Church in the World

Al-Bashir gives undertaking on Darfur truce

Sudan

The Sudanese President, Omar Al-Bashir, announced that his Government is ready to enter a ceasefire with rebel factions who are active in the Darfur region of the country. The pledge came after separate meetings with Pope Benedict XVI and Italian political leaders on Friday 14 September.

Negotiators are preparing for UN-backed peace talks that are due to start in Libya on 27 October to seek an end to the conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced some 2.5 million since 2003 in clashes between ethnic African rebels and the Arab-led Government in Khartoum, whose backing for the murderous Janjaweed militia in Darfur has brought international condemnation.

The Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi, whose Government has been accused of being too silent on the Darfur tragedy, said President Al-Bashir had pledged "total cooperation" with a joint UN-African Union peace-keeping force in the region. Some 25 MEPs, led by Glenys Kinnock, had urged Mr Prodi and the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano, to push the issue of Darfur with the Sudanese leader. 

Regarding the meeting with the Pope, the Vatican press office said: "Very positive views were expressed concerning fresh peace negotiations for Darfur ... It is the Holy See's heartfelt hope that these negotiations prove successful in order to put an end to the suffering and insecurity of those peoples, ensuring them the humanitarian assistance to which they have the right, and initiating development projects."

The Sudanese President's visit to Italy ended a day before some 1,500 protesters - including 150 Darfuri refugees - peacefully marked Rome's Day for Darfur. Worldwide celebrities and demonstrators in 30 cities called for action from world leaders when they meet at the United Nations next week.

Archbishop Leo Boccardi, the Apostolic Nuncio to Sudan, who has been working on arranging the visit since arriving in the country four months ago, said he welcomed the emerging dialogue between the Christian and Muslim worlds. 

But the Revd Adi Ambrose, vice-chairman of the human rights committee of the Sudanese parliament, who accompanied the President on his visit, was less positive. Mr Ambrose, a Protestant from southern Sudan brought into the Ministry of Endowment and Guidance (formerly the Ministry of Religious Affairs) to bolster President Al-Bashir's image among Christians, said: "We know from history that what the Government promises is not always respected on the ground. I'm not sure that this agreement will hold."

Mr Ambrose hoped that the visit to the Vatican would dispel Sudanese hostility towards Christianity. "There is still widespread belief within this Government that the Vatican is influenced by American politics," asserted Mr Ambrose.

President Al-Bashir's visit to the Pope was the first since he came to power in 1989, and is the latest step in a dialogue that began with a conference on Christian-Muslim relations in Khartoum in July.