Chirac's Africa finale, Darfur dominate Africa-France summit

[Jahness]

Chirac's Africa finale, Darfur dominate Africa-France summit

by Alain Bommenel
2 hours, 42 minutes ago

An Africa-France summit seen as President Jacques Chirac's goodbye to Africa is drawing to a close after a shaky agreement was signed to prevent violence in Darfur from spreading.

The two-day gathering in the Riviera resort of Cannes was seen as Chirac's last major foray on the world stage before he is expected to announce in the coming weeks that he is stepping down after 12 years in office.

More than 30 African leaders are taking part in the summit, held as France's influence on the continent is waning in the face of an unprecedented push by China for access to Africa's rich oil and mineral wealth.

At France's insistence, the leaders of Sudan, Chad and the Central African Republic signed an accord late Thursday pledging not to support rebels on each other's territories, but Chad quickly poured cold water over the deal.

"We could not refuse Paris, but we have no illusions with this signing," said Chadian Foreign Minister Ahmat Allam-Mi on Friday, adding that a similar accord was signed a year go in Tripoli.

"In the past, such accords were not followed up with action," said the foreign minister Friday.

President Idriss Deby Itno of Chad left Cannes late Thursday, but the minister said the early departure was to attend to other business in Paris.

Chirac opened the summit with an appeal for the deployment of an international peace force in Darfur, where at least 200,000 people have been killed and more than 2.5 million displaced in fighting since 2003.

Khartoum-backed Janjaweed militas and government forces are fighting rebels in Darfur in a conflict that has spilled over to eastern Chad and the north of the Central African Republic.

Chad and the Central African Republic have accused Sudan of backing rebels in their countries, but Khartoum has denied the accusations and says the two nations are supporting rebels in Sudan's western region of Darfur.

France has provided support to both Chad and the Central African Republic in tackling the rebel attacks.

The 24th Africa-France summit marks the end of an era in relations between Africa and France, once known as the "gendarme of Africa" as the only Western power with military bases on the continent.

On the military front, the United States is drawing up plans to establish a regional command center in Africa while China scored a diplomatic coup by drawing 41 African leaders to Beijing in November for a historic summit.

As Chirac prepares his departure from politics, the main candidates in the April-May election are promising to break with what they describe as an outdated approach to the continent's problems.

Frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy of the governing rightwing party said during a recent trip to Mali and Benin that he wanted a "renewed partnership" with Africa, based on a "healthy, balanced relationship."

Socialist contender Segolene Royal has attacked Chirac's Africa policy as driven more by personal relationships than interests.

Chirac, 74, spoke of his fondness for the continent and optimism for its future in an opening address on Thursday, saying; "I love Africa, its lands, peoples and cultures."

"I know that it is exceptionally dynamic. I have confidence in its future and have the conviction that the new Africa is on the move."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070216...dmEO0EnpW96Q8F

Copyright © 2007 Agence France Presse.