Darfur crisis, a destructive force against the Sudan peace deal
By Kor Tot
Jan 22, 2006 — Since its signing in Jan, 2005 the Comprehensive Peace Agreement has brought little if any change to Sudan in general and southern in particular. It would be foolish to watch the CPA, an outcome of a process that took the SPLM leadership years to negotiate and two decades to realize, slowly disappear without exploring the forces behind its mercy killing. Darfur crisis is the single most identifiable destructive force against the CPA; no matter how justifiable the cause is to the people of Darfur as it is to the people of southern Sudan.
My argument as to why Darfur crisis is a factor, perhaps, the strongest factor in the potential collapse of the CPA has nothing against the struggle of the people of Darfur for freedom, equality and justice because the CPA is a by-product of a similar struggle by southern Sudanese and other marginalized people of Nuba Mountain, southern Blue Nile and Abyei against the same repressive regime. Martin Luther King Jr., an American Civil right activist once said “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. This is analogous to saying that injustice in Darfur is a threat to justice in southern Sudan, Nuba Mountain, Abyei and southern Blue Nile, however, the timing of the Darfur crisis is adversely affecting the beneficiaries of the CPA.
The Publicity Campaign by the Western Media
It is hard to find any western media outlet that doesn’t mention Darfur as much as the war in Iraq. This public relation campaign makes the Darfur crisis the most publicized rebellion in the entire continent. Of course, hundreds of thousands of people have been slaughtered in Darfur as opposed to the millions in southern Sudan, yet Darfur takes precedence over southern Sudan given the interest that the western media has in the conflict. Western governments, particularly, the united States have history of biased attention to human tragedy. The government of the United States, for example, knew that two millions people died in Africa’s longest running civil war (North-South conflict) but it was initially slow to publicize the war and also slow to stop the killing. Almost a million people were slaughtered in the Rwandan genocide but the United States stood by and watched without using its military might to stop the killing, just to mention a few examples. In other words, Darfur’s publicity is taking toll on the CPA by shifting the world attention away from it.
The CPA needs nurturing if it is to survive. Sudan’s National Congress Party is pretty good in deception and denial campaign, so if the CPA is not nurtured then the NCP may use many excuses that may put it well into jeopardy. That, definitely, isn’t good news for those who would benefit from the CPA from a public relation standpoint. The injustice that may re-emerge in southern Sudan and other areas covered by the CPA may also surface in Darfur if the CPA is not fully implemented. Seeking a lasting solution to Darfur crisis while making sure that the CPA is moving forward is the right thing that the International community needs to do to achieve peace and stability in the entire country.
Copy right infringement on the Part of Darfur Rebel
You are not allowed copy someone’s work and make it your own without prior permission from that individual because such action would land you in court room faced with a lawsuit. Copy right infringement is what Darfur rebels’ negotiation team is currently doing in Abuja, partly, because the Nigerian Government is not serious about protecting intellectual property. You can not negotiate a settlement which is wholly based on the CPA without referencing the CPA because that amounts to an act of opening a friendly fire on the CPA. Opening a friendly fire on people who fully sympathize with your cause is the worst thing that my friends in Darfur want to do at this critical juncture. The SPLM has always recommended a settlement that uses the CPA as a model to resolve Darfur crisis as opposed to negotiating a whole new model of peace agreement that would compromise the CPA. To refresh your memory about the CPA, it is not Comprehensive Peace Agreement for southern Sudan; rather it is Comprehensive Peace Agreement for Sudan. Given its breadth, it should be a model for solving other Sudanese Crisis, instead of subjecting it to persistent assault with a double barrel riffle on its bottom-line. Southern Sudanese as well as other marginalized people of the Sudan would definitely not want to side with a friend who is being arrogant towards their hard won gains.
The SPM’s governing philosophy at the national level
It is important to note that the CPA comes not as the result a battle field victory by the SPLA over the Sudan Armed Forces, but rather as a mutual understanding between the SPLM and NCP/NIF after both parties realized that neither the SPLA nor the Sudan Armed Forces was winning the war and that a political settlement is one of the options they could use to solve their underlying problem. It would be absurd to think that SPLM that became NC’s peace partner as a result of the CPA can change Sudan’s political land escape overnight. Perhaps, you need a military victory to change a particular system to a system of your choosing as soon as possible, unfortunately, the SPLM doesn’t have that advantage at the moment. The United States is introducing democracy in Iraq because it won a decisive military victory over Iraqi army in a battle field. So expecting the SPLM to clean up all the mess that has built up in the Sudanese political system over the years is a mistake, given the fact the same old regime is still holding on to power, however, hoping that things would change for better now that the SPLM is part of the government is what we ought do.
As a matter of fact, the SPLM members of the Government of the National Unity do not have real power, in part, because their peace partner, NCP, is reluctant to share power and partly due to the demise of the former SPLM leader John Garang would have made power sharing the central governing philosophy of the SPLM. Currently the SPLM doesn’t appear to have a clear strategy for utilizing portions of its national portfolios, specifically, the foreign affairs department, to advance its agenda. H.E Salva Kiir has made huge mistake for appointing Lam Akol as Sudan’s top diplomat not because of Lam’s credentials but because of his views on the issues related to Sudan’s territorial integrity and south Sudan desire for independence. Lam Akol is a long time separatist whose views on the issues having to do with new Sudan agenda had put him at odds with John Garang. A self proclaim separatist may not be the best candidate for cabinet position at the national level given the NIF’s desire to make unity attractive. You can not make unity attractive through people whose views on unity are the opposite unless you want to recreate them in Garang’s image which is unlikely in this regard. People whose views reflect public opinion in southern Sudan may be comfortable working in southern Sudan where no body will force them to sing unity songs. Prominent southerners, such as Bona Malwal, who had been a sharp critic of the New Sudan agenda, are more likely to change their views on the issues important to southern Sudan when they ride the unity train. Bona is now comfortably seated in the republican palace in Khartoum singing unity songs, a pass time activity that makes one wonders why he is re-created in Garang’s image, an attribute he bitterly opposed.
John Garang would have appointed Nhail Deng Nhail, a long time student of the “New Sudan academia and a true disciple of Garang’s teaching”, as Sudan’s foreign minister. Even better, Deng would maintain a militancy approach toward foreign policy issues that contradict SPLM’s governing philosophy. Many SPLM members of the Government of National Unity believe that Nhail Deng would have issued a statement after the massacre of Sudanese refugees in Cairo, something that Lam has not done and is not likely to do in a foreseeable future. Even worst, Lam is being quoted in various media outlets to have made speeches that are inconsistence with the values and mission of the SPLM.
As a keynote speaker during a gathering of Sudanese community members in Omaha, NE late last year, many in the audience, particularly college students, expected Lam Akol to convey a major policy speech highlighting changes made to Sudan’s foreign policy in an effort aimed at incorporating the CPA into Sudan’s political system, instead, he ended up talking about the CPA, a synonym that many members of the audience were well informed about before hand.
Unlike those who call for Lam’ Akol’s removal from office chiefly because of Darfur crisis, I believe that Lam Akol can do better if he is willing to reconsider his leadership styles by making major changes to the way he is running the department of foreign affairs of the republic of the Sudan. These changes should reflect the SPLM version of Sudan’s foreign policy that has been for a very long time dominated by Arab agenda. An SPLM version of Sudan’s foreign policy should include: demand for full and unconditional implementation of the CPA, strengthening of diplomatic ties with IGAD member nations, the United States and European allies, seeking a lasting political solution to the conflict in Darfur without compromising the hard won gains of the CPA and assigning an appropriate number of Foreign Service positions to SPLM and other political parties covered by the CPA.
* The author is Sudanese living Overland Park, KS U.S.A. Email [email protected]