Bashir says no to Darfur rebels’ demand for a vice-president post
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July 1, 2011 (KHARTOUM) — Sudanese President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir
said his government did not accept a proposal to appoint a
vice-president from Darfur as part of a compromise reached in Doha
between his delegation and Darfur rebels.
JPEG - 8.5 kb
Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir speaks during a rally in El-Fasher,
the capital of North Darfur state, on February 24, 2010 (Getty)
Amin Hassan Omer was the first to tell the delegates last May at the
stakeholders conference in Doha that the government will appoint a
vice-president from Darfur to consolidate the ongoing efforts to end
the eight year conflict. Presidential adviser Ghazi Salah Al-Deen who
is tasked with Darfur file reiterated this decision before the upper
house in Khartoum on Tuesday 28 June.
Amin who leads the government negotiating delegation in Doha stressed
that this nomination will be only during the current presidential term
and it will not be included in the Sudanese constitution, as the
rebels request.
In statements he made to Sudanese journalists travelling with him to
China, President Bashir reiterated Khartoum’s rejection of allocating
a post of vice-president of the republic to the Darfur region.
Al Bashir said his government did not commit to allocate this
important position to Darfur or any other region because any Sudanese
has the right to be appointed to this post. In accordance with the
interim constitution the elected president has a discretionary power
to appoint any Sudanese a vice-president.
In a statement to Sudan Tribune during the stakeholders conference
Liberation and Justice Movement( LJM) leader Tijani El-Sissi said they
accept the government proposal to appoint a vice-president during the
current term but suggested to elect the vice president also.
Last January, Ghazi Salah Al-Deen refuted the rebel demand to reserve
the vice president for Darfur saying allocating the post of
vice-president to the restive western Sudan region is clear violation
of the principle of equality between all the Sudanese regions. He
further said a Darfurian can become president "so why insisting on a
vice-president post".
Darfur rebel groups, who were influenced by the Naivasha peace process
between the North and the South, demanded during Abuja peace process
to appoint a vice-president from Darfur as it was the case for the
South Sudan.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement which gave the right of
self-determination to the South sought that a the nomination of a
southerner as first vice-president will allow the Christian South to
co-chair the country for the first time with the Muslim North. The
presidency also was designed to supervise the implementation of the
2005 deal and arbitrate any difference during the interim period.
Sudanese government led by the National Congress Party and Liberation
and Justice Movement are preparing to sign a peace agreement in Doha
during the second party of July but LJM rebels still requesting that
they are associated in the designation process of the vice-president.
On the other hand, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) which is
part of the peace process, says it is not interested by the position
of the vice-president and demands, in return, comprehensive peace
talks that include all the chapters of the framework peace document
adopted as basis for peace deals the rebel groups can negotiate with
the government.
JEM spokesperson Gibreel Adam Bilal told Sudan Tribune they reject
Khartoum’s call to negotiate only on the integration of their
combatants and their participation in the national and regional
institutions.
The rebel group which maintains its delegation in Doha despite the
departure of the mediation team members said would take a decision
concerning its commitment to the Doha process if a partial peace
agreement is signed with LJM rebels.
"We did not yet announce our withdrawal from the Doha process and
still there is an opportunity to reach a comprehensive peace
agreement. But JEM has to take a decision over the Doha process if the
government and LJM sign a peace agreement," Gibreel stressed.
The rebel sopkesperson however said they launched a call for the
international community to maintain the current mediation led by the
Burkina Faso foreign minister Djibril Bassolé who ended his mandate as
Joint Chief Mediator.
The Senior Political Adviser to the Joint Chief Mediator Ambassador
Boubou Niang sent an Au Revoir (Goodbye) email, seen by Sudan Tribune,
to his friends and colleagues announcing his return to his home
country Senegal after serving for Darfur peace mediations since 2004.
The Doha peace process established a follow-up mechanism led by the
State of Qatar and composed of the AU, Arab League, UN Security
Council five permanent states, Burkina Faso, Chad, Egypt and Eritrea.
In line with the Doha document for peace in Darfur, the government and
other rebel groups — JEM and Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel
Wahid Al-Nur — have to engage peace talks based on the framework text
endorsed by the stakeholders conference last May.
However, with the departure of the mediation team it is not clear who
will run the talks. Qatar said willing to host the future talks while
the UN Secretary General and Security Council took note and praised
the gesture.
After the signing of a peace agreement with LJM, the Sudanese
government plans to launch another process for dialogue in Darfur as
the African Union panel also will hold a similar process aiming to
involve local actors from civil society, tribal leaders and IDPs camps
with the government officials.
(ST)
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