Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir paraded as a man of peace on Thursday as he wrapped up a heavily protected tour of Darfur defying accusations that he masterminded genocide in the region.
Wearing a safari suit, shades and a giant ring, he danced on stage and beat his silver-topped cane to nationalist music as several thousand people fanned themselves in the scorching heat of the West Darfur state capital El Geneina.
On his second day of a tour of the three government-controlled state capitals in the west, Beshir presented himself as a man of peace despite stalled international efforts to find a political solution.
“We will exclude no one [from peace]: tribal leaders, politicians, signatory movements and even non-signatories,” he told the crowd who wilted under the sun but responded to the Islamic slogan chanting habitual at Beshir rallies.
He is the first head of state to be accused by International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in the western region of Darfur. He faces a possible international arrest warrant for allegedly ordering his forces to annihilate three non-Arab groups in Darfur, masterminding murder, torture, pillaging and using rape to commit genocide.
Beshir spent two days dancing and talking about peace to thousands of supporters, promising to do whatever possible to allow the displaced to return home but giving no specifics on his first visit to Darfur in a year.
“We don’t need lessons from anyone. We don’t need to be told how to behave. Peace is the responsibility of Darfuris,” he said in El Geneina, adding he had come to Darfur to “share the pain” of the people and listen to their requests.
However, he avoided the huge camps for the more than 2.2 million people estimated to have been displaced by the war.
Meanwhile, an internal report on the UN mission in Sudan admits “lessons” were learned from the way peacekeepers behaved during an attack on the disputed oil-rich town of Abyei in which scores of civilians were killed.
The top US envoy to Sudan Richard Williamson has accused UN peacekeepers (UNMIS), of hiding in their barracks during the fighting in May instead of protecting civilians in line with their mandate.
UN special envoy for Sudan Ashraf Qazi rejected Williamson’s comments, saying “UNMIS has neither the capacity nor the mandate to militarily intervene.”
Several UN diplomats said on condition of anonymity that they feared the report on UNMIS’ actions could be a “whitewash.”
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