Showing posts with label Sese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sese. Show all posts

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Joint AU-UN chief mediator for Darfur Djibril Bassolé in Paris meeting with Sudan rebel leader Abdel Wahid Al-Nur

ACCORDING to Sudan Tribune, the Paris based SLM rebel leader Abdel Wahid Al-Nur made a statement (see below) following a meeting with the Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassolé yesterday (Wednesday, August 4th) in the French capital to discuss the latest developments in Darfur following the recent clashes between two groups of the IDPs in Kalma camps over their representation in the peace process.

"We had a very positive and constructive meeting," Al-Nur is quoted as saying.

Note that the statement included urging the UN Security Council to consider changing the mandate of the UNAMID from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7.

Here is the report from Sudan Tribune published Thursday 05 August 2010:
Darfur rebel leader praises UNAMID refusal to handover Kalma residents
August 4, 2010 (PARIS) — Darfur rebel leader, Abdel Wahid Al-Nur today praised the refusal of the joint peacekeeping mission to handover six residents of Kalma camp in South Darfur State wanted by the local authorities after bloody clashes last week.

"We welcome the decision of the hybrid peacekeeping operation (UNAMID) to not handover six Internally Displaced people – five men and one woman—sheltered in its office in Kalma camp," Al-Nur told Sudan Tribune today.

11 people were killed when clashes broke out last week between supporters of Nur and partisans of another rebel group Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) which is conducting talks with the Sudanese government in Doha. The first group contests the IDPs representation by the second group.

The Paris based rebel leader made his statement following a meeting with the Joint Chief Mediator Djibril Bassole on Wednesday in the French capital to discuss the latest developments in Darfur following the recent clashes between two groups of the IDPs in Kalma camps over their representation in the peace process.

"We had a very positive and constructive meeting," Al-Nur said. He further stressed that Bassole reassured him about the UNAMID commitment to protect civilians in western Sudan including the six people wanted by South Darfur authorities.

He also said he had spoken all the day with different local leaders urging them to cool down the tension inside the camps and to work hard restore calm and reconciliation between the residents pointing out that "only Sudanese government benefits from such divisions".

Al-Nur said wanted civilians might face torture and killing if they are handed to the Sudanese authorities following a formal demand by South Darfur Governor Abdel Hamid Musa Kasha.

He also said the Sudanese justice is not independent and totally under the control of the government stressing that their handover would create more troubles in the camp.

The rebel leader accused the government of working to dismantle the camp as part of its new policy called "domestication of the peace process".

He further urged the UN Security Council to well consider changing the mandate of the UNAMID from Chapter 6 to Chapter 7 and to give the largest peacekeeping operation the necessary means to fully protect the civilians in the restive region.

Speaking with Sudan Tribune from Kalama camp, two residents who requested not to mention their names said the security forces surround the camp and prevent entry of food to the camp. They also said that women who go outside the camp to bring food to their children are stopped and not allowed to return home.

The UNAMID Daily Media Brief reported today that "no organizations have been allowed to deliver humanitarian aid" to the IDPs in Kalma camp.

Another resident from Kass camp in South Darfur said some one thousand of militiamen gathered today outside the camp and paraded around the area to intimidate the residents.

The same source said they received reports from Zalingei in West Darfur saying some 50 people were arrested by the security service there.

Kalma camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) is located near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur, and is home to about 90,000 people, many of whom are supporters of Abdel Wahid Nur. Government forces targeted the camp in a raid that killed dozens of residents in August 2008. (ST)
Click here to read Sudan Tribune report, 31 July 2010: NCP approves new “domestication” strategy on Darfur.

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Report by Radio Dabanga published Wednesday, 04 August 2010:
Darfur rebel chief calls on ICC to investigate camp violence
(DOHA ) - Dr. Tijani Sese strongly condemned the events that occurred last week in Kalma and Hamidiya camps for displaced people. The camps witnessed fighting among the residents, allegedly between factions loyal to Tijani Sese’s rebel coalition and Abdel Wahid Al Nur’s faction, according to initial UN reports. At least ten were killed.

Sese said that what happened is a crime that requires investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC). In an interview with Radio Dabanga, Sese appealed to displaced people to remain calm and to stop all forms of abuse against each other, which he said weakens the Darfur issue. Sese denied, however, that the Liberation and Justice Movement was involved in the events.

Friday, July 09, 2010

Darfur Sudan peace talks: SLM leader Abdelwahid Nur agrees to Doha, Qatar consultation

GOOD NEWS. French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner says in a statement that the leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM), Abdelwahid Nur, "confirmed his intention to actively contribute to the peace process in Darfur, personally and via the intermediary of his representatives."

Nur, the Paris-based head of SLM who previously dismissed the Doha talks as "ceremonial," has now decided to support the process, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said on Friday (09 July).

Nur said he met Qatari minister of state for foreign affairs Ahmad al-Mahmood in Paris on Thursday.

"We thanked the Qataris for the efforts they are making. The only new thing is that we agreed to continue consulting," Nur told Reuters, speaking by phone from his base in Paris.

Kouchner praised Al-Nur on Friday for "betting on peace" and said his "new position" resulted from months of discussions between him and French government officials.

SLM leader Abdelwahid Nur

Photo: Nur had previously refused to enter peace talks with Khartoum (AFP)

AFP report re Liberty and Justice Movement (LJM)

Darfur's newly formed rebel Liberty and Justice Movement is set to seal a peace deal with Khartoum, even though it enjoys little backing on the ground in the war-torn Sudanese region.

Still in its infancy, the LJM is the only rebel faction so far in talks with Sudan's government in the Qatari capital, from which two leading figures of the seven-year rebellion, Khalil Ibrahim and Abdelwahid Nur, have been absent.

But the LJM, an assortment of small dissenting factions cobbled together under Libyan and US auspices and led by Tijane Sese, already inked a preliminary deal with Khartoum in March, and is likely to seal the agreement in Doha next week.

Unlike Ibrahim's Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), which agreed a ceasefire with Khartoum in February that soon disintegrated amid new fighting, the LJM has no military presence and commands little loyalty in the region.

Such is its lack of organisation there that the United Nations and African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur arranged for Darfuris displaced in the war to meet LJM representatives in Qatar.

"It is sort of match-making, to connect the LJM and the IDPs (internally displaced people) and see if it can work between them," said one diplomat about the meeting.

Four hundred Darfur civil society representatives are expected to fly to the Gulf state next week for the coming meeting.

"The goal is to establish a social base for the LJM, and it would also prepare for better acceptance of what could be signed," Djibril Bassole, the joint UN and AU Darfur mediator, told AFP.

The LJM's Sese, a former Darfur governor and Fur tribal leader in Ethiopian exile since the 1990s, said in a telephone interview that the region's displaced needed to be consulted on any peace deal.

"Any peace agreement must take account of the displaced and refugees. A complete peace must allow their return to their villages," he said, adding they would need compensation.

"It is necessary to discuss the stakes with the displaced and refugees," he said.

Darfur peace talks in Doha, Qatar

Photo: The Liberty and Justice Movement believes any peace agreement must involve the return of refugees (AFP)

SOURCE: Full details below followed by latest news round-up from SRS - Sudan Radio Service.

UPDATE 1-Darfur rebel agrees to Qatar consultation
From Reuters - Friday, 09 July 2010 6:03pm GMT
(Reporting by Andrew Heavens in Khartoum and John Irish in Paris, editing by Mark Trevelyan):
KHARTOUM July 9 (Reuters) - An exiled Darfur rebel leader said on Friday he had agreed to consultations with Qatari officials who are brokering peace talks with Sudan's government, but made clear that did not mark a move towards full negotiations.

Paris-based Abdel Wahed Mohamed al-Nur has refused to sit down with Khartoum since he walked out of peace talks in 2006, demanding a return to security on the ground before negotiations.

Any sign of willingness to take part in new discussions will please mediators who have grown increasingly frustrated with Nur's refusal to join talks, despite pressure from Washington, other powers and activists.

Nur's Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) was one of two Darfur insurgent groups that rebelled in 2003, demanding more autonomy for their arid western region.

The conflict has rumbled on for seven years, during which there have been a series of failed ceasefires and attempts to get the warring parties together -- most recently hosted by Qatar's government in its capital Doha.

Nur said he met Qatari minister of state for foreign affairs Ahmad al-Mahmood in Paris on Thursday.

"We thanked the Qataris for the efforts they are making. The only new thing is that we agreed to continue consulting," Nur told Reuters, speaking by phone from his base in Paris.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who said he also met Nur on Thursday, said the rebel leader's new engagement marked an important step forward in the peace process after months of talks with Nur in Paris.

Nur "confirmed his intention to work actively in the peace process in Darfur, personally and through his representatives," Kouchner said in a statement on Friday. "I am glad he finally decided to bet on peace."

Nur appeared to play down the significance of the Qatari engagement, telling Reuters the new consultations would cover his ongoing reasons for refusing to go to the talks including reports of continued attacks by government troops and militias on rebels and civilians.

"We are not going to Doha unless there is security ... And at the moment the security situation is getting worse and worse."

Violence has spiked in Darfur since the rebel Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), the other group that rebelled in 2003, suspended participation in the Doha talks in early May.

Khartoum is currently negotiating with the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM), an umbrella group of small factions dismissed as largely bogus by JEM.
French foreign minister: Sudan rebel leader agrees to join peace efforts for Darfur
By The Associated Press (CP) – Friday, 09 July 2010:
PARIS — France's foreign minister says a Paris-based Sudanese rebel leader has agreed to back peace talks for Darfur.

Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says in a statement that the leader of the rebel Sudan Liberation Movement, Abdelwahid Elnur, "confirmed his intention to actively contribute to the peace process in Darfur, personally and via the intermediary of his representatives."

Kouchner praised Elnur on Friday for "betting on peace" and said his "new position" resulted from months of discussions between him and French government officials.

Qatar has been hosting peace talks on Darfur. The U.N. estimates that 300,000 people have died as a result of violence, disease and displacement since fighting began between rebels in Darfur and the government in 2003.

Darfur rebel agrees to Qatar consultation

Reuters Africa - KHARTOUM July 9, 2010

US, Britain, Norway 'deeply concerned' on Sudan

AFP - July 9, 2010

Darfur rebel group woos refugees before peace deal

AFP - Guillaume Lavallee - KHARTOUM - July 9, 2010

French foreign minister: Sudan rebel leader agrees to join peace efforts for ...

The Canadian Press - ‎PARIS - July 9, 2010

Ghazi Goes to Doha Mid-July to Push Negotiations Process,

Sudan Vision - Mona Al-Bashir - July 10, 2010

Holdout Darfur rebel group supports peace talks: France

Expatica France - July 9, 2010

Sudan - Mediation Sets the Mid-July as Deadline for Darfur Peace Agreement

ISRIA (registration) - July 9, 2010

Darfur's Nur holds rare joint meeting with Qatari official & mediator

Sudan Tribune - ‎PARIS - July 9, 2010

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs meets SLM leader

Peninsula On-line - ‎PARIS - July 9, 2010

DARFUR: UN-AFRICAN UNION MEDIATOR WELCOMES STEPS TOWARDS PEACE

Modern Ghana - ‎Jul 8, 2010‎

News round-up from SRS - Sudan Radio Service: