Former US envoy warns new war can erupt in South Sudan

Jan 24, 2007 (WASHINGTON) — A former US envoy to Sudan complained that American policy on the country was based on a “fundamental flaw” and warned that a new war could erupt without urgent action by the US administration.

Roger Winter also made a personal appeal to President George W. Bush, warning that the peace agreement that ended Sudan’s bloody, 21-year civil war was at risk and would darken his White House legacy if it failed.

Winter told the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee’s Africa sub panel that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) could collapse because of the National Islamic Front-controlled government led by President Omar al-Beshir. The NIF has more recently been known as the National Congress Party.

“It is my very strong belief that the CPA is unraveling,” said Winter, the deputy secretary of state’s former special representative on Sudan.

“There is a fundamental flaw in the way the United States has been approaching Sudan,” said Winter, who served under former deputy secretary of state Robert Zoellick, who resigned last June.

“The fundamental flaw is the belief within our policy establishment that the National Islamic Front wants to be a responsible government.

“It’s my assertion that the National Islamic Front does not in fact want to be a responsible government the way we understand those terms. It’s my belief that the NIF no longer wants the CPA to be fulfilled.”

In a prepared statement submitted to the committee, Winter said that “reversion to open conflict” was “increasingly likely” without serious and energetic attention from the Bush administration.

And he ended his written statement with a personal appeal to Bush.

“A note to President Bush: Achieving peace in Sudan was a goal you set for your administration at the very beginning of your tenure. Your initiative succeeded beyond expectations in the south.

“The CPA, your legacy to all of Sudan, was a solid win but is now at risk. It needs your personal attention,” Winter said, adding that his comments were personal views and had no connection to his prior employment.

The CPA, signed in 2005, granted southern Sudan six years of self-rule, after which it will vote in a referendum on whether to remain part of Sudan or secede in addition to exempting it from Sharia law.

The war in the south erupted in 1983, when the rebels rose up against Khartoum to end Arab and Muslim domination and marginalization of the black, animist and Christian south.

The war claimed at least 1.5 million lives and displaced more than four million people.

(AFP)