Peace talks between Khartoum and Darfur's armed opposition groups that rejected the Abuja peace accord will resume in Asmara instead, writes Gamal Nkrumah There is a Biblical saying, told by people who should know better, that a "soft answer turneth away wrath". The Sudanese government has long had a stormy relationship with the United Nations. Khartoum promptly dismissed the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to Sudan Jan Pronk after he made remarks deemed insulting to the Sudanese army. "Regrettably, Jan Pronk had developed a history of a pattern of hostility against the government of Sudan and its armed forces. He repeatedly abused the power of his office and violated his terms of engagement," read a statement issued by the Sudanese government signed by Sudanese Foreign Minister Lam Akol. Pronk terminated his mission as UN special envoy to Sudan, even though at first it was said that he would stay on until the end of the year. "The morale in the government army in Darfur has gone down -- some generals have been sacked and soldiers have refused to fight," Pronk explained before his departure from Khartoum. Sudan rejected UN Security Council Resolution 1706. It matters not a whit if the tiff between Khartoum and the world body persists. But, it matters desperately that the humanitarian catastrophe in Darfur be averted. In the meantime, the Sudanese authorities, the UN and the African Union agreed on Saturday to form a committee to speed up the smooth and natural transfer of the AU Mission in Darfur. UN Assistant Secretary-General of Peacekeeping Operations Hedi Annabi flew to the Sudanese capital Khartoum for talks with Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir. After consultations with Annabi, a Tunisian national, the Sudanese president reiterated his refusal to deploy UN international forces in Darfur. Annabi also held talks with Sudanese Defence Minister Lieutenant General Abdul-Rahim Mohamed Hussein and Foreign Minister Lam Akol. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan flew today to the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa for high-level meeting with representatives of Russia, China, the European Union and the United States. The UN offered $77 million to help the AU peacekeeping mission in Darfur. Apart from the prospect of fostering a better working relationship between the Sudanese government and the UN, Annabi's visit also attempted to review the Sudanese government's reaction to the role played by the Eritrean government in speeding up the Darfur peace process. The Eritrean government was previously an anathema to the Sudanese authorities because the Eritrean capital played host to the Sudanese umbrella opposition grouping the National Democratic Alliance. The Sudanese authorities accused the Eritrean government of supporting and arming Sudanese opposition groups. In the past year, however, bilateral relations improved considerably and last month Eritrea played an instrumental role in the signing of a peace deal between the Sudanese government and eastern Sudanese armed opposition groups -- the Beja Congress and the Rashaida Arab Free Lions. The two groups were previously backed by the Eritreans. Eritrea persuaded Khartoum that it should open up genuine diplomatic space within which it may just be possible to resolve the Darfur crisis. The two major Darfur armed opposition groups that refused to sign a peace deal with the Sudanese government in the Nigerian capital Abuja in May -- the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) headed by Abdul-Wahid Mohamed Al-Nour have formed the National Redemption Front (NRF). Arko Minni Minnawi, leader of the rival SLA Minnawi faction, and now special presidential advisor to Sudanese President Al-Bashir, is not taking part in these talks -- neither is he a member of the NRF. The Eritreans have expressed satisfaction with the way the Darfur armed opposition groups and the Sudanese government are enthusiastic about the negotiations. The Eritrean mediatory efforts have greatly enhanced Eritrea's regional role. The Sudanese, in turn, have closed down an Eritrean opposition radio station that broadcast from Khartoum. The Eritreans, however, believe that a hint of menace is necessary to successful diplomacy. If these direct talks are to go forward, they will need to recognise that the demands of the Darfur armed opposition groups must be met. Khartoum will have to compromise on certain issues such as the delegation of power and a greater say by Darfuris in the decision-making process in Sudan. And, in a flurry of diplomatic activity, the French government is trying to play the same game as the Eritreans. French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy flew to Khartoum on Monday. Douste-Blazy stopped over in Cairo on his way to Khartoum for talks with President Hosni Mubarak. He met his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Abul-Gheit and the Secretary- General of the Arab League Amr Moussa. "There should be a compromise accepted by all sides," Douste-Blazy told reporters in Cairo. Egypt is proposing a strategy for strengthening the African Union peace-keeping force in Darfur by sending troops from Arab and Muslim nations. The French have approved in principle of the Egyptian plan and other Western powers are coming round to the idea of not deploying Western peace-keeping forces after the Afghanistan and Iraqi debacles. The Egyptian plan, dubbed as a "tripartite mechanism" is as intuitively appealing as it is right. Abul-Gheit stressed that the international community should "not allow a worsening of relations between the UN and Sudan". The Sudanese authorities are ready to contemplate the deployment of peace-keeping forces from Arab and Muslim nations, but not from Western powers. Khartoum will simply not capitulate on this point. The United States, however, might see things differently. Indeed, the Democrats at Capitol Hill might prove to be more vehemently censorious of the Sudanese authorities than the Republicans. The Democrats are highly critical of human rights abuses in Darfur. These rival interpretations of the nature of the Darfur crisis point to substantial difficulties ahead. We can be optimistic, however, that there will be improvement in the relationship between Asmara and Khartoum. The same cannot be said about Washington's relationship with Khartoum. The US needs to know that it is competing with China in the court of African opinion. And Sudan is a case in point. The US should complement Chinese trade and investment carrots with security guarantees that it will not push for a NATO-led international peace-keeping force in Darfur.
