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------Original message------ From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> To: "Group" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, January 22, 2012 3:51:02 PM GMT+0300 Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] In Sudan, the AU has a chance to prove its grand rhetoric In Sudan, the AU has a chance to prove its grand rhetoric Mondli Makhanya | 22 January, 2012 00:08 Times Live (South Africa) Here is a situation crying out for 'an African solution to an African problem' THIS week, Africa's despots, democrats, kings and technocrats will gather in Addis Ababa. Like all African Union summits, this one will be a grand affair with attendant pomp and ceremony. There will be good food to keep our leaders energetic and some fine entertainment to lighten the mood a little. Notably absent from this year's gathering will be summit veteran Muammar Gaddafi, who always managed to top the entertainment fare with his own theatrics. The man who ran Libya for 42 years and probably held the record for attendance at continental summits will unfortunately not be able to make it this year as he has much hotter gigs to grace. On the official agenda and on the sidelines of the summit will be discussion of the Arab Spring, the implications of the eurozone crisis for Africa, ongoing conflicts on the continent and the forging of closer trade ties between AU members - all issues that deserve a high place on the agenda. Inevitably, the phrase "African solutions for Africa's problems" will come up several times as the continent's leaders bemoan Western interference in the continent's affairs. But likely to be missing from the agenda will be a human catastrophe that is unfolding just down the road from Addis. Sudan, probably one of the most cursed places in the world, stands on the brink of calamity should Africa's leaders not intervene expeditiously. It is common cause that Sudan has been mired in conflict for ever and three days. The country took a major step towards the resolution of decades-long civil war when South Sudan was allowed to secede and form a new country. But conflict has continued unabated, with the civil war in the north now being waged between the Khartoum government and various regional rebel groupings. In newly established South Sudan, tribes are butchering each other over livestock and grazing land. Although it is still a fledgling entity, the country has to accommodate tens of thousands of refugees displaced by conflict in the north. It seems both Sudans - just like Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo - are doomed to be among those countries that will never achieve their potential despite being blessed with abundant natural resources and human talent. The rest of humanity will for a long time know them - just like Nigeria and the DRC - as places where people fight, loot and can't wait to get out. Into this mix, throw drought-induced crop failure. Estimates put the number of people requiring food aid in the main Sudan and in South Sudan at close to 3.5 million. It is the scenario that led the World Food Programme's Chris Nikoi to warn in December that a "gathering storm of hunger is approaching". In main Sudan the situation is exacerbated by the vicious cruelty of the paranoid Khartoum government, which has barred aid bodies from going into conflict-ravaged areas. Even United Nations agencies cannot enter the areas as the government cites concerns over their safety - and uses its suspicions of Western motives to keep them out. The latest warnings are that an all-out famine will hit the affected areas if these organisations are not allowed to do their work. Now, those who love Orlando Pirates are known for toughness and for never shedding a tear. But the situation in the Sudan is enough to wet the eyes of the even the most hardened Buccaneer. To the Sudanese state, those people are not human beings. They are just things. Speaking during a visit to South Africa this week, Princeton Lyman, the US special envoy to Sudan, called on South Africa to use its chairmanship of the UN Security Council to avert the looming crisis. "South Africa can play a role in preventing a colossal disaster," he urged. He is right. This country would do well to spearhead the rescue of Sudan's people rather than wait for the courageous knight to come from elsewhere. But will we do so? And will Africa's leaders learn to put the plight of Africa's people before their own bellies? I somehow doubt it. Africa has been here before. Many a time Africa's leaders have seen a helpless man standing in the way of an oncoming truck and done nothing about it. Only when the victim is recuperating in an ICU ward do they pretend to be concerned. The Sudanese crisis is one case where the AU can be decisive and pre-empt the disaster before it hits the world's television screens and dominates newspaper pages. As they labour through their prepared speeches and mouth off about African unity and resisting neo-imperialism, the continent's leaders who gather in Addis should think about the preventable deaths in Sudan. They must show us that they are serious about this "African solutions for Africa's problems" stuff. http://www.timeslive.co.za/opinion/columnists/2012/01/22/in-sudan-the-au-has-a-chance-to-prove-its-grand-rhetoric END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. 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