Darfur Peacekeeping Deal Met with Cautious Welcome
UNITED NATIONS, April 18 (OneWorld) - Though satisfied with the Sudanese decision to allow United Nations forces into Darfur, international civil society groups engaged in humanitarian efforts in the violence-wracked region say they wonder if Khartoum will keep its promises of cooperation with the world body.
Tuesday's agreement will let the UN deploy about 3,000 policemen in Darfur and some helicopters to assist the much-weakened African Union (AU) peacekeeping forces. Both the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the 15-member Security Council have welcomed Sudan's decision, but emphasized that Khartoum must prepare itself for the immediate deployment of UN forces. Sudan's announcement is part of an agreement that it reached with the UN back in November after a series of diplomatic negotiations. The deal included a three-phase plan on the UN involvement in Darfur. The UN and AU would "intend to move quickly to prepare for the deployment of the heavy support package," Ban said in an obvious reference to the third phase of the plan, which envisages the deployment of a hybrid UN-AU force and heavy military equipment. Last September, the Security Council wanted to send some 20,000 UN peacekeepers to the region, but failed to implement its resolution due to fierce opposition from Khartoum. The resolution, which was not endorsed by Russia, China, and Qatar, could not be applied because it required the consent of the Sudanese government for the deployment of the UN force. In rejecting the UN resolution, the Sudanese argued they could address the issue of civilian protection by using their own military might in the region. Those who are skeptical about Sudan's intentions say Khartoum deserves no credit for being reasonable because for the past four years it never listened to world opinion, while innocent people in Darfur continued to be killed. "Sudan has resisted every step of the way, raising objections and barriers that must be negotiated away by endless streams of envoys to Khartoum," said Ken Bacon, president of the Washington, DC-based Refugees International, which has long been advocating on behalf of the displaced people of Darfur. In Bacon's view, for the last four years, "the government of Sudan has outwitted the West, making the U.S. in particular look week and indecisive." The United States, which accuses Sudan of committing genocide in Darfur, has tried hard to persuade the Security Council to impose sanctions against Khartoum, but failed in its efforts due to strong opposition from Russia and China. Commenting on Khartoum's eagerness to allow the small force into Darfur, a U.S. diplomat told reporters that Washington would "test" the Sudanese government's promise. On Monday, in Khartoum, John Negroponte, the newly-appointed U.S. deputy secretary of state, reiterated U.S. threats of sanctions. Observers say both Russia and China opposed sanctions against Sudan because they did not want to damage their commercial relations with the oil-rich nation. In Darfur, more than 200,000 people -- and by some estimates over 400,000 -- have been killed and at least 2 million others forced from their homes since 2003 when the armed conflict began between rebel groups representing the interests of ethnic African tribes and the Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militias. Those monitoring the refugee situation in the region say the conflict is now starting to spill over into the neighboring countries of Chad and the Central African Republic. Considering the intense level of human suffering, on Monday the British charity group Oxfam launched a fresh appeal for humanitarian aid for Darfur, saying it needs at least $10 million to help displaced people in the region. "This is the greatest concentration of human suffering in the world...and an outrage that affronts the world's moral values," said the group's director Penny Lawrence, who has just retuned from Darfur. Oxfam, which is currently providing clean water and sanitation services to more than 500,000 people in Darfur and eastern Chad, said in a statement that nearly 1 million people were "not getting any aid at all." Meanwhile, in New York, Ban's envoy for Darfur Jan Ellison said that he and his AU counterpart Salim Ahmed Salim would increase their efforts to find a "non-military solution. However, they acknowledged that the presence of a "strong" peacekeeping force was "essential to the region." ....................................................................................
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