Darfur – The dangerous game of Sudan’s ruling party

By Kamal al-Sadiq, Al-Ayam

Mar 6, 2006 — Whether or not we agree with the government’s position on rejecting the UN taking over the mission in Darfur, we do think the issue is still open to discussion.

However, it is unacceptable for the government to go down the path of confrontation with the international community and announce a general mobilization and demonstrations regarding a matter that has not yet been finalized. It is unacceptable for it to give free reign to radical organizations and groups to announce Jihad against UN troops. This is a very serious matter and opens the door to forcible intervention on various pretexts leading to the fragmentation of Sudan.

The danger today is not international intervention but the very dangerous game played by the National Salvation Revolution leaders and their ruling National Congress Party (NCP) with the international community, which may lead to their own defeat and the country’s destruction.

The scenario of this dangerous game began with voices rising from influential sides in the government warning that the transfer of the Darfur mission meant that Al-Qa’idah would be involved and that the organization’s members would infiltrate the region from nine fronts. This was followed by the inauguration of the so-called Darfur Jihad Organization, an armed group set up to resist intervention by foreign troops in coordination with, as its founding statement said, “all the Jihadist organizations on the Islamic arena”.

Another organization, the Exterminator of Evil Forces was also created. The Sudanese Media Center (SMC), which is closely linked to the government, said to have received a statement from the group, in which the organization denied having links with Al-Qa’idah. The Salvation government has created a conducive environment for the formation of such organization by calling for mobilization and jihad against the UN troops and announcing what was said to be “the one million men swearing the oath of death”.

What is strange is that these UN troops are in fact present and are welcomed in many towns, including Khartoum, in accordance with agreements signed by the Salvation a long time ago. The UN, which is today rejected in Darfur, has a widespread presence in the Darfur states and prepares monthly reports to the Security Council in this regard. It also has duties stipulated in 10 Security Council decisions, which the government accepted and pledged to implement. Therefore, what is new about its presence in Darfur?

This approach taken by the government without heeding the warnings of those with the interest of the nation at heart will not scare the international community. It will instead increase the international community’s resolve to intervene and give it a pretext to fight terrorism. The Salvation has only strengthened the pretext for intervention and offered it on a silver plate.

The UN Secretary General Special Representative, Jan Pronk, gave an indication of this when he said there were intelligence reports saying Al-Qa’idah had moved to Sudan, despite the fact that the government denied these claims. The saying ‘sooner or later the greedy fat cat will be skinned’, perfectly describes the government’s current approach.

The worst thing about the latest NCP’s furore is that it has once more taken the wrong path in Darfur. After it brought the Janjaweed into the war it is today aggravating the problem by creating new Janjaweed forces, such as the Exterminator of Evil Forces and the Organization of Darfur Jihad, which would coordinate with Islamic movements abroad, as it was reported by the media. This is another catastrophe for the people of Darfur, whose wounds have not yet healed.

The Government of National Unity should bear in mind those citizens who are being killed and whose villages are torched and all those who are being displaced and robbed in Darfur every day. It should stop dragging its citizens into a confrontation with the international community at a time when it should exercise patience, wisdom and diplomacy. It should put an end to calamitous demonstrations and negotiate instead with the international community. It should put forward sound proposals and options, which will lead to a compromise and save Sudan’s face and allow stability and security to be restored in Darfur. This is the mission the government has so far failed to carry out and which prompted the AU to intervene in the first place.