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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 16 - 22 March 2000 Issue No. 473
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Special Focus Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Africa's elusive stability
By Dina EzzatThe year 2000 was supposed to be the year of peace and security in Africa. That, at least, was the ambition that was put forward at the last extraordinary African summit held in Sirte last September. However, the year 2000 is now upon us, and the dream of security -- let alone stability -- seems as elusive as ever.
In Addis Ababa last week, the foreign ministers of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) were still discussing the same eternal conflicts they have been debating for years: the Ethiopia-Eritrea war, the disintegration of Somalia, the potential division of Sudan, the chaos in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the unrest in the Comoros Islands.
"There is no doubt that it is an uphill struggle that we face," commented Meles Zenawi, Ethiopia's prime minister.
The OAU, for all its good intentions, seems singularly unable to put an end to any of these conflicts. Nor does this incapacity seem likely to change in any significant way in the foreseeable future. "There is still so much for the continent to worry about," commented Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, who headed Egypt's delegation to the ministerial council.
It was evident from talks on the fringes of the meeting that neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea are yet ready to accept any serious compromise. All they are willing to do is talk. "We continue to engage in our conversations," commented Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin. But is there any serious hope that these talks could bring an end to the war between the two neighbours that used to form one single country? "I am not very hopeful," commented one OAU official. "The situation does not look very promising."
The same could be said of most of the other conflicts which fall within the organisation's purview. The chief problem is widely held to be the lack of any serious interest on the part of the warring factions in putting an end to their fighting. "This is making it very difficult for the OAU, or those African countries which come up with their own peace initiatives, to make progress in bringing stability to our continent," commented one African minister.
Yet if there is one case which does seem as if it might permit of some real and sustainable progress, it is perhaps the Sudan. Relations with its neighbours, particularly Egypt and Ethiopia, are improving at a steady pace. "There should be more cooperation between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt," said Mesfin, whose country was once at loggerheads with its northern neighbour.
The joint Egyptian-Libyan initiative for peace in Sudan seems to be advancing well, although it is still a long slow grind. Sudan's State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Bishop Gabriel Roreg, told Al-Ahram Weekly that the initiative has won the acceptance of all the Sudanese, both government and people, because it attempts to achieve reconciliation within both the north and the south, as well as between the two.
Informed Sudanese sources told the Weekly that despite the ambiguous stance of SPLA leader John Garang, both the Sudanese government and its opponents seem to be moving towards accepting this joint initiative. "It could well be that President Omar Al-Bashir will meet with the leading opposition figures, including Garang, sometime in April," said the sources. "That meeting would then open the door to an all-inclusive conference for reconciliation in Sudan." Both these meetings are expected to take place in Cairo, with high-level Egyptian and Libyan participation.
Sudan's relations with Egypt are also making significant progress. "We believe our bilateral relations have witnessed the beginning of a new era, with the arrival of an Egyptian ambassador to the Sudan after so many years' absence," said Roreg following talks with Foreign Minister Amr Moussa.
Roreg and Moussa, moreover, both see room for continuing improvements. The Sudanese would like these to include a stepping-up of Egyptian aid for development in Sudan. "If Egypt is a sister country, then what does that imply about the commitments she should be taking on?" the Sudanese official asked rhetorically, before answering his own question: "We need Egypt to get involved on the ground -- in construction, in the rehabilitation of displaced people who had to flee their homes, in building schools."
Somalia's luck may also be about to turn. Throughout the conference, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Ali Abdi Farah was actively promoting his country's initiative to bring stability to the war-torn country. All past efforts have failed, he argued, because the faction leaders were not interested in making peace. The Djibouti initiative is therefore based on engaging directly with the people and civil society. This approach could break the deadlock, Abdi Farah told the Weekly, because, unlike their leaders, the people themselves want peace.
Security and cooperation in Africa will be the subject of further discussion in the near future at a conference specifically dedicated to this matter. The suggestion came from Nigeria, which has offered to host the event in Abuja next May.
Elsewhere, the emphasis was on how economic development could help bring stability and security to the continent. This theme will be explored further next month in Cairo, when African leaders meet with their counterparts from the European Union to discuss potential fields of cooperation. "The next meeting between us and the European continent will be a good opportunity for us to underline our unity and to seek that aid to which we have a legitimate claim," commented Ali Al-Triki the Libyan minister for African affairs. "For it is Europe which is responsible for the current situation in Africa, which is the result of many years of colonisation."
At the Africa-EU meeting, Al-Triki suggested, the African countries should seek compensation for decades of colonial rule. "We pursued this with the Italians, and the approach worked," Al-Triki said. He added that the next summit should also touch upon Europe's responsibility for demining those northern African states that have suffered from a serious land-mine problem ever since World War II. Debt relief, elimination of economic sanctions, and medical help with HIV/AIDS are also issues that he feels should be raised.
"We think this summit will provide a good opportunity for serious African-European dialogue, particularly since the Europeans agreed that socio-economic issues be included on the agenda," commented Foreign Minister Moussa.
Indeed, this summit is just one part of Egypt's larger plan to promote the concept of economic cooperation in Africa. Egyptian officials admit that this task is not an easy one. But emphasising the idea of collective economic gain could potentially provide a way to move beyond the in-fighting which has long plagued intra-African relations. If it does work, then it would be well worth the effort.
