The road to Juba
The Arab League is intensifying its involvement in efforts towards Sudanese peace and unity. Dina Ezzat reports
Still smarting from the wounds of the Iraqi occupation, the Arab League is endeavouring to prevent the fall of another Arab country -- this time to civil strife.
Sudan ranks high on the agenda of the Arab League these days. Although the league has pursued peace and development for Sudan for some time, recently these efforts have been stepped up in response to fears that havoc could befall yet another Arab country.
This week Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa met with representatives of the Sudanese government and opposition factions to explore the possibility of hosting a meeting with the leaders of all parties to discuss the necessary steps for peace and unity in Sudan.
During his meeting with Sudanese opposition leader Sadik Al-Mahdi, Moussa received a proposal for a new Sudanese national charter encouraging all Sudanese factions to work towards a peace deal.
"There needs to be a clear plan for the road to peace," said Al-Mahdi.
Like other leaders of Sudanese northern opposition groups, Al-Mahdi is worried that the Machakos peace talks currently taking place between the Khartoum regime and the southern opposition may result in a bilateral deal that excludes the views of other Sudanese factions. Al- Mahdi insisted that no peace deal could be lasting without the consent of all opposition factions.
"This is why we should pursue Moussa's call for an all-inclusive Sudanese conference to agree on peace guidelines," Al-Mahdi said.
This may not be easy to achieve. Following a meeting with Moussa this week, Sudanese Cabinet Minister Essam Al-Bashir did not indicate willingness on the part of his government to hold such a conference. Al-Bashir's statement after the meeting expressed Khartoum's preference for negotiating separate peace deals with the various factions.
A similar line was adopted by John Garang, head of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the nation's largest opposition group, during talks held with the league a few weeks ago.
However, according to Samir Hosni, head of the African Affairs department at the Arab League, the road to peace and development in Sudan will be difficult. "We know that it is not going to happen overnight. But we have to map the way," said Hosni.
Paving the road to peace in Sudan entails not only negotiating the division of power and wealth among the government and opposition factions but also working to end civil strife between the government and the SPLA. It will also require the implementation of urgently-needed development projects in the southern parts of the country.
According to the Machakos Protocols that were signed by the Sudanese government and its southern opposition last summer in Kenya, the south could secede through a referendum that is mandated to take place six years after a peace deal is reached by both sides. Most Arab states, particularly immediate neighbours such as Egypt and Libya, are concerned that the Machakos peace talks could lead to an independent southern state which may be in constant conflict with its northern neighbour, thus causing instability in an already volatile region.
"So, to secure peace and unity we have to work with all factions on settlement and development," said Hosni.
For this purpose, last week Hosni led an Arab League delegation visit to southern Sudan for talks with top opposition figures, including Garang.
During the visit, the first by an official Arab delegation in half a century, the delegation explored options for peace. Hosni explained that the league's mission to Sudan also included consultations over future development projects to be undertaken in southern Sudan. "The Arab League is already collecting funds for this purpose," he said. Hosni assessed the visit to southern Sudan as "very positive". "It was positive in the sense that it made clear that the Arab League is sincere about encouraging a peace deal that accommodates all points of view and not only that of the government, as some southern opposition figures could have suspected. It was also good that tentative agreements were reached on the kind of development projects that should soon be implemented with Arab funds in the southern areas," Hosni said.
According to Hosni, there is now a tentative understanding that after a peace agreement is reached, the Arab League will open a bureau in Juba, the city the southerners have declared as their capital.
While in Sudan, in addition to talks with Sudanese government officials, the league went to Nairobi to meet with Kenyan officials closely involved in peace negotiations between the SPLA and Khartoum.
Meanwhile, the league is also pursuing talks with non-governmental organisations in Sudan in the hopes that they may facilitate the achievement of a peace deal.
To this end, the Arab League, in coordination with the Egyptian National Centre for NGOs, hosted a meeting of Sudanese NGOs in Cairo this week. The aim of the meeting was to underscore the elements that bring Sudanese together.
The league is also considering hosting a meeting of Sudanese intellectuals from various political backgrounds to help channel efforts for the pursuit of peace and unity in Sudan.
"The Arab League is committed to Sudan just as much as it is committed to the Palestinian issue. Peace in Sudan is not a lesser priority than peace in Palestine," said Hosni.
