|
Africa's peace seekers: Lazaro Sumbeiywo
A general's last mission - peace
The moment-by-moment midwifing of a peace process by a single mediator - like Sumbeiywo and Betty Bigombe in Uganda - represents a shift away from the old pattern of peacemaking in Africa, experts say. It used to be that high-profile heads of state would swoop in to a troubled country and try to knock heads to get a deal. That's what Nelson Mandela, then president of South Africa, did in Burundi in the 1990s. The trouble is that "you've got eight minutes to make peace" before the big man gets back on the plane, says Peter Kagwanja of the International Crisis Group in Pretoria, South Africa. By contrast, he says, "the Sumbeiywos have nothing else to do but negotiate."
But these peace seekers need lots of support.
And Sumbeiywo had it from global players like the US. But he was actually employed by a regional group of seven nations called the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Increasingly, observers say, it's groups like IGAD, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the African Union that are stepping up to solve Africa's conflicts. The African Union, for instance, is sponsoring peace talks to end the Darfur crisis. And it's the only outside organization with troops on the ground in Darfur.
"Having a strong African leader, with the confidence of regional governments, who's backed by high-level envoys from countries that matter" - like the US - is "the model for conflict resolution in Africa," says John Prendergast in the International Crisis Group's Washington office. "You've got to get the process right." And, he says, Sumbeiywo did.
* * *
But the outside players weren't always helpful. Sometimes Sumbeiywo had to draw the line.
The Americans, British, and Norwegians, plus church groups, aid agencies, and others who had observer teams at the talks would try to speed the negotiations by "promising things they couldn't deliver," says Page. One team, for example, pledged there would be a
sharia-free capital of Sudan - a goal of the southern rebels.
The Americans were some of the biggest offenders. In the run-up to Bush's 2004 State of the Union speech, US officials were desperate for a foreign-policy victory to offset mounting criticism over Iraq. So they pushed hard to seal the deal. The pressure from all sides got so bad that the negotiators pleaded with Sumbeiywo to "protect us," Page recalls.
Sumbeiywo admonished the outside observers to "let the parties have their time." And he set the boundary: The swimming pool area of the lakeside resort hotel, and no further. This kept them far enough away from the talks that it limited their ability to interfere.
The rule reflected Sumbeiywo's philosophy that the parties themselves had to forge the deal. He and the observers could facilitate - but not force. Sumbeiywo's chlorine boundary line "really improved the process," says one Western diplomat who was there.
* * *
The warring parties were finally willing to take the last steps toward peace, Sumbeiywo says, because they knew the costs of war - and the potential economic benefits of ending it. Civil wars cost African economies 2.2 percent in GDP growth per year, according to a study published last year by Oxford University. By that measure, Sudan's war sapped more than 46 percent from the economy's growth during its 21 years.
And now, in the wake of the peace pact, the country is booming. At a mid-April conference in Norway, donor nations pledged $4.5 billion in reconstruction aid. The rest of the $7.9 billion cost of rebuilding will come from Sudan's oil exports, which are also rising as new investment boosts production. The country has huge oil reserves, mostly in the south. Until recently, Sudan exported a relatively small 300,000 barrels a day. But the foreign minister predicted recently that the rate would reach 2 million daily by 2008.
* * *
On the sun-dappled afternoon of Jan. 9, 2005, at a packed soccer stadium in Nairobi, the parties were arriving to sign the final peace deal. But as the morning dragged on, tensions rose. There was a seating problem: Not all the visiting dignitaries had seats in the tented VIP section.
TIMELINE
Sumbeiywo wasn't going to let protocol compromise the day. He marched to the podium, and began negotiating a new seating arrangement. He got Kenyan ministers and other lower-level officials to vacate seats in favor of visiting diplomats. He also organized a squad of porters to bring in extra chairs.
Finally, in a white tent in the middle of the grass field, the two sides put their signatures on the deal. Men danced and women ululated. Scores of happily seated diplomats, including Powell, applauded vigorously.
The event marked the end of one of the world's deadliest conflicts - and, for Sumbeiywo, of so many sleepless nights. "It was reached by the will of God," he says.
But Sumbeiywo knows the peace process is only beginning. "Half of an agreement is in the implementation," he says. Under this deal, the parties have six years to take steps to prevent war from reigniting - such as integrating their armies into one national defense force. At the end of the six years, southern Sudanese will vote on whether they want to secede from the north.
Throughout this year, the parties were moving forward on schedule. On July 9, SPLA leader Garang was sworn in as first vice president in Sudan's new government - making him the first southern Christian to hold a top post in the country's largely Arab Muslim government.
Just three weeks later, though, the implementation process was shaken deeply when Garang was killed in a night-time helicopter crash.
Many feared this would derail the peace pact. It hasn't so far. But observers say that Sumbeiywo's role as guardian of the deal now becomes even more important. He's one of the few people who knows exactly what Garang and the others meant when they compromised on certain issues.
"We hope IGAD and Sumbeiywo stay involved," says Gary McGurck, who works on Sudan for the international aid group CARE. "The best thing Sumbeiywo can say is, 'I'm available and I'm willing if you both want me.' "
For his part, Sumbeiywo is enjoying a slower pace. "It's been a lot of Christmases since I've seen my family," he says. So now, "I can make up for it."
But his voice turns to steel when he talks about Sudan's continued peace. "We must watch," he says. "We must watch very carefully."
|
|
FEWER MAJOR CONFLICTS AROUND THE WORLD
Click here for image.
SOURCE: UPPSALA CONFLICT DATA PROJECT; STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE; RICH CLABAUGH - STAFF
|
|
|
RSS feed
