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Issue 00478 |
July 21 - 27, 2007 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Front Page 1 |
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Darfur peace talks scheduled for Arusha
By Valentine Marc Nkwame The Darfur rebels who failed to sign a peace agreement in Abuja, Nigeria, last year are scheduled to meet in Arusha early next month. This is according to a statement issued by the United Nations mission in Sudan (UNMIS) and which was made available here early this week. According to the Khartoum statement the leading personalities of the so-called ‘non-signatory rebel movements’ were to convene in Arusha as from Friday 3 to Sunday August 5 in an effort to facilitate preparations for negotiations. The venue for this special meeting is still to be known, though at first, reports here indicated that the state owned Arusha International Conference Center was to be the location. There are unconfirmed reports that the UN-ICTR which is based within the AICC complex is to play the role of local host to the meeting. Charles Noel Mkomwa, Senior Conference Servicing Officer at the AICC, however said he was still not sure if the Darfur meeting would be held at the center, as proposed earlier. The meeting was proposed by both the African Union and United Nations special envoys Jan Eliasson and Salim Ahmed Salim respectively during the international summit held over the last weekend in the Libyan capital of Tripoli to re-launch the peace process in Darfur. In 2004 the President Bush Administration had proposed that a special International Tribunal to try suspects of the Darfur atrocities should be established in Arusha but the suggestion was later overruled by other members of the United Nations who preferred the Hague. Invitations for the new round of the peace negotiations should be issued by the chairperson of the African Union Commission and the secretary-general of the United Nations before the end of August. Participants in the summit requested the special envoys to consult widely with all the relevant stakeholders on the most appropriate date and venue for the talks, the statement said. Participants took note of the report of the special envoys on the implementation of the road map to resolve the Darfur crisis and re-asserted the joint African Union-United Nations lead of the Darfur peace process in partnership with regional actors. The summit appealed to all member states of the African Union and United Nations and other stakeholders to refrain from supporting parallel initiatives outside the African Union and United Nations led process. The infamous Darfur conflict flared up in 2003 when rebels in Darfur province took up arms, accusing the government of neglecting the region. Since then, civilians have come under attack from government troops, nomadic militia and rebel groups. According to the United Nations figures, more than 200,000 people have died from the conflict so far. The violence has also forced more than 2 million people - mostly farmers and villagers from non-Arab groups - to flee their homes. Khartoum on the other hand, denies accusations it has used Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, to crush the revolt. The government and one rebel faction signed a peace deal in May 2006, but two others refused, and a major new rebel group has since formed. Relief agencies say the ongoing violence makes it difficult to deliver aid in parts of Darfur. Debate has raged between the international community and Khartoum over boosting an ineffective African Union (AU) peacekeeping force, made up of just 7,000 soldiers. Sudan has repeatedly rejected proposals for a substantial U.N. force, which it sees as tantamount to an invasion. The conflict has also spilled over Sudan's borders into Chad and Central African Republic. |
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