Arab eyes on Sudan
With a Sudanese peace conference around the corner, Arabs are trying to get on board. Dina Ezzat reports
Arab countries are trying not to hide their anxiety over the peace deal that is likely to be signed between the Sudanese government and its major rival faction, the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA). For many Arab countries, particularly the immediate neighbours of Sudan, there is concern that the expected peace deal may lead to the creation of an anti-Arab state in the South.
Nonetheless, Arabs are very much aware that it is only a matter of time before the US throws its full political weight into extracting a peace deal in Sudan. Informed diplomatic quarters suggest that as early as next month US Secretary of State Colin Powell could oversee the signing of a peace treaty whose details were outlined during the recent round of talks between Sudanese Vice President Ali Othman Taha and John Garang, the leader of the SPLA. According to Abdel-Rahman Ibrahim, a member of the Khartoum delegation to the Kenya talks, Powell did express a preference for a peace deal this year.
The message sent by Khartoum to the Arab world is that the Sudanese government is under intense American pressure to sign a peace agreement with the SPLA. Under this atmosphere, a deal could favour the SPLA and enable the separation of southern Sudan from the rest of the country. As the peace process has detailed, the South is to vote on its future political status six years after the signing of a peace accord. Accordingly, the Sudanese government asked the Arab League to increase their efforts to develop the long-ignored southern parts of the country in order to gain more support for national unity from its alienated inhabitants.
"We are well aware of the challenge and we have been working on this matter for over a year now, since the signing of the Machakos Protocols back in 2002," said Samir Hosni, head of the African Affairs Department at the Arab League. According to Hosni, it was the initiatives of the Arab League that prompted several Arab capital and development funds to invest $117 million in development projects in southern Sudan. These included constructing the first highway connecting the North and South of the country along with several projects to provide clean water and electricity to much of the rural South.
Today the Arab League is hosting a meeting for a key group of concerned Arab officials, including the Sudanese permanent representative to the Arab League, the secretary-general of the Arab Investors Union and a group of Arab entrepreneurs who are seeking business opportunities in southern Sudan. Another meeting on investments in Sudan is also scheduled to take place at the Arab League headquarters early in January.
Meanwhile, several Arab countries are finally showing signs of good will in contributing to the development of southern Sudan. Egypt, which is particularly interested in the stability and unity of its southern neighbour for reasons of national interest, especially related to water resources, has been leading the pack.
"It is true that we would have preferred to see peace fixed in Sudan in accordance with the all- inclusive joint Egyptian-Libyan peace initiative that aimed to bring together not just the SPLA but all parties, but in any event we are going to deal with the situation that we have, and we intend to endorse the efforts of the Sudanese government to develop the southern part of the country," an Egyptian diplomat said.
To serve this purpose, Egypt is already working with Sudan on a number of projects that will be implemented in the southern Sudanese capital, including an Egyptian-Sudanese Bank, he said.
But Arab investment in Sudan is not only financial -- the Arab League and Arab capitals are also making a substantial political investment to secure the stability and unity of Sudan.
According to Hisham Youssef, the chief of staff of the Arab League's secretary-general, the organisation is maintaining close contact with the key political players in Sudan. Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa is constantly corresponding with the Sudanese government and all the northern and southern opposition leaders, as well as with the US and UK envoys to Sudan, Youssef said.
"It is very important for us to talk to them and stress our point of view on the need to work to preserve the stability and unity of Sudan for the interests of all Sudanese people," Youssef said.
According to Youssef, who recently met with both the British and American envoys, the Arab League is getting its point across while simultaneously carving out a foothold for itself as a real partner in the peace-making efforts in Sudan.
"This is precisely the reason that the Arab League is opting to take part as an observer in the implementation process of the peace deal," Hosni said.
The expected peace deal in Sudan will be based on the strict sharing of wealth and power between the predominantly northern Islamist- leaning government and the SPLA. This is not proving to be a convenient formula for other opposition factions, especially those which previously coordinated closely with the SPLA and now feel excluded. As informed diplomats suggest, this exclusion of much of the opposition may not hamper the formation of a peace deal between government and SPLA, but it might make the prospect of stability more elusive for Sudan. This, diplomats argue, may be a greater challenge for the Arab League and concerned member countries.
