04 March 2003
Nuba People Called "Central" to Sudan Peace Process
(Ranneberger, Prendergast speak at Wilson Center) (930)
By Kelly Machinchick
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington - The tenuous pause in the Sudanese Civil War has the
potential to grow into a lasting peace, but the needs and wishes of
the Nuba people must be considered, said a panel at the Woodrow Wilson
Center on Friday, February 28, or the peace will not endure.
The panel, entitled "The Sudanese War and the Nuba People," featured
presentations by Michael Ranneberger, State Department special advisor
for Sudan and John Prendergast, former Africa director at the National
Security Council and currently co-director of the Africa branch of the
International Crisis Group, an international non-governmental
organization (NGO) working to prevent and resolve conflict.
Former chairman of the House Africa Subcommittee and Wilson Fellow
Howard Wolpe, in introducing Suleiman Rahhal, an advocate of the Nuba
people, set the stage by explaining, "The Nuba people are among the
most downtrodden and invisible people in the world today," who have
rights and demands that must be addressed if real peace can be
restored.
"A workable peace has never been built on injustice," said Rahhal.
"The people of the Nuba Mountains," he said, "demand the right to
self-determination. The issue of the Nuba Mountains and other
marginalized areas in Northern Sudan should be within the framework of
the Machakos Protocol and representatives from the Nuba political
parties and civil service should be invited to speak at peace talks in
Kenya to argue their case."
"During the six-year transition period," he continued, "the Nuba
Mountains should be a separate region, independent from both South and
North. They should be represented in the broad national government
that will take over when peace is agreed upon. The Nuba cease-fire
agreement, which has been renewed twice, should now be transformed
into a comprehensive peace settlement of the Nuba issue. The
international community should be involved in the program of
resettlement and the reconstruction of the Nuba government in the
region."
Ranneberger and Prendergast agreed that the Nuba region and its people
were central to any peace agreement. "That's precisely why Senator
[John] Danforth [Special U.S. Envoy for Sudan] made that the major
test for peace," said Ranneberger. "I think this test has raised some
hope in Sudan." It has, he said, proved that a lasting peace was
possible.
Ranneberger congratulated the Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) and Kenyan Lt. Gen. Lazarus Sumbeiywo for the work
they have done to further the peace process. "We have confidence in
his ability to handle the discussion of the three areas," he said.
But Ranneberger asserted that a comprehensive peace must include all
of the disputed areas: the Nuba Mountains, the Southern Blue Nile, and
Abyei.
"You can't simply have a formula that is a Sudan-wide formula that
doesn't take into account the special circumstances of those areas,"
he continued. "We have made very clear that it is for the parties
themselves to work out. Whatever they work out that is [mutually]
acceptable, we will accept. We haven't ruled out anything, we haven't
ruled in anything. All issues are on the table."
Ranneberger said he thought that the Nuba people, as well as the
Sudanese people, have accepted the principle that they jointly must
come up with a solution that encourages unity. Although one day there
might be the option for self-determination for the people of southern
Sudan, the leaders of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA)
have worked to bring about a cease-fire and settlement agreement that
brings about unity and equality for the Sudanese people, said
Ranneberger.
According to Prendergast, the Nuba people, although seeking a seat at
the table to become part of a unified Sudan, continue to take
precautions against more government lies and brutality. "The Nuba have
learned their lesson; the government has a terrible track record with
all the constituencies there," he said, speaking of human rights
violations over the last two decades. "They see the self-determination
instrument as their insurance against government tendencies to violate
these agreements."
Prendergast continued: "A consensus has emerged, I think. They [the
Nuba] see an opportunity in the current peace process to finally claim
some basic entitlements that have historically been denied to the Nuba
people. These Nuba leaders demand that there be self-rule for their
region."
At a minimum, that self-rule would include the right of the people to
choose their own leadership within the existing government or whatever
federal framework that might be set up during the transition period,
once peace is finally established, Prendergast said.
After that, he said, if Southerners do opt for independence, the Nuba
should be allowed to choose which part of the country they want to
join. In addition, the Nuba will want international supervision to
ensure that these measures are respected.
Again, Prendergast warned, the warring parties must take the Nuba
demands into account if a peace is to be established. Peace is a
possibility, but all aspects of the conflict must be considered and
issues that have predicated twenty years of war must be resolved.
Thus far the cease-fire has held, Ranneberger concluded, but "it is
certainly too soon to say that a sense of normalcy has returned to the
area, given what these people [the Nuba] have been through. There is a
hope that has been rekindled, and it's something we need to nourish,"
he concluded.
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International
Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site:
http://usinfo.state.gov)
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