Making unity attractive
The Arab League is pushing hard for development and unity in Sudan. Dina Ezzat reports
Arab League efforts to convene an all-inclusive Sudanese political meeting to bring together government and all opposition factions are proceeding at full speed.
The call for a comprehensive reconciliation conference was initiated by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa during a visit to Khartoum a few weeks ago. Late last week, during a visit that included the capital and the southern part of the country, Moussa reiterated his call. "I am again calling on the representatives of all Sudanese political factions to come together for a meeting where they freely and candidly discuss their differences and find a way out," Moussa said.
This call, Arab League sources say, was one of the matters discussed during the talks Moussa held in Khartoum with Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. The matter is also being pursued with representatives of all key political factions including the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
And while the Arab League is enthusiastic about such a gathering, sources at the organisation suggest that a meeting date is a ways off. Hampering swift progress on this front are the inter-opposition conflicts that followed the unilateral signing of the Machakos peace deal with the Sudanese government by the SPLA. Also mitigating against the holding of such a meeting is the disappointment expressed by Khartoum regarding the political commitment of some factions of the northern opposition to implementing the requirements for peace.
The outcome of the new round of Machakos that opened this week in Kenya, then, is expected to be decisive to whether such an Arab League-sponsored meeting will occur. Sources close to the talks between opposition factions and the government predict that if discussions within the Machakos framework indicate that a government-SPLA peace deal is around the corner, other opposition groups might be encouraged to show greater flexibility.
So far there is not even a tentative date for the conference, "But we are in constant contact with all the concerned parties," commented Samir Hosni, head of the section for African and Sudanese affairs at the Arab League. According to Hosni, Moussa's recent visit to Khartoum and southern Sudan and a prior visit made by an Arab League delegation to parts of southern Sudan that are controlled by the SPLA are clear indications of the Arab organisation's determination to pursue peace, development and unity in Sudan.
"To serve this very objective, the Arab League is also seriously pursuing the implementation of key developmental projects for southern Sudan," Hosni said. "We believe that without development in the southern areas it will be unrealistic to expect a vote for unity when the time comes for a referendum".
According to the Machakos protocols signed last October in Kenya, a referendum on the future of the southern parts of Sudan should be held within six years of the signing of a peace deal. The Machakos protocols stipulate that during that period a monitoring mechanism should ensure that both the government and SPLA are taking necessary steps to encourage the choice of unity. Participation in this monitoring body is to include two neighbouring states and two regional organisations. The Arab League is hoping to be on board.
Also, according to the Machakos protocols, all parties concerned are to work to make the choice of unity "attractive". An SPLA source said the obvious move in this respect is to give the southern Sudanese greater influence over political decision making processes at the national level. Equally important, the source said, is the economic development of the south.
While the matter of political rights may be settled during peace talks, development could prove problematic in view of the Sudanese government's limited resources. This is a front where the Arab League has been making serious offers.
"During the past few months Secretary- General Moussa has expressed Arab states' and organisations' willingness to finance development in southern Sudan," Hosni said. And, during his visit to southern Sudan last week, Moussa, along with Sudanese President Al-Bashir attended the inauguration of the construction of a highway to link the country's north and south.
