Sudan peace stalemate threatens African security
December 8, 2007 (KHARTOUM) — Sudan’s government and former southern rebels are stuck in a political stalemate that could undermine security across the horn of Africa, a senior official said on Saturday.
“Now they are stuck. It’s a stalemate,” said Tom Vraalsen, the departing chairman of the international body set up to assess the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
“I am disappointed at where we are today. I thought that the parties would be much further down the road in implementing the peace agreement… I had hoped for much more,” Vraalsen told Reuters.
Vraalsen is due to leave Sudan on Tuesday after a two-year contract as chairman of the Assessment and Evaluation Commission, set up as part of the peace deal to monitor its progress.
While Vraalsen was working, the terms of his contract barred him from commenting publicly on how the peace deal was progressing. The former commission chairman said he felt he could speak in a personal capacity now that his time in the country was almost over.
SPILL OVER
Vraalsen said it was the responsibility of Khartoum and the SPLM to find a way out of the impasse.
“It is urgent. They should act on it now. A Sudan at peace with itself can have a tremendous stabilising influence on this region. Sudan at war with itself does the opposite and can have very serious consequences for stability in the horn of Africa.”
He added instability in Sudan could spill over into already tense situations in neighbouring Chad, the Central African Republic, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Vraalsen, a former Norwegian ambassador to Sudan, said both sides had made significant progress in pushing the peace agreement along.
But the government and the SPLM remained stuck on a list of core issues relating to security, politics and economics. “There are very important parts of the CPA which are not implemented and where they are seriously behind in implementation.”
The most serious stumbling block was the status of the central oil rich Abyei region. Others included delays in redeploying northern and southern troops behind their respective borders and in planning for a promised census and elections.
“I think there is real interest in peace,” said Vraalsen. “But they both want peace on their terms. Here you are dealing with two parties that have been at war politically and militarily for twenty years plus. For the two to build the necessary confidence and trust, it is not all easy.”
Vraalsen called on Khartoum to give future Assessment and Evaluation Commission chairmen more freedom to speak publicly and publish reports.
He said Sudan should be more open to accepting help from foreign countries in mediating disputes over the peace deal.
“If you have someone on the outside who really wants to be helpful, who is driven by honestly supporting the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, why not seek support?”
(Reuters)
Agei Makueidorbai
Sudan peace stalemate threatens African security
Mr. Vaarsel, where were you all this time and why would you wait for your term to be over in order to reveal the truth today? I believe it is not easy to deal with Khartoum since everything in the government depend on bullets and no other alternative to discuss thing out, but we were expecting international experts like you to speak out loudly without taking any side. We the peace lover people of southern sudan want transparency and honesty if we want to be a long time partners in sudan peace, but if not, we have no choice, but defend our rightfulness, the CPA. We have waited enough to let Bashir knows that we patient and willing to resolve our internal problem without involving outside forces, but we also have courage not to let power abuser abuse CPA when we are still awake. We will be hold accountable for our failure to protect the CPA bought with very expensive blood of our fallen martyer since the beginning of struggle and we do not want to be want to be the “victim of the carrot on the stick” as we emerge out from yes-yes and ok-ok people to no, no people, we need equal transparency in everything we do if we want sudan to be in peace in each other or we are deceiving ourselves.
peace is the mother of laughter, but war is the mother of division and mistrust.
Makueidorbai
Joe Dyer
Sudan peace stalemate threatens African security
To Mr. Tom Vraalsen — The stalemate, Dear Sir, is because the Khartoum government will not abide by the CPA. South Sudan will uphold its side of the agreement, as it has in the past. However, the Arabs in Khartoum have NEVER honored ANY agreement they have EVER made with the South. (Hmmm… Maybe we should review Mr. Vraalsen’s credentials — he should know these things.) Why do you say that South Sudan holds any responsibility, whatsoever, for the stalemate?