EAC to send peacekeeping troops to Darfur?

One week to go before we know the outcome of the Darfur peace talks. Short of invading Sudan and starting a massive war, the world has bent over backwards to help the people of Sudan and donated billions of Western taxpayers' dollars. Outsiders can't force the Sudanese to make peace within their own country but have helped put in place expertise, resources, manpower and mechanisms for political talks and peace agreements to replace the senseless violence.

After three years of war, it is now up to the Sudanese themselves to make peace.

Whatever is agreed, peacekeepers will be needed to monitor the complex security arrangements and disarmament. EAC (see below) has peacekeeping troops available to bolster the AU mission in Darfur (AMIS). NATO is helping AMIS with expertise and logistics. The UN has ongoing budget for the provision of peacekeeping missions and troops. The Egyptians have offered to help fund AMIS starting September 30. The Government of Sudan has proposed 10,000 troops. SPLM/A also has 10,000 troops available. Everybody (except bin Laden and his ilk) wants peace in Sudan.

Note the following excerpt from Sudan Watch blog entry dated August 29, 2004 EAC to send peacekeeping troops to Darfur:

The East African Community (EAC) Heads of States Summit resolved here Saturday to deploy troops to the troubled western Sudan region of Darfur to monitor a peace agreement between the government and rebel forces and not for interventionist purposes.

Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa said the three countries were awaiting the outcome of the Africa Union-led Darfur peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria under the chairmanship of the Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo to proceed with their plan.

"If there is any peace to be monitored, we shall be ready. There must be a process whose implementation we will follow. We are waiting for the outcome of the Abuja peace talks," Mkapa told journalists here Saturday.

P.S. If anyone thinks bin Laden is working in the best interests of the Sudanese and muslims (Darfur is almost all muslim), note this quote:

Apr 23 2006 New Sudan Vision Bin Laden rejects CPA saying "Let (Sudanese President Omar Hassan) al-Bashir and (US President George W Bush) Bush know that this agreement is not worth the ink in which it was written with and does not oblige us in the least."

Apr 24 2006 CNS report Bin Laden tries to put religious spin on Darfur conflict saying "I urge holy warriors to be acquainted with the land and the tribes in Darfur."

Imagine what John Garang and the two million other Sudanese people who perished in south Sudan would, if they could, say about such a crazy statement. How can anyone think of bin Laden as a good man? There are thousands of different religions. One cannot serve God and mammon at the same time. Governments should be separate from religion.

Note Feb 28 2006 UN envoy Jan Pronk cites Al-Qaeda threats to his own life and non-African UN troops deployed to Sudan's Darfur.