Libya: An honest broker in Darfur?

By Anne Bartlett

September 9, 2007 — So the idiocy continues. First the Genocide Olympics, now peace talks hosted by Colonel Gadaafi one of the major architects of strife in the region. For the uninitiated at least, peace negotiations deserve a neutral third party whose interest in the outcome is benevolent. Yet what we have instead is an attempt to put the fox in charge of the chickens. A fox who is neither interested in the welfare of the people of Darfur or Chad, nor interested in taking care of the natural resources of the region – an issue that is apparently now dear to Mr. Ban’s heart.

For the sake of a little clarity here, let’s examine Col. Gadaafi’s qualifications for the role of peacemaker in chief. To do this, why not start with his relations with rebels? Far from trying to reduce conflict between rebel groups, Col. Gadaafi has actually worked hard to create them. Running his own rebel school he has created such luminaries as Charles Taylor and Foday Sankoh. Then of course he has hosted the Taureg rebels from Mali, other criminal elements from Niger and elsewhere. Let’s also not forget his support for the Red Army Faction, the IRA, ETA and a variety of other terrorist operations together with his interference in Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. The list goes on.

Then of course, we could look at his “honest broker” role in the Darfur Crisis, which itself has a long history. Starting with his neighbors in Chad and his designs on the Aouzou strip, Gadaafi struck a deal with the then Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi to use Darfur as an arms cache. Flooding the region with weapons, arming and training a random assortment of undesirables with the aim of establishing an Islamic Legion, he has steadfastly clung to his hopes of destabilizing the entire S?hil. Not content with creating the pre-conditions for conflict, he then sent his personal jet to the Abuja peace talks with the intention of creating a divide and rule strategy inside the talks themselves. Picking rebels up and flying them into Tripoli, he preceded to work hard on splitting off the Zaghawa rebel elements from that of the Fur leading to many of the problems we see today. Interested in solving this crisis? Unlikely. But we are far from finished with the Colonel’s negative impact on the region.

In addition to armed struggle and Gadaafi’s interest in potential sources of uranium in Chad, there is also the question of water resources. Wealthy yet lacking in basic amenities, Gadaafi has no qualms in draining down fossil water in underground aquifers such as the Kufra basin in order to fulfill his insatiable demands. Lacking in any consideration of the sustainability of these kinds of practices, the possible effect on neighboring countries or possible sea-water intrusion, he carries on regardless. Even more ironic then that Mr.Ban should advance his drought thesis in Darfur while promoting the king of wastefulness as his ambassador.

And then there are the talks themselves. Does Mr. Ban seriously think that the rebel groups aren’t aware of Gadaafi’s position? Given the foregoing points – which Mr.Ban is undoubtedly aware of – what are the UN’s motives in using Libya as a key player? The reason, we are told is Gadaafi’s ability to “deliver” more rebel elements than the Tanzanians could in Arusha. But at the risk of stating the obvious, hasn’t Abdelwahid al-Nur also refused to attend these talks? Is there a value added to using the disingenuous leader of Libya? If so, what is it?

Whatever Gadaafi is about – and this is difficult to nail down if one excludes his own personal self-interest – one thing is for certain: he doesn’t give a fig for the people of Darfur. In involving him as the key player in this region, the international community is playing a very dangerous game. Yes, Gadaafi may be good for Halliburton and other corporate interests in the West. For Darfur and for peace however, his interests are neither sincere nor sustainable in the long term.

The author is a Director of the Darfur Centre for Human Rights and Development, based in London. She can be reached at [email protected]