Militia groups boycott key south Sudan reconciliation conference
NAIROBI, April 19 (AFP) — Khartoum-backed southern Sudanese militia groups on Tuesday boycotted a key regional conference here aimed at promoting post-war reconciliation between the south’s fractious factions.
The presence of the groups at the three-day conference had been seen as a bellwether for peace prospects after a January deal signed by Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) ended nearly 21 years of north-south war, Africa’s longest-running conflict.
The militias, which number about 30, were not covered by the agreement and remain a significant obstacle to pacifying and reconstructing war-ravaged southern Sudan, according to residents and aid workers in the region.
SPLA/M leader John Garang, accused by many militias of being dictatorial, blamed their absence on the Sudanese government, which on Monday had pledged to rein in the groups if they were endangering the peace.
Their presence “is the responsibility of the government of Sudan because these are military officers in the Sudanese Army and people live in the army by orders,” Garang told AFP. “They live according to orders.”
Other SPLM/A officials said Khartoum had prevented all but one militia commander — Clement Wani, who is believed to have been shunned by the government — from attending the Nairobi conference.
The charge was denied by Khartoum’s representatives at the conference but conspicuously absent were Gabriel Tanginya and Paulino Matipu, who command heavily-armed militias blamed for abducting hundreds of civilians and imposing illegal taxes in Sudan’s oil-rich Upper Nile region.
Despite the absence of the groups, some 200 delegates from the SPLM/A, its political rivals in the south and Khartoum heard appeals for reconciliation from a variety of speakers, including Garang and Kenya’s former president Daniel arap Moi who launched the peace process in 1994.
“This peace is fragile,” Moi said, urging those outside the peace deal to come into the SPLM/A fold and work for regional reintegration. “Conflicts are ignited easily when divisions of whatever nature blur our vision.”
“This is the place you belong, you will be treated like any other person joining the movement,” Garang said. “It is never too late for dialogue between brothers and sisters.”
He said he would like to meet with militia commanders once he assumes the position of Sudan’s first vice president in August under the terms of the peace deal.
Sudan’s Second Vice President Moses Machar, who at the head of Khartoum’s delegation made the vow to act against militias that threaten the peace, said reconciliation among southeners was critical.
“The people of southern Sudan have for a long time waited for this peace,” he said. “It would be treacherous for us to throw it away because we think we have differences of personal interests at stake.”
The conference, which is due to end on Thursday, was organized in a bid to bring south Sudan’s rival factions together to take advantage of the peace and billions of dollars in reconstruction aid pledged by foreign donors this month.
Several elders and civic leaders urged Garang to unite all groups in southern Sudan, a region whose population is expected to swell to about nine million when refugees and war displaced people return home.
“As of now reconcile, forgive and undertake the healing process and undertake and unite political leaders … to serve the people of southern Sudan,” elder Abdel Ariel told the delegates.