(Isaias speaks at USIP forum) (710)
By Jim Fisher-Thompson
USIA Staff Writer
WASHINGTON -- Claims by the government of Sudan that opposition leader
John Garang refuses to meet to discuss ending the civil war that has
killed more than one million people in the past 10 years are "a trick"
meant to stall peaceful resolution of the conflict, says President
Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea.
Addressing a September 17 forum on "Religion, Nationalism and Peace in
Sudan," sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP),
Isaias said, "In my opinion, it is stupid to assume that Garang is
scared of [head of state General Umar Hasan Ahmad al-] Bashir."
Colonel John Garang heads the Sudanese People's Liberation Army
(SPLA), which is the primary rebel force in the southern part of the
nation.
"Why should Garang be afraid?" Isaias asked. After all, "in 1994 he
[Garang] accepted the declaration of principles," arrived at by the
parties in the Sudanese conflict during negotiations sponsored by the
regional security forum the Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD), and he "was willing to sit and talk with any representative of
the [Sudanese] government," including Bashir.
Only "after three years has the [Sudanese] government accepted the
declaration of principles," framed by IGAD to bring an end to the
conflict, Isaias said, adding, "I think it is clear from the
announcements and declarations coming from the SPLA side that they are
[still] willing to meet with any government representatives under the
auspices of IGAD."
Isaias stressed that the Sudanese government's calls for intervention
in the peace process by the South Africans, Dutch, Americans,
Malaysians, and Norwegians in order "to show that you are the good
guy" and that "Garang is a demon who is not prepared to sit around the
table to talk about peace is, in my opinion, an exercise in futility
that doesn't mean anything -- it is a weak trick...[and] we are not
being fooled."
Despite Khartoum's foot-dragging, Isaias said, "the situation is going
to change...it is only a matter of time. Some might assume that buying
time, postponing a solution, might ultimately be a solution itself,
but that is not going to happen."
Looking ahead, Isaias declared: "We are destined to live together in
the region, and no political group or ideology will ever divide the
region and bring about an endless crisis. Whatever the positions of
the conflicting parties" or the Khartoum government's attempt "to
contain what it assumes to be a threat to its existence -- these are
going to pass away down the road. The peoples of the region will find
ways of living together irrespective of the politics and ideologies
that prevail today."
The Eritrean head of state made his comments after a panel, which
included National Security Council (NSC) Africa adviser John
Prendergast, discussed the Western perspective on politics and
religion in Sudan.
In accepting the credentials of Eritrean Ambassador Semere Russom at
the White House September 8, President Bill Clinton said: "The
government in Sudan continues to wage a fratricidal war against its
internal enemies and to seek the destabilization of its neighbors,
including Eritrea.
"Obviously, Sudan's history of aggression toward its neighbors must
stop," President Clinton declared. And he added that "the United
States will remain steadfast in its support of a peaceful resolution
of the Sudanese civil war through a process which involves all the
people of the region."
The State Department regards Sudan as a state sponsor of international
terrorism because of its "training, financing, and providing safe
haven" for terrorists. The United States is working with friendly
nations like Eritrea "to change the behavior" of Sudan and others
engaged in such activity, according to an internal State Department
document.
On the religious issue, the document further notes that the State
Department opposes "Islamists who try to impose their will by force,
and we believe most Muslims agree with us. The Iranian and Sudanese
regimes, for example, have few friends."
In 1993, Amnesty International accused the Sudanese government of
practicing "ethnic cleansing" against the Nuba people in the South,
and the U.S. government later withdrew its ambassador from Khartoum
because of the Sudanese regime's refusal to address charges of
widespread human rights violations.
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Muaz M. Ataalsid
muaz@sudan.net
http://www.sudan.net