DATE=5/4/99
TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT
NUMBER=5-43307
TITLE=PRIVATE DIPLOMACY IN SUDAN
BYLINE= ED WARNER
DATELINE= WASHINGTON
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: FORMAL DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS OVER MANY YEARS HAVE FAILED TO
END THE LONG WAR IN SUDAN BETWEEN THE MUSLIM NORTH AND THE
NON-MUSLIM SOUTH. SO PRIVATE, NON-GOVERNMENTAL GROUPS ARE
OFFERING THEIR SERVICES, WITH AN EMPHASIS ON PERSONAL TIES AND
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT ARE HELD IN COMMON. V-O-A'S ED WARNER
REPORTS THE ACTIVITIES OF ONE OF THESE GROUPS, AND ITS
IMPLICATIONS FOR HELPING SOLVE OTHER CONFLICTS AROUND THE WORLD.
TEXT: HASSAN AL-TURABI, SPIRITUAL LEADER OF SUDAN, IS CONSIDERED
BY MANY TO BE THE EVIL GENIUS OF MILITANT ISLAM. BUT HE DOES
NOT COME ACROSS THAT WAY IN PERSON, SAYS DOUGLAS JOHNSTON, WHO
RECENTLY VISITED SUDAN. HE BELIEVES THAT MR. TURABI -- SUAVE,
ARTICULATE AND PERSUASIVE -- SEEKS PEACE AND A FORM OF ISLAM THAT
WILL HAVE WIDE APPEAL.
THAT VIEWPOINT DISTINGUISHES MR. JOHNSTON FROM MORE CONVENTIONAL
OPINION, WHICH CITES THE SUDANESE REGIME'S LONG, BRUTAL WAR WITH
ITS SOUTHERN REBELS, AND ITS ENSLAVING OF CAPTIVES. THEY SAY
THERE IS NOTHING TO DISCUSS WITH SUCH A GOVERNMENT.
BUT MR. JOHNSTON, PRESIDENT OF THE CENTER FOR RELIGION AND
DIPLOMACY, SAYS PRIVATE, NON-GOVERNMENTAL GROUPS LIKE HIS OWN CAN
TAKE CHANCES FOR PEACE THAT FORMAL OFFICIALS CAN NOT:
/// FIRST JOHNSTON ACT ///
I WENT OVER THERE WITH THE COMMON IMPRESSION THAT UNDER
[MR.] TURABI, SUDAN WAS BEING USED AS A SPEARHEAD FOR
THE ADVANCE OF MILITANT ISLAM THROUGHOUT NORTH AFRICA
AND BEYOND. AND WHAT I FOUND WAS A MORE PROGRESSIVE
FORM OF ISLAM THAN I HAD HEARD OF BEFORE. A MINIMUM
NUMBER OF SEATS IN PARLIAMENT ARE DESIGNATED TO BE
FILLED BY WOMEN, AND EVEN CHRISTIANS OCCUPY TOP
MINISTERIAL POSTS. [THERE WERE] MORE WOMEN THAN MEN IN
THE UNIVERSITIES, AND NONE OF THE WOMEN WORE VEILS,
EITHER.
/// END ACT ///
MR. JOHNSTON SAYS SUDAN HAS MADE CERTAIN CONCESSIONS THAT HAVE
BROUGHT NO RESPONSE FROM THE UNITED STATES. BOWING TO U-S
PRESSURE, KHARTOUM REMOVED TERRORISTS FROM THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING
OSAMA BIN LADEN. THE SUDANESE WARNED, HOWEVER, THAT AS LONG AS
MR. BIN LADEN WAS IN SUDAN, HE COULD BE WATCHED. OUTSIDE, HE
WOULD BE MORE OF A THREAT, AS HE PROVED TO BE WITH THE BOMBING OF
THE U-S EMBASSIES IN KENYA:
/// SECOND JOHNSTON ACT ///
THEY HAVE ALSO INVITED US TO SEND OUR F-B-I [FEDERAL
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION] AND C-I-A [CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
AGENCY] OVER, TO ESTABLISH A PERMANENT OFFICE IN
KHARTOUM AND TO SEE FOR OURSELVES, BUT THERE HAS BEEN
NO WILLINGNESS TO ACCEPT THAT INVITATION. I THINK THAT
WHEN WE HAVE OPPORTUNITIES LIKE THAT, WE SHOULD EXPLOIT
EVERY ONE OF THEM. THE BEST DEFENSE YOU HAVE GOT
AGAINST THE SPECTER OF RELIGIOUS-BASED FANATICISM
MARRIED TO WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION IS HAVING PEOPLE
ON THE GROUND IN AREAS WHERE YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT
THIS POSSIBILITY.
/// END ACT ///
ALLAN GOULTY, BRITISH AMBASSADOR TO SUDAN, SAYS IT IS ALSO
IMPORTANT TO HAVE A U-S EMBASSY IN KHARTOUM, TO PROVIDE SOME
SKEPTICISM FOR OVERLY-SUSCEPTIBLE AMERICAN VISITORS. BUT,
SPEAKING AT A MEETING ON SUDAN (AT THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL) IN
WASHINGTON (MON., MAY 3), HE EMPHASIZED THE NEED FOR VARIOUS
GROUPS TO HELP END A WAR THAT IS RUINING THE COUNTRY AND NOW
SPREADING BEYOND ITS BORDERS:
/// GOULTY ACT ///
IN A COUNTRY THAT IS WAR-WEARY FROM TOP TO BOTTOM, FROM
NORTH TO SOUTH AND EAST TO WEST, WHERE THE LEADERS EVEN
RECOGNIZE THAT THERE IS NO MILITARY VICTORY, IT IS
NOT AN OPTION TO SAY THAT THERE HAS TO BE MORE
FIGHTING. SO EVEN IF TALKING IS DIFFICULT, IT SEEMS TO
ME AN OPTION THAT HAS TO BE PURSUED. AND THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY ARE DOING A LOT MORE NOW THAN
THEY WERE.
/// END ACT ///
WILLIAM KONTAS, FORMER U-S AMBASSADOR TO SUDAN, AGREES IT IS TIME
TO TALK, BUT WITH CARE. HE SAYS SINGLE-ISSUE GROUPS SOMETIMES
MISS THE LARGER PICTURE:
/// KONTAS ACT ///
THERE IS INDEED WAR WEARINESS ON BOTH SIDES. SO I THINK
THAT IS ANOTHER REASON WHY THIS IS A GOOD TIME FOR U-S
INITIATIVES, PARTICULARLY FROM THE U-S GOVERNMENT
ITSELF, AS WELL AS FROM THESE PRIVATE OUTFITS. THE
IMPORTANT IMPETUS FOR HASTENING THE NEGOTIATIONS FOR
PEACE IN SUDAN SHOULD COME FROM THE U-S GOVERNMENT, BUT
I THINK THESE PRIVATE INITATIVES ARE USEFUL.
/// END ACT ///
PRIVATE DIPLOMACY IS LONG-TERM WORK, SAYS CHRIS MITCHELL OF THE
INSTITUTE FOR CONFLICT ANALYSIS AND RESOLUTION. HE TOLD THE
WASHINGTON TIMES NEWSPAPER: "PEOPLE ASK: 'HOW MANY CONFLICTS DID
YOU SOLVE LAST WEEK?' IT'S MUCH SLOWER AND MORE COMPLICATED THAN
YOU MIGHT THINK." (SIGNED)
NEB/EW/WTW
04-May-99 1:49 PM EDT (1749 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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