NYALA, SUDAN — Here on the territorial edge of one of the world's most intractable crises, U.N. peacemaker Jan Eliasson looks a gray-bearded tribal leader in the eye and tells him that there are moments in history that can make the difference between peace and more war.
Talks are taking place aimed at solving the conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, and the elder, called the makhtoum of Nyala, needs to persuade a rebel leader from his tribe to join in, Eliasson says.
"If we miss this opportunity now, your people will languish in the camps, your land will be grabbed, your problems will continue," the tall Swedish diplomat says. "Take the chance now! The whole world wants peace in Darfur!"
The makhtoum clutches his bamboo cane and lets Eliasson's plea hang in the dirt-floored room. A fly buzzes, then lands.
"We are ready to speak to our sons," he finally says.
Eliasson, a peace negotiator for 25 years, is one of the U.N.'s most experienced diplomats. Friday at the U.N., foreign ministers from 26 nations will discuss how to coordinate pressure on Sudan's government, part of his strategy to address the problem from all sides instead of from the top down. The diplomatic effort is supposed to culminate with peace talks to begin Oct. 27 in Tripoli, Libya.
But Darfur, Sudan's vast, arid western region, has become a lesson in the limits of diplomacy, an example of how a single regime can defy world opinion seemingly with impunity.
Of all the world's trouble spots, few have received as much attention recently as Darfur. An estimated 200,000 civilians have died here since fighting began in 2003. President Bush and many others have labeled the killings genocide. They say Sudan's government has used militia groups, known as janjaweed, to try to wipe out tribes such as the Fur, the makhtoum's ethnic group. The tribes, in turn, have backed rebels who seek more power and wealth from Sudan's central government, based in Khartoum.
The attacks have dwindled this year, as many villagers fled to camps run by the U.N., and humanitarian efforts have greatly reduced the death toll. But the rebels and militias continue to fight, and long-term stability remains elusive. Settlers linked to the janjaweed have begun to take over the abandoned land, foreshadowing new conflict if villagers try to return home.
Eliasson has spent much of the last several months traveling with his counterpart from the African Union, Salim Ahmed Salim, in an effort to bring warring parties and the countries that support them to peace talks.
