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How the Conflict is Affecting Prospects of Peace in S. Sudan

The East African (Nairobi)
NEWS
September 13, 2004
Posted to the web September 15, 2004

By Fred Oluoch, Special Correspondent
Nairobi
IT IS now apparent that the war in Darfur could slow down the signing of the
final peace accord between the Sudanese government and the Sudanese People's
Liberation Movement (SPLM), even as the protagonists still differ on what is
fuelling the war and how to end it.
According to the deputy Speaker of the Sudanese parliament, Anglo Beada, the
war in Darfur is a creation of some elements in the north who are not ready to
accept that the government could sign a peace accord with the south.
"To them, either the southerners should have been crushed or driven out of the
country. Our worry is that there is too much focus on Darfur, while the
Naivasha process is held in abeyance," said Mr Beada, who led a delegation of
parliamentarians to Nairobi to explain the government's stand on the crisis.
The delegation included the Minister for Science and Technology, Dr Zubeir
Bashir, Mahadi Ibrahim, the deputy secretary-general of the ruling National
Congress Party, Mohammad Bakhit, chairman of the parliamentary defence and
security committee, and William Otuom, the chairman of the federal relations
committee.
Since the rebellion broke out in February last year, the Khartoum government
has taken a major beating from the international community for supporting the
Janjaweed militia and fuelling the war, which has so far cost up to 50,000
lives and displaced about a million people.
The rebellion was initially believed to have been sparked off by the perception
of Darfur residents that Khartoum was spending too much to contain war in the
south at the expense of their development needs.
Mr Beada sought to correct what he termed a misconception promoted by the
Western media that the war in Darfur was between the Arab population and their
African counterparts. "Darfur is considered part and parcel of the north and
all the people there are Muslims. The clash is between the farmers and the
pastoralists over grazing land."
Mr Beada disputed US claims that there is genocide and ethnic cleansing in
Darfur, arguing that although there were killings and destruction of property,
no specific group was targeted for annihilation.
Mr Beada noted that it was unfortunate that the Naivasha Accord had prompted
other regions to take up arms in the belief that they could only win their
share by fighting for it.

   

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