LYDIA POLGREEN e JOEL BRINKLEY
L’accordo di pace tra il governo centrale sudanese e i
ribelli del Darfur, la regione nell’Ovest del Sudan, è stato firmato solo dal
maggiore dei tre gruppi di ribelli, quella di Minni Arcua Minnawi,
che sembra controlli il 75% delle forze.
-
Non
ha firmato la fazione di Abdul Wahad al-Nur, dell’etnia
Fur, da cui prende il nome il Darfur (terra dei Fur); l’accordo a suo avviso
non prevede il disarmo delle milizie arabe che hanno terrorizzato il Darfur, le
Janjaweed. -
John Prendergast, rappresentante dell’International
Crisis Group, critica l’accordo in quanto non comprende la maggiore tribù del
Darfur, quella dei Fur, rappresentata
da Nur. -
Nur
era il comandante del Sudan Liberation Army, fino allo scorso autunno, quando con
un colpo di mano è stato spodestato da Minnawi, definito bravo soldato e valido statista dal presidente della Nigeria, Obasanjo. -
15
comandanti della fazione di Nur hanno espresso il loro disaccordo e l’intenzione
di osservare il trattato. -
Poco
prima dell’accordo di pace le due fazioni del SLA si sono scontrate nel Nord Darfur
per il controllo del territorio; sembra che il SLA non si comporti diversamente
dalle milizie Janjaweed contro la popolazione civile. - il
3° gruppo di ribelli, il Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), un gruppo islamico
non ha presenziato alla firma; alcuni suoi leader vivono in Europa, avrebbe
500-600 combattenti nel Darfur - Il
JEM avrebbe collegamenti con Hassan al-Turabi, il leader musulmano fondamentalista
che ha invitato Osama bin-Laden in Sudan.
L’accordo prevede:
-
costituzione
di un fondo di risarcimento per le vittime (200 000), e per i (2) milioni
di profughi, stanziato dal governo
centrale. -
Circa
5000 soldati ribelli saranno accolti nelle fila dell’esercito e della polizia sudanese; -
i leader dei ribelli potranno entrare nel
governo centrale, compreso la carica di consigliere capo del presidente, quarta
maggiore carica istituzionale. - In
vista una conferenza internazionale per la raccolta di stanziamenti per la
ricostruzione del Darfur.
Gli scontri nel Darfur
sono iniziati nel 2003 quando i ribelli reagito al dominion arabo nella regione
attaccando un avamposto governativo.
Presenti alla firma dell’accordo, sollecitato in particolare dal
vice-segretario di Stato americano Robert Zoellick, due dozzine di capi di stato
e leader di Africa, Europa e MO.
Nyt 06-05-06
Largest
Faction of Darfur Rebels Signs Peace Pact
By LYDIA POLGREEN and JOEL BRINKLEY
KHARTOUM, Sudan, May
5 —
– After a frenetic all-night negotiating session, the Sudanese government and
– 1. the largest of the Darfur rebel groups
signed a hard-fought peace agreement on Friday intended
to end three years of misery and bloodshed in Dafur.
– But two much smaller rebel groups angrily demurred, leaving
open the possibility that they would threaten the accord.
– 2. Just before the signing ceremony, Abdul Wahad al-Nur,
the leader of one of those smaller groups, stormed out of the
conference room, in Abuja, Nigeria, with his followers, then
stopped outside and denounced the agreement.
– But by Friday evening, about 15 commanders and other
leaders of Mr. Nur’s group had submitted a letter saying they disagreed with
him and would abide by the accord.
The striking turns of events ended a
week of brinkmanship by the rebel leaders who threw up objections to the last
minute, saying the agreement had failed to meet their demands.
– But more than two dozen heads of state and other leaders from Africa, Europe and the Middle East
had gathered at the talks in Abuja. Together, they applied intense pressure on the rebels to
compromise, and rebel spokesmen said it had an effect.
– 1. "We are reaffirming that the fighting ends now in Darfur," said Minni Arcua Minnawi, the leader of the rebel group that
signed the agreement. Mr. Minnawi is believed to control about 75 percent of the rebel forces in
Darfur, a region in western Sudan. "We shall go ahead with
peace and we shall be serious," he added.
– Under the terms of the accord, a cease-fire is to take effect in seven days. Government
militias and rebel forces are to disarm and withdraw behind cease-fire lines.
Over the coming months, the Sudanese government is to establish a
compensation fund for victims of the carnage, which has claimed more than
200,000 lives and displaced millions from their homes.
–
This summer, there is to be an international conference
to raise money for Darfur reconstruction.
Beyond that, about 5,000 rebel soldiers are to join the Sudanese Army and the police, and rebel leaders can join the government — including the post of senior
assistant to the president, the fourth-highest position.
– Robert B. Zoellick, the
American deputy secretary of state who helped drive the parties to this
partial victory, cautiously applauded the agreement, but also acknowledged
that the failure to win unified support "is a reality and poses
dangers."
– 2. Mr. Nur, the rebel leader
who stormed out of the room, controls
a smaller but significant faction of the same group that Mr. Minnawi leads, the
Sudan Liberation Army. Mr.
Nur used to be the group’s sole, undisputed leader until a coup of sorts
last fall. Now Mr. Minnawi and Mr. Nur
are barely on speaking terms.
– As he presided over the signing ceremony in Abuja,
Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s president, called Mr. Minnawi
"not only a good soldier but also a good statesman." By contrast, just before the signing, Mr.
Obasanjo walked over to Mr. Nur, put his arm around his shoulder and whispered
something into his ear. Mr. Nur responded by walking out.
Outside, Mr. Nur said, Mr. Obasanjo had
told him that " ‘we are here for signing, not for further discussion. Are
you ready to sign?’ "
– Then Mr. Nur issued an impassioned
statement in which he complained that the agreement did not disarm the
government-backed militias that have terrorized Darfur,
known as the janjaweed, quickly enough.
Mr. Zoellick, however, had pointed out during the negotiations that
the agreement requires the janjaweed to disarm and withdraw before the
rebels are even called upon to begin withdrawing.
"I’m here and will remain here for
peace," Mr. Nur said. "There is no guarantee that this agreement
could secure that for us. That is why I request the international community,
the African Union, the United States, Mr. Zoellick personally, that I want this
over. I want this over for my people. But the answer is not in this deal that they want me to sign. It’s too
weak."
– Mr. Zoellick called Mr. Nur "mercurial, to be polite." But he also noted that Mr. Nur’s movement
"is dominant in some areas" of Darfur.
– 3. The third rebel group, the Justice and Equality
Movement, an Islamist group, was not present for the signing.
It has a small but committed following, and Mr. Zoellick bitterly described its
leaders as "dismissive of the need for peace." Some of its leaders live in Europe,
but the African Union estimates that it has about 500 or 600 fighters in Darfur.
– The movement has ties to Hassan al-Turabi, the religious hard-liner who
invited Osama bin Laden to Sudan. It sought the most radical changes to the peace agreement, most of
which were not accepted.
Speaking just before dawn, before the
agreement was reached, Ahmed
Tugod Lissan, the group’s chief negotiator, said only, "We decided
not to sign it." No one from the movement has offered comment since then.
Mr. Zoellick noted that it "it was
clear that some of the movements hadn’t read" the 85-page agreement
"or internalized what was in it."
Both of the smaller groups have the
ability to be spoilers by continuing to fight. But neither group has said
specifically what it intends to do now. "There is still a lot of mistrust
and fear, still a lot of danger on the ground," Mr. Zoellick said.
– The conflict in Darfur began in early 2003, when rebels, frustrated by
Arab dominance in their region, attacked a government outpost. The
government responded by arming local Arab militias, which have fought the
rebels using brutal tactics, including rape, pillage and murder, according to
human rights groups and the State Department.
– With the accord, however,
the rebels gain greater representation, while the government
seeks to end a war that has stained its international reputation.
To win agreement during the
negotiations, Mr. Zoellick read aloud a letter that President Bush had sent
with him, in which Mr. Bush promised that "the United States will strongly support
the implementation of the peace accord" and will "hold
accountable" any group found in violation.
1. Saifaldin Haroun, a spokesman for the Mr. Minnawi’s faction, said,
"I don’t think we can get another opportunity like this, if we miss this
chance." He added: "Our people suffered too much. We are losing
families, friends, brothers in this unjustified war."
Abdulrahman Zuma, the spokesman for the
Sudanese delegation, said the government was not happy about the failure to win
a unified agreement, but added, "Definitely, peace cannot wait for
long." If the other groups do not sign, he added, "Sure we are going
to go ahead."
– In northern Darfur in recent days, the two factions of the Sudan
Liberation Army have been fighting each other, battling for territorial
dominance ahead of a peace deal, diplomats and aid officials said.
"The S.L.A. has in some cases acted very badly in these
clashes," said one Western diplomat in Khartoum, on condition of anonymity. "There are signs of behavior not
unlike the janjaweed, like using rape as a weapon."
Jan Pronk, the top United Nations
representative in Sudan,
rebuked the S.L.A. earlier this week for attacks and harassment of aid workers.
While the agreement includes the most powerful armed rebel group, it does
not necessarily represent the people of Darfur, said John Prendergast of
the International Crisis Group, which tries to prevent armed conflict.
– Mr. Nur represents the Fur, the largest tribe in Darfur, a region whose name
means "land of the Fur."
– "This leaves the
preponderance of Darfurian political sentiment unrepresented at the table, meaning stakeholders in implementing any agreement
will be few and far between," Mr. Prendergast said Friday.
But Denis Sassou-Nguesso, chairman of the African Union,
offered a more hopeful note.
"The train of peace has left, and
we hope that those other wagons will follow us," he said. "We hope
before the next station, they will want to join us and we will slow down for
them to catch up."
Lydia Polgreen reported from Khartoum for this article, and Joel Brinkley from Washington. Senan John
Murray contributed reporting from Abuja,
Nigeria.
New York Times