Sudan gov’t beats genocide drums against Darfurians in Khartoum
By Ali Trayo
(1) Targetting Darfuri University Students
As we are composing this report, all the credible and verified information sourced from the ground confirms that, the ruling NCP student gangs (armed to the teeth and supported by security personnel) are up there drumming, singing, dancing and unleashing terror, intimidation, and physical attack on Darfuri students in their respective Campus of different universities in Sudan’s capital Khartoum.
One El-Fashir (Darfur) born female medical student (whose father was tortured to death by Sudan Security forces in 2004) when contacted told our source that she is treating privately and in clandestine a colleague of her who was abducted, raped and tortured before she was thrown away in comma. Neither of them is willing to reveal her identity (university or name) for fear of reprisal from the security who is watching on eagle eyes. This case is just a random sample of the overall predicament under which the entire Darfuri students in the capital Khartoum finding themselves being caught up.
“We are selectively being targeted because we are Dafurians. Security people just look at your color and then you are brutally assaulted. That is all” another fugitive student lamented.”Every Darfuri student in Khartoum is either in prison, in hide or living in total fear. The environment is that tense and none of us is safe”, he added.
On what exactly triggered this and the motive behind the mayhem, almost every student has similar feeling to express. The answer you get from everyone is that: “It’s an extension of what is unfolding in Darfur. Now that it is creeping into Khartoum in the way you see it, we do not know what to do”.
(2) Sudan Security Apparatus Behind the Plot
This latest assault of potentially explosive consequences against Darfur students in the capital Khartoum has all started on the fourth of this month when a group of an armed NCP Islamist “agent provocateurs” and for no obvious reasons stormed Darfuri students who were peaceful gathered at university of “Sharig El-Nil” in Khartoum Bahari. The premeditated violence orchestrated by government National Intelligent and Security Service (NISS) ended up causing pandemonium, injuries and even killing. Then afterward, hours later the NCP student elements, joined by Islamist ruffians on May 5, 2015 organized a press conference (purportedly attended by General Mohamed Atta, the NISS Director General) issued inflammatory statement in which they formally declared a “holy war” against the Darfur students. Key points of that racially tuned statement with heavily religious connotation stipulate that:
(1) “Any Darfuri Student (male or female) should not be allowed to enter universities under any circumstances, and those who are in should leave university premises with immediate effect”. .
(2) “No Darfuri student should be allowed to assemble or organize in any way or by any form any activity, being political, cultural or social in or outside university campus”.
(3) “The Islamist students shall pursue further retaliations on any student talk about or in a manner that supports in words or action any movement’s political agenda or demands”.
(4) “All the Darfur students should be evicted by ever means from the campus in the respective universities in Khartoum and that whoever refuses to leave should immediately be burnt in his or her room”.
Islamist students kept disseminating provocative, insulting, scaring and intimidating racial oriented messages in social media (in Arabic language) and when translated some are read as “Khartoum is Not El-Fashir, Not Kadugli, Not Damazin. You cannot nag or nigger around. We will deal with you here in Khartoum in the same way our Armed Forces are dealing with you in the battle field.”
(3) Condemnations, messages of solidarity and support Committees
The anarchy unleashed against Darfur student so far engulfed those universities of Omdurman University, Al-Ahalya University, Al-Nilain University, Zaeem Al-Azhari University, Sharig El-Nil University. All located in the capital Khartoum.
Noticeably so, on the other hand courageous solidarity messages and condemnatory statements came from different groups and nationwide popular support committee was established to assist Darfuri students by every peaceful means possible.
Strongest solidarity statements came from the “Alliance of Student Organizations”, a conglomeration comprised of (Darfuri University Students’ Association, Nuba Mountains Student Association, Beja Congress, Union of Upper Nubians Students, Fulani Students Association, and Southern Tawker Students Association.) The message was so quick and strong. It strongly condemned the government diabolic attempt of racial wickedness.
Other messages expressing indignation and condemnation of government line of action came from the grand political alliance of “Sudan Call Group” and the “Arab Alliance In-Support of Darfur”.
All the statements condemned in no uncertain terms the violence unleashed against the Darfuri Students, rejected Sudan government’s orchestrated racial ploy and conspiratorial attempts that aim to create racial polarization in the universities and deliberate incitement of other students against their Darfuri colleagues.
The Sudan Call statement is very explicit in alerting Sudanese public to remain vigilant about the government malicious policies of potential danger that could further plunge the entire Sudanese society. It set up an committee to defend Darfur students.
(4) The looming danger has a background
Sudan’s ruling NCP plans to bring the act of genocide against Darfurians and other marginalized people in Khartoum are not a totally new story. Remember when all round racist reprisal broke loose against the innocent people of South Sudan, Nuba Mountains and of Darfur in Khartoum following the death of Dr. John Garang (2005) and the dramatic ruthless abuses visited on them following JEM attack on Omdurman in (2008).
During those events people were hunted in their numbers, interrogated, tortured, thrown into the Nile water, kept incommunicado or summarily executed. Those innocent victims included people of all walks, students, street sellers, market women, taxi drivers, business men, amongst other. In Omdurman, Khartoum and Bahari their quarters were cordoned off by NISS forces, searched, thoroughly looted, abducted and even houses were burnt.
In 2008 when JEM attacked Omdurman I was personally witness to some of those government ugly reactions. As a Member of Parliament by then, I was part of a committee set up by Mr. Minni Minnawi, the then Head of Transitional Darfur Regional Authority (TDRA). The committee was to intervene and stop the reckless and ruthless aggression and the arbitrary abuse unleashed by the National Security’s and other forces against Darfuris. We in that five-men Committee (which the government refused to cooperate with), did meet the NISS officials, the Police Inspector General, the head of the NCP parliamentary Caucus (who by the time happened to be Dr. Gazi Salah Edeen Alatabani) and host of other officials. Mr. Minnawi from his part took the responsibility to “confront” President al-Bashir to raise the matter before him.
Three important points came out of that experience. First as a member of that Committee I stand to state that, the then Speaker of the Parliament Mr. AHMED IBRAHIM Al-TAHIR said before an emergency parliamentary session that “If the government did not allow JEM to come into Omdurman, it could not get the kind of “propaganda stuff” needed to cover its swift act against the “Fifth Colum” When somebody asked him “whom do you mean by the fifth Colum?” He simply replied by saying “everybody knows them”.
On Mr. Minnawi’s part regarding that incident, some of his experiences were pretty disappointing. In the Cabinet meeting chaired by president AlBashir, Mr. Minnawi, when he spoke vehemently against the arbitrary reaction of the NISS in hunting everybody from Darfur on the bases of his skin color, tribe or region, the meeting paused for a minute. All over sudden one cabinet minister who was visibly irritated, took the floor and pointing at Mr. Minnawi, he said to the President “Mr. President the fifth columns are here sitting next to you”.
Mr. Minnawi also narrated that; in that same meeting another furious minister emphatically suggested by saying that “the government should not waste its time by going after the JEM forces since they already left the capital. The target should be the “Fifth Colum”. The minister further added that “the government forces should go after the dwellers of “Ombadas, Haj Yousifs and Mayos. The rebels are in these quarters. Why should we go far?” Mr. Minnawi remarked that President al-Bashir while he was visibly filled with anger and irritation by my position, he was nodding his head in support of those racist suggestions brought by those ministers.
I have no doubt of what so ever that, if things left as they are now, the Darfuris, being student or non student, helpless as they are, will one day be a subject of another cycle of genocide in Khartoum streets. As the dark clouds are looming fast over Khartoum with the racist elements are busy sharpening knifes this time round the crime scene may well be in the heart of Khartoum. Indeed they are at gun point and nowhere is safe and nowhere can they go. The world should watch out.
Mr. Trayo Ali is the head of external affairs of the Sudan Liberation Movement/Mini Minnawi and Secretary for Humanitarian affairs for the Sudan Revolutionary Front. He is reachable at [email protected]