African diplomacy and solidarity ensured a Chadian-Sudanese rapprochement that may positively speed up the Darfur peace process, writes Gamal Nkrumah Far from floundering beneath the welter of International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations and the shock and indignity of being issued an arrest warrant for war crimes and genocide, Sudanese President has triumphantly used the spate of disasters to his own advantage. The Arab League stood by the beleaguered Sudanese president. The African Union (AU), too, has offered unbridled support for President Al-Bashir. The Chairman of the AU Commission Jean Ping was hastily dispatched to Sudan to garner support for the embattled country. "While we are trying to extinguish the fire here with our troops, we don't understand very well that they chose that moment to put more oil on the fire by taking the decision to issue an arrest warrant for President Al-Bashir," Ping angrily exclaimed. He was highly critical of the controversial ICC move. Meanwhile, the AU and Sudan have agreed to work simultaneously on three main fronts concerning Darfur. First, the deployment in Darfur of the AU-United Nations peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID). At the moment, there are less than 10,000 international -- mainly African -- troops stationed in Darfur. The UN has sanctioned the deployment of some 26,000 peacekeeping troops in Darfur. The second pressing issue is that of the unification of the different armed opposition groups of Darfur in order to quicken the pace of the political peace process. As long as the Darfur opposition forces are fragmented it remains desperately difficult for the Sudanese government to conduct fruitful peace talks with the disparate Darfur groups. And last but not least is the contentious question of Chadian-Sudanese relations. The AU is committed to the mending of fences between Sudan and Chad. Chadian President Idriss Deby accused the Sudanese government of militarily backing Chadian armed opposition forces in their daring invasion of the Chadian capital Ndjamena in February. Likewise, the Sudanese government believes that the Chadian authorities assisted the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in storming Om Durman, across the White Nile from Khartoum barely two months ago. The war in Darfur has long been a bone of contention between Khartoum and Ndjamena. Indeed, the Sudanese government suspects that JEM managed to overrun Om Durman because the Chadian government decided to launch a massive retaliation for the cross border offensive against Ndjamena earlier in the year. It is unclear how much influence Chad in general and President Deby in particular wield over the armed opposition forces of Darfur. Sudan has weathered many storms. The most serious in recent weeks has been when the Prosecutor-General of the ICC Luis Moreno-Ocampo filed 10 criminal charges against President Al-Bashir. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), the main coalition partner of Al-Bashir's ruling National Congress Party (NCP), expressed unequivocal support for the Sudanese president. Armed opposition groups in Darfur have been far less conciliatory, urging the international community to arrest Al-Bashir. The Sudanese president is doing everything he can to make it look as if he is in total control of the sprawling nation -- Africa's largest -- he rules with an iron grip. He has permitted a modest modicum of democracy. Darfur is the quintessential battleground province, bordering Libya, Chad and the Central African Republic. Darfur is also a bellwether. Over the coming weeks, Africa and the world will be watching developments in Sudan. The country's leaders have demonstrated considerable political acumen. They remain irrevocably wedded to the principle of a united, sovereign nation in the heart of Africa. Recent developments are taking place against the backdrop of the rise of a virulently assertive strain of Sudanese nationalism. This nationalism is both an asset to Al-Bashir because it helps bolster his sense of legitimacy and enhances his image as an anti-imperialist leader throughout Africa and the Arab world. "The Sudanese political establishment, government and opposition, are determined to advance the interests of Sudan. We have demonstrated a unique form of solidarity. This is a defining moment for Sudan," Sadig Al-Mahdi, leader of the opposition Umma Party, whose government was overthrown in a military coup d'état led by Al-Bashir in 1989, told Al-Ahram Weekly.
