The Security Council Should Impose Non-African Forces in Khartoum

For the UN, a peace accord is a prerequisite that will make the hybrid force's mission less dangerous in Darfur . At the request of France , the Security Council representatives as well as mediators from the UN and the African Union met with Abd el Wahid el Nour in Geneva on March 19 th . This historical leader of the Sudan Liberation Army refuses peace negotiations without the suspension of armed conflict. The international community found this to be unreasonable. Nour explained to them that the government's failure to respect two cease-fires and to disarm Janjaweed militiamen has caused him to have little trust in Khartoum for negotiations. His interlocutors recognized the necessity to reinforce general security in Darfur . One of the hawks of the regime, Nafi Ali Nafi, immediately replied, “The Security Council will not stop us from fighting the rebels, even if the entire world shouts. No conditions on peace negotiations.” Decoded, this is a fiery expression of discontent.

The [SOFA] Statute of UNAMID (UN's mission in Darfur), has been signed with Khartoum . UNAMID has first of all the right to have radio stations that are under its exclusive control in order to spread information relating to its mandate, and secondly the complete freedom of movement (except by air for which permission from the Sudanese Civil Aviation Administration is necessary.) UNAMID also has the right to use radio, mobile phone, and email communications among its various sites. It does not however, have the right to use these communications with its troops or on moving vehicles. According to some personnel members: “The UNAMID mandate is more restrictive than AMIS' mandate was.”

This force is supposed to assure the protection of civilians. The rebel Justice and Equality Movement abandoned its region north of Geneina in order to go support President Deby in Chad . Suddenly, the air force, then hordes of Janjaweed, and finally the army attacked civilians there. Many people were killed, including NGO members. They pillaged and burned three citie, thus destroying their schools, dispensaries, aide agencies, and wells. They also caused 50,000 people to flee and later prevented them from seeking refuge in Chad . UNAMID wrote a condemning report but did nothing, as it does not have a mandate allowing for military intervention.

Of course, the force only has 9,000 of the 26,000 men anticipated. It was waiting for about 8,000 Ethiopians and Egyptians in March. The Sudanese government only wants Africans for this force, except for a few Chinese. Indeed, the African Union's mission in Sudan has, by its incapability, drawn the antipathy of the rebels, civilians, and even members of the Janjaweed. This has certainly been perfectly convenient for Khartoum . The Security Council should impose non-African troops! China , which would like to conciliate public opinion before the Olympics Games has already advised Khartoum to accept Nepalese and Thai troops.

Hope on Minucart and Eufor, deployed in Tchad and CAR was put on their positive impact in Sudan . In the meantime, Khartoum attacked one of their vehicles that get lost in Sudan , killing a French national. Eufor responded that it would block all incursions into Chad .

In Khartoum testify an economic boom, large office buildings being constructed, shopping malls, hotels, luxury cars, and other opulent goods that are now abundant. Who are these nouveaux riches who do not seem to be concerned about Darfur ? One example is the members of the governing party, the National Congress (NC), who benefit from the oil revenues. Curiously, those who come from the provinces do not invest in their native regions. The gap between the rich and the poor, and between the Center and the Periphery is widening throughout the country. This was one of the major causes of all the insurrections.

Bételgeuse

Tr . Tylea Muray

Southern Sudan : an endless wait.. ..

After arduous negotiations in December 2007, Southern Sudan 's President Salva Kiir and the SPLM accepted to join the Governement of national unity after obviously settling a number of major contentious issues. Three months later, most of them are still at a deadlock, especially the Abyei status which focuses North and South interests and remains at the core of both sides' tensions, – insecurity is permanent in the area and any incident can quickly develop into armed conflict – , the absence of North-South border demarcation will inevitably hamper the national census process that is to start on 15 April. The census operation still faces several roadblocks a few days before it starts. Since the beginning of the year, the number of Internally Displaced People and Refugees heading for the South in order to take part in the census has kept increasing. Their return, which is made even more difficult by the lack of infrastructures for their resettlement, will have a major impact on Southern Sudan 's future: power and wealth-sharing, participation in the 2009 electrons and 2011 referendum. Security around oil rich areas cannot be controlled by Joint Integrated Units which have difficulty acting as reliable united forces because of underfunding and lack of political will. The GoSS tries to control the « weapon culture » in the South as well as widespread corruption through a series of apparently dynamic measures.

At last, a Peace Agreement putting an end to the conflict between the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) and Ugandan governement could indeed contribute to restoring peace and trust in Northern Uganda's and Southern Sudan's populations terribly affected by the atrocities of the LRA and Ugandan army for twenty years.

Elias