Relative calm

A semblance of normalcy returns to Darfur.

JOHN CHERIAN in Darfur

THE simmering conflict in Darfur is still making news, though not dominating the headlines as it did until a year ago. In the last week of September and in early October, there were sporadic instances of violence. The fragile ceasefire between the government forces and the two rebel groups is holding. The "Janjaweed" militia reportedly attacked a refugee camp in West Darfur in late September. The rebels, on their part, took control of a small town briefly.

A visit to Darfur in the last week of September gave the impression that the vast region was generally tranquil. The refugee camp in El Fasher in North Darfur, housing 50,000 people, seemed to be well organised. (Darfur is divided into three regions, North, South and West Darfur.) In North Darfur itself there are 47,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs). International aid agencies have seen to it that basic necessities are provided for. The United Nations Secretary-General's latest report on Darfur stated that the presence of 12,500 aid workers had "averted a humanitarian catastrophe, with no major outbreaks of disease and famine".

The presence of African Union (A.U.) peacekeepers in the trouble-prone areas has been a key factor in restoring a semblance of normalcy. Senior government officials in Darfur said that they were fully cooperating with the international aid agencies and the A.U. peacekeepers.

Darfur had become an emotive issue in the U.S. presidential election last year. Christian fundamentalists and black Church groups joined hands to characterise the conflict as one between black Africans and Arabs. The population of Darfur is almost entirely Muslim. In many parts of Darfur, this correspondent found it very difficult to distinguish between blacks and Arabs.

The U.N. report on Darfur, released in January, estimated that there were 1.65 million IDPs living in 81 camps and safe areas. In addition, there are another 627,000 "conflict-affected persons" and 203,000 refugees in Chad. According to the report, 2.5 million of Darfur's total population of six million have been affected by the conflict. The report, however, did not find genocidal intent on the part of the government of Sudan.

Osman Yusuf Kibir, the Governor of North Darfur province, told mediapersons in El Fasher that the current conflict in Darfur started two years ago. The first attacks were made by the newly formed insurgent group, the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLM/A), in February 2003. This was followed a few weeks later by an attack by another new guerrilla group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). He emphasised that the root cause was disputes over the scarce and dwindling resources. El Fasher, the capital, had a heavy security presence. At the start of their insurgency, the rebels had briefly captured the El Fasher airport, destroying seven military planes and killing more than 100 soldiers.

Kibir said that in the last three months there had been a few instances of the rebels violating the ceasefire agreement. He said that the authorities were trying their best to resettle the IDPs, but the rebels were not allowing them to return, in order to keep the dispute unresolved. "The objective of the rebels is to drive away villagers to the refugee camps," said the Governor. Darfur, approximately the size of France, is a region where nomads and settled communities have coexisted for centuries. The government in Khartoum, preoccupied with the civil war and constrained by the scarcity of resources, had left Darfur in a state of benign neglect since the country won independence in 1956. Darfur is a semi-arid region. Dwindling rainfall in the last 50 years has led to rapid desertification, leading to conflicts over water and grazing land.

Hassan al-Turabi, an important figure in the Opposition and the leader of the Popular National Congress, told Frontline that Darfur was among the least developed regions in Sudan. Sudanese Vice-President Ali Osman Taha conceded that the region was in need of developmental projects. The government seems serious about developmental work in the region. This correspondent saw a bridge being constructed across the Azum River that would eventually link Darfur by road to neighbouring Chad. Al-Turabi said Darfur always harboured secessionist tendencies for a variety of reasons. Darfur was an independent country until the early part of the 20th century and had aligned with Turkey during the First World War. Britain took over the region and made it part of Sudan after it emerged victorious in the War.

The West has attributed much of the violence in Darfur to the "Janjaweed" militia. Kibir said the "Janjaweed" originated more than 400 years ago and was essentially a group of brigands hailing from various tribes. "They are not from any particular race or tribe. Nobody has been able to identify the `Janjaweed' clearly - the U.N., the rebels or the government," Kibir said. The Western media insists that the "Janjaweed" was formed as recently as 2003, mostly from members of previously existing nomadic militias of Arab background, and armed by the government.

The Governor said a comprehensive agreement on the lines of the deal signed between Khartoum and the rebels in the southern region was not a feasible proposition for Darfur. He pointed out that the problem in Darfur was only two years old while that of southern Sudan was more than 50 years old. Many Sudanese feel that the rebel groups started their insurrection to wrest concessions similar to those given to the rebels from the south. Like the south, Darfur is known to have vast mineral resources, including oil. Neighbouring Chad has now emerged as one of the major oil exporters in Africa. Taha said it was not a coincidence that the trouble in Darfur escalated just as the government and the southern rebels were on the verge of signing the historic peace deal.

The Governor of South Darfur, Abdul Atta al-Mannan, said his state was the biggest in Darfur with a population of 3.7 million. He said the situation was generally peaceful in his state with a large proportion of the IDPs having returned to their villages. The local police have formed a commission together with representatives of the A.U. and the U.N. to prevent gender-based violence. International agencies reported that incidents of rape had been rampant in Darfur during the two years of intense fighting.

While conceding that nothing could justify the happenings in Darfur, Taha said that "federalism" would be the answer to the problems the country faced. He said the Central government was giving "special emphasis" to addressing the Darfur problem. The region had representation in the Centre and in Parliament, he said.

"The Darfur population is found all over Sudan and in positions of power," said Taha.

He expressed satisfaction with the A.U.'s handling of the Darfur situation. He was, however, critical of the Western media's portrayal of the issue. "The Third World is a victim of the Western media. They have political objectives. They are not looking for facts. Any country that they want to attack, they first isolate. They first talked about genocide in Darfur. Later they apologised," said Taha.