By Zhang Dong (China Daily)
Updated: 2007-10-30 07:26

Located in western Sudan, the Darfur region covers an area of 500,000 sq km, about one-fifth of the total Sudanese land area. It has a population of about 7 million. According to reports, it boasts rich mineral resources such as oil, uranium, iron ore and abundant underground water.

Lying at the southern tip of the Sahara, northern Darfur enjoys an arid climate with annual precipitation of about 700 mm and is referred to as an oasis in the desert. Its central and western parts are mainly covered by vegetation and the eastern part largely by grassland and sand dunes.

The residents of the area include Arabs, Fur, aboriginal Africans, and people from other ethnic groups.

Almost all of them believe in Islam. Some of them are engaged in agriculture, growing sorghum and corn, while the others are engaged in animal husbandry, raising cattle, sheep and camels.

The Darfur region is divided into three states - Northern Darfur, Southern Darfur and Western Darfur - with a total of 22 counties. Among them, 15 counties are relatively stable and secure and only seven have been in frequent conflicts since early 2003.

The conflicts in Darfur are neither religious nor ethnic. Drought, poverty and scarce water resources are the main causes for the conflicts between tribes and ethnic groups.

I once called on the former Sudanese President Jaafar Nimeiri and he believed that the major cause for conflicts was the fight for water resources. In history, there used to be bloody conflicts over the limited arable land, pastures and water resources between different tribes and ethnic groups, between farmers and nomadic people and even within the same tribe or ethnic group.

But these conflicts, which occurred in early 2003, resulted in the deaths of about 10,000 people and forced millions to flee from their homeland and become refugees. The great majority of them live in the domestic refugee camps while others have found shelter in the neighboring states.

The Sudanese government and the international community have since been seeking a peaceful settlement of the conflict in Darfur. With the mediation of relevant parties, the Sudanese government and the rebel groups signed the "N'Djamena" ceasefire agreement in 2004.

According to this agreement and other relevant agreements of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations, the AU sent observers and peacekeeping forces to the region. At present, this force is 7,000-strong and has played an active role in stabilizing the situation in Darfur.

After protracted negotiations, the Sudanese government reached the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) with the rebel force - the faction of the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Minni Minnawi in the capital city of Nigeria - Abuja in May 2006.

The agreement laid down detailed provisions for the distribution of political power and wealth of the Darfur people, military arrangements, compensation and other issues.

Representatives from the United States, African Union, the European Union, the Arab League and UN witnessed the signing ceremony and the agreement was regarded as an important achievement in resolving the issue through peaceful means with the AU playing the leading role.

According to the agreement, Mini Minnawi was appointed as the senior assistant to Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir, ranking only after the president and two vice-presidents in political status. The items in the peace agreement have been gradually implemented.

However, those groups that rejected the agreement such as the "Justice and Equality Movement" are still sticking to their anti-government position.

It should be pointed out that Western countries, instead of exerting real pressure on those groups that refused to sign the DPA or urging them to sign the agreement and participate in the peace process, put pressure on the Sudanese government and promoted the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 1706 that undermined the sovereignty of Sudan. This resolution has been strongly opposed and resisted by the Sudanese government and people.

In 2006, the Sudanese government agreed in principle to the "Three-phase" plan proposed by the former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan during consultations in Addis Ababa. The plan emphasized that the "Hybrid Operation" in the third phase should have a unique African feature.

In March this year, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, AU Commission Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare, Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, Sudanese President Bashir and Saudi Arabia's King Abudula held a five-party meeting and reached an agreement, stressing the need for a political solution to the Darfur issue.

In the meantime, the UN, the AU and the Sudanese government established a tripartite committee to hold consultations on the early implementation of the "Hybrid Operation".

Both the Sudanese government and the international community hope to put an end to the conflict and restore peace and stability in Darfur as soon as possible so as to concentrate human and material resources on regional economic development.

The conflict has persisted so far due to the following reasons: First, the Sudanese government cannot meet all the excessive demands of some rebel groups on sharing political power and wealth, military and security arrangements and compensation.

Second, some political elements in Sudan give sympathy and support to these rebel groups.

Third, some armed groups in neighboring countries give military support and weapons to the rebel groups.

Fourth, some western countries, out of domestic political needs and strategic considerations, overtly or covertly support the rebel groups. At the same time, some NGOs and Western media organizations exaggerate the reality and deliberately play up the Darfur crisis, making it more difficult to resolve the conflict.

Sticking to dialogue and equal consultation, and finding a peaceful solution to the Darfur issue will serve the interests of all sides and echo the call of the international community.

In order to secure an early political settlement, the international community should adhere to the dual-track strategy and advance the peacekeeping operation and political process in a balanced manner. The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1769 on July 31 this year, which mandated the UN-AU hybrid peacekeeping operation in Darfur.

Facts prove that the tripartite mechanism of dialogue, consultation and cooperation among the Sudanese government, the AU and the UN is effective in settling the issue.

Parties concerned should cherish the current sound momentum in solving the Darfur issue and make full use of the tripartite mechanism to ensure the smooth implementation of the UN resolution.

In the meantime, the comprehensive national reconciliation in Sudan should continue to be advanced. The pressing task is to achieve an all-out ceasefire in Darfur, speed up political negotiations and involve the non-signatories to the DPA in the peace process at an early date.

Parties concerned should act in the overall and long-term interests, respect and address one another's legitimate concerns and identify common interests through dialogue and negotiation for a comprehensive, fair and durable settlement of the issue.

China has all along upheld justice and played a constructive role in the Darfur issue. China has always called for respecting Sudan's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

The Darfur issue must be resolved in a way to advance Sudan's national reconciliation process, uphold its unity and serve regional peace and stability.

China supports the three-phase plan, calls on AU-UN and the Sudanese government to build consensus through dialogue and play a constructive role on the issue of peacekeeping in Darfur. China supports the political process aimed at resolving the Darfur issue and takes the humanitarian crisis in Darfur seriously. China has provided humanitarian assistance several times.

In addition, China decided to send a military engineering unit to Darfur to help improve the livelihood of the people. In order to advance the peaceful settlement of the Darfur issue, the Chinese government has appointed a special representative to engage other parties in consultations.

China's position on the Darfur issue is not only admired by the Sudanese people, and hailed by the African people, but also broadly recognized by the international community.

The author is the former Chinese ambassador to Sudan. The article was published in the 85th issue of Foreign Affairs Journal, which is sponsored by the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs

(China Daily 10/30/2007 page11)