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OneWorld.net's take: The Sudanese government's announcement of a ceasefire in Darfur "has offered a glimmer of hope" to solve a crisis that has lasted nearly six years and left hundreds of thousands of people dead, say analysts.

• Sudanese refugees. © UNICEF-comité españolThe Sudanese government called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between government troops and rebel groups this Wednesday and unveiled a plan to disarm allied militias operating in the conflicted region, reports the United Nations News Center. An estimated 300,000 people have been killed and 2.7 million others forced to flee their homes since violence broke out in 2003.

• The largest humanitarian operation in the world has so far failed to bring peace and stability to Sudan, but a new commitment and new approach from the Obama administration can bring peace to Darfur and the rest of the country, stated the U.S.-based advocacy group Africa Action last week, outling a suggested roadmap to peace in Sudan for the president-elect to follow.

• According to his Web site, "Obama believes the United States needs to lead the world in ending this genocide, including by imposing much tougher sanctions that target Sudan's oil revenue, implementing and helping to enforce a no-fly zone, and engaging in more intense, effective diplomacy to develop a political roadmap to peace. The international community must, over the Sudanese regime’s protests, deploy a large, capable UN-led and UN-funded force with a robust enforcement mandate to stop the killings." Click here to read an analysis of the president-elect's position on the conflict in Darfur and U.S. relations with Sudan by Citizens for Global Solutions' Megan Wagner.
  

• In June, both U.S. presidential candidates signed a pledge promising "unstinting resolve" to end genocide in Darfur. You can join Africa Action's "Just L.E.A.D" campaign, which not only calls for new leadership from the U.S. government but also "challenges all of us to meet our collective responsibility as ordinary individuals to LEARN. EDUCATE. and ACT. DAILY. Or, use your creativity to help refocus attention on solutions to the crisis in Darfur and inspire others to action: enter Citizens for Global Solutions' fourth annual Multimedia Contest.
  

• The war in Darfur finds its roots in both ethnic and environmental strife. With tension between farmers and nomads rising in the drought-prone region, resistance groups attacked government forces in early 2003, blaming the national government for neglecting the region economically and failing to protect villagers from attacks by nomadic groups. But rather than sending in Sudanese armed forces, which included many members from Darfur, the government has allegedly provided arms and other support to Arab "Janjaweed" militias, who began attacking locals of the same ethnic background as the rebels. Despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Sudanese government has repeatedly denied it is supporting the Janjaweed, who often rape, pillage, and burn entire villages.

 

SUDAN: Cautious optimism over Darfur ceasefire call

From: Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)

KHARTOUM,13 November 2008 (IRIN) - The Sudanese government’s announcement of aceasefire in Darfur would not alone solve a crisis that has lastednearly six years and left hundreds of thousands of people dead - but itoffered a glimmer of hope, analysts said.

President Omarel-Bashir announced an "immediate, unconditional ceasefire" in Darfuron 12 November. He called for an immediate campaign to disarm militiasaccused of committing some of the worst atrocities during the conflict.

The pronouncements were among the recommendations of the SudanPeople's Initiative, bringing together government, political oppositionparties and civil society to brainstorm solutions to the crisis.

Darfurrebels boycotted the forum and one of the most powerful groups, theJustice and Equality Movement (JEM), said it would not accept aceasefire without a framework of agreement, declaration of principlesand a timeframe for ceasefire.

"Without that, we are notinterested in any talk that is not going to be substantiated byimprovement on the ground," El-Tahir El-Fak, speaker of JEM'sLegislative Assembly, said.

Observers said the success of the latest ceasefire depended not only on its implementation, but other political steps.

PaganAmum, secretary-general of the Southern Sudan People's LiberationMovement (SPLM), a partner in a government of national unity followingthe 2005 peace deal, said the ceasefire was a good start.

"[But]declarations are not enough. Implementation is what is needed." Amumsaid this ceasefire alone would not be enough to convince theinternational community to suspend Bashir's likely indictment by theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, but rather, "a peaceprocess, giving results and serious commitment".

While manyare sceptical of just how genuine this latest commitment is, othersdoubt the promises made now will be kept if and when the ICC decides toissue an arrest warrant.

Pre-conditions

AWestern diplomat said the government had to meet a set of criteria inorder to seek a deferral of the indictment: faster deployment of theUN-African Union force, UNAMID, cessation of hostilities, a betterenvironment for displaced people and humanitarian aid workers, anduninterrupted implementation of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement.

This ceasefire, if it held, would satisfy only one of thosecriteria. What is more, the president announced the ceasefire with acaveat – "provided that an effective monitoring mechanism be put intoaction and be observed by all involved parties".

Photo: Heba Aly/IRIN

Women displaced by fighting in North Darfur

"Thereare no forces that can monitor the ceasefire," said Foreign MinisterDeng Alor of the SPLM, adding that he doubted UNAMID had the capacityyet. "The decision to call for a ceasefire is a positive thing, butthen it has to be made to work."

Other Sudan People'sInitiative's recommendations – all endorsed by the president, who saidhe would create a special committee to monitor their implementation –included the release of Darfurian political prisoners, individual andcollective compensation, and increased police presence in the camps fordisplaced people.

Darfur rebels said they were disappointedthat some key issues were not nailed down, including the release of JEMfighters sentenced to death, making the three states of Darfur asemi-autonomous region, and giving the region a vice-presidential post.

These issues, according to analyst Alex de Waal, were criticalfor Darfurians, "because they provide those cast-iron guarantees thatDarfur's wishes cannot be overridden by a national political system inwhich they are a numerical minority".

Bashir called on therebels to come to the negotiating table and said he would create acommittee charged with wooing them, but De Waal said: "Bashir needs tobuild a lot of confidence before he can expect the movements to respondpositively."

Still, the analyst remained cautiously optimistic.

"Themost important reality today is that the denial and self-imposedpolitical paralysis that have marked the Sudanese politicalestablishment's approach to Darfur have been decisively overcome ...There's a glimmer of hope."

 

For updates on the conflict and humanitarian situation in Darfur, visit IRIN.

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