Awet Weldemichael discusses the peace accords in Sudan and the impact on the situation in Darfur.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
6275 Bunche Hall
History Conference Room
UCLA campus
Los Angeles, CA 90095

Abstract:

In May 2006, the Sudanese government and a faction of the rebels in Darfur signed the doomed Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA) in Abuja, Nigeria. The faction leader was immediately isolated from the rebels and abandoned by everyone else involved while the government and the rest of the rebels continued the violence. Meanwhile, in neighboring Eritrea, the Sudanese government and rebels in Eastern Sudan signed a peace agreement in October 2006 that was hailed as sincere and workable by the parties and observers. The stark difference between the two agreements is that in the latter, the Sudanese were left alone to find a workable middle ground for their differences. Eritrea's attempt to do the same thing in Darfur was rejected by both sides before and during the Abuja negotiations, but recently all sides seem to be coming around. Is the model of Eritrea's facilitation in the Eastern Sudan conflict workable for Darfur? What are the internal and external factors that may hinder and/or facilitate such an attempt? In answering these questions, the speaker addresses the broader regional factors and puts forth short- and long-term local and regional remedial measures.

Brief Bio:

Awet T. Weldemichael is an Eritrean-Sudanese student who attended university in Eritrea and Ethiopia. In 2001 he received his MA in African Studies at UCLA and in 2002 he taught history at the University of Asmara in Eritrea. A PhD Candidate in History at UCLA, Awet recently concluded his doctoral research in Northeast Africa and Southeast Asia.

Cost : Free and open to the public; parking is availabile in lot 3 for $8.

www.international.ucla.edu/africa

Sponsor(s): African Studies Center, Darfur Action Committee, Department of History