Daily Darfur: "....Seriously?"

"Nonsense."

Such was the verdict on Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir's less-than-rousing call for reconciliation earlier this week. In the same speech, Bashir committed to prosecuting the country's war criminals --- a claim which, as Michael so rightly names it, gives new meaning to the term "chutzpah."

Abdelwahid Al-Nur, the leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement added that tribal reconciliation is a process well known by Darfur people to settle traditional conflicts but "genocide and crimes against humanity committed by the regime should be tried by the ICC because they were committed by the government."

"What Bashir says is irrelevant" said Al-Nur.

The SLM founder also stressed that the first thing Khartoum should start with is to disarm its militia and then they could speak about reconciliation or compensation. He pointed out that nobody can return to his homeland or village without the disarmament of militia, because "the Janjaweed will attack them to collect their compensations even if so-called reconciliation conferences are held."

Seems reasonable to me, but I'm not sure that "reason" was really on Bashir's mind when boasted of his ability to reconcile people still at the mercy of his militias, army, air force, etc etc.

Meanwhile, civil society groups in Nigeria are asking their president to take a stronger stance on Sudan, particularly on the expulsion of the humanitarian aid agencies from Darfur.

Other items of note...

Amnesty International put together a nifty list of fact sheets on what China, Egypt, South Africa, the UK, and the US could do to bring security to Darfur.

Bec Hamilton, a fellow at the Open Society Institute, is conducting interviews for a book on the impact of citizen advocacy on Darfur --- and she's giving you the opportunity to submit your questions.

[Photo from Sudan Tribune: People living in Kalma camp, one of the biggest internally displaced camps of Darfur, hold up a sign in protest, (file photo June 2005)]