Sudan: De Villepin in a delicate position
By Rasheed Saeed, with special permission to Sudan Tribune
PARIS, Mar 04, 2004 (TTU) — During French Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin’s visit to N’Djamena and Khartoum, which took place two weeks ago, no initiative concerning the Darfour conflict was noted.
Paris’s worries mostly concern the repercussions of the conflict regarding political stability of Chad, where about 1,000 French soldiers as well as an air force unit are based.
The country’s internal stability remains fragile, mainly due to the health problems of President Idriss Deby and the new dissidence in N’Djamena led by Mohammed Korfé.
The French official did not convince Chad’s president to re-launch the dialogue between the Sudanese government and the Darfour rebels.
On one side, Khartoum today refuses to negotiate with the rebels, after recording some military victories. On the other, President Deby is afraid the conflict involving the Zaghawa ethnic group, settled on both sides of the border, will spread.
In Khartoum, Dominique de Villepin arrived with several requirements: the immediate end to any military operations, the disarmament of the various militia groups supported by the government, the free circulation of humanitarian aid as well as the acceleration of refugee return process.
Regarding the rebels’ concerns, they reproach the French minister of adopting the same stance as President Omar al Bechir, who is calling for a reconciliation conference on Darfour-denied by the SLA (Sudan Liberation Army), which is willing to strictly enforce the Abashi agreement.
Besides, the French position also surprised the Chadian representatives wishing to organise in N’Djamena a preparatory meeting for the reconciliation summit. Although most of the western officers spoke with NDA (National Democratic Alliance) representatives, Dominique de Villepin was reproached for not doing so.
Hence, the French position has been interpreted as the alignment of Paris along Khartoum’s position.
Finally, de Villepin recently affirmed in Khartoum that France was ready to participate if a peacekeeping force is decided on following the signature of a peace agreement between the government and the SPLM (Sudan People’s Liberation Movement), following U.S. wishes. Until now, Khartoum has opposed such a peacekeeping force, and wants to limit the international presence in the area to an observatory role.