Eliasson and Salim recounted their mediation efforts, how they traveled by air across Darfur to meet with rebel commanders and local government leaders to seek common ground for peace. It was a recitation laced with dashed hopes, bitter hindsight and disappointment.
Last summer brought the greatest moment of hope, when Eliasson and Salim herded almost all the key rebel commanders to a meeting in Arusha, Tanzania, to form a united front to sit across the table from Sudan's government.
"I was so hopeful in August. . . . " said Eliasson in an interview. "I remember leaving Arusha thinking we are really on to something."
But within weeks, the rebel groups splintered, and Sudan's government faced its own split, putting the peace talks in limbo. The U.N. forged ahead, but the talks collapsed.
"It is hard to second guess, and there were times I nearly despaired," Eliasson said. "It is a very difficult situation, but we must decide what else we can do and focus all of our energy on it."
He said that countries with particular influence on Chad or Sudan -- such as France, China, the U.S. and South Africa -- had a responsibility to press harder for peace.
Security Council members echoed the envoys' message for greater action, but there were few concrete proposals.
U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said security was the key, and so perhaps, were sanctions. "I think we have not been, frankly, tough enough with the government of Sudan," he said.
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maggie.farley@latimes.com
