Sudan:The former commander of the failed UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda yesterday warned the newly appointed head of a similar force in Darfur that he faced "long odds" against success and predicted he would be betrayed by the very officials and governments meant to be backing the mission.
In an open letter, Romeo Dallaire, now a Canadian senator, advised Martin Agwai, the Nigerian general given the task of stopping the bloodshed in Darfur, to demand a clear chain of command, a broad mandate, proper resources and a rapid deployment. He also cautioned him to watch his back.
"You can anticipate being let down by everyone on whom you depend for support, be that troops, funding, logistics or political engagement," Mr Dallaire wrote. "Bear in mind that whoever fails you will, in the end, be the most active in blaming you for whatever goes wrong."
The outspoken letter was delivered on a Global Day for Darfur, involving protests in 30 countries focusing attention on the crisis in the west Sudanese province.
Mr Dallaire's first piece of advice for Gen Agwai was that he should insist his political bosses in the UN and African Union (AU) sort out the chain of command; he would also need to "prevent intervention from Khartoum", predicted to try to dilute the mission's powers to protect civilians. "This is a daunting mandate, and you enter into this mission facing long odds," he said.
But the retired general's sharpest words questioned the political resolve of the UN and AU, which he said should be held to account for any lack of support when the new force is deployed.
"Only by shining a spotlight on those failures in every possible way can you mobilise the attention necessary to get the action you need," he advised Gen Agwai.
- (Guardian service)