Editorial | The New York Times | May 6, 2006
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/06/opinion/06sat4.html?
_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin
Nobody thought an ironclad peace deal between the government and
rebel groups in the Darfur region of Sudan was likely, and the
agreement reached yesterday in Abuja, Nigeria, is anything but firm.
For one thing, two of the three rebel groups refused to sign the
accord. Indeed, until he actually put pen to paper, it wasn't even a
certainty that Minni Arcua Minnawi, leader of the largest rebel
group, the Sudan Liberation Army, would sign it either.
But sign it he did, and after three years of war and genocide in
Darfur, any movement toward peace, however fragile, is a step in the
right direction. The United States deputy secretary of state, Robert
Zoellick, and President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria each deserve
credit for prodding both sides, but Mr. Obasanjo rightly warned
yesterday of obstacles ahead. "Unless the right spirit, unless the
right attitude and right disposition is there, this document is not
worth the paper it is signed on," he said.
He's right. Peace deals have been signed before. A cease-fire in
2004 has long disintegrated, if it was ever even enforced.
Meanwhile, more than 200,000 men, women and children have been
slaughtered, as Arab militias calling themselves the janjaweed and
backed by Sudan's government have continued to raid villages in
Darfur, and now villages across the border in Chad as well.
The agreement calls for the janjaweed to disarm, and that's well and
good, but the best way to ensure that happens is to get a well-armed
United Nations peacekeeping force on the ground in Darfur as soon as
possible. Only then will there be a fighting chance for making
yesterday's pact a first step toward real peace.
--
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