South Sudan: Never lose hope on Al-Bashir!

By Isaiah Abraham

October 9, 2009 — Since independence of the Sudan in January 1, 1956, the Sudan as a country has been engaged in crisis of political identification and an Islamic or Arabic classification vs others. From Independence Prime Minister, Ishmael Al Azhari to self proclaimed Messiah of the Sudan, Imam Sadiq Abdul Rahaman Al Mahdi in 1989, the Sudan as a nation of nations failed to Sudanize its core identity (s), instead it has been juggled among different worlds ideologies, be it the West, the East or the Middle East (Arabic world). We had several major changes in our national constitution and we shall still see the same thing again and again as the trend of shifting is inherited from one ruling party to the other (read Juba All Parties Conference details). That search isn’t bad though if there wasn’t the Comperhensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between the South and the North. But to the credit, the National Congress Party (NCP) never searched Sudanese identity elsewhere; the party from the word go in June 1989 has its picture on what to do and how to do it; series of home grown solutions to Sudanese crisis. CPA one among these series.

They have used whatever that is Sudanese to meet Sudanese identity or needs and here comes the slogan, “we dress from what we manufactured and eat from what we cultivated”. That slogan is full of meaning and is nationalistic, than an imported ones! It’s not just about eating or dressing that the leaders who coined this dictum want to expose, but they were targeting the kind of self actualization Sudan that shall have its own capacity to address things, without necessary sourcing it from anyone outside the country. That is a beautiful departure from the past and a good start for Sudanese themselves. Do we have one in Juba now? Waiting and always hanging out from the outside outsourcing has killed many African countries as their decisions and self identity is guarded from the outside. There is danger when a country accepts others to fix troubles on their behalf.

Unless we forget, our people must not take things for granted. We owe His Excellency the President of the Republic, Field Marshal Omar Hassan Ahmed Al Bashir, and by extension his ruling party, the National Congress Party (NCP); this despite human and capital damage his regime brought to the people of Southern Sudan. President Al Bashir unlike his predecessors is a man of his words, pockets of inconveniences notwithstanding. Looking carefully at how he has handled himself in the middle of Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) related crisis or implementation low moments- a stage every one knew would be a tumultuous one- one can’t help but to give credit where it’s due. He has an impressive collection of what he is doing and this is very important in the process of implementing the CPA among other national burning issues.

The simple fact that he has resisted his own power houses to share power with ‘infidels’ and his pledge to attend Southern pyrrhic celebrations should the South goes independence in 2011 aren’t small things to downplay because we are made to believe that everything negative, always comes from Arabs. May that isn’t the case with this Arab. Is that being quisling and sickness of inferiority, when we raise the bar in favour of Al Bashir and Arabs? Absolutely, not! Look, he treats our President His Excellency Gen. Salva Kiir with respect and dignity. The same is true with the agreement (CPA) itself; he esteemed it with a sense of responsibility and commitment even when we throw stones on him and his party, the NCP. He doesn’t talk back against his partners (say publicly at least), something we failed to do as peace partners.

The NCP is a party to beat and should have been given accolade by non other than the Southern Sudanese themselves. President Al Bashir and the Vice President Ustaz Ali Osman Taha are the De Clerks of the Sudan. These men and many other leaders of that party such as Dr. Gudbi Al Mahdi, Dr. Ibrahim Abdul Ghader and Dr. Didiery Mohamed Al Ahmed were true architects of what we all know now as the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA); we would not forget them if the reality of that agreement in the clause of Self-Determination becomes true. The likes of Dr. Mustafa Ishmael, late Dr. Mujzoob Al Khalifa and Dr. Ghazi Salah El Din have resisted any concession to Southern Sudan in the form of Self Determination had it not the wise leadership of President Al Bashir and his friends. It took him courage and commitment to subdue those voices, in order to allow free choice for the people of Southern Sudan and Three Areas. But someone says if it wasn’t war on terror, that was wage somewhere, escalation of violence in the West and East of the Sudan, the SPLA sustained military campaign and internal political rivalry within the NCP, the agreement wouldn’t have been realized. I agree. Yet if it wasn’t a willing seller nothing concrete we could be talking about it now ( relative peace we all enjoy).

If someone could do you that favor, something so special like freedom, what else do you expect him to do to you? Why are our people so callous and ungrateful these days to deny that great offer from the hands of responsible leaders (Al Bashir and Al Taha)? Who else could have done it better from our previous leaders in the country? President Al Bashir unsurprisingly, is still under stern pressure from enemies of Southern Sudan to abrogate the CPA; he struck to his guns. In addition, there have been frustrations and sabotages from some incongruous and scrupulous SPLM and the NCP leaders, but President Al Bashir isn’t Jaafer Mohamed Al Nimeri who bowed to pressure from his allies, friends or enemies. He had struck a deal and my conscience tells me that he will see it to the end; that is a kind of a leader you can’t allow the international community to toss him around! Comrade Jacob Zuma of South African had played in to this game and the poor man disappointed! He had wanted us to confirm fears raised then by Bishop Desmond Tutu, about his leadership character.

We can go South, West, East or the North but Southern Sudan won’t get a true friend and ally like President Al Bashir and his party, the National Congress Party. The current leadership in Juba headed by the SPLM ought therefore to go slow on the NCP and its leader. I thought Envoy Scott Grattion had whispered something about the same issue- need for cordial relationship between the two partners. The SPLM shouldn’t prostitute itself just to win the favour of the West. The West involvement in any initial stages like ours can’t be any guarantee. Their terms are in consistence and are bad!

The NCP is our partner, why is that onslaught and never ending attacks from the SPLM itself go against this party? Why is that easy to blame every problem on this party when we actually never showed ourselves at our own backyards? Take for example the unfortunate incident yesterday where our President was reported to have been shot dead by unknown assailant; we took this party responsible for the sad rumor, but perhaps the informer could be among us who spread it. The SPLM must dramatize it, such things are not uncommon. What benefit would it bring to the people of Southern Sudan if we lose the NCP partnership/ Which other party in the North is ready to shoe into the NCP’s on our interests? Do we have anything in common beside our skin color with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM)? They have prayed (and even acted) to ensure that the CPA collapses. How is the Popular Congress Party (PCP) of Dr. Abdullah Al Turabi different from JEM? What of UMMA [arty, what is new and special that will surpass the NCP Self Determination for the people of Southern Sudan and the people of Abyei? I don’t think we shall get any better arrangement under any political party or sect, besides the NCP.

Do not tell me ‘but the NCP has never implemented the CPA fully’; what implementation are we talking here when we have almost the entire paper implemented. If we believe that to date the two partners have achieved 90% aspects of that agreement, then why don’t we equally believe in its margin of error on the 10% that is unimplemented? We have passed all the necessary modules and annexes or modalities that are so pertinent in that agreement (CPA). We are at critical last stages and in my thinking they aren’t difficult to manage.

There is a feeling which shows that we have been treating the NCP with disdain or with disrespect. We rush and quickly pick up at an elementary to make us feel good about being nationalist. That mindset with its predisposition makes us too simplistic in the eyes of others including ourselves. May be we have been expecting much and only becoming too much on our partner on issues it has no control over. I don’t know whether it’s the right time to start being impatience to lose hope in them, rather its expected of us to work closely with the entire North represented by the NCP per the CPA.

On the NCP side however, they must not stretch things too far. They got to climb down from 70% to 50% on referendum legible percentage needed to declare a win. The NCP few hardliners must understand that there are no (will be no) any mathematical or statistical errors on what percentage to make the South go. 10% will carry the day, over a dead or a living body of a Southerner. Even if you fix the number to be 99.9%, the South will make it. Don’t waste your time and energy on this please! Spare the country and stand with the President, he’s genuine. Secondly, the party should repeal 1997 draconic security laws for elections purposes. A level ground for political players is critical for elections to be credible. Harassment of political and human right activists are issues on these laws that require urgent attention.

My dear people, let’s have patience, it pays. Frequent bashing President and his party won’t help us, not in any bit! Whatever issues we think are on the table, our beloved Vice President (the president in waiting in fact) and our President Lt. Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit are working round the clock. The CPA shall not be trashed like the Addis Ababa Agreement in their watch. We must not fall in to a trap laid by outsiders who are always on lip service, those who preach water and sip wine. Internal option is always the best. The people of South Sudan have tasted the bitterness of life and its high time to trust someone who is ready to relief us. The personality called Omar Hassan Al Bashir even in our books, we shall remember if his past is anything to go by. Let’s not conspire to spill his blood, for no reason at this point in time. The time for wishing him dead is long gone; allow others to do it. His deal is good, too good! We ought to forgive and forget. NCP Oyee! SPLM Oyee! CPA Oyee! John Junub, Mary Boyi, Emma Lasu give them another number (song) or numbers on the CPA, they are forgetting.

The author is based in Juba; he can be reached at [email protected]