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The Monitor (Kampala)
October 28, 2003 Posted to the web October 28, 2003
Kintu Nyago Kampala
A promising outcome emerged from last week's 10th Ordinary Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Summit hosted in Kampala. This was not only from Uganda's perspective, but also that of this sub-region.
A point not lost on the African Union's current chairperson, the soft spoken Mozambican President, Joachim Chissano when complimenting the hitherto conflicting leaders, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda and Omar el Bashir of Sudan for cordially deliberating in the same room.
They also exposed a positive body language and 'chemistry' to each other, depicted by news photo's of both men enjoying, side by side, a Kiganda cultural dance at Entebbe airport, or when they warmly shook hands at the International Conference Centre.
During the Summit's closing session, when Igad's newly elected chair, Museveni was his closing speech, Sudan's long standing Foreign Minister Dr Mustafa Othman Ismael felt at ease enough to take the initiative and politely walk close to, and whisper a reminder into the Ugandan leader's ear of the need to call President Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia to provide what proved a worthy vote of thanks.
The Igad sub-region composed of Uganda, Sudan, Eritria, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya is characterised by contradictions and unique diversity, as was pointed out in the Museveni speech. Mankind's cradle in the eastern Rift Valley is located here.
In addition to the old civilisations in the Horn of Africa and those of Uganda's lakes. And diverse populations groups composed of Arabic, Bantu and Luo heritage, subscribing to Islam, African Traditional Religions and Christianity.
Although this rich diversity has contributed to human civilisation, they have also been mismanaged and manipulated to the sub-region's detriment.
A situation whose gravity is illustrated by the fact that in the past forty years, about four million of this region's people have been killed, either due to war, within and between states, or ruthless state inspired violence.
It is these tensions that justify Igad's existence and the need for its development and peace building efforts.
The Kampala Summit coincided with the Sudan and Somalia peace processes, hosted by Kenya.
The Sudan peace process, the first such initiative since 1983, the year war emerged between the southern rebels and Khartoum, is the more promising of the two, and a deal could be in place by December.
However, sustainable peace requires a more inclusive Pan-Sudanese arrangement, and not one that merely cater's for Lt. Gen. Bashir's ruling National Congress and Col. John Garang's Sudanese People's Liberation Army's concerns.
A point echoed by the Darfour, western Sudan-based Sudan Liberation Movement's rebel leader Arko al-Menawi and veteran opposition politicians Sadiq al-Mahdi, and the recently released Hassan al-Tourabi, leaders of the UMMA Party and Peoples Congress respectively.
Sudanese Foreign Minister, Ismael 's warning that the current Sudanese settlement "... will fail unless it was viewed within [the context of] a comprehensive regional framework" requires serious attention. For already there is an ominous stalemate on the thorny issues of the Somali peace process and the Ethiopia-Eritrea border contentions.
While the insurgency in northern Uganda is dragging on. All these could easily trigger wider regional escalations if not properly managed.
In his new role as Igad chair, Museveni promised to mainly focus on two issues. To consolidate regional peace processes and developing regional infrastructure. With the latter mainly the Kenya-Ethiopia and the Gulu to Juba highways.
Achieving this requires ending this region's conflicts. While the alternative, to borrow from Sudan's Ismael would be the "whole region's moving into a negative direction".
A reality we must avoid. I conclude by calling upon the new chairman to initiate an agreeable and peaceful resolution concerning the issue of the use of River Nile waters by upstream Nile Basin countries namely Uganda, Sudan and Ethiopia.
For in not too distant a future they will be need to apply modern agricultural irrigation methods to secure the required food security for our people and export purposes.
This is a development that Egypt could oppose, basing on iniquitous colonial treaties to which we are bound but which only favour its interests.
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