An attack on a UN-AU peacekeeping convoy sounds the alarm bells in Darfur, writes Gamal Nkrumah A United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) peacekeeping force was attacked on 7 January. The Sudanese authorities issued contradictory statements concerning the attack. Last Wednesday, the Sudanese Ambassador to the United Nations Abdul-Mahmoud Abdul- Halim Mohamed claimed that the attack was carried out by the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), one of the main armed opposition groups of Darfur. "It is not the policy or intention of Sudan to attack UNAMID," the Sudanese ambassador explained. His statements were contradicted the following day when the Sudanese government issued an apology to the UN confirming that the attack was in fact carried out by Sudanese government troops. Meanwhile, head of the UN peacekeeping contingent in Darfur, Jean-Marie Guehenno, insisted that the attackers drove in "clearly marked white vehicles", the colour used by Sudanese government forces. The attackers apparently fired weapons and rocket-propelled grenades on the UNAMID convoy, but no casualties were reported. This is the first attack on UNAMID peacekeeping troops in Darfur since the new Sudanese cabinet was formed after the two-month withdrawal of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) from the government of national unity. The SPLM strongly condemned the attack on UNAMID vehicles. Condemnation also came from the leader of the opposition Popular Congress Party (PCP) leader Hassan Al-Turabi, the chief Islamist ideologue in Sudan and former speaker of the Sudanese parliament. Turabi fell out with Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir and was incarcerated. After his release he became a vociferous critic of the Sudanese government. "Those in charge have done unspeakable things to us and halted the practice of religious rites," Turabi was quoted as saying in the pan-Arab daily Asharq Al-Awsat. He spoke of the Sudanese government's "blatant tampering with religion". He also decried rampant corruption that he said was like a "a goat in a pile of bread". He described as "decorum" the inclusion in government of former opposition figures such as Minni Arko Minnawi, the leader of the Sudanese Liberation Army (SLA), another armed opposition group of Darfur, and Moussa Mohamed Moussa, representing the peoples of the eastern part of the country. Turabi questioned the validity of patching up differences between the government and political opponents when there is a huge psychological chasm between them. "In the long term does it even make political sense? I am not optimistic about the near future, not as long as the military are in power," Turabi told Al-Ahram Weekly. Turabi was highly critical of what he called the "temporary solutions" to the Sudanese political impasse, including the power-sharing scheme between the militant Islamists of the National Congress Party and the secularist SPLM. "In theory some kind of compromise is possible, but the government doesn't want to budge on key issues of democratisation and political reform," he added. "It has provided a bad example of Islam," he concluded. There is still a chance that peace may prevail, however, if the Sudanese protagonists have the political will to institute radical political reform. Under the terms of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed 9 January 2005, the National Congress Party (NCP) of President Omar Hassan Al-Bashir must form a government of national unity with the SPLM. Nevertheless, the cabinet sworn in earlier in the year did not dissipate underling tensions between the Islamist NCP and secularist SPLM. The new SPLM cabinet portfolios were filled by seasoned politicians who are known to be resolute critics of the NCP. The appointment of Deng Alor to replace Lam Akol was an exemplary pointer to the change of emphasis. These are some of the contradictions that Turabi highlighted. He also scoffed at the peace negotiations that took place in Sirte, Libya, last October. Turabi's views were corroborated by the AU special envoy to Sudan, Salem Ahmed Salem. "We are keen to have the peace negotiations begin as soon as possible, but there's no point in insisting on having negotiations when the parties concerned have not got themselves ready," he explained. "The parties involved in the conflict, however, should decide when to start the peace talks and to see the success of the talks for the people of Darfur, Sudan and the region." Bad as things are, they can always get a lot worse if the military continues to effectively rule the country. That, it seems, was the message Turabi conveyed. Sudan has been governed by the quasi-military regime of Bashir since he ousted the democratically-elected civilian administration of Sadig Al-Mahdi, now a prominent opposition figure and head of the Umma Party. Washington, while stepping up pressure on the Sudanese authorities at the UN and other international forums, dispatched Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas Greenfield to Khartoum this week to investigate the murder of John Granville, a USAID official in the Sudanese capital a fortnight ago. Greenfield touched on the Darfur question and the general security situation in Sudan. In the final analysis, most observers believe that the security situation will only improve if the political crisis in the country is resolved. Democracy in Sudan still has a long way to go, and the infighting among the disparate armed opposition groups in Darfur is a hindrance to peace, but there is a faint hope that some good will come from this farce. What happens now is anyone's guess.
