Posted on 10/29/2003 12:41:32 AM PST by Stultis
SHARM EL SHEIK, Egypt, Oct. 22 — Secretary of State Colin L. Powell won a commitment on Wednesday from Sudanese negotiators to reach agreement by the end of December to end the civil war in Sudan, and he invited the parties to the White House to celebrate a settlement with President Bush.
After a morning of hearing updates on the Sudan talks at a lakeside resort near Nairobi, Kenya, Mr. Powell said that the government in Khartoum had reached an understanding on several issues with the rebels in the south, who have waged war on and off for half a century, but that a few critical issues remained.
"I think all of us are confident that they can be resolved in the weeks ahead," Mr. Powell said. "And now both parties have agreed to remain in the negotiation and conclude a comprehensive settlement no later than the end of December."
Later, however, a Sudanese government negotiator, Ghazi Salaheddine, cautioned that it might be difficult to move the talks that fast. Mr. Salaheddine, the peace adviser to Sudan's president, Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, said it was "impossible for anyone to dictate a date" for finishing the talks, Agence France-Presse reported.
Mr. Powell's overt prodding, not to mention the setting of a deadline and the offer of a White House ceremony, reflected what African experts say has been an extraordinary amount of attention by the Bush administration to a contentious African issue.
Many diplomats say that without American involvement, the talks might have foundered, just as they have many times in the past.
Immediately after seeing the Sudan negotiators at a hotel on Lake Naivasha, Mr. Powell left for Sharm el Sheik, an Egyptian resort on the Red Sea, to meet with President Hosni Mubarak.
The meeting here was scheduled at the last minute, when the secretary's aides learned Mr. Mubarak was going to be near Sharm el Sheik, Mr. Powell's refueling stop on his way to Madrid for a conference on the economic future of Iraq.
The Sudan civil war has taken a toll of two million dead, many from disease and starvation, and perhaps four million displaced since 1983, when the largely Christian and animist rebels in the south rose up against the Muslim government in Khartoum.
Talks to end the war have focused on granting the southern region more autonomy and not imposing Islamic law on its residents. In return for joining the Khartoum government, the Sudan rebels, led by Col. John Garang, agreed to wait six years and then hold a referendum to decide the south's status.
Reporting on the talks, Mr. Powell said the major breakthrough occurred last month when both sides agreed to separate their military forces. Now, he said, there must be agreement on matters like banking and the monetary system, shares in Sudan's potential oil wealth and government power-sharing.
The most contentious issue, the secretary said, was the boundary between north and south. Three regions in the center of the country, populated by both Muslims and Christians, are in contention: Abeiyie, which has great potential oil wealth; the Nuba Mountains, and the Blue Nile region, which controls vital water supplies that flow into northern Africa, including Egypt.
| posted 10/23/2003
Just links today. Commentary will return tomorrow.
Sudan:
CBN.com – Twenty years of war between Sudan's Muslim government and Christians in the south has killed more than 2 million people. Now, both sides are apparently ready to lay down arms in a peace deal brokered by the U.S.
Flanked by Sudan's Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha and rebel leader John Garang, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell announced the breakthrough that both sides were ready to talk peace.
Powell said, "It is absolutely clear to me that the way is now open to a final and comprehensive solution. We must have a solution, this is a moment of opportunity that must not be lost. The people of Sudan have known hardship and devastation for too long. All the people of Sudan, northerners and southerners alike, are desperate for an end to this conflict."
This is the first time the warring parties have agreed to a timetable for ending the conflict. A peace deal is expected to be signed by year's end.
Sudan's Vice-President, Ali Osman Mohammed Taha, said, "Our message is that we are committed and focused and we will remain engaged until peace is achieved."
John Garang, leader of Sudan People's Liberation, said, "There is a window of opportunity for us and we will take that window of opportunity to achieve peace for the people of Sudan. So our message is a message of peace, a message of commitment, of determination."
But there are still a number of difficult issues to be resolved before peace can be achieved.
Still, Powell says the U.S. is ready to review sanctions against Sudan if the government and rebels hold to their pledge to make peace.
The U.S. has listed Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism claiming Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad are operating from Khartoum.
During his meetings with the leaders in Kenya, Powell also said that President Bush would invite the parties to the White House to endorse the peace deal.
QUESTION: You have been intimately involved in the last two and a half years in the Sudanese -- with the Sudanese adversaries. Thanks to the U.S. and IGAD, a working ceasefire and 80 percent of a comprehensive peace settlement have been achieved.
Two questions. Question number one, what is your assessment of the situation, now that you are leaving at a critical time of the process? Are you optimistic that the post-Ramadan negotiations will achieve a just and fair peace?
And question number two, what would be your advice be to the Sudan Government, SPLM and the American Administration to help achieve such an end within the Secretary of State December 31st deadline?
Thank you.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Thank you. And all reports and my conversations with both parties are that the post-Ramadan discussions will be the final discussions. They will be the venue and the opportunity to wrap up all the remaining loose ends. They will begin sometime after Ramadan, although even during Ramadan, there will probably be some low-level conversations, some dialogue, perhaps a little shuttle diplomacy going on. But then the real final push will be in December, wrapping up what remains in power sharing, wealth sharing and the three conflict areas being the three major items on the agenda.
I am optimistic. I think they can do it. I think the security agreement that was reached a few weeks back was actually the more difficult problem to get over. The notion of two armed forces and an integrated armed force, it was complicated. And it had all sorts of not only security, but political implications and ramifications, and they did it. They did it. They pulled it together. They made some tough compromises and they reached an agreement.
So I think that on the wealth sharing, particularly the wealth sharing, I think they're very, very close. Power sharing will flow. If you get the -- if you get the security and the army, and you get the money, the power is going to flow from that. And so I think they're close to that.
And then the three areas. Now, the three areas are complicated and they have a lot of history behind them, but I think both sides know that they've got to do it. So I'm optimistic.
QUESTION: Your advice?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: My advice would be: Don't let the momentum die. You've got good momentum. You've got the potential to reach the finish line. Stay the course and get it done.
Yes.
QUESTION: What have you told the Sudanese about what they specifically are going to have to do to get off the terrorism list, given that they have made some strides in counterterrorism assistance, but they're, you know, not quite there yet?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: And we work with them, literally, on a weekly basis in the sense of cooperation. Ambassador Black, Cofer Black, is very involved, and I would leave it to him on some of the specific details of what those expectations and what those requirements are.
But there is very good cooperation and dialogue and there is a definite understanding of our process and how our process works, both on lists, but also on sanctions. You know, we've got actually six different types of economic sanctions against Sudan right now, each with a slightly different threshold for when they get lifted. Congress has mandated some, some are the Executive Branch, so we're going to have to go through all of those and look at what the criteria are, why they were placed on it, and what is necessary for them to be lifted. And in fact, the Africa Bureau here at State, Treasury, the interagency process is looking, starting to look at all six different sets of sanctions.
[snippage]
QUESTION: Back to Sudan. Can you describe how much -- or describe the U.S. intent toward the peacekeeping operation there, both in terms of budgetary contributions and military contributions? And are you satisfied with that, given the amount of effort you put into getting the situation there --
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Well, we have a joint monitoring verification team that's very good, and they've done a terrific job. It started in Nuba Mountains and now it's expanded out. That, we think, will be the basis for a larger peace monitoring apparatus. There is also within IGAD, and within the agreement that General Sumbeiywo has done, for an assessment and evaluation committee, AEC. That is, again, an IGAD-led institution that will, in fact, monitor some of these security deals; for instance, the integration of some of the armies, and the reduction in numbers of the various armed forces.
So that is going to need to be built and set up and stood up, and we anticipate helping that, very much so.
The other component, of course, is what's the role of the UN. Is the United Nations going to want to come in and play a part in monitoring? And we would very much encourage that and welcome that. And then again, how all these various institutions talk to each other and interface with each other; that needs some thinking, too. So there's a lot of work to be done in the next couple months.
QUESTION: So the U.S. budgetary commitment is what toward that?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Well, we have some placeholder numbers and we have some commitments both on the, kind of, reconstruction and redevelopment, the DDRR, you know, the demobilization. And I don't, off the top of my head know the exact placeholder numbers, but it's, you know, it's significant dollars that we are hoping to be able to use in '04 and '05.
QUESTION: Okay. So there's nothing in the current budget, then?
ASSISTANT SECRETARY KANSTEINER: Yes, in '04, yeah. There's -- there are line items in our '04 request.
An Opportunity for Peace in Sudan
Secretary Colin L. Powell
Op-Ed
Los Angeles Times
October 28, 2003
Today we stand on the brink of an agreement to end Sudan's cruel civil war and bring one of the greatest and longest-running humanitarian tragedies in the world to an end. Almost since gaining independence from Britain in 1956, Sudan has been engulfed in conflict between its central government, dominated by northern Arabs, and the Christian and animist population of its south. The ongoing strife has made Sudan synonymous with tragedy — the tragedy of 2 million lives lost and of millions more disrupted by war.
The ongoing suffering has made Sudan synonymous with despair — the despair of more than 4 million people driven from their homes, most to seek refuge in squalid camps elsewhere in Sudan and in neighboring countries. Decades of insecurity, infighting and bloodshed have exacerbated the state of chronic famine in Sudan, as families have been divided and displaced from their farmlands.
The United States has provided more than $1 billion in aid for the Sudanese people over the last 10 years. Yet, without peace and development, millions still go to bed each night hungry, sick and afraid. But now we have arrived at a moment of promise in the history of Sudan. The parties to this terrible conflict are poised to reach an agreement that could turn Sudan into Africa's new symbol of hope.
President Bush came into office determined to do everything possible to bring peace to Sudan. Over the last two years, special envoy Sen. John Danforth, Assistant Secretary of State Walter Kansteiner and other members of President Bush's administration have worked hard to advance the negotiations between the government of Sudan and the opposition Sudanese People's Liberation Movement, or SPLM.
With our support and the strong leadership of the Kenyan mediator, Lt. Gen. Lazaro Sumbeiywo, the two sides have overcome many hurdles. Last year, they agreed to an internationally monitored cease-fire in the Nuba Mountains region and to a civilian protection monitoring team to investigate attacks on civilians. In July 2002, they signed the Machakos Protocol, which resolved critical issues of state, religion and the right of Sudan's south to self-determination. In October 2002, the two sides recommitted themselves to cooperate in providing unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of Sudan and to a cessation of hostilities. And just last month, the Naivasha Agreement resolved thorny security issues standing in the way of peace.
Now, after this progress, the way is open to a final and comprehensive settlement. The way is open to an end to the torment of the Sudanese people. To get there, the parties must reach final agreement on sharing power and wealth, especially oil revenue. In addition, the two sides must finalize the relationship between three of Sudan's regions and the central government.
To help them take these steps and conclude a peace agreement by the end of this year, President Bush asked me to travel to Kenya last week and meet the leaders of the two sides, Sudanese Vice President Ali Uthman Muhammad Taha and SPLM Chairman John Garang. At these meetings, both leaders committed themselves to reaching the goal of peace by the end of the year. Each said the two sides were close to agreement on the remaining issues. Once a peace accord is signed, we will begin normalizing our bilateral relations with the Sudanese government. Together with our international partners, we will promote reconstruction and development. Indeed, we are already planning for coordinated donor assistance to get peace off to a good start.
In addition, the United Nations Security Council issued a presidential statement earlier this month that laid the groundwork for monitoring the peace accord. Peace in Sudan will bolster regional stability in Africa and reinforce our efforts against terrorism. What's more, President Bush believes that the dawn of peace in Sudan will send a powerful message throughout the world that even the most intractable conflicts can be resolved through negotiation. To demonstrate his support and commitment to a peaceful Sudan, President Bush has invited Sudan's President Bashir and Chairman Garang to the White House once they have signed the final agreement.
With the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr and the Christian celebration of Christmas drawing near, the Sudanese have the opportunity to send a welcome message of hope to Africa and the world. They can provide a powerful example of a democratic Sudan, in which human rights are respected, and in which Muslims, Christians and people of other faiths are free to worship in a spirit of tolerance and respect. And they can end decades of suffering. Time is of the essence for the war-weary people of Sudan. They have an opportunity for peace. This is an opportunity that must not be lost.
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