environmental degradation as a cause of conflict in - Steiner Graphics

sues quite separate. Evidence for this comes out clearly in the determination ofthe Khartoum Government to keep the NGOs and the media out of the region. Hereit is important to emphasise that the Khartoum Government and the SPLA are onlytwo players in the field. Khartoum through the negotiation process has successfullysidelined the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the grouping of the traditionalnorthern Sudanese political parties, co-opting some of them in the process, whilethe SPLA have pre-empted other voices from the South. Here is where Darfur, theNuba and in the eastern Sudan, Beja and Rasha’ida come in; will it be possible forKhartoum to side-line these movements in the same way? War and terror are twoedgedweapons; the cohesiveness of the nomadic janjawid may prevail in the shortterm, but the sedentary peoples of Darfur, especially the Fur and Masalit, havehalf-forgotten mechanisms of mass-mobilization of their young men—among theFur they were called jurenga led by local war chiefs or ornang. Some of the reportsI have seen of child/teenage soldiers suggest that these organizational techniquesare beginning to re-emerge in modern form.To come full circle: in my introductory remarks, I mentioned China, America, theinternational community, etc. Let us review the international ramifications of thecrisis in Darfur. Probably the single most important outside actor is China, whichnow imports 5-8% of its oil from the Sudan and has invested $3.5 billion in developingoil production there. China, together with Russia, has made it clear that theywill veto any attempt in the UN Security Council to impose effective sanctions onthe Khartoum Government. Therefore, any sanctions coming from the UN will haveno teeth. That China should be decisive in the affairs of the Sudan is an indicationof the world in which we live.America, and for that matter Britain, are bogged down in Iraq. America, proddedby the evangelical right, outraged at the killing of Christians by Muslims inthe North/South conflict, has kept American oil companies out of the Sudan andhas remained active in the North/South peace process. The Bush administrationis anxious to have some good news out of the Muslim/Middle Eastern world but ishandicapped by being militarily overstretched.As a footnote to this discussion, let me talk briefly about Norway’s role, since Iam a professor there. Norway is a post-Christian country of enormous wealth that isanxious to do good in the world, a reflection of its missionary heritage. The failureof the Oslo Accords of 1993 has not diminished my government’s ardour to do good.Darfur has encapsulated the dilemma; does it cast aside all the investment it hasmade in the North/South peace process because of Darfur? So far the debate inNorway has been muted and confused in government circles and the media.Turning to the regional parties, of the Arab World one can expect nothing, focusedas it is exclusively on Israel/Palestine and Iraq and pursuing a policy of neverreally criticising another Arab government. The Khartoum Government has agreed28