Darfur peace talks struggle for survival
By Tume Ahemba
ABUJA, Sept 15 (Reuters) – Peace talks between Sudan’s government and Darfur rebels struggled for survival after one of the two rebel groups said on Wednesday the negotiations had collapsed but left open the chance of resumption.
On the international front, Sudan rejected a U.S.-sponsored U.N. Security Council draft resolution to punish it over the conflict in its western Darfur region, saying the measure was unfair and lacked balance.
African Union mediators said they were waiting for a decision from one of the rebel groups before making any final pronouncement on the fate of the talks on Darfur, scene of years of skirmishes between mainly African farmers and Arab nomads.
But the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel group said three weeks of talks in the Nigerian capital Abuja had failed because of disagreements with the Islamic government in Khartoum over security issues, including the disarming of Arab militias.
“Basically the talks on security issues have collapsed, but we hope to resume in four weeks,” said JEM negotiator Ahmed Mohammed Tugod.
ONE REBEL GROUP UNDECIDED
The Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) said it was undecided about carrying on at the talks, designed to draw a line under what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, after holding private meetings throughout the day.
“We will continue tomorrow and hope to reach a decision tomorrow,” said SLM delegate Abduljabal Dosa.
Sudanese government officials were not immediately available for comment, but earlier denied the talks had been officially called off.
Washington wants a vote by Friday by the 15-member Security Council, but diplomats said China was threatening to veto the resolution, involving consideration of sanctions on Sudan’s oil industry if it does not rein in Arab militias in Darfur.
Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail condemned the U.S. draft.
“This is imbalanced, unfair and we are rejecting it as we rejected the first draft,” he told a news conference in Cairo.
In an effort to get the Security Council to act, the United States has modified its call for sanctions against Sudan but kept up the threat of punitive measures if Khartoum did not act against atrocities committed in Darfur.
The United States probably has 10 sure votes on the 15-member council for the resolution, one more than the required minimum, but has to decide whether to make further changes or risk a veto, should China carry out its threat.
CHINA SEEKS DRAFT CHANGE
“It would be difficult for us to support it as it would for a number of other delegations,” said China’s U.N. ambassador Wang Guangya. “The approach has to be changed.”
Pakistan and Algeria also oppose the U.S. draft and Russia and Brazil have some objections, diplomats said. European nations back the resolution.
Western governments have been pushing for economic and political sanctions against Sudan over Darfur.
Washington has called killings in Darfur genocide and urged backing for an expanded African Union peacekeeping force to halt bloodshed in the region.
The 53-nation African Union has more than 80 observers in Darfur, but only to monitor a cease-fire between the government and two rebel groups. Some 300 African Union troops have been deployed to protect the monitors.
The rebels, who began an uprising in February 2003, accuse Khartoum of arming the Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, to loot and torch African villages. The government denies the charge and says the Janjaweed are outlaws.
In Kass, northwest of South Darfur state capital Nyala, refugee women and children clamored for attention as they lined up to show wounds.
“They killed my brothers and they beat me,” said Hawa Hussein Adam. Her wrinkled, sunburned face gave the impression of a woman in her fifties, but Adam is just 26.
“All of them, the Arabs, the Janjaweed, they cause problems with security, and attack us,” said Aman Ali Abdallah.
The United Nations estimates more than a million Darfur people have fled their homes and some 50,000 have been killed.
Aid officials say one of the biggest problems at the refugee camp in Kass is lack of security and rape.
“No one’s moved from the fringes of this camp,” said Mark Fritz, an International Rescue Committee official. “Security is one of the main problems here, especially with attacking women.”
The United Nations said on Monday up to 10,000 people were dying each month from disease and violence in camps for those displaced by the fighting in Africa’s largest country.
(Additional reporting by Lucy Fielder in Cairo, Aine Gallagher and Mark John in Brussels; Evelyn Leopold at the United Nations)