Egypt’s stance on U.S Sanctions against Sudan
By Jimmy Mulla
July 18, 2007 — According to an article posted on the Sudan on Tribune Website Wednesday 27 June 2007, entitled “Egyptian MPs reject US sanctions against Sudan” the Egyptian parliament asserts that they categorically reject the sanctions imposed on Sudan by the U.S government. The Assembly’s committee on Arab affairs further alleges that the U.S stance “is a flagrant violation of human rights and “Sudan’s national security is part of the Arab national security”. The article also mentions U.S secret prisons in Europe, Abu-Ghurayab and Guantanamo as examples of human rights violations. Nothing in the article mentions the genocide in Darfur or alternative measures to resolve the crisis amicably and in the context of Sudan’s complex sociopolitical composition. The position taken by the Egyptian MPs in this regard is in accordance with the stance of the Sudan government, which only confirms Egypt’s narrow-minded approach and self-serving interest in Sudan. Time and again the international community has been reluctant to acknowledge this fact, but the truth is that Egyptian MPs opposition to the sanctions amounts to Egypt’s complicity with the Sudanese regime in the conflict.
Egypt’s involvement in Sudan dates back to the pre-colonial period and since then Egypt has supported the minority ruling elite in Khartoum, at the expense of the majority of the Sudanese population. After Sudan’s independence in 1956, and throughout the long period of North-South conflict, to the current situation in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, Egypt has provided direct and unimpeded political and diplomatic cover to the ruling clique in Sudan. It does this on its own, as well as through the Arab league, the UN and other diplomatic channels. While promoting its image as a peacemaker, Egypt’s meddling in Sudan’s internal affairs has contributed to the turmoil and the tremendous suffering of the marginalized Sudanese population. Such an expansive interference in Sudan’s internal affairs, which only exacerbates human misery, is tantamount to violation of fundamental human rights and freedom.
As recently as 2005, Egyptian police attacked with impunity a group of Sudanese refugees at a UN compound in Cairo, shooting them with water cannons and beating them with sticks, killing 32 Sudanese refugees including women and children. This tragic incident was not properly investigated, nor were those responsible for these heinous crimes brought to justice. While the Egyptian MPS complain about human rights violations in regards to the sanctions, they ignore the fact that these flagrant human rights violations directed against Sudanese refugees from the marginalized areas occurred on their watch. Egypt’s poor human rights record, its role of obstructing justice and misrepresenting of Sudan’s internal problems is made clearer than ever by this incident.
Sudan’s internal problems are also not an Arab national security issue as claimed by the members of the Egyptian parliament. The conflict has always been an internal matter, as shown by the fact that none of the groups fighting the governments have targeted Arab countries, interests or people. Regrettably, Egypt’s tendency to adopt traditional Arab and Islamic view of Sudan has been a major obstacle to peaceful internal resolution of Sudan’s conflict. Even worse, it places barriers to regional and outside actors who wish to engage effectively to attain lasting peace. Because Sudan is a multi-ethnic, multi-racial and religiously pluralistic society, any attempt to view its conflict in the narrow context of Arab nationalism will inevitably fail to address the crux of the matter.
The article also mentions U.S secret prisons in Europe, Abu-Ghurayab and Guantanamo, which are completely unrelated to Sudan. The Parliamentarians misguided strategy to broaden the conflict is aimed at diverting attention from the core problem in Darfur. Certainly, the Assembly’s committees on Arab Affairs have the prerogative to state their position on any matter, but they cannot claim jurisdiction over Sudan’s problems, because the rest of Sudan is not willing to succumb to Egyptian propaganda any time soon. The two countries are separate and sovereign, with deferent demographics, and Sudan does not fit well into the concept of Arab nationalism politically or otherwise. The Genocide in Darfur needs to be stopped, but genuine mediation efforts will require diligence. The international community must realize that the myopic stance adopted by the Egyptian parliament runs in opposition to what is really needed in Sudan.
* The author is the President of Southern Sudanese Voice for Freedom, and Advocacy group in Washington, D.C. . He can be reached at [email protected]