With the incorporation of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur (DDPD) in Sudan’s Interim Constitution, the Darfuri people’s demand has been fulfilled, according to Dr El Tijani Sese, head of the Darfur Regional Authority (DRA). Voluntary return and development projects will soon start in the war-torn western region of the country.<\/p>\n
In a press conference held at the DRA office in Khartoum on Tuesday, Sese and Amin Hassan Omar, head of the governmental Darfur Follow-up Council, welcomed the incorporation of the DDPD in the Constitution. <\/p>\n
Sese said that some 64 development projects will be started soon in the war-torn region, though the Darfur Reconstruction Fund did not receive financial support from international donors. “The federal Ministry of Finance contributed SDG1,750 million ($307 million) in credit letters from the Bank of Omdurman and the Faisal Islamic Bank.” <\/p>\n
“First of all we thank Qatar for the donation of $35 million for the implementation of the donors' conference. As for the development plans, an amount of $88 million has been transferred to the UN Development Programme for the implementation of short-term projects. The German government is implementing some projects too,” he said.<\/p>\n
Referendum<\/strong><\/p>\n The DRA head announced that there a plans to hold a referendum about the status of Darfur, “to decide whether to return Darfur to one region or to remain with the current states system”.<\/p>\n The head of the Darfur Follow-up Council stated that the incorporation of the DDPD in the Constitution will ensure the “sustainability of development in Darfur”.<\/p>\n He said that the Darfur Follow-up Council has planned a meeting in Nyala, capital of South Darfur, on 11 and 12 January, to discuss the actual implementation of the DDPD. “This will be followed by the launch of a number of voluntary return projects on 13 January.”<\/p>\n