Sudanese peace talks turn to tricky issue of disarmament

ABUJA, Sept 2 (AFP) — Sudanese officials and Darfur’s rebel leaders began negotiations on the potentially explosive issue of disarmament at African Union peace talks here Thursday, after grudgingly agreeing on a plan to protect civilians.

As the conference entered its 11th day delegates were expecting a showdown over the demobilisation of the Darfur region’s two opposition militias.

“We’ve started talks on the security issue. We will be talking about the simultaneous disarmament of the rebels and the Janjaweed, which has not been done,” said Sudan’s minister for humanitarian affairs, Mohammed Yusuf.

Khartoum insists that the rebels must move their forces into cantonments ready for disarmament, while the government simultaneously disbands its proxy militia, the Janjaweed, which has been accused of large-scale atrocities.

But rebel leaders say that they will only stand down their forces once they have won a full political settlement from the government.

They allege that the western Sudanese region and its black African minority tribes have been excluded from power and prosperity by Khartoum’s Arab elite and they have demanded greater autonomy and a share in the national income.

Last week, the Abuja talks almost broke down before they even got under way when rebel leaders reacted furiously to the news that their disarmament would even be on the agenda at the talks.

Nigerian, Libyan and AU mediators persuaded them to remain at the table, but the issue is now likely to become a sticking point again, even after the parties finally reached a compromise accord on humanitarian matters.

Late on Wednesday, the delegates agreed to a deal which would guarantee access for humanitarian agencies to Darfur’s 1.2 million displaced people and increase their protection against attacks from militia groups.

“The protocol constitutes an important step in the efforts aimed at alleviating the suffering of the civilian population in Darfur,” said an AU statement from the body’s headquarters in Addis Ababa.

And AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare urged both sides “to continue to show the same commitment in discussing the remaining items on the agenda of the political talks, bearing in mind the urgency of the situation.”

It remains to be seen, however, whether this first step in Abuja will be enough to convince the international community that Sudan is doing enough to end Darfur’s suffering after 18 months of brutal civil conflict.

Later on Thursday the UN special envoy to Sudan, Jan Pronk, will brief the Security Council in New York on his findings.

On July 30 the council imposed a 30-day deadline on Khartoum, demanding that it disarm the Janjaweed, pull its other forces back from around the camps of the displaced and investiagte allegations of brutality and mass murder.

And in a report given Wednesday, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan noted: “The government has not met this obligation fully.”

“Attacks against civilians are continuing and the vast majority of armed militias has not been disarmed. Similarly, no concrete steps have been taken to bring to justice or even identify any of the militia leaders,” his report said.

Some UN member states want to impose diplomatic or economic sanctions against Sudan, while others want to boost the international presence in Darfur.

The African Union has sent 133 unarmed military observers in Darfur and a 300 strong force of Rwandan and Nigerian peacekeepers to protect them as they monitor a ceasefire signed between the government and rebels on April 9.

It has no mandate to protect civilians and faces a tough task even to perform its core mission.

Yusuf told reporters that the government had reported 139 alleged ceasefire breaches by the rebels, and the rebels 205 alleged government attacks. Of these cases only eight have so far been investigated, he added.

Three were confirmed as Janjaweed attacks, one was found to be by the rebels and four by unknown groups, he said.