The interpretations of New Sudan
By Steve Paterno
Dec 6, 2006 — If there are people who transcend beyond their actual beings into some mythical figures, Dr. John Garang could be among them. Dr. Garang survived the odds from birth, to the upbringing, and even to the liberation struggles, but mysteriously died in the time of peace when everyone already concluded that he will never die again given what he has gone through. Left in void is his vision for the New Sudan. His vision in itself transcends not in so much as a mythical legend as he is but rather into meaning different things to different people with different aspirations.
In other quarters, the vision means a united democratic Sudan where the rights of all the Sudanese citizens are protected. Among those in this quarters are individuals from all across the Sudan, which this ideal draws to rally behind the vision.
To some people, the vision of New Sudan means independence for South Sudan. This is even more convincing with the signing of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA) granting the South Sudan semi-autonomy rule within the interim period and a referendum on self-determination in the end of the interim period.
Others just think the vision is for the marginalized people of Sudan in the region of the South, Nuba Mountains, Darfur and East excluding the Arabs in the center. This is so because people from these regions are waging the war against the Arabs in center and in the power or vice versa.
However, to the Pan-Africanists, the New Sudan vision is a vision that rids Arabism out of African continent and reclaiming African status in Sudan that is desperately needed. Arabs dominance in Africa is contradicting with the Pan-Africanism, therefore, a vision that rids Arabism is a weapon against this dominance, and New Sudan is that vision. According to people from this quarter, Dr. Garang is a pride of African son along with those of Kweme Nkuruma, Malimu Nyere, and Nelson Mandela.
The ideological communists saw the vision of New Sudan as a socialist manifesto that deserves the communists backing and support. And that was obvious given the support of communist Ethiopia and communist Cuba to Dr. John Garang’s movement.
More interesting, the U.S. administration under president Bush finds this vision compatible with Bush’s doctrine of expanding democracy around the world, and the American religious right sees it as a means to protect Christianity, while the American Blacks envision it as abolition of slavery, hence, all support Dr. Garang’s movement.
So much that we do not know is whether it is Dr. John Garang intention to let different people see different things in the vision that he articulates. But the little that we do know is the modalities of the state that Garang envisions for the Sudan. Dr. John Garang outlines five possible modalities for Sudan as a state, and among those five possible states he rejects two outright and unwillingly accepts the two modalities, but prefers one out of the five. The possible modalities are as follows; New Sudan, Confederate Sudan, Islamic Arab Sudan, Indigenous African Sudan, and Two Separate Sudan.
According to Dr. John Garang, SPLM/A is formed in order to create an ideal New Sudan where the Religion and State are constitutionally separated, and where freedoms, liberty, equality, and human rights are granted and respected—a democratic Sudan that belongs to all the Sudanese people.
However, Dr. Garang said he found out this model was not achievable during the negotiation of the comprehensive peace agreement. One of the contentions was that the ruling regime in Khartoum could not separate the state from religion, therefore, Dr. Garang unwillingly resorted to model number two of a Confederate Sudan where the South will be administered under the secular constitution while the North can have all the religion it is willing to have for its constitution, and in the end of the interim period the South will decide on whether to unite with the North under model one of New Sudan or separate under model number five to form a Two Separate States of Sudan.
And of course the model number three of Islamic Arab Sudan is the current Sudan, and according to Garang, this is the model responsible for all the problems of the Sudan. The model number four of Indigenous African Sudan cannot solve the problems of Sudan as Garang sees it.
At least from the little that we do know about New Sudan from Garang’s possible models, it means one thing—the New Sudan where the religion and state are constitutionally separated, and where freedoms, liberty, equality, and human rights are granted and respected. Now the danger lies in Garang’s allies who claim to be supporters of New Sudan but having different aspirations than that of a New Sudan envisions by Garang.
The reality is already beginning to creep in and eroding the very fabric that brings the coalition of New Sudan together. Within SPLM, the problem is beginning to create frictions. The SPLM party is divided into two sectors of Southern sector and Northern sector. Those SPLM members in the South who are predominantly separatists are more concern about running the affairs of the South and preparing their constituencies to secede during the referendum and those in the North are concern about selling their agendas to their constituencies and winning the upcoming elections, hence creating two separate paths for one party supposedly with the same vision. Others like the Nubians who fought along side the Southerners under the coalition of New Sudan feels betrayed as the South is poised to secede from the rest of the country. The New Sudan has even becoming a dream far from achieving than years ago for the Nubian people. The Pan-Africanists will soon be disappointed to discover that the largest country in Africa is disintegrating into some little cliques–a smack in their faces. Of course, the communists will never find out what New Sudan is all about as communists ideologies themselves are history since they died long time ago. And of course, the Bush administration, the American religious rights, and Black Americans are going to settle with whatever outcome that vision will bring them. And the New Sudan will remain as an ideal that any desperate person will grab for convenience to escape from reality sort of inducing oneself to hallucinate. But Garang will remain who is, the figure that transcends…
* Steve Paterno is a Sudanese residing in the U.S.A., and he can be reached at [email protected]