The Systematic Delay of the Peace Process in Sudan has Provoked Local, Regional and International Outrage
By Mahmoud A. Suleiman
This article comes against the backdrop of much awe. As we know the offices of the Sudanese state, are dominated by specific ethnic groups whose backgrounds originate from the Northern Nilotic Region of Sudan. We tended to call our constituents from marginalised and rural areas in Darfur, Kordofan, Southern Blue Nile, Eastern Sudan and the banks of the Red Sea to not Talk about this bitter reality that we call racism because talking about it may provoke tribal prejudices and exacerbate social relations between the citizens of a united Sudan. But over the time it became clear to us, as a result of the daily scenes, that silence on them is a kind of hypocrisy and a sort of fear of facing the crystal clear rights denial over the decades. Thus, it has become very clear that there should be no room to lie and try to bury the heads in the sand of the desert. And as a result of the foregoing, this article was made public because telling the truth is a virtue.
Many believed that the Declaration of Freedom and Change – shortly called Qaht – followed the path of the Chicago Group and chose to deal with the Pinochet-Chilean dictator, who was remanded in jail. The military junta – akaTransitional Military Council (TMC) could not be persuaded to surrender as the depositary became booty. As Qaht has acquired the coordinating task, it must manage it professionally and skillfully, away from exclusive illusions. These are the most important features of civilization and the first steps of democratic transformation. Quote from Dr. Alwaleed Adam Madibo: https://www.dabangasudan.org/ar/all-news/article/%D8%AF%D9%83%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A2%D8%AF%D9%85-%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A8%D9%88-%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%83%D9%86%D9%88%D9%82%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B7-%D8%A3%D9%85-%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%A1%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A7-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%82-%D8%A8%D9%8A%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AB%D9%86%D9%8A%D9%86
The outrage referred to above is due to the fact that the Juba Declaration on 11 September 2019 announced without any doubt to conclude the Peace Process by 14 December 2019. Furthermore, the Constitutional Declaration stated that Peace must be achieved within the first six months of the interim/ Transitional Period. As it is clearly known that Sudan has appointed a new Prime Minister as the country embarks on a Three-year Transition period to a Civilian Rule and the New Government will run the country until a General Election is held. The Transitional Government’s Top Priorities include stopping the war, Building just Sustainable Peace, addressing the severe economic crisis and build a balanced foreign policy, as Prime Minister, Dr. Abdalla Hamdok told reporters.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-49425702
Peace as a Priority is undisputed
Why the excessive interest in the peace process in Sudan and the immediate answer is that the absurd wars waged by dictatorships in large parts of Sudan’s vast territory since the dawn of independence have been the main reason for the Underdevelopment of Sudan compared to the rest of Africa and the Arab world and along with resultant separation of the south of the country and displaced Citizens of regions including Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile, as well as Eastern Sudan and without doubt the effects of the war hit all of the Sudan in the killing, as they say.
On the other hand, the wars in Sudan have resulted in the killing of unarmed civilians, numbering thousands in the war in South Sudan and the Nuba Mountains, as well as the genocide in Darfur, the displacement of thousands in refugee camps, displacement and in the Diaspora. Prisoners of war belonging to the armed struggle movements are in prison. In addition to the missing members of the armed movements, no one knows their fate despite the long time. Of course, we do not forget the war-damaged infrastructure such as schools, hospitals and houses in war-ravaged areas. Reconstruction and addition To remove mercenaries from neighboring countries who occupied the lands and homes of the victims of war, the citizens of Sudan should also compensate citizens who have been affected by the scourge of war and judicial accountability for war criminals of war criminal Omar Employees Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir and his entourage
Some members of the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change (GAHT) do not want to see peace happening and they tended to stand in the way of reaching a just and comprehensive peace in the areas devastated by the absurd wars. The Sudanese citizens in the Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) and those in the refugee camps and the rest who chose to seek opportunity in The Diaspora, instead of war, they want to harvest peace, build what was destroyed by the war and return normalcy as citizens in their areas of origin, while having the provisions for the needs of normal life.
Many of the people of Sudan in marginalized areas believe that the delay in reaching peace is deliberately caused by the political elites that have ruled Sudan since independence and have dominated the state and marginalized citizens on the outskirts of Darfur, South Kordofan, South Sudan and Eastern Sudan. This group is theirs. The population of Sudan originates from the North Nile region, where they consider other people of Sudan to be slaves while they consider themselves masters. That is one of the many reason as to why the Marginalised Sudanese People Took Up Arms and Went to War Fighting Hegemony of a few elites from the Northern Nilotic region over the entire Country and Denying Peace for the majority. Those Nilotic elites are represented the majority in the two important political bodies that dominated after the 19th December 2018 glorious popular Sudanese Revolution; the two political bodies referred to include: The Forces for Declaring Freedom and Change (GAHT) and The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA). It fair to admit that the two entities play substantial political role after the Revolution, but they worked with all their deception, selfishness and self-love to dominate all the joints of the post-December Revolution with the marginalization of the rest of the components, especially those groups from the outskirts of Sudan. Thus, reaching to peace has become a secondary issue in the scale of their priorities. At this juncture, some explained that the components of the two groups of (GAHT) and (SPA) mentioned above had a different agenda and that some of them had previous links with the so-called Deep State that had not yet fallen.
I have hesitated a bit when I first thought of writing on this subject because it is a sensitive issue that raises eyebrows of a number of individuals who might have many conflicting feelings besides that many people prefer not to talk about it at least in a public place. But after thinking and rethinking I decided that this is an important topic and the country is going through a period of change for the better. I hope that everyone will accept this and contribute to the treatment of the issue of racism in our society and reiterate the Glorious December 2018 the Slogan “O the racist conceited we are all Darfur”!
I sincerely hope to say to those who read this article that I am from the generation of the October 21, 1964 Revolution, where that generation did not know the racial segregation and does not boast its tribal affiliation. We saw that we were Sudanese; united by the homeland and one destiny. The martyr of the October 1964 Revolution was Ahmad al-Gurashi, whose parents originated from the village of Garrasa in the White Nile State. He was among my class at El Fasher High School in Darfur, Western Sudan, because he was among the Daileing First year batch students in the Nuba Mountains who were admitted to El Fasher High School. At the time, Al-Gurashi’s father was a government employee in Daileing in the Nuba Mountains during an era when the nationalistic Sudanese feelings existed amongst all the components of the Sudanese people who shared one patriotic nationality that coexisted then!
This introduction was necessary, otherwise the author of this article might be classified as harboring the seeds of racism which unfortunately nowadays has become rife in the remaining Sudan after the cession of its southern party due to race-based hatred. They say that the present instilled the past and the future to reap the present and history is the record of the time and the lives of peoples, folks and nations.
The ills plaguing the people of Sudan began on the day the British Colonials handed over the administration of the country to a group whose ancestors did not practice even aTraditional Civil Administration (TCA).
At this juncture and moment, the article comes to the bottom line as they say, which is the controversial subject of racism and the exclusion of the other through exploitation and hegemony on the ripening fruits of the December Revolution by unelected political vessels, such as the so-called Forces for Declaration of Freedom and Change aka GAHT.
The Deliberately delaying tactics in Sudan’s Peace Process is one of the many ill-effects of the Deep State of the former regime the National Congress Party (NCP), the leader of which has been deposed but the remnants of which are still actively operative.
And sometimes one goes out of his habit and takes a stand against the unjust aggressor in order to restore rights and redress the oppressed from the continuing injustice against his family and people who represent the oppressed clan.
The deep state in Sudan, which is being spoken today after the glorious revolution of 19 December 2018, did not start on Friday, June 30, 1989, when the ideological racist dictatorship led by the National Islamic Front (NIF) came with its derivatives and names, namely the Muslim Brotherhood Movement, the Islamic Charter Front, the National Congress Party and The Popular Congress Party and so on, but the old country, which is deeply rooted in the detrimental depth that has delayed the people of Sudan from the start to progress and prosperity, this cursed country began from the morning of the departure or evacuation of the English army when the reasons for its presence in the mediating region no longer exist. The continent of Africa and the Arab Middle East and the end of the effects of World War II and accompanied by the exit of the Egyptian state, which was what was known as the colonization of the English Anglo-Egyptian known as Condominium – where the responsibility for the management of the country with an area of one million square miles in addition to the presence within Ethnic constituencies of peoples with countless ethnicities and languages, these peoples had their own flesh administrations and inherited legacies deep in human history, but unfortunately the English colonization had mistakenly handed over the rule of that continent and its various peoples to a group of civil servants referred to by the term “Affendi “which means chief ; gentleman ; Mr. ; sir , whose background never had not exercised control over state assets as it in the case of the components of the other Sudanese people who are not descended from the northern part of the Nile – meaning on the banks of the Nile, and thus all the regimes that tried to rule Sudan since the so-called independence, whether the regimes Civil or military coup failed and thus the series of failure continue whether it is a quasi-civilian rule or a tyrant rule under a military junta.
The current attempt to dominate the gains of the glorious December 19, 2018 Revolution of the popular Sudanese by the unelected and popularly delegated group so-called the Forces of the Declaration of Freedom and Change (GAHT) is an extension of the internal colonial domination of the country of Sudan and is a recycled water that is difficult to filter and remaining as a curse for the Remaining Sudanese citizens after forcing the people of South Sudan to secede in 2011 when they found that the Greater Sudan does not provide justice and equality among the people of one state.
Washington believes that the delay in the signing of a peace agreement can abate the democratic transition in Sudan.http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article68557
Acting US Ambassador in Sudan Mr. Brian Shuka said during the visit he made accompanied by a delegation to the El-Fasher and met with the Resistance Coordination Committee that they hope in the future that there will be support in the field of development and peace building especially after achieving peace during this period. Moreover, Mr. Brian Chuka underlined US interest in the issue of peace in Sudan, saying that we are supportive of this stage and are trying to pressure all parties in the Juba talks to reach a comprehensive peace agreement in Darfur and the two regions.
Some members of the Forces for the Declaration of Freedom and Change (GAHT) do not want peace and stand in the way of reaching a just and comprehensive peace in the areas devastated by the absurd wars. In displacement and asylum camps and in the diaspora, instead of war, they want to borrow peace, build what was destroyed by war, and return normalcy to citizens in their areas of origin, while providing for the needs of normal life.
The Sudanese Shorog TV Channel under the banner: “Eshragat Al-Ghad” which means in English the brightness of tomorrow and discussed the peace file on what is going on in the corridors of negotiations with the Armed Struggle Movements. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c61ebHGerDA
We learned about Sudanese politics through the historical narrative that the 1938 Alumni Conference was a social and cultural facade for graduates of high schools in Sudan, but soon called for the decolonization of Sudan and the granting of the right of Sudanese to self-determination. Efforts continued until the Sudanese parliament met on December 19, 1955 and declared Sudan’s independence and called on the two states to recognize Sudan as an independent state. The Condominium agreed and the Sudanese flag was raised and it consisted of three colours blue, yellow, and green on January 1, 1956. The flag anthem and Republican peace greeting that begins with the phrases “we are the soldiers of God, the soldiers of the homeland”!
Three main challenges posed Sudan’s post-independence history: the question of the constitution, the problem of the Sudanese people in the South of Sudan, and the dilemma of development in Sudan. This is in addition to the ideological conflicts between the right and left parties and between the Democrats and the totalitarians, each of whom has had theirexperience of luck in the face of the three main challenges referred to above.https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%AF%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%B9%D8%A7%D8%B5%D8%B1
History tells us that following the victory at Omdurman in 1898, the new Anglo-Egyptian Condominium administration was faced with the daunting prospect of administering the largest country in Africa, covering nearly one million square miles, and inhabited by almost 600 different tribes speaking over 400 different languages and dialects. Vital issues needing to be addressed by the new Sudan government included: infrastructure – without which effective governance was not possible; industry – developed to help the country achieve self-sufficiency; and justice – essential for ensuring a peaceful future. Whilst the heart of government power lay in Khartoum, the successful administration of the Sudan’s many and disparate tribes was largely a result of the work of the Governors, District Commissioners and Assistant District Commissioners, stationed in locations all over the country. Through their initiative and relative independence from the central government, this unique body of men generally achieved good relationships with the diverse Sudanese communities.
https://www.dur.ac.uk/library/asc/projects/woodsudan/exhibition/administration/
Christian missionary activity, at the era, had the potential to be an explosive issue in the Anglo-Egyptian-Sudan. In order to avoid controversy in the predominately Muslim Northern provinces, the Sudan Government banned missionaries from operating there. Instead, the missionaries concentrated on Southern Sudan but even here sectarian conflict was evident, most notably between Protestant and Catholic missionaries over rights to minister in certain areas.
Ghassan Charbel Editor in chief of «Middle East» wrote the following narrative under the title: Sudan and the lessons of coups and uprisings, said as follows:
“If Libya lost four decades under Colonel Moammar Kaddafi, Sudan lost three decades under Omar Hassan al-Bashir. It is no exaggeration to say that Sudan, since its independence in 1956, spent a lost age among the generals and uprisings until it became exhausted by the current change. The succession of revolutions and coups drained the resources and stability of the country, rupturing its unity and dwarfing its map. The prowess of the Sudanese parties to dispel the democratic sweeps is not matched by the military’s ability to seize any chance of regaining control and seals.
Only two years after independence, the radio cut its programs and broadcast the number one statement. The army, led by General Ibrahim Abboud, seized power and left it only in the wake of an uprising – a revolution in 1964. The parties could not organize the dance of return to democratic rule and have long argued over the system of government and the constitution and wasted time and decision together. On May 25, 1969, the radio will return to its programs and broadcasts the number one statement to the ship in the hands of the captain, Marshal Jaafar Nimeiri. During the reign of President Numeiri the blood of Communists and as well as of the Ansar religious sect wasflowing river of in the south. Nimeiri lived long, and in those days many parts of the world were sinking under the hats of the rescuers. Sudanese tired of the face that repeated and overthrew the uprising in 1985. The parties did not learn from the previous lesson and began to argue about the system and the Constitution and references. Bala missed that a brilliant player is the Islamic movement lurking in its confusion and waiting for the opportunity to attack. On Friday June 30, 1989, the radio will re-broadcast its programs to broadcast the number one statement. The country fell into the hands of a paratrooper named Omar Hassan al-Bashir who will hide in the first period his real identity to mislead neighboring countries and major powers. This is what happened.
The novel is exciting. A day before the so-called “Salvation Revolution” they brought Bashir to Khartoum to meet with the supposed leader and “mentor”, Dr. Hassan al-Turabi. Turabi spies on the officer who sees him for the first time and says to him, “You will go to the palace as president and I will go to prison locked up.” Turabi was then taken to Kober prison and the Bashir era began. “This is the first time in history that the leader of the coup d’état has been arrested with the other detainees,” said Tijani al-Tayeb, a member of the Communist Party leadership, and Uthman Omar of the DUP yelled loudly”
Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy who is usually referred to in English as Leo Tolstoy, the Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatestauthors of all time has been quoted as saying: “The Two Most Powerful Warriors are Patience and Timer”.
On the other side comes the frequent denial of peace by thetyrants. George R.R. Martin, George Raymond Richard Martin, also known as GRRM, the American novelist and short story writer in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres, screenwriter, and television producer, has been quoted as saying: “Most men would rather deny a hard truth than face it.”!https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/denialhttps://www.google.com/search?q=george+r.r.+martin&oq=George+R.R.+Martin&aqs=chrome.0.0l8.1527j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Bob Marley the Jamaican singer-songwriter has been quoted as saying: “Those who work to spread war and destruction do not rest for an hour; Peace advocates should be more diligent.” https://www.google.com/search?q=Bob+Marley&oq=Bob+Marley&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l6j69i65.1475j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
“It is better to win the peace and to lose the war”.Is attributed to
Bob Marleyhttps://www.azquotes.com/author/9481-Bob_Marley/tag/war
Dr. Mahmoud A. Suleiman is an author, columnist and a blogger. His blog is http://thussudan.wordpress.com/