Intervista a Esam Elagh, portavoce del Sudan Liberation Army
Il Sign. Esameldin Elagh, portavoce del SLA/M, Movimento armato di liberazione del Sudan, gruppo che ha rifiutato l'accordo di pace del 5 maggio scorso tra il Governo e i ribelli, ci ha concesso un'intervista via e-mail, che pubblichiamo qui nella sua versione originale in inglese. La versione tradotta in italiano verrà pubblicata a breve su questo blog e nella newsletter. Chiunque può pubblicare e distribuire quanto segue, purchè se ne citi la fonte [Italian Blogs for Darfur]:
(versione in italiano)
"What about you and SLM/A?
I am about forty years old , father of three children, all are males , I was working in business mediation and tourism field , I dreamt with the revolution in Darfur since my early years in life , but it delayed until 2003 , what is important now , it`s there.
I joined SLM/A since it`s first days , and I was in Sudan when it blown , and still and will continue supporting its struggle against the regime in Khartoum to restore the rights of the people of Darfur who suffered a lot from the central mentality which governing the country since the independence of Sudan in 1956 , 1st Jan .
Why Sudan government is fighting the Darfur people, supporting janjaweed militias?
The government of Sudan is not only against the Darfur people , it`s against the whole people of Sudan descending from African ethnicity , the central government throughout the history of Sudan since independence fought the south of Sudan because they are different , African ethnics and they are Christians , then Nuba mountains , then blue nile , all because they are Africans , and now darfur , and what is happening now in darfur is not more than a reproduction operation of the crisis of the south , nuba mountains and blue nile , they fought darfur because we have asked to be treated equally with the people of the north Sudan and we have asked for our rights as human beings , because we asked for hospitals and schools for our kids , because we asked for development for our historically marginalized region, the central governments governed and governing Sudan don`t accept and respect the different in Sudan , they believe in the Arabism of the Sudan while the 80% are not arabs or arab descending , they don`t respect or confess with the diversity of the country , all should be arabs and muslims according to their views .
The janjaweed formed mainly from arab tribes , it is true not all arab tribes in darfur taking part in this militia , the government supporting them for many reasons :
- because the government couldn`t achieve any victory against our troops
- the government plant in these tribes that Africans would like to dismiss you from darfur , so the janjaweed sward not to leave any black in darfur.
- the janjaweed don`t have land in darfur , so the government promised them the land if they succeeded in evacuating darfur from blacks.
Why SLA didn't accept peace accord in May?
The accord of May can`t be named as peace accord , no one of us want the war , the losers are our people , we want peace , but the just and durable peace , we are not looking for jobs in the government ,in brief the May accord created some positions for the movements but brought nothing for the darfurians , even the positions created by the accord are without legislative and executive authorities , no guarantees for the disarmament of the janjaweed , no compensations for the victims of the humanitarian crisis created by the government and the janjaweed militias , the government according to the accord will pay 30 million USD in compensations , the IDPs and the refugees are over 3.5 million , which means 8.5 USD per person , it is a joke , 400000 persons killed by the government and the militias , scorched policy being applied , horrible atrocities being committed , and after all 8.5 USD/ person ! , also there is no any kind of oblige to the government in the accord .
Why some rebel groups are fighting each others?
After the signature of the May deal the government tried to use Minni Arku Minnawi , who signed with the government , and tried to make from him another Musa hilal , the leader of janjaweed , so he ordered his people to fight the refusals of the according imagining that he may crush us , we didn`t have choices , at least to defence , he fought us for some time , when the public opinion started growing against him and his soldiers disobeyed him to fight his yesterday colleagues , he stopped fighting and the majority of his people joined us and now fight the janjaweed and the government beside us .
What do you think about chinese involvement in weapons traffic with Karthoum? Does SLA buy weapons from China or Russia, or it's supported by US intelligence?
The Chinese involve in the crisis in many different ways , first they obstacle any resolutions against the GOS ( government of Sudan ) in the international security council and UN , and ship arms and military ammunitions to the GOS , also they provide bank credits for the GOS to import arms from Russia which is considered the main source for arms for the GOS , all these facilitations because of the Sudanese petroleum pumped from south Sudan .
Our main resource of arms and military ammunition is the Sudanese government , a few soldiers in the GOS official army believe in this war , therefore , they escape when we fight them , they don`t want to loose their lives , so we capture different types of arms and heavy artillery , for example today 26/11 , we defeat the GOS and controlled the field of petroleum in Abu Gabra , south of darfur , there we won very big quantity of arms and cars , on 07/11/06 we defeat them at Cari Yari , and on 11/10/06 in UM sidr , these are very famous battles , and to which Mr. Jan Pronk , the special representative of Mr. Koffi Annan meant , when he said the GOS army is loosing now , then the GOS asked him to leave Sudan .
We don`t have any relation with any regional or international intelligence , we always ask the international community to take action at least to protect the civilians according to the UN laws and agreements , but the international community is divided , and the GOS is using its divisions in continue killing and murdering our people , raping our women and abducting our children , many times we doubt about the seriousness of the international community against the crimes committed by the GOS .
What do you think about the idea of some Italians that USA is trying to reach a solution of the Darfur conflict just for the oil in Darfur?
The Americans may know the quantity of oil in darfur by their aerial topography studies , but as a matter of fact no one heard about darfur before this humanitarian crisis , the real position of the USA is that , we understand the intelligence tight cooperation between USA and GOS , and the USA is consider Nivasha deal which stopped the war between north and south one of its achievements , and the ongoing war in darfur will threaten the Nivash deal , and above all the humanitarian crisis in darfur is adopted by many American NGOs which applied a high pressure on the white house , and don`t forget the competition between the republicans and the democrats in gaining the Black Coax votes in the next elections , and many other reasons pressure USA to use its weight to solve the problem . but we hope to see an effective role for Europe in solving the crisis .
Underling any positive role in solving the problem will start from the correct understanding of the problem , the crisis in darfur is a political crisis , most if not all the international community starts from resolving the sequences of the crisis , the humanitarian crisis and the lacking of security are sequences of the conflict , but couldn`t at all be treated as resolving them will resolve the crisis , unless the political issues being addressed and resolved , nothing can be improved in darfur .
What do you hope for the future of the Darfur people and how do you think it may be possible?
As the matter of fact , we don`t have more to loose , we lost security , we lost 400000 from our dear friends , brothers , sisters , and relatives , our people are living in camps without nothing , under trees , our region is completely destroyed , and above all we lived a very bad period , therefore we are looking for a bright future for our people , not to taste what we had , I hope one day and will come soon , they live in a country respect and confess and proud with its diversity , respect all the democratic rights of its nation , full of freedom , and all are equal in front of the law , and are equal in rights and duties .
Democracy , justice , freedom , equality , and domination of law , or we will never give up ."
sTr
(versione in italiano)
"What about you and SLM/A?
I am about forty years old , father of three children, all are males , I was working in business mediation and tourism field , I dreamt with the revolution in Darfur since my early years in life , but it delayed until 2003 , what is important now , it`s there.
I joined SLM/A since it`s first days , and I was in Sudan when it blown , and still and will continue supporting its struggle against the regime in Khartoum to restore the rights of the people of Darfur who suffered a lot from the central mentality which governing the country since the independence of Sudan in 1956 , 1st Jan .
Why Sudan government is fighting the Darfur people, supporting janjaweed militias?
The government of Sudan is not only against the Darfur people , it`s against the whole people of Sudan descending from African ethnicity , the central government throughout the history of Sudan since independence fought the south of Sudan because they are different , African ethnics and they are Christians , then Nuba mountains , then blue nile , all because they are Africans , and now darfur , and what is happening now in darfur is not more than a reproduction operation of the crisis of the south , nuba mountains and blue nile , they fought darfur because we have asked to be treated equally with the people of the north Sudan and we have asked for our rights as human beings , because we asked for hospitals and schools for our kids , because we asked for development for our historically marginalized region, the central governments governed and governing Sudan don`t accept and respect the different in Sudan , they believe in the Arabism of the Sudan while the 80% are not arabs or arab descending , they don`t respect or confess with the diversity of the country , all should be arabs and muslims according to their views .
The janjaweed formed mainly from arab tribes , it is true not all arab tribes in darfur taking part in this militia , the government supporting them for many reasons :
- because the government couldn`t achieve any victory against our troops
- the government plant in these tribes that Africans would like to dismiss you from darfur , so the janjaweed sward not to leave any black in darfur.
- the janjaweed don`t have land in darfur , so the government promised them the land if they succeeded in evacuating darfur from blacks.
Why SLA didn't accept peace accord in May?
The accord of May can`t be named as peace accord , no one of us want the war , the losers are our people , we want peace , but the just and durable peace , we are not looking for jobs in the government ,in brief the May accord created some positions for the movements but brought nothing for the darfurians , even the positions created by the accord are without legislative and executive authorities , no guarantees for the disarmament of the janjaweed , no compensations for the victims of the humanitarian crisis created by the government and the janjaweed militias , the government according to the accord will pay 30 million USD in compensations , the IDPs and the refugees are over 3.5 million , which means 8.5 USD per person , it is a joke , 400000 persons killed by the government and the militias , scorched policy being applied , horrible atrocities being committed , and after all 8.5 USD/ person ! , also there is no any kind of oblige to the government in the accord .
Why some rebel groups are fighting each others?
After the signature of the May deal the government tried to use Minni Arku Minnawi , who signed with the government , and tried to make from him another Musa hilal , the leader of janjaweed , so he ordered his people to fight the refusals of the according imagining that he may crush us , we didn`t have choices , at least to defence , he fought us for some time , when the public opinion started growing against him and his soldiers disobeyed him to fight his yesterday colleagues , he stopped fighting and the majority of his people joined us and now fight the janjaweed and the government beside us .
What do you think about chinese involvement in weapons traffic with Karthoum? Does SLA buy weapons from China or Russia, or it's supported by US intelligence?
The Chinese involve in the crisis in many different ways , first they obstacle any resolutions against the GOS ( government of Sudan ) in the international security council and UN , and ship arms and military ammunitions to the GOS , also they provide bank credits for the GOS to import arms from Russia which is considered the main source for arms for the GOS , all these facilitations because of the Sudanese petroleum pumped from south Sudan .
Our main resource of arms and military ammunition is the Sudanese government , a few soldiers in the GOS official army believe in this war , therefore , they escape when we fight them , they don`t want to loose their lives , so we capture different types of arms and heavy artillery , for example today 26/11 , we defeat the GOS and controlled the field of petroleum in Abu Gabra , south of darfur , there we won very big quantity of arms and cars , on 07/11/06 we defeat them at Cari Yari , and on 11/10/06 in UM sidr , these are very famous battles , and to which Mr. Jan Pronk , the special representative of Mr. Koffi Annan meant , when he said the GOS army is loosing now , then the GOS asked him to leave Sudan .
We don`t have any relation with any regional or international intelligence , we always ask the international community to take action at least to protect the civilians according to the UN laws and agreements , but the international community is divided , and the GOS is using its divisions in continue killing and murdering our people , raping our women and abducting our children , many times we doubt about the seriousness of the international community against the crimes committed by the GOS .
What do you think about the idea of some Italians that USA is trying to reach a solution of the Darfur conflict just for the oil in Darfur?
The Americans may know the quantity of oil in darfur by their aerial topography studies , but as a matter of fact no one heard about darfur before this humanitarian crisis , the real position of the USA is that , we understand the intelligence tight cooperation between USA and GOS , and the USA is consider Nivasha deal which stopped the war between north and south one of its achievements , and the ongoing war in darfur will threaten the Nivash deal , and above all the humanitarian crisis in darfur is adopted by many American NGOs which applied a high pressure on the white house , and don`t forget the competition between the republicans and the democrats in gaining the Black Coax votes in the next elections , and many other reasons pressure USA to use its weight to solve the problem . but we hope to see an effective role for Europe in solving the crisis .
Underling any positive role in solving the problem will start from the correct understanding of the problem , the crisis in darfur is a political crisis , most if not all the international community starts from resolving the sequences of the crisis , the humanitarian crisis and the lacking of security are sequences of the conflict , but couldn`t at all be treated as resolving them will resolve the crisis , unless the political issues being addressed and resolved , nothing can be improved in darfur .
What do you hope for the future of the Darfur people and how do you think it may be possible?
As the matter of fact , we don`t have more to loose , we lost security , we lost 400000 from our dear friends , brothers , sisters , and relatives , our people are living in camps without nothing , under trees , our region is completely destroyed , and above all we lived a very bad period , therefore we are looking for a bright future for our people , not to taste what we had , I hope one day and will come soon , they live in a country respect and confess and proud with its diversity , respect all the democratic rights of its nation , full of freedom , and all are equal in front of the law , and are equal in rights and duties .
Democracy , justice , freedom , equality , and domination of law , or we will never give up ."
sTr
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1 Comments:
Ottimo, la linko subito.
Ciao a tutti.
By
Davide, at 8:50 AM
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