What justifies Sudan’s successive military regimes?
By Chuar Juet Jock*
October 14, 2007 — Sudan did never have a chance for a real and fair democracy since it was proclaimed independent from the British and Egyptian colonists in January1956, since then successive military regimes have follow like stream of water, from General Ibrahim Abbuod to Jaffar Nyimery, Suaar El Dahab, and to the current most brutal and Hitler of Sudan General Omer El Bashir. It was only and for some brief intervals that weak and proxy democratic regimes did have a little chance and which unfortunately the minority dominated military have toppled them all in clear coup d’etat.
The fact that this minority in Khartoum can not attain real majority votes through any given clean and fair election process in the whole country is the reason and the clear justification for all the military regimes that came to power via bloody or peaceful coup de tat, forming authoritarian and dictatorship rules that their core goal is to transform Sudan into Arab and arabized country by an Iron fist. Using Islam as a pretext and philosophy that sustain their racists’ goals and until today Sudan is considered an Arab country and its flag is but a representation of Pan-Arabs colors and all its foreign relations, political interests and economic investments are directed toward the Arab world, represented by the Arab league in Egypt, the former colonist of Sudan that have together with Britain planted this oppressors in the so-called independence in 1956 to systematically rules, kills and uproots our people, beside being the strong backer of Sudanese Arabization scheme, the shameful false reality that contradict the true reality that Sudan is an African country with 67% African Black Sudanese out of its whole population
The mechanism that these minority rulers depend on to dominates this vast poor African majority is the same theory of divide to rule of their former master, the English. Many factors are used for creating divisions among the communities of the African majority. Religion has played a major part in widening the gap between African Christians in South and African Muslims in North of Sudan, tribalism was until these days an effective weapon in South’s multi tribal communities, and through out its bitter history the war against Khartoum injustice and domination was portrayed as religious war between the Muslim North against Christian South. the minority Arab rulers in Khartoum used this to mobilize an army of African Muslims to crush the African liberation movements in the south by the name of protecting and depending Islam from the conquest of the infidels represented by the international Zionism , the West (America and western Europe) and its agents in Sudan(southern Sudanese Christian mainly).
The minority rulers orchestrated a wide Ignorance and deep cultural and political unconsciousness among Africans in Sudan and which have contributed greatly in the success of Khartoum divide to rule system to rule the divided and economically poor and socially unorganized Africans in the whole Sudan. The little power and wealth that Khartoum minority rulers provides for each part of these divided African majority whether in Southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains and Blue Nile, Darfur and eastern Sudan were mainly used to deeply widen the tribal divisions and feuds, putting some tribes up or down politically, empowering this and weakening that, and accordingly creating tribal rivalry and competition that have blinds the local poor Africans from even what their real oppressors in Khartoum have in store for them. It is this policy and pressure that some tribal chiefs and sultans have aliened themselves to the Arabization scheme and went further to annex their people areas to northern Sudan, out of political ignorance and unconsciousness, creating the today disputed areas in border between south and north Sudan.
There is a good chance for Sudan to come back to its people, particularly with current increased awareness and political consciousness of the majority of African Sudanese, that the real issue of the Sudan is not religion but it is this racist minority oppressors in Khartoum that always comes in military coup dictatorship. Though the real problem of Sudan has nothing to do with religion as the Muslims of Darfur and Nuba Mountains African ethnics cleansings have already indicated. It is a racial problem at the first place. In its fifty years age as an independent or so they say, Sudan was never ruled by an African Muslim president leave alone a Christian one. And accordingly the claim that a Christian can’t rule a country with a Muslim majority is a baseless. Nigeria and Tanzania are all African countries that falsified this minority claims
However, any country future and stability is build and guaranteed through its national constitution, which is the supreme source of all citizens’ rights, responsibilities and duties. The national constitution of any given country should be the first source of healthy co-existence of its entire citizens, and that provides fairness, equality, justice, freedom, democracy to them all without any room for discrimination or exclusion of any individual or group based on any form, race be it or religion, gender, culture, origin, any form at all.
For Sudan to change, it constitution must be changed or if changed according to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) then it have to be translated into reality and action, the recent SPLM pullout from government of national unity (GoNU) is a clear indicator that the changed constitution is not being honestly and completely implemented neither the CPA other terms. The former constitutions were the source of all Sudan problems, they weren’t inclusive neither did they provide the very equal pillars for co-existence of its citizens. Clearly, any efforts or calls for democratic transformation of Sudan without a healthy and fair national constitution are but just a waste of time.
Chances for democratic Sudan are many, when there is a fair and healthy constitution in place, and hence the people of Sudan will exercise their rightful rights, duties and responsibilities to form their political ruling majority on any bases they want and accordingly there will never be any marginalization or domination or exclusion of any minority, since the rights of any individual or group are protected and guarantied by the constitution and doesn’t depends or change on or by the outcome of any elections at any time and space.
To win a fair, clean and inclusive elections in democratic and secular Sudan, there are three chances or forms of political majority any political party could advocates for, a political majority that is based on Islam and Arabization, and this is mainly the old type democracy that didn’t prove itself to be worthy of governing Sudan, where the old two major parties the Umma party, lead by former prime minister Saddig El-Mahdi and Union Democratic Party UDP lead by Mulana Ahmed El Mirgani did have the upper hand. However, the current minority National Congress Party (NCP) also is pursuing the same direction but in a dictatorship manner. The failure of this form of political majority was due largely for the call of establishment of an Islamic state guided by Islamic constitution and that is a lack of clear and inclusive vision and political project for Sudan and its multi diverse backgrounds plus their failure to deliver what they promises to their constituents particularly in marginalized African areas.
The other form of a political majority is the one based on the Pan African’s majority of Sudan, and which is represented by those who have been dominated, marginalized and suppressed by Khartoum successive based minority military regimes or the proxy democratic systems. This majority has been the force of change in Sudan for decades and is likely to form a solid and real democratic Sudan which they have fought and still fighting and paying for it so dearly, these are the 67% African majority, from southern Sudan, Darfur, Nuba Mountain and Blue Nile eastern Sudan, and which the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM) and Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) or Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) does have the leads. Any possible unification of SPLM, SLM and JEM is a big tremendous success for the marginalized people of Sudan and no doubt that they can win big and easily in any fair, clean and inclusive elections.
However, for this African majority to rule Sudan, their bases and masses have a dare need for political and cultural awareness and consciousness, a dare need for united vision of a new Sudan that is based on democracy and secularism and where a healthy and inclusive national constitution is the supreme source of all equal and just rights, duties and responsibilities of all the citizens
The African Sudanese conflicts are not separated, although they are reflected to the world in that way by the media of minority Arabs rulers, in fact they are all black people of Sudan based conflicts, mainly Southern Sudan, Nuba Mountains, Darfur and Blue Nile, which form the 67% percent of Sudan total population. The unity of this black Sudanese majority is not in the interest of the Khartoum minority, neither does Khartoum welcome their political or economic empowerment nor their political awareness and consciousness. It is the interest of Khartoum that this Sudanese Africans majority stay divided in their tiny and poor states, divided tribes or as divided Muslims and Christians so it can continue the killing and uprooting project, gradually and systematically and by the their own hands(Africans Vs Africans) according to the theory -kill the slave by a slave.
This minority rulers philosophy is well reflected in the way it is handling all the conflicts of vast marginalized African people of Sudan, negotiation them separately and signing proxy and false peace agreements with them separately, CPA for Southern Sudanese, NPA for Nuba Mountain and DPA for Darfur and EPA for eastern Sudan and the list goes on. One would simply wonder why there is no APA (Arab Peace Agreement) or NPA (Northern Peace agreement). In fact the case for the black people of Sudan if not in the world is one and has the same common goals and objectives which the quest for freedom, equality, justice and democracy are its most obvious pillars.
Black people of Sudan will never get their country back unless they unearth all the mockery and the covers that this minority rulers in Khartoum do hides and works through them, they won’t be free if they don’t eliminate the already set mental, cultural and tribal and religious barriers and that the minority oppressors has put and planted between them for decades. It is highly requested from the leaders of African people of Sudan’s liberation movements to adopt a unified vision and strategy to lead their masses into the light of freedom and dignity and to take their country back once and forever. South Sudanese leaders and people need to do more about Darfur then what they are now, it is the utmost duty of these leaders to advocotes for the new Sudan parallel with the interests of southern Sudan, they have the support of their poor majority people as well as the whole black people of the world and definitely, they are the real leaders of upcoming democratic Sudan.
The final possible form of political majority under a just and fair secular constitution, and only when the people of Sudan gain the political maturity and put their all differences and divisions aside they can form a political majority based not on a religion or race but on other common aspirations such as freedom, unity, justice, equality and prosperity and others that make Sudan more democratic, united and prosperous.
Otherwise when the iron fist control on power by the minority rulers in Khartoum seem to be undefeated and their defiance and unwillingness to the transformation of Sudan on democratic bases continues, then the best solution option for Sudan dilemma will be the current one, one country two systems or three systems when Durfur Peace Agreement (DPA) creates another system to the already available south- north two systems and which might lead at the end to two or more Sudan
We are not calling for a reverse racism or oppression but our call is that Sudan must be back to its people and that it should be formed on new sound democratic bases that will make it a country of all Sudanese irrespective of all their differences and origins or backgrounds, and only on this conditions Sudan will be real prosperous and united country on map of the world.
*The author is a Sudanese that resides in USA, he can be reached at [email protected] to more topics by the author just go at http://chuarjuetonline.blogspot.com