Qatar banks on a fresh type of involvement in the Darfur peace process, writes Gamal Nkrumah Another initiative, and another new phase in the Darfur peace process. The first round of Arab League-sponsored talks took place in the Sudanese capital Khartoum on 9-12 October. The armed opposition groups of Darfur have long voiced suspicion of the Arab League and its true motives and intentions, accusing the pan-Arab body of blindly siding with the Sudanese government. While the Arab League has vociferously backed the Sudanese government at various international forums, it has vehemently denied that it is biased against the armed opposition groups of Darfur and therefore is qualified to play a mediating role between the Sudanese government and armed opposition groups. Can the Arab League deliver? The question might appear run-of-the-mill given the perilous situation in Darfur. Using diplomatic tools to resolve the Darfur crisis is nothing new. Qatar is blessed with vast natural gas reserves and hence is one of the world's richest nations with plenty of cash to spare. With a tiny population of less than a quarter of a million, Qatar nevertheless has aspired to play a dynamic diplomatic role in regional peacemaking. The small Arab Gulf state has successfully brokered the Lebanese peace deal, for instance. What it lacks in size, it more than makes up for in diplomatic largesse. Qatar skillfully uses the power of negotiation to tackle some of the region's most intractable conflicts and it has a seemingly limitless amount of cash to persuade protagonists to sit around the negotiating table and discuss peace. This should not be overstated, because it does have its limitations. Not all of its benefactors are compliant. The armed opposition groups of Darfur have not promised to hold unconditional talks with the Sudanese government. They are inclined to advocate a more multilateral approach to resolving the Darfur conflict. They are therefore disinclined to adopt a wholly Arab League role as mediator, preferring instead to involve African and Western powers in the Darfur peace process. What is almost certain is that the bite of the armed opposition groups of Darfur is less fierce than their bark. Be that as it may, the Qatari initiative does not rule out other non-Arab partners in peace. In fact, the Qataris and the Arab League sponsors of the latest Darfur peace initiative support the involvement of African, especially neighbouring countries having common borders with Darfur. So in principle, there is no fundamental conflict of interest between the Qataris, the Arab League and the armed opposition groups of Darfur. The insurgency continues to be especially intense in Darfur, despite the fact that the people of Darfur are tired of fighting and war. At the same time, the political dynamics in Sudan are fast changing. New forces are at work steering the country's political establishment into new directions and uncharted territory. Emboldened rivals of the ruling National Congress Party (NCP) of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir have squared up against the Sudanese leadership, openly declaring their sympathies with the armed opposition groups of Darfur. Chief among these rivals is the main coalition partner in government, the southern- based Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM). The SPLM and the NCP have openly contradictory positions as far as the conflict in Darfur is concerned. In light of this, the Sudanese authorities are hoping that Qatari initiative can break the deadlock and end the civil war that erupted in February 2004. The Qatari Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Bin Abdullah Al-Mahmoud headed the Qatari delegation to Sudan. Apart from the Sudanese national capital Khartoum, Al-Mahmoud visited the southern Sudanese regional capital Juba where he met with Sudanese First Vice-President Salva Kiir, leader of the SPLM, and then flew to the capital of northern Darfur Al-Fasher, the provincial capital of northern Darfur. Al-Mahmoud stressed that the main objective of his mission was to end violence and internecine fighting. "There is no justice without peace and no peace without justice," Al-Mahmoud told reporters in Al-Fasher. Al-Mahmoud flew on to Al-Geneina and Nyala, the provincial capitals of western and southern Darfur respectively where he met with local leaders. In Juba, the Sudanese vice-president paid tribute to Qatari efforts to end war in Darfur and pledged full and unconditional support for the Qatari peace initiative for Darfur. The people of Darfur have to contend with a deeply inhospitable landscape and a rugged mountainous terrain accentuated by internecine fighting. Mercifully, despite heavy losses already inflicted during the infighting, international humanitarian relief has been forthcoming. The Arab League-sponsored talks in Sudan this week are understood to be a prelude to the deliberations that are scheduled to take place in Qatar later this year. Qatari officials stressed that neighbouring states, such as Chad, must be more actively engaged in the Darfur peace process. The Sudanese authorities were upbeat. "We are optimistic. This particular initiative has all the trappings of success," Nafie Ali Nafie, Sudanese special presidential adviser and former security chief, told reporters in Khartoum after meeting with the Arab League delegation. The Secretary-General of the Arab League Amr Moussa, who visited Sudan this week to brief the Sudanese government on the results of the talks of the justice ministers of the Arab League member states. Khartoum, in a surprise move, stated that the International Criminal Court (ICC) is most welcome to interrogate Ali Khushayeb, a leader of the Janjaweed militia accused of committing atrocities in Darfur. However, the Sudanese authorities reiterated their stance that they would not permit the ICC to the Sudanese Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ahmed Haroun because Khartoum claims that there is no evidence to incriminate Haroun. The ICC is not convinced that Khartoum's move is the finest achievement of all. But, maybe, this time Qatari's generosity will oil the path to peace.
