resolving the conflict through
the tribal leaders and regional authorities more productive than talks
with rebel groups.
Ghazi announced in the past months a plan to realize peace in Darfur
based on direct dialogue between the tribal leaders, civil society
groups and Darfur states officials. The new strategy is also based on
the return of displaced population and recovery and development
projects.
The presidential adviser went to Doha several times to ask the
mediation to finalize a peace agreement with the rebel Liberation and
Equality Movement (LJM) but the talks are deadlocked over the issue of
Darfur’s administrative status.
Yesterday, the two rebel groups in Doha, the Justice and Liberation
Movement and LJM agreed to coordinate their positions in the talks
with the Sudanese government. Khartoum says JEM is not serious to
reach a peace agreement, but the group started negotiations on the
basis of texts prepared by LJM and the Sudanese government.
(ST)
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