Arabic Media

January 28 , 2008

Source: Asharq Al Awsat (Saudi-owned Pan-Arab daily with wide circulation)
Headline: President of Islamic Affairs Council in Chad Calls for General Mobilization to Confront Sudan’s Greed
By: Mustapha Sirri

• Hussein Abkar, President of Islamic Affairs Council in Chad called for general mobilization during Friday prayer to confront Sudan’s greed and plans to control Chad’s natural resources
• However, Chadian government spokesperson, Omar Yahia, said that President Idriss Deby will call for peace and not confrontation with Sudan during a planned popular rally by merchants and businessmen
• Meanwhile, Sudanese ambassador in Chad indicated that a list of Sudanese children kidnapped by L’Arche de Zoe and their documents will be given to Chadian officials to determine their identity
• At the same time, Sudan Liberation Movment – Abdul Shaffi faction accused European Union of pressuring Libya to expel Darfur immigrants
• The movement urged the Libyan authorities to treat Darfur immigrants humanely and to protect their rights

Source: Addustour (Government-friendly, Jordanian daily enjoys wide circulation)
Headline: Bernard Kushner Says EUFOR Force Will not Support President Idriss Deby

• French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bernard Kushner, indicated that EUFOR force will not protect Deby’s regime but Darfur refugees in Chad and Central African Republic
• Kushner wanted to reassure Chadian rebels who feared the force would be used to strengthen Deby’s regime

Source: Annahar (Independent Lebanese daily with strong circulation)
Headline: Regional Summit in Libya to Discuss Crisis between Chad and Sudan

• Sudanese official Sammani Al Wasila indicated that presidents of Libya, Egypt, Eritrea, Chad, and Sudan will meet in Libya to difuse tensions between Chad and Libya
• He added that Egypt, Eritrea, and Libya were the witnesses and guarantors of the signed peace agreement between Chad and Sudan few months ago
• Al Wasila explained that his country exercised a lot of restraint when it did not retaliate against Chad’s repeated attacks inside his country

Source: Al Riyadh (Government-friendly Saudi daily with wide circulation)
Headline: Alberto Fernandez Says His Statements Reflected US Positions and Sudan Condemns Them
By: Khalid Saad

• Sudanese ministry of foreign affairs summoned US representative Alberto Fernandez to protest recent statement he made criticizing internal Sudanese affairs
• The ministry accused Fernandez of interfering in its internal affairs and complained US positions hinder efforts to achieve internal peace in Sudan
• Fernandez made statements criticizing Sudan’s appointment of Janjaweed militia leader Musa Hilal as government advisor
• Fernandez, however, indicated that his statements reflected his country’s positions and added that his statements were misinterpreted and exaggerated

Source: Al Ahram (government-friendly, Egyptian daily with over 1 million in circulation)
Headline: New European Peacekeeping Mission in Africa
By: Javier Solana

• European Union decided to send peacekeepers to Chad and Central African Republic to provide peace and stability for the civilian population in the two countries and to protect Darfur refugees
• The situation in the area is tragic and Europe could not stand by and not extend a helping hand to assist a nearby African area
• In addition to the historical ties that bind the two continents, war pushes thousand of people to flee their countries and that is not acceptable in the 21st century
• This peacekeeping mission is the largest such mission by the European Union in Africa and will not just provide peace and stability but also to humanitarian aid assist in rebuilding the affected areas

Source: Al Ahram (government-friendly, Egyptian daily with over 1 million in circulation)
Op/Ed: The Ball is now in Chad and Sudan’s Camp

• To ensure regional Summit’s success, Chad and Sudan must do their part by exercising self-restraint and implementing this and previous summits’ recommendations
• Libya hosted numerous summits between Chad and Sudan, Chadian regime and rebels, and Sudanese regime and rebels but lack of trust doomed all these signed agreements
• The two countries’ insist on blaming their internal rebellions on each other instead of addressing the causes of these rebellions.  Doing so will only perpetuate the crises
• Chad and Sudan must remove the causes of these rebellions and rely on diplomatic efforts and channels to resolve their disagreements.  There is only so much Libya and Egypt can do to improve the situation in the region, the real effort must come from the two concerned countries: Chad and Sudan

Source: Al Jazeera (Leading Arabic News Channel, headquartered in Qatar)
Headline: Libyan Summit Fails to Reduce Tensions between Chad and Sudan

• African mini summit held in Libya failed to resolve crisis between Chad and Sudan
• Participating leaders indicated that the summit’s goal was not to resolve the crisis but to understand the two countries’ point of view
• Egyptian government spokesperson said the leaders discussed the crisis in Darfur and its impact on neighboring countries