VOL. XLVII
No 02
12
The Political Scene (12 January 2004)
Sudan has moved a significant step closer to peace with the signature of an agreement on wealth-sharing by the government and the SPLA. Egypt and Iran appear to be on the point of restoring relations after a 24-year break. In Algeria, the rivalry between President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and former prime minister Ali Benflis has split the ruling FLN party as presidential elections approach.
Sudanese Agreement On Wealth Sharing
The agreement on wealth-sharing signed by the Sudanese government and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in Kenya on 7 January removes a major obstacle to ending Sudan’s 20 year old civil war. Sudanese Vice President 'Ali 'Uthman Muhammad Taha said that “it’s a historic day in the process of peace in Sudan… it confirms the mutual desire and will to go on with the peace process,” while SPLA leader John Garang described that agreement as “a major achievement that will take us closer to a just and lasting peace in our country.” However, as both men indicated, there is still some distance to go, with issues such as the composition of a transitional administration, the future of three disputed areas in central Sudan and the application of Islamic law in the capital, Khartoum, yet to be resolved before Africa’s longest-running conflict can finally be declared over.
Egypt And Iran Close To Restoring Relations
Despite some apparent Egyptian reservations as to timing, it looks very much as if Egypt and Iran are on the verge of restoring diplomatic relations that have been broken off since 1979. Iranian Vice President Mohammad Ali Abtahi told Reuters on 6 January that “the two countries have decided to restore ties… and right now they are making the preparations.” On the same day, however, Egyptian Foreign Minster Ahmad Mahir sounded somewhat less categorical when he said that “when a decision is taken it will be announced. There is no official announcement from anywhere.” Nonetheless, the next day Mr Abtahi insisted that “the important steps have been completed. The decisions have been taken and they are in the process of seeing how to sort out the questions of protocol.” And on 8 January Mr Mahir conceded that “things are moving in the right direction,” adding that “we have no specific announcement to make now, but we might have very soon.” If the two countries do restore relations, it hardly seems likely to herald any seismic shift in regional power politics. But it would signal that, 25 years after the Islamic revolution in Iran, the region is finally returning to what passes for diplomatic normalcy.
FLN In Disarray
In the run-up to presidential elections in April, the FLN – the party that ruled Algeria for 30 years after independence and currently holds the majority of seats in the National Assembly – appears to be in complete disarray as a result of the feud between President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who was elected with FLN backing in 1999, and former prime minister Ali Benflis, who was sacked from his position by Mr Bouteflika last May. In the latest bout of party infighting, an Algiers court responded to a complaint by the pro-Bouteflika “reform movement” led by foreign Minister Abdelaziz Belkhadem with a ruling on 30 December freezing the FLN’s funding and activities and nullifying the results of a party congress last March that reelected Mr Benflis as the party’s secretary general. Next, a pro-Benflis demonstration on 4 January was prevented from reaching the National Assembly by riot police, prompting a statement the next day from the “FLN parliamentary group” – pro-Benflis FLN deputies – expressing “indignation at the abusive and inappropriate use of repressive means, the sole objective of which is to still the voice of the people’s elected representatives.” The deputies also called on Mr Bouteflika to resign “because he represents a threat to the stability of our country, a danger to public order and security, and an insult to the dignity of the Algerian people and the sovereignty of elected assemblies.” Mr Bouteflika, who has yet to say whether he will run for a second term in April, shows no sign of complying with this demand, which would clear the way for Mr Benflis, who was nominated by an extraordinary FLN congress last October to run for president.
Charles Snow