Militia groups boycott key south Sudan reconciliation conference
Khartoum-backed southern Sudanese militia groups on Tuesday boycotted a key regional conference here aimed at promoting post-war reconciliation between the south’s fractious factions.
The presence of the groups at the three-day conference was seen as a bellwether for peace prospects after a January deal signed by Khartoum and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) ended nearly 21 years of north-south war, Africa’s longest-running conflict.
The militias, which number about 30, were not covered by the agreement and remain a significant obstacle to pacifying and reconstructing war-ravaged southern Sudan, according to residents and aid workers in the region.
SPLA/M leader John Garang, accused by many militias of being dictatorial, blamed their absence on the Sudanese government, which on Monday had pledged to rein the groups in if they were endangering the peace.
Their presence “is the responsibility of the government of Sudan because these are military officers in the Sudanese Army and people live in the army by orders,” Garang told AFP. “They live according to orders.”
Other SPLM/A officials said Khartoum had prevented all but one militia commander Clement Wani, who is believed to have been shunned by the government from attending the Nairobi conference.
The charge was denied by Khartoum’s representatives at the conference but conspicuously absent were Gabriel Tanginya and Paulino Matipu, who command heavily-armed militias blamed for abducting hundreds of civilians and imposing illegal taxes in Sudan’s oil-rich Upper Nile region.
Despite the absence of the groups, some 200 delegates heard appeals for reconciliation from a variety of speakers, including Garang and Kenya’s former president Daniel arap Moi who launched the peace process in 1994.
“This peace is fragile,” Moi said, urging those outside the peace deal to come into the SPLM/A fold and work for regional reintegration. “Conflicts are ignited easily when divisions of whatever nature blur our vision.”
“This is the place you belong, you will be treated like any other person joining the movement,” Garang said. “It is never too late for dialogue between brothers and sisters.”
Sudan’s Second Vice President Moses Machar, who at the head of Khartoum’s delegation had made the vow to act against militias that threaten the peace, said reconciliation among the southeners was critical.
“The people of southern Sudan have for a long time waited for this peace,” he said. “It would be treacherous for us to throw it away because we think we have differences of personal interests at stake.”
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
