Silence of Friends at time of need hurts more than the rhetoric of Enemies
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
The address above symbolizes the festering situation prevailing in Sudan, where the international community formed of the United Nations (UN), the African Union (AU) the European Union countries (EU), the United States of America (US) and the League of Arab Countries (AL) turning a blind eye to the crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and discriminate aerial bombardments committed by the military might of the National Congress Party (NCP) racist despotic regime led by the International Criminal Court ( ICC) indicted fugitive Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir against the unarmed civilian populations in the region of Darfur, the Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has issued innumerable Resolutions on the issue of Darfur though remained inoperative. That was attributable to the conflicting messages that emanate time and again from the envoys of the respective institutions implicated in the game. The international community is expected to be an advocacy organization committed to speaking up for those in adversity caused by tyrant regimes like the one in Sudan; this does not seem the case for the people in the regions referred to above. Political observers indicate that as long as the international community continues with its double standards, people in Darfur, Nuba Mountains, South Blue Nile regions and elsewhere in Sudan will remain targets for the atrocious crimes committed by the National Congress Party (NCP) regime. Had it not for the tireless advocacy efforts exerted by the activists in the international human rights community like the Enough Project Co-Founder John Prendergast and the American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter George Clooney, who has launched a Satellite Sentinel Project, which aims to prevent conflict and human rights abuses through satellite imagery, the systematic killing campaign presided by tyrant Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir’s regime could have led to complete extermination of the civilian populations in the foregoing regions.
It is difficult to reason out the attitude of the inaction that continues to be adopted by international community towards the repressive regime in Sudan especially in the light of what we have witnessed how swift the UN, US, EU, AL responded to bring about regime changes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya – and now in Syria, by supporting the oppositions politically and diplomatically in the respective countries and/or imposing a no-fly-zone in toppling those regimes.
The dire humanitarian situation in the IDP camps in the Nuba Mountains, where hundreds of thousands do not have food or medication and the government prevent relief organizations from entering the territories to help them; a situation similar to that in Darfur. The video footage broadcasted by Al-Jazeera TV channel showed live the remarks made by South Kordofan governor Ahmed Haroun, the ICC indicted for crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Darfur, ordering Government of Sudan troops: “You must hand over the place clean, clear it, crush it and sweep it. Don’t bring them alive. We don’t have space for them; we don’t want any administrative cost. Are you ready? He asked the soldiers who replied: “Yes! Good is Great, Good is Great.”
Political observers feel flabbergasted while criticizing the interests- driven attitude of the international community.
Currently, the NCP regime has adopted a variety of methods that included free hunting of demonstrators and students during the protests to suppress. The country has witnessed extrajudicial execution, death under torture in the ghost houses, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the areas of military operations in the region of Darfur, South Kordofan in the Nuba Mountains, Baja in the East and Ingasana in the Blue Nile area. Moreover, al-Bashir’s regime was responsible for making Unity non-attractive for the people of southern Sudan and as a consequence was the separation of south of the country, only because the citizens of South Sudan – according to the NCP perspective – do not fit with their Arabism Islamism racist exclusionary ideology.
On the other hand, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has said that while it has the desire to cooperate with the United Nations-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), it has serious concerns and reservations about the unfounded reports that emanate from the UNAMID Chief Mr. Ibrahim Agboola Gambari regarding the situation in Darfur on the ground which claimed that violence has eased in its intensity, as well as his failure to expose the violations of human rights and international humanitarian law against the IDPs and the civilian population of Darfur in general. The rebel group Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) also raised the issue of the daily aerial bombardments against civilian targets, their livestock and water sources. JEM has been quoted as saying those are fabricated reports in the interest of the government of the National Congress Party (NCP), which claim that violence in Darfur has subsided and hardly calls for any concern and that things are under control. Those fabricated lies have been refuted by the ongoing government military operations against the unarmed civilian population around the clock and the frequent aerial bombardment along with the offensive brutalities by the pro-government militias.
Humanitarian activists have also expressed their great dismay towards the reported travesty relating to the so-called voluntary return of the Darfur IDPs and refugees and the involvement of the UNIMAD Leadership in such farcical, unprofessional and immoral practice. Moreover, JEM are saying that the role of Mr. Gambari should be a head of a peace keeping force UNIMAD, and not an interim Mediator for peace.
As it does not form a priority in the face of the intersection of conflict of interests, the international community seems to have put the Darfur issue in the freezer for now until it resolves issues in the so-called Arab Spring and then arrange to put the situation in their homes in order for the sake of the major battle in the presidential elections run in the United States of America and the French Republic. At this juncture one recalls Falk parable which goes: ‘There is nothing like your fingernail for scratching your itchy skin; and self-reliance is the most important weapon to turn to when faced with calamities. ‘’ That is the reason for the alliance of the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF) formed of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North SPLM-N, the Justice and Equality Movement(JEM) and the two Sudan Liberation movements- Abdul Wahid Mohamed Nur and Minni Arko Minnawi to form the Sudan Revolutionary Front (SRF), which referred to as the Kauda Front, a prelude to change the tyrant racist regime in Khartoum – with all the available means – military or popular political uprising supported militarily – to be replaced by a democratic government which accommodates all the people of Sudan, where citizenship will be the only basis for identity of the Sudanese for acquiring rights and performing duties irrespective of individual’s religion, ethnic background, colour, gender or regional affiliation. LONG LIVE THE UNIFICATION OF OUR STRUGGLES and Long Live the Revolution!
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is the Deputy Chairman of the General Congress for Justice and Equality Movement (JEM). He can be reached at [email protected]