Cairo proposes new negotiations on Darfur as pressure builds on Sudan, Dina Ezzat reports This week Cairo unveiled a new diplomatic initiative seemingly aimed at sparing Khartoum from the deepening sanctions regime which the US and UK appear determined to push through the UN Security Council, for its failure to resolve the Darfur crisis. Over a quarter of a million people are believed to have perished in what is widely regarded as one of the world's worst current humanitarian disasters. Against a backdrop of manoeuvres at UN headquarters in New York, as well as the arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against two Sudanese officials for alleged involvement in atrocities in Darfur, Cairo is appealing to the Khartoum government, rebel groups in Darfur, and concerned international and regional players to find a face- saving political solution that would be acceptable to all parties. The initiative, announced last Monday by Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul- Gheit, entails a new negotiations process that would expand or amend the deal reached in Abuja a year ago between the Sudanese government and some rebel groups, but that so far failed to end the Darfur crisis. "The situation in Darfur is a very complex one... There is a need for the parties to sit together and see how the Abuja Agreement can be improved for all parties concerned," Abul-Gheit said. He added that a proposed conference of parties should "bring into effect an immediate ceasefire" and address unresolved "sticking points that have prevented the settlement of the crisis." The three main sticking points concern power and wealth sharing and security arrangements between the Darfur rebels and the government. Egypt is already working on a draft of compromise formulas. Its efforts are aimed at forestalling the application of further pressure on Khartoum, which it believes has handicapped the chances of a settlement. "So far, the rebels have felt immune against any pressure, and this has encouraged them to procrastinate, with an eye on maximising their gains. In turn, this attitude on the side of the rebels has provoked the Sudanese government to show very little flexibility," commented a senior Egyptian official. According to this official, what Egypt wants to launch "sooner rather than later" is an equitable process where all parties are "encouraged" to meet halfway. The Egyptian diplomatic scheme was discussed during talks between President Hosni Mubarak and Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir in Cairo Monday, and with Libyan Leader Muammar Qaddafi -- who carries much sway with many of the rebel groups in Darfur -- in Tripoli on Tuesday. Darfur was also an item on the agenda of a telephone conversation this week between President Mubarak and US President George W Bush. Abul-Gheit held meetings as well with UN Envoy on Darfur Jan Eliason and African Union Envoy on Darfur Salem Ahmed Salem, who also met Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. Following talks both with Moussa and Abul- Gheit, Eliason and Salem affirmed that there is a growing realisation that there is no military solution in Darfur, and that a negotiations process bringing together all parties under the auspices of concerned international and regional players has to be promptly initiated. "Now is the time to focus on the political process," Eliason said. Salem added: "time is of the essence and the situation in Darfur is simply intolerable." Egyptian officials say they are content with alerting concerned bodies of the need to avert a collision course with the Sudanese government over Darfur. They add that Egypt has convinced the US and the UK, through direct and indirect messages, to slow down the process of proposing new UN sanctions. Potential sanctions could include armament restrictions, freezing the assets of close to 50 senior Sudanese officials, and imposing a no-fly zone on large parts of Sudan. "President Mubarak made it very clear that the attempt of some to impose tougher sanctions on Sudan, through a proposed new UN Security Council resolution, would not help the efforts aiming to find a [fair and permanent settlement] to the situation in Darfur," Presidential Spokesman Suleiman Awad said Monday, prior to the Mubarak-Bush telephone call. Egypt is also taking a firm stance in supporting Sudan's refusal to hand over two Sudanese officials to the ICC. Egyptian officials say the Sudanese position has a sound legal basis. "The statute of the ICC acknowledges the right of national judicial systems to investigate criminal allegations levelled against citizens of member states. Only if national judiciaries fail to honour this obligation can the ICC directly try suspects," Awad said Monday following the Mubarak-Bashir talks. Meanwhile, Egyptian officials declared in unequivocal terms that President Bashir is committed to moving forward towards implementing the second step of the UN-drafted plan to provide peace- keeping and humanitarian assistance to the population of Darfur. This, they say, is a sign of good faith on the side of Khartoum that should be reciprocated by the international community. "There has to be a link between progress secured in relation to the peace-keeping operation that the world wants, and the political process of reconciliation that the Sudanese government wants; to pressure rebel groups on a realistic basis that accommodates the legitimate demands of the rebels and acknowledges the obvious prerogatives of the Khartoum regime," said one Egyptian diplomat on condition of anonymity. To boost its efforts in promoting a political settlement in Darfur, Egypt declared Monday plans to open a diplomatic office in Darfur that would be affiliated to its embassy in Khartoum. Though no official statements have been made on the matter, Cairo is concerned with the separatist mood of the Southern Sudan government, which appears to be gearing up to lay the grounds for a "Yes" vote in the scheduled referendum on the independence of the south. This is due to take place in five years' time, in accordance with the Abuja peace deal. Cairo does not wish to see a similar trend towards separation in Darfur. The importance of the territorial integrity of Sudan is something that Egyptian officials regularly affirm. For their part, Sudanese diplomats say that they are fairly optimistic that the new Egyptian initiative could be successful in prompting a genuine political process. Whether or not this process will culminate in a deal ending the traumatic crisis in Darfur, they argue, depends a great deal on the intentions of the international community that has so far followed "a destructive policy of pressuring [the government]" while sparing the rebels. Meanwhile, several Darfur rebel commanders have agreed in principle to hold talks in southern Sudan, aimed at unifying their positions ahead of any conference with the government, a group of independent mediators said. Until now, inter-group divisions and government force attacks have derailed the emergence of rebel group unity, and forestalled peace prospects between different rebel groups and the government.
