In a story carried prominently in the Sudan Tribune today, the minister in charge of the Sudanese government's initiative in Darfur denies that there is any plan to disarm the militias. This is contrary to what both Kofi Annan and Colin Powell say the government agreed with them.
Interior Minister Abd-al-Rahim Mohamed Hussein said Sunday that a comprehensive plan had been drawn up to implement President Omar al-Bashir's vision on settling the Darfur crisis. At a press conference held here, Hussein, who is Bashir's representative in the three western Darfur provinces, said the plan makes sure that all villages in the three provinces come under the control of the state with no village left isolated."According to the plan, police will secure all towns and villages, including streets and roads, before the inhabitants return to their homes," he had said.
"Foodstuffs and medicines will be available for up to three months before the return of the locals," he said.
Hussein, however, had denied that the Sudanese government had any plans at present to disarm the pro-government Janjawid militias in Darfur.
"All Arab and non-Arab tribes in Darfur have militias and have arms.
"We can only legalize the carrying of arms by incorporating the various militias into the police and army units," he said.
"Gradually the number of people who will be carrying arms outside the regular forces will dwindle," he believed.
He said that during his recent meeting with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan he told him that "even the US had failed in disarming militias in Iraq."
He added that Annan and US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who both visited Sudan recently, had had a grim picture of the situation in Darfur, but such a picture changed after they visited the refugee camps in northern Darfur.
You can't make this stuff up.
Also, reports are now coming in of government bombing of rebel-controlled villages in Darfur last Thursday--at the same time Kofi Annan was visiting refugee camps, and just a day after Colin Powell's visit to Sudan. Perhaps this is what Hussein, speaking above, means when he says "the plan makes sure that all villages...come under the control of the state".
The exact wording of the communique which the Sudanese government issued jointly with the UN was:
"The Government of Sudan commits itself to ...
Immediately start to disarm the Janjaweed and other armed outlaw groups."
(http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/vID/746B9FE7CD9B97D485256EC8001140EE?OpenDocument)
Posted by: Dan | July 06, 2004 at 05:00 AM
Why do I get this feeling of watching history? I think most people feel a sense of powerlessness, that this is outside our spheres of influence.
I'm glad to have stumbled upon this blog, because every repetition of the idea that we can stop this genocide will bring the world another step closer to stopping it.
Thank you.
Posted by: Steve | July 06, 2004 at 01:31 PM