Tomas and all, Concerning Sudan Project- Forum on Sudan, mention of Talisman.
Sudan Conflict much More than a Religious War
[ Latest News From Sudan At Sudan.Net ]
News Article by ANS on October 01, 1999 at 01:38:32:
Sudan Conflict much More than a Religious War
Milan (All Africa News Agency, September 30, 1999) - The
Italian commercial capital of Milan, about 650 kilometers
north of Rome, was on September 17-18 the venue for yet
another forum aimed at bringing peace to Sudan, where an
internecine conflict had defied innumerable peace
initiatives.
In a veritable departure from the norm, neither the bigwigs
of the warring factions nor their representatives were invited to the talks. The conveyors chose instead to invite the representatives of the civil society from both the north and the South of Africa's most expansive state.
Reason: The civil society has no weapons and can only seek
a solution to the conflict through dialogue. And in any case, haven't the real fighters held many talks that have borne little if any fruits! Sudan, formerly under Anglo-Egyptian condominium, has been engulfed in a vicious brutal civil war since her independence in 1956. The only hiatus lasted for 11 years between 1972 and 1983, courtesy of peace accord signed in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The current phase of the conflict began in 1983. It is
spearheaded by the Southern rebels under the John
Garang-led SPLA and seeks a democratic, secular Sudan
that is devoid of discrimination on any grounds.
The current Sudanese regime, now in its 10th year, came to
power by the barrel of the gun that displaced the
democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq
el-Mahdi. It has unleashed untold terror on both Muslims
and Christians opposed to its fundamentalist policies while
ignoring international censure and frustrating numerous
peace initiatives.
Though the official leader of the regime is President Omar
el-Bashir, it is generally believed that the power behind the throne is a non-compromising Islamic scholar and Speaker
of the National Assembly Hassan al-Turabi.
Christened Peace perspectives for Sudan: A rebirth of the
civil society, the Milan Forum was organized by the Italian
Campaign for Peace and Justice in Sudan. It was promoted
by a group of associations, NGOs and Italian information
organs (Pax Christi, Acli, Caritas, Cesvi, Cuoore Amico,
Mani Tese and Nigrizia) that have for a long time been
involved in solidarity initiatives with the peoples of the
South, particularly in Africa.
The Italian campaign has been active since April 1995,with
the aim of supporting peace process and the respect of
human rights in the African state that has witnessed decades
of conflict.
Towards this end, the Campaign has been lobbying at the
political level, with the Italian government. It has promoted a wider and better information on Sudanese situation, to involve the public opinion, through the use of media and collection of 50,000 signatures on its initial document.
Featuring several personalities of international standing, the conference delved on a number of issues considered most
pertinent in what has been described in some circles as the
world's forgotten war. Three non-Sudanese experts guided
the deliberations, which ran smoothly from the start to the
end despite attempted disruptions by the agents of Khartoum
government.
Richard Gray, Professor emeritus of African History and a
former teacher at the University of Khartoum was in charge
for most of the first day. Hungarian Dr Gasper Biro, until
last year the special reporter of the United Nations on the
violations of human rights in Sudan, then took charge.
Taking over from Biro was Peter Woodward, a Professor of
Political Science and Lecture at the University of Reading in UK. Representing Southern Sudan were, among others, Abel
Alier, the respected elderly former vice-president under the
Jaffar Numeiry government. Alier, a lawyer by profession,
lives in Khartoum, an atmosphere that has remained hostile
and vehemently opposed to his democratic ideals.
Other southerners were Eliaba Surur, the president of Union
of Sudanese Parties, lawyer Yoanes Ajawin and Teody
Lotto of Sudanese Women's Voice for Peace. From the north
came controversial lawyer and human rights activist Ghazi
Suleiman and Adlan Hardallo, Professor of Political
Science at the University of Khartoum and former president
of the Khartoum University Academic Union.
Suleiman Rahal represented the Nuba, the definition of
whose homeland remains one of the most controversial
issues in the protracted civil strife too. The Catholic Bishop of Tambura-Yambio, his Lordship Joseph Gasi Abangite,
represented the church.
The level of debate was high and the atmosphere of
solidarity was most gratifying. There was consensus that the
Sudanese conflict is much more than a religious war;
religion has merely been manipulated to fuel the fire. It was also concluded that there was a pressing need for the
international community to urgently address the issue of
exploitation of Sudanese oil resources.
The Director of Canadian NGO Freedom Quest
International, Mel Middleton, said the abundant revenue
from oil could mean that Khartoum had lost any incentive
whatsoever for a peaceful solution to the conflict. The
government's earnings from the oil are estimated at US $2
million a day.
A Canadian company, Talisman Energy Inc., in August
exported 600,000 barrels of oil from Sudan upon the
completion of a 1,500 km-long pipelines it runs in
partnership with the state oil companies of China, Malaysia
and Sudan. The pipeline runs from the oil fields in the Unity State to Port Sudan. It currently has a capacity to handle 100,000 barrels a day will be able to handle double the number when fully operational in two year's time.
"Why would a brutal junta, which has violated virtually
every human right in the book, make peace with its
adversary if it has the resources to be victorious and impose its final solution ?" Middleton posed. "Dictators are known for their magnanimity. Or are we to assume that there has been some form of collective epiphany and that the Sudanese rulers have all repented and purified themselves in the waters of the Red Sea ?"
To the Sudanese Embassy in Rome, there was no cause for
alarm but every reason for Sudanese to jubilant about the
new development. The Deputy Head of the Mission,
Altercifi Ahmed Kormino, said the exploitation of the oil
would accelerate the termination of the civil strife.
"The oil revenue would bring riches to Sudan and as you all
know, rich people do not fight," he said. "Why is there no
war in the USA, in Canada or Italy?" Kormino asked. He
maintained that contrary to Middleton's fears, the Sudanese
government would use the earnings from the oil exports to
improve infrastructure, fight ignorance and disease,
minimise infant mortality and raise the life expectancy in
Sudan.
The participants were also unanimous in their concern about
the suffering of the civilian population in the senseless war.
They said that there was need for rehabilitation and
compensation of all those who have been victimised by the
war. The current phase of the conflict and its attendant
consequences have claimed an estimated 1.9 million lives.
Thousands have been forced into exile as refugees while
equally huge numbers have been displaced internally.
The Forum on Sudan was one of the initiatives that preceded
the third assembly of the United Nations of Peoples,
organized by the Italian Table for peace and the Association
of Local Public Administrations for Peace.
eom, Ed |
