Darfur 'mission not impossible'

2008-07-20 22:29

Khartoum - Darfur's new chief mediator Djibril Bassole made his first visit to Sudan on Sunday as he begins his uphill task of reigniting a stalled peace process.

"This will be a difficult mission, but it's not mission impossible," he told reporters after long talks with Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ali Karti.

Bassole, the foreign minister of Burkino Faso, faces numerous obstacles to securing peace. Not least an announcement on July 14 that the International Criminal Court wants an arrest warrant for Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur.

"My priorities will be defined by the Sudanese, but we must strengthen dialogue and ask for a cessation of hostilities to create the conditions to search for a comprehensive political solution," Bassole said.

The mediator met Bashir, a presidential advisor said, and confirmed he would be starting his post on August 1.

Language barrier

"The president gave him a briefing on how to resolve Darfur and said he was ready for any talks with Nafie (Nafie Ali Nafie) as the head of the government negotiating team," Bashir's press advisor Mahjoub Fadul told Reuters.

Bassole's task will be complicated by the fact he speaks neither Arabic or English, the languages understood by those negotiating, whether from rebels or from the government.

International experts estimate 200 000 have died and 2.5 million driven from their homes since mostly non-Arab rebels took up arms in early 2003 accusing the government of neglect.

The Sudanese said they were upbeat about Bassole: "I'm optimistic," Karti said. "I feel that he's coming to stay in Sudan to (find about) about the problem from all sides whether the government or the armed groups."

- Reuters