Sudanese rights group all on Khartoum government to opt for peace
THE SUDAN HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATION CAIRO
January 6th, 2012
Sudanese rights group all on Khartoum government to opt for peace
The Sudanese President concluded a visit to Libya with a pledge to expand military cooperation with the new Libyan government. Meanwhile, Sudan Government has recently assassinated Justice and Equality Leader Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, as well as mounting up military action against rebel groups in Darfur and the SPLM/A-North in South Kordofan and the Blue Nile states. Added to the aggressive assault of Abyei which resulted in the unlawful destruction of the town and the displacement of almost all its innocent inhabitants by government troops, Khartoum pursed unabated hostility measures across the border with the South in gross violation to internationally-recognized peace arrangements with Juba.
The Sudan’s military build-up and active actions came about in a time of enormous economic problems compounded by the government’s failures in managing public expenditures in accordance with constitutional accountability to the country’s Auditor-General. Moreover, the government failed to enter in successful political negotiations with the largest groups of opposition parties, including armed groups as well as the Manasir and other civilians protesting government policies, despite partial accommodation of a DUP faction in government portfolios. Still, a full-fledged national reconciliation lingers far behind the country’s immediate need to maintain democratic transition via a new constitution and government structure.
These increased hostilities have been seriously deepened by the government’s persistent record of gross human rights violations. Most recently, a crack down on college students in the University of Khartoum and the other institutes of high education concluded in a series of arbitrary arrests and tortures to several detained students, lawyers, journalists, and other professionals. The Sudan Government continues wild security attacks to silence the voice of the democratic opposition to maintain constructive peace and development with the new State of South Sudan, and is keeping wide the hateful option of renewed civil wars and ethno-regional tensions in Sudan and neighboring nations.
The Sudan Human Rights Organization-Cairo (SHRO-Cairo) condemns in the strongest terms possible the military policies of Khartoum versus the political issues of the country. The offensive across the border with the South and the increased civil wars, the destruction of Abyie town and the devastation of its population, the assassination of JEM leader and the negligence of democratic solutions are taking Sudan to a new brutalizing wave of state violence and civil unrest.
• We call on the Government of Sudan to opt for peace, instead of the ongoing military policy it is escalating with foreign support to rule over the Sudanese with violence and civil wars. SHRO-Cairo asks all of the neighbors of Sudan to discourage Khartoum from wasting the country’s defaulting budget in further military expenditures which result only in the prolonged dehumanization of the civilian population.
• We urge the United Nations, the Friends of Sudan, especially the US Government and the International Community, to recognize the country’s urgent need to reconcile all political and military conflicts peacefully. We strongly urge the Sudanese governments of Khartoum and Juba to convene an international conference with the Sudanese Democratic Opposition to opt for peace, instead of military escalation, in order to apply effective popular arrangements to ensure the lasting peace and the good neighborly relations between all regions of Sudan by sustainable international human rights, economic development, and political cooperation.