The return of the federal system of government after 3 decades to Sudan is a gain for the Sudanese people in general and in particular for the citizens of Sudan in the Darfur region
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of The Chairman of the transitional sovereign council in Sudan Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan – passing a decree of the return of the federal system of government to Sudan, as of March 5, 2021; Thirty years after its abolition, the head of the transitional sovereign council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued, on Thursday, Constitutional Decree No. 6 of 2021 to restore the “federal” regional system of government in the country. What does this step mean?
The Press Headlines stated the following:
Sudan Al-Burhan is restoring the regional system of government a quarter of a century after Al-Bashir canceled it.
https://www.alquds.co.uk/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A8%D8%B1%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D9%82%D9%84/
Other Headlines:
Sudan returns to the federal system of government with 8 regions next May
https://asharq.com/ar/nuv98DlHCmUZXNJeuwaQJ-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86-%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%AF-%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B8%D8%A7%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%A8%D9%808/
The most prominent contents of the Doha Document for Peace in Darfur
Darfur referendum result widely rejected
https://www.dabangasudan.org/en/all-news/article/darfur-referendum-result-widely-rejected
–Thursday the 4th March – 2021
Thirty years after its abolition, the head of the transitional sovereign council, Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, issued, Thursday, Constitutional Decree No. 6 of 2021 to restore the “federal” regional system of government in the country and what does this step mean?
The ousted president, Omer al-Bashir, issued a constitutional decree in 1991, adopting the state system of government that divided Sudan into 27 states, including 10 states in South Sudan before its secession in 2011. With the current decree Sudan will be divided into 6 regions only, namely, the North, East, West, South, Central Region, and Kordofan Region, similar to the period before the 30th June 1989 coup and Al-Bashir assuming power, and the peaceful and armed political forces demanded the return of this system throughout the period of Al-Bashir’s 30 -lean year rule.
8 regions
The constitutional decree stipulates the implementation of the federal system of governance, following the convening of the Conference on the Government System in Sudan, which defines the regions, their number, borders, structures, competencies, powers, levels of governance and administration, in a manner that does not contradict the Juba Peace Agreement.
The decision came after intense negotiations between the transitional government and the armed struggle movements (ASM) that lasted for more than a year, and ended with a consensus to take a decision to return to the federal system of government, especially since the main demand in the negotiations was to return to the 8-region system, abolish the states system in force now, and approve in a way Essential for a balanced policy for all.
A member of the Transitional Sovereignty Council, Muhammad al-Taishi, told Al-Sharq newspaper that returning to the federal system is an entitlement that must be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the Juba Peace Agreement signed in October 2020, which is a step in the transition path On Saturday 3 October 2020, Juba, the capital of South Sudan, witnessed the signing of the peace agreement between the Sudanese government and a number of armed movements, to resolve decades of conflicts in Darfur, South Kordofan and Southern Blue Nile that led to the displacement of millions and the deaths of hundreds
The head of the Sudan Liberation Army /Movement, Minni Arko Minnawi, has been quoted as said that returning to the federal system of government is a way towards resolving issues and complications and getting out of the centralized holding that damaged Sudan during the era of the former ousted regime of Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir, which means balanced development and the administration of regions with complete satisfaction, as well as allowing the sharing of economic resources with the Centre in Khartoum.
In statements to Al-Sharq, Minnawi added: “An important step in the direction of rebuilding a balanced and fair development for the country, and a key to devising radical solutions to many administrative and economic complexities, and we hope that this decision will be implemented in the same spirit in which it was issued.”
Independence within the framework of the state
The legal expert and political analyst, Saleh Mahmoud, said that the federal system of government is characterized by flexibility, as it allows regions to govern themselves with a specific degree of independence, while remaining within the framework of a unified state. Saleh has been reported to have added saying to Al-Sharq newspaper: “Responding to this demand in accordance with the Juba agreement is in line with the change that occurred in Sudan and the period of political transition that the country is going through in order to achieve equal justice for all between the Centre and the regions after periods of injustice under the totalitarian regime that characterized the previous period of the rule of the so-called National Congress Party (NCP) regime led by the ousted president Omer al-Bashir. “
He continued: “The opportunity is appropriate for the rebuilding and advancement of the citizen who suffers from economic crises, poverty, and poor health conditions, but it is necessary when implementing the system that many conditions are met, most notably the existence of a permanent national constitution in which the powers of government are determined, and the establishment of a constitutional court that separates in many of the conflict issues between the centre and the regions, and the need for a state of understanding and coordination between the Centre and the regions in decision-making.
For the record of History, the author of the current article wrote the following when the regional system was declared for Sudan by the ousted National Congress Party (NCP) regime:
Why is the Darfur Region Referendum now while none was needed when abrogated? By Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman
لماذا استفتاء إقليم دارفور الآن بينما لم تكن هناك حاجة إلى أي شيء عند إلغائه؟ بقلم د.محمود سليمان
https://sudaneseonline.com/en3/publish/Articles_and_Analysies_12/Why_Darfur_Region_Referendum_is_now_while_none_needed_when_abrogated_By_Dr_Mahmoud_A_Suleiman.shtml
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Why is the Darfur Region Referendum now while none was needed when abrogated? By Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman
Sudaneseonline.com
الصفحة العربيةLast Updated: Feb 13, 2011 – 7:24:29 AM
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Why is the Darfur Region Referendum now while none was needed when abrogated? By Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman
By Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman
The spokesperson of the government of the racist National Congress Party (NCP) delegation, the Darfuri, Dr. Omer Adam Rahma, has been quoted as saying, today in Khartoum, that their government rejects in principal the inclusion of Darfur status in the negotiations as it wants the future of the region to be determined through a referendum which involves all the people of the Darfur. The Darfur Refugees, Displaced People have condemned the declaration of the Liberation and Justice movement (LJM to accept the draft peace proposal minus the legitimate demand of the return of Darfur to one region. They reiterated the fact that the region remains a ‘Red Line’. It has also been reported that the Darfur refugees in Eastern Chad further denounced the Liberation and Justice Movement’s act of accepting the final draft of the Darfur Peace presented by the host country of Qatar and the Chief Mediator, Djibrill Basle’ and the intention of Dr. Tigani Sessei to sign an agreement separately with the Sudanese government in the absence of the two major Darfuri rebel movement, Sudan Liberation Army/Movement of (SLA/M) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) led by Abdel Wahid Mohmed Nur and Dr. Khalil Ibrahim Mohmed respectively. The people of Sudan in Darfur and Kordofan frown and condemn the scrambling of the Sessei group to Khartoum at any price, cheaply in disregard of the suffering of the millions of genocide survivors in Darfur. The Surrender of Sessei to this distorted farcical peace which does not meet the sacrifices made during the past eight years is betrayal of trust and disloyalty to kith and kin that adds Insult to Injury.
In 1991, the unelected military regime of the National Islamic Front (NIF) abolished the Darfur region and dismantled it into three states: North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur, with the sinister intention to break the social fabric and to impose its evil doctrine of divide and rule; that was done without a referendum. Why on earth now, the regime says that it would not allow the return of Darfur to one region without that is determined through a referendum of the people of Darfur, a question that the NCP regime leader fugitive criminal ICC indicted Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir would fail abjectly, as usual, to find an answer for it. This is nonsense, at best and void and null at the end of the day. It is completely, as usual, illogical and inconsistent with sound mind. And this is part of the blackmail process which the president of the National Congress Party (NCP), the offender accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity and genocide in Darfur is reputed for; he is a runaway from international justice and has become an outcast and a castaway of the world and international forums for the very reasons! This is in addition to depriving the people of the region of ruling themselves in affairs that concern the region. It was also one of the plans of the Islamist Government to strip the people of Darfur of their Hawakeer and give them to the mercenary foreigners who came from the neighbouring countries to establish the so-called Emirs to replace the historic Native leaders of the civil administration, which used to contribute in the resolution of Conflicts, maintenance of security and safeguarding the rights of the original owners in the ownership of their Hawakeer. It is ironic that the News media have reported that a group which labeled itself as Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) led by Dr. Tigani Seisei sold themselves to the Government of National Congress Party (NCP) in the slave trade market cheaply and gave up the most important item of the rights of the people of Sudan in Darfur, which is the return of Darfur to the one region as it was when Sudan won Independence from the British colonial Power on January 1st 1956. It has been learned that the group, who in essence created by the NCP, is ready to grab any job. Members of the group are ready to accept any government job, they can go to Khartoum to be subservient, humiliated and played around with by the National Congress Party (NCP) criminal clique as they wan; similar to what has happened to the former rebel Sudan Liberation Army/Movement (SLA/M) leader Minni Arko Minnawi, who has forced himself out of Khartoum and taken up arms again because the government of Omar al-Bashir has refused to pay the dues of peace stipulated by the infamous Abuja peace agreement (AKA) the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA).
It is understood from the leaks that the group has struck a deal with the NCP regime to accept a compromise paper on power sharing, security arrangements, compensations and justice in Darfur along with a handout of some positions in the central government that include a vice-president who will chair the transitional authority in the region without having any power on the three states that will continue under the rule of the current governors (Walis) who belong to the NCP. He also said the mediation proposed 300 million US dollar for the compensations instead of the 500 million they demand and the 200 million put on the table by the government. Their artificial disregard and arrogance is not substantiated by their miserable reality on the ground where they lost a battle after another at the hands of and the painful blows of the gallant forces of the rebel group Justice and Equality movement (JEM) and forbearing public support. The step taken by the LJM is a betrayal of the millions of people of Sudan in Darfur and dishonoured and degrading position of surrender and submission to the voice of the archenemy.
The Alliance Resistance Forces (ARF) consider the NCP regime is continuing in its usual acts of prevarication and maneuvering, taking advantage of the Doha Forum for public relations purposes, and farcical arena to buy time. The issue of Darfur is the cause for which hundreds of thousands were martyred and the millions of refugees and displaced persons reside in makeshift camps eight years on, it is a disgraceful to barter all those sacrifices for offers of derisory trivial jobs under the tutelage of the Khartoum regime. Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) announced that that its presence in the Doha platform is not open-ended; either serious negotiations that lead to a comprehensive just peace for the people of Sudan in Darfur and Kordofan, or otherwise the movement will follow the course of other options; it is capable and determined to do so. The Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) also emphasized that it remains faithful to all the covenants and conventions. Moreover, it confirmed that it is committed to struggle jointly with its partners in the Alliance of the Resistance Forces in the cases of war and peace
Many observers believe that the Khartoum Islamists with their misguided wickedness, their obnoxious racial approach and coupled with the inaction of the International Community, the Darfur issue is likely to linger on without achieving a solution which satisfies the aspirations and ambitious of the people of Sudan in Darfur. This is thought more expected in the light of the recent fiery statements of made by Marshal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir in that he is geared for applying more strict Islamic Sharia laws to the northern Sudan following the referendum of the southern Sudan which is presumed to result into secession and eventual independence. Nevertheless, Political analysts Predict that the alliance of the armed movements(ARF) backed by the political forces in the Broad National Front (BNF) and the uprising of the people of Sudan who suffer on daily basis from the combined impact of the critical deterioration in their living conditions and the systematic repression by the so-called National Intelligence security services (NISS) can overthrow the regime to rid the remainder of the Sudan from the evils and horrors of the rule of the racist tyrant National Islamic Front (NIF) and throw it in the dustbin of history forever.
All the evidence now suggests that the separation of a beloved part of our homeland, the southern region of Sudan, is likely. This is attributable to the contemptuous arrogant approach towards the cause of the people of the region by the racist clique of the National Congress Party (NCP) regime. Many analysts and observers strongly believe that they do not rule out other areas in the country would follow the ‘South – way’ to secede if the hate – driven Apartheid policies of the current government led by the fugitive criminal Omer Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir and his gang remained in power. Therefore, it is onus on the part of all the forces (ARF, BNF and Sudanese Masses) to work with concerted efforts for the removal of this cursed autocratic establishment. And then there will be no place for saying “let bygones be bygones”, instead Justice and retribution take their course without compromise. The International Criminal Court (ICC) will reach all the criminal génocidaire in the NCP Government of Khartoum.
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is the Deputy Chairman of the General Congress for Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)