October 2, 2007
Peace talks paradox
It is now three days since the attack on AU troops in Haskanita, Darfur. And still there is no official explanation of who did it or why.
The most common theory is that it was a rebel splinter group of one or two rebel splinter groups, one of them the Sudanese Liberation Army's Unity faction (SLA-Unity).
One popular explanation for the assault is that the attackers were trying to prove themselves as a major player and win a place at coming negotiations between the Sudanese government and rebel groups in Libya on Oct 27.
That is the explanation put forward by the African Union spokesman who told state TV last night: "Those who carried out this operation and aimed from it to reserve a seat for himself at the Tripoli negotiations, this will not happen and will not come about."
If he's right, it is a pretty chilling mindset - 'Now we've killed 10 men, let us talk peace' - negotiations and prominence as a reward for violence.
But maybe not so paradoxical when you remember that all the current participants in the Oct 27 talks have all won their seats by possessing arms and showing a willingness to use them over the past four and a half years. (There will be other groups in Tripoli, representing women, displaced people and so on. But they will be very much on the sidelines.)
Posted by aheavens at October 2, 2007 9:03 AM
Comments
You've put your finger on something that's always struck me.
Who was the UN Security Council originally limited to? The nuclear powers. The biggest guns, not necessarily the best ideas. Which international conflicts get all the attention? The gun-shaped ones. Burma was off the radar until the military started -- again -- slaughtering people. The Tibetans are totally ignored because they're doing the right thing. Darfur: while it's civilians having their lives torn to shreds, it's nothing but a news item. And so on, ad infinitum.
And then it's somehow surprising when two-bit rebels get the same idea.
The world is nuts.
Posted by: quixote at October 2, 2007 7:05 PM