Darfur peace forum ends without declaring ceasefire
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March 30, 2014 (KHARTOUM) - The second Um Jaras forum on peace and
security in Darfur has ended its sessions on Sunday and recommended
disarming all rebel groups and militias saying that Sudan's Armed
Forces (SAF) must be the sole entity that have the right to retain
arms in the restive region.
Traditional leaders from the transnational Zaghawa ethnic group, in
October 2013, held the first session of the forum at the Chadian
border town of Um Jaras and decided to carry out their own demarche
with the leaders of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan
Liberation Movement-Minni Minnawi (SLM-MM), to convince them to join
peace process.
But the two rebel groups didn't take part in the second forum despite
assurances made by the government's liaison committee that they will
join the peace process.
The forum demanded demobilizing irregular troops or reintegrating it
into SAF, underscoring the need to impose state's authority and the
rule of law. It also renewed the call for the rebel groups to respond
to the call for peace.
However, the final recommendations didn't include a call for declaring
immediate cease fire as recommended by the participants on Saturday.
The participants in the forum announced full support for peace and
peaceful coexistence among tribes in Darfur, expressing readiness to
contribute to stopping destruction and war in the region.
The second forum also was attended by traditional and tribal leaders
from different tribes in Darfur, particularly the Rizeigat, Massalit,
Ma'alia, Salamat and Ta'isha who fought each other in different
states.
The leaders of these tribes handed over a written commitment to the
president Omer Al-Bashir where they pledge to not resort to arms and
resolve their differences peacefully.
The forum further demanded promoting the role of the joint
Sudanese-Chadian border monitoring force to secure the borders between
the two countries and, calling upon all parties not to harm ordinary
citizens and destroy vital projects in Darfur.
It has also hailed the role of the state of Qatar in achieving
comprehensive peace in Darfur through sponsoring and supporting the
Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD), pointing to Qatar's
financial contributions for establishing development projects and
voluntary return villages for IDPs.
The forum called for upholding values of dialogue, forgiveness and
tolerance besides renouncing violence, war, and tribal fanaticism,
demanding promoting reconciliation among tribes in Darfur.
Qatar which sponsored a two year process aiming to end the conflict,
pledged to donate two billion dollars to be used in the recovery and
development projects.
The tribal leaders pointed, in their communiqué, to the need for
implementing the security arrangements in accordance with the DDPD
besides encouraging voluntary return of IDPs and refugees through
providing the necessary requirements, affirming the need for
activating the role of the local administration in conflict areas.
The forum praised efforts of the Chadian president, Idriss Deby, to
resolve the crisis in Darfur, calling for expanding the Um Jaras forum
and providing the necessary support for it in order to carry out its
role.
It called upon the Sudanese president, Omer Hassan Al-Bashir, and his
Chadian counterpart to provide support for the implementation of the
recommendations of the forum.
(ST)
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