Sudan's foreign minister today rejected calls by the top UN envoy in the country to make additions to a peace deal for Darfur after widespread rejection of the accord.
Jan Pronk
UN special envoy Jan Pronk wrote in his June 28th weblog that many things needed to added to the May 5th peace deal - such as more transparency in disarming pro-government militias and international security guarantees, which were key demands of the rebels who refused to sign the deal.
But Foreign Minister Lam Akol dismissed Mr Pronk's statement. "An addition is an amendment," he said, adding only the parties to the deal could agree any changes to the deal.
"We will never accept an amendment because Pronk says . . . we will amend the peace deal when the reality on the ground dictates [and] it does not," he added.
Since the African Union (AU)-mediated peace deal, which only one of three negotiating rebel factions signed, tens of thousands of people have staged demonstrations, at times violently, saying it does not meet their basic demands.
Mr Pronk called this a "new political fact" that required additions to the deal, which had hoped to end the more than three years of rape, murder and pillage that has killed tens of thousands and forced 2.5 million into wretched camps.
But Mr Akol said Mr Pronk was in no position to say that. Calling Mr Pronk "junior", he said: "Do I believe Pronk or do I believe [UN Secretary-General] Kofi Annan?" he said, adding Mr Annan had not echoed his envoy's words when he met him on Sunday.
Mr Pronk's comments came just ahead of the weekend AU summit in Gambia where Mr Annan met President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Mr Akol, hoping to convince them of accepting a UN takeover of AU troops struggling to monitor a shaky Darfur truce.
Sudan rejects UN transition, despite support for a takeover from the AU, which says it cannot sustain its cash-strapped mission.