Washington's insistence on dispatching blue berets to Sudan might prove a turning point for the country, writes Gamal Nkrumah United States President George W Bush flatly declared that, "We need more troops in Darfur." Even more ominously he urged a more prominent role for NATO. "But," he explained, "it's going to require a NATO stewardship; planning, facilitating, organising, probably double the number of peacekeepers that there are now, in order to start bringing some sense of security." "It's good that President Bush is now talking tougher about the need for more robust military action, including increased support from the NATO alliance to stop the killing in Darfur," read a New York Times editorial recently. "What would even be better would be a US commitment to provide specialised reconnaissance and air support for the UN force being planned for Darfur later this year." The US political establishment and a broad body of American public opinion commonly accept the Times as a reference point. "It's not America's job to police the world," the Times contended. "But, Darfur is a special case." These bellicose sentiments were echoed by US officials. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer and Assistant Secretary of State for International Organisation Kristen Silverberg stepped up their criticism of the Sudanese government. "Everybody knows that the crisis in Darfur has to come to an end," Frazer told reporters in Washington recently. The US is stepping up pressure to transfer the African Union (AU) mandate in Darfur to the UN. The AU currently has 7000 peacekeepers in Darfur, but Western powers insist that the force has been largely ineffectual. "Africans will remain in leadership in any mission," Silverberg explained. She stressed that there will be "no reduction of AU forces in Darfur". Silverberg, however, pointed out that the "UN has an expertise in logistics." Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Beshir is in defiant mood. He retorted that Darfur would become the "graveyard of imperialists". The escalation of verbal exchanges between US and Sudanese officials was compounded by a leaked report by a UN panel of international experts that identified 17 leading Sudanese political figures, including Sudan's minister of the interior, defence minister and director of its national intelligence services, as deliberately impeding the peace process and committing gross human rights violations in contravention of UN Security Council Resolution 1591. The damning report inflamed passions further. The UN secretary-general's special representative in Sudan, Jan Pronk, was summoned by the Sudanese Foreign Ministry. He was told that he had made statements that infringed on the country's sovereignty. "I have always been completely impartial," Pronk protested. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) -- the southern-based opposition organisation that waged a 22-year armed struggle against Sudanese government forces in southern Sudan and parts of western, eastern and central Sudan -- is now the main coalition partner of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of Al-Beshir. But strains remain in the relationship between the two partners in power. Sudanese Vice President Salva Kiir, who is also the leader of the SPLM, and Foreign Minister Lam Akol, a leading SPLM figure, and other southerners, hold important ministerial portfolios. However, there are tangible social and political tensions among the large southern population in Khartoum and its environs. There are also palpable ethnic and regional conflicts in various parts of the country including southern, western and eastern regions. It is in this context that the visit by the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams assumes special importance. The eight-day fact-finding tour of the country is widely seen as a mediatory effort. Archbishop Williams met Kiir and several other top Sudanese officials. Tensions have increased in recent weeks for the first time since the crash of the Russian-built military aircraft in July in which John Garang and 13 other people died. Tensions have also heightened between government forces and the SPLA in several oil-producing flashpoints and in the eastern part of the country. The SPLA even accused the Sudanese army of violating the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). Moreover, there are clashes between the SPLA and the rival South Sudan Defence Forces (SSDF). The seemingly interminable Darfur peace talks taking place in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, are veering dangerously close to absurdity. The Darfur conflict was another topic discussed by the archbishop. He spoke to southern refugees in the camps outside Khartoum and in Khartoum's Episcopal Church. One of the main grievances of the restive indigenous populations of western, southern and eastern Sudan is the deployment by the Sudanese government of government- backed paramilitary forces -- the Janjaweed militias in Darfur and the Popular Defense Forces in eastern Sudan. These paramilitary groups have been accused by local and international human rights groups of gross rights violations. A visit to Sudan by a team of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees confirmed widespread restlessness among marginalised Sudanese groups. The UNHCR warned that, "Initiatives have been superficially and inadequately implemented." The UN group called for an "end to the culture of impunity throughout Sudan". The Sudanese government has deployed the Joint Integrated Unit (JIU) -- composed of the SPLA, the armed wing of the SPLM, and government forces. Some 40,000 former SPLA troops are stationed in southern Sudan, Nuba Mountain and southern Blue Nile. Another 1500 soldiers deployed in Khartoum. Khartoum must act fast to avert a crisis of confidence in the CPA.
